The great rethink

The construction industry reports by Sir Michael Latham and Sir John Egan highlighted the growing need for changes in the industry. Both reports, Rethinking Construction and Constructing the Team, demanded a better product for the client, something the CIBSE has been committed to for the last 100 years. With this in mind I was invited to promote within CIBSE some of the resulting initiatives.

So what are the various government sponsored initiatives, and how do they stack up? Perhaps the most important ones are the Movement for Innovation (M4I), the Construction Best Practice Programme (CBPP), and the Respect for People initiative run under the M4I. There are also initiatives being launched by the Construction Industry Board as well as Best Practice activities under the Building Regulations, most notably trends towards the Competent Persons schemes.

The Rethinking Construction agenda this calls for a radical rethinking of the way in which construction is undertaken. The proposals in the report are being taken forward by the M4I which is establishing a series of cluster groups around the country, and managing an associated series of demonstration projects. The M4I team is based at the BRE site in Watford. Further information is available by visiting www.M4I.org.uk.

Also part of the M4I scheme is the Construction Best Practice Programme which provides a series of sign posting, company visits, and other Best Practice services to the construction industry. Along with the M4I it is becoming increasingly well co-ordinated, for example through the Knowledge Exchange (www.rethinkingconstruction.org/ke and www. cbpp.org.uk).

A subset of the Construction Best Practice Programme is the building services Best Practice Programme operated by BSRIA and supported by the CIBSE, HVCA, and HEVAC. The programme has already supported a variety of CIBSE and other seminars. The website www.bsria.co.uk has more information.

The Respect for People initiative was instigated by the M4I. It focuses on six themes including health, safety, career development and lifelong learning. The report, and associated toolkit, recognises that only by respecting and developing employees will companies prosper. In particular, building services, like the rest of the construction industry, fails to attract its fair share of women and also people from ethnic minorities. As such it is failing to capitalise on the available labour market. A report is available at www.rethinkingconstruction.org.

Established following the Latham review, the Construction Industry Board (CIB – www. ciboard.co.uk) currently provides a steer to the CBPP and acts as an umbrella body where representative associations in the construction industry can meet to discuss strategic issues. This has strong links with the M4I. CIBSE is represented on the CIB through its membership of the Construction Industry Council.

As well as promoting best practice, and encouraging new practice through some of the schemes listed above, the government is also looking to others to establish registers of individuals and companies deemed to be competent in the context of forthcoming changes to the Building Regulations.

If Rethinking Construction is to move forward then individuals need to recognise the values...that achieve a vibrant and successful profession.

The CIBSE is looking to establish a register in-line with these proposals for those who can self certify the proposed requirements to Part L of the Building Regulations. Further information on this initiative is available at www.detr.gov.uk.

Uniting Rethinking Construction and CIBSE
Behind the M4I, Egan, and Latham reports, there are a series of sensible views about the way in which the construction industry should now be acting. My main premise is that the Institution should formally endorse the principles behind Rethinking Construction.

I propose that we should agree a policy statement of values along the lines of that contained within the Egan report. Clearly, we need as an Institution to follow and promote the following:

• the importance of the profession focusing on the needs and expectations of its customers and end users
  
• working in an ethical and sustainable manner
  
• ensuring a healthy and safe working environment
  
• supporting and developing an appropriate education and research infrastructure

In upholding these four key principles, it is necessary that the Institution and its members also observe the following:

• develop and respect people
  
• learn from others and share experience
  
• measure and compare performance
  
• aim to eliminate waste in all its forms
  
• be receptive to new ways of doing things.

This may appear to be stating the obvious, but how many CIBSE members actually follow these values in their day-to-day lives? As the CIBSE's champion for Rethinking Construction, I have undertaken and supported a series of actions. I have been meeting with the M4I and government representatives to raise the CIBSE's profile, and have been reporting the results back to the Institution. In addition I have also met with various CIBSE groups and individuals responsible for M4I-related activities, and developed a map of CIBSE activities against the main M4I themes.

The M4I has also been directly promoted via articles in Building Services Journal, and through regional events and one-to-one meetings. It has been important to demonstrate support for the building services Best Practice Programme.

A series of cpd events have been held, including the CIBSE President's management conference, and follow-up activities at CIBSE headquarters. It is also important to point out that Rethinking Construction has been a part of the Presidential theme for 1999/2000, and during 2000/01. Finally, we have a joint project management publication underway with BSRIA.

Specific proposals for CIBSE
The CIBSE Council has recently agreed that the following should be discussed within the Institution:

• build into the Institution's strategic plan the statement of values proposed above, and ask all executive board members, and subsequently Council, to buy into these values
  
• review the Institution's code of professional conduct
  
• include a measure of commitment to the M4I values in the CIBSE consultant's register
  
• expect buy-in to the proposals as part of the requirement of becoming a CIBSE patron
  
• for all groups and regions to be asked what they can do to implement the values
  
• develop a distance learning package on process/people issues as part of the building services Best Practice Programme
  
• to publicise activities, wherever we can
  
• to work with other bodies and identify key partners, and to work with them wherever possible
  
• to create 'rethinking' professional Institutions – we must be a key part of this process.

Finally, the values arising from the Rethinking Construction report, and the associated activities of the M4I are things the Institution has publicly supported. It is also committed to developing these activities within the Institution itself.