Building Cost Information Service

BCIS is the Building Cost Information Service of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). It is described by RICS as ‘the leading provider of cost and price information to the construction industry and anyone else who needs comprehensive, accurate and independent data.’

It was established in 1961 to facilitate the preparation of elemental cost plans, where an 'element' is defined as, ‘a major physical part of a building that fulfils a specific function or functions, irrespective of its design, specification or construction’.

The BCIS website was launched in 1997.

Cost and price information is collected by BCIS from across the UK construction industry, then collated, analysed, modelled, interpreted and made available to the industry to facilitate accurate cost planning.

Information is made available online, by data licensing and through publications. It is broken down into five key areas:

• Construction.
• Maintenance.
• Rebuilding.
• Consultancy.
• Insurance.

BCIS information can be used by clients, consultants, quantity surveyors, contractors and suppliers to help:

• Preparing construction budgets.
• Benchmarking.
• Preparing cost plans.
• Preparing insurance quotes.
• Carrying out options appraisals.
• Value engineering.
• Preparing performance specifications.
• Procurement.
• Preparing maintenance budgets.
• Carrying out market research.
• Forecasting.
• Assessing price movements.

BCIS also offers consultancy and research support and publishes survey-based international cost information.

[edit] Find out more

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki

• BCIS elements.
• Benchmarking.
• Budget.
• Cost information.
• Cost planning.
• Elemental cost plan.
• International Construction Measurement Standards (ICMS).
• New Rules of Measurement.
• Quantity surveyor.
• RICS.

[edit] External references

• BCIS online.
• RICS, Building Cost Information Service.