Quality Tracker

On 9 October 2018, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) and Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) launched a new free-to-download digital tool – the Quality Tracker – to improve the quality of outcomes in the construction industry. This follows the three organisations' signing the 'Building in Quality: Joint Memorandum of Understanding' in March 2018.

There are five benefits that they identify for the construction industry:

1. The Tracker acts as a constant reminder of quality targets so they are not discussed at the start of a project and then neglected as deadlines approach and costs rise.
2. The Tracker sets up a formal ‘chain of custody for quality’ aligned to the RIBA Plan of Work, enabling all prospective and current members of the project team to better understand their risks.
3. It provides purchasers, tenants, investors and asset managers with a straightforward post-completion account of the quality targets for the building.
4. It allows clients to demonstrate their overall commitment to quality and to differentiate themselves in the market.
5. Wider adoption of the Quality Tracker will incentivise better quality in buildings which, in turn, will lead to improved health, safety and wellbeing, and boost the industry’s reputation.

A Guide to the Quality Tracker has also been launched, explaining the background to the tool and how it should be used. The Quality Tracker will be piloted over the next six months on live construction projects. Click here for further information about how to sign up to the pilot.

RIBA President, Ben Derbyshire, said; “This is a significant cross-industry initiative which will enable clients and construction industry professionals to achieve better long-term building quality. The industry needs a shared definition and method of measuring quality, and better ways to account for risk and uncertainty – and this tool is an excellent response to those issues. I urge all industry professionals to pilot and help to shape its development.”

Paul Nash, Past-President of CIOB and Chair of their Quality Commission, said; “Last year the CIOB established a Commission to examine the issue of quality in our industry. We needed to understand what was preventing or promoting the delivery of quality on construction projects. Our research identified that there was a need to raise standards across the industry and to improve education and training on quality. But importantly, there was also a recognition that the industry needed to collaborate if it is to bring about the change that is so urgently needed. It is for this reason that the Building in Quality initiative is so important, and I would encourage our members and wider industry to support this initiative and work together to build a better industry.”

John Hughes, President of RICS, said; “RICS is pleased to endorse and support this Building in Quality initiative. Quality in building should be present in every development and must underpin the whole of the project lifecycle from start to finish. I commend the use of this Quality Tracker to the whole of the industry.”

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki

• Building in Quality: Joint Memorandum of Understanding.
• CIOB.
• Quality.
• RIBA.
• RICS.
• Types of risk in construction projects.