Soft Landings for fit-outs

[edit] BSRIA publishes Soft Landings for Fit-Outs (BG 81/2022)

In 2022, BSRIA announced publication of Soft Landings for Fit-Outs (BG 81/2022).

The new guide is intended for use by all parties of a fit-out project, from the client to the consultant team. It establishes the methodologies which can be adopted by the project team to promote better understanding, engagement, and contribution by all.

Soft Landings for Fit-Outs is the latest in a line of guidance publications by BSRIA on Soft Landings – the UK construction industry’s premier project improvement process. Interest in Soft Landings has been driven by increasing recognition of the vital role it now plays in the delivery of sustainable buildings; helping ensure that sustainability targets are set at the very beginning of the project, reviewed throughout, and achieved upon completion.

The new guide is available now from the BSRIA Bookshop, with free downloads available to BSRIA Members.

[edit] What is Soft Landings?

Soft Landings is a building delivery process which runs through the project, from inception to completion and beyond. It ensures all decisions made during the project are based on optimising operational performance of the building and meeting the client’s expectations.

The basis of Soft Landings is a set of principles that define a mindset for client-focused project delivery. Considered together with a supporting framework of activities arranged in six phases running from inception and briefing to post completion extended aftercare, Soft Landings runs in parallel and is complimentary to the RIBA Plan of Work.

Soft Landings can be adopted for all projects irrespective of their type and size. The level of involvement, in terms of time and effort, by the supply chain post-completion should be proportional to the nature of the project.

[edit] Soft Landings for Fit-Outs

Fit-out contracts, by their very nature, do not involve construction of new buildings. In such instances, it is therefore common for Soft Landings, as an entire process, to be overlooked. This is often due to financial or time constraints or even a misunderstanding amongst the project team that it has little relevance.

It is therefore possible that, at the point of appointing a fit-out main contractor, the benefits of adopting the Soft Landings framework have not been highlighted to the client and as such the early stages may not have been followed.

Soft Landings for Fit-Outs (BG 81/2022) addresses this by establishing methodologies which can be adopted by the project team to promote better understanding, engagement, and contribution by all.

--BSRIA

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