The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) has launched a report which calls for improvements in the quality of the built environment.
At a parliamentary reception, hosted by Eddie Hughes MP, senior industry figures heard about the outcomes of the CIOB’s Construction Quality Commission, which was set up to identify what promotes or prevents delivery of quality in construction and what steps are needed to bring about change. The outcomes have been published in its new report – Improving Quality in the Built Environment.
Hughes, who is MP for Walsall North and someone who has spent time in the industry, commented that 30 years ago industry standards were somewhat different but we have now reached a point where a culture of “health and safety is the way we work” and firmly embedded within the sector. He called for support of the CIOB’s work, adding: “I want to see that same cultural shift with regard to construction quality.”
In his speech, Paul Nash FCIOB, Chairman of the CIOB’s Construction Quality Commission, commented: “Quality, or rather the failure of quality, is arguably the most important issue facing the construction industry today. Our research identified an underlying cultural issue in the industry. Quality was being sacrificed to achieve targets.”
Nash, a CIOB Past President, then spoke of one of the key outcomes of the Commission’s work, the forthcoming Code of Quality Practice. He added: “Today we are announcing the launch of a consultation on the Code. The intention behind this is to set standards for the industry to achieve and provide practitioners with the tools and processes needed to deliver quality on construction projects. There is never an excuse for poor quality.”
Roberta Blackman-Woods, MP for the City of Durham and Shadow Minister for Housing, Communities & Local Government, added her voice to the debate. She welcomed the CIOB’s report, saying: “I think the work you are doing is really important and I’m glad to see that improving the quality of the built environment has gone up the political agenda.”
The CIOB’s Construction Quality Commission was launched in early 2017 in response to a report into defects that led to the closure of a number of Edinburgh schools. It was given a new impetus following the tragic Grenfell Tower fire.
Click here for a copy of Improving Quality in the Built Environment report.
Content Team
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