More than 30 professional bodies will work together to standardise the cost of building on a global scale…
In an attempt to create global building cost standards a group of experts from across the world have come together.
The International Construction Measurement Standards (ICMS) coalition was launched last month at the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC, US. The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) announced it had become the latest organisation to join the coalition earlier this week.
The coalition, which represents construction professionals in more than 140 countries worldwide, aims to create greater certainty about the cost of a unit of housing or classroom space in different parts of the world.
The CIOB’s Senior Policy and Public Affairs Manager Eddie Tuttle said: “Given the socio-economic importance of the industry, it is imperative to work towards internationally recognised standards and minimise the prevalence of risk.
“This coalition represents a fantastic vehicle for change, and we look forward to working with our partners to develop internationally agreed standards in the near future.”
An independent committee of experts will work on the drafting new international standards for building. Professional bodies, companies, and government agencies have been encouraged to adopt the new international framework, which will harmonise costs, classification, and measurement definitions to create consistency and comparability of capital projects.
The work to draft and consult on the new international standards will be delegated to an independent committee of experts.
More professional bodies, plus companies and government agencies have been encouraged to adopt the new international framework.
Some of the organisations in the coalition include:
- Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
- Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE)
- Association of Cost Engineers (ACostE)
- Association of South African Quantity Surveyors (ASAQS)
- China Engineering Cost Association (CECA)
- The European Council of Construction Economists –Conseil Europeen des Economists de la Construction (CEEC)
- Canadian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (CIQS)
- Federation Internationale des Geometres (FIG)
- Ghana Institute of Surveyors (GhIS)
- African Association of Quantity Surveyors (AAQS)
- International Cost Engineering Council (ICEC)
- Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET)
- Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS)
- Pacific Association of Quantity Surveyors (PAQS)
- Philippine Institute of Certified Quantity Surveyors (PICQS)
- Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI)
- Union Nationale des Economistes de la Construction (UNTEC)