Now is the time to embed value-based decision making in the construction sector

Daisie Rees-Evans from the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) says now is the time for CIOB members to play their part in embedding value-based decision making throughout the construction sector.

The upcoming official launch of the Value Toolkit opens opportunities for Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) members to play a significant role in changing conversations and practices throughout the wider construction sector.

The Value Toolkit is a major step on the journey towards value-based decision making. CIOB members can add real value by looking at how they can embed the Toolkit in their own everyday practices. They can also lead discussions with contractors and clients in the early stages of a project process. From a CIOB perspective it’s about marketing that opportunity, explaining how the Toolkit can be used, indicating what resources are available and pointing people in the right direction. Many clients have said they want to use the Value Toolkit but aren’t quite sure what to do. We can offer guidance as a professional body.

Many businesses are increasingly open to using innovative methods and processes as they search for ways to recover from the economic impact of the Covid 19 pandemic. This is a real opportunity for organisations to now look at value-based decision making: using the Value Toolkit to conduct open discussions with clients, contractors, and wider industry. We will start to create better value in the projects we are designing and generate higher quality ways to measure success.

With its emphasis on value-based decision making, the Toolkit sets out to address many of the systemic issues that have long plagued the construction industry: poor quality in the built environment; a lack of skills; older workers retiring and fewer new entrants to the workforce.

Through employing value-based discussions right from the start of a project we can enable better value outcomes at different stages of a project’s lifecycle.

The CIOB helped develop the Toolkit, taking the lead on human value: looking at what the human elements are at each stage of the lifecycle of the project; what that means for clients and industry; and how those values can best be measured.

With the launch of the Toolkit, CIOB members can now clearly identify value drivers in their own business, whether they be societal, environmental or economic, while also generating greater benefits for the construction sector as a whole.