What do you know about the Quality in Construction Design Tool?

How important is it for you to be able to track and measure the quality and maturity of a design through the early stages of a project? 

A tool for this is now available, and the Association for Design Management wants to know - via a short survey - if you have used it or are interested in doing so. 

Studies into the cost and origin of error in construction have identified that inadequate quality processes in the planning and design stages of a project are major contributors to issues on projects worldwide. Inadequacy of reviews (30%), planning, scheduling (30%) and inadequate leadership (18%) are some of the subcategories that affect the quality of production and delivery of design across the early design-focused project stages.

The Construction Project Lifecycle guidelines, which were published last year by the Chartered Quality Institute, recommend the key ‘quality steps’ required to maximise success in construction projects.

After these guidelines were published, a small team of global experts got together and developed the Quality in Construction Design Best Practice Tool. This is a questionnaire-based measurement system that can be applied to any project to enable clients and project teams to better measure, control and monitor the quality of design in the early project stages.

The tool is intended only for use during the concept design and developed design stages of a project (design stages 1-4). It does not cover production design, delivery, handover or facilities management. It is structured in three parts, establishing design ‘gateways’, and operates on a self-assessment basis, measuring maturity as the extent to which the project aligns with best-practice principles, on a percentage scale.

The current version has been through rigorous peer validation and testing, and it is now being rolled out for wider testing and feedback. 

The ADM is inviting anyone with an interest to give feedback on their awareness of the tool, and register their interest and/or feedback on the tool itself if they have already been using it.

More information:

Download the Quality in Construction Design Tool

Linkedin group Quality in Construction Design Tool

Download the guide to how to use the tool 

Take the survey and register your interest