Added Value in Design and Construction

There is something wrong with the construction industry.To survive in the global economy there is a need for first-class standards and a responsive service in sectors as diverse as retail, IT or construction. The development of new skills and technologies allow for the delivery of high quality, added value services to clients in every industry. The world is changing rapidly; according to the Latham Report the construction industry is not.This book attempts to set the parameters and context for change. It examines in detail a wide range of strategies that can be applied during the design and construction process to add value and promote the best interests of the client. The Latham and Egan Reports were a call to action and this book provides students of construction with the theoretical and practical knowledge to deliver the recommendations of the reports. It describes the principles and techniques crucial to adding value and reducing costs in design and construction in the twenty first century. The book takes a holistic approach to offering public- and private-sector construction clients the ultimate reward: getting more for less.KEY FEATURES? provides a timely introduction to this key subject? uses student-friendly bullet points and charts to reinforce learning? reviews current reports and describes mechanisms for achieving the savings identified within them? makes a valuable contribution to the industryAreas covered include: the nature of added value, the shift from cost to value, design and construction, cost planning, life cycle costing, value management, partnering, benchmarking, procurement, risk management, taxation and change and innovation.Techniques such as cost planning are tried and tested, but are here enhanced to deliver even more efficient solutions; others, such as value management, are a recent response to the industry's internal and external critics. All methodologies described have been chosen to enable the industry's future practitioners to add value to the design and construction process, and help realise a client's objectives and desires.Added Value in Design and Construction is essential reading for HNC/D, degree and postgraduate studies in construction, architecture, building, civil engineering, construction management and surveying. It will also be a valuable resource for practitioners in these industries.A BOUT THE AUTHORSAllan Ashworth is the author of many successful books and is Adjunct Professor UNITEC, New Zealand and Visiting Professor of Construction Education, Liverpool John Moores University. He is a consultant with the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (UK) and with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.Keith Hogg is a senior lecturer in the Department of Surveying at the Nottingham Trent University. He was formally employed as a quantity surveyor in private practice in the UK and overseas.