CIC Cascade

19 August 2004

1. A Positive Image of construction
2. Design Quality Indicator is Innovation Award finalist
3. ACE to strengthen senior team with creation of two new posts
4. Teambuild
5. CIBSE to help bridge the gap between educators and industry in building services
6. CIOB grows in China marketplace
7. Events

1. A Positive Image of construction

This week sees the launch of Positive Image, the annual image and recruitment campaign for the construction industry. This years campaign includes the first ever TV advertisement, which will run alongside an extensive online, ambient and postcard campaign, in a bid to attract the brightest and best into the industry. The advertisement uses the "what to you see?" challenge to break the stereotypes people have that the industry is just about bricklaying and directs interested young people to the website www.bconstructive.co.uk

The campaign has been launched by ConstructionSkills, a partnership between CIC, CITB-ConstructionSkills and CITB (NI) as one of the Sector Skills Councils tasked by the government to implement UK-wide Sector Skills Agreements between the bodies responsible for delivering training in the UK and those that demand it.

Further details on Positive Image can be found at www.citb.co.uk or contact:

Lisa Postans on 020 7611 3595 lisa.postons@ketchum.com or Leander Perry on 020 7367 9803 leander.perry@citb.co.uk

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2. Design Quality Indicator is Innovation Award finalist

The Design Quality Indicator (DQI) has been selected as a finalist for the Innovation Award in the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM), Investor in FM Excellence International Awards Programme 2004.

The DQI is a toolkit used throughout the construction process, from the inception of a building, through its design, construction and in-use phases, to capture the opinions of all stakeholders about the design of their building.

At news of the nomination David Walker, the Chairman of the DQI Management Board said

"We are delighted that the CIC DQI entry has been selected as a finalist for the innovation award. The DQI is an important building evaluation tool that helps to highlight issues that will be pertinent over the life of a building. It can also provide feedback on building performance that can help in raising the quality of building design in the future."

The Construction Industry Council has led the development of the DQI since the idea of measuring design was first mooted in late 1999.

Case studies have shown that using the DQI as a post occupancy tool can help inform facilities managers about problems which users may be having with their building to inform development decisions.

The DQI is currently being used on 348 projects.

The winner of the BIFM Investors in FM Excellence International Awards Programme 2004 Award will be announced on 11 October 2004 .

For further details on the DQI visit www.dqi.org.uk or contact William Hawkins on 020 7399 7414 email whawkins@cic.org.uk

3. ACE to strengthen senior team with creation of two new posts

As part of its ongoing refocusing and reorganisation as a business association for consultancy and engineering, the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) is strengthening its senior team through the creation of two new posts; Economic and Policy Director and Legal Adviser. The economic and policy director will develop strategic and policy goals to influence government and key stakeholders, while monitoring the effects of business, economic and regulatory change on ACE's members. The legal adviser will provide legal and contractual support to member firms, provide advice on risk management and professional indemnity issues, and lobby government and major clients on key issues. Details of both posts are on the ACE website at www.acenet.co.uk/news/releases/2004/04-08-04.asp

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4. Teambuild

Teambuild, sponsored by CIC, challenges young professionals to form a multi-disciplinary team of six to compete in a simulation of the design and construction process. The event takes place 19-21 November 2003 at Burleigh Court, Loughborough.

The weekend starts with a master plan proposal and finishes with the construction stage of a development, solving a number of real life problems along the way.

Each team will consist of up to 6 professionals comprising a number of disciplines covering all aspects of building design and construction. Experience in construction, architecture, civil, structural and building services engineering, quantity surveying, planning and landscape architecture will be useful. Teamwork is essential!

Team members should be aged under 30 on 1st January 2005 and should be student, graduate, chartered or incorporated members of their professional institution. No team may contain more than 2 members who have previously taken part in the finals.

Teams are required to submit a pre-qualification document, which will be used as a basis of selecting the finalists. Details of the qualification process will be sent to all teams who register an interest. Each team should adopt a "team" name. Teams may be formed from any number of companies.

Cash prizes of up to £1500 will be awarded to the winning team and the team with the best performance in certain sections. Team members can also claim up to 4 days CPD for participation.

Entry fee is £995 per qualifying team. This includes accommodation and all meals for the weekend. A maximum of 9 teams will be shortlisted for the weekend. The competition will commence on the Friday afternoon and end on the Sunday afternoon. A full itinerary will be sent to all qualifying teams.

For further details visit www.teambuilduk.com

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5. CIBSE to help bridge the gap between educators and industry in building services

A new Industry Education and Training Group* has been formed by CIBSE to improve communications and cooperation between building services employers and the colleges and universities that educate future employees. The group will be a forum for discussion and formulating strategies regarding building services education and training. As an organisation that encompasses all sectors of the building services industry and academia, CIBSE is ideally placed to fulfil this role.

CIBSE Patrons companies, many of whom are major employers in the industry, support this initiative and will participate in the work of the group.

The main aims of the group are:

• Fulfilling the needs of industry by improving the quality, number and knowledge base of students
• Supporting the needs of universities and colleges through the sourcing of students, industry panels and lecturers
• Promoting opportunities within building services for children at 14 years onwards

Commenting on the initiative, Doug Oughton, Past President of CIBSE and interim chairman of the new group said: "There are too few children setting their sights on a career in engineering and this is putting pressure on courses and degrees in building services. Employers are similarly affected by skills shortages of qualified building services engineers to the detriment of the UK 's construction industry. Whilst we can't change things overnight, we can cooperate on sharing information and experiences to formulate long term strategies that help increase the flow of people with the right skills entering the industry."

The first meeting of the group is planned for October this year. Any individual or company interested in joining the group should contact Samantha McDonough at CIBSE on 020 8675 5211 or smcdonough@cibse.org.

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6. CIOB grows in China marketplace

A recent audit of CIOB membership by region showed that mainland China has the fastest membership growth rate of any country outside of the UK , more than doubling its figures from the previous year. In recognition of this dramatic growth, CIOB China has been awarded the Highpoint shield by CIOB Council, for achieving the highest increase in global corporate membership.

Currently China is the Institute's fifth largest membership area worldwide and with its predicted rise set to continue it could become the CIOB's biggest international branch. During 2004, more Chinese members have graduated into Fellowship (FCIOB) than any other country outside the UK . This indicates a strong commitment to performing at the highest level, and also a strong recognition of the value of the professional standards of the CIOB.

The CIOB is further developing this growth market by communicating international construction news on the www.ciobinternational.org website, in both English and Chinese.

Lyn Simons, CIOB Member Services Director, commented, "China has huge potential for us. The Chinese construction industry is recognised as one of the largest and most innovative in the world. The resultant thirst for highly professional construction managers, qualified to internationally recognised standards, has meant an increasing interest in CIOB membership. The CIOB is dedicated in growing this marketplace, and has budgeted record resources this year to develop our influence in China."

For further details contact Saul Townsend, Press Officer on 01344 630766 stownsend@ciob.org.uk

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7. Events

The events page of the CIC website is frequently updated visit the events page for details.