DQI in the Big Apple

The DQI is being applied to US$320 million worth of public building projects in New York City, by New York City ’s Department of Design and Construction (DDC).

Commissioner David Burney, head of the DDC, became aware of the DQI tool after he was contacted by DQI facilitator Goran Lukic and his colleagues who thought the tool would help them involve stakeholders and deliver better design quality in their current projects.

Goran Lukic trained as a DQI facilitator in April 2006 and is the first person from outside the UK on the register of DQI facilitators.

Initially the DDC applied the tool to 35 projects from police stations, firehouses, libraries, clinics, and museums over summer 2006. To help with the workload DDC also called on Paul Mercer of Tangram Architects, London to help apply the DQI to the projects in a relatively short space of time.
Commissioner David Burney said:
“ “Design and Construction Excellence in Public Works” is a stated goal of the Bloomberg administration. But how do we define success in achieving that goal, when “design quality” can be a subjective value? The Construction Industry Council’s “Design Quality Indicator” provides a sound methodology for measuring design quality. With DQI we will have a metric by which we can monitor our progress during design, and gather valuable feedback on our completed projects.”

Goran Lukic, DQI facilitator said:
“The opportunity to be part of the DQI rollout into the United States is an honor for me. From the first time I became acquainted with the DQI, I understood the benefits that it could bring to our built environment, and subsequently, society itself. That the DDC has chosen to trail blaze this new technology is a testament to New York City ’s foresight in the value of good design and a validation of the CIC ’s quality of product.”

Paul Mercer, Partner Tangram Architects and DQI facilitator said:
“New York City ’s DDC has a considerable programme of public projects and they seemed to welcome the introduction of DQIs to complement their existing design management systems. Although we assessed a wide range of proposals across the programme, the DQI tool stood up to the onslaught well and the website especially coped with considerable data entry and retrieval. Processes and systems across the pond probably have more similarities than differences and DQI may well be a new term to look out for in the future in US capital procurement.”

Graham Watts, CIC Chief Executive said:
“Soon after we started developing the DQI in the late 1990’s it became apparent that the work we were doing to create a methodology for measuring design quality was unique. Being web-based the tool is already available to users anywhere in the world and though we have never promoted it outside the UK it has been tentatively used by a small number of clients in Europe and elsewhere. We were delighted to receive Goran’s application to train as a facilitator and that he and his colleagues are pioneering the process in the USA . Adoption by New York City represents a very exciting step for the DQI and we are looking forward to working with Goran and his colleagues to adapt the process to encompass American culture.”