DQI used on 700 projects
Posted: 10th January 2007
The Design Quality Indicator (DQI) is a tool to assess the design quality of buildings; it is available online at www.dqi.org.uk. Over 700 projects have registered with the online tool since the launch of the DQI in 2002.
The DQI tool is being used throughout the project life cycle, from inception through design and once buildings are in use. In 2005 the Construction Industry Council launched an advancement of the tool to assist with briefing called Fundamental, Added Value, Excellence (FAVE). FAVE helps users and clients establish their aspirations for a project, against which they can later score design solutions.
Approximately 75% of projects using the DQI are from the public sector and just under half of these projects are new and refurbished schools. The use on Schools led to the development of a specific toolkit for use in DQI for Schools.
The DQI is also being used on office buildings, other education projects, cultural buildings, civic buildings and increasingly on housing, an area which CIC is hoping do develop further over the coming year. CIC is also interested in developing the way the tool is used in custodial services and offices.
The DQI is a flexible toolkit which can be applied in a number of ways; to help clients get the most from using the tool CIC has developed a register of DQI facilitators. There are 74 construction professionals and clients on the register who have all been trained in applying the DQI.
A typical DQI assessment is applied in a workshop environment involving 5 representatives from the project supply side (including the design team and contractors) and 3-8 users of the building, a client and a facilities manager.
The projects using the DQI are located all round the UK, with the most registered projects in South East England, Yorkshire, East Midlands and Northern Ireland . It is also encouraging, for a British idea, that just around 7% of the projects using the DQI are from outside the UK .