The New Zealand Construction Industry Council (CIC) has just announced a new comprehensive and modern suite of Design Guidelines at a special CIC function in Parliament’s Grand Hall on Tuesday 30 August.

The Guidelines were crafted as an essential tool for the construction industry, clients and professionals engaged in building and infrastructure projects.

In launching these Guidelines, the CIC is looking to improve the quality of industry performance and ultimately provide greater benefits and certainty for clients and consumers.  

Teena Pennington, chief executive of the New Zealand Institute of Architects and CIC deputy-chair, says that whatever the role of a business or individual in a building project the CIC Guidelines will be an invaluable source of information to achieve best practice results.

Pennington comments that, “They aim to achieve improved project engagement and understanding of clients; better clear and consistent communication among those involved with a project and cooperation between all parties. They allow for full identification of risks and agreement on management of them, and offer a clear understanding of new regulatory obligations and client project requirements.”

The new Guidelines produced by the CIC update a set produced some 10 years ago and incorporate requirements that satisfy the latest building and engineering trends and practices as well as new regulations, such as the Health and Safety at Work Act.

CIC chair and chief executive of Registered Master Builders Association, David Kelly, says the updated Guidelines are the result of some 200 hours of voluntary work carried out by engineering and design professionals whose experience at the forefront of industry practice made them uniquely placed for the task.

“This update of the existing Guidelines is especially timely because of the changes that have taken place in our industry over the last decade in methodologies and construction practices. Growing use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) puts a huge emphasis on the need for better client/industry collaboration, communication and ways of working and delivering projects.”

Mr Kelly says that from their original adoption by the industry, the Guidelines have come to represent the single most cohesive interdisciplinary guide for industry and clients of projects available in New Zealand.

“At the time of their adoption they were considered by overseas authorities to be a global first in collaborative industry endeavour, and their subsequent use throughout New Zealand and overseas has well justified the professional resources invested by the CIC and its members,” Kelly says. 

The Guidelines will be available free to all through the CIC website.  It is hoped that the Guidelines become referred to as industry standard, whether private or public client initiated projects.