Unit 4 �The Construction Environment

Dr Adewale Abimbola, FHEA, GMICE.

www.edulibrary.co.uk

Aim and Objectives

Aim: Professional Bodies and Professionalism.

Objectives: At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

• Discuss how the construction industry has encompassed professionalism within the industry structures.
• Analyse the purpose of professional bodies in supporting the construction industry and protecting the public.

Learning Outcome and Assessment Criteria

M1 Analyse the purpose of professional bodies in supporting the construction industry and protecting the public.

D1 Evaluate the ways in which professionalism is important to the growth of the construction sector.

Professional Bodies

Introduction

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• A construction professional is an individual who has a career in a construction-related discipline, and has educational and training qualifications that provide them with the knowledge, expertise, and skills necessary to carry out their role effectively. They may also be a member of a professional institution (Designing Buildings Ltd., 2021).
• According to CITB (2021), some of the professional groups include:
• Architects,
• Civil, structural & building service engineers,
• Quantity surveyors,
• Project/construction managers,
• They are involved in the planning, design, construction, and maintenance of projects.

What different professional bodies do you know?

BIFM: Facilities Management

BPF: Property Federation

CIAT: Architectural Technology

CIOB: Building

APM: Association for Project Management

CIBSE: Building Services Engineering

CIC: The Construction Industry Council

CICES: Civil Engineering Surveyors

CIHT: Highways and Transportation

CIPHE: Plumbing & Heating Engineers

CIWEM: Water and Environmental Management

CIWM: Wastes Management

Energy Institute

ICE: Civil Engineers

CABE: Building Engineers

IHE: Highway Engineers

IOM3: Materials, Minerals and Mining

RIBA: British Architects

ABE: Building Engineers

CIH: Housing

IAT: Asphalt Technology

IStructE: Structural Engineers

NFOPP: Property Professionals

RICS: Surveyors

RTPI: Town Planning Institute

The institute for Quarrying (IQ)

Society for the Environment (SocEnv)

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Professional Bodies - What �are �they?

Purpose of Construction Professional Bodies

Purpose of Construction Professional Bodies

Professionals and Their Societies

Professionals and Their Societies

The Engineers – Civil, Structural, Building Services.

• But their status grew as their importance was recognised: the canals, railways, bridges, and docks which were all essential to underpin rapidly growing trade and industry could not have been built without them.
• ICE obtained Royal Charter in 1828 and was later updated by Queen Elizabeth II in 1975. It gave ICE the status of the leading institution for the civil engineering profession.

https://www.civilengineeringmentor.com/educational-base

• The number of specialisms within engineering increased with new techniques and materials. One of the latecomers, developing only in the twentieth century, was structural engineering.
• Its initial concern was the use of concrete as a building material and the need to better understand its properties but it extended its interests and expertise to the whole area of structural stability in buildings.
• The Institution of Structural Engineers was established as a separate branch (based on the Concrete Institute founded in 1908) in 1922 and was granted a royal charter in 1934.

https://www.istructe.org/become-a-structural-engineer/how-to-become-a-structural-engineer/

Professionals and Their Societies

The Engineers – Civil, Structural, Building Services.

• https://www.cibse.org/media/fibmk4i3/te-career-route-map-for-engineering-wales-english.pdf
• The Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) was created only in 1976 (The word 'Engineers' was added in1985) but in fact was the amalgamation of two much older organisations, the Institution of Heating and Ventilating Engineers founded in 1897, and the Illuminating Engineering Society, founded in 1909.
• The engineering institutions were slow to adopt a proper qualification structure. For many years they were reluctant to accept examination as a proper way to determine expertise, preferring evidence of practical experience.
• All that changed in the twentieth century, as greater scientific knowledge of principles became essential for practising and particularly designing engineers.
• Like the RIBA, the engineering institutions eventually established a system of qualifying examinations and training moved substantially into the colleges and universities.

Professionals and Their Societies

Quantity Surveyors

• Early surveyors in Britain focused primarily on measuring and valuing land, often employed by or advising large estate owners during land transactions.
• Some of these surveyors transitioned into estate managers, gaining expertise in estate improvement and income generation from landed property.
• The demand for this type of surveying surged in the 18th century due to canal development, necessitating the acquisition of extensive land from tough negotiators.
• The demand further increased in the 19th century with railway development, leading to the merging of surveying and civil engineering tasks performed by the same individuals.
• Originally, measurers were typically tradesmen, but over time, measuring evolved into a distinct specialisation.

Professionals and Their Societies

Quantity Surveyors

• The significance of measuring heightened with the advent of new contracting methods that mandated pre-construction price agreements between architects, clients, and builders based on plans.
• The construction of the Houses of Parliament in the 1830s marked a pivotal moment in quantity surveying history. It was among the first structures approved using detailed drawings by architect Barry and a bill of quantities, along with estimates prepared by Henry Arthur Hunt.
• This era established the core functions of quantity surveyors, involving the estimation of materials and labour needed for each building section from detailed architect's drawings and specifications.
• The resulting bill of quantities served as a crucial document for contractors to tender and prepare priced bids

Professionals and Their Societies

Quantity Surveyors

• In 1868, surveyors established a professional institution - the Institution of Surveyors. It acquired a charter in 1880 and, several changes in title, became the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors in 1946.
• As with the architects and civil engineers, the institution moved towards a system of examinations, as a route to professional status.
• It was not until the 1960s however that the decision was made that surveying should become a profession for graduates in which full-time academic education at a university or technical college should be normal.
• https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/study-at-northumbria/courses/msc-surveying-quantity-surveying-distance-learning-dtdpsq6/blog-breaking-into-quantity-surveying-steps-to-take/
• Sector Pathways: https://www.rics.org/uk/surveying-profession/join-rics/sector-pathways/

Professionals and Their Societies

Construction Managers

• Construction management as a `profession' is relatively recent and probably can never be restricted by law as in the case of architecture and medicine for example.
• Construction management in the 19<sup>th</sup> century was done by individuals who learnt on the job. Some were trained architects before 1887, tradesmen, particularly joiners, carpenters and masons, material suppliers, and so on.
• The `science of management' and management principles were only beginning to be codified.
• A number of builders did get together just like the architects and engineers to form associations, usually to protect themselves against the growing trade union movement.

Professionals and Their Societies

Construction Managers

• The earliest organisation was probably the Builders' Society, formed in 1834, the same year as the Institute of British Architects.
• The Builders' Society’s aim was to promote a friendly feeling and the interchange of useful information among those who are engaged in general building in and near London.
• Other organisations such as the Central Association of Master Builders and in northern England, the Builders' and Contractors' Association, were more directly aimed at solidarity against union pressure.
• It was the Builders' Society that came to perform the role of a professional institution, evolving eventually into the Institute of Building and achieving chartered status as the CIOB in 1980.
• People can take the professional qualifying examinations of the Chartered Institute of Building. To grant exemption from the CIOB's qualifying examinations, courses have to be accredited and are regularly monitored
• https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/construction-manager
• https://www.ciob.org/membership/become-a-member

Group-assessment Task

Answer questions 1-4 below by considering the following professions:

• Civil Engineers
• Construction Managers
• Structural Engineers

TASKS:

1. The principal UK professional body for their discipline
2. The aims and functions of the body.
3. Key membership grades and progression routes (e.g., Student, Associate, Member, Chartered, Fellow).
4. Why students and practitioners should join a professional body.

Professionals and Their Societies

Architects - Function:

According to the Royal Institute of British Architects (2021), the architect’s most basic role is to strategise, design and oversee the construction of buildings and other built assets to create value.

• Architects combine their creativity with knowledge of architectural history, theory, technology, and professional processes to design spaces and places for clients in collaboration with other built environment professionals.
• They help to refine the client’s needs and wishes and then champion the design vision through to the end of their professional services contract.
• They negotiate the planning system and regulatory landscape on behalf of the client.
• They use advanced digital technologies, understand building science, systems and materials, know how buildings stand up, and manage projects on behalf of large teams.

Professionals and Their Societies

Architects

• Societies and clubs were set up between 1700 and 1800s to improve the reputation of the architects, as the expertise of many unknown architects were viewed with disdain and suspicion (Jolliffe, 2019).
• In 1791 an exclusive Architects' Club was set up by four men who were also well-known builders as well as architects (James Wyatt, Henry Holland, George Dance and Samuel Cockerel); its membership was restricted to the very few at the top who had already won some recognition (for example as Royal Academicians) (Morton, 2002).
• In 1972, Surveyors Club (a London-based dining club rather than a professional organisation), which included both architects and surveyors was formed.

Professionals and Their Societies

Architects

• Various local societies followed suit, yet it was the establishment of the Institute of British Architects in 1834 (originally founded as the Architectural Society in 1831) that truly signalled the shift towards the contemporary architectural profession. The Royal Institute of British Architects officially received its Royal Charter in 1837 from the Privy Council during the reign of King William IV.
• Starting from 1887 to 1981, members of the RIBA were prohibited from holding profit-making positions within the building industry; establishment of construction firms. They were limited to working as employees.
• This regulation aimed to ensure that architects genuinely represented the interests of their clients and did not harbour financial stakes in the contractor's profits.
• This policy established a distinct boundary between the fields of architecture and construction management.

Professionals and Their Societies

Architects

• The RIBA existed both to establish a high status for architecture and to protect the public by ensuring that the title `architect' implied a high degree of competence.
• For both these reasons it worked to develop a system of examinations through which competence could be tested and it fought for a system of statutory registration, which was achieved in the 1930s first through an act in 1931.
• Later, the Architects' Registration Act of 1938 which established ARCUK, the Architects' Registration Council of the UK, and restricted the use of the title architect to those who were formally registered.
• ARCUK has now been replaced by the Architects' Registration Board, set up by the Architects' Act of 1997.

Professionals and Their Societies

Architects – the Qualification System

• From 1894 when the first school of architecture was founded at Liverpool it was possible to take a full-time course before going into practice.
• In1958, a full-time architectural education based on a minimum two A-level entry became almost the only route into the profession.
• Today most British architects go through a basic training that lasts a minimum of seven years. The most common pattern is three years to a first degree, one year out in practice, a further two years leading to an architectural diploma and finally a year in practice.
• All courses have to be recognised by the RIBA and are regularly reassessed.

Professionals and Their Societies

Architects – the Qualification System

• A full architectural education in the UK, i.e. where you go on to qualify as an architect, currently involves three clearly defined stages known as Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.
• Part 1 leads to an undergraduate degree: usually a BA (Hons) or a BSc (Hons) (Fig. 1);

Figure 1. The different path to qualification (Royal Institute of British Architects, 2021),

Professionals and Their Societies

Architects – the Qualification System

• Part 2 is post-graduate study: usually leading to a Barch (Hons), Diploma, or March (Fig. 2);
• Part 3 is the professional qualification that leads to formal registration as an architect.

Figure 2. The different path to qualification (Royal Institute of British Architects, 2021),

How have professional bodies shaped the industry?

• RIBA: Issued the Plan of Works, contracts – now widely used to plan construction projects.
• ICE: Issue code of conduct which has been adopted into apprenticeship standards, CESMM, technical studies through ICE publishing.
• CIOB have educational engagement officers who support emerging talent.
• CIHT commissioned research into sustainable transport methods.
• CIC work with Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) to shape training and accreditation.
• RICS produced standard methods of measurements (NRM), pricing & cost analysis documents.
• British Property Federation supported the Egan and Latham reports.
• ETC.

Evaluation of Joining a Professional Body

Self-assessment Task

Analyse the purpose of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) in supporting the construction industry and protecting the public.

Hint:

• ICE has been around for over 200 years. Present its history/timeline (Use illustration): https://www.ice.org.uk/about-us/who-we-are/our-history
• Research its code of professional conduct and discuss at least THREE purposes EACH in supporting the construction industry and protecting the public.
• Identify at least two major contributions of ICE to the industry/field.

References/Bibliography

CITB (2012) Skills and training in the construction Industry 2021. Available at: https://www.citb.co.uk/media/wnpb2l0k/citb-skills-and-training-report-2021.pdf (Accessed: 22 September 2024)

Designing Buildings Ltd. (2021). Construction professional. Available at: https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Construction_professional (Accessed: 22 September 2024)

Institution of Civil Engineers (2022) Our history. Available at: https://www.ice.org.uk/about-us/who-we-are/our-history/#:~:text=But%20his%20most%20important%20role,for%20the%20civil%20engineering%20profession. (Accessed: 22 September 2024)

Jolliffe, E. (2019) A short history of protection of title. Available at: https://www.bdonline.co.uk/opinion/a-short-history-of-protection-of-title/5101704.article (Accessed: 22 September 2024)

Morton, R. (2002) Construction UK: Introduction to the industry. Oxford: Blackwell Science.

Royal Institute of British Architects (2021) Study architecture well. Available at: https://www.architecture.com/-/media/GatherContent/Business-Benchmarking/Additional-Documents/RIBA-Study-Architecture-Wellpdf.pdf (Accessed: 22 September 2024)