The Charter Improvement Programme

As has been explained on the related web site ConstructionSuccess.org Charter Clients commit to continually improving their performance in 4 Themes of cultural change.

  • Client Leadership
  • Working in Integrated Teams
  • Whole Life Quality
  • Respect for People

The Themes are part of a hierarchy of good practice as follows;

  • 4 Charter Themes are divided into both;
    • 12 Principles of basic good practice which every client should do and are defined in the web site ConstructingSuccess.org and,
    • 17 sub-Themes which form the basis of improving procurement practice leading to continuous improvement in achieving value for money. They are sub-divided into,
      • Cultural Criteria which are the basic building blocks of the Improvement Programme.

The outcomes from the projects are measured using the construction industry Key Performance Indicators as described below. These measures are an essential part of the continuous improvement process.

Look in Frequently Asked Questions for advice about developing an Improvement Programme.

The Themes and sub-Themes are as follows;

Theme 1. Leadership and focus on the client.

    Sub-Themes;

  • Providing client leadership, both for improvement in procurement processes and for the supply side to develop and innovate to meet clients' requirements

  • Providing and setting clearly defined and where possible quantified objectives and realistic targets for achieving these

  • Fostering trust throughout the supply chain by treating suppliers fairly and ensuring a fair payment regime

  • Promoting a team-based, non-adversarial approach amongst clients, advisers and the supply chain

  • Adopting a partnering approach wherever possible

  • Identifying risk and how best to manage it

  • Collecting and interpreting data on the performance in use of their construction solutions, for purposes of feedback

Theme 2. Working in integrated teams.

    Sub-Themes;

  • Working in partnership with long-term relationships for all key suppliers

  • Involving all parties in the supply chain in the design process as far as possible

  • Promoting sustainability, use of renewable resources and the minimisation of waste in construction

  • Promoting sustainability, use of renewable resources and the minimisation of waste in the construction process

  • Collecting and interpreting data on the performance of all the participants in the project

  • Maximising benefits from standardisation and off-site fabrication

Theme 3. Whole Life Quality.

    Sub-Themes;

  • Aiming for quality-based solutions that yield maximum functionality for optimum whole life cost, whilst preserving respect for the surroundings

  • Promoting process and product improvements to minimise defects over the whole-life of the constructed solution

Theme 4. Respect for People.

    Sub-Themes;

  • Adopting a policy of respect for all people involved in construction activity (health, safety and welfare, site conditions, diversity, training and certification)

  • Training their own staff areas

The Construction Industry Key Performance Indicators

The benefits from progress in the 4 Themes of cultural improvement need to be measured by clients in relation to the following Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s).

Further support and guidance on measurement and benchmarking can be found on the related web site HouseBench.com

    Core KPI’s

  • Client satisfaction with product and service

  • Time predictability

  • Cost predictability

  • Safety

  • Defects

    Discretionary KPI’s

  • Project cost

  • Project time

  • Profitability of the supply chain

  • Productivity of the supply chain

In setting KPI targets, clients should aim to meet or better those set in Accelerating Change produced by the Strategic Forum for Construction over the period of their programme of continuous improvement.