Introduction

1.1 The aim of this Code

The aim of this Code is to provide practical guidance on the preparation of good production drawings, specifications and schedules of work by making optimum use of widely adopted computer systems. The temptation to promote the widespread use of cutting edge IT has been resisted, it being considered that the greatest short term benefit to the industry will come from the universal adoption of sound principles and fairly basic technology. Because of this short to medium term focus the Code is seen as having a probable service life of around five years, after which it will need to be reviewed in the light of developments.

The target readership for this Code comprises four groups:

• Clients of the industry who will be interested in better service and value for money for their projects and who will wish to encourage the changes in practice needed to achieve this.
• Designers, whether they be consultant architects, structural, civil or service engineers, specialist constructors or component manufacturers.
• Education and training establishments that prepare those mentioned above for a career in construction.
• Providers of CPD.

1.2 The calls for greater efficiency

Many Government funded studies on computers and communications in the construction industry were carried out in the 1970's and 1980's. They culminated in a report by the Building Economic Development Committee 'Achieving Quality on Building Sites' 1987, which was based on detailed on-site studies of many live projects carried out by BRE. This report examined factors affecting the quality of building and revealed that the largest single cause of quality problems was inadequate project information.

More recently the reports by Sir Michael Latham 'Constructing the Team' 1994 and Sir John Egan 'Rethinking Construction' 1998 emphasised the need to eliminate adversarial attitudes and practices, and to develop effective team working. Both recognised the importance of good project information, and a major part of the large cost savings projected by Egan are expected to arise from more effective use of IT in the preparation and use of project information.

All of these reports are concerned with promoting increased efficiency in the building process and, taken together, they clearly identify inadequate project information as a major cause of inefficiency.

According to the latest (2001) Government figures construction output accounted for over 6% of the total UK output, which is somewhat greater than the combined outputs of the agriculture, mining, electricity, gas and water industries. Total construction output in 2001 was over £60 billion. It is evident, therefore, that improvements in the efficiency of the construction process should result in significant benefits for the UK economy.