 |
HONG KONG, June 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Over 30 professional bodies from around the world, including RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors), met last week at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington D.C. to launch a major initiative which seeks to create international standards in construction measurement.
The International Construction Measurement Standards (ICMS) Coalition was established by non-profit organisations representing professionals in more than 140 countries. Collectively, the group aims to create overarching international standards that will harmonise cost, classification and measurement definitions in order to enhance comparability, consistency and benchmarking of capital projects.
In an industry estimated to be worth a staggering $15 trillion by 2025 according to Global Construction Perspectives, inconsistency in something as fundamental as construction measurement and reporting can create huge uncertainty, misunderstanding, and risk.
The ICMS Coalition will continue to grow as further professional organisations come forward to join the effort to align high-level principles. By early July 2015, the coalition will be formally launched. Industry corporations, contractors, and key government stakeholders will also be encouraged to contribute to and lead adoption of the new international framework in their capital markets.
The work to draft and consult on ICMS will be led by an independent committee of construction experts, due to be appointed by the coalition in the coming weeks.
The Washington meeting represented a landmark moment for construction, project management, cost engineering and quantity surveying sectors as a whole. This is the first time these professions have come together in this way to develop unifying standards, which reflect and enhance an increasingly international construction market.
The coalition has stated its ambition to make tangible progress immediately and to deliver an internationally agreed and adopted standard in the near future.
Past President of RICS Hong Kong Board, Kenneth Kwan FRICS, said, "I am totally in support of the development of the ICMS. This is not out of idealism but out of practical need. In today's world, investments have become so globalized that it is not uncommon to have a single client developing properties in different countries at the same time. Among other things, the client will at least be looking for the same standard of measurement and report to assess and evaluate their development costs in different countries so that all the financial considerations are on comparable basis. Without the development of ICMS, it could be rather confusing and sometimes misleading to present those figures based on the local rules and standards only."
RICS Senior Vice President, Amanda Clack, said, "The fact that so many international organisations came together in Washington DC shows there is a strong desire to develop a single standard for construction measurement. It was evident there was a real willingness to work together collaboratively for the benefit of the public and our clients. Whilst not everyone was able to attend the meeting in person, the support from the construction industry around the globe has been incredible and I can only see the coalition becoming even stronger as more organisations are able to sign up in coming weeks and beyond. This is about making a difference and I believe is something we will all look back on as a momentous moment in creating a better industry for the future: standards work and construction needs them."
Notes to editors:
The organisations that have already signed the declaration to become joint members of the ICMS Coalition are:
Global Construction 2025 report: http://www.globalconstruction2025.com/
About RICS
Confidence through Professional Standards
RICS promotes and enforces the highest professional qualifications and standards in the development and management of land, real estate, construction and infrastructure. Our name promises the consistent delivery of standards -- bringing confidence to the markets we serve.
We accredit 118,000 professionals and any individual or firm registered with RICS is subject to our quality assurance. Their expertise covers property, asset valuation, real estate management; the development of infrastructure; and the management of natural resources, such as mining, farms and woodland. From environmental assessments and building controls to negotiating land rights in an emerging economy; if our members are involved the same professional standards and ethics apply.
We believe that standards underpin effective markets. With up to seventy per cent of the world's wealth bound up in land and real estate, our sector is vital to economic development, helping to support stable, sustainable investment and growth around the globe.
With offices covering the major political and financial centres of the world, our market presence means we are ideally placed to influence policy and embed professional standards. We work at a cross-governmental level, delivering international standards that will support a safe and vibrant marketplace in land, real estate, construction and infrastructure, for the benefit of all.
We are proud of our reputation and work hard to protect it, so clients who work with an RICS professional can have confidence in the quality and ethics of the services they receive.
About RICS Asia
RICS Asia supports a network of over 20,000 individual professionals across the Asia region with an objective to help develop the land, property and construction markets in these countries, by introducing professional standards, best practice education and training. We promote RICS and our members as the natural advisors on all property matters. We also ensure that services and career development opportunities are provided to members.
RICS Asia region serves local member associations locating in Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, The People's Republic of China, Hong Kong SAR, Taiwan and South Korea. It also has members working across the region such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Kiribati, Laos PDR, Macao SAR, Mongolia, Nepal, North Korea, The Maldives, The Philippines, Timor East and Vietnam. For more information, please visit: www.ricsasia.org.
Logo - http://www.prnasia.com/sa/2009/08/17/200908171721.jpg
