A groundbreaking new guide to help construction professionals keep control of timescales on complex projects has been published by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) and Wiley Blackwell.

The ‘Guide to Good Practice in the Management of Time in Complex Projects' authored by an international team of experts and led by CIOB Past President Keith Pickavance provides guidance on managing time pro-actively.

Speaking about the publication Keith Pickavance said: "Time Management in construction projects is critical. Delayed completion affects IT, process plant, oil and gas, civil engineering, and in fact it affects all industries, in all countries, and the bigger the project, the more damage delayed completion causes to costs, and reputation.

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"Complex projects in particular require an analytical approach if they are to succeed. Until now there has been no guidance produced on how to manage time pro-actively, and effectively on complex projects."

Launched in an era of 'more for less' the 176-page guide and its methodology will make an important contribution to improving performance.

The guide was preceded by CIOB research in 2007/08 which found that for complex buildings 33% are finished on or before the completion date and 67% are late. Of those late 13% were more than 3 months and 18% over 6 months. In two-thirds of delay, the contractor was held primarily responsible.

Following the research the CIOB embarked upon a five year strategy to provide standard education, training, and accreditation in time management. The first phase of the plan is to produce this guide, which sets down the process and standards to be achieved in preparing and managing the time model in complex projects.

The CIOB will develop training opportunities around time management and a process to assess individuals’ competence and the value they add to project delivery. The accreditation programme will be administered by the Institute, through a mix a formal assessments, industry experience and interviews by a panel of peers.

(CD/GK)