Bártolo, H M G (2000) Improving the value of design: A quality/cost approach. In: Akintoye, A (ed.) Proceedings of 16th Annual ARCOM Conference, 6-8 September 2000, Glasgow, UK.
Abstract
The last decade has seen an increased emphasis on quality issues. A renewal of media interest in design issues reinforces the assumption that the inclusion of opinions and attitudes of lay public in the design process can enhance the overall quality of the built environment. Yet it is not enough for designers to investigate public opinions of design quality, they should equally observe their own ideas and perceptions of design quality, explaining why they are advocating particular design solutions. On the other hand, clients of the construction industry want a commitment to financial targets from all the participants in the construction process. Effectively, all design decisions have cost implications and most of the defects arise through decisions or actions in the design stages. Besides, when completed and in use, its design will have a significant effect on maintenance costs. This research intends to investigate how designers arrive at a proper balance between quality and costs, in early building design, to reach an integrated solution that constitutes the best value for the client. A questionnaire was used for data collection and analysis, to get a better understanding of the processes involved in achieving good quality building within acceptable cost margins.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | design; quality; cost; best value |
| Index terms: | construction industry, maintenance cost, renewal, design decision, best value, construction process, design stage, integrated solution, questionnaire, built environment, quality issue, media, commitment, designer, building design, design quality, design process |
| Subjects: | design methods, innovation studies, profession, data collection methods, architectural design, professional practice, bidding, psychology, financial management, renovation and retrofit, design practice, quality assurance, industry analysis, infrastructure and transport systems, sociology, building construction |
| Topics: | Organizational Design, Site Management, Quality Management, Design Practice, Urban Studies, Procurement, Roles and Professions, Research Practice, Engineering Principles, Business Strategy |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here