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Good Practice Guide | Introduction

Purpose of the RIAI Good Practice Guide

The RIAI is committed to providing guidance and advice to architectural practices and practioners with the aim of promoting high standards of practice at every level. The RIAI Good Practice Guide was developed to assist architects in the management of their practices. It incorporates the elements of a quality management system. The guide follows similar developments in other professions and many Irish client bodies.

The process of seeking continuous improvement, feedback from the users of the third edition of the guide and response to regulatory change, has lead to the issue of the fourth edition of the Good Practice Guide.

The need for a Good Practice Guide

The traditional ‘good practice’ model in the professions was that of a senior professional, with lengthy training and considerable experience, supervising a practice by informal means. Authoritative guidance was available for many areas of practice, but good practice was generally not formalised.

Whilst there were many merits in the traditional approach there were also shortcomings.

• It was difficult for the individual professional to keep up-to-date with good practice in all aspects of the work.
• Not all senior professionals were strong in all areas of practice and their methods of working reflected their own interests, strengths and weaknesses.
• Even when good practice was clearly understood it was not always adhered to consistently.
• Younger professionals, starting in practice without direct access to more experienced architects, lacked comprehensive guidance.

These weaknesses in the traditional model have been exacerbated by the rapidly changing and increasingly complex context within which architects work. The complexity arises from a number of factors.

• Consumer expectations have increased and higher standards are expected. All professions are under pressure to improve the quality of their services.
• Clients are becoming more sophisticated. Some, particularly those with experience of construction, are more knowledgeable about the ‘process’ and demand highly efficient performance.
• Buildings are becoming more complex. Contemporary buildings reflecting society’s expectations and technological change are more complex than those constructed in earlier times.
• Technical requirements for energy conservation, air-tightness, daylight levels, acoustic performance and other criteria are more prescriptive.
• The use of alternative procurement methods such as PPP and Design and Build rather than traditional contracts changes the manner, timeframe and context in which buildings are designed.
• The new Government contracts will also add to the complexity and duration of the process and are likely to affect how architects deal with changes requested by clients.
• The ‘Regulatory Environment’ continues to expand. The number of statutes, regulations, codes and standards relating to building has increased significantly in the recent past and continues to do so.
• The Record of Protected Structures has replaced the former listing system for buildings of interest. An architect is required to be aware of the implications of the legislation concerning our heritage and the conservation of the built environment.
• The legal climate in which architecture is practised is becoming more difficult and architects’ legal responsibilities are increasing. Risk management seeks to protect architects in this context.
• The operation of the Planning Regulations is causing frustration for architects and their clients. There are wide variations between Local Authorities in the percentage of applications invalidated and in the use of the recommended ‘standard forms’.
• New products and building systems are being introduced to the market at an increasing rate and the quantity of technical information to be mastered continues to grow. The option of off-site pre-fabrication may reduce time on site and site based activities, impacting positively on Health and Safety on sites.
• Information Technology is making its own demands. While IT can be very helpful in dealing with the increased pace and complexity of architectural practice, it requires management and training if its use is to be optimised.
• Architects are suffering from ‘information overload’.
• An increasing number of client organisations, including public bodies, have quality management systems in place and expect the same from firms who do business with them.

Significant recent changes in Irish society and deficiencies in forward planning have increased pressure on the provision of buildings and infrastructure. Increased urbanisation has focused the debate on the appropriate design response, including high density development.

Additional factors compound these issues. The first is the structure of the architectural profession. In Ireland, as in many other countries, the pattern is one of a large number of small practices. Even the large and medium sized practices are relatively small organisations and so tend to have relatively limited resources.

The second factor is the severe economic downturn internationally and nationally. Architectural services and construction generally were amongst the first sectors to suffer.

Architects and architectural practices are suffering from a decline in workload exacerbated by the peaks of the immediately preceding economic boom.

The advantages of having a set of agreed ‘good practice’ procedures to manage the workload of an architectural practice are abundantly clear. However it would be very onerous, in terms of time and resources, for individual practices to develop their own good practice manuals from scratch. Hence the RIAI’s original decision to develop the RIAI Good Practice Guide.

The extent of regulatory change since the third edition further re-inforces the need for an updated guide. A practice guide cannot be set in stone; it must change as practice changes. The decision to make the third edition of the guide web-based provided flexibility in accommodating future changes. The need for continual improvement is reflected in the publication of this fourth edition of the guide.

The changes in this edition not only reflect legislative changes, but also derive from members’ comments. They include:

• Suggestions for alterations where guidance may have been problematic in practice.
• Concerns that some issues were not sufficiently addressed in earlier editions.
• Reactions to problems encountered.
• Continuing developments in IT, including the increased use of web-based project systems.
• A greater general awareness of the importance of sustainability and how this may influence building design and the use of energy. This includes building energy ratings.
• Developments in the approach to accessibility for everyone. This includes a move beyond a ‘regulations compliance’ approach to one based on seeking equality, inclusiveness and enjoyment of buildings and their surroundings by all. The requirement for accessibility certificates will increase the focus in this area.
• The importance of the conservation and protection for our architectural heritage.
• Responses to changes in Safety and Health Regulations; with more detailed advice on the timing and content of design risk assessments.
• An update on employment legislation, including redundancy and part-time working.
• Updates on tender procedures.
• The introduction of the new Government Contract and the consultant appointments.
• Problems of non-payment or late payment by clients.
• Problems attendant on contractor and sub-contractors getting into financial difficulties.
• Increases in contractual disputes.
• The formulation of a set of competences describing what is required of registered architects, which were developed as part of the Registration process. These competencies remind us of the complexity of the body of knowledge required to practice.
• Changes in VAT requirements.

The concept of ‘Risk Management’ noted in the introduction to the second edition, expanded in the third edition, has continued and reflects feedback from members, clients and insurers.

The search for continual improvement is by its nature an ongoing process. In order to improve it is important to be in a position to know how we perform currently and to establish how we follow the Good Practice Guide. This can be achieved by undertaking an audit of a reasonable number of projects. Maintaining consistency of performance across a practice is a recurring management problem and auditing how we perform is a fundamental part of a good quality management system. It is opportune with the revised edition to again emphasise this point.

It is likely that the current economic downturn will, like previous recesssions, allow more time for architects to think about architectural ideas, how we practice and how we put methodologies in place to deal with the complexities, risks and opportunities we face.

Contents of the guide

Project Procedures sets out guidance on good practice from inception to completion of a project. Generally the guidance will be familiar to RIAI members and incorporates established practice (e.g. 1.1 Appointment and the RIAI Agreement between Client and Architect, or 5.1 Tender Action and Pre-construction and the Liaison Committee Code of Practice for Tendering and Contractual matters).

Other areas are already covered by legislation and regulations e.g. 4.0 Statutory Consents and Duties (Planning, Building Control, Fire Safety, Health and Safety, Accessibility and Environment).

Administration and Financial Procedures addresses areas where most members will have some systems in place. The procedures seek to provide members with useful guidance on the control of documents, drawings, data, filing and technical information, computer systems and financial controls.

Management Procedures contains some elements which may be less familiar to architects. Practice management and the selection and development of staff are issues which are already dealt with by architects, but perhaps in a less formalised manner. The requirement to appraise and implement training reflects the RIAI policy on Continuing Professional Development. Safety and Health requirements are described by existing regulations and RIAI guidance.

Other areas will be new to most members and are briefly outlined below:

Procedure 10.4 Audit, Corrective and Preventive Action
A recognised problem with all ‘good practice guides’ is that whilst there is agreement that it is what should be done, the good practice is not consistently followed. The audit and corrective action procedures ensure that the management system is operated correctly and that problems encountered are addressed.

Procedure 10.5 Document Control – Practice Procedures
This procedure is a necessary part of a quality management system, and is concerned with the management of the documents which are part of the quality management system.

Procedure 10.6 Post Project Review and Client Feedback
Feedback is an essential part of a quality management system. Carried out in a positive manner, its purpose is to ensure that lessons learned on a project are incorporated into the future work of the practice. The International Standard for quality management systems, ISO 9001, places an emphasis on obtaining client feedback on the services provided by the practice.

Procedure 10.7 Management Review
The purpose of this procedure is to ensure that the quality management system is evaluated by senior management to confirm that it is fulfilling its purpose, and that improvements are made where it is believed that they are warranted.

Applying the procedures in your own practice

The creation of a building is a complex process and almost every project is unique in some respect. Hence the RIAI Good Practice Guide should not be read as a standardised formula or relied upon as a statement of proper professional practice applicable to all projects in all circumstances. It provides instead a general approach to establishing sound practice in the administration of an architect's practice and of projects run within it. A member must use professional judgement in deciding on which methods and procedures to use in a given situation and there may well be circumstances in which processes other than those set out in this guide are more appropriate.

The Architectural profession, whilst sharing many values, contains in its membership a wide diversity of approaches to designing buildings. The particular emphasis placed on design quality, conservation, sustainability, the service provided to clients, project management, cost control, buildability and the use of materials will vary amongst members. Individual members and practices will have specialist skills in addition to a general aptitude.

It is important for the profession that this diversity continues. The Good Practice Guide should be seen as a general, broad-based and informed approach to practice which describes the need for good controls in certain aspects of practice, whilst respecting and allowing creative freedom and variety in the design solutions adopted.

Under each procedure some actions are printed in black and some in colour. Text presented in black indicates an action that is generally essential to attend to, provided that the procedure concerned is one which forms part of the scope of services which have been agreed with the client. The word ‘generally’ is used because there may be circumstances – a radically reduced timescale, for example – where a step might be omitted. Text presented in colour indicates a range of steps that might be taken in implementing a particular procedure. These are intended as helpful suggestions, but a practice is entirely free to employ other strategies provided that they achieve the necessary ends.

We have today the demand for ‘Quality Management Systems’. There is an expectation that a firm can ‘benchmark’ itself against what is considered ‘best practice’ amongst it competitors. The RIAI Good Practice Guide is not a quality management manual. However, a practice which follows the procedures it sets out, or which has put in place an equivalent programme of its own, should find that it has already established most of the elements of a quality management system should the practice decide to seek formal quality certification.

For members’ information, the numbers of the relevant clauses in ISO 9001 2008, the International Standards Organisation’s standard on quality management, are listed in the references at the end of each procedure in the guide.