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In February 2020 RIBA released their latest revision to the Plan of Work, a suite of documents used in UK architecture since 1963. While responding to the emerging Coronavirus situation, we took the opportunity to fully adopt the latest Plan of Work, replacing our phased introduction which was intended to adapt in alignment with our growing number of live schemes.
The Plan of Work has added reinforcement to our practice’s operations and a clear structure to the way we work with our clients. The staged style of the plan provides a ‘road map’ from conception through to use, meaning clients gain a greater level of understanding of how we and the industry work, what they can expect and the potential risks the may face during the process from the get go.
The latest version is also is endorsed by the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists, the Construction Industry Council, the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland, the Royal Society of Architects in Wales and the Royal Society of Ulster Architects.
It was originally launched in 1963 as a fold out sheet that illustrated the roles of participants in design and construction in a simple matrix format. The first detailed plan of work was published in 1964, being revised and adapted, as required, in response to continuous industry changes.
Split into a number of key project stages, the RIBA Plan of Work provides a shared framework for design and construction that offers both a process map and a management tool. Adopting the Plan of Work is by choice and, whilst it’s unclear whether other designers follow the detail of the plan in their day to day activities, Starki uses the work stages methodically as a means of designating stage payments and identifying team members responsibilities. Work stages commonly appear in industry related contracts and appointment documents.
The Plan of Work has evolved through its history to reflect the increasing complexity of projects, to incorporate increasing and changing regulatory requirements and to reflect the demands of industry and government reports reflecting on how the industry can learn in it’s experience. It has moved from a simple matrix representing just the traditional procurement route, to include multiple procurement routes, more diverse roles, multi-disciplinary teams, government gateways and to add stages before and after design and construction.
Along with changes to its structure and subtle stage name changes, the latest version reflects increasing requirements for sustainability and Building Information Modelling (BIM).
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