Byng: RICS must guide 2012

Michael Byng has had a typically dramatic first six months as the QS voice within the RICS, an often thankless task given the common complaints about the performance of the institution amongst construction members. Within three months of being voted in as chairman of the quantity surveying and construction faculty - whose membership accounts for around 40% of those in the RICS - Byng faced a crisis. He was found guilty of charges of professional misconduct by the RICS itself and fined £3,600. He vowed to continue in his position and received wholehearted backing from fellow faculty members.

Byng denied the charges - which related to a conflict of interest and to certificates for insurance - and is still considering whether to bring a legal challenge, but, for the time being he has decided to keep something of a dignified silence. On whether he will challenge the decision, he acknowledges: "I would prefer it to be dealt with internally - my efforts are better served talking about issues relevant to RICS members for the moment."

What is more on Byng's mind is the structure and performance of the RICS for the QS community, a point he raised when speaking to QS News back in October. He highlights successes since he came to power, such as the work the faculty has done on e-tendering and the aim to create an international standard of measurement. "We have a robust programme of work," says Byng, adding that he has a "much stronger board interested in delivery improvement for members".

Stadium woes

Why can Multiplex build other stadiums without a problem but not one here?

Michael Byng

Despite this, Byng is frustrated. Not least by the example of Wembley stadium, which is now rivalling the Scottish parliament as this decade's most disastrous project. He believes the project raises "fundamental issues" for the industry. "There are some real lessons to be learned here," Byng adds, pointing to problems of procurement as well as the issues on site that Mutliplex has experienced. "I think it was procured on a something for nothing basis." Byng is not sure Multiplex is the sole bad guy here. "They are not fools. Why can they build other stadiums without a problem but not one here? There is something wrong there."

The link between the current travails in north London and the upcoming workload ahead of 2012 is clear. Byng calls for the RICS to be critical advisors on how to ensure successful delivery of the Olympics-related work. "We do not need to be cheerleaders, we need to be solution providers. The government has done a great thing in getting the Games but we now need to answer the questions - how do we actually deliver this with a cost efficient solution? Do we understand how much it's going to cost?" Byng echoes the concern raised by a Davis Langdon report issued this week that too many projects under construction at the same time could drain resources and lead to a stalling of the overall programme.

Byng's wider beef is with the lack of basic skills in the industry. Measurement is the starting point for an efficient and ethical industry, he argues. "At the moment, with the prevalence of design and build contracts, these skills are out of our control," he says. And the current instances of waste and of corruption should be a priority for the profession. "If you can capture cost you are in a far better position to spot inefficiency and poor value for money, as well as corruption," he adds.

We don’t use the skills of the specialists, we still
look down on them

Michael Byng

The chairman believes there are still cultural problems with the industry, which is holding it back. "We have to integrate the industry more. I was speaking to a major QS last week who said the industry was still a reflection of the class system. We don't use the skills of the specialists, we still look down on them to a degree. We need to get them involved in design conception."

As far as training is concerned Byng aims to make the APC process more relevant to the profession and as a result "get younger skilled QSs into senior roles earlier". He is also determined to improve CPD, which is carried out by the regional branches of the RICS but needs to be controlled by the faculty. "Our faculty is the custodian of this in terms of standards," he says. "Some of it is well meaning but can be superficial. It's being done independently of the RICS. Small QS practices may never leave their region, which makes the quality of CPD crucial. We need to take more active control of it."