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Specifying successful standards

This report looks into how standards and specifications can enable the UK to innovate, lower costs and improve whole life value of UK infrastructure assets. It presents a flexible framework for rationalising and harmonising standards.

Specifying successful standards

Content type: Best practice

Last updated: 02 January 2023

Author/s: ICE

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Inefficiency is not caused by standards themselves, but by how these are interpreted by different clients. Standards in the UK for infrastructure are construction complex, confusing and contradictory, and the perception they are too prescriptive prevents innovation.This paper gives report four key recommendations:

  • Define outcomes, not inputs
  • Enable standard assets, not asset standards
  • Empower industry to challenge and innovate
  • Measure benefits to drive continuous improvement

It also outlines 15 specific actions in Section 6 that set out a programme of activity for government, clients, standards bodies and industry.

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