BS7000-4 Design Management "Systems" (2024 Planned Update) is out for Public Comment

Introduction

After a decade, the design management systems guide 'BS7000-4' has undergone a comprehensive revision and is now open for public comment . In contrast to its predecessor, the updated version places significant emphasis on key activities essential at crucial milestones during the design process.

BS7000 is part of a series of guides developed for different industries including manufacturing, however, Part 4 focuses on the design management systems used in the construction industry specifically.

This guide targets mainly the key decision-makers responsible for getting the high-level systems in place that are critical to effective design management within their organisations and on projects. It caters to a wide audience, including project clients initiating the design process, individuals and organizations contributing throughout, and those ensuring the final design products meet specifications.

The main goal of the update was to tackle the lack of standardization in how organizations handle the design process. Some organizations have well-established systems for managing the process, while others lack any structured approach and rely on their employees to implement inconsistent methods based on personal preferences. Therefore, the guide suggests that clients should expect more from their suppliers by inquiring about their standardized processes (ISO9001) and encouraging suppliers to evaluate their own business strategies to ensure robust processes that employees can follow.

Essentially, the revised 'BS7000-4' serves as a valuable resource, providing guidance and clarity for effective design management practices. It is intended for project clients, contractors, consultants, and other professionals involved in the design process.

The aim of the updated guide

Design management is not as widely understood as project or commercial management. Different organizational roles often result in varied perceptions of what design management entails, leading to discrepancies. A succinct definition provided by one expert states that 'Design management is a natural consequence whenever 'design' as a process occurs, requiring parallel management of that process.' Regardless of your job title or role, your involvement in the design process inevitably demands effective management. This guide facilitates understanding by posing essential questions and highlighting processes that require vigilant oversight.

design management is a natural consequence whenever 'design' as a process takes place, the management of that process must run in parallel

In the updated BS7000-4, we aimed to address several critical issues, including:

1. Unnecessary Reactive Approaches: Often, organizations lack a defined business management system (ISO9001), leading to varied approaches by employees. This lack of standardization can significantly impact outcomes.
2. Lack of Ownership: Surprisingly, even when processes are nearly identical between projects and conducted by the same organization, they can vary significantly or even be missed based on the individuals involved. Various factors, such as time constraints and competence contribute to these differences. Additionally, there can be ambiguity regarding which individuals should be responsible for these crucial tasks, creating unclear roles within both organizations and the broader project team. While the guide cannot address every possible scenario, it centres on essential, commonly occurring activities crucial for project success.
3. Insufficient Planning: Poorly planned outcomes or processes result in confusion, even in the most simple of tasks like understanding contractual communications or more complex ones like the assigning of design responsibilities. Clear planning and documented processes are essential and good design management plans within each organisation that has a portion of the design process to fulfil or manage would do good to have a consistent set of agreements in their team, especially if their team expands to a wider supply chain they appoint.
4. Resource Challenges: In the initial phases of a project, limited resources often result from procurement constraints. It is imperative to engage individuals and organizations promptly to address these challenges and facilitate a smoother progression. The guide outlines numerous considerations and prompts for early discussions among project team members, aiming to identify potential deficiencies or risks if these questions remain unanswered. Beginning with the project client, it is essential to pose design management questions early to ensure that collaborators and coordinators possess the capability and competence to address the guide's inquiries effectively.
5. Information Management: In the 2013 version of BS7000-4, the guide was heavily dominated by “BIM Level 2”, often repeating what was already in PAS1192-2:2013 but not providing any real context of the effect on the design management process. It was clear that we had to remove this, not only because it had become outdated but also because it didn’t provide clarity on what should be considered specifically in relation to the function of managing the design process. The latest update refrains from explaining the UKBIMFramework approach driven by ISO19650 whereby information management is ultimately driven by the project client. Instead, it focuses on what can happen if the project client were not to adopt the UKBIM framework / ISO19650`s which is still very common as its not a mandate in private sectors. Since the withdrawal of BS1192:2007, the UK now has no standard that defines how it should manage the information management processes if the client were not to drive or engage on the matter. This can have devastating effects on the design process and the management of it. So the latest update tries to fill some of this gap by providing some guidance if the preferential ISO19650 approach isn’t applied by project clients.

The updated BS7000-4 offers solutions for these issues by walking through a typical project process and the key questions and decision points that should be asked and addressed.

Challenges faced when updating BS7000-4

During the update of BS7000-4, the working group recognized early on that certain challenges were too extensive to be addressed within a single guide. As a result, the decision was made to concentrate on the crucial points mentioned above, aiming to provide clarity and avoid contributing to the industry's increasing ambiguity.

1. Rising Regulatory Demands and Associated ChallengesThe industry is currently undergoing significant changes, marked by a surge in regulations and evolving standards that many organizations find challenging to navigate. Recognizing the complexity, the decision was made not to delve deeply into sector-specific regulations as this guide is aimed at all sectors. For example, the Building Safety Act has not had a direct response, primarily due to widespread confusion that seems to exist, especially concerning new roles and overlapping responsibilities with existing roles under CDM that may resolve itself in time as the industry upskill and educates itself. Consequently, the focus remained on key activities influencing design management.
2. Diversifying Job Titles and Expanding ResponsibilitiesA significant challenge arose from the multitude of job titles associated with roles in the design process. This issue, widely acknowledged in our industry and academia, has been extensively documented in various papers and books. This diversity often distracts us from focusing on the essential activities and responsibilities. Complicating matters further, organizations lack consensus on the specific roles these titles entail. For instance, individuals holding the title 'design manager' may have vastly different responsibilities in similar organizations. John Eynon, a respected authority in design management, detailed this disparity in his 'Design Managers Handbook. ' Given these complexities, our approach deliberately avoids fixating on job titles. Instead, we concentrate solely on defining activities and responsibilities, empowering readers to discern appropriate assignments based on their unique contexts or wider project roles.
3. General terminology for describing members of a project teamIt is remarkable how numerous standards, industry guides, and sector-specific terms exist to describe members of a project team. Surprisingly, there is no single British standard-recognized terminology that subsequent standards can universally adopt. This posed a challenge when crafting this guide, as we aimed to provide guidance for key project team members without standardized terms.For instance, pinpointing the right term for individuals leading the design and construction process, reporting directly to the project client, proved difficult. Depending on the project stage, this role could be a design or cost consultant in early phases or a main contractor in later stages. The term 'Main Contractor' alone boasts a dozen recognized titles in various standards, guidelines, and general usage, such as 'principal contractor,' 'prime contractor,' 'contractor,' 'Lead Contractor,' 'head contractor,' 'Build contractor,' 'General Contractor,' and 'Lead Appointed Party.'To resolve this, we engaged the industry through working groups to propose suitable terms for different target groups within the guidance. We presented a paragraph already laden with complex terms and sought suggestions. After extensive testing, the terms used in ISO19650 (Which suffered the same challenges for setting high-level descriptors covering a range of roles) and a set of alternatives, chosen for their clarity, were adopted. The final terms, as agreed upon, are detailed in the provided link. We remain open to suggestions, as it's not too late to refine the terminology further if they can easily be swapped out. I will personally issue out a gold medal for anyone who can solve this terminology issue that plagues our industry standards and guides!

What this guide is not...

It's crucial to clarify that this guide does not serve as a comprehensive 'Design Managers' handbook, nor is it a BSI specification or a code of practice . Instead, it provides an overview of the high-level systems necessary for effective design management in projects and organizations. To illustrate the scope of this guide, consider my colourful analogy that this is a high-level gardening guide designed to assist beginners in getting started with gardening (I am a keen gardener). It focuses on essential systems such as drainage and watering systems, along with initial considerations like the importance of considering the arrangement & and segregation of flowers, shrubs, and their lighting positions before deciding on specific plants to purchase. However, it does not delve into detailed tasks like pruning (covered in a separate book) or cultivating vegetables (covered in another separate book). Instead, it emphasizes the importance of researching and learning about pruning and cultivating through these other available resources. If you find these tasks challenging or realize that you won't be able to handle them, the guide recommends acknowledging this, seeking assistance from qualified individuals, and ensuring clear communication about your expectations. This way, you can create a garden that you can truly be proud of.