The International Construction Measurement Standards - RICS

?Overview

The International Construction Measurement Standards (ICMS) aims to provide a unified way of presenting life cycle costs and carbon emissions for construction projects. This standard fosters consistency and transparency, making it easier to compare, make decisions, and invest in construction projects worldwide. The third edition especially highlights the integration of carbon emissions with life cycle costs, enhancing the assessment of a project's sustainability.

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Key Aims of ICMS

1. Global Consistency: Ensures uniformity in classifying, defining, measuring, recording, analyzing, and presenting life cycle costs and carbon emissions.

2. Benchmarking: Facilitates the comparative benchmarking of construction projects' costs and carbon emissions.

3. Option Appraisal: Helps identify the reasons for cost and emission differences to aid decision-making.

4. Informed Decisions: Supports better design and location choices for projects by offering a clear value-for-money perspective.

5. Confidence in Data: Enhances the reliability of data for financing and investment decisions in construction projects.

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Application of ICMS

ICMS is versatile and can be applied at project, regional, state, national, or international levels. It's useful throughout different construction stages—from acquisition and construction to renewal, operation, maintenance, and end-of-life phases.

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?Hierarchical Framework

ICMS uses a four-level hierarchical framework to classify and report costs and carbon emissions:

1. Level 1: Projects or Sub-Projects

2. Level 2: Categories

3. Level 3: Groups

4. Level 4: Sub-Groups

?This breakdown ensures detailed and structured reporting, making comparison and analysis easier.

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Reporting Carbon Emissions and Life Cycle Costs

ICMS standardizes the way we report carbon emissions alongside life cycle costs. This includes:

1. Whole Life Carbon Emissions**: Emissions over the entire life span of a project.

2. Life Cycle Carbon Emissions**: Emissions related to specific stages within the project's life cycle.

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Appendix H: Contains templates for reporting carbon emissions, mapping the stages (A0-C4 plus D) to ICMS categories. This ensures that carbon assessments are transparent and comparable.

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Integration with Other Standards and Tools

ICMS aligns with other international standards, such as:

- EN 15978:2011: Provides a framework for assessing environmental performance.

- PAS 2080:2016: Focuses on carbon management in infrastructure.

The standard also integrates with Building Information Modelling (BIM), enhancing its use in digital performance management.

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Practical Implementation

For practical implementation, ICMS provides templates and guidelines for presenting acquisition, construction, renewal, operation, maintenance, and end-of-life costs and emissions. The emphasis is on using the most appropriate and current data sources for accuracy.

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Key Concepts

- Transparency: Clear reporting of what is included or excluded in cost and emission calculations.

- Comparability: Ensuring like-for-like comparison of projects across different regions and standards.

- Sustainability: Encouraging sustainable practices by integrating carbon emission assessments with cost management.

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Conclusion

The ICMS 3rd edition is a comprehensive guide for standardizing the reporting of life cycle costs and carbon emissions in construction projects. It provides a clear framework and templates to ensure consistency, transparency, and comparability, supporting better decision-making and sustainable practices in the construction industry. The integration of carbon emissions assessment alongside financial costs highlights the growing importance of sustainability in construction project management.