The Co-ordinating Committee for Project Information (CCPI)

This article is all about The Co-ordinating Committee for Project Information (CCPI). This committee has undergone some name changes throughout the years which might confuse you. I know its confused the team at Stravelles!

Introduction

Formally known as The Co-ordinating Committee for Project Information (CCPI), this committee is now know as the Construction Project Information Committee.

It is simply an construction industry group responsible for advising best practice on construction production information (CPI).

In other words, its a group of people who are drawn from all parts of the construction industry who sit down and try their best to make the organisation of information in construction better.

And, sniggering nit picking aside, they are largely succeeding, albeit slowly.

About the Co-ordinating Committee for Project Information (CCPI)

The Co-ordinating Committee for Project Information (CCPI) was set up by representatives of the RIBA, RICS, BEC and ACE which represented both CIBSE and ICE.

All of these organisations came together, sponsored some funds to put together a committee so that they could try and make the preparation of construction specifications and drawings better so in turn construction projects could work better.

In 1987 the CCPI published the following documents:

• Project Specification – A Code of Procedure for Building Works.
• Production Drawings – A Code of Procedure for Building Works.
• A Common Arrangement of Work Sections for Building Works.
• Co-ordinated Project Information – A Guide with examples.

The Building Project Information Committee (BPIC)

The successor to  the CCPI, the Building Project Information Committee (BPIC) was set up on 17 February 1987 by the same above organisations.

ACE resigned in 1992 and engineering interests are now represented by CIBSE and ICE.

In 1993, the BPIC published ‘Production Drawings – A Case Study’ to illustrate how construction production information (CPI) documents have been used on a live project.

The principles outlined in these case studies were referenced during the publication of the following construction Industry documents:-

• The Standard Method of Measurement for Building Works – 7th Edition
• The National Building Specification (NBS)
• The National Engineering Specification (NES)
• The PSA General Specification
• The Library of Standard Descriptions (HMSO)
• BS 8000 – Code for Workmanship on Building Sites (BSI)
• OPUS – Building Services Engineering Products Directory

The Construction Project Information Committee (CPIC).

The committee is now called the Construction Project Information Committee (CPIC).

It still has the same task — to try and improve the quality and efficiency of construction information so that construction projects perform better.

This committee eventually developed the Unified Classification for the Construction Industry which was subsequently developed into UNICLASS.

Uniclass was first published in 1997 and is constantly being updated and improved.