Over 30 professional bodies from around the world, including the Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors and the Royal Institute for Chartered Surveyors, met last week at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington D.C. to launch a major initiative which seeks to create international standards in construction measurement.

The International Construction Measurement Standards (ICMS) Coalition was established by non-profit organisations representing professionals in more than 140 countries. Collectively, the group aims to create overarching international standards that will harmonise cost, classification and measurement definitions in order to enhance comparability, consistency, statistics, and benchmarking of capital projects.

In an industry estimated to be worth a staggering $15 trillion by 2025 according to Global Construction Perspectives, inconsistency in something as fundamental as construction measurement and reporting can create huge uncertainty, misunderstanding, and risk.

The ICMS Coalition will continue to grow as further professional organisations come forward to join the effort to align high-level principles. By mid July 2015, the coalition will be formally launched. Industry corporations, contractors, and
key government stakeholders will also be encouraged to contribute to and lead adoption of the new international framework in their capital markets.

More information is available here.