Companies that calculate the whole cost of a building’s life at the outset of a project will save money, as well as producing more sustainable buildings for the future, if they follow new advice from BCIS and the British Standards Institution (BSi). 

The Standardized Method of Life Cycle Costing for Construction Procurement is set to have a major impact on all future construction procurement as clients focus more on setting accurate budgets which optimise their life cycle costs, from both a whole life value and sustainable development perspective. To implement sustainability in their buildings clients need to know the total cost of their investment in the building, rather than just its initial cost.

Standardising this practice will enable life cycle costing to become more widely used across all forms of private and public sector building projects.

The objective of the Standardized Method of Life Cycle Costing is to provide:

• a UK standard cost data structure for life cycle costing which will align with the BCIS Standard Form of Capital Cost Analysis2, ISO 15686-5 and industry recognised occupancy cost codes
• an industry accepted methodology, to facilitate more accurate and consistent application of life cycle costing estimation
• simplification and demystification through practical guidance, instructions and definitions.

Joe Martin, Executive Director of BCIS comments:  

“The publication of the Standardized Method of Life Cycle Costing will positively influence the use of life cycle costing in the construction industry. It provides practitioners with a clear scope and structure for presenting the costs, and clients with a checklist to determine the costs that they wish to see in their life cycle cost reports and a means of benchmarking costs in a consistent manner.

“The need to deliver sustainable buildings means that we need to consider the future ramifications current decisions about buildings will have. To make these decisions in a rational way we need to calculate the life cycle cost. The Standardized Method of Life Cycle Costing provides the structure for the early cost advice on life cycle costing available from BCIS Building Running Cost Online'.

Standardized Method of Life Cycle Costing, A4 paperback, circa 104pp, ISBN: 978 0 580 62662 3

Price: £50, Publication date: July 2008

Orders can be placed online or by calling T +44 (0)870 333 1600 (select option 2 for BCIS sales). Please quote item code 17474 when ordering by phone.

Request a free 7-day trial to BCIS Building Running Costs Online.

Related publication

Standard Form of Cost Analysis: Principles, Instructions and Definitions - NEW EDITION
Published April 2008, Price £55