BS 8534:2011 Construction procurement policies, strategies and procedures. Code of practice
BS 8534:2011 gives recommendations and guidance on the development within a public or private sector organization of policies, strategies and procedures for the procurement of construction in the built environment.
Contents for BS 8534:2011 includes:
- Scope
- Normative references
- Terms and definitions
- Policy
- Initiation
- Procurement strategy
- Procurement tactics
- Managing performance and delivery
Information about this document
In May 2006 a strategic workshop was held to establish what drives value in the construction industry. It and a subsequent series of specialist workshops were sponsored by the then Department of Trade and Industry and its successor, the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, under the heading “Rethinking Standards in Construction” and organized by BSI and Constructing Excellence in the Built Environment. The main conclusion was that there was definite potential for a new standard on procurement, provided it used the Office of Government Commerce process (see Annex A) as a baseline.
Introduction to BS 8534:2011
In procurement systems such as those used by the World Bank, the United
Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and the European Union, each category of procurement is dealt with separately with the provision of its own implementation guidelines or regulations. ISO took the view that this compartmentalized approach caused confusion and made procurement unnecessarily complex. Therefore, ISO 10845 (all parts) introduced an alternative approach of first developing a generic procurement system and then identifying the methods and procedures best suited to particular categories.
The objective of the ISO 10845 series is to provide a generic and standard set of processes, procedures and methods for a procurement system that is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost effective. The standards apply to public or private sector client organizations in the development of their procurement systems and their principles are intended to apply down the supply chain. The main objective is the creation of a framework for the development of procurement systems that facilitate fair competition, reduce the possibilities of abuse, improve predictability of outcome and allow the demonstration of best value. In particular, ISO 10845:
- Establishes basic requirements for the conduct of an organization’s procurement, including integrity and the avoidance of conflicts of interest
- Creates a framework for the development of an organization’s procurement policy
- Describes generic methods and procedures for procurement, including a detailed consideration of the alternatives available, including negotiation, competitive selection, competitive negotiation and electronic auction.
The ISO 10845 series covers operational process, whereas this standard deals with policy in establishing a procurement strategy and setting up a system.
