As a member of the professional team responsible for the construction as well as the up-keep of structures, you will readily appreciate the importance of selecting a qualified team.
In this area of technology and continuous education qualifications are often interpreted merely as those certificates awarded at the conclusion of a period of study, completely overlooking the wealth of experience accumulated by many mature men in important supervisory roles.
As a Clerk of Works you will be conscious of the important role you fulfil in establishing minimum standards of workmanship for the contract upon` which you are engaged.
You may also wonder why your contribution throughout the whole of the contract does not receive the degree of recognition your dedication and experience would normally be expected to warrant.
While you may be accepted as a responsible member in your professional team the isolation of your role on site cannot entirely bedisregarded.
When your colleagues leave the site to return to the office they can discuss their contract problems with their professional colleagues. You will remain alone to withstand the daily challenge of site problems, relying entirely upon your own initiative and experience to carry you through.
There is an answer to this problem of isolation-to the need for recognition for your experience-and in providing support for your problems on the site. To overcome these very same problems a group of practising Clerks of Works in 1882 formed an association which is the INSTITUTE OF CLERKS OF WORKS of Great Britain Incorporated.
There are two grades of Corporate membership available to qualified persons and these are: -
Fellow Member
besides non-corporate grades.
Non-corporate grades are:-
Licentiate Probationer Student
Further grades of Honorary Member and Honorary Associate are open to suitably qualified persons who are no longer engaged as Clerks of Works.
Honorary Fellows are persons whom the Institute wish to honour irrespective of their profession or connection with the Construction Industry.
If you do not hold any form of membership of the Institute then you are recommended to write to the General Secretary of the Institute without delay requesting a copy of the General Information Booklet price £6, (post free British Isles).
Apart from the opportunity to participate in the social activities of the Institute in your region, you can also take part in regular meetings, discussion groups, film shows, lectures and factory visits. Throughout the year trade and technical literature is freely distributed by the Social Secretary in the region, providing valuable information to augment the lectures given.
The Institute Journal is circulated each month and contains news of other regions, together with reports of the Institute Council proceed- ings. Technical reports are included besides a Forum page where members are given opportunity to express their views in a frank and positive manner. The Journal also contains information regarding employment prospects.
Publications are issued from time to time affecting the Clerk of Works and one of particular interest may be the Conditions of Service which detail the conditions of employment of Clerks of Works in many different sectors of the Construction Industry.
Although the Institute is concerned with the interests of Clerks of Works, it is in relation to their status and not as a trade union with which that concern is expressed.
The ICW is an established Institute with over a century of experience to call upon, and for almost the whole of this period the members have concentrated quietly upon the task of maintaining the standards of construction throughout the industry.
Recent problems however, particularly lowering of standards-failure to maintain craft training - misuse of materials and certain modern forms of construction have compelled the Institute of Clerks of Works to reconsider their obligation to the industry making it necessary to express certain views based upon a century of experience. For this reason alone it is essential that the Institute membership should be as fully representative of the profession as possible when expressing its views to the departments concerned.
Traditional supervision on the site was created by training an individual in a basic craft and graduating him/her towards involvementin all basic skills within the industry. When sufficient experience has been acquired in this role it was cnsidered possible for him/her to be entrusted with the role of a Clerk of Works.
Modern building has been struck with an extreme sense of urgency, coupled with a programme of construction hardly equalled in the history of this country. More than ever before it becomes essential for supervision and quality control on site to achieve a degree of ability and responsibility which befits the requirements, only by adequate training of Clerks of works is this likely to be achieved.
Ever conscious of their own responsibilities in these matters theInstitute of Clerks of Works have worked unceasingly to encourage colleges and training establishments to provide thecorrect form of training for potential Clerks of Works.
At the same time an examination procedure established in 1934 has continued to ensure the quality of that training.
Seminars on various construction procedures and topics are held from time to time , with and visits to manufacturing industries, besides circulation of technical information all orientated towards keeping the Clerk of Works fully up-to-date with construction techniques.
It can readily be perceived that a Clerk of Works who is a member of the Institute of Clerks of Works has reached a satisfactory standard of competance in his/her role, and is afforded every opportunity to improve that standard . In continuing to maintain and even improve the standard of competance of the Clerk of Works your cooperation in encouraging Clerks of Works to avail themselves of the opportunity offered by the ICW, will be greatly appreciated.