CII: The First Ten Years

I am privileged to serve as Chairman of the Board of Advisors of the Construction Industry Institute for 1993, the tenth year of CII’s operations. As a member of the Board of Advisors, as well as a former task force chairman, I am aware of how well CII has performed its mission and achieved its goals during these first ten years. As a partnership of owners, designers, builders, and academia, CII has addressed many serious problems in the construction industry. Through its research, implementation, and education programs, CII has improved our industry’s quality and cost effectiveness. The primary reason for this success has been the participation of over 2,500 volunteers with the full support of their member organizations.

The following chapters provide a description of the conditions in the industry and in the academic community that preceded the formation of CII. Also described in some detail are the efforts of The Business Roundtable’s Construction Industry Cost Effectiveness (CICE) Project, completed in 1983, which provided much of the stimulus for the creation of CII.

The story of the founding of CII, which took place in less than nine months, will be of particular interest to construction industry professionals. It demonstrates what dedicated people can do when they join together to address industry-wide problems.

Notwithstanding CII’s successes in its first ten years, much remains to be done. There continues to be a need for further research. The implementation and education programs of CII are in their early stages and hold high promise as the next plateau for further improvement in our industry. Measurement will also be key to our future efforts. As the national forum for the construction industry, CII is providing meaningful leadership for managing the changing world of engineering and construction.

I congratulate and thank all who have made CII successful so far, and I look forward to working with those who will make it successful in the future.