Dear  Author

Thank you for offering to contribute to the Body of Construction Quality Know-how. We hope that you will find sharing your knowledge and experience  with the construction industry to be rewarding.

We ask you to note the following points:

First, do not be apprehensive about ‘putting pen to paper’. It is very likely you know much more than you may give yourself credit for.

Second, do not focus on producing an article which is 100% perfect. If necessary, it can always be reviewed, changed and even updated at a later date to improve it. (Please do, though, check for typos and correct grammar.)

Third, do not be unduly concerned about the format. Please use a simple font with bold and/or underline text for titles and headings. The formatting will be edited and branding added by the ConSIG CWG prior to publication. Please do therefore provide articles in a native format which may be opened in Microsoft Word.

Fourth, provide an executive summary as an introduction to the article.

Finally, while we may provide some general ideas on the content, we recognise your competence and do not wish to be too prescriptive, but we ask that you keep the information relevant to the topic, consider an additional article, if appropriate, and/or provide details of other related information, include a reference to overlapping or related articles in the Construction Quality Know How series, as appropriate.

Intended audience

Readers are assumed to have a basic understanding of the construction industry but not necessarily be quality professionals. The information could be read by people at any level from supervisor to director or client.

What we are aiming to achieve

The aim is to provide people in the construction industry with concise, useful information in a straightforward manner to help them carry out their roles on a day to day basis.

The information that you produce will therefore do one or more of the following:

• Raise awareness (ie what is it? why do we need it?)
• Describe how it is to be achieved
• Provide the tools

We recommend that you put yourself in the position of the reader and ask the following questions:

• What is my problem?
• What do I need to know?
• What do I need to do?
• How should I do it?

The information may therefore consist of a set of documents which could include:  

• Factual article, to provide awareness
• Step by step guide which the reader can use to complete a task
• Technical guide, to provide a summary of the technical aspects that the reader should consider
• Document template, that can be downloaded and used by the reader

As an example, the information provided for inspection and test plans has three parts:

• A description of what an ITP is and why it’s important
• A ‘Step by Step Guide’ that explains how to produce an ITP
• An ITP Template that can be downloaded for use

Publishing

The information that you provide will be made freely available by publishing on the ConSIG website https://consig.org and on the Designing Buildings Wiki website https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Home. You are also invited to provide a short bio (120 word target; 150 word limit) with a passport style photograph which would also be published with a link from your article/s.

Style

Please follow the guidance on writing technique from the Designing Buildings Wiki website: https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Editorial_policy and https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Writing_technique_in_the_construction_industry

The attached CQK Style guide is a lightly edited version of these two documents: this message is written in this style.

For more extensive and detailed guidance on English usage The Economist Style Guide (available from the Economist UK shop: https://ukshop.economist.com/collections/new-arrivals/products/9781782830917) is recommended.

Process

We operate a simple six step process to ensure that the articles that are written have been peer reviewed and, thus, may be published under the banner of the ConSIG CWG.

Step 1:  author writes the article

Step 2:  article is reviewed by a designated reviewer

Step 3:  when both the author and the reviewer are satisfied with the content, the author sends the article by email to consigcwg@gmail.com

Step 4:  the article is presented at a ConSIG CWG meeting for final comments and acceptance.

Step 5:  formatting (if necessary)

Step 6:  Final OK by the Steering Committee prior to publishing

Revision control

The revision control process used by the author and reviewer is at their discretion but please label the final version ‘Rev 1.0’ and include the date of issue within the footer.

Figures, diagrams and pictures

The use of figures, diagrams and pictures is encouraged if they help to understand the content.  

Finally, it is helpful to consider where you article fits in the ConSIG CWG construction delivery model, which considers the life cycle of a constructed asset from conception through to facilities management.