Homes for the elderly review

Abstract

On 18 June 1993, Norfolk Property Services, UK, was commissioned to project manage and undertake a comparative property based review of 38 Norfolk County Council homes for elderly persons in the UK. The resources budget was set at £100 000, and the work was targeted for completion by the end of November 1993. Subsequent to briefing, the client increased the number of homes to 40, and also extended the scope of the work. The agreed budget was unamended, but the client accepted a completion date of 30 December 1993. The client objectives for the review were to create a property database, to identify the development potential, and to prepare comparative information relating to the improvement of Norfolk County Council homes for elderly persons to meet private sector registration standards and service provider requirements. The conventional practice approach to the architectural management of this type of complex, sensitive and extensive design commission was discounted, because of the time, cost and quality parameters imposed by the client. Instead, Norfolk Property Services opted to apply a systems approach to the management of the process, and it set up a review team outside the existing management structure.