Construction - HMG Construction Playbook and Client Guide to Construction Projects: comparison

4. Key Differences Between the Guides

4.1 Both guides have an intention of improving standards in the construction industry, through promoting good practise, either as a recommendation or a requirement.

4.2 The Playbook appears to be a high quality publication. Being a single document, albeit with links to further resources, makes it fairly straightforward to navigate. The web-based/pdf Client Guide is larger and less accessible, however has been split into three parts which should assist in directing users to the most relevant information for their current project stage.

4.3 The intention of the Playbook is to be updated annually, whereas the Client Guide is intended to be a dynamic document, updated as further advice is developed. This has the benefit of enabling updates to be introduced to the Client Guide as soon as they are ready, but has the potential to create confusion over the most recent advice. This could be improved through clearer version control in the downloadable pdf copies.

4.4 A comparison exercise of the policies and requirements contained has been carried out to understand the scope of the topics addressed by the two documents. Annex 3 identifies differences in areas of policy or advice in the two guides. Some topics are not covered in the Client Guide because they are addressed through other means, such as Construction Policy Notes. However, some areas addressed through the Playbook may be areas for potential further development within the Client Guide, recognising that the Client Guide currently exists as a guidance tool for the public sector, rather than a prescriptive requirement. It should be noted that some areas of advice provided, such as abnormal tenders, differ between the two documents due to differences between the policy positions of UKG and SG.