ICMS
The International Construction Measurement Standards (ICMS), developed by the International Construction Measurement Standards Coalition, provide a globally consistent framework for classifying, measuring, and reporting construction costs.
ICMS has been created to address inconsistencies in cost reporting across different countries, sectors, and organisations. By standardising how costs are structured and defined, it enables meaningful comparison and benchmarking of projects at both national and international levels.
The standard supports a wide range of construction sectors including buildings, infrastructure, and major capital programmes. It aligns cost reporting with project lifecycle stages and promotes transparency, comparability, and better decision making.
ICMS is increasingly adopted by governments, clients, and consultants seeking to improve cost certainty, drive efficiency, and enable data driven insights across portfolios of projects.
Key Highlights
Global standard for construction cost classification and reporting
Enables consistent benchmarking across regions and project types
Supports buildings, infrastructure, and major capital programmes
Aligns cost reporting with project lifecycle stages
Improves transparency and comparability of project data
Widely adopted by international organisations and public sector bodies
ICMS aligns strongly with Sterling’s vision of connected, data driven cost and carbon estimating, particularly when it comes to benchmarking and portfolio level insight.
Sterling enables organisations to structure their cost data in line with ICMS, unlocking the ability to benchmark across projects, regions, and sectors. Key areas of alignment include:
Standardised cost structures, supporting ICMS aligned classification and reporting
Project and portfolio benchmarking, comparing cost and carbon performance across historical and live projects
Data driven insights, enabling better decision making based on real project data
Resource level benchmarking (future capability), allowing detailed comparison of labour, plant, and material performance
Integration of cost and carbon, extending benchmarking into sustainability metrics
Lifecycle alignment, enabling benchmarking across capital, operational, and end of life phases
By combining ICMS standards with Sterling’s SaaS platform, organisations can move beyond isolated project estimates to a fully connected benchmarking ecosystem, driving continuous improvement and better commercial outcomes.
Access ICMS via the International Construction Measurement Standards Coalition: https://icms-coalition.org/
