Common misconceptions
Site inspectors give high marks to their 'mates', site managers whom they have come to know well in the course of their work.
This is quite clearly not true, just by looking at the way the judging is organised. The competition has several defined stages and there is no opportunity for preferential treatment because different judges are involved at each stage.
NHBC gives advance warning of its visits for judging purposes.
Untrue. There is no point in alerting site managers because we want to see the job as it is being done normally.
Some bigger winners invest heavily in show piece sites at certain times of the year when they guess judging will take place.
As sites are judged all year round, it would be obvious if a site suddenly improved. PIJ is about consistently high site management at every stage, not just one.
Some companies win a lot of awards all around the country indicating there is collusion between regions.
No region ever knows who the other regions have chosen.
PIJ Awards are given on the basis of market penetration in direct proportion to the number of houses built.
This is not true, but might appear to be so because there is an obvious correlation: the higher the number of active sites, the more chances of a company having a winning site manager. This is why the competition is split into three categories so site managers compete against their peers in terms of company annual output.
Designs with 'kerb appeal' win.
The marking sheet clearly shows that PIJ judges are not interested in the aesthetics, only in evidence of good management and quality workmanship.
The more facilities there are on site the better the chances of winning.
Ironically, the more facilities there are such as canteens and tarmac compounds, the more there is to get wrong. The judges are looking at how well such facilities are utilised, maintained and serviced.
The chance of winning relates to the rate of build. If a site is finished early, the site manager is left out of the judging.
All year round judging is able to cope with this situation, just as it can a late entrant to the competition.
