Issue One
Has the time come for the UK Construction Industry to embark on a road for change?
Imagine a scenario where Ford becomes the biggest house builder in the UK. Let’s face it – they’ve got the knowledge, the capital and the capabilities. Think it can’t happen? Think again. Toyota is currently the single biggest house builder in Japan, and unless the UK construction industry makes significant changes there’s every chance that phenomena such as this may soon be the norm.
The UK construction industry has become complacent – and who can blame them. With recent years seeing a buoyant market and little competition filtering through from Europe the industry has long been operating in an uncompetitive, inefficient environment where there is little pressure to innovate or to satisfy consumer needs. The fat cats have grown fatter – but they’ve also remained pre-historic, and this can only be to their detriment.
Rather than using the buoyant market as an opportunity to invest in research, and new, innovative ways of working, the UK construction industry has ploughed on regardless, bogged down in quick fixes, and high profit solutions with little regard for the future. This has resulted in high levels of waste, an intrinsic lack of trust and a reluctance to change. Unfortunately for the 80% of the industry that this describes, the rest of the world has moved on – and they are now posing a significant threat to UK construction firms.
With free trade zones and the removal of access barriers our industry will be facing challenges as well as opportunities. Competition from Europe and across the globe will increase, offering consumers better quality solutions, at lower prices. It’s a tough act to match.
But with the substantial volume of work to be won – particularly in the public sector – UK construction firms cannot afford to lag behind. Local authority expenditure on construction currently stands at £8.8 billion per annum, and with the Decent Homes Standard stating that 400,000 social housing units must be brought up to scratch by 2005 the challenges ahead are significant. The NHS Modernisation Plan sets down similar targets, calling for 100 new hospitals by 2010; 20 diagnostic and treatment centres for routine surgery; 500 one-stop primary care centres and the refurbishment of 3,000 GP surgeries – at least in part to be financed by public capital.
The potential for UK construction industries to thrive is huge, but with increasing competition from Europe they’ll need to significantly improve their productivity.
To truly improve their productivity the industry will need to embrace something that they have been dragging their heels about for years – innovation. Off Site Manufacture is just one method of innovative working – there is a lot of potential in the advancement of other manufacturing technologies, such as computer aided design, barcoding, robotics, and material handling systems. The potential of nanotechnology also remains very much untapped.
At Constructing Excellence we have forged links with Reading University, Salford University, and the University of the West of England, in order to allow us to push more innovation into the industry.
It’s time we changed the way we think. Projects are like businesses and need to be approached in the same strategic and organised fashion. But let’s not forget – successful business is not centred around lowest price – it’s centred around best value and quality. Mix this with a bit of design flair and the industry will be well on the way to achieving its objectives.
There’s so much to learn from other sectors and countries and the benefits – as Toyota has shown – are significant. We’re not operating in an insular environment anymore, and unless UK firms are prepared to down tools and really look at what other sectors and countries have to offer them, in terms of innovation, then they will have a long, hard fight on their hands to win work.
So next time you stroll past a large construction project, take time to think about who’s building it. The reality is that in a few years time UK construction firms will be competing against firms from other sectors and countries for work. It is only those who have truly embraced change, innovation, and best value and have mixed it with a bit of flair that will succeed.
The gauntlet has been laid – are you up to the challenge? Take one hard look at your car, and think of the possibilities…
What's your Perspective?
Dennis Lenard, Chief Executive of Constructing Excellence, takes a look at the challenges that lie ahead if the UK industry is to bring its construction methods into the 21st Century and succeed in becoming more competitive.