Petrified of Building? : 1

Petrified of Building?

Many clients operating in today's building industry express a fear of building. Would you rather move your operations into a field than tackle a new building project?

Recent research undertaken by the University of Reading reveals than 50% of all construction projects procured are undertaken on a first or one off basis, and, given the nature of the construction industry, many people fear the process. Building is a risky business. Anyone who has attempted to have any construction work done, whether alterations to a house or construction of a multi-million pound office block, will readily testify to the trials and tribulations of ensuring that the end result matches their expectations.

One research respondent's comments sum up the feelings of a vast number of clients: "I would rather operate my production facility from a field than build a new home for it."

So why the apprehension? Firstly let us take a look at the nature of the industry. It is something of a misnomer to refer to the Construction Industry. This implies some form of homogenous industry from which clients who want to build can make purchases. In reality clients find that they are investing not in one industry but several; architecture, structural engineering, mechanical and electrical engineering, the contracting industry, the specialist sub contractor industry. Each has conflicting aims and objectives and each has traditionally operated under their own codes of practice, contracts of employment and training schemes.

Often the project team is brought together for the first time to build a one-off project for a client. Most construction projects are bespoke products built in difficult environmental conditions - clearly distinguishing building construction from the more controllable techniques of mass or batch production. Conflicts are a natural result and inevitably such an environment has given rise to a "claims industry" populated by claims consultants and lawyers, whose sole aim is to maximise revenue of one or other of the project participants at the expense of the client's bank account.

Add to this adversarial industry the many different types of procurement routes open to the client - which procurement route is right for you/your building and what are the risks/flexibility/costs and time scale involved.

Inside this issue we present contributions to the Petrified of Building debate - how is the fear of building going to be addressed?

To be fair to the Construction Industry, the problems are beginning to be recognised. The government has taken note and in conjunction with industry and client bodies has commissioned a report by Sir Michael Latham called Constructing the Team. The report examines the problems with the procurement and contractual arrangements and recommends a course of action.

Prior to this report, the industry had attempted to repair its poor customer appeal by inventing new methods of procuring construction. The principal criticism was that the new methods devised by the industry failed because they were production oriented and not customer oriented. Tinkering with the tools of construction management was not going to reassure customers who were not experts in the peculiar methods of the industry. The Latham report, however, recognises the client as "...the driving force" of the industry and that clients are at the core of the process and their needs must be met.

The underlying theme of Latham is the importance of management techniques to the construction process. In particular, the importance of management of the overall process by an experienced client's representative. Project management requires more skills than simply an understanding of the technical issues associated with the design and construction of buildings. This is important, but perhaps more important is the all encompassing role and the general management skills necessary to define the client's objectives. This will ensure successful achievement of his aims for his project through the management of the contributions from the consultants, lawyers, estate agents and contractors. In conclusion, it remains to be seen whether or not the industry under pressure from the government and influential client bodies can become a more favourable environment for customers to invest in. Clearly it is in the industry's best interest that customer needs are placed to the fore.

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