Construction projects are not sustainable
Construction projects cannot be considered sustainable because they waste too much time and money, according to the Specialist Engineering Contractors’ group.
Chief Executive Rudi Klein told the recent Building Services Summit at Wembley stadium that the industry still has no culture of teamwork and this makes it wasteful and unproductive.
“You can’t talk about sustainability while the industry is wasting billions on re-design and re-work because of lack of teamwork,” said Professor Klein. “We still waste £1 for every £1 we spend in construction because of the inefficient way we deliver and procure – it is fragmented and there is far more capacity in the industry, which is not being used.”
He reminded the conference that the Strategic Forum set up by Sir John Egan set a target in its 2002 Accelerating Change report for 50% of projects by value to be delivered by integrated teams by the end of 2007. “We are miles away from that,” said Professor Klein.
“Not only do we need to encourage integrated teams, we must also ensure that the building services specialist sits at the heart of the team as they are responsible for 40 to 50% of total project value these days.”
He added that the Government was not even meeting its own targets despite committing to a teamwork agenda in March 1999 with its ‘Achieving Excellence in Construction’ initiative.
He did report that some progress was being made with project bank accounts being trialled in two pilot projects and that project insurance schemes, which underwrite the team rather than the individual, are also in the pipeline.
"Our sector needs to show more leadership,” added Professor Klein. “The Olympic Delivery Authority keeps asking: ‘Where are the teams we need to deliver the 2012 Olympics?’. That is a challenge we have to deliver on time."