The early involvement of specialist contractors at design stage is the only way the industry will deliver greater efficiency on construction projects.
That was the message from a recent one-day summit held at Wembley to highlight the concerns of the £19.3bn building services industry.
The summit – organised by tool and fastening manufacturer Hilti with the Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA) and the Heating and Ventilating Contractors’ Association (HVCA) – was chaired by Professor Rudi Klein, chief executive of the Specialist Engineering Contractors’ Group.
Over 100 mechanical and electrical (M&E) contractors turned up to listen to the experiences of main contractors including Shepherd Construction and M&E contractor Balfour Kirkpatrick.
Speaking at the event, Prof Klein said the government should be taking the lead to encourage full supply chain integration as the industry’s biggest single client.
He said: “There’s a lack of teamwork, especially at the design stage of the project. Only by insisting on the early involvement of the entire supply chain can you get everyone to take collective ownership of the design, cost and risk. Too often the design is left to the consultants with no input from the M&E contractor. They’re a critical part of the team, especially when you consider almost half of the budget of any building relates to building services installations.
He added: “Every government client should have to demonstrate a clear commitment to engaging the supply chain before works commence otherwise they don’t get the cash for the project. We need a stick to get things moving.”
Delivering a keynote speech at the event, Sir Michael Latham echoed Professor Klein’s comments.
“This industry used to spend up to seven times as much on litigation, lawyers and making claims as it did on research and development and still spends too much. Why? Because there’s an inherent lack of supply chain integration which creates the blame culture. Yes progress is being made but there is far more to be done if we’re going to meet future targets.”
The target set by the industry is to have 50% of all projects delivered by integrated teams by 2007.
