Fragmentation of the construction industry
When Sir Christopher Wren designed St Paul's Cathedral terms such as architect and main contractor didn't exist. The most accurate term to give Wren's profession would be Master Builder. He was responsible for the design, costs and construction of his projects, overseeing each key stage of the design and build process, and making sure it achieved the operational standards of the day.
Wren's approach has been split into an industry comprising many professions: architects, structural engineers, mechanical and electrical engineers, quantity surveyors, CDM coordinators, the list goes on.
We also have a disconnect between the overall design and construction process driven by procurement methods.
As buildings have become increasingly complex in recent years, it is the fight for integration between these elements, and the push for change, which causes the problems:
An acceptance of inconsistent performance
The construction industry has not traditionally invested in innovation or research. We are still using the construction methods we used many years ago. Ours is the only industry where, over the last 50 years, productivity has declined, but yet costs have risen.
Increasing energy costs
In recent years, energy costs have soared. Legislation is forcing facilities to be increasingly efficient. Our current construction methods will make hitting these targets difficult without fundamental change.
Health and Safety
Construction has the highest number of fatalities of any industry per 100,000 employees.
In 1994, the industry introduced legislation to improve health and safety in construction. There have been improvements since then, but there are still too many fatalities on construction sites. Without fundamental change as to how we approach health and safety, industry improvement will be slow, expensive and cost many more lives.
