Credit: istock coldsnowstorm
Construction will have to reinvent itself over the next two years to deliver better value and collaboration, according to a strategy devised by the Construction Leadership Council (CLC).
The plan – designed to guide the sector’s recovery from the Covid-19 crisis – includes a three-month ‘restart’ phase in which output grows, employment is maximised, and disruption to projects is minimised by the avoidance of disputes. This would lead on to a ‘reset’ period, where there is a fresh approach to compensate for loss of productivity created by the new safe-working practices, and supply chains are strengthened.
The ‘Roadmap to Recovery’ culminates in a 12-month ‘reinvent’ period, during which the industry is transformed by greater adoption of digital and offsite manufacturing techniques, delivering better value, and working in long-term collaborative teams.
CLC’s Covid-19 task force said the retention of key skills and minimising job losses were crucial. ‘The unprecedented challenge of coronavirus calls for unprecedented solutions,’ said CLC joint-chair Andy Mitchell. ‘I am delighted by the way that the industry has collaborated at pace to develop this plan, targeting those interventions that will help the industry get back on its feet as quickly as possible.’
The Specialist Engineering Contractors’ Group said fairer contractual and payment practices throughout the supply chain should underpin the recovery by supporting collaboration. Chairman Trevor Hursthouse said it was now vital to bring forward pipelines of work and get the cash flowing ‘to all layers of the construction supply chain’.
