CC Jul-Aug 2022

INDUSTRYfocus
Expanding horizons
David Chadwick looks at the key drivers for success that Access Construction believe construction
companies should now be looking at
It seems very timely to take a closer
look at the increased discussion
around employment issues in the
construction industry, coming as it
does at a period when there is a
decline in the skilled workforce even as
we're faced with an upturn in the
anticipated construction output. The
Construction Products Association
(CPA) forecasts that output in the
industry will grow by around 4.3% in
2022, with most of that coming from
infrastructure and housebuilding - but
a significant amount will also come
from repairs, maintenance, and the
latest fashion to hit the industry -
retrofitting.
That means the industry will need an
extra 217,000 builders if that rate is set
to be sustained over the next 4 years.
It's a significant challenge, and it
affects manual skills such as
bricklayers and dry liners, as much as
quantity surveyors or project managers.
According to the The Chartered
Institute of Building (CIOB) women
currently make up around 14% of
construction industry professionals,
while less than 6% of workers are
BAME. We now have an opportunity to
increase those percentages and build
a more diverse workforce, one that will
bring in new ideas and different points
of view. It could be a huge opportunity
for the construction industry to both
modernise and attract a more diverse
talent pool, while also upskilling its
existing workforce.
When put alongside the other issues
currently affecting the industry
expanding your construction company
can seem like a tough challenge. There
are a number of strategies you should
take into consideration if you are
planning on doing so however, and
Access Construction recently
outlined some of the key areas to
focus, which are as follows.
EXPANDING YOUR
CONSTRUCTION COMPANY
The first of Access Construction's
suggestions is to review your
workforce, and it's a no-brainer to
prioritise increasing the number of
women working in construction at the
top of the list. This needs to be
reflected in a positive drive from the
industry itself, which has to start
thinking outside the box when it comes
to recruiting from outside the sector.
This could include introducing flexible
working to accommodate specific
needs, for example, which could help
to both attract new entrants to the
industry and retain existing ones.
The next suggestion from Access
Construction is to improve data and
analysis. A single source of truth is the
mantra for the industry. Data improves
decision-making, enabling you to
make the right decisions at the
right time. With up-to-theminute
access to multiple
projects,
teams,
invoices, logistics, and costs, you can
eliminate errors, improve
communications, increase productivity
and reduce costs - mitigating risks and
avoiding costly disputes. Investing in a
construction management software
solution is therefore an essential tool for
expanding your construction company.
The next piece of advice is to win more
tenders. Winning tenders is not a 'suck
it and see' process. Leveraging the data
you should have at your disposal from a
complete construction management
solution enables bids to be fine-tuned,
eliminating the duplication of work and
admin tasks by incorporating
successful data from earlier bids. Using
such a system will cut out the failures
and errors and introduce the real-time
updating of prices and materials,
thereby balancing resources.
Improving your internal processes
ensures that your successful
tenders are properly
constructed and quicker
to put together,
comprehensive, and
guaranteed to be
profitable. Using a
centralised
system -
10
July/August 2022