Time For Construction To Focus On Resilience

As 2021 draws to a close, many in the construction industry will welcome the end of a difficult couple of years following the start of the pandemic. As things get back to normal, firms are looking forward to the new year with renewed optimism.

For many companies the potential in order books look better. The Purchasing Managers’ Index remains in positive territory as it has for months. The Construction Products Association forecast a 13.7% increase in production for 2021 and a further 6+% for 2022.

But there are many businesses in the sector for which the upturn didn’t come quite soon enough. Perversely, periods of rapid recovery often present the highest risk in our industry as project revenues lag behind costs – so the liabilities pile up.

Will Next Time Be Different?

We can’t ignore the fact that there is still fragility. Uncertainty over labour and material supplies will remain risk factors for the foreseeable future. Margins frequently leave little scope for many firms to build a financial war chest to hedge against future turbulence.

Who really knows when the next shock might be around the corner? When it comes, will we be any better positioned to cope?

What all this means is that we can’t afford to slip back into comfortable habits and tried and trusted ways of doing things. Instead of breathing a sigh of relief and reflecting on a lucky escape, we need to accelerate the pace of change. We must urgently start turning the industry envisaged in the Construction Playbook into reality.

Productivity and Quality

We have it within our means to reshape the industry to deliver better productivity and superior quality. This is also the route to better financial and environmental sustainability. To grasp the opportunity we have to look forward and embrace new ideas and methods.

We also have to make the industry more inclusive and focus ever more attention on end users to make sure that tomorrow’s built environment works for everyone.

2022 could be a pivotal year for our industry; It’s up to all of us to make sure we make the most of it to build greater resilience through enhanced productivity and value.

For more information contact Richard King ([email protected]).