Productivity: The biggest challenge facing the construction industry?

The Midlands Construction Summit (MCS) is set to return to the Ricoh Arena, Coventry, on the 27 September 2016.

The Summit will be exploring ways to address issues that negatively impact on the future of the UK construction industry, whilst focusing on three intrinsically linked key themes: Skills, Image and Productivity.

The MCS will be tackling these key themes and exploring how the industry can approach and resolve these pressing problems through the experience and learnings from the prominent speaker line-up.

By facilitating knowledge exchange and networking with influential regional construction leaders, the Summit provides a platform to strengthen improvements throughout the industry, whilst also creating an opportunity to acquire crucial information from industry experts on how they have overcome key issues, including productivity, through process and product innovation.

Productivity is a festering problem for the construction industry, having been branded a ‘thorn in the side’ of the sector by the Chartered Institute of Building in their recent Productivity in Construction report. Over the past five years the UK has achieved high levels of employment after the grips of the recession, but has been unable to tackle the matter of productivity, which is a concerning issue for the industry and its growth.

The CIOB have most recently reported that a much broader view of what the industry is trying to achieve is needed in order to increase construction productivity. But most importantly in order to achieve this, the industry needs to rethink and address fundamentals that motivate people and businesses within the sector. These issues will be addressed at the Midlands Construction Summit.

Productivity problems have been recognised for decades, which suggests that the main issues lie deep within the industry. However, although it is important to improve efficiency within the construction industry, there is little to be gained from driving up construction productivity if it means compromising the effectiveness of the buildings and infrastructure that are created.

The CIOB report concludes that in order to remove barriers holding back productivity growth, a holistic approach is needed that focuses on more than ‘constructing more productively’ but embraces a wider efficiency benefits that stem from a better ‘fit-for-purpose’ built environment. The report argues that new business models are needed which intrinsically provide incentives for the firms which improve efficiency through creating greater value.

Speaker at the Midlands Construction Summit, Judy Hart who is Head of Business Development at Investors in Excellence – stressed the importance of business models in raising productivity:              ‘‘In the fast changing construction sector, there is a need for the ability to measure productivity down to the finest detail. A framework can be an invaluable tool in ensuring that all parts of a project’s design and delivery are assessed and monitored for the contribution made to the overall outcome. Once in place, lessons learned can be continuously improved to deliver enhanced productivity for the long term.’’

The Summit will deliver insight on how to future proof construction businesses from the issues surrounding Skills, Image and Productivity. These three themes are all intrinsically linked and have a domino effect. A poor image of the industry creates a skills shortage as the young and upcoming generation are seeking more appealing career prospects. Skills shortages add to poor productivity as the industry lacks the workers and resources to keep up with demand.

Entry into the Midlands Construction Summit costs just £95 plus vat and includes; parking, lunch and refreshments throughout.

For more information, or to book your place, visit: www.midlandsconstructionsummit.co.uk