Designing Buildings - User contributions [en]

Latham Report

2015-03-09T21:03:27Z

Colm Quinn:

= Background =

The construction industry in the UK has consistently performed in a way that is thought to be wasteful compared to other industries. There is a general impression that it does not deliver good value for its customers. In part this is due to the unusual nature of the industry, where, unlike a production line, each building is a one off. But in addition, the nature of contracting arrangements means that it can be an adversarial industry with significant potential for disputes.

A succession of reports have considered how to tackle these issues, including; ‘Reaching for the Skies’ in 1934, the Simon Report in 1944 and the Barnwell report in 1967. However, their recommendations largely failed to gain traction within the industry.

In 1994 the Latham Report '[http://products.ihs.com/cis/Doc.aspx?DocNum=84343 Constructing the Team]' was published. The report was commissioned by the UK government to investigate the perceived problems with the construction industry, which the report’s author, Sir Michael Latham described as ‘ineffective’, ‘adversarial’, ‘fragmented’ and ‘incapable of delivering for its customers’.

[[File:Latham report front cover.jpg|alt=Latham report front cover.jpg|link=http://products.ihs.com/cis/Doc.aspx?DocNum=84343]]

= Recommendations =

Latham proposed that the client should be at the core of the construction process and that the industry should move away from its adversarial structure, adopting a more integrated approach with greater partnering and teamwork.

There were a great number of detailed recommendations within the report, some of which are set out below:
*As the largest single procurer of construction, the government should commit itself to becoming a best practice client.
*The New Engineering Contract (NEC) should be adopted more widely as a less adversarial form of contract.
*There should be legislation to prevent ‘set off’.
*Partnering should be used to encourage the establishment of long-term contracting arrangements.
*Public sector registers should be established for approved contractors, sub-contractors and consultants.
*There should be greater standardisation and better integration of contract documents.
*There should be compulsory latent defects insurance.
*There should be publication of a number of codes of practice and guidance documents to clarify, co-ordinate and standardise practices across the industry.
*A specified duty to deal fairly with each other, and the supply chain in an atmosphere of mutual co-operation.
*Interrelated documentation, clearly defining roles. 
*Risk allocation to the party best able to manage, estimate and carry it 
*Take steps to avoid conflict, speedy dispute resolution and adjudication. 
*Firm duties of teamwork with shared financial motivation.

The Latham report refers to 'partnering' and includes the concept of teamwork between supplier and client, in a process of total continuous improvement. It required openness between the parties, ready acceptance of new ideas, trust and perceived mutual benefit. 

Latham suggested that if the full range of measures described in the report were adopted, savings of 30% could be achieved over five years.

= Consequences =

The Latham report led to the creation of the Construction Industry Board (CIB) in 1995 to oversee implementation of its recommendations (the CIB was replaced by the Strategic Forum for Construction in 2001, chaired by Sir John Egan, author of the Egan Report 'Rethinking Construction').

A number of other organisations were established following the Latham report and the subsequent Egan Report:
*Reading Construction Forum
*Design Build Foundation
*Construction Best Practice Programme
*Movement for Innovation
*Local Government Task Force
*Rethinking Construction
*Be
*Constructing Excellence
*[http://ccg.constructingexcellence.org.uk/ Construction Clients' Group]

These organisation united to become [http://www.constructingexcellence.org.uk/ Constructing Excellence] in 2003.

Some of the recommendations of the Latham Report were implemented by the Housing Grants Construction and Regeneration Act (the Construction Act) which amongst other things, set out fair payment practices and regulated ‘set off’. In addition, the Scheme for Construction Contracts, which applies when construction contracts do not comply with the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act established the right to adjudication.

More recently, there have been significant moves in government procurement to encourage collaborative working and foster partnering, and the government has abandoned GC Works contracts in favour of NEC3.

= Subsequent reports =

The Latham report has been followed by a number of subsequent reports, with similar aims:
*In 1995, the [[Levene%20Efficiency%20Scrutiny%20into%20Construction%20Procurement%20by%20Government|Levene 'Efficiency Scrutiny' report]] was published.
*In 1996, the CIB published a second report, 'Partnering in the Team'.
*The core message of Constructing the Team was reinforced by the Egan Report in 1998 'Rethinking Construction'.
*In 2001, the National Audit Office (NAO) published 'Modernising Construction'
*In 2002 the Strategic Forum for Construction published a report on its first year of activity [http://www.strategicforum.org.uk/pdf/report_sept02.pdf Accelerating Change].
*In 2011 the Government Construction Strategy made a damning assessment of the industry, suggesting amongst many criticisms that:
#the UK does not get full value from public sector construction
#there is broad consensus, spread both across the industry and its customers, that construction under-performs
#(there are) poor and inconsistent procurement practices… leading to waste and inefficiency
#(there are) low levels of standardisation, and fragmentation of the public sector client base

Several of these reports have made similar projections of substantial savings within the industry if their recommendations were adopted. Notably, the Government Construction Strategy states an intention to achieve savings of 15 to 20%.

Given that despite all of these reports, the perception of the industry as wasteful and adversarial remains, and that significant savings continue to be projected if the industry reforms, it might be inferred either that; under the circumstances the industry operates more effectively than it appears from the outside; or that expectations are unrealistic; or that recommendations have been consistently poorly implemented. See List of construction industry reports since 1944 for more information.

It is worth noting that criticism of construction is not peculiar to the UK, and that for example similar assessments have been made in the USA (ref [http://www.nvo.com/vklaw/nss-folder/ukusconstructioncomparison/ Constructing the team: A US Perspective], King 1996). 

= Find out more =

=== Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki ===
*Adjudication.
*Accelerating change: A report by the Strategic Forum for Construction.
*Banwell Report.
*Collaborative practices.
*Constructing Excellence.
*Construction 2025.
*Construction Industry Board.
*Construction Task Force.
*Egan Report.
*Fair payment practices.
*Government Construction Strategy.
*Housing Grants Construction and Regeneration Act.
*Levene report
*List of construction industry reports since 1944.
*New Engineering Contract.
*Office of Government Commerce.
*Partnering.
*Penfold Review (non-planning permissions).
*Public procurement.
*Scheme for Construction Contracts.
*Set off.
*Strategic Forum for Construction.

=== External references ===
*[http://www.constructingexcellence.org.uk/ Constructing Excellence].
*[http://www.strategicforum.org.uk/ The Strategic Forum for Construction].
*[http://www.strategicforum.org.uk/pdf/report_sept02.pdf The Strategic Forum for Construction: Accelerating Change].
*[http://products.ihs.com/cis/Doc.aspx?DocNum=84343 The Latham Report: Constructing the Team].
*[http://www.nvo.com/vklaw/nss-folder/ukusconstructioncomparison/ Constructing the team: A US Perspective], V. KING, 1996.

[[Category:History]]
[[Category:Publications_/_reports]]
[[Category:Theory]]
[[Category:Client_procedures]]
[[Category:Procurement]]
[[Category:Public_procedures]]

Constructing Excellence

2015-03-09T21:00:26Z

Colm Quinn:

[http://www.constructingexcellence.org.uk/ Constructing Excellence] (CE) describes itself as ‘…the single organisation charged with driving the change agenda in construction. We exist to improve industry performance in order to produce a better built environment. We are a cross-sector, cross-supply chain, member led organisation operating for the good of industry and its stakeholders.’

It was one of a number of cross-industry bodies established to drive change in response to the Latham Report (Constructing the Team 1994) and the Egan Report (Rethinking Construction 1998) which concluded that ‘the industry as a whole is under-achieving’, and called for dramatic improvements. Egan stated ‘…we are not inviting uk construction to look at what it does already and do it better; we are asking the industry and Government to join with major clients to do it entirely differently’.

Other bodies that were created included:
*Reading Construction Forum.
*Design Build Foundation.
*Construction Best Practice Programme.
*Movement for Innovation.
*Local Government Task Force.
*Rethinking Construction.
*Be.
*[http://ccg.constructingexcellence.org.uk/ Construction Clients' Group].

It was increasingly recognised that there were too many such groups, and following a series of mergers, they were united as Constructing Excellence in 2003, to create ‘..a powerful, influential voice for improvement in the built environment sector.’

Constructing Excellence is a not-for-profit organisation governed by a Board of Management made up of representatives from across the industry. It has 9 Regional offices across England and Wales. Client and supplier organisations can become members of Constructing Excellence for a fee.

It’s activities include:
*Lobbying to try to influence change.
*Publishing construction industry Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) each year using performance data collected by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
*Benchmarking and demonstration projects.
*Industry awards.
*The Construction Clients' Group, promoting best practice and industry improvements.
*[http://g4c.constructingexcellence.org.uk/ G4C], the ‘junior’ branch of Constructing Excellence.
*[http://cell.constructingexcellence.org.uk/ Constructing Excellence in Learning Ltd (CELL)], accrediting qualifications.

In March 2007 the JCT launched a Constructing Excellence Contract specifically tailored for use in partnering and where participants adopt collaborative and integrated working practices.

Since Latham and Egan, there have been significant moves in government procurement to encourage collaborative working and foster partnering, and it is generally considered that construction has become more efficient and safer. However, in May 2008, ten years after publication of Rethinking Construction, Sir John Egan stated that ‘we have to say we’ve got pretty patchy results. And certainly nowhere near the improvement we could have achieved, or that I expected to achieve…..I guess if I were giving marks out of 10 after 10 years I’d probably only give the industry about four out of 10’ ref [http://www.bre.co.uk/filelibrary/pdf/CLIP/SirJohnEgan21-05-08.pdf Egan: I’d give construction about 4 of 10].

= Find out more =

=== Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki ===
*Construction clients’ charter.
*Construction Leadership Council.
*Construction Industry Council.
*Egan report.
*Latham report.
*JCT.

=== External references ===
*[http://www.constructingexcellence.org.uk/ Constructing Excellence].
*[http://www.bre.co.uk/filelibrary/pdf/CLIP/SirJohnEgan21-05-08.pdf Egan: I’d give construction about 4 of 10].

[[Category:Organisations]]

Constructing Excellence

2015-03-09T20:58:59Z

Colm Quinn:

[http://www.constructingexcellence.org.uk/ Constructing Excellence] (CE) describes itself as ‘…the single organisation charged with driving the change agenda in construction. We exist to improve industry performance in order to produce a better built environment. We are a cross-sector, cross-supply chain, member led organisation operating for the good of industry and its stakeholders.’

It was one of a number of cross-industry bodies established to drive change in response to the Latham Report (Constructing the Team 1994) and the Egan Report (Rethinking Construction 1998) which concluded that ‘the industry as a whole is under-achieving’, and called for dramatic improvements. Egan stated ‘…we are not inviting uk construction to look at what it does already and do it better; we are asking the industry and Government to join with major clients to do it entirely differently’.

Other bodies that were created included:
*Reading Construction Forum.
*Design Build Foundation.
*Construction Best Practice Programme.
*Movement for Innovation.
*Local Government Task Force.
*Rethinking Construction.
*Be.
*[http://ccg.constructingexcellence.org.uk/ Construction Clients' Group].

It was increasingly recognised that there were too many such groups, and following a series of mergers, they were united as Constructing Excellence in 2003, to create ‘..a powerful, influential voice for improvement in the built environment sector.’

Constructing Excellence is a not-for-profit organisation governed by a Board of Management made up of representatives from across the industry. It has 9 Regional offices across England and Wales. Client and supplier organisations can become members of Constructing Excellence for a fee.

It’s activities include:
*Lobbying to try to influence change.
*Publishing construction industry Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) each year using performance data collected by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
*Benchmarking and demonstration projects.
*Industry awards.
*The Construction Clients' Group, promoting best practice and industry improvements.
*[http://g4c.constructingexcellence.org.uk/ G4C], the ‘junior’ branch of Constructing Excellence.
*Constructing Excellence in Learning Ltd (CELL), accrediting qualifications.

In March 2007 the JCT launched a Constructing Excellence Contract specifically tailored for use in partnering and where participants adopt collaborative and integrated working practices.

Since Latham and Egan, there have been significant moves in government procurement to encourage collaborative working and foster partnering, and it is generally considered that construction has become more efficient and safer. However, in May 2008, ten years after publication of Rethinking Construction, Sir John Egan stated that ‘we have to say we’ve got pretty patchy results. And certainly nowhere near the improvement we could have achieved, or that I expected to achieve…..I guess if I were giving marks out of 10 after 10 years I’d probably only give the industry about four out of 10’ ref [http://www.bre.co.uk/filelibrary/pdf/CLIP/SirJohnEgan21-05-08.pdf Egan: I’d give construction about 4 of 10].

= Find out more =

=== Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki ===
*Construction clients’ charter.
*Construction Leadership Council.
*Construction Industry Council.
*Egan report.
*Latham report.
*JCT.

=== External references ===
*[http://www.constructingexcellence.org.uk/ Constructing Excellence].
*[http://www.bre.co.uk/filelibrary/pdf/CLIP/SirJohnEgan21-05-08.pdf Egan: I’d give construction about 4 of 10].

[[Category:Organisations]]

Never Waste A Good Crisis - A Challenge To The UK Construction Industry

2015-03-09T20:55:43Z

Colm Quinn:

'[http://constructingexcellence.org.uk/resources/never-waste-a-good-crisis/ Never Waste A Good Crisis - A Challenge To The UK Construction Industry]’ was written by by Andrew Wolstenholme of Balfour Beatty Management for Constructing Excellence and published in October 2009.

[[File:Never waste a good crisis front cover.jpg|167x236px|alt=Never waste a good crisis front cover.jpg|link=http://www.constructingexcellence.org.uk/news/article.jsp?id=10886]]

Constructing Excellence (CE) describes itself as ‘…the single organisation charged with driving the change agenda in construction. We exist to improve industry performance in order to produce a better built environment. We are a cross-sector, cross-supply chain, member led organisation operating for the good of industry and its stakeholders.’ It was one of a number of cross-industry bodies established to drive change in response to the Latham Report (Constructing the Team 1994) and the Egan Report (Rethinking Construction 1998) which concluded that ‘the industry as a whole is under-achieving’, and called for dramatic improvements.

'Never Waste A Good Crisis', written during the worst depths of the credit crunch was intended to assess the progress that the industry has made since Rethinking Construction in 1998 and to set out a series of further improvements that could be made over the next ten years.

Rethinking Construction had proposed:
*Integrated project processes.
*Decent and safe working conditions.
*Improved management and supervisory skills.
*Replacing competitive tendering with long-term relationships.
*That leading public sector bodies should become best practice clients.
*Annual reductions of 10% in construction costs and construction time and a reduction in defects of 20% per year.

In September 2002 the Strategic Forum for Construction published a report on its first year of activity Accelerating change: A report by the Strategic Forum for Construction, chaired by Sir John Egan. In it, Egan stated 'I have been greatly impressed by the industry's efforts to apply 'Rethinking Construction' principles'.

In 2002, the Rethinking Construction Group Ltd, chaired by Alan Crane, published Rethinking Construction 2002: Achievements, Next Steps, Getting Involved. The report offered a further update on progress as well as outlining a strategy for the following two years stating, ‘...it is quite incredible to see how much progress we have already made in implementing the recommendations for radical change set out in Sir John Egan’s Rethinking Construction.'

However, in May 2008, Sir John Egan stated that ‘we have to say we’ve got pretty patchy results. And certainly nowhere near the improvement we could have achieved, or that I expected to achieve…..I guess if I were giving marks out of 10 after 10 years I’d probably only give the industry about four out of 10’ ref [http://www.bre.co.uk/filelibrary/pdf/CLIP/SirJohnEgan21-05-08.pdf Egan: I’d give construction about 4 of 10].

Similarly, Never Waste A Good Crisis found that there was still a long way to go and that simply hoping the industry would improve as the economy recovered would miss a great opportunity, with Egan stating in the Foreword to the report, ‘Since 1998 we could have had a revolution and what we've achieved so far is a bit of improvement.’

Wolstenholme concluded that ‘Few of the Egan targets has been met in full, while most have fallen considerably short. Where improvement has been achieved, too often the commitment to Egan's principles has been skin-deep. In some sectors, such as housing, construction simply does not matter, because there is such limited understanding of how value can be created through the construction process.’

The report found that whilst there was a better understanding of value, quality and whole-life costing, and more widespread adoption of collaborative practices, there was a tendency to only adopt best practice on flagship projects. There was less uptake amongst the wider industry and little evidence of practices filtering down through the supply chain. It was found that less than half of the respondents to a CE survey believed the projects they worked were completed to time and to budget.

The report identified blocks to change, including ‘business models based on short term cycles, a fragmented industry, poor integration in the supply chain, and a lack of strategic commitment at senior management and Government levels’.

It suggested that a better understanding of value was still needed and that clients had to move away from just considering building cost, and putting downward pressure on the relatively small costs of design. It stated that ‘we believe that the era of client-led change is over, at least for the moment, and that it is now time for the supply side to demonstrate how it can create additional economic social and environmental value through innovation, collaboration and integrated working.’

It recommended better training across the industry and that industry bodies and professional associations should collaborate to represent the industry more effectively.

The also report proposed that one of the greatest challenges to the industry was delivering a low-carbon built environment.

= Find out more =

=== Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki ===
*Accelerating change: A report by the Strategic Forum for Construction.
*Construction 2025.
*Constructing Excellence.
*Construction Industry Statistics.
*Government Construction Strategy.
*Latham report.
*Lean construction.
*List of construction industry reports since 1934.
*Rethinking Construction 2002: Achievements, Next Steps, Getting Involved.

=== External references ===
*Constructing Excellence, [http://constructingexcellence.org.uk/resources/never-waste-a-good-crisis/ Never Waste A Good Crisis - A Challenge To The UK Construction Industry].

[[Category:Publications_/_reports]]

Egan Report Rethinking Construction

2015-03-09T20:52:43Z

Colm Quinn:

= Background =

The construction industry in the UK has consistently performed in a way that is thought to be wasteful compared to other industries. There is a general impression that it does not deliver good value for its customers. In part this is due to the unusual nature of the industry, where, unlike a production line, each building is a one off. But in addition, the nature of contracting arrangements means that it can be an adversarial industry with significant potential for disputes.

A succession of reports have considered how to tackle these issues, including; ‘Reaching for the Skies’ in 1934, the Simon Report in 1944, the Barnwell report in 1967 and the Latham Report 'Constructing the Team' in 1994, in which Sir Michael Latham described the industry as ‘ineffective’, ‘adversarial’, ‘fragmented’ and ‘incapable of delivering for its customers’.

In 1997, the then Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott set up the Construction Task Force, chaired by Sir John Egan. In 1998, the task force published ‘[http://constructingexcellence.org.uk/resources/rethinking-construction-the-egan-report/ Rethinking Construction], The report of the Construction Task Force to the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, on the scope for improving the quality and efficiency of UK construction’. It is generally referred to as the Egan report.

[[File:Egan Report front cover.jpg|181x345px|alt=Egan Report front cover.jpg|link=http://constructingexcellence.org.uk/resources/rethinking-construction-the-egan-report/]]

= Rethinking Construction =

In the report, Sir John Egan suggested that ‘the industry as a whole is under-achieving’, and called for ‘dramatic improvements’. He proposed that this would be possible ‘…if we focus all our efforts on delivering the value that our customers need, and if we are prepared to challenge the waste and poor quality arising from our existing structures and working practices’.

Egan stated that ‘…we are not inviting uk construction to look at what it does already and do it better; we are asking the industry and Government to join with major clients to do it entirely differently’.

The report identified five drivers of change:
*committed leadership
*a focus on the customer
*integrated processes and teams
*a quality driven agenda
*commitment to people

It proposed:
*integrated project processes
*decent and safe working conditions
*improved management and supervisory skills
*replacing competitive tendering with long term relationships
*that leading public sector bodies should become best practice clients

The report set very ambitious targets of annual reductions of 10% in construction cost and construction time and a reduction in defects of 20% per year.

= Impact =

The Latham report led to the creation of the Construction Industry Board (CIB) in 1995 to oversee reform. The CIB was replaced by the Strategic Forum for Construction in 2001, chaired by Sir John Egan. In September 2002 the Strategic Forum for Construction published a report on its first year of activity [http://www.strategicforum.org.uk/pdf/report_sept02.pdf Accelerating change]: A report by the Strategic Forum for Construction, chaired by Sir John Egan. In it, Egan stated 'I have been greatly impressed by the industry's efforts to apply 'Rethinking Construction' principles'.

In 2002, the Rethinking Construction Group Ltd, chaired by Alan Crane, published Rethinking Construction 2002: Achievements, Next Steps, Getting Involved. The report offered a further update on progress as well as outlining a strategy for the following two years.

A number of other organisations were established following the Egan Report:
*Reading Construction Forum
*Design Build Foundation
*Construction Best Practice Programme
*Movement for Innovation
*Local Government Task Force
*Rethinking Construction
*Be
*Constructing Excellence
*Construction Clients' Group

These organisation united to become [http://www.constructingexcellence.org.uk Constructing Excellence] in 2003.

Since then, there have been significant moves in government procurement to encourage collaborative working and foster partnering, and it is generally considered that construction has become more efficient and safer (ref Constructing Excellence and Glenigan: [http://www.constructingexcellence.org.uk/zones/kpizone/industryreport.jsp Industry performance report]).

However, the Egan report was not entirely welcomed by the industry, and there was some perception that applying experience in manufacturing to an industry as different as construction was unrealistic. In May 2008, ten years after publication of Rethinking Construction, Sir John Egan stated that ‘we have to say we’ve got pretty patchy results. And certainly nowhere near the improvement we could have achieved, or that I expected to achieve…..I guess if I were giving marks out of 10 after 10 years I’d probably only give the industry about four out of 10’ ref [http://www.bre.co.uk/filelibrary/pdf/CLIP/SirJohnEgan21-05-08.pdf Egan: I’d give construction about 4 of 10].

In 2009, 'Never Waste A Good Crisis' - A Challenge To The UK Construction Industry was written by by Andrew Wolstenholme of Balfour Beatty Management for Constructing Excellence. It was intended to assess the progress that the industry has made since Rethinking Construction and concluded that, ‘Since 1998 we could have had a revolution and what we've achieved so far is a bit of improvement.’

In 2011 the Government Construction Strategy, made a damning assessment of the industry, similar to that of the Egan report, suggesting amongst many criticisms that:
#the UK does not get full value from public sector construction
#there is broad consensus, spread both across the industry and its customers, that construction under-performs
#(there are) poor and inconsistent procurement practices… leading to waste and inefficiency
#(there are) low levels of standardisation, and fragmentation of the public sector client base

Like the Egan report, the Government Construction Strategy states an intention to achieve significant savings (15 to 20%).

Given that despite all of these reports, the perception of the industry as wasteful and adversarial remains, and that significant savings continue to be projected if the industry reforms, it might be inferred either that; under the circumstances the industry operates more effectively than it appears from the outside; or that expectations are unrealistic; or that recommendations have been consistently poorly implemented.

It is worth noting that criticism of construction is not peculiar to the UK, and that for example similar assessments have been made in the USA (ref [http://www.nvo.com/vklaw/nss-folder/ukusconstructioncomparison/ Constructing the team: A US Perspective], King 1996).

= Find out more =

=== Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki ===
*Accelerating change: A report by the Strategic Forum for Construction.
*Banwell Report.
*Construction 2025.
*Constructing Excellence.
*Construction Industry Board.
*Construction Task Force.
*Government Construction Strategy.
*Latham report.
*Lean construction.
*List of construction industry reports since 1934.
*Never Waste a Good Crisis.
*Rethinking Construction 2002: Achievements, Next Steps, Getting Involved. 
*Strategic Forum for Construction.

=== External references ===
*[http://www.strategicforum.org.uk/pdf/report_sept02.pdf Accelerating change: A report by the Strategic Forum for Construction], chaired by Sir John Egan
*[http://constructingexcellence.org.uk/resources/rethinking-construction-the-egan-report/ The Egan report: Rethinking Construction].
*[http://www.constructingexcellence.org.uk Constructing Excellence].
*[http://constructingexcellence.org.uk/kpi-reports/ Constructing Excellence and Glenigan: Industry performance report].
*[http://www.bre.co.uk/filelibrary/pdf/CLIP/SirJohnEgan21-05-08.pdf Egan: I’d give construction about four out of 10.]
*[http://www.nvo.com/vklaw/nss-folder/ukusconstructioncomparison/ Constructing the team: A US Perspective], King 1996.

[[Category:History]]
[[Category:Publications_/_reports]]
[[Category:Procurement]]
[[Category:Public_procedures]]