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In depth
[edit] Collaborative practices
[edit] Introduction
In 1994, the Latham Report (Constructing the Team) investigated the perceived problems with the construction industry describing it as 'ineffective', 'adversarial', 'fragmented' and 'incapable of delivering for its customers', proposing that there should be greater partnering and teamwork.
This message was reinforced by the Egan Report in 1998; Rethinking Construction and the Government Construction Strategy in 2011, which made a similar, somewhat 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.
[edit] The importance of collaboration
Establishing collaborative practices is of particular importance on building design and construction projects, as they are likely to involve bringing together large number of diverse disciplines, many of whom will not have worked together before.
They are also likely to involve the co-ordination and integration of a great deal of complex information, procedures and systems.
Failure to establish clear and efficient project-wide collaborative practices can be disastrous.
This has become increasingly true as project structures have evolved from straight-forward client- consultant - contractor relationships to more integrated structures with complex financing arrangements, early engagement of the supply chain and the introduction of sub-contractor and supplier design.