GIRI’s findings were of course hard on the heels of the government commissioned Farmer Review of the UK Construction Labour Model. In fact, so elusive and costly, that research by the Get It Right Initiative (GIRI) revealed that the direct cost of avoidable error in construction is close to £21 billion per annum. All whilst the cost of construction was rising and the never-ending search for that ‘Right-First-Time’ Quality Assurance remained as elusive, and as costly, as ever. More recently it has come to light it shall disrupt not only high-rise buildings, but also Hotels across the land.Īlso, since the turn of the decade, construction has fought a losing battle with the overrun of programme times and the associated cost plans. Quite apart from the fall-out from BREXIT, there was the Grenfell Tower tragedy, resulting in the government’s Building Safety Programme, the removal and replacement of unsafe non-ACM cladding systems across the country.

We also need to consider that in the lead up to COVID-19, the construction industry was grappling with several ongoing challenges. This in turn raises serious questions of who will pay for the additional cost on a plethora of existing contracts. The fall in construction productivity due to social distancing restrictions means projects will quite naturally take longer and therefore an increase in their out-turn costs will follow suit. Two such hurdles for the workforce to overcome before they enter a construction site are: avoiding public transport wherever possible the multitude of the workforce who traditionally ‘worked-away-from-home’, but cannot return to their ‘places of work’ until the closure of hotels and B&B’s is lifted. It is not just within the hoarding of a construction site that social distancing is restricting construction productivity. Even once fully reopened, as the esteemed construction economist Noble Francis has stated, because of the restrictions of social distancing, construction productivity has fallen by around 30-40%. All whilst the other sectors return to work in a phased manner, in line with the restrictions of the five Alert Levels of COVID-19.Īlthough a commendable plan of action, the reality is that according to one survey, up to around 65% of UK sites by value, ceased production after 23 rd March and it will take a little time yet for all sites to fully reopen. Likewise, construction is vital to the Government’s strategy to kick-start the economy. So unsurprisingly, a thriving construction industry is critical for the economy, hence the government had to keep construction working throughout the initial phase of Lockdown.

Now, GDP from Construction in the UK reached an all-time high of £29.64 Billion in the first quarter of 2019. Unlike Scotland, England has encouraged the industry to remain working throughout the Lockdown, regardless if a project was deemed ‘critical’ to the Government, or not. However, to be completely correct, the construction industry in England is not actually, “Returning to work”. On Wednesday 13 th May with England nervously easing out of the ‘Stay at Home’ Lockdown initiated on 23 rd March, the Housing secretary Robert Jenrick promised to “reopen and renew the housing market and our construction industry ”. It has been an interesting journey, and here is my perception of it. In just over 8 weeks the construction industry has gone from pariah’s, wantonly disregarding the stark warnings of COVID-19 and continuing to “remain open for business”, to the hallowed place of key strategic partner in the governments plan to reignite the economy.

Insurmountable problems