Mabey report urges collaboration to improve productivity

Leading bridge and engineering services specialist Mabey has released a new report looking at ways in which the industry can improve productivity.

The report pushes for greater collaboration across the supply chain in a bid to tackle the construction industry’s productivity gap, which has seen a sharp drop in the past decade. The government itself is looking at ways to improve productivity, closing the £15Bn gap and cutting costs by a third.

Mabey’s report includes recent construction projects across the UK which demonstrate both the financial and productivity benefits of early contractual involvement across the supply chain, better risk-sharing, greater diversity and embracing digital engineering.

For example, Mabey’s early contractual involvement for the development of Kirkthorpe Hydropower station in Wakefield, UK, halved the installation time of groundworks and cut the cost of the propping solutions for excavation works by 50%. For a tunnelling project at Bank Station, accurate real-time monitoring of building columns ensured that any movement resulting from tunnelling work never exceeded set parameters. With a nearby building’s foundation sitting close to excavation work, even movement of one and a half millimetres could jeopardise its delicate glass façade – smart monitoring technology ensured project safety.

Mabey’s report also addresses the shortage of skilled workers in the industry and the importance of attracting talented people from different backgrounds, including an equal balance of genders, to drive diversity of skills and different ways of thinking across the supply chain.

Commenting on the report Juliette Stacey, Group Chief Executive Officer of Mabey, said: “Delivering projects on time and on budget is a challenge that has always plagued the construction industry. Unless we implement new ways of working, slim margins and below average productivity will prevent UK construction from reaching its full potential.

“Our experience, working with contractors, subcontractors and clients, across multiple sectors, has taught us that it is not the sole responsibility of the end organisation to drive down costs and increase productivity. All contractors and infrastructure clients rely on a broad and deep supply chain of specialist organisations. The key is unlocking expertise in those specialists through better collaboration and early contractual involvement, and to adapt to better ways of working across the entire supply chain.”

Download the report here.

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