Building upon change in 2021

In this article, John Miles, Technical Manager at Assent Building Control, discusses how the challenges of 2020 will lead to long term change for the industry. Assent Building Control is a leading Approved Inspector in the UK.

2020 has been a game of two halves for the building and construction sector. On one hand we have seen more commercial property become vacant as businesses fall during the pandemic, and the temporary slowing of the homes market as lockdown halted house moves and restricted access to materials. On the other hand, there have been new requirements and upturns. The sector had to deliver emergency projects at short notice – notably the Nightingale Hospitals – and after an initial property slump, stamp duty holidays have created a housing boom.

Although the first vaccines are being administered in the UK as I write, COVID-19 is going to be with us for some time and will continue to impact the construction sector well into 2021, maybe permanently. But the pandemic is just one of several challenges the sector must deal with in the year ahead. The consequences of Grenfell are still rippling for instance, with new fire safety information management rules coming into force. 2021 will continue to be a game of two halves – adapting to existing ongoing change and innovating in what will hopefully become the aftermath of the pandemic. I see three crucial areas of focus.

Fire safety information management

Due for publication next summer, the BSI’s new fire safety information management standard, BS8644 2021, aims to ensure that all a building’s fire safety information is digitally stored and easily accessible by all parties that may need it.

The standard represents a crucial benchmark for the industry to follow, ensuring that any building’s critical information is quickly and easily shared between relevant authorised parties – whether that is the fire service, the police, anti-terrorism units or others.

Businesses in the sector must start preparing now and realise it is not a one size fits all approach. They must review and, if required, adjust their practices for storing and accessing information, and consider adopting information management platforms to help them do so. Compliance is not going to be an overnight process; organisations need time to prepare.

Initial steps should include learning and familiarisation around the changes and preparing clear implementation plans. I also encourage businesses to collaborate with their suppliers and industry peers. This is a common standard the whole sector must follow for very good reasons. It makes sense to start early and share best practice.

Significant building footprint changes

COVID-19 has shaken up the world and some of the impacts will be felt for a long time. Some, such as working practices and building utilisation, are likely to change for good. Official figures show that working from home has become a way of life for almost half of British workers. Many workplaces currently lie empty which begs the question, what will their owners do with them in 2021 and beyond? On the high street, reports suggest another 18,000 premises could become empty in 2020, close to double the number in 2019.

I anticipate an increased number of opportunistic development purchases triggering more building footprint changes, which could lead to unforeseen building regulations challenges.

Retail premises will be a major focus. It’s unlikely the traditional town or city centre high street will recover and this will lead to greater repurposing of these properties into either co-living or co-working spaces. Take for example STOK in Stockport – repurposing the former Marks & Spencer store into an office and leisure development. Or the Kampus built-to-rent residential neighbourhood, repurposing buildings owned by Manchester Metropolitan University. These projects represent an accelerated shift from traditional concentric planning to more multi-purpose neighbourhoods.

A key consideration with large scale footprint changes is the need for early site access for building inspectors and consideration of building regulations requirements. Changing business use can throw up unforeseen issues which can delay projects or lead to budgets overrunning without early inspection and careful planning. A greater focus on studying the pathology of building fabric and the impact this has on future use will be required. Information management will be crucial to the timely gathering of buildings data, to ensure projects progress with pace and on budget, reducing time to market and protecting developer margins.

COVID-19-induced digitalisation of industry processes

It’s fair to say that building and construction has not been the quickest adopter of digital transformation so far. We’re a bricks and mortar industry, literally, and it shows. However, Covid-19 has created the conditions to make digital a reality in 2021 and beyond.

Investment in technology is increasingly required to support the new normal and to allow secure transfer of information between all parties involved in a project. Businesses need to adopt new processes and technologies to streamline actions and prevent further delays in project developments.

One example is site inspections. It became necessary to use technology to conduct COVID-19-secure remote inspections in 2020 due to the difficulties of having third parties visiting sites under COVID-19 restrictions. Measures such as video-based site inspections were introduced and offer more cost efficiency and future digital audit trails as additional benefits. We think these digitised processes will become mainstream in 2021.

This presents challenges and opportunities to the sector. Cost and time efficiencies can be significant; however, it will mean closer working with trusted digital service providers that can offer the secure platforms required for compliant information sharing. Given that construction sites aren’t blessed with the most reliable and stable internet connectivity there are infrastructure challenges to contend with, but the industry also has a responsibility to seek out suitable digital solutions.

2020 has been a year of conflict for building and construction but much of this could result in welcome change in 2021 and beyond. At Assent, we’ve seen first-hand how far the construction sector has come in its evolution during the challenges of 2020. Like many others, we have had to face up to immediate change but also keep an eye on where the sector is heading in the future. Although COVID-19 was unexpected and unwanted, the slowdown over summer has afforded us, like many, the chance to rethink and accelerate other areas of the business and our digital services ready for the future.

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Looking Towards 2021 for UK Construction

Chris Jones, Industrial Consultant for Odgers Interim, discusses what 2021 will look like for the UK construction industry and key areas of focus going into the new year

2020 has been a seismic year, weighed down by the periods of uncertainty and disruption caused by the global pandemic. However, we can reflect back on the past 12 months and see how of the challenges presented, many have been overcome, and the result has been transformative for the construction industry. Despite deep troughs there have also been great peaks this year. This year of change and disruption can be considered a ‘reset’ period. The industry has been able to reflect on its modus operandi, has prioritised areas of improvement and undergone transformation.

Looking back over the last 30 years, the UK has largely transitioned from a traditional heavy and high-volume consumer industry to a more specialist, high tech, high value offering – and this looks set to continue. The Covid-19 pandemic has escalated the changes in consumers’ needs and expectations and even the simplest everyday tasks have digitised and been conducted from the comfort of our homes or via contactless systems. This universal move towards technology has been reflected in industry trends.

A core concern of the construction industry this year was the disruption to supply chain and operations. The global pandemic ruptured very delicate and overly complex distribution and transport networks. In response to the initial difficulties faced when the pandemic hit, businesses are now seeking to improve supply chain resilience and adaptability through technological innovation.

Going into next year, businesses will need to become more collaborative, integrated and ever more automated. They will need to become more reactive to meet the increased demands for personalisation as the consumer base shows signs of becoming more fickle and cost conscious. The use of AI technology, virtual reality, increased automation, robotics and 3D printing will be key for companies to respond to demand, as will a more integrated approach through collaboration and the sharing of technologies.

Central to this will be the role of government and other sources of financing. We have already seen through the various ‘catapult’ initiatives how businesses, government and academia can be brought together to share resources for the betterment of UK Plc. This is set to continue into next year, and beyond, as outlined in the recently published National Infrastructure Strategy, promising over £600bn across the UK over the next five years.

Funding will be even more critical post-Covid if the UK is to rebuild the economy and rebuild better – i.e., by the creation of and investment in green technologies which not only improve the economic outlook but also help sustain the environment.

Whilst the pandemic has pushed environmental issues off the front pages, they have not gone away. How to implement and improve upon sustainable practices will form a large part of how industrial businesses consider their operational future. This is not only beneficial to the environment but also proves environmental commitment to discerning customer bases.

Looking ahead to 2021, a further increase is envisaged  in demand for digital transformation professionals as the industry embraces new technologies. Furthermore, as sustainable developments will require greater collaboration going forward, we will see the need for more project and programme management skills to ensure costs and timescales are kept in check and waste minimised. These skills are already in short supply and may need to be catered for in more innovate ways by shorter term appointments or the sharing of resource across various stakeholders.

Whilst this year has not panned out the way we expected, it has been invaluable to the future of the construction industry. The global pandemic has helped organisations pivot rapidly their business model, manufacturing processes and supply chains to cope with the disruption, building new skills and strengthening resilience along the way which will stand then in good stead when it comes to adaptability and flexibility. Furthermore, by being ethical and sustainable, companies will become more attractive places to work and their products more desirable to a new generation of consumers as there are economic benefits to being green too.

2020 has brought transformation forward in the industry, accelerating the pace of change to levels never seen before. This pace cannot be lost, however, and the industry must look to maintain the momentum and continue to drive operations, processes, and people in the future.

The Industry must aim to realign the industrial strategy to meet the challenges of new technologies (and not shy away from it), and invest in green, sustainable technologies as part of a coordinated effort by government and industry. This ‘reset’ period should be used as an opportunity to create a sector for the future; one in which there are the necessary skills and talent to deliver a more streamlined, efficient and sustainable industry to drive economic prosperity.

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Stepnell Hits Milestone on Three Schools

Stepnell has made significant progress with three of its education building projects in the South of England: Gordons’s School, Canford School and The Woodroffe School.

These projects all include development of brand new facilities for both students and staff. The projects have recently reached substantial construction milestones, and are an excellent contribution to Stepnell’s growing portfolio of educational clients.

Throughout the COVID-19 lockdown, Stepnell remained on-site at Canford School in Wimborne, Dorset. Stepnell is now gearing up the next phase of its new 56-bed boarding house. This £3.9 million development also includes a garage and external works including paving, asphalt, fencing and top soiling. The Canford School is due for completion in June 2021.

Rob Speirs, Regional Director at Stepnell said: “Despite this project commencing on the first day of national lockdown back in March, we were able to maintain our build schedule and complete site work through the implementation of stringent health and safety precautions that – we believe – have been central to our recent successes.”

Stepnell has also demonstrated its success in the educational sector with its latest project with The Woodroffe School, won through Dorset Council’s Smaller Capital Works Framework, that is due to start on site in January 2021. The £2 million development will include a new, two-storey teaching block with classrooms and a group learning space, library resource centre and additional office space to help expand the school’s academic offering.

Landscape work will also be undertaken to include the creation of new footpaths in the surrounding areas, providing full accessible circulation to the ground floor and accompanying lifts for disabled users.

The year-long scheme will pose a number of challenges, including the navigation of a live site and logistical difficulties – with the stand-alone new build cut into a hillside to accommodate the elevated terrain.

Mr Speirs said: “We will continue to remain on site throughout this next stage of lockdown as long as it is safe to do so. We are committed to delivering our projects on-budget and on time, but the well-being of our employees is of paramount importance. We will carry on implementing these health and safety precautions with full vigour while monitoring any changes in the government guidelines to make sure we are adhering to the rules set in place.”

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Reflectioning on 2020 and Predictions for 2021

Ray Hutchinson, managing director of UK Construction, refurbishment and fit-out contractor Gilbert-Ash, reflects on 2020, including the challenging conditions of lockdown, and looks ahead to trends and predictions for 2021.

It is fair to say that it has been an extraordinary year. We have weathered recessions and economic downturns before but nothing could have prepared any of us for the year that was 2020 – one that has challenged us personally and professionally on a level I believe not previously witnessed by our generation.

I am an optimist, however, and a firm believer in seeking the positive from setbacks – from my own perspective, as MD of Gilbert-Ash I have been humbled by the resilience, strength and collective spirit shown by our people in what has been an incredibly difficult period.

In February we were busy putting the finishing touches to our new £5m headquarters, with plans afoot for a launch event in late March. Little did we know what was just around the corner.

When the pandemic hit, we, like so many others, were forced into crisis mode. Our new office move was put on ice (thankfully staff are now in our new HQ) , we had to close sites at short notice, and, when it was safe to re-open ensure we did so in a manner that responded very quickly to Government requirements around social distancing and health and safety protocols.

Gilbert-Ash works largely across the cultural, historic, hospitality & leisure, commercial and education sectors, but with many of our projects not due for completion until 2023 we were fortunate not to see any significant delay to our work in the UK or internationally.

Aside from the operational side of the business, and keeping people safe as a matter of priority, we were also acutely aware of an inevitable confusion and anxiety amongst staff. In response, from March we significantly stepped up our internal communications, keeping staff regularly informed with business and practical updates and providing health and welfare support where required. The feedback we have subsequently received from staff as to our confidence and leadership throughout the pandemic has been really positive.

In business there is much talk about teamwork to the point where it can become overused, but I am proud to say that everyone at Gilbert-Ash has truly come together as a team in the last year. We knuckled down, worked in partnership with each other (remotely when required) and indeed right across our supply chain, and this tremendous effort is now paying off – we have for some months now been back at pre-Covid work levels, with a very healthy pipeline of new business.

So, we enter 2021 with a renewed sense of confidence and vigour, but that is not to say it won’t be without its own set of challenges.

We eagerly await the widespread roll-out of a vaccination for Covid-19 but in the meantime cannot rule out the potential for further disruption, although hopefully not on the scale we have seen in 2020. We are also yet to see perhaps the full fall-out from Covid and there is the potential for a lag effect and slowdown in some sectors which may not become apparent until well into next year.

Then of course we have Brexit which has taken a back seat in recent months, but looms large in the boardrooms of every business with its huge economic significance and far reaching ramifications for almost every sector in the UK.   Like many in the construction industry, we have been preparing for whatever eventuality occurs after 31st December 2020.  Whatever the outcomes of the current Brexit negotiations, we are likely to see both challenges and opportunities ahead for our industry in 2021.

In terms of trends for 2021, technology must be one of the key themes. It has been a great facilitator in the last 12 months, allowing us to prioritise employee safety but maintain productivity levels. Whilst no substitute for being there in person, digitally and remotely we have been able to sign off on final inspections of buildings and, complete planning reviews and conduct material samples without delaying the progress of any project. There will be elements of this digital capability that we will take forward into 2021 for use in times beyond Covid.

 

I also think working from home will continue to be a hotly debated topic in 2021.Through the forced closure of businesses in 2020 there has undoubtedly been a cultural shift and acceleration towards remote working. While I think the novelty for many is wearing off – it is hard to replicate that sense of community spirit and collaboration via zoom and Teams – as we recover from the pandemic, employers may find they face increased pressure to offer a balance of homeworking and working in the office.

On that note, there is talk about an uncertain future for the commercial office space with a growing trend towards homeworking. I personally think we will continue to see office opportunities but perhaps with a change in use of those offices and a re-purposing around collaborative and wellness spaces.

This feeds into a wider conversation around sustainability, diversity, equity and inclusion.

Diversity and specifically tackling the gender imbalance in construction is something I feel passionately about. I was honoured to be invited as a guest speaker at the Women in Construction Summit 2020 and am a founding member of Diversity Mark NI.

Two years ago, the Construction Industry Federation found that only one in ten workers on building sites were female. This rose to four in ten workers in offices and one in ten at CEO/Managing Director level.  Females currently make up 21 per cent of the workforce at Gilbert-Ash and I am determined to continue to do my bit in encouraging females into the industry and attracting the best and brightest talent regardless of gender.

Whilst challenges do lie ahead for the construction industry in 2021, there is also much to look forward to with opportunity now for the industry to future proof itself and, in doing so, create a more diverse, productive, and well workforce. Whilst in 2019, we certainly wouldn’t have been able to predict the events of 2020, we have overcome many of the hurdles that arose in the industry and enter 2021 stronger as a result.

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Engineering Grade AR to Fuel Sector in 2021

David Mitchell is co-founder and CEO of XYZ Reality, in this feature, he writes about how technology has now stepped up, and in 2021 we’ll see AR tackling a deep-rooted productivity block in the industry and changing key onsite processes to be more efficient.

For digital transformation to succeed in any industry, it needs to empower real-time decision making by those closest to the front line. In the construction industry, that means the technology needs to be fit for on-site use. Overcoming this challenge has impacted the speed of change and adoption of new technologies, exposing the disconnect between technology and the demands of the construction site. Now, we are beginning to see breakthrough innovations occur

Augmented Reality (AR) is an advanced technology that holds particular promise for bringing long overdue progress to construction. It has already changed some key office-based practices, such as the way we visualise design and deliver training and, in 2020, it began more widespread use on-site where it is being proven to fundamentally change the way that projects operate, with opportunity for a dramatic impact on build time, cost and quality.

2021 is the year that AR is set to scale, delivering long overdue impact on construction sector productivity.

Time to break the productivity barrier

Previously, the sector has been criticized for the ‘glacial pace’ of technological advancement, though it’s not always the fault of the industry.

In fact, mobile computing hardware has only served to reinforce one of the major barriers to productivity; the 3D conversion of precise BIM models into complicated 2D plans for taking on site. In 2016, I developed the first proof of concept for paperless construction, which proved that removing this conversion stage alone unlocked a massive 500% increase in productivity. But the hardware technology wasn’t available until more recently.

Given that productivity in the construction sector has been flat for decades, there’s significant opportunity for accelerated growth. It is estimated that, if construction productivity was to catch up with that of the total economy, the sector’s value would increase by an estimated $1.6 trillion, adding about 2 percent to the global economy.

After the challenges of 2020, that is the scale of growth that 2021 will welcome.

2021; thinking forward to unlock growth

The future of construction – particularly given the growth in size and complexity of today’s megaprojects – relies on addressing some of the deep-rooted issues underlying productivity.

One such issue is the dominance of reactive processes. Technologies currently in widespread use only serve to measure and flag errors in retrospect. For example, laser scanning shows that 80% of construction works are 200mm out of tolerance and, with past equipment, construction teams have had no choice but to build, measure…then rework and repeat.

Now we know that savings of up to 20% can be made on construction project costs by enabling proactive identification of inaccuracies as – or before – they happen, when armed with the right, detailed 3D information in the right place, at the right time.

Build it right first time

The critical shift needed to happen on the construction-site, rather than in the office. And, in recent years, we have seen advancement in technologies that, when joined together, will make AR more commonplace on the building site in 2021.

We’ve been the first to combine AR with the power of today’s mobile computing capabilities so users can view hyperscale BIM models on site, in real time and within construction tolerances. It’s what we call ‘Engineering Grade AR’ and is the foundation for HoloSite, which is the only product to custom-integrate Engineering Grade AR within a safety standard-compliant hard hat to take the full power of advanced technology to the field.

Engineering Grade AR also delivers the fundamental change in mindset, enabling teams to exchange a reactive approach of fixing errors that are out of tolerance for proactively preventing inaccuracies and issues occurring in the first place. What’s more, tackling inaccuracies at the lowest value stage enables rapid, low-cost corrective action.

Unlocking productivity on-site

Boosting productivity in construction is dependent on the industry’s ability to bring advanced technologies – including AR – into widespread use on-site to challenge and change many long-standing, manual practices.

At XYZ, we believe the most fundamental of these is the reactive mindset – that errors, out of tolerance works and scheduling issues can only be identified in retrospect and solved through rework.

Now that the core mobile computing capabilities are equipped to support the demands of large-scale BIM models and the complex demands and regulations of an on-site environment, 2021 will spur the greatest advancements ever seen in industry productivity.

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The Year Construction Could Never Have Seen Coming

From avoiding Armageddon to finding prize truffles, Walker Sime MD Duncan Firth examines the lessons of 2020 and reads the tea leaves for 2021.

In early March, I presented a sort of ‘state of the union’ session to our staff. At that point, all was good. Of course we were aware of the growing threat of coronavirus as it began to take a hold in China and then in Europe, but the precise nature of the threat felt too intangible at that point to impact us directly. Seven days later I remember sitting at my desk wondering what had just happened. As the enormity of this ‘thing’ became clear I realised we had mere days to put plans in place before the tidal wave hit us.

That was the first and most unwelcome surprise of the year. Happily, there were would be several far more positive surprises to help redress the balance.

The year of resilience

Like many others including my fellow board members, I set up a makeshift home office (and virtual war room) and set about addressing those critical questions. How could we protect the business? How should we look after our staff? How would we communicate?

We went into survival mode. We micromanaged the business. The directors and I poured over the numbers twice a week. We’re still doing that. Because we didn’t know how long the crisis would last, we moved swift and hard. We asked our staff to take a pay cut through spring. That was an enormous ask, so we communicated to death, ensuring our message was really clear, really consistent and really understood. And because everyone understood it, everyone agreed. We’re now in the fortunate position of being able to start paying that back, but the resilience, goodwill and fortitude of everyone in our company and beyond was one of the most genuinely heartening aspects of the year.

10 years of progression in 9 months

You may feel differently, but my impression of the construction industry is that we have tended towards the traditional and the conservative (small ‘c’). I know plenty of contractors whose pre-pandemic default mindset was that if you weren’t on site or at your desk in the office you weren’t really doing work.

My job has always been about managing teams. I miss being in a room of people. I’m frustrated that, for the time being, shaking hands on a deal remains metaphorical. But from a cultural perspective, we have seen 10 years of progression in 9 months. I’ve been surprised at just how seamlessly we transitioned to this digital environment and still managed to get the work done. Yes, there have been wellbeing issues to manage and I know most of our staff relish a return to at least some time in the office, but our shift to a working day of Teams and Zoom sessions hasn’t just been a stop-gap to a return to normal. We’ve actually seen benefits for our staff and our business.

Collective spirit

Back in March as the government mothballed certain industries and provided strict guidance to others, construction felt rather like the sector government forgot. In many ways that was understandable. Better to let us pick our own way through the situation than impose rules that would confound contracts and lead to immensely damaging fallout.

This genuinely could have been Armageddon in an industry not traditionally slow to roll out the litigation option. We do a lot of dispute management work and the volume of COVID-triggered work has been a fraction of what we feared might happen. Why was that?

It’s something of a cliché, but it does feel as through this was a year where we rediscovered our collective spirit and a common endeavour. The pandemic did have an impact – we all had reduced time on site for a period – but it feels as though the industry took a pragmatic, sensible approach to sharing the pain. I was massively impressed by that response.

Change for good?

It feels as though some things may have changed permanently within the industry as a result of the pandemic. One of those shifts is cultural; the other relates to productivity and talent.

Culture: Within our field we’ve always been something of a proactive outlier in wellbeing and flexible working, but the impression I get now is that this isn’t a fringe or niche position; it’s entirely mainstream. We all face a rebalancing in the years to come – of finding the right mix of in-office working that is so beneficial to collaboration and connection, and at-home working because we’ve all realised it just works.

Productivity: Someone said to me recently that productivity in construction has improved by 10% in the last 10 years, much further behind other sectors. Ours is an industry built on low risk. New and potentially better ways of construction – prefab, modular etc – that could give productivity some rocket fuel have traditionally been shunned in favour of bricks and mortar. But this year has shown us what change really looks like – and what we can achieve. Perhaps it is the catalyst we need to recognise that you can’t keep building with bricks if you don’t have the people who know how to lay them. There is a definite skills shortage and a need for mentors. This virtual, digitised world we’ve been forced into may finally provide fresh impetus for exploring new ways of building.

Predictions for 2021

We approach the new year with caution because that is the responsible thing to do, but I am hugely optimistic about next year. It’s all about finding those truffles in the mud, and in a construction sense, I believe next year those truffles will include:

• Flexible, agile, entrepreneurial: We’ve experienced at first-hand how agility can be crucial in times of crisis. It enabled us to make decisions – whether positive or negative – swiftly. That’s a huge contrast to the tanker-like monoliths who will struggle to adapt at the speed required.
• Residential: Numbers still aren’t where they need to be in relation to government commitments so we’ll see a continued drive for in and out of town resi.
• Logistics: COVID has driven many more people and businesses online and the motorway-side sheds that feed online distribution will remain a growth area.
• Health: Partly due to the levelling up agenda, partly down to the government’s commitment to build and refurbish more hospitals, health will remain at the forefront of construction in 2021.
• Advanced manufacturing: We’ll see more work connected with manufacturers using graphene and similar materials.
• Town centre regeneration: For those towns outside of our main cities, after years of underfunding, particularly in the North, we are starting to see major regeneration initiatives coming to life.
• Infrastructure: It’s not just HS2, we’ll see a major push across the North in road and rail.

So, construction’s report card for a year like no other? Armageddon averted. Bumps in the road navigated. Truffles on offer for those with a snout attuned to sniffing them out. And enough in our response to suggest that 2020 could be the year we stopped doing what we’ve always done and opened ourselves up to real opportunity.

Duncan Firth is Managing Director of Walker Sime a construction consultancy practice offering commercial infrastructure consultancy, quantity surveying and project management. With offices in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Glasgow the company employs 80 staff across a range of disciplines.

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Turning a Trying 2020 into a Thriving 2021

Ian Batchelor, Executive Director of Construction, and Simon Yung, Head of New Homes at ODS discuss their learnings from 2020 and what the future holds for the construction industry

2020 has been a challenging yet eye-opening year for the construction industry. We witnessed a record monthly output growth of 21.8% in June 2020 despite the impact of COVID-19, which then slowed to 3.0% in August.[1] The pandemic delayed £26 billion worth of projects in the UK at the start of the first lockdown in March, and more than 83,000 employees in the industry have lost their jobs. This has meant companies have needed to furlough employees, provide extra support and find new ways of working, including COVID-secure working practices.

A new way of thinking about construction is needed for 2021. The industry is one of the few permitted to continue working through lockdown, however it must adapt to the current situation and evolve it approach as the new year dawns. It has already started to make important changes, such as supplying workers with sufficient PPE, arranging bubbles and scheduling staggered break times, which are all steps in the right direction.

Whilst a new vaccine has just been approved for use in the UK, we can take what we have learnt this year and use it to improve. Changes made in the construction sector today will enable new efficiencies to be created tomorrow.

A brighter 2021

While 2020 has been difficult for everyone, we’ve all undoubtedly learnt a great deal from the challenges faced. We have also mastered how to work more efficiently and to become more creative in a predominantly on-site industry which, when everything is running smoothly, operates without pauses.

The pandemic will likely prompt several significant changes in 2021, benefitting the public, environment and construction industry professionals. These include: high-quality, energy efficient new builds and renovations, the proliferation of modular construction, and re-investment in apprenticeships.

Enhanced private and social housing

The pandemic has had an effect on housing in more ways than one. In addition to issues such as an increase in housing costs, mental and physical health have been greatly impacted by having to stay indoors for long periods of time. This means that, in 2021, there is likely to be a greater focus on more spacious, energy efficient housing, to avoid overcrowding as well as any negative effects caused by the outside environment. Further, working from home is creating demand for residences in more rural locations, as people escape to the suburbs for more space, scenic views and fresh air.[2]

Energy efficient housing can deliver healthy temperatures and humidity levels, reduced noise levels and improved air quality. As part of our commitment to help create a zero-carbon Oxford, we’re currently building zero-carbon social homes. Due to finish in spring 2021, an independent consultant has indicated the development is likely to achieve a 100 A or 99 A energy efficiency rating in their Energy Performance Certifications; the highest possible scores for energy efficiency. The homes will be suitable for the elderly and disabled, with hallways that are large enough for wheelchairs to pass through, entranceways with wheelchair charging points and wet room bathrooms.

More modular construction

Modular construction has been a hotly debated topic in the industry. But with MMC champion, Mark Farmer, calling on the government to build 75,000 modular homes a year, we will likely see greater adoption of this approach. With the world’s tallest modular building having been completed at the end of last year in London, and with more than £223 million of loans from the Home Building Fund agreed for projects using MMC, it’s clear  modular construction is the way forward.

ODS has already begun implementing MMC into its construction mix. Using the ‘Oxford model’, where the community is considered in all business decisions, of modular construction, we have largely built our zero-carbon homes off site before installation. This approach allows projects to be completed up to 50% faster than those built traditionally, and also allows us to be kinder to the community by reducing the amount of noise, dirt and pollution produced by large construction vehicles and machines. We also recently erected sports changing facilities and a community space for a local football club using modular construction. This minimised the impact on local residents and the site itself, and kept build times to a minimum.

Apprenticeships

Existing apprenticeships have been paused in the construction industry, and a number of businesses have found the Government’s current apprenticeship scheme to be confusing. This has posed a major problem for the industry’s future, particularly due to the effect Brexit may soon have on the number of EU nationals working in construction in the UK.[3]

The good news is the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has confirmed, under its new proposals recently submitted to the Government, thousands of construction SMEs will not have to pay a levy for 2021-22 and will still be able to claim CITB grants for their training and skills development.[4]

This will hopefully allow companies to re-focus on recruiting school leavers and other young people to the construction industry, and help them to get back on their feet in the new year. At ODS, we plan to continue offering work placements in joinery and construction apprenticeships.

Looking ahead

Construction performance has not been uniform this year, and companies across the country need to mobilise to ensure the problems which arose in 2020 are addressed, giving the industry an opportunity to thrive.

With new, greener methods of construction becoming increasingly popular and renewed hope for younger generations entering the sector, 2021 has the chance to become a year of recovery, change, and especially, innovation.

At ODS, ‘doing good business’ is our core purpose and this will shape our construction strategy looking ahead, with a major focus on sustainable social housing and carbon-efficient construction techniques. As always, every decision will be made with our employees, customers, suppliers, community and the environment in mind. Hopefully, the lessons learned from 2020, and ongoing support while adjusting to a ‘new normal’ will make things easier for our teams, and the construction industry as a whole in the coming months.

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