For decades productivity has been considered one of the main issues within the construction industry – the sector has gained a reputation for projects being completed behind schedule and over budget.
According to the Smart Construction report, researched and published by KPMG – the infrastructure, building and construction industry has seen a substantial increase in pipeline activity, with industry-wide sentiment improving in recent years and greater significance placed on sustainability.
The construction industry currently makes up 6.5% of the UK economy and forecasts suggest a healthy growth rate of 3.6% in 2016 returning output to pre- recession levels. Growth is being driven by demand for infrastructure, public and private housing and commercial buildings.
While the construction industry is buoyed by predicted growth and expansion, it continues to underperform in four strategic areas: productivity, certainty in delivery, skills shortage and data transparency.
Offsite construction – the prefabrication, modularisation and standardisation of construction processes and assets within controlled factory environments – continues to be quoted across government and industry as a potential catalyst in meeting these challenges.
Offsite construction offers an alternative by presenting transformative improvements across the asset lifecycle in time, cost, quality and health and safety. But most importantly, offsite construction offers predictability.
Future infrastructure clients like HS2 are specifying the ‘presumption for offsite’ in future tenders and The Housing Corporation and English Partnerships are requiring that 25% of funded units be constructed using technically advanced offsite construction methods.
Joshua Southern, author of the KPMG Smart Construction report, will be speaking at the Midlands Construction Summit – discussing how offsite construction can offer a viable alternative to the construction status-quo.
Joshua Southern will be joined at the Midlands Construction Summit by an outstanding speaker line-up that includes: Robin Lapish, Supply Chain Manager – HS2; Ann Bentley, Global Chairman – Rider Levett Bucknall; Mark Farmer, Founding Director & CEO – CAST; Lorraine Gregory, Partnership Manager – CITB. For the full list of speakers go to:http://www.builtenvironmenthub.org/summitandexpo/conference-speakers
Taking place on 14 November 2017 at the National Conference Centre in Birmingham, this combined conference and exhibition will guide and help the Midlands built environment sector to define their route map for grasping the strategic opportunities in a lively and structured way, allowing for plenty of input from industry leaders and their suppliers coalescing around a range of key themes. Tickets cost £95 + vat and include entry into the conference and exhibition, parking, refreshments and lunch – to find our more or to secure your place at the Midlands Construction Summit go to: www.midlandsconstructionsummit.co.uk
