Why construction must move from ‘lowest cost’ to ‘value procurement’ to reduce avoidable error

The latest episode of the Engineers Collective is out now: listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, your usual platform or via the player below.

This month’s guest is Cliff Smith, executive director of the Get It Right Initiative (Giri).

He told New Civil Engineer news editor Lee Kenny about Giri’s work to reduce avoidable error across the construction industry and why he believes changing culture, improving planning and focusing on value rather than cost are essential.

Smith said Giri’s research found around 21% of project costs are attributable to avoidable error, a figure that equated to around £25bn a year across the UK construction industry.

He said Giri has focused on addressing the root causes of error since it was established following an Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) discussion in 2015.

He said planning is the most significant of Giri’s top causes of error, ranging from strategic planning of projects through to ensuring teams have the right materials, equipment and resources for day-to-day tasks.

“It’s a built-in issue for us to go at,” he said.

“And even if you don’t get the 21%, you get 5%, it’s doubled your margin.”

Smith also discussed the importance of ensuring designs have reached the appropriate level of maturity before construction begins and warned that uncontrolled design changes can lead to avoidable errors.

He said technology should be used to solve clearly identified problems rather than adopted for its own sake.

“It’s a question of getting the right technology to address your particular challenges,” he said.

Looking at the wider industry, he believes creating an environment where workers feel able to raise concerns is vital. And his key message to the sector was to place greater emphasis on value when procuring projects.

“We need to have a different attitude when it comes to cost versus value,” he said.

“The sector needs to be moving towards value procurement.”