Mark Wakeford, joint managing director at Midlands contractor Stepnell, on the increasing impact of a declining skills base in construction.
Mark Wakeford
At Stepnell we are constantly thinking how to provide the best service that we can to our customers and at the same time retain a low corporate risk profile. We have many repeat customers who value this attention to detail and our emphasis on traditional quality in design and construction.
In common with many construction companies we have suffered the reduction of skills within our industry. At Stepnell we have not seen this as being unable to procure subcontractors, there are still generally enough to tender and bid for our subcontract packages. We have, though, seen a general reduction in the skill base within our supply chain. The skills that we anticipate in our partners are spread more thinly and the potential for poor quality to seep through is increased as a result.
Stepnell is lucky to have an established team of site managers, most of whom are trade based and are proficient at managing people and quality. While processes are crucial in enforcing quality in construction, it is ultimately the skilled management of labour and an experienced awareness of what is right that will deliver the results.
So what are the issues to watch out for? We believe it is building performance that is important. The aesthetics and functionality of a building are set at planning, the performance during detailed design and the losses during construction. Construction losses were traditionally around leaks, but are increasingly focused on energy performance. In the same way that a leak is incontrovertible evidence of a building failure, a thermographic image of a failed building element is difficult to defend.
As design-and-build contractors we are very aware of the requirements placed on the construction teams to deliver quality within the ever decreasing tolerances set by design. We are also aware of the long-term liability should we fail to deliver what we promise. This is why we insist on a reasonable lead period from order to site to allow time to hone the interfaces and secure the right people within Stepnell and our supply chain to deliver quality for the project. It is also why we are now refocusing on the skills and awareness of our site teams.
Fortunately, there are others in the industry who are also aware of the risks that businesses are running should they fail to manage quality. The Zero Carbon Hub has just produced a Builders’ Book – An illustrated guide to building energy efficient homes. Given that most building failures result in a loss of energy and energy is something that many businesses are now having to monitor, either through cost or statute; this makes quality around energy efficiency important to our customers. While the Builders Book is primarily aimed at homes the details are applicable across a range of common building types.
My message to contractors is:
- Make sure that you know what tolerances you are building to and that you have the right skills on site to deliver them.
- The industry has a great system of “Tool Box Talks” for health and safety. Start them for quality. We all have pride in our work and generally listen how to do a better job.
- Whilst contracts can never eliminate a problem, they can mitigate the consequences. Make sure that your upstream contracts are not onerous and that your downstream ones are explicit in what you need to be delivered.
- Make sure that you have the lead time that you need and not the lead time devised by professionals who are not taking the risk of poor planning. Use it wisely!
- Don’t cover those problems up. It is becoming increasingly easy to investigate issues such as a lack of insulation or mortar in the cavity so it is always better to solve a problem as it arises than bury it and hope that it goes away!
And my message to clients is to find out what your contractor is doing to maintain the quality of your building.
