Construction
SMEs have a forward-thinking approach to business and are willing to adapt to
new working practices, a survey from Constructionline has shown.
The survey
undertaken by the supply chain and procurement experts, shows that SMEs are
very aware of changes currently impacting the construction sector, but remain
positive with nearly three quarters of respondents (74%) optimistic about the
success of their business in the next two years.
The
findings come despite Brexit looming, the widely talked about skills shortage
and other macro factors.
John
Edmunds Constructionline’s Managing Director comments, “The survey shows an
awareness of changes that are coming to the sector and the vast majority of
SMEs understand the need to engage with new technologies, which is promising.
In particular we noticed the need to embrace Building Information Modelling
(BIM) - as a way to adapt to digital working to utilise off-site manufacture.”
Off-site
has been a buzzword in the construction world over the past year in particular,
and increased use of the approach and technology was a change that over a third
of respondents (36%) thought likely to happen.
“In
addition to their ability to adapt to new industry demands, many construction
SMEs expect to grow their business through a focus on the quality of their
work. In fact, three-quarters (75%) of respondents expect future opportunities
to come from their business’ reputation for producing high quality work,”
continues Edmunds from Constructionline.
Of those
businesses that did not expect their business to progress in the next two
years, 60% said the ongoing squeeze on price margin as the biggest threat while
53% cited concerns about labour issues, a lack of skilled people and the impact
of Brexit.
The survey
is based on responses from over 500 respondents drawn from Constructionline’s
46,000 supplier membership database over a four-week period between March and
April 2018.
