Leadership will be
required from the UK construction products sector to address the forces taking
shape around the entire construction industry, urged Carl Arntzen, CEO of
Worcester Bosch and Chair of the Construction Products Association.
At the CPA’s annual
Autumn Lunch, with over 600 guests from across the construction supply chain
including manufacturers and distributors, major contractors, politicians and
the media, Mr Arntzen argued that a variety of systemic changes were buffeting
businesses across the industry; skills and labour shortages, resource
constraints, climate change, technological advances, to name just a
handful.
Numerous government
policies, including of course, Brexit were impacting companies too.
Mr Arntzen reflected
that in 2017 perhaps the biggest catalyst for change has not been brought about
by any of these factors, but rather by the terrible loss of life in the
Grenfell Tower fire.
“Poor risk
management, poor procurement, poor quality, poor building management, not to
mention complex regulations and controls, all contributed to the tragedy,” said
Mr Arntzen.
“No corner of the UK
construction industry will remain unchanged by Grenfell, and it will require
leadership from likes of the people in this room to take the industry forward.”
Mr Arntzen otherwise
insisted that UK manufacturers and suppliers of construction products were
well-placed to help the wider construction industry to modernise: “Already,” he
said, “we are creating smarter, more innovative products and methods of construction.
And by using digitally-enabled, collaborative ways of working we help deliver
better, more certain outcomes and avoid smart products being installed into
dumb, poorly constructed buildings.
“I see our member
companies improving quality, safety, performance and sustainability throughout
our businesses and our products, and this feeds through to the projects
themselves.
“We now need to help
support such changes in the supply chain. If we succeed, there is
potential for massive rewards in boosting growth, improving construction
productivity and through this spur investment by our companies to increase
capacity in UK manufacturing and wider construction.
“We also need to get
on and deliver for the UK as a whole.
“Construction, after
all, underpins the UK’s ability to grow and thrive and to create that
‘equitable modern society’ often spoken about but seemingly out of reach."
