黑洞社区

The construction industry has more than a century of progress to catch up on and should not be 鈥渁fraid of disruption鈥�, according to the boss of an offsite manufacturing firm.  

Tony Wells, chief executive of Merit, invoked economist Paul Krugman in identifying productivity as the key challenge facing the sector. 

鈥淧roductivity isn鈥檛 everything but in the long run it is almost everything,鈥� he said, quoting the Noble Prize winner. 

He told 黑洞社区鈥檚 黑洞社区 the Future Commission conference that while manufacturing had gone through four industrial revolutions, the construction sector had 鈥渟ort of checked out around the 1910s鈥�. 

鈥淲e need to get back and address that and catch up on 120 years in one step,鈥� he said. 

Wells continued: 鈥淲e need to go further than fragmented bits of MMC and kit of parts, it needs to be an integrated platform and digitalisation through production systems and factory manufacturing. 

鈥淭he construction industry doesn鈥檛 have to be afraid of disruption 鈥� it will look different, but it is challenging, it is exciting and it is great fun.  

鈥淏ut we can鈥檛 just be satisfied with tweaking a broken model, it needs a radical rethink. Digitalization, integrated platforms and sustainability are the constructions promethean moment.  

鈥淭his is such a departure and an advance from what鈥檚 been existing before that you can鈥檛 just change one thing you have to change everything.  

鈥淲e鈥檝e been presented with a once in a lifetime opportunity to reshape the whole of the construction industry, and it will require us all including our clients to emphasise and embrace the transformation.鈥� 

Addressing the same panel, Laing O鈥橰ourke鈥檚 Paul Drayton said the industry was currently 鈥渢rying to do a bit too much鈥� and that there was 鈥渁n opportunity to simplify the agenda鈥�. 

Drayton, the firm鈥檚 head of digital in Europe, said the industry needed to be 鈥渞uthless鈥� in choosing priorities, identifying delivery certainty and earlier model maturity, workforce priority and compliance with the increased requirements of building safety as key focuses. 

Bryden Wood鈥檚 director in creative technologies, Maria Mamoura, noted the role of people in the adoption of new technologies. 

鈥淏ecause digital disruption will not come from outside, digital disruption will come from the inside,鈥� she said. 

鈥淭echnology is not the solution to the problem [鈥�.] actually technology is just a catalyst to drive the digital transformation of our industry.鈥�