Construction chiefs cool to Egan

Egan directly challenged contractors - through CJ - to focus on achieving the performance levels that his Task Force demands and not on short-term shareholder value after he launched the report Rethinking Construction (CJ 22 July).

Egan said: "I want the chief executives to accept the targets we have set and make it their number one priority to achieve them on all their projects - the guys at the top have learned to survive without having to change." The Task Force report says: "We have yet to see widespread evidence of the burning commitment to raise quality and efficiency."

CJ last week asked some of the UK's biggest contractors if they agree with Egan's priorities for their industry. At least four of the top contractors said they plan to make Egan's targets a priority: Amec, Balfour Beatty, Bovis and Costain.

Peter Mason, chief executive of Amec, said: "Egan is fundamentally important to the well-being of the industry's future. It is an opportunity to be grasped. It's a tough call but it is do-able. "I can't overdramatise the importance of this, I don't want the industry to revert to the old ways."

John Anderson, MD of Bovis Europe, said: "We fully support Sir John's criteria for improving Britain's construction industry. Clients must be willing to look beyond the lowest price and contractors and suppliers must be prepared to pool their skills and knowledge to the greater good of the projects on which they work."

Paul Lester, group MD at Balfour Beatty, welcomed the initiatives set out by Egan. He said: "The company sees both its shareholders and its customers benefiting." Lester said an Egan-type approach was built into Balfour's corporate business plan.

The contractor is 18 months into a programme of research with Bath University where benchmarking has identified ways to boost performance by 28 per cent. More UK construction companies are joining the programme, broadening the database, said Lester.

Costain's MD John Armitt confirmed that the Egan initiative was being incorporated into Costain's business plans. The group's Partners for Progress programme has set a challenge of reducing activity time by 30 per cent and unit costs by 30 per cent, with zero defects at hand-over on all Costain projects, all within three years' time.

Mason pointed out that clients must also take a lead. "The Egan initiative is client-led, contractors can only respond to client invitations," he said. "The experienced clients are leading. Over time the less experienced will be persuaded by the feel of the market. I hope to see clients getting a push from their own organisation."