Have clients abdicated their responsibility?

Just because the client is king, doesn't mean it has to behave like royalty in its dealings with the construction industry.

Clients are at the top of the supply chain, and therefore have the most to gain from quality construction. They also, arguably, have the most to lose if construction goes wrong. So you'd think clients would be first in the queue for the spoils of Rethinking Construction. But they are not. Some of them aren't even in the queue.

Well-meaning organisations like the Construction Best Practice Programme (CBPP) and the Construction Industry Training Board have been diligently devising courses all around the country to promote Sir John Egan's objectives. But the client community has for the most part stayed away (see p1).

Not one client turned up to several sessions on 'Best Value and Construction Procurement'. Are they trying to suggest that they have nothing to learn about or contribute to this crucial topic? And there were no clients attending courses entitled 'Changing Behaviour to Improve Health & Safety'. This sends out a very unfortunate message. You might have thought that some public sector clients at least were "on-message" enough to support these kinds of initiative.

Last month the Confederation of Construction Clients' chief executive Zara Lamont told CJ: "They [clients] don't want the view that the industry is client driven." They might not like it, but it's a fact. What other possible driver would they prefer? Profit? Survival?

Lamont also complained: "The client is not the saviour of the industry." Fair enough, but clients have a high enough stake in the salvation of the industry to warrant involvement in business improvement and best practice initiatives. If they choose to remain royally aloof, they will reign over a sorry kingdom indeed.