Adopting Rethinking Construction principles could save billions, says Griffiths

The construction industry could benefit by billions of pounds by following the principles of the Rethinking Construction programme, a
new report has revealed.

The report, Demonstrating Success through Rethinking Construction, documents the progress of all 374 active and completed Rethinking Construction demonstration projects.

And it shows that if just one third of the industry applied the principles of Rethinking Construction to their projects:

• client construction costs could be reduced by £1.4bn;
• the cost of accidents could be reduced by £1.2bn; and,
• organisations could deliver an additional £446m in profit.

Commenting on the report construction minister Nigel Griffiths said: "Over the last four years these projects have consistently outperformed the industry average.

"Organisations that regularly participate in demonstration activities have achieved more predictability on cost and time and greater
productivity, as well as being almost three times safer, being more environmentally friendly, having fewer defects and achieving higher
customer satisfaction.

"There's a clear business case for adopting the principles behind the programme," he said.

Praising the £83bn contribution of the construction industry to the UK economy, Griffiths added: "This vital industry has the potential to power us past our competitors as third biggest economy in the world within a decade. I urge more firms to take up the Rethinking Construction agenda."

Griffiths also welcomed the appointment of Professor Dennis Lenard as chief executive of Construction Excellence, designed to bring together Rethinking Construction and Construction Best Practice.

"Prof Lenard brings with him a wealth of experience of the construction industry both from a UK and international perspective," he said.

"I am confident he will be able to lead Constructing Excellence and help realise the government and industry's vision for world-beating performance in the future."