Contractors urged to form early supplier partnerships

Contractors could be working with materials suppliers when bidding for public sector contracts if the government takes heed of advice from the Construction Products Association.
Chief executive Michael Ankers said the association has advised the government to get suppliers involved early on in the procurement process.
Ankers said main contractors could head up teams including materials suppliers.
"What the [Office of Government Commerce] needs to do is to have early involvement with manufacturers, not just contractors.
"When main contractors
win a contract, we want to
see them have a team in place involving key manufacturers,
not just going away and finding the rest of the team afterwards. They would then have to stick with that team," Ankers said.
The advice comes after the publication of the Kelly Report on long-term capacity planning at the end of last year, which named construction procurement as a pilot sector. Ankers said the report showed gaps in the government's knowledge of its own procurement requirements.
Ankers said suitable schemes would include road, rail, schools and housing improvement programmes.
"We have been in discussion with Partnerships for Schools to see how we can establish a clear understanding of what is required."
He said the Association wants to see the government consulting "key manufacturers" such as Corus, Hanson, RMC and Pilkington Glass.
Hanson welcomed the idea of joining construction consortia. The firm has formal agreements with Shepherd Construction, Skanska and Dorset County Council.
A Hanson spokesman said: "It's not about squeezing each other for prices. It's about avoiding that confrontational relationship and building proper partnerships, which we can both benefit from.
"There are huge efficiencies in being able to plan and we can pass some of those on to our partners."
Ankers also called for more dialogue between the government and manufacturers. He said the industry would benefit from being able to plan ahead for new programmes, or accommodate cuts in spending.