Industry challenged over collaborative working record

Property and construction consultancy Bucknall Austin is urging the industry to embrace collaborative working practices to shake off its negative image and dramatically improve performance.  

Bucknall's has hit out at parts of the industry which have been resistant to improvements to working practices, advising them to get on board or be left behind.  

The warning coincides with the publication of Bucknalls’ own Best Value Review, which measures the firm’s performance against industry standards and assesses its ability to meet Best Value objectives.

Chairman David Bucknall said: “While our industry does great things, it has consistently failed in terms of improving productivity levels and meeting expectations. It’s crucial that we work together to drive standards upwards, thereby improving performance and transforming the image of our industry.

“The best way to achieve this is through adopting collaborative working principles and sharing best practice. Firms at every level of the construction and property supply chain should be working with each other, not against each other, and constantly looking for ways to improve the quality of the service they provide."

If the results of Bucknalls’ Best Value Review are anything to go by, the firm is certainly taking its commitment to these principles seriously. 

Scoring well above the industry standard in a number of key areas, including value for money, quality of service, environmental impact and whole life performance, the firm was also made aware of  a number of areas requiring improvement.

Compared against the industry benchmark standard Bucknall Austin consistently performs in the upper quartile in all areas.

This marks the third year running that the consultancy has achieved a top quartile rating.  Areas in which Bucknalls scored highest were quality of service, timely delivery and value for money.