Logistics centre targets social housing partners

Social housing contractors are shying away from innovative methods for procuring materials, claimed Gary Sullivan, managing director of logistics giant Wilson James, last week.

Speaking at the opening of the London Construction Consolidation Centre, which is similar to the logistics centre at T5, Sullivan said the company met with a frosty response when it contacted housebuilders about joining the project.

The new site in Bermondsey, the result of a partnership between Wilson James, Stanhope and Bovis Lend Lease, acts as a holding centre for materials for specific projects in the area.

Stanhope technical director Peter Rogers said: “We need to bring in other contractors than ourselves. We need to widen the scope if it is to succeed.”

However, Sullivan said housebuilders have been slow to show interest, although it will enlist Bovis and Stanhope-owned social housing firm First Base. He said: “We have found it difficult to talk to housebuilders about this process. We particularly want to talk to contractors in social housing, and we are talking to First Base, who will join us soon, but we are keen to talk to more.”

First Base constructs social housing projects in contracts of between £25m and £150m. Managing director Elliot Lipton told CJ: “The whole point about the centre is to ensure just-in-time delivery, and it does fit with our construction methods such as offsite construction.”

Transport for London freight industry co-ordinator Adrian Boughtflower said there is a pressing need to address logistics issues to meet the capital’s construction needs. He said: “The predicted growth for London is huge – it’s about the same as putting a city the size of Leeds into the current infrastructure.”

Sullivan said the centre will take the waiting time away from subcontractors during site deliveries. Under the system, subcontractors are responsible for procuring materials and transporting them to the centre. Wilson James then takes responsibility for their delivery to site.

Paul Sims, operations director for Bovis’s Unilever House project, said the centre will reduce down-time for operatives: “At no point will the operatives have to come down to collect the material. The skilled operative does what they do best, which is an idea we got from our visits to car manufacturers.”