How long have we been banging on about the value of whole life costs? How many of us are embracing this aspect of our industry?
I would argue, not many!
Latham and Egan seem to be a life-time away, yet what progress have we really made?
Step forward a potential saviour!
No-one understands how construction solutions perform better than those who look after them. FM or repairs and maintenance managers are the Cinderellas of our industry, yet their contribution is key to the industry moving forward towards true asset life-cycle success.
The industry's maintenance men are seldom given the acknowledgement they deserve. They know what works and what doesn't, they know what is reliable and what fails and what costs the client money. However, their contribution to new asset procurement and construction is negligible. Even when they are asked for their input, it is often token - an afterthought prompted by the client, who wants the maintenance man "to become familiar with what has been built".
Small and medium contractors have the same problem. They, too, are all too often overlooked and despite our claims to be managing the supply chain better, they are still 'squeezed'. Yet similar to the maintenance sector, their contribution in terms of their knowledge and experience of what works, would be considerable if only they were properly engaged.
For far too long, capital and revenue have been treated as separate parts of the organisation. In the private sector this can be addressed - but not so easily in the public sector. Until clients recognise that construction, repairs and maintenance are very closely linked and give the maintenance sector and the SMEs the recognition they warrant, we will never get high performing solutions that continue to deliver over their expected life.
Peter Woolliscroft
Managing director
London Area Procurement Network