Does the Construction Industry Care About its Customers?

A curious question perhaps. Surely every business cares about its customers. But view the typical construction project from a customer’s perspective and things may look a little different. As fewer than half of all projects complete on time and on budget, delays and disappointment seem to be the expectation.

Take a glimpse into the future, with a growing skills shortage and greater economic uncertainty, do things look like becoming any better?

They could be. Comparing a traditional build to an offsite build using SIPs shows how and why the customer experience can be so much better.

Buildable Designs

Both projects start with a design. When we build with SIPs, we know that the design can be built exactly as it appears. We know exactly how services will be installed and how any M&E work will be carried out. The panels are precision made and not intended to be cut or drilled onsite so we have to think through every detail in the design.

With traditional builds, reworks and late design changes are still frustratingly common.

Once the project gets underway nothing much can be done to create the structure until the site is prepared and groundworks are completed – unless the build is offsite. With offsite builds the structure is being precision made in a modern manufacturing plant while the site preparation and foundations are completed.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

With the foundations in place it’s time to start the building work proper. Except when there’s an extended period of bad weather and the onsite work cannot start, or keeps getting interrupted. Materials are accumulating onsite as they are delivered and can’t be used (how much avoidable waste is this creating?).

On the offsite project, the building is created in sections by a small installation team, with panels delivered ‘just in time.’ Construction phases are rapidly made watertight so that follow on work can get underway.

Within a short period (about half of a traditional build), the offsite structure is complete and the final fit-out is underway. The subcontractors are all there at the right time because they are confident in the schedule.

Some weeks later the traditionally built structure is complete. But the follow-on subcontractors can’t start immediately because they had to find other work to do during the delay. And the price just went up because a big project in the area is sucking in all the skills.

The client still isn’t confident when they will get their building, or how much they will be paying. Meanwhile the client for the offsite build is starting to welcome the first occupants and getting a return on their investment.

Whether traditional or offsite, the overwhelming majority of construction firms do care about their customers, there’s no doubt about that. It’s just that the unpredictability of the methods they choose to employ can sometimes make it seem as if they don’t.