The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) is to fund four new projects valued at £500,000 that aim to reduce errors, defects and rework during construction jobs.
The projects come following successful bids by Berkeley, Kier, and Vinci, which all made a bid for funding as part of a consortium called the Get It Right Initiative (GIRI).
The fourth organisation to win investment through the CITB’s Productivity Commission, which encourages collaborative working, was the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).
The projects will work together to change behaviours at key points in the construction process.
Each project will develop short training modules for their workers, to be delivered either face-to-face or online, piloted with their supply chains and then once completed, shared and available for the whole sector to implement.
The Get It Right Initiative (GIRI) has identified that the overall estimated cost of avoidable errors to British construction is approximately 21% of project cost – around £21bn per year – and far greater than the average profit margin for a typical construction project.
Kier has been awarded £94,340 to reduce rework from errors and defects by creating a culture of ‘right first time’ with organisational and project leaders.
Vinci will receive £115,945, which it will use to reduce errors and rework by improving behaviours in quality and standards for project supervisors and managers.
Meanwhile, Berkeley’s bid to reduce errors, defects and rework during construction has been granted £103,891. The project includes introducing collaborative planning at design interfaces, for example, holding planning meetings where the architect can share information with the construction team.
The FMB is set to receive £127,952 to deliver L5 qualifications to its members who are project managers working on energy efficiency retrofitting. The FMB claim that the qualifications will reduce error margins and therefore the need for rework.
Geeta Nathan, head of economic analysis at CITB, said: “I’m pleased to announce CITB will fund these four new projects, designed to address issues at all levels to prevent errors and defects across British construction.
“These issues cost the industry around £21bn each year, not to mention the time and effort they take to correct, lowering productivity levels.
“Clearly, it’s absolutely vital that we work together as an industry to reduce errors and improve profit margins, and I’m proud CITB is able to drive these valuable initiatives forward.”
Tom Barton, head of the Get It Right Initiative, says: “We are absolutely delighted that the CITB has awarded grants to the three GIRI consortia and we are looking forward to working with everybody to develop and deliver training that will fundamentally improve the way the industry operates.
