Contractors expose digital information gap

Image: Dreamstime/Bogdan Hoda

Just over a quarter of contractors (27%) have claimed that construction projects do not provide BIM models at tender stage, despite a 70% industry wide adoption rate.

That’s according to a survey by construction consultancy Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB UK). 

RLB questioned key figures across the supply chain, in varying sectors, size of projects and type of contractors. The results showed a gap in the provision of digital information, despite the benefits it offers in terms of interrogation of design and reducing risk allocations.  

Meanwhile, despite the UK government’s recent push for Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), such methods are typically being adopted less than a quarter of projects, according to the survey. However, respondents said they expected adoption to increase by 14% over the next three years.

When it came to contractors’ concerns about the next 12 months, they were chiefly worried about supply chain capacity, material costs, and availability of materials. The impact of the UK’s departure from the European Union on future workload only ranked fifth out of a list of six different concerns.

Source: RLB

Other results from RLB UK’s Getting Close to Your Supply Chain report found:

• the most likely size of project to accept a single-stage tender was <£7.5m, and £30m-£60m meaning mid-size projects and very large projects are facing a less competitive tendering environments 
• 66% of projects were utilising design and build contracts
• Despite the best practice recommendations of the Construction Leadership Council’s Procuring for Value report, less than half of projects in the private sector have explicit value selection criteria.  Tendering in the private sector remains fixated on price and time.   
• 30% of contractors advise that brickwork and blockwork along with bespoke joinery are the trades with least capacity – a trend consistent across the UK.
• 30% prefer a “design and dump” approach to D&B tenders with RIBA Stage 4 Design provided at tender stage – perhaps driven by the need to prevent incorrect design assumptions leading to underbidding. 

Source: RLB

Matt Brooker, head of national commercial at RLB said: “There were some real surprises that came out of us sitting down and talking to the supply chain that illuminated the chasm in some cases between perception of what is happening at a senior/policy level and the reality on the ground. Understanding the issues, predictions, challenges and opportunities felt by the supply chain is crucial for us as an industry to help navigate business going forward, and of course, for us to advise our clients on procurement strategies.”

The RLB Getting Close to your Supply Chain report led by Paul Beeston, partner at RLB provides a snapshot of market sentiment on procurement issues.  It was conducted with one-to-one conversations with 51 supply chain contacts across the UK ranging in geography, sectors, size of project and type of contractors to provide a robust insight into procurement trends within the industry. The full report is available on request.