Description: There is a grave danger that the UK construction industry will follow car manufacturing, where not one major British company remains. We are past the point of paying lip service to international best practice; we must match it or die. Surprisingly, few contractors have taken it upon themselves to improve their productivity, yet some observers believe that the construction industry is struggling to survive. Many UK clients consider the industry to be unresponsive and inefficient; certainly there have been few changes in the last 50 years. It is hardly surprising, then, that the 1994 Latham Report called for an increase in efficiency of 30 per cent. The real threat, however, comes from outside the local environment. Construction is a global industry and British contractors have to compete against their international counterparts, not only overseas, but on home ground too. French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean and Scandinavian companies are all working on British projects that once would have been the preserve of indigenous contractors. On a recent series of demonstration projects managed by Kvaerner Construction Ltd (now Skanska), Lorne Stewart PLC and Tarmac (now Carillion), labour productivity was increased by more than 25 per cent. This guide provides the detailed, practical advice that will allow other contractors to achieve similar success. This book is essential reading for contractors, designers, quantity surveyors, operations directors, project managers, site supervisors, construction clients, materials and components suppliers, construction management academics and students.

Keywords: construction management.

Contents: 1 Introduction, 2 Defining the problem, 3 Improving productivity, Appendices