SEC Group Highlights Poor Procurement as Principal Cause of Construction Waste

Poor procurement practices represent the major cause of waste across the UK construction industry.

This view was highlighted by the Specialist Engineering Contractors' (SEC) Group in its evidence to an enquiry being undertaken by the House of Lords Science and Technology Sub-Committee, under the chairmanship of Lord O'Neill of Clackmannan.

Speaking on behalf of SEC Group, Cal Bailey of national m&e contractor N G Bailey insisted that, if it persisted with its current procurement practices, the industry would continue to waste materials on a huge scale.

‘We need an integrated delivery process in which design teams - comprising consulting engineers, contractors and manufacturers -buy into more efficient designs and methods of construction.

‘By reducing waste, we will significantly reduce energy use - and increase profitability throughout the supply chain,’ said Mr Bailey.

And he added that inappropriate design solutions - often involving over-specification - were resulting in ‘a phenomenal amount of waste and energy use over the lifetime of buildings’.

SEC Group is in the process of preparing a further written submission to the Science and Technology Sub-Committee, which is due to publish its report before the end of the current parliamentary session.

Web: http://www.secgroup.org.uk