BUILDING INDUSTRY INVESTIGATION TEAM
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In our last issue we published a review by a Fellow of the R.I.B.A. on the report of the Produc- tivity Team representing the building industry in Britain, which last year toured the U.S.A., and also an account of a discussion by Members of the R.I.C.S. Through the courtesy of a well-known architect in Hong Kong, we obtained a copy of the full report from which we have extracted the final section, the official conclusions and recommendations.
1. The great speed of American constructional jobs and their low cost-in relation to the average rate of wages-must make an extremely strong impression upon any observer, and in this Report we have examined the main psychological, organisational and technical differences between the British and American building industries with the object of isolating the factors which make for high productivity in the United States. In our opinion, the most important. but not the only, factors are (i) the complete pre-planning of the job by build- ing owner. architect and contractor, (ii) the proper co- ordination of sub-contractors' work and the effective collabora- tion between them and the general contractor, (iii) the adequacy of supplies of labour and materials and the absence of restricting controls, (iv) the general availability and use of mechanical aids, (v) the recognition of the importance of continuous research into the production of materials and into building techniques and (vi) the nation-wide stimulus of the American industrial climate, which has a great effect on the output of every individual, and which is shared by all members of the building industry.
2. This last reason, which may be termed the psycho- logical factor, is perhaps the most important of all, Acceptance of the need for high productivity as an essential factor in industrial life is universal in America, and it permeates the will and action of the operatives as well as of the professional and employer groups. The attitude of the individual towards his work must, in an industry like building, which depends so much on individual effort, be vital. At the same time, con- sciousness of forming part of a well-organised team moving at high speed, has a definite effect upon productivity. There appears to be a real community of interest between all sections of the industry based on a realisation of their inter-dependence. Competition exists in full measure, but, once a job is started. the spirit of collaboration, inspired by the driving force of the general contractor, can be relied upon to secure the desired results.
3.
Apart from the adequacy of supplies of materials, all the influences towards higher productivity mentioned above can be developed in the British building industry by its own efforts. We believe that the prosperity and efficiency of the industry can be increased, its costs lowered and the earnings of its operatives raised, if the responsible industrial organisa- tions, the Government departments concerned, individual building owners (private and public) and, above all. the individual members of the industry give due consideration to the picture which we have drawn and if all strive to give effect to the recommendations we now make. Each one in his individual capacity must simultaneously make the necessary effort-architects, to plan better; contractors, to organise better; sub-contractors, to co-operate better; and operatives, to produce more.
4. Proper pre-planning being such a determining factor, the attention of all building owners and the architectural pro- fession must be drawn to the importance of the following guiding principles:
(a) the establishment of full confidence between architect and client on a business basis and the definite settlement at an early stage of the client's requirements—the latter being particularly necessary in the case of Government departments-so that costly and time-wasting variations in the work are eliminated and the speedier final settle- ment of accounts facilitated;
are
(b) the preparation of designs which have regard to ease of construction and saving of cost by the avoidance of unnecessary cutting to waste, chasing, etc., and based, as far as possible, on standard dimensions. Designs must take into account also the types of materials and equipment available;
(c) the completion, before the tender stage, of all essential working drawings, specifications and schedules, and the Issue to tenderers of such drawings and other details as are necessary to enable them to price the job quickly and accurately:
(d) the issue to the main contractor of all information necessary for letting sub-contracts-nominated or other- wise and for the placing of orders with nominated suppliers immediately upon the acceptance of his tender. Any separate contracts let direct by the architect should be entered into at this stage;
(e)
the more careful selection and the better training and payment of clerks of works.
5. The attention of the general contractor, and of all others concerned, is drawn to the following recommendations, aimed at the improvement of contract organisation:
(a)
constructional work should not be started until the organisation of the job has been worked out to the most advanced stage possible. Architect and contractor should therefore combine to resist pressure, whether from the building owner or from the licensing authorities, to begin operations on the site prematurely;
(b) the general contractor should regard the proper co- ordination of the sub-contractors as one of the most important of his functions and this depends to a large extent on the early settlement of all details of the works and of the placing of all sub-contracts, as recommended in para. 4 above;
(c) general and positive use should be made of simplified time and progress schedules, which should be circulated widely throughout the job and
to which all sub-
contractors and any direct contractors should be required to conform exactly;
(d) the work of sub-contractors responsible for the services should be started at an early stage and their fittings. etc., installed conformably with the progress of the con- structional work,--bearing in mind that American practice in this respect is made possible because great care is taken by contractor and sub-contractors and by their employees to preserve from damage all work placed in position;
(e)
(g)
a review should be made of existing facilities and schemes for the selection and training of supervisory staff with the object of promoting a quick increase in the intake of technically trained supervisors with good general educational standards;
(f) the use of costing systems appropriate to the type of
work undertaken, avoiding all unnecessary elaboration;
the encouragement of the maximum economic use of mechanical aids of all descriptions, and the wider spread- ing of information appraising the merits of machinery and plant available.
6. With regard to the use of materials, it is not necessary to emphasise the increased efficiency and economy which can be secured by adequate supplies of timber at a reasonable price. The use of unsuitable timber and substitute materials substantially increases the cost of British building.
7. Dealing with concrete and cement products, it is recommended that
(a) the whole question of the quality control of concrete be examined and, in particular, its specification by per- formance and quality, i.e. by compressive strength in lbs. per square inch, instead of by volume or weight; (b) investigation be made into the technical possibilities of the use of transit-mixed concrete in the major centres; investigation be made into the advantages to be gained from greater use of air-entrained concrete;
(c)
(d)
more general use of concrete blocks of various suitable aggregates be encouraged for alt appropriate purposes. 8. The desirability of further investigation into American building materials prompts the suggestion that certain of the irdustries manufacturing materials for the building industry in Britain should consider sending teams to the United States. Particular attention should be given to the co-ordination of dimensions in the production of American building components.
9. The installation of the services in American buildings has reached a high degree of efficiency. Much valuable guidance would, for example, be secured from a further and more detailed study of American plumbing practice, with particular reference to the simplification of planning and fittings. The general adoption of central heating in small houses and flats leads to considerable economies in planning and in building maintenance costs.
10. The responsible Government departments can assist productivity in the industry in the following ways:
(a) Departments responsible for licensing and for materials and other controls should continually keep under review the possibility of relaxing or eliminating them so as to facilitate development and reduce unproductive paper- work. The phasing of materials orders is in any case a delicate operation and job organisation may be ruined by official requirements that certain materials are not to be delivered until the end of a particular licensing period.
(b) Removal of controls over the prices of basic building If materials with a view to their eventual stabilisation. stabilisation of prices could be substantially achieved, the way would be open for the withdrawal of fluctuations clauses in contracts and a return to competitive purchas- ing of materials,
(c) The restrictive effects of obsolete bye-laws on the use of new materials and methods would be eased by the adoption of simpler and quicker procedure for revision and unification. Many features of American plumbing practice, for example, would not conform to the majority of current British bye-laws.
(d) Improvement of the allowance of energy-giving foods for the building trade operative, and, in particular, the provision of suitable fillings for sandwiches to workers unable to reach proper canteens.
(e) Propaganda to inculcate safety-mindedness among build- ing trade workers can do much to reduce the number of accidents, and, in this connection, a further examination of American requirements and practice in regard to scaffolding might result in agreement on some appropriate modifications of the Building
and (Safety, Health Welfare) Regulations to permit the use of simplified and more economical forms of scaffolding.
11. In regard to housing by private enterprise, both for sale and for letting, the results achieved in the United States since 1945 confirm pre-war experience in Britain that the
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