CONTENTS

CHANDLER SPEAKS

IN LIGHT OF THE CHALLENGES CURRENTLY IMPACTING THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY, DAVID CHANDLER (OAM FAIB) ARGUES FOR A RE-FRAMING OF THE ROLE PLAYED BY CHARTERED SURVEYORS AND QUANTITY SURVEYORS.

One of the most critical changes our industry will experience in the near future will be the advent of a more holistic, end-to-end approach to construction, in which surveyors are likely to prove pivotal.

Broadly speaking, a re-set in the role of the surveyor could be said to encompass the idea of underpinning value in the built world, either in its making, delivering, use and or transacting. In other words, there’s a part to be played by QSs in the chain of continuing due diligence that supports investment in property or infrastructure and the ensuing institutional and public confidence in the built world.

“Broadly speaking, a re-set in the role of the surveyor could be said to encompass the idea of underpinning value in the built world, either in its making, delivering, use and or transacting. In other words, there’s a part to be played by QS’s in the chain of due diligence that supports investment in property or infrastructure and the ensuing institutional and public confidence in the built world.” David Chandler (OAM FAIB).

This is a serious conversation, because on any day the industry aspires to move towards a more modern version of its traditional self. It applies lots of jargon to what this may mean and how each of the industry’s actors asserts that their contribution is “the bit” to make a difference. The challenge is that few can offer a holistic view of what a modernised industry might produce and how that may benefit end users and clients.

All agree that modern buildings and infrastructure are getting smarter. The Internet of Things (IoT), the digital economy and the growing impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) all point to a built world that will need to be organised very differently to the past. It’s a smart new world. It is difficult to install “smart” in anything after it is made. Computers have the ability to get smarter with upgrades, but their underlying “smart” was pre-installed. Smart buildings and infrastructure will require the same considerations. It is this journey where the more insightful and adaptive surveyors will play very key roles. And first movers will succeed when they create the confidence the industry’s clients; investors and users will need to come along.

Leadership is an essential component in building confidence. So what might this confidence be based on? Trust is a word that is now increasingly used in business dealing, particularly in light of the democratising impact of the digital economy. The construction industry is experiencing this phenomenon. It has lost confidence in old institutions that still have their culture and capabilities firmly anchored in the last century. Surveyors are well placed to be amongst a new breed of trustworthy intermediaries in the modern construction era, but they must have the capabilities and integrity needed.

Key words that will be fundamental to underpin a new era of client and public confidence in the built-world will include: “assured”, “sustainable”, “accountable” and “measurable.” Future claims by any of the industry’s actors will need to be quantifiable from a holistic perspective, not from a self-facing vendor point of view. Claims of “better”, “faster”, “less wasteful”, “sustainable” and “safer” will need to be evidenced by agreed benchmarks. Surveyors are best placed to hold and tally the scorecard to help clients get a better deal. The challenge for them is that a new set of measures will be required, and a modern scorecard.

One area of reform is how construction delivery times must be re-thought. As a benchmark, all projects from conception to acceptance should predictably be delivered 40 per cent faster by 2030 than they are today. To achieve this, systemic change will involve the pre-project actors, the specifiers of projects, the organisers and deliverers of projects to understand they must become members of a trustworthy, high performing eco-system.

New measures of success: a move to offsite construction requires news metrics and inputs, with implications for the role of pre-project actors, including surveyors.

The best scoring methods are likely to involve non-traditional measures. These measures will need to involve leading indicators, not trailing ones. Cost per square metre is a trailing indicator that simply adds up the cost of projects to a point and layers in new unsustainable contingencies. Time/unit output in my view is a more viable leading indicator.

“It is difficult to install “smart” in anything after it is made. Computers have the ability to get smarter with upgrades, but their underlying “smart” was pre-installed. Smart buildings and infrastructure will require the same considerations. It is this journey where the more insightful and adaptive surveyors will play very key roles. And first movers will succeed when they create the confidence the industry’s clients; investors and users will need to come along.” David Chandler (OAM FAIB).

There are other relics of the past, including methods of measurement that still anticipate that most things in a building are made and organised onsite. When projects are being delivered 40 per cent faster, over 40 per cent of what was once done onsite will have moved offsite. With these transfers, traditional onsite overheads and workforce input costs will go.

Very few surveyors can currently articulate what is happening here, or how to respond to these forces. There is clearly scope for their role to be radically re-defined.■

David Chandler OAM was recently appointed NSW building commissioner, effective 14 August. He is a leader of insights into Modern Methods of Construction and Enterprises and has extensive construction industry experience across the Australian and Asia Pacific markets. His other industry roles include Industry Engagement Lead for the c4SMC initiative in the Construction Management program at Western Sydney University and foundation member of the Project Management Institute in Australia. He has led a range of reviews and reports into construction in the Australia’s construction industry. He was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in 1989 for services to the industry. David will be a speaker at the PrefabAUS 2019 conference in Sydney, where he will share some early insights into his new role as NSW Building Commissioner.


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