A Matching Pair? – UKC
At some levels running UK Construction Week and Grand Designs Shows at the same time and in adjacent halls appears as an odd pairing. Grand Designs seems to be all about aspirational individuals building and furnishing their own individual nests while UKCW focuses on debates, trends and new materials and products and also fielding discussions on all aspects of the national construction crisis. On the other hand, here at ToolBusiness and Hire we have an interest in both
aspects. We like to report on the big construction and training debates as well as look at what end users and consumers of tools and materials are doing with their resources. What I know for certain is that both exhibitions raised a lot of issues and stimulated lots of discussions with visitors and exhibitors and left me wondering about how one would go about implementing some of the genuinely interesting ideas that emerged during the debates. The UKCW ran for three days from
the 18th to the 20th October at the NEC and it owns some impressive statistics – over 650 exhibitors in so many fields like wooden construction, energy, plant, design, flooring, windows etc – in short just about any aspect of construction you can think of. These exhibitors showed over 10,000 products and services and over 100 new products were launched. More important, in my view, were the 165+ hours of debates and discussions in which what seemed like every important aspect of construction. It is these debates that stimulate thought and perhaps get people, influencers, and government to start formulating plans and adopting some
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solutions. In my view, we British have so many brilliant ideas that we are in danger of being overwhelmed into inaction by them. The seminars were wide ranging – on the Main Stage alone over the three
…acknowledged that Brexit and other global pressures do affect innovation, but that innovation takes place somewhat by stealth, project by project…
days, there were panel discussions on Tackling productivity and innovation, building a collaborative commercial supply chain, building in a post-Brexit Britain, driving innovation in construction materials, BIM, and three separate discussions entitled “A Tale of Three Cities” in which London, Birmingham and Manchester were looked at in the context of the “Northern Powerhouse” debate. Timings meant that I was only able to attend the discussion entitled “Are You Ready for the Future of Construction?” Chaired by business journalist and broadcaster, Victoria Fritz, with Robert Francis Director of Innovation at Skanska, Peter Caplethorne, Deputy Chief Exec of the Construction Products Association, Christina Jackson Visiting Professor in Asset Management at Birmingham University and Technical
director at Amy Consulting, Richard Ogden MD of Buildoffsite and Riccardo Cestari Architect. Victoria Fritz put forward the view that innovation was not a constant – in good
times functionality improves, but in bad times, cost cutting measures tend to reverse that. But Peter Caplethorne has a different experience and acknowledged that Brexit and other global pressures do affect innovation, but that innovation takes place somewhat by stealth, project by project, as clients are persuaded to try
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