FOCUS INDUSTRY UPDATE
Our industry expert reports back from the SBCC’s annual conference, where the latest news, updates and developments affecting the sector and its future were discussed
By Len Bunton FRICS FCIArb, HON FRIAS
SEC Group Scotland A
few weeks ago, I had the opportunity of speaking at the Annual Update Conference of the Scottish Building Contracts Committee (SBCC) and I thought
it would be worth mentioning some of the issues that were discussed. This is an excellent conference to
attend as it covers a whole range of issues relevant to all sectors of the construction industry. It is important that contractors and the supply chain have up-to-date knowledge about what is happening in the industry and what issues are under consideration.
Case law and contracts One conference speaker dealt with recent case law and identified some cases on adjudication which are relevant to the industry. Most of our lawyers in Scotland are very adept at issuing bulletins highlighting recent
developments. We then had an update on the recent contracts published by SBCC and a full list of these can be found on their website. It is very important to note that all current contracts should be based on the SBCC 2016 additions and there is a facility to download these documents, saving the need for paper copies. I would recommend to every contractor and subcontractor reading this article that they purchase a set of these conditions and use them, as they represent the conditions right across the industry. There was an excellent presentation on latent defects in the construction industry and the reasons for these, and what needs to be done in the future to
“It’s important contractors and the supply chain have up-to-date knowledge about industry issues”
38 CABLEtalk DECEMBER 2019/JANUARY 2020
improve the quality of what the industry constructs. The general view was that quality management should be an issue for consideration at tender review stage, and the contractor should be asked to identify the measures they are going to take to ensure a defects-free building at completion.
Focus on quality Len
answers your questions: PAGE 41
I think in the future this will form part of the procurement strategy and that public and private sector employers will ask a business to establish from previous clients what the tendering contractor’s track record is in relation to quality. Greater focus is needed on quality during the construction stages, and the regular notification of non-compliant workmanship to the contractor and the supply chain should be an ongoing process by the employer and the design team. There should be ongoing efforts
to make good non-compliant workmanship as you go. For far too long the industry has
accepted Practical Completion as meaning the building is fit for occupation but “by the way, we have 2,500 items on the snagging list which you can complete when you are ready”. In short, I think completion means
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