P15-16 Cable Management Ellis:Layout 1 28/01/2021 14:10 Page 15
Cost versus quality Cable Management
The question of cost versus quality has occupied the minds of manufacturers, specifiers, builders, contractors and wholesalers for more years than most of us can remember. And it was at the fore of Ellis Patents’ technical director, Stephen Walton’s mind when he opted to buy a 1930s property in need of complete renovation rather than a new build in the same postcode.
“ T
aking on a renovation project probably wasn’t the most sensible thing I’d ever done; especially when
you take into consideration the challenging nature of my job and a rapidly growing son. But my wife and I had been in the same house for ten years and we’d outgrown it. And while we could have bought that brand new house on a nearby development, we didn’t, and the reason was simple – they don’t build them like they used to. In my experience buildings today are built for
a price, and not for the long term – a view that was backed up by many of the tradesfolk who worked on the house during its refurbishment,
who commented on the build quality of it compared to today’s new build homes. I realise this sounds like I’m teetering on the edge of a grumpy old man rant about how things were better in the old days, but I’m not. I believe we live in the most exciting of times, and that the technology we have access to enhances our lives in a myriad of ways – whether at home, work or play. Just consider how easily so many millions of us have seamlessly transitioned to working from home since normality was suspended last March. But advances in technology don’t necessarily go hand in hand with improvements. In the 1930s houses were built in a robust way as the
mentality was different. Yes, cost was an issue, but longevity was key. Over the following 90 years industry has mastered the art of producing products that will survive the required life span, but no more. Described as the bathtub curve, this approach has been developed so costs can be cut to the bone, while products will only last as long as absolutely necessary. Some consider this is efficient, but for me it’s a clear case of going too far in the pursuit of margin. The Hackitt Report on the Grenfell Tower tragedy took a hard-hitting attitude towards bathtub building methods; citing a lack of responsibility and commitment to safety in the industry. The report insisted on major change, and in particular that systems as a whole are considered rather than individual manufacturers testing their own products in isolation. Earlier in my career I worked in the subsea oil and gas industry, and during that time the Gulf of Mexico Macondo incident led to the kind of sweeping change that Dame Hackitt clearly wanted as a result of her report. The industry had become complacent and a series of failures contributed to the disaster. Post Macondo, documentation requirements increased significantly, and many more FMECA reports were needed.
Applauding what the subsea, oil and gas
industry achieved is easy, but a great deal of that has been down to exceptional internal housekeeping. In contrast, the task the construction industry has been set requires wholesale change from manufacturers up.
lContinued over
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