EXECUTIVE REPORT
Resilient and resourceful
The CPA conference discussed several industry challenges and possible solutions. Alan Guthrie reports.
A number of challenges facing the construction industry and the wider supply chain were discussed at the CPA’s (Construction Plant-hire Association) conference held near Solihull in October.
The conference theme was ‘Planting Resilience: Building for the Future’. CPA Chief Executive Kevin Minton outlined various issues confronting the industry at a time when Brexit uncertainty and other factors were causing construction output to fall more rapidly in the preceding quarter than at any other time in the last ten years. Challenges included trying to achieve ‘joined up’ decision- making in the supply chain so that clients fully understand the nature of plant and equipment, and have realistic expectations. Other ongoing issues include ensuring operator safety, risk management and training.
CPA’s Kevin Minton summarised challenges that the industry faces.
Kevin Minton also discussed more positive challenges - for example, opportunities
represented by electronic data capture on projects and telematics. The drive towards a low-carbon economy is also notable, being discussed extensively in the media and arousing the interest of young people. Plant hirers, he believed, could promote best practice.
Encouraging opportunity and diversity
The conference itself had a different format from previous ones. Instead of a series of individual presentations, several broad themes were discussed by a number of participants. These were chaired by Merryn Myatt, a former television newsreader. In the first session, entitled ‘The Plant Hire Industry in 2019 and beyond’, one theme was the difficulties associated with attracting women into the construction sector. Katie Kelleher, a crane operator with Select/Laing O’Rourke, said the industry had to raise the profile of women and to encourage opportunity and diversity in a genuine cultural shift, not just a ‘tick box’ mentality. Referring to some workers as ‘semi-skilled’ was also patronising and could deter people from pursuing a meaningful career.
In another panel session entitled ‘Mental Health Toolkit for Construction’, the Lighthouse Club charity’s Chief Executive, Bill Hill, joined Merrill Lynch and Andy Burrows of L Lynch Plant Hire and
29 STAND H20
Haulage about support that could be offered to vulnerable workers. Shockingly, statistics showed that every day two construction workers take their own lives. 87% of industry professionals are male and, with a prevalent ‘macho’ culture focused on self-sufficiency and independence, it can be difficult for people to seek help.
The Lynch business has introduced several initiatives to help improve mental health awareness. It organises ‘Time to Talk Days’, family days and workshops on the issue to encourage staff to raise anything that might be affecting them. The company also has five trained mental health first aiders who are on hand to listen and be supportive.
Plant theft and fraud
GAP MD Iain Anderson was among the participants in a discussion on plant theft and fraud. He described how criminals were becoming more sophisticated and adopting more elaborate approaches than smash-and-grab raids. Hire staff have had to become more vigilant and could adopt basic procedures such as checking out a new company that is seeking to hire equipment by ringing other local businesses to see if they had heard of them. Sales people could visit the given address of premises to check them out and it was imperative to always obtain proof of ID when taking an order.
Iain recounted experiences of bogus contractors trying to collect equipment in vehicles with mocked-up but realistic liveries, and of fake couriers trying to pick up items. He suggested that good housekeeping practices would always help, such as fitting motion- sensitive lighting, parking machinery away from fences to prevent them being lifted out by a Hiab-type vehicle, and removing keys from
Demand for construction machinery professionals continues to increase.
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