Volatility has been a prominent topic in market commentary over the past few years, which is understandable considering the frequency with which significant events have occurred. However, volatility is unhelpful for decision makers who are trying to navigate the market. The narrative needs to be reframed into a series of actionable levers that can be routinely managed to provide practical guidance on what stakeholders can control.
Through Brexit, COVID-19, wars, and tariffs, construction has learned to dissect information on what’s driving prices and attitudes in the market. Whilst this is positive, a degree of information overload has left some feeling overwhelmed by fresh news, and the only reasonable reaction seems to be to pause activity and wait.
To give a clear picture, we need to start with the evidence of what’s happening now; how are projects being met by the market, what’s adding genuine value to projects, alongside credible data on pricing. Access to live cost data with context and comprehensive market intelligence enables teams to make informed choices.
Understanding the market for a project helps ensure genuine value can be added and the product can be interrogated to ensure it is appropriate for current demand. It can also inform a procurement strategy that enables the project to meet market demand and set the project up for success.
All of this needs to be underpinned by data on topics such as current pricing levels, factors influencing contractor interest, value drivers for projects, and benchmarking. This data-driven support for decision-making can enhance budget accuracy and provide clients with the certainty they need to take confident steps forward.
It is not just costs that we need to control and influence. Corporate responsibility pledges and the market necessitate that clients should have up-to-date information on low-carbon designs, retrofit strategies, and the impact of material choices to meet their sustainability targets.
Consultants have a responsibility to shape viable schemes from the outset. They can bring specialist knowledge, evidence, and insight to help create feasible schemes, while understanding and protecting project value drivers. This means working collaboratively to test briefs, and apply focus at an earlier stage to both design strategies and design detailing; to secure the help of key parts of the supply chain sooner than has traditionally been brought about ; and to help clients set up projects with clear goals and an aligned understanding and what needs to be done to achieve success, and how it will be achieved. The Construction Private Sector Playbook is supporting these aims, which in many ways are also promoted by The Building Safety Act.
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