Clever, or not?

It's not so much about the technology (though of course that's vital). It is really a case of creating a building with the end user in mind.

This sounds fairly uncontroversial – 'put the customer at the heart of business' is a paradigm that most UK organisations adopted years ago. However, Sir Michael Latham (also in April's BSj) recalls that when he wrote his report on construction in 1994, his call to put clients first was regarded as highly contentious. For many, it still is.

Are we an industry that thinks it can ignore basic good business sense? Can you think of another sector which regards its customers as a hindrance? Probably not, because it won't have lasted very long. Even an industry which isn't a luxury purchase can't rest on its laurels. There is competition from abroad to consider.

But there are pockets of resistance to this outmoded way of thinking. There is growing research into how buildings affect the productivity of occupants. And I predict that we'll hear more about this 1:10:200 ratio of capital, maintenance and salary costs in the next few years. Better buildings mean better business. It is a straightforward concept that clients will grasp quickly. So the UK construction industry had better shape up.

And this leads us (yes, again) to working in a better way too. Last month BSj held it's Workshop 2004 on partnering and teamworking. Leading exponents Taylor Woodrow shared their experiences and groups discussed how best to manage change in their organisations.

And we definitely do need to change. Intelligent buildings in their true sense need to be built by intelligent teams – that means groups who work with mutual trust, without blame and who share a clear vision of an end product which will benefit their business, the client and the environment.

You don't have to be so intelligent to grasp that.