Construction minister Brian Wilson today called for the industry to improve its performance after a mixed set of figures were revealed by the DTI.
The DTI's key performance indicators for the industry in 2000 revealed that clients were less satisfied with their finished products, and were more unhappy with defects and time overruns.

Wilson this week urged the construction industry to follow the lead set by flagship Movement for Innovation projects, which showed a clear performance advantage.

Wilson also announced this week that Sir John Egan's new safety body would merge with the industry's new strategic forum, also chaired by Egan. The creation of the enlarged strategic forum is understood to have followed lobbying by Sir John Egan to merge the safety body with the replacement for the Construction Industry Board.

Wilson said that KPIs have become widely accepted by construction companies and clients as fundamental best value measures.

He said the industry's own Movement for Innovation demonstration projects were on the front line of continuous improvement.

"There is no doubt Sir John Egan's report Rethinking Construction set a challenge and I am pleased to see the industry's positive response," he said.

The figures for the industry as a whole revealed that satisfaction for profitability and productivity was up, but that for time predictability was down.

Movement for Innovation KPIs showed that demonstration projects were performing better than standard schemes. However, it was revealed this week that 14 out of the movement's 300 flagship projects were cancelled owing to problems in partnering arrangements.

In terms of client satisfaction, 93% of Movement for Innovation projects scored eight out of 10 or better during 2000, compared with the industry average of 72%.

Safety within demonstration projects also improved during the year. The industry's mean accident rate stands at 1088 reportable accidents per 100,000 employed, compared with a Movement for Innovation rate of 620. The rate for Housing Forum projects was 308.

Movement for Innovation projects also faced problems concerning the predictability of design costs, with only 61% of demonstration projects reaching their targets or exceeding them during 2000, compared with 63% in the industry as a whole.

The demonstration projects aim to follow the principles Egan set out in the 1998 report Rethinking Construction, which called for more partnering and better integration between designers and builders.