Why is it I continue to ask myself, that those employed in the industry simply cannot accept that the situation the industry now finds itself in, is entirely of their own making.
Before retiring last year I had been employed in the construction industry for over 40 years; initially as a junior site foreman, then as a contractor's quantity surveyor, followed by the chief executive (and owner) of a construction company. For the last 20 years I have – between spells at University, worked in dispute resolution and higher and further education. In short I therefore believe I am reasonably placed to proffer a view on the current situation in our industry.
Probably until the late 70's, the industry – and its managers and supervisors, could be said as being reasonably experienced and competent. As for myself I had by this time reached the elevated position of chief quantity surveyor for an international organisation and it is fair to say that rarely did any of the group companies become embroiled in contractual claims. Yes, differences and disputes occurred, but we resolved them simply by sitting down and discussing the pro's and cons, and the ifs and buts, and whatever. Dare I say it but we applied common sense – now known as rare sense of course, and the issues were resolved there and then. Agreements were struck, and payments were made – and we got on with things. There were no grudges, no animosity, no bad feelings, no bitterness; because we knew – the contractors, the sub-contractors, the suppliers, the architects, the engineers, that we all needed each other. It was an implied partnership of course.
Where are we today? All these sensible and experienced site agents, managers, architects, quantity surveyors, have all gone; now we seem to be surrounded by mostly idiots and buffoons who have little or no experience, or are hell bent on an ego trip. Experience – forget it. Scruples – leave them at home. Such people are interested only in robbing the poor to pay the rich. Moreover from the weekly job adverts in the trade journals, the industry only wants these sorts of people, viz. senior and experienced quantity surveyor required, age 25 to 30 - £35K + perks; senior estimator required 5 years experience - £35K; senior site manager required age 25 - £33K + perks; experienced project manager urgently required, age 30 to 35 - £45K + perks, senior quantity surveyor age 35 - £45K, and so on.
The obvious question that must be asked is how can a person in their mid to late twenties or early to mid thirties, with maybe only 5 to 10 years work experience behind them, be genuinely experienced. When I was learning my trade – I was in my twenties and thirties, I worked with senior staff in their fifties, and because they had been around 30 years or more, I not only learnt a great deal from them, I also respected them, whether they worked for my firm or were Sub-contractors. I never considered myself experienced until I was in my forties.
During my more recent years in dispute resolution I got to know many competent and experienced sub-contractors, many of whom were of a similar age if not older than, myself. I should mention that I only got to know them in the first place because they had become embroiled in a dispute usually with a main contractor, and they had come to me for assistance. Invariably after some investigation, the symptoms from one situation to another, were similar; the site agent or manager, and the project quantity surveyor, were in their late twenties or early thirties. Moreover the project had been a shambles, with the project management unable to properly organise the labour and material resources, and put together any semblance of a rolling programme; and the quantity surveyor not knowing the basic requirements in a DOM/1. As to the requirements of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act, forget it. Notwithstanding the main contractor in an attempt to minimise his own losses, had simply cooked up contra charges and spurious deductions from the Sub-contractor's account, and not paid a substantial sum, hence the disputes.
Some pundits will say that the HGCR Act is stopping all this. I say cobblers. Every week I learn from my brothers who now run my consultancy, of main contractors large and small, who remain clueless of the elementary common law requirements in respect 'he who claims must prove', and of course of the HGCR Act, some 5 years after the event. As to knowing of and understanding the valuation rules in say a DOM/1, forget this also. Yet many of these firms belong to Trade and Contracting Associations – including the CIOB scheme, and supposedly have Quality Assurance Schemes in place.
The truth is that the industry that was once an attractive option for many of us in the 60s and 70s is no more. People from all disciplines whether they were site foreman, architects, quantity surveyors, sub-contractors, engineers and whoever, had a mutual respect for each other. Not only were they academically qualified, but they were also experienced. In short they were educated. This is why disputes were rare because the individuals had enough education and good sense to realise that perhaps they were partly to blame, ie. nothing is black and white, and it would make economic sense to settle the matter before too much money was spent on arguing.
This is the root cause of the problem the industry faces today – education, and the lack of it. Whilst other industries have grown up and attempted to educate themselves and move on, the construction industry has thrown away its once respectable image. In real terms it has gone backwards. Today anybody with a decent education is of little value in the construction industry – that is unless he is also a bully. In fact if one happens to be a bully and is also uneducated, then you are destined to go far. In reality we have more dinosaurs in junior and middle management than at any time I can remember. Moreover an industry that is prepared to pay ridiculous salaries to individuals of whatever discipline, who in reality have barely come out of nappies, deserves everything it gets – even more disputes; and ridicule in the eyes of the general public.
As part of some postgraduate research I carried out a couple of years ago, I wrote to ten employment agencies stating that I was 45 years old, with the qualifications I have, and I did not receive a reply from one of them. Yet I had 25 years experience with good references as well. It does not stop here either. A month ago out of curiosity I answered a CITB advertisement for a training and careers officer/mentor, to work term time only; and I did not even receive a reply. Taking into account my extensive experience in the construction industry, and also that in training and educating, as well as my Post Graduate Certificate in Education, and the fact that my time is my own, I would have been surprised if any other person could have equalled this. Moreover I have no need to work for money, I tutor and teach because I enjoy helping people to learn. Yet the CITB did not even want to see me. I suggest that this epitomises the philosophy in the construction industry – too old, over qualified and no need or desire to put others down. In short I have too much common sense perhaps.
The industry therefore seemingly only needs ignorance, preferably self generated ignorance. It certainly does not want thinkers. Yet ignorance breeds misunderstandings which in turn generate disputes, that in turn create acrimony and result in personal stress and anxiety. Normal people do not want this today. There is enough stress about in simply trying to live a normal life and have normal relationships with one's partner and kids, without having to worry about work and the stress it might generate. Is it therefore any wonder why the construction industry has become the modern equivalent of working down the mines in the 1850's, or even perhaps the local sewage farm in the 1950s.
In my semi retirement I tutor at local colleges in law. Without intending to I find myself saying to my learners, 'do not get involved in any aspect of construction because it has become a God forsaken cul de sac. You will see the absolute worst in human beings; lies and untruths, con men, back handers, set ups, perjury, scams, deceit and frauds, duress and violence, discrimination of all sorts, and so on. Go into employment law, or family law where genuine wrongs can be put right, and genuine good can be done'.
In conclusion I suggest that if the industry thinks that it can solve this dire situation by attracting graduates with a Humanities Degree, then it has gone completely off its rocker, and is more than just desperate. I further suggest that anybody with a Humanities Degree will have enough good sense not to work in the construction industry. For goodness sake has even rare sense deserted the industry?
Is it not time to simply scrap everything and start again, and try and build a decent industry that can be respected by everybody. Until the industry can recover some of its old integrity and start being honest with itself, let alone the public, its decline will continue. Let's be really honest – who on earth would today want to make a career in the construction industry. Oh - I forgot, there are all those hooligans, racists, miscreants, nutters, egoists, fraudsters ………Mmm, quite a lot I suppose.
Source
Construction Manager
Postscript
Will Steer
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