Think or sink

And so the buzz words flew. Sometimes fluttering like dreams just out of reach and occasionally like grenades slung with malice. But oh how they flew: "Partnering, benchmarks, key performance indicators, steering groups, coordination, integration, prime contracting, quality management, relationship marketing..." The list goes on but was there any real progress at the latest gathering of construction's great and good?

Rethinking procurement: the changing agenda for specialist contractors and their clients – was the eloquently worded name of the event, a one-day conference held by the Building Services Best Practice Programme.

The stage was set. An audience of over 100 delegates including clients, main contractors and specialists greeted the chairman for the day Donald Leeper OBE, senior partner with Zisman Bowyer and CIBSE's Champion, no less, for Egan's Rethinking Construction agenda. "Construction needs the specialist. It needs them to unlock the value of the contract. So let's stop saying and let's start doing," exhorted Leeper. Sentiments that could be appreciated by all parties. The question is who is going to take the initiative?

Alan Crane, chairman of the Movement for Innovation (M4I), was in no doubt as to who is in the driving seat. He got straight to the point, saying: "It is no good clients sitting on their butts whingeing and moaning about service. They have got to lead the change. If they don't, they will get what they deserve."

Crane insisted that the most powerful player must really want bad practice eradicated before anything can be done. But he acknowledged that the client wants a solution not a problem. "They do not want to have to be involved in the assembly of products and parties to bring their plans to fruition."

Partnering, thought Crane, was the answer. But it must be partnering that goes beyond the first tier of client and main contractor. "Partnering has to be two sided. It has to involve every link in the chain", and although he called on the client to initiate change, Crane clearly believes that much work must be done by the specialist and main contractor. He continued: "You can not rely on the client for change. You must grasp the nettle and go out and make it happen. You, the specialist, have the answers."

The specialists are the key players. Let us allow them to play their full part in the process

Rudi Klein

Next to the podium was Professor Roy Morledge, head of the Construction Procurement Research Unit at Nottingham Trent University.

Morledge thought that clients would be motivated to implement change if they could see improvements. However, evidence from the Construction Clients' Forum research shows that in 1999/2000 as many as two-thirds of projects were late, one-third were over budget and 60% had defects.

He called for a shortening of the supply chain with "clients dealing direct with the specialist". In fact, Morledge questioned the relevance of the main contractor, saying: "Main contractors no longer own the skills base and are simply managing other people. Is this segregation of the specialist and the client sensible?" This brought murmurs of both agreement and dissent from the audience.

The knife was pushed in a little bit further when Rudi Klein, chief executive of the Specialist Engineering Contractors' Group, took the floor.

"I used to think that construction was all about clients, architects and main contractors. They were the only parties written into the script," said Klein. "The specialist was seen as a mere extra."

It is no good clients sitting on their butts moaning about service. They have got to lead the change

Alan Crane

Klein implored the industry to change this, adding that it will have to "especially when the Climate Change Levy comes into force". Then, the specialist should look to advise the client. "The specialists are the key players. Let us allow them to play their full part in the process," said Klein. "It is so obvious but obstacles are being put in the way of us doing our jobs."

Klein concluded by saying: "Everyone should be able to say 'this is what I need to achieve my contract aims.' If they can't then have you haven't got a real partnership."

The podium was still warm with main contractor-bashing rhetoric when Keith Airey, head of procurement with Laing, stepped up.

He didn't waste any time in rubbishing the calls for cutting the main contractor out of the loop. "The client is not looking to contract direct with the specialist," said Airey. "The client wants a one-stop-shop with all the management expertise already in place."

This was echoed by a speaker from the audience, who stated: "I want my lifts to go up and down for 25 years or more. I don't want the hassle of organising maintenance, servicing and repairs. I need someone to manage that for me."

We have got to revise the adversarial approach and build bridges with suppliers to create good working relationships

Keith Airey

Airey told of Laing's strategy to refocus and restructure its procurement processes and philosophy. "We have got to revise the adversarial approach and build bridges with suppliers to create good working relationships."

Laing is aiming to create preferred partnership status with small groups of specialists from each discipline required for major construction contracts. The aim being that it can then approach a client with a full team already in place. Airey wants to encourage specialists to participate in selection and measurement processes. "We can't just put on the suppliers all of the time. Laing wants to know where it is making extra cost for the specialist. You must come forward and say where we can help you to become more efficient.

"In the end implementation is the key. We must move beyond this talking phase and start to put it into action."

Airey and Laing's positive approach impressed many of those present, including one client delegate who was seen in deep discussion with him afterwards.

Unfortunately it didn't have the same effect on Frank Feltel. The chairman of the Confederation of Construction Specialists stepped in at short notice for the sick John Huxtable, his chief executive. Feltel sees the main contractor as the culprit in a conspiracy to screw every last penny of profit out of the specialist. "I know that if I do a job direct for the client, they get a better deal than when working through a main contractor," barked Feltel.

Delivering radical improvements depends on people working together to deliver on budget, on time

Nick Raynsford

"Think how much work is carried out before starting on site, but when do we get paid? Not until we are on site."

He praised the ideals of the Construction Act and its standardisation of payment. Then shot it down in flames, blaming main contractors and lawyers for adding non-standard clauses. "Standard is no good unless it is! You've got to stick to it."

Feltel's was a rousing speech, complete with finger pointing – he named Laing on more than one occasion – and table thumping. All that was missing was some small degree of positiveness, a commodity that is in short supply within the industry.

Finally, Nick Raynsford MP, Minister for Housing & Planning took to the stage. "The lessons in Egan's Rethinking Construction are applicable to all sectors of the industry, from manufacturer and supplier to contractor and client," said Raynsford.

He pledged full government support for the day and the Construction Act, and appealed for commitment and enthusiasm from the specialist.