A study conducted for the European Commission’s Enterprise and Industry Directorate-General has found that British building methods are grossly inefficient when compared to our European counterparts.

The more industrialised approach to construction adopted by Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and the Nordic countries results in buildings which consume significantly less labour and materials than those built using the traditional, craft-led processes favoured in the UK, France, Spain, Ireland and Italy.

The report, by UK building economist Bernard Williams Associates, highlighted the UK and Ireland as worst of all, being some 30-40% less efficient than the best performers in the group studied.

The research team analysed project costs over 80 building types in 12 countries. Results showed that closer collaboration between the design and construction activities make for greater use of prefabrication and so produce more buildings more efficiently.

Source

Electrical and Mechanical Contractor