The CITB issued an invitation for funding earlier this year to organisations seeking to improve client/contractor collaboration through procurement strategies.
Four projects have now been selected for the three-year programme, which is called Improving performance through better procurement approaches.
The winning bidders sharing in the £3m funding are:
- The Supply Chain School will develop continuing professional development-accredited training courses and online resources during the next three years. Training will be provided to 740 construction companies.
The project partners include Barratt Developments, Bovis Homes; Building Better Homes, Morgan Sindall, Taylor Wimpey, Telford Homes, Wates, Laing O'Rourke, Skanska, Sisk, Sir Robert McAlpine, Kier, King's College, and the South East & Mid Wales Collaborative Construction Framework.
Telford Homes sustainability director Andrew Day said: “This funding will enable us to collaborate better with our suppliers and peers to build more homes to the highest standards.”
- The Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) will create a training syllabus in productivity improvement, with modules including digital technology. This work is partly based on the Project 13 work led by the Institution of Civil Engineers.
The project partners are: Sir Robert McAlpine, Kier, BAM Nuttall, Galliford Try, Costain, Skanska, Geoffrey Osborne, Balfour Beatty, Tarmac, Clancy Docwra, Taylor Woodrow, Laing O'Rourke, HW Martin, McGee Group, Mitie Association for Consultancy & Engineering, Pinsent Masons, Arup, CA Blackwell, Jacobs, Nichols Group, Aquam Corp, Bentley Systems, Mark Bezzant, Glenn Hide, Schulmans, Fenwick Elliott, Driver Treet, Robert Bilbrough Associates, and Skyblue.
CECA chief executive Alasdair Reisner said: “Our sector has historically suffered from low profit margins, which for some companies, can be as little as 0.7%. As such, any initiative to enable industry to recoup additional revenues for reinvestment is extremely welcome and the commission’s work aligns itself with the new models of delivery our customers are starting to adopt.
“These delivery models are focused on the benefits that can be achieved through long-term relationships, driving innovation and improving productivity and CITB’s commission plays a vital role in achieving this.”
- Nottingham Trent University has funding for a project with Morgan Sindall and Midlands Constructing Excellence to see what value can be added down the supply chain. The project will focus on enabling Tier 3 and some Tier 2 suppliers on three live construction projects: a new teaching facility for the university’s Shakespeare Street campus; Ark Academy school in Birmingham; and Arena Academy school in Birmingham.
- The Lean Construction Institute and BAM Nuttall will work with Mace, Skanska, Galliford Try and Costain over the next two years on three Highways England schemes to developing a new framework for training construction workers, setting out standards and a training credits system. It is expected that 1,200 construction workers will receive training through this project.
It has been estimated that the four projects could between them deliver collective savings of £25m over the three-year life of the project.
CITB chief executive Sarah Beale revealed the four winning schemes during the Lean Construction summit on 9th October. She said: “With ever-rising costs, it’s vital that we exploit and highlight the gains that more efficient procurement can bring to construction through driving up productivity. These pilot projects will explore good practice that can be shared to support homebuilders and civil engineers, training that is set to deliver substantial cost savings.”
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