Can UK construction deliver the £27bn for roads and HS2 simultaneously? Not without a productivity overhaul.

The Government’s decisions to invest significantly in the nation’s infrastructure have gone down quite well generally. There is
a dire need to improve the connectivity in the country and it is a clear way to improve the economy. However, I do not believe
that it will be possible to deliver this leviathan infrastructure program without some significant improvements in national construction productivity.

Road Investment Strategy (RIS) 1 & RIS 2

RIS 1 covered the spending by Highways England from 2015-2020 and was worth £15bn. Highways England’s remit covers what’s called the Strategic Road Network (SRN), which is basically all the motorways and ‘A’ roads in England. RIS 1 covered spending on all areas including bridges and other structures, drainage, operations and, of course, the roads themselves.

This snappy looking document, RIS 2, covers Highways England’s spending from 2020-2025, which is
now promised to be £27bn, an 80% increase in spending on RIS 1.

It covers some big projects including the A303 Stonehenge Improvements and the Lower Thames Crossing, both of which will make a significant boost to the UK’s road network. I’m sure that £2.5bn for pothole repairs will be also very welcome for many road users.

High Speed 2 – HS2

HS2 is the largest construction project in Europe, with the Government’s latest projected total cost for the project sitting at a whopping £106bn.

HS2 claims that at the peak of construction, they will have created 30,000 jobs to help build the behemoth and there’s a million tonnes of asphalt going to be laid just to build the roads associated with HS2, let alone the millions of tonnes of earthworks and concrete that are going to be undertaken to get the project done.

The Problem

We struggle as an industry to find skilled people to carry out works on our network as things stand, let alone worrying about trying to find people to do these mega-projects.

There’s not enough manufacturing capacity in the UK to meet the required output of asphalt to lay all the roads that are being planned, and there’s not even enough construction plant in the UK to meet the demands of HS2, let alone to cover the increased spend in highways.

If we don’t do things differently, there’s no chance that we will be able to deliver the infrastructure upgrade that the country so badly needs in a manner that meets expectations, whilst keeping control on the costs.

Technology for Productivity

McKinsey research suggests that construction is the second most underdigitalised industry in the world [I], only outperforming agriculture & hunting which is quite the victory.

Other McKinsey research shows that lack of construction productivity costs the world economy £1.6 trillion a year, and that by improving onsite execution; infusing digital technology into work practices and investing in automation are all ways to improve the problem [ii].

We can achieve more output with almost the same input – i.e. become more productive!

There are lots of technologies out on the market that have enormous potential to improve construction productivity, but we need some large companies and regulating authorities to embrace change quicker than they’ve done previously.

The Government has an ambitious plan to upgrade infrastructure in the UK, let’s hope that the industry responds by making that possible.

Highway Data Systems

We’re all about the use of technology to improve construction in asphalt and earthworks projects. There’s a lot of benefits in terms of the quality of testing, health & safety etc., but the point I would like to stress in this article is that we’re helping more get done with less – the only way that the industry can take on the challenge of these enormous projects.

If you’re interested to learn what Highway Data Systems are doing to address the productivity problem then please follow this link: www.highwaydatasystems.com or get in touch with me – ruairi.charlesworth@highwaydata.co.uk

References:

[I] https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/capital-projects-and-infrastructure/our-insights/imagining-constructions-digital-future

[ii] https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/capital-projects-and-infrastructure/our-insights/reinventing-construction-through-a-productivity-revolution