BIM usage doubled in the industry between 2012 and 2013, being instrumental in 4% of projects completed in 2012 but 9% last year, according to the compendium of data on the industry in the latest UK Industry Performance Report.
The report, by construction information specialist Glenigan in partnership with the CITB, has been compiled annually using data from Constructing Excellence’s key performance indicators since 1999, although the 2013 report was omitted from the sequence.
The KPIs reveal trends on a host of issues, including the percentage of projects finishing on time, to budget, and to client expectations; estimates of industry profitability and productivity, data on carbon emissions in buildings and on site; and a snapshot of the industry workforce.
Among the findings, and contrasting with the BIM results, there was a dip in client’s satisfaction on the provision of information on projects, from 73% in 2012 to 69%.
Profitability – return on sales
Alan Wilen, economics director of Glenigan, said: “For the first time, the survey asked whether BIM was being used on a project, and found it being implemented on a small but rapidly growing proportion of projects. This rapid growth in BIM usage has the potential to lift this KPI in future surveys, as well as a host of other measures, including those covering client satisfaction, project predictability and environmental performance.”
The industry’s performance on delivering to scheduled dates still shows substantial room for improvement: just 45% of projects were said to be on time or better, although this has risen from the 34% recorded in 2012. In addition, the slippage in construction programmes itself is less severe, and improving: 67% were said to be on time or better, compared to 42% in 2012.
Despite the problems of delivering projects as building cost inflation took hold in 2012-13, the industry’s record on completing projects to budget slightly improved in the latest report, when 69% were completed at or below the predicted cost, compared to 61% in 2012.
Productivity – value added per employee constant 2011 values
But contractors’ median margins, before interest and tax, fell to 2.1% in 2014, compared to 2.7% in 2012 and a record of 9.9% in 2009.
Client satisfaction with buildings and the industry’s service were fairly stable between the 2012 report and this year’s, but there was a dip in satisfaction with value for money, standing at 75% (scoring their experience at 8/10 or better) compared to 78% in 2012.
However, there was better news on productivity, which has seen a sustained improvement throughout the recession years – as companies built out projects while shedding staff – and in the recovery. Adjusted for inflation, the median value added per employee was £61,400 in 2014, compared to £60,000 in 2012, £45,400 in 2009 and a low of £39,800 in 2001.
Glenigan gathered the data by sending a questionnaire to the client, main contractor and principal consultant on every project it recorded as completed in 2012/13.
Client satisfaction – value for money
For the 2014 report, it drew on around 2,000 questionnaire responses, representing a lower but unknown number of projects (as some projects could have attracted two or more survey responses).
Projects ranged in value from £0.25m to over £100m, and roughly reflected the overall industry’s split into public, private, housing and non-housing categories.
The data also shows that the industry is becoming a more skilled and qualified place: the survey suggests 71% of individuals now hold an NVQ Level 2 or higher qualification.
The report also suggests a noticeable increase in the number of women employed in the industry. The median figure for respondents was 19% female employees, compared to 15% in 2012. (In other words, after ranking all the respondents according to the number of female employees, the company representing the mid-point had a 19% female staff).
But there was no uptick in the number of black or minority ethnic employees: in both 2012 and 2014, the median of all the responding companies was 0%.
