Construction sector moves towards greater collaboration
Constructive, the inaugural New Zealand Construction Industry Forum was held last week in Christchurch, bringing
together key representatives from the industry to discuss the issues facing the sector and to identify opportunities to
work more collaboratively to develop solutions.
David Kelly, Chief Executive of RMBA, which led the Forum, said Constructive was a success. “It brought together
industry leaders from across the building, research, engineering, architecture and commercial property sectors together,
with government, for the first time.”
New Zealand Institute of Architects CEO Teena Hale-Pennington said it was timely for all segments of the sector to share
ideas about what best practice looks like now and what it will look like in the future.
“As a sector we have acknowledged there is a problem and solving it requires greater collaboration,” said
Hale-Pennington. “This forum has provided us with a mandate to change the way the industry and government work together
to meet New Zealand’s building and construction needs.”
Speaking at the conference, Acting Prime Minister Hon Bill English said that the Government was a key part of the
solution, and that its focus is to be a better customer.
Kelly believes the onus is also on the industry, across the whole construction supply chain, to take the initiative. “As
Minister English quite rightly said there’s a generational opportunity for the sector to be a better and more efficient
partner and supplier, and Constructive has taken the first step towards this approach,” said Kelly.
The Forum also discussed the industry’s resilience – how it had responded to issues such as the GFC and Canterbury
earthquakes. “It should not take another earthquake or natural disaster for us to step up,” said Kelly. “We need to take
these learnings, and the successful initiatives we are seeing across the sector and make them business as usual.
“Continuing the work of Constructive is now the focus for all who attended,” said Kelly. “This will be carried out in
collaboration with the current sector groups and, where necessary, we will establish working groups to address key
issues of skills and capacity, new business models and procurement, and establish industry-wide standards for health and
safety. We look forward to reporting back to the next Constructive Forum in 2017.”
ends