Monday 29 December 2014

What will 2015 bring?

Having reflected on 2014 the next thing to do is predict what will happen in 2015...

Slowing of market due to election.
A huge part of 2015 is undoubtably going to be the general election. Not only will we be tired of hearing about it this year it will effect our industry. Public sector projects will slow due to perda  followed by ministerial uncertainty afterwards.mIn the private sector this will lead to some uncertainly which will generate a slowing effect.

For what it's worth at this stage My prediction is we will have a Conservative Government again in a coalition arrangement. Even if I'm wrong it is unlikely there will be any change in public spending.

Continued skills and resource issues.
The skills debate will continue throughout the year. Unfortunatley there is no quick fix so we will see salaries increase in some areas where skills are short.

Increasing momentum of digital construction.
The move towards digital construction will continue right across the project lifecycle. We will see not only clients, designers and constructors adopt new methodologies but also manufacturers, subcontractors and maintence providers.

The long awaited digital plan of work will be released in 2015 providing clarity across industry. This will encourage innovation and new thinking. 

Growing interelationship between capital and revenue investment.
As our connection between data improves we will be able to consider the relationship between capital and revenue and how they effect one another. Energy use and carbon are no longer only the demise of specialists and campaigners. These issues are real and are important to emerging generations. Solutions and responses to these issues will need to become mainstream.

New Methods of Construction.
Offsite construction has very skilfully been repositioned as new methods of construction. Off site suggests temporary or of a lesser quality. Portiacabin or McDonalds spring to mind to the majority of people. 

During 2015 we will see a growing percentage of new buildings being delivered using the componetisation of materials. Already a large percentage of M and E installations are deliver in this way and we will see an increasing percentage of building components being developed this way.

Continued competition in the regions.
Traditionally a large percentage of regional work was generated from the public sector. This gap has not been filled by the private sector meaning companies are still hungry for work which ultimately means fee levels are very low. This will continue through 2015 not helped by the slowing of what public sector projects due to the election.

In London the issue will be a lack of the right resource. A large percentage of new build commercial projects in the capital are being delivered in BIM. These resources are not available in design practices meaning alternative approaches will develop. This may include outsourcing or large recruitment drives. It is likely therefore that salary levels in London will increase as demand grows.

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