Error-free industry is everyone's responsibility, panellists agree

A panel of experts convened by GIRI and chaired by Bennetts Associates founder Rab Bennetts discussed the path to an error-free construction industry at the Quality in Construction Summit this week. 

Rab Bennetts was joined for the 45-minute session by GIRI director Tom Barton, Hoare Lea partner Mark Wilkinson, David Anderson, who is head of business process & quality at BAM Nuttall, and Steve Green, head of knowledge sharing at Bouygues. 

The wide-ranging debate covered issues as diverse as the importance of early designer involvement; identifying how technology can be harnessed to support error reduction; the potential impact of the ongoing loss of skills in the industry and the move towards regular competency reviews; and the importance of instilling a culture of ownership and responsibility in staff at all levels from operatives up to directors. 

The panel discussion and subsequent Q&A session were hosted by the day-long Quality in Construction Summit, which was chaired by David Frise, chief executive of Building Engineering Services Association and attracted some 120 attendees.

The programme included presentations from Chandru Dissanayeke, director of building safety reform at the Ministry for Housing, Communities, & Local Government; CIOB past-president Paul Nash; Amanda McKay, nuclear quality director at Balfour Beatty, Major Projects, Infrastructure Energy & Power, and Joe Cilia, technical director of the FIS. 

All presentations and debates can be watched online - access is restricted to paying delegates for the first month but will be free to view by all after that time. 

The next event being organised by UKCW is a five-day online virtual Construction Week conference which takes place on 5-9 October. For more information visit the website https://www.ukconstructionweek.com/ukcw-virtual