What Others Say About Engineering
and Construction Practice
By Samniang Saenram
Future Ready Index: Leaders and
Followers in the engineering and
construction industry (Source: KPMG
Global Construction Survey 2019)
KPMG’s Future-Ready Index enables organisations to
measure their preparedness for a disrupted future.
It’s hard to overstate the value of governance.
Knowing that you have the right processes,
functioning as designed, is critical to success.
Innovative leaders have adopted methodologies
for evaluating the effectiveness of their key
processes and controls. They are also able to link
their governance to project outcomes. Well-run
projects, with good management practices and
appropriate controls, are more likely to achieve
broad measures of success.
Those trying to mitigate risk are dependent upon
an ability to view and interpret real-time project data.
Trends, forecasts and changing circumstances may
alter the risk profile and impact expected outcomes.
Transparent access to accurate, appropriate,
meaningful project data could mean the difference
between a minor course adjustment and a colossal
project failure. Often undervalued until it is too
late, effective project reporting separates leading
organisations from the pack.
Not all projects are created equal. Varying
capital requirements, strategic significance, and a
combination of third parties and internal resources
create a unique environment. This is especially the
case for megaprojects, which involve dozens of
organisations and stakeholders and require a very
customized, tailored approach to management.
Innovative leaders are significantly ahead
when it comes to governance and controls: 69%
have integrated project management reporting
systems, with multiple tools, for projects and
portfolios. Just 33% of Followers and a mere 7 %
of Behind The Curve players can say the same.
Reinventing Construction through
a Productivity Revolution (Source:
Mckinsey Global Institute)
The construction industry employs about 7% of
the world’s working-age population and is one of
the world economy’s largest sectors, with USD10
trillion spent on construction-related goods and
services every year. But the industry has an
intractable productivity problem and, according
to Reinventing Construction: A route to higher
productivity, a new McKinsey Global Institute
report, an opportunity to boost value added by
USD1.6 trillion.
Much of construction has evolved at a glacial
pace. Take one example: construction is among
the least digitised sectors in the world, according
to MGI’s digitisation index. In the US, construction
comes second to last, and in Europe it is in last
position on the index.
Globally, labour-productivity growth in
construction has averaged only 1% a year over
the past two decades, compared with growth
of 2.8 % for the total world economy and 3.6 %
in the case of manufacturing. In a sample of
countries analysed, over the past ten years less
than one-quarter of construction firms have
matched the productivity growth achieved in the
overall economies in which they work. There is a
long tail of usually smaller players with very poor
productivity, and many construction projects
suffer from overruns in cost and time.
Shaping the Future of Construction:
Inspiring innovators redefine the industry
(Source: World Economic Forum)
3D-printed houses, automatically designed
hospitals, prefabricated skyscrapers — once
futuristic dreams are now a reality as described
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