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2020 wasn’t about survival, it was about long-

term vision
By Ann Bentley
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The year ahead promises to be a bumpy one but the way we adapted to covid-19 shows
we have acquired the tools to carve out a robust future, says Ann Bentley

Like many, I use January as a time to reflect on the year past and look forward to the
one ahead. Also like many, I sighed a deep breath of relief that 2020 was over. But then I
stopped and thought for a moment.

There is no doubt that the year just gone has been one of the most challenging, both
personally and professionally, for many of us. However, it has also been a year when, as
an industry, we have achieved great things. We have shown that we can adapt to change,
adopt new ways of working, and we can see that we are at the heart of the economic
recovery.

Back in June, the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) published its Industry
Recovery Plan 2020, aligned with the government’s strategy to use construction as a
springboard for economic recovery. The CLC itself went through a renewal – with a
much wider engagement across the industry.

This was rewarded with a much deeper engagement with government and the wholesale
take-up of the CLC’s site and branch operating procedures, demonstrating that as an
industry we have the wherewithal to act together for the greater good.

And while not a test that any of us wanted to experience – the robustness of
construction’s approach in the first lockdown has been recognised in the government’s
attitude towards the industry in this third.

We are seen as a sector that is organised, safety conscious and reliable – which is a long
way from many of the adjectives I heard from officials and ministers when I was first
appointed to the CLC. Although we find ourselves having almost gone back full circle
during this third lockdown, the Restart, Reset and Reinvent strategy that the CLC
developed remains clear and robust as a plan for the industry.
We have been forced to choose either to adapt working practices, embrace digitalisation
and find new solutions to continue to work, or put our hands over our heads and wait to
be bailed out
In December, we saw the publication of the construction playbook – a template for
industry, co-developed and endorsed by the CLC, which sets out key policies and
guidance as to how public works projects and programmes will be assessed, procured
and delivered in the future. This has the full weight of government behind it – as
demonstrated by the prime minister’s exhortation to “build better, build faster, build
back greener”.

The playbook provides us with a template to measure and test quality and value, ensure
safety and relevance, minimise environmental impact and maximise the positive social
impact of our construction projects. The playbook is also firmly part of the “Reinvent”
agenda.

It is not a short-term strategy to guide the industry through the next 12 months, but a
long-term plan of how construction will build a better future – by focusing on long-term
outcomes and value. We were not planning for survival in 2020, we were continuing to
drive our strategic agenda, regardless of the macro climate we were operating in.

Moving forwards, 2021 will continue to be a bumpy ride for some time. The chancellor
tells us that the economic impact of covid-19 will be longer term than the Treasury first
forecast. Within our sector we continue to see distressed projects and businesses, with
some anticipating a tsunami of covid-19 related contractual wrangles coming to the fore
in the months ahead.

But we now have the benefit of nine months of experience, a plan and government
commitment to work with us to improve – through the implementation of the playbook
– and to invest in healthcare, infrastructure, education and town centres as part of the
Build, Build, Build initiative.

As an industry we have risen to this challenge. We have shown we can adapt, and adapt
fast, to changes in circumstances, and that we can be innovative and creative when we
get knocked off course on the way. For many businesses, both in our sector and not,
covid-19 has forced us to make some sink or swim decisions.

We have been forced to choose either to adapt working practices, embrace digitalisation
and find new solutions to continue to work, or put our hands over our heads and wait to
be bailed out.

The majority in the built environment have been in the first camp – playing to our
strengths in solving problems and taking a pragmatic approach. We have worked
collaboratively across the whole supply chain, supported our colleagues nationally and
locally, and been creative – all this is reflected in the fact that output by the end of the
year reached close to levels at the start of the year.

The challenge as we enter 2021 will be to continue this spirit and this positive action,
and my own agenda will be to work with the Construction Innovation Hub to publish
our Value Toolkit in the spring – a new process and supporting tools to drive better
decision-making, support the path to net zero, boost productivity and resilience, and
deliver higher-quality buildings. This will be another tool in the industry’s toolbox to
build back better.

We understand the task in hand; we have an industry plan for the future underpinned
by government policy and a pipeline of investment. We now need to continue to drive
the regeneration of our economy and work collectively to build the future.

Ann Bentley is a global board director of Rider Levett Bucknall, a member of the

government’s Construction Leadership Council and also a member of the CBI’s
construction council

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