Ice State of The Nation 2022 Final

STATE OF THE NATION 2022
Improving infrastructure
productivity
OCTOBER 2022 ice.org.uk

State of the Nation 2022 | Improving infrastructure productivity Improving infrastructure productivity | State of the Nation 2022
Foreword
Billions of people depend on the services provided by the world’s infrastructure.

We cannot flourish without connectivity, clean water, sanitation, reliable energy
supplies, flood defences and effective waste management and recycling.
Human prosperity also depends on the natural environment, which is threatened by the
climate crisis, declining biodiversity and the contamination of air, land and water.
Improving the productivity with which infrastructure is designed, built and operated
means maximising effectiveness and efficiency at every stage of the infrastructure
lifecycle. Only in this way can we hope to meet the needs of society while staying within
the carrying capacity of our planet.
Effectiveness is about consistently doing the right thing – selecting the right projects,
making the right design choices and choosing the right delivery models.
Efficiency is about doing things right and eliminating waste wherever we find it in the
lifecycle process. We need to minimise waste in materials, effort, talent, data, energy,
Ed McCann carbon emissions, use of land and ecosystems – and in doing this, we will also reduce cost
ICE President 2021-22 and provide better value for money.
Our measurement and reporting on productivity also needs to focus on effectiveness

and efficiency, with performance indicators supporting appropriate decision-making and
enabling continuous improvement.
We should ensure that when we are thinking about improving productivity, we are
focused on the end-to-end process of creating and operating infrastructure. Many
previous initiatives have concentrated on applying lessons from other sectors, notably
manufacturing, to reduce waste in the construction phase. That is vital, but the lessons of
a lean approach need to be applied at every stage of the lifecycle. The biggest gains – and
losses – arise from fundamental decisions made well before ground is broken.
Lastly, productivity is about people. Each civil engineer will have opportunities to improve
the effectiveness and efficiency of the projects they work on. Our industry’s leaders need to
create a culture of psychological safety in which everyone involved in projects is confident
that they can tell the truth about what is happening and feel comfortable bringing
forward their ideas. Leaders should be as attentive to the strength of human relationships
and the transparency of information flows as they are to budgets and schedules.
The State of the Nation 2022 report explores these ideas in more depth and identifies
practical, evidence-based actions that can be taken by every civil engineer, whatever their
role and wherever they are working in the infrastructure lifecycle.
2 3
About State of the Nation
State of the Nation has been one of the ICE’s flagship

reports since 2002. Based on extensive research and
member engagement, it gives an assessment of the
‘state of the industry’. The report aims to stimulate
debate and highlight the actions the ICE believes are
Alistair Hitchcock
Head of engineering, HS2
Lucy Howard
UK head of markets (infrastructure), Turner & Townsend
Rhona Kerr
Contents
necessary to improve UK infrastructure. Structural engineer, Buro Happold;
ICE President’s Future Leader 2021-22
Last year’s report – State of the Nation 2021: Six Ways for Otso Lahtinen
Civil Engineers to Act on Climate Change – explored how the Chief executive and owner, Geobear
civil engineering profession, as the designers, builders, operators Lara Lightfoot
and maintainers of infrastructure, could take ownership of the Project agent, Story Contracting; Introduction p7
whole infrastructure carbon reduction challenge associated with ICE President’s Future Leader 2021-22
the UK’s legal obligation to reach net-zero carbon by 2050. Ciaran McAleenan
Retired civil engineer; consultant
Three key lessons p10
State of the Nation 2022’s focus is on improving infrastructure
productivity. It aligns with the work of the ICE’s Productivity
Martin Perks
Commercial programme director, National Highways What is productivity and why does it matter? p12
Community Advisory Board (CAB), a group of 23 industry David Scott
experts who advise the institution’s Engineering Knowledge Technical director, Laing O’Rourke Culture and behaviour p18
programme on their speciality areas. Peter Simmons
The CAB – co-chaired by Andy Alder, vice president of major

Temporary works co-ordinator, Balfour Beatty;
Lifecycle guidance and four focus areas p24
programme and project delivery at Jacobs, and Darren James,
chief executive of Keltbray – has overseen delivery of the
Eamonn Slevin
Operations director, SMP Alliance
Front-end loading p26
Panagiotis Stratos
Procurement p30
2022 State of the Nation report. The paper is the culmination of
interviews with industry leaders, a series of roundtable discussions Structural engineer, Atkins; ICE President’s Future Leader 2021-22
and numerous contributions from ICE members around the world Stephanie Wall
– enormous thanks to all who have given their time to this project. Construction manager, Jacobs
Emma Wei
Rooting out design deficiencies p34
ICE Productivity Community Advisory Board members
Andy Alder (co-chair)
Graduate civil engineer, Mott MacDonald;
Learning from other sectors p38
Vice president of major programme and project delivery, Jacobs
Darren James (co-chair)
John Wilkinson
Chief operating officer UK and Ireland, Royal BAM Group Conclusion p44
Chief executive, Keltbray Gary Wright
Karina Augustine Infrastructure procurement specialist, Rowsell Wright Appendix: Lifecycle guidance summary p46
Graduate tunnelling engineer, COWI; Mark Worrall
ICE President’s Future Leader 2021-22 Chief executive, BBI Services
Katherine Bew Asil Zaidi
Senior consultant, Cohesive Group Engineer, London Bridge Associates;
Kristina Dahyaraj ICE President’s Future Leader 2021-22
Design engineer, Robert Bird Group;
ICE President’s Future Leader 2021-22 Particular thanks also to:
Njemile Faustin Viv Jones
Senior geotechnical engineer, Aecom Project director, Laing O’Rourke
Find out more: ice.org.uk
Janet Greenwood Bryan Williams
Director, infrastructure advisory group, KPMG Construction superintendent, Costain
Author: Andrew Crudgington
Editor: Michelle Harbi
Research leads: Simon Hall, Virag Martin
Sub-editor: Matthew Keegan
Design: James McCarthy
Illustration: Peter Grundy
Infographics: Paul Weston
4 5
Introduction
This State of the Nation report comes towards the end

of a year that began with ICE President 2021-22
Ed McCann setting civil engineers the challenge of
being much more productive.
We need to
look end-to-end To respond to his challenge, our industry needs to do two things.
at the process First, we need to be more effective so that we maximise the value we deliver to people
for conceiving, around the world who depend on the services that infrastructure provides. This means
we need to be consistently doing the right thing. Depending on our role, this could mean
designing, building, selecting the right project scope, making the right design choices, choosing the right
delivery model, working with colleagues in the right way or numerous other actions.
operating and
Second, we must be more much more efficient, so that we are systematically
decommissioning doing things right to deliver more value from less resources. This means identifying and
infrastructure and eliminating waste wherever we find it.
drive out waste and This waste comes in many forms – wasted money, wasted effort and talent, wasted
materials, wasted data, wasted land and ecosystems, and wasted public goodwill. All
ineffectiveness at of these forms of waste and more have to be tackled if we are to provide people with
every stage what they need using the finite resources available. There is also a strong link between
productivity and the challenges of the climate crisis that Rachel Skinner, Ed’s predecessor
as ICE President, focused on in last year’s State of the Nation: Six Ways for Civil Engineers
to Act on Climate Change.
In a post-Covid world, the simple truth is that we do not have enough money to carry
on as we are while cutting carbon and delivering the services people need to flourish.
We are getting dangerously close to the total level of greenhouse gas emissions that can
be emitted before the world passes the threshold for a rise in temperature that scientists
warn is likely to trigger catastrophic climate change.
This year’s State of the Nation, therefore, looks at both the effectiveness and efficiency of
what we do and how it can be improved. There is no single magic bullet for improving
our productivity. We need to look end-to-end at the process for conceiving, designing,
building, operating and decommissioning infrastructure and drive out sources of waste
and ineffectiveness at every stage.
This means that all civil engineers can contribute to this goal, whatever role they play in
the industry. The measure of success for this report will be if everyone reading it can take
something from it that will help them to do the right thing, do it right and, in doing so,
do more for people and the planet.
6 7
Member engagement
ICE members worldwide have contributed their experience and insight during the year
through channels including:
n UK and international workshops to explore how civil engineers can improve efficiency
and effectiveness through the infrastructure lifecycle
n A Transforming Infrastructure Performance – Live event bringing together senior
leaders from government and industry
n Two expert focus groups that have produced best-practice guidance on the role of
procurement and governance in improving productivity
This report summarises key insights from all of this work. The ICE’s Productivity
Community Advisory Board (CAB) has led the creation not only of the report but also an
accompanying Driving Productivity: Infrastructure Lifecycle Guidance online toolkit
(see pages 46-47 and visit www.bit.ly/ICESoN22).
A fundamental principle of the CAB’s philosophy is to build on work that has gone before
and ensure that it is made available to as many civil engineers as possible. Throughout
this report you will therefore see links to other sources of support and best practice on
different aspects of the productivity challenge.
WATCH
For further insights view these recent ICE events:

n Thriving as a civil engineer in the 21st century: Q&A with ICE President 2021-22
Ed McCann (webinar)
n A Systems Approach to Infrastructure Delivery – part 2 (lecture)
n Computational design – are we missing an opportunity? (webinar)
n Going digital – a best-practice guide (webinar)
n ICE Presidential Address 2021 (webinar)
In a post-Covid world, the simple

truth is that we do not have
enough money to carry on as
we are while cutting carbon and
delivering the services people need
8 9
Three
key lessons
The Community Advisory Board

1 2 3
(CAB) has identified chances to People,culture
People culture and
People mindset
mindset
People
culture aremindset
culture
mindset The sector
Best practice
Best needs to simultaneously embed
practice
Best practice The
Doing things
Doinggreatest
right
Doing productivity
thingsthings
right right improvements are
just as important as process change established best practice and drive continuous available before construction begins – but there
boost productivity at every stage and new technology. improvement across programmes. are opportunities throughout the lifecycle.
of the infrastructure lifecycle,
from conception, planning There are many technologies and processes that can make a big
contribution to improving productivity. The infrastructure industry
A key principle of the CAB’s work has been to use this report to give
readers access to sources of established best practice. Infrastructure,
In this respect, productivity is no different from many other
aspects of project performance (see Fig 2, below).
and design to construction, has much to learn from how other sectors have focused ruthlessly like many project-based industries, suffers from much reinventing
operation and maintenance. on improving their most important processes. of wheels and a tendency to focus on what is unique about a
project and not what is the same as what has gone before.
Countless studies, including the ICE’s recent Systems Approach to
Infrastructure Delivery (SAID) report, have stressed the importance
Some of these opportunities are Progress will, however, always be driven by people embracing of allocating more time and resources to the front end of projects
summarised on pages 46-47 and new ideas and collaborating more effectively. A more productive Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of projects as a series to ensure that objectives are clear; that designs are robust,
industry will be founded on strong relationships characterised by of one-off exercises will not deliver the step change in sector buildable and, ideally, repeatable; and that the model for delivery
have been captured in more detail high levels of mutual trust and respect. productivity that is needed. The CAB believes that programme and transition to operation is sound.
in the report’s accompanying leaders need to encourage more of a production mindset, with a
This will be vital to creating an environment of psychological strong focus on reducing the variability of performance. Still, that does not mean that civil engineers who join projects at
Driving Productivity toolkit safety in which all participants in a project are confident that a later stage have no role in driving productivity – as our lifecycle
(visit www.bit.ly/ICESoN22). they can tell the truth about performance and that their ideas for As an example, wherever possible, common practices and guidance shows (see pages 46-47).
improvement will be welcomed. processes need to be used consistently across programmes of
The CAB has also identified work, with delivery teams challenged to deliver continuous
three overarching lessons from Organisations and teams need to focus as much on the improvement in their application. Innovation teams can then be
psychological and behavioural characteristics they want to see as tasked with pushing forward the boundary of best practice at the
its work throughout the year. on requirements, programme and budget. They should also consider level of the programme (see Fig 1, below).
2 22 4 44 1 11
how procurement and commercial arrangements can support a
working environment that maximises transparency and collaboration.
Fig 1: Roles of best practice and innovation Fig 2: Paulson influence/time curve
in driving programme performance High influence Low influence Result
Cumulative cost of project

Low expenditure High expenditure
Efficiency programme
Procurement
Procurement
Procurement Project to production
Project
Project
to production
to performance
drives production on Front end Front
100% Front
end end
the programme to
Influence
meet best practice Innovation team shifts
best practice to
A more productive industry

Productivty
improve programme Decreasing Increasing

performance Influence expenditure
will be founded on strong

“Engineering construction project
productivity in the UK was identified as
being highly variable - up to 20%-30% 0%
Project timeline
relationships characterised
better or worse than average”
Changing to Compete (2009) Engineering/

design
by high levels of mutual trust Worst Average Best Programme

Procure/construct
practice practice practice performance
and respect
Utilisation
Source: Expedition Engineering
10 11
What is productivity Case study

Project 13: contracting for
outcomes and collaboration
and why does it matter? An example of the Transforming Infrastructure Performance across the enterprise and allowing the supplier ecosystem to be
roadmap being put into practice is Project 13. part of the solution:
Project 13 is an industry-led movement to improve the way that n The enterprise approach used by Anglian Water’s Strategic
high-performance infrastructure is delivered. At its core is the Pipeline Alliance has enabled the group to consider the end-to-
role of infrastructure investment in delivering better outcomes for end process and drive through improvements that have not only
people and place. It advocates integrated, collaborative enterprise improved productivity for a particular part of the process but also
models, bringing together the right capabilities and technologies provided overall benefits. For example, it has already seen a 25%
in longer-term relationships. increase in productivity over the entire pipe-laying process, as well
as carbon and cost reductions and health and safety improvements.
By managing projects as interventions on our existing built systems
There are many definitions of productivity but for this rather than as standalone siloed projects, Project 13 enables the n National Grid’s London Power Tunnels 2 programme has
report the CAB has thought hard about what it should improvement of the overall performance of infrastructure across created an enterprise that has been incentivised to achieve
mean in the context of infrastructure. This has resulted in the whole life of assets. In combination, the five Project 13 pillars a range of outcomes including carbon savings and greater
– capable owner, governance, integration, organisation and digital involvement of local people and SMEs in the scheme. It also
two guiding principles: effectiveness and efficiency. transformation – encourage a digitally enabled production approach has a target of engaging more than 100,000 students in STEM
rather than a traditional construction delivery approach (see Fig 3). (science, technology, engineering and maths) initiatives. Joint
Effectiveness: doing the right things digital model reviews and clash detection have been undertaken
Productivity is about the relationship between inputs and outcomes. We have to select The Project 13 Adopter Community cites examples of with the whole enterprise to ensure that all technical interfaces
the right interventions to deliver what society needs from its infrastructure while staying increased productivity as a result of aligning with outcomes are resolved at design stage, saving time and money.
within the limits of what our planet can support.
Before setting out on a resource-intensive construction project, we always need to consider if Fig 3: The Project 13 approach
our needs can be met via solutions that involve building less or nothing at all. We should also Digital t
ran
pay much more attention to all of the different types of value that we want infrastructure sfo
rm
at
to deliver and not become trapped in a narrow focus on financial performance. io
n
The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a framework for putting this idea
into practice. It is important that teams consider how different options can support as broad
a range of the SDGs as is practical and that they think about the more detailed targets
that support the goals. This idea is captured in the infographic overleaf (Fig 4) from the
Infrastructure and Projects Authority’s Transforming Infrastructure Performance: Roadmap
to 2030, which links interventions into infrastructure systems to the SDGs.
Organisation PROJECT 13 Governance

A new approach
to delivering high
We always need to consider performing

infrastructure
if our needs can be met via

solutions that involve building Th
Integration
less or nothing at all ec

ap
a bl
e ow
ner
12 13
Fig 4: The built environment model: linking infrastructure interventions to the UN SDGs
Source: Infrastructure
and Projects Authority’s
Transforming Infrastructure
Performance: Roadmap to 2030
14 15
Fig 5: Lean Six Sigma: eight wastes
Efficiency: doing things right

Inputs and activity that don’t add value are waste and should be eliminated. As with
value, we need to embrace a broad conception of waste if we are to make optimal
decisions. An excellent practical example is the concept of seven wastes developed by
Toyota chief engineer Taiichi Ono in the mid-20th century. This was expanded to eight
As with value, we wastes by the process engineers behind the Lean Six Sigma methodology in the 1980s
(see Fig 5, facing page).
need to embrace a
Defects Overproduction Waiting Non-utilised talent
broad conception One of Toyota’s key insights was that while its products may have varied across different
factories, the typical sources of waste did not. This meant strategies could be developed to
Effects caused by rework, Production that is more Wasted time waiting for Underutilising people’s
scrap and incorrect than needed or before it is the next step in a process talents, skills and of waste if we target these wastes and the inefficient processes that generated them at a whole-company
information needed knowledge level. As our HS2 case study shows (see page 40), the types of waste that we may want to
are to make tackle throughout the end-to-end processes driving a modern infrastructure project may
optimal decisions differ a little from the Six Sigma model, but the underlying principles can still be applied.
Measuring productivity
Measuring and monitoring productivity is vital if we are to make the step change that the
industry needs.
Unfortunately, the construction sector currently lacks a single agreed set of productivity
measures or benchmarks against which performance can be measured. There are,
however, a number of embryonic metrics and tools that projects and programmes can use
Transportation Inventory Motion Extra-processing
as inspiration for establishing their own measures (see table below).
Unnecessary movements Excess products and Unnecessary movements More work or higher
of products and materials materials not being by people (e.g. walking) quality than is required It is important that when setting metrics, leaders take care to ensure that they are
processed by the customer targeting effectiveness and efficiency. They must not waste time measuring the efficiency
of the delivery of what are fundamentally the wrong projects.
Source of support and Owner How can this help me?

best practice
Transforming Infrastructure and Provides a simple model for linking the

Infrastructure Performance: Projects Authority UN Sustainable Development Goals to interventions
Roadmap to 2030 in the built and natural environment
Infrastructure Sustainability Infrastructure Provides a comprehensive rating system for

Rating Scheme Sustainability Council evaluating the economic, social and environmental
(Australia) performance of infrastructure across the planning,
design, construction and operational phases
Value Toolkit Construction Provides a suite of tools to help clients and

Innovation Hub policy-makers to make value-based procurement
decisions aligned to their desired outcomes
Government Construction Infrastructure and Will provide a common set of metrics for measuring
Metrics (expected before Projects Authority performance across the Government’s project
end 2022) portfolio, to include productivity, net-zero carbon,
levelling up and innovation
Measuring Construction Construction Provides support to identify where productivity

Site Productivity Productivity Taskforce improvements can be made across a construction site,
work package or task
16 17
Culture and behaviour
Any effort to improve infrastructure productivity that

is concerned only with products and processes and
not the people using them will fail.
Productivity benefits of a positive culture

The sheer If leaders want to unlock the benefits of new technology and process improvement, they
need to prioritise creating an environment of psychological safety in which all employees
complexity and feel able to identify problems and opportunities, bring forward new ideas and propose
Studies by Gallup and Smith School of Business, new ways of working.
Queen's University, Canada have shown that scale of many
disengaged workers have 37% higher absenteeism
and 49% more accidents and are involved in
projects means This means establishing a clear set of values relating to factors such as inclusion, respect
and trust and reinforcing them through incentives, messaging and behaviour. Senior
60% more errors and defects. that senior figures leaders can make a big impact simply by demonstrating their openness to challenge.
Organisations with low employee engagement scores will need to move They also need to challenge themselves, asking why they are making key decisions about
experienced 18% lower productivity and 16% lower
profitability, the research found1. away from a factors such as a project’s scope and delivery model that will have a fundamental impact
on its effectiveness and efficiency.
Similarly, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has

hierarchical model The sheer complexity and scale of many projects means that senior figures will need
found a strong correlation across industry sectors to move away from a hierarchical model in which a small group makes all of the
between organisations with more structured and major decisions. They should adopt a leadership style that swaps this centralised
mature management practices relating to continuous command-and-control mode for a focus on supporting and empowering employees,
improvement and employment management promoting innovation and fostering the wellbeing and engagement of those around
(performance reviews, training, addressing them, set within a context of the whole team being aligned to the outcomes and
underperformance, etc) and productivity. committed to the overall delivery plan.
Unfortunately, the construction industry was one of the ICE past vice president Andrew McNaughton is leading an expert group to develop
weaker performers in the ONS’s review. thinking on this issue that is due to report in 2023.
How will I know what is really going on inside a project?

1 Pleiter S (2014) Engaging Employees, Smith School of
Business magazine, winter issue
Transparency is vital. Clients, sponsors and senior delivery leaders need to be able to
look inside projects and understand how their culture is helping or hindering the drive
for effectiveness and efficiency. This means establishing better feedback loops so that
information flows across organisational and contractual boundaries to where it can
make a difference.
18 19
The CAB also heard that people at the top of projects needed to avoid the risk of relying
solely on formal project reporting such as updates to cost forecasts and delivery schedules
if they were truly to understand what was happening on the ground. If a project has
fallen into a low-transparency, high-pressure culture, there is a real risk that such
documents will not give an accurate picture and that problems will go unchallenged until
it is too late.
This means leaders need to ensure they have access to information that gives them a
meaningful insight into the day-to-day culture being experienced by everyone working
on a project and the impact this is having on performance.
The best way of doing this is by leaders making themselves visible and accessible, and
taking time to talk with people throughout the team.
Examples of other ways to glean information may include formal or informal third-party
audits, employee engagement or inclusion audits and mapping the interactions (or lack of
them) across project teams.
Leaders need to ensure they

have access to information
that gives them a meaningful Case study
Changing the culture to
insight into day-to-day culture help complete Crossrail
Mark Wild is the former chief executive of Crossrail. He took “Second, the programme moved beyond conventional
on the post in November 2018 and oversaw the final stages collaboration into a collective mindset of ‘owning the whole’.
of a megaproject that had run into serious difficulties. When In this mindset, the common higher purpose of creating an
he took over, there was a real danger that the programme integrated, high-performance railway was adopted by all,
would fail to deliver against both the effectiveness and replacing the previous method of leaders owning individual parts
Sources of support Owner How can this help me?
and best practice efficiency elements of productivity. Mark explained to the and collaborating.
CAB the approach he took to get things back on track.
“The most important step in the adoption of these two principles
“To complete Crossrail and open London’s new Elizabeth was the visible stand taken by the board and senior leadership
Line, a different approach was needed. This programme had that it was psychologically safe for all to act in these ways to
Involvement and Involvement and Offers guidance and analysis on effective
Productivity: The Missing Participation people management and employee engagement immense complexity, a great number of interfaces and a high achieve the higher purpose.
Piece of the Puzzle? Association and their link to productivity degree of uncertainty.
“This was not an easy or straightforward process. Trust had to be
Maslach Burnout Inventory Open source Provides a simple tool to help assess “The team that completed the railway adopted two defining gained throughout the whole supply chain, the future operators
psychological wellbeing principles. First, total transparency – this was as much about and across the delivery authority.
surfacing what gaps in knowledge existed as it was about what
A Systems Approach to Institution of Provides insight on productivity-enhancing was known to be true. The conditions were created to allow the “Once it was demonstrated that it was indeed a safe environment,
Infrastructure Delivery Civil Engineers approaches to leadership programme’s collective guiding coalition to vigorously intervene in momentum was built and the railway opened safely to great
the most important issues or gaps. acclaim from customers.”
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State of the Nation 2022 | Improving
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infrastructure productivity Improving infrastructure productivity | State of the Nation 2022
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Case study
Leadership on
culture at Tideway
Tideway is one of the largest infrastructure projects to decision-making that will keep people safe and well.
currently in progress in Europe. A quick visit to the A member of the senior leadership team attends each session,
project website demonstrates its outcome focus, in this reinforcing its commitment to this.
case reconnecting London to the River Thames.
Despite the intense focus on HSW excellence, inevitably things
From the earliest days of the project, Tideway’s leadership may not always go to plan. The project has a transparent
has been clear that a project of this scale needs an open approach to learning from incidents and sharing the outcomes
and collaborative culture so that information can be that enable continuous improvement.
shared, problems identified and clear actions agreed across
contractual boundaries as efficiently as possible. The link to productivity is clear. A culture where people can
share their concerns and ideas, and where they are listened
Tideway’s approach to safety is an excellent example of how to, helps Tideway to gain the best from the whole team. This
these aspirations can be put into practice. The leadership applies to developing effective and efficient construction
team took an early decision to seek a transformational level of methods as well as safety, and is particularly important where
health, safety and wellbeing (HSW) performance throughout similar activities are repeated across multiple sites, so that
the delivery of the programme. This commitment was innovative thinking and learning can have wide application.
embedded into the commercial strategy right from the start
and influenced the selection of supply-chain partners. Striving for excellence in health, safety and wellbeing helps to
reduce the delays and disruption that occur when standards
As soon as the contractors were appointed, the combined drop and accidents happen. Crucially, a strong HSW culture in
team worked together to establish their joint standards and which everyone has the ability to truly contribute to success
approaches to HSW, sharing ideas and best practice. builds high levels of morale and commitment that, in turn,
boosts productivity.
A major innovation for the programme was EPIC (the Employer
Project Induction Centre). Tideway has taken the view that n Read Alder A, Hails S and Vaughan A (2022) Ensuring
everyone joining the project is one of the team, no matter Health, Safety and Wellbeing on the UK’s Thames
their ultimate employer. Everyone has taken part in a one-day Tideway Tunnel Programme, Proceedings of the
induction that uses actors to bring home the human cost of Institution of Civil Engineers – Civil Engineering 175, 2
accidents and reinforces the open, collaborative approach (www.bit.ly/HSWTideway).
22 23
Lifecycle guidance and

four focus areas
To accompany this report, the ICE is creating a web-based

resource – Driving Productivity: Infrastructure Lifecycle
Guidance – that provides detailed advice on actions that
can be taken to improve productivity throughout the
infrastructure lifecycle (visit www.bit.ly/ICESoN22).
As well as being organised by lifecycle phase, the guidance identifies opportunities

available to the following actors:
n Clients, operators, asset owners, programme managers and integrators
n Designers
n Constructors
The headlines of the guidance are summarised in an appendix to this report (see pages
46-47). In addition, the Productivity CAB has identified four focus areas that are explored
on the following pages. These provide deeper dives into what each of the actors can do
at varying stages of the lifecycle.
Key decisions made at the start

of a project will normally have the
greatest impact on its effectiveness
in achieving the desired outcomes
24 25
The key decisions made at the start of a project will normally have the greatest that can damage both the efficiency and effectiveness aspects of their productivity
impact on its effectiveness in achieving the desired outcomes and the efficiency performance. Alongside this data, the CAB has found plentiful evidence of the benefits
of its delivery. of investing in other key front-end activities, including setting up detailed design
processes, achieving an appropriate level of design maturity, creating and testing
Too often, the people making these choices do not dedicate enough time to fully construction and logistics plans, and securing all of the consents and licences needed
exploring the asset owner’s needs and the outcomes they want to achieve. In fact, the to allow the delivery team to get on and execute efficiently. Discussions on
industry’s processes can be narrowly focused on agreeing a technical solution as quickly
as possible, securing the lowest possible initial cost, transferring risk down the supply n Manage all external stakeholders who can influence the project: A project must improving the
chain and getting spades in the ground. understand the perspectives of all external stakeholders with significant influence or who
efficiency of
1
can make a legitimate claim to the value it generates. Understanding these perspectives
Similarly, discussions on improving the efficiency of how a project is delivered can easily and managing the associated demands early helps to create a simpler, more stable, how a project is
degenerate into shallow exercises in cracking the whip that pile pressure on the supply productivity-enhancing environment in which to deliver the project.
chain to do what it has done before, cheaper or faster (with the risk of lower quality), delivered can easily
Front-end
Front end loading
rather than encouraging and incentivising collaboration to find better ways to deliver
work. This needs to change.
n Judge project readiness against a pre-agreed set of criteria: Infrastructure projects
should carry out the best practical project definition, design maturity and planning
degenerate into
before starting to build. This is an opportunity to implement the CAB’s principle of shallow exercises in
Re-allocating time and resources In 2020, the ICE’s A Systems Approach to Infrastructure Delivery (SAID) report took a embedding existing best practices. The SAID study highlighted work published by
to the early stages of projects to close look at front-end loading, the process of re-allocating time and resources to the the Nuclear Industry Council (see Risk reduction enablers, overleaf) that drew on cracking the whip
aid in identifying needs, project early stages of a project to aid in identifying needs, project definition, design maturity and cross-sectoral best practices from the UK and overseas to identify 14 criteria against
definition, design maturity and delivery planning. The report noted that an analysis of 20,000 projects in the database of which projects should be able to show adequate progress before receiving the green
benchmarking specialist Independent Project Analysis showed that projects with the best- light to start the delivery phase.
delivery planning
quality front-end loading had 20% lower costs and were delivered 10%-15% faster than
average. The SAID study identified four priorities for delivering better front-end loading: n Test the delivery plan and test it again: Advances in digital technology mean it is now
Led by: Clients, operators, asset owners, possible for all participants in a project to work together to ‘build it twice’, first inside a
programme managers and integrators n Plan around facts: Front-end loading highlights the risk of setting deadlines, project digital model and then in the real world. As with other aspects of front-end loading, such
Contributors: Designers, constructors scope, deliverables and budget without regard to hard facts and high-quality data. testing needs a commercial arrangement that allows all key supply-chain partners to be
Projects without a credible baseline face an increased risk of time and cost overruns involved at an early stage.
Sources of support and best practice Owner How can this help me?
A Systems Approach to Infrastructure Institution of Civil Contains discussion and case studies of
Delivery: Part 1 and Part 2 Engineers effective front-end loading
Project Routemap: Handbook and Infrastructure and Projects Provides a structured methodology to
modules covering organisational design, Authority ensure that best practices and lessons
risk management, requirements, asset learnt about the common causes of
management, governance, procurement and project failure are considered in the
systems integration early stages of project development
Construction Playbook: Chapters 1-5 on Infrastructure and Projects Captures commercial best practices for
preparation and planning Authority clients and their supply-chain partners
Better Early Project Conversations: The Major Projects Association Provides guidance and case studies on
Human Side of Project Initiation the key issues leaders should tackle in the
early stages of projects and programmes
NAO Guide: Initiating Successful Projects National Audit Office Provides guidance based on analysis of
40 major public-sector programmes under
the themes of purpose, affordability,
pre-commitment, project set-up and
delivery and variation management
26 27
Risk reduction enablers
In 2020, the Nuclear Industry Council published Nuclear New Build Cost Reduction. This forms part of
the sector’s commitment to reduce the cost to the consumer of future new-build projects by 30%.
At the heart of the report is a risk assessment tool for new projects that identifies 14 risk reduction enablers to
be tackled during the early stages of projects. These enablers are drawn from an analysis of a series of studies
of megaprojects both inside and outside of the nuclear sector. They also draw on existing best-practice tools
such as the Infrastructure and Projects Authority’s Project Routemap.
Theme Key risk reduction enablers
01 Financing Is the financing model secure; are stakeholders aligned and is HMG [His Majesty’s
Government] committed and aligned?
02 Regulation Are regulation and permitting requirements understood?
03 Governance Is the governance defined and fit for purpose: the roles of owner and delivery team
defined and distinct, with a strong multidisciplinary owner’s team?
04 Site data Is the site-specific data understood and taken into account?
05 Technology data Is the data on processes and components accurate enough, and are innovations
under control?
06 Design Is the design mature?
07 Estimates Are costs and schedule estimates realistic, integrating robust risk assessment?
08
09
Contractual interfaces
Project management
Are interfaces identified, understood and managed at each level of the project?
Is the management of the project strong enough, with a robust organisation and
Front-end loading highlights the risk
10 Data system
processes and an effective and experienced project team?
Is the data structure access and related systems strategy consistent with the
of setting deadlines, project scope,
11 Construction preparation
project context?
Is the construction executive plan fit for purpose? Are [nuclear safety and
deliverables and budget without regard
to hard facts and high-quality data
construction] special requirements taken into account, including management of
quality and defects?
12 Supply chain Are the procurement and contracting strategies defined and fit for purpose?
Are suppliers incentivised to deliver the best for the project?
13 Skills Are the critical skills identified and managed, with particular attention to safety and
quality culture?
14 Operations preparation Is the transition to operations planned, with operation staff embedded in the project early?
Project readiness criteria taken from Nuclear Sector Deal Cost Reduction Working Group (2020) Nuclear New Build Cost Reduction
28 29
An ICE expert group spent the first half of 2022 making a systematic study of Description Procurement objective Example action
how the procurement process could contribute to tackling the causes of poor
1 Clarity and reliability Avoid creating unnecessary work by ensuring Develop robust business cases; establish adequate
productivity in the design and construction process. of requirements project aims and requirements are clear funding and budgets aligned to requirements to reduce
the risk of delays created by project reviews
The resulting guidance note, entitled Procuring Improved Construction Productivity, has
been developed to assist professionals involved in the development and implementation 2 Efficient procurement Cut out wasted effort by clients and supply Ensure assessment criteria are based on key outcomes
of construction procurement strategies and plans. It identifies typical causes of low procedures chain by ensuring procurement procedures and objectives; provide suppliers with enough time to
are proportional and focused on the issues submit high-quality bids
productivity and sets out opportunities to support increased productivity in the
that will be used to determine best value
2 4 1
procurement of projects. It covers 12 key areas (see facing page).
3 Procurement of Create optimal solutions that can be built Make provision for contractor and supply-chain input
design development safely and productively by ensuring design into the design at an early stage
development involves the right expertise at
the right time
Procurement
Procurement Project to production Front end 4 Procurement Secure a focus on action to promote Insist that procurement strategies specifically address
strategy to address productivity by making productivity a how the procurement procedures and contract
Using procurement to address productivity ‘golden thread’ in the procurement lifecycle documents will support enhanced productivity
the causes of low productivity
in the design and construction
phases of projects
Secure a focus on action 5 Pre-procurement
market engagement
Identify and resolve risks and barriers to
productivity improvement by ensuring
the market is briefed and able to
Use early market engagement to set out client
requirements and to obtain feedback on potential
barriers such as shortage of materials, skilled workers
Led by: Clients, asset owners, programme

to promote productivity respond to the client’s requirements for
productivity improvements
or risk allocations
managers and integrators

Contributors: Designers, constructors by making productivity 6 Pre-qualification and
tenderer selection
procedures
Appoint suppliers with demonstrable
capability and experience to improve
productivity in the delivery phase
Develop mandatory requirements and selection
criteria for the qualification of suitably qualified and
experienced delivery partners
a ‘golden thread’ in the 7 Contract award criteria Improve delivery methodologies by making
tenderers set out how their approach will
Require tenderers to include proposals for plans for
measuring and improving productivity
procurement lifecycle
optimise productivity
8 Procurement Establish governance that ensures that Adapt assurance procedures to include identification
governance and productivity improvement is considered of risk to productivity performance – this can include
assurance procedures throughout the project development and adding productivity to the remit of any independent
delivery process assurance panel
Sources of support and best practice Owner How can this help me? 9 Contract scope and Ensure that contractors can demonstrate Ensure client requirements cover factors such as
specifications they have considered the productivity risks identification and assessment of opportunities for use
and opportunities of their approach to of digital technology to support modern methods of
construction by including this in the project construction, deployment of standardised designs, offsite
scope production and other known productivity enhancers
NEC4 Alliance Contract and guidance Institution of Civil Engineers/ This is a standard contract for appointing
Thomas Telford Ltd multiple partners to deliver a major
10 Form of contract Drive integration, collaboration, Use collaborative forms of contract that support the
project or programme of work
incentivisation and leadership via the required culture and behaviours and incentivise all to
selection of a suitable form of contract work together to achieve the client’s objectives; use
Project 13 Network Infrastructure Client Group Interactive community platform with a commercial arrangements that pay fairly and assign
range of resources for those interested risks to the parties best able to manage risk and take
in creating an integrated enterprise, commercial liability
including a commercial handbook,
maturity matrix and project case studies 11 Contract productivity Demonstrate productivity improvements Include in contracts a requirement for improvement
performance and identify best practices via performance plans if performance falls below required levels; share
management measurement and management productivity data and lessons learnt across the supply
Construction Playbook Infrastructure and Projects Provides advice on delivery model
Authority assessment, efficient contracting, going chain to support continuous improvement
out to tender and evaluating bids
12 Project/contract Avoid wasting the effort committed to Commit resources to the front of projects to create
management and procuring for best value by ensuring the plans that minimise delivery risks and ensure the
ICE Guidance Note: Procurement, Institution of Civil Engineers Sets out key principles for successful skills planning skilled resources needed to deliver it are availability of people and materials
Commercial and Contracting Key Principles procurement based on practical available and employed
experience drawn from many major
infrastructure projects and programmes
30 31
Case study
Keltbray and Network Rail:
Delivering productivity improvements
in the delivery phase
Rail Project SPEED (Swift, Pragmatic and Efficient opportunities for standardisation of assets and products, as
Enhancement Delivery) is a joint initiative of the well as ways to improve the staging of the scheme.
Department for Transport (DfT) and Network Rail that
was launched in 2021. Procurement of materials has been rationalised and
a production-line approach to offsite production and
The Anglian MK1 OLE (overhead line equipment) manufacturing has been introduced. Keltbray also created
refurbishment programme is working to replace more than a logistics hub alongside its manufacturing site – this has
50km of overhead wiring between Fenchurch Street station reduced construction carbon by 58%, as well as cutting out
in London and Pitsea in Essex and along the Hornchurch waste of materials and unnecessary transport movements.
branch. The programme will also install a new auto-tension
system that prevents the wire sagging in hot weather, which The traditional approach to the overhead line replacement
will reduce heat-related delays and cancellations. has been to separate the work on the contact wire (the live
wire from which a train draws power) and the catenary wire
The project scope involves 143 wire runs (renewing stretches (the structural support cable that holds the contact wire in a
of overhead wiring) and replacing 99 structures. The straight line). A wiring train team replaces the contact wire,
programme became a Project Speed pilot after the volumes while a team using a mobile elevated working platform
of work being delivered fell behind schedule, creating a risk (MEWP) is at a separate location working on the catenary
of a £14m increase in anticipated final cost. wire. This is inefficient as during a typical possession period
(when the railway is closed to users), the wiring train is
Under the pilot, civils contractor Keltbray’s relationship working only one of three shifts.
with Network Rail was changed from an arms-length
procurement arrangement to a much more collaborative Instead, Keltbray developed an approach that allowed
and agile model. This created the transparency that multiple teams to work in parallel, allowing whole wiring
allowed client, contractor and other stakeholders to better runs to be renewed in a single session. The volume of
understand the project’s critical issues. It also helped in delivery in a single access window (the period when the
terms of aligning cultures and behaviours and keeping all contractor has access to the railway) has increased by 64%,
parties focused on a single vision for delivery. while disruption for the public has been reduced by 37%.
Keltbray’s introduction into the design process allowed Using this new methodology, the team estimates that
it to challenge on proposals (including pushing for a the work will be completed in week 45 of year one of
‘minimum viable product’ approach to achieve the desired the programme, with savings of 45 weeks and £18m in
outcomes and benefits). It also enabled Keltbray to identify comparison with the original underperforming approach.
32 33
A key principle of the CAB’s approach to this year’s State of the Nation is to help design process will be highly disruptive and could have a disproportionate impact on
civil engineers access the wealth of work on productivity that is already going on schedule, cost and quality.
across the sector.
A robust approach: establish and maintain the design process
The Get It Right Initiative (GIRI) was founded in 2017 and brings together more than GIRI advises that at the start of a project, all key members of the project team should
70 construction-sector organisations dedicated to boosting productivity and improving create a design process that includes: Designers have a
quality by eliminating error. n Clearly defined roles and responsibilities
n Design delivered to an agreed plan of work big part to play in
driving productivity
3
An early study by GIRI identified that 10%-25% of the cost of an average UK n Agreed milestones
construction project was associated with avoidable error. This costs the industry, or rather n Strong leadership
its clients, billions of pounds each year in delays, waste and assets that do not perform to n A well-prepared brief improvements,
the standards required. n Robust cost advice
n Change control but they cannot
Rooting
Root out design
out deficiencies GIRI found that this high level of error was “rooted in deficiencies of design: n Sufficient time for design evolution
do it alone
designs that are uncoordinated, incomplete, miscommunicated, unintelligible, late or n Continual client review and approval
deficiencies just plain wrong”. n Peer reviews
n Requirements for use of building information management
Getting rid of deficiencies in the Designers, then, have a big part to play in driving productivity improvements – but they n Buildability reviews
design process – building on the cannot do it alone. They need support both upstream from clients to ensure that they n Design interface management
Get It Right Initiative have the time, resources and governance arrangements they need to carry out their work
effectively, and downstream from constructors to improve construction task planning and The CAB evidence suggests that additions to this list could include:
Led by: Clients, designers and ensure their designs can be constructed safely and efficiently. n Identifying opportunities for utilising a Design for Manufacturing and Assembly approach
constructors n Integrating value engineering into the design process
GIRI has produced a guide to Improving Value by Reducing Design Error, which is
built around 12 principles (see Fig 6, overleaf). Four of GIRI’s principles that resonate Plan: create a project-specific plan of work
particularly strongly with the information gathered by the CAB are: GIRI advises that the client and key consultants should establish a comprehensive
plan of design work that embraces all of the technical disciplines required to deliver
Brief: establish objectives and aspirations and communicate them clearly the project. This can align to any of the industry standard plans – for example, the
GIRI’s guidance advises that a well-prepared brief that is clearly communicated to the Royal Institute of British Architects’ Plan of Work – but it needs to be specifically crafted
design team will minimise design changes and subsequent construction errors. This brief for the project in hand.
must establish the project’s objectives and aspirations, which means dedicating enough
time for all relevant parties to collaborate so they can fully understand the client’s needs In addition, the CAB’s work has identified the value of including a design-stage gateway
and expectations and convert them into a set of requirements. process into these plans. This establishes a series of reviews to assure the evolving design
against the client’s requirements and ultimate outcomes. This also offers an opportunity
This resonates with the best-practice material gathered by the CAB, which stresses that to review other key issues affecting productivity, including the quality of design
before a project moves into detailed design, it is imperative that these requirements and coordination and integration, safety and the forecast construction programme and cost.
the overall scope of the scheme have been fixed. Changes to requirements during the
Contractor input: a sense-check from the contractor’s perspective
GIRI stresses that all projects can benefit from tapping into a contractor’s knowledge
before design options are closed down. Contractors can provide input on delivery
methods, technology and buildability as well as providing market insight into the
availability of specialist labour and materials.
Sources of support and best practice Owner How can this help me?
The CAB has found that construction expertise in the design team is essential even if
commercial arrangements make formal contractor input difficult. Among other things,
this will allow for the establishment and review of construction methods and sequencing
Guide to Improving Value by Get It Right Initiative Sets out 12 principles for tackling the in parallel with design development.
Reducing Design Error root causes of design error in
construction projects
Project Routemap: requirements module Infrastructure and Provides structured guidance and
Projects Authority checklists to deliver a robust set of
requirements that can form the basis of
detailed design
34 35
Fig 6: Getting the design right:

improving value by reducing design error
Source: Get It Right Initiative
1
Culture
2
Increased investment
3
Robust approach Collaboration
4
Every project needs a clearly Increased investment in A clearly defined and well-managed Every project will benefit from collaboration,
defined intent, a consistent focus design reduces project error. design process should be and effective collaboration will lead to more
on outcomes and the project team established at the start of successful projects with fewer errors. It is up
to work seamlessly together and a project, and involve all key to clients and leaders across all disciplines to
adopt the process of back-briefing. members of the project team. act to enable collaboration to take place.
The adoption of a partnering charter should
be a key goal at the start of any project.
5
Plan
6
Brief
7
Information Stakeholder management
8
Develop a comprehensive, The briefing process is fundamental Correct and well-communicated Time invested in understanding
project-specific plan of work. in defining client needs and expectations, design information is integral to stakeholder needs and the client’s
and requires sufficient time to be successful communication sign-off and approval process is
completed in collaboration with between designers, clients never wasted.
all relevant parties. and contractors.
Opening up and closing down

9 10
Contractor input
11
Handover
12
Guiding the design team
‘Opening up’ and ‘Closing down’ a All projects, regardless of the form If a comprehensive set of The introduction of an independent
project allows for all creative thinking and of contract or procurement, would information is produced at the principal consultant as the ‘controlling mind’
key decision-making to be carried out benefit from contractor advice at handover stage and communicated for design development is critical to
and completed in good time prior to the the design stage. This should be and reviewed effectively, then the ensure that design-related communications
preparation of subsequent production encouraged and would lead to a design is less likely to be misinterpreted, are robust, co-ordinated
information. This reduces the necessity for reduction in design errors. resulting in fewer errors. and well managed.
change and hence the opportunity for errors.
36 37
Infrastructure can learn from productivity-enhancing improvements

made in other sectors such as manufacturing and digital.
This final focus area explores how that can be achieved by looking at three
case studies: industrialised construction, HS2's productivity strategy, and
Wessex Water’s drainage and wastewater management programme. Industrialised construction
is about setting the right
4 1
environment to allow
Case study innovation to happen at speed
Industrialised
construction and be tested on projects
Learning
Project from
to production Front end
other sectors
From project to production The ICE works closely with multinational law firm a good leader is to recognise how improvements can be made in n Improved logistics and less waste: Components and
management: applying Pinsent Masons on a range of topics affecting the global a systematic and standardised way and yet set an environment for materials can be tracked in real time and inventory management
techniques from the infrastructure sector. The CAB asked Graham Robinson, creative freedom. can be used to manage the flow of materials to the coalface of
manufacturing and global business consultant at Pinsent Masons LLP and global construction activity.
digital sectors to infrastructure infrastructure and construction lead at Oxford Economics, to “The platforms at London’s Liverpool Street for Crossrail are
projects and programmes provide insight from his work on industrialised construction. a good example of how an industrialised approach has been n Introducing new talent into the industry: The talent pool
used for construction. A seven-person team of site operatives for construction can be expanded to include a wider and more
Led by: Client, constructor “In my view, industrialised construction is a way of reshaping took 2,492 hours to assemble platforms at Liverpool Street diverse workforce of talent.
the whole industry. It means moving away from a bespoke, that were manufactured offsite. This compares with identical
one-off process of designing and constructing infrastructure and platforms at Tottenham Court Road, which were traditionally n Access to a wider pool of financing: The growth in
buildings towards a more standardised approach that is both constructed onsite using a 57-person team and taking a total environmental, social and governance (ESG) has led to funds
data-led and digitalised and delivered by alliances of stakeholders of 82,080 hours. across the world looking for compliant investment. Industrialised
working collaboratively. construction can reduce carbon footprints and the fact that
“Industrialised construction can deliver a step change in manufacturing can take place away from construction sites can
“Industrialised construction is also about setting the right productivity but it is worth remembering that this approach can help in levelling up the economy.
environment to allow innovation to happen at speed and be bring many other big benefits:
tested on projects. In addition, offsite manufacturing is key to n Greater profitability, leading to greater investment:
industrialising construction. This means moving more activity n Safer construction: The use of standard operating procedures Industrialised construction can improve profit margins
into controlled factory environments, which are inherently more and standard components and assembly can help to create a and, by de-risking construction, profit can be made
efficient and can draw on a wider and more diverse talent pool. factory-floor type environment for construction sites. more certain, which will lead to greater investment and
continuous improvement.
“Lastly, leadership is an important ingredient for success. n Sustainable construction: An industrialised approach allows
Leadership is different from project management, and the role of greater levels of innovation and material selection. “A key finding from the Pinsent Masons global infrastructure
survey carried out in March 2022 was that about a third of
n Circular business models: Industrialised construction is all contractors were looking to acquire technology and offsite
essential to a circular business model that supports a circular manufacturing skills and capability to help accelerate their
economy. Standardised components can be deconstructed and industrialised construction strategies.
Sources of support and best practice Owner How can this help me? re-used in a similar way to the Rolls-Royce Power by the Hour
circular business model, in which up to 95% of a used aero “This is in response to an anticipated increase in the percentage of
engine is recovered and recycled. a typical project that will be built offsite, with 40% of contractors
now expecting between 25% and 50% of a typical project to be
Seven lessons civil engineers can learn from Institution of Civil Engineers Summarises lessons for improving
n Building safety: The new Building Safety Act means built offsite in the next three years.”
Toyota’s manufacturing process productivity in construction projects from
Toyota’s Deeside engine plant that a ‘golden thread’ of building information is needed to
satisfy the regulator. Industrialised construction can help n To support the sector, Pinsent Masons has created an
Lean Construction Institute research and Lean Construction Institute An archive of knowledge and case studies to achieve compliance and produce safer buildings, while industrialised construction thought-leadership programme across
resources on lean construction techniques machine-readable data can help in tracking and managing 10 modules, which is free to access from www.pinsentmasons.
changes to design and construction. com/thinking/special-reports/industrialised-construction
38 39
Fig 7: The eight infrastructure wastes

Efficiency is a function of inputs and outputs. A key means of improving efficiency is reducing inputs for a given
output. This can usefully be understood as a process of waste elimination where ‘waste’ is defined as “inputs that
do not add value to the process”. The specific inputs and associated waste types found in infrastructure projects
are shown below.
INPUTS WASTE TYPES OPTIMISATION

Human capital
REQUIREMENTS
8 Wasted 1 Wasted Using this model, waste is
Materials info. human eliminated and efficiency
& data capital
improved by optimising
Tools & machinery 7 Wasted the following:
2 Wasted
land & materials
ecosystem Quantity of inputs
Time
Infrastructure Quality of inputs
waste
Energy 6 Wasted
3 Wasted Timing of inputs
social machinery
Social capital capital Process methodology
Land & ecosystem 5 Wasted 4 Wasted

Process compliance or
energy time execution
Information & data Impact of external factors
Source: HS2 Ltd and Expedition Engineering
Case study
HS2’s productivity
strategy
On page 17 we saw how many decades ago Toyota identify where costs are being generated. This has allowed 14. Requirements specification (including design) Lastly, HS2 has set out a series of guiding principles to point
transformed its productivity performance by identifying HS2 to identify 19 target areas broken down into three 15. Requirements assurance teams towards some of the specific types of improvements
and systematically tackling eight forms of waste across categories. Targeting the underlying drivers of any inefficiency 16. Construction planning/scheduling/supervision they should be trying to identify and how they might be
its activities. Toyota’s insights went on to form the basis or ineffectiveness in these focus areas opens up the possibility 17. Permissions management achieved. These include:
of lean thinking, the influence of which can be seen in of driving systematic improvements to productivity at the 18. Integration and interface management
the productivity strategy being pursued on one of the programme level. 19. Recruitment n Planning and scheduling: techniques to make these parts of
UK’s largest infrastructure programmes, HS2. the process more dynamic, resilient and agile
High-significance asset classes A series of productivity task groups has been set up to target n Quality: systems to allow managers to better control
The outcomes sought by a car manufacturer and an organisation 1. Earthworks these opportunity areas. Each group draws on expertise the construction process and to identify the root causes
delivering a major infrastructure programme are very different. 2. Bridges from across HS2, alongside its supply chain and other of defects
In addition, as we have seen, improving productivity in our sector 3. Tunnels key stakeholders such as regulators and standard-setting n Standardisation: both of processes and objects – for
means looking at sources of waste across the whole end-to-end 4. Stations organisations such as BSI. example, standard designs for bridges and viaducts
lifecycle of an infrastructure programme. These considerations 5. Rail systems n Supply: covering both avoidance of lost time
are reflected in the categories of waste that HS2 has set out 6. Rolling stock The groups are looking for opportunities to make systematic through unavailability of materials and the holding of
to tackle in its programme (see Fig 7, opposite page). In this 7. Third-party infrastructure and utilities improvements to process, which in this context means how tasks unnecessary inventory
graphic, social capital refers to the public and political support are identified, structured and carried out. n Targeting: using the Pareto principle to assume that
that a major programme such as HS2 needs to build and High-volume commodity materials and services 80% of benefits can be realised from solving 20% of
maintain if it is to move forward. 8. Concrete In addition, the groups have been tasked with identifying the problems
9. Reinforcing steel improvements to: n Integration: taking a system-of-systems approach,
Improving efficiency and effectiveness on a project of the scale 10. Aggregate recognising the need for all of the parts of an infrastructure
of HS2 requires a ruthless focus on the processes that have the 11. Construction commodities n System: macro-level factors that determine the overall operating programme to work together
greatest impact on cost, programme and outcome delivery. environment for the HS2 programme n Transparency: recognising that processes and workflows
High-impact common processes n Capability: how good people and teams are at carrying out can only be improved if they are clear
As an example, key programme documents, including work 12. Procurement these tasks n People: recognising that people are the main agent of
breakdown structures, have been examined in detail to 13. Commercial management n Culture and behaviour: team and interpersonal dynamics. change and improvement.
40 41
Case study
Applying lean thinking to developing Fig 8: Wessex Water's data collection and analysis solution
Wessex Water’s drainage and
wastewater management programme
Photographs
Applying lean principles is not the preserve of assessment, resilience planning and budget estimation
megaprojects such as HS2. (see Fig 8, opposite page).
In 2021, Wessex Water had 6,000 sites that needed to be On the sites where flood models existed, Mott MacDonald
assessed for resilience as part of its drainage and wastewater was able to inform realistic feasibility stage designs based on
management programme. About 10% of these were suspected projections of likely flood levels. Where there were no models in
to be at risk of flooding. The work needed to be completed in six addition to identifying the need for such modelling at a future
months, a seemingly impossible task given that a single, site- stage, the business was able to flag areas of the site that were
specific flood risk assessment can require months to undertake. more vulnerable based on their function and relative elevation.
First, some 172 sites were selected that represented a good The project also supported the effectiveness of Wessex Water’s
geographic split across the region; had existing model data programme. The process developed by Mott MacDonald identified
available from the Environment Agency, i.e. flood model outputs; the critical assets at each site and assessed them against various
Weather and Lidar
or that Wessex Water had flooding concerns about based on its flood return periods. This allowed costed, site-specific options for
climate forecasts survey data
experience of the particular site. improving resilience to be identified. These insights supported
Wessex’s planning at the earliest stages of the infrastructure
Engineers and programmers at Mott MacDonald collaborated lifecycle to ensure that its investment decisions were aligned
to create a solution that could automate large swathes of to achieving a range of social, economic and environmental
data collection and analysis. This allowed data to be combined outcomes, while minimising wastefulness and improving carbon
from multiple sources and in multiple formats to support risk efficiency during the delivery programme.
Onsite data
Map data
£
Risk Resilience Budget
assessment planning estimation
Source: Mott MacDonald
42 43
Fig 9: The eight foundations of productivity

Conclusion
ement
manag Visi
on
ip &
ersh
ad
Le
Productivity is about effectiveness and efficiency,

ls
too
doing the right things and doing them right. In a
Val
&
sses
world of finite resources, climate crisis and huge
ues
Proce
Everyone reading demand for the services provided by infrastructure,

this report should it is a necessity and not a ‘nice to have’.
PRODUCTIVE be able to take
PROJECTS
away at least one There is no single route to improving infrastructure productivity. Figure 9 (see facing page)
pulls together many of the themes explored in this report, which we hope provides a
idea they can useful framework for thinking about how to create positive change. We also need to
look at the end-to-end processes of our projects and programmes and root out waste
Inno
apply in their
e
wherever we find it.
ltur
day-to-day work
vat
Cu
Decisions taken at the start of a project are fundamental, placing great responsibility on
ion
sponsors, clients and programme leaders to commit the time and resources to carrying
them out. There are, however, opportunities right through the infrastructure lifecycle,
meaning that improving productivity should be a priority for every civil engineer, client,
designer or constructor alike.
Co
llab king Productivity will not only be delivered via new tools, technologies and techniques,
n
ora
tion m thi although these are important. If we want to secure improvements to the process through
Syste which we deliver and maintain infrastructure, it is people who deliver change.
Leaders have a big responsibility to create a culture of collaboration and psychological

safety in which people have the confidence to call out waste and suggest ideas
Priorities for greater productivity
for improvement.
Leadership and management Culture Collaboration
Commit resources to front-end loading High trust, high accountability Align and incentive all parties to outcomes Lastly, productivity is not a one-off or static activity. Everyone reading this report
should be able to take away at least one idea they can apply in their day-to-day work.
Prioritise psychological safety Inclusion, respect, no fear Reinforce through commercial and
procurement strategy In parallel with implementing existing best practices, programmes need to be using
Vision System thinking their weight to push forward the frontier of best practice and lock in a culture of
Innovation continuous improvement.
Establish clear outcomes Understand impact of decisions in each
Systematically implement best practices
project stage on those that follow
Seek end-to-end improvements in delivery
Push the frontier of best practice Whatever your role and wherever you sit in the infrastructure lifecycle, now is the time
Infrastructure as intervention into
Values existing physical, social and economic Process and tools to act to deliver more for less, for the people who rely on us to be able to live their
network lives and flourish.
One team Identify common forms of waste...
Transparency ...and how to drive them out systematically
Source: ICE Productivity Community Advisory Board
44 45
Appendix:
Lifecycle
guidance
summary
To accompany After project team members have begun by considering the key priorities for greater
productivity as laid out in Fig 9 (see page 44), the lifecycle moves through five stages:
this State of the
Nation report, Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5
the ICE is creating Project concept and Procurement Detailed design Construction and Handover and close-out,
Driving Productivity: Concept
definition, planning and Procurement Detailed design Construction
commissioning Handover
transition to operations
scheme design n Design procurement strategies to n Ensure the client’s outcomes are a
Infrastructure Lifecycle achieve outcomes and not to deliver clearly defined set of requirements before n Ensure the construction phase is driven n Start with the end in mind. Integrate
Guidance. This is n Establish clear outcomes and scope outputs. (Client/programme manager) detailed design begins. At the same time, by a focus on health, safety and wellbeing; into early-stage planning a vision of how
for the planned investment. Describe the n Establish specifically how procurement do not over-specify, and leave space delivery of quality work; and planning and the assets will be assured for handover
a web resource value that must be delivered for users and strategy, procedures and contract for design and construction teams to risk management. (Client, constructor) and how they will be operated. Ensure this
designed to help clients using a range of measures including documentation will support the goal of innovate. (Client/programme manager) n Focus on culture and collaboration. influences key processes – for example,
clients, programme financial return, sustainability, net-zero improved productivity. Avoid burdensome n Put together integrated design teams to Maintain alignment to the objectives. Create design quality processes to assess whether
carbon, social value, resilience, and or costly tendering processes. Focus create a buildable design that will deliver a one-team culture. Check everyone can raise an asset will fulfil its function, not just
managers and technical safety and assurance. award criteria on key outcomes and the outcomes. Work to a single, shared concerns. Create a process for identifying whether it has been built correctly. Use
integrators, designers (Client/programme manager) objectives and allow enough time for schedule. Exploit digital collaboration tools. risk and opportunity, agreeing action and the V-cycle process to allow progressive
and constructors. The n Carry out robust optioneering to

identify the optimal solution to achieve
suppliers to put together high-quality bids.
(Client/programme manager)
Establish strong governance of the design
process. Use gateway reviews to ensure
tracking progress to resolution. (Client/
programme manager, designer, constructor)
assurance against outcomes through the
life of the project. (Client/programme
five stages it covers these outcomes. Consider no-build n Use procurement to create strong design stays aligned to requirements. n Ensure collaborative approaches flow manager, designer, constructor)
are summarised here and low-build options and synergies foundations for collaborative delivery. Align (Client/programme manager, designer) down to subcontractors, integrating them n Protect time allocated to planning,
with other projects or clients. commercial objectives and incentives and n Create strong processes for design into the team. (Constructor) assurance, commissioning and handover.
– to read the detailed (Client/programme manager, designer) use contracts that establish appropriate co-ordination and exchange of information. n Dedicate time and resource to integrated, Seek flexibility. Identify opportunities to
guidance visit n Bake in the constructor and operator risk sharing. (Client/programme manager, Introduce a presumption against changes robust planning including construction, realise some outcomes earlier or if all
www.bit.ly/ICESoN22 voices. Make sure constructability and the

impact on operations and maintenance
designer, constructor)
n Engage the market early on how to
to requirements and detailed design.
Accept change only if all sides understand
temporary works and logistics. (Constructor,
client/programme manager, designer)
assets are not 100% available. Consider
establishing a minimum viable product.
influence option selection. (Client/ achieve productivity improvements in the the implications and how to action them. n Protect the schedule and manage (Client/programme manager)
programme manager, designer, constructor) programme. Set aside enough time in Integrate techniques and processes such interfaces. Review sequencing to identify any n Invest in upfront work in areas such
n Establish a credible schedule, cost the procurement process to encourage as value engineering and design for high-risk activities that could create delays. as high-quality specification and design,
estimate and resource plan. Draw on innovation, including engaging specialists manufacture into the design process. (Client/programme manager, constructor) quality processes and standardisation that
supply-chain insight in areas such as that could bring in new approaches and (Client/programme manager, designer) n Drive continuous improvement of will make assurance and transition to
skills availability, plant, materials and technologies. (Client/programme manager, n Develop logistics and worksite plans common activities. Encourage collaboration operations less challenging in the highly
technology. (Client/programme manager, designer, constructor) alongside detailed design and consider any to avoid duplication. (Client/programme pressured final phases of the project.
designer, constructor) onsite constraints. Unlock opportunities in manager, designer, constructor) (Client/programme manager)
n Establish how Building Information areas such as automation and sequencing n Minimise waste. Focus on common
Modelling (BIM) will be embedded into of work. (Designer, constructor) sources including over-ordering of materials/
all stages of the project and be used by n Avoid over-conservative design by using plant, unnecessary transportation or use of
stakeholders to enable better design, the right design standards and criteria land, avoidable defects, delay, or higher than
construction, operations and asset and agreeing sensible design liability. required impact on ecosystems. (Constructor)
management. (Client/programme manager) (Client/programme manager, designer)
46 47
Established in 1818 and with more
than 95,000 members worldwide,
the Institution of Civil Engineers exists
to deliver insights on infrastructure
for societal benefit, using the
professional engineering knowledge
of our global membership.
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Linking our work back to the UN Sustainable
Development Goals is a core part of ICE’s plan and
Follow us on Twitter: mission. This paper ties in with the following SDGs:
@ICE_engineers
and LinkedIn:
bit.ly/FollowICELinkedIn
ICE Get in touch

One Great George Street For more information, please contact:
Institution of Civil Engineers is a Westminster ICE Knowledge
Registered Charity in England and Wales London SW1P 3AA E: knowledge@ice.org.uk
(no 210252) and Scotland (SC038629). UK W: ice.org.uk

Ice State of The Nation 2022 Final

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STATE OF THE NATION 2022

OCTOBER 2022 ice.org.uk

Billions of people depend on the services provided by the world’s infrastructure.

Our measurement and reporting on productivity also needs to focus on effectiveness

About State of the Nation

State of the Nation has been one of the ICE’s flagship

The CAB – co-chaired by Andy Alder, vice president of major

This State of the Nation report comes towards the end

infrastructure and eliminating waste wherever we find it.

For further insights view these recent ICE events:

In a post-Covid world, the simple

The Community Advisory Board

Cumulative cost of project

A more productive industry

improve programme Decreasing Increasing

will be founded on strong

Changing to Compete (2009) Engineering/

by high levels of mutual trust Worst Average Best Programme

What is productivity Case study

Organisation PROJECT 13 Governance

We always need to consider performing

if our needs can be met via

less or nothing at all ec

Fig 5: Lean Six Sigma: eight wastes

Efficiency: doing things right

Source of support and Owner How can this help me?

Transforming Infrastructure and Provides a simple model for linking the

Infrastructure Sustainability Infrastructure Provides a comprehensive rating system for

Value Toolkit Construction Provides a suite of tools to help clients and

Measuring Construction Construction Provides support to identify where productivity

Culture and behaviour

Any effort to improve infrastructure productivity that

Productivity benefits of a positive culture

Similarly, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has

How will I know what is really going on inside a project?

Leaders need to ensure they

Lifecycle guidance and

To accompany this report, the ICE is creating a web-based

As well as being organised by lifecycle phase, the guidance identifies opportunities

Key decisions made at the start

Risk reduction enablers

Theme Key risk reduction enablers

02 Regulation Are regulation and permitting requirements understood?

06 Design Is the design mature?

Led by: Clients, asset owners, programme

managers and integrators

Fig 6: Getting the design right:

Opening up and closing down

Infrastructure can learn from productivity-enhancing improvements

Fig 7: The eight infrastructure wastes

INPUTS WASTE TYPES OPTIMISATION

Land & ecosystem 5 Wasted 4 Wasted

Source: Mott MacDonald

Fig 9: The eight foundations of productivity

Productivity is about effectiveness and efficiency,

doing the right things and doing them right. In a

world of finite resources, climate crisis and huge

Everyone reading demand for the services provided by infrastructure,

Leaders have a big responsibility to create a culture of collaboration and psychological

Source: ICE Productivity Community Advisory Board

and constructors. The n Carry out robust optioneering to

www.bit.ly/ICESoN22 voices. Make sure constructability and the