The 12th Edge Debate: 11th April 2001

Action Points

1. Can profession develop more relevant regulatory framework? Engineers speak with real authority through a single body?
2. No promise of government funding for new body/regulation of the profession (DETR funding transition process)
3. Relevance? Naïve to bring together diverse body. More effective to fragment? Is construction industry becoming more homogenous? ARB model (consumer body with representation). Could be expanded for all of construction. Means little difference between regulation and registration.?
4. Supply does not meet demand. Too many organisations at the school gate.
5. Unity in the profession. Building services a unified group. New structure has to help individuals develop skills and brand loyalty. Difference between professions and crafts? Will ETB widen definitions? Diversity and unity has to be incorporated in ETB
   
6. Important aspect: continuity of skill throughout construction + inclusive level of technology
7. Special nature of construction industry vs. manufacturing. Important that new body is not elitist and includes all levels of skills required.
8. DTI sponsorship of Hawley report, construction sponsored by DETR. Environment, transport and regions all-important to construction. Important that constructions continues to be sponsored by DETR.
9. Education and training of engineers at DfEE. Links here might need further development
10. Abstraction. If ETB covering 600k people. Need abstract mission statement. Danger of abstract message - becomes difficult to group around. Problems also in being too specific.
11. ETB aims to add value to 2m in the profession at its widest
    
12. Specific difficulties in drawing people into building services. Support for ETB role to excite people about a technical career. Future consumers are the young. In balance of aims, will role of attracting young people be high.
13. Mismatch with architecture and engineering (esp. building services)/demand and supply
14. Concern that working parties of ETB reflect institutional concerns. Contrast with distinct original aims of CIC. What areas does the umbrella body cover? Should ETB have one or two distinct aims only?
15. Care has been taken to avoid ETB working groups being dominated by the institutions. Task is, in part, to break out of institutional mind set.
16. Why is it that this service industry still has so much difficulty in producing its product? Not making great headway to dispute-free service to our clients. Disputes all about time and money. Very rarely about design. How much progress are we making towards making ourselves a more effective body? Industry will need to be more professional to work new PFI/framework agreements. Need skill and culture to sign up to broader project ambitions? Need better design delivered into the community. What do regulatory bodies do when they deal with competence? Matter for the civil courts? Could look at ethics? Regulatory bodies are not going to take us very far.
17. More work for the CIC? Would the ETB be able to do more?
18. Construction industry could learn from manufacturing sectors where they are producing a total service. Difficulties of organising vertically driven product.
    
19. Horizontal/vertical axis between construction and engineering. Important where they meet. Built environment professionals find more synergy with other BE professionals than they do with other engineers. This suggests the sort of relationships we need.
    
20. Differences between CIC and EC. Where CIC has been successful is where it recognises the sovereignty of its constituent members - walking journey carrying a lot of luggage. Can only move slowly but is sustainable.
21. Feeling that EC is a body that was imposed on the institutions.
22. Understanding the universes. CIC successful because it has looked back at why it was created as well as looking forward. Allows it to encompass more elements of the industry and brings in other disciplines.
23. Separations between the professions - historical accidents. Architecture attractive because portrayed as creative and not dry. Architects not being educated with engineers. Engineers not exposed to creativity. Disfunctionality in how we attract people and we make them useful.
24. Evolution of construction industry towards manufacturing - warning shot to industry's sense of being different. Is next mass house builder Toyota? Wireless LAN in hard-wired building
25. Making connections: recognition that engineers and architects have to be trained. Ted and CIC.
26. Lessons from manufacturing for repetitive building. Synergy between advanced engineering processes and building processes esp. bridges
    
27. Young idealistic and patient. Industry needs to be able to appeal to this group on their terms.
28. In shipbuilding great levelling process between the professions. Are we forgetting the customer? Need populist representation to attract young to the industry. Nothing on tv. Yet world of creating 3d objects surpasses tv gardening programmes. Excitement doesn't break out of the walls of the institutions