Episode 5 with Céire O’Rourke, Director of UK Clients and Markets at Laing O’Rourke
Innovation could be the “big winner” if procurement starts to focus on value and resilience rather than just price, Laing O’Rourke’s director of UK clients and markets has said in a wide-ranging discussion covering hospitals, housing and the modernisation of Britain’s construction sector.
Céire O’Rourke says that procurement must do more to encourage the uptake of factory-built space in order for the construction industry to really get behind the innovation agenda. She believes there is a huge opportunity to create jobs, reduce our carbon footprint and improve the economy’s resilience if more is done to encourage R&D spending.
Laing O’Rourke, the UK’s largest privately-owned construction company, has successfully implemented one of the country’s most advanced offsite manufacturing methodologies. Focusing on DfMA, Laing O’Rourke has spent the last 11 years investing over £200 million into its offsite manufacturing capability, which is spread across two main factories in Nottinghamshire and Oldbury.
“When we look at projects, we say can we deliver 70 percent of it offsite? If so, it leads to a 60 percent increase in productivity and a 30 percent reduction in delivery time.”
However, it isn’t just the pace of development that makes offsite manufacturing so impressive.
As O’Rourke puts it, “quality is one of the unsung heroes of MMC because by working in a factory environment the quality you can provide for the product is second to none.”
For more, read the full article on Property Week.
