Pedantry over Productivity

Despite the advent of advanced equipment, methodologies and working practices, the construction industry has seen a decrease in productivity. But why?

When she ultimately sits in judgement upon mankind, the Goddess of the Eternal Court of History will - rightly - decree that Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Cambodia’s Pol Pot were the very worst that humanity had to offer.

I have very little influence in this sphere. But, in my opinion, in third place - just behind Piers Morgan - should be those people in high vis’ vests that “help” people park their cars at exhibitions and major events.  While it is unlikely these people have or will ever commit genocide, they are every bit as power-crazed as Hitler, Stalin and a whole bunch of other tyrants and despots from across human history.  I have been driving for the best part of 40 years and I already know not to abandon my vehicle sideways in a field before heading into an exhibition. I neither need nor want the assistance of high vis’ Hitler.

Sadly, I fear the mentality that has clearly taken over the minds of these otherwise innocent individuals has now pervaded the world of demolition and construction; otherwise normal people corrupted when they are given a high vis’ vest, a clipboard and even a modicum of authority.

On Wednesday last week during our daily live broadcast - The Break Fast Show - I shared several tales of woe from audience members that neatly sum up the petty bureaucracy that been allowed to infiltrate and undermine the industry.

It began with the tale of an excavator operator who had arrived on site for his first day with a new company but was sent home again without even making it behind the levers of his machine.  The reason?  He was told that he was wearing the wrong boots.  Either his had the steel toe protection on the inside when site rules dictated it should be on the outside, or vice versa.  Frankly, I was so astounded with the level of pettiness that I lost my train of thought.

For one thing, was the precise location of the steel toe protection communicated to the operator in advance?  No, it was not.  Were his feet adequately protected?  Yes, they were.  The boots met all known British and European standards.  And besides, as an operator, there was every likelihood that he would kick off his boots once in the cab and work in something far more comfortable instead.  But on this particular site, he had run into that low water mark in human evolution - The Jobsworth.

This was not an isolated incident, however.  Another audience member then recounted how several workers had been ejected from a site in Wales for wearing the wrong colour PPE.  Once again, the required colour of PPE was not communicated in advance.  It was only when they arrived on site that Dai Jobsworth decided to flex his authoritarian muscles.

There was another guy who was working on a site where there were no toilet facilities, which surely contravenes not just health and safety but - quite possibly - human rights legislation too.  But he was soundly reprimanded when he decided to take a much-needed pee on the side of his machine.

All of those were, however, merely a bowl filled with flour, eggs and butter.  The glaze on the cherry on the icing on the top of the cake came from bonny Scotland. 

Another excavator operator was required to wear all the usual PPE including high vis’ of just the right hue and texture, and boots with the toe protection just where it was supposed to be.  He is clearly working for a company with a well-defined health and safety mindset.  Or is he? 

Having jumped through all the bureaucratic hoops that have come to define the UK demolition and construction industry, he was then required to work a 13-hour day with a single (and begrudged) 20-minute break in which he was expected to feed himself, attend to his hydration and use the on-site facilities.  He had driven an hour and 20 minutes to get to site and drove another hour and 20 minutes back home again when his working day finally came to an end.  Assuming that he then required an evening meal and the chance to say “good evening” to his wife, that means he will have been awake for more than 17 hours.

The effect of being awake for more than 17 hours is equivalent to a blood alcohol level that would render a person over the legal limit and unable to drive on UK roads.  Researchers say lack of sleep severely impairs mental judgement.  (It is also connected to cardiovascular disease, hypertension and high blood pressure, compromises the immune system, and contributes to obesity, but maybe I too am venturing into the choppy waters of pedantry).

I recently read that it took just 14 months to build the Empire State Building in New York back in the 1930s.  That construction included no advanced equipment, no GPS and lasers, no drones.  More telling, it also had no dogmatic, clipboard-carrying “officials” to keep all those workers in line or to insist that they wear a specific colour workwear or a certain type of footwear.

Estimates suggest that, even with all our fancy equipment and methodologies, it would take five years or more to construct the Empire State Building today.

Construction is surely the only industry sector that has seen productivity decrease over the past three or four decades. 

I wonder why.