This too shall pass

Fashion, fads, trends, ideals, ideologies and even people come and go. As a species, as a society and as an industry, we are defined by our ability to continually adapt.

I am writing this one week after the European Championships (that’s football to the uninitiated or uninterested) kicked off in Germany.  With the notable exception of the coma-inducing performances of the England team, it has been a terrific tournament so far.

But it is a tournament that is also tinged with sadness.  Germany’s Toni Kroos will slip into premature retirement after the Euros.  While he has renewed his contract with Real Madrid for another season, Kroos’ diminutive Croatian club mate Luka Modric is unlikely to be around for another major international tournament.  Even Cristiano Ronaldo - a man who has seemingly discovered the secret to eternal youth - might see Euro 2024 as his swan song.  

There is a pang of regret in the knowledge that three all-time greats may never grace a major tournament again.

Yet this is nothing new.  I am old enough to have seen Bobby Moore play for my beloved West Ham.  Even though he had by then departed for pastures new, I was saddened when he finally hung up his boots.  I had much the same feelings when Paolo Maldini, Andrea Pirlo, Paolo di Canio and David Beckham took off their kits for the last time.  To this day, I regret never having seen Zinedine Zidane play in real life before he too took retirement.

But football abides.  A new crop of talented youngsters will, I am sure, build upon the foundations laid by Moore, Maldini, Ronaldo and Zidane to take the game to even greater heights.

Against this background and despite the multiple challenges it is currently facing, I remain fiercely optimistic for the future of the demotion and construction industry.

The demolition industry is currently struggling to find its place in a world intent on pushing it to the margins in favour of refurbishment and retrofitting.  But this will pass.  Common sense will prevail; demolition will still have a place within the built environment; and the wider world will - belatedly - realise the error of its ways and recognise the value that demolition delivers.

The industry is currently caught in a cleft stick over its choice of fuel now and into the future.  Its head is saying that electric or hydrogen (or both) are the future; its heart is saying stick with familiar, reliable and abundant diesel.  This too shall pass.  Either through legislation or client demand, the industry WILL take a leap of faith and adopt a new fuel as its primary source of energy.

The sector currently views technology - artificial intelligence, virtual reality, remotely-controlled machines and even autonomous equipment - as a threat rather than as a saviour.  This too shall pass.  When those in charge realise that autonomous machines don’t take time off sick (possibly to watch the football), that they don’t arrive for work with a hangover, and that they don’t dabble with recreational drugs whilst behind the levers of a 70 tonne excavator) the penny will drop.  When the industry’s administration realises that AI is a tool - like a calculator, a telephone or a computer - and not a threat to civilisation, it will become the norm.  When it is fully exposed to the levels of precision and accuracy afforded by GPS technology and driver aids, the sector will - perhaps grudgingly - admit that there IS a better way.

If history teaches us anything, it is that demolition and construction is endlessly adaptable.  It may present a conservative face to the world, but the sector is flexible and malleable; versatile enough to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.

So yes, the industry currently has a gender and racial imbalance.  It is still struggling to find young people to replace older workers that - like Toni Kroos - are heading into retirement.  And it is still trying to balance the desire for sustainability with the need for profitability.  But, as it has done countless times over the years, it will overcome.  Tomorrow is as far removed from today as today is to yesterday.

It may do so uncomfortably, like a kidney stone, but this too shall pass.