Corners are being cut on design in construction

27 November 2014 

Design and planning is currently not considered as an activity on the same level as construction, resulting in a rushed design "in order to get on site quicker," claims David Frise, head of sustainability at the Building and Energies Services Association (B&ES).

Speaking at the Building Services Summit in London, Frise said that cutting corners in design "encourages subcontractors to do the same. If every subcontractor deviates slightly on what they deliver, then collectively there is a very different end product".

Contracts in construction "do not breed collaborative working", continued Frise. "There is too much value-destroying activity going on, such as brinkmanship and haggling over price."

The Building Services Summit was jointly organised by the B&ES and the Building Controls Industry Association (BCIA). The event was based on the premise that building services equipment is responsible for more than 80 per cent of energy consumption in commercial buildings.