Just over six months from now, the eyes of the world will be on the UK as we host the 2012 Olympic Games.
Much has been made of the legacy that the Games will provide for future generations – the regeneration of significant areas of east London, some of the most socially deprived parts of the country, dramatically improved transport infrastructure and architecturally stunning state-of- the-art sports facilities across a range of activities. One legacy that has received little attention, at least so far, is the learning legacy from one of the biggest construction projects ever undertaken. That will have far-reaching effects on our industry for many years to come.
The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has put together a portfolio of the experience gained from building the Olympic Park and all the ancillary facilities that can be seen on-line at www.london2012.com/learninglegacy. This will be taken around the country in a series of road shows over the coming months. When the decision was made by the International Olympic Committee to award the Games to London in July 2005 there were just seven years to get everything ready. The ODA adopted a 2:4:1 plan – two years of planning, four years of construction and one year of testing and trialling. Construction has been delivered on-time, on-budget and with a product that is really world class.
CHALLENGING TARGETS WERE MET
Clearly some of the success of the project was down to the very extensive planning powers that the ODA had been given by Act of Parliament. Although powers of that sort are unlikely to directly affect much of the work undertaken by FMB members, the ability to move other major projects in the UK such as roads, railways or power installations through the planning system as quickly would clearly do much to help the competitiveness of UK plc as well as helping those members who want to work on major infrastructure developments. The ODA estimates that around 8,000 sub-contracting opportunities were created by the construction programme with many of those going to local small and medium businesses.
Employment of local people, those from ethnic minorities, women and the disabled was a priority in recruiting the 40,000 people who worked on the construction project. Challenging targets were also set, and met, for equipping the workforce with the skills to for a successful career in construction. The standards for health and safety compliance were high: reportable accident rates were 1.7 per million working hours which is considerably better than the industry average and comparable to all UK employment sectors. With more than 8,000 sub-contracting opportunities in the programme, the lessons learnt about tender processes and contracts, supply chain management (including insolvency protection) should be a model to ensure effective and transparent procurement in the future.
SHOWCASE FOR OUR CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
Sustainability was a priority for the project. A whole raft of statistics has been quoted by the ODA to demonstrate its success but particularly staggering is that in clearing the site, much of which is on previously contaminated land which required the cleaning of over 1.5 million cubic metres of soil, 98 percent of the materials from demolition were reused on the Olympic Park.
When the Olympics are held next summer, the venues and other facilities will be a showcase for the UK. Let’s not forget the showcase they are for our construction industry.
LOOKING FORWARD TO 2012
Whilst I know that times are very difficult at present, I am very enthusiastic about the work that we are carrying out with the proposed FMB Competent Person Scheme and Green Deal Certification Body Application, both of which should be a shot in the arm for members in 2012.
On behalf of myself, Jim Gilmour and Ron Storer of the Presidential Team, I would like to thank all members who commit their time, expertise and energies to National, Regional and Branch committees and all members of staff for their continued support during 2011. I wish everyone a very prosperous New Year.
