Industry News Premier Construction

Transport-Related Delays Are Causing Problems For UK Construction Projects

Transport-Related Delays Are Causing Problems For UK Construction Projects
Written by Amy

More than half (51%) of UK construction firms say transport-related delays are frequently impacting upon projects, research has revealed.

Of those, 9% say all projects are affected and a further 42% say they are regularly affected. The study, conducted by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) on behalf of TomTom Telematics, also found just 3% of respondents have never been affected by delays.

These logistical problems have had a significant effect on companies’ operations. Delays to the completion date of projects were cited as the most common outcome by 78% of respondents, followed by reduced profitability (41%), damage to reputation (36 %) and financial penalties for failing to meet deadlines (21%).

“Construction firms are required by their customers to satisfy demanding service level agreements (SLAs), so there is often little room for error when it comes to the completion of projects,” said Jeremy Gould, VP Sales Europe at TomTom Telematics.

“That means efficient logistics are crucial to profitability and continued success. Companies have to make every effort to mitigate the effect of issues such as vehicle breakdowns and traffic congestion in order to ensure projects comply with SLAs.”

The research also revealed that 82% of firms believe a successful transport logistics strategy is important to the outcome of a project.

In terms of the type of logistical issues faced by companies, vehicles failing to arrive on site when required was identified as the most common, cited by 67% of respondents. They were closely followed by traffic-related delays (44%), a lack of accurate information about schedules and progress (41%) and vehicles arriving on site when not required (40%).

Gould added: “Access to the appropriate data is crucial for construction firms to address these issues as it provides the required visibility into daily operations. Fleet management technology, for example, can improve routing and scheduling by combining live vehicle GPS data with traffic information, ensuring delays can be better anticipated and managed.”

About the author

Amy