The Competition Dilemma

THE COMPETITION DILEMMA

When it comes to large-scale infrastructure projects, there are many who think that the UK construction sector is underperforming. Terry Hill CBE FREng, Chair of Arup’s Board of Trustees, argues that a procurement strategy that sets specifications for performance, not solutions, could drive the needed innovation to revitalise the industry.

Free markets drive the best for society by providing continuous increases in value and ingenuity. Competition supports this continuous and self-sustaining improvement cycle across almost every sector of the economy. However, in the UK, one important exception is our approach to the procurement and delivery of transport, power generation, water supply and communications infrastructure from the construction sector.

Numerous indicators and enquiries show how the construction sector has underperformed historically compared to others. The 2010 Infrastructure UK BIOGRAPHY

Terry Hill CBE FREng is President of the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and a Trustee of the Arup Group Ltd.