The UK is in critical need of more affordable housing, and local authorities and local authorities and housing associations are carrying out the essential work to provide them. But delays in the construction process are frequent, and much time is lost amongst piles of paperwork and rectifying flawed installations. Delays could be avoided by working with specialist onsite surveyors provided by a Structural Warranty provider, says Global Home Warranties.
The UK is currently facing a severe housing crisis, with a report by the Centre for Cities(1) announcing a 4.3 million backlog of houses missing from the market due to never being built. The need to build more housing is only growing, and local authorities and housing associations need to be able to complete the crucial build projects with as little delay as possible.
But, in reality, building work is rarely delivered on time according to most industry estimates. Some experts have even suggested that only one in 10 projects meet deadlines and it is a costly mistake — with millions of pounds in lost productivity every year. Some experts have suggested that project costs frequently increase by as much as 20% in some cases because of time lost due to issues which could have been identified with a regular surveyor inspection throughout the build process.
Cost of paperwork
The soaring cost of paperwork is one area in which many housing associations, developers and housebuilders lose out on money and time. A recent YouGov survey(2) states that UK Construction workers are now spending an average of 90 hours a year per employee on paperwork alone, comprising nearly 40 hours reading paperwork, 38 hours filling out forms and 14 hours searching for mislaid documents. On average, this is costing up to £1,500 per employee.
By working in partnership with a good warranty company, form filling can be kept to a minimum. Adopting a robust Structural Warranty scheme also helps lessen the risk of facing serious structural problems that can come as a result of faulty work completed by contractors. An onsite surveyor can identify any potential problems before they happen, ensuring there are no severe delays to the process.
Jim Edwards, Commercial Director for Global Home Warranties, explained: “Housing associations need to ensure they have a robust risk management process throughout the build period, which is why companies like ours should be on site to inspect work at every major stage of the construction process, starting from the moment that concrete is poured into foundations.
“By working closely with us we can have a surveyor on site at precisely the right time which means no lost wages, no losses on materials and no new paperwork to arrange new deliveries which could cost thousands of pounds for one lost day on even the smallest project.”
With governments in both the UK and Ireland calling on the construction industry to build even more new homes then those pressures will not be easing any time soon.
Warranty providers
Perhaps it is time to look at warranty providers such as Global Home Warranties, which has a team of onsite experts on-hand to oversee the vital steps in housebuilding to increase efficiency onsite and with onerous paperwork. They can help reduce waste through inspecting and detailing areas of concern promptly and save lost time on site, which in turn reduces the chances of lost revenue.
Instead of being another area of administration, a good home warranty company should be helping to save local authorities and housing associations thousands of pounds in lost time and improved quality control. All eyes are on affordable housing in the UK at present, the projects must be carried out with as little risk as possible so that there is a robust process surrounding the building throughout its lifecycle.
1. https://www.centreforcities.org/publication/thehousebuilding-crisis/
2. https://re-flow.co.uk/news/construction-research
