Trench Warfare in Construction

If you have 5 mins to spare in your busy work schedule take a few moments to read this article which was published on nzherald.co.nz by John Beveridge on 24 August 2017. It makes for interesting reading.

Trench Warfare in Construction – NZ Herald Article

If you’re wondering how it is possible NZ’s biggest building company is struggling to make ends meet in the middle of a building boom, you are not alone.

It seems incredible that, at the peak of the biggest and most sustained building boom, our largest publicly-listed building companies are reporting big losses on projects.

If this is what’s happening at the top of the food chain you can be sure there are similar problems everywhere. The construction industry is at war with itself over scarce talent and skills. The incentive to use cheap sub standard materials is a rising temptation.

Following on from Fletcher’s shock and awe losses, a retirement village builder reported construction industry woes had cost it 5 to 10 per cent on projects. But they have advised shareholders not to be concerned about shrinking margins as they would be passing those costs on to buyers of their product. Lucky them being able to shunt the problem to elderly retirees… Read More