New survey finds constructability challenges impacting 80% of complex builds globally

The survey found the top impacts of constructability were stretched delivery times (23.3%), material waste (22.8%) and cost blowouts (16.3%)

A new global survey of civil construction industry has revealed that constructability is impacting nearly 80% of complex builds.

The survey, conducted by global rebar software specialists ADDA, revealed that the top impacts of constructability (also called buildability) were stretched delivery times (23.3%), material waste (22.8%) and cost blowouts (16.3%).

Constructability issues begin right at the start of projects, when the initial designs fail to be feasible from a reinforcement perspective.

When broken down by region, the impact was even higher than the global average in both North America (83.1%) and Asia Pacific (87%), but lower across Europe (including the UK) at 71.9%.

“We’ve been hearing about these issues for many years, but this is the first time we’ve gained hard data on just how widespread and significant they are,” said Alan Jeffreys, CTO of ADDA. 

“Given the impact that buildability has throughout the value chain of a build, on effectiveness, productivity and profitability, this is a significant finding as it identifies a clear opportunity for improvement.”

Despite the widespread recognition of the impact of buildability, nearly a quarter of survey respondents said it was ‘only sometimes’ considered during the project.

The survey also revealed the industry is highly focused on environmental considerations, with nearly 80% measuring environmental impacts of a project. Download the report here.