ECA president looks to better efficiency as the key driver for better profits.

ECA president Alan North has called on the industry to improve its productivity. He sees greater efficiency as a key objective in the drive for greater profit margins in the m&e sector.

Speaking at the ECA conference in Tenerife following his inauguration as the new ECA president, North said: "We, as an industry, must improve our processes to drive out waste in materials and labour, develop new manufacturing and installation methods, including the increased use of off-site fabrication and have a ‘get it right first time' approach."

The ECA is launching a Continuous Process Improvement programme to help members look at the way they can improve efficiency. The programme is set to start in September.

North sees such improvements as crucial to improved profitability. "Margins are dangerously low, bringing risk not only to contractors but also to the client and the rest of the project team. Most clients will continue to want to pay less and less for their buildings - the only way profitability can be improved is by increasing efficiency," said North.

North also called the proliferation of pre-qualification schemes a "disgrace", describing the required form filling as "time-consuming and wasteful".

Source

Electrical and Mechanical Contractor