The White stuff

He may be the heartbeat of one of the most pioneering construction companies in the land, but that’s not enough for Bob White. Last month, he became the new chief executive of Constructing Excellence in the Built Environment (CEBE), the sole surviving construction reform body.

This is a role White craved. The 57-year-old has had a long run-up to it, occupying various posts in the world of Rethinking Construction, but this fulfils a personal crusade to tackle construction’s chronic failures and boost its productivity.

It’s a tough job. Scope creep, shrinking DTI funding and sheer industry apathy has plagued the reform agenda since it began, but White, who’s been involved since then, is confident, and he’s got ideas.

The first idea is to raise CEBE’s profile. He’s quick to praise his predecessor Dennis Lenard for getting the organisation to where it is, but notes it has failed to capture the attention of some of the larger contractors and consultants, some of whom could be helping the industry more – Laing O’Rourke in particular.

“Ray O’Rourke is changing the organisation root and branch and making something very special. It would be nice if we could get hold of Ray to be a sort of a talisman. It’s about getting hold of some of these sorts of characters in industry who know what they are doing, have achieved and asking them to spend a bit of time helping others.”

White’s second idea is to create more knowledge to sell. He feels that instead of banging on about the benefits of integrated team working, CEBE should be researching the technique, measuring it, and producing toolkits for sale. “Our basic raison d’etre is to supply business performance improvement tools to our members and others who might wish to buy them,” he says. “And to do that we need to create more knowledge.”

But this will cost money, something CEBE does not have in stacks now that the DTI is weaning it off. A major priority will be to come up with a business plan, he says.

Collaboration is key. The merger of Constructing Excellence and Be is an example. It created a strong brand, improved research abilities, and access to ministers. And Be was self-supporting, relying on membership fees from participating companies, something the greater CEBE will have to learn how to do. This was one of the reasons Lenard departed, White told another magazine – that he was not enthusiastic about running a membership organisation.

And the mergers continue. In a surprise development last month CEBE joined with the Construction Clients Group. This will allow greater access to major clients, and could create the critical mass needed to make membership of CEBE something serious firms have to have.

That’ll teach ’em

White also holds strong views about construction education. “If it was up to me we would pull out people much earlier from some of their courses. Architecture is a perfect example. They teach it for five years at university. What nonsense is that? And architects themselves have this elevated view of their potential. The fact is there are only a handful of [signature] architects in the country. What are the rest doing? Petrol stations.”

He should know – he trained as an architect.

In some ways throughout his career White has been in the construction industry, but not of it. His angle has been slightly oblique. After practicing as an architect briefly he moved into researching components and systems, gaining expertise that he brought to bear with Bovis on the landmark Broadgate scheme in London. Then he co-founded Mace in 1989 with four colleagues, pioneering the construction management form of contract. Since then White has manoeuvred this offbeat consultancy into the centre of wherever construction was hip: the London Eye, Terminal Five, and now, the Olympics. He’s also overseen Mace’s unusual evolution, adding specialist divisions in facilities management, quantity surveying and even recruitment.

If it was up to me, we would pull out people much earlier from some of their courses. Architecture is a perfect example

Bob white

In the past he has bragged about Mace’s unique ethos and culture. Now he admits “unique” is a strong word, but he’s still bragging.

“It’s certainly different,” he says. “The great thing about Mace starting only 15 years ago was that we were able to embed a culture. It’s a major part of our induction process, and an advantage we have over virtually any other company that has baggage from the past. “

White says Mace has been advocating Rethinking Construction principles, such as integrated team working, since pre-Egan days.

“It is construction management. It’s like bread and butter to our boys and that may sound a little bit arrogant, but it’s just a fact.”

CM took a knocking after the Scottish Parliament and other high-profile debacles, but White insists there is still a market for it. He reckons Mace has between £30m and £50m worth of CM jobs on its books.

“We will probably always try and do it at some level. The reality is that I don’t think there is any other form of procuring a project, which is complex and large over a period of many years, that beats construction management,” he says.

He led a management buyout in 2001, pledging to stay for a further five years. The clock is ticking. But he is not planning to hang up his Mace boots yet – as long as he can keep reforming the industry.

“This is just the sort of thing that I would like to spend more time on. I‘ve discussed this with the boys in Mace and they are very willing to let me explore other activities in the industry.”

To date, the construction reform agenda has seemed like preaching in the wilderness. Is he the one who can make it a force for serious change? It certainly looks possible. He has shown himself to be reform-minded and visionary but also able to achieve big results. Over the past five years, Mace’s pre-tax profit has risen by over 400%. According to colleagues, he is already causing a stir at CEBE with his “bring-it-on“ mentality.

And he still believes.

“We have some good people, some good products and a lot of commitment. If we apply ourselves in the right arenas and stick to our knowledge base and what we are good at, we will do a good job.” cm