£2Bn wasted annually in the construction industry!

Really? £2 Billion for construction rework! You’re having me on?!

Nope, unfortunately this is not a practical joke. Every year an estimated £2 Billion is wasted in the UK due to construction rework.

These are tough times economocially, and budgets in construction as in most areas of society are being squeezed. There are far better uses of £2 Billion than redoing work. That much money could pay for 4 new hospitals or 70 new schools or a massive public transport upgrade – the list is endless. The problem is, in order to start eliminating this wasted money and wasted opportunity, we need to accept that there is a problem and start working together to solve it!

Some Stats

Studies show that in the UK, the average cost of rework on a project is 5%. This means that for every £1 spent, 5 pence is wasted!

The UK is not alone here either, other studies also show that Australia has an average of 5% and Sweden little better at 4.4%.

As construction contributed circa £83 billion to the UK economy in 2012, the £2 Billion estimate is possibly on the low side! (even more reason to work on eliminating rework and waste) By the way, if you want to get some additional info about saving costs, dive deeper into construction planning.

WHAT/WHO DO YOU THINK is the biggest culprit for rework in construction? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Image Credit: ell brown & gullevek