How our approach helps clients adhere to the Construction Playbook

We are all passionate about doing ‘better’ within the construction industry, and the Construction Playbook is intended to help us to do just that. Currently, all central government departments and their arm’s length bodies are expected to follow the key policies outlined by the 83-page document on a ‘comply or explain’ basis. However, it all feeds into best practice for the wider industry and is already being adopted across the board.

At Pick Everard, we pride ourselves in our ability to form long-term, truly collaborative relationships with our clients, becoming a real extension of their team.

Since the launch of the Construction Playbook we developed a full range of support services that enable us to help clients to incorporate the best practice into their approach, processes, and procedures. We have assembled a team of specialists from across our firm to provide clients with practical advice and support on how to be compliant with the Playbook, and how to achieve the greatest value from the improvements and efficiencies it promotes.

We are able to support any client in publishing comprehensive pipelines of current and future contracts, drawing on our own great experience in doing this for our supply chain. This allows suppliers – particularly SMEs – to have a better understand of future demand and leads to wider participation in contracts by a wider, more diverse supply chain.

A huge part of this is our active engagement with suppliers to discuss the pipeline of opportunities within their region and area of expertise. This allows them to prepare resources and submit well-considered proposals for us to reflect on. Of course, this approach to supply chain engagement is often central to delivering work under our various framework appointments – which are more often than not aimed at delivering services for public sector clients.

There are many flexible procurement routes through which our services can be secured. We are a member of numerous national, multi-disciplinary public sector frameworks, which gives us an in-depth understanding of the specific benefits and constraints offered by each. Our teams are able to discuss these with clients, providing written guidance and further information as required to ensure that they receive the best possible advice and guidance in the industry.

We examine the skills and resources available in the market when engaging with clients on the best possible approach to their projects, such as when planning for the use of methods like off-site manufacture and fabrication. By completing these market health and capability assessments, we are able to take better advantage of the emerging technologies and innovation within the industry in the way that best benefits a client’s project and the scheme’s end-users.

This also gives confidence at an early stage on whether a more progressive approach to design and construction is suitable for a particular project – allowing us to advise the client on the best way forward.

We are driven by innovation and seek opportunities to collaborate with public sector authorities to achieve standardisation of approaches taken across projects and programmes where appropriate. These include common sustainability requirements, design standards, specifications and digital object libraries. While every project we deliver is unique and our solutions are bespoke, these commonalities promote standardisation that drives efficiencies.

This allows the project teams maximum opportunity to use smarter and more efficient approaches, harnessing the latest digital design techniques and modern methods of construction that improve time, cost and quality of completed future-ready schemes.

The Construction Playbook has a clear purpose; to set out how public works projects can be delivered faster, better, and greener. In taking a forward-thinking and consultative approach with our clients, we are future-proofing the construction industry and making sure that it will see the standard of delivery across both the public and private sectors improve, changing the marketplace for the better.