My highlights of the year

At the beginning of the month named after the two headed god Janus, it’s good to celebrate and learn from the old year to move forwards purposefully into the new. And for me, 2023 was certainly packed full of memorable (and I confess, some pinch me) moments, particularly at the end of June when I received the CIOB Presidential badge of office from outgoing inimitable President Michael Yam at Members Forum in Liverpool, and receiving two honorary doctorates, from the University of Westminster in September and University College of Estate Management in December. During 2023 there were many opportunities to promote the CIOB corporate objectives around sustainability, quality & safety, and skills, in the UK and abroad, and here are some highlights from my diary:

• Sharing platforms at the major party conferences and other events with colleagues in sister institutions RICS, RTPI, RIBA, ICE and LI and other industry bodies 
• Engaging with clients at meetings and in practical workshops, including the Parliamentary Estate, the NHS and education
• Meeting face-to-face and virtually with the CIOB family around the world, sharing experience, knowledge, and commitment
• Engaging with organisations across the sector, from the FMB and the NHBC to Class of Your Own, Constructing Excellence, Save Construction Initiative, Building Back Brum, Centre of Construction Law & Dispute Resolution…
• Discovering a wealth of talent and ability, from meeting the CIOB Global Student Challenge winners from Indonesia to judging industry awards at all levels
• Being amongst an unprecedented number of women at the top of professional institutions and organisations in the built environment
• And last but certainly not least, the amazing momentum of the #PPEthatfits campaign, that unleashed the frustration of years around providing everyone in construction with properly fitting, safe and comfortable workwear, and more importantly, unified practical action. Watch this space in 2024.

Running through all these activities is the theme for my CIOB presidential year - collaboration. The challenges facing us all are so great, the only way to address them effectively is to work together. A big thank you to the CIOB team led by Caroline Gumble, who give such support, knowledge and experience. It is a particular pleasure working with the three new senior appointments at the CIOB, reflecting the institute’s commitment to core issues: Mark Harrison, Head of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion Transformation (appointed 2021), Linda Stevens, Head of Client Engagement (2022) and Amanda Williams, Head of Sustainability (2023). I look forward to sharing more platforms, consolidating connections, and making new ones. 

It’s been a bumper year for practical guides from CIOB too, for clients managing and running construction projects, for building professionals addressing the impact of climate change and biodiversity loss, for prospective buyers of new build homes. Reports on the challenges of retrofitting ageing housing stock, particularly in Scotland, and calls for re-use and refurbishment rather than demolition in Northern Ireland made valuable contributions to the challenge of resolving the shortage of decent, energy efficient homes. 

All these are issues embodied in our Corporate Plan, brought together under the concept of modern professionalism, and underlines the importance of influencing policy to bring about meaningful change. So, another thank you, for the support of the CIOB policy team led by Eddie Tuttle, who brought 2023 to a great end in Christmas week with a very successful reception at the Palace of Westminster, sponsored by Andrew Lewer MP. It was a privilege and pleasure to host this, engaging with keynote speaker Rt Honourable Lee Rowley MP, Minister for Housing and taking the opportunity to emphasise, again, that providers of the built environment need certainty, clarity, and consistency from government. 

So, what next in 2024? We must continue to address the skills shortage, widening the pool of people and expanding routes to employment and career progression. It has been great to see so many women celebrating success and visibility in the built environment and encouraging that the latest figures show 18% of the UK construction sector is female but looking forward to improved data gathering and higher figures soon. 

We must maintain momentum on quality and safety, for everyone. Whilst there is encouraging openness on addressing the shocking suicide rates in the industry, it is sobering that fatalities and injury increased significantly in the industry last year. Focus on wellbeing should not mean neglecting health and safety. We need to look at the big picture. 

And while we are talking safety, we should address the elephant in the room – the Grenfell tragedy and worth remembering that the Inquiry; report will issue later this year. Graham Watts, CEO of the CIC commented just a few days ago that ‘the industry’s rock bottom, post-Grenfell reputation on building safety and other issues” might be the reason for such little recognition for construction and building in the 2024 Kings New Year’s Honours List.

Just a month earlier, at the CIOB Sir James Wates lecture in London, we heard Paul Morrell (industry expert and past government chief construction adviser) address Grenfell directly, throwing down a series of challenges in his customary hard-hitting yet humorous way. Bemoaning the fact that not a single action has yet been brought under the Construction Product Regulations, he called for an enforcement system that works. He also told the audience, “Standards are not red tape,” a phrase that resonated with everyone. The well publicised issues of standards in social housing primarily are also very much part of the quality issues that require a concerted solution both in terms of policy impact and industry collaboration. 

The CIOB stands for the science, ethics and practice of built environments across the world. Everything we do is to improve the quality of life for those using and creating the built environment, defining the standards for all to meet. The modern professional construction manager should have the confidence to challenge – and to be challenged. I look forward to the coming year, building on collaborative relationships, demonstrating practical outcomes, influencing policy, driving improvement, and celebrating success. I wish you all a peaceful, healthy and constructive 2024.