The Infrastructure Podcast: Episode 60

Guest:  Chetan Kotur, Head of Technology and Innovation for Europe at Laing O’Rourke

Automotive lessons

In this podcast we ask what, if anything, UK construction can learn from the automotive sector.

A quarter of a century ago, Sir John Egan’s Review of the industry drew on the successes and lessons from car manufacturing as a guide for how the construction sector might be transformed. 

Rethinking Construction highlighted the use of standardisation, computer aided design, lean production methods, investment in innovation and technology, a focus on productivity, training and quality outcomes. All were designed to take the industry away from the era of bespoke one-off projects towards one of systemised improvement and better products.

And while there have certainly been some significant changes over the last 25 years - for example, the mandated use of the Building Information Modelling on public project since 2016, or the much greater focus on training and safety across the sector,- 

But the reality is that we haven’t seen the kind of advances that were perhaps predicted and demanded as core to getting more and better outcomes for the vast amounts of public an private money invested each year.

Why not? Well many reasons but one argument is always that, unlike car manufacturing, construction always deals with bespoke unique products. Attempting to follow automotive’s example, we are told, is just not possible, practical or desirable.

So what’s the myth and what the reality. Can infrastructure still learn from automotive.?

Well to find out it is a huge pleasure to welcome Chetan Kotur to the podcast today. Chetun is Head of Technology and Innovation for Europe at Laing O’Rourke, arguably the most forward thinking contractor at work today. 

It’s a role that he has held for the last 18 months or so having spent the first 10 years of his already distinguished engineering career in the automotive sector with Volvo and most recently with the electric vehicle brand Polestar. So I suppose he should know!

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