The Infrastructure Podcast: Episode 73

Guest:  Andy Beard, Managing Director for Infrastructure at global consultancy and construction firm Mace

New thinking for infrastructure delivery

In today' podcast we talk about new thinking to create a new era for infrastructure delivery

By the time you hear this podcast the dust will have settled on the General Election and we will know the rough direction in which the UK is set to take for the next five years.

But as it stands right now, all we can really say for certain is that whoever is in Downing Street, they will have investment in infrastructure high on their list of key levers to drive the future economy. [spoiler alert - it's Kier Starmer!]

And given the state of the public finances, they will also be looking to the construction planning design and delivery sectors to come up with some pretty radical new ways to start to turn the tide of poor productivity; and to embrace new thinking to boost economic, social and environmental outcomes created from every penny of public cash spent.

Which means that now, perhaps more than at any time in the last 30 years, as an industry, construction and infrastructure has to change. Yes we have made great progress in terms of safety but we have to be more effective, more productive and frankly, more modern.

So what does that mean in reality. How does a hugely traditional and culturally slow to change industry transform itself by embracing ideas such as digital solutions, modern methods of construction and systems thinking?

How does the sector convince the next administration that every public pound spent with it will be rewarded in terms of driving the much sought after economic and social growth.

Tricky questions so let’s ask an expert by welcoming Andy Beard, the new managing director for infrastructure at global consultancy and construction firm Mace to the podcast today.

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