Wood report
The Public Client and the Construction Industries: the report of the Building and Civil Engineering Economic Development Committees Joint Working Party Studying Public Sector Purchasing (the Wood Report) was published in 1975.
It was the output of a working party formed in 1971, a collaboration between the government, trade unions and industry that was chaired from 1973 by Sir Kenneth Wood (following the resignation of David Morrell).
It came at the end of the post-war construction boom and the beginning of cuts in public spending, at a time when construction costs were rising sharply and the three-day week was introduced.
The Wood Report suggested:
- Lowest price tendering was damaging to the performance of the industry. This was consistent with the previous Banwell report which had found competitive tendering had a negative impact on efficiency - a finding that was largely ignored.
- There should be a rolling programme of public sector projects to stabilise demand for construction.
- Insufficient time was spent during the design and preparation stages and this led to delays, variations and additional costs during construction.
- There should be greater use of pre-approved lists of suppliers, two-stage tendering and design and build.
The report did not have a significant impact on government policy, partly due to worsening economic conditions, and partly due to the Poulson scandal which exposed local authority corruption associated with some of the forms of procurement proposed in the report.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
Featured articles and news
Twas the site before Christmas...
A rhyme for the industry and a thankyou to our supporters.
Plumbing and heating systems in schools
New apprentice pay rates coming into effect in the new year
Addressing the impact of recent national minimum wage changes.
EBSSA support for the new industry competence structure
The Engineering and Building Services Skills Authority, in working group 2.
Notes from BSRIA Sustainable Futures briefing
From carbon down to the all important customer: Redefining Retrofit for Net Zero Living.
Principal Designer: A New Opportunity for Architects
ACA launches a Principal Designer Register for architects.
A new government plan for housing and nature recovery
Exploring a new housing and infrastructure nature recovery framework.
Leveraging technology to enhance prospects for students
A case study on the significance of the Autodesk Revit certification.
Fundamental Review of Building Regulations Guidance
Announced during commons debate on the Grenfell Inquiry Phase 2 report.
CIAT responds to the updated National Planning Policy Framework
With key changes in the revised NPPF outlined.
Councils and communities highlighted for delivery of common-sense housing in planning overhaul
As government follows up with mandatory housing targets.
CIOB photographic competition final images revealed
Art of Building produces stunning images for another year.
HSE prosecutes company for putting workers at risk
Roofing company fined and its director sentenced.
Strategic restructure to transform industry competence
EBSSA becomes part of a new industry competence structure.
Major overhaul of planning committees proposed by government
Planning decisions set to be fast-tracked to tackle the housing crisis.
Industry Competence Steering Group restructure
ICSG transitions to the Industry Competence Committee (ICC) under the Building Safety Regulator (BSR).
Principal Contractor Competency Certification Scheme
CIOB PCCCS competence framework for Principal Contractors.
The CIAT Principal Designer register
Issues explained via a series of FAQs.