Rebalancing the construction productivity debate

Subcontracting is a common aspect of all construction markets but is a particular feature of countries like the UK, Italy and Australia, where similar statutory, political and regulatory changes have reduced the number of vertically integrated firms and driven increased fragmentation and self-employment in the industry. While subcontracting has produced many advantages, particularly around flexibility, it has also led to many challenges around coordination and productivity. It is therefore surprising that subcontractors have been missing from the productivity debate. To rebalance the debate, eight focus groups were conducted with seventy one of AustraliaÕs leading tier-one subcontractors. The results indicate that from a subcontractorÕs perspective productivity could be improved significantly by fairer and more inclusive workplace practices which provide more opportunities for subcontractorÕs to innovate and to share risk and reward.