Exploring IPD as an antidote to fragmentation within the UK construction sector

The Construction Industry has for long been criticized for poor performance and lack of collaborative culture. Studies over the years have linked these to fragmentation amongst project teams – which still leads to cost overruns and project delays. Collaborative Strategies like IPD, BIM have been developed to address these concerns. Despite the benefits they offer, their implementation is still not prevalence within the UK construction industry. This paper explores IPD as an antidote to fragmentation, in a bit to reveal factors inhibiting its uptake within the UK. The research utilises multiple case study and gathers data from interviews and documentary analysis. Overall, 16 interviews were conducted with construction stakeholders. The study found that although there are glimpses of IPD adoption – mostly within the multidisciplinary settings, yet wider implementation is hindered by commercial practices and cultural norms. The study accentuates the need for both public and private sector clients to embrace IPD in their portfolios and for “commercial actors” to align with the construction business model – as an effort to sustain industry transformation and wider collaborative working.