WHY ARE WE STILL THROWING PROFIT AWAY?

摘要

"Design, even structural design, is a human endeavour and thus is subject to error... but a deeper, unforgivable tragedy exists when the lessons of failure are understood and allowed to occur again," wrote the author and engineer, Henry Petroski. In other words, don't make the same mistake twice. The 21st century looks set to produce some brilliant, forward-looking structures - The Freedom Tower in New York, the Palm Islands in Dubai and, closer to home, BAA's Heathrow Terminal 5 to name just a few. There is no doubt that creativity and innovation are flowing right across the globe. But despite these awesome examples, there's evidence that things are still not quite right at grass roots level. The problem of waste through errors is still a major stumbling block right across the industry, squeezing profit margins until it hurts. It seems that the AEC industry could be wasting as much as 30 per cent of the profit it makes. Put in perspective, this means that it could be throwing away as much as the UK agricultural industry earns in a single year.