Casting your eyes around the London skyline, no matter where you are in the city you’ll see cranes in every direction. A clear sign that London’s undergoing a radical transformation. Deloitte’s London Office Crane Survey Summer 2017 shows almost 15 million square feet of office space under construction. Government has identified a number of opportunity areas for large scale development and work is well underway on a number of significant projects such as HS2, Old Oak Common, Vauxhall-Nine Elms-Battersea and Tideway, all of which will be generating unprecedented amounts of activity for London.

Beyond London – Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Edinburgh are also the focus for significant regeneration. The skylines of these cities will be dramatically changed in the coming years, they are all seeing record levels of construction for office and living space.

Despite the June Office for National Statistics’ report showing construction output in Great Britain declining by 1.3% in the second 3 months of 2017; year on year output has grown by 0.9% compared to June 2016.  Unemployment in the sector has fallen to its lowest level in some decades and earnings are up. Even with ongoing uncertainties surrounding Brexit, upward trends are predicted for the UK construction sector over the next three years.

With infrastructure the key driving force behind the sector’s expansion, construction activity is set to stay at an unprecedented high for London and the whole of the UK in the coming months and indeed, years.

Challenges the opportunities present

Needless to say, pressure to deliver such projects has never been greater and factors such as evolving safety and environmental regulations will of course have an impact on progress and budgets. However, these and other ongoing logistical challenges will continue to change the way the construction industry operates and businesses need to be prepared for what lies ahead.

Looking to the capital, as its population and economy continues to grow the pressure is on to provide housing and infrastructure in line with demand.  In London alone 35% of HGV traffic is generated by the construction industry, equating to over half a million miles per day. With the annual value of construction in London sitting at £31 billion, the volume of construction freight is only set to grow.

Increasingly rigorous standards are coming into place. In London, poor air quality is a continuing political issue and businesses could potentially face a challenge from new emissions legislation. The safety of vulnerable road users is also high on the political agenda. With the Direct Vision Standard set to come into force in line with the Ultra Low Emission Zone within the next couple of years, industry will encounter a range of legislation which will likely impact operations.

There’s every chance also that these measures will subsequently be implemented across other urban areas in the UK. Therefore, it’s essential that the volume and impact of construction freight is reduced and that viable alternatives to tackle the associated issues of safety, congestion and air quality are found.

Introducing the Construction Logistics Programme

With the aim of minimising the impact of the growing amount of construction, Transport for London (TfL) launched an innovative behaviour change initiative in 2016. The Construction Logistics Programme, built upon previous good work undertaken by the CILT Construction Supply Chain Forum and concentrated on gaining traction to identify and demonstrate sustainable practice and encourage industry wide uptake.

During 2017 there has been a significant focus on industry engagement. This has seen the coming together of TfL and the CILT to amalgamate the extensive work undertaken by both organisations and focus efforts by way of a singular approach. With the overarching aim to minimise the impact of construction logistics, the Programme looks to find ways to ultimately reduce congestion, improve air quality and minimise road risk. The industry-led Programme aims to achieve this through three workstreams:

1. Quantify the impact of construction freight to measure the success of industry initiatives
2. Encourage the production and use of consistent Construction Logistics Plans (CLP) meeting the needs of local authorities, construction clients and logistics operators
3. Implement a range of Planned Measures such as modal shift, consolidation, retiming, road risk standards and less polluting vehicles

A key success measure for the programme is to raise awareness and encourage the eventual widespread adoption of CLPs. The CLP is an important document in the planning application process but it primary purpose is an essential management tool achieving efficient construction logistics. It is an effective way to reduce the negative effects of construction activity on local communities, businesses and the environment.

Currently the Construction Logistics Programme is London-centric, with direct funding from Transport for London. However, UK-wide construction contractors are working on projects in the Capital and regeneration projects are underway in other urban areas across the country. The spread of the Programme is already extending to construction projects in other cities.

The programme is directed by members of the Construction Logistics Improvement Group (CLIG). This body of a wide range of stakeholders from across the sector is responsible for implementing and driving the Programme. With representation from some 50 organisations, CLIG members include local authorities, construction clients, contractors, suppliers and industry bodies.

An information hub for Construction Logistics

With its own brand identity, the Construction Logistics Programme lives within a dedicated website, designed to act as a hub and focal point for industry as a whole. The website will act a vital source of information, support and training for all those involved in Construction Logistics. The site includes:

• The latest published guidance on CLPs and its supporting tools and templates
• Training dates and locations for the new CLP Foundation and Practitioner courses as well as a list of qualified CLP Practitioners
• An extensive and growing list of ‘Planned Measures’ – a range of techniques used to improve efficiency and influence behaviour change to reduce environmental impact, road risk and congestion
• Updates and presentations from the CLIG meetings, research report and more

The uptake and correct use of CLPs across all construction activity is fundamental to the success of the Programme. However, currently the general consensus is that they are a barrier to the planning process. With confusion surrounding their use and creation, education and support is a key part of the Programme. Currently this comes in the form of a comprehensive guidance document and training programme:

• CLP Guidance provides users with an understanding of the need for the plans plus a step-by-step approach to writing CLPs. Available as an interactive PDF, the document is broken down into manageable sections with plenty of examples throughout the process
• CLP Training comes in the form of two CILT-accredited modules – Foundation and Practitioner. The training is designed to support all those involved in creating, assessing and delivering on CLPs. The Foundation course sheds light on the purpose and theory of CLPs and Practitioner qualification stage being the practical element, providing everything needed to develop, assess and deliver effective CLPs

Any local authority across the country who is undergoing major development as part of their Local Plan is encouraged to review the latest CLP guidance and work with developers to help ensure construction supply chains are run safely, efficiently and with minimal impact to the environment.

To find out more visit the Construction Logistics Programme website here.