Malcolm Moss, president of ADCAS, argues that a tide of information at tender stage is adding unnecessary cost and risk – we need to curb our excesses.
As a nation, over indulgence in fast food threatens our health. As an industry, excess of a rather different kind threatens our cost-efficiency.
An excess of information - particularly at the invitation to tender stage - is slowing down the procurement chain, adding unnecessary cost and risk. It's all the fault of technology and a very human tendency to follow the easiest path. Before the world went digital, producing paper-based specifications was expensive, so the ductwork contractor got only the sections that were relevant to him.
The shiny CD that now accompanies every enquiry may be slim, but often the amount of information it carries is enough to fill several filing cabinets. And specialist suppliers like ductwork contractors have to hack a path through that jungle of data before a tender can be prepared - for much of the information will be irrelevant.
A tender CD can have details of drainage, plumbing and electrical services, windows and doors plus as many as 1,000 drawings of which only a fraction has anything to do with ductwork.
But, to prepare his tender, the specialist contractor may have to print all those drawings to identify the 40 or so he needs. Some ductwork companies actually employ specialist staff whose only job is to sort through enquiry CDs.
Once they are identified, detail drawings have then to be passed on to manufacturers of specialist equipment such as fire dampers. They too will have less time to prepare their own quotations.
It all takes time and adds cost. Specialist sub contractors of every type have to recover the extra burden on their overheads.
Even worse, it dramatically increases the risk of something being overlooked because it's not where it should be - in plain sight. Dumping everything on a CD and passing the problem on to the next in line might seem to offer advantages to whoever issues the tender - but is it really the best way to manage overall project risk?
It's a huge problem that generates enormous wastage. The Association of Ductwork Contractors and Allied Services (ADCAS) believes that as much as a week's work could be cut from the tendering process for almost every major ductwork project if specifications were better defined.
The trouble is the problem is so big and so widespread that it can be difficult to appreciate its true scale - it's a real elephant in the room. But even elephants can be tamed and now ductwork specialists across Britain are supporting their trade association in a campaign aimed at reducing information overload in the tendering process.
We are not alone. ADCAS recognises that this is an industry-wide problem - one we share with suppliers of all types of specialist products from electrical cables to pipework for heating and cooling services - (even industrial refrigeration contractors are affected).
So, we'll be actively seeking support from every sector of the construction industry. We've set up an internet discussion group on LinkedIn called Information Overload - the elephant in the room.
Anyone is welcome to join the group at http://tinyurl.com/
c3e56m and exchange ideas on how the problem might be resolved. There are some relevant standards such as BS1192 and ISO13567 but few seem to know of their existence, and even fewer follow them.
It's a big problem, but one that we can solve by working together. Losing a little excess weight is a healthy ambition. We hope to show the world that the slender tender will be good for everyone.