Presentation from the ProBE Symposium on 20 May 2011 at the University of Westminster. ProBE is the Centre for the Study of the Production of the Built Environment. The presentation examined the fragmentation which exists amongst the construction professions and the impactr of this on construction-related higher education. http://www.westminster.ac.uk/about/news-and-events/events/2011/centre-for-the-study-of-the-production-of-the-built-environment-probe-symposium-and-launch

1. BARRIERS BETWEEN THE BUILDING PROFESSIONS Fragmentation, silos and the impact on built environment education ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 TONY BURKE School of Architecture & the Built Environment

2. A few quotes……. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011

3. “The relationship between those responsible for design and those who actually build must be improved through common education” ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 The Placing and Management of Contracts for Building and Civil Engineering work Sir Harold Banwell1964

4. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 “The industry is fragmented because of the many disciplines involved….” “The endemic fragmentation is exacerbated by the defensive stance of the various professional institutions which strictly maintain their independence…..” Rethinking Construction Innovation & Research Sir John Fairclough 2002

5. “…..it is scarcely possible that the innovation and change that is essential …can be secured through the industry as it is currently structured and engaged, .......and in the silo-based habits of the industry’s institutions.” ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 Low Carbon ConstructionInnovation & Growth Team (chaired by) Paul Morrell 2010

6. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 Fragmentation

7. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 Fragmentation- professional bodies:

8. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 Silo mentality An attitude that occurs when groups do not want to share information or knowledge with each other. It reduces the efficiency of the overall operation and may contribute to the demise of a productive culture.

9. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 Historical context: The construction industry….

10. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 Medieval construction industry Traditional, craft based industry organised around guilds and lodges

11. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 Eighteenth century Gradual breakdown of medieval model Increasing use of intermediary between employer and tradesmen

12. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 Early nineteenth century Separation of design and construction Emergence of the ‘measurer’ (QS) Growth of general contracting

13. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 Professional institutions 1818 Institution of Civil Engineers 1834 Institute of British Architects 1834 Builders’ Society 1868 Institution of Surveyors ..... fragmentation institutionalised

14. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 “The System” (Bowley, 1966) Architects Engineers Surveyors Builders

15. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 Historical context: Built environment education….

16. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 Victorian education system Dominated by a “high minded classical academism” (Barnett, 2001) Technical /professional education treated with suspicion

17. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 Influence of professional bodies Absence of state control allowed professional bodies to take a leading role in technical education Professional examinations established Influence over early university courses

18. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 Built environment education in 20C Architecture and engineering established in universities Building and surveying - tradition of part time education – relatively late in universities All disciplines subject to control from professional bodies

19. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 Range of courses offered by UK Universities: Architecture: 80 courses Civil Engineering: 174 courses Construction Management: 80 courses Quantity Surveying: 48 courses Building Surveying: 37 courses

20. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 Professional accreditation: RIBA: 44 universities CIOB: 31 universities ICE (Engineering Council): 56 universities RICS: 70 universities

21. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 The key issues: Built environment undergraduate education reflects the fragmented nature of the professions. Curriculum heavily influenced by professional bodies through accreditation. Some argue that the ‘silo mentality’ is embedded before students graduate.

22. “We educate in very narrow silos…they come out of university with preconceived ideas” ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 Peter Rogers Chairman of Strategic Forum for Construction 2002

23. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 Previous initiatives….

24. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 Crossing Boundaries 1993 Professor John Andrews Sir Andrew Derbyshire

25. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 Crossing Boundaries: Findings and Recommendations “There is considerable scope for greater commonality in the education, training and continuing professional development of the construction professions.” “Agree common criteria for accreditation possibly leading to a single body for the accreditation of all professional courses in the built environment”

26. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 Construction Industry Board 1996Educating the professional team: Students enter degree courses with ‘professional intent’ General built environment degrees viewed with scepticism Different disciplines have different requirements Professional institutions have duty to ensure competence of members

27. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 So ……..?

28. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 Virtually no undergraduate courses which are genuinely inter-disciplinary across the built environment disciplines

29. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 University of Westminster Construction Studies Programme BSc (Hons) Architectural Technology BSc (Hons) Building Engineering BSc (Hons) Building Surveying BSc (Hons) Construction Management BSc (Hons) Quantity Surveying & Commercial Management But……..

30. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 Courses accredited by four different professional bodies Required to demonstrate specific learning outcomes for each professional body

31. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 Why? Barriers …..

32. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 Professional bodies Effectively impose very specific requirements on accredited courses

33. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 Employers Many have a preference for graduates from accredited courses

35. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 What of the future? Possible drivers for change…

36. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 The low carbon agenda Need for innovation A catalyst for new ways of working

37. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 Professional institutions Will they survive?

38. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 Professional disciplines Blurring of boundaries

39. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 Ownership of knowledge No longer the preserve of professionally qualified people

40. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 The nature of University education Less emphasis on knowledge More emphasis on: creativity problem-solving using judgement working collaboratively coping with constant change A new culture of learning

41. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 Impact of tuition fees? Possible decline in applications Universities will have to be more responsive

42. ProBE Symposium - 20 May 2011 Concluding comment “As the universities continued to produce knowledge-soaked graduates who were excellent at routine but unable to exercise judgement, the professions struggled to reform themselves” Will Hughes, University of Reading Looking back 20 years from 2023