Covid lockdown may leave a "positive legacy" for infrastructure practices

The Covid crisis could have a “positive legacy” in the shape of more sustainable practices arising from those that emerged during lockdown according to construction firm, Balfour Beaty.

In a recent paper, the company has outlined how it sees the innovative approaches that have emerged during the pandemic being deployed to bring on a swift and sustainable recovery.

The company’s chief Leo Quinn, wrote in his forward to the paper: “We must keep the mindset of recent months which has allowed us to adapt with agility and constantly question old habits, with technology as the enabler.”

Among a number recommendations in its paper, Balfour Beaty has called on the government to set up a new body to “oversee and drive through to delivery” infrastructure projects prioritised as in the national interest as the UK recovers from the pandemic.

Other recommendations in the paper: Seizing the day: positive change from lockdown for the construction and infrastructure industry included:

• modernising infrastructure construction practices to take in flexible working practices;

• attracting and retraining engineers from hardest hit sectors;

• preserving the “cooperation across the industry and close working with government” that has emerged during the crisis; and

• a review of how risk is shared and bringing an end to commissioners “driving down the price below what it costs to deliver schemes,” with “the brunt of the risk should be borne by the party best able to control and manage it.”

In the paper, Balfour Beaty declared: “The pandemic has brought about a welcome shift in understanding about what we as a society need and rely on”.