The pandemic has been hard on all of us. It has changed the way we live and the freedoms we are used to. For many families, the pandemic has resulted in a loss of income of the primary breadwinner, secondary, or both. Businesses have been vastly affected and it has changed the way some businesses operate entirely. This is a time for a change. To increase efficiency and bring about a lasting change in our businesses to build resilience during turbulent times.
Even though all outlooks seem negative, the real winners are people who find an opportunity during this crisis. Sri Lanka is an excellent example of a country that has managed the situation extremely well thus far. With access to only limited resources, the country has fought well simply exercising discipline in the country, whereas many developed countries have struggled to fight the pandemic despite having access to vast resources.
With troubles comes creation. If history has taught us anything, it’s that success comes to those who adapt. The AliBaba corporation grew exponentially after SARS by changing its business model. There are other companies (less prominent) who are also doing vastly better by adapting fast. Delivery companies have adapted fast resulting in a permanent change in the way their businesses operate permanently increasing their sales volume.
It’s so easy to focus on the negatives, but for a world that is entirely shaken by the pandemic, it’s also easy to see opportunity. opportunities to advance our businesses technologically, improve efficiency, cut down unwanted costs, operate leaner overall. The ‘new normal’ has made us realize everything we take for granted, being able to simply leave the house for starters.
The construction industry is infamous for its cycles. Peaks and valleys in its workload. Most companies as a result of this have built strong resilience in the face of change. It’s time to do even better now. A study conducted a few years back showed that almost 45% of construction costs are due to waste (which includes material, human resources, and plant and equipment). Can you imagine how we can do if we reduced this number to 20% or even 5%? Seems ambitious, but it’s possible. Over a decade ago the apparel industry was not doing much better than construction. But they mapped their processes, increased efficiency, and reduced their waste making them highly competitive in the global environment despite staff costs being higher in Sri Lanka compared to countries like Bangladesh.
Material wastage - using technologically advanced methods, knowledge sharing can be adopted to reduce material waste used as an opportunity to explore new more efficient methods of working. Use of advanced tools to reduce manpower in requirements. Mapping work practices to improve efficiency and reducing waste. Some of the areas we can work on immediately are; Use of innovative construction technology - this will reduce both manpower and material wastage by implementing proven efficient construction practices worldwide.
Sri Lanka produces some of the most talented construction staff. Highly sought after in the middle-east. However, in Sri Lanka we have not been able to achieve the same levels of efficiency.
It’s time ‘we’ as an industry come together and make our business resilient through turbulent times so we can enjoy the peaks more and enjoy comfortable valleys. Let’s use this pandemic to bring about a lasting positive change in our industry.
