Construction Playbook: Industrialisation in Action explores how principles including longer-term contracting, standardisation, outcome-based specifications, and early supply chain involvement are improving productivity, quality and programme certainty.
Based on its findings, Kier has recommended greater use of standardised outcome measures, stronger alignment between customers and supply chains, and increased focus on programme-level delivery models that enable industrialisation and continuous improvement.
The report comes as skills shortages and cost uncertainty continue to challenge project delivery, sharpening the need for more productive and predictable approaches to building public infrastructure.
The report shows measurable benefits from industrialised delivery, including:
• 47 per cent improvement in productivity
• 40 per cent improvement in quality
• 15 per cent improvement in delivery certainty
The report also recommends moving beyond traditional cost-based productivity measures alone, arguing that metrics such as certainty, quality, waste reduction, design efficiency, carbon performance, and workforce stability provide a more complete picture of project performance.
Andrew Dewdney, head of industrialisation at Kier, said: “When the Construction Playbook was published in 2020, it set out a clear vision for transforming how public sector projects and programmes are delivered.
“Six years on, the industry is increasingly asking what evidence exists that those principles work in practice. What we’ve found is that the greatest benefits come when industrialisation is viewed as more than a construction methodology. It is about creating the conditions for continuous improvement through repeatable requirements, integrated supply chains, and long-term programme thinking.
“The evidence suggests it can play a critical role in helping clients looking at critical infrastructure investments improve productivity, certainty and value across repeatable programmes of work.”