A new report from Aggreko has found that more than 70% of UK construction managers have experienced major weather-related delays to projects in the last 12 months, underscoring the threat that extreme weather poses to the industry.
The findings form part of a report examining the impact of extreme weather on the construction sector across Europe, Building in Resilience: Weather-proofing European Construction in a Changing Climate. The report is informed by a survey of 850 construction managers drawn from the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, Norway and Sweden, and reveals strongly regionalised patterns in the type of weather conditions that pose the greatest risk.
Overall, there were minimal differences between extreme heat, freezing temperatures, excessive rainfall and flooding, and sleet and snow, with either 21% or 22% of construction managers across the continent naming them as the biggest risk to their sites.
Freezing temperatures were cited as the biggest threat in Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, and sleet and snow were the biggest threats in France, Italy and Sweden. More strikingly, around one in three construction managers in the UK and Belgium cited extreme heat as the biggest threat to on-site operations.
The construction managers questioned said that weather conditions were leading to damaged materials and equipment, as well as challenges for employee welfare on site.
Not only are these risks having an operational impact, but they are also having a significant commercial impact, with 39% of construction managers in the UK saying that major weather-related delays had led to financial penalties on projects.
Tom Adlington, UK Construction Sector Sales Manager for Construction at Aggreko, said: “Our report shows how significant an issue changing and severe weather conditions are for the construction sector in the UK and across Europe. The difficulties involved in addressing these issues is compounded by the wide challenges affecting the industry, including skills, equipment and materials shortages, as well as political and economic uncertainty and the need to decarbonise.
“This highlights the importance of effective supplier relationships and being able to source suitable well-maintained equipment to mitigate the impact of severe weather, whether in the form of, power, dehumidification or temperature control solutions that comply with the latest emissions standards.”
Aggreko offers an extensive fleet that equips construction managers with the tools they need to be able to reduce the impact of severe weather on their operations, combined with flexible financing options that help temper the commercial pressure facing the sector.
Significantly, Aggreko’s experts are able to offer detailed engineering advice to ensure the most appropriate equipment is deployed to address the challenges in hand. For example, heating is not an effective solution for moisture control applications, which in fact require dehumidification.
To read Aggreko’s full report, CLICK HERE.