Nine out of 10 sites are delayed by the apparent inability of gas, electricity and water suppliers to do what they鈥檙e in business to. They can take six months to produce a simple quote. They can charge you 拢4,000 before they begin to think about putting in a water mains.

It鈥檚 common for companies to ignore phone calls and virtually unheard of for them to issue a programme of works. The result is that 40% of projects that require help from a utility take a hit 鈥� while prices continue to rise, and so do the suppliers鈥� profits.

So is it surprising that frustration in the industry is growing? A survey of members of the National Federation of Builders, the Construction Confederation and the Major Contractors Group has shown that the situation is bad and getting worse for all utility suppliers (apart from telecoms) and, gallingly, there鈥檚 almost nothing that companies can do about it. So far the regulators have done little to tackle the issue. But with the housing programme now under threat, surely some action has to be taken.

Both Ofwat and Ofgem, the regulators of water and energy companies, are reviewing the performance of these industries. The obvious move is to expose utilities to competition, as was done to good effect with the telecoms industry. But that is, at best, a medium-term solution. In the meantime the regulators must introduce measures to force the industry to listen to its customers. The NFB suggests the use of dedicated teams that deal with cases from start to finish, the replacement of 鈥渧oluntary codes鈥� with mandatory, enforceable service-level agreements and, above all, the sort of fines for poor performance that are levied on train companies. That would at least be a start 鈥�

Vroom, vroom

Whether your firm鈥檚 as sleek as a Maserati, as iconic as a Mustang or as accommodating as a VW Camper, the chances are you鈥檙e cruising along in top gear. The 2006 survey of the top 250 consultants finds they鈥檙e employing 7,000 more people and earning 拢500m more in fees than last year. But where do we go from here? The forecasts point to growth of 6-8% over the next three years 鈥� if they can recruit the talent to do the work. A big 鈥渋f鈥�, given that two-thirds of firms say skills shortages are holding them back. In the past they鈥檝e turned to general purpose graduates and searched abroad. Let鈥檚 hope they can continue to do so. Otherwise, they鈥檒l be forced to apply the brakes.

Postscript

Denise Chevin, editor

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