University analyses shop refurbishment procurement at Boots, Pizza Express, Arcadia and Borders.
A group of UK retailers, including Boots The Chemists and Pizza Express, have asked experts at Leeds University to analyse and improve their refurbishment techniques.

The team, led by professor of construction management Steven Male, will benchmark the companies, which also include the Halifax, bookseller Borders and fashion chain Arcadia, and compile a best practice guide. The researchers will then monitor how the clients implement the guide鈥檚 recommendations. Male said it will be published next year.

The project is a response to claims by some small employers that Egan principles are suitable only for large repeat clients. Pizza Express is a typical small client, completing 拢20m of projects a year at an average cost of 拢250 000-350 000 per scheme. This project will enable it to learn more quickly from the experience of others. 鈥淭he retail sector is an important construction client but it is under-researched,鈥� said Male. He added that the research had already identified issues of supply-chain management and the necessity of rapid response.

The 拢80 000 project is jointly funded by the government and the clients. QS Franklin + Andrews and contractor Balfour Beatty are advising on construction issues.

Pizza Express鈥� development director Matthew Sewell, speaking at the 好色先生TV leisure conference last week, said that research could help fine-tune the choice between procurement methods.

The retail sector is an important construction client but it is under-researched

Professor Steven Male

He said that Pizza Express used design-and-build where designs were simple, and traditional lump-sum contracts when time was less of a problem. The firm partnered if it had a regular pool of contractors to choose from. He added that the firm also used construction management occasionally.

  • The Movement for Innovation, the body charged with implementing Sir John Egan鈥檚 Rethinking Construction report, is set to launch new key performance indicators. Movement chairman Alan Crane said KPIs on safety, client satisfaction and supply-chain management would be introduced in the new year. He added that the indicators 鈥� used by clients to benchmark construction suppliers 鈥� will be more detailed and easier to use.

Crane said: 鈥淭he client satisfaction indicator being drawn up with the Construction Clients Forum is being extended so that it can be used all the way down the supply chain.鈥�