Berlin. - In the current crisis, major parts of the construction industry are in danger of disappearing. Accordingly, it is high time to change our way of thinking and achieve different and better results compared to the past.

The argumentative paper "Es ist höchste Zeit" (It's high time) is not intended to fuel polemics, rather to initiate a long overdue discussion about the tasks and the self-image of the construction industry. In my opinion, we are far from fulfilling our tasks for society as we should. One of these tasks is to make economical, ecological and social goals compatible. I see considerable deficits here.

For example, where is the roadmap for the climate-neutral construction site? Where are the concrete concepts for low-cost housing construction? What about digitalization, standard reduction, modular construction, resilient supply chains and cradle-to-cradle concepts? Construction does not provide sufficient answers to all these questions.

That is why we now need self-critical and open discussions at all levels - in associations, companies, chambers, public institutions, at regional conferences and workshops. Stakeholders should do this for very obvious, selfish reasons. They are in a major crisis because of the turnaround in interest rates, energy policy and the many problems in construction. And you can't solve it by hoping for low interest rates again and then just carrying on as before.

Let's face the facts and clarify what needs to be done now. We undoubtedly need faster progress and greater success. To address just a few of the issues from the argument:

Build cheaper

We build expensively. Too expensive. This is also due to the increased cost of land. And to the ever-increasing prices of raw materials. And manufacturing costs. But mostly and above all due to inefficient and non-transparent processes in project development, planning, approval, construction and operation. It is high time to stop the enormous inefficiencies and waste in planning and building.

Digitization

Great hopes are associated with digitization. Standardized data rooms and digital twins and virtual images can provide the information on what has been extracted, processed, transported, assembled and installed, when, how, where and by whom. And how it is maintained and operated. This form of building design and documentation must finally become the norm, be standardized and available to all.

The real estate industry is still one of the particularly analog sectors in Germany today. While other sectors are already taking advantage of significant digitization and automation benefits and developing new business models, the real estate industry still has groundwork to do. General interfaces and standards are needed for the digitization of planning and construction. PropTech and ConTech companies can offer substantial innovations and automated processes. However, the basis for a successful digital transformation is recognized standards. But these are lacking.

It is up to the construction industry to develop and establish cross-company, technology open and self-financed standards.

Process culture

It is high time to live a new togetherness in construction.

The process culture in the construction industry has suffered considerable damage. This needs to be repaired. Project developers, architects, specialist planners, construction companies, tenants and landlords struggle to understand each other, but for the most part they know far too little about each other's needs and perspectives. But they are part of a common whole. To achieve this, they need to develop a new self-image. And work together much more intensively. We need binding, efficient and open exchange formats to continuously clarify and exploit conflicts. The real estate industry must sit down at the same table, abandon its silo thinking, listen to each other carefully and find common positions.

Craftsmanship

Craft construction in Germany is currently at a crossroads. In the south, the craft still enjoys a good reputation. Increasingly, they can also find work in neighboring European countries such as Great Britain, Poland, the Netherlands and Norway, after structural deficits there have led to the widespread loss of these skills.

The dual system of vocational training in Austria, Germany and Switzerland is considered a pioneer in Europe. But this path does not fit into the Anglo-American bachelor's system and is now considered a second-rate education. And so many of the jobs on offer remain unfilled. More appreciation could help.

Appreciation

However, the construction industry relies on low-cost pieceworkers from Southeastern Europe. Training on the job. This makes the difference between the studied engineers and the unskilled workers on the construction site even greater. The language gap is often almost impossible to bridge. There is often a lack of appreciative interaction. This is no way to attract the next generation.

Skills

In France, the Netherlands and also England, the knowledge of technically flawless detailed solutions is already almost non-existent across the board. Not among the companies carrying out the work, and not even in the architectural offices. This is because planning and construction there is predominantly left to general contractors. They get involved shortly after planning begins, then "optimize" according to their own ideas and outsource the work to more or less unskilled contractors.

Production conditions

In Germany, too, general contractors under the terms "Plan & Build", "Bauteam" or "Construction Partner" are trying to follow this path.They promise to take the imponderables of construction off the client's hands.But appearances are deceptive.Hardly any general contractor takes even a scintilla of risk off the client's hands.All too often, contractors optimize at the expense of construction quality, thus harming subsequent owners.Without a knowledgeable architect on their side, many builders lack the knowledge to successfully represent their own interests. Goals shift to the detriment of value and in favor of short-lived and expensive implementation. This fast-food architecture is going in the wrong direction.

It is therefore all the more important to adjust the balance of power between planners, builders and contractors in such a way that there is a knowledgeable and understanding cooperation at eye level. By this, I do not just mean polite and appreciative manners. It is about factual knowledge, craftsmanship, production conditions and technical know-how.

Innovations

Today, many construction companies in Germany are under pressure. They are particularly often affected by insufficient financing options, a shortage of skilled workers and competition from abroad.

Their ability to innovate is significantly weaker than that of industry. Which craft enterprise has a research and development department?

As a result, the skilled trades have changed significantly in recent years. The healthy medium-sized companies with up to 50 employees are becoming fewer and fewer, while large companies on the one hand and one-person companies on the other are increasing. In the case of the large companies, the transition to industry or commerce is fluid, and the connection to the skilled trades and their organizations is fading. And the solo self-employed are generally less qualified. They are less and less able to meet the quality demands of the skilled trades.

It is unexplainable to me that we simply stand by and watch the good craft enterprises disappear bit by bit, and with them a great deal of knowledge and skill in good construction is lost. How is the preservation of existing buildings and ecological reconstruction to be managed if fewer and fewer skilled workers are able to repair, restore, replace or install them?

Outlook

Last year, I took part in the jury for this year's Innovation Award. The proposals submitted were evaluated according to the criteria of degree of novelty, USP, protection against imitation, scalability, prospect of success, and benefit to the environment and society. No craft company participated. But if I transfer these criteria to the work of craft businesses and construction companies, the future opportunities for them lie in the combination of digital, three-dimensional planning (BIM plus) and high-quality craft prefabrication. This works best in weather-protected halls, with well-trained and paid craftsmen. This could give hope for a renaissance of craftsmanship and building culture.

These are just a few of the many suggestions from our argument. Some of them are not new, but have not yet been implemented. For this to happen, various experts would have to argue with each other in an unbiased manner and then work together. After all, no single group of those involved in construction can manage these complex tasks alone.