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The Latham Report, titled ''Constructing the Team'', was an influential report written by Sir Michael Latham, published in July 1994. Latham was commissioned by the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
government and industry organisations to review
procurement Procurement is the process of locating and agreeing to terms and purchasing goods, services, or other works from an external source, often with the use of a tendering or competitive bidding process. The term may also refer to a contractual ...
and
contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...
ual arrangements in the UK
construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...
industry, aiming to tackle controversial issues facing the industry during a period of lapse in growth as a whole.


Historical context

The Latham Report was not the first report to identify systemic failings in the UK construction industry; previous reports dating back to the 1960s had identified similar issues and made similar recommendations.Ward, Don and Crane, Alan (2003) "The story so far" in Jones, David, Savage, David and Westgate Rona, ''Partnering and Collaborative Working'' (Informa Professional, London), pp. 1-26. However, this report did gain industry and government support.


The report

Latham identified industry inefficiencies, condemning existing industry practices as 'adversarial', 'ineffective', 'fragmented', 'incapable of delivering for its clients' and 'lacking respect for its employees'. He urged reform and advocated partnering and collaboration by construction companies. A key concept was that through teamwork the construction industry could delight its customers. Latham made 53 recommendations to change industry practices, to increase efficiency and to replace the bureaucratic, wasteful, adversarial atmosphere prevalent in most construction projects with one characterised by openness, co-operation, trust, honesty, commitment and mutual understanding among team members. For example: :"Partnering includes the concepts of teamwork between supplier and client, and of total continuous improvement. It requires openness between the parties, ready acceptance of new ideas, trust and perceived mutual benefit…. We are confident that partnering can bring significant benefits by improving quality and timeliness of completion whilst reducing costs." (para 6.45, p. 62)Latham, M. (1994), ''Constructing the Team'', London: HMSO. :"Partnering arrangements are also beneficial between firms…. Such arrangements should have the principal objective of improving performance and reducing costs for clients. They should not become 'cosy'. The construction process exists to satisfy the client. Good relationships based on mutual trust benefit clients." (para 6.46, p. 62)


Recommendations

#The government should commit itself to being a best practice client. #The private sector should get together to establish a construction clients forum. #The Construction Industry Council (CIC) should issue a guide to briefing for clients. #The DoE should publish a simply worded construction strategy code of practice. #A checklist of design responsibilities should be prepared. #The use of co-ordinated project information should be a contractual requirement. #The responsibilities for building services design should be clearly defined. #A set of basic principles is required on which modern contract should be based. #A complete family of interlocking contractual documents is required. #A target should be set for 33% of government funded projects starting over the next four years to use the
New Engineering Contract The New Engineering Contract (NEC), or NEC Engineering and Construction Contract, is a formalised system created by the UK Institution of Civil Engineers that guides the drafting of documents on civil engineering, construction and maintenance pro ...
. #The role and duties of
project manager A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers have the responsibility of the Project planning, planning, procurement and execution of a project, in any undertaking that has a defined scope, defined star ...
s requires to be more clearly defined. #The DoE should develop quality registers of approved contractors, sub-contractors and consultants. #Guidance should be issued on rationalising tender list arrangements and on partnering. #The specific efforts of BS5750 in the construction process requires further investigation. #
Adjudication Adjudication is the legal process by which an arbiter or judge reviews evidence and argumentation, including legal reasoning set forth by opposing parties or litigants, to come to a decision which determines rights and obligations between th ...
should be the normal form of
dispute resolution Dispute resolution or dispute settlement is the process of resolving disputes between parties. The term ''dispute resolution'' is '' conflict resolution'' through legal means. Prominent venues for dispute settlement in international law incl ...
.


Legacy

The Report spawned a raft of initiatives including the establishment of the Construction Industry Board to oversee reform. At the request of the Construction Clients' Forum (formed following Latham's recommendation), the CIB published a further report, ''Partnering in the Team'' in 1996. In parallel, the industry reform group, the Reading Construction Forum, published ''Trusting the Team: the Best Practice Guide to Partnering in Construction'' in 1995 (for which Latham wrote the foreword). Subsequent initiatives included the 1998 Egan Report ''Re-thinking construction'', and the establishment of industry change organisations including the Design Build Foundation (1997) Construction Best Practice Programme, the IT Construction Best Practice Programme, Movement for Innovation and Constructing Excellence. The Latham and Egan Reports' focus on collaboration was also referenced by Chief Construction Adviser Paul Morrell in the UK government construction strategy in 2011.''Construction Strategy'', Cabinet Office - http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/government-construction-strategy (accessed 30 January 2012) Latham's call for quality registers of approved contractors, sub-contractors and consultants led to the 1998 establishment of Constructionline. The Latham Review commended the establishment of the Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment programme at the
University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
(page 73) and in turn was one of the influences that helped to shape the early syllabus of the IDBE course.


Notes and references

{{Reflist Reports of the United Kingdom government 1994 in the United Kingdom Construction industry of the United Kingdom Building July 1994 in the United Kingdom 1994 in British politics