Wise Up!
Cast your mind back to Christmas 1971, if you’re old enough that is, and you are watching the Morecambe and Wise Christmas special. Eric is playing Grieg’s piano concerto in front of pianist, composer and conductor Andre Previn, or Mr Preview as the duo called him. When Previn commented on Eric’s playing, saying that he was playing all the wrong notes, Eric famously countered with ‘I’m playing all the right notes – but not necessarily in the right order.’
What’s this got to do with the construction and plant machinery business, you may ask? Well, it would seem, according to a new bit of research from Aggreko, that while there appears to be plenty of machinery to go round, it’s not necessarily in the right place, doing the right job.
Why’s this a concern? Well, one of the report’s key findings is that the difficulty in securing appropriately sized equipment is severely affecting site efficiency. According to the research, over a third of UK construction managers reported experiencing operational inefficiencies due to incorrectly sized equipment within the past year. While this is lower than the European average of 50%, it remains a significant issue that directly impacts both sustainability and costs.
Incorrectly specified equipment not only wastes energy and fuel but also leads to greater carbon emissions and a higher likelihood of equipment failure—both of which undermine sustainability targets. For a sector increasingly under pressure to reduce embodied carbon, this is a critical area of concern. Within the pages of the report Aggreko’s Tom Adlington urges managers to use ‘the expertise of their solutions provider to choose the correct equipment for the job’ seeing it as ‘a vital step in achieving efficiency. Correctly sized and specified equipment offers savings on energy and is key to sustainability—making it a true win-win situation for the operator.’
Which is all well and good but what if there isn’t sufficient kit to go round? Or rather there isn’t sufficient kit of the right type to go round? You only have to look at recent CEA data (news page 6) on equipment sales to see that less new kit is being purchased, 29% down on last year and across all formats.
It’s an interesting conundrum which begs as many questions as it does answers. Aggreko offers some insights into resolving the issues, citing ‘advanced technologies’ as key to improving both efficiency and sustainability. That may be the case for the long term, but it will be some while before we have a large enough pool of electric/hydrogen/FCEV-powered machines to go round.
However, the good news is that we in the UK remain very conscious of working in a more sustainable manner. According to the report, 82% of UK respondents recognized the increased importance of sustainability, a number that reflects the growing regulatory and environmental pressures facing the sector. Now we just need the right machines, in the right place!
Happy reading,
The CPN Team.
