The Press FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 1966. Unity In The Building Industry

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30958, 14 January 1966, Page 8

The Press FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 1966. Unity In The Building Industry

The output of the building and construction industry accounts for about one fifth of New Zealand’s gross national product. The industry directly employs more than 60,000 men. or one twelfth of the male labour force. Another 30,000 men produce building materials and furnishings and many of the 83,000 engineering and metal workers contribute to the industry. With such a large proportion of our resources going into the industry every effort to improve its efficiency and productivity is welcome, specially at a time when the strains on the economy have led to restraints on building activity. One such effort is the arrangement of conferences on building management which will be held in Christchurch and Auckland next month. A happy feature of these conferences is that they have been sponsored by the Winstone, Ltd., Centenary Educational Trust, formed by a company in the industry to foster welfare and advance knowledge in the industry.

At these conferences two British authorities will share their experience in management and engineering with New Zealanders. Lessons learned abroad in the management field are no less important to the efficiency of building here than knowledge of technical advances overseas. Another occasion next month illustrates the enthusiasm with which Australian architects and engineers have seized an opportunity to examine the use of reinforced concrete masonry in Christchurch. Their visit supplements a seminar on the subject of concrete masonry held in Brisbane last November attended by 180 members of the architectural and engineering professions and of the building trades. The visit is sponsored by a local firm of manufacturers—doubtless in the interests of its business—but almost certainly to the advantage of the 30 Australians who come, their colleagues, and their clients. However tightly the workings of the various departments of the industry must be combined to achieve the efficient construction of individual buildings, it is not surprising that an otherwise diffuse range of trades and professions should lack a common forum. Efficient management and planning provide the basis for the unity required in individual projects. The need exists for planning on a wider scale. The establishment last year of the Building Industry Advisory Council was a step towards harmonising the various interests, though not all voices will be heard in the council; the suppliers of materials are not represented on the council. If the council accepts the task it has been given it could do for the building industry what the Agricultural Production Council is attempting to do for the farming industry. It cannot set targets with the same authority as the agricultural conference, but it can make a contribution towards higher productivity; and there is still much scope for this in the building industry.