This referenced position paper analyzed past and present trends within the construction industry in Australia and the United Kingdom to determine their impact on future construction processes.

• The construction industries in the United Kingdom and Australia are exploring new strategies to meet clients’ changing needs.

• Be aware of the constant change within the construction industry and the need to meet the changing economic and social needs of clients.
• Design buildings with the flexibility to adapt to changing technology.
• Utilize concurrent engineering practices (i.e., development in parallel phases, not sequential) as an effective approach to construction and design to improve working relationships between designers and contractors, and encourage cooperation among all parties.
• Be aware that clients may need guidance with the initial decision to begin the construction process. Discuss alternative options to building new facilities (e.g., renovation, refurbishment), and options that may lead to downsizing instead of expansion (e.g., outsourcing, removal of processes, sub-contracting).

• Past practices in the construction industry have been riddled with procurement problems arising from an impractical separation between the design and construction process, a lack of organization among sub-contractors, strained relationships between design and construction team members, outdated design and construction methods, preventable delays, and poor quality end product.
• Construction firms have recently become more sophisticated in managing their companies (e.g., a better handle on cash flow, improved marketing skills, more competitive bids) and construction methods have also become more sophisticated (e.g., off-site activities more frequent, buildability/time/cost priority emphasized). Education programs have been created to merge construction and design to emphasize multi-skilled trades.
• Clients were the driving force for change within the construction industry, leading to the development of different services (e.g., project management, facilities management, alternate procurement methods). The need for change originated from the desire for a more competitive and efficient industry.
• Concurrent engineering is a design methodology in which various related activities occur simultaneously rather than sequentially.

• The authors reviewed past and present trends in the construction industry in Australia and the United Kingdom and made recommendations for the future based on their own expertise.

• The authors did not identify any limitations

The authors included a table comparing past and present construction practices, along with a figure of the initial design phase. A technique to guide clients’ pre-design decision making was described.