Ductwork firms are adapting their skills to meet changing client demands but now need main contractors to treat them fairly, says Barry Pollard, chairman of the HVCA’s Ductwork Group.
THE current focus on building high-rise apartments and cheap housing has shrunk the commercial market and reduced the demand for traditional ventilation skills. Housing is perceived as the area where developers and building contractors can make the most money and therefore resources have been focused in this direction. Unfortunately for the ductwork sector these areas have limited requirements for traditional ventilation skills. Ironically, ductwork firms have never been more efficient or technologically capable with many having invested significantly in design programmes, and sophisticated CNC machinery so we can undertake ever more complex projects. Many of us continually upgrade our computer technologies while training and recruiting professional project management and design engineers to provide a quality service and product for clients.

Ductwork specialists have also held their prices steady for a number of years but have been able to continue in business by becoming more efficient. We have absorbed rising material and insurance costs, but have not raised our prices significantly and yet the end client rarely seems to see these benefits. It should be a source of great shame to the whole supply chain that the cost savings we have made in recent times are being swallowed up somewhere between the specialist sub-contractor and the end of the process. As for the future, the inevitable utility price rises will have to be passed down the chain since there is a limit to the costs we can absorb.

But this is not just about money. Our sector is capable of making huge improvements to the delivery of projects if we are allowed to bring our expertise to the party early enough. In jobs where complete airside ventilation and air conditioning packages are managed by specialists we can speed up installation times, reduce variations and cut costs. However, general mechanical contractors appear reluctant to give up control of these large elements of a project.

They seem unwilling to trust the skills and expertise available within our businesses but hopefully initiatives like the HVCA Inspection & Assessment regime will help to make a stronger case for those companies which have the expertise for good partnering.

The tender process seems to have slipped backwards, after signs of improvement, into the murky practices in which larger contractors can manipulate and control costs. There is a pecking order in contracting and by retaining control they are best able to divide and rule sub-sub-contractors.



Tangible

A positive change at tender stage would be for the specialist sub-contractor used in the tender process to be named in the submission documents in order to make the process more transparent. By documenting these names there would be a tangible commitment to partner with the ventilation contractor of that tender.

Alternatively, we could take a leaf out of the Americans' contracting book. Over there more projects are divided into separate airside and waterside packages with specialist ventilation engineers taking full responsibility for all aspects of airside work and associated disciplines simply because they are best qualified to co-ordinate such elements.

Carrying out off-site fabrication of ducted systems and ancillary products with the minimum of on-site involvement has been the way of the ventilation specialist for generations. It is truly a travesty our expertise is not used to the full.

The ductwork industry has allowed its work to be undervalued for too long. In many quarters we are still regarded as low skilled 'tin bashers' but for most ductwork companies this description is far from the truth.



Partnerships

At the top end of the profession, ventilation contractors are well equipped and experienced to work within a partnering framework. My own company, Mansfield Pollard, is involved with a number of clients who have seen the benefits of partnerships with us in terms of reduced project times, lower costs and a better finished product.

The Ductwork Group has produced a substantial reference document entitled Working Together promoting the benefits of partnering which should be the bible for all aspiring project managers since it sets out the processes and advantages of working with the ventilation contractor from an early stage.

Top management of national contractors do recognise the sense in working this way but when you move further down the chain of command things start to unravel. Their own procurement departments are invariably driven by cheapest price and, therefore, the extra value created by our early involvement is rarely considered.

The investments made by ductwork specialists to extend our expertise deserve to be rewarded with greater recognition of our ability to influence the whole direction of a project. We have earned our place at the top table with other members of the design team but that is all too rarely acknowledged and we continue to suffer from having our expertise sold off to the lowest bidder.

*Barry Pollard is managing director of Bradford-based Mansfield Pollard.