Construction Cannot Reform While Lowest Price Still Wins

<p>Construction cannot improve quality, productivity, and building safety while commercial models continue to reward the lowest price, push risk down the supply chain, and encourage short-term decision-making.</p><p> </p><p>In this episode of Behind the Built Environment, <strong>David Frise, Chief Executive of BESA</strong>, speaks with <strong>Paul Beeston, Partner and Head of Industry and Service Insight at RLB</strong>, who has more than 25 years of experience across the built environment and has recently joined the <strong>Construction Leadership Council</strong> board to lead work on reforming construction’s business models.</p><p> </p><p>Paul argues that construction’s commercial model is not fundamentally broken, but that decades-old procurement practices are increasingly struggling in a market where clients expect more from their supply chains. At the same time, businesses face greater volatility, risk and pressure.</p><p> </p><p>The conversation explores how better governance, smarter procurement, and fairer risk allocation could build stronger businesses and deliver better project outcomes.</p><p> </p><p>This episode covers:</p><p> </p><ul><li>Why good governance starts with strong client leadership, clear decision-making and transparency</li><li>Why lowest-price procurement can undermine quality and create the wrong behaviours from the outset</li><li>How risk is pushed down the supply chain and what sensible risk allocation should look like</li><li>The case for earlier and more open engagement with contractors and specialist subcontractors</li><li>Why retentions should be abolished and the potential unintended consequences of replacing them with bonds</li><li>How the Building Safety Act is changing attitudes towards quality, competence and accountability</li><li>Why right-first-time delivery can provide clients with better protection than relying on contractual or financial security</li><li>The challenge of measuring construction productivity without losing sight of quality, social value and workforce outcomes</li><li>Why whole-life value and building performance need to carry more weight in procurement decisions</li><li>How data, AI, partnering and new commercial models could reshape construction over the next five years</li></ul><p> </p><p>Paul also challenges one of construction’s most persistent habits: treating price as the easiest definition of value. With RLB research showing that 40% of procurement activity is still selected purely on price, meaningful reform will require clients and the wider industry to look beyond capital cost and understand the long-term outcomes they are actually buying.</p><p> </p><p>Ultimately, the episode asks whether construction can create a commercial environment where every part of the supply chain understands the value it contributes and how that contribution connects to better outcomes for clients, businesses and society.</p>