TEAMIf we would make buildings like we make ships and planes, we will get a fantastic, new home for much less money. How is that possible? Shipbuilding and the aircraft industry work systematically and learn from every step they take. Yet, every ship and every plane is unique. They are getting better and better at it. In construction, only the suppliers of products and raw materials work systematically, for their own good.

The four most important benefits of systematic building

Suppliers that exclusively focus on YOUR interests, are the most interesting to you. To them I explained this earlier in a blog on the former website “Duurzaam Verlicht”. Builders and consultants make each building into a unique project working with variable experts who are selected separately. They learn nothing as a team, start over again every time in a new team and are stuck with the wrong business model. This is a major cause for the crisis in the building industry. This is why BRIQS argues passionately for systematic building. So, as an end user – but also as an investor – of a building you finally get quality value for money.

Let me first define what the difference between a system and project is, exactly. In discussions I notice that many people do not make that distinction. After you’ve read this blog post you will never want anyone else but a systematically working team to build. Builders that continue to work on project basis only, will harm themselves badly because they just cannot serve clients well.

System or project?

Every entrepreneur can handle work professionally in two ways: as systems or projects. For ongoing activities or something you do more than once, you are wise to devise a system. Is it a unique, one-time job with a concrete goal, with a beginning and an end? Then you take it on as a project. It amazes me that in construction the difference is hardly ever recognized and applied. This is the very thing that successful entrepreneurship is all about. Successful entrepreneurs do not repeatedly reinvent the wheel. They develop, implement and continuously improve systems in their businesses, and may also be involved in a few projects as well.

Wheel-nothanks-toobusyEvolutionary product development

For decades, we have been building our planes and ships, our medical equipment and computers in an evolutionary system. In it we apply accumulated knowledge and experience for the development of the next generation of products. Products that we assemble efficiently, because they consist of many uniform parts that all fit together seamlessly. They are getting better, safer and cheaper. And every time they are made to fit our changing needs and desires. That is what Prof. dr. ir. Hennes de Ridder, emeritus professor of integral design at TU Delft, means by evolutionary building of Living Buildings, building as a system.

Hennes de Ridder wrote a comprehensible book about it: LEGOlising construction. He describes how the building industry should change from a sector providing craft productions customized to specific client wishes only (project) into a sector that provides industrial customized products for end users, customers and society (system). In short, for YOU! Just like with LEGO you can choose from an infinite number of standard parts that all fit together. The personal way you combine these components determines the uniqueness of your new home or workplace.

Building project

For you as the end user, building a new home or remodeling an existing one, is a project of course. With a clear goal in mind you start a unique one-time job with a defined beginning and end. For suppliers in the construction industry, it is very different. It is their daily business to build and modify homes. And yet builders and consultants make a separate project of every construction, with a group of people that only team up once. That definitely works to your disadvantage. BRIQS challenges the building world to start working systematically and to separate the base building from the fit-out. This has several big advantages for you, for the building industry, for local authorities and for the preservation of our earth. Too many advantages to capture in one blog post. So please read on here for a number of benefits for you as the end user. The following are BRIQS’ main concern:

The benefits of systematic building for you

  1. You get better quality, because products and building components are improving over time. So you always get the best possible products available at that time.
  2. You know exactly what you will get, because good examples are available. Manufacturers can really show you buildings and building components, on site or in a showroom. With these building blocks you assemble your ideal house. Now you are expected to imagine the end result from technical drawings and calculations.Japan is a good example. The largest Japanese fit-out contractor can supply 50,000 homes per year. In the factory you can walk through the home you ordered before you buy it. Within a few weeks your fit-out is home delivered and installed by the manufacturer.
  1. You have direct contact with the manufacturers of building materials and components. They love to hear what your wishes are. Manufacturers are in fact the most innovative party in the entire building industry. Currently, you have to deal with contractors that only compete on price. Contractors that have to construct a building according to the technical specifications of architects, installers and other technicians. A lot goes wrong, during this process. So, you often do not get what you had expected or been promised. Good luck with fixing that, afterwards!
  1. When we start building systematically, you will be offered different things. Those include other guarantees and insurances, like a purchase contract instead of a construction contract. Why is that beneficial to you? To producers European law applies (caveat emptor = seller beware!). To contractors, architects, and many other parties you have to deal with, Dutch construction law applies. The principal in Dutch law today is caveat venditor, which means “buyer beware!”. A warning to take really seriously! Only around 2021 its base will be in line with European Law.

Bouw Innovatie

Take the next step and share your experiences

Do you want to take a next step? Come to the FREE* Masterclass. We will work with practical tools to instantly implement the actions of my ebook in your organizational, fiscal or financial projects and organization. Do you already have experience with parties who are working systematically, or do you like to have that experience? Share it in the comments below.

To your health and wellbeing,

Remko Zuidema