Downtime is the mother of all the problems the construction industry faces as it moves to address these challenges with efficiency, productivity and profitability. One of the symptoms is a lack of common desire to share the good stuff while highlighting the bad.

It has become a cliché that there are no mistakes, only learning experiences. However, at the recent London x Downtime event, it was apparent that the same prone-to-failure working approaches are being encountered from site to site, in development to development, throughout the whole construction ecosystem.

At the same time, there has been a concerted effort in some quarters to bring about a change. Leapfrogging just a few years into the future, we can expect the physical and digital worlds to converge as humans and smart technology start to collaborate. I am confident we will see computers, powered by data, supporting humans with accurate insights that improve decision-making.

Eliminate Downtime is a movement which embraces all kinds of change, not just technological, which go towards the goal of restoring the fortunes of the construction industry by 2025. It aims to share the good stuff – from great ideas to best practices and even small improvements – so that the industry can gain insights from its peer group and benefit as a whole.

Until the movement really builds momentum, downtime will remain a hugely destructive force which also stands in the way of the industry recovering its reputation for innovation – something it had once held for thousands of years. Literally, since humankind began to live together in cities. It’s time we recovered the high-ground, we want to be the cool guys again.