The cost of materials has increased exponentially in recent years, and there's no sign of a correction anytime soon. Steel and timber products are among those materials in the shortest supply, that's why it's become more important than ever to minimise wastage.
Why has the cost of materials increased?
It's that simple equation; unfortunately - we're experiencing both increased demand and decreased supply.
The rising cost of timber is one example of construction materials that have been affected by national and international events.
The devastating fires on the east coast of Australia in 2019 destroyed approximately 60,000 hectares of plantation timber. Add to that a global construction boom where demand for materials skyrocketed.
Next, Covid-related supply disruptions created a tight bottleneck of resources.
"Compared with the September quarter of 2020, local structural timber prices were up an average of 26.0% in the September quarter of 2021, the latest industry data prepared by FWPA shows".
- Forest & Wood Products Australia
Then if all of that is not enough, Australia also relies on imports for much of its building materials, but increased shipping costs have made exporting to distant lands less attractive.
So far, we’ve only covered timber.
The plumbing industry has also reported material delivery delays of up to 3-4 months.
How do we minimise wastage?
No longer should you be throwing materials onto a job site only to realise you'll need to order more. Current delivery delays are going to make it logistically untenable. From a pricing point of view, by reducing discrepancies between what's being ordered and what's being used on site makes strong financial sense.
"What tended to happen is that we just threw a whole lot of materials at that job, and basically hope for the best..."
Craig Pearman, Groundplan Trades Expert".
For a trade business to reduce wastage, an accurate takeoff and estimating system feeding a digital trail ensures you can keep a keen eye on quoted, and even purchased materials. That way you can ensure that what’s being quoted is the same as what is used on-site to finish a project with minimal wastage.
Podcast series: How to capitalise on reduced wastage in your trade business
In collaboration with AroFlo, Groundplan has created a 3-Part Podcast mini-series interviewing three of our own trade experts. They share decades of trade and construction experience to help you minimise waste of both time and materials.
Episode 1 is available now. Episodes 2 & 3 will be released over the following 2 weeks.
Interviewed by Groundplan's own Brad Halcrow, we’ll hear from our Trades Experts on how to make sure you’re getting the most from your labour on-site and ordered materials.
Episode 1: Reduce Wastage with Efficient Stock Control
Listen on SoundCloud.
In this first episode, we speak with Craig Pearman about reducing waste through efficient stock control.
Craig is an ex-sparky and site foreman; now, he's a Groundplan Trades Expert.
