Managing Organizational Interfaces in the Cladding Supply Chain: Initial Results from Expert Interviews

A key area for the improvement of construction efficiency lies in managing the interfaces between building elements and between the various construction organizations involved in the process. This paper describes a 3 year research project sponsored by the DETR /IMI and industry, under the meeting clients needs through standardization theme. The aim of the research is to produce a generic management framework for the twelve most used cladding types in the UK. The majority of the research will concentrate on cladding types that are standard or that are readily available and not bespoke. The aim of the framework is to enable the user to solve the managerial interface problems that will occur at certain stages of design and construction and show ways of overcoming the problems. Preliminary results are presented from forty semi-structured interviews with key experts involved in the cladding supply chain. A process framework is presented, describing various types of specialist contractor, discusses the cladding supply chain and the key decision-making process.