How can the engineering and construction industry overcome fragmentation, external competition and inconsistent performance by reimagining its approach to governance, people and technology?

Over the past decades, owners and contractors have made considerable strides in improving the delivery of capital projects. We’ve seen a host of advances in the form of new construction techniques, project delivery strategies, and enhanced processes and controls for safety, risk management, budget, scope and schedule.

But the industry’s overall performance during this period continues to tell a discouragingly different story, replete with a continued inability to increase productivity, raise performance levels and reduce project failures — a record that that pales against the achievements in other sectors.

KPMG’s 2017 Global Construction Survey reflects this apparent contradiction. More than 80 percent of respondents report confidence in their organization’s ability to deliver projects on time and within budget. An even bigger proportion (91 percent) report that their systems produce timely and accurate project and portfolio reporting. Yet half admit that, in the past 3 years, adverse project performance significantly impacted their company — rising to nearly 60 percent for contractors.

Which begs the question: Can we make the kind of step change needed to bring performance in line with stakeholder expectations? With the industry under threat from the inevitable disruption caused by innovative and agile outsiders, it’s imperative to swiftly address this issue.

Explore the findings and insights by reading the articles and viewing the videos on this page, or downloading the full report.