ABSTRACT
Although there was evidence in the years 1995 and 1996 of a great deal of work being undertaken within the Construction Industry Board, and within its five component bodies (if the amount of papers, presentations, meetings and initiatives can rightly be construed as a measure of activity), there remained some intrinsic weaknesses in the strategic direction of the industry. The Board, although immensely active, was not fully viewed by the various sectors of the supply side as being really capable of eliminating the underlying suspicion and antagonism between main contractors, sub-contractors and specialist suppliers. The main contractors, by now consolidated into the Construction Confederation (CC), seemed luke-warm in
their commitment to the future of the Board. Indeed, the Construction Confederation itself appeared divided on some issues. The different approach to construction business adopted by the large national and international construction companies, and the vast majority, some 80 per cent of construction firms in the UK, made up of small and medium sized firms led eventually to the major firms forming their own Major Contractors’ Group within the Construction Confederation.
