The key to success is often the ability to adapt. What was true for the dinosaurs long ago remains inescapably true for those in business today.
With so much change happening in our own sector, it is of vital importance that we see and respond to the changes taking place around us. The important thing, of course, is to adapt quickly, and in human timescales rather than geological ones.
One of the most significant changes taking place in the building services sector is subtle and progressive. There are no volcanic eruptions, and it does not register on the Richter scale. Its effects over time, however, will be far-reaching and result in a complete reshaping of the industry.
I am talking about the convergence of the traditional building services trades. It has been happening for at least a decade – perhaps longer – but recent developments have hastened the process.
The arrival of new materials and technologies are redefining the time-honoured skills required by our trades. For example, the emergence of plastics pipe means that there is less reliance on traditional hot metal joining expertise.
The development of new technologies and approaches such as rainwater harvesting and solar energy, for example, open up new sectors that cut across traditional boundaries and require a combination of skills from different disciplines.
The emergence of the heat pump, and its entry into the mainstream as a major technology for both heating and cooling, is arguably the most important development in a generation.
The skills required to install and service heat pumps cut across conventional boundaries and training programmes. If the technology becomes mainstream, it could effectively redefine the trades that have traditionally catered for heating and cooling in buildings.
The ramifications don’t stop at new skills sets and trade definitions. It means a new training framework, the creation of new professional bodies and new assessment procedures. It also requires changes in the supply chain, to ensure that the right mix of new and traditional products is available to support the change.
For our part, Wolseley is well positioned to manage this new “cross discipline” approach, with all sectors sharing a common logistics and business platform. This is already resulting in ground-breaking new ways of working, as evidenced by the “total M&E offering” now emerging and the ability to act as a one-stop supplier to major contractors.
For those contemplating what these changes mean for their own business, there is really only one approach – embrace them. As someone once said, “When you are finished responding to change, you are finished.”