How often does a major construction project come in on time and on budget? Why is the answer “hardly ever”?

The construction industry is “deeply disastrously broken,” in the words of Todd R. Zabelle, author of the new book Built to Fail: Why Construction Projects Take So Long, Cost Too Much, and How to Fix It. In fact, the construction industry experiences $1.6 trillion worth of waste each year, due to delays or cost overruns. It happens with nearly every major building, bridge or highway. On this episode, Zabelle explains why this state of affairs is endemic to the construction industry, from design to engineering and construction. Turns out that a good part of the problem can be traced to the industry’s broken supply chain, which is prone to panic buying, hoarding, long waits for new equipment and a general misalignment between supply and actual demand. Time to put a stop to these wasteful practices, and the “many decades of carnage” for which they’re responsible. Hosted by Bob Bowman, Editor-in-Chief of SupplyChainBrain.

Show notes:

Zabelle’s book, Built to Fail: Why Construction Projects Take So Long, Cost Too Much, and How to Fix It.