A research centre in Poland - investment in life science construction is on the up. Image: Adobe Stock

Life sciences are becoming one of the priority engines for economic expansion globally. The UK government recently highlighted the sector鈥檚 enormous potential to drive growth and productivity in its Green Paper for industrial strategy.

Australia has heralded the sector in its new National Science Statement and National Science and Research Priorities. Meanwhile, Hong Kong鈥檚 government has recently secured US$832 million in new private investment for life sciences.

With this endorsement, the spotlight falls on delivery. Speed is considered critically important, but understanding how best to achieve this is not straightforward. Our latest insight on the global life sciences market shows that clients often look to the construction phase of a project to cut down on delivery time, rather than prioritising design and planning. In reality, we need to look at both pre-construction and execution if we鈥檙e to successfully accelerate development and meet demand.

Problems in life science construction

Delays are common across the development lifecycle, but pinpointing their origins is complicated. Our data shows that 77% of projects overrun their design phase compared to their estimations. 73% are delayed through procurement, and 75% see delays in construction.

In fact, the construction phase is rarely the source of issues 鈥� it is more usually the stage where underlying problems come to a head. Issues around detailed design and specification, or the requirement of particular equipment and their lead times, should be recognised early on. The highly technical nature of life science assets means that it鈥檚 by far preferable to address issues before construction and not during.

The desire for speed in development often leads to overly-optimistic schedules being set. This creates pressure that can cause teams to rush to meet unrealistic deadlines underpinned by insufficient time allocated during the planning and design phase to get set up effectively.

Early contractor engagement is essential and involving them from the design stages will curtail the risk of major design changes having to be made later on.

Combatting impractical expectations requires accurate benchmarking. However, the diversity and complexity of projects 鈥� as well as fragmentation in life science supply chains 鈥� makes this harder. Through our own life science benchmarking club, we鈥檝e seen growing willingness from clients to pool anonymised data. This can in turn support better modelling, more certain forecasting and realistic deadline-setting.

Embedding performance improvements

Daniel Boreham, global head of life sciences at Turner & Townsend. Image: Turner & Townsend.

Benchmarking is a critical tool in the initial stages, but the next challenge will be keeping programmes on track. This will require having the confidence to pause and interrogate decisions that have the potential to undermine delivery. It鈥檚 therefore important that there are strong project controls in place.

Programmes can be let down by poor scrutiny on key processes. From evaluating engineering reviews to ensure the quality of designs, to appraising the procurement requests that help secure key materials and labour, it鈥檚 essential that pressure on pace does not come at the expense of proper oversight.

We鈥檝e recognised these strategies working effectively in several programmes, particularly the Lighthouse Lab in Gateshead 鈥� a state-of-the-art Covid-19 testing hub that was built during the pandemic. Working in some of the most pressured circumstances imaginable, this required 23 separate workstreams deploying a sprint-managed approach that initially focused on specific elements, before stepping back to understand how it would impact other areas of the project.

More and more, we are also seeing contractual agreements and greater incentivisation of the supply chain be adopted. Gain-share agreements, which outline how the client and supplier will share both risks and financial rewards, can help inspire better collaboration by ensuring mutual success for all parties.

Creating fit for purpose processes is an area of key opportunity that will improve the project approach at the execution level. Projects are often chartered for scale and speed. However, existing processes that need to be followed were built with other, sometimes conflicting, motivations in mind.

While we do not recommend that all companies reinvent every process each time they embark on a new project, we think that those companies with ambitious capital investment plans spanning several years should challenge some of the most critical and repetitive tasks that will occur in the execution of the work.

Unlocking the potential of the life science sector

As life sciences investment grows, the spotlight shifts to its delivery and construction. However, the execution phase has become increasingly challenging due to the size, scale and complexity of these sites.

Therefore, it鈥檚 crucial that the right strategies are embedded across the lifecycle to create an operating environment that enables efficient and quality delivery. This will unlock the potential of life sciences and help it become an engine for global economies.