Business Information: Building a case for construction sector 02:54, 22 July 2012 by Dave Boland
Tom Moloney, managing director of CIS. There was a time in the recent past when the entire Irish economy seemed to be driven by the property market. And with one in every eight members of the workforce employed in some form of construction activity in 2006, it was crucial for companies and individuals to have the most comprehensive information on the type and size of jobs that were in the civil, commercial or residential construction pipelines. Founded in 1973, Construction Industry Services (CIS) gathers and processes all the relevant information about every construction project on the island of Ireland. And while such information may have seemed moot since the recession first took hold, there are signs once again that the construction sector is beginning to see the first stirrings of life, particularly in civil and commercial building. "I firmly believe that we will see a tangible change in how the sector is performing over the next 15 to 18 months," said Tom Moloney, managing director of CIS. "It is simply impossible to sustain the deficit that exists in our commercial, civil and medical sectors." Moloney points to such developments as the recent â‚Ź2 billion announcement from Nama, which will be used in part to complete unfinished projects, as reason for optimism. He also highlights the ongoing demand for the sorts of large commercial projects that are required by agencies such as IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland, as well as the government's â‚Ź1.5 billion School Building Investment Programme, which is seeing interest not only from Irish firms, but also from companies in Britain. However, in order to plan intelligently for the future, CIS customers will require accurate and up-to-date market intelligence outlining efficiencies and sales opportunities in the Irish construction sector. These customers tend be suppliers of goods or services to the sector - for example, insulation companies, damp proofing providers, concrete suppliers and scaffolding companies - and every one of them would benefit from an upsurge in the construction market.
Thus, assuming that Moloney's prognosis on the state of the market is accurate, the information that CIS is processing today could have a significant impact on the activities of these types of companies in the near future, especially considering the time lag that always exists from the beginnings of a project to its completion. This is not to downplay the difficulties in the sector. CIS's own information states that, so far this year, some 950 projects have gone to site. This is a far cry from the height of the market, when some 88,000 projects were started. But according to Moloney, most of these projects were in the residential sector, and excluding residential, there was still a high volume of projects in such areas as nursing homes, hospitals, commercial developments and industrial projects. "There is activity out there, and we can see it happening in our own sales and retention figures," he said. "Customers are coming back to us, and this tells us that many of the players have regained a little faith in the market." CIS has already demonstrated its own faith by acquiring its main competitor - Belfast-based Unearthore - in May, a move which it expects will open further markets in the North and Scotland. Additionally, thanks to a reselling agreement that it has in place with British-based Barbour ABI, CIS is already experiencing significant amounts of interest in its data from British-based firms. Certainly, CIS is preparing for greater levels of activity, and according to Moloney it is "recommencing" its research into many projects which had been put on hiatus, but which are now coming off hold. "The secret of our success is simple," said Moloney. "We gather the essential elements of intelligence from a wide range of sources, including planning authorities, tendering websites and the media. "We then redistribute it in a cost-effective way, so that our clients can see what activity is taking place on the ground, and who the major players are in these activities." CIS does not discriminate, and these activities can be small or large - it covers every type of construction activity across every stage of the process, from tendering or planning to completion, gathering information on who is involved in the various projects, and what the costs and timeframes will be, "We have a sort of mantra here: time, team, tender, cost," said Moloney. "We tend to stick to factual data, but that information will also provide intelligence on trends and, for example, we constantly provide the CIF [Construction Industry Federation] with information which can be used in the political arena."