Own The Build

Author: C-Link

Own the Build is the podcast for Quantity Surveyors and Commercial Directors who want to sharpen their commercial edge and lead with confidence.Hosted by Paul Heming, former Commercial leader and now co-founder of C-Link, each weeks conversation dives into the realities of modern commercial management from procurement and contracts to digital transformation and leadership in construction.Through honest discussions with industry leaders, forensic planners, and forward-thinking QSs, Paul explores how the best commercial teams deliver profit, performance, and project certainty in a changing industry.If youre serious about mastering the commercial side of construction this is where you build your advantage.
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Language: en

Genres: Business, Courses, Education, Management

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What Do You Notice After 16 Years Away From UK Construction? (EP 285)
Episode 285
Sunday, 20 September, 2026

In this episode, Paul is joined by Matt Mackey, Director at Contollo, who has recently returned to UK construction after spending 16 years working in Australia.Having left the UK during the aftermath of the financial crisis, Matt went on to build and lead cost and commercial management teams in Australia before returning to Manchester in 2026.So, after 16 years away, what does someone coming back into UK construction notice?The conversation explores:why many of the problems Matt remembers from 2010 are still being discussed today;the major differences between the role of a QS in the UK and Australia;why procurement continues to drive a race to the bottom despite decades of conversations about collaboration and value;whether QSs and client-side advisors have inadvertently contributed to the industry's obsession with lowest price;why main contractors can't genuinely change their relationship with the supply chain until risk and behaviours change at client level;how heavily amended contracts can undermine collaborative behaviours before a project has even started;why early contractor involvement only works when collaboration continues beyond the preconstruction stage;what the industry could learn from the way projects operated during COVID, when clients and contractors were forced to solve problems together; andwhy construction's short-term, project-by-project mentality continues to hold back MMC, innovation and genuine industry improvement.Matt also compares the two markets directly: Australia's greater speed and use of less-amended standard contracts versus the UK's stronger structure, processes and definition of roles.Ultimately, the conversation asks a bigger question.After Latham, Egan and decades of discussion about collaboration, procurement and productivity, why are we still trying to solve so many of the same problems?A thought-provoking conversation for Quantity Surveyors, Commercial Directors, contractors and client-side professionals interested in how we create a more sustainable construction industry.---------------------------------📥 Plus: Grab Paul’s free new eBook Mastering Construction Procurement — link below:Mastering Construction Procurement Strategies for Supply Chain Integration, Tendering, and Commercial SuccessSend us Fan MailWant to connect with Paul?Paul is on Linkedin here and would love to talk. You can also connect with Paul at paul@c-link.com or through, C-Link. C-Link is software built by Quantity Surveyors for Quantity Surveyors. We save 600 hours of Quantity Surveying time per project in automation. We can make your QS’ so much more efficient.Watch the Video to learn more; you can book a demo by clicking here.