Nick Smallwood, chief executive of the Infrastructure & Projects Authority (IPA), told the Treasury select committee yesterday (11th November 2023) that hybrid working was having a negative impact on UK infrastructure projects.
Asked specifically about delays to the HS2 high speed rail project, he said: “I have seen a significant extension of design duration on projects as a result of hybrid working. So where you had designers in one office all working collaboratively together, the durations were pretty normal. What we have seen post-pandemic is a nine to 12-month extension of those durations.”
But it is not just HS2 being affected – designers working from home is slowing down all infrastructure projects, he said.
“They are all impacted in the design phase if those designers don’t work directly in the office.”
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