The peripatetic nature of my construction career has taken me all over the world. From Cornwall to China and any number of places in between. So many cultures, so many different ways of achieving the same result. One evening, in Loveland, Colorado, after polishing off a steak as large as my leg and a few surprisingly good beers from a local microbrewery , I retired to my rather bland hotel...

“Cost reduction is easy, cost optimisation is hard.“ It does not surprise me  that a lot of people think this. It all seems so obvious and straight forward and the language does not help; often you will hear talk of ‘easy wins’ and ‘low hanging fruit’.  Cost reduction is something that happens when the corporate belt needs tightening or investors start asking questions. Action plans are put in place and...