The Hidden Risks Beneath Construction Projects - What Developers Miss

THE HIDDEN RISKS BENEATH CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS A construction project can look promising on paper. The location works. The brief makes sense. The numbers appear to stack up. But what happens when the hidden risks beneath the surface start to emerge? In this episode of The Hard Hat Talks, Kenneth Martin of Block Architects is joined by MJ O’Shaughnessy from Will Rudd for a practical conversation about civil engineering, structural engineering, project viability and the decisions that can make or break construction delivery. MJ discusses why engineers should be involved early, especially when clients, developers and design teams are looking at site feasibility, ground conditions, drainage, flood risk, planning requirements and development potential. The conversation also explores communication across the project team, conservation engineering, historic buildings, procurement, consultant fees and the danger of treating professional advice as a race to the lowest cost. For architects, developers, contractors, consultants, landowners, clients and anyone working across Scotland’s built environment, this episode asks: Are the biggest project risks always the ones you can see? Listen to more episodes of The Hard Hat Talks: https://blockarchitects.co.uk/about-u... ------------------------------------------------------------ In this episode Why engineers should be involved early in construction projects How ground conditions, drainage and flood risk can affect site viability Why hidden technical issues can create costly surprises later How communication across the project team can support delivery Why relationships and trust still matter across the built environment What conservation engineering can teach us about existing and historic buildings Why procurement can become a race to the bottom if value is overlooked How in-house expertise and early collaboration can help projects move more smoothly Why the industry needs to promote engineering and construction careers earlier ------------------------------------------------------------ YouTube Chapters 00:00 Opening clip: value, relationships and early engineering 01:08 Introducing MJ O’Shaughnessy 01:45 MJ’s route into engineering 03:07 Staying in Scotland and joining Will Rudd 03:59 MJ’s role across Glasgow, Inverness, London and Ireland 04:22 Growing the Glasgow office 05:49 Why sector diversity matters 06:44 Conservation engineering and historic buildings 07:18 Why engineers need to be involved early 08:42 Ground conditions, planning and site investigation 09:25 Site acquisition and hidden risks 10:25 Understanding whether a site is viable 11:00 Drainage, landscape and making sites work 12:10 Reports, planning and client decision-making 13:02 The value of the right team 13:32 Relationships, trust and repeat business 14:43 Delivery challenges for consultants 15:26 Why delivery has become harder 16:08 Funding, viability and stalled projects 16:43 Planning as a delivery bottleneck 18:22 Engagement, communication and timescales 19:58 Drawing revisions and information quality 22:35 Communication between design team and site 23:17 Mentoring younger engineers 24:06 What university does not teach about consultancy 24:28 Placements, school leavers and graduate development 25:21 Lessons learned and sharing good practice 26:24 Covid, hybrid working and communication changes 27:28 Balancing office and remote working 28:37 Why face-to-face briefings still matter 29:39 The Mackintosh Building and conservation engineering 30:57 Understanding materials, significance and reuse 34:19 Don’t judge a building by its cover 35:35 What MJ would change in the industry 36:13 Funding certainty and project delivery 36:43 Frameworks and consultant access 37:34 The race to the bottom on fees 38:35 Value, delivery and sustainable consultancy 39:27 Why Will Rudd avoids the race to the bottom 41:41 Honest conversations about fees and value 43:07 Inflation, costs and professional fees 43:41 Reputation and delivery standards 44:31 Current active sectors 45:48 CGI, AI and changing client expectations 46:32 Why business diversity matters 47:20 Planning, specialisms and smoother delivery 47:38 In-house expertise as a USP 49:09 Love Loan and early facade design 49:52 Promoting the industry from within 50:16 Getting into schools earlier 51:07 Showing young people the wider industry 53:26 Drones, CGI and inspiring young people 53:49 MJ’s question for the next guest 54:36 How to contact MJ 54:59 Outro