Domestic retrofit: understanding capabilities of micro-enterprise building practitioners

Niamh Murtagh,Kate Simpson,Alice Owen

doi:10.5334/bc.106

Abstract

To deliver effective domestic retrofit at scale, it is essential to understand the current and required capabilities of building practitioners working in the repair, maintenance and improvement (RMI) of existing buildings. Capability research in the construction sector has previously focused on large projects, but small, and particularly, micro-firms that undertake RMI and form 77% of workers in construction, are under-researched. This gap is addressed by the present study on the capabilities of the practitioners and the contextual opportunities to deploy capabilities. The study analysed data from interviews (n = 27) with micro-enterprise building practitioners working in the UK’s RMI sector. Template analysis was conducted by applying an established model of behaviour change: Capability, Opportunity, Motivation—Behaviour (COM-B). Under Capability, three main themes were identified: knowledge, business management and individual characteristics. Under Opportunities, the main themes were state action, market and customer demand, technology diffusion, networks and business management. Under Motivation the themes were pride in work, good working relationships, maintaining a viable business and customer satisfaction. Practitioners are continually learning and problem-solving, developing trust and creating positive professional relationships. Working with these existing capabilities, experiential learning on-site and peer-to-peer training are recommended to scale up capability. For capabilities to be deployed, policy must enable opportunities across the multiple contexts micro-enterprise practitioners operate within, including training and incentives across the supply chain network and in stimulating demand. Policy and practice relevance Policy-driven retrofit programmes, such as those providing government funding for retrofit, must work from existing practitioner capability to accelerate capacity and allow delivery at scale. Practitioner knowledge, built over generations, is used to solve problems encountered with existing buildings. Practitioners minimise risk by avoiding unfamiliar technologies and practices. Practitioners develop capability on-site, experientially, so policy must enable practical experience for practitioners. One aspect of capability that needs enhancement to deliver effective retrofit at scale is understanding the building as an integrated system. While learning about individual technologies is important, integrated knowledge of multiple technologies and how they work together is required. To develop industry capability, policy needs to recognise the essential role micro-enterprise practitioners play in delivering retrofit and to harness their existing capabilities in knowledge, problem-solving and business management. Opportunities are needed to develop retrofit capability through peer-to-peer learning, knowledge-sharing between older and younger practitioners, and influential sector networks.

Highlights

Creating capability in a workforce to deliver energy-efficiency retrofit at scale is an enormous undertaking, according to Clarke et al (2020)
An integrated approach includes technically challenging activities that cut across different professional domains, such as external wall insulation, increased air-tightness, ventilation upgrades and low-carbon heating such as heat pumps, alongside the decarbonisation of the electricity system (Lowe & Chiu 2020). To date, such integrated, wholehouse, or deep, retrofit has been undertaken by relatively few building practitioners (Fawcett & Topouzi 2020), limiting the opportunity for the majority of micro-enterprise practitioners to develop the necessary capability
Practitioners delivering retrofit activity are often overlooked in retrofit policy design (Owen et al 2014), with little or no consideration of developing their capability to support delivery at scale

Summary

Introduction

Creating capability in a workforce to deliver energy-efficiency retrofit at scale is an enormous undertaking, according to Clarke et al (2020). An integrated approach includes technically challenging activities that cut across different professional domains, such as external wall insulation, increased air-tightness, ventilation upgrades and low-carbon heating such as heat pumps, alongside the decarbonisation of the electricity system (Lowe & Chiu 2020) To date, such integrated, wholehouse, or deep, retrofit has been undertaken by relatively few building practitioners (Fawcett & Topouzi 2020), limiting the opportunity for the majority of micro-enterprise practitioners to develop the necessary capability. Retrofit creates complex projects encompassing multiple stakeholders, uncertainties, hidden risks and challenges in the allocation of responsibilities (Topouzi et al 2017) Practitioners need both technical knowledge and project management capabilities to undertake effective retrofit (Killip 2013). This normalising is considered to be important as people are influenced by what others, both peers and wider societal networks, do (Nolan et al 2008)

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Discussion

Conclusion