Main conference
How manufacturers stay competitive during instability
Full day. Ten table discussions, three keynotes, two panel debates.
View the agenda →New for 2026 · Construction stream
Taking cost, waste and carbon out of live projects
Morning of three table discussions, then into the main conference.
You are here| Main conference | Construction | |
| 10:00 | Welcome | Welcome |
| 10:10 |
Keynote - From Carbon Targets to Competitive Advantage. Rebuilding the Business Case for Sustainability Net zero commitments are colliding with tighter capital, volatile costs and changing policy. Explore how manufacturers can reconnect decarbonisation with productivity, resilience and return on investment and build a case that withstands board-level scrutiny. |
Keynote - The Decisions Made Before Anyone Reaches Site Most of a project's cost, carbon and programme risk is committed by decisions taken long before the first machine arrives, often by people who never see the consequence. A look at where those decisions are actually made, what site teams see that never travels back, and why the same choices keep reappearing on the next project. |
| 10:30 | Table rotations 1 and 2 - See explainers below |
Table rotations 1 and 2 - See explainers below |
| 11:40 | Networking break, both rooms together | |
| 12:10 | Keynote - From AI Pilot to Operational Payback - Where Data and Technology Are Delivering Value Cut through the noise around AI and Digitalisation to identify measurable gains in cost, quality, uptime and decision speed. |
Rotation 3, then report back |
| 12:30 | Table rotation 3 - See explainers below |
The room reports back. Each host takes a few minutes on what came up at their table. Where the room agreed, where it did not, and what people said they would do differently. |
| 13:00 | Networking lunch, both rooms together | |
| 14:00 |
Keynote - Designing for Disruption: Protecting Output, Margin and Customer Service Explore practical ways to redesign operations and supply chains to absorb disruption without sacrafising output, margin or customer commitments. |
|
| 14:20 | Panel debate - The Cost of Fragility - Where Resilience Breaks Down and What to Fix First
Senior leaders examine where hidden dependencies, weak visibility and constrained capacity create risk, and which interventions should take priority. |
|
| 14:50 | Afternoon networking break | |
| 15:20 |
Panel debate - The Decisions That Cannot Wait: Balancing Margin, Resilience and Growth A candid discussion on the trade offs leaders face when capital is limited, conditions are uncertain and every priority appears urgent. |
|
| 15:40 | Open Q&A | |
| 16:00 | Close | |
Roundtable discussions
Round Table 1 - The Specification Nobody on Site Would Have Chosen
Discussion points:
Establish whether anyone present can point to a design decision genuinely altered by what a previous project learned on the ground.
Identify where the loop breaks: procurement cycles, contract structure, siloed teams, or nobody owning it.
Determine what a practical project wash-up would look like, who convenes it, and what data would make it worth doing.
Round Table 2 - Electric Plant, Diesel Generator
Discussion points:
Quantify what consumption data shows when temporary power is measured rather than assumed from the last job.
Compare battery hybrid, HVO, hydrogen and earlier temporary mains on what has genuinely earned its place on a site.
Determine what to put in the tender so the energy allowance and the price risk sit with the right party.
Round Table 3 - Finding the Problem Before the Machine Arrives
Discussion points:
Compare what 3D and 4D modelling reveals that a drawing set does not, from access and temporary works to sequencing and buildability.
Identify the point in the programme where a modelled problem is still cheap to fix, and where it stops being cheap.
Determine what it takes to get designers and clients to act on what the model shows rather than note it.