Spec Finish

W e can’t keep worrying about what has gone before, but we can learn from themand a new year is an opportunity to start again with refreshed hope and ambitions. Despite a horrendous year last year, we can see glimmers of hope for 2021. Vaccine news before Christmas was encouraging and eventually, life and work will go back to normal. Or will it? Do we actually want to go back to our pre-pandemic status quo? Thinking about the ways the fit-out sector and construction in general adapted to work throughout last year was nothing short of incredible. In an industry that isn’t renowned for swift innovation and change, it demonstrated incredible resilience, whether building Nightingale hospitals, or simply holding our end up in keeping at least some of the economic lights burning. Work on-site was challenging as social distancing had to be factored in as well as hiccups in the supply chain etc, but rather than just ‘managing’ the industry buckled down and, in the main, sites stayed open and productive. At the FIS conference held online in November, industry experts looked at the big changes we should expect to see in the next couple of years, how businesses within the sector can thrive if they adapt and evolve, the critical steps to effecting positive change and what can we do as a community to influence change. (See pages 17 to 21). So let’s not go back to old ways of working, the pandemic has helped to give our industry the time to think about where time may have been wasted in the past (travel for example) and has prompted efficiencies and better communications. We have to look at the positives, we will always value and need face-to-face contact, especially after it was so thin on the ground last year. Anecdotally, suppliers have not seen the rise in online ordering they expected. Their customers still want to speak to advisers about projects and products and this is unlikely to change, it’s an immensely valuable service that will be maintained. COVID has accelerated change for the good and it has made businesses stronger and more adaptable, we have made huge progress as it has forced us to embrace technology and the encouraging evidence of increasing collaboration along the supply chain to the end user is a reason to feel optimistic that 2021 is the year to grow relationships and grow our businesses. There will be new challenges this year brought about by Brexit for example, but rest assured, FIS will continue to support its members just as much as it did last year. WELCOME Nicky Rogers Editor 4 www.thefis.org CONTACT US EDITORIAL Editor: Nicky Rogers Email: nickyr@warnersgroup.co.uk SpecFinish Warners Group Publications West Street Bourne Lincs PE10 9PH ADVERTISING Advertising inquiries: Theresa Geeson Email: theresag@warnersgroup.co.uk SUBSCRIPTIONS SpecFinish is distributed to members of FIS and other selected finishes and interiors businesses. If you wish to receive a copy of SpecFinish or would like to amend or cancel your subscription, please contact either info@thefis.org or telephone 0121 707 0077. FIS Tel: 0121 707 0077 www.thefis.org Email: info@thefis.org FIS, Unit 4, Olton Bridge 245Warwick Rd Solihull, West Midlands B92 7AH SpecFinish magazine is published on behalf of FIS by Warners Group Publications plc and the views expressed in this journal are not necessarily those held by FIS or the publishers. The publishers shall not be under any liability in respect of the contents of the contributed articles. The Editor reserves the right to edit, abridge or alter articles for publication. © All editorial contents SpecFinish 2021 Welcome SPEC FINISH