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Internal and external challenges facing the industry can also mean new opportunities for learning and growth, say B.C. construction leaders.

Lower Mainland construction executives weighed in on succeeding amid a weakening economic climate during the Leading In a Challenging Market – Creating Opportunity Through Adversity panel at the recent Independent Contractors and Businesses Association’s (ICBA) ��������ion Innovation Summit in Vancouver.

ICBA president Chris Gardner moderated with Pitt Meadows Plumbing president Steve Robinson, Caliber Projects founder and president Justin Bontkes and ETRO ��������ion founder and president Mike Maierle participating on the panel.

Bontkes said his firm has “focused on the gain and not the gap,” and quoted Napoleon Bonaparte who once stated, “leaders are dealers in hope.”

Robinson concurred it was important to remain positive while not relying on what has worked in the past.

“��������ion tends to fall back on what worked, but you should start examining corporate failures and decide you aren’t going to do that again,” he said.

All the panellists agreed while technology can reduce the amount of labour needed and speed up processes, that change must occur from the bottom upwards.

“There will be less people, that’s inarguable. It won’t be driven by technology providers, it will be driven by your own team using the technology,” Robinson said.

“All we’re doing is pushing things forward. Everything (at ETRO) has a new version constantly, but after we start it’s the employees and teams making it better,” Maierle said.

“We pay for people’s hands and we get their minds for free,” Bontkes agreed.

Robinson said one of the industry’s biggest problems is a lack of collaboration across firms.

“Our biggest problem is being assembled with a group of low bidders,” he said. “In the manufacturing space everyone knows and trusts one another and what they can do and when you get to that platform, change is driven exponentially.

“But with every new job, we’re driven apart.”

“Industry lacks a desire to serve one another and the humility that comes with that. If we can achieve that it’s better for us and everyone involved in process,” Bontkes said.

“There’s too much protectionism in our industry amongst competitors. We need a forum that’s more open,” Maierle agreed. “We shouldn’t all waste overhead energy to do the same. The industry needs (to collaborate) or we’ll run in a circle forever.”

With a worsening economic climate, the panel stressed the importance of seeing the benefits in a slowdown.

“The next few years will be tough, but we couldn’t sustain the growth we had. People worked on projects and couldn’t afford to live here,” Bontkes said.

“These downtimes are a good cleansing of those who weren’t qualified, capable or had the capacity to do things. It’s easy to survive when everything is growing, but it’s exciting now to see opportunities in other geographic markets,” Maierle added. “There’s a light at the end of the tunnel and I don’t think it’s far away.”

“We learn nothing when times are good, and everything when they aren’t,” Bontke added.