Construcciones Yamaro: FBIS26 to tackle construction’s productivity challenge

FBIS26 will be held in Melbourne this August. (Image: A. Frank/peopleimages.com/stock.adobe.com)

On 10 to 11 August 2026, the Future Building and Infrastructure Summit (FBIS26) will bring construction leaders together in Melbourne. Representatives from government, contracting, consultancy and academia will examine how the industry can improve productivity, project delivery and workforce conditions.

Australia’s construction productivity challenge is well understood. Projects are becoming larger and more complex, while delivery teams operate across fragmented organisational boundaries. Persistent delays, rework, commercial tension and workforce pressure continue to affect project outcomes and the people responsible for delivering them.

Hosted by Lean Construction Australia and New Zealand, FBIS26 aims to move the conversation from recognising these problems to identifying possible solutions.

This year’s summit is built around a clear proposition: productivity cannot be improved by asking individual organisations or workers to do more. Better outcomes require better conditions for planning, coordination, decision-making and collaboration across the project ecosystem.

More than a traditional conference, FBIS26 combines international and Australian speakers with focused industry discussions and facilitated roundtables.

Speaker program

Opening keynote speaker Matthew Gault, CEO of VIDA Rail, will explore productivity through collaboration. Chris Lunson, executive director of RoadTek, will share lessons from the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads’ Lean journey.

Former Australian Constructors Association CEO Jon Davies will address construction’s whole-of-system productivity challenge, while UCSF Health’s James Pease will share international experience from delivering a US$8 billion health infrastructure portfolio using collaborative delivery models.

Duncan Maxwell from Monash University will examine the global opportunities and challenges associated with modern methods of construction. Neal Symmons from the UK will outline how National Highways has improved productivity through Lean Construction.

Roundtables

Two facilitated roundtables will give invited senior leaders the opportunity to examine the systemic conditions affecting productivity in Australia and New Zealand.

The infrastructure roundtable will explore the client’s role in creating the conditions for productive project delivery. Participants will consider how procurement, commercial models, governance, information, organisational boundaries and industry capability influence project delivery. The discussion will focus on the conditions needed to improve collaboration and reliability among clients, designers, contractors and the wider supply chain.

The building roundtable will look at how the sector can overcome fragmentation and improve the flow of work, decisions and information from design through manufacture, construction and operation. Facilitated by Maxwell, the roundtable will bring together leaders from across the building ecosystem to identify where coordinated industry action could create the greatest value.

Connecting ideas with action

The broader summit program will cover reliable planning and production management, Lean Construction in practice, digital technology and connected project information, artificial intelligence and the changing nature of work.

Other areas of discussion will include collaborative commercial and delivery environments, modern methods of construction, and the relationship between human capability and productivity.

The second day will provide practical training for participants wanting to take these ideas back to their organisations and projects.

FBIS26 is intended to help build a coalition of industry participants who believe Australia and New Zealand can deliver construction differently and are prepared to contribute knowledge, evidence and practical experience to that effort.

For Lean Construction Australia and New Zealand, the event is also the beginning of a longer industry learning program. Insights from the summit and roundtables will help inform future research, surveys, roundtables and industry initiatives.

FBIS26 will be held at The Glasshouse in Melbourne on 10 to 11 August 2026. Registrations close on Sunday 2 August. Those wishing to attend or be invited to the roundtables can register through the FBIS26 website.

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