How can construction teams future-proof their business?

It is considered one of “least-digitised industries in the world”. And yet, according to McKinsey, there’s scope to add as much as $1.6Tn to the value of the global construction industry – or about two per cent of the global economy – solely by increasing business productivity.

We speak to Simon Aldous, Head of Channels EMEA at Dropbox, about the development of technology in the construction industry.

The good news is that we are increasingly seeing more construction users around the world beginning to experiment with digital solutions. This means that today more teams than ever use cloud-based solutions to support end-to-end projects and real-world collaboration.

They open, edit, and share thousands of files, while using the solutions at their office, on their mobile devices, or on site.

This goes beyond convenience. Cloud-based solutions can revolutionise any modern business, and can often be the make or break element. This is especially true for older and more established industries such as construction, where many business leaders instinctively revert to tried and tested solutions and approach new business tech with caution.

Below, I’m looking at three reasons why business leaders shouldn’t shy away from new tech and why in fact, integrating cloud-based solution can future-proof your business:

• Increase your Return on Investment (ROI): Moving to a cloud-based solution can significantly increase a company’s return on investment – sometimes even up to 245% ROI – such as when EJ Prescott transitioned from papers to Dropbox. Construction teams have relied for too long on paper photocopies, pen and pencil mark-ups, scanning and emailing documents to submit bids, and it is now time for them to begin exploring new, more efficient solutions.
• Give your teams time back: Many teams don’t often realise their untapped potential until after they have made a change. Sometimes, moving to cloud-based solutions can free up over 500 hours of project management time, allowing teams to focus on providing better service to their clients. Last year alone, construction users and teams, in collaboration with architecture and engineering companies, created and saved more than a quarter of a billion files in Dropbox. That translates to roughly 25 million files per month or 800,000 files per day. Saving and editing this in the cloud rather than using the email or other solutions to share various versions of these documents saves teams tens of hours per year!
• Streamline your collaboration processes: Collaboration is at the heart of every efficient team. For users in the field, performance loading large files has improved dramatically after incorporating cloud-based solutions. Meanwhile their collaboration with subcontractors, partners and clients has been streamlined and the frustration of dealing with unreliable Internet connection has disappeared.

Today, AEC industries are undergoing a period of digital transformation marked by new technology. As part of this, content and speed are two emerging elements that form the common thread amongst AEC industries. Content is becoming richer, more complex and sophisticated, while the pace of business is faster than ever before.

To stay on top of competition, the need to access and share large files, work collaboratively internally and externally, is becoming the normal way to do business.

The construction industry’s adoption of new technologies has historically lagged behind other industries, but we can make a U turn on this.

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post How can construction teams future-proof their business? appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Laing O’Rourke tops civils books

Laing O’Rourke has won the largest amount of civil engineering contracts over the past 12 months according to Glenigan’s construction market analysis.

Securing the contract for the £1Bn transformation of Manchester Airport, has seen Laing O’Rourke push Tarmac into second spot, while Tarmac’s own £1Bn contract for strategic roads resurfacing work has seen them rise in the ranks.

Glenigan’s construction data shows that 71% of the orders won by value in the last 12 months at Laing O’Rourke are for civil engineering projects. This ratio is nearly 100% at Tarmac and also Costain, which is ranked sixth.

This time last year, the top civil engineering contractor by orders won was Balfour Beatty, which was buoyed by a package from the High Speed Two (HS2) rail link. The latest figures place Balfour Beatty third, with just over £1Bn-worth of civil contracts making up 59% of the group’s total order book. The contractor has secured a £460M contract in Joint Venture with NG Bailey on the Hinckley Point nuclear reactor project.

Glenigan’s construction industry data shows that the total value of orders won by the top 100 contractors in the 12 months to August 2018 was £7.7Bn. This total is down by 29% compared to the 12 months to August 2017, when civil engineering contracts worth £10.8Bn had been let, including a £3.2Bn package of work on HS2.

As civil engineering orders have shrunk proportionately as a source of work, the overall value of combined building and civil engineering contracts won by the top 100 contractors has also dropped.

In the 12 months to August 2018, the combined order value of books at the top 100 contractors was £39.4Bn and 19.5% of this work was civil engineering related. A year earlier, the total value of construction orders at the top 100 contractors was £51.3Bn with 21% of this work identified by Glenigan’s construction research as civil engineering.

Allan Wilén, Glenigan’s economics director said: “The recent upturn in civil engineering activity is continuing, with the value of underlying starts during the three months to August 15% up against both the preceding three months (seasonally adjusted) and the same period last year. The year on year rise was driven by a 73% rise in utilities work.”

This research only includes projects valued at up to £100M, but Glenigan expects a fall of just 3% this year before a rise of around 12% driven by stronger infrastructure work.

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Laing O’Rourke tops civils books appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Pause for thought on IR35

The Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) Budget submission has called on the government to avoid rushing through changes to how contractors pay tax (IR35) in the private sector.

Citing evidence from public sector changes, the leading voice for the recruitment industry says the reforms could be counterproductive for the Treasury and damage the jobs market at a difficult time for business with Brexit on the horizon.

The REC recently surveyed its members over the IR35 changes, and found that almost three quarters felt early implementation of IR35 in the private sector would not only lead to an increase in tax avoidance schemes and non-compliant intermediary models, but also cause reduced flexibility in the labour market to adapt to changing conditions. While 42% of members surveyed said that they had observed an increase in the number of non-compliant umbrella/intermediary models since the introduction of the public sector IR35 reform in April 2017.

Recruitment & Employment Confederation chief executive Neil Carberry says: “Everyone should pay the correct amount of tax. But rushing through poorly designed reforms to contractor tax in 2019 could be a gift to the unscrupulous – encouraging those who use tax avoidance schemes not those workers and companies who do the right thing. With many of recruiters seeing a rise in avoidance in the public sector since changes made last year, the vast majority of recruiters are clear that the Government needs to pause for thought on IR35.

“The ongoing employment status review should be completed before any changes are made. And with Brexit causing uncertainty for all UK business, the government can ill afford to introduce reforms which risk damaging the flexibility of the labour market at a time like this.

“The REC wants the Government to conduct a comprehensive impact assessment of the IR35 public sector reforms before progressing to the private sector. Worryingly, previous problems with unregulated intermediary company models have clearly worsened as a direct consequence of the reform in the public sector.”

The REC is also asking that HMRC speed up investigations and implement an appeals process for contractors who disagree with their IR35 determination, while promptly closing down any intermediaries who promote or use non-compliance schemes. Clients should also have liability for the decisions they make on the tax status of contractors.

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Pause for thought on IR35 appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Carillion redundancy payments to cost millions

UK taxpayers are set to foot a £65M bill in redundancy payments to former Carillion employees, Unite has uncovered.

Unite, the UK’s construction union, made a Freedom of Information request to the Insolvency Service which revealed that the Redundancy Payments Office (RPO) has made substantial payments to former Carillion staff. The response said: “the total amount we may pay out is approximately £6M of which £50M has been paid so far based on actual claims received.”

This figure does not include workers who lost their jobs when company’s in Carillion’s supply chain also hit the wall due to the substantial sums of money owed by Carillion, meaning the overall cost of Carillion’s demise is substantially higher.

As Carillion collapsed into compulsory liquidation, rather than enter a managed form of administration, the vast majority of the company’s 19,000 staff had to be made redundant and were then entitled to make a claim for redundancy, from the RPO.

This included staff who were transferred to a new employer, however because of Carillion’s compulsory liquidation the Transfer of Undertaking Protection of Employment (TUPE) regulations which protect a worker’s pay, terms and conditions did not apply nor did rules governing continuation of service. The lack of continuation of service means that the affected workers are considered new starters and have also lost many of their employment rights for a two year period.

Unite has said that the latest revelations demonstrate that initial government indications that Carillion’s collapse would not impact the taxpayer are decidedly wide of the mark.

Accountancy firm PwC, who were engaged by the Insolvency Service to break up Carillion and transfer its outsourcing contracts to new providers are expected to have earned around £50M from the company’s collapse. As Carillion had just £29M left in the bank when it met its demise, much of PwC’s bill will be picked up by the taxpayer.

The taxpayer will also have to pick up the bill for the work to complete several of Carillion’s key strategic projects including the Royal Liverpool Hospital and the Midlands Metropolitan Hospital, in Sandwell west midlands, with costs expected to be in excess of £100M.

Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail who revealed the cost to the taxpayer of Carillion’s redundancies during her speech at Labour party conference said: “These latest figures demonstrate that the taxpayers have had to pick up the tab for the greed and recklessness which led to Carillion’s collapse.”

“While the directors and senior executives of Carillion have largely slithered off into lucrative new roles it is the taxpayers who have been left to pick up the pieces from their mess.

“These revelations further underline why the government must order a full public inquiry into Carillion’s collapse to not only understand who was responsible for the greatest corporate failure in UK history but also the total cost to the taxpayer.

“Additionally the police need to undertake an immediate criminal investigation into those responsible for Carillion’s collapse. If no laws were broken then we need better stronger laws to prosecute the guilty.”

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Carillion redundancy payments to cost millions appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Who you gonna call? #Dustbuster

The HSE has launched a campaign aimed at the construction industry and its workers to highlight the dangers from site dust.

HSE inspectors will be visiting construction sites across Great Britain to see if businesses have measures in place to protect their workers’ lungs from the likes of asbestos, silica and wood dust. The HSE will specifically be looking for evidence of construction workers knowing the risk, planning their work and using the right controls.

Dust inhaled on a construction site could contain any number of hazards to workers leading to health problems. According to recent research, the number of deaths from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases (COPD) as a result of inhaling silica dust or similar has been on the rise, with some 1,000 deaths each year in the UK.

The HSE are asking industry members to become a #DustBuster during the campaign:

Download free selfie cards and send HSE your photos via the #DustBuster and #WorkRight hashtags on Twitter at @H_S_E, or on Facebook via @hsegovuk and @SaferSites.

Is your site ready for a health inspection? Find out here.

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Who you gonna call? #Dustbuster appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Wind blows through 20 gigawatt mark

The UK has hit a historic milestone, with the opening of the Walney wind farm extension, making it capable of generating 20 gigawatts (20,000 megawatts) through wind power.

The opening of Ørsted’s 659MW Walney Extension off the coast of Cumbria this month pushed the total amount over the 20GW mark. The total operational capacity of onshore and offshore wind in the UK currently stands at 20,128MW, which is enough to meet the annual power needs of more than 14 million homes, cutting carbon emissions by 25 million tonnes a year.

Wind is the UK’s largest source of renewable electricity, accounting for half of the 30% of power that came from renewables in 2017.

This new milestone coincides with the 40th anniversary of the founding of the wind industry trade body RenewableUK, which originally founded as the British Wind Energy Association by a group of engineers and academics meeting at the Rutherford Laboratory in Oxfordshire in November 1978.

Commenting on the milestone, RenewableUK’s Executive Director Emma Pinchbeck said: “It took 19 years to install the first 5GW of wind energy in the UK and we’ve now installed the same amount in under two years. That phenomenal growth shows just how quickly the UK is moving to a smart, low carbon power system and wind energy is at the heart of that.

“Over half of the UK’s wind energy capacity is onshore, which is the cheapest option for new power. However, Government policy preventing onshore wind from competing for new power contracts means that consumers will miss out on low-cost power that will keep bills down.

“It was the opening of the world’s largest offshore wind farm that has took us over the 20GW mark. We’re confident that offshore wind alone can reach at least 30GW by 2030 to become the backbone of a clean, reliable and affordable energy system.”

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Wind blows through 20 gigawatt mark appeared first on UK Construction Online.

New white paper highlights the need for more CSCS SmartCards to be checked electronically

 

A new white paper by CSCS IT Partner Donseed looks at the statistics behind how CSCS SmartCards are currently being verified on site. It highlights that visual checks with paper-based recording are almost 10 x more likely to occur than electronic checks using smart technology.

As many fake cards are difficult to spot from a visual inspection alone this could lead to unqualified workers gaining access to construction sites, where they can cause accidents and injury, the very issues CSCS was designed to prevent. In comparison, electronic checks can detect fake cards with 100% accuracy in a matter of seconds.

This means that many employers are missing out on the full potential of CSCS SmartCards.

The Chief Executive at CSCS, Graham Wren, has made it very clear that “unless people use consistent and accurate methods of checking cards to certificate workers’ training and qualifications, the schemes cannot fulfil the roles they were designed for. The smart technology within CSCS SmartCards is a simple and cost-effective way to do this.”

This white paper, written by the team at Donseed, covers:

• The background of CSCS SmartCards
• Current on site card checking procedures and how information is verified
• How smart technology could be better employed to help tackle card fraud
• The benefits of integrating third-party apps with CSCS’ smart technology

Download the white paper for free here.

The post New white paper highlights the need for more CSCS SmartCards to be checked electronically appeared first on UK Construction Online.

A powerful partnership

A new report from the Oil and Gas Authority predicts offshore gas and renewables could form an innovative partnership which would see offshore electricity generation soar.

The partnership between gas platforms and windfarms will promote the concept of gas-to-wire (GTW), which involves using the gas produced from gas fields to be generated into electricity offshore and then transmitted to shore via spare capacity with subsea cables used for windfarms.

Annual use of the associated power infrastructure is typically 40%, with intermittence due to the wind, this spare capacity could be used as an alternative route for electricity generated offshore from currently producing gas fields or even from undeveloped discoveries and stranded gas resources.

Operators could install offshore power generation facilities, and then export electricity via established windfarm infrastructure instead of exporting gas to shore by pipeline. This is a relatively flexible and fast responding form of power generation, which could play a useful role in balancing the electricity grid as supply and demand fluctuates.

The report ‘Gas To Wire: UK SNS and EIS’ looks at the technical considerations and potential benefits from GTW in areas such as the Southern North Sea and the East Irish Sea. Both are unique in featuring established offshore gas-producing facilities and infrastructure alongside large existing and planned offshore windfarms.

Other benefits from gas and renewables collaboration include the potential to reduce operating costs by pooling logistics and establishing guidance for effective co-existence within the same geographic area.

Whilst individual elements of GTW are already proven, work is still required to bring the concept to market. The OGA continues to support the East of England Energy Group (EEEGR) cross-industry work group which aims to promote gas and renewables synergies, whilst also collaborating with colleagues in the Oil and Gas Technology Centre (OGTC) and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) who are considering similar concepts.

Eric Marston, Area Manager at the OGA said: “Gas-to-wire has the potential to both help maximise the UK’s remaining gas resources whilst also boosting electricity generation offshore, with associated benefits for both gas producers and windfarm operators. We continue to see interest from a number of developers and operators seeking to commercialise this opportunity.”

Simon Gray CEO of EEEGR said: “For the last eighteen months we have had a number of our members considering this sector. When we first looked at this opportunity, the barriers to market seeming just too difficult to overcome. However, the legislative difficulties now seem to be surmountable, the technology achievable and the market more willing to consider this as a real opportunity.”

Peter Aldous MP for Waveney, Suffolk: “This initiative with the gas and offshore wind industries working together is very much to be welcomed. Gas and offshore wind are vitally important components parts of the UK’s energy policy and significant advantages are to be gained from the two sectors collaborating in this way. These include the potential to reduce operating costs, ensuring that offshore infrastructure is fully utilised and balancing the grid at these times that wind farms are not producing electricity. This partnership illustrates both the continuing strategic importance of the Southern North Sea and how the UK is the global focal point for innovation in the power generation sector.”

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post A powerful partnership appeared first on UK Construction Online.

51 new Apprenticeship Standards agreed, says CITB

The Construction Apprenticeships Working Group has met a key milestone with the approval of 51 new Apprenticeship Standards.

According to the working group, the Apprenticeship Standards will enable employers of all shapes and sizes to access the world-class training their businesses require. The group is comprised of representatives from across the industry, from Tier 1 contractors to construction SMEs.

Since April these representatives have worked in support of the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) Skills Group’s ambition to push forward the design of construction apprenticeship standards and meet the industry’s skills needs.

Chaired by Steve Hearty, Director of Apprenticeships at the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), the group has worked with the Institute of Apprenticeships (IfA) and employer groups to ensure these new standards are approved for delivery ahead of the end-of-year deadline.

Critically, the new standards have been designed to:

1. Ensure apprenticeship provision in the occupations and locations where there is the greatest need for skilled workers first, based on CITB’s labour market information.
2. Address key issues that have reduced apprenticeship completion rates and the number of people successfully entering industry from an apprenticeship.
3. Grow the proportion of women and Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) workers undertaking and completing apprenticeships.

Mark Reynolds, Skills Lead for the CLC and Chief Executive of Mace, said: “This is a big step forward for construction apprenticeships and the industry. The creation of the working group has provided crucial insight into the future needs of the construction sector. Their work, together with the IfA, has helped to identify potential skills gaps and ensure industry employers are able to develop the standards they need. The group and the IfA have also made good progress on shortening the approval process and in addressing any concerns around consistency in occupational competency assessment.

“The new standards will help to empower employers to deliver the skills they need to meet the demands of a modern business. They will do this by strengthening construction apprenticeships, which will play a vital role in building the workforce of the future.”

Paul Allman, Director of Hawk Group and Construction Apprenticeships Working Group member, added: “The new standards have been created by employers for employers in our industry. The group all have key roles in construction and know what training is needed for a successful apprenticeship. This work is testament to the commitment of our industry to ensure we create apprenticeships that are delivering for employers.”

The group now aims to develop a further 20 standards by December. The new standards include trades across civils, access, and carpentry and joinery alongside many other skilled occupations.

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post 51 new Apprenticeship Standards agreed, says CITB appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Air your opinions on new measures to curb pollution on Welsh roads

The Welsh government wants to hear your views on the final package of measures proposed to improve air quality on motorways and trunk roads.

In July, the Welsh government published its interim supplemental plan for tackling roadside nitrogen dioxide concentrations alongside the UK government’s own plan – ‘Tackling Roadside Nitrogen Dioxide Concentrations in Wales’.

This supplemental plan contained potential measures to achieve compliance in the shortest possible time with limit values for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) at five locations along the motorway and trunk road network in Wales.

Where sections of the network currently exceed Ambient Air Quality Directive and Welsh Regulation values for NO2 concentrations, the Welsh government has acted to safeguard public health with the immediate implementation of a temporary 50 miles per hour speed limit. This limit has shown to improve NO2 values.

The current consultation on this final package of measures, known as WelTAG Stage Three, follows the consultation exercise that took place back in April 2018 on the Stage One and Stage Two findings. It will also seek opinions on the 50 miles per hour speed limit.

“The contribution made by the environment to good health cannot be overstated,” said Transport Secretary Ken Skates. “Tackling poor air quality is a priority for the Welsh government, reflected in our national strategy ‘Prosperity for All’. We will reduce emissions and deliver vital improvements in air quality through planning, infrastructure and regulation measures.

“Alongside the other devolved administrations, we’re working actively to meet our joint objective with the UK government to transform the UK’s most polluted towns and cities into clean and healthy urban spaces, supporting those most directly affected.

“We now need your views on the proposed final measures to achieve compliance within the shortest possible time with the limit values laid down by the directive and regulations at each of these five locations.”

Minister for Environment, Hannah Blythyn, added: “I welcome people’s views on these proposed measures, which aim to reduce nitrogen dioxide levels to within legal limits in the shortest possible time. It’s important to remember the main reason for taking this action, which is to improve air quality and reduce the harmful effect vehicle emissions can have on people’s health and well-being.”

To air your opinions please visit the Welsh government website.

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Air your opinions on new measures to curb pollution on Welsh roads appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Strong month for Infrastructure

The latest statistics in the Economic & Construction Market Review have been released, showing a strong month for construction. In particular, infrastructure works, which reached a high of £1Bn – the first time in six months this threshold has been exceeded.

According to Barbour ABI, the total value of new contracts across construction reached £6Bn in August, a monthly increase of 28.9%. The growing value of contracts through the summer has brought a better outlook to the industry having struggled with conditions (both economic and meteorological) earlier in the year.

Looking more closely at the sectors, residential work continues to dominate workloads and during August contract values registered at £2.2Bn, accounting for more than a third of contracts awarded. However, this is still some way behind the recent peak of March 2018 at £2.4Bn.

Boosted by a number of large utilities contracts, infrastructure led the table of the biggest value contract awards across construction with five of the top ten projects for August being from this sector. The largest, the £1.8Bn Triton Knoll 900MW Offshore Wind Farm in the Greater Wash Basin off the Lincolnshire coast, involves 288 turbines which are scheduled to produce 900 to 1,200 MW of electricity. The award of this project, plus Project Two at the Hornsea Onshore Substation in Lincolnshire, contributed significantly to the East Midlands leading the regional position with 68.4% of contracts awarded within the infrastructure sector.

These awards are a keen indicator of growth in East Midlands currently, led by HS2 investment. Leading in Infrastructure awards, the East Midlands also leads regionally across all sectors too, with a contract award value of 28.8% of the UK total. This was followed by the South East with a 14%, boosted by the second largest contract award project – the M23 J9-J10 Smart Motorway Gatwick Junctions in Redhill in Surrey at £158.4M.

Commenting on the figures, Michael Dall, Lead Economist at Barbour ABI, said: “It’s been a positive month – every sector within construction is up month on month and it is great to see award values boosted by some big-ticket Infrastructure projects. Of course, it remains to be seen whether the better numbers are temporary as the industry continues to play catch up with the lost output from the start of the year, but these figures should still provide much-needed confidence and are hopefully a sign of a more durable upturn in demand.”

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Strong month for Infrastructure appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Torcross nominated for ICE award

A sea defence project in Devon has been shortlisted for an international engineering award.

The Environment Agency’s Torcross sea defence repair project is just one of ten projects worldwide nominated for the Institution of Civil Engineers People’s Choice Award 2018. The award recognises top civil engineering projects and the winner is chosen by public vote.

The Environment Agency team based in Devon worked with contractors Bam Nuttall Mott Macdonald Joint Venture (BMM JV) to complete the £2.4M project within 14 months of problems being identified. The work was funded by Defra flood defence grant in aid.

The repairs were required as lowered beach levels caused the sea defence foundations to become exposed, and winter storms of 2015/6 caused further damage to the road, wall and promenade. Constructed in the 1980s, the sea wall defences needed to be repaired in order to maintain protection to adjacent properties.

With a tight deadline – working in to resolve the issues before the seasonal storms begin, the Environment Agency needed to identify the underlying issues with the wall and rectify them. The team faced a variety of challenges including tides encroaching into the working area, constrained access routes and a high risk of unexploded ordnance as Exercise Tiger – a live-fire training exercise for the D-Day landings – took place on the beach.

Environment Agency Project Manager Becky Richards said: “We would love Torcross to win this very prestigious industry award, but the competition is tough and we need votes to help us get to the top.

“I’d like to thank all involved in getting us nominated, especially the local community who were really understanding throughout construction. Working with the tides meant long, noisy shifts. We couldn’t have completed the project so quickly without the support of people in Torcross.”

The winner of this year’s People’s Choice Award will be announced on 6 November 2018.

Anyone can vote – you can read about each of the ten projects and vote on the ICE Website. Voting closes on 28 September 2018.

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Torcross nominated for ICE award appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Oxfordshire invest in road and building repair

A major £120M infrastructure fund has been approved by Oxfordshire County Council, easing the spending squeeze on road and property repairs.

The Council has agreed to borrow up to £120M which will be invested in highway and council-owned building improvements, following a report on under-investment in the area.

The report acknowledged that under-investment has resulted in significant reduction in quality of major and minor roads, as well as pavements, with an increase in car damage and personal injury claims, and residents regularly calling for improvements. While council-owned buildings, such as schools, also require investment.

The investment proposal means the whole county would be benefit from a ‘growth dividend’. Oxfordshire’s expected growth in homes and council tax income gives scope to borrow to invest that will, over the long term, save money.

The county council has already agreed to spend £10M extra this year on the roads, in response to research by the independent Transport Research Laboratory that shows that maintaining roads generates £5 within the local economy for every £1 invested.

Councillor Yvonne Constance, the council’s cabinet member for Environment said: “Oxfordshire’s expected growth in homes and council tax income gives us the scope to borrow money to invest that will over the long term save us money.

“This growth dividend would mean serious money for serious work. Some of Oxfordshire’s roads have fewer than five years of life left. We are where we because councils have had difficulties due to the well documented combination of rising demand for social care and falling funding levels overall over many years. This is a problem for local government to deal with across the UK

“We have already taken action in response to road conditions and having already agreed in July to spend £10M extra on the roads. This new money will allows us to get ahead of the curve and make a real difference

“We all know that our roads, pavements and bridges need extra investment and this plan seeks to unlock the funding to allow that to happen. This plan gives us a logical and sustainable way out of the current situation – the benefits of which we hope people will begin to see on our roads sooner rather than later.”

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Oxfordshire invest in road and building repair appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Challenges of e-disclosure in construction cases

As the use of technology has changed the way we communicate, and the volume of documents created every day has drastically increased.

It is estimated that 156 million emails were sent every minute last year. Add to that the new methods of communication developing and being favoured by companies and individuals, and it is easy to understand why the data created by companies during the course of a project is constantly growing – but as a result so is the task of e-disclosure. Much has been done in recent years to improve the efficiency and usefulness of the disclosure process in arbitration and court litigation.

Maren Strandevold, Associate at Haynes and Boone CDG,

This article, from Maren Strandevold, Associate at Haynes and Boone CDG, will discuss the usefulness of the tools and techniques available to parties in a construction dispute to deal with the data explosion.

Disputes in the construction sector are typically document heavy, particularly where the dispute includes a claim for delay on a big project. The document count can be in the hundreds of thousands and that in itself presents a number of challenges. The nature of the work creates further challenges: disputes are usually technical in nature and the relevant evidence is likely to include spreadsheets, drawings and photographs. Managing such documents, reviewing them for relevance and providing disclosure can be a real challenge and lawyers engaged in this type of work have to look at the tools available and consider carefully the most appropriate approach. Making the wrong choice can make the exercise both more costly and far more time consuming.

The basic toolkit

Whilst there are still lawyers who would prefer to print out all the documents and hand over hard copies, it is widely accepted that disclosure today requires the use of an e-disclosure platform that can process documents much more efficiently. A processing tool will also typically be used prior to uploading documents to a platform. In their most basic form, this allows you to:

• Sort documents by file type
• Run basic searching based on keywords and metadata
• De-duplicate documents.

Using these simple tools, you can start assessing the data available early on. It may be sensible to hive off certain types of documents, for example drawings, for review by expert witnesses. Similarly, it may be useful to ring fence photographs for human review as searching is difficult unless the photographs have been saved with meaningful titles. Even at this early stage, you can start prioritising the review and ensuring that the most appropriate resource is used.

Keyword searching

Keyword searching remains very popular as a method of locating relevant documents and ensuring that a “reasonable search” has been carried out. In the English courts, the forms that must be exchanged prior to the first case management conference (even under the pilot scheme for the Business and Property Courts which is due to start in January 2019) encourage parties to think about keyword searches at an early stage.

Keyword searches can be used to narrow down the document population and reduce the quantity of documents that have to be reviewed during the disclosure process but it is essential that you know your document population and what you might be looking for, as otherwise this method has its drawbacks. It is a very blunt tool and unless you understand the terms and phrases typically used on that particular project, you may end up with a significant volume of documents to review, a significant proportion of which may well not be relevant. Misspellings must also be accounted for, otherwise key documents will not be caught by a search, which can lead to important information being missed.

Analytical tools

The main alternative to keyword searching followed by manual review of documents that is often proposed is full-on predictive coding, which is discussed below, but this fails to consider the variety of other options available. For example, if you have a huge volume of emails, but know that a significant portion are irrelevant, it usually helps to see the domain listing – that is a list of all the email domains in the population. This information can be used to exclude irrelevant sources, such as news subscriptions, from the pool of data that requires review.

Alternatively, you could identify the key domains involved in the project and focus on reviewing correspondence passing between those domains, ie: you focus your review on emails passing between @employer.com and @contractor.com.

There are also some more sophisticated tools such as clustering and concept tools. These can be particularly useful if the claim comprises a number of different issues, for example if you have a delay claim with multiple relevant delaying events. The clustering and concept searching works to find patterns in the text contained in documents. Concept searching allows for more dynamic searching than keywords while clustering may assist by grouping together documents with similar content, so that documents relating to specific issues may be identified and reviewed together.

Predictive coding

There has been a lot of hype around predictive coding, with it being hailed as a cost-effective yet accurate way of categorising large numbers of documents. In construction disputes, however, the feeling has typically been that it is not appropriate. Predictive coding is good at identifying single issues and less good at dealing with technical documents (spreadsheets and drawings) and multiple issue cases, such as a delay case with hundreds of separate delaying events arising out of entirely separate factual matters.

But is it true that this renders predictive coding useless in a complicated delay claim?  I think not. As with a lot of the other technology available, it is very much a question of how you use it. For example, you can use the technology to rank documents so that you can focus the human review primarily on the most highly ranked documents. In addition, you would ideally conduct a review of a sample of the lower ranked documents, to find out if these need to be reviewed further or can all be considered irrelevant.

The existing technology can therefore be of use, even in cases with multiple issues and large volumes of technical documents. However, the technology is constantly evolving. Some e-disclosure providers have seen the need for technology to cope better with non-textual documents and are in the process of developing technology that can carry out predictive coding of images. There is already technology for facial recognition and image searching and this is now being harnessed for use in e-disclosure. This is largely untested at present, but could be the first step towards better management of technical documents.

The use of predictive coding on the right cases and in the right way can greatly reduce the amount of manual review required and the associated time costs. Computer-aided review is often more consistent than human review and it has the potential of reducing the overall cost of the exercise. However, this can only be achieved if those using the tools understand how to use them correctly and consider their application on a case by case basis.

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

 

The post Challenges of e-disclosure in construction cases appeared first on UK Construction Online.

‘Elitist’ MAC report could cripple business post-Brexit

The release of the Migration Advisory Committee report has seen industry reacting with varying degrees of alarm and horror, with members of the construction industry raising concerns immediately.

The report advises a ban on foreign workers earning less than £30,000 a year from obtaining work visas following Brexit, with lower-skilled workers not achieving work permits at all and higher skilled EU workers not receiving preferential treatment.

With the latest ONS statistics showing the lowest level of net migration from the EU since 2012, this has also raised concerns as to how construction will cope with a reduction of a skilled labour supply from the EU post-Brexit.

Industry reaction immediately addressed the need for both lower skilled workers, with employers in this sector reliant on blue collar workers, and EU professionals who would be subject to a ‘surcharge’, saying it could cripple business.

The Freight Transport Association (FTA), which represents the UK’s logistics industry, has reacted angrily to the findings. FTA Head of Skills Sally Gilson explains: “The MAC report totally fails to recognise, and actively diminishes, the role of lower-skilled migrants within the UK’s economy, which is hugely disappointing from a logistics point of view. The job roles covered by these workers are often based in areas of low unemployment where competition for workers is already high, so Britain’s supply chain could easily be at risk if they are forced to return to their home countries. Yes, highly skilled workers are valuable to the economy, but so too are those whose work keeps us able to operate at home and at work, 24 hours a day. Academic achievement is not the only measure for value which should be applied to the UK workforce – everyone has their role to play in keeping the country moving and solvent.

“The logistics sector, especially when you consider roles such as HGV drivers and warehouse staff, is reliant on access to non-UK workers, currently employing 43,000 HGV drivers, 113,000 warehouse workers and 22,000 van drivers from the EEA – and even more during peak times of year like Christmas.  Without them, schools, shops, hospitals and retailers, as well as manufacturers and homeowners, will all find it harder to access the goods they need in order to conduct their daily lives.

“Due to the regulation of the sector, logistics businesses cannot immediately look to other non-EEA countries to help plug the skills shortages which losing these European workers will cause. And the problem is further compounded when you consider there are already more than 52,000 vacancies for HGV drivers nationwide. Losing the services of these vital EU workers after Brexit would be devastating to the nation’s ‘just in time’ economy – and next day deliveries would soon be a thing of the past.”

Efficient logistics is vital to keep Britain trading, directly having an impact on more than seven million people employed in the making, selling and moving of goods.

While the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) Chief Executive, Brian Berry, condemned the report, saying: “[The] report makes very worrying reading for the tens of thousands of small construction firms across the UK who are already deeply concerned about the skills shortage. Its recommendations ignore the pleas of construction employers who have called on the Government to introduce a visa system based on key occupations rather than arbitrary skill levels. Instead, the proposal is to apply the Tier 2 immigration system to EU workers, which would be disastrous for small and micro construction firms. “Even if tweaked and improved slightly, the Tier 2 system would not make provision for ample numbers of low skilled workers to enter the UK and these are people the construction industry relies upon. For the Government to make good on its construction and house building targets, it will need sufficient numbers of labourers as well as civil engineers and quantity surveyors.”

Berry continued: “It’s not at all clear that EU workers with important skills already in short supply, like bricklaying and carpentry, will not fall foul of a crude and limited definition of ‘high skilled’ worker. In addition, the report explicitly recommends that there should be no migration route for lower skilled workers with the possible exception for seasonal agricultural workers. There is also a vague suggestion that if there was a route for lower skilled workers, it should be aimed at younger people and not be open to workers of all ages. This is far too restrictive and simply won’t meet the needs of the construction industry.”

Berry concluded: “EU workers are vitally important to the UK construction sector. Nine per cent of our construction workers are from the EU and in London, this increases to one third. These workers have played a very significant role in mitigating the severe skills shortages we have experienced in recent years. The construction industry knows it needs to do much more to recruit and train many more domestic workers. However, given the important role migrant workers have played, and the already high levels of employment in the UK workforce, it is crucial that the post-Brexit immigration system allows us to continue to hire workers of varying skill levels, regardless of where they are from.”

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post ‘Elitist’ MAC report could cripple business post-Brexit appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Fire door safety campaign

An online poll, conducted in support of Fire Door Safety Week, has highlighted some alarming statistics about fire doors and safety.

The poll, carried out by online trade supplier IronmongeryDirect and supported by the Fire Industry Association, illustrates an alarming lack of general public awareness of the life-saving role of fire doors which are a legal requirement in all commercial, public and multi-occupancy buildings.

The results are published in support of Fire Door Safety Week (24 September – 30 September) which aims to raise awareness of the importance of fire doors in saving lives.

Despite extensive media coverage about the dangers of inadequate fire protection in offices and homes since the Grenfell tragedy, less than 20% of tradespeople polled have seen an increase in demand for fire safety products or parts such as replacement intumescent strips for fire doors.

Most worrying was that 70% of respondents would not know who to contact if they noticed a problem with a fire door, while almost half the people surveyed admitted that they do not know how to identify a fire door. Over a third of repondents said they would prop a fire door open to let in fresh air or to give easier access for example.

Ian Moore, CEO at the Fire Industry Association, said: “Fire doors are one of many essential elements to keeping safe from fire. In all cases, a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment should be carried out by the responsible person – usually the building owner. A fire risk assessment should determine, through thorough inspection, any potential risks or hazards so that they may be resolved. If you are worried about hazards and risks from fire, you can always contact us, the Fire Industry Association, for free and impartial information and we will be able to direct you to an expert on the subject.”

This research highlights the need for tradespeople and the wider public to be more aware of the essential role that fire doors play in keeping them safe. Fire doors are specifically designed to withstand fire for between 30 and 240 minutes and, when used correctly, they can make a significant difference in saving lives and protecting buildings.

According to the British Woodworking Federation, the organisation behind Fire Door Safety Week, three million fire doors are installed each year. However, they remain a significant area of neglect and should be regularly checked and maintained by those responsible for the upkeep of the building.

Managing Director of IronmongeryDirect,Wayne Lysaght-Mason, commented: “We are now over a year on from the Grenfell Tower fire and it is disturbing that a significant proportion of the general public appear to lack basic fire door knowledge.”

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Fire door safety campaign appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Telematics to drive construction industry revolution

Advances in technology are transforming the construction industry. From digitisation to drones, innovative new technologies are helping to increase quality, reduce costs and improve safety in all areas.

John Cameron, General Manager of Trimble Field Service Management, believes that the Internet of Things is poised to radically change the way service and maintenance operations are performed on equipment within the construction industry and sees telematics-driven connected workflows as being the key enabler for preventative maintenance. In this article, he discusses these latest innovations and the effect they are having on construction.

The Internet of Things is poised to radically change the way service and maintenance operations are performed on equipment within the construction industry. Whether equipment is owned, leased or rented, pressure is put on maintenance and repair teams to perform tighter SLAs. Construction jobs run on tight margins and have a lot of cross-dependencies between tasks. A broken piece of equipment can bring the entire project to a halt, causing loss of work and, ultimately, income.

A big focus has therefore been put on the Internet of Things (IoT) for preventative maintenance. Gartner agrees, stating that field service management processes must change to benefit from IoT devices and that he expects there to be 20 billion internet-connected things by 2020.

Telematics a key enabler for preventative maintenance

Advances in telematics technology are at the heart of the IoT for field service management revolution. Once regarded as being the basis for tracking the location of vehicles, today it can be extended to connect the entire service workflow. Indeed, telematics today can share real-time information and connect mobile workers in the field with the back office, customers and equipment.

When combined with deeper analytics systems, telematics-driven connected workflows offer a plethora of benefits to both construction businesses and equipment rental companies. One such benefit is switching the service model from a reactive, break-fix workflow to a preventative and, ultimately, predictive model. These advanced workflows require a tight connection from the asset/equipment to the service management system and telematics is the best candidate for providing this connection.

How it works

Many assets and equipment today are equipped with sensors, connected to cloud software, that can monitor telematics data. This data can include machine operating hours, the state of the motorised parts and health information such as faults and diagnostic codes. Any unexpected behaviour is visible remotely to the service or rental provider, including its exact location. The equipment sensors can automatically trigger a service call when it needs something repaired or is due for maintenance.

The future of operational efficiency lies in detecting and performing maintenance before failures occur. That way, service/rental organisations are not forced to react to emergencies after equipment has failed and construction businesses don’t have to deal with the more serious damage that can occur as a result of the domino effect a single failure can cause.

This proactive way of working allows service and rental companies to control their operations and solve equipment problems faster, whilst the construction company can get the most out of the equipment.

What’s more, adopting a preventive and predictive approach to service and maintenance as opposed to a break/fix service structure maximises the long-term usage. In the event of a vehicle, asset or piece of equipment breaking down, real-time intelligence about its location enables businesses to retrieve it for service immediately whilst a nearest available asset can be identified and reallocated, helping to minimise downtime. Furthermore, many businesses track service vehicles alongside assets and they can often be viewed on the same map. Identifying the nearest service technician to a broken down asset therefore becomes a simple task and this can improve response time considerably.

There are still many advantages to deploying telematics to connect assets even with break-fix workflows. Understanding the condition of the asset before deploying a technician will improve first time fix rates; which will drive higher customer satisfaction. This is often the first step in changing the service model.

Connecting assets from multiple suppliers

A challenge many construction businesses need to consider is how to connect to assets from multiple suppliers. Each supplier often has their own proprietary systems that have different data formats which make integration difficult and time consuming.

The construction industry is starting to incorporate data standards that help alleviate much of the effort required to establish connections to the assets. One such standard is the Association of Equipment Management Professionals (AEMP). A standard protocol was recently adopted that allows for fault code and other information to be shared in a standard way. This standardisation helps create more interoperability in the market and will surely be a boost to connected workflows in this market.

Maximize equipment utilisation across job sites with telematics

The case for telematics technology to considerably improve the utilisation of assets and equipment across job sites is a simple one. Businesses can monitor the location of their assets on demand and generate utilisation reports to determine which are being under-utilised across sites. With this information, they are better placed to determine how best the assets should be deployed, if any should be reallocated, which types of equipment customers need most and compare owned to rented asset usage – streamlining the efficiency and profitability of their asset-dependent business.

Having the ability to monitor assets and equipment on demand can also help jobs remain on track. If an urgent job comes in that requires an asset be reallocated immediately, any idle units or those closest to the construction site can be identified and reassigned to ensure delays are not incurred.

What’s more, the ability to create accurate utilisation reports for each job site can help businesses to improve job bids and win more business. Knowing the actual hours it takes to build a parking lot of a particular size or a certain scale of building helps companies to bid competitively and can mean the difference between winning and losing a contract.

Prevent the loss or misuse of assets and equipment

A major challenge construction businesses face is the loss or theft of expensive equipment due to it being abandoned, misplaced or stolen once it reaches a job site. Over 10,000 high valued construction assets are reported as stolen annually, causing the annual cost of construction equipment theft to reach $1 billion.

Businesses equipped with telematics can significantly maximise recoverability rates. They are able to quickly locate their assets, eliminating time spent searching for missing equipment and avoiding the need to replace lost assets.

Many telematics solutions incorporate functionality that ensures that if an asset or piece of equipment changes location or has been disconnected, an alert will be emitted and the equipment or branch manager will receive an exception notification. This helps them to minimise misuse and theft as they can locate the asset immediately and act quickly to retrieve it.

The future of telematics

The future for telematics is certainly bright. As businesses within the construction industry increasingly look to extend their telematics capabilities to track their vehicles, workforce and assets, investing in telematics driven connected workflows, combined with deeper analytics systems, will reap many benefits. We will see businesses switching the service model from a reactive, break-fix workflow to a preventative and, ultimately, predictive model. What’s more, businesses ultimately need to ensure that they are allocating and using their equipment across sites as efficiently as possible. Those that do not have the visibility into the status of their assets to determine this will be much more prone to costly inefficiencies. These advanced workflows require a tight connection from the asset to the service management system and telematics is integral to providing this connection.

[1] *The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB)

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Telematics to drive construction industry revolution appeared first on UK Construction Online.

PM social housing boost

Prime Minster Theresa May addressed the National Housing Federation Summit this week, in a speech which emphasised her personal mission to fix the broken housing system.

Mrs May was the first Prime Minister to speak at the conference, which showed how much she has taken the housing crisis to heart and her determination to ensure everyone has a home who wants one.

She said that housing associations have a central role to play in building the homes we need and challenging the attitudes that hold us back, alongside an announcement of new long-term funding for affordable housing.

Some £2Bn has been confirmed in new funding which will give housing associations the long-term certainty they need to deliver tens of thousands of new affordable and social homes. The Prime Minister has pledged to work in partnership with the associations to get more people on the housing ladder and make sure those who can’t afford their own place also have somewhere they’re proud to call home.

Setting out the measure the government has already and will take to support the industry, Mrs May said: “You said that if you were going to take a serious role in not just managing but building the homes this country needs, you had to have the stability provided by long-term funding deals. Well, eight housing associations have already been given such deals, worth almost £600M and paving the way for almost 15,000 new affordable homes.

“And today, I can announce that new longer-term partnerships will be opened up to the most ambitious housing associations through a ground-breaking £2Bn initiative. Under the scheme, associations will be able to apply for funding stretching as far ahead as 2028/29 – the first time any government has offered housing associations such long-term certainty.

“Doing so will give you the stability you need to get tens of thousands of affordable and social homes built where they are needed most, and make it easier for you to leverage the private finance you need to build many more.”

The Prime Minister asked the industry to respond to this support with its own expertise, and for housing associations to use their unique combination of qualities – from their close ties with local communities to their expertise as property managers and their ability to ride out the business cycle and carry on building – “to achieve things neither private developers nor local authorities are capable of doing”.

She said: “Today, I’m asking housing associations to use the tools we have given you. Not just to build more homes, though of course more homes are needed. But to take the lead in transforming the very way in which we think about and deliver housing in this country.

“Rather than simply acquiring a proportion of the properties commercial developers build, I want to see housing associations taking on and leading major developments themselves. Because creating the kind of large-scale, high-quality developments this country needs requires a special kind of leadership – leadership you are uniquely well-placed to provide.

“…Given the right tools and the right support, you can act as the strategic, long-term investors in the kind of high-quality places this country needs. To put it simply, you get homes built. And I want to work with you to transform the way we do so.”

Mrs May also called for a fundamental rethink of social housing from developers, to tenants, and society, and the way It is viewed, to remove the stigma that is associated with social housing.

She said: “For many people, a certain stigma still clings to social housing. Some residents feel marginalised and overlooked, and are ashamed to share the fact that their home belongs to a housing association or local authority.

“And on the outside, many people in society – including too many politicians – continue to look down on social housing and, by extension, the people who call it their home.

“…We should never see social housing as something that need simply be “good enough”, nor think that the people who live in it should be grateful for their safety net and expect no better.

“Whether it is owned and managed by local authorities, TMOs or housing associations, I want to see social housing that is so good people are proud to call it their home… Our friends and neighbours who live in social housing are not second-rate citizens.”

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post PM social housing boost appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Tackling barriers to building

In order to tackle one of the country’s most pressing issues and deliver on its promise to create more homes, for everyone, the government is providing funding to help get sites build ready.

This investment will help tackle issues on potential housing sites and get homes built in the areas where they are needed most. Issues like land contamination, infrastructure requirements, and complex land ownership can present real barriers to building homes where they are needed most.

Two streams of investment are now available, the Land Assembly Fund and the Small Sites Fund, which will help release land to deliver 300,000 new homes a year by the mid-2020s.

The £1.3Bn Land Assembly Fund, will be used to acquire land needing work and get it ready for the market, making it less risky for developers to invest in and start building. Outside of London this work will be carried out by Homes England.

For public land owners or local authorities that are struggling to get building on land in their area, the £630M Small Sites Fund will provide grant funding to speed up getting the right infrastructure in place to support home building on stalled small sites to provide the homes their communities need.

Communities Secretary, Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP said: “We need to act on a number of fronts to build the homes this country needs.

“The availability of this investment will help us intervene in the sort of sites that aren’t yet ready to build on, or where developers have been put off.

“Developers can now get straight on with building homes, rather than overcoming the barriers to build. And in the same way we are also supporting councils that have land for housing, but need additional help to enable development.”

One site which is being assisted by Homes England is the Burgess Hill in Sussex, a site that desperately needed affordable housing, but which sat undeveloped for years. The national housing agency has stepped in, bought the land and is also delivering the infrastructure, so that the roads, schools and doctor’s surgeries are all in place for over 3,000 new homes that will now be built there.

Homes England Chairman, Sir Edward Lister said: “Homes England is stepping in where the market isn’t working, unlocking land and releasing sites to those developers that are committed to providing homes at pace.

“The £1.9Bn announced by the government today will mean we can invest in crucial infrastructure and help local authorities to get more homes built on public land.”

The government will work closely with the Greater London Authority to help ensure targeted funding through the Land Assembly Fund and Small Sites Fund can deliver additional homes in the capital.

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Tackling barriers to building appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Construction firm fined after demolition incident

A construction company has been prosecuted and fined by the HSE following an incident at a site which resulted in a worker being severely injured.

The company, Northern Structures LTD, was carrying out demolition work at a farm building when the worker fell from height and suffered a fractured spine.

South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court heard how, on 20 September 2017, the employee of Northern Structures Ltd was removing roof sheets from a timber frame farm building when he fell approximately four metres through one of the asbestos cement roof sheets onto the ground below.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that, while a risk assessment and method statement were in place to remove the roof sheets from below, this method was then changed to remove them from above. It was during this process that the employee fell through a roof sheet.

Northern Structures Ltd of Amble Industrial Estate, Amble, Northumberland pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1)(a) and Regulation 4(1)(c) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and was fined £150,000 with £791.70 in costs.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Loren Wilmot said: “Suitable and sufficient measures should have been in place through the use of alternative access equipment.

“This would have negated the need for the employee to be on the roof of the building, therefore eliminating the risk of a fall from height through the roof sheets.”

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Construction firm fined after demolition incident appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Clean energy tech breakthrough

Swansea University has been awarded £36M in funding from the government to develop its clean energy innovation.

Chancellor Philip Hammond announced the funding from the Industrial Strategy Challenge, for the consortium led by Swansea University, which promotes the development of clean energy innovations in the construction sector.

The consortium has developed a breakthrough innovation of new building materials and coatings which generate electricity from light and heat. The green technology uses light and heat to make energy, and has the potential to power homes, workplaces, schools and hospitals. These materials could replace conventional walls, roofs and windows, generating electricity which is stored and released by a smart operating system. Excess electricity could also be sold back to the national grid.

The funding announcement supports the government’s mission to at least halve the energy use of new buildings by 2030: making buildings more energy efficient by embracing smart technologies will cut household energy bills, reduce the demand for energy, and boost the UK’s economic growth whilst meeting targets for carbon reduction.

On a visit to Swansea University, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, said: “Swansea University and the innovative companies working with it are world-leaders in clean energy. The UK government is backing the industries of the future that will deliver jobs and opportunities across Wales. This £36M new funding will support exciting green technology that could cut energy bills, reduce carbon emissions and create better homes and workspaces.”

Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Greg Clark said: “This centre has the potential to transform how buildings use energy, turning them from energy consumers into power stations. This £36M investment in clean energy innovation shows the UK continues to lead the way in cutting emissions while growing our economy.

“We are putting our world-leading science and innovation sector at the heart of our modern Industrial Strategy, and have set the ambitious target for investment in research and development to reach 2.4% of GDP by 2027.”

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is delivering the funding for the new Centre. UKRI Chief Executive Professor Sir Mark Walport said: “As we move towards a low-carbon economy, we need to explore more efficient ways of generating, conserving and using power and energy.

“Active buildings, which integrate solar generation and storage technologies for electricity and heat within their construction, can help to achieve this. The Active Building Centre will work to remove barriers to the large-scale adoption of active buildings on new developments throughout the country.

“The UK’s work in this field has been world-leading, and the Centre announced today is an important step towards realising the potential of low-carbon technologies.”

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Clean energy tech breakthrough appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Community Housing fund Phase II

Phase II of the Community Housing Fund has been launched, making some £163M available to communities across England who will create community led affordable housing schemes across England.

Phase I of the fund, which launched in July, supports applications for capacity building, pre-development revenue funding and capital funding for local infrastructure projects. While Phase II is open to eligible organisations to bid for capital grants to fund the costs of acquiring land and building community-led housing schemes.

The fund aims to give local people a leading and lasting role in delivering local affordable housing.

Jackie Jacob, General Manager for Housing Programmes, at Homes England said: “Community-led housing is about giving local people the lead to solve local housing problems and provide affordable homes in their communities.

“At Homes England, we’re committed to increasing the supply of affordable housing where it’s most needed. It’s great to make funding available for community groups across England to transform how the homes are delivered locally.” Bidding is open to a range of organisations. Both Local authorities and Registered Providers may apply on behalf of community groups to support them through this process.”

Bidding for both phases is now open on a Continuous Market Engagement basis via the Homes England Portal.

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Community Housing fund Phase II appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Bureau Veritas asks industry to reduce Silica exposure

With guidelines on managing exposure to hazardous substances at work becoming ever tighter, Bureau Veritas has called on the construction industry to ‘work smarter’ on addressing the risk silica dust poses to employees.

Silica is a material found in most types of natural stone, clay, bricks and sand, and activities such as grinding, crushing and mixing break down the silica and generate a fine dust like Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS). Regarded as one of the most significant causes of occupational lung disease worldwide, exposure to RCS causes Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and in the UK alone is estimated to result in up to 1,000 deaths each year through silicosis and or lung cancer.

According to global certification expert Bureau Veritas, in light of recent industry campaigns to raise awareness of this hidden killer, it has never been more important for construction firms to ensure they have the right occupational hygiene programme in place.

Gerard Mooney, Principal Consultant in Occupational Hygiene at Bureau Veritas, comments: “For many employees working in factories and construction sites across the UK, there continues to be a significant risk from over exposure to silica dust and in particular respirable crystalline silica (RCS), which can penetrate deep in to the lungs to cause damage and disease. The invisible nature of this dust – much of the Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS) cannot be detected by the human eye – and long timeline before health effects occur often means control measures are ignored, by which time, unfortunately, it can be too late.”

“Given the danger it clearly presents, it’s time for the construction industry to work smarter on limiting the risks that silica dust and RCS pose to employee health. At the heart of this will be ensuring a robust occupational hygiene strategy is in place for controlling workplace exposure to these harmful substances, which if done correctly not only prevents potential fatalities but by stopping dust from becoming airborne in the first place can reduce non-productive man hours spent cleaning up and reduce the reliance on expensive respiratory protective equipment (RPE).”

With so many factors to consider and a myriad of different regulations to meet, such as Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, construction firms can often struggle to effectively manage the health of employees who perform operations involving stone, rock, concrete and plaster.

Gerard advises: “We would therefore encourage manufacturers to review their existing occupational hygiene programme to ensure it goes beyond simple compliance. A comprehensive review of all potential sources of RCS exposure including substituting where possible for materials with a lower RCS content, implementing a continuous risk reduction program, and having effective Local Exhaust Ventilation systems in place, can certainly go a long way in safeguarding employee wellbeing and will ultimately save lives.”

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Bureau Veritas asks industry to reduce Silica exposure appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Skills shortages strangling construction sector

Recent research from City & Guilds Group shows that one in 20 construction companies believe their workforce doesn’t have the necessary skills for now, or the future.

The new report, developed in collaboration with The Work Foundation, explores the challenges facing the UK construction sector, with members of the industry citing skills as a major problem.

City & Guilds Group is now calling upon the Government and industry representatives to take action to future-proof the construction sector through lifelong learning, upskilling and reskilling initiatives.

“Constructing the future: How the skills needed for success in the workplace are changing” highlights the importance of the UK construction industry for the UK economy, as the fourth largest sector by turnover and the fifth largest by employment. Despite the size of the industry, as technology has advanced, many believe the workforce doesn’t have the necessary skills for the future.

Examining the main issues facing the industry today, the report reveals that the majority of companies (54%) are impacted by growing skills shortages, while productivity and investment both remain low, resulting in stunted profits across the sector.

In terms of the workforce, self-employment is on the rise and the industry is struggling to attract and retain young workers; the number of younger professionals in construction has fallen to a third of the level it was in 2005. Finally, a lack of consideration being given to learning and development is impacting all tiers of construction professionals from entry level up to senior management, with little more than half of employers providing training – which is predominantly in health and safety.

Chris Jones, CEO City & Guilds Group, commented: “The majority of people in employment now will still be in the workforce in 30 years’ time. For the construction industry, that’s almost two million professionals who know that their skills are already becoming outdated thanks to technological advances. To survive the numerous challenges the industry faces, and boost productivity, the workforce will need to develop digital, analytical, and interpersonal skills – and that requires new standards, training and qualifications.

“As the world of work continues to evolve, it’s essential that construction businesses understand the role they play in upskilling and reskilling their workforces. But there’s also a job to be done by the Government, to support these employers, by ensuring they have the necessary policies in place – as well as funds – to make this a reality. The growth and success of the industry hinges on the ability of our skills system to adapt and develop to prepare for the jobs of the future.”

The report provides five key recommendations, for the Government, the construction industry and education sector to collaborate and take action:

1. Industry and training collaboration

Representatives of the construction industry and training providers must collaborate to ensure high quality and relevant learning for leadership and management, technical and digital expertise, and soft skills.

2. Apprenticeship alignment

The industry and apprenticeship levies must be aligned and revised to ensure they support all forms of learning and development necessary as the industry experiences technical and organisational change.

3. Inclusive initiatives

Upskilling and reskilling initiatives, such as the National Retraining Scheme, must meet the needs of the entire workforce from the outset, especially the self-employed, sole traders or those within micro-business.

4. Diverse learning and development schemes

Learning and development schemes must reflect the diversity of activities within the construction industry, and provide more opportunities for young people to experience real-life activities, including through digital platforms.

5. Tax relief for self-employed

HMRC tax relief for training should ensure that self-employed workers are incentivised to participate in learning, by recognising the costs of such activities and offering simple schemes to offset again income.

The full report can be downloaded here.

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Skills shortages strangling construction sector appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Businesses back Mayor of London’s zero-carbon city vision

Eleven businesses – among them heavyweights Tesco, Siemens and Sky – have pledged to work alongside Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and help make London the world’s green capital.

Collectively, the eleven companies employ over 165,000 Londoners, and each organisation has agreed to aid the Mayor as he attempts to slash emissions far beyond government targets. The businesses will now aim to use 100% renewable energy across all of their London properties by 2020, and transition to zero-emission vehicles by 2025.

This newly established ‘London Business Climate Leaders’ group includes some of UK’s most recognisable property and construction specialists; Landsec, Derwent London, ISG and Morgan Sindall Group. Multi-national businesses Tesco and Siemens have also pledged their support alongside global media organisations Sky, Informa and RELX Group. The formation of the group follows the publication of the Mayor’s ‘London Environment Strategy’ in May 2018.

“I’m doing everything in my power to reduce London’s carbon footprint, and going further and faster than national government to make London a zero-carbon city by 2050,” said London’s Mayor. “This network is a great example of how cities and businesses can come together to take bold action on climate change. Not only are these businesses committed to renewable energy, clean transport and reducing waste, they’re also committed to working together to achieve results as quickly as possible.”

While the government will require businesses to disclose their emissions nationally from April 2019, the London Business Climate Leaders will reveal emissions for their London-based operations by autumn 2018. Other businesses operating in the capital are also being invited to join the initiative and pledge their support to making London a zero-carbon city by 2050.

Research indicates that the private sector accounts for a large share of London’s emissions. In total, around 40% of London’s greenhouse gas emissions stem from workplaces. As such, it is vital that the private sector acts now to tackle climate change.

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Businesses back Mayor of London’s zero-carbon city vision appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Clugston begins £39M Newcastle University scheme

Clugston Construction has begun work on a new state-of-the-art learning and teaching centre for Newcastle University.

The scheme, which is due to open at the beginning of 2020, provides new teaching facilities for sport and exercise science, human nutrition, the School of Psychology, as well as specialist facilities for the School of Medical Education.

A brand new, 9,000sq m, six-storey building, the learning centre will house a lecture theatre for 300 students, social learning spaces, seminar rooms, clinical suites, and academic and postgraduate offices.

The scheme itself was procured through the North East Universities Major Capital Projects Framework, established in 2017, and will be delivered by Clugston, led by GSS Architects.

The deisgn team has been involved in regular engagement sessions with the University and a group of key stakeholders from the Faculty of Medical Sciences from the outset of the project.

The new facility represents the last phase of the development of this key University site, which includes a new Sports Centre which is currently under construction.

Rod Fry, construction director at Clugston Construction, said: “We are delighted to be working with Newcastle University to deliver such an innovative project. The collaborative approach adopted by the University has enabled all parties to contribute to developing the state-of-the-art facility. Over the coming weeks, we will be engaging with our suppliers to deliver what we know will be a valuable resource for the University, its staff and students.”

Emma Stevenson, professor of sport and exercise science at Newcastle University, added: “This exciting new project is part of Newcastle University’s £500m investment in quality facilities that deliver an outstanding student experience and an excellent environment for our students’ learning, teaching and research.

“This new facility will be used by the whole University, promoting the development of cross-disciplinary research and teaching in sport and exercise science, psychology and nutritional sciences.”

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Clugston begins £39M Newcastle University scheme appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Mental Health Gateway launched

A new gateway has been launched designed to help change workplace culture and support those with mental health issues through the workplace.

Mates in Mind welcomed the launch of the online Mental Health at Work gateway and emphasised that changing workplace cultures requires ongoing leadership and hands-on-support.

The interaction between work and mental health is complex and sensitive, and remains a challenge for employers. Mates in Mind has supported many firms create better understanding across the construction supply chain.

Evidence from a study into workplace wellbeing by the mental health charity Mind (2018) shows that lack of awareness remains a barrier to addressing the issue in work and greater awareness and practical training is a valuable investment. But as the research also found, those staff who felt their line manager supported their mental health were 11 times more likely to disclose a mental health problem, compared with those who did not, demonstrates how important it is to embed the change within a workplace.

Mates in Mind has already reached more than 150,000 workers in its first year by providing more than 150 supporter and partner construction and construction-related firms with tailored resources and support.

Steve Hails, Chair of Mates in Mind and Health, Safety and Wellbeing Director, Tideway, a Mates in Mind Business Champion reflected on their journey over the last year: “Mental ill-health has been on everyone’s agenda but in our industry, which is, despite our endeavours, male dominated, we are more susceptible than most. Thankfully, things are starting to change, but we still have some way to go.

“Putting the right kind of support in place was the start of the conversation for us, and for many others. Importantly this needs to happen across all levels of the business, and leadership is key. And in our industry, with the nature of the supply chain, it is important also that it’s about recognising that this responsibility is not just about regarding the welfare of our own staff.

“This is what makes Mates in Mind so special in that we are working collaboratively across the sector through various projects and works, building in the change we need throughout the supply chain. After all, more than three quarters of those working in construction are employed by SMEs.”

Joscelyne Shaw, Executive Director, Mates in Mind said: “Creating awareness and improving access to information is important. However, as we say when delivering mental wellbeing training ‘we are not the same’, in a similar way, no two organisations are either.

“Our experience in working with our Business Champions and Supporters over the last year is that it is essential for an organisation to recognise it has its own story to tell, and that having the confidence to embark on this journey needs hands on support.

“Our partnered approach empowers organisations to bring their story to life, making it real to its people, helping to embed the change more sustainably. In some instances, this change in approach has come about at great cost, and the people working in these organisations are determined that with this understanding, there is positive learning for everyone.”

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Mental Health Gateway launched appeared first on UK Construction Online.