Building News is an information portal for all professional building specifiers. Here you can find all of the latest construction news from around the UK and the rest of the world.

53% of UK adults admit to never checking flood risk

New YouGov research identifies general lack of flood risk knowledge across the UK.

Ten years since the devastating summer floods of 2007, which saw over 48,000 homes affected by flooding, the UK population is failing to take adequate steps to understand whether their homes are at risk of flooding, with more than half (53%) of respondents from a YouGov survey confirming they have never checked whether their homes’ in an area officially considered to be at risk of flooding.

This increases to 63% when specifically asking people in Scotland and higher again, 75%, when questioning people in Northern Ireland.

The findings were revealed today in a Landmark Information-commissioned YouGov survey that looked at how perceptions had changed over the ten-year period.

In addition, when asked what their biggest concern would be if they were to find out their home is located in an ‘at risk’ area, 31% said the potential for loss of damage to personal possessions was their main worry.

It’s clear that those surveyed felt that the likes of construction companies, local councils, government and environmental authorities could be doing more to raise awareness and manage defence against flooding with 35% saying their confidence is about the same as it was in 2007. The online survey highlighted that consumer knowledge of how to check whether a property is considered at risk from flooding was limited; 39% said that checking online via Google or other search engines would be their first port of call, followed by asking the Environment Agency (25%) and then asking their local council (13%).

The same number of people also (13%) also stated that they would not know where to turn for this information at all.

Mary Dhonau OBE, Chief Executive of the Know Your Flood Risk campaign www.knowyourfloodrisk.co.uk said “I know only too well the devastating consequences of flooding having been flooded myself on many occasions. Planning ahead really is the best policy and knowing whether your property is at risk from flooding will ensure that you are better prepared.”

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Half of British office buildings are not fit for purpose

For over 1.3 million UK workers, the office is simply not ‘good enough’.

A new report released by Leesman, the world’s leading assessor of workplace effectiveness, analyses how organisations can better support employees by offering an office environment that actually works.

Today, Leesman launches ‘The Next 250k’, a global report based on the evaluation results from more than 250,000 employees across 2,200+ workplaces in 67 countries. The study looks at how a poorly planned workplace can have a negative impact on employees, inhibiting their ability to perform. The data reveals a shocking level of dissatisfaction among the workforce.

The findings show that while employers continue to face economic uncertainty, many of their employees are having to endure workplaces that fail to support their basic working day, obstructing their ability to positively contribute to business success.

43 per cent of employees globally do not agree that their workplace enables them to work productively. In the UK, that figure jumps to 46 per cent. Therefore, in line with ONS employment figures, For over 1.3 million UK workers, the office is simply not ‘good enough’.

The report points to five key areas that organisations need to focus on:

  1. The top productivity killers: offices are routinely presenting barriers to daily work that impact everything from how proud people are to be there, to how much they actually enjoy working there. The features that have the biggest impact on employees’ ability to work productively are ‘space between work settings’, ‘dividers’ and ‘noise levels’.
  2. The most demanding generation: millennials repeatedly show themselves to have the simplest workloads and thus the narrowest set of requirements. Attention should instead be directed at those in the 35-44 age band who consistently record the lowest satisfaction scores, and typically have more complex roles.
  3. The winner of the open-plan v. private office debate: the research shows that both open-plan and cellular solutions can be equally good and bad. Across 2,200+ workplaces surveyed, employees in the highest performing locations will almost certainly be sat in an open-plan setting, so demonising this way of working is not the way forward.
  4. Workplace transformation projects are not always transformative: with the vast capital sums invested in refurbishment and relocation fit-out projects, leadership teams would be forgiven for expecting them to deliver significant operational benefit. But evidence shows this to not always be the case.
  5. Workplace + Behaviour = Effectiveness: based on Leesman’s research across 11,336 employees in 40 ‘activity-based’ workplaces (where employees can select a series of different spaces that best supports the particular activity being undertaken), these employees rarely work in an activity-based way. In short, employees don’t just change the working habits of a lifetime because employers tell them to.

Dr. Peggie Rothe PhD who led the research said “Great organisations build a business framework that enable their employees to do their best work. And the workplace is integral in this equation. Offices are assets – tools in talent management strategies, gears in product innovation, instruments in brand development and organisational performance. The central findings of this study should concentrate attentions on how workplace strategies can support business competitiveness, not by cost mitigation but through increasing employee engagement, loyalty and output.”

Tim Oldman, Leesman CEO, added “What this report demonstrates is that there is still more that organisations need to be doing if they’re going to leverage the workplace as a source of competitive advantage and a booster of organisational performance. We still see far too many workplaces that are simply not fit for purpose and that represents a huge missed opportunity for business leaders. We hope that the key central findings can help more organisations create better, more productive environments for their workforce.”

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‘Forest City’ to be built in China

A city covered in one million plants and 40,000 trees will soon be built in China to help tackle the long-standing air pollution problem that plagues the country at present.

Designed by Italian architect Stefano Boeri (who was also behind the ‘Vertical Forest’ tower in Milan) the entirely fabricated metropolis will contain over 40,000 trees and one million plants.
At its heart, the scheme is intended to subvert the notion that urban areas are more prone to poor air quality, by introducing natural measures to absorb tons of CO2 and pollutants.

China has long been swamped with poor air quality. Studies show that over a million premature deaths are attributed to pollution in the country each year. Chinese power plants emit as much nitrogen oxides (NOx) as all the cars in the world combined.

In 2016, China declared red alert for air quality in the capital city of Beijing, closing schools and factories and removing 50% of cars from the road for a temporary period. This seems to have served as a wakeup call for the government, who have since introduced a series of measures aimed at curbing their alarming emissions. As well as championing renewables as a form of energy, the authorities are now looking at more innovative solutions. Could the ‘forest city’ be part of the solution to a worsening crisis?

The ‘forest city’ is planned to be built in Liuzhou, Southern China by 2020.

Here’s what it will look like:
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Consumers twice as likely to be satisfied with homes built by small house builders

Consumers are twice as likely to be ‘very satisfied’ with the quality of their new home if it was built by a small and medium-sized (SME) house builder, according to research by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

Key results from the FMB’s research into satisfaction rates among people who have bought a home in the past five years show that twice as many people (36%) say they are ‘very satisfied’ with the quality of their new build home if purchased from an SME house builder, compared with those whose home was built by one of the top 20 large builders (17%).

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said “There is a popular misconception that new build homes are poor quality compared to period properties that were built to last. Small local house builders, who hang their hat on delivering high-quality new build homes, find this view immensely frustrating. Our research shows that you are twice as likely to be ‘very satisfied’ with the quality of your new home if it was built by an SME house builder as opposed to one of the large top 20 firms. This research draws a clear distinction between what is being delivered by SMEs and what is being delivered by larger firms.”

“For a small, local builder, reputation is everything. They will typically reside in the same community that they’re building in and are therefore doubly motivated to deliver a high quality product that the home buyer will love. Furthermore, SME building firms are more likely to work with a small team of broadly skilled tradespeople. For example, if an SME house builder only employs three bricklayers, they all need to have a wide range of skills and experience. Large house builders tend to use gangs of semi-skilled bricklayers who can lay row upon row of bricks in a line but only a handful of broadly skilled brickies who can turn corners, build chimneys and arches.”

“If we are to improve the image of the house building sector, all house builders, large and small, need to put quality at the heart of every project. Not only will this make our industry more attractive to new entrants, including children and young people, it will soften planning committees to the prospect of new developments. We are in the midst of a serious housing crisis and in order to win people over and make them more pro-development, we need to deliver fantastic new homes that local people would be proud to have built in their community.”

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Augmented reality on construction sites

A consortium led by civil engineering visualisation expert Soluis Group has received £1m of funding from the government to develop a so-called Augmented Worker System (AWE) for the construction industry.

The project aims to replace paper or handheld devices with hands free heads-up augmented reality (AR) displays that would provide real time access to BIM data, enabling more efficient collaboration between teams and partners.

Starting next month, Innovate UK and Soluis will build on earlier work carried out with Laing O’Rourke on the development of an AR asset management tool, heavily implemented during the construction of Crossrail’s Liverpool Street station.

Other companies involved in the project include IT consultant Pinnacle Business Solutions, modular construction specialist Carbon Dynamic and both the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) and the Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC).

The funding was awarded by Innovate UK as part of the Infrastructure Systems competition which aims to stimulate innovation that creates UK business growth in infrastructure systems.

Commenting on the investment, Business Secretary Greg Clark said “The adoption of cutting-edge virtual and augmented reality technology in industries like construction will be vital in helping us identify new, smarter ways of working.”

Martin McDonnell, Chairman of Soluis Group added “The proof of concept project with Crossrail showed how this technology could be applied and add incredible value to the industry.

“Our vision was to develop this concept much further and create a set of tools that would form the augmented worker of the future.

“For a business like us, we could only drive this innovation a certain amount and working with the consortium and receiving funding from Innovate UK will help us achieve this much faster and more effectively.”

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Construction workers set for wage boost as new pay deal agreed

Construction workers operating under the Construction Industry Joint Council (CIJC) agreement are set for a boost in pay and allowances next month after a new two year pay deal worth 6.2 per cent was recently agreed.

The CIJC is the largest agreement in the construction industry and principally covers workers operating in civil engineering and the so-called biblical trades (carpenters, bricklayers and painters).

3.2 per cent increase this year

The agreement signed by Unite and the GMB will see pay rates increase by an inflation beating 3.2 per cent from Monday 25 June. The pay increase will mean that the minimum rate for craft workers (including carpenters, bricklayers and painters) is £12.31 an hour, with the general operative (labourer) minimum rate increasing to £9.26 an hour. Pay rates will increase by a further 2.9 per cent from Monday 24 June 2019.

The travel allowance will increase in line with the percentage rise in pay rates, the (tax free) fare allowance will increase in line with inflation however lodging allowances will increase by nearly eight (7.8) per cent to £40 a night in 2018 and will then increase by inflation in 2019, which is in line with other construction agreements.

Industry sick pay extended

Industry sick pay is to be increased and extended. It will rise to £130 per week (paid in addition to statutory sick pay) an increase of 6.1 per cent and it will now be paid for 13 weeks, an increase on the 10 weeks it is currently paid for.

The industry death benefit, paid via the B&CE, will increase from £32,000 to £40,000. If a worker is killed at work or travelling to and from work their family receives double that amount.

There has also been a significant increase of 6.5 per cent in the payment for first year apprentices who will receive £5.50 an hour, it is hoped that the increased rate will attract a greater number of new entrants into the industry.

Strong step in right direction

Unite national officer for construction Jerry Swain said “This deal is a strong step in the right direction and will give construction workers a well-deserved pay increase.

“The increases in allowances and other benefits, underline the value of working under an industrial agreement and being part of collective bargaining arrangements.

“Over the next two years we will be working to further strengthen the agreement and ensure that it is brought into line with other agreements in all matters and is seen as relevant on major construction sites.

“Construction workers need to remain vigilant that employers actually pay the agreed pay rates. Too often in construction employers try to boost their profits by failing to pay agreed increases.”

GMB national officer Ross Murdoch added “Given the current climate in the wider construction industry and overall economic climate, this deal is both a recognition of a hard-working, highly-skilled workforce and a demonstration of real commitment to maintaining meaningful joint national industrial agreement.”

“As further significant construction projects emerge over the next few years, this deal offers genuine hope of retaining the much needed skills for the industry, as well as attracting new apprentices, with the percentage uplift for apprentice rates further reinforcing the importance of this latter point.”

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Sparkies most essential trade for preserving Britain’s heritage

Sparkies, chippies and painters might not be the first trades that come to mind when you think about the preservation of Britain’s historic buildings, but according new research from the UK’s leading insurer of Grade I listed buildings, Ecclesiastical they are the most important.

Chippies (61%), painters (60%), roofers (58%) and plasterers (53%) were also seen as key trades while more traditional heritage skills such as stonemasonry, thatching and ironmongery were felt to be the most at risk.

According to the survey, 90% of heritage property owners believe that investing in skills is crucial for the future of Britain’s heritage with one in three property owners saying that they found it difficult to source skilled tradespeople to work on their properties. Almost half said they are concerned about increasing costs of hiring them.

Faith Parish, heritage director for Ecclesiastical commented “Many historic properties are having to find new income streams to help cover the costs associated with running and maintaining these properties. We have seen an increase in new activities such as exhibitions, festivals and coffee shops or restaurants, and these kinds of activities often require additional power sources or the installation of new equipment, so it’s not too surprising to see electricians at the top of the list.”

“Research from Historic England’s Heritage Counts 2017 publication showed a decade long decline in students signing up for heritage related construction courses and, with an estimated 10% of those currently working in the UK construction industry coming from Europe, the situation could worsen post Brexit.” Faith added.

The concern was reflected in Ecclesiastical’s own research which showed that, amongst heritage property owners, 42% were worried about the current shortage of skills in the UK, while 52% were concerned about the longer term impact and availability of skilled tradesmen in ten years’ time.

Property owners are so concerned that they are willing to actively support a campaign to invest in skills, in fact more than half (55%) would willingly make their property available for the training of skilled people and nearly two-third (59%) would help create opportunities for apprentices to work at their properties.

“When it comes to heritage properties regular maintenance is incredibly important, a small issue can cause immense damage if left unchecked. Leaking pipes can lead to whole ceilings collapsing, blocked guttering can cause water to seep in to the building and outdated or faulty wiring can be a fire risk.” Faith explained.

However, it’s not just the history and beauty of these buildings that needs preserving. According to Historic England’s Heritage Counts 2017 report the heritage sector employs 278,000 people and contributes £16.4 billion to the UK economy through domestic and international tourism plus a further £9.6 billion via the construction industry by means of repair and maintenance bills.

“Many historic properties have a long term maintenance schedule that stretches over many years, so jobs that are being done today will need to be redone in ten or twenty years’ time to preserve the integrity of the building. A shortfall in the supply of skilled tradespeople to implement this schedule could leave some properties vulnerable. It is therefore crucial that we invest in skills now to ensure that there are enough skilled tradespeople in the future to continue to care for these buildings.”

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Government must change how it works with construction post-Carillion

The Government must learn from Carillion by enforcing fair payment and opening up public sector contracts to smaller firms, according to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

Commenting on the joint report on Carillion from the Work and Pensions and Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committees, Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said “It’s the small firms in Carillion’s supply chain that bore the brunt of the giant’s demise earlier this year. The Government now has a unique opportunity to completely change how it works with the private sector. For too long, many large firms have reigned supreme and walked all over their supply chains. MPs are right to note that “measures that Government has taken to improve the business environment, such as the Prompt Payment Code, have proved wholly ineffective.” As a signatory of the Government’s Prompt Payment Code, Carillion should have paid 95 per cent of invoices within 60 days. However, Carillion enforced standard payment terms of 120 days to its suppliers and we know of FMB members that have had to wait for more than 200 days to be paid by major contractors. A company that was so flagrantly breaking the rules should not have been rewarded by the Government with juicy contract after juicy contract.”

“The collapse of Carillion created a ‘domino effect’ among sub-contractors. We know of firms that have lost more than £200,000 since the collapse and of others that were so reliant on Carillion contracts, they’ve gone out of business entirely. Once a company at the top of a chain goes under it creates a ripple effect. In this instance, however, the ripple has been more like a tsunami because of the extent to which the Government relied on this single company. At present, there is nothing in place to ensure another Carillion doesn’t happen again.”

“This report is welcome but we now want to see root-and-branch reform in terms of how the Government procures from the private sector. The Government should exclude suppliers from major Government procurements if they do not demonstrate fair, effective and responsible payment practices. The Government should also end retentions abuse by ensuring that retentions are held in a deposit scheme. Finally, the Government must also make greater efforts to work directly with small firms by breaking larger contracts down into smaller lots. That way, not only will the Government spread its risk, it will also reap the benefits that come from procuring a greater proportion of its work from a broad range of small companies. Small companies reinvest profits into the local economy and in construction, small firms train two thirds of all apprentices. Ensuring SMEs win a higher proportion of public sector contracts makes sense on every level.”

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The future of the construction industry: 3D printed homes, drones and floating buildings

A report looking at the role that technology will play in the construction industry in the future, has revealed that 3D printed walls, drones and a roof made from recycled plastic bottles from the Ocean will all be possible by 2025, thanks to advancements in technology.

The report, written by renowned future gazer, Dr. Ian Pearson BSc DSc(hc) and commissioned by Colmore Tang Construction and Virgin StartUp, also revealed that floating buildings or apartments will be possible by 2050 thanks to carbon foam, which is lighter than air.

By 2025, drones will be able to carry large materials up construction sites and even more remarkably, plastic bottles recovered from the world’s oceans will be recycled to create a roof.
Over the next decade, artificial intelligence (AI) will be commonplace, linking to sensors and cameras around construction sites, ensuring that buildings are being developed according to the architect’s plans. Humans will work alongside AIs and will not only see these robots as clever tools, but also colleagues and even friends as they start to develop unique relationships.

Looking more than 50 years into the future, by 2075 Dr. Pearson suggests that self-assembling buildings under AI control will allow a new form of structure – kinetic architecture – where a structure is literally thrown into the sky and assembled while gravity forms the materials into beautiful designs.

However, it is 3D printing that will steal most of the construction headlines in the immediate future, according to the future-gazer. Cheap homes, built quickly using 3D printing, will essentially put an end to the housing crisis.

The report was launched by Colmore Tang Construction, who has partnered with Virgin StartUp to deliver a £10m innovation fund that is open to entrepreneurial companies in a construction industry-first technology accelerator programme called ‘ConstrucTech’.

The fund will be provided to those companies that can successfully show how their innovation and technology could improve the sector’s productivity, sustainability and skills issues.
Futurologist, Dr Ian Pearson BSc DSc(hc), said: “By 2025 we will already see huge changes in the construction industry thanks to technology with drones, AI and 3D printing all becoming commonplace.

By 2050, we could see floating buildings or apartments that could save the housing crisis using carbon foam that’s lighter than air – the possibilities for this really are endless.”

Andy Robinson – Group CEO, Colmore Tang, said “The forward-thinking report has shown that technology can have a positive impact on the construction industry, however, we need to discover those exciting and innovative start-ups, whose products and services could deliver the technologies and innovations that will be the key to future success.

“We are hopeful that our partnership with Virgin StartUp to create the ConstrucTech programme and £10m innovation fund will be the start of a new dawn within the industry, where the future innovations predicted become a reality.”

Virgin StartUp is a leading business support organisation which has run a number of successful accelerators and supported 11,000 entrepreneurs across the UK. Construction in the UK has been slow to embrace innovation and adopt new technology and Colmore Tang has identified a number of key areas within its business, and the industry as a whole, which it believes could benefit from the contribution of enterprising start-ups.

Colmore Tang and Virgin StartUp are calling for businesses to apply to the ConstrucTech programme to address the following problems:

  • People: improving analysis of performance, sharing best practice across building projects, measurement of quality and also implementation of health and safety.
  • Data: using data to pre-empt potential delays, more efficient material ordering, more effective use of labour along with use of performance data to improve cost, timescales and estimates of new projects for future clients.
  • Smart Materials: design and implementation of materials to improve sustainability; improve safety and finding materials which are digitally connected.

Colmore Tang is providing start-ups with the opportunity to use the programme as a test bed and development platform to bring products and ideas to the construction sector. It’s hoped the £10m innovation behind ConstrucTech will be the spark to improve lacklustre productivity levels and also begin addressing the need to re-skill over half a million construction workers to suit the industry’s future Mace Report – Moving Construction 4.0.

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VIDEO: 3D printing 10 homes in 24 hours!

A private company in Shanghai used 3D printers to print 10 full-sized houses in just one day.

Many believe 3D printing could a viable solution to alleviate slum housing in the world and provide shelter to disaster-stricken communities. Is 3D printing the future of construction?

The video shows a 3D printer creating a structure using a special material, comprised of recycled rubble, fibreglass, steel, cement and binder. Once pumped into place, the material takes just 24 hours to dry completely.

Behrokh Khoshnevis, a pioneer of 3D printing at the University of Southern California, who is currently working with NASA on 3D-printed lunar structures, believes that we could one day live and work in 3D printed cities. “I think in about five years you are going to see a lot of buildings built in this way.”

He also suggested that the innovative technology could help tackle a worldwide shortage of low-income housing. “I think it is a shame that at the dawn of the 21st century, about two billion people live in slums. I think this technology is a good solution.”

Watch the video below and see for yourself. How to you think 3D housing will affect the construction industry? Will its impact be good or bad? Let us know in the comments section below!

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