Posts

Considerate Constructors Scheme launches new Monitoring Checklist

The Considerate Constructors Scheme – the national Scheme to improve the image of the construction industry – has launched a new Monitors’ Checklist.

The Checklist is the key method which Scheme Monitors use to assess and score sites, companies and suppliers’ performance against the Code of Considerate Practice. It comes into effect from 1 February 2016, but there will be a three month transition period until 1 May 2016, to ensure all Scheme registered members have sufficient time to familiarise themselves with the new requirements before any changes affect their scores.

As the Scheme carries out around 18,000 sites, companies and supplier visits every year, the information gathered within the Monitors’ Checklist provides an essential barometer of how the industry is improving and the key issues it must tackle.

Whilst the 2016 Checklist has undergone changes in all five sections of the Code, the most significant changes are within the ‘Value their Workforce’ section. A number of new questions have been introduced to help the industry tackle the critical issues such as combatting illegal workers and modern slavery on site and in supply chains, as well as attracting and retaining a skilled and diverse workforce.

New questions include:

    1. How does the site assess and monitor the legitimacy and competency of the workforce?
    2. What is the site doing to improve its image and the overall image of the industry to attract and retain the workforce necessary for the future of construction?

Commenting on the new Checklist, Immigration Minister James Brokenshire said: “Our work to stamp out illegal working involves close collaborative working with lead industry bodies. We are fully supportive of genuine efforts, such as this scheme, to drive compliance with the rules.

“Employers within the construction sector have a crucial and ongoing part to play in helping to combat illegal working by ensuring they carry out the straightforward ‘Right to Work’ checks on potential employees.”

Chief Executive Edward Hardy said “Scheme registered sites, companies, suppliers and their clients are demonstrating a continued eagerness to keep raising the bar of considerate construction and improve industry standards across the UK. The new Checklist will be a significant driver in helping to achieve this goal.”

Mr Hardy added “The Checklist is reviewed annually to ensure it remains current, relevant and challenging. The new questions including those around the legitimacy of the workforce and attracting and retaining skills are clearly crucial issues for the future of the industry. The Considerate Constructors Scheme is delighted to be at the forefront of challenging the sector to improve performance in these areas.”

Find out more about the new Checklist here.

/by

Could offsite construction attract new home grown talent?

Ministers have today announced that they want the construction industry to focus efforts on attracting, developing and retaining home grown talent into the industry and remove barriers currently preventing more young people from entering the sector.

This involves looking at how companies recruit and train, but also at how adopting modern technologies and methods could help to keep our sector interesting, up-to-date and attractive to the next generation of budding construction professionals.

Housing Minister Brandon Lewis and Skills Minister Nick Boles have stressed that they want the construction industry to re-evaluate their current business models to see if there is enough attention being paid to recruitment. The ministers suggested that businesses should also consider other methods of construction – such as offsite manufacturing – to help diversify the industry.

The Construction Leadership Council has been called upon to review what skills the construction industry need to provide enough homes to meet national demand and tackle the housing crisis effectively.

The Council has asked Mark Farmer, of real estate and construction consultancy Cast, to identify actions that will help bring more workers to the industry.

Views are being sought on how to best train a workforce which has a high level of self-employment and bring about greater use of off-site construction. The review will also look at how the industry can introduce measures that encourage more investment and new ways of working.

Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said “The number of new homes is up 25% in the last year – and this is further proof we’ve got the country building again and delivering the homes the nation wants.”

“This means thousands of jobs are now up for grabs and we’re determined to make sure that there are enough skilled workers to get the job done.”

“Construction offers an exciting and rewarding career and we need to build a new generation of home grown talented, ambitious and highly skilled construction workers.”

Skills Minister Nick Boles commented “The government is committed to getting Britain building. We are investing in measures to cut red tape and increase the number of young people doing apprenticeships and traineeships to ensure we have a pipeline of skilled workers.”

“As leaders in the industry, the Council is best placed to advise on how to boost productivity in the sector and build the houses and infrastructure our nation needs.”

Mark Farmer, chief executive officer at Cast, added “I’m delighted to be asked to lead this review. The construction industry’s skills shortfall has been growing progressively and its ageing workforce now means affirmative action needs to be taken to avoid more acute issues in the future.”

“A healthy and robust construction sector is vital to underpinning the government’s commitment to delivering critical new housing and infrastructure projects. It will also ensure the unrivalled economic multiplier effect related to construction activity continues to play its part within the wider UK economy.”

“The industry needs to seize the opportunity to celebrate the vital contribution it makes and, in partnership with government and other key stakeholders, ensure it overcomes the current barriers to fulfilling its potential.”

/by

 Ecobuild to provide food for thought with provocative next generation conference

,

A programme on next generation thinking delivered by some of the most influential and innovative figures in the construction industry has been announced by Ecobuild. The conference takes an inventive look at the materials, practices and thinking which could shape our future living, from creating a swimmable commuter route on the capital’s canal, to smart buildings which operate without human intervention.

As well as providing an intriguing and highly provoking glance at the future construction of buildings and surrounding infrastructure, the programme, which is being hosted on day three of Ecobuild, offers a host of imaginative solutions on the question of how best to nurture talent within construction.

Among speakers giving their forthright, expert – and at times – provocative views include David Hancock, Head of Construction at the UK Cabinet Office; Andrew McNaughton, Director of Engineering at Tidal Lagoon Power; and Sam Martin, Director at Exterior Architecture.

One of the conference’s many stimulating presentations features a talk on the Thames Deckway by Anna Hill, founder of Space Synapse. Proposed as a first step in reinvigorating the River Thames’ role as a major movement corridor, this £600 million scheme could provide a floating cycle path from Battersea to Canary Wharf. The Deckway is seen by some as a delightfully unconventional solution to London’s deep-seated traffic and pollution problem.

With the capital in mind, the LidoLine is another real next generation idea being floated during the programme. It examines a proposal to transform London’s Regent’s Canal into a swimmable commuter route. This environmentally-friendly and healthy alternative to the bus would take the form of a clean basin being inserted into the canal, allowing swimmers to journey safely to work alongside boats.

The day’s conference programme will be rounded off with the final of The Big Innovation Pitch. Delivered in partnership with Marks & Spencer, The Big Innovation Pitch is an opportunity for companies to pitch innovative building products and solutions in the hope of becoming a potential supplier to the retailer. The finalists will give their final pitch to a panel of judges under the careful watch of host Rachel Riley from the Gadget Show and Countdown.

This lively session might just generate a revolutionary idea or concept to change the UK building industry. For further information about Ecobuild 2016 please visit www.ecobuild.co.uk.

/by

VIDEO: 5 of the most amazing examples of construction equipment

Last week saw a giant 157m long, 22m wide, 1,500-tonne machine bridge building machine begin work on Mersey Gateway Bridge.

Described as looking like a giant Meccano structure, Trinity is a movable scaffolding system that will attach to the bridge piers and enable the elevated approach viaducts to be built over the Mersey estuary.

In the wake of such an impressive machine roaring into existence, we wanted to share with you 5 other examples of extraordinary equipment. Watch the video below to see them in action!

/by

Builders bear the brunt of building site crime

Power tools are the most stolen item from building sites and workers in the construction trade, with small traders suffering most from crime in the industry.

A national security equipment installation and servicing company has found that smaller, easy-to-fence items are more likely to be stolen, but there are still significant numbers of thefts of large plant and machinery.

The Yorkshire-based CCTV.co.uk company says that while site and contractor van security has improved greatly in recent years, the “inside job” is still one of the major risks to any building site.

CCTV.co.uk surveyed 75 building firms, from large companies down to sole traders, and found that the ten most stolen items in 2015 were:

  1. Power tools
  2. Bags of cement
  3. Ladders
  4. Plant machinery
  5. Wheelbarrows
  6. Building materials and other supplies
  7. Cable
  8. Metals
  9. Personal items – radios, phones, cash
  10. Hand tools

Ratcliffe notes that power tools are far and away the most vulnerable item because they have a high resale value, and they’re usually very portable. Such is the specialised nature of the stolen goods, they can only be resold to rogue traders looking to equip themselves cheaply and with little care to the crime victims in their own profession.

“A determined gang of thieves can steal thousands of pounds worth of decent quality gear from a single trader and put him out of a job for months,” he says. “Even taking every precaution to safeguard your property, it only takes a minute with your guard down for your livelihood to be taken away.

“Buying stolen professional tools on the quiet isn’t a victimless crime.”

While targeted theft from contractors is a major problem, the biggest proportion of construction industry crime comes from theft of supplies, materials and plant from building sites. Unfortunately, no site manager can rule out the risk of the “inside job”, CCTV.co.uk says.

“Only a proportion of this kind of activity is ‘dead of night’ thieving,” Ratcliffe says, “Instead building sites haemorrhage material through petty theft and stealing-to-order.”

These stories from victims of construction industry crime speak volumes:

“Like the sign on the van, I never keep tools in there overnight, and they’re always well secured at other times. Instead, someone broke into the van when I parked up at the supermarket on the way home. £3,000 lost in 20 minutes, we couldn’t have a holiday because I had to buy new gear.” – Barry, sole trader

“We always have to budget in a little bit of theft of materials, because you can’t stop the odd opportunist thief. But one job was losing metals, cable and supplies hand-over-fist, almost like they had a shopping list. That probably means somewhere there’s a house built out of our profits.” – Terry, company manager

“I hate it when the small stuff goes missing, like your radio or mobile phone. That means you are working with a thief, and I don’t like that. It happens too much.” – Pavel, bricklayer

Ratcliffe says that sometimes extreme measures have to be taken to protect property. One study in 2011 found that painting plant and equipment pink deters thieves, as it makes it harder to sell on.

“Of course, if everybody painted their gear pink, we’d all be back to square one, which is why technology such as smart water is so effective,” he says. Scaffolding companies know this to be the case, with each local company using a different colour, meaning that stolen equipment is easily identified.

“Construction sites can be chaotic places, which make the ideal for the criminal,” says Ratcliffe. “All it takes is equating crime just as high as safety, and we can save both personal livelihoods and company profits.”

/by

UK construction set for growth – with 230,000 jobs to be created

The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) is calling for more apprentices as it releases new figures today which forecast annual average growth of 2.5% for the next five years – and a massive 232,000 jobs to be created.

CITB’s Construction Skills Network (CSN) report – the industry’s most comprehensive and up-to-date – predicts sustained growth from 2016-2020, driven by infrastructure and private housing.

Steve Radley, Policy Director at the CITB, says,“All types of training, and especially apprenticeships, will be vital to delivering this pipeline of work. This positive forecast should inspire more people to start apprenticeships, and more firms to take them on.”

New nuclear power stations at Hinkley Point, Somerset, and Wylfa, Anglesey, alongside rail projects such as Crossrail and HS2, will drive year-on-year infrastructure growth of 6.1%. The commercial construction sector will experience growth of 3.4% per annum, while private housebuilding will also experience sustained growth across the forecast period. Output in the housebuilding is expected return to pre-recession levels by the end of the forecast period, reaching £26bn by 2020.

UK construction growth is set to be fourth in Europe up to 2017, with British builders outstripping those in Germany, France and Spain.

Annual growth is predicted in all the UK’s regions and nations up to 2020, with Wales faring best with year-on-year growth of 7.1%, followed by the South West (4.4%), London (3.5%), and the North West (2.6%).

In response to the ongoing skills challenge, the CITB is in 2016 launching a series of new partnerships with local and regional training providers to make sure the right training takes place where it is needed most.

It is also continuing to work closely with the construction industry to further develop Go Construct, an industry-led web portal, to showcase the opportunities in the industry and encourage more people to join the sector. This should help construction firms recruit the talent they need to grow, and help workers learn about all of the great career opportunities available.

Steve Radley, Director of Policy at the Construction Industry Training Board, said “We can’t build the Britain we want without growing apprenticeships – and the careers they lead onto. That’s why it is vital that these new statistics, showing solid, sustained growth, inspire more people join the construction industry.

“We also want to attract workers who have left the industry to return, and upskill those currently in the sector, so we can deliver major projects and new housing faster and better.”

/by

Fall in workloads for small builders

Workloads for small builders across the country took a downward turn towards the end of last year, the Federation of Master Builders’ (FMB) latest State of Trade Survey has revealed, amid worries over wider economic uncertainty.

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said “The building industry remains confident of continued growth but the slowdown we saw in the last quarter is a cause for concern. Undoubtedly, the adverse weather experienced in large parts of the country has played its part, by causing projects to overrun and costs to spiral. However, the fact that both current and expected construction workloads are down in every region is worrying given some of the gloomy predictions being made about the wider economy.”

“Most concerning is that the last three months of 2015 represent the first quarter in nearly three years in which private sector SME housebuilding showed a negative balance. Even if this is a temporary blip, it comes at a time when merely managing to tread water would be inadequate in tackling the housing crisis. We need firms of all sizes firing on all cylinders if we’re going to address the chronic under-supply of housing but, unfortunately, a complex set of problems continue to constrain smaller developers. A concerted effort to tackle ongoing issues around access to finance, availability of suitable small sites and shortages of skilled labour is vital. The survey findings underline the latter point, showing 52% of our members reporting difficulty in finding carpenters and joiners, and 50% continue to have trouble hiring quality bricklayers.”

“We still expect to see growth in our sector continue throughout 2016 and we are optimistic that businesses can bounce back from what appears to have been a disappointing end to the year. However, the coming 12 months still hold in store considerable headwinds, not least the fears over the wider economy slowing down. If 2016 starts in anything less than a positive fashion, we could see growing fears that the hard-earned gains made by the construction industry over the past two or three years are indeed under threat.”

/by

Senior’s class act

Leading fenestration manufacturer and designer Senior Architectural Systems has helped deliver a dramatic new design scheme for a new performing arts centre in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

The new state of the art centre, which is part of Newcastle-under-Lyme College, features various glazing solutions from Senior that have been installed by Aire Valley Architectural Ltd for main contractor Bardsley Construction. The slim sightlines and aesthetic flexibility of Senior’s SMR800 curtain walling made it the ideal choice to create the modern entrance to the building and the system has been used throughout to maximise the flow of natural light into the dance studios and communal areas. The centre’s bright and spacious design has been further complemented by Senior’s SPW600e windows and the use of Senior’s SD automatic doors.

Designed by Ellis Williams Architects, the glazing elements of the new performing arts centre provide an attractive contrast to the building’s striking façade which comprises a mix of render, aluminium and terracotta rainscreen cladding. The exceptional thermal efficiency of Senior’s SMR800 curtain walling and SPW600/E windows also met with the scheme’s stringent sustainability targets which has led to the centre achieving a BREEAM rating of ‘excellent’.

The new £5.5m performing arts centre includes teaching rooms, dance studios, performing arts spaces, a 200 seat auditorium, music studios and a student café.

For more information about Senior, visit www.seniorarchitectural.co.uk.

/by

VIDEO: Giant bridge building machine begins work on Mersey Gateway Bridge

A 157m long, 22m wide, 1,500-tonne machine called Trinity has begun work on the Mersey Gateway crossing.

Described as looking like a giant Meccano structure, Trinity is a movable scaffolding system that will attach to the bridge piers and enable the elevated approach viaducts to be built over the Mersey estuary.

The machine will act as a giant concrete mould for the deck of the approach viaducts, which will be constructed in sections (known as ‘spans’) of approx 70m in length. It will take up to two weeks to build each span.

Trinity started construction work in Widnes on Thursday with a concrete pour for the first deck section of the northern approach viaduct, which will lead to the new bridge. The first pour lasted 24 hours and consumed an impressive 160 truckloads of concrete, poured into the 1,170 m3 formwork mould.

It took three months to assemble her on site from 1,200 component parts held together by more than 60,000 bolts. She will now be on site for the next 14 months.

General Manager of the Merseylink contracting joint venture, Hugh O’Connor said “This is a hugely exciting time for our construction teams. An enormous amount of effort has gone into preparing and testing Trinity ahead of today’s concrete pour. We are delighted to achieve this important milestone and get this next phase of the project underway.”

Once the bridge is complete, the equipment is set to be dismantled and recycled. Making it an innovative and sustainable one of a kind!

See how the machine works in the below video:

Watch the full version of the 3D fly-through of the plans for the Mersey Gateway Project below. This includes a look at the route, the main crossing and the construction methods.

/by

Ecobuild conference puts spotlight on housing

,

Some of the most influential and outspoken names in the UK housing industry will present their visionary and powerful opinions in the housing themed sessions on Day 1 at Ecobuild. Supported by BRE, the conference covers property issues ranging from the need for high quality volume housing and commercial viability of ultra-low cost and low energy homes, to the challenges of refurb and retrofit.

The programme, being hosted by broadcaster Cathy Newman, embodies state of the art design and construction, leaving no stone unturned to establish what our future housing needs are and what can be done to deliver it. Among speakers giving their forthright, expert – and at times – provocative views include Tony Pidgley, Chairman of Berkeley Group; David Sheridan, Chief Executive of Keepmoat, and Rowan Moore, Architecture Critic for the Observer. All three will provide a unique and inspiring look at what makes good housing.

Professor Phil Jones, Chairman of Architectural Science at Cardiff University, is another of the day’s dynamic speakers. Prof Jones led the team which developed SOLCER, the UK’s first purpose-built, low-cost energy smart house which is capable of exporting more energy to the national electricity grid than it uses. The property was built for a mere £100,000. Prof Jones’ teaching and research activities cover a range of subjects in the field of energy use, environmental design and sustainability in the built environment.

With each session designed to give a glimpse at the future of housebuilding and home creation, Colin Usher, director of John McCall Architects, provides a presentation on “Living for Tomorrow”, in which he offers common sense solutions to low-energy, cost-effective future living. In 2014, John developed a house which runs on a utilities bill of just £15 per year.

/by