After a couple of challenging years, many had big hopes that 2022 was going to offer the construction sector a slightly easier path. However, as we now know, the challenges have continued to rain upon our industry – not least of which have been issues around the availability and cost of materials plus labour supply.
More positively, the sector seems to have retained its ability to adapt and love of innovation and these are qualities that can be clearly seen in some of the current architectural design trends. From incorporating more natural lighting to introducing more efficient processes into projects, the design work that’s happening right now is surely leaving its mark on the homes of the future. Keep reading this week’s blog for some of the top trends we’ve come across…
A few weeks ago, we published a blog with some tips about managing and improving something that plays a huge part in every construction project – quality. We looked at how important it is to set out goals, carry out tons of forward planning, create work lists for each and every phase of a project, make inspection plans and to monitor, review and learn from every experience.
However, even with the very best intentions to keep on top of all of this, once a project is underway those intentions can be slipped up and brought to the ground by unexpected obstacles or even by a single mistake that compromises quality and/or safety. As a follow up to our previous blog, today we’re delving into four key factors than can cause such a fall – Systems and audits, Changes, Materials and suppliers, and Human error.
As construction companies continue to face challenges around the supply and cost of materials, the Construction Leadership Council have got together with industry experts to launch a five-point plan to ease the impact.
While many of the factors causing the materials crisis are acknowledged to be outside the control of businesses, experts or even the government, the CLC’s plan seeks to co-ordinate an industry-wide effort to minimise risk and reduce the impact of inflation wherever that’s possible.
Keep reading for more on what’s causing this problem and what’s included in the plan.
Across the world, it’s estimated that around 1.5 billion vehicle tyres are discarded every year. Most of us have probably never really thought about this or what might be happening to such a mountain of tyres once they’ve been cast off. While some may get strung up to a tree to make a swing, such repurposing is really an exception to the rule. In fact, less than one percent of old vehicle tyres are ever reused, meaning huge quantities wind up in stockpiles and landfill.
Now, researchers from the University of South Australia (UniSA) have come up with something that could not only help to resolve the landfill problem but also provide an economically viable and sustainable alternative to concrete for the construction industry. Read this week’s blog for more about this exciting development.