Since the clocks went back in October, the hours of daylight have been getting shorter and that means many construction workers (including those working in office support roles) will be spending at least part of their working day and commuting time in the dark.
This can result in additional safety and security issues, including the risk of accidents occurring on site or while travelling to work as well as more malignant factors such as premises and/or workers being targeted by thieves taking advantage of the cover of darkness.
Here, we look at six simple ways you can stay safer this winter.
With all the political news focusing on the UK budget last week, you might have missed some amendments being made to the government’s Levelling Up Bill which will have implications for the construction industry.
Alongside measures that are supposed to help regenerate communities, speed up the delivery of new homes, improve wastewater facilities and give local people a greater say in how their neighbourhood looks, the government have presented what they’re calling BIDEN principles which should be applied to all new developments.
Intrigued as to what this means, we thought we’d find out more and use this week’s blog to explain.
There was a time when the idea of including a flat roof in a building design would have been considered risky, largely because of the kind of roofing materials used during the 1950s and 60s which proved to be not that durable and had a reputation for leaks. However, the technology has moved on so much since then and today we have flat-roofing solutions which provide exceptional waterproofing, are resistant to tear or puncture and have a much longer lifespan than their predecessors.
Perhaps the best thing about modern flat-roofing is that, providing it has been professionally installed, it should only ever require some simple routine maintenance. With the Autumn bringing leaves and debris onto our roofs, now is the time to get that maintenance done. Follow our advice in this week’s blog.
This week, the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh saw world leaders, business leaders, climate activists, civil society representatives and others arrive for COP27 – the largest annual gathering on climate action. Running for two weeks (until 18th November), this United Nations conference is seeking renewed solidarity between countries to urgently tackle the global climate emergency and deliver on the Paris Agreement for people and the planet.
Approaches that can be made by energy intensive sectors such as oil, gas, steel and cement will be discussed on the conference’s ‘Decarbonisation Day’ (11th November) so we’ll be keeping a watch on what’s said. Meanwhile, we thought we’d take this as our theme for this week’s blog and look at five ways construction companies can lower their carbon footprint.