With the news headlines moving slightly away from the coronavirus pandemic into an almost daily dose of woe about the energy market crisis, in today’s blog we’re looking at what effect this might have on construction.
While Sheriff Construction and other building contractors like us do not use very much natural gas in our day-to-day work, the problem is that our suppliers do. Manufacturing the materials we use is often energy intensive and, with the hike in the price of gas, it’s inevitable that those costs will start to pass through the procurement process. One leading economist is warning the industry to be prepared for a ‘phase of rising prices’ in bricks, cement and concrete. Read on for more information.
For construction site workers, every day tends to start with a work gear checklist that looks something like this: Helmet – check, Boots – check, Hi-vis – check, Jetpack – check.
Hold up a minute, what was that last one – a jetpack? OK, so it may not be on the list right now but, with the launch of a new jetpack prototype that’s designed to support maintenance and inspection work at hard-to-reach sites, perhaps the jetpack will become one of those essential items soon! Who’s ready to fly?
For any company to be successful, good leadership is essential. This is true across many different industries and the main issue for construction businesses is achieving this at all the various leadership levels across their organisation. Among other things, we need great leaders in the office to provide direction on the business strategy, principles and procedures; we need great leaders on board at the very beginning of every project to engage with clients and oversee safety, costs and budgeting; and we need great leaders on the ground at each site to manage schedules, monitor progress and motivate the team. With so much riding on it, we’re taking a moment this week to reflect on what good leadership in construction actually looks like.
When you visit a friend’s new house, there are many things which might leave a lasting impression – for instance their choice of interior design or perhaps the welcoming tea and biscuits. However, before you get to any of that, a first impression will have been formed by how the house looks from the outside. The traditional brick facade on a house might be common here in the UK but there are lots of other options which can help a house to show its best side. We’re highlighting five ideas in this week’s blog.
As we near the end of August, you can’t help but notice all the ‘back to school’ signs and merchandise laid out at the front of the shops. This got us thinking about how, nowadays, the idea of getting back into learning mode is no longer reserved just for children and young people. The principle of ‘lifelong learning’ has long been something that many adults have embraced but, as our world continues to change at such a fast pace, this seems to be becoming more important than ever. In this week’s blog, we’re exploring the multiple professional and personal benefits that following this approach offers.
The summer holidays – a time when, like many others, people working in construction often disappear for a while (on their holidays or for family visits). But, did you know that, in the UK and for various reasons, more than half of people don’t take their full holiday entitlement? The problem, however, is that such efforts can be counter-productive as taking a break actually offers all kinds of benefits, both to the individual and the companies they work for. This week’s blog outlines the key points.
While the generally drier weather of summer makes it one of the best times for completing construction works, every year the season also brings some additional challenges, for instance around maintaining the quality of products, the reduced availability of workers and specific heat-related safety risks. Of course, this year there are additional woes related to the pandemic and Brexit but in this week’s blog, we’re focusing on four areas of concern that sites face during a typical summer and included some guidance about what you can do to avoid or overcome those challenges.
So ‘Freedom Day’ happened this Monday 19th July – the day when the remaining COVID-related legal restrictions like social distancing and mask-wearing were lifted in England. However, while there were crowds of jubilant party-goers queuing outside the nation’s nightclubs at Midnight, others (including many businesses) are taking a more cautious approach to the relaxations. So, what about construction? Read this week’s blog to find out more about what seems to be a clash between the government’s and industry leaders’ viewpoints as well as what we at Sheriff would advise.
Last week, our blog focused on head/ brain injuries and why it is so important that construction workers select, wear and maintain the right head protecting gear to stay safe. Within that article we made a reference to the issue of concussion and promised to come back to this in more detail so ‘voila’, here it is! Keep reading to gain a greater understanding of what concussion is, the signs and symptoms to look out for and what to do if you or a colleague suffers such an injury at work.
Without the right PPE, a construction site can become a very dangerous place and this is especially true when it comes to head injuries. But did you know that hard hats represent only 3% of PPE purchases in our industry and that only 6% of workers who have had a head injury at work seek medical attention? In response to these and other startling statistics, the brain injury charity, ‘Headway’, designated one week this June as Hard Hat Awareness Week, urging everyone in the industry to audit their head-protecting equipment. Read on to find out more about what you can do to safeguard yourself against a life-changing head injury.