Whether it’s a small-scale conversion project or a large commercial development, the contractors and sub-contractors involved will have an impact on the community they’re entering into.
In all likelihood, the work will be carried out in a location where some people live, work or spend their leisure time and that means there are several areas of concern which should be taking into consideration – particularly the appearance of the site, noise control and the logistical arrangements.
How members of the public react to these impacts will largely depend on how well a contractor engages with them. So, in this week’s blog, we’re exploring why keeping good relationships with local communities is so important to the success of any building project and what can be done to maintain a reputation as a considerate contractor.
On 6th September, Liz Truss formerly became the UK’s 80th Prime Minister, moving into number 10 Downing Street and no doubt inheriting an in-tray as high as some of London’s skyscrapers!
In her debut speech as PM, Truss talked about her vision for an “aspiration nation” characterised by tax cuts and business-led growth, and talked about three priorities – tackling the energy crisis, supporting the NHS and boosting the economy. Claiming her mission was to “get the UK working, building and growing’, the new Prime Minister gave little detail of how that might come about and interestingly made no references to net zero, nature or climate change.
With the construction industry facing economic challenges around rising costs plus labour and materials shortages alongside environmental challenges around emissions, energy efficiency and waste, industry leaders have been quick to react to the new PM’s appointment. In this week’s blog, we’re sharing what some had to say.
For a construction project to be successful, there must be effective communication between all the people involved in its delivery from start to finish.
The importance of this cannot be overstated. When communication is lacking or poor, this opens the door for mistakes, including around safety and productivity plus their associated costs. On the other hand, when communication is strong, not only can you avoid such pitfalls but this also creates an environment where collaborative working practices can be adopted and where both the people who work on the project and the project itself are set up for success.
Keep reading this week’s blog for a closer look at why communication is so important and what you can do to improve it.
With the August bank holiday weekend coming up, some people will be taking this opportunity to get away for the last time before the ‘back to school’ season kicks in. Others, however, will be doing that other thing we Brits seem to love to tackle on bank holidays – a bit of DIY!
That often means decorating or carrying out refurbishments inside the home but have you thought about the exterior – the walls, doors, windows, lighting and roof? After all, it’s the state of these things that makes a first impression on anyone who visits your home and it’s also worth remembering that any wear and tear not only looks bad but can be costly, causing energy loss and perhaps more expensive repairs if left unresolved for too long.
In this week’s blog, we’ve got four things you could do to improve the exterior of your home.
Across the world, people from all continents are witnessing the destructive effects of climate change – droughts, floods, wildfires, extended heatwaves. storms and crop failures.
When you consider this, alongside the rocketing increases in energy prices that’s causing many households and businesses to struggle with their bills, it’s clear that reducing the amount of energy we all use is now urgent – for both our planet and our purses.
One solution that we’re hearing mentioned more frequently within the construction world is the ‘Fabric First’ approach – changes that can be made when considering the design, construction and ‘fabric’ of a building to ensure it becomes energy efficient. In this week’s blog, we’ll tell you more.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve been sharing what we know about some of the careers people can choose in construction. So far, we’ve looked at what it means to take up physical, on-site jobs like bricklaying and roofing but, while these are common and important roles, the sector offers a much broader range of possibilities than this.
In fact, construction is one of the biggest industries in the world and so there are literally hundreds of career pathways to choose from. For instance, there are Architects, CAD technicians, Quantity Surveyors, Site Engineers, Contracts Managers, Estimators, Construction Managers, BIM Coordinators, Commercial Managers, Health and Safety professionals, Environmental Consultants and a whole host of other back-office roles like accountancy, office management and digital marketing.
In this third and final part of our Careers in Construction series, we’re going to give a brief overview of five of these roles.
In its ‘State of the Trade’ survey, published last October, the Federation of Master Builders found that 60% of small-to-medium sized construction companies had pressed the pause button on jobs due to a lack of skilled tradespeople. 12% had cancelled work due to a lack of skilled tradespeople and 45% were particularly struggling to hire bricklayers.
A key problem is that the industry has an ageing workforce and young Brits are shying away from entering traditional trades. Some suggest that young people ‘leave’ our industry as young as 12 years old! Sounds weird but think about it. Pre-schoolers and primary schoolkids love the idea of building things (influenced perhaps by ‘Bob the Builder’ and games like Minecraft). But, something changes as they reach their teenage years and suddenly construction is seen as ‘dirty work’ or something for ‘those who don’t go to college’.
So, in today’s blog, we’re going to try to dispel some of those negative ideas and showcase what it really means to be a bricklayer.
Earlier this month, we reported on how the construction industry in the UK will need over a quarter of a million extra workers by 2026, including 26,000 in Greater London and 24,600 across the East of England.
This is going to be a real challenge, not least because the numbers of young people looking to enter the sector are far below the numbers of older workers who are leaving their trade. One YouGov Omnibus survey found that only 3% of young people aged 18-24 had searched for a job in construction.
As schools and colleges across the country come to a close, it’s likely there are a great many young people who haven’t fully decided what to do next. To help, we thought we’d share what we know about some of the key construction trades and so the focus of today’s blog is roofing.
While holidaymakers in the UK may be enjoying the recent heatwave, construction workers and others who mostly work outside may be finding the weather slightly more uncomfortable.
With temperatures heading above into the mid-30°Cs, some forecasters are warning that by Sunday, we could exceed the UKs record for the hottest day (which was 38.7°C in July 2019). Added to the fact that the heatwave is expected to continue for at least another eight days, the Met Office have issued an Amber weather warning for extreme heat, meaning that it could result in travel disruption, serious illness and even danger to life.
To help everyone stay safe and well, we’re focusing today’s blog on the health impacts of hot weather and what you can do to avoid them.
Over a quarter of a million extra construction workers may be needed by 2026, according to the latest Construction Skills Network report. That’s over 53,000 new recruits per year for the next five years!
Published annually by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), the report looks into the UK’s construction economy and makes key predictions about what will happen in terms of labour/ skills needs over the coming years.
Check out this week’s blog for more details of what this year’s report had to say plus what it means for the sector and our region.