A new NVQ for Brickwork Technicians has just been launched by the Association of Brickwork Contractors.

With building safety compliance in mind, the qualification has been designed for the thousands of people who work within the brickwork industry on important tasks that support the bricklaying process (but who are not actually bricklayers). Find out more here.

While some of the mobile apps we download end up doing little but take up space on our phones or tablets, others are revolutionising the way we live and work.

Right now, there are a great many mobile apps that are proving particularly useful for those working in the construction industry – supporting people by making every-day tasks simpler, improving efficiency in working practices and raising professional standards higher than ever before. In this week’s blog, we’ve got a rundown of just some of the apps available.

A new technology, using flying robots (drones) that work cooperatively like bees, might soon be something we see in use on a construction site.

Imitating some of the methods used by nature’s airborne builders, the technology (which has so far been tested in a lab) could ultimately be used for manufacturing and building – particularly in difficult-to-access or dangerous locations such as tall buildings or help with post-disaster relief works.

Take a look at this week’s blog to find out more…

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.

The world we live in is constantly changing and the construction industry is certainly no exception to this. While some of the changes construction faces are incredibly challenging (for instance, the materials and labour shortages that have been widely reported in recent years) others can be seen as game-changing opportunities to boost productivity, conquer new markets, improve sustainability and support the wellbeing of the workforce.

As we start another year, still in the grips of the global pandemic along with other serious planetary concerns, we’re taking a look at some of the predicted top trends for construction in 2022.

Globally, in every town and every city, concrete is used to give our buildings shape and strength. But the huge scale of the concrete industry comes at a cost – it’s estimated that around 7% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions come from the manufacture and use of cement, which is the main component of concrete.

Now, a team from the University of Tokyo have come up with a new kind of concrete that has the potential to reduce emissions from the construction industry! Read on to find out more about this concrete of the future.

Sheriff Construction is happy to announce that its new look website has gone live today. Have a look now at: sheriffconstruction.co.uk Ahead of lockdown, and as Sheriff headed towards its fifteenth year of operation within the construction industry, it became clear to us that our website was due for an update. Despite facing several challenges…