News

UK residential and commercial building warranty provider ICW Group has launched a high-value structural warranty scheme.

Government draft regulations could see mandatory electrical safety checks for England’s social housing.

Bentley Education’s Digital Twin Design Challenge is a student contest to reimagine a realworld location and design a structure using the Minecraft video game.

Due to world events, British Steel will increase the prices of structural sections for all new orders by £250/t, with immediate eff ect.

The New Homes Quality Board (NHQB) has published a code of practice for the housebuilding industry and is working to oversee the creation of the New Homes Ombudsman Service to provide “robust independent redress” for new build buyers who have “issues with their new home or developer”.

Northern Ireland Finance Minister Conor Murphy (pictured, right) has announced changes to building regulations, which make Changing Places toilets a requirement in buildings commonly used by the public. The statutory guidance will apply to certain types of new buildings or existing ones where there is a material change of use. It will come into effect on 30 June 2022

Digital Construction Skills (DCS) has launched a free mentoring service to support businesses in implementing digital processes and techniques. DCS is funded by the Construction Industry Training Board to help construction companies develop the skills they need to drive digital transformation in their business.

BRE has revealed the winners at the BREEAM Summit and Awards 2022 – a thought leadership and networking conference followed by a celebration of sustainable building design.

The Construction Scotland Innovation Centre (CSIC) is expanding its Low Carbon Learning programme with a second free-to-att end course focused on the fabric and structure of sustainable buildings. Supported by Skills Development Scotland through more than £175,000 from the National Transition Training Fund, CSIC is off erring valuable training for people in the construction sector looking to upskill and reskill.

Following the announcement from the Offi ce for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) regarding Kingspan’s Kooltherm K15 insulation (including two prohibition notices issued by the OPSS in relation to K15) and the withdrawal by the British Board of Agrément of its certifi cate for K15, the National House Building Council (NHBC) has asked registered builder customers for additional information regarding the use of K15 on all sites.

The UK Government has taken note of concerns raised by leaseholders about the structure of the future safety regime outlined in the Building Safety Bill and is removing the duty to appoint a Build-ing Safety Manager (BSM).

It only seems like yesterday I was writing my first President’s welcome, and what a year it has been. I have met many members from all over the UK and Ireland, and while I have unfortunately not been able to physically visit the international chapters, I have enjoyed the opportunity to present virtually at both the Malaysia and Hong Kong chapters.

After months of debate and amendments, the Building Safety Bill became law today (29 April), with the intention to ‘create lasting generational change’ to the way high-risk and residential buildings are constructed and maintained, although many of the new provisions in the 262-page Act are not expected to come into force until 2023.

For decades the construction industry has failed to invest in the relevant skills needed to ensure a competent workforce.

The Royal College of the Arts (RCA) has unveiled its new Battersea campus, designed by world-renowned architects Herzog & de Meuron.

Faelsafe Life Safety has implemented a cloud-based platform to reduce its administrative burden, eliminate paper from its operations and improve the efficiency of engineers working across the UK mainland.

Tim Balcon, Chief Executive of the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), has written to construction employers to invite them to take part in a pilot scheme that will not only offer job opportunities to ex-offenders but help employers fill their skills gap.

A builder has been given a suspended prison sentence for allowing unsafe excavation work, which put workers in danger and rendered the neighbouring property unstable.

A report was recently made to Cross UK about concerns that hatches for amenity access points may not be fire safe.

The DLUHC Guidance on Collaborative Procurement for Design and Construction to Support Building Safety was launched recently at an event featuring a keynote from Dame Judith Hackitt, who in her report identified the procurement processes used across the construction industry as one of the many areas that urgently need to be improved following the Grenfell Tower fire.