News

Thinking about becoming a Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv)? Then make sure you catch the Society for the Environment’s (SocEnv) recent webinar recordings. They provide the latest information, advice and insight into the positive impacts of registration, the skills required and the application process.

All homes and businesses in England will have to meet rigorous new energy efficiency standards to lower energy consumption and bills, to help to protect the environment, the Housing Minister Chris Pincher has announced.

The Government has committed to establish a national regulator for construction products as part of wider reforms to address the systemic failings identified by the Hackitt Review.

A London South Bank University (LSBU) student won a prestigious Construction Services Apprentice of the Year award at the BAME Apprenticeships Awards 2020, while a second, female engineering LSBU apprentice was highly commended.

The boardrooms of the country’s top businesses have long been male-dominated spaces, with the government recommending in 2015 that the boards of all FTSE 350 companies should be 33% by 2020.

The 2020 show saw a record 1,600 graduation projects submitted by students in 270 universities – a 30% increase on the previous year – and 100 shortlisted. Of those, funding to take the solutions to market was announced on two innovations. One of these is a reflective thermochromic paint from SpectrumLab that changes its colour based on temperature.

The latter months of 2020 saw many sensational headlines in the media around the ongoing investigation into the Grenfell disaster. It is important to focus on the facts rather than the headlines, and video coverage of the evidence can be viewed here: grenfelltowerinquiry.org.uk/

The Project Management Institute’s survey data, compiled by HIS Markit, showed a rebound in UK construction activity during December. The sector’s recovery has been boosted by a return to projects that had been delayed at the start of the pandemic, primarily house building (which saw a sharp rise during December) alongside new business wins and improving client demand.

ONS data shows research and development spending in the UK construction industry jumped 11.5% annually to a new record high says Catax. Total construction sector spending on R&D rose to £417m in 2019, an increase of £43m from the £374m recorded a year earlier.

Chris Stark, Chief Executive of the Committee on Climate Change, the UK’s independent statutory adviser, said the cost of moving to a low-carbon economy had come down significantly.

We’re calling on members to show the realities of their day-to-day roles by sending us pictures of their work.

“A home is somewhere you should feel safe,” begins the cabinet statement on building safety funding in Wales by Julie James, Minister for Housing and Local Government. It continues to state that many living in high-rise properties are concerned about potential building defects, which pose fire and broader health and safety risks.

The Building Controls Industry Association (BCIA) 2021 BCIA Awards will take place in May 2021. They recognise innovation, product development, project delivery and great training in the building controls sector. The closing date for entries is 22 January 2021, enter at bcia.co.uk/bcia-awards/

Naturally-formed balancing boulders could be used to help scientists to forecast large earthquakes more precisely. Precariously balanced rocks (PBRs) are found throughout the world (characterised by a slender boulder on a pedestal boulder) and have survived earthquake shaking over thousands of years

To accelerate and streamline its operations, contractor Sir Robert McAlpine has adopted a common data environment (CDE) from SaaS provider Business Collaborator (BC), now part of Bentley Systems. It will drive end-to-end project and asset information management across new projects, and enable a single, unique data source to be accessed by Sir Robert McAlpine and its supply chain partners. 

2020 will surely be remembered as an extraordinary year for all of us with challenges and opportunities that we could not have imagined. Of course, the scourge of Coronavirus is still with us. We are all doing our best to keep business as usual. What has been shown over the past 12 months is how, on a human level, local communities and businesses have come together to support each other.

With a renewed focus on sector transformation and recovery, the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has established a new Digital Network as a key part of the CLC Task Force Group.

The Building Controls Industry Association (BCIA) says significant time and money can be saved on building projects by adapting technical drawings to include specific instructions for Building Energy Management System (BEMS) companies.

Engineers Without Borders UK has launched its 2020/21 Engineering for People Design Challenge in partnership with Engineers Without Borders South Africa and Engineers Without Borders USA.

The Construction Industry Council (CIC) has announced a new partnership with Accredex, e-learning and accreditation, to provide training courses for industry professionals.