Author Archives: Contributor

Andy Higson is business director at Intrastack, part of Saint-Gobain Off-Site Solutions Volumetric modular construction has made significant progress from its humble roots in commercial projects like portable classrooms. These structures, often referred to as ‘The Mobile’, were simple, transportable boxes that minimised onsite construction and disruption. In recent years,…

Felicity Zakers is an associate at law firm Browne Jacobson The National Audit Office previously reported that around 24,000 school buildings are beyond their initial estimated design-life and around 700,000 pupils are in a school that is likely to require significant refurbishment. The report further implied that these improvements were…

William O’Brien is a construction, engineering and procurement solicitor at Devonshires The government recently published a range of new regulations to inform and accompany the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA). We have been waiting some time for this detail, too long some might say, and so the fact it has…

David Harris is chief executive of Premier Modular The necessity for inclusivity in the construction industry has been spotlighted once again after research from the National Federation of Builders found that one in four construction workers identify as neurodiverse. According to the survey, more than a third of respondents feel…

Mark Christie is a senior associate in the construction team at Clarke Willmott LLP Rulings by the Technology and Construction Court (TTC) in the past few years show the court is prepared to act to ensure that the “notified sum” regime is protected. A “smash-and-grab” adjudication (SGA) is a technical…

The construction industry has perennially solved its skilled-labour shortages by looking abroad. But, since Brexit, employing people from overseas has become complicated. Those EU nationals who do not have settled or pre-settled status are now bound by the government’s points-based system along with other overseas nationals. Construction firms wanting to…

Graham Harle is chief executive of Gleeds Worldwide I was recently reminded of a column I wrote for Construction News back in 2019, in which I suggested that sales of lipsticks and underpants could offer useful insights into the health of the UK economy. I suggested that these tactics would…

By partner Alexandra Gower, associate director Matt Kyle and senior knowledge lawyer Tessa Garner at Osborne Clarke The government's much-awaited response to the consultation on the new building control regime for higher-risk buildings (HRBs) under the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA) has landed, along with various sets of regulations that…

Andy Beard is global head of cost and commercial management at Mace. In the first of a two-part analysis, he looks at the ongoing impact of inflation and high interest rates on the construction sector With personal finances taking a beating, interest-rate rises and inflation are topics on the lips…

Gerard Toplass is group chief executive of The 55 Group, parent company of framework provider Pagabo  If the latest pay figures are anything to go by, private sector employers are responding to wage rises in a knee-jerk fashion and should act more prudently when looking after staff. Don’t get me…