Author Archives: Contributor

For an exceptionally long time, construction has been known for having issues it struggles to address. Shortages of skilled labour within the industry are so commonplace that at times in conversations it can feel less like a real topic than a chorus we all repeat endlessly. Many organisations will rush…

You know when you have had a good idea, because you keep coming back to it. A decade ago, the genesis of an idea took hold. As the new chief executive of the Electrical Contractors’ Association, and new to the world of trade associations, one of my initial aims was…

The information and support is out there to prevent deaths – now it’s time for the industry to commit to better practices, writes Peter Bennett

If humans can’t always be trusted to work safely at height, could a different kind of intelligence step in? Paul Thompson investigates

A new temporary-works access system offers a rapidly installed alternative to large-scale scaffolding. Paul Thompson reports

Construction News readers might have heard of the Common Assessment Standard, first announced in April 2019 by Build UK and CECA, with the support of the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), ECA and many others in the industry. The Common Assessment Standard is essentially a general, industry-agreed set of questions that…

When the pandemic struck, there was a concern that our consideration for the environment would slip back into the shadows. What actually happened was that our reliance on the outdoor spaces we had previously passed by without a thought, be it on our way to the shops or to work,…

The COVID-19 pandemic has delivered a ‘stress test’ like no other to all businesses operating within the UK. As we learn to live with the ongoing threat of the virus and its variants, and prepare for the UK to unlock, how do we return in the safest way possible? When…

When we talk about the benefits of modern methods of construction (MMC), we often focus on the time/cost/quality triangle. Yet the more I work in MMC, the more I see it has a wider opportunity than improving delivery – it can be a key component in increasing diversity. With safer…

This week marks a year since I was appointed building safety minister, and offers me the chance to reflect on the past 12 months and the progress that has been made in tackling one of the biggest challenges in building safety in generations. I have been deeply moved by first-hand…