Features

Does the UK have the capacity to retrofit the nation’s homes?

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Decarbonising the nation’s homes requires an immense and multifaceted retrofit effort – but is the construction sector sufficiently skilled to deliver it? Keith Cooper investigates Turning tens of millions of homes green is a huge task for construction, and its workforce will play a pivotal role. But it’s a job…

Open goal: the football trainees turning to construction

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Civil engineer Emmanuel Afolabi is one of the thousands that have suffered the crushing disappointment of missing out on a dream career in sport. He has made it his mission to help others going through the same to consider turning their talents to construction and engineering Football was everything to…

Avoiding perverse incentives: the progress on decarbonising construction

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As contractors are increasingly being asked to consider embodied carbon and retrofit of commercial buildings, Construction News and Mitsubishi Electric brought together a group of those working in the field to hear about the issues involved On the panel Matthew Arnold, building performance manager, ISG Anisha Mayor, head of sustainability,…

Everything contractors need to know about looming R&D tax credit reforms

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Will imminent reforms boost or hinder take-up among construction firms of HMRC’s research and development tax credits scheme? David Prosser investigates Will construction companies miss out on valuable incentives designed to encourage innovation under a shake-up of the research and development (R&D) tax credits scheme? His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs…

Tall order: paying for the cladding crisis

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Cladding contractors have a crucial role to play in remediating potentially unsafe high-rise buildings – but they are beset by a variety of problems impacting their ability to implement solutions. Keith Cooper investigates  The precise financial cost of removing unsafe cladding from residential blocks is still one of the great…

Roundtable: Construction’s huge data challenge

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There are many reasons why the industry needs to improve its data gathering and sharing. Construction News and Quickbase brought together key members of the industry to explore the issues involved On the panel 1 Daniel Cook, chief executive, Active Building Centre 2 Peter Sutcliffe, head of technical practice -…

Breaking down barriers in MMC

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It’s widely accepted that more standardisation and better use of digital solutions could help construction become a more efficient industry, but there are barriers standing in the way. Construction News and IFS gathered a panel of experts to examine what’s stopping us On the panel 1 Scott Tacchi, head of…

Missing pieces: Is the industry ready for the Building Safety Act?

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As construction professionals and legal experts digest the real-world implications of the Building Safety Act, what are the big unanswered questions? Nobody needs reminding that ongoing building safety reforms are aimed at avoiding a repeat of the dreadful events of June 2017, when 72 people died in a devastating fire…

Are safety probes letting down the industry?

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The official system to investigate construction accidents is failing both victims and the industry Kayla Boor had just left her four-year-old son at school and was walking along the street when a pallet of bricks fell onto her from a building site crane. Two days later, the recently engaged woman…

Bits, bytes and bricks: How to invest wisely in technology

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The digital marketplace is hard to navigate, so how are construction firms ensuring they invest wisely in technology? Construction companies, faced with the need to adopt digital technologies to keep pace in a fast-changing world, will inevitably come up against a vast range of options. AI, drones, wearables… it’s a…