Category: Opinion
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Achieving net zero requires widespread BREEAM adoption
Construction professionals committed to sustainability must adopt performance benchmarks and set science-based targets, argues Barrett Harris. The UK construction sector has a pivotal role to play in achieving the nation’s net-zero target by 2050. However, a comparison of national and construction-specific greenhouse gas emissions reveals a stark contrast. Between 1990 and 2023, the UK reduced…
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Achieving net zero requires widespread BREEAM adoption
Construction professionals committed to sustainability must adopt performance benchmarks and set science-based targets, argues Barrett Harris. The UK construction sector has a pivotal role to play in achieving the nation’s net-zero target by 2050. However, a comparison of national and construction-specific greenhouse gas emissions reveals a stark contrast. Between 1990 and 2023, the UK reduced…
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The power of project data: a contractor boardroom view
Contractors should be collecting data on every site, writes Paul Gandy. You can use that information to run your project, and your business, better. Using historic project data, AI tools can identify performance trends, predict likely outcomes and flag early warning signs Paul Gandy, CIOB president View the original article and our Inspiration here
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‘The hardest thing was admitting I had a problem with my mental health’
A selection of readers’ comments about news and issues in the industry from across the CIOB community and social media. (Image: Tinnakorn Jorruang, Dreamstime) CM People: How to support good mental health in construction site teams Considerate Constructors Scheme’s Desiree Blamey shared good practices for tackling mental health and highlighted the progress being made across…
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Construction must embrace digital if it wants to overcome stagflation
While all construction firms will see the same change, they will affect packages or elements differently, depending on the labour intensity of the work involved. For instance, internal walls and demolition are more labour-intensive than vertical transportation and façades, which incorporate a significant material component. View the original article and our Inspiration here
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What can Levelling Up schemes learn from mega projects’ delays?
Weak feasibility studies, vague scope and inadequate financial planning lead to delays. Those delays, in turn, ripple through procurement and execution. This echoes the Levelling Up Fund, which showed that many UK bids were submitted without detailed designs. High-level costings are simply not a reliable foundation for timely delivery. View the original article and our…
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How can we eliminate plastic waste from construction sites?
During plastic audits, sock pipe coverings had been identified as a single use plastic waste stream. NI Water and Farrans Glanua identified hard, recyclable covers which could be washed and reused instead. These recyclable end caps are now used on the trunk main framework, contributing towards Farrans’ zero plastic to landfill objective. View the original…
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‘Gateway 2.5’: should we expect a new step in the building control process?
As industry and the Building Safety Regulator trade blows over the reasons for delays in Gateway 2 approvals, does Dame Judith Hackitt’s reference to a ‘Gateway 2.5’ reveal how government might try to break the logjam? Angus Dawson examines this issue. View the original article and our Inspiration here
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A fickle, volatile, conflicted ecosystem: construction needs stability
Construction’s great strength is its ability to adapt, but it needs better strategic direction from government to deliver on policy promises, writes Brian Green, author of an upcoming CIOB report. Yet, while construction as an industry and producer of the built environment craves and thrives on stability and a long-term strategic direction, it is trapped…
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Paul Gandy’s five pointers for construction project managers
I’ve taken a few. Some by choice, some not. After working on Wembley with Multiplex, I went from being a managing director to running a defence construction business with Carillion. On paper, that looked like a step back. But actually, it was a great move. I got back to delivering projects and into the public…