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Crossrail has launched a knowledge-sharing website to spread lessons learned during its construction with the wider industry. Crossrail’s Learning Legacy initiative will share good practice on a wide range of topics, including Health & Safety, Project Management, Engineering and the Environment. The first tranche of material shares some of the early lessons that have been learned from the Crossrail programme. It includes technical papers, peer-reviewed case studies and procedures, which have been published on a dedicated website here Further material will be published every six months during the rest of the project. Andrew Wolstenholme, Crossrail Chief Executive, said: “Passing on the lessons and good practice that we have learned at Crossrail is an absolutely essential part of raising the bar in the delivery of major…

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Global construction facts

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Earth moving specialist CJ Pryor has put itself up for sale as 77 staff face the threat of redundancy. The Harlow based firm has also been forced to file an intention to appoint administrators following a cash flow crisis. CJ Pryor (Holdings) Limited, CJ Pryor (Plant) Limited and CJ Pryor (Contracts) Limited are up for sale while the company continues to “service existing customer orders.” FRP Advisory has been appointed to handle the process. An FRP statement said: “”The business specialises in earth moving, civil engineering and related earth moving haulage for infrastructure projects ranging from road building to reservoir construction as well as for quarrying, landfill construction, land restoration and land reclamation. “The business has nearly 70 years of trading history and works with a range of…

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As of November 2015, the number of young people in the United Kingdom not in education, employment or training stood at 848,000. Commonly referred to as ‘NEETs’, this huge section of society aged 16-24 (the Scottish government limits its NEET classification to those aged 16-19) is a desperate social and economic problem. BBC News in 2005 reported how NEETs are 20 times more likely to commit crime and female NEETS are 22 times more likely to be a teenage mother. Only 46% of NEETs in 2015 were listed as looking for work or further education, leaving the best part of half a million young people classed as ‘economically inactive’. A leading country like the UK, competing on the international stage against existing economic superpowers and developing economies, simply cannot afford to have …

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Some FREE Structural engineering resources  for our readers Free padstone calculator Beam to beam connection details Timber post design Also many more tools including Steel Beam Calculators on the website. Always take professional advice when using these tools or designing and structural elements for any project.

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New Checklist helps tackle key issues: Ensuring the legitimacy of the workforce Attracting and retaining skills London, United Kingdom, February 2016: The Considerate Constructors Scheme – the national Scheme to improve the image of the construction industry – has launched a new Monitors’ Checklist. The Checklist is the key method which Scheme Monitors use to assess and score sites, companies and suppliers’ performance against the Code of Considerate Practice. It comes into effect from 1 February 2016, but there will be a three month transition period until 1 May 2016, to ensure all Scheme registered members have sufficient time to familiarise themselves with the new requirements before any changes affect their scores. As the Scheme carries out around 18,000 sites, companies and supplier visits every year, the information gathered within the Monitors’ Checklist …

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A construction site is usually flush with many items that would be of interest to thieves and vandals.  Most of these items are very costly and tampering with even one of them could alter the funding dynamics of the entire project. This is a major reason why adequate steps must be taken to ensure that the construction is adequately protected all the time. This piece takes a look some tips that will help. Proper equipment storage All unused tools and equipment should be properly secured. Construction vehicles should be adequately locked and the keys secured when they are not in use.  Fences and storage shed should have locks installed. Ensure limited access to the site Regardless of the scope of the project, it is not necessary …

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Housing association Family Mosaic has launched a framework bid race to deliver more than 1,000 new homes a year. The framework is expected to cover more than £500m of new housing work over four years, mainly in London and Essex. The framework has not been split into lots because Family Mosaic’s average development scheme will cover projects of £5m-£15m requiring firms to  have a minimum annual turnover of £18m.

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Sunderland AFC’s charitable arm, the Foundation of Light, has selected Tolent Construction to build a £15m sports centre next to the Stadium of Light. Beacon of Light will be built next to the city’s aquatic centre and Stadium of Light The Beacon of Light building will provide a mix of both indoor sports hall and outdoor soccer pitches, alongside zones for education, introducing young people to the world of work, and health and wellbeing. Architecture practice Faulkner Browns came up with the striking cube design, which will rise to six storeys, just below the football stadium eaves. The entire development will provide 120,000 of accommodation on the 12 acre site. Sir Bob Murray, chairman of the foundation’s trustees, said: “The Beacon will be an exciting and inspiring education, training…

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Construction pensions and holiday pay specialist B&CE has taken control of the national scheme for the management of occupational health, Constructing Better Health Presently CBH operates under the control of the industry’s Construction Skills Certification Scheme. The move comes as industry leaders are due to gather in London this week to commit to dramatically improving occupational health in construction. Subject to finalising legal agreements, B&CE will initially take over the running of the current CBH operational model. Then B&CE will consult with industry to reform the current CBH offering to provide simple and easy to use services that will help to improve occupational health in the sector. Graham Wren, Chief Executive of Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS), said: “Since Constructing Better Health was established in…

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