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The largest ever off-site building project for the health sector is nearing completion. People do a lot of things remotely these days. There are conference calls instead of meetings, assignments carried out at home instead of in the office. And then there are construction projects where the real action is taking place hundreds of miles away. This is the case at North Middlesex University Hospital (NMUH) in north London. Its new Women & Children’s Centre, due to open in November 2013, was actually built in York and has been fast-tracked into existence through the most ambitious off-site prefabrication exercise in the UK health sector to date. Covering 7800m2, the two-storey building and added plant room is the largest and most complex healthcare scheme ever …

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 Average use in England and Wales falls to 19.7 mWh as people go without heating in face of stagnant incomes and price rises. Households in England and Wales cut their energy use by a quarter between 2005 and 2011 as prices soared, government figures show. The sharp fall was probably caused by a mix of efficiency measures and environmental awareness, as well as steep price rises, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. Households have faced steep price increases in recent years as wages have remained frozen, squeezing budgets. Average bills have risen by 28% in the last three years, industry regulator Ofgem said. The ONS figures showed that average energy consumption in England and Wales fell from 26.2 megawatt hours (mWh) in 2005 to 19.7 mWh in 2011. Energy use varied widely between…

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The boss of Bovis Homes has told Sky News the company is to step up its building of new houses as the market recovery gathers pace. David Ritchie was speaking after the builder posted a 19% increase in first half pre-tax profit to £18.6m. It said that while market house price increases were estimated at up to 2% over the year to date, its own average sale price had risen to £188,500 on average – a rise of 15%. Bovis, like its competitors, has credited Government measures such as the Help to Buy shared equity scheme for improved activity in the market, benefiting first-time buyers especially. Funding for Lending has aided borrowers in that it has brought down mortgage costs. The company spoke of an acceleration in …

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A man who received an electric shock while working from an aerial lift in Newfoundland was saved by his harness The incident occurred over the weekend in Carbonear, while the man, 55, was painting the outside of a tyre store, he apparently backed into overhead power lines received a shock and was apparently ejected from the platform. Fortunately he was wearing a harness and lanyard which may well have saved his life. The emergency services were able to bring him down and he was taken to hospital, so far no details have been given about his condition. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is working with Occupational Health and Safety to investigate the cause of the accident.

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Even with the unreliable weather of the UK – workers in the Construction industry often spend a larger percentage of their working life outdoors than many other industries. These means that construction workers have a greater exposure to ultra violet rays than those working inside, and as a result are six more likely to get skin cancer than in any other industry. Plant hire company PJ Brown have put together the following advice leaflet for constructions workers to help them to stay safe in the sun and avoid harmful sun damage.

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The electrical courses that Trade Skills 4U offers at its Gatwick Training Centres have been awarded Centre of Excellence status by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). In order to make the grade, Trade Skills 4U centres, teaching methods, course documentation and staff were subject to rigorous scrutiny by the IET. Tony Hicks, IET learning development manager, commented, “It is a pleasure to work with Trade Skills 4U. Their commitment to delivering a wide range of high quality electrical courses is very impressive. It is also clear that their commitment to quality provision extends across the whole range of electrical qualifications. This is hard to find amongst training providers and serves to differentiate them from the crowd, enabling them to offer the one stop shop for …

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Building control surveyors ensure that that building regulations and other legislation are followed in the design and construction stages of new and altered buildings. Building control surveying gives professionals the opportunity to work on a huge range of building types as part of a normal day. Working in the public and private sector, building control surveyors work alongside architects, designers, builders and contractors from the conception of a design to its completion and use. Building control surveyors check proposed plans to ensure they meet required standards, including areas such as fire safety, energy conservation, structural stability and disabled access. They also follow the project through and check it during construction. Due to their depth of knowledge, building control surveyors are often called upon to give options when designs …

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The Office for National Statistics said the building industry grew by 1.4 per cent in the quarter to June 30.Overall, exports hit a record high of £78.4billion with growth of 3.2 per cent last month alone. As a result, the trade deficit in goods fell to £8.1billion in June from May’s £8.7billion, but a £6.5billion service sector surplus cut the overall figure to £1.6billion. Exports to China rose 20 per cent on last year and exports outside the EU rose by £1.3billion to £14.2billion in June. Manufacturing output was also up 1.9 per cent. The growth was mostly driven by trade with non-EU countries – a positive sign that UK companies are seeking customers further afield

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Giant towers were supposed to be a symbol of Spain’s bright new future Lift exists for first 20 floors – but developers doubled scale of building Now there is no more space for more lifts and motor equipment Architects have resigned after latest setback in beleaguered project The 200metre high InTempo towers in Benidorm were billed as ‘a vision of the future’ and a symbol of Spain’s reemergence from a crippling financial crisis. With 47 floors of living space it was intended to be the tallest residential building in Europe. But with only months until it is due for completion, contractors have hit upon a slight problem . They forgot to build a lift. The towers were originally designed to be only 20 floors high, but ambitious developers…

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Output from the UK’s construction sites rose more than first thought between April and June as Government schemes spurred on housebuilding. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said construction output increased 1.4 per cent on the first three months of the year – up from an initial estimate of 0.9 per cent – although it was still down 0.5 per cent on the second quarter of 2012 as the sector claws slowly out of its trough. Experts said there was a slight chance the better-than-expected performance could see the ONS revise up its initial estimate of 0.6 per cent growth in gross domestic product (GDP) during the second quarter. Private sector housebuilding surged 7.6 per cent higher from the weather-hit first quarter and was up 8.2 per cent on the second quarter of 2012, …

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