News

The fear of fire stems from a primitive instinct, one that’s purely survivalist. We know that, despite its inherent usefulness, placing your hand in a fire is about as wise as jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge or hitting a championship boxer in the jaw. But laxness in your fire safety is could prove deadly in the construction industry. Your chip pan going up in flames might cause some cursory damage, but it’s nothing compared to a cavalcade of Calor gas canisters taking out an entire office complex. Fire safety, then, is a problem in all areas of construction work. You have to remain cognisant of your surroundings, ensuring that highly flammable equipment or materials are contained in a safe place is vital to the stable completion …

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« Green buildings » construction seems to be all the rage today as it holds a very important place in today’s environmental policy. The search for carbon neutrality while trying to live in the most sustainable way is a good thing but doing so in “green buildings” is even better. A green building is a “healthy” construction, using natural materials, rejecting the use of toxic substances in the manufacturing of construction materials, limiting negative impacts of human habitat on the environment and reducing energy consumption. Ideally a green construction should adapt to its natural environment and to people, as the inhabitants’ well-being is essential. A green building should implement environmentally-friendly practices in every step of the process: design, construction, maintenance, renovation, demolition and recycling. Sustainable …

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London, United Kingdom, 29 February 2016: The Considerate Constructors Scheme – the national scheme to improve the image of the construction industry – has announced a new star ratings system. Star ratings posters and certificates will be available to use alongside existing Considerate Constructors Scheme signage. This will provide an opportunity for those registered with the Scheme to show to the public how they have performed against the Scheme’s Code of Considerate Practice. They have been created in response to contractors and clients asking for an easy way to demonstrate their considerate credentials to the public. The new US Embassy, which is currently under construction in Nine Elms in Wandsworth, has achieved the top 5 star rating. The site, which is being constructed by B.L. Harbert International, in conjunction …

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UCATT is believed to be in talks to form a “super union” with other construction organisations. We understand that Unite is the front runner to take over UCATT with the GMB and Community other outsiders in the race. UCATT officials are putting a brave face on the move which has been forced on them by a financial crisis. One insider said: “This is all about forming a stronger union for construction workers and Unite would be a sensible place to go with that.” Another union veteran said: “UCATT has run out of money and this move has been forced on them.” It is thought that UCATT officials have now been made aware of the move and any merger would be made official by the end…

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London Mayor Boris Johnson has given final approval for Tottenham Hotspur’s £400m stadium redevelopment at White Hart Lane. Northumberland Development Project also includes homes, hotel and a club museum Spurs now hope to move into the 61,000-seater venue in time for the 2018-19 season. Mace will deliver the stadium with engineer Buro Happold. Concrete and groundworks specialist Morrisroe is currently working on part of the stadium’s foundations. Preliminary work has already begun on the basement level The stadium plans are considered central to the ongoing regeneration of Tottenham, with City Hall already investing £28m in the surrounding area. The club’s Northumberland Development Project also include a hotel, sports centre, health centre, homes and club museum. Mayor Boris Johnson said: “White Hart Lane is already an iconic stadium, steeped in history, and…

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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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