News

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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Plans to build a new ferry terminal for Red Funnel in Southampton have got the green light. £35m terminal will be built at the Trafalgar Dock The facilities are to be moved from Town Quay to the Eastern Docks to make way for a £450m waterfront development, due to go before planners in August. Red Funnel plans to build the £35m ferry terminal at the Trafalgar Dock to improve links with the Isle of White. It will include a four-deck car park above the marshalling yard to replace existing surface parking and car storage Kevin George, CEO at Red Funnel, said: “We’re delighted that the plans have been approved. “This is a major step for Red Funnel in terms of delivering the first part of the…

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Barnfield Construction is starting work on Burnley FC’s new £10.6m training complex after agreeing a deal to sponsor the centre. The Barnfield Training Centre will be built in Padiham and will take 12 months to finish. Burnley FC Stadium and Operations Manager Doug Metcalfe said: “It’s great news to finally be on site and we can start to see some progress, as it has been a long time in the making. “We have spent four or five years developing plans for the training ground to move the club forward, and it won’t be long now before the site starts to take shape and we can begin to visualise the end result.

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Wiltshire Council has awarded Ringway Infrastructure Services an annual £15m highways maintenance contract to replace its failed Balfour Beatty deal. Ringway Infrastructure Services takes over maintenance in April Ringway will take over maintenance of roads, street lights and pavements for five years in April, with a possible extension of a further two years. Philip Whitehead, cabinet member for highways, said: “I believe this deal is the best one possible for the people of Wiltshire in terms of value for money, but most importantly quality.” The contractor, which ran the contract in Wiltshire between 1999 and 2013, was appointed following a thorough tendering exercise which saw four companies assessed in terms of price and quality. Balfour Beatty Living Places took on the five-year contract with Wiltshire Council in 2013 but relations between both…

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New research by a construction and small business insurance specialist constructaquote.com has discovered that as many as 64% of sole-traders and small business owners within the UK don’t own Professional Indemnity Insurance, with those working as building contractors, engineers and estate agents revealed as the top culprits. Construction and small business insurance specialists constructaquote.com have re-launched their Professional Indemnity Insurance product this New Year, designed to protect business owners when a claim is made against them. Professional Indemnity insurance is there to protect businesses that offer professional advice which could lead a customer to lose money. The research was inspired after constructaquote.com spoke to its customer Adrian Buckmaster, the owner of cladding contractors Terraclad Limited, who employs six people. Adrian took out …

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The bosses of more than 150 contractors have signed up to prioritising health and wellbeing in the workplace. workplace ill health costs construction more than 69,000 lost days a year Firms have agreed to launch a major new initiative to transform the industry’s occupational health record, which sees around 3,500 deaths a year from construction related disease. The latest new drive mirrors the safety summit 15 years ago, which galvanised contractors into tackling the industry’s poor safety record. Chief executives have pledged to raise occupational health as a boardroom priority, after hearing it is costing the industry an estimated £1.3bn a year in lost productivity. The firms yesterday pledged to launch an all-out offensive to tackle industrial diseases like mesothelioma that alone accounts for 2,600 deaths every year. Construction workers suffer three times more…

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