Construction Manager May 2019

CONSTRUCTION MANAGER | MAY 2019 | WWW.CONSTRUCTIONMANAGERMAGAZINE.COM

MAY 2019 For members of the CIOB

DIGITAL CONSTRUCTION

CONSTRUCTION’S DIGITAL JOURNEY

PROGRESS TO DATE – AND WHERE THE INDUSTRY GOES NEXT

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CONSTRUCTION MANAGER | MAY 2019 CONTENTS

05/19

Switchboard +44 (0)20 7490 5595 Editor Will Mann 020 3865 1032 will.m@atompublishing.co.uk Associate editor Neil Gerrard 020 3865 1031 neil@atompublishing.co.uk Production editor Sarah Cutforth Art editor Heather Rugeley Community editor Nicky Roger Redesign art director Mark Bergin Advertising manager Dave Smith 0203 865 1029 Key account manager Tom Peardon 0203 865 1030 Credit control Eva Rugeley Managing director Stephen Quirke

In this issue

24

Circulation Net average 31,509 Audit period: July 2017 to June 2018 Subscriptions To subscribe or for enquiries, please contact: Subscription team Tel: 020 7199 0069 Or go online at: https://constructionmanager.isubscribe.co.uk Or write to us at the address below: Construction Manager Published for the Chartered Institute of Building by Atom Publishing, 3 Waterhouse Square, 138 Holborn, London EC1N 2SW Tel: +44 (0)20 7490 5595 firstname@atompublishing.co.uk Editorial advisory board Mark Beard FCIOB, Ann Bentley, Ian Eggers, Peter Caplehorn, Harvey Francis, Professor Jacqui Glass FCIOB, Paul Morrell, James Pellatt, Nick Raynsford, Richard Saxon, Andy von Bradsky, Phil Wade Construction Manager is published monthly by Atom Publishing. The contents of this magazine are copyright. Reproduction in part or in full is forbidden without permission of the editor. The opinions expressed by writers of signed articles (even with pseudonyms) and letters appearing in the magazine are those of their respective authors, and neither the CIOB, Atom Publishing nor Construction Manager is responsible for these opinions or statements. The editor will give careful consideration to material submitted – articles, photographs, drawings and so on – but does not undertake responsibility for damage or their safe return. Printed by The Wyndeham Group. All rights in the magazine, including copyright, content and design, are owned

by CIOB and/or Atom Publishing. ISSN 1360 3566

10

32

28

News 04 Goldman Sachs backs TopHat 06 Data: Housing starts 08 Digital efficiencies 10 CM BIM survey 16 Chris Blythe retrospective

Technical 24 Restoring Nottingham Castle 28 Dust risks round table

Legal 44 Social value and procurement 45 Digitalisation and disputes

32

36

Community 46 Edinburgh forum 49 Housing debate 51 Diary dates 54 Basement excavation

Opinion 20 Mark Beard 21 Mace’s Jason Millett 22 Chris Soffe 23 Feedback: Readers’ views

Demolition Demolition and digital technology NFDC president Holly Price

BIM & Digital 38 BIM round table

Training & Recruitment 58 Conservation specialist

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NEWS MAY 2019 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

04-18

News News in pictures

Goldman Sachs sinks £75m into Derby modular firm

ANDY BUCHANAN

Investment banking giant Goldman Sachs is investing £75m into modular housing business TopHat. The company, which manufactures housing off site in its factory in Derbyshire, (pictured, right) was set up two years ago by American entrepreneur Jordan Rosenhaus.

Mark Farmer, CEO of Cast Consultancy, said his business had played “a key role in making this deal happen”. He described it as “a major industry milestone in bringing design quality and technology-led pre-manufactured homes into the mainstream”.

TopHat will complete its first homes at Kitchener Barracks in Chatham, Kent, in the second quarter of this year.

Rosenhaus said: “This transaction is a sign of the tremendous progress TopHat has made since it was established and the significant market opportunity in the housing and digital construction sectors in the UK.”

Plans for 90m-tall ‘MSG Sphere’ submitted

Robotic CLT manufacturing project launched

Plans for a spherical 90m-tall, 17,500-seat entertainment venue in London’s Stratford, operated by the Madison Square Garden Company, have been submitted. The 120m-diameter MSG Sphere would be wrapped in triangular LED panels showcase a range of static and moving images. Inside, it would also feature the largest and highest-resolution LED screen in the world, a haptic flooring system that will convey bass through the floor and wireless connectivity that delivers 25 megabits per second.

A new method for constructing homes using robots is being researched by a collaboration between Construction Scotland Innovation Centre (CSIC), timber engineering firm Glulam Solutions, and Robert Gordon University (RGU).

The project will focus on the design of robotic fabrication of a cross-laminated timber (CLT) joint.

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CONSTRUCTION MANAGER | MAY 2019 NEWS McGee has completed the largest HS2 demolition project to date after clearing the 42,000 sq m site for the Victoria Road crossover box near Old Oak Common station in London. Turn to page 32 for a special report on demolition

For daily updates on the latest news, go to constructionmanagermagazine.com

News in quotes

A ‘lift shaft with a bulge on top’ Plans for what would become the tallest tower in the City of London have been approved.

The 305.3m-tall tower at 20 Bury Street, designed by Foster + Partners, has been proposed by developer Safra Group. Historic England objected to the building, claiming it would damage London’s heritage and branding it a “lift shaft with a bulge on top”. The building would be just shy of London’s tallest, the Shard.

“We believed it was the right thing to do.”

Landlord ForViva, which manages 24,000 homes in the north west, explained why it has retrofitted sprinklers to 17 high-rise blocks in Salford and Knowsley at a cost of £5m.

Seddon wins Mates in Mind award

“A sense of ridicule for British business.”

Former construction minister Richard Harrington blamed a failure to secure a Brexit deal or rule out a hard Brexit as his reason for resigning his post. He has been replaced by Andrew Stephenson.

Seddon Construction has won a Mates in Mind 2019 Impact Award, after it launched an initiative to build awareness of mental wellbeing following the death of an employee. Painter and decorator Jordan Bibby was just 25 when he took his own life in 2017. Pictured: James Rudoni, managing director at Mates in Mind; Nicola Hodkinson, director of business services, Seddon Construction; Heather Bryant, health safety environment & sustainability director, Balfour Beatty; and former government spin doctor Alastair Campbell.

“Wishful thinking is no basis for spending public money.”

Public Accounts Committee chair Meg Hillier warned it was “unacceptable” that parliament and the public didn’t know the root causes of the failure to deliver Crossrail on time or on budget.

Harvard engineers develop sheet piling robot

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Harvard engineers have developed a robot capable of driving sheet piles into the ground, even on remote terrain. The four-wheeled Romu robot has been developed by Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering. The robot removes the need for heavy machinery by leveraging its own weight with a vibratory hammer to drive interlocking steel sheet piles into soil.

“Suppliers who are unable to... ensure a fair and responsible approach to payment of their supply chain may be excluded from bidding.”

A letter from the Cabinet Office has warned 10,000 business in its supply chain to pay their suppliers within 30 days or face being frozen out from contracts.

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DATA MAY 2019 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

225, 800

The number of apprenticeship starts between August 2018 and January 2019, an increase of nearly 10% on the same period the year before. It is the first time starts have risen since the introduction of the apprenticeship levy in April 2017.

What is driving product cost rises?

Data

Construction Products Association figures show key drivers of cost inflation in Q1 2019 compared to a year ago, as reported by light side and heavy side product manufacturers.

Housebuilding starts flatline

100%

change on the 165,090 starts in 2017. Seasonally adjusted new-build dwelling starts in England were estimated at 40,580 in the December 2018 quarter, which was 2% down on the same period the year before, and 8% down on the September 2018 quarter.

60,000

n Completions n Starts

50,000 40,000 30,000

60%

40%

20%

20,000 10,000

Raw materials

Exchange rates

Fuel costs

Energy costs

Wages & salaries

2018-19

2017-18

2016-17

2015-16

2014-15

2013-14

2012-13

2011-12

2010-11

2009-10

Taxes

0%

0 2008-09

Number of dwellings

Source: Ministry for Housing, Communities & Local Government

Seasonally adjusted trends in quarterly new build dwelling starts and completions

n Light n Heavy 80%

Balance of firms against a year ago

The number of new-build house starts was flat in 2018 as compared to the year before at 165,160, as construction faltered in the final quarter of the year. The government has a target of 300,000 new homes a year by the mid-2020s but the number of new starts in 2018 marked no

Source: Construction Products Association

News in numbers

8,500

The distance in km at which Doosan is able to remotely operate its excavators using 5G. At German trade show Bauma, it had a booth allowing operators to control a machine in South Korea in real time.

90%

The proportion of newbuild home owners who support a “snagging retention”, according to the HomeOwners Alliance, which wants to see buyers able to hold back 2.5% of the value until problems are fixed.

£3.8bn 18 The revised final bill expected for London’s new “super sewer” after construction costs rose by 8% due to “unexpected challenges” including an unforeseen Victorian gas main at Blackfriars.

The number of firms shortlisted to operate four offsite construction hubs to deliver a new runway at Heathrow Airport. Balfour Beatty and Graham Group are still in the running.

40%

The proportion by which Shell estimates it can reduce emissions of gases and particulates from asphalt mixes during production and paving using its new bitumen product Shell Bitumen FreshAir.

£8.3m

The total level of reported fraud in the construction industry in 2018, according to BDO’s Fraud Track report. BDO found that fraud within construction firms rose from £2.6m in 2017.

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NEWS MAY 2019 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

SMEs seeing growth from digital adoption Businesses debate competitive advantages gained from BIM

Digital efficiencies ‘can protect’ industry from Brexit uncertainty KEITH HEPPELL

CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES TAKING MORE ‘PROACTIVE’ APPROACH TO DATA MANAGEMENT, SAY CM/BIMPLUS ROUND TABLE EXPERTS Baxall’s Malcolm Clarke (right) and Allister Lewis of Ayre Chamberlain Gaunt Architects

Efficiency gains from adopting BIM and digital process can help protect construction businesses from any downturn caused by Brexit uncertainty.

That was one of the key messages from the annual Construction Manager and BIMplus round table, which gathered together key digital figures from around the industry last month (see pages 38-42).

Riz Cader, consultant with RLB, said: “As everyone assumes there will be a downturn in the market, we are being proactive. We are being asked to optimise our fees, so we are looking at ways to be as efficient as possible.

As we are the receiver of the data, we have to engage with those who create it so that we can use the data more efficiently.

“Necessity is the mother of innovation; and this is what is pushing us.”

Richard Bates, associate and BIM specialist at Alinea Consulting, agreed. “We are seeing designers understanding more about the data

“As far as Brexit goes, people are expecting a downturn so they are trying to be more efficient” Richard Bates, Alinea Consulting

requirement,” he said. “As far as Brexit goes, people are expecting a downturn so they are trying to be more efficient.”

Lendlease consulting BIM leader Edonis Jesus reported that more clients were demanding BIM, also a finding of CM’s annual BIM survey (see p10-13).

“I don’t believe the transition to a digital construction industry has been impacted by Brexit or decline in growth in the industry,” Jesus said. “I think it’s the opposite: it’s accelerating the whole process. More and more clients are requiring BIM Level 2 for projects.”

“I don’t believe the downturn is having any impact other than a positive one; it’s creating demand for change,” said Marek Suchocki, civil infrastructure lead at Autodesk. “Some businesses can’t see why they’re struggling, but others who are more mature are changing their processes, innovating and changing direction.”

Eddie Tuttle, head of policy at the Chartered Institute of Building, added: “Brexit could benefit the industry as it will force people to change the way they do business. The industry is working to a model where they appear happy with low margins, which is a big issue.”

Dr Sonia Zahiroddiny, BIM strategy manager for HS2 Ltd, agreed that business models need to change. “Businesses are looking at a piece of technology and trying to make it work rather than looking at their model and how technology improves the business process.

It’s a cultural change,” she said. ●

SME construction companies can use digital processes to establish a competitive advantage and deliver better outcomes, according to a group of businesses which gathered for a round-table event last month.

The discussion was organised by the Chartered Institute of Building and the Centre for Digital Built Britain at the former’s central London office.

Malcolm Clarke, managing director of Baxall Construction, said his company’s rapid growth in revenue and profit over the last five years was a direct result of digital transformation.

“Collaborative working using designers, our supply chain and offsite manufacturing has meant we can reduce our costs, create a sustainable profit and deliver a really good product,” he said.“The biggest game-changer is cutting out the waste. By getting better models and better clash detection we are saving thousands of pounds.”

BIM is not just about saving costs and being efficient, said Allister Lewis, head of technology at Ayre Chamberlain Gaunt Architects: “As well as the monetary value, people are working more collaboratively and, arguably, that’s the biggest improvement.”

Steve Faulkner, associate director at structural engineer Elliott Wood and chair of the IStructE BIM panel, said: “What we deliver in terms of the drawings and the models are a lot better, but also what we are designing is better.”

However, he also issued a reality check: “We’ve used Revit for over 10 years. We understand BIM. But although we are continually told ‘this is a BIM Level 2 project’ we probably haven’t ever had one proper project – we are just doing bits and pieces.”

Read the full round-table discussion at: www.constructionmanagermagazine.com.

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NEWS MAY 2019 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

BIM LEVEL 2 UPTAKE AMONG PRIVATE CLIENTS STARTS TO RISE THE ANNUAL CONSTRUCTION MANAGER BIM SURVEY, IN CONJUNCTION WITH BIMPLUS, REVEALS STEADY GROWTH IN THE UPTAKE OF BIM LEVEL 2 AMONG PRIVATE CLIENTS, AS THE USE OF OTHER DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY GATHERS PACE. BY NEIL GERRARD Private clients are embracing the use of BIM Level 2 in growing numbers.

That’s one of the key findings from the annual Construction Manager BIM survey, conducted in conjunction with BIMplus.

The survey of over 300 built environment professionals, now in its fourth year, recorded a fourpercentage-point increase in the number of respondents who said

they had encountered BIM as a contractual requirement on over 50% of private sector work when bidding for new projects.

In the public sector, some 27.3% of respondents reported encountering BIM as a contractual requirement on over 50% of central government-funded work – though this is almost exactly the same proportion as last year, when the figure was 27.2%.

Meanwhile, the proportion of respondents who reported encountering BIM as a contractual requirement on over 50% of public work outside central government projects fell slightly to 14.8%, down from 16.3% in the year before.

Nearly 19% of all clients said they asked for Level 2 BIM as a contractual requirement on 100% of their projects, which was an increase of nearly five percentage points on 2018, when 14.3% reported doing so.

The number of clients not requiring BIM at all dropped from around half to just over 40%.

Emerging technologies There was marked progress when it came to other digital technologies, with the survey demonstrating certain tools, once considered innovative, were now becoming indispensable to construction businesses.

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CONSTRUCTION MANAGER | MAY 2019 NEWS

19%

Nearly 19% of clients said they ask for Level 2 BIM on 100% of their projects

As a client, what are your requirements on BIM? 2019

2018

n We ask for Level 2 BIM as a contractual requirement on 100% of our projects

on under 50% of projects (by number or value)

“There was a marked rise in the number of respondents who said projects they were working on were ‘just beginning to use’ DfMA” More than half of respondents (52.2%) reported tablets being used “routinely” to access or record project information. That was up from 34% last year. By contrast, only 27.8% said their organisation was “just beginning to use” the devices, down from 43.4% last year, suggesting that the technology i s n o w c o n s i d e re d m u c h m o re mainstream in many firms. However, the proportion who said the projects they were involved with weren’t using the devices at all was 20%, down only slightly from 22.6% in 2018.

Those who witnessed the routine use of drones and augmented and virtual reality technology on projects they were involved in also increased, to 13% and 16.8% respectively, while there was a slight rise in those who reported their projects as “just beginning to use” the technologies, at 41.8% and 36% respectively (up from 39% and 32.9% last year).

There was also a marked rise in the number of respondents who said projects they were working on were “just beginning to use” design for manufacture and assembly (DfMA) to 45.5% in 2019, up from 36.1% last year, suggesting that the practice was on the verge of entering the mainstream.

Routine use of DfMA was reported by 17.6% of respondents, slightly down on the 19.7% reported last year.

Those results tallied with the prediction from the 78.2% of respondents who said they regarded it as “highly likely” that DfMA would have a significant impact in driving improved performance in the industry (74.5% in 2018), compared with a mere 2.8% who said it was “highly unlikely”.

BIM was second most popular option to be chosen as being “highly likely” to have a significant impact on the sector, at 70.9%, with virtual and augmented reality in third at 63.3%.

Confidence falters The proportion of respondents who regarded themselves as unsure about how to deliver BIM Level 2 remained broadly the same in 2019 as it did the year before at 34.3%, down slightly from 35.8%. But those who considered themselves confident also dropped slightly, from 33.5% in 2018 to 30.5% this year. That meant that those feeling a “measure of confidence” increased to 35.2% in 2019, up from 30.7%.

When it came to embedding BIM within organisations, there was encouraging news, with the majority (38.7%) of respondents saying they had adopted the PAS 1192 suite and either planned to adopt or already had adopted ISO 19650.

Another 13.8% said they had adopted or planned to adopt ISO 19650 but never adopted PAS 1192, while 12.4%

n We ask for Level 2 BIM as a contractual requirement on over 50% of projects (by number or value) n We ask for Level 2 BIM as a contractual requirement

n We ask for BIM but our requirements will be below Level 2 n We do not make BIM a requirement on our projects, although teams are free to use it

How many past and current projects has your organisation been involved in that use Level 2 BIM? 2019

2018

n None n 1 - 3 only n 4 - 10 n 10 or more n Other

Thinking about your own BIM processes in general, how confident do you feel about delivering Level 2 BIM? 2019

2018

n Unsure n A measure of confidence n Confident 11

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NEWS MAY 2019 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

On projects you have worked on that used BIM, how would you describe the impact?

0%

100% It saved time in pre-construction design It saved cost in pre-construction design It saved time in the construction phase It saved cost in the construction phase It helped cut the project's carbon footprint It promoted safety and regulatory compliance It created efficiencies in the handover phase

Thinking of the past 12 months, how often have you encountered BIM as a contractual requirement when bidding for new work?

n On over 50% of central government-funded work

60%

n On over 50% of public work outside central government projects

50%

n On less than half of central government projects

40%

n On less than half of public work outside central government n On over 50% of private sector work n On less than half of private sector work

30%

20%

10%

0% 2019

2018

It created efficiencies in the operational phase

n We have not seen any evidence

It promoted collaboration and reduced “silo” working

n We have seen some positive signs

It has improved our margins/fees/profits

n We have seen good results

said they would continue to use PAS 1192. However, a significant 30.7% said they had not adopted nor planned to adopt either standard.

Benefits with BIM There was little change this year in terms of users’ experience of the benefits of BIM. They were asked about the impact of the technology in a number of areas, including benefits in saving time and cost during the pre-construction and construction phases.

More than a third (36.4%) said they had seen good results when it came to BIM promoting collaboration and reducing silo working, while 29.9% also saw good results as far as saving time in the construction phase was concerned, with 23.6% also seeing good results in pre-construction design. Some 23% agreed they saw good results in

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CONSTRUCTION MANAGER | MAY 2019 NEWS

Will digitalisation end construction disputes? p45

The respondents and their work l Of over 300 respondents, 11% were clients in a public sector organisation and another 7% were clients in the private sector. A further 11% said they were project managers.

“More than a third (36.4%) said they had seen good results when it came to BIM promoting collaboration and reducing silo working” saving cost in the construction phase, slightly above the 18.8% who saw good results on cost savings in the pre-construction design.

But worryingly, considering that some see BIM as key to providing the “golden thread” of information throughout the life of a project – called for by Dame Judith Hackitt in her independent review following the Grenfell Tower disaster – only Which, if any, of these technologies are being used in construction projects you are involved with?

13.2% saw good results from BIM when it came to promoting safety and regulatory compliance.

That was compared to 42.8% who said they saw “some positive signs” and 44% who saw no evidence at all. Similarly, only 13.1% saw good results in reducing a project’s carbon footprint using BIM, with 59.9% reporting that they saw no evidence at all that it helped. ● 0%

l Twenty-six per cent of respondents worked for tier 1 contractors. Of those, 20% worked for a tier 1 contractor with an annual turnover of £100m+ and 6% worked for a tier 1 with an annual turnover below £100m. Another 5% of respondents described themselves as working for a tier 2 or 3 specialist subcontractor. l A total of 32% of respondents described themselves as design consultants working in the architecture, structural or

M&E fields. A further 8% were cost consultants. l As with last year, the most popular sector was commercial, including offices, retail and leisure (52.6% of respondents). The next biggest was residential – private sector housing (41.4%), then infrastructure projects (road, rail, water, utilities) where 30.9% worked. l The most popular total estimated value of projects respondents expected themselves to be involved in over the next year was the £10m-£100m bracket (31.1%).

Another 19.5% expected to be involved in projects worth £100m-£500m, and 11.6% described themselves as involved in the £1bn+ bracket.

100% Tablets to access or record project information Drones Augmented/ Virtual reality

n Routinely n Just beginning to use n Not at all

Which of the following technologies/processes do you think will have significant impact in driving improved performance in the construction industry in the next five to 10 years? n Highly likely n Unsure n Highly unlikely

Design for manufacture and assembly

0%

100% Design for manufacture and assembly Intelligent onsite robotics Building information modelling 3D printing Virtual/augmented reality Autonomous site vehicles and plant machinery

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NEWS MAY 2019 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

DIGITAL CONSTRUCTION SUMMIT 15 May 2019 Pinsent Masons Auditorium, London

New industry event to examine construction’s digital challenges DIGITAL CONSTRUCTION SUMMIT WILL ASSESS INDUSTRY’S BIM LEVEL 2 PROGRESS, LATEST DIGITAL INNOVATIONS AND NEXT STEPS TOWARDS A DIGITAL BUILT BRITAIN

Construction Manager and BIMplus are running a high-profile event to assess construction’s digital progress to date – and identify the next steps the industry needs to take.

The Digital Construction Summit, on 15 May 2019, will bring together clients, contractors, architects, consultants and suppliers, who will discuss their

progress towards achieving the government’s BIM Level 2 mandate and ultimate goal of a digital built Britain.

Around 150 professionals from across the construction industry with responsibility for driving BIM and digital innovation in their organisations are expected to attend the event at the Pinsent Masons

Auditorium in the City of London.

Partners for the event are the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) and Pinsent Masons.

The event will include several discussion sessions, with David Philp, global BIM/IM consultancy director at Aecom, chairing a panel from the CIOB digital technologies and asset management special interest group. The session will cover topics including BIM Level 2 progress, soft landings, data and asset management strategies, plus insights into robotics and automation.

How customers perceive BIM, its perceived benefits and barriers to uptake, will be examined in a debate chaired by Willmott Dixon head of digital Garry Fannon, involving several key built environment clients.

The digital implications of Dame Judith Hackitt’s golden thread will be discussed by a panel featuring Andrew Pryke, managing director of BAM Design, Jack Ostrofsky, head of design and technical at Peabody, George Stevenson, founder and managing director at data specialist ActivePlan, while Anne-Marie Friel, partner at Pinsent Masons, will explain the potential liabilities. ●

Programme Morning l Discussion: How digital technology can transform the built environment sector: progress to date, challenges and opportunities l Perspectives on BIM Level 2 uptake and benefits from clients, contractors, consultants and architects l How the soft landings process fits with BIM

l Robotics and automation: New machines for construction’s digital age l Understanding the key standards: PAS 1192 and ISO 19650 l Discussion: What digital service offering do clients want from their constructors?

Afternoon l The digital twin: Linking BIM to the Internet of Things

l Discussion: Digital records post Hackitt.

The “golden thread” l Unlocking construction’s digital future: a skills plan for the industry l Product data: The foundations of a digital built Britain l Platforms and DfMA: Digital, MMC and standardised components

The Digital Construction Summit takes place on 15 May 2019, from 8.30am to 5pm, at: Pinsent Masons Auditorium, 30 Crown Place, London EC2A 4ES. For further information and to buy tickets for the Digital Construction Summit, please contact Eva Rugeley: eva@atompublishing.co.uk or 020 7490 5595.

Speakers Alex Lubbock Head of digital construction, Infrastructure & Projects Authority Roy Evans Digital and soft landings lead, Government Property Agency David Philp Global BIM/IM Consultancy director, Aecom Neil Thompson Director – Digital Construction, Atkins Dr Jennifer Macdonald Senior BIM consultant, PCSG Mark Norton Head of BIM, ISG James Daniel Head of digital engineering (infrastructure services), Skanska Garry Fannon Head of digital, Willmott Dixon Construction Alistair Kell Head of information technology and process, BDP Jaimie Johnston Head of global systems, Bryden Wood Richard Saxon Associate director, Deploi BIM Strategies Alex Small BIM and digital platforms manager, Tata Steel George Stevenson Founder and managing director, ActivePlan Anne-Marie Friel Partner and digital specialist, Pinsent Masons

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Interview

‘IT’S BEEN IMMENSE FUN – I HAVE MASSIVE RESPECT FOR THE MEMBERS’ THE CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF BUILDING’S LONG-SERVING CEO CHRIS BLYTHE RETIRES THIS MONTH. HE REFLECTS WITH WILL MANN ON THE MANY CHANGES HE HAS BROUGHT TO BOTH THE INSTITUTE AND THE WIDER INDUSTRY OVER 19 EVENTFUL YEARS

January 2000. The dawn of a new millennium.

Also, the dawn of a new era at the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB); it was the month that Chris Blythe arrived as CEO. Back then, the CIOB was running at a loss and stuck in many outdated traditions. Nearly two decades on, it is a financially healthy, forward-looking organisation that leads on many key industry issues – from digital skills and professionalism to ethics and combating modern slavery.

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CONSTRUCTION MANAGER | MAY 2019 NEWS

“I wanted to open up the institute so that more people had the chance to contribute” Chris Blythe, pictured shortly after joining the CIOB

Blythe retires this month, the second longest-serving CEO in the institute’s 185-year history, and is characteristically modest about his achievements.

“My part in this has been helping the members take the institute where it is today,” he says. “I would like to thank all my presidents for their help and leadership and who – at the right time and in the right place – showed why they are so special.

“Special gratitude to all the trustees who I have had the pleasure of working with.

Trusteeship is the ultimate CPD. I must thank all the members out there doing a great job in the industry and in doing so enhance the standing of the institute every day. It is quite humbling to be stopped in the street or on a packed train by members I have never met and who treat me like an old friend.

“The other stars have been the staff at the institute past and present. People who have always done their best for the institute and I am sure will continue. And of course, none of this

In 2018 Blythe was given an honorary doctorate by the University of Wolverhampton, his alma mater

He received an OBE for services to construction and the government the previous year

would have been possible without the support of my family who have, like many families in the industry must, put up with disruption and inconvenience to a normal family life.”

Rewind to January 2000, and the CIOB’s new CEO became aware of the scale of his challenge as soon as he stepped through the door.

“I was planning to go around and meet all the staff,” Blythe recalls, “but a management meeting was arranged. Although it was my first day, nobody had thought to rearrange it, and it ended up running till late afternoon. So I couldn’t start meeting the staff till the next day.

“That summed up how aloof the senior management were from the rest of the institute. It was a cosy old boys’ club. Wine was served with every meeting. They ate lunch in the boardroom. So on my second day, I made sure I ate with the rest of the staff in the canteen.

“I wanted to unpick this unhealthy, entitled, exclusive mentality, and open up the institute so that more people had the chance to contribute.”

Top of Blythe’s in tray was changing the governance structure. “We had to make it clear the status quo was unacceptable, but the execution of the changes had to be right,” he says. “If you are going to slaughter a sacred cow, you need a really sharp knife – otherwise it could bounce back and injure you.”

The CIOB council was reduced from nearly 60 to an elected board of trustees of just 16.

Blythe says Allan McMullen, president at the time, played a “big part in this reform”.

The branch structure was overhauled, with committee terms limited and bureaucracy cut.

“One region’s committee had a member who had been on it for 49 years,” Blythe remembers.

“Some committees had 30 members or more.

We wanted to free them up and make them more streamlined, which is what the current hub structure allows.”

Perhaps the most significant change for members was the recognition of construction management as a chartered profession, signalling a rise in their influence within, and beyond, the built environment.

Blythe on... ...Professionalism Dame Judith Hackitt has damned the industry’s professionalism in her report, rightly identifying this “drive to the bottom”.

I wouldn’t disagree with anything she’s said. We’ve educated a generation to think that beating up the subcontractor is being professional. Which is shameful.

I hope Grenfell is a turning point – but it shouldn’t need 72 people to die for the industry to start doing the right thing. Being professional is not about having letters after your name; it’s the consequences of what you’re doing.

Industry self-regulation and the culture it created will end. It’s getting to be indefensible, because of events like Grenfell and Carillion’s collapse. We can’t blame this on the working man – the subcontractor – who, after all, is being managed by someone at the top. … How construction needs to change Many of construction’s problems, such as low productivity, stem from the same issue – the industry is good at saying what’s wrong, but doesn’t do much about it, and when change does come, it’s not very good at dealing with it.

The contractor business model doesn’t encourage investment or change – they get ecstatic about a 2% margin – so we don’t escape the cycle of low productivity.

Digital and MMC have to be the way forward. Why would you want to live in anything built in a field, rather than a controlled factory environment? If the Romans saw today’s industry they wouldn’t think much has changed in terms of techniques. … Ethics and modern slavery We started investigations into worker exploitation when we held our Members’ Forum in Qatar in 2013, and the UK’s Modern Slavery Act was about to come in.

We realised construction was unwittingly facilitating what was going on. One contractor told me the act “can’t apply to construction because we can’t possibly control all our subcontractors”. I replied: “You chose your business model – you’ve created the problem.”

From this came our Dark Side of Construction report and our toolkit. I’m proud that our report now sits on the Home Office website.

Construction needs to be an uncomfortable place for the bad guys to operate.

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NEWS MAY 2019 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

Chris Blythe OBE CV Below: Chris Blythe at the Construction Manager of the Year Awards, with (left to right): Kate Silverton and silver medal winner Chris Odei from Wallis Interiors in 2007; Claudia Winkleman in 2011; Steph McGovern and CIOB president Rebecca Thompson in 2017

“We had to make the process more objective to make it valuable,” Blythe says.

“The qualification and standard are now easy to articulate. Chartered is the equivalent to a British bachelor degree, and fellowship is master’s. So we can now benchmark the standard of our members.

“Members appreciate that. They become suspicious if we say want to grow to 60,000 members, because they think we’re diluting the standards. But they recognise the chartered qualification has real value.”

With recognition, the CIOB increased its chartered members so they now outnumber non-chartered by two to one. “When I started, it was the other way around,” Blythe says.

Ticking over in the background was the improving financial position, which “wasn’t great” back in 2000, Blythe says: “We had operated on an overdraft, and the magazine was losing a vast amount.

“The pension scheme was underfunded by £2.5m and was taking £300,000 a year out of our resources. We then did a deal with an insurance company to take over our pensions and paid our liabilities, which was just before the 2008 financial crash, so very fortunate timing.”

Another big change in the CIOB’s financial position was the disposal of its former Ascot base, and the move to Bracknell in 2013, which also heralded the launch of the CIOB Academy.

“By then we were operating at a surplus, which is how we should operate day to day,” says Blythe. “Our cash flow is very predictable from year to year, which means we can plan

1976

Graduated from Wolverhampton Polytechnic (now University)

1976

Started as a management accountant with Dunlop. Later worked for Mitel, W Canning, Corgi Toys and GKN

1994

Joined the North & Mid Cheshire Training and Enterprise Council in 1991, becoming chief executive in 1994

better. And whoever takes over as CEO will not have any financial issues to worry about.”

With the institute on a firmer footing, the CIOB became involved with wider industry initiatives, including setting up TrustMark in 2004, which is still going strong today.

“Construction is not a naturally consumerfacing industry, and we wanted the consumer to have more protection and improve the quality of people’s lives,” he says. “We brought in the CIOB’s resources and organisation expertise, and I acted as nominal chief executive of TrustMark for a day a week. Normally, a government endorsement is the kiss of death for any new initiative, so to still see vans with the TrustMark logo 15 years later gives a great sense of pride.”

However, Blythe worries about construction’s culture and business model (see box). He condemned the cover-pricing scandal of a decade ago, noting that “the problem hasn’t gone away” after five fit-out firms were fined for collusion in March, and has been outspoken about the Grenfell tragedy and Carillion’s collapse.

“We can empower people at site level to do the right thing and speak out when they see something wrong – and the CIOB has tried to do this” Chris Blythe, CIOB

2000

Appointed chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Building in January

2017

Received an OBE for services to the “construction industry and government” in the Queen’s New Year Honours

“The image of the industry has been tarnished and – when we have an ongoing recruitment problem – people will wonder why they should join it,” he says. “The structure needs to change. It leads to poor quality, low productivity, conditions that foster modern slavery – and people dying. We can empower people at site level to do the right thing and speak out when they see something wrong – and the CIOB has tried to do this.”

Aside from these concerns, Blythe feels “the industry is seen in a better light because of the institute’s work”.

He was awarded an OBE in 2017, for services to the “construction industry and the government’’.

“I’m still slightly embarrassed about the OBE, to be honest, because it was down to a lot of other people’s work as well,” Blythe says. “The day at the Palace was brilliant – my son loved it – and Ken Dodd was receiving his knighthood at the same time, so you could say it was a day for comedians.”

He likens the role of the CEO and the CIOB management team to “passing a baton from generation to generation”.

“The trustees and members have a responsibility to ensure the baton is in a better condition each time they pass it on. And that’s what is happening. We now have a very empowered team who make me look really good. And I’m very proud of them.

“From a personal perspective, the job has been immense fun. I have massive respect for members and what they do. If I have any advice to my successor, it is to gain the trust of the members. Because they care.” ●

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OPINION MAY 2019 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

20-23

Opinion Mark Beard Beard Group

Why it’s time to mandate 30-day payments AFTER THE INDUSTRY’S LATEST BUSINESS FAILURES, PUBLIC CLIENTS SHOULD SCRUTINISE THE FINANCIAL HEALTH OF TIER 1 CONTRACTORS MORE CLOSELY – AND MANDATE 30-DAY PAYMENT TERMS FOR SUPPLIERS, SAYS MARK BEARD The few last weeks have been very sad for the construction industry, with the financial failings of Paragon, Dawnus and Interserve causing serious knock-on effects for employees, suppliers, customers and shareholders of these businesses.

The primary breadwinners for hundreds – maybe thousands – of families are now out of work, entrepreneurs who have worked 60 to 70 hours a week for years losing everything, while customers with half-completed jobs are looking at months of delays to their projects, with worthless warranties and performance bonds that cover only part of their financial loss at best.

This is no way for our industry to operate. In all industries there are winners and losers; however, the construction industry seems to have a disproportionate number of losers. The efforts various leaders in the industry are making to promote a positive image

“By choosing a contractor with a good payment record they will likely have the best subcontractors and trades working on their projects”

to teenagers, parents and teachers are being swamped by the terrible press surrounding our industry’s financial failings and the heartbreaking personal stories of individuals affected by these failings.

To me the cause is abundantly clear, too many companies are pursuing a volume of work beyond what their balance sheets justify, purely for short-term cashflow benefits. Venture capitalists make big bets with investors’ money, sometimes making great gains, sometimes losing it all: what could be described as “going on an adventure with other peoples’ money”.

In many ways, tier 1 contractors are doing the same thing, investing suppliers’ money in high risk/high reward speculative activities. If all goes well for tier 1 contractors with their high-risk ventures, they make tremendous returns and keep the upside; if everything goes badly, the supplier who has funded these activities pays the price.

Prequalification question This way of operating is not ethical or sustainable and we need to move away from such practices without delay.

Government bodies who procure work through frameworks or select tender lists should have, at the start of their pre-qualification questionnaires, a pass or fail question: Is the average time for payment of your supply chain less than 30 days? If the answer is “Yes”, please complete the rest of the pre-qualification questionnaire. If “No”, please review your business model.

Customers, suppliers and advisers can research more astutely the financial strength of prospective trading partners before entering into a contract. Long-run profitability, balance sheet strength and balance sheet make-up all provide clues.

In my view, allowing goodwill as an asset on the balance sheet is questionable, but the biggest clue to the financial strength of a business is how promptly it pays for the goods it has received.

The most perceptive private sector customers are exploring contractors’ payment records before choosing them as a project partner. In time, I hope this behaviour will become commonplace in both the private and public sectors – partly because customers are aware that the current level of financial failure in our industry cannot continue, but also because, by choosing a contractor with a good payment record, they will likely have the best subcontractors and trades working on their projects.

Suppliers can walk away Suppliers should also be prepared to walk away from work where payment terms offered are significantly in excess of 30 days. Brexit or no Brexit, there are plenty of other opportunities to work for contractors who are pleased to pay for the goods they have purchased in 30 days or less.

It is pleasing to hear Build UK and many major contractors openly discussing their payment records. It may take a few years before all tier 1 contractors pay their suppliers within 30 days, as a number of them will have to make fundamental decisions about the breadth of activities they can afford to carry out – or raise new equity to support their cash-hungry ventures.

These will be painful decisions to make, but nothing like the pain employees, suppliers, customers and shareholders of Paragon, Dawnus and Interserve are suffering at this time. ● Mark Beard is chairman of Beard Group and vice-president of the Chartered Institute of Building.

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CONSTRUCTION MANAGER | MAY 2019 OPINION

Jason Millett Mace

It’s time to walk the walk on collaboration FOLLOWING THE LAUNCH OF MACE’S NEW REPORT, A BLUEPRINT FOR MODERN INFRASTRUCTURE DELIVERY, JASON MILLETT EXPLAINS WHY CONSTRUCTION FIRMS NEED TO DO MORE THAN MERELY PAY LIP SERVICE TO THE CONCEPT OF COLLABORATION

Crossrail, originally set to open in 2018, is now expected to be delayed until at least 2020

Around the world, poor infrastructure delivery is costing us trillions of dollars.

No matter where you are – from the US to China to Kenya – projects are delivered late and over budget time and again. Overall, more than four out or five projects go over programme or budget. That’s an expensive statistic.

Mace’s latest research has shown that by 2030 we’ll be paying an astonishing £1.2tn a year for projects that haven’t been delivered effectively.

Part of the fault lies with politicians or governments; and many delays just can’t be avoided.

Most of it, however, lies with us. The construction and infrastructure sectors have spent years talking about better models of project delivery and more collaborative working styles.

Report after report has made it clear that unless we work together more effectively, we’re going to face the same problems around forecasting, planning and delivery.

When a report is published, everyone agrees: we must work better together.

However, when it comes down to it – when the bottom line is at stake – almost everyone in the industry ends up reverting to the “bad old ways”.

Fostering collaboration For our report, we interviewed senior global infrastructure leaders – some of the people responsible for delivering the world’s most complex and challenging infrastructure programmes.

They identified a lot of different issues with delivery – but one for me really stood out: “Eighty per cent of organisations talk about collaboration, 20% actually do it.”

It’s easy to say that you are a collaborative organisation on a bid response or on your website. It’s much harder to

foster a genuinely collaborative culture on a complex project that helps to identify and mitigate delivery issues early on.

This isn’t something I claim to have all the answers on – it’s something we struggle with all the time at Mace – but a major step forward is recognising how hard it can be to actually achieve.

Collaboration means being honest and sharing and solving issues with the team. It does not mean saying that “everything is fine” when in reality it is not. That’s not just inside your own organisation – it means across the project team, with people working for different organisations.

To make that happen, the project structure needs to encourage effective communication and not overreacting to “bad news”. That kind of genuine collaboration can unlock a huge range of benefits.

More data sharing means more accurate forecasting; more honest assessment of risks means that mitigation measures can be more effective.

C o l l a b o ra t i o n s h o u l d b e o u r watchword – if we want to transform infrastructure delivery it will need to become something our sector is known for. That can’t happen by itself – our current contract structures make it difficult – but programmes such as the ICE’s Project 13 in the UK are beginning to take us on that journey.

However, we’ve still got a long way to go. What we can do is ensure that when infrastructure projects are being designed, procured and delivered, collaboration needs to be at the forefront of our minds, not just a box we tick.

As an industry, we’re very good at talking the talk – but it is time for us to walk the walk. ● Jason Millett is chief operating officer for consultancy with Mace.

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OPINION MAY 2019 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

Chris Soffe President CIOB

It is just a few short weeks since the UK should have “left” the EU. It is now likely to be months until we leave, with the news that the UK and the EU have agreed a “flexible extension” of Brexit until 31 October – which already highlights the theme of this article. We thought we knew the date on which Brexit would happen – the date on which Article 50 would come into force and the UK would no longer be an EU member state – for a little over two years.

Yet what did this mean in practical terms; in business and in our day-to-day lives? It has meant – regardless of which side of the debate you may be on – a lack of certainty about the future rules and regulations under which we trade and travel and a lack of opportunity to do the long-term planning and projecting necessary for success in this industry. And the situation continues…

With an awareness that I may be preaching to the choir, there’s no denying the reality these uncertainties have led to – additional risks in project planning, concerns about labour shortages, fluctuating prices against currency volatility – throughout the supply chain. To a certain extent, this amplifies the situation for our industry as it’s not just contractors facing this; it’s an ever-moving feast for clients, contractors, developers, and all the others involved in the industry and across every sector.

It’s true that there are statistics which show, in the UK at least, the pattern of construction sector growth or contraction generally mirrors whether or not the economy is in an upturn or a downturn. But even an optimist who believes that our industry may be immune to short-term uncertainties can’t claim that it is completely immune to the vagaries of the economy.

I also have concerns about those who are only now realising that there’s further uncertainty to come. It won’t be done and dusted whenever it is that the UK leaves the EU. That will only be the start of the

Comment

Why uncertainty undermines our industry THE UNCERTAINTY CAUSED BY BREXIT SHOWS LITTLE SIGN OF DIMINISHING, BRINGING WITH IT ADDITIONAL RISKS FOR CONSTRUCTION. BUT CHRIS SOFFE HOPES THE CHALLENGES FACED CAN LEAD TO CHANGE FOR THE BETTER

“transition period”, which is when we’re supposed to get everything in place and prepare for the moment when the new postBrexit rules between the UK and the EU begin.

So what do we do now? Firstly, I think it would be entirely legitimate to take a moment to think about who will gain from this uncertainty. Are they really serving society and the public good? Is there anything to learn about how we choose to debate and then make these decisions? Voters now know a lot more about the complexity and ramifications of leaving a trading bloc like the EU than they did at the time of the referendum and the demographic of the UK voters is always changing with new 18-year-old voters coming on stream as the population ages.

Secondly, we need to deal with the practical, day-to-day challenges. We need to be better at recruiting into the industry; we need to pay attention to due diligence, examining all the risks at project level and across the supply chain; we need to keep up-to-date on government advice and changes to legislation.

I have something of an international overview. I started my career in the UK but have worked internationally for most of it.

I’ve seen similar uncertainties play out here in the USA with the potential for trade wars as a result of the imposition of new tariffs.

The plan to reduce the US trade deficit is currently increasing it.

I can see the damage the Brexit process has done and the uncertainty being projected on to the UK industry from outside, not just the disruption at national level. Britain’s brand matters so maintaining a strong global image amongst many unknowns is proving to be a challenge. But maybe the challenges we have faced –and will continue to face – will lead to change for the better. ● Chris Soffe is CIOB president and vice-chairman of Gleeds Americas.

He will be at the CIOB’s Members’ Forum in Edinburgh in June. Further details can be found at: https://membersforum.ciob.org.

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CONSTRUCTION MANAGER | MAY 2019 OPINION

BIM & Digital round table: Finding digital certainty in uncertain times, p36

Feedback Persimmon is to conduct an independent review into the way it handles customer care

A selection of readers’ comments about news and issues in the industry from www.constructionmanagermagazine.com

CM 09/04 Persimmon’s quality review and plan to introduce snagging retentions in housebuilding John Chipman

Satisfied customers are the result of good design and construction. Inspection is a backstop at best.

Let’s incentivise excellence in design and construction through an award scheme adjudicated by the NHBC that the public can use as a benchmark of the quality they can expect from that developer’s products.

Better reputation, better sales, reduced after-sales costs, better margin – why wouldn’t you?

Steve Frizell

At a time when real money retention-holding is under scrutiny, especially as it refers to the depths of the supply chain, I’m not sure how this aligns with the initiatives in the wider construction industry or what this means for the warranty that I understand is the buyer’s traditional protection.

It may also give the impression that snaggings are inevitable and enduring, notwithstanding the trend toward greater modular and offsite fabrication.

Gidion Mutyiri

But won’t customer retentions lead to an increase in house prices since housebuilders could simply add the snagging retention on top?

Subcontractors do the same thing when they price. If the retention is 5%, they just add 5% to their tender price. If they end up getting the retention, it becomes a bonus.

Housebuilders could do exactly the same.

Homebuyers would find themselves holding back “their” own cash.

Eric Beaven

Am I the only one seeing the irony? This all makes sense, so where is the logic for looking to eliminate retentions on commercial projects where the issues can be much greater, not least due to the fact commercial buildings are more complex and often non-repetitious?

Decent contractors should not fear properly managed retentions and the cost of delayed receipt of the money is relatively small (and is inevitably included in the pricing).

John Money

The quality in volume new housebuilding has deteriorated over many years: a) The NHBC should do its job properly ensuring a high standard; b) An independent clerk of works should be employed by the developer if the NHBC does not carry out its role in ensuring quality; c) Ensure better training of site operatives, a root and branch overhaul of training; and d) Developers should use Local Authority Building Control officers rather than the NHBC or other private providers.

Some of the workmanship I see today on new-build sites today is diabolical, which means on site supervision is also lacking. When working for George Wimpey in the mid1970s, we had up to eight snagging lists.

That said there are still very good housebuilders out there, mostly SMEs – they can’t afford a bad reputation. They don’t need a QC to fix it – just call me or anyone who worked in the industry when we almost got it right.

Tim Feeney

As a clerk of works, I think that the principal contractor should not be paid anything until the property is signed off as fit for purpose with no outstanding snagging items, not just within the premises but externally too.

This should include drainage surveys, road surfaces, footpaths and landscaping.

This procedure is being adopted more and more, ensuring that the developers design the buildings and construct them properly, allowing new homeowners to access their individual homes without having to negotiate the building site.

Waggler

Already our industry wastes money because of our over-reliance on snagging. This amounts to us trying to inspect quality into the finished product.

But getting a small proportion of these failure costs into the boardroom may be the first step towards building homes right the first time.

A 1.5% retention [as a percentage of the cost of the home] is probably not high enough to incentivise the necessary investment in training and supervision.

Alex Green

Persimmon should start speaking to staff that have left the company and ask the reason why.

Provide your own feedback on latest industry issues by posting comments online at www.constructionmanagermagazine.com or emailing the editor

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TECHNICAL MAY 2019 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

24-31

PHOTOGRAPHS BY JAKT PHOTOGRAPHY

Technical

The curved colonnade at the Ducal Palace

TOMLINSON’S TRANSFORMATION OF NOTTINGHAM CASTLE PRESERVING AND ADAPTING NOTTINGHAM CASTLE TO BOOST TOURIST VISITS AND THE LOCAL ECONOMY IS A LABOUR OF LOVE FOR CONTRACTOR GF TOMLINSON. KRISTINA SMITH VISITED THE PROJECT

Visitors to Nottingham Castle are often disappointed. They come in search of a medieval castle and Robin Hood; they find a large Victorian museum on top of a hill.

All that is set to change, with a makeover that aims to restore the Victorian building – which is actually a very beautiful example of a Palladian mansion – and add in interactive Robin Hood-themed experiences which should get the tourists flooding in. The goal is

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CONSTRUCTION MANAGER | MAY 2019 TECHNICAL

A Messenger stonemason checks a piece of replacement stonework

to more than double the number of visitors to 400,000 a year.

“This wasn’t a case of ‘build it and they will come’. They came, and we did not have it,” says Cal Warren, Nottingham Castle National Lottery Heritage Fund programme manager for Nottingham City Council, which owns the site.

The medieval castle of Hollywood legend was demolished in 1651 (see timeline). The site is now closed for the construction project and the Victorian building, called the Ducal Palace, is swathed in white scaffold sheeting.

Contractor GF Tomlinson is four months into a 16-month contract which combines new build and restoration.

“The biggest challenge to date has been temporary works,” says Richard Oldfield, GF Tomlinson’s project manager.

The aim in restoring the existing buildings, explains Oldfield, is to leave as much of the original fabric untouched, wherever possible. But decaying elements of the building must be somehow accessed, preserved and made safe without causing further damage.

The battle to design the huge scaffold which wraps around the Ducal Palace and over half of its roof illustrates perfectly the constraints under which GF Tomlinson is labouring. The weight from the scaffold into the ground had to be limited around most of the perimeter due to the presence of caves below the site and the possibility of landslides to the cliffs on which the castle sits.

The original scaffold design, created with GF Tomlinson’s contractor Empire, involved 1,500 fixings into the building, but Historic England was not happy with that approach. Nine iterations, three submissions and three months later, the buttress kentledge scaffold design features just 30 fixings on the south corner, with the whole structure

Nottingham Castle Transformation Project Client: Nottingham City Council Project manager: Mace QS: Gleeds Lead designer: Purcell UK Contractor: GF Tomlinson Form of contract: NEC Option A Construction cost: £16m Main subcontractors: M&E (Ducal Palace): Amptron Heritage joinery: Jericho Masonry: Messenger Roof restoration: Martin-Brooks Scaffolding: Empire Piling: Van Elle Steel frame: MJ Robinson Construction starts: October 2018 Construction finish: March 2020 Opens to public: Late 2020

weighted down by huge water tanks along one side of the building.

The scaffold, which cost “hundreds of thousands” of pounds, is performing well. “We have had six days of terrible winds. It is a concern, it’s a big risk element,” says Oldfield. “We spend our lives concerned about it, but it’s held up after some pretty bad weather.”

Rebuilding an economy The revamp of Nottingham Castle follows the council’s successful bids for funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and local growth funds to cover two-thirds of the project cost of £30m. It estimates the project will bring in an additional £90m in tourist income to the city over 10 years.

GF Tomlinson’s £16m contract includes the construction of a new 325 sq m visitors’ centre; a 400 sq m

extension to the Ducal Palace which will house the new, interactive Robin Hood Gallery; renovation and refurbishment of the huge Ducal Palace; renovation of the gatehouse and its bridge; and work to improve access to the caves beneath the castle which host historic tours.

Though it is not a requirement of its contract with the council, GF Tomlinson’s procurement strategy is making a significant contribution to that economic boost. “We try and keep our spend local. It’s fundamental to everything we do,” says Oldfield, who went to university in Nottingham and now lives 10 miles down the road.

With 20% of its turnover coming from heritage projects, GF Tomlinson has a trusted and experienced supply chain which it called on during the tender period for advice and costings.

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TECHNICAL MAY 2019 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

A potted history of Nottingham Castle

1068

William the Conqueror builds motte-and-bailey castle

1365

Edward III adds a new tower and a prison

1476

Edward IV adds another new tower and royal apartments

1600

No longer in use as a residence

1651

1674

View of the Ducal Palace through steelwork for a new extension which will house the Robin Hood interactive gallery

plaster and works to lay lights in the galleries with their 130-year old glass.

These are tasks that cannot be rushed, explains Oldfield.

Externally, repairs are underway. Up on the north side of the roof, currently covered by a scaffold tent which is due to move to the south side in June, the roofing contractor has removed the slates and is at work on the ancient Victorian timbers, which Oldfield says are in good shape.

Building derelict and is demolished

Ducal Palace built on the foundations of the old building

1831

Slums’ residents revolt and burn it down

“The design team surveyed the building to death but there are still a lot of things you can’t know until you start taking away the added bits” Josh Barber, Mace

Stripping back Before it can start on restoration work proper, GF Tomlinson has been carefully stripping away later additions to the building and removing the old mechanical and electrical services. The goal is to return the building – as far as possible – to its Victorian state, an approach approved by Historic England.

For instance, a 1990s mezzanine layer, added to give more space to the 1891built Herbert Walker Extension room on the ground floor, has been taken out.

The building itself is Grade-I listed, but the ground on which it sits is a Scheduled Monument. Archaeologists must be on hand whenever that ground is disturbed and there have already been some interesting finds, including masonry from the Saxon period and some monkey skeletons, believed to be from a 17th century menagerie.

Their ongoing involvement must also be factored into programming. Digging out the floor plan of the basement, for example, would normally take two weeks; here it took 12.

As well as Historic England, there is input from the council’s conservation officer and the city’s archaeologist, Scott Lomax. Lead designer Purcell manages the decision-making and approvals processes around what work is necessary, how elements should be handled and design details.

Inside the building, there is protective boarding and heavy-duty propping supporting the structure while alterations are made to create new openings to link some of the rooms. At ground-floor level, trenches for services are being dug under the watchful eye of an archaeologist.

The next big task is first-fix M&E works which will run until October this year. After that there will be painstaking repairs to ornate cornices and lime

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CONSTRUCTION MANAGER | MAY 2019 TECHNICAL

1878

Palace is rebuilt and opens as a museum

1891

Herbert Walker Extension added

Around half of the slates from the 750 sq m of roof will be retained and half replaced. A mixture of Burlington bluegrey slates and Green Westmorland slate from the Lake District and some Welsh slates, some are proving quite a challenge to source, due to their unusually large size, says Oldfield.

Further down the building, stonemasons from Messenger are working on the sandstone walls; one is busy recreating a volute or scroll. Each repair must be agreed and recorded, and the order of the day is – as everywhere – “a light touch”, says Oldfield. Like many of the materials that will be used here, the stone is coming from a local source, Stanton Moor, following extensive research and testing.

Only one material must come from overseas, possibly Spain: the curved colonnade glazing which will fit between the pillars of the main entrance to create more circulation space and protect the entrance from the westerly winds. With long lead times and unknown Brexit impacts, this is a risk item, says Oldfield.

Attached to the Palace, the steel frame for the one-storey extension is already standing. Sitting in the courtyard area at basement level, the extension’s zinc roof will be flush with the ground, leaving views of the Ducal Palace undisturbed.

The steel frame for the visitors’ centre, sitting between the gatehouse and the Palace, is also in place.

The position of the visitors’ centre was very much governed by the archaeology – or rather, the lack of it – beneath that part of the grounds. Contractor Van Elle installed Odex piles, steel casings filled with concrete, for the building’s foundations to prevent groundwater pollution or migration into Nottingham’s caves.

The centre will be clad in oak, aluminium and glazing with a zinc roof.

2018

Palace and castle grounds closed for renovation

2020

Transformed Castle to reopen

Balancing act The project is at a crucial stage, explains Mace project manager Josh Barber.

“We are at this point in the contract where GF Tomlinson has a lot of work on site but there is still a lot of design work to be done,” says Barber. “We are trying to finish the design work that we could not do until we knew what was there, while still keeping up with the programme.”

GF Tomlinson has responsibility for some design elements, such as detailing for the steelwork and the services.

“A lot of it is about flow of information.

When we have a fit-out contractor coming on board is very critical,” says Oldfield. “The procurement process is pretty well developed: we are getting to the point where we can get clarity.”

Nottingham City Council was about to appoint the fit-out contractor for the exhibition at the time of CM’s visit.

From Mace’s perspective, the biggest challenge is managing its risk profile, says Barber: “Coming at it from a contractual perspective, it’s a fixed-price lump sum NEC Option A but there’s a lot of change due to the unknowns. The design team surveyed the building to death but there are still a lot of things you can’t know until you start taking away the added bits.

“The other challenge is managing the client’s expectations in terms of how you manage the contingency and the programme date.”

GF Tomlinson aims to hand over the elements in phases. First the visitor centre in October 2019, then the Gatehouse, next the Ducal Palace extension and finally, in March 2020, the Ducal Palace itself.

Nottingham City Council has not put an end date on the overall project yet.

“We hope to be finished on site towards the end of 2020,” says Richard Hamblin, the council’s project director. “We don’t have a date we have to open by. The main

Right: Nottingham castle during the 16th century

GF Tomlinson’s contract includes works to the caves which run beneath the Castle

thing will be to make sure we open at a time when it’s fit for doing so.”

This is a testing project, with many elements to balance: what could be done, what must be done, what Historic England can allow, what the budget and programme can stretch to. The overall cost has already grown from £24m when it was announced in 2015 to £30m today.

“There are two main reasons it went up: the restoration costs were coming out slightly higher and we have invested more in the interpretation and exhibition fit out,” says Hamblin.

“It’s a stressful project for us, for the council, for Purcell and for Mace our project manager,” says Oldfield. “There are quite a lot of unknowns and we have got on very well. NEC is cooperative, and we never lose sight of what we are trying to deliver, which is a building for the people of Nottingham.” ●

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TECHNICAL MAY 2019 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

Clockwise from top left: Catherine Gibson (Travis Perkins); Martin Worthington (Morgan Sindall) and Ed Hawksey (Novus Property Solutions); Rico Wojtulewicz (NFB) and Steve Coppin (Arcadis); Catherine Gibson, Matias Järnefelt (Hilti) and Martin Worthington; Martin Coyd (Mace); Steve Coppin and John Saunders (HSE)

CONSIGNING POOR HEALTH AND SAFETY PRACTICES TO DUST IN A FAST-CHANGING INDUSTRY, WHAT IMPACT WILL NEW TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION HAVE ON HEALTH AND SAFETY PRACTICES? CM, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HILTI AND TRAVIS PERKINS, GATHERED A PANEL OF INDUSTRY EXPERTS TO DISCUSS DUST AND VIBRATION RISKS – AND WAYS TO TACKLE THEM. BY WILL MANN

Will Mann: What are the biggest health and safety challenges that construction faces today and where do dust and vibration figure in those concerns?

Catherine Gibson: One of the biggest issues our customers tell us about is consistency and clarity of message: how they get key health and safety information about issues such as dust, HAVS (hand-arm vibration syndrome) and noise control, in a helpful, consistent way, to site level and across all types of construction businesses.

Martin Coyd: There is a lot of uncertainty in the industry, and everybody wants the lowest possible price, and therefore nobody is prepared to invest – in the equipment and in the people. And it’s mainly about the people, for me. Because we don’t invest, and we don’t make enough time, it’s hard to plan the work properly.

From a health and safety perspective, unless we can fix that in the first place it’s very difficult to move forward.

Steve Coppin: Procurement and design are critical. I’m setting the stall out here regarding selection of material and compliance products. I’m not saying particular designers don’t understand ventilation, but it’s often left to the contractor to sort it out because it’s not been thought about early on.

Where clients have seen the benefits of engaging with the supplier, putting them alongside the main contractors, you see a real outcome.

Ed Hawksey: From the perspective of SMEs, a key issue is agency workers.

They don’t understand what’s happening if controls are not put in place. That’s a focus we need as an industry – how to make those people aware of the risks.

Rico Wojtulewicz: I would echo that on SMEs. We need to bring best practice to the bottom of the industry – the

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CONSTRUCTION MANAGER | MAY 2019 TECHNICAL

In association with

one-man bands and the small, growing companies – and make sure they are better educated and can achieve better outcomes.

John Saunders: There are a host of health and safety issues and it’s difficult for SMEs to cope. I’m interested in airborne particles and control, and I know it’s often something that falls off their radar. The problem with a risk like dust is that it has a long latency – it doesn’t manifest itself immediately, like an injury would. It’s 10 or 20 years later.

Martin Worthington: With dust, my background is originally coal mining and I was a sub-ventilation dust engineer.

Construction is still behind where the mining industry was, in terms of education and knowledge, 25 years ago.

Matias Järnefelt: Dust is an overlooked topic. There were 38 injuries leading to fatalities in the construction industry last year. But, according to the HSE, 450 people who have been exposed to silica dust in construction are passing away every year. Fatal accidents are very visible. We need to consider how we support healthy ways of working for somebody over years or decades.

WM: Where does dust sit in the Health & Safety Executive’s (HSE) priorities? Could it be considered as serious an issue as asbestos?

MW: I wouldn’t frame dust as being “the new asbestos”, but it is certainly a killer.

It’s part of the HSE’s plan and we have received targeted visits, specifically around dust and HAVS. But I think that focus has started at the wrong end. It probably should have started at the other end, with respiratory protective equipment (RPE) being a last resort.

EH: There’s been a focus on testing and that seems to be the drive from

THE PANEL

“Construction is still behind where the mining industry was, in terms of education and knowledge, 25 years ago” Martin Worthington, Morgan Sindall

a client perspective, which is a bit worrying. As Martin alluded to, we’ve gone to the end rather than looking at the design aspects and how we could have mitigated the risk at the start.

JS: Dust and asbestos are different health risks. However, silica has a very small exposure limit and links with cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It is an important topic, and one that my team are researching, looking at the size of particles that come off when cutting, grinding and polishing both natural stone and artificial stone, and how this can affect the worker.

But I agree with the comments on RPE being the last line of defence; if you look at COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations), it starts with elimination first.

CG: There is some confusion in our customer base about RPE. Some contractors already understand how to manage equipment specification through their supply chains. We support and guide smaller contractors who are sometimes less familiar with health and safety best practice.

MC: I do think most people are addressing dust because of HSE enforcement. The plethora of fees for intervention that are coming along are really a catalyst for action.

Martin Worthington SHEQ director, Morgan Sindall

Steve Coppin Associate technical director, Arcadis

John Saunders Principal ventilation scientist, HSE

Martin Coyd Operations director, health safety and wellbeing, Mace

Ed Hawksey Health and safety manager, Novus Property Solutions

Rico Wojtulewicz Head of housing and planning policy, NFB

Catherine Gibson Tool hire managing director, Travis Perkins

Matias Järnefelt Head of Hilti Northern Europe, and general manager, Hilti Great Britain 29

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TECHNICAL MAY 2019 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

Join in the debate #ConstructTheFuture

How can digital innovation help health and safety strategies?

SC: BIM can play a role by helping with planning and organisation. You can identify health and safety risks earlier and identify the equipment to use. But it’s also about other digital innovation.

Simply using smartphones and tablets helps us capture information at site level more easily and younger people in the industry are comfortable doing that. But we have to educate the clients, who don’t have a grip on the technology, and persuade them that if they invest, they will see better outcomes from their supply chain.

CG: At Travis Perkins, we use digital technology to manage equipment availability and for testing and servicing, it supports us in being able to provide a service that our customers can trust.

We are also looking at augmented and virtual reality solutions for in-branch training and customer equipment familiarisation. We want to use it to complement and enhance our existing methods rather than to replace them.

MJ: Hilti now has an app that uses what we call NFC chips. It’s basically the same technology you use for contactless payment.

You touch the tool with a smartphone and it pops up with information about when the tool was bought, last repaired or calibrated, and links to a video on how to use the tool safely.

We have systems to track certifications and service

status of tools across multiple sites, and provide reminders when they need to be updated.

Other innovations include advanced measuring tools, where you upload the plan and it points to where you have to fasten or drill.

We need to be realistic in terms of timeline. It may take several years to make a big difference on site, but we have 1,400 engineers developing these technologies.

MW: The technology brings massive benefits, but it brings different risks. We’ve been doing some work around fatigue, measured by wearable technology. But we’re conscious that we shouldn’t rely too much on the wearable technology – because it may mask any issues to do with design and planning at the front end. We need to be aware of the outputs we want from the technology.

JS: We’re also looking at wearable technology, and how to monitor fatigue, heart rates, stress. We’re also examining real-time dust monitors. However, you can’t keep measuring a problem and hope it will go away – you must act. But that nudge, when the operator sees their personal exposure in real time, has a place.

RW: It’s a nudge towards standard practice. When you can get a quick instructional video, as with the app Matias described, it is helpful for younger people who are very au fait with technology to quickly grasp the information.

Back row, from left: John Saunders, Catherine Gibson, Steve Coppin, Martin Worthington, Martin Coyd, Rico Wojtulewicz. Front, from left: Matias Järnefelt and Ed Hawksey

WM: How can director-level decisions about health and safety be filtered down to site level?

MC: At Mace, we have created a set of documents that are less wordy and more pictorial. We communicate our expectations to our supply chain beforehand. Through that early and simple communication, we can have confidence in them.

RW: Pictorial documents can inspire people to understand the topic. For our members, these would allow them to pass on information more readily, to their own workforce and subcontractors too.

EH: We’ve got to move away from this distinction between main contractor and subcontractors. In effect, if a subcontractor goes on to a Mace site or a Novus site or a Morgan Sindall site, they’re our people. We should treat them no differently than we

would our own employees and educate our supply chain exactly as we would our own people.

SC: It’s also very important people from director level are visible on site. Asking workers: “How are you going to tackle this? What did you do last time? Is there another way you could try?” That can set the tone of a project. This dialogue with the workforce needs to happen, because they are on the ground doing the work, and we’re only as good as our weakest link.

WM: What are examples of good practice which make sites safer, and ultimately more productive, particularly around dust and HAVS? MC: We have the Mace Business School where our supply chain is rewarded for participation. And that’s sharing best practice, rather than Mace telling people what to do. My experience is

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85%

In our recent online poll, 85% of CM readers wanted more focus on mitigating the risk of dust on site

that most of the answers come from the person on the ground who has the tool in their hand.

We have to communicate that knowledge in multiple ways. And younger people communicate with electronic devices, so sending emails or having middle-aged men rabbiting at them is not the answer.

There’s also Build UK’s “black hat” common code for supervisors. If we all have similar practices with our supervisors, the experience should be similar whichever contractor’s site you’re on. It won’t be the same – we’re quite tribal. But we drive our workforce mad by having different hoops to jump through, from project to project. If we can be consistent, we will communicate more effectively at the point of work.

SC: It’s about setting the standards at the start of the project and building them into the prelims rather than as an afterthought. We also should enable people on the coalface to take responsibility and have a mechanism to filter problems, without a blame culture.

It’s about trust and saying: “There’s an issue here, how can we solve it? Is there a better piece of kit we should be using?”

WM: What about product innovation?

MJ: We have the technology to remove dust at the source. There are dust removal systems that take away 99.8% of the dust as the cut is being made.

That also drives productivity, because you no longer have to seal off areas. You don’t have to clean afterwards.

CG: We see our role, as part of the supply chain, to understand the innovation that’s coming from the manufacturers and then work with our customers to provide that to the market.

JS: Based on our lab tests, I think on-tool control – capturing the dust, gases,

What changes are needed in construction health and safety culture, particularly regarding management of dust and vibration?

MJ: Construction’s journey from a dusty, dirty, non-productive industry to a modern, safe and clean industry with advanced technology is going to take years. But it’s a journey that can be helped through convenience and proactivity on site, and better results for the businesses, rather than red tape and compliance.

CG: We are passionate about this [dust and vibration], providing our customers with solutions. Steps include investment in our fleet, partnering with suppliers like Hilti, and ensuring we are able to provide guidance to customers.

“We should educate our supply chain exactly as we would our own people” Ed Hawksey, Novus Property Solutions

MW: We can’t take the focus off the people who are getting health issues and dying from the work they are doing. We can write glossy procedures, policies, standards and strategies – but engagement with the people, understanding work practices, real-time monitoring to get the information across – that’s where we’ll have an effect.

EH: We will be partnering more with our hire companies because they’ve got the solutions. Then we can cascade them down to our supply chains – because unless we get them on board, we’re fighting a losing battle.

vapours at source – is the best control measure available. But some of the equipment is not well designed, even though nominally they’ve all got on-tool control. Once you’ve lost control of a dust cloud, the fine particles can be airborne for hours. If you’re in an enclosed space and you don’t get control, you can never regain control. You’re then relying on dilution and other measures.

MC: If we have to talk about control measures, we’ve already failed, because

RW: We need to focus on the people working on site and giving them the right kind of health and safety support.

There is an emphasis on enforcement and ensuring the big companies are complying, but these policies are often lost at SME and site level.

SC: There’s no one thing that fixes it all; it’s a combination of many. When I attend workshops with my clients, I need to have some nuggets from suppliers I can present, and say: “Come on, let’s engage our supply chain, better than we’re currently doing, to make improvements.”

JS: COSHH has some very good principles of control. The problem is awareness and risk perception. We need to get workers and employers engaged and recognise the risks. The HSE can’t be everywhere, so we rely on partners to spread that message.

MC: You can have all the technology and great ideas in the world – but that doesn’t matter if your people are not with you. Simplicity is the key. The great sports teams do simple things well consistently, over and over. Also, a bit of recognition and reward is important.

It’s easy to identify failure – rarely do we celebrate success.

we’ve taken the decision to cut or drill and create dust. All big construction f i r m s a re n ow p u s h i n g o f f s i te fabrication. It should improve quality and, in many cases, health and safety.

SC: As an industry, we need to be better at sharing best practice and new technology, rather than working in isolation. We should be prepared to trial new ideas and technology to see what improvements are possible, and not run away from these initiatives. ● 31

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DEMOLITION MAY 2019 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

32-36

Demolition

SAFETY AND PRODUCTIVITY DRIVES INNOVATION DEMOLITION CONTRACTORS ARE RESPONDING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL DRIVERS TO MAKE WORK EVER MORE EFFICIENT. BUT, WITH THE MARCH OF THE DIGITAL AGE, SOME SEE EVEN BIGGER CHANGES ON THE HORIZON. NEIL GERRARD REPORTS

In a world where constructors are starting to implement the digital twin, deploy drones and augmented reality headsets, and even take advantage of exoskeletons for workers, to name just a few advances, the demolition industry can look somewhat traditional by comparison.

But it would be wrong to assume that there is little innovation taking place in the sector because a raft of push and pull

factors are slowly starting to change the way contractors operate – and that only looks set to accelerate in the future.

At the moment, it’s very much a case of evolution rather than revolution, explains National Federation of Demolition Contractors (NFDC) chief executive Howard Button.

“The whole industry is still using fairly traditional methods, albeit more efficiently and more effectively. We

“The biggest machine in the UK now has a reach of about 68m” Howard Button, NFDC

R Collard on site at the £5.2m demolition of GlaxoSmithKline’s Greenford site

are probably awaiting the next step in innovation in the industry to take us forward,” he says.

That includes measures like building fleets of high-reach excavators that can be used to take down buildings more safely and efficiently in built-up areas.

“The biggest machine in the UK now has a reach of about 68m, which is a terrific height, and contractors are using machines of that height for the demolition of tower blocks. We tend to be moving away from explosives, other than in the big power stations where it is quite isolated,” Button says.

Andrew Farquharson, divisional director for demolition at Londonbased O’Keefe Group, cites the example of the high-reach excavator with a hydraulic jaws attachment it used to dismantle a large four-storey building on Tabernacle Street in Shoreditch, which was originally occupied by the Financial Times newspaper.

Removing the existing structure was challenging as the building abutted three neighbouring properties which remained fully occupied.

Narrow streets also meant access was extremely limited, making the 47-tonne Komatsu high-reach excavator, in conjunction with smaller machines in more sensitive areas next to adjacent buildings, the obvious choice.

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£1.5m

West Midlands firm AR Demolition last year invested £1.5m in three new high-reach Kiesel machines

Meanwhile, West Midlands firm AR Demolition last year invested £1.5m in three new high-reach Kiesel machines.

“We see this innovative technology as the future of AR Demolition and the industry as a whole,” says managing director and co-owner Richard Dolman.

“The sheer versatility of this new plant allows us to utilise fewer machines to perform the same function, with the ability to change attachments and change from standard to highreach arms in a fraction of the time with traditional machines. This provides us with massive operational efficiencies.”

The acute awareness of health and safety in what can be a high-risk sector is also helping to drive innovation beyond the machines used for the job.

Farquharson points to a new app that O’Keefe has developed, which allows staff to log hazards via their smartphones, which are then relayed to management in real time. The app also contains videos made by the O’Keefe health and safety team, with carefully “staged” hazards which can then be used by operatives during various training activities and site inductions.

Meanwhile, with the release of silica dust currently high on the list of Health and Safety Executive (HSE) targets for investigation along with the improvement of dust control measures,

AR Demolition has collaborated with Ace Plant to produce a specialist solution for high-level dust suppression.

Mounted on an 18m telehandler, the remotely operated, high-reach Dust Fighter is a self-contained water mist spraying system and can be moved around freely with no hoses or cables becoming a trip-hazard underfoot.

If health and safety considerations are bringing about change, the industry is also alive to environmental concerns.

Hampshire-based contractor R Collard is using in-house expertise and resources in waste management to transform its commercial approach to demolition. Its skip hire division provides containers and its fleet transports pre-segregated arisings from site to five materials recycling facilities throughout the south of England for sorting and processing into new materials that are ultimately fed back into the construction supply chain.

“Our ability to minimise the costs of managing demolition wastes enables us to pass these savings back to our clients through more competitive tendering,” says Rob Collard, founder and managing director.

The firm targets demolition of industrial property which typically generates high salvage value, such as the £5.25m demolition of the former GlaxoSmithKline site in Greenford,

Demolition degrees drive up standards

AR Demolition used dust suppression technology on its Broadmarsh site in Nottingham

If there is one area of innovation that AR Demolition co-owner Richard Dolman (pictured) regards as paramount, then it is the professionalisation of the industry and increased levels of education.

Dolman, also vice-president of the Institute of Demolition Engineers (IDE), has been involved in developing three new demolition degree courses in conjunction with the University of Wolverhampton – a foundation course, bachelor’s, and a master’s.

More than 20 people have now been through the master’s degree, while the first and second intakes of the foundation course were both fully subscribed with about 20 students each.

“Demolition can often be seen as a rogue industry but it is very far from that now. There’s a lot of clever engineers and good careers, but I, along with a few others at the IDE, thought there needed to be some more higher education and why we got together with Wolverhampton University,” he explains.

Dolman has also put his money where is mouth is and is himself currently undertaking the master’s degree course, with his final dissertation due shortly.

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“If demolition contractors were involved in the design stage then there would be a benefit when a building has come to the end of its useful life” Richard Dolman, AR Demolition

which involved the demolition of office and warehouse buildings, plant rooms and car parks on the 75,000 sq m site in west London. R Collard build a jetty and used barges to transport nearly 1,500 tonnes of waste by the river, claiming to have saved nearly three tonnes of carbon in the process. It also crushed 180,000 tonnes of hardcore on site for use in the later build phase.

Looking further ahead, some contractors see the potential that digital information modelling has to transform the way in which they work.

“The potential for BIM in demolition is staggering but it takes a while to get your head around it and it is still in its infancy,” says Dolman. “We did a module on it as part of the University of Wolverhampton’s master’s degree course [see box, p31] and it blew my mind. If demolition contractors were involved in the design stage then there would be a benefit when

Above: O’Keefe used a 47-tonne Komatsu excavator on a tight site in Shoreditch Below: R Collard used barges to transport nearly 1,500 tonnes of waste at Greenford

a building has come to the end of its useful life, with ready information for the planning of a demolition project.

It helps on so many fronts, including recycling of materials and logistics.”

Meanwhile O’Keefe, while not officially accredited to BIM Level 2, already has a virtual construction team (VCT) that allows it to demonstrate digitally how a building can be deconstructed then incorporated into a new design or how construction can be phased.

“It provides a number of benefits for our clients, including quality assurance, programme certainty, clash detection and cost certainty. The innovation in software is constantly moving forward and through strategic partnerships we are able to remain at the forefront of the design and estimating platforms,” says Farquharson.

Another area showing potential for the future is in robotics and automation.

The industry has for some years been using remote-controlled machines like Brokks, which have the demolition force equivalent to a 15-tonne tracked excavator, and can help to avoid the risks associated with hand arm vibration syndrome, as well as being able to enter areas too confined or dangerous for human operators. Meanwhile, a robot for sorting demolition waste has been developed in Japan (see box, right).

Larger excavators can now also be controlled remotely, although Button points out that this technology is not without its problems. “The biggest potential downside to a robotic machine is that the operator, because he is distant from it, tends to take more risk. He wouldn’t expose himself to that risk if he was in the machine. I have heard some horror stories from Europe where they put the machine almost right underneath the building and just collapsed it.”

Robots sort waste in Japan Robots that harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to sort demolition waste have been unveiled in Japan. The machines have been developed by AMP Robotics in conjunction with waste firm Ryoshin and are targeted at the Japanese construction and demolition market.

Two machines, called AI-Benkei and AI-Musashi, can sort, pick and process demolition waste for recycling. They have been built on the AMP Neuron AI platform, which uses real-time pattern recognition to identify target materials. It continuously learns by processing data from millions of images captured via its vision system, and recognises different colours, textures, shapes and patterns.

The AI-Benkei machine can handle debris weighing up to 40kg and will process 25 tonnes per hour. AI-Musashi uses a tandem-robot cell to rapidly sort smaller items at a rate of 160 pieces of material per minute, and can handle up to 10 tonnes per hour.

Nonetheless, Dolman sees the potential: “The technology is getting more advanced, larger, and more controllable.

It is not mainstream but you can see it creeping into the marketplace. Based on what I have seen in the past, I would imagine it will take one or two decades.”

While progression is currently the order of the day, far more visible and far-reaching demolition innovations are sitting on the horizon. ●

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When you carry out more than a million inspections every year

You know build quality when you see it

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DEMOLITION MAY 2019 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

These are busy days for Holly Price. In March, Keltbray’s training and development director was appointed a trustee of the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), just a few days after becoming the first female president in the 78-year history of the National Federation of Demolition Contractors (NFDC).

And Price, who joined the demolition industry aged 16, has “diversity high on the agenda” in her term as NFDC president.

“The industry is at full throttle, with another 200,000 jobs needed over the next five years, and we need a dynamic and diverse workforce to help deliver the workload,” she says.

Last month, construction reported its latest gender pay gap data, and Price is pleased that her own company, Keltbray, has reduced the average hourly rate gap by 2% between male and female workers, while there was a 3% rise in the number of women in its second and the top pay quartiles.

“Gender pay is an important issue that we must address,” she says, “but direct gender pay comparisons are difficult in demolition.

Traditionally, roles of males and females have been very different – as with the wider construction industry – with men tending to be on the technical and operations side while women are in back office roles.

“However, that has changed significantly in the last half dozen years, with more females coming into the sector.”

Changing perceptions Price has been to the fore of that change. A selfconfessed “demolition geek”, she quickly fell in love with the sector, and went on to become the UK’s only female explosives engineer. Today, through Keltbray, she is involved with highprofile projects ranging from Earl’s Court, where the contractor had to assemble London’s largest crane, to HS2, where it was one of the first firms on site as part of an enabling works contract. Her NFDC presidential role will include promoting demolition’s varied career opportunities.

‘I’M A DEMOLITION GEEK’ THE FIRST FEMALE PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF DEMOLITION CONTRACTORS IS KELTBRAY’S HOLLY PRICE, WHO WAS ALSO RECENTLY MADE A TRUSTEE OF THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY TRAINING BOARD. WILL MANN CAUGHT UP WITH HER

“The industry is at full throttle, with another 200,000 jobs needed over the next five years, and we need a dynamic and diverse workforce to help deliver the workload”

“Perceptions of demolition aren’t always right,” she says. “The sites can be challenging, but the job isn’t all about carrying heavy drills and wearing face masks.

“There are complex engineering challenges, because every building we bring down is different, and we often have to work through 100 years or more of design alterations when planning the work.”

She believes there is “fantastic potential” in using 3D modelling to help plan demolition projects, and says there is “definitely an appetite” for using digital technology in the sector.

Another of Price’s “passion projects” as president will be mental health. “The NFDC signed the charter for Building Mental Health last year, and now we need to support out members so they have the tools to implement its principles,” she explains.

“Members include companies like Keltbray with hundreds of staff and SMEs with just 10 or 20. And, for a small business, it can be difficult to know where to start with mental health. So, the NFDC has employed a group of health and wellbeing experts, who are available to all our members to advise about issues like stress and its impact on cognitive function.”

Price has headed Keltray’s training and development function since 2007, identifying the people and skills requirements to support the company’s rapid expansion, and she has a similar brief as a CITB trustee.

“The whole of construction obviously has a major skills challenge and I’ll be looking at how we can make careers more accessible,” she explains.

“The industry has always operated very traditionally, and it can be hard to invest in skills when your business is working on shortterm contracts.

“But construction will change dramatically as new technology comes in. That should allow us to introduce more agile and flexible arrangements into our work practices, and that can help us attract more people into the industry – including more women.” ●

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16/04/2019 13:02

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BIM & DIGITAL MAY 2019 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

38-42

BIM & Digital

FINDING DIGITAL CERTAINTY IN UNCERTAIN TIMES WITH POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY, AN ACCELERATING TECHNOLOGICAL LANDSCAPE AND THE URGENT NEED TO IMPROVE QUALITY, THERE WAS MUCH TO TALK ABOUT AT THE BIMPLUS/ CONSTRUCTION MANAGER ANNUAL ROUND TABLE. DENISE CHEVIN CHAIRED THE DEBATE, HELD AT FTI CONSULTING’S OFFICES IN THE CITY OF LONDON, SUPPORTED BY PENNINGTONS MANCHES

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREW MASON

Denise Chevin: How is the market uncertainty and situation with Brexit impacting on digital transformation and uptake of BIM? David Jellings: The saying goes that you only know how bad things are when the tide goes out and you can see the holes in the boats, but I think it’s when the tide comes in and those boats sink.

In the industry now, the tide is out and people are waiting for it to come back in.

People realise BIM is an integrated business process. The people who provide the data now understand what it is they are providing. More importantly the people who are using it are getting more prescriptive. They want the data clearly defined so they can use it to help business. In addition to the obvious technological benefits, people now see the huge commercial benefit in using data.

Andrew Bellerby: What we see are two streams: the larger contractors who want to improve the processes, and the

Clockwise, from top left: Adrian Girling (Graphisoft); Andrew Bellerby (Solibri), Riz Cader (RLB) and Edonis Jesus (Lendlease); Francis Ho (Penningtons Manches); Sonia Zahiroddiny (HS2)

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CONSTRUCTION MANAGER | MAY 2019 BIM & DIGITAL

“I don’t believe the downturn is making any impact other than a positive one – it’s creating demand for change” Marek Suchocki, Autodesk

tail end of the industry which is still struggling to get there. Brexit is making it harder as there is an unwillingness to invest in technology and still a long way to go in educating those people.

Riz Cader: I have a different perspective.

We are being asked to optimise our fees, so we are looking at ways to be as efficient as possible. As receiver of the data, we have to engage with those who create it so we can use the data more efficiently – this focuses the innovation on us. It works with some designers but not all, so if we have worked with a designer in the past who understands it, it makes it easier for us. Initially the onus was on the designers – they had to put all the information in, but now we are more aligned.

As everyone assumes there will be a downturn in the market, we are being proactive. Necessity is the mother of innovation,and this is what is pushing us to find alternative solutions.

Edonis Jesus: I don’t believe the transition to a digital industry has been impacted by Brexit or decline in growth in the industry. I think it’s the opposite: it’s accelerating the whole process. My experience is seeing more and more clients requiring methodologies like BIM Level 2 for most projects.

Richard Bates: I agree. We are seeing an increase in the designers understanding more about the data requirement. As far as Brexit goes, we are growing, but at a slower rate.

People are expecting a downturn but margins are so low that the smallest thing can cause negativity in a project.

People are trying to make things more efficient and squeeze more out of it.

Sonia Zahiroddiny: The impact of Brexit is a lack of resources. People are struggling with resources to put on the right jobs.

DC: So, there is still some way to make digital construction and BIM routine?

Eddie Tuttle: In a huge part of the supply chain BIM is not embedded. It is driven by tier 1, and the government as a client has grasped the nettle and has a number of procurement methodologies. Business needs certainty and the debate about Brexit is all about uncertainty, and it will have an effect on investment in training and new technologies. The crucial role in digital is in how it’s implemented… the quality issue is hanging over the industry.

Marek Suchocki: I don’t believe the downturn is making any impact other than a positive one – it’s creating demand for change. As a provider we see some businesses can’t see why they’re struggling, but others who are more mature are innovating and changing direction.

Adrian Girling: The larger companies are much further down the digital route

than the smaller companies. There is a vanguard but the guys at the back are struggling to get to 3D collaboration.

With Brexit there will be a skills gap because there will be less migration into the UK. We are seeing a lack of BIM managers and those that exist are being bought up by the large companies – taking them from architects and leaving a gap there. At our customers in London 30-50% are EU migrants and that’s slowing down, and it will be a huge issue moving forward. It will slow down the uptake of digital.

Francis Ho: It’s been an interesting 12 months. There is more familiarity with clients – they seem to understand BIM Level 2 and are familiar with the protocol, writing bespoke documents.

We haven’t had the same level of enquiry from medium-sized firms. Progress is being made but has slowed down.

THE PANEL

Marek Suchocki Civil infrastructure engagement lead EMEA, Autodesk

Adrian Girling Managing director, UK & Ireland, Graphisoft

Francis Ho Partner, construction and infrastructure, Penningtons Manches

Eddie Tuttle Associate director, policy, research and public affairs, CIOB

Riz Cader Consultant, RLB

David Jellings Managing director UK, BIMobject

Edonis Jesus BIM leader, Consulting, Lendlease

Richard Bates Associate and BIM specialist, Alinea Consulting

Dr Sonia Zahiroddiny BIM strategy manager, HS2

Andrew Bellerby UK managing director, Solibri

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BIM & DIGITAL MAY 2019 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

From left: Sonia Zahiroddiny (HS2); Eddie Tuttle (CIOB); Marek Suchocki (Autodesk); Adrian Girling (Graphisoft); Francis Ho (Penningtons Manches)

DC: What needs to happen to accelerate change?

ET: Brexit could benefit the industry as it will force people to change the way they do business. The industry is working to a model where they appear happy with low margins, which is a big issue.

SZ: I agree. The business models need to change. It needs to be driven by how we procure, so the government needs to drive it. Businesses are looking at a piece of technology and trying to make it work rather than looking at their model and how technology improves the business process. It’s a cultural change.

Technology is leading the process rather than the other way around.

MS: The UK has absolutely recognised the inefficiency and acknowledges it needs to fix things; we are the only country that has infrastructure and construction strategies. Elsewhere in the world people do look up to us because of BIM Level 2. As an aspiration to do things differently, it’s a good thing to aim for.

DC: Do you think the uptake of technology improves quality?

ET: Grenfell is not a one-off: the lack of quality in housebuilding raises a number of issues the industry needs to face up to. It needs to focus on competency, with digital as the driver of change – it’s an opportunity for the industry to get itself in order.

SZ: I don’t think digital will improve quality as we are still designing to costs.

We are designing to the cheapest possible outcome. It comes back to procurement.

AB: It can improve quality. The challenge is in automating processes for checking models; it’s difficult to write generic checks that can look if a model has the correct data. The large companies are more proactive in checking quality of models but have a retrospective

How will MMC, DfMA and AI drive the digital agenda?

“The business models need to change.

It needs to be driven by how we procure, so the government needs to drive it” Sonia Zahiroddiny, HS2

EJ: There is still a lot of R&D needed.

The industry is still exploring MMC and DfMA but in terms of having an actual strategy, how you actually go about it, breaking it down, how you can make both manual and automatic systems work and integrate is harder.

Standardisation of design will become the norm, through a kit of parts or BIM libraries. One will write down what the actual requirements are and then solutions will be produced based on those requirements and various solutions will be compared.

MS: Maximisation of plots and generalisation of build will increase.

With one offsite manufacturer in Holland, we used generative design to develop the plots and let the computer do thousands of iterations to give optimised solutions.

MS: The opportunity is predictability, reducing uncertainty, and having confidence that what the architect designed is buildable. Manufactured elements mean we know what they cost and how they fit together, their time to market and so many factors. We can now look at building the right thing in the right place.

People think that BIM is a cost but if everything is done on site, projects still run late and over budget. More cost up front means less in the long run.

DC: Where will DfMA and AI go? Is it going to make people redundant?

AB: I don’t think so. You can’t automate building codes at the moment. If they are tightened up you can look at how you bring in AI, but we are quite a long way from that.

DC: One global consulting firm was talking about resourcing an overseas project. Whereas typically they would require six people, now they would just require two. Automation has cut the staff required to undertake the same work.

AB: Yes, but perhaps it fills the skills gap, it changes roles rather than making people redundant. Roles are blurred.

It’s an opportunity not a threat.

AG: Innovation is about creating efficiencies, enabling a practice to have 10 architects instead of 15, but it doesn’t stop the number of jobs – it just means the roles change. New jobs are being created, so instead of a CAD manager you have a drone manager or a robot manager.

Jobs are different today than a generation ago, yet we have full employment.

DJ: We are focusing here on design but go back to manufacturing and not far in the future lies robotic assembly.

SZ: We are a long way from robotics being used in the public sector; it requires standardisation and an integrated way of working, so until we get that we can’t use it on bigger infrastructure projects.

We are seeing roles being replaced with tech savvy, data-driven people coming into the industry who know how to do process mapping and process engineering. We need that, otherwise we go backwards.

RB: More and more architects are producing more options, which in turn is making us more reactive rather than proactive, as things are turned around faster. We used to receive 2D up to RIBA stage three but now designers are a lot savvier with technology, so we are receiving models at the feasibility stage which we never had before. It puts pressure on our ability and time and space for dealing with it. We are also moving onto smart contracts. It’s a computer-based “if this, then that” type approach.

FH: I’ve seen that mixed with blockchain, for example, if the KPI is met then you’re paid automatically – that’s how smart contracts can work. AI is fascinating: you can feed it information with different clauses and contracts and it can pull them out and compare them. A human has to then look at them, but it does reduce the amount of time you spend, especially for consultants, and that saves costs.

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BIM & DIGITAL MAY 2019 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

“Using AI is the fastest growing field, using data in real time environment. Blockchain is needed because it’s how you record what that data has done” David Jellings, BIMobject

attitude to quality – “we’ll check it if we have to or are told to”. That attitude amazes me; they should be proud.

DC: There are so many advances in technology coming through – which do you think are driving change?

RC: Globally we are seeing if we can use blockchain, especially post contract, to see if it can integrate with models. If the structural engineer changes something the architect drew, tracking that change can be difficult.

Lots of companies in the Far East are experimenting with blockchain.

We are also looking at AI and machine learning. The software will learn where certain assets can be placed, and AI will inform us that if you’re trying to build this kind of building, we shouldn’t put x there. It’s part of our strategy to make ourselves more efficient by reducing the number of design iterations.

DJ: We are seeing a similar trend. Using AI is the fastest growing field, using data in real-time environment. Blockchain is needed by the market because it’s how you record what that data has done.

It provides an audit tour.

RC: We are also looking at doing fit outs using VR. For example, the kitchen in a house – you have four places you could put the cooker. Some people cannot visualise a drawing, but give them the VR and they walk through the house.

SZ: HS2 will have a digital twin. That’s the aspiration and vision. We have a consortium to provide that platform.

It’s very exciting but challenging. Because we are starting with a blank page, so once we start establish our IUT strategy that’s when we will have the digital twin, enable people to see the asset. The capability is out there – not necessarily from one single company, which is why we have a consortium, but there is an appetite.

From left: David Jellings (BIMobject); Andrew Bellerby (Solibri); Riz Cader (RLB); Edonis Jesus (Lendlease); Richard Bates (Alinea Consulting)

DJ: We are using drone technology with the highways agency to see which drains need clearing. On road maintenance that can save 90% of the cost.

MS: We have just launched a component for risk analysis delivering predictive trends as data may show a contractor is about to go bust; and we have used a video of a site to identify hazards for health and safety purposes – it’s a huge growth area for us.

There is also a toolkit to solve the problems we can’t, such as to link linear designs to point designs. It will just snap into the right location.

Knowledge-based engineering, where you build retaining walls on a road and as you change the road you change the walls. It stops routine activity and automates it.

DJ: A derivative of that is triangulation.

If you want to find where something is located there are programs that do that with business intelligence. We can identify who is downloading what material; other data identifies which projects are being grouped together and where the funding is. It means you can see where the business is, who’s paying for it and where the products are. It will have a huge impact on everything that we are doing in UK construction. This is two to three years away, not blue sky. ●

If you had to choose only one, which technology would you bet on for having the maximum impact on change in the future?

SZ: Digital twin.

DJ: Assembly of buildings.

EJ: Analytics.

Using data to make informed decisions.

RB: Assembly on site and environmental impact – the just-in-time

aspect, so not repeatedly moving things.

AB: Assembly of buildings.

ET: Assembly, the role of the insurance industry and new arrivals to market.

FH: Offsite manufacturing, although the finance models are vastly different so need investment and throughput of orders.

But in the short term, machine learning, as the cost is more accessible.

AG: 3D printing has huge potential. And security of data will be a big issue.

MS: The digital constructor: the worker and the organisation.

RC: Machine learning.

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HEALTH, SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT TEST

We’re making changes to the HS&E test

It’s about protecting people – it’s that simple. We are updating the HS&E test on 26 June 2019 to ensure it remains fair, valid and reliable.

Updated revision materials will be available to purchase and download from the CITB shop from 15 May 2019.

To find out more about these changes, visit citb.co.uk/HSEtestdev

26 JUNE 2019

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LEGAL MAY 2019 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

Legal Assad Maqbool Partner, Trowers & Hamlins

Social Value Act changes may not solve skills crisis A CONSULTATION ON THE SOCIAL VALUE ACT COULD MEAN PUBLIC PROCURERS HAVE TO CHANGE HOW THEY EVALUATE CONSTRUCTION TENDERS. BUT WILL THIS HELP THE INDUSTRY’S CHRONIC SKILLS DEFICIT? ASSAD MAQBOOL HAS HIS DOUBTS

The skills gap is readily apparent to everyone working in construction.

With so much of the industry driven by public procurement, what can central government do to lead the change required?

The Social Value Act 2012 requires public authorities to consider how procurement of construction services might secure improvements in economic and social wellbeing.

Part of that is improved employability and skills. But, in the vast majority of public procurement, there remains little emphasis on social value offerings, so bidders focus on the quality and price evaluation criteria to win the work.

There are examples of public authorities taking a structured and collaborative approach with their construction providers, both at first tier level and down the supply chain.

However, they are comparatively rare.

“The paper proposes that there should be a weighting of at least 10% attributed to social value in the award of public contracts”

So, as Willmott Dixon CEO Rick Willmott noted in his interview in CM’s February issue, the government has decided to step in.

The Cabinet Office is currently consulting on proposals which force central government departments to take into account social value when procuring. The upshot is likely to be amendments to the act that would make social value a mandatory part of evaluation criteria.

The consultation paper proposes that there should be a weighting of at least 10% attributed to social value in the award of public contracts to ensure that social impact would be a differentiator between bids.

However, unless the construction industry responds in force to mould the outputs from the consultation, there are a number of issues which are likely to limit the tangible impact on skills.

First, the changes are not planned to impact on procurements for infrastructure, construction and capital investment contracts over £10m, because these are already covered by the “balanced scorecard for growth” developed by Crown Commercial Service and published in 2016. This is a scorecard system designed to ensure that major government procurements achieve economic growth and best value for the taxpayer.

Matrix of outcomes Second, unsurprisingly given the broad policy agenda of central government, the proposed social value delivery model is divided into a number of high-level themes: diverse supply chains; inclusion, mental health, a n d w e l l b e i n g ; e nv i ro n m e n ta l sustainability; and safe supply chains.

Beneath each of those key themes, the model sets out a matrix of key policy outcomes, along with standard award criteria, suggested evaluation questions, and specific policy metrics for monitoring outcomes.

However, departments will be able to “select those policy outcomes that are relevant and proportionate to the subject-matter of the contract”.

This may well lead back to the inconsistency of approach that has historically prevented proper investment in skills.

The scale of the employment and skills deficit needs a pure focus that allows businesses to take a strategic, long-term and collaborative approach.

The consultation ends on 10 June and can be viewed at www.gov.uk. ● Assad Maqbool is a partner at Trowers & Hamlins and a trustee of the Construction Youth Trust.

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CONSTRUCTION MANAGER | MAY 2019 LEGAL

Charlie Woodley HKA

To understand claims and dispute causation better in the construction and engineering sector, and the likely impact of digitalisation, our team analysed data and expert opinion on 257 projects, together valued at more than $400bn, where HKA provided claims consulting and dispute resolution services.

We identified numerous causes, and the interrelationships between them, which we believe more truly reflects the constraints on parties and projects.

The top 10 causes of disputes will surprise few (see box). More interesting, however, is that our research showed an average of 13 interrelated causation factors per project, which debunks any attempt to reduce dispute causation to a few headline factors. There are primary, secondary, even tertiary causes, and they shift depending on which party in the dispute – owner, contractor, designer – is examined. Put simply, it’s complicated.

Looking at the top 10 causes, however, we believe that digitalisation in the industry will have an ameliorative effect on disputes as “information liquidity” extends through supply chains. By information liquidity, we mean the ease with which records, and the data they contain, can be converted into knowledge.

For instance, a major challenge in dispute resolution is trying to establish what the facts were on site.

Retrieving data has traditionally relied on paper-based site diaries, which site agents can neglect to update, or can fill with inappropriate information.

Where there is ambiguity around the facts, parties entrench. The advent of relatively simple smartphone apps, complemented by photography, which can export data in a structured format,

Will digitalisation end construction disputes?

THE MOST COMMON CAUSES OF LEGAL DISPUTES IN CONSTRUCTION WILL NOT SURPRISE MANY – BUT WHAT ROLE COULD DIGITALISATION PLAY IN SOLVING THEM? CHARLIE WOODLEY EXPLAINS

allows the facts to be established much faster, and with less expense.

So, rather than fight over the facts, parties can progress more efficiently to negotiating a settlement.

The savings in time and cost can be dramatic. Recently we assisted with a delay claim and used automation techniques to extract progress data and plot S-curves in about four hours, whereas a manual process might have taken three weeks.

Extrapolated, this type of time and cost saving supports the claim that the forecasted value-add of digitalisation is in the trillions of dollars.

The use of 3D models in the industry at large, and within dispute resolution, will only increase over time as BIM continues to gain traction globally and becomes business as usual.

As awareness of the value of information models grows, we expect

“The advent of relatively simple smartphone apps allows the facts to be established much faster, and with less expense”

them to be requested and their potential to connect with non-graphical data to be evaluated as a matter of course.

This will be reinforced as the dispute resolution community shifts focus to data rather than documents.

With both industry and advisors digitally maturing, it is not unrealistic to expect 70% to 80% of future contentious commissions to have models available within the next five years, reversing the current position.

We do not hold that the industry in its entirety must digitalise all at once.

Pockets of change spark more pockets of change. Information requirements that include machine-readable formats for data interchange will result in a trickle-down effect, improving data flow throughout the supply chain.

This process will accelerate as parties recognise the value of data flow, and such provisions become standard inclusions in contracts. ● Charlie Woodley is director and CRUX programme lead at HKA, a consulting and advisory firm.

A longer version of this article, with a link to the HKA report, is published in the current edition of Construction Research & Innovation and can be accessed free by CM readers until 24 June 2019.

Top 10 causes of construction disputes l Slow progress l Variations l Extensions of time l Late availability of information/design l Change of scope l Managing time l Interpretations of contract provisions l Adversarial culture l Design errors/buildability l Lack of communication

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COMMUNITY MAY 2019 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

46-55

Community WHAT’S HAPPENING IN YOUR PROFESSIONAL BODY

48 49 50 51 54

CIOB GRADUATION DAY QUALITY MANAGEMENT NOVUS GLASGOW VISIT DIARY DATES BASEMENT EXCAVATION

Incoming CIOB president Charles Egbu (above) will speak in the Signet Library (left)

Event

Members set to take a seat at Edinburgh forum PRESIDENT’S DINNER AT THE SIGNET LIBRARY WILL BE A HIGHLIGHT OF THIS YEAR’S MEMBERS’ FORUM

The CIOB and key members from its committees plus the Board of Trustees will gather in Edinburgh in June for the annual AGM and Members’ Forum.

The Members’ Forum is a unique event, allowing members to influence the direction of the CIOB. Many organisations limit debate by coming to decisions behind closed doors.

A highlight of the programme is the President’s Dinner, which is open to members and non-members.

The dinner is a unique event at which the newly appointed CIOB president, Professor Charles Egbu, will set out his agenda for the year ahead.

This black tie event will be held in the Signet Library, overlooking Parliament Square in Edinburgh, on 27 June.

Tickets are on sale now. ● Find out more at https://events. ciob.org/ehome/200186455.

See p48 for details of the AGM.

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CONSTRUCTION MANAGER | MAY 2019 COMMUNITY Community is edited by Nicky Roger nicky@atompublishing.co.uk

Conference

CIOB supports procurement body event SCF CONFERENCE LINE-UP Competition

The future’s bright for this year’s Novus student challenge winners LONDON SOUTH BANK UNIVERSITY TAKES TOP PLACE

In March, students from across London and the south gathered at The Gable in central London to take part in the final stage of the CIOB Novus Bright Futures Student Challenge.

The annual event gives students the opportunity to increase their construction knowledge, develop their presentation skills and network with industry professionals. Participants compete in teams at regional heats, with the winners from each heat returning for the final in London.

This year ’s competition f inal began with a presentation from Anthony Clarke, operations manager for VolkerFitzpatrick’s building division, which sponsored the event.

After learning about the business’s nearby 77 Coleman Street project, the teams then headed out for a site visit, guided by members of the project team.

After the visit each team set to work on its specific “challenge”. These ranged from finding solutions for managing noise and vibration on site, to examining the cost-effectiveness of extended working hours. Each team presented to a panel of judges.

The winning team was London South Bank University (LSBU), which presented on considerate construction within the City of London. Second place went to Baxall Academy, which presented on noise and vibration management, and third place went to the University of East London (UEL), which presented on the challenges of undertaking temporary works.

The Most Outstanding Student award went to Lauren Webster from LSBU, who demonstrated an in-depth understanding of her team’s subject matter and presented with enthusiasm, professionalism and conviction.

A special mention was given to student Harry Parker from Solent University for his teamwork, presentation skills and understanding of the project.

Prizes included vouchers, trophies, medals and work experience opportunities. ● Above: Students tour VolkerFitzpatrick’s site Below: The winning team from LSBU

CIOB ENGAGES WITH SITE WORKERS AT HINKLEY POINT C The CIOB in the south west has developed a relationship with EDF and the site workers at the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station.

Recently the institute attended the opening of the HPC EDF Apprentice & Skills Hub. Shortly after, the CIOB Engagement Group held its first meeting at HPC to discuss how the CIOB can add further value to the professional development requirements of HPC site workers.

Three key names from the CIOB will be speakers at the upcoming SCF conference in Exeter.

SCF is a collaboration between Devon and Hampshire County Councils that offers public sector organisations throughout London, the south east and the south west support with construction procurement.

The event takes place on the morning of 7 May at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery in Exeter. The conference continues in London on 8 May and Winchester on 9 May. Sitting on a key panel at the Exeter event will be Eddie Tuttle, director of policy, research & public affairs at the CIOB; Dr Tina Papadopoulou, associate professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, Surveying and Construction Management, Kingston University; and Jean Duprez (pictured above), managing director, Duprez Consulting and vice chair of the CIOB’s Business Development Board, who also sits on the Policy Board and the 14-19 Education Committee.

The CIOB is sponsoring the three SCF annual conferences.

“Like CIOB, the SCF is a not-forprofit organisation determined to improve the industry and thus has crossover with our values,” says Adrian Montague, head of the CIOB Academy. “Following on from the events, we will aim to work together to further strategic influences.”

Read more about about SCF and the conference at scfsolutions.org.uk.

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COMMUNITY MAY 2019 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

Notice of meeting

CIOB Annual General Meeting

Conferrment

CIOB graduation day CONGRATULATIONS TO NEW FELLOWS, MEMBERS, CBCS, TPS AND HONORARY LIFE MEMBERS WHO WERE CONFERRED AT A CEREMONY IN MARCH

Notice is hereby given that the one hundred and eighty-eighth ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING and the thirty-eighth of The Chartered Institute of Building will be held at the Hilton Carlton, Edinburgh on Monday 24 June 2019 at 0900hrs.

By order of the Board of Trustees Samantha Teague, Institute Secretary May 2019 Note: All classes of members are welcome to attend the meeting and, with the permission of the Chair, to speak.

Only Corporate Members personally present are entitled to vote upon any Resolution. Voting shall be by a show of hands, unless a poll is demanded in accordance with Bye-Law 49.

Agenda 1.Notice convening the meeting.

2.Apologies for absence.

3.To confirm the minutes of the Extraordinary General Meeting & Annual General Meeting held on 9 July 2018.

4.To consider the Annual Report of The

Chartered Institute of Building including Audited Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2018.

5.To appoint the auditors of the Institute and to authorise the Board of Trustees to agree their remuneration.

6.To consider the composition of the Board of Trustees for 2019/2020: 6.1 Installation of the new President.

6.2 Declaration of the election by the Board of Trustees of Officers & co-opted members.

6.3 Confirmation of the Board of Trustees following election and selection.

6.4 Vote of thanks from the Incoming President.

7. Any other business.

8. Date of next meeting - June 2020 Note 1: Copies of the minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting held on 9 July 2018 will be available at the Annual General Meeting. Any member who requires copies prior to the meeting should apply to: Institute Secretary at CIOB, 1 Arlington Square, Bracknell, Berkshire RG12 1WA, UK.

New fellows: Matthew Crookes FCIOB. New members: Oyebola Aina MCIOB, Sheila Allen MCIOB, Stuart Allison MCIOB, David Andrews MCIOB, Stuart Angus MCIOB, Steven Bilson MCIOB, Garry Bolton MCIOB, Jamie Broomfield MCIOB, Andy Burfitt MCIOB, Sooren Chinnappa MCIOB, Terry Cocker MCIOB, Barry Courtenay-Crane MCIOB, Ian Epsley MCIOB, Harry Escott MCIOB, Giuseppe Ferrara MCIOB, Craig Garbutt MCIOB, Steve Gibbins MCIOB, Andrew Giblin MCIOB, Stephen Grimes MCIOB, Karel Grobler MCIOB, Emma Hatton MCIOB, Gary Hayward MCIOB, Nyron Higgins MCIOB, Nicola Hodson MCIOB, Allan Irvine MCIOB, Neil James MCIOB, Raymond Kiernan MCIOB, Graham Lacey MCIOB, Grant Leary MCIOB, Graham Marfleet MCIOB, Paul McLaughlin MCIOB, Graham Mitchell MCIOB, Steven Mortlock MCIOB, Shamin S Nakalembe MCIOB, Adam Nixon MCIOB, Olatunde Olarewaju MCIOB, Eduarda Osmond MCIOB, Ray Owen MCIOB, Adam Payne MCIOB, Larissa Pearce MCIOB, James Perkins MCIOB, Glen Remnant MCIOB, Daniel Rogers MCIOB, Marvin Rose MCIOB, Paul Samways MCIOB, Rikki Slocombe MCIOB, Lisa Smith MCIOB, Matthew Spiller MCIOB, Shaun Taylor MCIOB, Krishnadas Vaisakh MCIOB, Elaine Wakefield MCIOB, Victoria Weatherall Norman MCIOB, Mark Whiting MCIOB. New chartered building company ASD Build Ltd – Mark Hennessey FCIOB. New chartered building company and training partnership Munnings Construction Ltd – Phillip Munnings MCIOB.

New honorary life members Paul Hampton FCIOB, Geoffrey Cook FCIOB.

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●

CONSTRUCTION MANAGER | MAY 2019 COMMUNITY

Event

Building Brum: The Housing Debate DISCUSSION ON QUANTITY AND QUALITY CIOB Academy

Two-day quality course in Bristol BOOK FAST FOR CIOB ACADEMY COURSE ON CONSTRUCTION QUALITY MANAGEMENT T h e C I O B Ac a d e my ’s t wo - d ay Construction Quality Management course takes place on 16 May in Bristol.

The course addresses the issues identified by the CIOB’s dedicated Quality Commission, and covers all the fundamentals of construction quality management.

Guided by an expert, attendees will learn the principles and processes that are the basis of quality management,

Event

Rugby and TV star to speak at Cambridge dinner ONLY A FEW TICKETS LEFT FOR BLACK TIE EVENT WITH A QUESTION OF SPORT’S MATT DAWSON AS GUEST

Dave Sheridan and Sue Morgan

and the best practice methods to achieve quality in construction.

Those attending will be able to demonstrate an understanding of widely used quality management systems, and will be given the tools to initiate and measure quality management on their own projects. ● For bookings and information visit www.ciobacademy.org/product/ construction-quality-management.

There are only a few tickets remaining for the CIOB Cambridge Gala Dinner on 20 September at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge.

This year’s black tie dinner sees rugby legend Matt Dawson as guest speaker.

He was part of the England squad that took the country to victory in the 2003 World Cup and is a team captain on BBC’s A Question of Sport. ● Tickets are £72 from kkgill@ciob. org.uk or via the CIOB events page.

Hosted by BDP alongside Birmingham City Council and RIBA among other leading industry organisations, the Building Brum housing debate this month will focus on the theme of quality or quantity.

Chaired by RIBA president Ben Derbyshire, the event, which takes place in Birmingham on 14 May, will ask if both quality and quantity can be achieved in housing.

The debate will cover subjects including whether quality homes and places can be achieved in an uncertain market; and can the manufacturing and digitalisation of housing drive up quality or just help increase quantity.

Building Brum is a cross-institute built environment networking series for members of professional bodies including the CIOB.

Above: St Catharine’s College, Cambridge (left) will play host to Matt Dawson

Panellists include: Louise Wyman Director of design and development, WMCA Mary Parsons Group executive director, Places for People; chair of TCPA; and Building Better Building Beautiful commissioner Nathan Cornish Group board director, Urban Splash Pooja Agrawal Co-founder, Public Practice

Stephen Marshall Head of housing, BDP Andrew J Taylor Head of planning, Countryside Properties Sue Morgan Director of architecture and built environment, Design Council Andrew Fuller City design manager, Birmingham City Council Dave Sheridan Executive chairman, Ilke Homes

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COMMUNITY MAY 2019 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

Below: Construction started in 2017 and will complete in the academic year 2019/20

Project

Glasgow Novus heads back to uni for site visit MULTIPLEX SHOWS OFF ITS NEW FLAGSHIP EDUCATION FACILITY

CIOB Glasgow Hub and Novus visited Multiplex Construction’s James McCune Smith Learning Hub project at the University of Glasgow towards the end of March.

When complete, the building will provide a state-of-the-art learning and teaching facility with capacity for over 2,500 students. It is the first building to be delivered through the University of Glasgow’s campus development programme.

Construction started at the end of October 2017 and it is to be completed in the 2019/20 academic year.

A flagship development, the building will be a creative environment, combining flexible study and social learning space with technologyenabled teaching.

Novus extends its thanks to senior project manager Jim Stirling and the Multiplex team for their time. ● Midlands

Networking and learning at the zoo TWYCROSS HOSTS HUBS AND PARTNERS

CIOB Hubs and training partners from across the Midlands gathered at Twycross Zoo recently for an evening of presentations, discussion and networking.

The evening began with a presentation from Neil Dorman, the zoo’s curator for conservation programmes and planning.

Dorman explained how the zoo’s buildings had evolved over

the years and talked about the challenges of working in a zoo environment, including converting an elephant enclosure into one that could accommodate the newly arrived black rhinos and how to build natural and inspiring living conditions for inquisitive apes.

Lorraine Gregory, CITB strategy partnership manager, talked about the funding and grants available

from CITB, and keynote speaker Paul Nash, CIOB past president and chair of the Construction Quality Commission, talked frankly about the big issues of quality in the construction industry and explained the work taking place to develop an industrywide quality code and certification system.

The session prompted an insightful Q&A session.

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CONSTRUCTION MANAGER | MAY 2019 COMMUNITY

Sheffield

Yorkshire Student Challenge reveals tomorrow’s talent STUDENTS PRESENT IDEAS FOR REDEVELOPING ATRIUM

Events

Diary dates HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CIOB CALENDAR FOR THE COMING MONTH. FOR MORE EVENTS VISIT CIOB.ORG

Starting at the George Dock Building at 5pm, the tour will take approximately two hours. The tour is not exclusive to CIOB members, so it’s first come, first served.

All attendees should call the booking line to pay the £6 fee to attend: 0151 330 4504.

Further details available at : www.merseytravel.gov.uk/tunnels/ Pages/Tunnel-Tours.aspx A Brief History of Preston Bus Station 21 May, 6.30pm-8.30pm Preston Neil Conlon, divisional director of Conlon Construction, will present a Brief History of Preston Bus Station, which has recently undergone a £12m refurbishment.

This iconic building was saved from demolition when it was given listed status in 2013. The bus station is one of Britain’s best examples of brutalist architecture and has now been preserved for future generations to debate its merits.

Contact: kpercival@ciob.org.uk

Derby Silk Mill Redevelopment – Revisit 10 May, 3.30pm-5pm Derby Join Speller Metcalfe for this second visit to view progress at the Derby Silk Mill (pictured above).

The mill, the site of the world’s first factory, will be redeveloped into an inspirational new museum, telling the story of Derby and its people’s industrial heritage and continuing legacy as innovators in industry.

The museum is to open in 2020, in line with the 300-year celebration of the Silk Mill and is part of the Unesco-inscribed Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site.

During this second visit you will be able to view the progress made since November.

Contact: gfloyd@ciob.org.uk

Mersey Tunnel Tour 14 May, 4.45pm-7pm Liverpool The Mersey Tunnel Tour takes a unique behind-the-scenes look at the famous Queensway Mersey Tunnel which opened in 1934. As well as learning about the construction of the tunnel, you will visit the original control room, see giant ventilation fans in action and go down to watch the traffic in the tunnel, deep below the city streets.

Bespoke Offsite Construction Solutions for Sustainable Building 21 May, 6pm-8pm Ipswich The Ipswich Hub will be hosting a CPD on Bespoke Offsite Construction Solutions for Sustainable Building with Svenskhomes.

The seminar will be an introduction to Svenskhomes’ Swedish pre-manufactured housing concept. It will cover: offsite construction methods; a systematic approach to offsite construction; points for the architect/specifier to consider; and sustainability in relation to offsite building systems.

Contact: coh@ciob.org.uk Mindset and the Neuroscience of Resilience 23 May, 7.15am-10am, Jersey Leadership coach Tom Flatau returns to the Channel Islands to talk about rewiring the way you think.

Flatau will show how the latest neuroscience and positive psychology research demmonstrates that learning to handle stress and develop an optimistic outlook is within everyone’s grasp because we all have the power to rewire our brain.

Members attending the event from the mainland can also take advantage of site visits being organised on the island.

Contact: cbenjamin@ciob.org.uk

NOVUS SUPPORTS MENTOR OF THE YEAR AWARD G4C Yorkshire and Humber hosted its fifth annual awards ceremony in March and CIOB Novus in Yorkshire sponsored the Mentor of the Year category.

Jake Morrish, the Leeds Novus chair, introduced the award, which had four nominees, all young professionals in construction.

The winner was Danielle Fleming from East Riding Yorkshire Council, and Diane Wardle from MCP Environmental was highly commended.

The CIOB Leeds, York and Sheffield Hub hosted a Student Challenge in conjunction with Sheffield Hallam University. Thirty students from Sheffield City College and West Notts College attended, all studying Level 3 Building and Construction courses.

The brief set was around the real-life redevelopment of the university’s Heartspace Atrium.

This was a technically challenging project due to the lack of space – the atrium is a main access way.

The students were encouraged to consider how to ensure the space stayed functional and the difficulties in getting materials and machinery into the site.

They presented their ideas for the redevelopment to a panel including: John McNamara, project manager at SHU; Jon Hayward, architect from Castle Owen, working on the project; and Andrew Nortcliffe, chair of CIOB Sheffield Hub. Prizes were awarded for the Best Team – Archie Lewis, Joseph Riley, Holly Seals and Sumanjit Johal from West Notts College; Best Girl – Sumanjit Johal from West Notts College; and Best Boy – Shea Brennan from Sheffield City College.

There was also a fun building challenge, building the tallest tower from the fewest materials, using spaghetti and marshmallows.

The day provided an opportunity for students to work with professionals from a range of disciplines across construction from Engie and CIOB Sheffield Hub – and all thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARK SIM PHOTOGRAPHY

COMMUNITY MAY 2019 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

Me and my project

Going underground LIAM DOWER WENT SUBTERRANEAN WITH A BASEMENT EXCAVATION FOR A RECENT RESIDENTIAL EXTENSION

Imagine doubling the size of your home. That is what I am asked to do regularly when I undertake the creation of brand new basements underneath family homes. The brief in this case study was to double the property’s size, through the addition of a bright and spacious subterranean floor.

I frequently talk to clients who live in great locations; they don’t want to move but have a growing family and need more space. They have over time

Top and above: Natural light streams down the stairs into an airy space beneath the terraced house Left: Liam Dower of the St Albans Basement Company

extended outwards and perhaps into the loft, so they realise the potential of excavating the ground beneath them.

Hidden underneath this period property is 100 sq m of additional living space, with a ceiling height of 2.6m and floor-toceiling windows providing natural light.

Basement design and construction is a specialised area with a high level of temporary works and structural engineering input. The ability to sequence the temporary engineering is critical.

The basement was constructed in a hit and miss sequence through a strategic arrangement of underpinning to the existing foundations. The formation level of the basement was around 3.8m and the lateral pressures at this depth needed to be accommodated for in the staged excavation to maintain the integrity of the surrounding environment.

This was achieved through temporary works design consisting of horizontal props at various key locations, modified as the basement expanded.

There was a large degree of structural steel installed to support the upper floors and associated internal wall structure. On the basement extending out into the garden we were required to divert drainage and install a reinforced concrete deck to house the patio area, hiding the vast living space beneath.

In excavating outside the building footprint we had to consider the external environment by insulating and waterproofing. Following the formation of the shell, fit-out works commenced with the installation of mechanical ventilation and pumping of waste water to ensure the space remains dry.

The initial excavation commenced over a period of six months including sequential underpinning, leading to the formation of the basement concrete shell. This was followed by a specialist

“Hidden underneath this period property is 100 sq m of additional living space, with a ceiling height of 2.6m and floor-to-ceiling windows providing natural light” waterproofing installation using waterproofing products by Delta Membranes, of which we are an accredited installer.

The fit out was to a high specification, working with the client to reach its aspirations for the space: including a media system with surround sound, a family wet room, extra rooms including a playroom, bedroom, utility room and home office.

One of the challenges was to bring light into the basement. We replaced the ceiling in the original hallway with roof light windows. The light now streams in.

This space has given the family longevity in this property. It is flexible enough to adapt as they grow.

My degree in construction engineering management formed the basis for my approach but it was not without its challenges. Taking the project from initial concept, through planning and design, then excavation and finally construction, is testing. A good working relationship with the client is essential.

My membership of the CIOB gave the client peace of mind it had chosen a professional with chartered building standards, alongside my experience in this challenging field. Over time, St Albans Basement’s reputation has grown, and we now work mainly by referral, often with neighbouring houses. ● St Albans Basement is a Chartered Building Company, owned by Liam Dower MCIOB.

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CONSTRUCTION MANAGER | MAY 2019 COMMUNITY

Partnership Power of planning ELECOSOFT RELEASES POWERPROJECT XV FOR CONFIDENT PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Effective project planning and management benefits construction by increasing the potential for project completion on time, within budget and free from any form of complication.

Keeping this in mind, Elecosoft continually evolves its software by working closely with customers and is now releasing the latest iteration of Powerproject, its leading project management software solution,

Above and top: Powerproject XV includes significant interface improvements

alongside a significant upgrade to Site Progress Mobile, the mobile app which allows progress reporting from site.

Powerproject XV includes enhancements that will appeal to both existing and new customers, bringing greater confidence to their project plans: l Significant interface and appearance improvements for more effective communication; l Automated schedule quality checks to CIOB and DCMA standards; and l Improved progress reporting to deliver more accurate plans.

It is designed for use across the whole sector, including modular, fit out, commercial and residential builds.

Here are some of the highlights: BIM – Build Direction Enhancement: A 3D element can now be animated during a time-simulation for a more realistic presentation. For instance, brickwork can appear from the ground up, or piles shown moving downwards.

Schedule Quality Check: A project plan can now be assessed using new automated tests which identify whether it has been well planned and complies with industry or corporate standards.

Build your own thresholds into the evaluations or follow industry metrics in line with DCMA and CIOB guidelines.

Scott Worthington, national planner at Willmott Dixon, says: “The thoroughness, quality and ultimately the robustness of our project schedules are things we value highly. Having a Schedule Quality Check built into Powerproject XV will certainly help those who plan our projects to verify that the right planning practices have been adopted when presenting our intended project strategies. Improved confidence in our planning schedules will help towards providing greater time certainty to our customers.”

“Improved confidence in our planning schedules will help towards providing greater time certainty to our customers” Scott Worthington, Willmott Dixon

Baselines: Any new baselines for local projects are embedded automatically alongside the live project data, which means that you can email a single file with all the baselines. When importing a baseline project, you can now specify how to map tasks in the imported file against the ones in the active project.

Chris Ashton, a senior planner at Bouygues, says: “This will be a considerable leap forward to save the baselines within the current file and not have them separately.”

Site Progress Mobile Following customer guidance, the second generation of the Site Progress Mobile system has been released, with an improved user experience as well as streamlined progress reporting options.

New monitoring methods have been introduced, including the ability to edit or annotate supporting photos and to add new tasks into the plans remotely.

Navigating and grouping tasks have also been improved.

Powerproject was designed to support the way construction planners work and has evolved over many years with input from users. Easy to use, yet extremely powerful, it is the software of choice for thousands of construction professionals throughout the world. ● Visit www.elecosoft.com/xv for more information.

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TO ADVERTISE YOUR POSITIONS ON THESE PAGES, CONTACT IAN HARTLEY ON T: 020 7183 1815 lukep@media-shed.co.uk

Building Control Surveyor Full time (37) £43757 - £48331 As a new and rapidly developing town the work in Milton Keynes is wide and varied, including villages mentioned in the Doomsday book, through to some of the country’s most modern and innovative developments.­ The roles will include plan checking, site inspections and investigations of unauthorised works and dangerous structures, and will also include some mentoring and supervisory duties.

The post requires experience in the construction industry, an in-depth knowledge of the­Building Act, the Building Regulations, and the Building Control function, with extensive experience of working in a Building Control team.

For an informal chat about how we fit into your future please call Derek Hatt, our Building Control Manager on 01908 252202.

Closing date for receipt of applications: 17th of May 2019. Interview Date:­4-6 June 2019 To apply, please visit the Milton Keynes Council Careers website http://bit.do/milton-keynes-building-control-surveyor.

Milton Keynes is a rapidly expanding, vibrant and dynamic place to live, work and play. How better to contribute to that continued success than through a unique and rewarding career with Milton Keynes Council.

At Milton Keynes Council we take great pride in our Community and we hope that you can help us grow and share our vision.

Hundreds of the best jobs in construction.

Recruitment news and insight.

Employers seeking CIOB members.

www.constructionmanagerjobs.co.uk

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BIM+ The UK's best read digital construction resource.

Exclusive news, views, interviews, debate and case studies on all the latest digital technologies from 3D printing and robotics to off-site manufacturing and virtual reality.

How digital technologies are creating efficiencies and productivity for firms across the supply chain from designers to contractors and product manufacturers.

A site for anyone working in digital construction from beginners through to experienced practitioners.

Every part of the BIM journey provided by industry experts, software developers and industry bodies.

Project stories and case studies to guide you through BIM adoption.

www.bimplus.co.uk

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10/12/2018 16:31

TRAINING & RECRUITMENT MAY 2019 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

Training & Recruitment Job spotlight Rupert Hilton Head of Advisory Section at Cliveden Conservation

conservation accreditations. The qualification gives legitimacy to, and rewards, the work that I have put in over the years. I am proud of my achievement.

You are new to the job at Cliveden Conservation. What are your goals?

I am looking forward to the challenge of developing Cliveden Conservation’s Advisory Section and branching out into new and exciting areas of expertise. For example, I am RUPERT HILTON IS A looking to use my experience in application CIOB CONSERVATION of new inspection and repair techniques, CERTIFIED such as bespoke 3D-printed solutions, SPECIALIST AND 3D photogrammetry and the application RICS CONSERVATION of virtual and augmented reality, and ACCREDITED BUILDING integrating these modern technologies within SURVEYOR. HE WAS different areas of the business, adding to its RECENTLY APPOINTED in-house capabilities.

MODERN HISTORIAN

AT CLIVEDEN CONSERVATION AS HEAD OF ADVISORY SECTION

You are now a CIOB Conservation Certified Specialist. What does that mean and what did it entail?

I have been interested in historic buildings from an early age. My father, who was a photographer, took me along to Lancashire mills which he was documenting. These buildings were being demolished at an alarming rate during the mid-late 1980s.

This sparked my interest in the historic environment and its importance to our society which has persevered until this day.

The CIOB conservation accreditation, along with the RICS conservation accreditation which I received early this year, represents over 15 years of study, hard work and determination.

My studies began with an undergraduate degree at Nottingham Trent University in 2002, followed by a distance-learning master’s degree in Conservation of the Historic Environment from Reading University in 2009.

I then achieved my professional qualifications with both the CIOB and RICS and finally my

What does a typical day in your job look like?

A typical day might involve writing/checking reports or producing drawings to help clients understand their heritage assets and the best way to repair or maintain them using correct techniques and most appropriate palette of materials.

I am on site two to three days a week either undertaking inspections or managing jobs: Cliveden Conservation deals with many of the most significant buildings in the country. Becoming part of the history of these buildings and having the opportunity to pass them on to the next generation in as good, if not a better, condition than when we found them, is a privilege and a responsibility that I do not take lightly. ●

Hundreds of the best jobs in construction.

Recruitment news and insight. www.constructionmanagerjobs.co.uk

Going all-inclusive Laing O’Rourke has made a diversity and inclusion pledge.

Here Josh Murray, group director of human capital and corporate affairs, explains the raison d’être

Mention “construction worker,” and what image comes to mind? It is likely an image that has endured for centuries, and one that Laing O’Rourke is committed to changing through a concerted initiative for employee diversity and inclusion.

Central to this is our new global pledge, which calls upon all of us, regardless of role, to proactively perform three specific actions.

We will call it out: We will speak up when we see unfair and non-inclusive practices, but also make an example of best performance. We will reward leaders who create work environments that promote inclusion. We will hold hub executive teams and senior operational and functional leaders accountable for driving our diversity and inclusion agenda.

We will intervene: We appreciate that diversity begins with recognising our biases, some of which may be hidden to us. We will set ambitious targets and take clear actions to accelerate the number of women in project leadership. Our focus is to lead from the top, with inclusive leadership training for all group and hub executives in 2019, to then be flowed through the organisation.

We will connect: We need to connect at a personal level to understand different values and needs, then shape new methods of working which align with those factors.

We will trial new working patterns to drive productivity, sustainability and engagement – and celebrate success.

There is only one way to change decades of non-inclusive practices: you change one moment at a time, one step at a time, but you don’t stop.

Over time, our industry will begin to look like those we wish to emulate. Our workplaces will be places that support, inspire, bring people together. We, who are so good at building things, are building that vision, starting today. ●

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Construction Enquirer - Advert (255x208).pdf

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B U I LT T O K E E P Y O U R B USI N E S S M OV I N G F O RWA R D D i s c o v e r m o r e a t f o r d . c o . u k /n e w - t r a n s i t - c u s t o m o r c o n t a c t t h e F o r d B u s i n e s s C e n t r e : 03 4 5 7 2 3 2 3 2 3 | f l i n f o r m @ f o r d . c o m CO2

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OďŹƒcial fuel consumption figures in mpg for the New Ford Transit Custom range: urban 36.7- 39.8, extra urban 43.5 - 48.7, combined 39.8 - 44.8. OďŹƒcial CO2 emissions 163 - 182g/km.

The mpg figures quoted are sourced from official EU-regulated test results (EU Regulation 715/2007 and 692/2008 as last amended), are provided for comparability purposes and may not reflect your actual driving experience. Information correct at time of going to print.