Building Britain 2021 by IrishPost

Autumn 2021 | irishpost.com

Britain WORLD FIRST Pool with a view BACK ON TRACK Projects to watch this year

A NEW TOMORROW

How technology is shaping the industry

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Building Britain 2021

Industry thrives after pandemic pause

What’s inside... POWER PLAYERS: HOW IRISH CONSTRUCTION FIRMS ARE SHAPING THE INDUSTRY Pages 4-6 TALE OF TWO ISLANDS – CONSTRUCTION COSTS ACROSS THE IRISH SEA Pages 10-13 ONES TO WATCH, EXCITING PROJECTS BACK ON TRACK Pages 16-18 A NEW TOMORROW: HOW TECHNOLOGY IS REVOLUTIONISING THE INDUSTRY Pages 22-24 THE SKY IS THE LIMIT – BALLYMORE’S WORLD FIRST Pages 26-28

FOLLOWING 18 months of uncertainty and restrictions due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic the world of work has now well and truly opened up again and the construction sector is thriving. There have been some casualties across the industry, of course, with contracts stalled or scrapped altogether, but there are many large and exciting infrastructure projects underway across Britain and more planned for the coming years. And the leading Irish firms operating in this country, some who have built up a strong reputation among their industry peers over many decades and others formed more recently who are carving a place for themselves among the best of the best in their sector, are well represented among the contract holders. This year the Kelly Group has begun work on a major railway upgrade in Scotland, while the Toureen Group recently

finished a 50-week project for housebuilder Inland Homes at a 10-acre town centre site in Ashford. In London Byrne Bros have been as busy as ever, working on the earthworks package for the Wood Wharf project, a 23-acre site which will provide 3,600 new homes, two million square feet of office space, and 350,000 square feet of retail space. The group is also at work in the Elephant and Castle redevelopment, now in the fifth phase of the project which is set to transform the south London area. Murphy & Sons has secured its first project on Severn Trent Water’s massive £2 billion investment framework, with a £33 million contract to design and build four sewer diversions in Birmingham. The work, which is expected to finish in July 2022, is ahead of their upcoming HS2 railway commitments. But an even bigger win for

Murphy came when it won a £56 million contract to deliver earthworks and drainage for the East West Rail project, linking Oxford to Bletchley. Elsewhere Ballymore Group’s work continued throughout the pandemic and saw them create a world first at their Embassy Gardens project in London. Their breathtaking Sky Pool is the first of its kind anywhere in the world. An impressive feat, led by Roscommon native Sean Mulryan, and one that further reinforces the fact that, despite the pandemic pause, when it comes to the construction industry in Britain, Irish companies are still leaders in their field.

FIONA AUDLEY Managing Editor

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Editor: Fiona Audley Reporting: Pádraig Belton, Fiona Audley Photography: Getty Images, Rolling News Production: Joe Lindley Commercial: Dara Ashby Building Britain 2021 Printed by Acorn Web Ltd Published by The Irish Post, 27a Poland Street, London, W1F 8QW Visit us online: irishpost.com Find us /TheIrishPost Follow us @TheIrishPost #buildingbritain Connect with us The Irish Post

TUNNEL VISION: It’s all systems go on the HS2 railway, with various Irish companies holding contracts for the mammoth project

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Building Britain 2021

POWER PLAYERS Pádraig Belton reveals how the leading Irish construction firms are shaping the industry in Britain AS construction rebounds from the pandemic, Irish firms are leading the way with major projects just completed or on the horizon.

The Kelly Group, busy from the National Trust to Scotland’s Railway Last October, the Kelly Group completed a massive project supporting Openreach in delivering the National Trust’s largest ever network transformation programme. The project is bringing fibre to 205 National Trust locations across the UK, and saw Kelly Group installing 170,500 metres of cable, clearing 712 blockages, and using 248 tonnes of sand and 387 tonnes of stone. Meanwhile in March, the Kelly Group started upgrade work on

the Cornton Level Crossing in Scotland, between Stirling and Dunblane. The work will see a current half-barrier arrangement replaced by a new, more secure full-barrier level crossing. State-of-the-art optical remote sensing technology is also being added to the crossing. The sensors will scan for objects on the track, and if it detects them, trains will not be given a signal to proceed. As part of these upgrades, Kelly Rail is installing over 6,500 metres of new troughing, recovering over 12,000 metres of redundant troughs, installing 3,500 metres of sub duct, and blowing 3,500 metres of fibre. In June, the City of London also recognised the Kelly Group as “highly commended” in its Considerate Contractor

Scheme. The company praised “the hard work of Adrian O Donoghue and Richard Greenleaf” over the last years, working with the City of London Corporation to “guarantee every job the group takes on in that area passes off without a hitch”.

Murphy digging in with big contracts Last October, J Murphy & Sons secured its first project on Severn Trent Water’s massive £2 billion investment framework, with a £33 million project to design and build four sewer

HIGH VALUE CONTRACTS: Work continues at pace on the HS2 railway, while (above) Severn Trent Water are undertaking a £2billion redevelopment project

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diversions in Birmingham. The work, which is expected to finish in July 2022, is ahead of upcoming HS2 railway works. It will involve building a new three-metre diameter tunnel, and a series of smaller tunnels. An even bigger win for Murphy came when it won a £56 million contract to deliver earthworks and drainage for the East West Rail project, linking Oxford to Bletchley. The East West Rail aims to provide new train services, shorter journey times, and lower transport costs, while reducing the amount of traffic on the roads. Murphy’s part of the works, which started in March and will run through to next May, follow two busy years of early contractor involvement. They will involve constructing 15.6 kilometers of earthworks on the main line, excavating 1,300 cubic metres of material

Building Britain 2021 from compensation flood storage areas, and building two off-line highway embankments in Verney Junction and Salden Wood.

to connect to buildings on either side and enclose a central green courtyard, Founder’s Court. It replaces 1960s buildings –

dubbed CLASP (for collection of loosely assembled steel parts) – which had come to the end of their lifespan. Toureen Group also finished

Toureen Group In November, Toureen Group’s work on St Paul’s School received a “highly commended” prize in the Concrete Society Awards. Concrete may come relatively new to the independent boys’ school, which was founded in 1509, but the Group’s work has won praise. “It’s probably the best visual concrete I’ve ever seen,” said Tim Rowley from Walters & Cohen Architects. The school is in the midst of a 30-year extensive expansion, all done without closing the school’s site in Barnes. The 9,000 square metre building takes an L-shape form,

MAKING CONNECTIONS: Work is underway on phase two of Network Rail’s East West Rail project linking Oxford to Bletchley (Pic: Network Rail)

NEW HOMES: Toureen have recently completed a 50-week housebuilding project in Ashford, Middlesex (pic: Toureen Group)

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Building Britain 2021

a 50-week project for housebuilder Inland Homes at a 10-acre town centre site in Ashford. This involved building five-storey reinforced concrete frames across three blocks on the site, along with basement bulk digs and raft slab construction, and constructing basement car parks with pre-cast stairs. The development will ultimately offer 357 homes, and 619 square metres of commercial space, along with a hair and beauty academy building.

Byrne Group from Canary Wharf to the biggest Lidl warehouse ever Meanwhile in Canary Wharf, Byrne Bros. worked on the earthworks package for the Wood Wharf project, a 23acre site which will provide 3,600 new homes, two million

square feet of office space, and 350,000 square feet of retail space. Elsewhere Byrne is building the basement for Lidl’s largest ever warehouse, a 1.2 million square foot regional distribution centre near Luton which will be almost double the size of any of its existing warehouses. The group is also at work in the Elephant and Castle redevelopment, on the fifth phase of the Elephant Park development. So from Elephant and Castle and Canary Wharf to Scottish railways, from a leading public school to sewers paving the way for HS2, after the pandemic pause Irish companies are back in force building Britain, with major projects the length of the land.

DOWN UNDER: Byrne Group is building Lidl’s largest warehouse’s basement

ICONIC SKYLINE: Byrne Group won the earthworks contract for Canary Wharf’s new Wood Wharf development

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TALE OF TWO ISLANDS CONSTRUCTION projects have swung back into action across Britain and Ireland following the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic – but where do you get more for your money when it’s time to build? A recent report places Dublin among the most expensive places in the world to undertake a construction job at the moment...but London is pricier still. Ireland and Britain may now find themselves that extra little bit further apart, now that the UK has fully exited the European Union.

But we can take solace that there’s still much we have in common. For example, construction costs. In both islands they are soaring.

Dear (very) dear Dublin Dublin is the third most expensive city in Europe for construction costs, says a new survey of world building prices by project managers Turner & Townsend. Construction in Dublin, at €2,400 a square metre, races ahead of Paris (€1,825) and

Berlin (€1,970). Worldwide Dublin is the twelfth most expensive place to build. Though spare a thought maybe for Tokyo (€3,395), Hong Kong (€3,304) and San Francisco (€3,156). Some of the factors facing Ireland are reasonably global: stretched supply chains because of Coronavirus, for one, and the difficulty finding skilled labour. And prices for key construction materials will continue rising into next year, predicts Gavin Slark, chief

FAIR CITY: Dublin is the 12th most expensive place globally in which to undertake a construction project

executive of Woodie’s owner the Grafton Group. Cement, plaster, and steel prices lead the price rises. Altogether, builders say the cost increases have added €15,000 to the construction costs of an average new home. More unique to the Irish situation are bottlenecks in the Department of Agriculture delaying the issue of licences to cut trees. So there’s been a timber shortage too, with price rices of more than 60 per cent for some wood products. But despite the rise in costs,

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Ireland’s construction sector is growing. The months from May to July represented the strongest three months for building activity in the last 21 years, said Ulster Bank. Housing growth outpaced commercial activity, though both are on the rise. Civil engineering dipped modestly in August. And the most sought-after buildings in Ireland? Houses, right, what with the crisis? Actually, no. It’s data centres.

Brexit Bites One thing at least is certain: the cost of construction in the UK is soaring too. And if they’re €2,400 per square metre in Dublin, they’re

HARD AT WORK: Despite the costs, Ireland’s construction sector is thriving even higher still in London: €2,720, say Turner & Townsend. Material prices for

construction work in the UK in July 2021 were over a third more what they were in January 2016, according to

data from the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy. In fact, the cost of materials

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Building Britain 2021

in the UK is rising at among the fastest rates since the 1990s. But whereas Irish construction is picking up, the opposite is true in the UK, where partly as a result of these price rises, product

shortages, and chronic shortages of workers, construction output has been slowing. It was down by 1.6 per cent in volume terms in July 2021 alone.

While the pandemic caused disruption to global supply chains, Brexit frictions (including a lorry driver crisis) and border controls added to this, leaving many builders unable to complete the

BUMPER TO BUMPER: Stacked HGVs in south east England when Brexit formally kicked in earlier this year

pipelines of work knocking on their door. Construction is harder hit by supply chain problems than the rest of the UK economy. While seven per cent of UK firms reported difficulties obtaining raw materials, products, or services at the end of August, that number was 15 per cent for construction, the most deeply affected sector. In this tight market, HS2 is creaming off materials and equipment, leading to further price rises elsewhere. Unsurprisingly, the problem is most acute in the West Midlands, where the construction of HS2 stations is underway, along with facilities for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. If there’s a sunny upside, it’s that if you’re a worker in the UK construction sector, you’re seeing your earnings go up more than any sector in the UK. Advertised wages in the UK construction sector rose by 6.7 per cent between February and July, amid a lack of available skilled workers.

CAPITAL CONCERNS: The pandemic and Brexit have both contributed to the slowing of construction supply chains across Britain

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Building Britain 2021

And Ulster says no supplies Meanwhile the stretch is especially tight for Northern Ireland. One in five British-based suppliers are no longer providing material to Northern Ireland after Brexit, says Mark

Spence, managing director of the Construction Employers Federation. As a result, one in three contractors worry about going into financial difficulties. This is especially the case for contractors who have priced out, but not yet begun, public

sector contracts. So while costs are spinning upwards and upwards in both the UK and Ireland, in Ireland that’s at least accompanied by a rise in activity for construction firms, too. In the UK, as Brexit bites, the sector as a whole faces a

slowdown in growth. But a bright spot is public sector spending, especially on big infrastructure projects like HS2, which will keep many firms busy enough.

PÁDRAIG BELTON

SUPPLY CHAIN: There are Brexit related holdups on trade and the provision of materials between Britain and Northern Ireland

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Building Britain 2021

ONES TO WATCH The projects that will make a difference in Britain over the coming year – and who holds the contracts After the pandemic pause, 2021 is a year of big projects. And Irish firms are very much in evidence in the biggest of the bunch.

HS2 ramps up Work on HS2, the UK’s biggest building project in generations, ramps up substantially this year, with work starting on the main sections. Major refurbishing works began in September on the Grade 1 listed Old Curzon Street station in Birmingham too. So far the HS2 project has been notable for two things: its £800 million cost overrun and its delayed opening. But it also is keeping control of station works in Euston through late 2021, even though this was meant by now to be taken out of its chief executive Mark Thurston’s hands. HS2’s enabling work contractor is LMJV, a joint

venture of Laing O’Rourke and J Murphy & Sons. Giving the biggest project going a distinct Irish colour. Meanwhile Byrne Bros are building a 25-story tower,four nine-story mansion blocks, and a substructure for the fifth

phase of the Elephant Park development.

The Stag Brewery development that wasn’t One of the biggest stories in construction in 2021 is the

NO TIME TO WASTE: Construction work taking place on the site of a planned HS2 station at Old Oak Common in London

development that wasn’t. Sadiq Khan threw out plans for a £1.5 billion scheme to build 1,250 houses in southwest London after Singaporeowned builder Reselton Properties didn’t meet the Greater London Authority’s 35

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campus in Milton Keynes. The Unity Place office will bring 6,000 staff together in one campus, which will sport a rooftop running track and fitness centre for employees. Another Irish stalwart, Byrne Group, has been appointed the subcontractor for groundworks and reinforced concrete frames.

Nellie the Elephant packed her trunk

FULL STEAM AHEAD: Keltbray owner, Brendan Kerr per cent rule for affordable housing in new developments. Under pressure the builder had raised the proportion of affordable housing in the scheme in the Richmond district of Mortlake from 17.5 per cent to 30 per cent, but

what a difference five per cent makes.

Return of the office

It was Irish firm Sisk that last July landed the £150 million contract to build Santander’s new 500,000 square foot office

Southwark’s Elephant and Castle shopping centre closed its doors last September after more than 50 years. Now the £2 billion redevelopment, being built by Delancey, is one of the biggest UK construction projects going. Keltbray has been on the site doing demolition works, ahead of chief contractor Multiplex

moving in later in the year. It will feature 979 homes when all is said and done, and a revamped London College of Communication campus, in what the developers herald as the “Piccadilly of the South”.

Flatpack housing Ikea’s first attempt to erect prefabricated wooden houses, which it calls BokLok homes, in Tyneside in 2008 ended in failure. But second time lucky, and Ikea has enlisted Skanska to build a 200-home development in Bristol. The homes will be manufactured in modules abroad, then imported to the UK. The model has worked so far in Sweden, Norway, and Finland, where Ikea has built 12,000 homes.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Aerial view of Elephant and Castle in Southwark, south London, which is undergoing a huge regeneration project

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Building Britain 2021

Laing O’Rourke eyes IPO, builds Everton a new stadium Prime Minister Boris Johnson said his government will spend £600 billion in infrastructure over the next five years. And as the UK appears set to burst from an austere decade into a post-pandemic infrastructure boom, it is is 74-year-old Leitrim native Ray O’Rourke’s Laing O’Rourke that appears one of the great winners. The UK’s largest privately owned construction group has been privately held since O’Rourke founded it in 1978, then bought John Laing’s Laing Construction in 2001. But it is eyeing a listing on the public markets, and if it chooses London, it will help rally a shrinking LSE. Laing O’Rourke’s 2020 pre-tax profits came to £45.5 million, a tidy turnaround from

its loss of £220 million four years earlier. O’Rourke has said his company’s current priority is choosing his successor, after which it will pursue an IPO. Meanwhile Laing O’Rourke started work in July on Everton’s new £505 million stadium. The 52,000 seat football stadium in Liverpool’s Bramley-Moore Dock will keep 12,000 construction staff busy over a three-year build. In a year when many smaller projects are slowing down, to a shortage of workers and materials, the very biggest projects like HS2 and the Elephant and Castle redevelopment pummel ahead. And from Laing O’Rourke and Murphy Group to Byrne and Sisk, Irish construction firms are conspicuous on the sites.

ACCOMPLISHED: The Grange University Hospital in Cwmbran, South Wales another project where Laing O’Rourke was the main contractor

PÁDRAIG BELTON

CLOSE QUARTERS: Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium and Everton’s current Goodison Park home overlook the site of the club’s intended new location Bramley-Moore Dock

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Building Britain 2021

Interested in a construction career?

VGC could be your answer Labour supplier VGC is starting a huge recruitment drive, running campaigns to attract new entrants and apprentices to join the construction industry, as well as skilled, experienced people for more senior roles. The company operates on major civil engineering projects across the UK, including rail, road, utilities, nuclear and airports – and all four sections of HS2. VGC’s ethical and sustainable approach to business is helping to make construction and infrastructure more diverse, safer and a preferred career choice. People feel valued, supported and engaged at every step of their VGC journey. The company’s 11 FIR ambassadors trained by the Supply Chain Sustainability School - champion fairness, inclusion and respect, and its wellbeing champion leads a programme with three pillars of mental, physical and financial health. In addition, the VGC Academy covers all staff learning and development. This includes apprenticeships, technical training, a behavioural safety

programme, an ICE-approved graduate scheme, and a behavioural competency development programme. The emphasis is on helping people develop to be the best they can. Everyone is supported to gain technical NVQs as well as relevant specialist qualifications. Since the start of 2021, VGC people have gained more than 150 NVQ diplomas. What’s more, the VGC Academy develops other key skills like emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and collaboration. These behaviours are key to VGC’s values, and important for creating a positive legacy for everyone. Staff surveys show that people value the way VGC cares for staff; and this is reflected in a series of award wins. Recent awards include the 2021 Inspire Most Inspiring Employer award and the 2020 Construction News Diversity and Inclusion Excellence award. And VGC is shortlisted for the CN Specialists award for Training Excellence and the REC People Development Business of the Year.

“Our approach produces individuals who are well-rounded, have strong people skills, and add value beyond the normal expectations of the job,” says chief operating officer Ciara Pryce. “Our training programme will help the industry, by increasing the pool of individuals with collaboration and leadership skills. Positive messages will filter throughout the wider market, attracting new entrants with diverse backgrounds and abilities to work together to meet the needs of a modern Britain. “New starters now, who choose to take advantages of all the training programmes we offer, will be at supervisor and management levels by the time HS2 trains are running.

“The future is really positive.”

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Building Britain 2021

Grant continues to lead the way in the advancement of home heating technology FOR over forty years, Grant has operated at the forefront of the heating industry across the UK and Ireland in developing innovative heating solutions. Through the changes in construction and building regulations over the years, as well as the changes in interiors and style, Grant has been there to ensure that its heating technologies always achieve the most efficient and aesthetically pleasing results for customers. Stephen Grant, founder of Grant Engineering, outlines how the company has stayed ahead of the game and how its heating technologies have advanced over the years. “I started my career installing heating and plumbing systems and was passionate about creating heating technologies that would stand out from the rest as a market leader. I developed my first back boiler in 1977 which evolved into the Triplepass back boiler in 1980, which at the time was by far the most efficient on the market. During those early years, we always focused on ensuring that anything we produced was better than anything else on the market and this has been important to us ever since. It is this frame of mind instilled in our team that has driven the success of Grant in Ireland, the UK and further afield. After every boiler I created I would think about how I could improve it and achieve a higher efficiency system. In 2002, after a lot of research, I created the Vortex condensing

oil boiler, which at the time was years ahead of anything else on the market as it was up to 97% efficient. As all other heating technologies in the early 2000s were around 75% efficient, the Vortex range very quickly became the market leader and evolved into an awardwinning heating technology that rivalled no other. In recent years there has been a huge emphasis on the future of heating and the need for more sustainable, renewable technologies and our team has made this a priority in terms of research and development. Our innovative heat pump range began its development in the early 2000s, but in 2016 we introduced our third generation of heat pump, the Aerona3 R32 inverter driven air to water air source heat pump range. The air source heat pump range offers cleaner, more environmentally friendly performance, has an ErP rating of A+++ with a SCOP of up to 5.4:1 and is available in outputs of 6kW, 10kW, 13kW and 17kW. The 13kW and 17kW models have also been recognised for their quiet operation by the internationally acclaimed Quiet Mark. As our heating technologies have advanced over the years it has become increasingly important for us to ensure our products, including the main heat source, heat emitters like the Uflex underfloor heating system and Afinia aluminium radiator range and complementary technologies, including our domestic integrated hot water cylinders that are designed to work together to achieve the

Anniversary year for Cara Stationary THIS year Cara Stationery celebrates 25 years in business. A sister company Cara Furniture Services has won numerous accolades for its office furniture installations, especially on the prestigious HS2 site in Denham, which was completed on time in May 2021. Although still a traditional office products business, diversification means that Cara Stationery may be supplying branded golf products on Monday and installing a water cooler system for a client on Tuesday. Other services provided include printing and the supply

of promotional products. Some 75 per cent of their clients are involved in the construction industry and recruitment. The firm counts numerous Irish companies among its clients and is a proud supporter of the The Aisling Foundation. As well as supplying golf merchandise for golf events, Cara Stationery are not to be found wanting when it comes to supporting various Irish events. Recently led by non-playing captain Gerry Keany, the Cara team came seconnd in the Donegal Golf Day which raises funds for many charities in London and Donegal.

Stephen Grant, founder of Grant Engineering best possibly efficiencies. We are also extremely proud to have just announced the latest advancement to our renewable heating offering. Over the past six years our R&D team has worked with third level institutions, industry partners and renewable fuel producers, focusing on more sustainable and carbon saving fuels and innovating our Vortex boilers to be biofuel compatible. This means that all new and existing Vortex boilers can be adapted to run using 100% biofuel, known as Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO). The use of 100% HVO, can result in around 88% reduction in carbon emissions and using this or a percentage blend of HVO with kerosene, will enable homes to transition to a renewable green home heating alternative, increasing efficiency and majorly reducing carbon emissions.” Think Heating. Think Grant. Visit www.grant.eu for more information on Grant’s range of innovative heating solutions.

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Build warmth with Grant Our complete integrated heating packages provide everything needed to build a highly efficient, warm and comfortable home. Tailored to suit the homeowners’ requirements, each Grant heating package is correctly sized and specified, free of charge, to achieve compliance, maximise efficiencies and provide long-term savings. Packages feature the Grant Aerona3 air to water, air source heat pump, Grant hot water cylinders, Grant Afinia aluminium radiators and the Grant Uflex underfloor heating system. Smart controls are also available.

Trust Grant on the journey to warmth and comfort.

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Building Britain 2021

A NEW TOMORROW Technological advances are revolutionising the construction industry. Padraig Belton reveals what it all means for the future CORONAVIRUS has massively fast-tracked construction’s journey to digital change. Investment in construction tech had already more than doubled over the past decade, way before the pandemic made virtual site visits, online collaboration and “you’re on mute” universal. The pandemic, and the slowdown in construction industry it caused, also shone into focus many pre-existing issues around productivity and data visibility that construction companies face. And big changes now await the construction industry over the next decade. Even more so now the bulk of short and long-term pandemic issues will be solved with

technology. Here are a few. And where they’re heading.

Building Information Modeling For many years, Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have lived side-by-side. But, like an estranged couple, never really interacted. Spatial and geographic information lives in GIS. Information about a building’s parameters, tolerances, and phases of construction live in BIM (like AutoCAD and its stablemate, Autodesk’s BIM 360). So, importing information from a GIS map, like utility

information or site conditions, normally requires fairly cumbersome reworking. Which is why it was all the more interesting that in June

ESRI - the dominant player in geo mapping and GIS since the 1960s - unveiled a new web portal to connect its ArcGIS system with Autodesk

NEW TECH: The industry has seen 3D printing come into its own

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NEXT GENERATION: Prime Minister Boris Johnson meets construction apprentices at Dudley College of Technology, England Construction Cloud. This portal is still in testing stages and is to be officially launched later this year, but a true integration between the two families of data may now not be far off.

Digital Construction Construction is on a journey from a complex, fragmented, project-based industry to a standardized, consolidated,

and integrated one, says business consultancy McKinsey. The first broad digital wave, in the first half of the 2010s, saw point solutions that solved basic needs, like improving design capabilities or digitising paper-based information. But the second half of the decade saw moves more toward platforms, and suites of integrated solutions in the construction industry.

Companies had tired of integrating all of the point solutions on their own. Look for this trend very much to continue.

Supply Chain Optimisation Supply chains, in engineering and construction, are still mainly manual and analog. Doing it by hand and on paper, or in a lone Excel spreadsheet, means companies

have limited ability to forecast when their work will get done, and when materials and equipment will be needed and can arrive. Making supply chains digital means there can be multiple sources of data, from people along the supply chain. This creates transparency, makes advanced planning possible, and helps companies predict and avoid problems down the road.

TRANSITION TIME: The traditionally paper-heavy construction industry is increasingly using technology to improve efficiency

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Pype’s Smart Plans package) read through unstructured files to extract contract compliance items. Or others (like Smartvid.io’s Vinnie) scan through digital materials to make sure safety protocols are met on jobsites, and identify potential safety hazards, incidents of working at height, and suggest ways to mitigate risks.

Digitising Payments LEADERS: Google’s new tool allows firms to build their digital twin With supply chains stretched in both the UK and Ireland, and one of the biggest constraints on building firms, making construction supply chains digital starts looking a bit more urgent. In September, Google announced a Supply Chain Twin, which lets companies build a digital twin of their supply chain. This represents their physical supply chain and lets companies get a more

complete view of suppliers, inventories, and events like the weather. A linked tool, the Supply Chain Pulse module, provides dashboards, analytics, and notifications based on all this data, too. And when you make more of your workflows digital, it means you can then use AI more, for things like managing documents, spec books, and submittals. This then lets software (like

The vast majority of construction industry payments are still made on paper. And late payments - wasting time and resources, leading to costly disputes and arbitration - are not exactly a new occupational hazard for the industry. In 2019, the average construction invoice took 89 days to be paid. So look for more tools to hit the industry to help companies track outstanding invoices, notify contractors when their

bills haven’t been paid, and identify payment problems early on.

3D Printing Finally, when materials are scarce and supply chains are stretched, it may be time for 3D printing to come into its own. Royal BAM Group and Saint-Gobain Weber Beamix made Europe’s first industrial and commercial 3D printing factory for concrete elements two years ago. Look for more companies to give 3D printing at a place near them a more serious look, as they become faced with more difficulties in getting supplies across borders. As a building industry emerges from the pandemic, we can all look forward to technology improving every phase of construction, from bidding to managing supply chains, and ultimately to getting paid.

ONE OF A KIND: Royal Bam Group and Saint-Gobain Weber Beamix have created Europe’s first industrial and commercial 3D printing factory (pic: bam.com)

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THE SKY IS THE LIMIT Ballymore creates world’s first swimming pool suspended between two skyscrapers within Embassy Gardens scheme A GROUNDBREAKING project devised by Ballymore founder Sean Mulryan has finally come to fruition – bringing

residential buildings and their associated amenities to never before seen heights. In May 2021 the Sky Pool – a global feat of design and manufacturing innovation opened at Ballymore’s Embassy Gardens in London’s Nine Elms. The world’s largest freestanding clear acrylic pool

structure sits high above the ground at tenth storey level, forming a transparent aqueduct spanning 15 metres between two new apartment buildings. The buildings are part of the second phase of the mixed-use Embassy Gardens scheme, which is a joint venture by the EcoWorld real estate developer and the Ballymore Group,

RAISING THE BAR: Construction work on the Embassy Gardens site, a joint venture by Ballymore Group and EcoWorld

founded by Mr Mulryan in Ireland in 1982. The pool, which has understandably drawn much attention since its opening, is located on a similarly highprofile site close to the new US Embassy and the River Thames. The developers brought an international team of experts together to create the pool,

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the Ballymore Group explains, “working with architects HAL Architects and Arup Associates, structural engineer Eckersley O’Callaghan and US manufacturer Reynolds Polymer Technology”. They add: “For all involved in the project, the pool’s opening marks the culmination of six years of collaboration to tackle the numerous challenges involved in designing, engineering and manufacturing this highly innovative structure.” The ground-breaking design concept grew out of a conversation between HAL Architects and Ballymore chairman and group chief executive Mr Mulryan, Ballymore confirms. “We were dealing with the practical question of how to put a 25-metre swimming pool on the roof. A single pool of that size would not have fitted on one building,” HAL

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Architects founder Hal Currey explained. “We had a meeting with Sean and the idea of creating the pool as an aqueduct came up and Sean said: ‘If we’re going to do it, then let’s do it properly and make it transparent’.” The conversation could have ended there, he admits. “It was one of those rash ideas that you don’t expect to happen,” says Currey. “But Sean really embraced it.” Initially, the designers looked at making the pool in steel and glass, but when Eckersley O’Callaghan joined the design team, they suggested using acrylic instead of glass. Acrylic has been used to create some of the world’s biggest and most famous modern aquaria, including a water slide tube through a shark tank in Las Vegas. “The move from glass to acrylic was integral to the

project and the final design,” says Currey. “Glass would have involved numerous complexities and fixings. Acrylic allowed us to get rid of a lot of architectural hardware. In terms of clarity and transparency, it allowed us to get close to the original idea. “But we didn’t know when we created the first image of the design that it would be possible to use acrylic.” That first computer generated image showing a view from the ground up to a clear blue pool had been published in the Evening Standard newspaper in London in 2017, exciting global interest. “The intention was to keep the design simple. It had to look as transparent as possible and appear as effortless as possible,” says Currey. Acrylic offered aesthetic benefits as it appears

STRONG FOUNDATIONS: Pool preparations at the Embassy Gardens site in Nine Elms

SOFT LAUNCH: Irish stars Laura Whitmore (l) and Imelda May attend the opening of Darby’s restaurant at Embassy Gardens colourless, its refractive index would give the impression of it blending with the water and joints in the structure would not be visible. An acrylic pool would still, however, be complex to design and build. “We faced a combination of challenges: the transparency, the acrylic and spanning the two buildings,” explains

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Currey. The final design comprises a 15-metre-long acrylic section sitting in steel ‘tubs’ at either end, the tubs providing a base for the pool and also housing the pool steps and essentials such as cleaning equipment and lighting. Bridge bearings under the tubs allow the pool to move as the two buildings on which it sits move. The only other steelwork in the pool structure is the two discreet post-tensioned rods running under the side walls, which help secure the tubs to the acrylic without needing to drill into the latter. The pool floor is made of seven cast acrylic panels, joined to create the 15 metre span, and has 3.2 metre high side walls. The overall structure contains 148,000 litres of water, giving a depth of 1.2

metres. It has taken six years for the project to reach completion, and there were times when those involved thought it may never get there. “There were many times when I thought it wouldn’t happen,” admits Currey. “I’m fairly amazed it’s there. I feel a mix of relief and a sense of achievement. “The most gratifying thing is that it looks better than it did in the early computer generated images.” Currey also praises Roscommon native, Mr Mulryan for remaining true to his initial vision. “In our industry we are so used to seeing designs value engineered,” he says. “It is not often that you have an idea that gets so fully supported by the client in this way.” INDUSTRY LEADER: Ballymore Group CEO Sean Mulryan, a former Irish Post Award winner

POOL WITH A VIEW: An aerial view of Ballymore Group’s breathtaking Sky Pool

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‘IT’S OK TO TALK’ Charity supporting construction industry launches campaign to raise awareness of mental health conditions among workers. Fiona Audley reports... “IF construction workers don’t know we are here, we can’t help them.” Bill Hill is on a mission to spread the word about a new campaign designed to get the construction industry talking about mental health and emotional wellbeing. He is the CEO of the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity, which is the only charity that provides

mental, physical and financial wellbeing support to the construction community and their families across Britain. Since the Covid-19 pandemic hit last year, which has brought the importance of addressing mental health concerns to the fore, the organisation has focused on providing extra resources to support those in need of such services among their community.

This has led to the recent launch of their Help Inside the Hard Hat Awareness Campaign. The initiative is designed to raise awareness of mental wellbeing in the industry and how the workforce can reach out for help, by encouraging the construction community to “think about what is going on inside the hard hat” and offering signposts to all the

support available from the charity. “We want to deliver a message of hope and reassure our construction community that ‘we’ve got their back’ and that we are working tirelessly to ensure that no construction worker or their family is alone in a crisis,” Mr Hill confirmed. “We really want the industry to get behind this campaign so that our workforce knows

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about all of the resources we have available to help inside the hard hat,” he added. “If construction workers don’t know we are here then we can’t help them. “This is all about removing the stigma of talking openly about emotional wellbeing and encouraging people to start a conversation by checking that their work mates are OK. “This one simple action could make all the difference to someone and could even save a life.” The campaign has been created in conjunction with the And Rising marketing firm. They stepped forward to support the charity after hearing about mental health issues that currently face the industry. Darius Rodrigues, Creative at And Rising, said: “We were staggered by the statistic that every single working day, a construction worker takes their own life and this really pulled at the team’s heart strings.

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“We wanted to do everything that we could, to not only help the Lighthouse Club raise awareness and address the enormity of the issue, but also to showcase all the fantastic work that is being done by the charity to support construction workers in crisis.” The project includes a poignant messaging campaign, featuring a series of quotes, which are designed to be placed as posters or on hoardings on construction sites. The statements that feature include: “He was our big mouth - he’d always have an answer for everything, except for why he should still be here” “He was the last off site every day, then one night he left us way too early” “He was such a polite lad; it didn’t make sense when he left without saying goodbye” “He was the joker. The one who made everyone on-site cry with laughter and then one morning, we just cried”

They are deliberately thought-provoking, as it is hoped they will get workers to stop and think about theirs and the mental health of those around them. “This is a campaign to get construction talking and it addresses the perception that construction workers are often seen as being ‘hard’ on the outside; always ready with a quip or keeping up with the alpha male image on site or at work,” they charity explains. “But research shows that simply isn’t true and the charity deals first-hand with the results of not addressing issues ‘inside the - hard hat’. All of the campaign resources are available to download free of charge from the charity’s website, so that everyone can get involved with helping inside the hard hat. There are a variety of poster sizes to choose from and companies are invited to add their logo to the assets to show they are supporting the campaign.

Mr Hill confirmed: “For the first time ever we’re also encouraging the industry to share our messaging, not just within the boundaries of a site but on external hoardings too. “Covid-19 has brought the mental health agenda to the fore and so the timing is right to share our important message with a wider audience and create a sense of community with the general public; the same public that uses the schools, hospitals, roads etc that our construction workforce work hard to deliver in often very difficult circumstances.” The campaign is also being supported by the Considerate Constructor’s Scheme, who are despatching free posters to all registered sites and also including free posters with all of the charity’s Construction Industry’s Helpline Packs. For further information and to access the campaign materials visit www.lighthouseclub.org.

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS: The Lighthouse Club charity is urging construction industry workers to talk openly about their mental health

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He was our big mouth - he’d always have an answer for everything, except for why he should still be here.

He was such a polite lad, it didn’t make sense when he left without saying goodbye.

He was the last off-site everyday, then one night, he left us way too early.

Our industry can be physically and mentally tough. Together with our partners and donors, the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity are working night and day to ensure no worker or family feels alone in a crisis. So if you or a workmate need support, we are always here to help.

Registered Charity No. UK 1149488 | Registered Charity No. ROI 20200334. Company No. 08244118 | Copyright Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity 2021.

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Out of office with… Ciara Pryce, Chief Operating Officer at VGC Group WITH 20 years working in the construction industry now under her belt, Ciara Pryce became Chief Operating Officer at the VGC Group in January 2021. The firm provides people and delivers civil engineering projects to the UK’s leading infrastructure contractors. Ms Pryce, born in London to parents Sean and Olivia Fitzpatrick, who hail from counties Cavan and Longford respectively, has worked at the firm, founded by her father, since 2001. Starting

out as HR Manager before progressing to HR Director and then Group Services Director, the 42-year-old is preparing for a busy year ahead. “The infrastructure sector is gearing up for huge growth over the next 6-12 months, and we are delighted to be supplying labour to all four sections of HS2,” she explained. “This is a huge achievement for VGC and is a testament to the work our team have delivered on other recent projects, including Crossrail,

Hinkley Point and Thames Tideway.” VGC will also have plenty to do with the ongoing HS2 rail project. “Our biggest challenge on HS2 over the next five years will be recruiting thousands of local people between Euston and Birmingham,” she admits, “to fulfil the roles and ensure that we meet our social targets in terms of provision of apprenticeships, workless job starts, and candidates from disadvantaged groups including ex-offenders, women

anyone to do a job that you wouldn’t be prepared to do yourself. I also think you are only as good as the team around you – so employ brilliant people who share the same ethics and behaviours. This way, we will always ensure a strong culture within VGC and a drive to continuously improve.

WHAT’S YOUR FIRST TASK WHEN YOU GET TO THE OFFICE IN THE MORNING?

First task of the day is to go around and chat to all the members of our team – to find out how they are, what are their challenges and opportunities for the day and week ahead, do they need any help? We have a strong and close-knit team within VGC – the family values continue to run through the company at all levels. It is very easy to get caught up reading and responding to emails, but nothing beats face-to-face conversations to really understand the overall feeling within the company. WHAT MOTIVATES YOU?

The impact that we are making on everyone’s lives. The construction projects we are involved in affect how we operate as a society, including our road and railway networks, power, sewage and airports. And now, we measure our impact in terms of social value. So not only can I say we have been involved in building some of the UKs biggest infrastructure programmes, but also what we are doing is changing lives beyond the

and people from black, Asian and minority ethnic groups.”

FAMILY VALUES: Ciara Pryce with her father, VGC Group founder Sean Fitzpatrick construction phase in terms of economic and societal impact. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB?

Unofficially my first job at VGC was as a child. During school holidays, I would attend the office with my father (chairman Sean Fitzpatrick) and help with everything from answering the phones, inputting payroll hours, processing invoices, to emptying the bins and making the tea. I am lucky to have a broad understanding of how everything comes together, which is brilliant training from such an early stage. Officially my first job was on a Saturday as a teenager working at

WHAT’S THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FACING YOUR INDUSTRY TODAY?

McDonalds. McDonalds is an organisation that instils an incredible work ethic in everyone that works there. You learn every job from the front of house and cooking to cashing up and running shifts as you progress. You learn how there is always a job to be done, even when it is quiet, and the importance of always ensuring that the customer is 100% satisfied with their service. Consistency in product and quality of service is paramount in how they have become so successful.

The biggest challenge in our industry today is the skills and people shortage. It has been exacerbated by Covid-19 and Brexit. At VGC we have been very aware of this challenge over the last decade and have developed our corporate social responsibility strategy to support us with this. Our aim is to encourage people to consider construction as a first-choice career. With the planned infrastructure spend over the next 10 years, we can provide long term sustainable employment, opportunities for progression and the ability to work anywhere in the UK.

DO YOU HAVE A WORK/ BUSINESS MOTTO?

WHO INFLUENCED YOU MOST IN YOUR CAREER?

My motto is to never ask

There have been a couple of

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It has to be Miltown in Cavan, where my dad’s family are from. We spent every summer as children on the farm with my cousins. Cousins are the first ‘best friends’ you have, and whilst we may have only seen them once a year when we were growing up, those bonds can never be broken. Cavan is such a special place with rolling hills and beautiful lakes. WHAT WILL THE NEXT TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCE FOR YOUR INDUSTRY BE?

SUCCESS STORIES: VGC won numerous contracts on the Crossrail project people…My dad is number one. From a child, all his four daughters were actively encouraged to be the best version of ourselves. To try hard at everything we did from academia to sport and music. Not many people get to work so closely with their parents, and I feel immense gratitude that I have also had the opportunity to work and learn from him. His influence has ensured that every decision we make in the business is around our company values – about achieving our potential, delivering on our promises and looking after each other. Our company values are based on family values. The second person would be Sean Foley, my business coach.

I have been working with him for the last three years around being a leader at VGC. He has made me focus on not what I am doing on a day-to-day basis, but who I am being, with our people. Authenticity, honesty, and trust are so important in building relationships and enabling high performing teams to achieve their potential. Sean acts as a coach, mentor, a counsellor, and a friend rolled into one. WHAT’S YOUR BIGGEST GOAL FOR THE NEXT 12 MONTHS?

The biggest goal for the next 12 months is to manage the growth at VGC. We restructured our senior leadership and operational

SPECIAL PLACE: Ciara is a fan of Cavan’s beautiful landscape

delivery teams in January 2021 and have been on a recruitment drive over the last few months to recruit the best and brightest talent at all levels, trades and professions at VGC. It is key that we ensure all our team are fully integrated and focused on our business goals and delivering against the VGC culture. It can be easy for companies to expand too quickly – we want to ensure we have the structures in place to manage this expansion to meet our client needs. WHAT BOOK IS ON YOUR BEDSIDE TABLE?

I’ve just finished reading a book called Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams. A fantastic book about a young woman from a Jamaican British family navigating modern culture. She faces mental health, race, career and relationship challenges – just trying to fit in. It highlights the challenges that minority groups face today in London. It is a good reminder of how people can experience a very different life, within a small geographical area, based on their social or demographic status. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE IN IRELAND?

With Covid over the last 18 months, I have seen some of the biggest technological transformations in our sector - more than I have seen in the last 20 years. The pandemic accelerated so many programmes, and these have transformed how we communicate and interact with the people that work for us. For the next stage I think the focus will be on data analytics. We are producing so much data and we need to become more focused on how we review and interrogate this to achieve proactive decisionmaking. For instance, we have been analysing the demographics of certain trade groups from three years ago to today to identify the effects that Brexit and immigration have had on the composition of our workforce. This is helping to identify areas where we need to deliver accelerated skills programmes to ensure that we have the skills for the future. The opportunity to really drill down on the data will be how we determine our technology strategy for the next few years. WHAT’S THE BEST LIFE LESSON YOU HAVE LEARNT IN YOUR CAREER?

Listen more, talk less. If you surround yourself with great people, they will provide you with the information to continuously develop and improve what you are doing. Most of the best ideas and innovations we are currently implementing at VGC have come from my VGC colleagues.

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All aboard with the TLICN Pictures by Malcolm McNally Photography THE London Irish Construction Network (TLICN) recently held its first face to face event in more than a year, following the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic. Members of the popular business

network came together on Tuesday, September 21 for a cruise along the River Thames in London. Setting sail from Westminster Pier aboard the MV Avontuur IV, guests enjoyed a four-hour cruise on a glorious autumn evening, taking in the views of many of London’s landmarks. TLICN was formed in 2009 by a group of dedicated Irish businessmen, all of whom were involved in the construction industry in London, with the objective of creating and encouraging new business for all members within the network.

TLICN Directors Con O’Sullivan and Niall O’Dowd

Michelle Grant (Iron Hill Global Security), Vince Dignam (City of London Corporation) and Nicola Coppen (Diligence)

TLICN Director Mary Pottinger and Bridgeen Stone (Metro Bank)

Orla Bance (Alchemy) and Catherine Orpen (Orpen Designs)

David O’Reilly (British Irish Chamber of Commerce) and Vince Dignam (City of London Corporation)

Patrick Butler (ABC London Property Finance), Sophie Flood (Flood Precast), Pat Schroff (Red Tape Consulting) and Ciaran Ryan (DCV Ltd)

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Catherine Orpen (Orpen Designs), Norma Thomas (RIFT), Orla Bance (Alchemy), Dr Catherine Hallahan (CHV and Partners) and Tara Cronin (icap)

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TLICN Director Frank O’Hare, Kathleen O’Shea (Sarsfield Associates), Patrick Rochford from the Irish Embassy and Dr Catherine Hallahan (CHV and Partners).

Tom and Kathleen O’Shea (Sarsfield Associates)

Cathal Crossan (London Irish Construction), Ed Kelly and Shaun Bonner (Etag Fixings), Michael Hegarty and Oisin Kavanagh (UK Recruiting), Gerard McMorrow (MGBC) and Tom O’Connor (O’Connor Group).

Patrick Rochford from the Irish Embassy is pictured 4th left with TLICN Directors Frank O’Hare, Con O’Sullivan, Mary Pottinger, Niall O’Dowd and Sean Daly

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