News

PASMA, the trade association representing the international mobile access tower industry, has launched Tower Safety Week 2016 which runs from today until Friday 18 November 2016. With a focus on ‘working well with towers’, it’s set to promote height safety, develop industry knowledge and skills, and connect with a wide range of tower using industries – from construction and maintenance …

UCATT is calling on the construction industry to introduce extreme weather health and safety guidelines because the industry is blighted by the inhumanity of the industry towards workers. UCATT is concerned that workers must struggle through zero temperatures, risk their health on icy ground or scaffold, or endure torrential downpours for up to 12 hours at a time while the …

Band of Builders help cancer-stricken Keith Ellick and hopes to ultimately turn the BOB initiative into a charity to support tradespeople in need.

A Southampton window installation company has been fined after a worker suffered fatal head injuries following a fall from a ladder. Brighton Magistrates Court heard how Mark Taylor, 48, a window fitter from Southampton, was helping in the installation of UPVC windows at a 3 storey house in Brighton on the 10 September 2014. He was working from an unsecured …

Doncaster based Tembé DIY and Building Products has raised £11,000.00 for Children with Cancer UK, with the money going towards research into finding cures and providing care for children with cancer. For every promotional pack of HIPPO Heavy Duty Trade Wipes sold, Tembé donated 50p to Children with Cancer.   Guy Malam, Managing Director of Tembé DIY & Building Products …

A simple low-tech chimney insulator is applying to become approved by OFGEM and the British Board of Agrement (BBA) following two years of rigorous testing. Chimney Sheep, invented by an ecologist from Cumbria four years ago, has already saved UK homeowners £2.5m off their energy bills and is said to be capable of saving the nation a further £691,500,000 per …

A builder has been sentenced to 250 hours of community service for putting a home owner at risk following renovations to their house in Cardiff. Cardiff Crown Court heard that Brian James was hired to carry out renovations to a bungalow in Cardiff specifically to install new plumbing and heating, including a boiler. Brian James admitted in court that although …

You could be a winner of a Bosch Blue Power Tool Skill Builder is broadcasting a live recording from Bosch Power Tools at 9pm on Wednesday 2nd November 2016. Roger Bisby is talking power tools with Martin Sibley, Senior Product Manager at Bosch and they will be joined on Skype by Peter Brett, Tool Tester from Tool Business and Hire …

The nation’s first construction pay trends index has revealed that across all construction trades, the highest increase in earnings year-on-year for sub-contractors was within the Roofing industry which experienced 6.1% growth, followed by 4.8% in Plastering and 4.2% in Scaffolding. The index has also shown that Wales has seen the biggest (5.3%) year-on-year increase in earnings amongst self-employed tradesman – …

Would you like an opportunity to test the latest Bosch tools – and then keep them, free of charge? Bosch is looking for professional tradespeople to take part in its #builtwithBosch campaign. Each successful applicant will be given two new power tools to test over a 5 week period. In return, Bosch will ask them to post short film clips …

Ironmongery Direct has launched a campaign to find the ‘Tool Trickster of 2016’. Tradespeople across the UK are invited to show off their best tool tricks, whether that is hammer flips, slick trowel spins, kicks, catches or any other impressive tricks, as long as they are safe. See some examples here: www.ironmongerydirect.co.uk/research/tool-trickster-2016/ To be in with a chance of becoming …

Nissan has collaborated with UK-based design workshop Studio Hardie to transform its zero-emission e-NV200 van into an all-electric mobile office – the e-NV200 WORKSPACe. The office on wheels features an integrated fold-out desk, touchscreen computer, wireless internet, smartphone-controlled LED lights, wireless phone charging, Bluetooth audio system, mini fridge and barista-quality coffee machine. The e-NV200 WORKSPACe paints a picture of what …

Two Norfolk-based companies have been fined after a worker suffered life-changing injuries following an overhead power line strike. Norwich Crown Court heard that L F Papworth Ltd and T. W. Page & Son Ltd had organised drilling work for the purposes of crop irrigation at Felmingham, Norfolk. On 29 April 2014 Jonathan Howes, an employee of T.W. Page & Son …

A Buckinghamshire waste equipment maintenance firm has been fined after a worker suffered serious head injuries when a mobile elevating work platform (MEWP) overturned. Geoffrey Hatton, 49, from County Durham, was in the process of dismantling a compactor at a site in Wilmslow, Cheshire when the incident occurred on the 19th January 2015. Minshull Street Crown Court heard that Mr Hatton, …

The Ford Transit was the best-selling cargo van family globally in 2015, with nearly 400,000 vans registered, according to IHS Markit registration data. Transit is building on a 50-year legacy in Europe. In the past 25 months, Ford has seen its commercial vehicle market share grow from 10.8 per cent to 12.9 per cent in Europe. This makes Ford the …

Liverpool City Council and two of its contractors have been prosecuted following two separate incidents involving roadworks on a busy city centre road. One man died and another was seriously injured while attempting to cross Queens Drive in Liverpool during major resurfacing works in the summer of 2012. Enterprise Liverpool Limited and Tarmac Trading Limited were contracted by Liverpool City …

When fencing and landscape gardening business owner Addam Smith found out his employee Keith Ellick had been diagnosed with terminal cancer he couldn’t stand by and do nothing. Knowing that Keith’s biggest worry was for the welfare of his family Addam, who owns ALS Fencing & Lanscaping, took to the popular Facebook group Builder’s Talk to see if he could …

A Durham landlord has been given a suspended prison sentence following his failure to maintain or check the gas fittings in one of his properties.

With more than 1,000 electricity-related accidents reported in the UK every year, a new approach to electrical safety training is needed.

Consumer demand for building work remained resilient in the three months following the vote for Brexit, new figures from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) have revealed. Commenting on the results of the first UK-wide survey of the SME construction sector post-referendum, Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “Ongoing workloads for construction SMEs remained remarkably resilient in the …