Snowy weather, rising costs and uncertainty relating to Brexit are to blame for the sharp drop in construction output, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has said in response to the latest PMI data. The March 2018 PMI data revealed a fall from 51.4 in February to 47.0 in March, against the neutral reading of 50.0. March 2018’s figure was …

The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) says work on many construction sites has ground to a halt as heavy snow continues to fall in parts of the country. Sarah McMonagle, Director of External Affairs at the FMB, said: “Heavy snow showers have led to many construction sites across the UK grinding to a halt. “Some construction bosses have told their …

Ian Anfield, Managing Director for construction audit and contract provider, Hudson Contract, shares his construction industry predictions. “This time last year, I shared my thoughts on what would dominate the construction agenda in 2017. Some of the observations I made, such as Brexit being linked to skills shortages, were fairly safe, while others, like losing one of the major contractors …

Serena Kennedy, HR Manager for fit out and refurbishment experts, ITC Concepts, explains why she believes investing in the future of employees working in the construction industry pays dividends. In October 2017, ITC Concepts won the Croydon Business Excellence award for Employee Training and Development. We couldn’t have been prouder – investment in our employees, through various types of development …

The construction sector has come together to warn the Government of the dangers of the industry facing a ‘cliff edge’ regarding EU workers.

The latest annual injury and ill-health statistics from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) show that the construction sector continues to suffer significantly higher injury rates than other industries with slips, trips & falls remaining the biggest cause of injuries. The latest HSE stats show 1.3 million workers were suffering from work-related ill-health – a decrease on 2015/16 (144) – …

A survey of UK workers in the construction industry carried out by household appliances retailer, AppliancesDirect.co.uk, has revealed that builders spend on average 130 hours annually taking tea breaks. This is 20.34 hours more than the average British worker who spends 109.66 hours annually making tea. The research, which looked in to the building workplace eating and drinking habits, found …

More than 80 per cent of construction workers believe Brexit will damage the UK’s industry and prevent high-profile government infrastructure projects from being delivered, a new study suggests. Researchers at Birmingham City University have been examining the views of people working in the sector to see how they believe jobs, projects and industry will be impacted by Britain’s withdrawal from …

Solecco Solar is launching its solar roof tile solution at UK Construction Week this week. The eco-conscious brand has also chosen the event to launch its new website www.soleccosolar.com. The Solecco Solar solution is integrated into roofing via a unique interlocking method, with tiles fitting flush and seamlessly on up to 98% of roof surface area. The zero-glass system has …

Construction projects across Britain are being urged to act now to ensure the health and safety of their workers is protected as the second phase of a targeted inspection initiative gets underway this week. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says 43 workers were fatally injured in 2015/16, and an estimated ten times that number died from construction related ill-health, …

IronmongeryDirect, the UK supplier of ironmongery to the trade, has partnered with supplier TIMco to donate a pallet full of fastenings and fixings which is being sent to hurricane torn Barbuda in the Caribbean. The pallet, which contains approximately 500,000 woodscrews, roofing screws, concrete screws, nails and masonry fixings, will help the residents of Barbuda rebuild their homes and communities …

The UK construction sector’s efforts to improve the health and mental wellbeing of its workforce have been stepped up with the full roll out of the Mates in Mind initiative. Mates in Mind has led in the creation of a flexible and joined up approach that is tailored to the needs of individual construction companies as they seek to tackle …

A construction company has been sentenced for safety breaches after a sub-contracted joiner suffered life-changing injuries. Lincoln Magistrates’ Court heard that construction company Mager Homes Ltd. had been contracted to complete a house build in Tetney, Grimsby. In December 2016, the worker was on the first floor level installing joists and flooring. Whilst laying a floorboard, he stepped back and …

The SME construction sector grew in the second quarter of 2017, albeit at a slower rate in most parts of the UK than the first three months of the year, according to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). Key results from the FMB’s State of Trade Survey for Q2 2017, which is the only quarterly assessment of the UK-wide SME …

Women Count 2017, the second annual report by the Pipeline, has tracked and analysed the number of women on Executive Committees of FTSE 350 companies and has found that progress on gender diversity in senior roles has regressed. With only 16% of members on Executive Committees being women, the same percentage as 2016, there has been no progress. Also, more …

Balfour Beatty believes the construction site of 2050 will be in stark contrast to what we see today – predicting it will be human-free with work moved off-site, remote control of machinery and new materials and techniques exploited to improve cost, safety and efficiency. The international infrastructure group has laid out its vision in its paper “Innovation 2050: A Digital …

A Glasgow based construction company has been fined after the death of an 83-year old man in Kirkcaldy.

Companies across the UK have been forced to pay out over £61m in health and safety fines throughout 2016 with the construction sector seeing fines double according to law firm BLM’s health and safety tracker. Research conducted by the insurance and risk law firm found that fines for the construction industry jumped from £6,644,807 in 2015 to £13,636,346 in 2016 …

Colin Yates, chief operating officer at WorkMobile, the mobile data capture solution, discusses some of the benefits construction companies can reap from ‘going digital’. The construction sector has been slow to join the tech race. Recent research has found that construction companies are struggling to harness the power of mobile and automation technology, data and analytics and robotics – just 8% of …