ForgeFix, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of fixings, fasteners and associated products, has developed a new range of screws which the company says has exceptional performance characteristics. The best screws on the market? In independent tests, the new screws outperformed most other premium screws on the market in areas such as drive-speed, cam-out reduction, corrosion resistance, shear prevention and …

Construction sites across the UK are being hit by a concrete block shortage as pressure on raw materials means manufacturers are struggling to keep up with demand. PFA – a by-product of coal-fired power generation is a key material in the manufacture of most concrete blocks but a move towards alternative forms of energy generation such as gas, nuclear or …

Work to develop a 15- acre brownfield site in Lewes, East Sussex is to begin following the completion of final legal requirements. Planning for the North Street Quarter development was approved in December 2015 by the South Downs National Park’s planning committee. Permission was granted in May 2016 and the judicial review period has just concluded. The way is now …

The Access Industry Forum (AIF), the forum for nine of the leading trade associations and federations involved in work at height, has announced details of its first national, one-day conference. Supported by the Association for Project Safety (APS), Hire Association Europe (HAE) and the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management (IIRSM), Implementing change and innovation in work at height …

A young entrepreneur from Glasgow has redesigned the traditional kneepad to launch a product aimed at tradespeople which reduces pressure on the knee by 76%. Vicky Hamilton, 25, a product design engineering graduate from the University of Strathclyde, originally developed Recoil Kneepads as part of her final year project. She was inspired to help her dad, Gordon Hamilton, 48 who …

A company based in Cardiff has been fined for safety failings during a property development which included breaching the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. Pontypridd Magistrates’ Court heard Ziman Trading Limited, formerly Ziman Investments Limited (Ziman), was acting as the principal contractor at the property development of the former New York Hotel, York Street, Porth. An investigation by the …

Growth in apprenticeship numbers in Scotland could be scuppered unless the Scottish Government commits to ring-fencing the new UK-wide Apprenticeship Levy for training.

Jordan Daykin, the owner of GripIt fixings and the greatest success on Dragons’ Den to date, is urging fellow inventors and entrepreneurs who work in trade professions to turn their great ideas into reality by entering the Travis Perkins Innovation Awards (TPIA) before the 30th June deadline. Now a £14 million business, Jordan and his GripIt fixings are a testament …

Pre-plumbed cylinders are usually the choice for new build where they have plenty of people to move the units into the airing cupboards before fitting the doors but I like the look of them and I  had already decided that on my next cylinder installation I was going to try a pre-plumbed unit. It isn’t that I find it difficult …

Leading civil engineers, environmental scientists, water experts, water companies and architects have appealed to the Lords to ensure the incoming housing law protects new and existing homes from flooding. Contributing to the Housing and Planning Bill debate currently passing through the Lords, the coalition said that new development will place additional pressure on critical drainage and flood defence infrastructure. The …

Travis Perkins has revealed the industry’s biggest headaches as part of its pledge to support customers by promoting and encouraging innovation. After speaking to contractors, housebuilders, manufacturers and staff, a number of common industry-wide problems became clear. The UK weather was a shared frustration, with high levels of rain blamed for construction delays, muddy working environments and the reduced effectiveness …

Labour’s Shadow Minister for Housing and Planning John Healey MP visited a housing development in Aston, Sheffield last month to highlight the importance of local house building companies being able to deliver more new homes. Mr Healey was visiting the Parklands View development in Aston, built by Sheffield-based firm W. Redmile & Sons. The visit was organised by the Federation …

Roger Bisby share his findings on Knauf’s new airless spray plaster, the Knauf Airless Finish Light. Knauf has had an unenviable task in the UK; trying to take on British Gypsum with trowel applied traditional plasters was always going to be a challenge but they have certainly established themselves with boards and made good inroads with projection plastering. But projection …

The inventor of a small and simple water-saving device was the winner of  Ecobuild’s Big Innovation Pitch, organised in association with Marks & Spencer. The Waterblade fitting turns a small trickle of water into a thin sheet of high-pressure water as wide as your hand. It operates at a flow of just 2.5 litres per minute, significantly lower than the …

JSP, the PPE specialist, has added the HardCap AeroLite to its range of bump caps designed for work environments where there is a risk of impact between the head and stationary objects. The new bump cap, designed by JSP’s in-house Research & Development team, features a full high-density polyethylene (HDPE) shell, so the wearer is protected not only from impact …

A construction company in Derbyshire has been fined after a worker fell thirteen metres down a service riser shaft. Leicester Magistrates’ Court heard how a 36-year-old worker, who was from Romania, was dismantling falsework (a form of temporary structure) in a building that was under construction at Fletcher Development, De Montfort University, Leicester. An investigation by the Health and Safety …

From Monday (April 4th), all government-funded construction work must be undertaken using Building information Modelling (BIM). The BIM mandate is the first in a series of major developments in the government’s Construction 2025 strategy. A key strand of which is to have an industry in the UK that is efficient and technologically advanced to meet the growing demands of a …

Over 45,000 new homebuilding workers will be trained by 2019 to help tackle the nation’s housing shortage through a £2.7 million initiative announced by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and Home Builders Federation (HBF). The first of its kind, the Home Building Skills Partnership – working with research on their needs from some 40 UK home builders – will …

Falcon Crane Hire, a national crane hire company has been sentenced for failings that led to the death of two men as a crane collapsed in London. Southwark Crown Court heard crane operator Jonathan Cloke, 37, died after falling from the crane as it collapsed. It fell onto Michael Alexa, 23, a member of the public, and also killed him. …

Polyco’s innovative use of 21st-century technology has been recognised and rewarded by an institution that has been championing glove development for more than 375 years. Polyco’s dry-grip glove, the Grip It MAX, was named by the Worshipful Company of Glovers in February as the winner of its Worshipful Company of Glovers 2015 Golden Glove Award for Innovation. Granted its royal charter …