The NHBC has acted as a consultant for a new Construction Management Simulation Centre in Melbourne, Australia.
This follows the success of the NHBC Training Services’ centre in Coventry. This new training facility uses actors and state-of-the-art, real-time virtual reality construction imagery through a 180-degree screen, which features a wide variety of scenarios, from a small, rural housing scheme to a multi-million pound high-rise office.
Michiel Schrijver, the creator of the first centre in Leeuwarden in the Netherlands, recently signed an agreement with the Master Builder Association of Victoria in Melbourne to deliver the UK version, ACT-UK, for the Australian construction market.
Dave Towell, training services project manager at NHBC, joined other educational specialists and product developers from the UK and Netherlands to help on key aspects of the proposed centre.
Development work undertaken by NHBC included the tailoring of courses for the Australian market on issues such as industrial relations, dealing with project delays and managing site quality and assisting the "actors" with construction terminology and cultural differences.
Towell said: “This project has been a great opportunity to use our experience of this form of construction management training on an international scale and further enhance the reputation of NHBC. Directors of the Master Builders Association of Victoria were very impressed by our warranty model and how we support builders and protect homeowners to raise industry standards in the UK."
