1. The top 10 buzzwords of 2016
From FinTech to broken-plan, a raft of new buzzwords are entering the language. Tom Ravenscroft looks at the hot topics you’ll be talking about at the water cooler this year. Read more…
2. EU Commission funds new Europe-wide BIM alignment project
Members of the EU BIM Task Group have committed to producing an “EU BIM Handbook”, a guide to using BIM in public sector projects that could help to create a consistent approach across the EU. Read more…
3. Test centre prosecutions ‘unlikely’ as CSCS and CITB revoke 4,615 skills cards
The CITB, which accredited “five or six” test centres involved in offering “cash for qualifications”, has told Construction Manager that there are unlikely to be any prosecutions of individuals running the test centres, even though details of its investigations have been passed to the police. Read more…
4. BIM contracts are leaving liability gaps: a ticking time bomb?
May Winfield, senior associate at law firm Kennedys, says that the trend to adopt (or even amend) a BIM protocol and hope for the best is leaving major gaps and inconsistencies in parties’ understanding of their obligations and entitlements in BIM projects. Read more…
5. Carillion buys in to Northern Powerhouse growth via Mick Hucknall firm
Carillion bought a majority stake in Manchester-based real estate company Ask Real Estate from the company’s four founding shareholders, which include Simply Red singer Mick Hucknall. Read more…
6. BIM case study – BIM at the Blavatnik
In Oxford, main contractor Laing O’Rourke has constructed a £55m bespoke building with a complex geometry to house the university’s new Blavatnik School of Government. Read more…
7. YMCA plans to roll out Rogers’ £50,000 affordable Y:Cube flats
A joint venture made up of the YMCA and award-winning architects Rogers, Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP) is proposing five new Y:Cube schemes, on sites in Essex, south-west London and on the south coast of England, with two more sites expected to follow. Read more…
8. FCIOB whistleblower awarded £137,000 by Balfour Beatty
Nigel McArthur FCIOB won a payout of £137,000 from Balfour Beatty in settlement of a compensation claim for constructive dismissal after he “blew the whistle” over alleged irregularities in a bid process. Read more…
9. CIOB boosts training provision to include courses on BIM
The CIOB is launching a new and expanded range of training courses for members, with training offered by CIOB staff, independent organisations such as BRE and the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management and commercial training providers. Read more…
10. Powering up for the Northern Powerhouse
Chancellor George Osborne first sketched out the ideas behind the Northern Powerhouse in a speech in June 2014. Now the vision of a Northern Powerhouse is starting to become reality as investors and developers get behind it. Read more…
Top in On Site
CPD: Operation Magnify
As the government gets tough on illegal labour, industry professionals need to make sure they’re familiar with the requirements of its Operation Magnify programme. Read more…
Top in International
The world’s tallest timber tower
Made possible by a special change in law, a building that is set to claim the title of world’s tallest timber tower is now under construction in Vancouver, Canada. Read more…
Top in Management
Flooding and NEC3 compensation events
Steve Goodwin, a director at GVE Commercial Solutions, compares NEC3’s treatment of weather-related events with the simpler JCT approach. Read more…
Top in Comment
Profit shouldn’t be a dirty word – it’s essential for the industry’s future
Polypipe’s Adrian Farley, a member of the Constructing Excellence Procurement Forum, asks some provocative questions about profit margins. Read more…
