Rod McLennan, via LinkedIn, lecturer in strategic procurement, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen
I was very fortunate to be in both Switzerland and Italy over the summer and in both countries I was fascinated to see the amount of Asian tourists (in particular) flocking to shops specialising in branded products.
Notwithstanding issues such as the possible shallowness of brands and the more down-to-earth issue of the slowing of the Chinese economy, it was interesting to see first hand the just how much branded western European products meant to Chinese tourists and just how much they valued them.
From a construction point of view I feel I have a better understanding of why the government along with our top contractors and consultants, have been focusing on growing their presence in these markets.
It would be fantastic if we in the UK construction industry could be regarded as a “branded product” of equivalent value to those in Asia and other similar economies, particularly when you consider the fantastic innovations that this country has produced within the construction industry.
I hope this concept of building a UK brand in construction excellence might be a subject that the magazine could explore and champion. If you look at the recent reports from companies like Balfour Beatty, Kier, Carillon, Sweett and Atkins to name but a few you will see just what these organisations are doing.
I feel we need to shout out loud about what we are good at.
Nick Charlton, MD, Davis Builders
My wife is Australian and I’ve been taking regular holidays there over the past five years, during which time I’ve noticed lots of interesting peculiarities. In the UK we have problems pouring concrete in low temperatures, but Down Under it’s the opposite. I met a guy who works on large blocks of flats and he said if it’s over 35°C you can’t pour the concrete because it blisters and cures too quickly.
There’s also a law in Perth that if the temperature is above 36°C on site, which it regularly is, operatives can leave. So if there’s a heatwave, no work gets done for weeks on end.
Sites also have limited access to water due to droughts. It’s only likely to get worse with climate change. Australia still has a massive construction skills shortage and they are constantly in need of managers for large projects and tradesmen, mainly because of the population shortage and the recent mineral mining boom which has sapped people away from the industry. It’s an attractive proposition for UK workers.
Laura Martin FCIOB, via LinkedIn, lifecycle manager at Aspire Defence Services
Sadly, checking out the local building on holiday proves just as interesting as it does at home…
On a trip to Lanzarote spotted a local site, building holiday villas. Watched with interest on a daily basis, block walls with in situ reinforced concrete lintels… wall went up one day, blown down the next… hardly to UK standards!
The villa we were staying in had a curved feature wall in the bathroom made out of local pumice, looked stunning, apart from the daylight streaming through and its ability to let water from the shower trickle through it and water the plants below! Thankful that the UK has a few more rules and regs about airtightness.
Bernard Keogh MCIOB, MD, Arque Construction
I learned a lot about different countries’ approaches to health and safety during a surfing holiday on the east coast of Sri Lanka. We stayed in a small place in Arugam Bay, which is very beautiful but still rebuilding after the tsunami in 2004 (see picture, right). There was little money around, so buildings such as houses and hotels were being built cheaply using concrete. No scaffolding was used, there was no edge protection, and personal protective equipment was non-existent — forget hard hats and goggles, most workers wore sandals and held a rag over their mouth when they cut materials.
Projects in areas like that could definitely benefit from UK professional expertise and management skill, but the cost would be prohibitive, it’s a developing country, most people are living on around $1 a day and businesses simply accept that way of operating.
Howard Morris, FCIOB, MRICS via LinkedIn, construction contracts manager, Ontario, Canada
Well, it’s interesting. Like all builders I often look at how things get done when I am abroad…
But as Britain is one of the few countries that actually still uses an antiquated technology called cavity walls as standard (being about the car equivalent of driving a Model T Ford) maybe we shouldn’t be so smug?
Lucy Jensen MCIOB, project manager, Morgan Sindall
I took a short trip to Iceland where I was greatly impressed by the landscape, the architecture and attention to detail in the buildings. We stayed at the Blue Lagoon Hotel, which stands in a stunning lava landscape. Immersed in the warm waters of the hot springs we could admire the building, which was designed to fit seamlessly into its surroundings. There was no divide between internal and external finishes, there was high-specification stone flooring with clean lines, and the rugged terrain of the landscape beyond the waters was mirrored in the treated timber facade of the hotel’s upper floors.
It would be fantastic to see more buildings in the UK being influenced by the natural landscape.
Chris Kane, director, Greendale Construction
I didn’t take a holiday this year but I’m located in Poole in Dorset, which is a beautiful holiday destination in its own right offering a great work/life balance. I’ve been out on my boat every evening and along the coast I’ve noticed how the construction sector has picked up this year, there’s a lot more activity and many more cranes on the horizon in Bournemouth and Poole, which is a great sign as things have been pretty dead for the past four years.
The construction firms I’ve been speaking to have a lot more confidence and expect more work to come onstream towards the end of the year.
