1. Is google planning a BIM-busting construction app?
Google’s apps and operating system have already “disrupted” Microsoft’s business – and now it could be planning to do the same for BIM and online collaboration in the construction industry. Read more…
2. Self-build family homes costs under £50,000
A Cardiff-based architect has won an ideas competition to design a generously-sized 100 sq m family house that could be structurally completed by self-builders for just £41,000. Read more…
3. Work stops on one in five sites in HSE crackdown
The HSE shut down work on one in five construction sites it visited during a month-long safety crackdown in September. The nationwide campaign targeted 2,607 sites run primarily by SMEs carrying out refurbishment or repair work and resulted in 539 prohibition notices requiring dangerous activities to stop immediately. Read more…
4. Corrupt practices still flourishing across industry
Corrupt or fraudulent business practices are a common feature of life in the construction industry, according to 48% of the individuals who responded to a CIOB online survey. And more than one in three (35%) said that they had been offered a bribe or incentive on at least one occasion. Read more…
5. UK construction firms in Qatar threatened with civil action
UK contractors and consultants working on projects in Qatar where there is evidence of abuse of workers’ rights have been warned that they could face civil claims raised on behalf of migrant workers in the UK courts. Read more…
6. Contractors eye Bristol’s £47m dash for solar
Bristol’s cabinet last week gave the go-ahead for the first phase of a £47m programme to install solar panels on 7,000 social homes in the city, in a move seen as part of a renaissance of the large scale PV contracting market. Read more…
7. 3D printed houses two years from market
A 3D printing technique capable of building the shell of a 2,000 sq ft house in less than 20 hours could be just two years away from commercial use, researchers claim. Read more…
8. Contractor sought to rejuvenate Lancashire’s back-to-backs
A £4.5m contract to remodel 100 empty “two-up two-down” homes in Accrington that once housed cotton mill workers into 71 energy efficient contemporary rental properties is to be tendered next week. Read more…
9. First RICS BIM Manager certificates to be issued in January
The first industry professionals to hold the newly-launched RICS BIM Manager accreditation could receive their certificates in January. The RICS this week launched the new qualification to help individuals demonstrate their BIM capabilities to clients and potential employers. Read more…
10. 3D printing: the shape of things to come
3D printing is attracting a lot of attention, but is it really feasible that it will become commonplace on live projects? CM convened a panel of experts to explore the possibilities. Read more…
Top management story
Get up to date with new first aid regulations
Andrew New, training manager, St John Ambulance on the importance of first aid in the workplace. Read more…
Top comment
Dirty deals are done daily
Peter Gracia on the industry’s culture of collusion. Read more…
Top international story
Why height is heading east
UK-based consultant EC Harris, which is project manager with Mace on the Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, has produced a white paper on the phenomenon – Megatall: What does it take? – which sheds some light on why the East has stolen the march on megatall. Read more…
Top CPD
Offsite M&E manufacture
3D CAD and BIM are making offsite manufacture of M&E modules a compelling alternative for many projects. Steve Tovey, director of Balfour Beatty’s Modular Systems +, outlines how it is taking hold at its projects. Read more…
