Opinion – Page 68
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CommentWe need to build on working capital successes
For construction to thrive during a period of change, the onus is on large firms to create efficiencies that improve the entire sector’s financial position
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CommentLeader: Taking a step back to go forwards
While it’s a grim picture for contracting, individual firms are starting to fight back. But the uncertainty of Brexit still looms large over the industry
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CommentHansom: Ups and downs
From news stories to new storeys, Building’s former home is flattened for redevelopment, while a new office block in Clerkenwell just looks demolished
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CommentBrexit: Prepare for the worst
Watching the minimal impact on the industry over the past two years, I’ve tried to be optimistic about Britain leaving the EU – but now the tide seems to be turning
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CommentThe UK space industry is presenting construction with an exciting opportunity
The government’s recent announcement that it has awarded funding for new horizontal and vertical spaceports is a critical milestone for the UK’s fledgling spaceflight sector
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CommentReaping the benefits of AI in the built environment: An agenda for action
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are already here. But there are barriers preventing them from being fully exploited
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CommentGet ready for a new digital way of working
Digital technology can address many of the challenges the construction industry faces, but with the sector widely reported as one of the least digitised, reskilling now is important to ensure the industry is ready for the 4 th Industrial Revolution
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CommentSupporting student wellbeing - housing has a part to play
Everyone remembers their student accommodation from their time at university. So why aren’t we focussing on making student housing more liveable?
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CommentLeader: Playing fair
It’s not just main contractors who have been at fault over late payments. Practices along the entire chain, right from the client, should be more transparent
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CommentHansom: Lazy-hazy-crazy days
President Trump makes a few more lives difficult and Jacob Rees-Mogg assures us he’ll find a way to improve ours; meanwhile, everyone else just wants to put their out-of-office on and get away
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CommentWhy is construction so adverse to tech evolution?
While there has been some introduction of innovative approaches, cases of sustained incorporation of technology in construction are few and far between. So why is the sector so adverse to tech?
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CommentStrategies, reports and the future of the industry: just do it
There’s no lack of holiday reading for those interested in how the industry needs to change, but perhaps it’s time to move on and put all these recommendations into action
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CommentCommissioning – the forgotten part of rail
Issues around the completion of the Crossrail project have highlighted the lack of attention to detail commissioning is given in such large-scale infrastructure schemes
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CommentNPPF - no game-changer, but cause for optimism
For all the criticism, the NPPF has, in reality, worked quite well. It could lead to a significant increase in supply overall – and that is something we can all feel optimistic about
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CommentBuilding for life, not age
Population ageing is one of the most critical challenges facing the built environment industry - and an issue wider than the concerns over an ageing construction workforce
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CommentRecruitment and training: how will the construction industry measure up to market needs?
There are plenty of skills challenges facing the industry. But if we get it right, we have the opportunity to build a next generation equipped with the practical skills to build the infrastructure and developments the country needs
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CommentHansom: Confusion reigns
Willmott Dixon’s suppliers confront their inner rubber ducks, and the waters rise at the Houses of Parliament
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CommentLeader: Living on the margins
The big story in this year’s Top 150 league tables is contractors’ pitifully low margins compared with housebuilders’ surging profits
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CommentThe new NPPF: will it deliver the numbers?
The latest updates to planning policy need to be seen in the context of a slew of recent reports and analysis, suggesting development is likely to continue to be subject to local interpretation and testing
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CommentLow carbon technologies: how do we ensure installed performance?
Terry Keech says it’s time to end the disconnect between ‘intended performance’ and ‘actual performance’ of low carbon technologies installed in social housing