Murphy trials AI warning cameras at site danger zones

Construction Blogs No Comments

Murphy & Sons is testing the latest advances in artificial intelligence site cameras to increase worker safety on its sites.

The camera warning system monitors key exclusion zones and restricted plant and people zones on sites sounding an alarm if workers intrude on the danger zone.

This new technology can also be used to monitor for other potential health and safety issues such as incorrect PPE usage and trip hazards.

The sensors have analytical and machine learning capabilities that can send valuable metadata, which can be analysed alongside data from a range of sources, including traditional accident, incident and reporting tools, weather data to anticipate incidents and manage health and safety across multiple construction sites.

Matthew Barney, senior procurement manager at Murphy said: “This technology has the potential to play a really critical role in helping us to reduce site safety incidents and protect our colleagues.

“The ability to identify risks on site and move quickly in real time to warn of the danger is vital to helping deliver a safe environment for all our employees.

“By combining traditional health and safety methods and best practice with new technologies such as this, we will continue to deliver on our commitment to place health and safety and the very heart of our wider business.”

Known as the AiMac, the system has been developed by Murphy Technical Services and security and control systems specialist IMAC.

 

 

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.thegraduatemag.com/?p=942

£35m Nottingham art school gets green light

Construction Blogs No Comments

Plans for a £35m university building in Nottingham city centre have been given the planning go-ahead

Work will start early next year on the nine-storey block, which will house Nottingham Trent University’s School of Art and Design.

Bowmer & Kirkland and GF Tomlinson are understood to be in the bidding for the project which has been designed by architect Hawkins Brown.

The planned building at 40–42 Shakespeare Street will provide a variety of workspaces for designing and making, collaboration areas, specialist studios and labs.

The building has been designed to achieve BREEAM ‘Excellent’ and DEC ‘A’ rating.

Design decisions, such as the use of post-tensioned concrete slabs and ceramic cladding, have helped to reduce their carbon impact using Hawkins\Brown’s self-developed, open-source H\B:ERT software.

Nottingham School of Art and Design project team

Architect: Hawkins Brown

Structural & Civil Engineer: Mott Macdonald

MEP engineer: Waterman

Carbon consultant: Hawkins Brown

Project Manager: Turner & Townsend

Cost consultant: Turner & Townsend

Fire Engineer: Arup

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.thegraduatemag.com/?p=936

Accountant being investigated over nmcn audit

Construction Services No Comments

Regulators at the Financial Reporting Council have launched an investigation into the auditing of nmcn by accountant BDO.

The probe will examine consolidated financial statements of the contractor for the year ended 31 December 2019.

BDO resigned as nmcn’s auditor in July 2020 after ten years in the role.

Results for 2019 showed increases in pre-tax profit to £10.3m on turnover up at £404m.

But within 18 months estimated losses had hit £43m leading to the contractor’s fall into administration earlier this month owing suppliers more than £60m.

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.thegraduatemag.com/?p=931

Sheffield Hallam University’s £220m city campus gets nod

Construction Management No Comments

First phase plans to develop Sheffield Hallam University’s city campus with three new buildings have got the green light from planners.

Now BAM Construction will start construction work in early 2022 under its ground-breaking pain-gain sharing alliance model – the first genuine alliance to be used in the higher education building sector.

The Hallam Alliance is made up of the university, design-led consultancy BDP-Arup, contractor BAM and facilities manager CBRE and will use the new NEC4 alliance contract as a commercial template.

Over the next five years, the alliance aims to set a new benchmark for “best for project” delivery and building management.

The three new buildings in the £220m phase one will be four to seven storeys high. They will be erected around a new 400 sq m public area called University Green on Arundel Lane, on the recently demolished science park.

Designs include the latest technology and measures to make the new buildings zero carbon ready.

They include the use of sustainable energy solutions such as heat pumps, maximising the use of photo voltaic panels and provisions to support and promote sustainable travel.

BAM’s Paul Cleminson, Preconstruction Director in the North East, said: “The emphasis on sustainability and green spaces is very significant. By combining development, design, construction and long-term thinking about how the buildings are operated, we are all making a big difference to the future of how the buildings are used for generations to come.”

 

London and North West labour rates rise for third month

Construction Management No Comments

Skilled self-employed labour rates have risen for the third month running in London and the North West.

Average weekly earnings for self-employed tradespeople in London increased by 1.8% to £938 during September while in the North West, earnings increased by 3.3% to £887.

According to the industry’s biggest employment contract services firm, Hudson Contract, the two areas have become pinch points for this skills shortage, while across the rest of country as a whole, pay rates actually dipped in September.


Across all regions average wages dipped by 1.7 % to £913 last month, while year-on-year earnings increased by 4.7%.

The East Midlands remained the region where self-employed trades commanded the highest pay despite a small fall last month.

Ian Anfield, managing director, said: “We estimate that through Covid the industry has been short of as many as 140,000 tradespeople, or 10% down on where we could have been, which has helped drive up labour rates in the face of high demand.


“Skills shortages – once an acute regional problem – has been exacerbated across the country by the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS).”

Official statistics show construction workers claimed grants worth £966m in the last round of SEISS, which covered the period to September 15 2021.


In total, the sector has claimed grants worth nearly £11bn through the scheme which would amount to hundreds of millions of man hours.

Anfield added: “As SEISS ends, many will return to work but because huge infrastructure projects such as Hinkley Point and HS2 are in full swing, government departments have accelerated ‘shovel-ready’ projects and the ongoing housing and domestic work, demand will continue to outstrip supply.”

 

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.thegraduatemag.com/?p=917

Laing O’Rourke on course for float after strong results

Construction Blogs No Comments

Laing O’Rourke is on course with plans to take the UK’s largest private contractor public after unveiling a strong set of results for the year to March 31 2021.

Latest figures show the group made a pre-tax profit of £41.4m from £45.5m despite the impact of Covid-19 as turnover ticked-up to £2.5bn from £2.4bn.

Chief executive Ray O’Rourke is planning to list the business on the stock exchange within the next three years after turning the firm around following a string of losses which ended in 2019.

Slashing bank debts by a total of £182m in the last 18 months has also allowed it to replace a multi-bank finance deal with a single £35m credit facility from HSBC which has cut interest payments.

Shareholders Ray and Des O’Rourke also wrote-off £58m in loans made to the company by converting them to equity in the business.

Chief Financial Officer Rowan Baker confirmed to the Enquirer that floating the business was an option as order books hit £7.9bn and prospects look encouraging for the rest of this financial year.

She said: “There was a significant net cash improvement during the year of £120.9m, and we finished FY21  with net cash of £276.1m. These solid results and strong cash positions enabled us to accelerate  the restructure of our debt facilities and set the foundations for future growth.

“The business has continued to perform strongly in the first half of FY22 and is on track to meet  management’s expectations of continued revenue and margin growth.”

Baker has a listed company background after joining from McCarthy & Stone last year.

O’Rourke said it is planning to invest in a new Risk and Internal Audit function next year which will ensure its systems are “on a par with those seen in operation at premier listed businesses.”

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.thegraduatemag.com/?p=913

BAM Nuttall names new major projects MD

Construction Services No Comments

BAM Nuttall has promoted Richard Prime to become managing director of Major Projects.

Prime, who has been with the firm for 20 years, fills the role vacated by Ian Parish who stepped up to become interim MD last month.

The board rejig follows the departure of Adrian Savory, BAM Nuttall’s chief executive last month after just 14 in the top job after around 26 years with BAM Nuttall.

Prime , who was previously divisional director of major projects, will lead BAM Nuttall’s teams, working in collaboration, to design and build infrastructure projects like HS2 main works and the Silvertown Tunnel in London.

The management line-up at BAM Nuttall is: Ian Parish (MD), Martin Bellamy (MD, Regions), Alan Cox (MD, Transport), Richard Prime, (MD, Major Projects), Ian Phillpot (Finance Director), Richard Reddell (Commercial Director), Richard Lewis (People and Performance Director) and David McGowan (Business Excellence Director).

 

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.thegraduatemag.com/?p=908

Offsite Homes Alliance courts firms for £4bn MMC framework

Construction Management No Comments

An alliance of social landlords in the North aiming to deliver 10,000 offsite homes per year is starting market testing ahead on launching the tender for a £4bn framework.

The alliance which was formed this year now boasts 23 housing associations and regsitered providers among its membership., largely based in the North of England.

Great Places Housing Group, acting as the main procurement body, is now soft market testing suppliers ahead of inviting tenders next month.

This will involve evaluating the current OSHA designs and zero carbon roadmap with its prospective MMC supply chain.

OSHA has designed a short questionnaire that is available to download here.

 

 

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.thegraduatemag.com/?p=904

Battle starts for £120m YORbuild minor works deal

Construction Services No Comments

The bid race has started for places on procurement body YORbuild’s minor works framework, expected to account for £120m of spending over the next four years.

The third generation framework will align with the Government Construction Playbook and the Value Toolkit due to be launched by the Construction Innovation Hub later this year.

It is being divided into two regional lots covering the north east and north west of Yorkshire, with each region spilt into three project type lots.

YORbuild 3 minor works lots

North West Yorkshire

Work up to £1m, total value £36mProjects £1-£4m, total value £20mNew housing up to 25 units, total value £12m

North East Yorkshire

Work up to £1m, total value £24mProjects £1-£4m, total value £16mNew housing up to 25 units, total value £12m

 

Around a dozen firms will be appointed to each lot.

This time around during saelection greater emphasis will be placed on MMC/off-site solutions, carbon reduction/ net zero targets and a more enhanced sustainability offer.

It will run for four years with an option to extend for a further period of two years to allow the appointed contractors adequate time to recoup their significant initial investment.

Tenders are to be returned by 17 December for evaluation with the new line-up of firms expected to be announced in summer 2022.

To submit an interest click here.

 

Foreign investors to pump £10bn into UK green infrastructure

Construction Blogs No Comments

The Prime Minister will today announce the UK has secured £9.7bn of new foreign investment in UK green infrastructure at the Global Investment Summit.

He hailed 18 planned investment deals in wind and hydrogen energy, sustainable homes and carbon capture that will support green growth and create up to 30,000 jobs.

Among the headline commitments, Spanish electric utility giant Iberdrola confirmed it will invest £6bn in the East Anglia Hub through Scottish Power, subject to securing planning consent.

This will be Iberdrola’s biggest offshore wind development anywhere in the world and would supply enough green energy to power 2.7 million British homes, while creating 7,000 jobs.

While global logistics firm Prologis intends to invest £1.5bn over the next three years to develop net zero carbon warehouses across London, the south east and Midlands.

Malaysian conglomerate Petra Group will invest £30m in establishing its  Petra Modular business for production of sustainable modular homes, creating 225 jobs. It will also invest £30m in establishing Petra Group’s ‘Green Rubber’ business in the UK, which will see the development of a production facility creating 110 jobs.

 

Other deals announced at Global Investment Summit

US-owned waste specialist Viridor plans to invest up to £1bn in latest decarbonisation technology at its five UK sites to become the first net zero waste company by 2030.Turkish-owned Eren Paper is investing £500m to acquire a mill in Shotton, North Wales, and convert it to produce cardboard manufactured from paper waste. The mill will be powered by biomass fuel.Budweiser Brewing Group and green hydrogen energy services Protium have teamed up to invest more than £100m in a new hydrogen generation system to fuel the brewery’s production and also its key logistics assets, including heavy goods vehicles and forklift trucks.Jacobs will create over 150 jobs as it grows its high-tech Birchwood laboratory in Warrington, where Jacobs carries out research and development to support critical UK national infrastructure.Huaneng will invest in the 50MW Battery Storage project in StoneHill. This greenfield project is a major new milestone for energy storage in the UK and will employ local partners in construction and operationsHiPoint AG will invest £50m to create five new facilities for the recovery and processing of horse stall waste into reusable bedding, fertilizer & bio-fuels, creating 90 jobs across the UK.Ultimate Battery Company will invest £28m setting up a UK production plant for lightweight, eco-friendly batteries, creating 300 jobs.Global Marine will invest £10m in building hybrid engine crew transfer vessels and surface effect ships to service offshore wind infrastructure, creating 10 jobs in the East of England.HyPoint will invest £6.6m establishing a HQ in the South East for the development of their next generation hydrogen fuel cell system, creating 10 jobs.Treedom will establish a UK office in London for their online platform for planting trees, creating 10 jobs.Tes Amm is creating 15 new jobs in Scotland, doubling its electronic waste recycling solutions for lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles, consumer electronics and IT & mobile technologies.Sumitomo Corporation are launching Presidio Ventures Europe, a venture arm of Sumitomo, focused on energy and mobility.Peer-to-peer lending firm Zopa has raised £220m, led by Softbank Vision Fund 2, to grow their responsible and sustainable banking and lending services in the UK.Getir plan to invest £100m to rapidly expand its sustainable and superfast grocery delivery service across the UK, creating 7,000 permanent jobs in 2022. The business utilises a 100% electric fleet of delivery vehicles.

Proudly powered by WordPress & Skyrocket Themes

MENU

Navigation