We spoke with Carol Massay, Head of Access Construction and winner of the ‘Construction businesswoman of the year’ at the Great British Business Woman Awards, to discuss her journey in the industry and her thoughts on women, diversity and new entrants coming into construction.
- Topic:
- Construction
Being in the construction industry is an endless battle between pleasing the client and facing the external challenges. The last year has been strange for everyone, yet the sector has still ploughed on. As we now approach the end of the last round of lockdown restrictions (hopefully), let’s have a look at the challenges in the construction industry in 2021.
- Topic:
- Construction
Traditionally communication and reporting on a construction project has been a challenge. With the number of people involved, from construction workers to upper-level project management, working both on-site and off-site you can see why.
- Topic:
- Construction
With the ever-evolving world of technology, cloud-based construction ERP such as EasyBuild, has seen a massive uptake by organisations. 78% of organisations consider the cloud to be a critical part of their business strategy. So why is this the case? What benefits does a cloud ERP technology offer and how is it changing the Construction industry?
- Topic:
- Construction
Since March 2021, the UK’s construction industry have had to handle and pay VAT in a different way following the introduction of the new VAT reverse charge system. Find out more about these changes and how this might impact your business.
- Topic:
- Construction
For many employers, there is no choice but to have staff physically at work rather than working from home. In some instances, it can be a significant proportion of the workforce. From construction and manufacturing to transport, logistics and food production – there are a variety of sectors having to make significant steps to stay on top of the workplace Covid-19 risk. The good news is that there is practical help available.
- Topic:
- Construction
It’s no secret that profit margins throughout the construction industry are notoriously low. Despite many projects running into millions or even billions of pounds, contractors typically struggle to turn even a 2% margin.
In contrast, other industries that employ many skilled and semi-skilled workers such as car manufacturing can expect a much healthier profit margin of around 6-8%.
- Topic:
- Construction
Fire safety in construction is an ongoing topic of concern, especially since the Grenfell Tower disaster on 14th June 2017.
Grenfell has been heralded as one of the UK’s worst modern disasters and the devastating chain of events involved has led to calls for change across the industry and for legislation governing high rise buildings.
The responsibility of leading this investigation fell to Dame Judith Hackitt, who since releasing her findings has worked tirelessly to be as vocal and open about the findings as possible, including being involved in a number of public webinars and events to shine a spotlight on the issues at hand.
I was fortunate enough to sit in on one of these webinars and have summed up the 40-minute briefing here. It specifically focuses on building regulations and fire safety in high rise buildings in the aftermath of the Grenfell tower disaster.
- Topic:
- Construction
Workplace fatalities have unfortunately risen this year according to the Health and Safety Executive’s annual statistic release. 147 workers were fatally injured between April 2018 and March 2019.
There has been a long-term reduction in workplace fatalities since 1981, but 2018/19 saw an increase of six workplace fatalities from 2017/18.
Following the release, HSE Chair Martin Temple commented:
“Today’s release of workplace fatality statistics is a reminder that despite the UK’s world leading position in Health & Safety, we cannot become complacent as we seek to fulfil our mission in preventing injury, ill health and death at work.”
- Topic:
- Construction
The construction industry has long been maligned for its poor payment practices. Many of the largest contractors are typically taking more than 60 days to pay upwards of 20% of their invoices, with average payment times often extending to 40 or 50 days.
In response, the Government has cracked down on the issue with the introduction of its prompt payment policy. This means that since 1st September this year, companies that do not pay 95% of their subcontractors within 60 days risk being barred from bidding for public projects.
- Topic:
- Construction
