The UK Construction Blog

Call to end Building Site Deaths

An official report has claimed deaths of construction workers are “socially acceptable” in the UK, and calls for major changes to address the problem.

The study – entitled One Death is Too Many – has been published by the Department for Work and Pensions.

It comes after claims by unions that the government wanted to water down the report and bury its findings.

The report calls for company directors to be made legally responsible should a worker die from safety breaches.

‘Legal requirement’

It also proposed that the role of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority should be extended to the construction sector. The latest figures have shown that 53 building workers were killed in the industry last year, down from 73 in the year before, but the report’s author, Rita Donaghy, a former chair of arbitration service Acas, claims there is “no sense of shock at the regular toll of fatalities”.

“We should aim to raise the profile so a construction industry death becomes socially unacceptable,” she added.

She writes that such deaths are rarely reported, prosecutions are “ludicrously low”, and when the public are told of the level of deaths the typical response is, “I’m surprised it is as low as that”.

Ms Donaghy urges that directors are given explicit legal duties to ensure good health and safety on building sites.

“Like seat belts and drink driving, there comes a time when good practice has to become a legal requirement”, she says.

‘Greater protection’

An unknown number of casual building workers are used by gangmasters, a sector which she calls “the twilight zone”.

The building union Ucatt , which has this week accused the government of trying to delay the publication in an attempt to bury the recommendations, welcomed the report’s release today. “By extending the Gangmasters Act tens of thousands of construction workers will be given greater protection overnight,” said union general secretary Alan Ritchie.

“Companies which do not meet health and safety criteria will be barred from supplying labour.

“Cowboy companies which kill workers will be barred from the industry.”

The TUC general secretary Brendan Barber welcomed the report and said he hoped the government would act quickly to fully implement the findings to prevent more needless deaths.

Work and Pensions Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “The report makes a number of recommendations which government departments will now consider, alongside the current and future safety challenges posed by the construction industry.

“Despite the welcome recent fall in construction fatalities, any death or major injury is a tragedy for individuals, their families and their colleagues, and more work is needed to bring the number of accidents down.”

Chelsea Barracks

Over 40 firms vie to replace Rogers

Calls for architects to boycott the Chelsea Barracks scheme have fallen on deaf ears with more than 40 firms vying to replace the jilted Richard Rogers design.

In the last month Labour MP Ken Purchase and former RIBA president Jack Pringle called on architects to refuse to work on the site for developer Qatari Diar following allegations that Prince Charles had unfairly used his influence to get the Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners scheme pulled, but the sheer level of interest in the scheme has now forced the developer to delay the announcement of a longlist of firms — originally set for last week,  until later in the month.

A spokesman said: “It is taking longer than we thought. We are heading towards 50 firms who have showed interest. It is a mixture of UK and international firms and we have to get the longlist right and make sure the people on it are serious about it.”

Also, several US firms are understood to be eyeing the scheme, some of which have ties to the Congress for New Urbanism, formerly chaired by Prince’s Foundation chief executive Hank Dittmar, these include Andres Duany and New York-based Fairfax & Sammons, who join others in the frame such as Alan Baxter & Associates, John Thompson & Partners, SOM, Allies & Morrison, Edaw and Demetri Porphyrios.

The Prince’s Foundation is one the bodies Qatari Diar is liaising with on the proposed new designs which it wants finalised by the end of the year, but despite the level of interest, Pringle said the winning firm would still earn the scorn of rivals.

“It will be very awkward for whoever wins,” he said. “They will lose the respect of a lot of their peers. Architects should look at their consciences. Richard Rogers has been bounced in the most appalling way. Either people don’t see the principle at stake here or don’t care.”

Labour councillors at the planning authority, Westminster, will put down a motion next week asking for the council to confirm that the revised development will still have 50% affordable housing.

Construction Slowdown

The UK construction sector is forecast to shrink by a record amount in 2009.

The CPA (Construction Products Association) will say on Monday that it expects the sector to contract by 16% this year.

The CPA said the long lead time for contracts meant the commercial property slowdown was only just starting to show, it predicts a 5% fall in 2010.

In April, the group had forecast a more moderate fall in output of 12%.

The group, which represents the UK’s manufacturers and suppliers of construction products, components and fittings, added there was a risk that growing public debt could threaten public sector construction as well.

Aggregate Industries chief executive Bill Bolsolver said the outlook for the sector “was bleak”.

CPA economics director Noble Francis said the number of new build homes is expected to fall this year to its lowest since 1924, excluding during World War Two.

New build offices are set to drop by 38% compared with last year and, and by 2010 new build offices are expected to decline by more than 50% compared with 2008.

Both the industrial sector and the private housing sector have felt the pinch of the downturn quickly as factories and warehouses have closed, and individuals buy fewer homes.

“But the contraction in the commercial property sector, worth £16.7bn in 2008, tends to move into recession more slowly,” added Mr Francis.

Work finishing off large offices and retail complexes – which have a longer lead time – tends to continue even during a recession.

Last year, office and retail projects dating back to 2006 were still in the pipeline, said Mr Francis. He said greater access to credit and a wider economic recovery was needed to boost private sector construction, adding that it would take time for low interest rates to feed through, but he said there was a concern that the public sector – which amounts to one third of all construction – could contract as government borrowing reaches record levels. He added, if this happened before the private construction sector recovered this could prolong the slowdown in the sector.

Bowmer and Kirkland site crane crashes through Liverpool apartment block

The Royal Liverpool hospital was put on standby amid fears of casualties, the newspaper reported.

The man driving the 100 tonne crane was thrown from the cab on impact and  his condition at present is unknown

A number of residents are trapped inside the apartment block.

The crash happened at 12.05pm in Tabley Street, behind Park Lane, on the outskirts of the city centre.

Police, fire and ambulance crews were called to the scene. Merseyside Fire and Rescue service described it as a “major incident”.

A builder working on the Bowmer and Kirkland site told the Liverpool Echo: “We heard a massive rumble which sounded like a plane taking off or a clap of thunder and we all turned round and watched as the crane fell into the building.”

Maria Toolan, who lives in the apartment block opposite, said: “I heard a horrendous noise and ran to the balcony. I watched in horror as a massive red crane tumbled into the apartment block.

I was in complete shock as all I could think of is what if it had fallen the other way and landed on me.”

Otterbox 1990 Rugged Holster

The OtterBox 1990 Rugged Holster (complete with 2 pairs of straps/harnesses)  for Samsung Q1U and Q1UP models is the most innovative UMPC case on the market. All I/O ports, navigation keys and the camera/webcam are fully accessible right through the case. With 3 layers of protection, peace of mind will be yours.

This case offers bump, drop and scratch protection. This OtterBox fits Samsung Ultra Mobile PC models that have Q1U or Q1UP as the prefix in the model name ONLY.

Compatability/Features:
This case was designed to protect any Samsung Ultra Mobile PC with either Q1U or Q1UP as the prefix in the model name. This includes the Q1UP-XP, Q1U-CMXP, Q1U-SSDXP, Q1U-XP, Q1U-EL and the Q1U-ELXP

• 3 LAYERS OF PROTECTION!
• First, thermal formed protective clear membrane that protects against scratching, as well as dust and water intrusion.
• Second, a hi-impact Polycarbonate shell.
• Lastly, a 1/8″ Silicone skin to absorb bump and shock.

Samsung Q1 ULTRA

Samsung Q1 ULTRA for ultra mobile surveying. Survey, Measure, Draw on site in Real Time accurate
floor plans.

Mammoth Hire

Download your copy of the latest tool and equipment hire offers from Mammoth Hire – click here (PDF).

Top 5 Home Hire:

1. Carpet Cleaner

2. Turf Cutter

3. Floor Sander

4. Rotovator – medium

5. Shredder

Top 5 Business Hire:

1. Scaffold Tower

2. Mini Digger

3. Cut off Saw

4. Pop Up

5. Fencing Panels

RIBA

The RIBA Council has voted to create two new classes of membership in an effort to boost numbers, one is for retired architects, and another is for part II students on lower incomes.

This Tuesday’s move, which coincides with the news that Harry Rich had been appointed to succeed RIBA chief executive Richard Hastilow, comes amid a major fall in the institute’s income which will result in cost cutting and further staff redundancies.

Their Vice president Andrew Salter told the council that the number of chartered members paying lower subscriptions on the grounds of financial hardship had almost doubled in the last year, resulting in a loss of nearly £400,000 in funds.

The number of chartered architects on reduced subscriptions has risen from 698 to 1,349, this is despite a 2.9% year-on-year rise in the total number of members.

Under the new rules, retired architects will pay £74 a year to retain RIBA membership, the same as those claiming hardship, as opposed to the full fee of £370.

The council also agreed to introduce concessionary rates for part II “associate members” in financial difficulties, on a sliding scale up to a maximum 60% discount.

While RIBA income is projected to fall by just 10% next year, Richard Hastilow admitted this could be an underestimate. “We recognise it could go further, and we have contingency measures in place should it go further,” he said.

He insisted the new membership classes had been created mainly to serve the interests of members. But council member Chris Roche criticised the move as unfair on older architects. “I feel members over 65 should get free subscriptions, the equivalent of a bus pass,” he said.

However, fellow council member Sam Webb said increasing membership was a sensible move. “The RIBA doesn’t want to lose people — they’d rather have some money than none at all,” he said.

During the meeting, councillors also voted in favour of further considering whether the institute should change its name to the Royal Institute of British Architecture, rather than Architects.

Outgoing president Sunand Prasad, who proposed the motion, said: “It’s something to think about. I was being playful.”

The New Leica Disto D8

The most versatile laser distance meter in the world! Equipped with a digital Point finder, high-resolution 2.4“ colour display, 360° tilt sensor and BLUETHOOTH® technology, the Leica DISTO™ D8 is a real world first and offers completely new measuring options.

Features:

360° tilt sensor
The combination of angle and distance measurements allows you to determine distances where conventional methods fail. The horizontal distance, for example, can also be determined quickly and efficiently past obstacles or the elevation of a tree, even though there is no reflective point.

Digital Point finder
Thanks to the digital Point finder with its 4x zoom and high resolution 2,4“ colour display, you can measure long range distances quickly and easily because you always see your targeted point.

BLUETOOTH®
With integrated BLUETOOTH® technology, measurement results can be wirelessly and accurately transferred to Pocket PCs and PCs. Thus you can easily process your data in Excel®, Word®, AutoCAD® and other programs.

Free software
The delivery package contains the transfer software “Leica DISTO™ Transfer” – easy to install and with automatic updates. The AutoCAD® plug-in additionally allows convenient planning and drawing with your AutoCAD® software.

OS Maps Online

Ordnance Survey mapping & data centre, available online or via telephone.

Services and have been designed, in the main, to support the following applications:

• Planning applications (conservatories/extensions/change of use/signage).

• Architectural drawings

• Plans for surveys

• Property development for feasibility studies

• House building projects

• Traffic & Highway management

• Railways

• Telecoms (acquisition & design)

• Environmental planning

• Conveyancing

Competitive pricing and most up to date mapping data