Land and Water Services renew
ADS Land and Water Services has pledged its continued collaboration with CICES for another five years by renewing its approved development scheme.
Commenting on the renewal, Aaron Harpur, commercial director said: “We are delighted to have renewed our approved development scheme with CICES. The scheme offers a wide range of opportunities for our people particularly for our surveyors from education to professional personal development and as a business it helps us maintain a high level of standards within the civil engineering industry. CICES uphold and recognise values that align with our own from working collaboratively with all our partners such as our clients and supply chain to upholding a high level of trust, honesty and integrity in everything we do”.
ICEC World Congress
Registrations are now open for the XXVII International Cost Engineering World Congress that will be held from 18-23 October 2024 in Accra, Ghana as a joint conference with the Africa Association of Quantity Surveyors (AACE). The event is being hosted and organised by the Ghana Institution of Surveyors (GhIS). Congress and registration details can be found on the Congress website at icecaaqs2024.com
NEC releases new Y clauses
NEC has released secondary option clauses for use in Singapore to support the use of NEC4 in the region. The clauses, which cover national legislative requirements for contracts, were produced in parallel with the Singapore Building and Construction Authority (BCA). BCA is projecting a steady increase in construction demand for the next four years, projected to reach between S$31bn and S$38bn per year from 2025-2028. The need for efficient and well managed projects and civil engineering works will increase and introducing the optional Y (SG) clauses puts NEC in a strong position to support the successful delivery of this construction pipeline.
Webinar roundup
Thanks to Richard Day and Dave Dampier from Severn Partnership for the recent webinar on Snakegrid 2.
In May the institution hosted its annual Cambridge Lecture at British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge with a theme of sustainability, digitalisation, equity and inclusion. The event began with the keynote from Lee Rowley MP, Minister for Housing, Planning and Levelling Up.
Many thanks to our speakers on the day Brian Carroll, commercial manager, BAM/British Antarctic Survey; Emma Chiaramello, senior associate, Birketts; Simon Navin, geomatics business development director, Dalcour Maclaren; Genna Rourke, commercial director, Elevate Commercial Solutions and Peter Sillett, performance coach and operations director, Coaching Cultural Solutions. A special thank you to the members and guests who attended and to the generous sponsors 12d Synergy; Dalcour Maclaren and Geo Biro.
Industry optimistic for growth but hampered by lack of data talent
The UK construction industry has the highest share of data leaders (18%) among the five European countries (UK, Ireland, France, Germany and the Netherlands) analysed by Deloitte Access Economics, in a new study commissioned by Autodesk. However, the use of data is being hampered by lack of access to skilled staff, with 26% of UK construction leaders citing this as a key concern preventing integrating data-driven insights into business processes. The survey of 609 construction leaders found that average profit growth for the industry in Europe was 12.8% in FY23, but in the UK specifically it shrunk by 3.6%, the worst performance of the five countries analysed. The use of data will play a crucial role in driving the industry’s economic recovery. The Building Safety Act, passed into law two years ago, places a responsibility on UK construction businesses to collect, store and share data and create a golden thread of information for each project.
Matt Keen, director, construction strategy at Autodesk said: “Every organisation – from owners to small contractors – needs to look at how it can use technology and data to meet the requirements of the act, but more generally to guarantee its success in a challenging macroeconomic background. The most important step is investing in people, and there has to be a skillset shift within the construction industry to navigate new regulatory demands.”
Bursary scheme opens to help more young people fall in love with STEM
EngineeringUK is offering a bursary scheme to help school students get creative and inspired by STEM through fun hands-on activities which could lead to creating tomorrow’s astronauts, app designers and AI architects. With many schools facing financial challenges, the bursaries will be awarded to schools with high proportions of students from groups underrepresented in the engineering profession.
Primary schools which meet the criteria, can apply for a bursary of £550 to take part in an experience with Neon – a website that helps teachers introduce students to future STEM careers, raise their aspirations and explore the excitement of engineering through activities. Secondary schools can apply for a bursary of £750.
Teacher Amanda Moffat from Alderman Peel High School, Norfolk, used a bursary for two back-to-back team building days with Year 7s and 8s on a logistics factory and pipe bridge challenge.
Ms Moffat said, “The experience was great – everyone got involved and it’s had a positive impact on the students allowing them to simulate real life work as an engineer.” The second bursary – Big Bang at School Blueprint – will offer £500 to secondary schools to help inspire students engage in a STEM themed activity.
With the deadline for the schemes closing on 31 July 2024, primary and secondary schools are encouraged to check their eligibility and apply at stemfundingforschools.org.uk