Consultants

10 companies to watch in 2023

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From private equity-backed contractors to council developers and a firm that saw its public listing set back a few steps in 2022, Keith Cooper reveals CN’s companies to watch in 2023 Altrad Altrad’s mission to expand stepped up a gear in 2022 – and it looks set to continue into…

How underground pockets could hollow out your profits

Dr Amy Flynn is a design engineer at consultants Robert Bird Group

Dr Amy Flynn is a design engineer at consultants Robert Bird Group Ground conditions are of vital importance for major construction projects. If assumptions made about the ground underfoot prove to be wrong, it can mean massive additional costs and risks for the contractor or developer. One particular ground condition…

How to survive a post-pandemic zombie attack

Paul Cacchioli of HKA Global

Paul Cacchioli is a director at risk management and dispute-resolution consultancy HKA Global According to data from the Construction Products Association, construction output last year surpassed pre-pandemic levels. This positive outlook is underpinned by the expected growth in key sectors, such as housebuilding and infrastructure, as a result of the…

The inflation bubble will burst, but are labour constraints here to stay?

Graham Harle, CEO of Gleeds

Graham Harle is chief executive of Gleeds Worldwide Surely 2022 should be the year in which the developed world learns to live with COVID-19? High levels of vaccination have helped weaken the link between case rates and deaths in richer countries and, despite spreading at lightning speed and generating record…

Social value: the 10 conversations you need to have

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Michelle Baker is associate director – social value at Atkins ​Social value is playing an increasingly important role in the delivery of construction projects in the UK, as the emphasis shifts from the traditional CSR (corporate social responsibility) approach. The focus now is trained much more on the clients themselves,…

It’s time we stopped ‘dad-dancing’ around climate change

Graham Harle, CEO of Gleeds

Graham Harle is CEO of Gleeds Worldwide Endorsed by every government on the planet, August’s report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) sparked calls for political and business leaders across the world to accelerate their decarbonisation efforts. Now, as COP26 approaches, all eyes are on the UK to…

Construction must gear up to deliver the outcome of COP26

Philippa Spence, UK MD of Ramboll

Philippa Spence is UK managing director at engineering consultancy Ramboll As the late-October start date of the COP26 climate-change summit fast approaches, not since the 2015 Paris Agreement of COP21 has so much been riding on a meeting. This is the decade when the world must change course if we…

Will the climate crisis push construction to infinity and beyond?

Graham Harle, CEO of Gleeds

Graham Harle is chief executive officer of Gleeds Worldwide With COP26 just around the corner, and following the truly frightening report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change sounding a “code red for humanity”, I increasingly find myself talking with colleagues, clients and friends about the climate crisis. Events…

Doing ‘less harm’ will not make construction sustainable

David Cheshire of Aecom

David Cheshire is sustainability director at engineering consultancy Aecom Recent news that the Amazon rainforest now emits more carbon dioxide than it absorbs is the latest worrying sign that we can no longer rely on natural systems to regulate our climate or compensate for our carbon emissions. The onus is…

Cranes hold the key to construction productivity

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Jarrad Warhurst is the leader of the UK construction engineering discipline at consultants Robert Bird Group Why is crane strategy left until well after design decisions are made? If the efficient use of cranes was modelled earlier in the process it could accelerate the construction programme, reduce the need for…