Weekly round-up - 6 July 2015

Robust growth in new orders, tyres can make concrete flex, modular construction for housing and Dubai to 3D print a working building.

Jackie Whitelaw
05 July 2015

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1. “Robust flows” of new work in the commercial and civil engineering sectors in June have helped deliver the steepest overall growth since October 2014. The construction buyers measure Markit/CIPS Construction PMI index jumped from its small gain to 55.9 in May to 58.1 in June.  “UK construction companies experienced a growth rebound and surge in business confidence at the end of the second quarter. Survey respondents cited robust inflows of new work in June, adding to already strong order books across the sector,” said Markit senior economist Tim Moore.

2. The rate of economic growth slowed in the three months to June, but activity remained solid across the quarter as a whole, according to the latest CBI growth indicator. The survey of 752 respondents across the manufacturing, retail and service sectors showed a reading of +14% in the three months to June, compared with +33% in May. This slowdown was largely due to last month’s fast pace of growth in business and professional services not being sustained, CBI said. But respondents are anticipating that growth will bounce back in the next three months (balance of +32%).

3. Rubber, steel and textile fibres from tyres can be resused in concrete to make buildings and other structures 'greener', tougher and more resistant to earthquakes. An EU-funded project led by experts at the University of Sheffield and Imperial College London, working in association with the European Tyre Recyclers Association, has demonstrated through extensive experimental work that all tyre components can be reused in concrete. Recycled rubber, for example, will allow buildings and other structures to flex up to 10 per cent along their length – 50 times more than structures made from conventional concrete.

    

4. Modular off-site building could be the key to solving the UK’s broken housing market, according to a new report by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. The UK House Building: Manufacturing Affordable Quality Homes report is calling on Government to provide more incentives for the off-site construction of homes. The report also recommends that the Government reverse policies which discourage the construction of quality, sustainable housing and that more work should be done to diversify UK house building, by opening up opportunities to self-builders, local authorities and housing associations. 

5. Structures experts from ICE have published new guidance for engineers in the construction industry to help raise the standard of Building Control approval submissions under Part A of the Building Regulations, and their equivalents in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. The guidance follows an investigation by ICE’s Structures Expert Panel, the Standing Committee on Structural Safety, and the Association of Structural Engineers of London Boroughs, into the standard of approval submissions to Building Control authorities. The groups collectively found many Building Control approval submissions made to English local authorities for construction and extension projects often were sub-standard, and identified the need for best practice to be shared. View the ICE Structures Expert Panel guidance here: https://www.ice.org.uk/disciplines-and-resources/best-practice/submission-of-structural-engineering-data

6. Vinci’s UK construction business had a £217M pre-tax loss on turnover down 19% to £1bn in the year ending December 2014. A report in Construction Enquirer said that the firm suffered major cost overruns on its Nottingham tram project and big losses in the building business. Vinci’s civil engineering division ran up a pre-tax loss of £165m, while the building business was hit by problems on several jobs suffering a £50m pre-tax loss.

7. Dubai is planning to build the world’s first fully functional 3D printed building. The building will be located close to the planned Museum of the Future and will act as temporary headquarters for its staff. The 2000sq ft structure will be printed layer-by-layer using a 20-foot tall 3D printer, then assembled on site in a matter of weeks.

8. Highways England has confirmed it will spend £600M on roads in the North East by 2020, starting or completing six major road schemes and carrying out further development of further four major schemes. 

9. One time head of the Major Projects Authority John Manzoni has today been announced as the new Permanent Secretary of Cabinet Office. He will take on the role in addition to his responsibilities as chief executive of the Civil Service. Manzoni will replace the current Permanent Secretary, Richard Heaton, who has been appointed as Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice. 

10. International law firm Pinsent Masons has marked its official opening in Australia with the hire of heavy-hitting infrastructure disputes specialist Peter Megens as a partner. He joins from the Singapore office of King & Spalding, where he was a partner. He has advised on legal matters relating to a number of Australia's highest profile infrastructure projects including the Melbourne CityLink Project and the Melbourne Train network. He also has substantive experience advising on projects spanning the Asia Pacific region