Susan Jackson, Campion Homes

Why SMEs must be central to Scotland’s housing response

By Susan Jackson, joint MD of Campion Homes THE housing emergency has rightly returned to the heart of Scotland’s political conversation. With the appointment of...

Can online pay portals combat blame culture?

By Colin Darch, business process consultant at OPEN ECX BLAME culture is a contentious topic in the construction industry, particularly when it comes to invoicing...
Paul Kelly MD of AS Homes Scotland and Briar Homes

SME housebuilders can unlock more of Scotland’s housing potential

By Paul Kelly, MD of AS Homes Scotland and Briar Homes SMALL and medium-sized enterprises are often described as the backbone of Scotland’s economy and...

Training for today and tomorrow

With a more buoyant construction market, it is those firms continuing to invest in training that are best placed to help housing providers bring their homes up to modern standards. Billy Baird, Projects Director at roofing and cladding services provider Marley Contract Services, looks at how the company has managed to maintain its skills base. THE skills shortage is particularly acute in the construction industry and encompasses a wide range of disciplines from bricklaying through to plumbing. A lack of...

How to safely navigate retrofit

By Peter Edwards, architect at Holmes Miller Do you know your EnerPHit from your CarbonLite Retrofit? And if someone mentioned PHPP, would you know what...
Commercial door entrance

How to make an entrance

Commercial door specification is rarely straightforward. The need to balance design aspirations with stringent safety, security and accessibility requirements can present a number of...

Plans are heating up in Scotland’s ambitions to become net zero

By Sarah Peterson, director, energy & sustainability, at Harley Haddow WITH energy bills soaring to record highs and the cost-of-living crisis intensifying, fuel poverty is...

Key to going green is involving the workforce at every level

By Tim Dew, chief executive of business simulation games company GingrTech THE delegates to COP26 next month have bought their tickets and are leafing through...
Alan Ferns

RAAC and ruin? Timely advice can relieve panic over aerated concrete

By Alan Ferns, director – structural engineering at Dougall Baillie Associates Panics come and panics go in the pragmatic world of engineering. It is part...

Why offices are much more than just a workplace

By Andrew Hill, lease advisory partner, Knight Frank Edinburgh We’re more than 20 weeks into lockdown and, if they haven’t already done so, many businesses...

New thinking will be required to buck the hard facts about Scotland’s housing market

By Eric Curran, managing partner at DM Hall RECENT media commentary from usually well-informed sources have raised the so far unresolved but familiar concerns...
MJ O'Shaughnessy

Protecting, preserving and enhancing our environment

By MJ O’Shaughnessy, managing director, Will Rudd (Glasgow) WITH a year to go until Glasgow hosts COP26 Climate Summit, engineering probably isn’t the first thing...

Health and safety training is more than just policies and procedures

By Lynsey Chambers, training manager, City Building, Queenslie Training Centre ALL employers have a duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their...
John McGuire

Why the right environment is key to greater use of green building materials

By John McGuire, partner at Thomas & Adamson  With the threat of a climate emergency on the horizon, everyone involved in the built environment has...

Taking future skills offsite

By Douglas Morrison, director of operations and future skills, Construction Scotland Innovation Centre AS the construction industry is facing unprecedented challenges during the current coronavirus...

Upskilling our existing workforce is key to getting apprentices ready for zero carbon

By Caitriona Jordan, head of retrofit programmes at Construction Scotland Innovation Centre (CSIC) Scotland must reduce net greenhouse gas emissions, 40% of which come from...

Green legislation can drive industry decarbonisation

By Robert Green, technical director at Lanarkshire-based Levenseat, a company committed to developing new solutions to recover the best resources and provide customers with...
Martin Joyce, Clyde Gateway

‘Triple helix’ of innovation can drive regeneration and jobs

By Martin Joyce, executive director of regeneration at Clyde Gateway THE recent UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF) in Leeds has cemented its...

It’s time to think seriously about where we will find the next generation of...

  By Eric Curran, managing partner of DM Hall chartered surveyors, based in the firm's Glasgow north office NEGENTROPY is not a word which is much...
Ground inspection being carried out

Subsidence risk rises as Scotland’s weather wreaks havoc

David Hedley, commercial & infrastructure lead at ground engineering specialist Mainmark UK, warns that as weather remains erratic, the construction sector must stay alert...