UK

The Demand For Construction Management Jobs

Construction blogger

It doesn’t take the intellect of the greatest economist alive to see that the demand for construction managers is huge in the UK at the moment. What might be worth explaining a little more is just why this is so for it isn’t simply to do with rising house prices or a booming market.

The first and most obvious one is that the Olympics are coming and while everyone’s desperately hoping that they won’t be the usual financial nightmare they are also hiring construction managers as fast as they can to try and make sure that it won’t be. Given that this is government work though that hope might still be in vain.

The second on is a little more subtle. We all know from the Daily Mail (and of course industry experience) that the country is awash with Polish plumbers and Czech chippies but this very expansion of a low cost workforce increases the demand for managers in two ways. The first is the obvious one that more workers means more managers. The second and less obvious is that a lowering of the costs of labour means that there’s more money to go somewhere: obviously this isn’t going to the buyers in the form of lower prices and similarly, some of it is spilling over into the hiring of those specialist managers that everyone’s always had a hankering for but could never really afford before.

The third thing driving the increased demand for construction managers is the way in which the industry is becoming ever more complex. Where health n’ safety used to mean hard hats and decent scaffolding there are now dedicated managers on every site tasked with nothing other than making sure the detailed rules are followed. Similarly, the increasing complexity of environmental regulation is meaning greater demand for such specialists. Whether such detailed rules are really needed is another matter but there can be no doubt that they’re driving up the demand for skilled managers in the construction industry.

We at Talisman also have another source of information of course. As experts in the sourcing and provision of managers to the construction industry we can see what demand is simply by monitoring what is crossing our desks. As we as recruitment specialists are, well, as you might think is obvious, recruiting people for the industry, we can see that demand is going up when our clients are tasking us with finding more such managers. The answer here is, yes, there is indeed strong demand for those looking for construction management jobs.

Health and Safety in the Construction Industry

Construction blogger

Health and safety in the construction industry simply means identifying various types of risks and controlling or totally eliminating them to prevent accidents from occurring to the work force. All construction site work must comply with UK health and safety rules and regulations. Health safety consultants including a CDM coordinator have a great deal of tasks to carry out when it comes to health and safety of workers in the construction field.

When accidents occur, companies have to go through human life losses as well as treatment costs. Potential impacts that can arise due to accidents also include higher insurance premiums, lost of precious time and also materials, as well as compensation claims and legal costs. Indirect costs such as possible damage to the good name of the company which can later create problems towards attracting probable customers. Hence it is necessary to have good health and safety practices in order to display respect for employees, clients, customers etc. According to reports, the construction industry has one of the highest rates of accidents out of all the employment sectors. Therefore by hiring a professional safety consultant your company can minimize the risks.

Everyone who is involved in construction is somehow or the other responsible for health and safety on site. Designers and planners should ensure that their designs provide a safe and healthy environment to the end user and while constructing the design, they should also be cautious that none of the workers are affected by hazardous implications. Construction workers have legal rights to safe working conditions and safety equipment should be used at all times to protect themselves rather than blaming the company all the time for not having a safe environment for them to work in.

Risks involved in the construction industry include mainly falling from heights, objects falling from high places atop workers or striking them being the most common. Workers can be injured by being caught or trapped within small construction units, get hit by moving vehicles, get electrocuted by loose cables, fires and explosions, lifting and carrying heavy objects as well as health hazards such as chemical gas leaks, dust, heat, noise, vibration, radiation and compressed air etc. So it is important that as a company that you should construct a proper health and safety plan before you start off your construction phase.

The Economic State Of Affairs Of The Construction Industry

Construction blogger

The development business is terribly vital to the UK’s – and indeed to the globe’s – economy. Within the UK, it accounts for additional than ten% of the country’s gross domestic product and employs an estimated 2.5 million people. Within the last three years, an extra ?33 billion has been created offered to the current sector to increase public services. Included in this figure are major investments in transport, health and housing. As the trade is investment-driven, it is subject to the strictures of economic upturns and downturns; during the recessions of the mid 1980’s and the early 1990’s, there were vital downturns. However, in the late 1990’s, there was a marked swing in the opposite direction.

Our construction trade, by terribly nature of its geographical location, is not subject to the full influences of cross-border competition that are in proof in mainland Europe. But, construction industries worldwide are suffering from the current economic climate and the increasing rise in fuel prices. For the earlier part of 2008, the German construction trade showed a marked upturn, however this slowed and tailed off later within the year, thanks to the increase in oil prices and the slowing economic pace of the many industrialized countries. Additionally to economic factors, there’s a turn in the tide of ecological factors. In America, the number of folks citing World Warming as the foremost important environmental issue rose from eleven% in 2003 to 35% in 2006. The construction business faces new challenges in replacing and renovating buildings with minimal environmental impact. At the same time, the price of these precautions must be measured against potential profits.

But, despite the factors that seem to be conspiring against it, the construction business moves at a terribly quick pace and is an ever-changing entity. Whilst legislation is forever altering, new techniques, technology and strategies are developing to keep up. With the event of recent practices, new jobs in construction are perpetually being created. Within the UK, the Home Workplace has released figures stating that the three construction jobs that are most lacking in applicants are those for transportation and highways engineering, ground engineering and contaminated land specialists. With major infrastructures and building developments going down in the South East of the UK, such as the 2012 Olympics and therefore the Thames Gateway regeneration, construction recruitment during this area is ready to soar. Britain’s Olympic Games will have 30 venues and a budget of ?2.three billion. It additionally features a non-negotiable, absolute completion date. As that date attracts nearer, the development business can find itself heavily in demand as pressure and expectation rise. 2012 guarantees to be an necessary year for this trade and many are looking upon it as a likelihood to showcase its talents.

After all, construction takes place across the globe and this provides workers a likelihood to travel with work. Construction jobs need large groups of folks all working to a typical goal and, while the life-style will be quite temporary, several get used to it and realize it a liberating existence. Some comes are short-term, while others can last for years – like the construction of an oil refinery.

How Will A Construction Phase Plan Template Could Save You Money

Construction blogger

In the past, before health and safety legislation, construction sites were a risky place to be. Staff on these sites were risking their life and physical health, because there was no protection from hazards, and no risk assessments before the work began so as to stop accidents from occurring. Eventually, a lot of people were killed or seriously hurt that governments were forced to bring in health and safety procedures in order to guard people as they worked. This is the cause why health and safety plans must be involved on every construction site in the UK, and in much of the Western world.

However, for construction site owners and contractors, drawing up a construction phase safety plan can be really hard. Without a proper education in health and safety procedures, and with no genuine knowledge of drawing up legal and formal credentials, it will be a real struggle for them to make the plans. They usually neglect it until the last minute, and this can be a grave mistake, because a missing, inaccurate or incomplete health and safety plan could get the contractor into serious trouble.

Devoid of this plan, construction site owners, managers and first contractors are all liable, which means they could be forced to pay compensation in the event of any accident. This could cost thousands, if not tens of thousands, of pounds for every claim. Using somebody to create the plan for you can also mean paying through the nose for the health and safety document.

The simplest solution to the matter of drawing up a plan is to employ a construction phase health and safety plan template. These are intended to permit you to form the required documents yourself, simply by following a pre-arranged format. The construction phase health and safety plan template can employ a series of queries to select the legislation that you need to include in your document, and remove something that is not required to the actual project.

The construction phase health and safety plan template is more cost effective than bringing in an expert to write the document for you, however it’s also better than writing the document yourself, which might expose you to liability. By choosing to employ a construction phase health and safety plan template, you can save money on creating the document, however even protect yourself against compensation pay-outs. This provides you the best of both worlds, and permits you to produce a document which is totally compliant with the health and safety needs of the HSE.

Construction & Building Site Accidents

Construction blogger

Summary: An informative article about Construction and Building Site Accidents and Safety at the workplace

Safety on work sites is essential, not only for the sound health of employees, but also for the smooth working of the company. It is the duty of the employer to take care of the safety and health issues of its employees that may hamper them at their work place. Legally speaking, it is also necessary on the part of the employer to report incidents or accidents at the workplace and also pay the employee a contractual or a legal sick pay in case the employee is entitled for the same or if they need some time off from work because of some accident at the workplace. Working in office is still quite a safer option, but for those who are employed in construction firms, the risk for construction and building site accidents are even more.

Work-related diseases, accidents and incidents should all be reported by the employer to the Incident Contact Centre of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Death, disease, injuries and incidents, both major and minor, if it hampers the normal working of employees is entitled to be reported for sure. A risk assessment program should be conducted by the employer so as to see what precautions and changes are required in order to ensure safety on work sites for both visitors and employees. It is also a good idea for the employers to maintain an accident book that records all accident and injuries suffered by employees at the workplace for providing the claims for the benefit of employees. This also can help the employer track down the main cause of major accidents and reduce their possibility in future by taking various preventive measures for them.

There are personal injury compensation claims that can be asked for construction and building site accidents in case the employee succeeds in providing enough evidences to prove the cause of the accident to be the negligence of the employer. These claims helps an employee get a monetary compensation for the source of income if lost by them in future due to the accident at the workplace, expenses for the treatment of injuries and other such monetary issues that relate to the accident.

Hence, safety on work sites is the right of employees and the employer is entitled to provide it, so as to avoid unnecessary accidents and compensation claims by employees in future. Therefore, it is important for everyone to be aware of all such rights so as to stand for it at the time of need.

About the Author:

Ian Hass is owner of Excalibur Solicitors, an experienced UK law firm specialising in all forms of Compensation. Excalibur Solicitors handles claims for Accident Types including Whiplash Injury, Construction and Building Site Accidents and Accidents at Work compensation claims.