Technology

Cybersecurity considerations for tier ones and SMEs

Charles_Maurice_2-300x200.png

Charles Maurice is a partner at law firm Stevens & Bolton Businesses and individuals across all sectors are increasingly falling prey to cyber attacks. Strategies to combat these risks are of course freely available, as are various commercial products and services. But a working understanding of the risks and vulnerabilities…

AI is no silver bullet for contract drafting

Bill_Barton-300x200.jpg

Bill Barton is a director at Barton Legal There has been no shortage of excitement about the potential applications of artificial intelligence (AI) across the legal sector. Some have even foreseen a future where AI sits as a judge, at least in the more straightforward cases. Already, a number of…

Offsite and modular must be made to work for SME developers

Reece_Lake-300x200.jpg

Reece Lake is head of business operations at property finance firm Atelier The UK’s housing shortfall urgently requires creative solutions. Offsite construction has long been held up as a way to address it, given its potential to construct schemes efficiently and at speed. However, if it is to play a…

Rise of the machines: the technology making work at height safer

WAH-tech_main-pic-300x200.jpg

Construction News looks at the technological innovations that are helping make work at height safer How the world has changed. In October 1932, the above photograph, entitled Lunch Atop a Skyscraper, was published in a New York newspaper. It depicted eleven ironworkers sitting on a steel beam some 260 metres…

MMC report: more questions than answers

Modular_offsite_MMC-300x200.jpg

A House of Lords committee failed to find a reason for the recent offsite failures In 2019, Nick Walkley, then chief executive of Homes England, announced a £30m loan for modular builder Ilke Homes. At the time, he said: “There is huge, untapped potential to unleash by creating more capacity…

How the government could facilitate a boom in MMC

Suzanne-Peters-300x200.jpg

Suzanne Peters is a research associate at Alliance Manchester Business School Much ink has been spilled chronicling the UK’s shortage of suitable housing options, with even more spent considering the best ways in which it could be tackled. One option often in the spotlight is so-called modern methods of construction…

TechFest 2023: providing inspiration for integration

emap_Techfest-Day-Conference-Nov-23-187-300x200.jpg

Construction innovators traded insights on the latest industry tech trends On a crisp November morning, a herd of geeks, innovators and experts descended on a London hotel for TechFest, an annual celebration and exploration of cutting-edge digital processes and automation, sponsored by Construction News and its sister title New Civil…

10 companies to watch in 2024

Preview_2024_Main-pic-300x200.jpg

Which companies are likely to have the biggest impact on the industry in the year ahead? ISG In November, ISG felt moved to issue a statement denying “unsubstantiated, wholly inaccurate and false claims” about its financial health”. However, it did not elaborate on the nature of these claims. Last year…

AI in construction: do your contracts mitigate the risks?

sophie-ashcroft_andrew_woolsey-300x200.jpg

Andrew Woolsey is an associate and Sophie Ashcroft is a partner in the commercial dispute resolution team at law firm Browne Jacobson Construction companies are using artificial intelligence tools to increase productivity and add new proficiencies in areas such as contract management and project-management processes. However, AI usage may also…

CN Roundtable: Speaking the same language on data

Sep_23_Roundtable-300x200.jpg

A recent roundtable by Construction News and Hitachi Solutions gathered construction experts to discuss the challenges of data sharing. It uncovered a – perhaps surprising – appetite to put aside traditional rivalries to boost collective productivity. Ian Weinfass reports On the panel        Alex Coles, head of data…