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For those still in training things have got a lot tougher and the reality is some businesses may be struggling  but this only makes it all the more important to find ways of safe-guarding your business from the recession.

Making the right decisions now will leave you in a good position…

The Health and Safety Executive’s Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations (1996) set out minimum welfare requirements that apply to construction workers.

Typically, it is the duty of the principal contractor or person that has overall control of the site to provide welfare facilities; however it is the employer’s duty to…

Waste reduction and resource efficiency are a strategic part of our corporate responsibility agenda and signing up to halve waste to landfill by 2012 aligns with our vision to ‘challenge and change’ the image of the construction industry worldwide.

The advantages are clear - Laing O’Rourke has been working with WRAP…

Schools pose a particular security problem because they are both public and private institutions.

They are a community facility and should be accessible, while the safety and security of children and teachers is paramount. Security planning is therefore highly complex – a balancing act between safety and the need to avoid…

Tax relief and grants should be encouraging companies to achieve environmental aims

The government is now committed to cutting carbon emissions by 80 per cent (it was was 60 per cent) by 2050 against 1990 levels. In terms of the built environment, there has been a lot of focus on legislation…

Despite these difficult times sustainability remains high on the agenda

I spent a couple of days at Ecobuild this week. This exhibition and conference on sustainability gets better every year, with a good combination of seminars and exhibitors providing an opportunity to keep up to date with the sustainability agenda while…

SMEs need working capital, cash flow support and moves to help them win work

The construction sector has been a mainstay of the UK economy in recent years, representing 9 per cent of GDP and by 2007 employing roughly two million people. Yet the past 12 months have seen that building…

I am known as a radical advocate of green and natural building. So my recent decision to co-author a guide on the use of galvanized steel in construction was met in some quarters with a degree of suspicion and surprise.

But it is virtually impossible to build or renovate buildings and…

Make sure that apprentices complete the training process and provide maximum benefit for your business

Taking on apprentices is an easy and cost-effective way to ensure that you retain a skilled workforce and have enough people to take on new projects. If you train them well, you’ll end up with a…

Employers who turn a deaf ear to ‘homophobic banter’ between employees do so at their peril.

Drawing the line between an acceptable joke and harassment will always be a challenge, but the potential cost to employers of homophobic jokes is no laughing matter.The recent Court of Appeal judgment in the case…