In this episode of The Engineers Collective we speak to ICE president Anusha Shah about the importance of biodiversity net gain (BNG). This year has seen BNG of 10% become mandatory for new developments. Shah has committed her year in office to pushing the agenda of nature-based solutions in civil engineering. The two themes are intertwined and she explains how they are essential for driving forward sustainability in the built environment and are essential in how construction must be shaped...

In this month’s episode of The Engineers Collective podcast from New Civil Engineer we mark one year since the publication of the 2023 update to the PAS 2080 standard for carbon management in infrastructure.   We’ve gathered representatives from Mott MacDonald, the Department for Transport and Anglian Water to gain insight a series of roundtables held by Mott MacDonald where industry stakeholders discussed and debated how PAS 2080 should be implemented in their businesses and projects.   DfT...

In this month’s episode of The Engineers Collective podcast from New Civil Engineer we speak to Julia Stevens, the chief executive of the Constructionarium, about how the facility is preparing budding construction workers and engineers for life on a work site. Stevens tells us about the Constructionarium, a 7.5ha site at Bircharm Newton in Norfolk, which features a range of work areas including scaled down rivers, lakes, stabilised flatlands, mountainous terrain. We hear about the rigorous...

This month’s episode of The Engineers Collective from New Civil Engineer focuses on the role that hydrogen could play in the global effort to transition to a zero-carbon world. International management consultancy Arthur D. Little recently put out a report entitled Hydrogen: The electroshock to the energy transition and in this episode NCE acting news editor Rob Hakimian is joined by three experts from the consultancy to discuss just how this might happen. They discuss where it’s already...

The new episode of the Engineers Collective podcast is out now. This month’s episode focuses on ‘transforming infrastructure performance’. The UK’s Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) released two papers, in 2017 and 2021, called Transforming infrastructure performance in which it set out a vision for the future of infrastructure delivery. This process embeds the use of modern tools and greater project integration to make delivery less expensive and less unpredictable, while...

This episode focuses on the value of place making within construction and engineering projects. Place making is the practice of ensuring that a project goes beyond functionality and delivers something that benefits the society in which it is being constructed. It is ensuring that there is space above and around it for public use, which will bolster a community with new resources. Fitting in the requirements of a client while also providing wider benefit for the community can make place making...

Safety is paramount in construction. Safety of the people who work on constructing a scheme – and safety of those people who will eventually make use of the scheme. On this month’s episode of the Engineers Collective, NCE assistant news editor Rob Hakimian is joined by CROSS scheme manager Paul Livesey to discuss the history of CROSS, how it has grown and its importance in today’s construction landscape. In the conversation, Paul talks about the establishment of CROSS, the sector’s response...

Over recent years we have all seen our pictures, music and other prized documents migrate to the cloud, which has presented a new kind of convenience and accessibility. The same is true in the construction industry, where some projects have seen vital documents, plans and information become stored on a shared cloud. This increases the ways that these documents can be accessed and also ensures that everyone is working from the same update, rather than sifting through various downloaded...

Urban populations are growing while climate change means both droughts, as well as sudden intense rainfall events, are on the rise. However, existing urban infrastructure in UK has not caught up with the water management challenges presented by these scenarios. We need to be much smarter about the capture, usage and planned management of water going forward. This is critical to reduce flood risk and to be prepared for periods of drought.   In this episode, New Civil Engineer assistant news...

Workers in the construction industry are three times more likely to commit suicide than the general population but for those working in the building trades the risk is much higher at eight times. These are stark figures but construction industry charity the Lighthouse Club launched a new campaign called #Makeitvisible at the start of this year that is already making a difference. Lighthouse Club chief executive Bill Hill joined NCE editor Claire Smith and assistant news editor Rob Hakimian...

Engineers need to be ready to embrace change when it comes to adopting new technology, according to Keith Bentley who has just retired from the post of chief technology officer at Bentley Systems, the firm he founded with his brother Barry almost 40 years ago in 1984. Speaking to NCE editor Claire Smith on the latest episode of The Engineers Collective podcast, Keith reflects back on how far the industry has come in terms of technological change in the last 40 years. He also talks about the...

Megaprojects are what take society forward, whether building new transport infrastructure, creating new technology networks or decarbonising the energy system. However, according to this month’s guest on The Engineers Collective, across sectors and around the world, megaprojects almost always overrun their budgets and timescales. In this episode, NCE editor Claire Smith is joined by NCE reporter Rob Hakimian as they speak to Bent Flyvbjerg, the first ET professor of major programme management...

The rise and rise in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in every part of our lives has led to questions about what it could mean for the way construction projects are planned, designed and delivered. In this episode of The Engineers Collective NCE editor Claire Smith is joined by NCE reporter Rob Hakimian as co-host as they speak to Dev Amratia, who is co-founder and CEO of nPlan, which is a machine learning company that uses AI to learn how completed construction projects performed to...

Almost 20 years of planning and work came together at the end of February when Transport for London opened the final parts of the £655M Bank Station Capacity Upgrade project. The station now boast 40% more capacity, new entrances and step free access and in this new episode NCE editor Claire Smith explores the story behind this outcome. Claire is joined by University College London associate professor of project management Simon Addyman, Dragados operations director Stephen Holmes and HS2...

Many firms working in construction are reporting increasing workloads but the challenge of finding skilled staff to deliver that work is not becoming easier. Bentley Systems chief information officer champion Claire Rutkowski joins NCE editor Claire Smith to talk about the problem and the role technology will play in addressing it. Claire also spends much of her time out working with architecture, engineering and construction firms to understand their challenges first hand to ensure Bentley’s...

As the London’s iconic Shard skyscraper, which is the UK’s tallest building at 309.6m, gets ready to mark the 10th anniversary of its opening on 1 February, this episode catches up with Flan McNamara who led the construction project for Sellar Property Group. As well as exploring the logistical challenges of bringing the architectural design of Renzo Piano and the engineering work of WSP to life, Flan and NCE editor Claire Smith talk about lessons learned during the life of the project. Flan...

NCE editor Claire Smith is joined by deputy editor Rob Horgan and acting news editor Catherine Moore, for the final episode of the year. The trio cast their minds back over the past 12 months, recapping the biggest and most popular news stories of 2022. Taking a look at the top five most read stories on NCE’s website, the trio start their recap by re-exploring the proposed switch to imperial measurements so heavily opposed by NCE readers and engineers earlier this year. Other popular stories...

With the ink barely dried on the agreements drawn up at COP27 in Egypt, this episode looks at the need for civil engineers to work more closely with the financial industry to delivery on the commitments made at COP. NCE editor Claire Smith is joined by Mott MacDonald decarbonisation discipline lead Mark Crouch to talk through the challenge and the drivers behind a report published by the Institution of Civil Engineers at COP27 on Financing Low Carbon Infrastructure. After exploring what was...

This episode of The Engineers Collective podcast explores the barriers to adopting digital technology in construction and how they can be overcome. Joining NCE deputy editor Rob Horgan is Helen Samuels from EKFB and Alex Wraight from Allies and Morrison. Helen is a chartered civil engineer with a masters in environmental management and a fellow of the ICE. She has served as industry advisor for Plymouth, Cardiff and UCL universities, and was working group chair and report author of a review...

Concept design of a timber high rise building in Oslo is attracting both awards and attention globally for its sustainable regeneration potential, even without firm plans to put the proposal into construction.   The masterminds behind the Regenerative Highrise scheme are Haptic Architects director Tomas Stokke and Ramboll director Ollie Wildman who join NCE editor Claire Smith to talk through the new approach and how other projects are looking to copy the idea. Both Tomas and Ollie call...

Pandemic restrictions brought working from home to the lives of many, which worked well for office-based roles, but what about those on site? This episode of The Engineers Collective podcast explores a major industry trial of flexible working practices by leading contractors in the UK. “During the first lockdown many sites shut down for a few weeks but workers soon returned with social distancing precautions in place,” said NCE editor Claire Smith, who hosts the latest episode. “That could...

With the UK’s ‘levelling up’ agenda in full swing, the latest episode of The Engineers Collective looks at how one region is taking a different approach to regeneration. Joining NCE head of content and engagement Rob Horgan on the episode is Krishanthi Carfrae, Arup’s lead Cities Advisory and Economics associate across the North West and Yorkshire. The episode focusses on Opportunity Humber; a new cross-Humber private sector-led partnership established to drive greater investment in the...

Fast paced development of electronics technology over the last decade has enable wireless sensors to go from being unproven but innovative solutions for monitoring complex engineering projects to become the go-to option for many schemes. The benefits for project delivery and reduced risk that this evolution in sensor technology is explored in this episode, which is sponsored by Farnell Electronics. NCE editor Claire Smith is joined by Bryn Smith, who is chief technical officer with wireless...

Making more women aware of the opportunities a career in construction can offer is critical to attracting more people into the sector and resolving the ongoing skills crisis the industry faces. In this episode of The Engineers Collective, NCE editor Claire Smith speaks to Willmott Dixon construction manager Lianne Lawson and Mott MacDonald development manager for energy Clare Rhodes James about their experiences coming into the sector as women as the industry prepared to mark International...