A government-funded initiative aims to create a future where timber is used more widely in mid to high rise buildings and contributes to carbon neutral targets Te Uru Rākau – New Zealand Forest Service deputy director general Jason Wilson announced the launch at the WoodWorks conference, explaining that the Timber Design Centre aims to increase the use of timber, particularly in structures such as offices, hotels and multi-storey apartments. Continue →

The collapse of Australian construction firm Probuild is unfortunately just one of the many detrimental outcomes we can expect to see unless more is done to effectively manage risks, Felix Chief Executive Mike Davis says Probuild will likely remain stalled for now, leading to more delays and cost overruns, compounding the adverse outcomes for owners, subcontractors, staff and significant ripple effects throughout the industry and wider community. Continue →

Organisations in construction are operating blindly against an evolving backdrop of supply chain risks and changing business landscape, due to a staggering lack of transparency, procurement platform Felix reveals in its Building in the Dark report The report, developed in collaboration with industry consultancy Entwine, uncovers critical industry need for more supply chain transparency and effective risk management. Continue →

The cost of both residential and non-residential construction rose more than 10% last year and similar forecasts are expected for 2022 according to the NZ Infrastructure Commission’s Quarterly report “Infrastructure providers, property developers, and households are trying to build more than ever, but labour shortages, material supply chain bottlenecks, and Covid-induced slowdowns have gotten in the way,” says Commission Director of Economics, Peter Nunns. Continue →

Construction in most of New Zealand has been operating under the Orange setting of the Covid-19 protection framework – SiteSafe and CHASNZ have worked with the industry to develop protocols for operating under the Red setting Site Entry Keep a record of who is on site, and when, every day as you may be required to track back for contact tracing. Continue →

The Construction Sector Accord has published new guidance to support government buyers and industry suppliers in applying broader outcomes in construction procurement Broader outcomes are the additional benefits that can be achieved by the way a service, project or goods are produced or delivered. Continue →

We may have moved away from major lockdowns, but that doesn’t mean we are home free when it comes to avoiding the pandemic’s impact on construction projects, Civil Contractors New Zealand reports There is still potential for Covid-19 cases to force mandatory site shutdowns. Continue →

Construction insolvencies made up a quarter of all business insolvencies in the country, spurred further by construction cost rises due to increased demand and supply shortages, the Australian Constructors Association finds Renee Mckeown – The Urban Developer More needs to be done to increase productivity and reduce insolvencies before Australia’s infrastructure activity doubles to the projected $52 billion in 2023. Continue →

The adoption of 4.0 technologies in the construction industry will boost productivity and increase wages by billions, BERL research finds Dr Troy Coyle, HERA Chief Executive Construction 4.0 is the name applied to the technologies that are driving the next great industrial revolution, as applied to the construction sector. Continue →

CHASNZ has released a set of new protocols for the construction industry once New Zealand enters the new Covid-19 Protection Framework on December 3 A construction industry advisory group revised the previous COVID-19 Alert Level system construction protocols in response to the Government’s recently announced COVID-19 Protection Framework – also known as the Traffic Light system. Continue →

For over eighteen months, the construction sector has experienced unprecedented project delays, budget blowouts, and shortages of labour, says InEight EVP of APAC Rob Bryant In Australia, construction site closures in New South Wales have contributed to timeline overruns, in addition to costing the building sector a conservative estimate of $1 billion per week in that state alone.    Continue →

A new study highlights the challenges we currently face around construction material supply and what needs to be done to overcome these challenges, says New Zealand Infrastructure Commission Chief Executive Ross Copland New Zealand faces challenges in meeting demands for key construction materials for infrastructure, with a risk of delays to major projects. Continue →

New Otago University research reveals that New Zealand’s construction workers are more than two times more likely to die by suicide than the rest of the workforce, but one group has achieved global recognition in trying to turn things around While construction workers make up about 9.5% of all workers, the study found that between 17.3% (2010/11) and 29.7% (2018/2019) of those who died by suicide in New Zealand were employed in the sector. Continue →

An upcoming state-of-the-art office building in Dunedin will be the case study for new safety trials, aimed at lowering the high number of workplace accidents in the building industry The construction industry represents 8% of the workforce, but accounts for more than 16% of ACC work claims, at a cost of $158 million annually. Continue →

The New Zealand Infrastructure Commission released the draft of its 243-page infrastructure strategy last month, with industry leaders saying such a plan is “long overdue” Te Waihanga Draft Infrastructure Strategy from Te Waihanga on Vimeo. Continue →

The Construction Contracts (Retention Money) Amendment Bill is now with the Transport and Infrastructure Committee for consideration – Buddle Findlay Partner, Tom Bennett and Senior Associate, Ed McGimpsey explore what the proposed changes could mean The proposed draft changes to the Construction Contracts retention regime are significant.  Continue →

A five-company alliance in North America are bringing together best-in-class technologies and risk knowledge to provide construction managers with a 360-degree view of construction sites and real-time alerts regarding workers’ adherence to safety regulations Zyter, a leading digital health and IoT-enablement platform, has announced it is collaborating with Zurich, Qualcomm Technologies, Everguard and Rudolph Libbe Group (RLG) to advance the use of AI-based Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to enhance construction safety. Continue →

This year’s G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Venice saw the endorsement of a “G20 Policy Agenda on Infrastructure Maintenance” Maintenance itself tends to be invisible when it is working well, only to become newsworthy when failure or disasters strike. Continue →

Dan Pollard, founder of trades software company Fergus, gives a breakdown of the current challenges facing the industry, and considerations to help get through the months ahead August’s lockdowns and tight restrictions coupled with border closures and broken supply chains had a noticeable impact on the construction industry. Continue →

The Victorian government has announced a two-week shutdown of the construction industry after a protest against mandatory vaccines for workers in the sector became violent The Guardian newspaper says the closure across metropolitan Melbourne, Geelong, the Surf Coast, Ballarat and Mitchell Shire was decided on Monday night after the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) building was damaged and riot police deployed in chaotic scenes in central Melbourne. Continue →