Re:Construction

Bishop & Taylor are joined by acclaimed folk musician Nancy Kerr to talk about her latest work, Tunnellers, and by Dr Benoît Jones, the man from the British Tunnelling Society who commissioned the work. But first they talk to Daren Lester, chief executive of SpecifiedBy, and hear that the proposed Code for Construction Product Information might not be a good idea.

Acquisitions have been in the news, with new owners for Avant Homes and Kier Living, while RSK’s ‘buy to grow’ strategy shows no sign of slowing. Bishop & Taylor discuss this and more, including steel imports and the latest on smart motorways.

Bishop & Taylor (middle-aged pink-faced men) tentatively discuss boardroom diversity. They also mull possible reform of the National Infrastructure Commission. And they talk to Jonathan Townsend, Chief Executive of the Prince’s Trust.

A revelatory discussion with construction law barrister Professor Rudi Klein, who has championed the interests of subcontractors for more than 30 years, with some heroic successes along the way. Among topics covered are the use and abuse of project bank accounts to protect money owed to suppliers.

After a brief recap of some of the week’s UK industry news, Bishop & Taylor turn their attention to the rescue of the stranded EverGiven container ship. They also discuss recruiting in prisons to counter labour shortages.  

Bishop & Taylor are joined by Peter Lauerner, chair of the Construction Industry Training Board, who explains why the CITB has decided to keep two of its training centres after all. They also celebrate the Court of Appeal judgment quashing the 47-year-old convictions against striking builders. And they ask expert witness Jacqui Bishop: after a year of working from home, what have we learned?

Surveys and reports from Redrow, the CITB and the Construction Leadership Council provide food for thought on construction recruitment and training. Bishop & Taylor discuss some of the issues arising. There’s also news from HS2 of an unlikely replacement for rebar.

In a bumper episode, Bishop & Taylor discuss aspirations for a fixed link between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, the social value of construction, aspects of fire safety left neglected amid the cladding scandal, and Doosan’s transparent loading shovel.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak delivered his post-Covid budget for the UK this week, giving Bishop & Taylor plenty to chat about. They also discuss Interserve’s branding U-turn.

Bishop & Taylor get their teeth into issues of direct employment, senior recruitment and meaningless, obtuse and/or imprecise jargon.