For over eighteen months, the construction sector has experienced unprecedented project delays, budget blowouts, and shortages of labour, says Rob Bryant 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 →

In the past year, several high-profile payment disputes in the construction industry have made headlines for all the wrong reasons, and a new Bill threatens to make things worse, says Payapps Chief Operating Officer Tony Simonsen In 2020, 58% of unreasonable contract disputes cost up to $99,000, 18% cost between $200,000-$999,999, and 6% cost more than $2 million, the 2021 BDO Construction Sector Report found. 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 →

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 return to work under Alert Level 3 saw thousands of construction businesses breathe a sigh of relief, made possible by assurance to the government that the industry was able to do so safely by following the Covid-19 construction protocols The first lockdown last year saw vertical and commercial businesses in the construction industry combine to form a steering group, with Site Safe playing a key role, to develop the Covid-19 construction protocols. 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 →

Residential construction costs rose by 2.2% in the June quarter according to CoreLogic’s Cordell Housing Index Price (CHIP), the largest increase ever recorded – Chief Property Economist Kelvin Davidson explains why The construction sector has been running at full capacity and pressures have been emerging for several months now. Continue →

Infrastructure reform is “desperately” needed to roll-out Australia’s massive $110-billion infrastructure program, industry experts say, The Urban Developer reports Infrastructure Australia has released its 648-page infrastructure plan for 2021, responding directly to the 180 infrastructure “challenges and opportunities” identified in its 2019 Australian Infrastructure Audit. Continue →

An innovative solution to Auckland’s water shortage, Mokau Marae risen from the ashes and the collaborative redevelopment of Queens Wharf were among this year’s winners announced by the New Zealand Institute of Building (NZIOB) The standard and number of entries in this year’s awards was again particularly impressive, and the projects they have delivered have made a significant contribution to the quality of our built environment, NZIOB Chief Executive Malcolm Fleming says. Continue →

Building and construction work that meets the Government definition of an essential service can continue under COVID-19 restrictions, following CHASNZ’s latest health and safety guidance COVID-19 Alert Level 4 is restricted to essential services only.  Continue →

New Zealand’s construction industry is riding a massive rebound in business confidence, but this may be undermined by skills shortages with 90% of construction firms having difficulty recruiting, finds Civil Contractors New Zealand Findings from the 2021 Construction Industry Survey, a partnership between Teletrac Navman and Civil Contractors New Zealand (CCNZ), validate growing sector confidence, with 50 percent of those polled optimistic the New Zealand construction industry is on the upward trajectory and over half predicting turnover and staff growth in the next 12 months. Continue →

Construction output is expected to grow by 5.5% in 2021, with growth continuing until 2025, a GlobalData report finds New Zealand’s construction industry recorded an annual average growth rate of 6.6% between 2016 and 2019 before lockdown restrictions in the first half of 2020 saw the industry contract by 7.3% in real terms. Continue →

Delays and budget blowouts are commonplace in our construction sector, but Rob Bryant from software company InEight says we just need to collaborate New Zealand’s procurement processes are renowned for being complicated and incredibly slow-moving, with the burden of risk laying with contractors rather than owners. Continue →

Contractors often have their own way of doing things and have gotten comfortable with the solutions they have, but whatever the size of the business, it is likely that improvements can be made, says Bluebeam Australia The Urban Developer The construction industry is filled with tales of software bought and never used. Continue →

While the manufacturing, healthcare, and technology sectors have embraced technological advances and refined their processes, construction has lagged behind, but Digital Twin technologies could be the solution To achieve sustainable infrastructure, construction must adopt new technology and materials, the United Nations Environment Program reports. Continue →

Construction has long been plagued by a lack of collaboration and communication right along the supply chain, according to construction payment application firm Payapps The Urban Developer Over time, this leads to job fragmentation, inefficient contract approaches and disputes over claims. Continue →

Over the last 10 years since the most destructive of Canterbury’s earthquakes, former Senior Structural Engineer with HERA (Heavy Engineering Research Association) Charles Clifton has analysed why certain structures (such as the CTV building) failed and what goes into making buildings more resilient under severe seismic stress Through my collaboration with HERA (New Zealand’s Heavy Engineering Research Association), the University of Canterbury Associate Professor Gregory MacRae and Auckland University of Technology Senior Lecturer Shahab Ramhormozian, New Zealanders can be assured that the best structural and civil engineering minds are resolving the challenges around building performance; human safety; and the cost of construction and remedial strengthening in light of what we learned from Christchurch. Continue →