...Construction skills development in the UK: transitioning between the formal and informal Paul W Chan Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK paul.chan@unn.ac.uk ROBERT C MOEHLER Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK robert.moehler@unn.ac.uk RESEARCH REPORTED HERE IS PART OF A WIDER STUDY THAT SEEKS TO EXAMINE THE PRACTICES INVOLVED IN ENCOURAGING AND ENABLING EMPLOYERS TO ENGAGE WITH THE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT AGENDA. A SERIES OF EXPLORATORY INTERVIEWS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC OBSERVATIONS REVEAL POTENTIAL DISCONNECTIONS BETWEEN SKILLS POLICIES AT THE GOVERNMENTAL LEVEL AND WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS IN EMPLOYER PRACTICES REGARDING SKILLS DEVELOPMENT. ON THE ONE HAND, THE FORMAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING SYSTEM FOCUSES ON SUCH TARGETS AS THE ATTAINMENT OF NARROWLY-DEFINED OCCUPATIONAL STANDARDS, LEVELS OF COMPETENCE, AND QUANTITATIVE PERFORMANCE MEASURES LIKE COMPLETION RATES. ON THE OTHER HAND, THE SOCIALISED CONCEPT OF SKILLS DEVELOPMENT TAKES PLACE INFORMALLY AT THE WORKPLACE THROUGH ON-THE-JOB TRAINING AND MENTORING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SENIOR AND JUNIOR EMPLOYEES. BOTH THE FORMAL AND INFORMAL SYSTEMS APPEAR TO CO-EXIST ALONGSIDE EACH OTHER, ALTHOUGH TENSIONS ARE MOUNTING IN TERMS OF CONFIDENCE THAT EMPLOYERS AND THE WIDER INDUSTRY PLACE ON THE EFFICACY OF THE FORMAL SYSTEM. Keywords: informality, skills development practices, skills policy, training and education. INTRODUCTION The UK construction industry faces an enduring problem of skills shortages...
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...My interest in the design and construction of structures has been reinforced over time by my research, travels and also work experience at The Page Design (a graphic design studio). Whilst there I created the initial design ideas and developments, which were then used for the cover for the award book at the British Book Design and Production Awards in 2014. The architectural works by the studio S333 contained within the book 'British Built' also inspired me to undertake further research. From this I discovered the studio's Great Kneighton project, based in Cambridge, which focused on efficient design with many open green areas, creating an environmentally and socially sustainable area. In my recent travels to Tuscany, I discovered that the...
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... contractors, engineers, manufacturers, occupants, etc. We make every effort to ensure the accuracy and quality of information and guidance when it is first published. However, we can take no responsibility for the subsequent use of this information, nor for any errors or omissions it may contain. Published by Construction Research Communications Ltd by permission of Building Research Establishment Ltd Requests to copy any part of this publication should be made to: CRC Ltd Building Research Establishment Bucknalls Lane Watford, WD25 9XX BRE material is also published quarterly on CD Each CD contains BRE material published in the current year, including reports, specialist reports, and the Professional Development publications: Digests, Good Building Guides, Good Repair Guides and Information Papers. The CD collection gives you the opportunity to build a comprehensive library of BRE material at a fraction of the cost of printed copies. As a subscriber you also benefit from a 25% discount on other BRE titles. For more information contact: CRC Customer Services on 020 7505 6622 Construction Research Communications CRC supplies a wide range of building and construction related information products from BRE and other highly respected organisations. Contact: post:...
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...CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY Definition: Construction in general is the process of building or assembling of architecture. The construction sector is responsible for building new houses, apartments, factories, offices and schools. It also builds roads, bridges, ports, railroads, sewers and tunnels, among many other things. In addition, it maintains and repairs all of those structures and produces the basic materials such as concrete that are used to make them. The industry’s significance is due not only to the fact that it provides the buildings and infrastructure on which virtually every other sector depends, but to the fact that it is such a sizeable sector in its own right. The construction industry is Europe’s largest industrial employer, accounting for about seven percent of total employment, and in the Europe, the US and Japan combined, it employs more than 40 million people. Among all Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, the construction industry accounts for an average of 6.47 percent of GDP. History since Industrial Revolution: There were many factors that revolutionized the construction industry after the industrial revolution. The invention of Portland cement, glass, reinforced concrete, architectural glasses, cranes etc. has brought in a huge leap in the technology. Cement: Portland cement was developed from natural cements made in Britain in the early part of the nineteenth century, and its name is derived from...
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...Program at Tuck School in the summer of 1978. Many times I’ve hoped I might come back to visit but my life has been one surprise after the other, and I have been too busy to take any vacations in recent years. I want to tell you about a situation that happened to me recently. I know you will be interested in it, and if you have time I’d like you to tell me what you would have done had you been in my position. As I think you know, I am Senior Project Manager for the El Sahd Construction Company in Kuwait. The company is a prosperous one, with an excellent reputation for producing in a timely and cost-effective way on major construction projects in the Middle East. The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer is a wellknown Kuwaiti and my direct boss is another American expatriate who is Senior Vice President for urban construction projects. Two months ago, we put in a bid to be the principal subcontractor on a project in Iran. Our bid was $30 million, and we expected to bargain with Ajax, Ltd., the British-based company asking for the bids. We had built a heavy profit into the $30 million. I was asked to go to Tehran on March 3rd to talk with the Ajax manager of the major project. That manager told me that we were going to get the job. I was delighted. The job meant a lot to us. We had put a great deal of planning into it, and it was exactly the kind of work that we do best. Then came the surprise. I was told our bid had to be $33 million. My response was that we can always...
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...accept the deal or compromise his ethics. III. Objective/s: 1. Appeal on the proposal and proceed to the regular bidding process. 2. Advocate correct sound business ethics. IV. Areas of consideration: 1. Alexander Gavin, a Senior Project Manager of El Sahd Construction Company in Kuwait. Mr. Gavin was offered a proposal by the Ajax’s Manager to increase the bid amount to $33 Million of the project in Iran. Of the $3 Million increase, $1 Million will be his share for not disclosing the matter. If Mr. Gavin will not accept the deal, he will experience a physical harm. He was already involved in the pay-offs before, but this time he was put in to a situation where his ethics is on the line. Gavin needs to make a decision that will benefit the company in the long run. 2. El Sahd Construction Company is a prosperous company, with an excellent reputation for producing a timely and cost effective way on major construction project in the Middle East. Two months ago, Mr. Gavin participated the bidding on Iran project. The company put in a bid of $30 Million to Ajax Ltd. to be the principal sub-contractor on a project in Iran. 3. Ajax Ltd is a British based-company. As the company’s business culture, the Ajax’s Manager had a proposal to Mr. Gavin that the bid price will be amounted to $33 Million in order to pursue the project. The increase of $3 Million will be $1 Million for the Ajax’s Managing Director, $1 Million Ajax’s Manager and $1...
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...def•i•ni•tion {n} AN INCLUSIVE DEFINITION OF CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT CIOB’S PROFESSIONALISM: def•i•ni•tion {n} A STATEMENT THAT EXPLAINS THE MEANING OF A WORD OR PHRASE A DESCRIPTION OF THE FEATURES AND LIMITS OF SOMETHING CIOB’s PROFEssIONALIsM: an inclusiVe definition of construction management thE CONstRuCtION VALuE stREAM CONstRuCtION MANAGEMENt Is: thE CIOB’s FOOtPRINt OuR VALuE sYstEM John Bale worked in the construction industry before embarking on an academic career which included roles in the UK and elsewhere. He held an industry-sponsored professorship of Construction Management for many years, and is now an emeritus professor of Leeds Metropolitan University. He has also served as an elected city councillor. He was President of CIOB in 2000-01, and is a member of the Board of Trustees. He describes his work on the definition of Construction Management as ‘the culmination of a long-term obsession.’ Copyright © e Chartered Institute of Building, 2010. All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission from the Chartered Institute of Building. def•i•ni•tion {n} Designed by pslondon. www.pslondon.co.uk a statement that explains the meaning of a word or phrase a description...
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...There are 3 potential threats of hk subdivided flats. The first one is related to building code violations. Original partition walls are frequently removed from flats in order to make room for many new non-loadbearing walls. These new walls add to the stress on floors and loadbearing walls, threatening the structural integrity of entire buildings. Hong Kong’s Buildings Department conducted an investigation on collapsed building ,it listed several contributing factors to the building’s structural failure, additional loading due to flat subdivision on all upper floors is one of the cause of it. The second one is Fire Safety Violations. Amongst the obvious consequences from overlooking building codes, the most imminent threat to tenants is that of fire. The escape routes in sub flat are often blocked ,the common corridor is too narrow .In addition, fire-rated doors are also uncommon, it increase the risk of a fire growing out of control. Also, fire spreads quickly through densely populated places like a subdivided structure, even a small fire from an external source can be catastrophic to a subdivided building .When there is a fire, with no ventilation or place to escape, tenants can easily be trapped and killed. The thied one is the deficient environmental hygiene is another problem that exists in subdivided housing units. When flats are subdivided, additional plumbing fixtures such as toilets and sinks are commonly installed by landlords or in some cases by tenants...
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...Syed Akeel Bilgrami Quite often, those associated with the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture at Karachi have been asked: - What was the need for the Indus Valley School to spend so much time and effort to re-locate an old building on its campus, and, - Why the Nusserwanjee Building? The answers to these questions can be linked to the day, May 1, 1991, when twelve prominent architects of the city brain-stormed at the Indus Valley School to evolve a design criteria for its new campus. The school had just acquired a plot and since it was the first time that a custom–designed campus for an Art and Architecture institution was being built in Pakistan, it was expected the brain-storming would generate some fresh, innovative, ideas. Interestingly however, the consensus at the end of the day, reached, perhaps half in jest, was that an ideal environment for a school of art is in and around an old building, and that the School should find such a building and move into it! Hardly a week later, Shahid Abdulla, one of the founders of the Indus Valley School, excitedly called to say he had found a beautiful old building, right in the heart of Kharadar, which was for sale and about to be demolished. Before one could express one’s reservations about the location, he quickly added, “We will save it and move it to the campus in Clifton.” What he had seen was the hundred-year-old Nusserwanjee Building, a stone structure in two blocks of three and four storeys with large halls...
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...There is a growing demand for the construction industry to provide better value by improved quality and performance. The 1998 DETR Egan Report ‘Rethinking Construction’ called for a culture of co-operation and greater innovation in procurement, design and construction, leading to demonstrable savings and benefits to the client, the contractor and to society in general. Modular construction uses pre-engineered volumetric units that are installed on site as fitted-out and serviced ‘building blocks’. The use of modular construction is directly influenced by the client’s requirements for speed of construction, quality, added benefits of economy of scale, as well as single point procurement. These benefits may be quantified in a holistic assessment of the costs and value of modular construction in relation to more traditional alternatives. Light steel framing is an integral part of modular construction as it is strong, light weight, durable, accurate, free from long-term movement, and is well proven in a wide range of applications. It is part of an established infrastructure of supply and manufacture and supported by British Standards and various design guides. Modular construction is also widely used in Japan, Scandinavia and the USA, where light steel framing is the primary structural medium, and leads to flexibility in internal planning and robust architectural solutions . There are also important opportunities for modular construction in extensions to existing buildings...
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...including system design, which is a complex process of studying the requirement of the end user, the market analysis as well as the development of the standardized component. Another researcher named Paris (1997) defined IBS as a system that uses an industrialised production technique, either in the production of component or during the assembly of building, or both. In addition, IBS is defined as a construction process that utilises techniques, products, components, or building system that involves prefabrication work, be it off-site or on site, under controlled environment, and being transported, positioned, and on-site installation with minimum site works. This definition is defined by the IBS roadmap (2003). Besides, other researches named Rahman and Omar (2006) have defined IBS as, the pre-fabricated components that are used to build a construction system. The components are manufactured systematically using machines, formworks and other forms of mechanical equipment. They are manufactured off-site and once completed, they will be delivered to construction sites for assembly and erection. While Chung and Kadir (2007) interpreted IBS as a mass...
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...Improve Construction Safety?: Assessing the Impact of a Collaborative Safety-in-Design Process Marc Weinstein1; John Gambatese, M.ASCE2; and Steven Hecker3 Abstract: This paper analyzes the impact of a large-scale safety-in-design initiative during the design and construction of a semiconductor manufacturing facility in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Drawing on multiple data sources including individual interviews, group interviews, construction documentation, and an expert panel involved in the initiative, the writers identify 26 potential design changes on the project and assess the importance of timing, trade contractor involvement, and the type of design change in determining whether a proposed design change was ultimately integrated into the final construction plans. The writers further consider whether adopted design changes would have occurred in the absence of the safety-in-design initiative and whether the accepted design changes ultimately impacted construction site safety on the project. This analysis of a full-scale safety-in-design initiative provides important insights into how injury prevention efforts in the construction industry can begin upstream by involving designers, engineers, and trade contractors in preconstruction processes. DOI: 10.1061/ ASCE 0733-9364 2005 131:10 1125 CE Database subject headings: Construction management; Design; Safety; Injuries; Accident prevention. Introduction The notion that the safety of construction worksites...
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...It took control of Gurgaon through a treaty signed by Surji Arjungaon in the end of the year 1803. The Gurgaon district, with other possessions of Sindhia, west of the Yamuna, passed on to the British East India Company by the Treaty of Surji Arjungaon signed on December 30, 1803. The town of Gurgaon became the headquarters of the administration in1816. By the mid-19th century, Gurgaon was part of the princely protectorate of Pataudi which is part of Gurgaon district today. By 1857, the life in the district seemed to have settled down to a peaceful and quiet routine. The feudatory races had betaken themselves to agriculture, the higher castes to trade and British service. The old feuds, if not extinct, were at least dormant. When in May 1857 the freedom fighters from Meerut entered Delhi, W.Ford of the Bengal Civil Service, was the Collector and the District Magistrate of Gurgaon. The proximity of the district to the imperial capital was to play a major role in shaping its destiny. Its chiefs and people, especially the former, threw in their lot with the representative of the House of Timur. Its destiny was thus linked with that of...
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...Introduction A small-scale enterprise is a business that employs a small number of workers and does not have a high volume of sales. Such enterprises are generally privately owned and operated sole proprietorships, corporations or partnerships. The legal definition of a small-scale enterprise varies by industry and country. Rope Tech is an operation specifically formed to provide rope access to industry throughout Sri Lanka. Established in 2006 and currently working under a British qualified Rope Access technician. The company mainly has disposal teams of technicians who are highly skilled in the art of rope access in addition to expertise in many other disciplines. This enables the Rope Tech Access Solution Company, not only access extreme locations but to carry out the required task when we get there. The company has successfully operated in the Sri Lanka for the past ten years working on both small and large scale construction, repair, and alteration projects focusing on residential contracting. With the business boom that is occurring in the local area and the desire to improve overall profit margins, the company is planning to increase its number of employees and machineries mainly to increase its sales and profit as well as the management is planning to shift its target market from residential clients to the larger commercial customers. This business plan will lay out the company goals and tasks to make this transition successful and create enough market shares...
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...S.PALAVESAKRISHNAN palavesakrishnan@gmail.com Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Background to the Project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Defining the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 The Nature and the Scope of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Risk of Break-ins and Builder Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Selecting and Implementing the Preventive Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Monitoring Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Evaluating the Preventive Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Summary of the Results of the Experiment . ...
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