A wide range of interesting articles that help you make informed decisions and deliver the best projects for your clients authored by our team of NBS subject specialists and construction industry contributors.
Writing clear and concise specifications is crucial on construction projects. A well-structured specification is not only essential for design success but can also prevent delays, unexpected costs and disputes. Here are five essential tips to help you get it right, from our Best Practice Guide to Specification Writing.
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This programme takes an in-depth look at three classic cases in law that have a direct impact on the work of professionals in the construction industry. By examining the implications of the rulings from these seemingly unrelated cases, construction professionals can get a clearer picture of their responsibilities in law towards their direct clients and others.
The programme advises designers and contractors what to consider when specifying and installing water systems such as spray taps, shower units and toilet flushing systems. It also focuses on the Legionnaires' outbreak of 2002 at the Barrow-in-Furness Arts Centre, including the legal consequences for the architect.
The programme provides an introduction to critical path analysis, including a comparison between 'critical paths' and 'critical chains' as well as the relative merits of Gantt charts. This is followed by a more detailed look at flow charts, giving a clear idea of their actual workings. PERT (Project Evaluation and Review Technique) and PRINCE2 (Projects in Controlled Environments) are touched on as project management tools, while the ideas of 'float' and 'contingency' are explained. There is also a brief look at the resourcing of projects and the issue of 'project crashing'.
Against a backdrop of site footage, Amazonails founder, Barbara Jones explains the various preparations made before the first bale is secured to the ladder plate and the process of laying the wall begins in earnest.
Dominated for more than 100 years by light industry, the 2.5 km2 site was contaminated and its waterways choked. Beginning with the ODA's head of infrastructure, Simon Wright, we learn about the scale of the task faced by Atkins, the firm charged with leading what was to become the most comprehensive enabling works ever undertaken in the UK.
Craig White of White Design and ModCell – one of the firms behind the BaleHaus – explains the difference in ethos between traditional straw bale construction and the semi-industrialised panelised technology used by ModCell.
