Sustainability remains top of the agenda in the construction industry, focusing on everything from carbon footprint of the supply chain and sustainable materials to works traffic management and paperless reporting systems. But there is one area in particular where construction companies can drive significant profit margins by being more sustainable; waste reduction.

In lieu of the Grenfell disaster and the collapse of Carillon, the construction industry is having a huge identity crisis. With the industry’s ever-widening skills shortage getting worse, modernisation of the industry is long overdue. As well as this, the industry has the added pressure to solve what is sadly the worst gender balance of any industry. As a collective, how can we challenge the typical, often negative stereotypes of an industry where less than 14% of workers are women? Jayne Hall, Vice-President of CABE, looks at this growing issue, to see how the gender imbalances can potentially be resolved.

Fire safety remains top of the agenda following the Dame Judith Hackitt Review and the inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster. Whilst much of the debate has centred around the use of combustible cladding and the need to improve fire safety management systems, there are strong calls from the industry to tighten the law on the installation of fire suppression methods too. Antony Corbett, Product Manager for Geberit Piping Systems, examines the case for mandatory sprinkler installations into existing properties.

Epwin Group, a leading manufacturer and supplier of PVC-U windows, doors and fascia systems, has announced the launch of a research project examining what factors are driving change in UK housing design and build.

Stewart Dalgarno, Director of Product Development at Stewart Milne Group – the independent, award-winning house-builder and leading timber systems manufacturer – discusses how utilising digital technologies in the design and build process can bring added value and yield savings for UK house-builders.