Dekstrip rubber strips from DEKS Industries offer the right solution for flashing problems in commercial and industrial roofing projects.
 
Commercial and industrial roofing applications often present situations where normal flashing techniques may not provide the result required, especially with large square or round penetrations or skylights that can be difficult to flash. Another problem typically encountered is when flashing dissimilar materials such as brick to steel, fibre cement to metal, or concrete to aluminium, especially where vibration or thermal expansion is likely.

Hearing a petition on the Nagri issue, the Jharkhand High Court on Wednesday directed the Jharkhand Government to provide tight security at Nagri so that construction could be continued at the site.

The order said that the Government could even take help from the para military forces like CRPF and CISF for providing security at the site.

The market for scheduling software in construction remains in a constant state of flux. As such, contractors try to juggle their options as best they can, amid the changing landscape. While a few legacy systems may no longer be an option for construction, other new players might step up to fill the need.

One such provider is Phoenix Project Management Systems, www.phoenixcpm.com, Salt Lake City, Utah. The company recently announced a new capability called Phoenix "WorkStream" to its Phoenix Project Manager. According to the company, this upgrade is intended to reduce common complexities in the scheduling process by as much as 40% or 50%.

A consortium of Kier Project Investments, Galliford Try Investments, John Graham and Equitix Holdings has signed financial close on the south west Scotland hub initiative.

The deal will unlock a £600m pipeline of work in the region during the next 10 years for 14 councils and other public bodies.

It is the last of the Scottish Futures Trust’s five Scottish hubCos agreements to be signed off, which together are expected to deliver £1.5bn worth of infrastructure projects over the decade.

The CN Specialists Awards are our way of recognising, on a national platform, the very best of the best, and giving you the opportunity to shout about it. Winning recognition for the great work you do feels fantastic, and winning even more work because you've won an award for all the great work you do is even better.

The winners of our 2012 awards have told us that the benefits of winning a Construction News Specialists Award go far beyond the celebrations on the night. Having a trophy from the only national awards for specialist contractors in your cabinet helps you stand out when bidding for work, and staff love working for an award-winning company.

So you have a CRM (customer-relationship management) system in place, and your Website is fully optimized around all the key search terms. However, that doesn’t mean you have all the bases covered when it comes to serving your buyers—or would-be buyers. Today, homebuyers are looking for that customized service when it comes to selecting home plans, features, and options. Luckily more technology tools are emerging that can help builders better serve this demand.

For example, there is SalesTouch from Computer Presentation Systems, www.cpsusa.com, Rancho Cordova, Calif. Built to be a realtime sales tool for homebuilders this product can be placed within sales and leasing offices, offering an interactive touchscreen that can actively engage homebuyers. The key here is customization, and the SalesTouch software can be customized for each client and will often include many interactive media tools, including images and video about the community, floor plans, options/upgrades, structural options, interactive sitemaps, “behind-the-walls” information, and even local amenities. Such a tool can be ideal for buyers as it allows them to select and place furniture on a model, markup floor plans, and then email or print a customized color brochure.

It's that time of year again, when a wife's fancy turns to thoughts of Christmas presents for grandchildren. In our case, little Samuel will soon be three and is already keen on building and – mainly – demolition. So off we go to investigate the world of construction toys all over again.

Things have changed! No longer is the world of JCB, John Deere and Caterpillar confined to more-or-less faithful reproductions for the sand pit or just looking at. No; these days children can own miniature versions of the real thing. Some are electrically driven while others (preferred by this advocate of an active childhood) are pedal-powered. Some ranges have all the attachments available to the real builder (not just a 'digger' but a back-hoe loader).

In my column of 1 November I reported on initiatives by the industry to improve its image. I venture to speculate that the future of construction (and demolition) will be enhanced thanks to the opportunities offered to the very youngest to get used to some of the skills on offer.

Work to re-roof 450 council homes in the city has been awarded to a Leeds-based construction company.

The £1.3m contract between Hull City Council and Lovell is the first won by the company under a new procurement system involving a regional consortium of social housing landlords known as YORhub.

Lee Parkinson, head of operations for YORhub Construction Frameworks for Yorkshire and Humber, said: "With budgets in the social housing sector at an all-time low, it is critical that the industry considers how it can make the delivery of works more efficient and cost effective whilst delivering added value to residents and communities.

Phil Hogan, T. D., Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, has announced that he has given sanction to Longford Community Resources Ltd. to approve funding of €199,500 to Longford Revamp Homes Ltd. to provide training in building conservation skills in Co. Longford.

This funding, provided under the Training and Information measure of the Rural Development Programme 2007-2013, will provide training for 30 people in Longford. The training will cover building conservation and traditional construction skills, including lime plastering, roofing, stonework and an introduction to traditional roofing, which will be learned through practical work situations on a construction site as well as in a workshop and classroom environment.

Model once, build once. A variation on the old saying 'measure twice, cut once'; might someday be adopted in the construction industry as it relates to BIM (building information modeling). Project teams are realizing that when it comes to building complex structures, the idea of being able to 'build' it virtually has reduced much headache, concern, and perhaps most important, cost.

One of the more infamous examples is that of the Frederic C. Hamilton Building, an expansion of the Denver Art Museum that opened in October 2006. The project called for the use of more than 2,750 tons of steel—three times the amount for a conventional building of its size--and 50,000 bolts. L.P.R. Construction, www.lprconstruction.com, Loveland, Colo., the steel erector on the job, leveraged 3D modeling technology to simulate erecting the angular skeleton of the facility prior to coming on site.

By L.P.R.’s estimation, the use of these technology tools saved the field staff thousands of hours throughout the project. The software was able to pinpoint the exact center of gravity, giving much needed control over the angle which components were suspended while being erected. Having such control also mitigated a potentially dangerous scenario of trying to force drastically sloped steel configurations together perilously high in the air.