Weekly round-up - 15 May 2015

Interserve hits BIM2 standard, employment up, growth forecasts down (a bit), Highways England to brief suppliers on new maintenance trial.

Jackie Whitelaw
15 May 2015

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1. Interserve is the first main contractor to be independently certified as BIM Level 2 compliant, ahead of the introduction of mandatory BIM 2 on all government-funded projects in April next year. Assessment was carried out under the BRE Global Business Systems Certification Scheme. 

2. Turner & Townsend has been appointed to support the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur High Speed Rail project by providing a capital and operational cost model for the project.

Working as a sub-consultant to KPMG, Turner & Townsend developed a cost model for the economic assessment being undertaken by the global professional services firm.

3. Number of people out of work in the period from January to March fell to 1.83M, down 35,000 on the previous quarter and the lowest for seven years, according to the Office for National Statistics. The total number in work rose to 31.1M. Average pay excluding boneuses rose by 2.2% compared with a year ago. But the Bank of England has cut its growth forecast from 2.9% to 2.5% for 2015 and from 2.9% to 2.6% for next year.

4. Amey has been selected to deliver a £235M contract to provide environmental and infrastructure services for Trafford Council. The contract will run for 15 years, with a potential extension of eight years, and the firm is charged with delivering major savings for the council through innovative service delivery, including £2.25M million in 2015/16. Mel Ewell, Amey’s Chief Executive, said: “Trafford Council is taking a pioneering approach to the way services are provided and we are delighted to be working with them on this contract. Combining services allows us to support Trafford Council with efficiency savings whilst ensuring a high quality service is delivered to local residents.”

5. House prices were driven up again in April as the data showed the third consecutive monthly decline in supply with new instructions falling at their fastest rate since May 2009, according to the latest RICS UK Residential Market Survey. While 33% more surveyors saw prices rise in April, the highest reading since last summer, new instructions slipped to a net balance of -21% - the eighth consecutive drop in the last nine months. Moreover, the flow of second hand stock onto the market dropped in most parts of the country.RICS says anecdotal evidence suggests the trends may in part been a result of uncertainty ahead of the election, but they are also reflective of deeper underlying problems. “The downward trend in owner-occupation rates across the country is a visible sign that affordability constraints bite ever deeper, as does the squeeze on household budgets from higher rents.”

6. Amey technical director Christina Jackson has been awarded the ‘Lifetime achievement in engineering’ at the Women in Construction and Engineering (WICE) Awards. The accolade recognises her 37 years of dedication to civil engineering consultancy including her academic and technical success. The awards also highlighted her passion for raising the profile of civil engineering and her commitment to mentoring the next generation of engineers.

7. Network Rail workers have voted in favour of a UK-wide strike in a row over pay. Having rejected pay offers from Network Rail, 80% of RMT members voted to strike, on a turnout of 60%. Union bosses turned down the offer of a one-off £500 payment to staff and three years of rises in line with inflation. Mark Carne, Network Rail chief executive, said: "Our employees have received pay rises eight times higher than other public sector workers over the last four years and have now been offered a deal for the next four years that is unmatched elsewhere. Despite the very clear need to modernise our railways, we have offered a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies for the next two years.  The unions have also rejected a number of proposals that would boost productivity, removing our ability to offer them more.”

8. Crossrail chief engineer Chris Dulake will join HS2 on 18 May as engineering director for phase one of the scheme.

9. Highways England is to hold briefing events on the new road maintenance regime to be trialled in the East Midlands as an alternative to the Asset Support Contract regime allowing the agency to adopt a more hands-on client role and smaller works packages. The events will be held on the 2nd and 3rd of June and 13 July. 

10. Scottish Water International has completed a major assignment in the Western Canadian City of Calgary to identify efficiency benefits for the city’s water services business unit that could save up to $5M. Principal Consultant John Carty, who led the team in Calgary, said: “This was the first major assignment that SW International had won on its own. It was a great opportunity to promote Scottish Water on the world stage. The lessons that we have learned in Scotland with the evolution of Scottish Water are very useful now for our international clients.”