News & Blogs

Question time: a Novus interview of Rebecca Thompson

Winner of our Novus 10 anniversary competition, Jamie Young, won the opportunity to interview CIOB Past President, Rebecca Thompson FCIOB. Jamie is senior design manager for Wates and the Chair of Cambridge Novus.

Being an advocate for industry in the Middle East

Noreen is Executive Director for Hollywood Associates, a consultancy based in Dubai, and is currently on the CIOB Local Hub Committee for the Dubai region and was recently elected on to the CIOB’s Education, Qualification, Standards and Practice (ESQP) Board. Here she tells us what a difference it's made being an active member of the CIOB.

Championing consumers: the role of the New Homes Ombudsman

This week James Brokenshire, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, has announced that a New Homes Ombudsman is to be created. He said this will ‘champion homebuyers, protect their interests and hold developers to account’. Importantly, the new homes ombudsman will be enshrined in statute, with legislation requiring all ‘new developers’ to belong to this new ombudsman.

Modern slavery: Why we’re looking at corporate risk the wrong way

Modern slavery is a pernicious and hidden crime. We’re only just beginning to understand the level of risk it poses to UK supply chains. But as our knowledge increases, corporate response to the Modern Slavery Act remains lacklustre. With many organisations in paralysis, the arguments for and against taking action can be distilled into three words: attitude to risk.

Helping policy play its part

In 2020 Mark Beard, Chairman of construction group Beard, will become the 117th President of the CIOB. His Presidency will follow from Charles Egbu, Dean of School of the Built Environment and Architecture at London Southbank University, who will become CIOB President in 2019, and Chris Soffe, CEO of Gleeds America, who became CIOB President in July. In our guest blog, we ask him to share his visions for the future of the Policy Board.

Debating a sustainable industry as young professionals

At the CIOB Members’ Forum in Toronto in July 2018, we held a debate on the sustainable future of the construction industry chaired by Senior Vice President Charles Egbu. The world is changing and the area of sustainability is a big one, not just the environmental strand to that topic but also social dimensions, the issue of culture, equity and parity as well as the moral compass of our industry. It also encapsulates the economic footprint and life cycle of the built environment.

What it’s like to be winners of the Global Student Challenge

It was a long shot but it was a hole in one. On July 12, three graduating students from the Honours Bachelor in Technology at the Angelo DelZotto School of Construction Management, George Brown College, won the 2018 Global Student Challenge, organized by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB). Here, Professor Blago Blagoev interviews the team to find out what it’s been like since.

Could CIOB help members build solutions for global disaster relief programmes?

Members' Forum Toronto 2018 - Executive Summary

This year’s Members’ Forum was held in Toronto, Canada; the first time Members’ Forum has been held in the Americas. Members’ Forum is an annual event, bringing together leading construction professionals from across the globe with a number of activities to take part in, including site visits, workshops and strategy development meetings.

Quality in Construction - Time for Change

In February 2017, the report into defects that led to the closure of 17 schools in Edinburgh was published. In response to this report and wider concerns about quality in the industry, the CIOB announced that it was setting up a Commission of Past Presidents to investigate the issue of quality in construction, which was launched at Members’ Forum in Cardiff. In that same month the fire at Grenfell Tower claimed the lives of 71 people.

Maintaining momentum

Listening is an underrated skill and good conversations are never one way. That is why Members Forum is such an important event in our calendar. It is the chance for us to listen to each other and learn.

Offsite manufacturing for Ontario infrastructure

As part of the CIOB Members’ Forum, we are delighted to be able to see an example of leading construction in Canada. PCL Construction is opening its doors for our members to see the frontline of the industry in Toronto. Here Troy Galvin, Manager of PCL’s offsite manufacturing facility strategically located in the heart of the Greater Toronto Area, shares with us what makes their work unique and why they’re inviting us in.