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.
Our latest white paper, driven by a comprehensive survey of hundreds of construction professionals, highlights a concerning lack of consensus and clarity among industry leaders. The findings reveal that half of industry professionals remain unclear on the responsibilities of duty holders for the Gateways defined for higher-risk buildings.
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With BIM (building information modelling) comes the drive to provide greater efficiencies at all stages of the building lifecycle. If a client wishes to benefit from these efficiencies then they need to be instrumental in insuring appropriate working methods and technologies are adopted.
The benefits gained from Building Information Modelling (BIM) correspond to the quality and depth of information in the model. Dr Stephen Hamil explains how BIM is not just 3D CAD and how master specification systems make a huge contribution to the 'I' in BIM.
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'.
The Royal College of Music in London is located in the cultural quarter of South Kensington, an area crowded with museums, concert halls and academic institutions.
In this programme we define CHP; the fuels that can be used to power the plant and the basic principles behind the technology and why CHP is different from co-generation plants.
Energy derived from the tides is more predictable than wind energy and solar power. There are three main ways in which power can be generated: tidal barrages, offshore tidal lagoons or tidal stream farms. This programme focuses upon tidal stream energy.
This programme looks at the ways of incorporating photovoltaics into buildings and discusses the wider implications with regard to embodied energy – and economics.
