A weekly podcast in which veteran construction industry journalists Bishop and Taylor have a natter about some of the week’s events in the UK construction industry, seeking meaning even where none may exist.
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Bishop & Taylor are joined by Sarah Meek, managing director of mental welfare charity Mates in Mind. They also meet Nick Barnes of Allied Mechanical Engineering, who explains how recent VAT reforms have further squeezed the middle of construction’s supply chain.
Bishop & Taylor discuss reports of Kier buying Taylor Douglas, CARES (the UK Certification Authority For Reinforcing Steel) expelling manufacturers, and the arbitrary 18-metre cut-off for the new building safety regime.
Taylor has been watching Greg Wallace in a JCB factory; Bishop accuses Michael Gove of grandstanding; and they share views on the 2022 New Year Honours.
Bishop and Taylor look back and some of the highlights and lowlights of construction industry news in 2021.
Bishop & Taylor are joined by Lord Aberdare, who has tabled The Construction (Retentions Abolition) Bill in parliament. Our hosts also discuss developments in the campaign for mandatory builders’ licences, and the feasibility studies for a Stranraer-Larne fixed link, both of which now look dead in the water.
With International Men’s Day on 19th November, Bishop & Taylor discuss manliness and men’s health. They speak to Sophie Smith, a specialist nurse at Prostate Cancer UK. And they also discuss the construction industry’s (lack of) preparedness for the end of red diesel.
Interserve’ auditors have been fined, BAM is building a net-zero pathfinder school and the consolidation of builders’ merchants continues. Bishop & Taylor discuss all this and more.
Bishop & Taylor have differing attitudes to the use of uncertified reinforcing steel on the HS2 project. They also discuss a change in funding methods for new nuclear power stations and consider proposals from the National Federation of Builders to ‘reconstruct’ the industry’s training board.
Bishop & Taylor wonder how much the UK really benefits from foreign contractors building roads in far-off lands. They also discuss the SOS hand signal with which victims of modern slavery can seek help, before straying to the topic of secret handshakes.
After a brief digression into James Bond territory, Bishop & Taylor discuss developments at nmcn since they last spoke, the new rules for chartered surveyors and the production of HS2 tunnel lining segments in Hartlepool.
After a bit of politics, Bishop & Taylor discuss the demise this week of a £400m contractor. They are also joined by Ayo Ogunbambi, mentor to Balfour Beatty CEO Leo Quinn.
In a bumper episode, Bishop & Taylor are joined by building conservation specialist Adrian Attwood of DBR and hear how 2022 will be ‘The Year of the Master Craftsperson’. They also talk fuel efficiency, from F1 to tower cranes, with Punch Flybrid’s Tobias Knichel. But first… views are expressed on UK taxpayer loans to a foreign-owned start-up.
Bishop & Taylor discuss materials shortages and spiralling prices, exchange thoughts on the government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda, and look forward to the return of Peter Tom, the Leicester Tigers chairman dubbed the Aggregate King by The Times newspaper.
Bishop & Taylor discuss some of the events of the week, including the cabinet reshuffle. They also talk to theatre director Nicolas Kent, whose Grenfell: Value Engineering – scenes from the Inquiry is coming to a London stage next month. And, first up, Taylor recalls his visit to Wells Cathedral to see conservation work in action.
Bishop & Taylor discuss the 2021 UK Top 100 Construction Contractors ranking, published this week. They also recall the world-changing event of 20 years ago this week and reporting from Ground Zero.
On the agenda in this episode is the Wolfson Economic Prize shortlist and the limitations of Rishi Sunak’s apparently generous tax allowance for machinery purchases. But first, Bishop & Taylor are joined by Richard Waterhouse of NBS to discuss product specification, sustainability and marketing.
This week Bishop & Taylor discuss Highways England’s re-brand, the sale of Osborne Infrastructure Ltd and an industry programme to devise equality, diversity and inclusion metrics
To discuss the new UK Hydrogen Strategy, and what it means for construction and the built environment, Bishop & Taylor are joined firstly by Buta Atwal, CEO of Ryze Hydrogen and Wrightbus, and then by Cadent regional development manager Helen Boyle and Isaac Occhipinti from the Energy & Utilities Alliance
Bishop & Taylor discuss the latest scary news from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, as well as the rise of HVO fuel and the deep pockets of modular house-builders.
Bishop & Taylor discuss recent judgments from Mr Justice Holgate, one supporting the government’s roads programme and one blocking its Stonehenge tunnel plans. They also discuss whether 3D printing is just slow slipforming without formwork.
Helena Russell, author of Cleveland Bridge: 125 Years of History , joins Bishop & Taylor to discuss the company seeking rescue from administration. Also discussed in this episode are the music of the Golden Gate Bridge and the pings of the Covid app.
With it being Net Zero Week, Bishop & Taylor discuss an industry initiative for measuring progress in the built environment. And as fans of a good hardware store, they return to the topic of builders’ merchants.
With ‘freedom day’ approaching, Bishop & Taylor discuss what it means for the construction industry. They also mull the decarbonisation of road transport and the shortage of truck drivers.
Bishop & Taylor discuss the Building Safety Bill (which had its first reading in the Commons this week), Willmott Dixon’s reconstruction of what used be known as Colston Hall, and seemingly magic concrete that repairs itself.
Callum Mackintosh, president of the Scottish Plant Owners Association, joins Bishop & Taylor to discuss challenges facing the plant hire sector. But first our regular hosts briefly revisit flexible working and discuss why costs have risen on a Norfolk road project.
Bishop & Taylor are re-joined by Emma Stewart of Timewise (previously heard in episode 42) to discuss the results of the Build UK-sponsored study into flexible working on construction sites.
Bishop & Taylor discuss B3W (‘Build Back Better World’), the G7’s plan to counter China’s Belt & Road Initiative (BRI). They also talk about the growing prominence (at least in their email inboxes) of Italian contractor Webuild; and they return to the topic of Scottish timber production.
Bishop has had a tour of the HS2 Chilterns Tunnel south portal site, Taylor has been watching TV; they chat about their findings. They also discuss leisure centre design shortcomings. Plus: What not to say in a press release.
As the Construction Industry Training Board starts its three-yearly consultation with the industry to ascertain whether there remains consensus for the statutory training levy, CITB policy director Steve Radley tells Bishop & Taylor why we still need it.
A trio of technical topics appeal to Bishop & Taylor this week, namely zero trim piling, asbestos recycling and reuse of concrete components. They also return to the familiar topics of flexible working and office life.
