Surveying the changing landscape of civil engineering with ICE President Jim Hall
The latest episode of the Engineers Collective is out now: listen in on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, your usual platform or the player below.
This month’s guest is Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) President Jim Hall, who joins host Rob Hakimian to discuss the work of the ICE in representing and supporting civil engineers in the modern construction and economic landscape.
After getting to know Jim, hearing about his storied career and new role at the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (Nista), the discussion turns to emerging considerations in the sector, including the need to improve efficiency in the workforce and build infrastructure resilience. They discuss how digitisation is a growing tool in this field and how the ICE is seeking to foster collaboration through its knowledge services to bring forward cutting edge solutions.
Lastly, they look ahead to what future civil engineers can expect and how the ICE is providing pathways to reflect the diversity of the profession and bring new talent into it.
Before the interview section, Rob is joined by NCE senior report Tom Pashby to discuss the launch of Nista and infrastructure preparedness for space weather.
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1:03:13
How the Building Safety Act is changing UK construction and engineering, with Civic Engineers
This month’s guest is Civic Engineers associate director Sam Harland who talks to host Rob Hakimian about the Building Safety Act 2022 and how it is changing the way that engineers are working.
They talk about how it has introduced new processes, particularly for structural engineers like Harland, with the tightening of design competency requirements, the introduction of the gateway process and the creation of the Golden Thread for buildings. The discussion particularly focuses on what this means for works on existing buildings and how engineers now have to carry out extensive investigations to uncover their structural health and history. Harland also provides insight on how implementation of the Act has been difficult and how it might drive the future of the sector.
Prior to the interview portion, Rob is joined by NCE senior reporters Thomas Johnson and Tom Pashby to discuss some of the reporting they have been doing on the Havant Thicket Reservoir, water quality in the River Thames and the protracted consenting process for the Aquind Interconnector.
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1:02:38
Ofwat on funding innovation in the sector and securing the future of water in the UK
This month we’re discussing the Ofwat Innovation Fund and we’re joined by Ofwat director for environment and innovation Jo Jolly alongside representatives of two companies who have been part of innovations that have been boosted by the fund: Royal HaskoningDHV UK water sector director Paul Lavender and Changemaker 3D CEO and cofounder Natalie Wadley.
The chat starts with a focus on how the Innovation Fund was set up and how it is helping to overcome issues that are being faced in the UK water sector. It then broadens into how it is encouraging greater collaboration between different parts of the sector and we hear firsthand from both Paul and Natalie about how their innovations have come together and how they are being put to use. We then look ahead at the future of the Innovation Fund, what’s next for the initiatives that have been developed through it and the bigger picture of how they will help long-term water security in the UK.
You can find out more about the initiatives brought forward by the Innovation Fund through the learning reports at waterinnovation.challenges.org/insights
Prior to the Ofwat section, host Rob Hakimian is joined by NCE senior reporters Tom Pashby and Thomas Johnson to talk about their recent reporting on plutonium stockpiles and groundwater flooding respectively.
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1:11:37
Exploring the wide world of temporary works in construction and engineering
This month’s guest is Ronan O’Driscoll, an engineer who has worked in a variety of sectors in his storied career – often in temporary works, which is what he is doing in his current role working on the construction of Hinkley Point C.
Having amassed a wealth of knowledge over his time in the sector, O’Driscoll has put together a free-to-download guide called Construction Engineering – A Guide to Temporary Works in Construction & BS5975 : 2019.
It collects together a vast range of temporary works practices, and you can acquire it, no email necessary, from constructionengineering.uk
In the conversation, O’Driscoll tells host Rob Hakimian about his career and how he came to compile the nearly-900-page document. They then move on to discussing temporary works at large – the history, the variety, the importance, good practice, bad practice, misconceptions and more.
Prior to the interview portion, Rob is joined by NCE senior reporter Tom Pashby to discuss the ever-increasing scrutiny on the cost of Sizewell C nuclear power station, before flipping over to defence nuclear to discuss a major opportunity for civils firms to gain work constructing a new nuclear weapons facility for AWE (the Atomic Weapons Establishment).
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1:02:36
TechFest Podcast - Hydrogen Power Units and Wearable Neurotech
Our innovation experts Samuel Stephens, director, head of digital, nuclear at AtkinsRéalis and Angela MacOscar, director of innovation at Northumbrian Water, grill two innovators about their technology.
In this launch episode, recorded live at Techfest, they speak with FC Laboratories’ Matthew Norbury about their AI-powered wearable neurotech to support brain fitness, and Matt Barney, chief hydrogen officer at Geopura about their Hydrogen Power Unit, designed to replace diesel generator power on site.
Hydrogen power units have the potential to decarbonise construction activity by replacing diesel generators with green hydrogen. But how is the low carbon nature of that hydrogen assured and how site-ready are these new units?
Wearable fitness and safety technology has come a long way, so can brain fitness neurotech help improve wellbeing and safety by identifying fatigue and stress for those working on site and in potentially high risk roles?
Listen to our podcast to find out!
News and interviews covering all corners of infrastructure, from rail to roads to energy to tunnels and much more, with guests from all around the wide world of civil engineering chatting with NCE news editor Rob Hakimian and the rest of the NCE team
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