As the London’s iconic Shard skyscraper, which is the UK’s tallest building at 309.6m, gets ready to mark the 10th anniversary of its opening on 1 February, this episode catches up with Flan McNamara who led the construction project for Sellar Property Group. As well as exploring the logistical challenges of bringing the architectural design of Renzo Piano and the engineering work of WSP to life, Flan and NCE editor Claire Smith talk about lessons learned during the life of the project. Flan talks about how digital technology evolved during the lifespan of the Shard Quarter project, which tran ..read more

NCE editor Claire Smith is joined by deputy editor Rob Horgan and acting news editor Catherine Moore, for the final episode of the year. The trio cast their minds back over the past 12 months, recapping the biggest and most popular news stories of 2022. Taking a look at the top five most read stories on NCE’s website, the trio start their recap by re-exploring the proposed switch to imperial measurements so heavily opposed by NCE readers and engineers earlier this year. Other popular stories discussed on the podcast include a proposed £2bn tidal barrage, the collapse o ..read more

With the ink barely dried on the agreements drawn up at COP27 in Egypt, this episode looks at the need for civil engineers to work more closely with the financial industry to delivery on the commitments made at COP. NCE editor Claire Smith is joined by Mott MacDonald decarbonisation discipline lead Mark Crouch to talk through the challenge and the drivers behind a report published by the Institution of Civil Engineers at COP27 on Financing Low Carbon Infrastructure. After exploring what was agreed at COP27 and what it means for civil engineers, Mark and Claire talk about what civil engineers n ..read more

This episode of The Engineers Collective podcast explores the barriers to adopting digital technology in construction and how they can be overcome. Joining NCE deputy editor Rob Horgan is Helen Samuels from EKFB and Alex Wraight from Allies and Morrison. Helen is a chartered civil engineer with a masters in environmental management and a fellow of the ICE. She has served as industry advisor for Plymouth, Cardiff and UCL universities, and was working group chair and report author of a review of infrastructure governance, as part of a wider review of asset safety post Grenfell. She is ..read more

Concept design of a timber high rise building in Oslo is attracting both awards and attention globally for its sustainable regeneration potential, even without firm plans to put the proposal into construction.   The masterminds behind the Regenerative Highrise scheme are Haptic Architects director Tomas Stokke and Ramboll director Ollie Wildman who join NCE editor Claire Smith to talk through the new approach and how other projects are looking to copy the idea. Both Tomas and Ollie call for greater consideration of the ability of tall buildings – in the right place – as a means to meet ur ..read more

Pandemic restrictions brought working from home to the lives of many, which worked well for office-based roles, but what about those on site? This episode of The Engineers Collective podcast explores a major industry trial of flexible working practices by leading contractors in the UK. “During the first lockdown many sites shut down for a few weeks but workers soon returned with social distancing precautions in place,” said NCE editor Claire Smith, who hosts the latest episode. “That could have meant back to business as usual for contractors, however, there were a group of businesses – Bam, Sk ..read more

With the UK’s ‘levelling up’ agenda in full swing, the latest episode of The Engineers Collective looks at how one region is taking a different approach to regeneration. Joining NCE head of content and engagement Rob Horgan on the episode is Krishanthi Carfrae, Arup’s lead Cities Advisory and Economics associate across the North West and Yorkshire. The episode focusses on Opportunity Humber; a new cross-Humber private sector-led partnership established to drive greater investment in the region which benefits all areas along the Humber. Krishanthi explains how Opportunity Humber was devised and ..read more

Fast paced development of electronics technology over the last decade has enable wireless sensors to go from being unproven but innovative solutions for monitoring complex engineering projects to become the go-to option for many schemes. The benefits for project delivery and reduced risk that this evolution in sensor technology is explored in this episode, which is sponsored by Farnell Electronics. NCE editor Claire Smith is joined by Bryn Smith, who is chief technical officer with wireless condition monitoring systems and technology firm Senceive, to discuss the change and look ahead to what ..read more

Making more women aware of the opportunities a career in construction can offer is critical to attracting more people into the sector and resolving the ongoing skills crisis the industry faces. In this episode of The Engineers Collective, NCE editor Claire Smith speaks to Willmott Dixon construction manager Lianne Lawson and Mott MacDonald development manager for energy Clare Rhodes James about their experiences coming into the sector as women as the industry prepared to mark International Women in Engineering Day last week. The three start by discussing how they each came to study engineering ..read more

Growing use of 3D printing for concrete structures, metal bridges and composite forms by the construction industry is discussed in this episode, which is sponsored by Farnell Electronics. NCE editor Claire Smith and senior reporter Catherine Kennedy are joined by Bam Nuttall head of innovation Colin Evison to chart how 3D printing first started to influence the civil engineering sector, where the industry is now and what opportunities lie ahead. Colin shares his experience of working with 3D printed concrete structures on projects with clients like the Environment Agency and talks about the op ..read more