The coalition Government is eliminating barriers to the use of overseas building products to make it easier and more affordable to build in New Zealand, according to Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Our Government has a plan to rebuild the economy to help Kiwis get ahead, and part of that plan includes cutting red tape and building more housing and infrastructure,” Penk says. House building cost increase of 41% “It has become more difficult and expensive to build in New Zealand, with the cost of building a house increasing by 41% since 2019. It is around 50% more expensive ..read more

When Pieter Prinsloo decided he was ready for a change from scaffolding, he signed up for a carpentry apprenticeship with the BCITO. Having already enjoyed a successful — and, literally, high-level — career in the trades, there was no doubt he had the skills to make the switch. However, there was one hurdle he hadn’t anticipated — his dyslexia. “I would often have to rely on my wife to help with the reading. But we have kids, so she had enough on her plate,” Prinsloo says. For many people with dyslexia or neurodiversity, the paperwork and other demands of study can be a real barrier to getting ..read more

Exploring ways to minimise construction and building waste is a passion for Dr Terri-Ann Berry, co-director of the newly formed Environmental Innovation Centre (EIC). Dr Berry has partnered with experienced Master Builder Nigel Benton to develop practical environmental solutions for the construction industry. In this month’s column, the team at the EIC will begin a series on the most common types of plastic waste found on construction sites, starting with one of the most visible — building shrink wrap. Why is building shrink wrap such a big problem? Typically made of low-density polyethylene ..read more

The NZ Institute of Building is calling for nominations for its 2024 NZ Building People Awards and Next Gen Awards. The awards celebrate and recognise people at all stages, places and scales doing great things in the construction industry. The awards are about the people behind the projects, and reward the good sorts in the building industry, those leading by example, and setting the behaviour standards high. The NZ Building People Awards are open to anyone in New Zealand’s building industry. The awards categories span a range of topics and levels of experience — from emerging leaders in the ..read more

Building Today columnist Andy Burrows — The Trades Coach — presents some tips to help construction companies improve their sales process and convert leads into jobs. At a recent industry event, I had the opportunity to speak to several Auckland builders. A common issue mentioned by a significant portion was, “we’re pricing lots of work, but not a lot is getting over the line”. Is that currently an issue for you as well? Could be your sales process needs a tweak. In periods of high demand, the conversion rate of leads into sales is often high enough for even an average sales process to be suc ..read more

New research has revealed New Zealanders have higher expectations of their buildings in earthquake events than providing life safety alone. “New Zealanders don’t just want to escape a major earthquake with their lives, but they want to be back living and working in those buildings soon after an earthquake,” explains Helen Ferner from the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineers (NZSEE). NZSEE and the EQC Toka Tu Ake have published the results of the three-year Resilient Buildings Project, which captures the expectations we have of our buildings, and provides a policy framework tool to supp ..read more

Waikato home builder, Urban Homes, has announced its first franchise, to be located in Whitianga and servicing the Thames Coromandel region. This major announcement comes on the heels of the company’s 20th anniversary milestone being marked this month. Franchising as a key business strategy was first proposed by Urban Homes’ founder Daniel Klinkenberg in 2020. The natural next regions for franchisees are Auckland and Bay of Plenty, and the Registered Master Builders company will next turn its attention to these areas. “Back in September 2021, I spoke to my team about my personal vision fo ..read more

Witnessing the human cost of the Canterbury earthquakes inspired Ben Exton to become an earthquake engineer and find solutions to make New Zealand homes more resilient against future seismic events. Exton recently received the Ivan Skinner Award at the New Zealand Society of Earthquake Engineering (NZSEE) annual conference to recognise his innovative work as a practitioner, and to support his quest to develop and commercialise cost-effective engineering solutions. “What I remember from the Canterbury earthquakes was the enormous damage, but also the incredible human impact,” Exton says. He spe ..read more

Tradie HR director Leigh Olsen notes that tardiness is on the increase in the workplace. Here she outlines some tips on how to deal with the problem. “Sorry mate, got a quick appointment to get to — I’ll be in later.” “Massive night gaming, bit too tired for work, will be in tomorrow — lol!”. These are actual text messages some of my clients are receiving on a weekly, if not daily basis! Some of their employees think it’s okay to be continuously late, and that their mates, and their boss, will be fine to deal with it all. Yet for many of my clients and their teams, they are not. In fact, the ..read more

The MBIE is proposing to cut the team that handles 1.8 million customer interactions a week with businesses and the public by about 25% as it responds to the Government’s cost cutting drive,” according to the Public Service Association (PSA). The PSA is New Zealand’s largest trade union, representing and supporting more than 90,000 workers across central government, state-owned enterprises, local councils, health boards and community groups. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has proposed reducing its Information and Education (I&E) team by 30 roles, out of approxim ..read more