South West Construction Summit to highlight need for collaboration
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November 8, 2021
Construction and structure concept of Engineer or architect meeting for project working with partner and engineering tools on model building and blueprint in working site.
A major event for the South West’s construction industry takes place this month – with the spotlight being shined on why the sector must come together collaboratively on building safety and sustainably as it comes out of a global pandemic.
Industry leaders and professionals will gather at Sandy Park, Exeter, for the Constructing Excellence South West Construction Summit, entitled ‘Coming out of COVID, on Wednesday, November 17. It comes as construction faces challenges around safety, hitting net zero carbon targets, and attracting skills into the sector.
Andrew Carpenter, CEO of Constructing Excellence South West (CESW), said: “The message post-COVID is that the construction industry needs to bring the key issues, such as building safety and net zero, together and work collaboratively on them.
“Disjointed thinking around the country has seen Wales invest in building affordable, timber frame, low carbon homes for sustainability while the Mayor of London is restricting the use of timber in new developments due to safety and combustibility. Our industry needs to start talking about building safety and zero carbon in the same breath to find one solution.”
As a cross-sector, cross-supply chain member-led organisation charged with driving the change agenda in construction, CESW has brought together an impressive line-up of speakers on the day for a packed agenda.
Gary Townsend Vila, BSF Charter Strategic Lead, will discuss the Building Safety Charter; Mary Bennell of SWPA will discuss ‘Overcoming blockers to delivering Offsite;’ while Laurence Stone of CITB will look at ‘Building Skills for Net Zero.’
Mike Blakely of Exeter College will discuss the development of green skills in the greater Exeter area; AJ Eaton of Mi-Space will look at understanding the design responsibility matrix post Grenfell; and Stephen Homer of Ashfords will provide a guide to appointing an architect.
Before lunch, a facilitated workshop on how CESW’s ‘Building Family’ models can best support industry in delivering net zero takes place with contributions from Emma Hewitt, Lead Officer for HoSW LEP Construction Skills & Building Plymouth, Dawn Chamberlain, Building Greater Exeter, and Helena Davison of Building Torbay.
“This is a pivotal time for the industry regionally and nationally and there are some huge opportunities for construction moving forward if we are all singing from the same page,” added Andrew. “I am delighted we have such an impressive and inspirational line-up of speakers, and I look forward to them sharing their knowledge with CESW members and guests.”
CESW leads the change agenda in construction regionally as part of Construction Excellence’s national mission to improve the industry’s performance and produce a better built environment.
For more information visit https://constructingexcellencesw.org.uk/event/cesw-construction-summit/ or call 01225 256002.
