The Building Podcast
Mark Wakeford is Chairman of the National Federation of Builders, vice-chair at Constructing Excellence Midlands and a Governor at Construction College, Moulton College. He has run a large regional building contractor and now chairs Evoenergy, one of the UK's foremost renewable companies, bringing low carbon solutions to corporate Britain.
Mark talks to leading experts from across the construction sector to discuss issues facing the built environment. He explores various challenges with his guests, who offer solutions, information and ideas that listeners can apply to their own situations, be it in a company, on a project or studying at college.
The Building Podcast aims to provide CPD on the go. Supporting the sector with easily digestible ideas to support a rapidly changing industry!
The Building Podcast
Mark chats to Richard Evans, Blair Whitehurst and Matt Rushmere
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Construction is the UK’s largest single industry and one that is endlessly changing and variable. There are generally plenty of issues to keep us busy and focused on the known unknowns. However, it is worthwhile taking a step back every so often to see us how others see us, to determine whether we might operate in a different way, with different priorities. Mark talks to three professionals from different backgrounds, but who all have knowledge of overseas markets. Richard Evans, founder of collaboration expert, Affinity and Matt Rushmere, a BDM for Nord Logistics are both based in Lithuania and Blair Whitehurst, an experienced international FM professional talk about the effects of a Trump presidency, the opportunities and ease of importing materials to the UK to manage demand and the opportunities of thinking of supply chain partners being able to come from anywhere around the world. The team talk about the need for UK construction to look further afield, to countries who have strong capability in off-site manufacture and who can provide quality items at realistic prices. This will be especially true in the UK housing market where the 2-D off-site market can make a serious contribution to the UK’s housing targets of 1.5M homes during this parliament. The call to arms is, as with many of construction’s challenges, to collaborate widely and to start early. The Baltic states work on personal contacts, all be it under-written with strong contracts. Get investigating and get into control.