The first meeting of the East Midlands Built Environment Hub was well attended by contractors, suppliers, consultants and public sector bodies all seeking to boost the efficiency and strengthen the future of construction in the region.
The meeting was held on Tuesday, October 14 at Donnington Park and was organised by Pick Everard, supported by Scape and empa, the East Midlands Property Alliance.
The aim of the hub is to drive best practice in construction by boosting product and process innovation. It strives to support and advance the construction sector through collaboration, knowledge sharing, networking and engaging with government and major public sector bodies to influence policy and industry initiatives. This will help to build construction-related business and maximise opportunities for learning and training of the next generation.
Head of empa Alan Coole said: “Despite a number of setbacks including the M1 being shut and appalling weather, we ended up with 25 hardy souls at the first BEH in the East Midlands event, to start the ball rolling.
“Instant feedback has been good with the panel discussion on BIM unearthing areas we can address in future, within all parts of the industry, and particularly at client level.
“The new changes to CDM safety regulations for construction projects next April also raised a few eyebrows as nobody in the room understood what they were and the impact – so this will be a useful area for BEH to focus on going forward.
“A good cross-section of delegates attended the event, including suppliers, mains, consultants, and two major public sector clients across quite a few disciplines.”
Alan Coole is the head of empa – the East Midlands Property Alliance. This involves local authorities across the region working together to improve the delivery of property services in their communities.
By getting involved with the East Midlands BEH, members have access to training, technical support and opportunities to promote projects where business objectives have benefitted from the application of best practice methods and innovative construction technology and techniques.
