If you have any interest in the future of Welsh Infrastructure and would like to get more involved in developing the vision and the long term plan for Wales, then book your place at this half day conference now.

Getting Welsh infrastructure right will boost the nation’s economic growth and create an opportunity for our industry to deliver landmark world class engineering and construction schemes.

The CEW Welsh Infrastructure conference on 4^th November will address the importance of long term planning. Wales must get this right and to do so, we need your involvement.

Speakers will cover the Vision for Wales, its importance in delivering a long term plan, the wider social benefits from major projects, environment and taking a holistic view of what’s right for Wales and how construction can provide the answers.  

Flyer below

Title: Infrastructure Investment and Delivery in Wales Date: Wednesday 4th November 2015 Location: Cardiff (venue confirmed on registration) Time: 8.30am – 1pm finish with lunch Cost: £70 plus VAT – Exhibition cost £250 plus VAT (includes two delegate spaces)

Infrastructure projects gain the most headlines and are almost always used as a benchmark for Welsh construction industry performance. The decisions about which infrastructure projects to prioritise are always highly contentious – they are strategic investments are functional, acting as a conduit for growth, generating economic and social impact but also tend to be high cost investments.

The decisions need to be taken for the right reasons and then the projects delivered with a clear focus on outcomes. This is crucial because any infrastructure development will only drive economic growth if it is fully aligned with Welsh economic, industrial, social and environmental priorities – and then planned, designed and engineered accordingly.

If Wales is to gain a competitive economic advantage from major projects it will depend upon its vision for the nation’s infrastructure and long-term planning. The decisions about Welsh infrastructure cannot be made in isolation from outside influencing factors or the opinions of stakeholders and desires of the public.

CEW’s Infrastructure Investment and Delivery in Wales conference will address these issues. We will look at the opportunities for Wales; examine the long term benefits to be obtained from well thought out and well planned infrastructure and give delegates the opportunity to bring their experience and expertise to the table in breakout sessions.

This is an opportunity to become directly involved in the work of the Welsh Government in the further development of the Wales Infrastructure Investment Plan – influencing decision making and sharing the industry’s experience in a constructive dialogue.

Agenda

Exhibition space is available at £250 plus VAT, this cost includes two delegate spaces.

How to Book: To reserve your place please email CEWales Events stating your full contact details and the names of all delegates wishing to attend.
Payments can be made by credit/debit card by calling 02920 493322

Non-attendance by any registered delegate will be charged in full unless you have informed us prior to the event.

In order to reduce wastage at our events CEW operates a policy of only notifying venue details when issuing registration confirmation. This ensures we only cater for delegates who have registered and don’t over order for individuals who may or may not turn up on the day.

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Back in June CEW and Welsh construction celebrated the best of the best at the CEW Awards 2015. On Friday 23rd October our winners will be entered into the national Constructing Excellence awards. We wish them all the best of Welsh luck!

But remind yourself of why Welsh construction is so good and why almost every year, our CEW winners return from England with at least one national award. Take a look at our winners from this summer –

Download our winners brochure here:  Winners Brochure – English   Winners Brochure – Welsh

To view photos from our awards dinner please click here to view.

Integration & Collaborative Working Award:
Penarth Learning Community – Leadbitter – A Bouygues UK Company

SME of the Year:
1-50 – Thomas CMS (Holdings) Ltd
51-250 – Pro Steel Engineering

 Sustainability Award – Our Legacy:
Winner: Ysgol Ffwrnes, Llanelli – WRW Construction Ltd
Highly commended: Coed y Brenin Visitors Centre – Architype Ltd

 Value Award:
A465 Dualling Brynmawr to Tredegar – Carillion Civil Engineering

Health & Safety Award:
Cardiff Business School – ISG

Innovation Award:
Winner: Erwood Bridge Refurbishment Scheme – Dawnus Construction Holdings Ltd
Highly commended: Aberdare Community School (Sobell Redevelopment) – Laing O’Rourke/Atkins

Young Achiever of the Year:
Ester Coma Bassas, Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University

The Achiever’s Award:
Martin Nicholls, City & County of Swansea

Client of the Year:
City & County of Swansea

Leadership & People Development Award:
CYFLE Building Skills Ltd

Project of the Year:
Winner: Penarth Learning Community – Leadbitter – A Bouygues UK Company
Highly commended:  Ysgol Ffwrnes, Llanelli – WRW Construction Ltd 

But none of this is possible without the support of the whole industry and especially the CEW headline sponsors: Network Rail, Costain and ABC Electrification. So we would like to thank all the sponsors, judges and for those of you who submitted entries. Don’t forget to sharpen your pencils and begin preparing your entries for the 2016 awards soon!

CEW has published NTB its review of the 2010 No Turning Back report – the message is, good progress but work harder more to achieve top marks.

No Turning Back was a ground breaking report and discussion about the short comings of the public sector construction process in Wales. Greeted with enthusiasm by industry and clients alike, backed by Government and given direction by the Construction Procurement Strategy Steering Group.  It gave clear recommendations for how Welsh public sector construction needed to change.

That was five years ago. But has our industry moved on? How has construction in the public sector fared against the recommendations set out in October 2010?

There is no doubt the No Turning Back report created momentum, and its recommendations established a strong platform for improvement. But the only way to find out for sure is to ask the industry directly. That is why CEW commissioned NTB Review the follow-up report. The findings are not as positive as anyone would like – and we are now embarking on a series of events to showcase the results and discuss the report, the new recommendations and the way forward.

At our first few events held so far, the feedback for the debate CEW is driving was overwhelmingly supportive. Delegates appreciated that NTB Review identifies significant achievements but also reports on the gaps between current and best practice as recommended in No Turning Back. Advances have been made in the visibility of the public sector construction pipeline; in communication and collaboration and particularly in the contribution of public investment works to sustainable community benefit, employment and training.

Progress has not been so good in overall procurement capability and expertise; moving from lowest price to value in tender evaluation; and in reforming payment processes. In the light of these findings, No Turning Back Review makes five new recommendations with a view to getting the process back on track:

1. Public sector clients must improve the visibility of information in construction programmes and make clear when projects will be coming to market. Stronger communication between clients and suppliers is essential to enable better resource planning.
2. Clients must use standard processes in a consistent fashion. Funding should be withheld from projects not based on value outcomes. Cross-industry working groups should determine procurement processes most likely to deliver greatest value. The Client Commitment Charter should be mandated across the whole sector.
3. Key performance indicators to achieve value should be recorded and reported for every public sector project.
4. The competency and capability of public authorities to procure construction activity should be assessed and improved.
5. Government and major public clients must lead the way in adopting simple processes, open communication and fair payment practices.

To obtain a copy of the report, register for events (there is another planned for Cardiff very soon) or join the debate please call the CEW team on 02920 493322 or go to our website and go to publications.

Click the report below to download:

     

Businesses and communities across Wales are already experiencing the costs of severe weather events and the impacts of a changing climate. Across the UK the total economic damage caused by the 2012 floods alone has been estimated as high as £620 million. Welsh construction has to take note.

Climate change cannot be ignored and its consequences have to be considered by Welsh construction. That’s why last week the Climate Change Commission for Wales (CCCW), Constructing Excellence Wales (CEW) and Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) organised a workshop of direct relevance to organisations working in the infrastructure sector, aimed at senior managers and practitioners alike. Over 40 people attended INFRASTRUCTURE SECTORAL ADAPTATION PLAN: WORKSHOP and contributed to discussions throughout the day. 

You can download all the presentations here: mpact of climate change on infrastructure in Wales by Geoff Ogden, Atkins;

UK Infrastructure Operators Adaptation Forum John Dora, Chair; RainScape from Andrew Harris, Dwr Cymru Welsh Water and

Asset Management of Coastal Structures by Kevin Giles, Network Rail. You can see all the details of the event here: here.