The latest figures in Housing Today suggest that a fall from 178,000 to 110,000 in new home starts should be expected next year. House prices are expected to fall by over 10% with the increase in mortgage interest rates and possible further rate rises to curb inflation. Research consultancy, Capital Economics, has predicted a fall … Continue reading “Slowdown in new homes predicted”

A new Health and Safety Executive (HSE) initiative is drawing attention to injuries caused by moving and handling materials manually on construction sites. HSE site inspections will check that employers and workers know the risks and have planned their work to protect staff from injuries. TRA members will already know we have lots of information … Continue reading “HSE initiative to avoid handling injuries”

Despite concerns about a recession, the industry’s skills shortages have shot up the agenda once again, with ‘People and skills’ identified as one of the four most important strategic priorities in the Construction Leadership Council’s (CLC) new vision and leadership summary published in September. The CLC has stated that it will focus on people issues … Continue reading “How Talentview Construction can help TRA members with recruitment”

Good control of workers’ exposure to wood dust is all about understanding the defined limits in place, and planning adequate measures to minimise exposure. The current HSE business plan makes lung related illness a priority for 2022/23.  This is important because it means HSE inspectors will be visiting the type of business where there may … Continue reading “Wood dust – know your limits”

Image: The new CATT building at NMITE TRA members are very aware of the critical shortage of timber engineers in our sector, so we are very pleased to be able to share the news that the Timber TED courses announced at the TRA AGM have now been launched with the first course scheduled to start … Continue reading “Does your business need more timber engineering skill?”

Following on from the members vote at the TRA AGM, work has started on the new metal web Designer Development Programme (DDP) with the first meeting taking place on 12 July. Progress was made in defining the basic structure of the programme which will follow the model the TRA already has for trussed rafters. This … Continue reading “TRA Designer Development Programme for metal web joists”

To help SMEs with their decarbonisation journey, BEIS is sponsoring free access to copies of BS ISO 50005 energy management standard. Energy management systems are systematic tools that support businesses in managing their energy usage.  The BS ISO 50005 standard is designed for SMEs through a phased/staged implementation approach to make it manageable for SMEs … Continue reading “Free access to BS ISO 50005 energy management standard”

The timber industry, led by Timber Development UK (TDUK) is embarking on an industry-wide project to guide all members along the road to achieving net-zero carbon emissions. To help us all truly understand our own organisation’s emissions and how to reduce them, TDUK has enlisted the help of energy consultant, Energise which has put together … Continue reading “Call for Data for Timber Industry Net Zero Project”

A new set of health & safety briefing notes is currently being prepared by members of the TRA’s H&S committee. The first in the series is a subject which affects all our manufacturer members – Separating Pedestrians and Walkways. Latest statistics show that being struck by a moving vehicle is the second most common cause … Continue reading “Health & safety briefing – Separating pedestrians and walkways”

Divisional operations manager, Gordon Bache, along with his team at National Timber Systems, have developed a spandrel lifting cradle process designed to eliminate safety risks when lifting, turning and loading without the need for an overhead crane. Gordon explains: “The process allows loaders to load spandrels safely onto outbound HGVs, without risk of lifting straps on … Continue reading “Health & safety briefing – Spandrel lifting without crane”