The Engineers Collective

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News and interviews covering all corners of infrastructure, from rail to roads to energy to tunnels and much more, with guests from all around the wide world of civil engineering chatting with NCE news editor Rob Hakimian and the rest of the NCE team

  1. 10 hr ago

    Why construction must move from ‘lowest cost’ to ‘value procurement’ to reduce avoidable error

    The latest episode of the Engineers Collective is out now: listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, your usual platform or via the player below. This month’s guest is Cliff Smith, executive director of the Get It Right Initiative (Giri). He told New Civil Engineer news editor Lee Kenny about Giri’s work to reduce avoidable error across the construction industry and why he believes changing culture, improving planning and focusing on value rather than cost are essential. Smith said Giri’s research found around 21% of project costs are attributable to avoidable error, a figure that equated to around £25bn a year across the UK construction industry. He said Giri has focused on addressing the root causes of error since it was established following an Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) discussion in 2015. He said planning is the most significant of Giri’s top causes of error, ranging from strategic planning of projects through to ensuring teams have the right materials, equipment and resources for day-to-day tasks. “It’s a built-in issue for us to go at,” he said. “And even if you don’t get the 21%, you get 5%, it’s doubled your margin.” Smith also discussed the importance of ensuring designs have reached the appropriate level of maturity before construction begins and warned that uncontrolled design changes can lead to avoidable errors. He said technology should be used to solve clearly identified problems rather than adopted for its own sake. “It’s a question of getting the right technology to address your particular challenges,” he said. Looking at the wider industry, he believes creating an environment where workers feel able to raise concerns is vital. And his key message to the sector was to place greater emphasis on value when procuring projects. “We need to have a different attitude when it comes to cost versus value,” he said. “The sector needs to be moving towards value procurement.”

  2. 24 Jun

    Why Birmingham – Manchester rail can’t wait for HS2

    The latest episode of the Engineers Collective is out now: listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, your usual platform or via the player below. This month’s guest is Ben Brittain, director of public affairs at the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE). He told NCE news editor Lee Kenny about his role and how, when he was transportation adviser to Andy Street, the former Mayor of the West Midlands, he spent many years making the case for HS2 and advising on the Midlands Rail Hub and capital programme spending across the West Midlands. He shared his personal experience of congestion on the West Coast Main Line, which creates timetabling issues between Birmingham and Manchester. The poor connectivity between the two cities is symptomatic of the “chronic lack of investment” in Britain’s railway. He also expressed concern that sequencing the Birmingham–Manchester rail line behind both HS2 Phase 1 and Northern Powerhouse Rail could delay the route into the 2040s. If that happens, he is concerned it may not happen at all and describes it as a “slow-motion cancellation”. He compared the domestic rail network with services in Europe, particularly the lack of high-speed trains in the UK. “If you do travel in Europe as well, you can see how a high-speed rail network is the norm,” he said. “There are options for high-speed rail and regional or intercity connectivity on conventional rail as well, whereas Britain is hobbled by its Victorian rail infrastructure.” He said HS2 has been an “embarrassment” and a “blemish” on the UK’s international reputation. He has concerns that the increasing cost of HS2 may deter governments from embarking on other large-scale infrastructure projects in the future, but that should not be the case. “I think as a result of HS2 and its problems, we’ve begun to talk ourselves down as a country on our capability of delivering infrastructure,” he said. “And I don’t buy that story. We deliver world-class infrastructure in this country, and we at times deliver it well.”

    Why Birmingham – Manchester rail can’t wait for HS2

  3. 28 May

    Engineering in Antarctica

    This month’s guest is Billy Thursfield, Bam sub-agent for the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), who joined us from Rothera Research Station in Antarctica. He has spent seven seasons living and working on infrastructure projects on the southernmost continent. He told NCE news editor Lee Kenny about the aims of the wider Antarctic Infrastructure Modernisation Programme (AIMP), the partnerships involved in delivering it and the role of British Antarctic Survey (Bas) as a client. His early seasons were focused on the wharf works, dealing with the many engineering and logistical challenges of operating in Antarctica. More recently, he has worked alongside teams in Scotland and Cambridge, supporting delivery alongside Hugh Broughton Architects, Ramboll, Sweco and the Bas team. He discussed his work at Rothera and detailed the Discovery Building project to replace a number of ageing buildings with one centralised modern facility. He talked about how the building has evolved over the different construction seasons, from enabling works and earthworks, through to steel erection, fit-out and commissioning, as well as off-site manufacture and sustainability. He discussed the pre-mobilisation process and the amount of preparation involved before engineers are deployed to Antarctica, especially around health, wellbeing and the practical and psychological challenges of being away from home for extended periods. Lastly, he described how he spends his time outside of work and the experience of living in one of the world’s most extreme environments.

  4. 26 Feb

    Assessing dam failure risk with WTW

    The latest episode of the Engineers Collective is out now: listen in on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, your usual platform or the player below.   This month’s guests are WTW head of flood and water risk research Neil Gunn and WTW climate practice associate director Dulce Perez Romero.   They join rob to discuss where they sit in the civil engineering ecosystem when it comes to dam maintenance; working with asset owners on the risk of their dam fails and the liability should this happen.   The discussion touches on the history of dams, the status of dams in the world today, the increasing hazard of dam failure caused by climate change and some recent high profile failures.   They then get into the nitty gritty about how WTW assesses the risk of dam failure, how to prevent it – and how worried we should be about it.   Prior to the interview portion, host Rob Hakimian is joined by NCE senior reporter Thomas Johnson to discuss recent proposals for a £130bn high-speed Rail Loop around the UK and the political wrangling over the Hudson Tunnel in America.

  5. 4 Feb

    Celebrating the landmark Menai Suspension Bridge on its 200th anniversary

    The latest episode of the Engineers Collective is out now: listen in on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, your usual platform or the player below.   Joining host Rob Hakimian this month is ICE Fellow and member of the Panel for Historic Engineering William Day, who provides a fascinating history lesson on the Menai Suspension Bridge.   The iconic bridge, which crosses the Menai strait between mainland Wales and the Isle of Anglesey, just celebrated the 200th anniversary of its opening on 30 January 1826. William tells the podcast about the landmark’s history: its design by Thomas Telford, the dimensions of its various elements and how workers overcame difficulties to complete its construction between 1819 and 1826.   The discussion then moves on to the various modifications it has had in the two centuries since its opening that have kept it in operation today. William also relays some of his own experiences working on those maintenance regimes and the feeling of renewing such a historic structure.   Prior to the interview portion, Rob is joined by NCE senior reporter Thomas Johnson to discuss recent developments in the UK’s rail network including the resurrection of Northern Powerhouse Rail, ongoing developments with the Railways Bill and more.

  6. 03/12/2025

    How Anglian’s @one Alliance has set a template for water project delivery

    This month we welcome Anglian Water’s delivery director for water Paul Lonsdale to discuss the pioneering work of the @one Alliance. Formed of eight partner organisations – Anglian Water, Balfour Beatty, Barhale, Binnies, Mott MacDonald Bentley, MWH Treatment, Skanska and Sweco – the alliance has been running for 20 years and has set a template for collaboration and efficiency in major project delivery in the sector. Lonsdale tells us how the amalgamation of so many organisations works in practice and what benefits come from having a range of expertise involved. We also discuss Anglian Water’s other alliances and why alliancing has become prevalent in the water sector. In the introductory section, host Rob Hakimian is joined by senior reporter Thomas Johnson to discuss some recent site visits they have been on including to 3D printing facilities and National Grid’s new Tilbury to Gravesend power tunnel.

  7. 12/11/2025

    Using digital tools to enable SMEs to grow by doing what they do best

    In this month’s episode we welcome the CEO of Projectworks, Mark Orttung, to discuss how his company’s software is facilitating growth among the construction and engineering sector’s vital small and medium enterprises (SMEs). We start by learning from Mark about why Projectworks’ offerings are particularly suited to SMEs and how it can help to provide them with insights and analysis that can help to guide them from strength to strength. We learn that, in turn, this simplifies these businesses’ market processes and enables them to spend time more effectively on their projects. Our discussion then widens out to discuss how this technology is already having an impact in Australasia and America before taking a global sector view on how capacity can be improved across the board through the kinds of outputs that Projectworks provides. Prior to the interview portion, host Rob Hakimian is joined by NCE senior reporters Tom Pashby and Thomas Johnson to discuss the latest developments with the geological disposal facility and arguments over Welsh rail funding.

  8. 28/08/2025

    The 30-year journey to an underground facility for long-term nuclear waste storage

    The latest episode of the Engineers Collective is out now: listen in on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, your usual platform or the player below. In this month’s episode we discuss the UK’s long-term plan for a vast underground storage facility for nuclear waste – known as a geological disposal facility (GDF) – with Nuclear Waste Services (NWS). NWS chief scientific adviser Neil Hyatt and NWS head of major permissions Malcolm Orford join host Rob Hakimian to discuss the need for a GDF, especially in the context of the UK ramping up its nuclear power intentions. They discuss examples of similar facilities being developed elsewhere in the world and how the UK’s will compare. Malcolm and Neil also talk about the long process of getting to build a GDF, including the extensive dialogue and collaboration with the communities that could potentially host it, the in-depth siting process, and what NWS is looking for to determine its final location. Looking even further into the future, the guests tell Rob about the potential construction and engineering that would be required to undertake an infrastructure of this scale and when we might see work begin. Prior to the interview portion, Rob is joined by NCE senior reporter Tom Pashby to discuss the recent annual review from the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (Nista), which gives green, amber or red ratings to all of the UK’s in-development infrastructure projects based on how likely they are to be delivered.

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About

News and interviews covering all corners of infrastructure, from rail to roads to energy to tunnels and much more, with guests from all around the wide world of civil engineering chatting with NCE news editor Rob Hakimian and the rest of the NCE team

Information

  • Creator
    New Civil Engineer
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2020 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    The Engineers Collective