Technology

Meet the man overseeing Balfour Beatty’s multimillion-pound plan to harness AI to drive a ‘productivity revolution’

Investors and former directors of failed contractor Merit Group Services have launched a new modular construction business. Merit Industrialised Construction has been formed following an asset purchase completed through the administration process, which began when the Northumberland-based Merit Group and Merit Holdings collapsed in November 2025. The new business is…

Charlie Morgan (pictured left) is a partner; Georgia Di Salle is an associate; and James Doe is head of construction and infrastructure disputes at law firm Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer  News that the American Arbitration Association and the International Centre for Dispute Resolution have launched an ‘AI arbitrator’ has put…

Michael Murphy is head of information management and data analytics at Bam Imagine if your local hospital or school could sense when it’s too hot, adjust the temperature and even schedule its own maintenance. That future isn’t decades away. It’s already here. “This isn’t just about cutting costs or going…

10. Inside the BSR bottleneck: part two In the second instalment of a two-part series investigating the Building Safety Regulator's progress, Charlotte Banks explored whether change was on the horizon.   9. 10 people to watch in 2025 Chatbots, Tilbury Douglas chief executive Craig Tatton and HS2 chief Mark Wild…

Last week, Homes England published its new strategic plan to support the government in achieving its commitment to build 1.5 million new homes by the end of the current parliament. So far, net additions to the housing stock between July 2024 and November 2025 amount to only about 275,600 homes ─ roughly…

The government has launched a research initiative aimed at delivering 10 per cent savings across public sector construction by 2030. Construction is one of two sectors being supported by a new £4m fund, that will also focus on digital infrastructure for the creative industries. This latest initiative follows the 2023…

Bouygues Construction has signed a strategic partnership agreement with French robotics firm Innodura to accelerate the use of advanced automation on building sites. The partnership will focus on easing the physical burden of construction work and improving site productivity by developing robotic solutions tailored for repetitive or hazardous tasks. Lyon-based…

Richard Brettell, pictured left, is commercial director (industrial) and Jamie Sangster is director of strategy at Sir Robert McAlpine With the UK’s AI market set to grow to about £750bn by 2035, according to one estimate, the government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan and AI Growth Zones are giving political shape…

Free webinar This webinar took place on Thursday 6 November Join HSI Skillko and industry experts for a panel discussion exploring how construction leaders are tackling one of the industry’s most pressing challenges: managing workforce competency and authorisation at scale — across multiple sites, subcontractors, and employment types. In construction,…