The Engineers Collective

Introducing circular economies into construction projects has been discussed as a concept for a number of years but this episode of the podcast looks at some projects that have actually put it into action.   Following some discussion on the main news stories of the month, NCE’s editor Claire Smith and head of content and engagement Rob Horgan are joined by Sweco Architects head of sustainability E...

With the work from home guidance being relaxed in the UK following the latest wave of Covid, many civil engineers are now starting to return to some office-based working or more site-based activities. But after two years of working through a pandemic and embracing new ways of working, has the industry’s approach to how work is undertaken changed forever?   To talk through the learnings since March...

Creating new public realm as part of commercial development is becoming commonplace in order to meet planning requirements but could these be obligations be extended to add climate resilience too? The question is explored by founding director of Madeleine Kessler Architecture and Unscene Architecture Madeleine Kessler and Civic Engineers director Gareth Atkinson in the latest episode. Following th...

Jacobs senior associate director and practice group lead for intelligent asset management Steve Yule and Collins Engineers director of unmanned aircraft systems, artificial intelligence and reality modelling Barritt Lovelace join NCE editor Claire Smith and reporter Catherine Kennedy to discuss the use of digital engineering on their projects. Network Rail and Jacobs have used digital twins on the...

Welcome to the final episode of The Engineers Collective for 2021! In this episode editor of New Civil Engineer Claire Smith, head of content and engagement Rob Horgan, and reporter Catherine Kennedy take a look at the top news stories and features of the year so far, and the background behind those headlines. The team run through the top five most read news stories, and the top five most popular...

Fresh of the back of being inaugurated as ICE President, Ed McCann joins NCE editor Claire Smith and head of content & engagement Rob Horgan on the podcast to go over the latest news. Recorded ahead of the Integrated Rail Plan’s publication, Ed explains how a year of uncertainty has affected the industry while remaining sympathetic to the difficult position the government found itself in amid the...

Sizewell C consents manager Stephen Mannings and head of regional affairs Tom McGarry talked to NCE former features editor Nadine Buddoo and current features editor Sotiris Kanaris about EDF Energy’s efforts to alleviate concerns about the project's environmental impact.   Like Sizewell B, the proposed nuclear power station Sizewell C will be located within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Out...

The role of forms on contract have played over the last 30 years in moving the construction sector from an adversarial one to a collaborative one is explored in the latest episode. New Engineering Contracts (NEC) Users’ Group Chair John Welch, who is also currently deputy director for construction at Crown Commercial Service, and Andrew McNaughton who has recently joined Aczel as infrastructure le...

With COP26 just weeks away, the need to design in sustainability and climate resilience into every element of the built environment has never been more in the spotlight and is the focus of the latest episode. NCE editor Claire Smith and reporter Catherine Kennedy are joined by Rodrigo Fernandes who is director of empowering sustainable development goals with Bentley Systems to talk about the role...

Transport for London (TfL) Crossrail 2 managing director Michèle Dix joins NCE editor Claire Smith and head of content and engagement Rob Horgan on the latest episode of The Engineers Collective to talk about her 21 year career with the organisation as she prepares for retirement. Michèle talks about her work on London’s congestion charging scheme, which first took her to TfL in 2000 and how she w...

In this episode Transport for the North’s new chief executive Martin Tugwell joins NCE editor Claire Smith and features editor Nadine Buddoo to discuss the decarbonisation of regional transport networks. Tune in to find out how sustainable growth can be tackled by finding the economic benefits, utilising current budgets and thinking systematically to create a long-term strategy. While the discussi...

In this episode Amanda Fisher, chief executive of Amey, and Mandy Willis, Mace group board director of corporate strategy, join NCE editor Claire Smith and Nadine Buddoo to discuss a new initiative they've launched to support staff through menopause in the workplace. The group discuss how menopause is the skills issue that is rarely spoken about in the construction sector and how an online platfor...

Creation of 3D models of different phases of construction is allowing civil engineers to move into the world of 4D and digitally rehearse the work before ever setting foot on site. Speaking to The Engineers Collective host Claire Smith, who is editor on NCE, John Sisk and Sons head of 4D planning Josh Hanson refers to this as effectively having a construction time machine to scroll forward and bac...

This month's episode features a chat with founding director of Knight Architects, Martin Knight, and BDP principal and civil and structural engineering group leader Michelle McDowell. The two join our editorial panel to talk about the need for engineers and architects to work together more collaboratively in the future. With the two disciplines working closer together than they used to, we ask abo...

In this month’s news special, Claire Smith (editor), Catherine Kennedy (reporter) and Rob Horgan (news editor) discuss the recent tragic events in Miami, with the collapse in June of the Champlain Towers South building. Then, Claire is joined by former New Civil Engineer editor Ty Byrd, who joined what is now NCE’s sister title, Construction News in the wake the collapse of the Ronan Point tower b...

In this month’s episode of The Engineers Collective, news editor Rob Horgan and reporter Catherine Kennedy discuss the top news stories of the month, and Catherine tells us a bit about her most recent site visit in Belfast. Later, Nadine Buddoo (features editor at NCE) is joined by Zane Ulhaq, associate director for Atkins, and Helen Balmforth, the head of data analytics at the Health and Safety E...

Editor of New Civil Engineer Claire Smith is joined by John Nolan from Network Rail and Dan Vogen from Bentley Systems. This month’s podcast takes stock of our technology use right now and reflects on the journey we’ve all been on over the past two years or so. Our panellists get their crystal ball out and speculate on the future too - how can the industry build on rapid change over the past 12 mo...

This month the New Civil Engineer editorial team once again discuss the hot topics in civil engineering, including many government reports being released following purdah and the impact of the recent elections on infrastructure. Later, features editor Nadine Buddoo and reporter Catherine Kennedy are joined by two guests from Mott MacDonald, also authors of the recent report by the Net Zero Infrast...

May’s mid-month episode of The Engineers Collective features New Civil Engineer’s features editor Nadine Buddoo, and reporter Catherine Kennedy. The pair go international and chat to two special guests in The Port of San Diego in the United States of America. Joining them to talk about the blue economy model and its connection to innovative infrastructure solutions is Tim Barrett, senior environme...

This month’s podcast features a bumper news update, including the recent reaction to the proposed London Resorts Theme Park planning application. NCE’s editor Claire Smith, news editor Rob Horgan and reporter Catherine Kennedy go over the month’s most interesting stories: could the French ban on domestic short-haul flights be translated to the UK? Also on the table is multipurpose infrastructure p...

The 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) will be held in Glasgow in November 2021. But why does it matter to our industry? What should we be demanding is heard on behalf of civil engineers, and what decisions will be made which impact us? Joining The Engineers Collective to discuss all these questions and more is Philippa Spence, UK managing director, at Ramboll. Philippa outli...

Discussing the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on mental health, The Engineers Collective welcomes RSK’s health and safety manager for the contracting division Lindsey Marie and principal safety, health, environment and quality co-ordinator Phil Hinchey to the podcast. Marie explains some of the major challenges around workers’ mental health and wellbeing, and explores how COVID-19 has shaped the co...

This month, The Engineers Collective focuses on ethical engineering, welcoming Engineers Without Borders UK head of engineering Emma Crichton to the podcast. Crichton explains how her experience of studying for an engineering degree led her to question the lack of importance given to the ethical side of engineering.  She explains how engineers can use their skills to benefit the whole of society a...

The latest episode of The Engineers Collective looks at the regional challenge of delivering carbon net zero at a regional level and how the mindset of engineers needs to change in order to meet government targets. Joining NCE editor Claire Smith and reporter Catherine Kennedy special guest Waterman regional director for the Midlands Ruth Jeffs talks about what she has learned about carbon net zer...

The latest episode of The Engineers Collective looks at the role placemaking plays in the design of infrastructure and how the National Infrastructure Commission’s Design Principles for National Infrastructure aim to improve the look and feel of our built environment. The importance of creating a sense of place that brings joy to the user and minimises isolation is discussed by NCE editor Claire S...