Episodes

  • 153: The Construction Skills Crisis

    153: The Construction Skills Crisis
    May 15 2024
    Bishop & Taylor are joined by recruitment consultant Greg Shaw, Randstad’s London regional director, to discuss the construction industry jobs market and the future of the industry
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    38 mins
  • 152: The Downfall Episode: Osborne, Yousaf and Honda Swindon

    152: The Downfall Episode: Osborne, Yousaf and Honda Swindon
    May 1 2024
    In this episode Bishop & Taylor mourn the demise of Geoffrey Osborne Ltd. They also discuss how missing green targets brought down Scotland’s first minister. Also examined are demolition projects featured in the May 2024 issue of The Construction Index magazine: Honda’s Swindon plant and a bridge over the M25 at Wisley.
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    56 mins
  • 151: Could Truss be right?

    151: Could Truss be right?
    Apr 17 2024
    Britain’s briefest prime minister has a book out this week and Bishop & Taylor discuss some of the things that she’s been saying. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day, they decide. So what might Liz Truss be right about? Also in this episode, checking consultants’ credentials and Taylor’s adventure in artificial intelligence.
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    51 mins
  • 150: (Im)mobile Cranes, London Supersewer and MMC Review

    150: (Im)mobile Cranes, London Supersewer and MMC Review
    Apr 3 2024
    Bishop & Taylor discuss the increasing difficulties endured by mobile crane hire companies faced with road embargos. They celebrate the completion of construction of the Thames Tideway tunnel (and hope it stops rowers vomiting). And they wonder what housing minister Lee Rowley’s MMC policy review might throw up.
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    52 mins
  • 149: Killer Materials, Dubious Contracts and National Security

    149: Killer Materials, Dubious Contracts and National Security
    Mar 20 2024
    In an unusually wide ranging episode, Bishop & Taylor cover crystalline silica, plastic pipes, the Lower Thames Crossing, the A66, the Daily Telegraph (is it really more important to national security than nuclear power?) and stress-inducing questions.
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    51 mins
  • 148: Budget Special

    148: Budget Special
    Mar 7 2024
    Bishop & Taylor are joined by Dr David Crosthwaite, chief economist of the Building Cost Information Service (BCIS), to discuss Jeremy Hunt’s spring 2024 budget statement.
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    21 mins
  • 147: Decarbonising construction machinery

    147: Decarbonising construction machinery
    Mar 6 2024
    Bishop & Taylor are joined by L Lynch Plant Hire joint managing director Merrill Lynch to discuss reducing construction’s diesel consumption.
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    32 mins
  • 146: Planning reforms, National Highways probe and Nuclear safety breaches

    146: Planning reforms, National Highways probe and Nuclear safety breaches
    Feb 21 2024
    Bishop & Taylor explore the disconnect between attempts to remove red tape for house-builders while simultaneously burdening them with ever-greater levels of bureacracy. They also discuss news from a couple of regulatory authorities: the Office of Rail & Road is investigating the deteriorating performance of National Highways; and the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) is on EDF’s case after a series of safety failings at its power plants.
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    45 mins