Construction Jobs Expo will now take place online on 6th February, 2021. Meet leading employers in the construction and engineering sectors with job and career opportunities.
Engineers Ireland presents a webinar for students and recent graduates, profiling a career in Energy Engineering. The presentation takes place on Mon, 30 November 2020 from 17:30 – 18:30.
Are you an Engineer who is graduating into the current COVID-19 job market? Are you looking for new opportunities, or are you beginning to take your first steps on your career?
A Career in Energy Engineering. Register here.
Patrick Calnan, a 2020 Chartered Engineer of the year finalist, will talk around both giving insights into his own career and on the topic of "Decarbonising the power grid - the economic and engineering opportunity".
This talk will move into conversation with Engineers Ireland's immediate Past President Marguerite Sayers, who will bring in elements of her 2020 Sir Bernard Crossland Lecture on Energy Transition. There will be an opportunity to ask questions and answers at the end.
About the Speakers
Patrick Calnan, Chartered Engineer
Patrick is Portfolio and Risk Manager for Brookfield Renewable UK and Ireland assets, responsible for maximising revenues for existing assets and the development of new assets through commercial contracts negotiations. He joined Brookfield Renewable in 2014 through Brookfield’s acquisition of Bord Gáis Energy’s onshore wind assets; Brookfield’s first renewable acquisition in Europe. Patrick worked to establish Brookfield’s European renewable platform, notably in setting up its Trading, Risk and Analytics functions.
Prior to Brookfield he worked in Bord Gáis as its Lead Analyst for its Trading business with focus on the interactions of the Whitegate Power Station in the market. He has worked as a Project Manager for SWS Energy (acquired by Bord Gáis in 2010) and a Project Engineer for Punch Consulting.
Patrick graduated from UCC with a B. Eng (Civil) and a M Eng Sc (via research on power system economics) and has Pg. Dip (Renewable Energy) from the University of Ulster.
Marguerite Sayers, Chartered Engineer, Immediate Past President Engineers Ireland
Marguerite was appointed Executive Director, Customer Solutions of ESB in May 2018. Prior to this she held the role of Managing Director ESB Networks Ltd.
An electrical engineer by profession, she has worked in various technical and managerial positions in ESB including Customer Service Manager and Head of Asset Management in ESB Networks. She was also Generation Manager in Generation and Wholesale Markets.
She has a degree in Electrical Engineering from University College Cork (UCC), a diploma in Accounting and Finance from University of Limerick and a diploma in Project Management from UCC.
Construction Jobs Expo will now take place online on 6th February, 2021. Meet leading employers in the construction and engineering sectors with job and career opportunities.
The Irish Construction Excellence (ICE) Awards are providing the industry and its partners with a unique and immersive evening to celebrate excellence in Irish construction.
The ICE Awards 2020 Gala at Home experience will take place on 7 November and will see the industry coming together for a much needed night of unity and celebration to round off the year.
“The ICE Awards and our partners will bring together the best of Irish food, and entertainment, virtual awards presentations and a social media event. We will bring the industry together while staying apart, giving the industry and clients a night to remember which has never been done before in Ireland,” said Colin Walsh, ICE Awards Media Director.
The Irish Construction Excellence Awards are the original and premier recognition of performance excellence for the contracting sector in Ireland. The ICE Awards provide an opportunity for the industry to showcase and reward best practice across the full range of construction disciplines and project categories.
The Judges found the range and quality of finalists’ projects and initiatives to be the best so far in the competition.
Gala at Home experience
All the hard work has been done by the finalists’ teams, project clients and design team partners when entering, preparing for and attending their interviews in the Convention Centre Dublin where over 270 delegates attended and presented in front of the ICE Awards Judges. On 7 November the finalists and their teams can enjoy the Gala Experience in the comfort of their own homes.
A nationwide delivery of Gourmet food boxes will be sent to attendees showcasing great Irish food all topped off with a bottle of Champagne.
Entertainment will be provided by The Address, one of Ireland’s finest live bands.
A full event with presentation of the finalists and announcement of winners will be streamed via a professional event hosting platform. Attendees will be encouraged to interact and mingle using the awards platform. All the finalist category winners will be announced plus the Project of the Year which was by public vote and received over 15,000 nominations.
On the night prizes will be given out as part of the charity raffle in aid of Make A Wish, the ICE Awards 2020 charity partner.
Winners will be invited to a socially distanced trophy photo opportunity in Dublin and will be featured in the December issue of Irish building magazine.
Judging
The ICE Awards recognise and reward companies striving to move construction forward. These awards are the industry’s most rigorous and therefore most prestigious accolade. Construction is an international market and these awards will shine a light on the capabilities of Irish construction and market the industry to national and international clients.
The ICE Awards welcomed a returning panel of esteemed Judges this year including Phelim Devine, Design Director/Deputy Project Director of the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board; Jerry Grant, water utility sector specialist and most recently Managing Director of Irish Water from February 2016 to September 2018; Seán McCarthy, Project Management and Lean/IPD Consultant who was Site Manager of Projects and Construction at the Intel Leixlip campus; Niall Kane, Head of Smart Places, VINCI Facilities; Keith Elliott, Former Associate Director of PM Group; Emma Hayes, Managing Director of Digital Built Consultants, a BIM and Digital Information Management Consultancy and Technological University Dublin Lecturer.
For 2020 three industry leaders in architecture, engineering and BIM bolster an already outstanding Judging Panel. The three new Judges are as follows: State Architect and Principal Architect in the Office of Public Works, Ciaran O’Connor; Co-Founder of Public BIM and Dublin City Council Quantity Surveyor, Mary Flynn; Former RPS Director and Past President of Engineers Ireland, and current Construction Sector Group Chairman of Innovation and Digital Adoption, PJ Rudden.
Click here to view the 2020 Finalists and read more about the ICE Awards 2020 Judges.
Constructionjobssearch.ie is Ireland’s new online jobs board. Our tools and services give jobseekers the best possible opportunity to find the ideal job.
Simply click, search & apply directly to employers recruiting right now. Take the next step and find your perfect job on Constructionjobssearch.ie
You can register now to attend The British Construction Industry Awards (BCIA), which is going virtual for the first time ever as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Registering for the live awards event, which will start at 4pm on 5 November, will also give you access to pre-event content and details of all the shortlisted entries, as well as the opportunity to network with the finalists, judges, sponsors and other attendees.
“The pandemic has forced us to make changes to the BCIA this year but the platform we’re using and the virtual ceremony creates opportunities for greater insight into our shortlist and the winners,” said NCE editor Claire Smith. “The event platform presents more detail on the entries but our live coverage of the awards will also include interviews with the winners straight after they are announced.”
Additional content on the event platform includes a video from the chair of judges Mike Putnam, who is a non-executive director of Network Rail, Arcadis, Southern Water and Tideway, about the vital role BCIA plays for the industry. Released today is a panel discussion led by Putnam talking to judges about the importance of recognising successfully delivered project outcomes. Tomorrow another panel discussion led by Putnam will be released which talks to another group of judges about sharing best practice during project delivery.
BCIA will be presented on a sophisticated virtual event platform called Swapcard. Attendees can use the platform to network with each other and visit our sponsors at the event, send connection requests and have one to one video call meetings from the safety of their homes. The system uses an artificial intelligence algorithm to matchmake attendees with one another based on their interests and activity on the site, too.
The Swapcard system will also have all of the panel discussions, shortlist profiles and the award ceremony available on demand after the event.
To register to attend the ceremony and gain access to the additional content for free, click here.
Constructionjobssearch.ie is Ireland's new online jobs board. Our tools and services give jobseekers the best possible opportunity to find the ideal job.
Simply click, search & apply directly to employers recruiting right now. Take the next step and find your perfect job on Constructionjobssearch.ie
The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) has welcomed the Government’s historic investment in sustainable energy action, as set out in Budget 2021. This is a significant milestone for both Irish society and the economy as we take fossil fuels out of Ireland’s energy mix, in a just fashion. This commitment means that homes will be more comfortable, businesses more competitive, transport less polluting and our energy supply more affordable and secure. It will also place Ireland on a stronger footing in the fight against climate change, enabling everyone to play their part.
SEAI’s budget, which is also part funded through carbon tax, has increased more than 50% to approximately €350 million. This additional funding will support:
Speaking about the investment, Mr William Walsh, Chief Executive of SEAI said:
SEAI continues to support Government in the implementation of sustainable energy policy. We have designed and managed successful programmes to engage and support all segments of the economy. Our dual focus has always been on value for the public purse and providing a strong evidence base for future policies and measures.”
SEAI also welcomed the Minister’s announcement that a new National Retrofit Office will be established in the SEAI as well as the commitment to additional staffing and funding for the organisation to drive achievement of our retrofit targets.
Walsh continued:
SEAI is a key enabler of climate action in Ireland. This funding from Government will allow us to support all energy users to take more fossil fuels out of Ireland’s energy mix. It will also support cutting edge research and pilots. We are inviting all citizens, businesses and communities to join us on this movement by taking energy action.
In conclusion Walsh said:
The recently published Climate Action Bill and this Budget demonstrates this Government’s commitment to follow through and deliver on our international targets. We look forward to working with, and supporting, our colleagues in the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, central Government and all stakeholders, to deliver these targets.
Register to attend this free Mechanical Seals: Performance and Reliability webinar, hosted by the MEETA society, where John Smiddy will discusses mechanical seals, their performance and reliability.
Takes place at 19:00 Wednesday, 14 October 2020
Register here.
For mechanical seals, there is a common misconception that: (i) for similar applications, the useful life of the seals are very similar, and (ii) for a given application, the useful life is repeatable (for example, if the initial life is 2.5 years, the replacement frequency can be set at 2 years to prevent failure and consequent unplanned downtime in the future).
The downside to this maintenance philosophy is that mechanical seals – like all machine components – are subject to random failure modes, bringing uncertainty into estimates of useful life. Thus, the seal above may have had significantly more residual life left at the time it was removed. Or, it may fail before the end of estimated life causing an unplanned shutdown.
The assumption that a wear component will have exactly the same usable life every time it is installed presents shortcomings. What if the industry had a method to indicate that the seal can run for four years before it breaks? What if there was a way to know exactly when the seal will fail?
In this presentation John Smiddy addresses these questions and offers the next step in maintenance strategies for mechanical seals.
Construction Jobs Expo will take place on 14th November at the Citywest Convention Centre. Meet leading employers in the construction and engineering sectors with job and career opportunities
Activity in the construction sector has fallen since July and declined for the first time in three months in August, according to the latest monthly measure from Ulster Bank Ulster Bank Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index® (PMI®), a seasonally adjusted index designed to track changes in total construction activity.
Construction Activity Slows in August
After bouncing back in the preceding months as Covid-19 restrictions were lifted and construction sites gradually opened up again, Irish construction activity stalled in August.
Simon Barry, chief economist with Ulster Bank said."Following two months of post-lockdown increases in activity in June and July, respondents reported that overall activity slipped back into contraction territory last month, albeit that the pace of contraction was nowhere near as severe as during the peak of the crisis in April and May.
“The weakness was broadly based, with each of the main sub-sectors reporting declining activity last month, while overall new orders also dipped having recorded very solid growth in July. Some firms have continued to report ongoing recovery in activity and orders, though in August this was more than offset by those who reported a drop. High levels of market uncertainty linked to the effects of the pandemic and some recent signs of a cooling in the wider economy’s recovery momentum weighed on the August results, including in relation to sentiment about the sector’s future prospects.
"Nonetheless, respondents continued to express optimism in the year-ahead outlook reflecting expectations that, despite some prominent risks and headwinds, the economy’s recovery will stay on track. Furthermore, with leading indicators such as the housing commencements data continuing to point to further upside for housing output, we would be surprised if the Housing PMI in particular doesn’t show renewed improvement in the months ahead.
High levels of market uncertainty linked to the effects of the pandemic and some recent signs of a cooling in the wider economy's recovery momentum weighed on the August results, including in relation to sentiment about the sector's future prospects."
Construction Activity Slows in August
Stockbroker Goodbody, which compiles a quarterly report on housing output, said it expects housing completions to fall by a fifth this year.
It expects 16,500 units to be completed this year with 19,500 next year.
The Central Bank estimates that 34,000 new units per year will need to be constructed for the next decade in order to meet demand.
Construction Jobs Expo will take place on 14th November at the Citywest Convention Centre. Meet leading employers in the construction and engineering sectors with job and career opportunities
Being Civil is a podcast from Wayne Gibbons of Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, in which guests engage in an informal chat, to allow them to tell the story of their journey through school, college, graduation and career. The intention is that this will be informative for prospective students, current students, staff, graduates, employers and anyone with an interest in civil engineering as a career.
In the latest Being Civil Podcast, Wayne catches up with Eoin Cheevers. Eoin is a Chartered Engineer, currently working with BAM Nuttall as a Design Manager on the Thames Tideway Super Sewer project, London. This is a multi-billion-pound project, where Eoin coordinates, manages, checks and implements designs for the main tunnel. He works with stakeholders, third-parties, and various construction teams to gain approval and ensures that procedures are followed, and any changes are captured in a formal manner and discussed with the client.
Eoin has had an interesting education and job history, a journey which he explains in this episode while offering great insights for current and prospective students.
Views expressed may not represent official policies/conduct of the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology and/or the past/present employers of the guests.
Construction Jobs Expo will take place on 14th November at the Citywest Convention Centre. Meet leading employers in the construction and engineering sectors with job and career opportunities
The annual global cost of metal corrosion is estimated to be $2.5 trillion*. The corrosion of stainless-steel, the most common material used in processing plants, is a particular concern for wet- and continuous process industries. Another challenge, particularly for biotech and pharmaceutical companies, is bacterial adhesion to the stainless-steel surface during drug production.
Stainless-Steel
PRO Stainless Designs, the Irish precision stainless-steel solutions provider, and I-Form, the SFI Research Centre for Advanced Manufacturing at Dublin City University, are embarking on an ambitious 3-year project to deliver better outcomes for food and pharma manufacturers, through the development and application of super-clean, corrosion resistant stainless-steel surfaces. This project is supported by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI).
By combining PRO Stainless Designs’ industrial know-how in stainless-steel treatments and finishes and DCU’s advanced materials expertise, the team hope to make a number of key breakthroughs with the objectives of advancing the qualities of stainless-steel and delivering superior surface finishes. The objective is to enhance anti-corrosion, anti-microbial, and anti-fouling features as well as facilitating easy-to-clean and servicing of stainless steel surfaces.
“We believe more advanced stainless finishes are possible, and that this Research and Development program will deliver huge value for industries where sterile environments and adherence to strict standards and regulations are important.” Laurence McDermott, Technical & Innovation Director, at PRO Stainless Designs.
“This exciting project blends the manufacturing capabilities of PRO Stainless Designs in advanced stainless-steel applications with DCU’s research focus in materials and surface engineering and targets a significant step forward compared to the state of the art,” said Professor Dermot Brabazon of DCU School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering and Deputy Director at I-Form.
* Source: NACE International IMPACT Study, impact.nace.org
Construction Jobs Expo will take place on 14th November at the Citywest Convention Centre. Meet leading employers in the construction and engineering sectors with job and career opportunities
The CIF Annual Conference takes place 1st November and will be chaired by Ivan Yates. This year's agenda will focus on how to revive the sector during such unprecedented and turbulent times.
Like many other industries in Ireland and around the world, the global COVID-19 pandemic has caused the construction sector to witness a decline the likes of which has never been seen before, even paling in comparison to the crash of 10 years ago. With tremendous pressure on global supply chains, legal implications, new health and safety regulations for construction sites and much more, it has never been more important for the industry to rally together and look for solutions to overcome some of the biggest challenges the industry has ever faced.
While the fall-out from the effects of the pandemic is far from clear and no-one can predict its full impact, many experts agree that COVID-19 will have long-term implications for many aspects of the construction industry. However, is it possible to consider this crisis from another perspective and find opportunities for our industry to learn from, develop new ways of working and prepare for the long-term?
This year’s CIF Annual Conference will focus on how to revive the sector during such unprecedented and turbulent times and will remain the foremost event for the industry to come together to discuss the future. Featuring leading content, panel debates, keynotes and discussions, this conference is one that will look to rebuild the industry and explore how we turn this crisis into an opportunity to learn, improve and better prepare for the future.
To reflect the unprecedented times we find ourselves in; as well as the live event that will take place for delegates in Croke Park, this year’s conference will also be available online for those not in a position to attend in person. You can log-on in a virtual conference environment from the comfort of your home or office and see the same great content delivered in a new and exciting way. You will also be able to interact with our speakers, sponsors and exhibitors and network with other delegates in an online setting.
Topics at CIF 2020 include:
Who should attend?
The ‘Hybrid’ Summit
To adapt to the current environment and the growing demand for some delegates to have the ability to attend conferences and events in a virtual environment, the CIF Annual Conference 2020 will be a ‘hybrid’ event. The ‘hybrid’ nature of the CIF Annual Conference 2020 will cater for those delegates that want to attend the live event experience in-person in Croke Park and also for those that wish to tune in virtually from the comfort of their home or office.
The Live Summit Experience:.
Benefits of live in-person attendance include:
The Virtual Summit Experience:
Virtual attendance will be easily facilitated by CIF's specially customised conferencing platform and dedicated AV team.
Benefits of virtual attendance include:
Construction Jobs Expo will take place on 14th November at the Citywest Convention Centre. Meet leading employers in the construction and engineering sectors with job and career opportunities