Construction Blogging

The internet revolution has started to hit the construction industry. Most companies involved in the supply and specification of construction materials have websites, they all use email, and some do business directly over the internet.

With many merchants it's already possible to access your account online and request quotes or place orders.

So why do I say that the interent revolution has only started to hit the construction trade?

The internet promises to revolutionise the way we do business. It does this by providing instant access to information, and a reliable means of communication. Like all businesses, construction requires a constant flow of knowledge as well as reliable supply of materials and services. The need for information becomes ever more pressing as the burden of regulation increases.

But the construction trade is a traditional trade, and resistant to rapid changes. In some ways this can be a good thing. The best of our tradesmen are craftsmen, using skills developed over generations to produce quality results. Unfortunately these same individuals may not be best equipped to leap on board the technological bandwagon.

Despite this, the internet is still the first place that a significant proportion of our customers go looking for information; especially product information. That proportion is growing.

One merchant I work with has their whole stock profile visible online. They are a local merchant and are not yet equipped to take orders online, nor do they have a national delivery chain. Despite this they get regular enquiries from across the country. This is particularly true of several of their more obscure products (every merchant has some of those, right?). If you search the internet for some of these items, you will only get one result - their website. In many cases not even the manufacturer has a website.

It's clear that suppliers of construction materials and services have much to gain from a good online presence, and that will become ever more important.

This leads me to the main subject of this entry, blogging.

Blogging is an odd word and perhaps an even odder practise. It's quite young, maybe only three or four years old, and certainly not prevalent in the building trade. If you're not yet familiar with blogging, you may find this article interesting.

Blogs are a good way for companies to put a human face onto a corporate website. Their relaxed and informal style makes them more interesting to read than the 'informational' style of conventional articles. They serve much the same purpose that a 'newspaper column' does. They have three great advantages though.

• News and information can be made accessible in a matter of minutes.
• Anyone (anywhere) can access the information.
• They usually include a way of permitting feedback, like the comments enabled on this blog.

I've just completed an interview with Emily Wright of the Building Magazine. You might see the results in print. They're looking at the relevance of blogging to the construction trade.

As well as the possible advantages I outline above, blogging has another possible impact on the building trade. It's not just companies who blog!

One of the most prominent features of the blogging phenomenon is that anyone can do it, and anyone does. News and opinions from individuals can go online and reach an international audience. Recently bloggers have reached the headlines from Iran, China and even the American political scene. Maybe this doesn't sound relevant, but suddenly bad service and bad practises can become a matter of public record. It is important to be aware of new developments in the communications media, not necessarily to take advantage of them ourselves (although obviously we do), but also to be aware of ways they may affect us in the future.

Posted by Buildingtrade.org.uk on 2006-02-19 12:13:50.
Categories: news

---

Markup or Margin ?

We've welcomed the new year in with a new article Markup or Margin ?.

This article is especially written for merchants (and anyone in the selling business) who not only need excellent customer service skills and product knowledge, but also need to be able to handle the tricky business of working with nett costs, gross profits and supplier discounts.

Giving customers the best possible discounts, whilst still maintaining acceptable margins can task everyone who doesn't have a PHD in applied mathematics. This article will take you through these issues, explaining the concepts, and giving you simple ways to calculate prices.

Posted by Buildingtrade.org.uk on 2006-01-07 10:58:36.
Categories: website, independents, nationals

---

New Articles

We now have several new articles. These are a series of articles by the Federation of Master Builders.

They are mainly on subjects related to maintainance and improvement of domestic properties. They will be of interest to anyone who is looking to extend their home or garden.

You can read them at :

• The Article Index Page

Posted by Buildingtrade.org.uk on 2005-12-15 12:53:55.
Categories: articles, website

---

'Elf and Safety

Words to strike fear and dread into every tradesmans heart. The awful 'Elf & Safety executive reaches ever further into every aspect of the construction industry.

From safety directives concerning how much you're allowed to lift, to where your customers are allowed to go, to the COSHH data sheets on the materials themselves. In some regards the HSE accepts that it's onto a loser. If a product is kept small enough to be a safe two man lift, we all know that on site workmen are going to try to lift it themselves.

Obviously everyone wants beteter safety on site - but not to the point where it interferes with the effective running of (genuinely safe) working practices.

Earlier in the year the HSE announced a new tool for SME's [1] to assess their health and safety.

The actual tool can be found at The Indicator.

The hope is that insurance companies will take note of employers who perform well against the questions on this indicator. Their isn't a great deal of evidence that this has happened, but it does seem like the executive are making real attempts to assist small employers.

Lets hope this is a trend that continues.

[1]	SME stands for Small and Medium Employers. The HSE website doesn't go out of it's way to explain this.

Posted by Buildingtrade.org.uk on 2005-11-23 14:25:49.
Categories: materials, regulations

---

Insulation Changes

Unless you've been in a coma for the last couple of years, you will be aware of the soaring levels of insulation required in domestic dwellings.

Celotex [1] used to be an expensive luxury. Since the 2002 changes to Part L of the building regulations, levels of insulation that would only previously have been required in warm roof situations are now barely sufficient to put in the floor.

And it's all due to change again. The April 2006 revisions to Part L are about to come into force. This means another round of confusion, difficulties,and complaints from customers.

An annoying aspect of the next round of changes, is that innovative solutions like Tri-Iso Super 9 will no longer be sufficient to comply with Part L alone. The Tri-Iso Super 9 family of products are multi-layer fabrics (like a roofing felt) that claim to be the equivalent of up to 90mm of celotex in a sheet around half an inch thick. They aren't accepted by all local councils - but where they are accepted, they can be a real life saver where you don't have much space. They are also easier to use - they can be installed with a staple gun. [2]

Obviously the industry will have to react to the changing situation. It's evolve or die time again.

So are these changes absurd, officious, and unnecessary ? You may or may not know that these changes are part of the government's commitment to meet the targets for carbon emissions, as set out in the Kyoto treaty on climate change. Around thirty percent of UK carbon emissions are due to the heating of domestic dwellings.

Certainly confusion is a bad thing. This government is no stranger to a greatly increased burden of regulation and red-tape. As to the question of whether increased insulation is a bad thing - we at Buildingtrade.org.uk reserve judgement on it, for the moment.

[1]	and the other brands of polyisocyanate boards...

[2]	Not necessarily the recommended technique.

Posted by Buildingtrade.org.uk on 2005-11-17 12:10:04.
Categories: regulations, materials

---

Over 2000 Domains

We've been pleased with the reaction to the launch of our Building Search service. It's still a beta service, so we're working on improving it and ironing out the bugs, but we've had some nice feedback.

Today we crossed the Two Thousand domain mark. That means that Building Search is returning results from more than two thousand domains relevant to the UK building trade.

Our next focus is on improving our local coverage. We'd like more web results for local landscapers, business merchants, builders, and so on.

If you know of a website that doesn't seem to be included in our database, then let us know; use our Website Submission Form.

Posted by Buildingtrade.org.uk on 2005-11-09 13:17:58.
Categories: website

---

Better Late Than Never

Well, we were a little early going live with the website. Since last month we've had two excellent articles online :

• Being Independent

  The strengths of independent builders merchants. Reasons to be one, or use one. Read this and you will start to feel sorry for the national merchants.

• Problem to Profit

  How difficult times can be an opportunity to win your customers over. Anyone who has ever experienced the stress of orders gone wrong - when it is not your fault - needs to read this.

However, the links leading to the Building Search have been leading to dead links [1].

That is until yesterday, when we finally managed to get our Beta Service off the ground.

If you're searching for manufacturers, suppliers, or distributors of building products - then Building Search is the place to look.

[1]	The dreaded error 404 for the techno-savvy.

Posted by Buildingtrade.org.uk on 2005-11-02 22:04:02.
Categories: website, nationals, independents, news, articles

---

Start of a Good Thing

Well, the summer is over. The grey clouds are once again sweeping over the British building trade - both literally and metaphorically.

Perhaps not the time to launch a new venture? We at Buildingtrade.org.uk think differently. Like the winter months, the current slowdown is only temporary.

The UK construction industry is only gradually waking up to the internet revolution - but we're willing to bet that when you need information, it's the first place you look.

We're going to be here with you through the winter - but also here in the spring, and whatever new trials that may bring.

This is the Buildingtrade.org.uk blog. Here we'll be posting news, opinions, and any short snippets we think you might find interesting.

If you have any news or feedback that you want us to hear, please use the contact page and let us know.

Posted by Buildingtrade.org.uk on 2005-10-10 15:08:54.
Categories: news, website, independents, nationals, opinion, articles, regulations, materials

---