Author: Brian Bond, chartered civil engineer, arbitrator and conciliator/adjudicator Arbitration and litigation are very expensive, slow and uncertain methods of dispute resolution. Arbitration, originally promoted to avoid litigation, has become as bad or worse. In many cases, the cost is quite disproportionate to the size of the dispute. The quest for an alternative to arbitration began in Ireland and in the UK in the mid 1980s. Various alternatives were tried, with ...

  Authors: Sarah Neary BE MBA CEng MIEI, Senior Advisor – building standards, Department of Environment, Community and Local Government; and John Wickham BSc Eng Dip Eng CEng MIEI MIStructE, Advisor – building standards, Department of Environment, Community and Local Government Since July 2013, CE Marking is mandatory for construction products covered by harmonised European Standards (hENs), when placed on the market. CE Marking for construction products is not a quality mark. ...

Following the major flooding of Bandon town in November 2009, the Office of Public Works (OPW) began investigating the feasibility of developing a flood relief scheme to protect Bandon. The 2009 floods had damaged or affected 190 business properties in Bandon and resulted in approximately €140 million in insurance claims across Co Cork. During November 2009, Bandon had received approximately 20% of the total annual rainfall for 2009, resulting in significantly elevated levels in the local ...

  Authors: Paul Ebbs BSc; Arlene Egan PhD; Raymond Turner We face challenges and dilemmas in our workplace daily, which serve to test our knowledge and expertise, as well as stretching our thinking and problem-solving skills. If you think about it, we spend a great deal of time asking ourselves questions about the situations we find ourselves in. What has happened? How has this issue arisen? How do we deal with this problem? How we know our approach will work? We also spend a ...

  Authors: Barbara Lane, director of fire engineering, Arup and Susan Lamont, associate director of fire engineering, Arup. Additional modelling team members: Graeme Flint, senior engineer, Arup and Allan Jowsey, fire engineering manager, Akzonobel. Thanks also to University of Edinburgh fire research centre Barbara Lane is one of the speakers at the upcoming CPD seminar on ‘New Developments and Challenges in Fire Safety’ (26 March). Presentations will address the new I.S. 3218 Fire ...

Author: Jarleth Heneghan, partner and Cassandra Byrne, senior associate, both of William Fry New building control legislation in Ireland is likely to profoundly change the construction and projects industry for many years to come. How will this impact engineers? In such cases, the Commencement Notice and the Seven-Day notice must now be accompanied by: Outline Plans and Documentation – general arrangement drawings, plans, sections and elevations, calculations and specifications necessary ...