South West Construction Event: Learning lessons from Europe’s largest construction project

A major event for the South West’s construction industry takes place this month – with the spotlight being shone on Europe’s largest construction project, Hinkley Point.

Leaders and professionals from across the industry will gather at the Winter Gardens, Weston-super-Mare, on Wednesday 27 April for Constructing Excellence South West’s Hinkley Point Sharing Best Practice event.

Sponsored by civil engineering company, Alun Griffiths (Contractors) Ltd, the day-long regional session offers an amazing opportunity for attendees to closely explore the infamous Hinkley Point project.

Known as the largest construction site in Europe, this new nuclear plant is set to generate low carbon emission electricity for six million homes over 60 years. Hinkley Point has been widely recognised as a project which will generate thousands of jobs in the South West region and play a fundamental role in the fight against climate change.

With climate crisis, the skills shortage and building safety being three of the biggest challenges currently facing construction, this event comes at a pivotal time for the industry.

Andrew Carpenter, CEO of Constructing Excellence South West (CESW) said: “Hinkley Point marks a significant milestone in the construction sector, particularly in the South West.

“Exploring a project of this size and looking closely at the detailed organisation and implementation of such a complex operation is a great way for construction professionals to take note of the successes and pain points.

“Construction keeps the UK economy thriving but it often struggles to adapt in difficult circumstances and learn from the challenges it often faces. Constructing Excellence South West is designed to change this – and facilitating this session is a great step to showcase how more collaboration across the sector can achieve great results.”

As a member-led organisation designed to drive positive change in construction, Constructing Excellence South West has created a jam-packed agenda and an impressive line-up of speakers for the day.

James Bromley, Commercial Director at BYLOR, will kick start with a project overview focusing on the logistics and complexity issues of Hinkley Point; and Andrew Jackson, Technical Director of BYLOR, will discuss the digital/offsite vs onsite aspects of construction.

A break-out session will then be facilitated by Dan Macey, Chair of CESW where all attendees will be given an opportunity to discuss what they learnt.

Before the session breaks for lunch, the focus will turn to future skills which will be led by James who will deliver a second presentation. To finish, the guests will be asked to feedback their thoughts to Natalie Bell, chair of CESW’s Future Skills Theme Group.

“With a fantastic line-up of speakers planned throughout the day, it’s sure to be a great event where attendees will be able to learn and openly discuss some of the critical aspects that are in high demand for the future of the built environment,” adds Andrew.

For more information on the event and how to sign-up, visit: https://constructingexcellencesw.org.uk/event/hinkley-point-sharing-best-practice/