News

As non-essential construction sites begin the phased reopening this week, great progress is being made by the team at Southern Cross Central. The first of two tower cranes has now been erected by our colleagues in IreEquip and 400 m3 of concrete has now been poured by DPPS Contracts Ltd. Despite the industry-wide restrictions imposed on construction activities as a result of the ongoing pandemic, momentum is being regained and we look forward to watching this much-needed project come out of the ground. 

Safety is always to the fore of successful, well-run construction sites and never more so than over the past 12-months. Despite the ongoing pandemic chaos and uncertainty, with non-essential sites closed since early January, Townmore achieved a high level of SafeTCert Accreditation at our most recent safety audit. 

The most compelling case for reopening housing sites, and indeed all residential construction sites, as a matter of urgency is the ongoing and ever-mounting housing crisis in Ireland right now. There is a chronic undersupply of homes and that situation is worsening every week.

Of the total ‘new’ stock of social housing acquired last year (7,827), 5,073 of these were newly-built homes. As expected, Covid-19 restrictions throughout 2020, including the partial shutdown of non-essential construction activities, impacted negatively on the delivery of social homes last year.

Through a recent submission to the mid-term review of the National Development Plan (NDP), Ireland’s largest lobby and business representative group, Ibec, has called for the delivery of key infrastructure and investment in Cork. As the second largest and most populated (208,669) city within the Republic of Ireland, Cork has experienced “decades of chronic underinvestment”, according to Ibec Senior Regional Executive, Helen Leahy. 

Townmore Construction places huge importance on the safety and sustainability of our people and our business. As such, we endeavour to provide a safe and healthy workplace across all company operations and projects. Through our Building Safely Together ideology, the Townmore team, leaders and project stakeholders reaffirm our commitment to developing and maintaining a culture that proactively promotes occupational safety and health, one that strives to prevent personal injury and to maintain a safe and healthy workplace.

These game-changing technologies include BIM, digital twins and 3D modelling, modular construction with 5D, augmented reality, IoT and additive manufacturing (3D printing). Big data is both enabling and driving this industry optimisation. While some of the technologies listed above have been around for close to a decade, their use for traditional construction processes have evolved.

At its simplest, ‘Lean’ as a productivity term refers to the most efficient use of all necessary resources and minimising waste in order to maximise value for the client and the business, which is good for the industry at large. Meeting clients’ needs and expectations, while using fewer resources, is certainly possible, however, it requires exceptional project management and lean principles help to keep this on track.

Thanks to David Allen and the Townmore HSQE team for their work in promoting proactive health and safety across the organisation during the pandemic via the CHECK4SAFETY Process:

Last month - prior to the industry shutdown - our Townmore team broke ground on a significant new apartment building development at Southern Cross in Bray, County Wicklow for Lioncor Developments. The mixed-use residential development, when complete, will comprise 160 apartments across four separate five-storey blocks. The construction methodology will include RC ground floor slabs and transfer slabs, precast walls and upper floor slabs, together with modular bathroom pods. The apartment complex is part of a larger social development containing houses, a creche, community centre and a large supermarket.