§ Mr. Gregor Mackenzieasked the Minister of Public Building and Works (1) what developments have taken place in improving winter building techniques over the past 12 months;
(2) what steps he has taken to encourage the use of special construction methods in severe weather.
§ Mr. BoydenIn conjunction with industry, we are continuing our studies into 195W new ways of overcoming the problems of building in winter and bad weather generally. More and better forms of site heating, protective enclosures, insulation, and lighting are becoming available. A catalogue listing winter building equipment is available. Last winter, the Department tested basic techniques and equipment on two sites in Scotland; this winter, some of the most modern equipment and techniques from Europe, Canada, and the U.K. are being evaluated on one of the Ministry's housing sites near Colchester. A short film illustrating modern winter building techniques suitable for the medium-sized and smaller firms has been produced. This is being shown throughout the country in conjunction with a series of lectures by our Winter Building Adviser and others. Work is continuing on the encouragement of all these techniques for enhancing the productivity of traditional building during severe weather. When industrialised methods are used the necessity for other precautions is usually much reduced.