OCTOBER 2017 www.bfmmagazine.co.uk building & facilities facilities management management
ENERGY MANAGEMENT | HEALTH & SAFETY | THE WASHROOM
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Contents News
Energy Management
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Energy management and metering systems – what you need to consider
Complete Energy Solutions for Facility Managers
Production
Sarah Daviner sarah@abbeypublishing.co.uk Accounts Manager
Katie Brehm accounts@abbeypublishing.co.uk
Special Feature
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BigChange technology transforms Customer Service for Complete Shutter Services
HVAC BFM is published digitally 10 times a year b y Abbey Publishing Ltd. To receive a copy free of charge, contact our offices. Tel: 01933 316931 Email: bfm@abbeypublishing.co.uk www.bfmmagazine.co.uk www.abbeypublishing.co.uk
23 Cleaning & Hygiene
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Axis Group Wins Significant Partnership Deal with Old Spitalfields Market
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Air intake screens protect data centre’s chillers from damage
Jackloc puts spotlight on window safety at National Social Care Conference
Washroom
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‘Super Pub’ gets ‘Super Loo’!
All contents © Abbey Publishing Ltd 2017 ISSN: 1470-5281
Lighting
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Building & Facilities Management – October 2017
A-Plant invests £2.4m in mobile lighting
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Energy management and metering systems – what you need to consider With energy costs continuing to rise and increasing levels of legislation to contend with, facility managers face a growing number of challenges. Cameron Steel reports on the key things to consider and the publications available that offer guidance.
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cross all industry sectors, businesses use energy to carry out their everyday activities, from lighting and heating office spaces through to powering machinery and manufacturing processes. Power wasted adds no value, but improving energy efficiency can dramatically affect operating costs and productivity levels. Energy costs can significantly impact on a business’ profit margin, but according to the Carbon Trust, simple measures can effectively reduce operating costs and energy bills by as much as 20 per cent. The responsibility of improving operational energy efficiency often rests on the shoulders of facility managers. Therefore, they are looking for new ways that allow them to not only become more resource efficient, but also save money, meet corporate social responsibility goals and fulfil legal compliance requirements.
Developing a robust energy management policy When it comes to developing a robust energy management policy, facility managers must start by gaining a good understanding of legislation. It is key to recognise which standards they need to consider and which definitions they must understand. Legislation may appear to be little more than a burden to business, but the majority of them have been developed to encourage businesses to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, in turn improving energy efficiency and costs. There are several standards that deal with energy efficient systems and also a 4
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growing requirement underpinned by EU legislation to have an assessment of what energy use a business has. This will naturally evolve into showing how energy is being managed and if its use is being reduced. Although current UK legislation doesn’t force organisations to act upon such assessments, it is a great opportunity for facility managers and the business in general to identify wasteful use of energy and projects that could lead to operating cost savings through more efficient use of energy. A key operational standard for facilities managers is ISO 50001, which provides the basic framework and tools for energy management. Other documents from various organisations provide further guidance on key responsibilities, policy, strategy, planning, implementation and auditing. These include the IET Guide to Energy Management in the Built Environment, several Carbon Trust documents and publications from other organisations designed to ensure businesses are fully compliant with energy legislation, improve understanding of pricing structures and operational efficiencies and develop improved resilience. With the knowledge such guides provide, facility managers can feel confident in developing a robust energy management policy and choosing the best possible system for their business.
The importance of energy metering Metering is also a key component of any energy management programme. Knowing exactly where
and when energy is used is vital in order to have its use analysed properly and improvements suggested. An energy meter strategy is a fundamental part of this and understanding whether sub-metering is simply to keep an eye on the demands of certain key departments or whether there is fiscal charging required with energy bills for tenants. Other higher specification meters for electrical systems can highlight
Building & Facilities Management – October 2017
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inefficiencies caused by power factors and harmonics. Meters that can be connected to building information systems, such as building energy management systems (BEMS), can also provide real-time information on energy use, highlighting anomalies or irregular patterns of energy use. For those with little experience of metering systems however, common issues can arise around ensuring a solution is fit for purpose and understanding meter readings. Thankfully, a number of guides and checklists are now available to help facilities managers navigate these murky waters, including the IET’s Guide to Metering Systems. This, amongst other things, runs through the key steps to applying non-fiscal metering systems as well as integration of metering data into management systems.
One size does not fit all Energy management needs to be suitable for each organisation – one size certainly does not fit all. Every business is different and changes over time. Energy management plans need to be dynamic and constantly reviewed. The plans should be robust enough to cater for current needs and nimble enough to respond to changing demands too. How energy management is undertaken within a business depends on the type of organisation and lifecycle of the installation. However, the heart of success lies in communication across the business. The buck may stop with facility managers, but within the workplace we all have degrees of responsibility. Therefore, there is a growing need to increase the level of understanding and application of the term ‘energy management’ within organisations, and have buy-in from senior management and staff. This makes it possible to apply relevant good practice across the business and promote efficient and effective working practices. To find out more about IET Standards publications developed to support facilities managers, please visit www.theiet.org/fm www.twitter.com/BFM_Magazine
Are You Ready For The Changes To The Gas Appliances Directive? The Gas Appliances Directive (GAD) is changing. From 21st April 2018 all products in the market will have to comply with the new Gas Appliance Regulation (GAR). Nick Winton, Divisional Manager for Nortek Global HVAC UK Ltd explains more about the changes and the absence of any transition period.
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he EU GAD is changing and will be replaced by the new GAR. The change moves away from having several country-specific requirements and replaces them with one consistent set of rules across the entire European Union and associated free trade areas. After two decades in use, review is desirable to ensure the regulations are fit for purpose. In a modern world the GAD has some particular shortcomings in terms of how it deals with standards, regulations and the role of Notified Bodies. Placing a CE Marking on products means that it has been declared as complying with all applicable regulations. The CE Marking of gas appliances is currently regulated by the EU Gas Appliances Directive (GAD) (2009/142/EC). This will be replaced by the Gas Appliances Regulation (GAR) (EU 2016/426) which comes into effect from 21st April 2018. Other CE Marking directives that may also apply to gas appliances are unaffected and will continue to apply (if they did so previously). This change will impact everybody in the gas appliances and fittings supply chain within the EU, including manufacturers (supplying to the EU), importers, distributors and even retailers. The Gas Appliance Regulation requires manufacturers to ensure
products comply with ‘state-of-the-art’ EN standards together with mandatory risk assessment. This includes a maximum 10-year validity period on CE certification from the first date of issue. It also requires the Notified Body and the manufacturer to stay informed of changes to the “stateof-the-art” and update appliances as needed to ensure they still meet essential regulatory requirements.
How Does Brexit Affect This? The new regulation comes into force at least one year before the UK leaves the EU. Current understanding is that the EU regulations will be subsumed into UK law with little evidence that the GAR would not be included in this approach. Nortek have a wide range of products that the GAR applies to. Our aim is to ensue that each and every one of our products is compliant with the new legislation. Please do not hesitate to contact Nortek with any queries or questions about this new directive. Tel: 01384 489700 or visit www.nortekhvac.com/europe News
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IDEXX Launches New, Simple, Rapid Water Test across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, to Aid in the Fight Against Legionnaires’ Disease Legiolert™ radically simplifies Legionella water testing compared to current culture methods
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DEXX, the global leader in rapid microbiology testing for water, has announced the introduction of Legiolert, a new culture testing method that enables building owners and facility managers to simplify water testing and reduce the risk posed by Legionnaires’ disease. Legiolert is a highly sensitive method for the confirmed detection of Legionella pneumophila (L. pneumophila), in water for use across Europe, the Middle East and Africa and delivers results to decision makers up to seven days faster than traditional testing methods. Legionella pneumophila is the most common Legionella species in water and the primary cause of Legionnaires’ disease, which is deadly for about 1 in 10 people who contract it and often causes longlasting symptoms for survivors. Legiolert improves public health response times by accurately and sensitively quantifying L. pneumophila in water, providing a confirmed result in 7 days, compared to up to 14 days with traditional culture methods. The new test does not require laborious colony counting or confirmation steps, which reduces the need for training and the risk of interpretation errors and frees up time for laboratory staff. Leading water microbiology consultant David Sartory recently concluded that the IDEXX Legiolert/ Quanti-Tray® test is superior to the standard method for quantifying L. pneumophila. His assessment was part of a peer reviewed study, “Evaluation of a most probable number method for the enumeration of Legionella pneumophila from potable and related water samples,” published in the April 2017 issue of Letters in Applied Microbiology. “IDEXX Water is the global leader
in water microbiology. With Legiolert, we continue our commitment to innovation in diagnostic technologies to improve the safety and quality of water worldwide,” commented Andrew Headland, Senior Business Manager for IDEXX Water. He added, “Legiolert is so much more sensitive and accurate than current culture methods. Combined with the fact that the product is extremely easy to use and requires minimal training, we expect to see an increase in on-site testing for Legionella pneumophila as well as wide-scale adoption in laboratories.” The Legiolert test is based on a bacterial enzyme detection technology that signals the presence of L. pneumophila through utilisation of a substrate present in the Legiolert reagent. L. pneumophila cells grow rapidly and reproduce using the rich supply of amino acids, vitamins and other nutrients present in the Legiolert reagent. Actively growing strains of Legionella pneumophila use the added substrate to produce a brown colour indicator. Though the disease is largely preventable, diagnosed cases of Legionnaires’ disease in Europe reached their highest rate ever in 2014, with 13.5 notifications per million inhabitants, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. For hospitals, nursing homes, hotels and other highrisk buildings, testing drinking water, cooling towers and other building water systems is the only way to ensure an effective risk management plan against Legionella pneumophila.
On-site testing made simple The availability of Legiolert now enables building owners, estates and facility managers to test water on-site to detect Legionella pneumophila. Legiolert joins Pseudalert (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) Colilert®-18 (coliforms and E. coli) and Enterolert (enterococci) in the IDEXX product portfolio. Providing a complete system to enable on-site bacterial water testing, the IDEXX On-Site Water Testing System for Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Legionella pneumophila is simple, accurate, cost effective and an efficient method to determine presence/absence of contamination. Where quantification of a sample is required, IDEXX has developed a simple device known as a Quanti-Tray, which consists of multiple, individually sealable cells. This contains the sample and can also be incubated after which the positive cells can be counted and quantified by reference to a Most Probable Number (MPN) table. The equipment within the IDEXX On-Site Water Testing System is pictured and includes from left to right: an IDEXX Sealer PLUS and Quanti-Trays, Pseudalert and Legiolert reagent, vessel rack and sample bottles, an IDEXX UV light with viewing box and an incubator. For more information on IDEXX Water’s Legiolert test and water safety testing, please visit: www.idexx.co.uk/water/ products/legiolert.html
®Trademark or Registered Trademark of IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries.
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Building & Facilities Management – October 2017
Advanced Appoints New Head of Sales
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lobal fire systems leader Advanced has appointed Etienne Ricoux as its new Head of Sales. Previously Advanced’s Regional Sales Manager for Europe, Etienne will now oversee sales across all of Advanced’s territories outside North America. Commenting on the appointment, Advanced’s Managing Director Ray Hope said: “I’m delighted to announce Etienne’s appointment. We interviewed some very strong candidates both internally and externally, but Etienne’s experience and success in export across different fire sectors, as well as
other high value industries, was one of the deciding factors.” Etienne added: “I’m delighted and very proud to become Head of Sales. Advanced is a great company with a superb team that is driving growth across international markets. Our strategy is well defined and I look forward to developing existing and new regional partnerships.” Advanced is a world leader in the development and manufacture of intelligent fire systems. The legendary performance, quality and ease-of-use of its products sees them used in prestigious and challenging locations
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all over the world, from single panel installations to large multi-site networks. Advanced’s products include complete fire detection systems, multi-protocol fire panels, extinguishing control and fire paging systems. The company is a subsidiary of Halma plc. Tel: +44 (0)1670 707 111 Email: sales@advancedco.com Web: https://uk.advancedco.com
ICEE offers golf world a new source of high quality tee markers
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ny new or existing golf club faced with installing or replacing its golf tee markers may want a bespoke solution, but compared to an off-the-shelf product, may think a customised option is too expensive. ICEE Managed Services is offering bespoke markers that are affordable. As part of its manufacturing services business, ICEE is making low-cost but high quality golf tee markers – and other kinds of signage – out of a variety of weatherproof and durable sheet metal material incorporating bespoke details such as golf club logo, yardage and other information required by a customer. Additionally, ICEE offers a more sophisticated version of this service, making superior markers and signage to any design, to any shape and size, and made from almost any material, or combination of materials required. This high level of customisation – at a highly competitive price - is made possible through advanced design and manufacturing techniques deployed at the company’s factory in the United Kingdom. The company will quickly make – and design if required – a complete set of golf tee markers from a variety of materials on offer including stainless steel, brass, Corten rustenhanced steel, plastics or even www.twitter.com/BFM_Magazine
stone such as granite (up to 200mm thick). Almost any size and shape is possible in a variety of finishes. Besides fabricating a tee marker in one material, ICEE offers an assembly service so a set of markers or signage may be put together from a combination of different materials. “For example,” says Paul Harris, ICEE’s Managing Director, “take a design that features a stainless steel frame incorporating a logo with an inset engraved plastic, wood or stone panel showing the tee number and name, plus supporting details. “We can make all the components and put them together very efficiently under one roof at our factory in Hampshire. The factory contains highly automated manufacturing facilities and we have designers and engineers with all the right qualified expertise.” “What’s more, and this may be an important and cost saving feature for golf club managers, we can make exact replacements later if a marker gets damaged or goes missing – that level of service may not be available with standard, offthe-shelf products,” he adds. In addition to offering this distinctly bespoke, flexible and affordable service – including a see-beforeyou-buy sample – ICEE claims it can make right-first-time, high quality golf
tee markers faster than any other competitor in the United Kingdom ICEE’s work in the golf industry is part of a range of products and services for several market sectors, including manufacture, installation and maintenance of equipment enclosures for telecommunications, broadcasting and data networks; control and communication services to the rail and highways sectors; and a range of services to the architecture, building and construction industry including roofing, electrical and mechanical, architectural and structural metalwork, strip-out and refurbishment. The company works with regional utilities and authorities, MoD establishments, aerospace and satellite communications industries. Certified to BS EN ISO 9001:2008, CHAS and other key compliance standards, the company is based in Waterlooville, Hampshire and has premises in Warrington, Lancashire. www.icee.co.uk News
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Former headquarters of the Greater London Council gets an energy efficient facelift
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his iconic Grade II* Listed building began construction in 1911, although World War 1 and 2 halted completion until 1958. For 64 years, County Hall served as the home of the British Government. Under new ownership, County Hall houses the London Aquarium, London Dungeon attractions as well as the Premier Inn and Marriott Hotels. In 2016, London venue company ‘etc.venues’ announced plans to open a conference and event space in County Hall. It features 20 multipurpose interconnecting spaces including two river fronting suites for groups of up to 900. The nature of the business and the noisy external environment required a demanding level of sound attenuation and compliance with BREEAM requiring special measures to reduce heat loss. Synergy Architects turned to Selectaglaze, the leading provider of secondary glazing, to install thermal and acoustic efficient secondary glazing. As there were no rising ducts of a satisfactory size, air needed to be supplied and extracted through the existing windows; therefore secondary glazing was only required to the lower part of these windows. Selectaglaze installed a total of 148 secondary glazing units which were a combination of horizontal sliders and lift-out units. Those units
exceeding 1600mm high were fit with a 6mm toughened low-E glass. A minimum glass to glass cavity of 150mm allowed for optimal noise reduction. All aluminium profiles and timber grounds were powder coated in a matt grey finish. The secondary glazing has enhanced business prospects at ‘etc. venues’, with conference rooms, event suites and bars now providing an ambient and warm environment
to suit any event requirement. Selectaglaze will be exhibiting at the UK Security Expo, at London Olympia on the 29th and 30th November 2017. Located on stand L66, Selectaglaze Technical Advisors will be happy to answer any secondary glazing related questions. For more information contact 01727 837271, email: enquiries@ selectaglaze.co.uk or visit: www.selectaglaze.co.uk
Evolution Retail is Appointed as European Agent
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volution Retail has been appointed the European Agent for the innovative STPLUS1 Tag, a new product to the loss prevention market which aims to reduce theft by more than 20% when compared with other Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) solutions. The STPLUS1 Tag, created by English inventor Glen Garner, was launched at Evolution’s Retail Security Event held in London on 3rd October with Glen in attendance. The event gave Evolution an opportunity to showcase the new STPLUS1 Tag 8
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and demonstrate its benefits. Evolution Retail also shared its range of innovative security products with the retail audience, including the ultrastrong Gripzo devices, and offered advice on how to reduce and prevent loss in retail outlets. The STPLUS1 Tag has a locking mechanism that requires a bespoke releasing tool, which allows retailers
to upgrade current products with minimal outlay and disruption. It is available in both AM/RF versions, as well as having a RFID capability if required. The STPLUS1 Tag is a fully patented product that is compatible with the current EAS systems. For more information on the STPLUS1 Tag, please call 01245 237017 or email Philip McKelvey at pm@evolutionsecurity.com Building & Facilities Management – October 2017
Career Hotspots in Buildings & Infrastructure Sam Pearman, Lead Recruitment Consultant Buildings at ALLEN & YORK
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oreign investment, a domestic housing crisis and urban regeneration projects have all given the buildings sector a renewed focus and created a growing demand for talent across the industry. At ALLEN & YORK our building recruitment team are currently focused on three main areas of growth within the sector; quantity surveying, construction project management and facilities management. Residential and commercial building construction, as well as rail, highways and energy infrastructure, are all demonstrating increased recruitment activity, and we are working with clients on some very exciting new build projects, as well as retrofit and building maintenance positions. One of the reasons companies come to us to help them recruit is because technical professionals across these disciplines are hard to find and they need to tap into our specialist network. Equally we are always looking to increase our talent pool and encourage more professionals into the sector. By giving a brief overview of the career prospects in each of these three hotspots, we hope to show how diverse and rewarding the buildings jobs market can be. Quantity Survey (QS) and cost consultancy is a highly responsible job; budget planning, keeping the project on target and delivering, with minimum overspend is extremely challenging on any construction project. As such the demand for experienced QS professionals is high and salaries are competitive. The jobs market is predominately contract based, with more permanent positions at senior level and within the larger consultancies and construction companies. Universities offer degree courses across QS, cost consultancy and commercial management and entry into the industry is usually via an internship. Progress is can be www.twitter.com/BFM_Magazine
swift and within 5-10 years a senior role is more than achievable. The industry is well paid and it is not uncommon to retire at 45-50, this allows for quick progress for younger professionals, so for instance there is scope to become a director in your 30s and retire in your 50s. Those of 50yrs+ often set up their own companies, move into property development or become FRICS / RICS APC Assessors. There are good prospects throughout your career journey and as recruitment demand increases this is more and more a ‘candidate lead’ market. Salaries for Graduate / Internship / Apprenticeship start at around £25K, and at the other end of the scale at Associate Director/Director/Partner/ Commercial Manager level you can command salaries from £65K up to £100K per annum. The jobs market is buoyant, but skills shortages are challenging the recruitment market. Routes to construction project management are most commonly through a degree in civil or structural engineering. We also see project managers with a background in QS, FM or contracts management, however this is almost always backedup by solid construction engineering experience. Site managers often progress to construction project managers, additionally, several universities now offer MSc courses in construction project management, which although not essential can give you added appeal to an employer. Salaries across this sector are rewarding, with entry level between £25-30K and senior positions from £70K/£80K upwards. There is strong recruitment demand across the industry, particularly within Europe and the UK. Career paths into facilities management can come from various different roots and typically include; procurement, contractor management and building/grounds maintenance. Managing ‘soft services’; contactors, suppliers and on-site
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facilities and/or ‘hard services’ including the coordination of M&E engineers and infrastructure maintenance, are all part of the FM role. There are a wide range of qualifications and memberships available and accredited by BIFM from level 2 through to level 7. For a mid to senior level position, we would be looking for a BIFM level 4 diploma or above and IOSH would be a minimum requirement; progressing to NEBOSH certificate or diploma over time. Project management qualifications are also desirable, such as; Prince2 and APM Project Management (PMQ). Career progression will then correspond to experience, for instance; size of facility/estate managed, size and budget of project, industry experience and qualifications. The jobs market is steady at present, with the expectation for growth through 2018/19. Finally, it is worth noting the rise of BIM and 4D modelling. Augmented reality programmes and the use of drones to map buildings are revolutionising the built environment sector and attracting tech-design professionals and ex-game designers to the industry. Within the past 2-3 years we have seen a steady rise in the demand for BIM modellers and 3D/4D technicians. Initially within our global clients (the USA were early adopters) and now we are seeing more of a demand across UK based companies. Salaries within construction modelling are often more competitive than in other sectors such as game design; According to Prospects graduate careers a typical starting salary for an animator in online games development is around £19K-£25K while in construction they are closer to £23K-£28K. As you can see there is lots of scope for career development within the buildings and infrastructure sector and skills shortages ensure a degree of reassurance for job seekers. www.allen-york.com News
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ABM strengthens Northern Ireland presence
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BM, a leading provider of facilities solutions, has taken a further foothold in Northern Ireland with the opening of a dedicated office in Belfast, and the appointment of a country manager tasked with growing the local portfolio. Partly motivated by the region’s growing retail sector, ABM’s move to establish itself further in the market will offer its growing roster of clients a local and personable management service. The business currently employs over 7,000 people and counts the O2, Heathrow Airport and the Bullring Shopping Centre among its list of high profile clients. It offers a broad range of facility services, including: cleaning, security, mechanical and electrical, technical, HVAC, data centre cleaning and guest services. Kim Harris, integrated facility solutions director of ABM, commented: “Northern Ireland is an exciting territory for us, and we are putting energy behind taking advantage of this fantastic market. The contract win with Bloomfield Shopping Centre & Retail Park is the latest addition to our retail
portfolio, and with customer retention at the heart of our service, we expect many more in the coming months and years. “We’re also delighted to welcome Kyle Russell to ABM, who has been appointed regional manager – Ireland. While Kyle will be our overall lead on the Bloomfield contract, he’ll also be tasked with identifying new business opportunities for the group.” As a first win since opening its new office this month, ABM has been awarded a three-year contract with Bloomfield Shopping Centre & Retail Park in Bangor, near Belfast, Northern Ireland. Around 20 of ABM’s specialist staff will supply Bloomfield Shopping Centre & Retail Park with cleaning and security services. The contract’s total value over the three-year term is worth approximately £1.1 million. ABM has extensive experience working in the retail sector, and provides a wide range of facility management services to clients, including: The Centre, Livingston in Scotland; Victoria Place Shopping Centre in London; and
Grand Central Shopping Centre in Birmingham’s New Street Station. Bloomfield Shopping Centre & Retail Park, which is located approximately 13 miles north east of Belfast, was opened in 1992. Extended several times since then it is now the dominant retail destination in the North Down area. The 417,000-square foot shopping centre is managed by property management company, Savills, and offers its four million visitors per year a choice of 50 retailers split between a covered mall and retail warehouse units. For more information, please visit www.abm.co.uk
New London recycling site can support Mayor’s emissions fight
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ollowing London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s announcement to impose additional charges on the most polluting vehicles (from 2019), ReFood, London’s newest energy-from-waste provider, has highlighted a solution. ReFood, the UK’s leading food waste recycler, opened a 160,000tonne capacity Anaerobic Digestion (AD) plant in Dagenham this summer, which has started producing clean bioenergy for use in vehicles, businesses or homes. AD is a proven technology which turns unavoidable food waste into bioenergy and fertiliser. Gas produced at the company’s other sites is already used as biomethane, which powers fleets around the UK, including Waitrose lorries. ReFood’s Dagenham site is their third plant 10
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in the UK, and draws on the company’s experience as one of Europe’s most advanced AD operators, employing some of the cleanest and safest working practices in the sector. ReFood’s Commercial Director, Philip Simpson said: “The launch of Dagenham couldn’t come at a better time to help support this initiative. Our newest site produces clean bioenergy, and our proven technology has seen fleets reduce their emissions considerably already. The potential for public transport and municipal vehicles is enormous.” “This all feeds into the great food waste debate – as a country we waste almost 15m tonnes every year. We can offer a closed loop situation, whereby London councils take hold
of their own destiny on emissions, collecting food waste from residents, and in turn use it to power municipal vehicles. It’s a proven concept and makes perfect economic sense, whilst supporting the Mayor’s ambition.” The site has the capacity to handle 160,000tonnes of food waste annually, one of the highest capacity sites in Europe, and will generate more than 2,000 m3/hr of methane gas. ReFood’s mission is to create a greener, safer, cheaper alternative to sending food waste to landfill. www.refood.co.uk
Building & Facilities Management – October 2017
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Gripple strikes again with a revolutionary system to speed up and ease services installation
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ripple, creator of an increasing range of pioneering building services suspension systems, strikes again with Fast Trak™ which is designed for even faster and easier installation of many mechanical and electrical services, particularly where ceiling space is limited. Fast Trak™, a pre-fabricated, trapeze bracket, also ‘hits the spot’ for flexible and safe installation of electrical containment, ductwork, pipework and other mechanical services. Up to six times faster to install than traditional methods, including threaded rod and channel, the product offers toolfree adjustment, and an ideal solution for instances where ceiling space is less than 800mm. Fast Trak™ comprises metal tracks, from 284mm to 534mm in length, accompanied by mounting brackets, from 309mm to 959mm long, and is designed to suit differing installations in residential buildings, high-rise office blocks, hotels, hospitals, open retail spaces or transportation hubs. For quick and simple measuring there
are indicators at the end of each a bracket as a handy guide. Compact in size and efficient, Fast Trak™ systems are delivered to site in pre-cut lengths, which not only reduces vehicle movements during transport and eases handling on-site but also eliminates cutting, and filing with no need for a ‘hot works’ permit, making the system safer to install. Prior to installation Fast Trak™ systems can be stacked on-site in small areas to reduce storage and promote cleaner working environments. During installation, the Fast Trak™ is adjustable as the brackets can be moved along the tracks to facilitate any required position changes. Once the tracks and brackets are at the required height, the bracket
‘clicks’ into place and is secured with a safety lock. The tracks can then be folded neatly under the bracket, thereby eliminating the trimming of excess, thus delivering zero wastage and promoting risk free working practice. Each track and bracket system can suspend a maximum weight up to 180kg with a 3:1 safety factor to deliver all the strength of a rod system with added flexibility and easy use. For more information about the new Fast Trak™ system contact Mark Kimberley on 0114 2288 623 or m.kimberley@gripple.com.
CERATA announces launch of recruitment and training services
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he Cleaning Executive Recruitment and Training Agency (CERATA) has launched to provide high quality recruiting, talent retention and training services for the professional cleaning, hygiene and jansan sector. CERATA is a brand-new and unique venture founded and headed by Keith Baker. It fulfils an unanswered but pressing need in the professional cleaning and facilities management sector - in the UK and beyond. Its mission is to recruit the best possible candidates, train them to develop and increase their skills and value, leading to higher staff retention levels. This in turn leads to a more profitable bottom line for CERATA’s clients – the employer organisations. 11
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One of the leading names in the professional cleaning & hygiene industry over the past four decades, CERATA’S founder Keith Baker was formerly Director of EMEA Services for ISSA. Prior to that, Keith very successfully ran his own distribution company Baker Hygiene & Healthcare Supplies for many years, following a significant career with Unilever. In this new venture, Keith is joined by several other wellknown names from the sector including Lynn Webster of LWC Ltd and Chris Klopper of Mulberry Marketing Communications. Prior to today’s official launch, CERATA has completed an initial assignment to recruit a UK-based
Sales Account Manager for Dutch cleaning materials manufacturer Wecovi. CERATA is also currently undertaking confidential assignments for two other organisations headquartered in the United Kingdom. In addition to the recruitment of executives, CERATA offers a comprehensive programme of sales and executive training workshops. These are based on and include reallife insights from the cleaning industry and are led by highly experienced professionals from across all areas of this sector. www.cerata.co.uk News
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BigChange technology transforms Customer Service for Complete Shutter Services
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ationwide industrial door specialist Complete Shutter Services has rolled out BigChange’s Mobile Workforce Management Technology across its operation. Based out of Sheffield for over 30 years, the company designs, manufactures, installs and services door systems for clients including BP, Shell, The Co-Op, Waterstones and House of Fraser. The company switched from a manual T-card system to BigChange’s All-in-one, Paperless Cloud based system that combines backoffice CRM (Customer Relationship Management), Job Planning and Scheduling and a Mobile App for engineers and real-time tracking of vehicles. Managing Director Paul Quealey scoured the market for a technology solution that would take the business paperless and provide real-time visibility across the operation. “As our business grew, planning and scheduling work became increasingly challenging and at times it was difficult to keep track of when things were due. We looked at various systems but couldn’t find anything that was the right fit. Then we discovered BigChange; it was as if I had written the software myself. It ticked all the boxes, and the integrated vehicle tracking was unlike anything we’d seen before,” said Quealey. Complete Shutter Services are using an Industrial Doors specific version of the BigChange system that allows back-office users to plan, manage, schedule and track work effectively including planned maintenance and urgent reactive work. In the back-office, the system is enabling planners to respond faster to customers and is intelligently allocating work orders based on real-time engineer availability, skills, live location and parts stock. This is significantly increasing productivity; minimising customer wait time and 12
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driving first time fix at competitive cost for clients. The integrated CRM is also providing customers with a joined-up experience, thanks to automated job booking confirmations, service reminders, ETA updates on the day of service and instant access to job-cards and reports instantly after work has been completed. MD Paul Quealey said, “Customers now expect real-time information as standard. Our back-office team were inundated with calls from clients wanting to check the status of an order or service. This led to multiple phone calls to engineers out in the field. BigChange has empowered the team with real-time information. Our use of the system has been key to winning a number of new contracts. Without the system, we’d need more administrators in the back-office, so from a commercial perspective, the technology is adding real-value for us. For me as a Managing Director, I have the confidence that we have a robust system in place to ensure we maintain our reputation for customer excellence.” Complete’s mobile engineers benefit from an easy to use Android
mobile app. They start their day by completing an electronic timesheet and vehicle check, before instantly accessing job information. Integrated sat-nav with live traffic ensures the best route is taken and customers receive proactive updates by text and email. On arrival, the app allows engineers to create instant estimates and guides them step by step through health & safety and job-specific workflows including photo capture. Proof-of-service is instantly relayed to the back office and the system generates fully branded job-cards that are automatically shared via a customer’s booking portal or via email. Martin Port, Founder and CEO of BigChange said, “Our technology is helping Complete Shutter Services maintain its excellent reputation and excellent levels of customer service in the marketplace. They are reaping the benefits that our scalable, cloud based system provides. We look forward to working with Paul and the team for the next 30 years and beyond.” Email: info@bigchangeapps.com, phone: +44 (0)113 457 1000, www.bigchangeapps.com
Building & Facilities Management – October 2017
Axis Group Wins Significant Partnership Deal with Old Spitalfields Market
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xis Group, one of the UK’s fastest growing security, cleaning, front-of-house and support services organisations, has strengthened its relationship with Old Spitalfields Market with the addition of a new, five-year contract to deliver cleaning and pest control services. The Group has already been providing security on site since 2014. As part of the integrated solution, Axis has developed the role of ‘Customer Experience Manager’. This changes the focus from ‘traditional’, inward-looking cleaning and security, into focussing on the customer experience and satisfaction with the service. Old Spitalfields Market is a popular London destination for shopping, eating and relaxing, and attracts visitors from all over the UK, as well as tourists from around the world. It has recently added a new Food Court and Axis Group will be providing frontand back-of-house services to support
this new and exciting venture. Instrumental in the success for Axis Group was engagement with the client in all the pretender stages, taking advantage of the client’s offer to all tenderers to discuss their vision for the market going forward. It delivered a package of services that was both strong and flexible. Axis Group is aware of the constant need for change at Old Spitalfields Market and will use Overtec for traceability and auditing. This innovative mobile technology will help the team embrace the changes and manage the customer flows, as well as build dynamic cleaning and security routines. Simon Giles, Chief Operating Officer of Axis Cleaning and Support Services, says that Old Spitalfields Market will become the company’s flagship site in London: “We are extremely excited about working
Cleaning & Hygiene
with Old Spitalfields Market to strengthen its position as one of the premier tourist and visitor destinations in the City,” he explains. “It is also an example of the Axis Group coming together to deliver a range of best-in-class support services to exceed our client’s expectations.” Old Spitalfields Market is located just five minutes’ walk from Liverpool Street Station, and within easy reach of new business hubs developing to the North and East. It is open sevendays-per-week, and has an impressive array of high-end and boutique shops and stalls, along with specialist antiques and vinyl record markets. It also hosts a series of major oneoff marketing events. http://www. axis-groupservices.co.uk/ www. oldspitalfieldsmarket.com
SAN handles from Elesa provide antimicrobial protection
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he Elesa SAN range of antimicrobial handles and machine elements prevents the build-up of bacteria, mildew and fungi by offering a sanitized effect on the surface. They are particularly suited to hygiene areas where tests carried out on material samples have confirmed their persistent antimicrobial action even after numerous cleaning cycles at high temperatures with soap and solvents. For example, the EBP.SAN bridge pull handle and the I.644 revolving handles are suitable for applications such as medical and hospital equipment, disability aids, machines for food processing www.twitter.com/BFM_Magazine
and pharmaceutical industry, equipment for catering service and for general urban and public fittings where large numbers of contacts are made on a daily basis potentially passing on infections. The great resistance of the Elesa antimicrobial additive to high temperatures allows these handles to reach normal sterilisation temperatures (130°C). As part of the Elesa commitment to quality, samples of this material have undergone laboratory tests in compliance with JIS Z 2801. The microbes used to carry out these tests are the ones which are commonly considered to
present the greatest resistance to antimicrobial products, they include: • Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 4352 • Escherichia coli ATCC 8739 • Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538P • Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 12055 Further information regarding Elesa products may be found at: www.elesa.com or follow them on twitter: www.twitter.com/ElesaUK. Cleaning & Hygiene
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‘Super Pub’ gets ‘Super Loo’!
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he 16,500 sq ft Royal Victoria Pavilion in Ramsgate is the result of a £4.5m investment by leading pub chain JD Wetherspoon, and revitalises a Grade II listed former casino on the seafront. Its doors will be open to all – the venue includes one of Closomat’s Changing Places assisted accessible toilets, for people who need more space, and/or equipment when they need the loo away from home. The Royal Pavilion is the latest Wetherspoons to feature one of the toilets, which offers more space than a conventional wheelchairaccessible toilet – 12m2 – and, on top of the usual fixtures, incorporates a ceiling track hoist, height adjustable adult-sized changing bench, privacy screen, and height adjustable washbasin. It compliments the standard toilet facilities, and is conveniently located alongside the other washrooms on the ground floor. Architect Barry Goacher of KDPaine & Associates said, “JDWetherspoon has a established, ongoing commitment to providing quality venues – right through to the toilets, 14
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indeed it has won several Loo of the Year Awards. It was therefore a key element of our brief in designing the new pub to ensure that reputation was maintained, and that a Changing Places was included so the pub’s doors would be truly open to all.” Adds Closomat’s Claire Haymes, away from home specialist, “Without the space and facilities a Changing Places provides, potentially up to 14 million people – and their carers – in the UK can’t find, or use – suitable toilets when away from home. They may need help to be lifted out of a wheelchair, they may need extra space for someone else to be in there and help them, they may need changing. JD Wetherspoon is the only major pub chain committed to providing the facilities in as many of its venues as possible.” Under Building Regulations and British Standards, a Changing Places toilet is ‘desirable’ in buildings to which numbers of the public have access. Since their introduction a decade ago, 1000 have been opened across the UK. Venues include several JD Wetherspoon
A new ‘super pub’ – believed to be the biggest in the UK – has opened, complete with a ‘super loo’! pubs, most UK major airports, stations, Alton Towers, wildlife parks and other tourist attractions. Closomat is Britain’s leading provider of helpful toileting solutions, at home and away, including Changing Places and their similar Space to Change facilities. Uniquely, the company can provide an in-house, ‘one- stop-shop’ complete package for ‘away from home’ assisted accessible toilet facilities, from design and commissioning, through to project management, supply and installation, and can also provide subsequent maintenance and repair. Its website www.clos-o-mat.com is the most comprehensive resource available about Changing Places for campaigners, providers and specifiers alike, with a raft of support information including white papers, calling cards, CAD blocks, NBS specifications, video and case studies. Tel: 0161 969 1199; www.clos-o-mat.com; Email: info@clos-o-mat.com
Building & Facilities Management – October 2017
Innovative Hand Care System Maximises and Optimises Soap/Foam Availability
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The new IntelliCare hand care system from Diversey provides facilities with enhanced control over every critical hand care moment for improved infection prevention and hand hygiene compliance. Its innovative design provides detailed information about utilisation, flexibility to deploy a wider range of products and dualdosing configurability for different applications.
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he wall-mounted IntelliCare dispenser is the industry’s first automatic hybrid design with touchless and manual activation to support total deployment flexibility. With hand washing being the single most effective way to prevent the spread of infections, the dispenser is designed to ensure uninterrupted availability of soaps and foams for maximum hand hygiene compliance. It provides automatic low content and battery alerts so that cleaning teams can intervene before these affect its functionality. Typically configured for touchless operation, it seamlessly shifts to manual mode if battery power is depleted to ensure continuous availability of soap or foam. IntelliCare dispensers can be used with a variety of globally-trusted hand care liquid and foam formulations in the Soft Care and SURE ranges. The Soft Care range comprises a complete set of hand soaps, triclosan-free antimicrobial soaps, hand sanitisers and creams meeting a wide range of international infection prevention standards. Customers wanting to demonstrate the very highest levels of environmental responsibility can select hand washes and sanitisers from the 100 per cent plant-based, 100 per cent biodegradable SURE range. Products are supplied in 1.3 litre pouches that contain more doses than conventional systems to extend intervals between replacement with www.twitter.com/BFM_Magazine
less use of plastics per millilitre of product. The use of standardsized pouches for all product types means that facilities have complete flexibility to choose, and change, the formulation that is right for the specific site, user and environmental requirements. The IntelliCare system also offers dual dosing capability. By selecting low or high dose mode, depending on the setting and application, operators can optimise product usage for the best possible combination of hygiene compliance and cost control. The high dose mode is ideal for back-ofhouse applications where users are likely to be experienced and trained in relevant hand hygiene procedures. The low dose mode is generally more suited to front-of-house applications where users are less experienced and believe a larger amount of product helps ensure better hand hygiene. By keeping a lower dose setting in this environment can significantly reduce cost in use. The pouches incorporate a large window to enable at-a-glance product and content level identification when located in the dispenser. The pouches collapse from the back to maintain this visibility and empty fully to reduce wastage. The tamper-proof design prevents contamination and allows easy and quick replacement. The nozzle is designed to prevent clogging and dripping to reduce maintenance requirements and
wastage. Sustainability is further enhanced because all materials are fully-recyclable. The long-lasting battery functions for up to one and a half years and supports around 90,000 dosing actions between replacements. IntelliCare will soon be connected to Diversey’s Internet of Clean platform. This connects machines, dispensers, sensors, beacons and other smart devices to enable remote monitoring of key processes. Customers have access to the IntelliCare app, which offers 24/7 expert hand care advice, online training and support materials and augmented reality dispenser location functionality. Further information in the UK on 0800 525525 or http://www.diversey.com Further information in Ireland on 01 808 1808 or http://www.diversey.com Diversey is a leading hygiene and cleaning solutions company that integrates chemicals, floor care machines, tools and equipment, with a wide range of technologybased value-added services, food safety services and water and energy management. For more information, visit www.diversey.com Washroom
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Johnson & Johnson introduces social enterprise’s soap to UK washrooms
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ohnson & Johnson has introduced CLARITY hand wash to all staff washrooms across their Pinewood office in Wokingham. The move marks the beginning of a partnership with the social enterprise and Sodexo that will see CLARITY hand wash being introduced to other sites across the UK. The product has been trialled at the Pinewood office and there are plans to assess the potential for a nationwide rollout across all Johnson & Johnson UK offices. It is estimated that the company will create thousands of hours of employment, equivalent to 11 new part-time jobs per year. This has the potential to be hugely beneficial at CLARITY where 80% of the employees are blind or disadvantaged. Founded in 1854, it is the UK’s oldest social enterprise and it currently creates more than 10,000 days of work per annum for the staff. Deals with companies like Johnson
incorporating social enterprises into our supply chain as part of our Social Impact through Procurement programme. For us, working with CLARITY was an easy decision. Our staff love the fact we are supporting Clarity’s mission as well as the quality of hand wash we get in return. David May, Director of Operational Excellence and Programs, J&J at Sodexo said: We believe that as a business we must have a positive impact in everything we do. We have an intent to grow CLARITY products with Johnson & Johnson and more widely with a range of companies we work with. We look forward to continuing to work with both Johnson & Johnson and CLARITY to make this a success. www.jnj.com www.clarity.org.uk
& Johnson are vital for helping CLARITY support as many people as possible. Camilla Marcus-Dew, Head of Commercial at CLARITY said: We are delighted to be supplying to Johnson & Johnson and look forward to rolling out our products to more of their offices, it is already making an enormous difference. Each new corporate customer we can supply to has the potential to create thousands of hours of employment for our blind and disadvantaged employees so we need more companies to follow Johnson & Johnson’s lead and help us transform lives. Rhoda Steel, UK Corporate Social Responsibility Lead, Johnson & Johnson said: Here at Johnson & Johnson, we are committed to
Washroom’s latest offsite project takes shape
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eading washroom designer and manufacturer, Washroom Washroom, has recently completed the construction of a full sized mock-up washroom for a prestigious central London office refurbishment. Created off-site at the company’s factory in Essex, the mock-up was built to full scale using the exact materials as specified for the New Bracken House project. The team worked closely with McLaren Construction to ensure all elements of the design were perfect before installation on site commences in the next few weeks. Grade II* listed New Bracken House was home to the Financial Times until the late 1980s and is an iconic landmark thanks to its pink Hollington sandstone exterior, intended to match the colour of 16
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the paper’s pages. With Financial Times staff due to move back in next year, the current refurbishment by McLaren Construction is designed to bring its interior up to Cat B standard, creating a modern open plan office space. The new washrooms, which will soon be installed on eight floors in both the North and South cores of the building, feature Washroom’s popular Alto full height toilet cubicles in high gloss white laminate. Integrated Concerto duct panels, manufactured in the same high gloss white laminate, will also be installed behind the WCs. The bespoke Corian trough style vanity units have been designed to deliver a contemporary, high specification feel to complement the rest of the building. The stylish
vanity units also feature Swiss Lamex metallic effect glass splashback panels behind the sinks for a completely bespoke finish, while Washroom’s Tego hinged mirror system above completes the design. Washroom is also set to install all the ancillaries in the washrooms as part of the project. For more information on the range of services and products offered by Washroom Washroom, please visit www.washroom.co.uk, call 0800 999 8888 or email sales@washroom.co.uk.
Building & Facilities Management – October 2017
Washroom
Smart hand dryer’s energy efficiency cuts cost of ownership Facilities managers are a rare breed. Like most people they wash their hands several times a day; but, unlike most people, they are likely to think about the costs involved! Neil Butler of Mitsubishi Electric likes to help them by pointing out the modest energy consumption of his company’s Jet Towel hand dryers.
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rying one pair of hands never uses a great deal of energy. But in public buildings where the washrooms are in regular use for perhaps eight, 12 or more hours each day, these small energy usages can add up to a very significant cost. As a rule of thumb, in an office or other place of work, each person is likely to wash and dry their hands about every two hours, or four times during a typical working shift. At a visitor attraction, most visitors will use a hand dryer once or twice. In such places it is therefore fairly easy to estimate the total number of hand washes per month or per year – and therefore the energy requirement. To reduce such energy costs (and the related environmental impact) Mitsubishi Electric has developed and constantly refined the Jet Towel range of hand dryers. The original version, Slim, was the world’s first ‘hand in’ dryer; instead of using hot air to evaporate water from hands, it produces a high speed laminar air flow that wipes the water off. This technique proved to dry hands in about one-third the time of conventional dryers, so produced an immediate and significant energy saving. Mitsubishi then applied its development philosophy of constant improvement and steadily optimised the air flow through the design of the nozzles and the introduction of a very efficient motor to drive the fan. The net result of this is that energy consumption is about one-tenth that of a hot air dryer. www.twitter.com/BFM_Magazine
Recently Mitsubishi Electric introduced a new version of Jet Towel, the Smart handsunder style, to complement the Slim hands-in. This offers similar energy and cost savings to facilities managers, so let us look at their potential compared to both traditional hand dryers and to paper towels.
Graph depicting the pay back times associated with a Jet Towel Smart hand dryer.
Smart vs conventional dryer Smart is available with heated and unheated air flow; here we will consider the heated version. Full data is tabulated below, but notably the power consumption of a Smart is 980W and drying time is 9 seconds, compared to 2400W and 30 seconds for a hot air dryer. If we assume an electricity charge of 10p/kWhr and 500 uses every day of the year, the operating costs of a Smart clock in at £45.54p, while a conventional dryer will cost £365.80p – over eight times as much. If you factor in purchase price, life expectancy etc you can see from the graph below that a Jet Towel Smart will save its operators more than £2,000 over the course of its working life. Given that most public facilities will have multiple hand dryers, this is a very significant saving.
Smart vs paper towels A similar comparison can be drawn with paper towels. We can take the same cost of electricity and same usage rate and compare this to towels, which cost about 0.4p each. Over a year, the Smart will again cost
Graph depicting the pay back times associated with a Jet Towel Slim hand dryer.
£45.54p, while the bill for paper towels will be £1,460 over 30 times as much (and four times as much as a hot air dryer). Over the life of a Mitsubishi Electric Smart hand dryer, this amounts to a saving of nearly £9,600. Savings like these are almost the stuff of a facilities manager’s dreams, but there are other benefits from opting for a Jet Towel solution too. For instance the speed of drying encourages users to dry their hands completely rather than only partially. This reduces the spread of germs and likelihood of skin irritation and means Jet Towel is better able to cope with sudden rushes of users, as is almost inevitable in many locations. Also Jet Towel maintenance and servicing requirements are low, requiring little more than a wipe down and empting of the small drain tank at the bottom. In short, through Jet Towel Smart and Jet Towel Slim Mitsubishi Electric is offering a significant advance on the state of the art, while also cutting facilities costs considerably. www.jettowel.co.uk Washroom
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Complete Energy Solutions for Facility Managers
Dr. Alex Mardapittas, CEO of leading energy storage and voltage optimisation brand Powerstar, discusses the importance of multifaceted technologies as a way to maximise and future proof energy efficiency investments.
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nvestments into energy efficiency solutions continue to become increasingly important to businesses as energy costs continue to rise and more legislation, regulations and government incentives are established to tackle CO2 emissions and aid the UK’s transition into a low carbon economy. Newer innovations, such as energy storage, feature regularly in the news and promise many advantages but this does not preclude the more established technologies, like voltage optimisation (VO) from being a valuable solution. Despite not being a new technology, voltage optimisation is still an effective way for a business to reduce its energy consumption and consequently, carbon emissions, whilst offering benefits such as improvements to Power Factor and harmonics. Voltage optimisation was developed to optimise power from the National 18
Energy Management
Grid, which is generally supplied at a higher voltage than necessary. The average supply delivered within the UK is 242V, but can be as high as 253V whilst the optimum for most electrical equipment sits around 220V due to design characteristics. VO reduces this oversupply to a more favourable level, therefore preventing the problems typically associated with excessive voltage. Problems caused from overvoltage can be costly, both in terms of financials and opportunity. From ongoing costs such as higher than necessary electricity bills to the increased replacement investment as the lifespan of electrical equipment decreases due to excessive strain. The avoidable inconveniences caused result in wasted energy and higher carbon emissions, an unattractive proposition for any business attempting to conform to CSR. Implementing VO eases these problems by lowering the incoming voltage to an optimal level. Generally speaking there are two types of voltage optimisation systems, fixed and electronic-dynamic. Fixed systems reduce the incoming voltage by a predetermined set amount, whereas electronic-dynamic systems
dynamically alter the incoming voltage level to provide a stabilised voltage to unstable supplies. VO can be applied to almost every sector and offer all the aforementioned advantages, with savings even possible on newer plant equipment. Aside from voltage optimisation, the more modern and arguably desirable technology experiencing growth in the energy efficiency market is battery-based energy storage. This technology has the capability to store energy from the National Grid during the cheaper, low demand tariffs or directly from renewable sources in order to discharge when required. The most well-known benefit of battery-based energy storage technology is its ability to deliver cost savings. By using stored energy during peak tariffs facilities can significantly reduce Distribution Use of System (DUoS) and Transmission Use of System (TUNoS) charges, of which by 2020 are expected to account for 40% of a company’s electricity bill. Energy storage technologies also allow companies to generate additional revenue by helping businesses partake in grid contracts, such as Demand Side Response (DSR) schemes which are provided
Building & Facilities Management – October 2017
Energy Management
to businesses by the National Grid for helping to balance demand. Although, perhaps the most important benefit that more specialist energy storage solutions can provide is full Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) capabilities. UPS is a reliable and responsive form of backup and is quickly becoming an important requirement for many companies across the UK due to the fact that the security of supply is decreasing as latest statistics have revealed that 986 blackouts or brownouts occurred throughout 2016, a 46% increase on the 2015 rates. UPS functionality in systems such as Powerstar’s energy storage solution VIRTUE, affords facility managers the confidence that operations won’t be affected by a loss of power by knowing that when the support is triggered, the batteries will respond automatically within a three-millisecond timeframe, providing electricity to the sensitive load during a period of up to two hours. This not only offers security of supply, it also eliminates costly shutdown periods, potentially wasted stock and valuable human resource to get the systems back online. In the case of Powerstar, both the mentioned technologies can be combined to deliver a tailored complete energy saving solution to facility managers that offers power resilience, process optimisation, harmonic reduction, power quality improvements and an additional source of revenue. In order to maximise the benefits of any energy efficiency solution, it is vital that the supplier understands the bespoke requirements of a facility. Any party deliberating installing a system should always ensure the supplier can deliver a concept to completion service, with full energy analysis and monitoring of a site’s electrical supply to ensure the delivery of a fit for purpose solution designed, developed and commissioned with the customers’ needs in mind. Powerstar is a market leader in the industry, delivering a range of bespoke solutions that are designed and manufactured in the UK. For more information visit the Powerstar website at www.powerstar.com www.twitter.com/BFM_Magazine
New real-time energy optimisation technology delivers savings beyond controllable load A Sheffieldbased energy solutions company has launched its real-time energy optimisation technology
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ISTA offers ‘new ways of seeing’ for energy professionals. In fact, it takes energy savings and carbon reduction to a new level by adding an additional layer of intelligence to a building management system (BMS). The result is a step-change improvement in energy visibility, optimised building control – and guaranteed energy savings, whilst improving comfort levels in the building.
World-leading expertise Developed by BG Energy Solutions’ (BGES) carbon reduction specialists, VISTA is much more than a ‘box within a BMS’ or a data analytics tool. Available in two versions – VISTA Pro and VISTA Lite – it integrates seamlessly into an existing BMS, HVAC plant, lighting control and other smart interfaces, in order to save energy by operating both intelligently and efficiently. This is achieved by taking on-board live weather forecasts, energy tariff data and building operation trends. Building and energy management professionals can take advantage of its user-friendly front end and real-time information – thereby saving building operators time and helping to identify issues quickly.
Powered by EcoPilot® VISTA Pro uses the power of world-renowned EcoPilot®
technology to deliver a complete picture of energy use. Using the thermal mass signature of a building, EcoPilot® improves a building’s comfort conditions, while automatically optimising energy usage from HVAC systems. What’s more, it achieves maximum estate-wide efficiency and balance by enabling various systems to work in harmony – rather than against – each other. Because VISTA goes beyond controllable load, the result is significantly reduced energy bills. Alongside this, carbon reduction targets can be more easily achieved.
Impressive ROI & energy savings Commenting on the launch, BGES Managing Director Gareth Barber said: “This is a very exciting and significant launch for us. VISTA is the formal productisation of our already-successful and multi-awardwinning energy optimisation solution. We have refined our offering even further and have placed end users firmly in mind during this process. “The result is a powerful energy management tool. Energy savings are typically 20% and ROI is expected in under 2 years. We cannot wait to take VISTA to an even wider audience.” To find out more, explore the VISTA ebook. http://www. bgenergysolutions.co.uk/ vista-brochure/#p=1 Energy Management
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Energy Management
How to avoid new non-energy charges Non-energy costs are rising fast and are set to increase with the changes to excess capacity charges that could sting the unsuspecting energy buyer. Richard Smith, Director of Business Strategy for Inprova Energy, explains.
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hird party, non-energy costs can now account for up to 60% of a total electricity bill. They apply to distribution and network charges for delivering electricity, together with green energy levies. These costs, which represented about 30% of an 20
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overall power bill five years ago, are predicted to push above 65% by 2020.
Beware DCP161 excess capacity penalties From April 2018, the cost of using the electricity network could rise for larger energy consumers (using half-hourly meters) who breach their Agreed Supply Capacity (ASC), adding as much as 2% to an electricity bill. All half-hourly electricity supplies are subject to a connection agreement with your local DNO, the costs of which are passed to the supplier via the customer’s supply contract. The ASC is essentially the maximum demand that the District Network Operator (DNO) allows customers to import from the network to their meters. The energy regulator Ofgem is introducing a new measure called DCP161, which introduces a new penalty for organisations who exceed the limits of their power connection agreement. At present, if the ASC is exceeded,
no penalty is incurred - there’s just a standard rate charge for the excess demand. But under DCP161, the new penalty could be three times higher than the existing standard rate. From next April, any organisation that regularly exceeds its capacity quota could see their total electricity bill rise by 1 to 2%. If their supply is on a constrained network, they could also risk losing their power connection. Ofgem is making the change to enable the DNOs to better balance the electricity network and recover the costs they incur when capacity levels are breached.
How to avoid extra costs DCP161 works in the same way as paying high rate charges for exceeding your mobile phone data allowance. To avoid being stung by punitive costs, organisations need to take the same care in tracking their consumption data to ensure that they don’t exceed the contractual limit. Understanding your maximum electricity demand by measuring your consumption data is key to avoiding excess capacity penalties. Those sites
Building & Facilities Management – October 2017
Energy Management that regularly exceed their quota must increase their capacity or take energy saving measures to reduce their maximum demand. Measuring maximum demand is not straightforward. It’s not a simple case of comparing your maximum active power consumption in kW with your ASC. As the ASC incorporates active power in kW and reactive power in kvar, you will need an understanding of your use of both active and reactive power. A reputable energy consultancy with consumption data management services will be able to assist. 1. Understand your existing capacity agreement It’s important to prepare for DCP161 as soon as possible by gaining a firm understanding of what level your agreed capacity is set at, and to look at your history to see whether you have frequently hit or exceeded your ASC. This will identify whether DCP161 presents a risk. If you understand the implications of the new legislation, you can start to explore ways of
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avoiding and reducing the additional costs, where possible, and budget accordingly. 2. Limit your power usage Reducing your electricity usage, particularly your peak demand, could be a very effective method of countering charges. This will also reduce your overall electricity costs, so could provide a double benefit. If there’s no scope to reduce your overall demand, it might be possible to change your patterns of energy consumption to avoid hitting your capacity limit. 3. Don’t set your ASC too high It may be tempting to increase your ASC to avoid the risk of incurring penalties, but you will have to pay for any unused capacity, which could work out more expensive. Consider the future growth or possible contraction plans for your organisation and how this may impact on your capacity requirements. It is possible to apply to the DNO at any time to raise or reduce
your ASC, although there may be limitations under the terms of your local DNO. 4. Beware new meters More organisations are making the move from non-half hourly to half-hourly meters, which has been driven by the recent P272 regulations that have forced certain energy consumers to make the switch. It is especially important for these organisations to gain a firm understanding of their ASC and to ensure that it aligns properly with their existing and predicted future energy demand. 5. Build capacity planning into your energy strategy Capacity planning must form an essential element of your energy strategy. It should be reviewed regularly and monitored carefully as a key part of your energy procurement, management and monitoring activities. Further information: www.inprovaenergy.com, Email: info@inprovaenergy.com, Tel: 0330 166 4444
Energy Management
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Kensa Evo Wins Best Sustainable Technology
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ritish renewable heating manufacturer, Kensa Heat Pumps, has won the hearts of eco self builders and title of ‘Best Sustainable Technology or Product’ for the Kensa Evo Series at the Build It Awards. Launched in Spring 2017, the Kensa Evo Series delivers 15% efficiency improvements on previous Kensa models, enabling end users to sustainably heat their home and cut energy usage and carbon emissions, whilst increasing earning potential through the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI); a Government-scheme to reward renewable heating system owners with a guaranteed seven year income to off-set the initial cost compared to fossil-fuelled alternatives. To celebrate the Evo’s awardwinning status Kensa has released a short film introducing the Evo
Series’ technological advancements, available to watch here: https:// www.kensaheatpumps. com/evo-series-advert/. Guy Cashmore, co-founder and Technical Director of Kensa Heat Pumps comments: “In designing the Evo we set out to deliver a worthy successor to our best-selling Compact series. We listened to our customers, both installers and end users, whose feedback fed directly into the evolution of the new Evo. We are thrilled that this collaboration has led to an award from those who we designed the Evo for – sustainable self builders and renovators.” Keen to provide transparency of the Evo’s ERP A++ rated efficiency and performance, Kensa overcame many design challenges, as Guy explains: “Getting the very best efficiency out of any heat pump system requires
careful setting up and usage, but how do you truly know if making a change has made things better? Kensa’s Evo Series features an industry first ‘live’ Coefficient of Performance (CoP) readout that comes directly from the operating conditions, allowing real-time status readings from the heat pump.” With one single cross head screw to access the Evo’s electrical and wiring components, four rear water connections ensuring compatibility with push fittings, and curved cut-outs to enable on-site flexibility with vertical and horizontal pipework exit points from the sides and top of the unit, the Evo has been designed for ease of installation as well as ease of use. For more details visit www.kensaheatpumps.com/evo.
Stronger Partnerships for Energy Management
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arlo Gavazzi have appointed award winning digitalenergy as a Specialist Energy Partner; offering the full Carlo Gavazzi Energy Management range which compliments their own Energy Software Solution to capture data from both main and sub-metering systems. As a forward thinking company, digitalenergy is dedicated to supplying the best products the industry has to offer. Carlo Gavazzi not only exemplifies outstanding engineering, but also excellent value, which ensures that we can continue to deliver industry-leading energy and cost saving solutions to our customers,” explained Richard Hipkiss, managing director. digitalenergy are passionate about energy and energy management technology making them a leading specialist for the private, public and industrial sector nationwide. With 22
Energy Management
services such as consultancy, design, installation and remote services as well as, real time performance monitoring, alarm management and web hosted solutions that can help reduce your buildings energy and carbon emissions. Will Darby, UK Sales Manager, of Carlo Gavazzi says: “digitalenergy have an excellent track record of projects throughout the UK covering many different industry sectors and blue chip clients which already utilize our products with their specialist skills. There proficiency within these markets makes them an essential element in our UK specialist network.” Richard Hipkiss, managing director of digitalenergy and current chairman of ESTA (Energy Services and Technology Association) comments: “We are delighted to be chosen by Carlo Gavazzi to become one of
their specialist energy partners. It underlines our pedigree as a market leader and having had firsthand experience on numerous applications, we see the benefit from using Carlo’s innovative products such as their metering and logging devices to capture energy data on projects whilst reducing installation time. Providing our clients with innovative turnkey solutions that increase accessibility and reliability of data is vital to us when supporting clients in the analysis and report of energy costs and consumption to manage compliance obligations and drive reductions.“ www.carlogavazzi.co.uk
Building & Facilities Management – October 2017
Air intake screens protect data centre’s chillers from damage
HVAC
A large data centre’s chillers have just been given valuable protection from contamination through the fitment of RABScreen air intake screens.
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he Hibernia Atlantic data centre is located on a one acre site on the north west coast at Southport in Lancashire. It’s a remote location surrounded by fields and the chiller cabinets would normally be subject to local airborne debris in the form of seed, pollen, leaves and insects. However, this quickly changed when adjacent land was sold off for housebuilding development. The two-year development project has massively increased the amount of airborne debris, not only from increased traffic but also the dust from construction. Paul Hanstock Air Conditioning Ltd which installed the chiller cabinets and which provides quarterly servicing recognised the potential contamination problem and has specified RABScreen air intake screens as the solution to the problem. RAB Specialist Engineers Ltd surveyed the site and subsequently supplied and fitted large RABScreen filter media up to 15ft in length to cover all sides of the three Daikin chiller cabinets. The screens were made with 32mm borders and easily fitted onto the cabinets using stainless steel grommets. Paul Hanstock, Managing Director of the air conditioning company has been delighted with the installation, commenting, “We are really happy with the way the installation went and the RABScreens will certainly protect the coils and keep them contamination-free. From this experience, we are very likely to use RABScreens on another site later in the year”. The RABScreens are likely to reduce the maintenance requirements by the air conditioning company every quarter and there www.twitter.com/BFM_Magazine
should also be energy savings through the more efficient running of the air conditioning system. Just 1mm of dirt can reduce efficiency by 21%. Manufactured in the USA by Permatron, the RABScreen BHA air intake screen is a black engineered mesh, which is heavy duty and high abrasion resistant. Incoming debris held in place on the mesh is easily removed by vacuum, brush or washing during regular maintenance. Protecting the data centre’s equipment from incoming debris with RABScreen external screens saves money by extending the life of disposable filters and saves as much as 30% of input energy on chiller coils. This together with labour saved by reducing cleaning and chemical use, means that return on investment can be less than six months. RABScreen air intake screens are ideal for air moving equipment fitted in industry, in food processing factories, hospitals, hotels and retail, and in schools, colleges and universities. The RABScreen air intake screens are made of a black high abrasion (BHA) specification comprising a single layer of 9 x 9, 1000 denier multi polymer coated polyester mesh. Highly durable, rot and weather resistant, and UV protected, the air intake screens are UL classified for flammability and come with a tenyear UK warranty covering the media, grommets, final border and stitching.
The media has ripstop corners that will not tear. There are numerous fixing methods to suit different situations and these include fittings with studs, bolts, self-tapping screws, magnetic strip, drop tab fittings, or by using a wrap-around technique with Permatron bungee cords. Further information on RABScreen air intake screens is available on 01635 248633 by emailing info@RABScreen.com or by visiting the company’s website at www.RABScreen.com HVAC
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Portable & Modular Buildings
Uncompromised Care Healthcare estates and facilities are under greater pressure than ever before, with the need for vital refurbishments often outweighed by a lack of funding. Keith Austin, CEO of EMS Healthcare, discusses how mobile and modular medical units are providing the facility to deliver uncompromised care. Aging estates A growing majority of hospital estates across the UK’s health service is rapidly aging and often becoming unfit for purpose. A vast shift in demographics, which has seen life expectancy increase by almost 13 years since the NHS began, is proving to be one step too far for the traditional hospital environment, with greater needs for healthcare services causing footfall to outpace capacity. The implications of heightened demand and aging estates are felt far and wide across the healthcare sector – most prominently by patient waiting lists. It is no secret that the NHS is experiencing ever-growing patient backlogs, but whilst demand is unlikely to reduce, it is possible for estates to increase capacity and ensure patients are seen in a safe and clinical environment.
Innovative solution To alleviate capacity pressures, more and more NHS trusts and private providers are enlisting the support of companies, such as EMS Healthcare, that design, deploy and operate fully 24
Portable & Modular Buildings
DDA-compliant mobile medical units. We specialise in units that provide extra space in a safe and welcoming environment for clinical areas including ophthalmology, renal dialysis and infusion, but the mobile unit sector extends to many medical disciplines. In some cases, such as Frimley Park Hospital, a trust we have been working with for 3 years, these mobile medical units have created up to 250 additional patient slots per week. Prior to this partnership, patients were spending more than an hour and 20 minutes on average in the hospital’s macular department, but due to increased efficiencies established through installing the unit, patients are on board for just 32 minutes, whilst the need for evening and weekend clinics has been totally eliminated. Due to the rising demand for these services, The NHS North of England Commercial Procurement
Collaborative created the Mobile Diagnostics, Theatres, Treatment and Therapy Services framework, allowing trusts to access approved mobile unit suppliers through a much quicker procurement process. EMS Healthcare is one of eleven suppliers listed on this framework, meaning we can increase capacity at a hospital site within six to eight weeks of initial enquiry.
Reaction to refurbishments The benefit of using the framework also extends to other pressing circumstances, with a fast speed of deployment enabling acute trusts and providers to quickly react to vital refurbishments or emergencies.
Building & Facilities Management – October 2017
Portable & Modular Buildings
This was the case for St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which is renowned for its kidney patient survival rate with renal services rated ‘outstanding’ in a recent Care Quality Commission review. However, this same review called for the trust to urgently move its renal department from its 120-year-old Knightsbridge Wing. St George’s faced the prospect of relocating its entire renal department either to other locations within the hospital, nearby hospitals or to satellite dialysis sites in converted buildings away from the original ward. Each option had a drawback, especially for patients receiving regular dialysis, whether it was disruption to routine, an unfamiliar nursing team, overcrowded departments, or a less than ‘outstanding’ service. A comprehensive solution came in the form of our Liberty Quad unit – a four-trailer solution with seven renal stations for chronic dialysis, including all facilities expected of a modern, fully independent clinic. The unit was deployed within six weeks, meaning regular dialysis appointments continued without disruption directly at the hospital site with the same clinical team patients were familiar with. www.twitter.com/BFM_Magazine
Supporting wider targets As well as providing the space for clinicians to cope with demand, mobile units are being used to provide community-based care, a national target underlined throughout the Five Year Forward View – a set of guidelines for a more sustainable NHS. The mobile and modular sector is constantly innovating with new units that can meet these targets and provide greater support for the most pressing healthcare challenges. An excellent example of this is our most recent development, Quest+, a macular unit that takes just one hour to set up with the ability to be moved on a daily basis, providing NHS trusts the flexibility to reach those requiring regular treatment for impaired vision by delivering care closer to patients’ homes without the need to ender the hospital setting.
Collaboration and implementation The effects of the rise in demand across NHS services have an impact on all areas of operation, and flexible infrastructure is one of the solutions offering significant value to anyone involved with health services, from estates and facilities teams to clinicians, nurses, and procurement. For this proactive approach to work, it is absolutely vital for decision makers across the board to collaborate effectively in implementing innovative solutions that can help sustain our treasured NHS. www.ems-healthcare.com Portable & Modular Buildings
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Health & Safety
Jackloc puts spotlight on window safety at National Social Care Conference Queen’s Award-winning restrictor specialists Jackloc® were invited to champion window safety at the 2017 Social Care Conference of NASHiCS, The National Association for Safety and Health in Care Services.
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mma Wells, Jackloc’s founder and one of its directors, joined speakers from across a number of sectors and public bodies including the Care Quality Commission to discuss the challenges facing health and care services. In her keynote, Emma focused on what it takes to safeguard people from falls or escapes out of windows. “As proud members of NASHiCS, we were delighted to support the National Conference for Social Care and speak on the importance of window restrictors especially in a care setting,” comments Emma. “We were able to network and speak with key members of the Care Quality Commission, UNISON and other influential bodies in our industry which is a powerful tool as we continue in our mission to raise window safety standards.” With the mantra of reducing the risk of falls wherever there is a window, Jackloc has developed a full range of restrictors for any residential or commercial application. Designed, engineered and manufactured in the Midlands, the Jackloc range includes push and turn, swivel/stud and keylockable folding models, alongside the marquee, Queen’s Award-winning MK2 key-lockable cable restrictor. In addition to the use by care homes, sheltered accommodation and hospitals at home and abroad, Jackloc restrictors can be found in a variety 26
Health & Safety
of settings including hotels, commercial buildings and educational facilities. Safeguarding thousands of lives every day worldwide, Jackloc supports everyone from specialist care homes in their home county of Leicestershire, to sevenstar private hospitals in Abu Dhabi, where 300 restrictors were fitted. “Improving safety is our overriding commitment at Jackloc,” adds Emma. “That is why we are actively involved with organisations like Jackloc founder Emma Wells presents NASHiCS Best NASHiCS, RoSPA and Pratice Award to Aneurin Brown of Hallmark Care Homes USHA (University Safety and Health Association) to ensure event in London on November 17th. we are a part of every conversation Established in Leicestershire involving safety. Our involvement with in 2003, Jackloc are the Queen’s NASHiCS also allows us to reward Award-winning window and door the outstanding work of organisations restrictor brand. A family-owned, who share our ethos. We sponsored family run business, Jackloc supplies and presented the NASHiCS Best their British-made restrictors to Practice Award to Hallmark Care a diverse range of organisations Homes which was a great honour.” across the world. Jackloc were From presenting awards to the also recipients of the Thomas possibility of receiving one, Jackloc Telford Award for Innovation and are nominated for the highly-coveted were named Leicestershire Small Component Supplier of the Year at Business of the Year 2015. the G17 Awards. Recognising their For more information visit hard work and the quality of their www.jackloc.com or call range, Jackloc will find out if they +44 (0) 1455 220616. are the winners at the glitzy black-tie
Building & Facilities Management – October 2017
Health & Safety
The Axis Academy partners with GOSH to provide first aid training
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he Axis Academy, a new dedicated learning and development resource, is working with Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), to deliver First Aid training courses to its Young People’s Forum (YPF). The YPF was set up for patients, expatients and siblings of patients who have been looked after at GOSH and a number of other hospitals around the UK, including Birmingham Children’s Hospital. It is designed for 11 to 25 year olds who want to have fun, meet new people and learn new skills, with one of the skills on offer this year a First Aid / CPR course delivered by the Axis Academy. The first training took place on Saturday 14th October. The First Aid session was developed by the dedicated training team at The Axis Academy. The company also delivers a number of accredited First Aid courses through one of the UK’s leading Awarding Organisations, Qualsafe Awards, ensuring both quality and formal
recognition of learning. The First Aid courses are just some of the many regulated courses that are now being offered to Axis Group’s clients and any business looking to support staff learning and development. Duaine Taylor, Head of Learning and Development at the Axis Academy, says he is extremely pleased to be supporting GOSH and its YPF: “The YPF aims to further the enjoyment and skills of young people connected to GOSH and many other childrens hospitals throughout the UK, and we are very pleased to have been chosen to help with this worthwhile cause,” he says. “The day was a great success with approximately 80 children from all over the UK in attendance,” Duaine adds. “It was a jam-packed day of presentations and talks. Attendees were split into smaller groups and divided between the sessions, and
all walked away with a certificate in recognition of their new skill.” In addition to First Aid, other courses provided by the Axis Academy are categorised under the fundamentals of Customer Service, Fire Safety, Health and Safety, Security, and Supervisor and Management courses. More sectorspecific courses are tailored within each of these categories, for example Control & Restraint and Food Hygiene. www.theaxisacademy.co.uk
Chubb Secures Two Gold Awards for Occupational Health and Safety
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hubb Systems has received a Gold Award from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) for the fifth consecutive year, while Chubb Fire & Security received the Gold Award for the second time, following its first Gold Award in 2016. RoSPA Gold Award winners are recognised for achieving a high level of performance while demonstrating well-developed occupational health and safety management systems and culture, outstanding control of risk and very low levels of error, harm and loss. Chubb, a leading provider of security and fire-safety solutions, is a part of UTC Climate, Controls & Security, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX). Chubb Systems has been awarded www.twitter.com/BFM_Magazine
a gold medal in recognition of achieving the top gold award for five years in a row. Nichola Maher, EH&S Manager, Chubb Systems, accepted the award on behalf of the organisation. “We are proud to have achieved the top Gold Award five times in a row. It demonstrates that we are never complacent, and we go to extensive lengths to protect employees, and have a robust, on-going commitment to ensuring every Chubb employee is working in the safest conditions.” This year, Chubb joined RoSPA in celebrating 100 years of saving lives at its Centenary Royal Garden Party Buckingham Palace. The event provided an opportunity
Pictured left to right, Nichola Maher, EH&S Manager, Chubb Systems, Mark Redding, Head of EH&S and Paul Cosentino, EH&S Manager receiving the awards.
for members, award winners and supporters to join staff and volunteers in marking a century of hard work and dedication to save lives and reduce injuries. www.chubb.co.uk. Health & Safety
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Health & Safety
Lucion’s new schools campaign highlights asbestos dangers Move comes as experts publish White Paper
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ISK management and occupational safety company Lucion Services has launched a new campaign to highlight the hazards of asbestos containing materials in schools. The Asbestos in Schools initiative comes as Lucion publishes its new White Paper, setting out the case for reassurance air monitoring using high powered Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). A campaign video features Lucion’s managing director Dr Patrick Morton warning about the possibility of harmful airborne asbestos fibres finding their way into the classroom and other areas, where they could be inhaled by teachers and pupils. This can lead to damaging health effects in both teachers and children and in severe cases, people developing fatal illnesses such as mesothelioma after exposure to asbestos. Thousands of schools built between the 1950s and 1985 are particularly at risk, before the UK outlawed the import and use of some types of asbestos used in building materials and products in 1985. Asbestos was incorporated into these schools in significant quantities because of its fireproofing and insulation properties and it can still be found in ceiling and floor tiles, decorative textured surfaces and wall panels. The video forms part of a wider campaign to highlight the problem of asbestos in schools - and more importantly what can be done to enable the risks to be identified and assessed more effectively. Duty holders and those with school health and safety responsibilities are 28
Health & Safety
being encouraged to visit www. lucionservices.com/ asbestosinschools/ to find out more about the facts behind the issues. There remains widespread concern over the potential damage to health from asbestos despite Health & Safety Executive and legal duties on schools that help to cut the risks. And Lucion says there should no longer be any excuse for anyone being exposed to potentially dangerous levels of airborne asbestos fibres. Advanced Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) technology can improve the measurement of the amount of airborne fibre than traditional techniques, and should be considered as part of an annual re-inspection programme. This approach can improve the way asbestos is measured in school premises, enabling experts to better assess the risk and provide recommendations for its safe handling and, if necessary, removal.
Dr Morton said: “There is no ‘safe’ limit for asbestos for teachers and pupils to breathe and the campaign will help those who have a duty of care in our schools to understand better the situation and the capabilities of modern monitoring and analytical technology. “Utilising SEM technology gives duty holders a major opportunity to establish new standards of best practice for air sampling and monitoring which will better protect the health and safety of our schools.” A copy of the White Paper: ‘Asbestos in Schools: The case for reassurance air monitoring with Scanning Electron Microscopy’ is available at http://www.lucionservices. com/asbestosinschools/
Building & Facilities Management – October 2017
Lighting
A-Plant invests £2.4m in mobile lighting
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-Plant has boosted its extensive fleet of mobile lighting towers with a £2.4m investment to help keep sites bright and illuminated during winter. A total of 300 of the latest LED mobile tower lighting units have been purchased, providing long running times, fuel efficiency, innovation and reliability. Available through A-Plant’s 185 regional service centres in the UK and Ireland, the new units are among more than 200,000 items of plant, tools and equipment available for hire. A-Plant has purchased 150 of Trime’s X-ECO model, 100 V20 units from Generac and 50 TL90 units from Morris Site Machinery. The investment forms part of A-Plant’s purchasing and procurement strategy to work with brand leaders and meet quality, health and safety requirements as well as ensure continuity of
supply and technical back-up. Procurement Director of A-Plant, Andrew Winlow said the new investment meant they were ideally placed to meet the needs of customers during winter. “A-Plant is committed to providing the right equipment to get the job done. “It is essential that we have a good supply of the very latest and most appropriate equipment as winter approaches to keep sites bright and illuminated when reduced daylight hours and low levels of visibility can significantly impact on projects and timescales. “We have invested in brand leading tower lighting units that provide crisp, clear light over a wide area with maximum fuel efficiency, low emissions, long running times as well as a range of additional benefits. “We look forward to working
closely with customer project teams this winter to identify the most appropriate solutions to meet their needs.” www.aplant.com
Hager expertise aids new hospital
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ager’s Klik LCM and Klik 7 Pin lighting control modules have been specified for a new £58 million private hospital constructed for Spire Healthcare, the UK’s second largest provider of private healthcare services. The hospital in Nottingham is the latest addition to the 38-strong Spire hospital portfolio and Hager has worked alongside main M&E contractor, Briggs & Forrester and system consultant, Parker Wilson Consulting (PWC) to devise a lighting control system to support the particular requirements of the hospital. These include flexible control of light levels in bedrooms and an ability to scene set at bed sides, as well as the corridor slotlight lighting specification. An integral part of the installation success was Hager’s ability to satisfy Briggs & Forrester’s request that all the lighting control module boxes (LCMs) be pre-commissioned and all pre-programming carried out off site. Colin Hughes, Commercial Specification & Key Account www.twitter.com/BFM_Magazine
Manager for Hager, explains more: “Our extensive experience of preprogramming off site supported the installation phase, ensuring contractor time on site was highly efficient and helped with Briggs’ desire to minimise the cost associated with commissioning. We prepared each unit based upon available information provided. Room functions and switching requirements were known in advance and units were delivered to the construction site with all the associated components for each bedroom marked up in its individual box. This not only removed any potential for confusion, but cut installation time and cost to a minimum.” Involved in the lighting system design from an early stage, Hager
assisted with the specification process having established an excellent working relationship with the design consultants on previous projects. Such was the success of the original design stage that Hager was also asked to extend its involvement from just the main bedroom lighting controls to the building’s full lighting solution. This has encompassed all other areas of the building such as corridors, meeting rooms and treatment facilities. www.hager.co.uk Lighting
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Lighting
fdcreative design an out of this world lighting scheme for RocketSpace
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dcreative were commissioned to design a lighting scheme for San Francisco-based RocketSpace’s, new tech campus specifically designed to help tech start-ups scale. Working together with LOM architects, fdcreative were tasked with designing a lighting scheme that worked with the campus workspaces. The Brief to the design team was to create a flexible work environment for up to 1,500 people in the Regent’s House building which included converting the loading bay into a double-height state-of-the-art event space, and NatWest’s former cash vault into a lounge and games room. The basement level had no natural daylight, so the lighting design was integral in creating a consistent look and feel throughout the area. The basement lighting scheme also had to incorporate a double height space used to provide shared social, interactive networking hubs, event space, teaching facilities, media pods, bar and meeting rooms. The lounge and games room was lit using a mixture of decorative pendants located over seating areas to create an intimate space for people to meet and relax. This was coupled with
surface mounted downlights, linear LED wall washers and table lamps to create an environment reminiscent of the John Le Carre novel ‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.’ The lighting was zoned and dimmed to create the desired mood providing emphasis on the soft seating and pool table. Lighting in the reception area also needed to emphasise the RocketSpace brand. fdcreative used linear LED pendants mounted directly over each desk area to create even lighting. Surface mounted LED downlights were used for general lighting along with a huge bespoke linear pendant which ran around the open plan area. All lighting was Dali dimmable using the Lygo lighting control system allowing the end user to have the ability to control zones of lighting. The Auditorium entails an impressive double height, the lighting design featured linear LED pendants which provided general lighting, low level recessed step lights and television quality lighting units. fdcreative worked with the Services Engineers Troup Bywaters and Anders Engineering Partnership to ensure the
system provided the best possible lighting solution for each requirement as the lighting had to work in a variety of ways and integrate seamlessly with the audio visual and television system. The contractors removed the existing casing to the feature staircase in the main reception area which provided another challenge for fdcreative. Lighting had to be provided to the reception desk, but this was difficult as there was no actual ceiling directly above the reception desk. Therefore, fdcreative introduced high powered LED directional spot lights to the underside of the stair structure. www.fdcreative.co.uk
Multi-brand lighting solution
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ugano Convention Center in Switzerland has opted to replace its lighting system with an integrated lighting solution from the Zumtobel Group that meshes seamlessly with the architecture of the building. The solution brings together state-of-the-art LED lighting techology and control technology from the Zumtobel, Thorn, Tridonic and Zumtobel Group Services brands. In a further lighting refurbishment phase, three conference rooms are currently being equipped with the lighting technology from the Zumtobel Group. The project originally began at the end of 2014, when the City of Lugano decided to refurbish the lighting at the facility which was built in 1975. With the new lighting technology, 30
Lighting
the solution now offers greater user-friendliness and flexibility, a higher level of energy efficiency and at the same time a marked drop in energy consumption. The immutable concrete architecture of the building proved particularly challenging for the future lighting solution, not only in the main hall but throughout the Convention Center, because the existing recesses in the ceiling dictated the installation envelope and thus the dimensions of the luminaires themselves. The breadth of the Zumtobel Group’s product portfolio across all brands made it easier to handle this task. In the corridors and cloakroom areas, the former lighting was replaced by
BaseLED downlights from Thorn and CREDOS downlights from Zumtobel. These luminaires deliver precisely the required luminous intensity and light quality, making them the perfect new lighting lineup. In the main foyer, SLOTLIGHT infinity and CREDOS downlights from Zumtobel create an optimal lighting scenario. www.zumtobel.com Building & Facilities Management – October 2017
Lighting
7 CONFERENCE, EXHIBITION & GALA DINNER
University & Healthcare Estates and Innovation 14th -15th NOVEMBER 2017 / UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM
Universities & Healthcare Estates and Innovation is a unique conference and exhibition that addresses some of the key issues facing the University and Healthcare sectors. The conference addresses each issue from a University perspective, and then from a Healthcare perspective - allowing delegates to gain insight into both areas and share best-practice. The event will feature a wide range of high profile industry speakers that will focus on identifying the synergies and opportunities between these two sectors, and how best-practice can be shared effectively. If you would like to find out more, please contact: Ascent Events T: 01892 530027 E: info@ascentevents.co.uk or register at http://www.ascentevents.co.uk/uhei-birmingham-registration.php Event Partner
@UHEI_UHEI
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Lighting
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