FM provider Artic Building Services support NHS in battle with COVID-19

News FM provider Artic Building Services support NHS in battle with COVID-19

Facilities Management experts, Artic Building Services, are supporting the NHS in a bid to fight the Coronavirus. The company already provides FM to several NHS sites in London and the South East and are currently providing additional resource to their clinical teams and other key workers to cope with the additional pressure they are facing.

As many of their non-NHS sites have moved to closure or reactive cover only, they have an in-house engineer base able to deal with increased demand on critical sites.

As well as supporting the continuing repair and maintenance of hospital wards and essential services to back up clinical staff, Artic’s engineers will be supporting in maintaining electrical services and systems, air conditioning, heating and ventilation as well as building repairs.

In the effort to fight against Covid-19, Artic’s engineers will provide additional cover for staff who are unable to attend work through illness or selfisolation and will add to the existing numbers of engineering staff giving their support.

Artic are following strict guidance on each Trusts individual protocol. All engaged engineers are in possession of written authorisation from the NHS sites. They are following enhanced measures when on site and are all in possession of full PPE for their H&S, that of the site, patrons and the tasks to be undertaken.

Paul Lucas, Managing director says “I’ve been in the Facilities Management Industry for 20 years and have never had to put such measures in place. I’m so proud of my team and the incredible job they are doing.”

To find out more about Artic, get in touch with us - / www.articbuildingservices. com/contact/

BigChange, the mobile workforce management technology company, has been awarded a prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise, one of the highest official honours for companies in the UK.

BigChange was recognised in the 2020 Innovation category for developing JobWatch, a mobile workforce management system that connects back office staff, mobile workers and customers, enabling users to automate manual processes, reduce paper usage and facilitate collaboration on the go.

When it launched in 2013, JobWatch was delivered as a cloud-based service and sold on a per-user basis. This reduced the cost and complexity of introducing the technology and made high-end mobile workforce tools accessible to organisations of all sizes for the first time. It is now used by 45,000 mobile workers and back-office personnel at 1,300 organisations globally.

The Queen’s Award for Enterprise celebrates businesses who excel at international trade, innovation or sustainable development. BigChange, which employs 167 people, will receive its award at a Buckingham Palace reception later this year.

Martin Port, founder and CEO of BigChange, comments: “We are delighted to win such a prestigious award. This recognises the efforts of our people who have worked so hard to develop and deliver JobWatch, as well as the customers that inspire and use it everyday to grow and transform their own industries. We have global ambitions for BigChange and this honour will open doors for us around the world.”

Daniel Long, Managing Director of Clearabee, comments: “We’ve worked with BigChange since the early days

of Clearabee, and it remains a critical pillar in our technology strategy. BigChange is integrated into all parts of our business and saves us a tremendous amount of time. What we like most about the JobWatch platform is its versatility. BigChange continues to add new features and new functionality. It is continuously innovating and adding to the system.”

Michael Taylor, CEO of Contego Environmental Services, comments: “Contego started life in 2004 as a one-man-band specialising in bird control and has grown to become one of the largest national pest control businesses in the UK. BigChange has ensured our operations could keep up with that level of growth. We’ve used BigChange for several years now, and it has transformed our business. It gives us complete visibility of our operations and allows us to manage our national workforce centrally from our base in County Durham.”

Email: info@bigchange.com Phone +44 (0)113 457 1000 www.bigchange.com

Leading UPS manufacturer, CENTIEL has announced that its industry leading 4th generation, true modular UPS CumulusPowerTM known for its “9 nines” (99.9999999%) system availability, plus its stand-alone UPS PremiumTowerTM are now enabled with Bluetooth to allow usage information to be downloaded including status, alarm and event logs. The new Bluetooth device connects customers, data centre managers and engineers with their CENTIEL UPS system using a service app to enable them to monitor its performance more closely.

Gerado Lecuona, Co-founder and global sales director, CENTIEL confirms: “Designed for use on smartphones and tablets, CENTIEL’s app now allows technicians to connect to customers’ uninterruptible power supplies via Bluetooth, to download historical data. Data is then pushed from the UPS to the smart device through an intuitive interface.

This information is automatically organized into a file that can be either archived or shared through emails. For safety reasons, commands cannot be given to the UPS (it only reads). The app also works at a module level for CumulusPowerTM.

“We are committed to delivering greater efficiencies for our clients. Close, ease of monitoring of the UPS can ensure it is working optimally and availability is maximized and the new app offers a quick way to access important information about the UPS’ performance. CENTIEL’s app is the ideal choice for service providers who want to become less dependent on a wi-fi connection for data sharing and to alleviate the need to connect to the pc-based software tool.”

The app is currently available for Android phones with an update expected over the next few months for iOS users. The app is easy to use and customers simply need to download and connect to the required system/module.

CumulusPowerTM has now been installed in datacenters and comms rooms in over 60 countries across five continents. More than 50 MW of critical power loads are now protected with CumulusPowerTM in locations across the world including: the UK, Singapore, Australia, Germany, Spain, the Czech Republic and the Channel Islands.

PremiumTowerTM, is CENTIEL’s standalone UPS ideally suited to applications where facilities don’t want to compromise on quality while minimizing total cost of ownership is a significant factor.

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News JOHNSTONE’S TRADE LAUNCHES ‘ULTIMATE DEFENCE’ AGAINST WEAR AND TEAR ON INTERIOR TRIM

Johnstone’s Trade today launches Aqua Guard, their most durable water based satin paint to date. This new, durable water based paint has been specifically designed to defend interior wood and metal surfaces against scratches, wear and tear and greasy finger marks in high traffic areas.

Interior wood and metal surfaces are often vulnerable to stains, scratches and grease in areas where the paint surface has softened, leaving surfaces open to regular redecorating and maintenance. However, with innovative Surface Protection technology, Johnstone’s Trade Aqua Guard creates a defensive barrier to ensure a long-lasting and premium finish. This unique technology helps extend the maintenance cycle of a building, providing a highquality finish for longer and prolonging the time between redecoration.

David Baines, technical specification manager at PPG, explained: “We know that good design is about how the building makes occupants feel on a day to day basis, and this is becoming a bigger consideration for clients awarding tenders for projects.”

“Specifying coatings such as Johnstone’s Trade Aqua Guard, which will look clean and fresh for longer, will contribute to the overall long-term aesthetic of a building as well as reduce the lifetime cost of maintenance.”

Not only is Johnstone’s Trade Aqua Guard durable, it also has advanced application properties with excellent covering power and long-lasting whiteness. The water based technology, with quick drying and low odour qualities, also means that end clients don’t have to worry about lingering paint smells.

The new product sits within the already well-established Aqua Water Based Collection from Johnstone’s Trade, which offers high-quality water based alternatives to traditional solvent based paints. Each product provides the application and feel of a solvent based product, while delivering the benefits of a water based coating.

Johnstone’s Trade Aqua Guard is now available on NBS Plus as well as the National BIM Library. For more information about Johnstone’s Trade Aqua Guard, head to your local Johnstone’s Decorating Centre or stockist or visit:

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News Interserve to provide facilities management to COVID-19 NHS Nightingale North West Hospital

Interserve Group Limited, the international support services, construction and equipment group, has been commissioned by the UK Government to provide facilities management services to the NHS Nightingale North West Hospital that will be treating COVID-19 patients.

Interserve is recruiting more than 200 people to deliver the contract.

The new hospital is one of several under development in the UK and is the second that Interserve will be supporting. Interserve Construction is acting as the principal contractor on the NEC Nightingale Hospital in Birmingham and is due to finish the first phase of the critical NHS facility in an intense sevenday, around-the-clock building project in which they have already delivered 40,000 hours of work. The NEC Nightingale will initially take 800 patients and will have full capacity for up to 4,000.

The NHS Nightingale North West Hospital is due to open on 12th April in Manchester. As part of the deal, Interserve pledged to mobilise the full suite of FM services in ten days. Interserve will be providing a range of facilities management services to the NHS Nightingale North West Hospital including: catering, cleaning, maintenance, portering, concierge and waste management services. Initially the facility will house around 500 beds, with the capacity to expand to 1,000, and will be used as a “step down” centre - so that intensive care beds at hospitals can be used for acute cases.

Ian Williamson, Project Lead for the NHS Nightingale North West Hospital, said: “NHS Nightingale Hospital North West will provide the highest possible standard of care for Covid-19 patients from across the whole region, and will free up capacity in our hospitals.

“The professionalism and commitment of the people who have come together from a wide range of organisations has made it possible to build a new hospital in just a few weeks and we are all proud to be involved in helping the NHS to save lives.”

Martin Burholt, Managing Director for Interserve’s UK Communities and International FM business unit, said: “We are delighted to be supporting the NHS and the North West community with this vital healthcare service. Our expertise in providing crucial support services to front-line clinical operations has ensured we can mobilise the FM services swiftly and effectively.”

“Our facilities management teams continue to provide essential cleaning, maintenance, security and catering services to frontline operations across the UK. I am immensely proud of our colleagues for delivering exceptional services during these challenging times.”

www.interserve.com

23 YEARS’ EXPERIENCE. 12 MILES WALKED EVERY DAY. 500,000 FANS EVERY SEASON. 4 ACRES OF TRAINING PITCHES. 1 LAWN MOWER. STIHL LIFE. ƒ

When it comes to the challenge of looking after parks and pitches all year round, STIHL tackles it head on. With a range of tools designed to maintain grounds to the highest and most professional standards. Not only does STIHL set the standard for quality, efficiency and reliability, our tools are also easy to maintain and offer superb parts availability. All of which adds up to minimum downtime and maximum performance.

Ed Mowe, Head Groundsman for Leicester Tigers, with the STIHL RM 655 RS