INDUSTRY NEWS NEW CAMPAIGN STRESSES FATAL CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ISOLATING SAFELY Electrical trade body, Select, has launched a major safe isolation awareness campaign to help keep electricians and apprentices free from harm at work in 2021. Running under the banner ‘Work dead safely: Stay alive’, Scotland’s largest construction trade association has produced an engaging new animation, brochure and infographic to stress the importance of observing correct safe isolation procedures. The trade body also graphically reinforces the dangers of not isolating safely, with tragic case studies of electricians who have been burned, scarred for life and even killed in preventable electrical incidents caused by a lack of safe isolation. Designed to be shared online, on-site and in offices and colleges, the messaging clearly explains the importance of ensuring that supply is cut off from all, or any discrete part of, an installation by separating it from every source of electrical supply. The advice and guidance – which includes Ten Steps to Safe Isolation – is aimed at electricians who are recent entrants to the profession as well as apprentices in training, but the shrewd common sense of the messages is relevant to even the most experienced electrician. Select, select.org.uk
LATE NIGHT ORDERS FOR NEXT DAY DELIVERY NO PROBLEM
CONSTRUCTION NOW THREATENED BY ‘SILENT PANDEMIC’
IronmongeryDirect and ElectricalDirect are offering tradespeople more flexibility by extending their online order cut-off for next day delivery to 9pm. The new cut-off time allows customers an extra hour to purchase what they need, further supporting tradespeople who need large orders in a short space of time. Customers placing orders over £45 ex VAT are also entitled to free next day delivery. This added benefit for customers follows several recent announcements regarding the retailer’s expanded delivery offering. Same day delivery was launched for customers within the Southend-on-Sea, Chelmsford and Romford areas, and has now been extended to include IG and E postcodes, with further areas to be included in the near future. For urgently needed goods, customers can order by midday Monday-Friday, with orders arriving by 4pm that day. In addition, the company has extended its Click & Collect network to include over 6,000 pick-up points nationwide, including Sainsburys, Matalan, and Homebase. Simply order online, select Click & Collect at checkout and your goods will be delivered within five miles of your home or workplace. ElectricalDirect, electricaldirect.co.uk
HEAT PUMPS AND EVS COULD BECOME CENTRAL TO LIFE WITHIN A DECADE An electric heat pump revolution could be firmly established within a decade, according to new research published by UK Power Networks. The electricity firm forecasts that by 2030 there could be over 700,000 electric heat pumps across London, the East and South East, as well as up to 4.5 million EVs. These are among 1.6 million forecast data points published by the company in its 2021 Distribution Future Energy Scenarios research about how low carbon technologies could be taken up in future. It maps four different potential ‘scenario worlds’ up to 2050 with bespoke regional modelling and data analysis provided by energy consultancy Element Energy. One scenario suggests more than 3,000% growth in electric vehicles and a 2,500% rise in domestic heat pumps by 2030, which would keep the UK on track to reach its target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, and be a clear sign of a green recovery. Another scenario sees slowing economic growth but still results in a quarter of a million household solar panels being installed, aggregate grid scale battery storage capacity more than double that of the UK’s largest nuclear power station, and a move towards a zero carbon hydrogen gas grid. Prices of electric vehicles continuing to fall, along with the government’s ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars in 2030, could accelerate sales of new electric vehicles and vans.
Amid rising rates of suicide and mental health issues during the COVID-19 pandemic, many large construction firms have stepped up to boost mental health support for their employees. In the months before the first lockdown in March 2020, a survey of construction and engineering services business owners revealed nine out of 10 suffered mental health issues due to business pressures – including depression, stress and even suicidal thoughts. Of all the respondents, four said they had attempted suicide. In the past year however, large engineering services businesses have taken huge strides to address mental ill-health. A recent COVID-19 Impact survey commissioned by ECA showed nine out of 10 large electrical and other engineering services businesses (89%) now train staff as Mental Health First Aiders. Almost half of those responding to the survey mentioned ‘communication’, or ‘workplace stigma and perceptions’ as challenges to managing mental health. Around a third of respondents referred to the difficulty of measuring outcomes, both in terms of improved mental health and return on investment. The coronavirus crisis worsens isolation, longer hours and increased job uncertainty. Reflecting these increased challenges, it is encouraging to see that large contractors reported significant and increasing engagement with employee mental health. ECA, eca.co.uk
UK Power Networks, ukpowernetworks.co.uk
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