13 minute read
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
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.
UK Power Networks, ukpowernetworks.co.uk
CONSTRUCTION NOW THREATENED BY ‘SILENT PANDEMIC’
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 SKILLS-BASE ILL-EQUIPPED FOR NET ZERO, ACCORDING TO NEW REPORT
Almost half (48%) of electrotechnical and engineering services employers have said there is ‘insufficient training’ available to enable electricians and other installers to deliver the technologies necessary to achieve net zero.
The Skills4Climate industry report, which surveyed a range of businesses in the electrotechnical and engineering services sector, showed that despite overwhelming support from respondents (88%) for a green UK economic recovery following the coronavirus crisis, a quarter (25%) said they would struggle to find workers with the necessary ‘green’ skills to meet demand.
The report highlights the need for more effective collaboration between installers, manufacturers, the education and training sector and government agencies to define and deliver the low carbon skills necessary for net zero carbon.
Andrew Eldred, ECA’s Director of Employment and Skills says: “Despite a powerful consensus in favour of transition to a low carbon economy, skills policy and delivery in this area remain sub-optimal, with insufficient engineering services sector input and buy-in.
“A more inclusive and strategic approach is required to encourage more engineering services employers to upskill their current workforce to deliver a low carbon revolution, and to recruit and train the next cohort of school leavers for secure and meaningful careers for the future.” ECA, eca.co.uk
In a year that saw the country in turmoil as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and three national lockdowns, the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity shone a beacon of hope to the construction community by responding to 2,399 families in crisis.
The number of cases that needed to be managed by professional case workers increased by 70% due to the complexity of the cases presented. As the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, many callers to the charity’s helpline struggled to understand their basic entitlements such as the government furlough scheme and other benefits.
The charity’s case workers leveraged £562,000 from other sources, including benefit entitlements that would have otherwise gone unclaimed before releasing additional charitable grants to support the most needy. The intervention of the case workers has ensured better financial stability for those in need and enabled the charity to deliver more support, to a higher quality and at a lower cost per case.
The charity has also spent £224,229 on wellbeing education and training. After a short delay to adapt the Mental Health First Aid Instructor courses for online delivery, the CITB funded Building Mental Health programme soon re-started and a further 41 construction focussed instructors received training. Since the programme started, 214 instructors have been trained – the highest number in any industry sector.
As part of its pro-active support strategy, the charity also began offering all of its construction focussed training free of charge and augmented all the courses for online delivery to meet the needs of the industry and the restrictions of face to face training. Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity, lighthouseclub.org
JOINT EFFORT TO UNLOCK EV CHARGING FOR ALL
Five local authorities are joining forces with the UK’s biggest electricity network operator in a bid to end electric vehicle (EV) charging blackspots.
Charge Collective, a pilot project being launched by UK Power Networks, will see it partner with local councils in Cambridge, Norwich and London to help ensure nobody is left behind in the EV revolution. The aim is to ensure that everyone has the confidence to switch to EVs. By sharing data and expertise, the local authorities will help UK Power Networks to identify charge point blackspots. The network operator will then hold a competition to incentivise investors to bid at the lowest cost to deliver the priority charge points. Taking a co-ordinated approach aims to make it more financially viable for charge point operators to create a wider network of public chargers. UK Power Networks will collaborate with Cambridge City and Cambridgeshire County Councils, Norwich City Council, Norfolk County Council and the London Borough of Redbridge. It will work to identify areas that have yet to install enough electric vehicle chargers and would benefit from improved air quality. These areas are likely to be in towns. The scheme will develop a framework to measure the benefits of better air quality and reduced emissions that come with driving EVs. UK Power Networks, ukpowernetworks.co.uk
ELLIS PATENTS REPAYS FURLOUGH FUNDS
Ellis Patents has repaid the furlough funds it has used since the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in March 2020.
The cable cleat manufacturer utilised the scheme between March and September 2020 in order to protect its workforce from the consequences of fluctuating demand caused by the pandemic, but decided in a board meeting in December to repay in full the £130,000 claimed.
Remarkably, Ellis Patents has come through 2020 in better shape than could possibly have been conceived in March, but there have been sacrifices all round. There was no annual pay review for employees, no returns have been delivered to shareholders and cash has been conserved by reducing capital expenditure to essential items only.
“In December we looked at the improving picture and paid a one off COVID-19 bonus to our employees with a promise of a pay review in March,” says Richard Shaw, chairman of Ellis Patents
“While we also knew that we should consider our shareholders, whose continued support has been unstinting, we noted the impact of the furlough scheme in artificially inflating our bottom line. It was the unanimous decision of the board that the company had a social obligation to return this money to the government before paying any dividend.” Ellis Patents, ellispatents.co.uk
ST JOHN’S WOOD BENEFITS FROM £33M ELECTRICITY UPGRADE
Thousands of residents across Central and West London are benefitting from an upgrade to the electricity infrastructure that is vital to keeping the economy going.
UK Power Networks is delivering a £33m project that powers the capital’s entertainment and shopping district. At the heart of the work are new electricity supply points and underground cables that will provide power to businesses in areas including Kensington and Leicester Square. The project is due to finish in 2025.
Engineers from the power firm will also be excavating in various locations to join the new circuits to the existing supply point at St John’s Wood. This move will ensure new state-of-the-art equipment that will power the centre of London for decades to come.
This network upgrade project is part of the company’s £600m investment in its electricity networks this year. UK Power Networks, ukpowernetworks.co.uk
With the UK showing a commitment to tackling the climate crisis by setting a target to meet net zero emissions by 2050, the Joint Industry Board (JIB) is urging electrical contracting companies to evolve and broaden their skill sets.
The JIB believes that the increasing adoption of greener technologies presents contractors with a number of opportunities to upskill and open up their services to new markets. In 2020, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a £3bn boost to the UK green economy to be spent on decarbonising buildings and introducing modern systems to save homeowners on their energy bills and kickstart the sector.
We have also recently seen the government get behind plans to support up to 220,000 British jobs in the green sector with the release of the Energy White Paper in December, pledging another £6.7bn in support for this sector. The intention is to create a greener and more sustainable energy network in the UK for which environmental technologies such as solar photovoltaics, electric vehicles and battery storage will play a part.
Environmental skills and qualifications are part of continuing professional development (CPD) for many electrotechnical operatives and can be recognised within an ECS registration and on the reverse of an ECS card.
The JIB is, therefore, encouraging member companies to take advantage of the JIB’s Skills Development Fund, which provides financial assistance for courses for those undertaking further education and training in the electrical industry.
BUILDING BACK GREENER IN 2021
Joint Industry Board, jib.org.uk
CONSTRUCTION MAKES BID TO RECRUIT AND RETAIN TALENT
While a range of industries such as hospitality, leisure and retail continue to reel from the impact of COVID-19 and lockdown, construction has become one of the shining lights for job hunters, bouncing back from its 41% fall in vacancies in March 2020 to become an area where recruitment is now picking up.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) recently published its latest ‘Labour Market Overview’ with all employment-related statistics for the UK. Although unemployment rates continue to rise, job hunters can take some comfort from encouraging figures about the industry’s recovery.
The new figures show that vacancies in the sector are now 8% higher than the same period last year, pre-COVID. There are an estimated 28,000 vacancies. Construction is one of just two sectors to have seen an increase in vacancies overall since December 2019.
The ONS says: “Construction was one of the sectors to see a large quarterly fall in vacancies at the start of the pandemic in April to June 2020, with a recovery since the summer.”
To encourage more people to sign up, a free-to-use recruitment platform, the Construction Talent Retention Scheme, is launching its social media campaigns promoting opportunities for workers.
The Construction Talent Retention Scheme is a not-for-profit programme and its online portal enables job hunters to upload their CV and make contact with more than 770 potential employers. ECA, eca.co.uk
MOVERS & SHAKERS…
Electrical wholesaler, ERF, has appointed Andy Laycock as its new Managing Director to drive the company’s next phase of digitalisation and growth. The scheduled transition is part of a two-year plan, with Robin Combellack being appointed Chief Executive Officer. In his new role, Robin will continue to play a crucial part in the business, despite handing over the day to day management of the company to Andy.
It is four months since the newly created role of head of technical engagement was taken up by electrical industry expert, Darren Staniforth, and now Scolmore is ready to expand the team with the appointment of Jake Green as technical engagement engineer. Jake has worked in the electrical industry since leaving school 12 years ago. Jake joins Scolmore from Certsure, where he worked alongside Darren in a number of roles.
The Building Controls Industry Association (BCIA) has announced the addition of two new members to its management committee; Peter Beck, UK Sales Director at Sauter Automation, and Gavin Holvey, General Manager UK & Ireland for Priva UK. Peter started in the controls industry in 2005 as an area sales manager for Trend Controls and also worked at Cylon, Lloret, SSE and Eton Associates. Since the 1970s, Gavin has worked for some of the biggest names in the sector, including Satchwell Control Systems/TAC, Landis & Gyr, York Controls Group and DWEC/Matrix Control Solutions Ltd.
