Construction Manager magazine May 2016

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INTEGRATED PROJECT INSURANCE ON TRIAL HAS OFFSITE’S TIME COME AT LAST? CPD: USING DRONES IN CONSTRUCTION INSIDE: CONTACT NEWSLETTER

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MINECRAFT

Mining for talent Could the creative autonomy of Minecraft help build an appetite for construction careers?

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VISIT M BS.CO CIOBJO E THE R WHE ATES ANDID BEST C HE BEST FIND T ES ROL

Agenda

May16

News and views 05

A new approach to demolition

Belgians put together handbook of salvageable materials.

06 CIOB raises Qatar abuse questions Stephen Lines FCIOB says firms failed to protect migrant workers.

09 CIOB on housing taskforce Institute asked to contribute to All-Party Parliamentary Group.

10 CIOB recognises construction talent Applications sought for two funds.

Plus Chris Blythe on the lessons we can learn about London’s property market from the Panama Papers.

12 Feedback

Letters, comments and readers’ views on how BIM has changed the culture of the industry.

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Features 16

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We’re all in this together CM meets the team that is trialling integrated project insurance at the new Advance II building at Dudley College in the West Midlands.

Game on for young builders Minecraft, the computer-based building game, could be the key to bringing a whole new generation into construction.

Switching on to offsite The current shortage of low-cost housing coupled with big players entering the market could change the outlook for modular housing.

CPD: Using drones in construction As the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles becomes widespread in the industry, managers need to be aware of the legal implications.

Project of the month Camberwell Library, south London.

Construction professional 26

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BIM is the start of an era of change

At a time when digitisation is transforming the way we work, it pays to think ahead about what the future of technology holds.

BIM bytes Clients could do with advisers to help them make the most of BIM. Keep on top of payment schedules A recent court decision has left contractors who rely on payment schedules checking their contracts.

Protective measures The European approval systems for personal protective equipment have potential flaws.

+ Contact

40-51 All the latest news and reports from CIOB members and branches

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Take the test on this issue’s CPD topic on drones and additional topics at

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News

Belgian demolition initiative takes hold in UK Architect BBM and Brighton University in EU funding bid for handbook of salvageable materials

The University of Brighton is part of a £1m+ joint EU research bid to develop a handbook of materials and components that can be salvaged from mid-to-late 20th century high-rise buildings.

The toolkit will help building owners considering refurbishment or demolition, in the UK, the Netherlands or Belgium, identify products suitable for reuse, remanufacture or recycling, as well as providing a step-by-step guide to dismantling and reusing or selling them on.

The research team comprises the University of Brighton, the University of Brussels, the Delft University of Technology, the Belgian Building Research Institute, plus architects BBM Sustainable Design and Rotor, a Brussels-

Brussels-based Rotor has developed methodologies for re-using construction materials

“We will prove that these buildings can be salvaged at both a micro and a macro scale.”

Duncan Baker-Brown, University of Brighton

based design studio with expertise in deconstruction and materials. Input will also come from consultant Jonathan Essex, former sustainable construction manager at Bioregional.

The partners have applied for a total £1.174m of funding from ERA-NET Cofund Smart Urban Futures, under the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, covering a number of subject areas.

Duncan Baker-Brown, director of BBM Sustainable Design and senior lecturer at the University of Brighton, told CM: “Some people think the only way forward for tall buildings constructed in the 1950s, 60s, 70s, or even 80s, is to demolish them because they are poorly ventilated and insulated etc. We will prove that these buildings can be salvaged at both a micro and a macro scale.”

Rotor will put together the handbook, which will identify all possible material flow opportunities and provide a methodology for dismantling and reassembling components and materials.

This will cover products such as light fittings, ceiling tiles, furniture and partitioning systems.

Baker-Brown commented: “Rotor’s disassembly initiative has already shown how we can salvage the unsalvageable.

They dismantle buildings one screw at a time, then reuse or sell on what would have been torn down. In some cases they have stripped out buildings, unpacked and cleaned up components, then reinstalled them in the same building.”

The proposed research will vary in scope by country. The University of Brighton will look at salvage opportunities for late-20th century high-rise residential and office buildings in the UK. It will also identify opportunities that avoid the need to demolish, working in collaboration with a structural engineer and an environmental engineer to demonstrate that knocking down concrete-framed towers to replace them with a modern equivalent is highly unsustainable when the original structure could be retained and upgraded.

The Dutch researchers plan to examine the cultural heritage of high-rise buildings, as well as the social impact on communities of demolishing them.

“Many buildings are being destroyed as a knee-jerk reaction just because people don’t like them,” said Baker-Brown. “Aside from the unsustainability of demolition and the loss of value of materials inside, there is the lost value of communities and social cultural heritage to consider.”

The team expects hear if its research bid is successful in May.

Construction companies fail to meet supply chain ethics requirements Research from risk management company Achilles has shown that construction businesses in the UK and around the globe are failing to meet new regulations on supply chain ethics.

In the UK, the Modern Slavery Act 2015 now requires any organisation operating a business or part of a business in the UK with a turnover of £36m+ to produce a slavery and human trafficking report each financial year.

The statement must confirm the

steps taken to guarantee that no slavery or human trafficking offences are happening in the supply chain or declare that no steps have been taken.

Achilles and independent research agency IFF surveyed 117 construction companies across the UK, USA, Spain, Brazil, Australia, South Africa, the Nordics and the Middle East.

Over a quarter (28%) of construction firms admitted they did not have a plan in place to find out who is in their

supply chain, and a further 11% did not plan to implement one.

The survey also suggested that 25% of construction businesses were awarding contracts or tenders to main suppliers without first having an antibribery and corruption policy Achilles runs four construction communities across the world, including BuildingConfidence in the UK, to assist its customers in managing the risks associated with all their suppliers.

Lee Brunsden, BuildingConfidence community manager at Achilles, said: “With mounting legislation such as the Modern Slavery Act, construction companies are under pressure to establish chains of custody for core materials such as timber.

“Yet this research shows many firms are leaving themselves open to reputational damage because they cannot establish who is in their supply chain.”

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News

Questions raised over Qatar labour abuse Balfour Beatty and Interserve treatment of migrant workers in the spotlight Concerns on the labour conditions of migrant workers at companies in Qatar owned by Balfour Beatty and Interserve have been raised by Stephen Lines, FCIOB and Past President for CIOB Middle East.

Lines was a coordinator of the CIOB’s 2015 report – Modern Slavery: The dark side of construction – which highlighted the prevalence of human rights abuses in construction and was aimed at encouraging CIOB members worldwide to recognise their professional and corporate responsibility.

An update is to be published in late June or early July, alongside a guidance “toolkit” created by the CIOB to help organisations become more socially responsible.

Earlier this week, a Guardian investigation accused two of the UK’s largest construction companies of abusing the employment rights of migrant workers labouring for their local joint venture firms.

The Guardian reported that labourers on large-scale sites operated by BK Gulf, co-owned by Balfour Beatty, and Gulf Contracting Company, co-owned by Interserve, allege they have been exploited by the labour hire companies used to supply sites in Doha with cheap manual workers.

The alleged abuses include erratic or reduced payment of wages, passport confiscation, workers entering employment

with high levels of debt bondage, and pay levels below those agreed when workers were recruited in their home countries.

Workers spoke of a culture of fear and intimidation, with threats of arrest or deportation if they stepped out of line.

Lines, currently a CIOB trustee, said he was unconvinced by the contractors’ assertions that they had ensured high standards among the labour supply companies they use.

Lines, a senior commercial manager for Qatar Rail, told CM: “It is the responsibility of Balfour Beatty and Interserve as Britishbased employers to ensure their workers are treated properly. There’s no reason why people have to be housed in filth, not paid properly and just mainly mistreated.”

At the end of the day, he said, the onus of responsibility fell on the parent company.

“Irrespective if the problem comes from a subcontractor, sub or so on, it is the responsibility of Balfour and Interserve.”

Responding to the report, a Balfour Beatty spokeswoman said: “BK Gulf WLL, in which Balfour Beatty has a 49% share, provides conditions for its workforce which go over and above local regulations and laws.

“BK Gulf requires all of its labour supply companies and subcontractors to meet a selection criteria and code of conduct

Migrant workers in Qatar

“It is their responsibility to ensure their workers are treated properly” Stephen Lines

which includes requirements around operative working conditions.

She added: “The company actively monitors its supply chain to ensure these standards and criteria are being met. BK Gulf takes the claims made by The Guardian very seriously and as a result is currently undertaking a review with the labour supply companies it works with to ensure our standards are being met.”

A spokesman for Interserve said: “We are committed to supporting and protecting the health, safety and welfare of our employees in Qatar and will terminate contracts with any subcontractors or suppliers that fail to meet our required standards.”

• A longer version of this story is available online.

M J RICHARDSON

Miller Construction ‘self-certified’ 17 Edinburgh PFI schools found to be flawed

The 17 Edinburgh PFI schools found to have construction flaws after emergency inspections were originally “self-certified” by the contractor as meeting Building Regulations.

Five secondaries, 10 primaries and two additional support needs schools were shut last month due to concerns over structural issues.

The schools, which are about 10 years

old, were built by Miller Construction under the same £360m PPP contract.

Andrew Burns, the city’s council leader, warned that some schools might remain closed until after the summer holidays to allow for repairs.

Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme, Burns said: “Design and the construction standards were the responsibility of the Edinburgh Schools Partnership, who were the main overarching contractor in effect for delivering the facilities.”

The council was “involved in carrying out reasonable inspections and was involved throughout the construction process” but he said the consortium had self-certified that the schools were up to standard.

He added: “Edinburgh Schools Partnership self-certified to the council that the buildings were compliant with all the relevant building standards.

“So the responsibility lies with the schools partnership.”

The 17 schools were built by Miller Construction which, together with Amey, was part of the ESP consortium contract. In 2001 ESP won the £360m deal to design, build and maintain the 17 schools for 30 years. Miller Construction was acquired by Galliford Try in 2014.

The issues were originally discovered after problems in the construction of a wall at Oxgangs Primary (pictured) were revealed after the building was damaged in a storm in January.

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CIOB News

Institute to contribute to housing taskforce RICS approaches CIOB as All-Party Parliamentary Group aims to tackle UK’s housing crisis The CIOB has been asked by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) to contribute to the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Housing and Planning on its newly formed National Housing Taskforce.

The RICS has acted as secretariat to the APPG for housing and planning since last summer. APPGs are informal, cross-party groups of MPs that have no official status within Parliament, but have joined together to pursue a particular topic or interest.

The new APPG Taskforce aims to look at all areas of housing, tackling the UK’s housing crisis in 12 parallel work streams.

Among the property sector organisations involved are the Royal Town Planning Institute, Empty Homes, the G15 grouping of London’s largest housing associations, the National Community Land Trust Network and the RIBA. By drawing together organisations from right across the built environment sector, all of which will play to their respective strengths, it is hoped workable and resilient solutions to the housing challenges will be produced.

The plan is to deliver a final authoritative report for publication early next year.

David Barnes, research, communications & policy officer at the CIOB, told CM that

the new Taskforce would aim to take advantage of each organisation’s particular skills and match them with problems to find solutions in the housing sector.

He explained: “The plan is for there to be 12 different property work streams, they will each be assigned certain issues in the housing area to tackle and will be matched to their skills. For example, we have been asked to provide the secretariat to the construction skills, materials and new technology stream. This will involve us commissioning a number of MPs and Peers across all parties, as well as industry representatives, to look at the problem.

“RIBA, for example, may be assigned something like space standards and quality of housing,” he elaborated.

The Housing & Planning APPG is headed by James Cartlidge, Conservative MP for South Suffolk and founder of Share To Buy, which helps people buy shared equity housing. Its other members are Mark Prisk MP (Conservative), Helen Hayes MP (Labour) Lord Richard Best (cross bench peer and president of the Local Government Association) and Stephen Pound MP (Labour).

The precise work programmes across the 12 streams will be announced within weeks. Most of the work is expected to be conducted over the summer.

“We have been asked to provide the secretariat to the construction skills, materials and new technology stream.”

David Barnes, CIOB

CIOB safety training covers CDM 2015 and accident investigations The CIOB is launching two in-house training courses aimed at improving safety in the workplace.

The two courses, “Accident Investigation and Root Cause Analysis” and “Changes to CDM Regulations and How They Affect Construction Managers” will be held on 10 and 11 May respectively and will be run by safety trainer Terry ap Hywel CFIOSH. Hywel was chairman of the construction division of IOSH during the consultation stage of CDM in 1994 and coordinated the construction division’s response to the proposed regulations. He was also involved with the preparation of the guidance.

Hywel says the CDM course will cover

the latest updates and changes to the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations introduced in 2015 and will discuss practical steps to meet the duties.

Hywel said: “I’m a great believer in making things simple; unfortunately there are some companies who think differently and the whole area of CDM has gotten bogged down with endless paperwork and other informalities which hinder the whole concept.”

The accident investigation course on 10 May will cover the core areas of accident prevention and Investigation, in particular principles of accident prevention and root causes of accidents.

After attending, delegates will be able to prepare formal reports and make logical and cost-effective proposals to prevent repetition.

Hywel said he felt this course was particularly important as many in the industry were not fully aware of all the factors involved in workplace accidents and their prevention.

“I think there’s quite a few people who aren’t familiar with the concept,” he said. ”Many people seem to think that accidents are caused by people being careless and not following the rules. When you start looking at the actual causes, it’s invariably not the case.

“It’s often down to the way things are managed and how we can avoid that.”

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CIOB News

Chris Blythe The Panama Papers show the dark side of London property

CIOB recognises construction talent The Institute’s QEII Jubilee fund seeks outstanding graduates while the Bowen Jenkins legacy fund offers £50,000 in research grants The CIOB Queen Elizabeth II (QEII) Jubilee Fund Award 2016 is now open for applications. The fund was established a year ago to recognise and reward some of the future’s brightest construction minds.

Each accredited university or educational institution can nominate one graduate for the award in each academic year. The award will be presented to the graduate at either the graduation ceremony or relevant event agreed by the institution.

The award includes a prize of £500 and a CIOB certificate.

To qualify for the award, the graduate must be a CIOB member when applying for the award and enrolled at a CIOBaccredited university or educational institution on a CIOB accredited course for a bachelor’s degree.

Elsewhere, applications are also now open to submit ideas to be funded by the Chartered Institute of Building Bowen Jenkins Legacy Research Fund.

The fund, now in its second year, aims to support and inspire new ideas in construction and is open to CIOB members and non-members internationally.

Funding is accessible for individuals, companies or in support of larger research projects within other organisations. The CIOB is offering between £2,000 and £10,000 for each research project and over a duration of one to two years.

According to the CIOB, the fund has £50,000 worth of grants to confer this year and will be targeting five main areas of research: sustainability in the built environment; corporate social responsibility; building performance improvement; application of digital technologies; and employment practices in construction.

The fund is one of the CIOB’s largest donated financial legacies, and was set up as a bequest from Bowen Jenkins FCIOB, a Fellow and active supporter of the CIOB. Applications will close on 15 July 2016.

Finally, the CIOB and Local Authority Building Control (LABC) have announced that they are accepting nominations for the Building Control & Standards scholarship and invite applications from local authority building control professionals.

The scholarship offers an annual award of £3,000. The chosen scholar will produce a piece of research at the end of the 12-month period, which will help to advance the profession of building control, or contribute to future development of the Building Regulations.

Throughout the period of the scholarship the scholar remains in full employment and is paid his/her normal salary by the company.

Applications will close on 17 June 2016.

Further details of the awards are available at www.ciob.org/scholarships

CIOB member’s first aid training saves a life on street James Shannon MCIOB, a preconstruction director at Lend Lease, took to LinkedIn last month to thank the trainers and employers who had given him skills in first aid, with the result that he was able to give life-saving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to a member of the public.

Shannon, chair of the Novus south-east region, told CM how he and his family were driving near his home in Kent on a Sunday afternoon when he saw an elderly man collapsed on the pavement.

Stopping to help, he soon realised that the man had no pulse and made the decision to start CPR. After a few minutes’ CPR, a paramedic arrived.

But just as the paramedic applied defibrillator pads to the man to shock his heart, he started breathing.

Shannon said: “I’ve had lots of four-day site first aid courses, including CPR and I’ve also done a course in using an AED [automated external defibrillator]. They were invaluable.”

He urged other employers to take an active stance on first aid training: “Where you have people trained in all areas, you get responses like I had when I was able to help.”

The recent release of the Panama Papers and the convoluted ways the rich and powerful seek to obscure their financial affairs again throws a dark shadow over the UK property market – and London in particular – with property one of the most common asset classes used, according to the leaks.

What is striking are the alleged vast sums controlled on behalf of what are, in the main, public servants, whose salaries tend to be modest. Certainly in the UK we don’t expect our public servants, especially elected officials, to get rich in a job done theoretically out of political conviction and for the public good. The scope to get wealthy in the process brings an obvious conflict of interest.

The role of professionals in facilitating the transfer of resources, or creating the instruments by which these are transferred, further calls into question whether the accent on professionalism is more about technical skill in using the laws effectively rather than the ethical considerations these transactions pose.

These range from understatement of income and assets for tax purposes to out-and-out corruption and siphoning off a country’s wealth. The result is the same: fewer resources for development of the countries concerned and a culture where corruption becomes endemic, be it payments to a government official or a bottle of cognac for the hotel concierge.

Whatever the method, a lot of the money has made its way into the London property market. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that large tranches of it have dubious origins, though by the time it gets to London it has been thoroughly washed through offshore vehicles. It’s easy to turn a blind eye. But hand on heart we all know that because of the route it has taken, the covering-up of the beneficial owners is indicative of something to hide.

That prompts the question: why?

A crackdown may be talked about, though that will be about all. But if one did come along and knock the bottom out of the high-end property market maybe we could get back to crafting spaces which are accessible to local people, and recreate communities of residents working in the capital. The lack of affordable housing for the next generation of young workers has been highlighted as the single biggest risk to London’s future prosperity.

The Panama Papers identified a network of over 2,000 brass-plate professionals based in London who are facilitating these transactions. Officially they are not breaking the law, but whatever it does, it does not seem right.

Isn’t this what ethics is about?

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Views

The industry is ready for IPI, but are clients?

INTEGRATED PROJECT INSURANCE (IPI) is hardly a new idea: it was proposed in the Government Construction Strategy 201115, and has a pre-history that stretches back to the turn of the millennium. In many ways, it's the successor to wellknown exemplars of collaborative procurement, such as Building Down Barriers, the MOD's Andover project, Heathrow Terminal 5. But it combines these ideas with a critical innovation - a new type of insurance that unites the various parties to the project rather than isolating them in their liability silos.

Judging by Construction Manager's visit to the Advance II project in Dudley, the team delivering the IPI trial is delighted to be making construction history.

Overall, their chief focus seemed to be the elimination of re-design and re-work in the procurement and design development, and also the reduction in the defensive attitudes that underlie so many interactions on a typical project.

There was a weariness of hidden waste, resentment of hours spent defending claims, and the stress of wondering who would have your back if things go wrong.

The Dudley team were also keen to highlight the improved flow of BIM data, arguing that their streamlined, integrated team had achieved genuine Level 2 BIM, and other projects they had worked on had only delivered a simulation.

So is IPI destined to take hold? At the level of the individual experience, there is certainly a case for it. But it's clients that have to make the committed and informed decision to adopt IPI. Clients

aren't immune to the "soft" case for IPI, but they will be driven by harder factors: quality and defects, the financial outcome, reducing risk. For them, IPI would be a leap of faith.

Plus, as currently put forward by its official mentor, Martin Davis's IP Initiatives, IPI is complex and not straightforward to implement. There has been talk of an IPI 'lite', but it remains to be see what this would look like.

As we explore in vox pop (opposite), the industry has just shown it is capable of behavioural and cultural change in adopting BIM. The argument is that BIM, going forward to Level 3 will in fact need IPI, to erase the legal and liability border lines between team members. But the two aren't inextricably linked: most people's instinct is to modify what already exists, rather than adopt new processes and contracts wholesale.

But what will make the difference, arguably, is the economy. BIM came to the fore in 2010/11, after years on the fringes, because the downturn focussed attention on the need for new approaches. On the other hand, the history of offsite housing, also in this issue, was that enthusiasm waned as soon as housebuilders hit the high-profit boom. That's one to leave you with.

Because this, in fact, is my last issue editing Construction Manager. I've had a great time, writing about a huge subject, and a fantastic industry. It will be for time to tell on IPI, and for colleagues to report.

Elaine Knutt, editor

More Construction Manager online and on Twitter Our twice-weekly newsletters give you breaking news and online-only content, including more coverage of skills shortages and the carbon agenda, and fresh perspectives on the week’s news. Sign up at www.constructionmanagermagazine.com.

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Feedback

Whole industry would benefit from doing CDM Differently Paul Bussey, via website Tony Putsman (ICE) and myself (an RIBA chartered architect) are providing accredited training – primarily for architects and students – in the new role of principal designer, majoring on the CDM Differently approach (CDM Differently agenda borrowed from Australia gains ground in ICE, RIBA, CIC, online).

It is hoped that this more collaborative, creative and intuitive process can be explained to, endorsed by and then adopted by the whole industry, including clients, contractors and the HSE. Graham Skeer, via website CDM Differently sounds like a good extension on the new 2015 CDM Regulations. However, we have not yet got the small contractors on side to use CDM 2015 – only large companies.

HSE is not helping by coming down hard on small contractors trying to work with CDM 2015. For example, for "dust" there is nothing in HSE handouts, but information is in the Control of Substances Hazard & Health regulations (COSHH). How would a small contractor know this, other than when he is fined?

Mark Eden, via website I have recently started in a new role at an architectural practice as senior CDM manager. What I have found refreshing is that safe construction, safe use and safe maintenance are an issue all the designers look at during the design stage of the project, for commercial or domestic clients.

What you are advocating is precisely what the HSE is trying to promote in CDM 2015: less bureaucracy, designing out hazards and co-operation between the whole project team.

Health and safety legislation is not prescriptive in the UK. We use the phrase: "what is reasonably practicable". We should take a pragmatic approach, not say "it can't be done", but ask how we achieve it safely and in a cost-effective way. With

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Vox pop With the Level 2 BIM mandate in place, has BIM changed the culture of the industry?

Alex MacLaren Partner at Wyatt MacLaren, tutor at Heriot-Watt University, BIM2050 Group For us, the biggest practical changes in switching to BIM were to do with everyday process protocol in the office: naming, classifications, filing etc.

We had our own systems, grown up over many years, and it was a jump for us to switch to new rules, some of which felt nonsensical from our limited viewpoint.

This sort of gripe still seems to ring true for many people: the "lived experience" of a BIM project has been more about jumping through process hoops than about delivering effective outcomes. But universal protocol is key to good data transferability – we need to weather that storm.

The students I work with at university are handy examples of this issue: the uni sets up these proprietary bespoke collaborative learning environments and they all get so annoyed by the clumsy interfaces that they just opt out and co-author their projects on Facebook.

Industry is not so different!

Casey Rutland Associate director and BIM specialist, Arup Associates In my opinion, what happened with the BIM deadline kicking in is absolutely nothing. It was a passing date, a line in the sand for development to continue.

There are still massive groups of the industry that just don't want to change. It might be micro-SMEs close to retirement who just want to carry on a few years before they finish, or they might not use technology whatsoever.

Time will tell whether they might eventually come on board. At the moment

everybody on board we can achieve fewer accidents and injuries.

Integration is the key Sarah Procter, via bimplus.co.uk From the Danish construction market we are following the UK Level 2 journey closely and see this site from the BSI as a great method to ensure widespread adoption (Official "Level 2" website to be unveiled by British Standards Institution on 4 April, BIM+).

Level 3 should be seen in parallel to

there are people actively and pro-actively working on the deadline and those people will continue that work too.

The overall message is positive: you can pick up a swath of documents, go to the BIM Level 2 website and read everything you need to know to get started. It's there now and it’s consistent and structured. It's a lot easier now than a few years ago.

Peter Jacobs PPCIOB Managing director of construction logistics and integrated solutions , Wilson James Well, changing the culture around BIM is the hard part, not the technology. On some of the projects I'm involved in, BIM is starting to create a culture where the team has been put together earlier. If you don't get the specialist involved early when using BIM properly, then you waste time by creating the model twice. So it’s starting to force people towards forming the teams earlier.

There's got to be a culture of helping to educate clients that the business isn't just about the lowest tender price.

BIM is such a powerful tool, but it won't be fully useful until it’s top-to-bottom in supply chains and we can price jobs properly – when even the bottom of the supply chain understands BIM fully.

Everything you need to know to get started: the official BIM Level site at bim-level2. org was unveiled on 4 April, BIM mandate day

"BIM has started to create a culture Frank McLeod Head of project technology, where the team is put WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff together I would argue BIM has not earlier" changed the culture of the Peter Jacobs industry, it’s people that do that.

PPCIOB What BIM, the environment, has done

is shine a bright torch on our behaviours, such that we can see clearly that Latham and Egan were right. Wolfgang Grulke in Lessons in Radical Innovation warned us that radical change was a combination of technology and relationships, which can be very uncomfortable.

So BIM is highlighting issues within our industry’s culture, clearly showing who is being open and sharing and who is not.

It is driving us towards understanding that we are modelling information for our mutual benefits and not just ourselves.

Gerard Graham MCIOB Business development manager, Martin & Hamilton, and senior vice-chair CIOB in Ireland, Northern Centre It has made everyone more collaborative in my opinion. We all need to work closer together and as part of a bigger team.

I think what's it’s doing is breaking down the hierarchy. In the past you had

Level 2 and not as a next step, in my opinion. I have worked with construction companies that have successfully implemented integrated working and reached a point where projects spend more time successfully eliminating risk rather than distributing risk.

Survey provides a BIM baseline Tim Platts, via bimplus.co.uk Good to see the results and analysis of the BIM+ and Construction Manager online

the architect at the top of the tree, now everybody who is part of the project all have an important role to play for BIM to be properly executed.

You also have to mention facilities management. Five years ago nobody had really heard of FM, but now if BIM's done right, that leads to proper facilities management which is a big issue.

So it's a game changer. I would say it’s the biggest game changer this decade.

Contact us Do you have an opinion on any of this month’s articles? Email: constructionmanager@atom publishing.co.uk

survey (Low confidence on Level 2 BIM rests on weak uptake of 8 pillars). It feels about right, and gives us some sort of baseline that is more representative across industry, including clients. You can spin it one way or the other about whether this is success or not re the mandate, but we need to have our head up and looking forward.

My gripe is that BIM+ should have approached the groups best able to help in the survey and certainly this was not taken up with our own (1,000 LinkedIn members).

CONSTRUCTION MANAGER | MAY 2016 | 13

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Feature IPI

Advance guard

Dudley College’s Advance II block is the UK’s first to use integrated project insurance.

Elaine Knutt meets the team that is pioneering a non-confrontational approach MEET THE TEAM delivering what is likely to be

the most radical construction project underway in this country – the £11.7m Advance II teaching block for Dudley College, West Midlands. It’s the official government trial project for integrated project insurance (IPI), one of three alternative procurement models outlined in the Government Construction Strategy 2011-15. Although several previous projects had aspirations to adopt IPI, Dudley will be the first to realise a long-held industry ambition.

Client, consultants, main contractor and specialists have walked away from

traditional procurement, abandoned traditional contracts and their legal relationships, and instead created a project Alliance – a “virtual company” acting with a single goal, and a single profit and loss account. The entire project is wrapped in the integrated project insurance policy, protecting the client’s investment and the team’s liabilities.

With the policy in place, pooling risk proportionately and removing individual liability, conventional mindsets about protecting each firm’s interests and deflecting future claims are erased. To

support the innovative new strategy and provide reassurance to the insurers, there are a trio of new members in the team: the integration facilitator (IF), the TIRA (technical independent risk assurer) and FIRA (financial independent risk assurer).

At Dudley, where Advance II is joining its sister building Dudley Advance (pictured above), the aim is to shave 30% off the construction programme, and deliver a capital cost saving of up to 20%.

This will be achieved by giving all parties “ownership” of design decisions and input into balancing risk and resources.

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Contractor Speller Metcalfe and M&E specialist Derry Building Services have been on board from day one, developing architect Metz’s design through collaborative workshops. So instead of the zig-zag of the architect’s design being reworked by a contractor, sent to bidders for pricing and modification, then returned to the contractors for further modification, IPI follows an efficient straight line.

And unlike unlimited “pain/gain share” mechanisms, a feature of many collaborative projects, the Alliance partners agree to allocate the IPI pain/ gain, the former equating to the policy excess. Again, the aim is to short-circuit the conventional attitudes to budget increases and align the client and the commercial self-interest of the project team.

So when Construction Manager dropped in a design development meeting and asked the assembled team members how it feels to walk the high wire of construction innovation, the responses, not surprisingly, split according to individuals’ attitude to change. Mike Murray, a consultant for Fulcro Engineering Services, perhaps spoke for the cautious, risk-conscious personality types of this world when he said: “It’s exciting, but it’s also scary not being able to rely on the contractual mechanisms you’re used to relying on. It’s actually quite daunting.”

But his colleague Sarah Hawkins, regional director of Fulcro, feels liberated.

“It’s a massive relief. We all see the hidden waste in the industry that’s difficult to get rid of, when designs get batted back and forth two or three times. But here we’re cutting out waste and cutting out confrontation, and I find it really exciting.”

And there are more enthusiastic endorsements. Steve Beck, contracts manager at Speller Metcalfe, also finds it

“What attracted us was the opportunity to interact with the client. There’s no confrontation, no backside-covering” Steve Beck, Speller Metcalfe refreshing. “What attracted us was the opportunity to interact with the client,” he says, describing an early design change in favour of a steel-framed lift shaft that benefited the programme. “There’s just no confrontation, no backside-covering.”

Gregg Matthews, director of M&E contractor Derry Building Services, said: “In some projects you know you could be in for a hard time defending your corner. I think it’ll get even better when we get on site.” And Pick Everard partner Andy Almond stressed that the process had increased their ability to innovate.

The Advance II project has already cleared several significant milestones.

After the Alliance team was put together in a competitive process following the college’s OJEU advert, it signed the 35page Alliance contract and developed an indicative design. Once that had been approved by the clients and insurers, the policy was incepted, relieving the team of individual liability, and leaving them free to

concentrate on the next possible outcome.

Phase 2 – design development and project delivery – is currently underway.

But as well as delivering a groundbreaking procurement route, Advance II will create a cutting-edge Centre for Advanced Building Technologies, training the next generation for digital construction. The new 3,435sq m centre includes a carbonfriendly technology area, a digital centre for BIM and virtual environments, and a fabrication and welding workshop, around a four-storey “internal building site”, called The Hangar. In addition, the Level 2 BIM data will be used as a teaching resource.

Cheerleading the IPI concept Many in the industry will have a general understanding of how IPI works, as it has been articulated in multiple articles long before it materialised in Dudley. Backed by Constructing Excellence, the Movement for Innovation and the Strategic Forum, it was proposed for a project for Stockport NHS Trust in 2008, nearly got off the ground for an £8m training wing at the Royal Marines’ Lympstone base in Devon, and was considered by a care home developer for a project by contractor Stepnell.

Throughout, its main cheerleader has been Martin Davis, former vice-chair >

Main picture: from left, Steve Johnson of Dudley College, Rob Kennedy of MDA, Metz Architects’ Nick Allen, and Gregg Matthews of Derry Building Services outside Advance I Top right: The centre features The Hangar, a four-storey “internal building site” Right: Advance II will sit alongside the first Advance building, housing engineering and manufacturing training facilities

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> of M&E contractor Drake and Scull, and now director of Integrated Project Initiatives (IP Initiatives), the integration facilitator for the Dudley project and any other official IPI trial under the government programme.

As Davis explains, the aim of this agreement with the Cabinet Office is to ensure that a watered-down version of IPI doesn’t get taken up by the market – and dilute the potential case for it. “Take-up of IPI has been slow, but that’s partly because we didn’t want anyone else jumping on to the bandwagon. But when it’s proven, we don’t want to hang on to it.”

As Davis and his fellow founding director Kevin Thomas highlight, the Dudley team are the inheritors of a generation of “exemplar” collaboration projects from the turn of the millennium. Defence Estates’ “Building Down Barriers”, Heathrow Terminal 5, the MOD’s Andover project, and Glaxo Wellcome’s FUSION – itself steered

by Thomas – trialled methods of creating collaborative, integrated teams and largely enjoyed successful outcomes.

But while the ideas they championed, such as two-stage tendering, partnering and “open book”, can achieve good results, experience has taught Davis that efforts to integrate client and supply side tend to fall down when the project needs were at odds with commercial self-interest. “If you want to get the best out of human nature, you’ve got to get the money right and align people’s interests,” he says.

But don’t other collaborative projects achieve this? Not according to Thomas, who chairs the collaborative working group at Constructing Excellence: “Since these projects rely on the separate insurances for each party, they are still about blame when things go wrong. Whereas the IPI Alliance contract is designed to bring the team together when problems arise.”

The key to developing IPI was a chance meeting with Stephen Bamforth, chief executive of insurance broker Griffiths & Armour, who suggested that the missing feature in collaborative projects was a simple indemnity policy that would bind teams’ together. As Thomas explains: “Instead of the policy being triggered by a mistake, you insure the outcome – it doesn’t matter who did it, it only matters that you fix it.” Plus, there’s the financial impact – according to Davis and Thomas, for every £1 paid out in professional

From left: Mike Murray of Fulcro, Steve Beck of Speller Metcalfe and Sarah Hawkins of Fulcro

“The insurers were surprised we were unsure what the voting rights were – we’ve never had to vote on anything” Sarah Hawkins, Fulcro

indemnity claims, £5 is spent on legal and forensic costs to establish liability.

Dudley College became the trailblazer for IPI when the late David Bucknall, of Rider Levett Bucknall, raised the idea with its estates department, which was midway through an ambitious expansion programme. As the college’s director of estates and capital projects, Steve Johnson, says: “Our previous experiences weren’t particularly good, in terms of the process and the end product, though other projects have gone well. The college is investing £50m in total, in an ever more challenging operating situation, so we needed to integrate the whole project risk.”

The Dudley project is now progressing well, and is due to open for the autumn term in 2017. Thanks to a grant from Innovate UK, the full story of the project and its achievements is being researched by a team including the University of Reading, and will be disseminated to the industry. But, assuming the project delivers on its aspirations, will the Dudley project advance the industry towards wider use of

the IPI concept, or will it forever remain as an “exemplar” rather than a pioneer?

Davis and Thomas acknowledge that IPI is only suitable for trials in the range of £10m to £30m: they say that IPI responds particularly well to complex projects which require a number of differing skills to be integrated, and to clients who understand the need for front-end involvement.

“Some clients want the cost overspend insurance, but aren’t prepared to do the collaboration and the Alliance team,” says Louise Lado-Byrnes, also a director of IP Initiatives. Also, any project has to fit in a value band the insurance industry can cope with. “Because it’s new to the underwriters, they’re making the insurance available from their balance sheet, so for the pilots we can only get £2-3m of loss cover,” explains Thomas.

Plus, there is the challenge of persuading clients to try something so radically different. “It fundamentally challenges the way organisations run, and public clients have certain procedures.

The big framework operators think

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Forming the Alliance

they’ve got a process that works fine, and it’s difficult to expect people to apply initiatives on top of their own initiatives,” says Thomas, although he suggests that if teams are doing well already, they will enjoy even more success by applying new innovations.

Nevertheless, Thomas and Davis are in upbeat mood. A private sector developer has just shown firm interest, and last month, the Government Construction Strategy 2016-20 reaffirmed a commitment to trialling IPI. It’s a major boost likely to focus attention on Dudley, as Johnson certainly believes: “Once we get one across the line, a lot of people will be looking, and I think it will generate a huge amount of interest.”

And Davis and Thomas are both indefatigable cheerleaders. “It’s a change programme, and change never comes easy – it has to be hard-fought,” says Thomas.

“We align ourselves with Trevor Baylis [inventor of the wind-up radio]. He spent 12 years being told there was no market for it, then it became huge.”

Advance II kicked off when Dudley College published the OJEU procurement notice in September 2014, setting out its expectations on IPI. Shortlisted bidders then took part in team-based behavioural workshops to assess which firms would be best capable of forming an alliance, with the successful bidders appointed in February 2015.

Though the college hoped that specialist sub-contractors would respond to the OJEU, in the event few did, with the exception of M&E specialists such as Derry Building Services. So key suppliers, including H&H Architectural for the windows and cladding, were subsequently appointed by the Alliance.

By May 2015, the six key parties – the client, Speller Metcalfe, Metz Architects, Pick Everard, project co-ordinator and BIM author Fulcro and Derry – had signed the 35-page Alliance contract, which replaces the normal contract, sub-contract and consultants’ appointment documents, and binds the Alliance into a virtual company.

It was drafted by IP Initiatives with assistance from lawyers, and is apparently written “in the style of” the NEC suite.

However, not everything in the Alliance is quite consistent with the analogy of the limited company. “The insurers were quite surprised when we were unsure what the voting rights were – but we’ve never really had to vote on anything,” says Fulcro’s Sarah Hawkins. “It was incidental – the

board really is operating as an alliance.”

The team members acknowledge that getting to signing stage wasn’t straightforward, with a significant amount of research and due diligence undertaken before signing the contract. Plus, there was the time chalked up in meetings. “I am conscious that we do have these big, setpiece meetings. But we’re getting to the point where they’re more efficient,” says Rob Kennedy of MDA, which acts as the Alliance manager.

Thereafter, the team progressed to an indicative design for the scheme. “It was just sufficient design to give the board confidence we can build it to suit the brief,” explains Metz’s Nick Allen.

After being scrutinised by the TIRA and FIRA, the integrated policy was incepted and phase 2 design development began.

“Now we’re in phase 2, we’re focusing on work packages and but not doing a traditional tender pack,” Allen adds.

Phase 2 is in fact the project delivery phase, where the team turns their outline solution first into virtual reality, and then builds it. Phase 3 commences at completion, embracing Government Soft Landings and a handover period.

“I think it’ll get even better when we get on site ” Gregg Matthews, Derry Building Services

Putting the policy in place Under IPI, the client, contractor, key subcontractors and consultants become joint signatories of a whole-project insurance policy. The policy now in place at Dudley is unique in the UK, although it has >

The Dudley College project is due to open in time for the autumn term of 2017

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whether the not the project comes in on budget. If there’s an underspend, members would share that in proportion.

In the case of an overspend, the costs would be covered proportionately by all the Alliance members up to the £500,000 excess on the insurance policy. Then the policy would kick in, to give an additional £2m of cover. If there is a problem costing over £2.5m, the college itself would have to dip into its own pocket. Latent defects are also covered for up to 12 years.

> similarities to the arrangements at Heathrow Terminal 5. It covers both the project’s technical integrity for 12 years as well as its cost outcomes, replacing consultants’ professional indemnity policies, and the contractor’s third party and all risks policy.

But before the policy could be put in place, the insurer needed certainty that the design is viable, and the cost risks are being controlled. The scheme’s design was scrutinised by the TIRA, a role taken by Belgian multi-disciplinary practice SECO, as the role of insurer’s technical adviser is well-established in Belgium. And the FIRA validating the budget and risks is Rider Levett Bucknall, a veteran of the MOD’s Andover project. The underwriters also looked to the integration facilitator, IP Initiatives, to give assurance that the team was working collaboratively.

One of the selling points of the IPI approach is that the premiums paid for the integrated policy are less than the combined premiums normally paid by the various parties. According to Martin Davis, the premiums are roughly half what they would otherwise be, and the rest was used to pay for the integration facilitation, and the TIRA and FIRA. “If you include latent defects, it’s cost neutral.”

However, there was acknowledgement that the financial benefit could have been more overt. According to Andy Almond, partner with Pick Everard: “The details of the insurance are not what we expected at the outset. Each business in the Alliance would expect a reduced premium, but it was difficult to abstract this project from all the others in a portfolio, and therefore pay a reduced premium [on the rest of their projects]. But in the fullness of time, I would expect a 30-40% decrease.”

However, Nick Allen of Metz Architects points out that the prospect of reduced premiums is only one component of what an IPI policy has to offer: “Having PI insurance replaced by the IP insurance means I don’t waste my time putting up evidence of what my decisions are based on. It’s not the cost of the claim, it’s the man-hours cost of defending the claim. “

Margins and profits The college’s budget, channelled through a Project Bank Account, includes the direct salary costs of each member of the Alliance, plus a profit margin and contribution to

BIM in action

Andy Almond of Pick Everard with Speller Metcalfe’s pre-construction director Tony Shaw

“I don’t waste time putting up evidence of what decisions are based on” Nick Allen, Metz

overheads. These overheads and profits are ring-fenced and can’t be diverted. “People get paid their direct costs, which are defined in the contract,” explains Steve Johnson.

“If you pay in the normal fashion, you’re paying for waste and inefficiency,” adds IP Initiatives’ Lado-Byrnes. ”Everyone stands to gain or lose together, so everyone acts as their own clerk of works, questioning what others are doing.”

The figures are based on the average return each member made on comparable projects in the past three years, so that the Alliance members know that each partner round the table is getting a fair return based on an objective assessment of market value. “It’s not a pricing exercise, it’s a factual exercise,” says Davis.

In fact, the process laid down by IP Initiatives does not specify that the details of each member’s remuneration should be available to the rest, but the Alliance members opted for transparency.

The financial outcome for the Alliance members was set up to depend on

While IPI can work without BIM, the contention is that BIM won’t deliver full benefits without IPI , at least at Level 3, which implies real-time data sharing rather than sequential design development and separate roles.

“With BIM, everyone is working collaboratively, they’re not sending specs to each other. BIM and IPI are natural brothers and sisters,” says Davis.

“Arguably, you can’t do BIM Level 2 in an environment with PI insurance, or at any rate you can’t get the full benefits.”

Fulcro’s Sarah Hawkins agrees. “To have Level 2 information flowing through the process isn’t possible with a traditional process but here we’ll achieve Level 2.

And to achieve Level 3, you would need an IPI-type contract in the first place.”

The EIRs were jointly written by the Alliance members. “Clients often get the consultants to write the EIR, or they hand over the maintenance strategy to a services provider. But here the EIRs have been written together. It’s about taking the time to unlock what the college wants,” says Mike Murray of Fulcro.

In another example of integration, Fulcro will use the same BIM design tools as Derry, namely CAD MEP 3, to eliminate any problems of data translation between packages. “We had a dialogue with Derry and said ‘our experience is this’ and they’re happy with that,” says Hawkins.

Johnson concedes that Dudley College’s developing BIM capabilities mean it will not benefit from the asset management data immediately. But the BIM data will be deployed as a teaching tool. “The building will become part of the educational process, students will be able to see what lies behind the boxing in, and use immersive technology to see it.” CM

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NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCKS Minecraft, the block-placing game with millions of followers, is now finding its way into classrooms as an educational tool.

But could it also be the key to engaging the next generation of construction professionals? James Kenny reports 22 | MAY 2016 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

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SINCE 2009, MINECRAFT has become one of the most popular games on the planet. It has sold more than 60 million copies on PCs, smartphones, tablets and consoles, and has captured the imagination of gamers both young and old with its “free roaming” structure.

Originally developed by Swedish programmer Markus “Notch” Persson, the game’s appeal for many lies in its contrast with structured or “linear” computer games where players negotiate in-game limitations, such as reaching levels or gaining points. Instead, it generates a vast open-world blocky landscape that allows players to explore freely, constructing buildings and mining for minerals that can be crafted into useful items (see box, p25).

The game’s environment is a lowresolution version of reality, and the core action performed by players is the one of breaking and placing blocks. But the game has no specific aim, or challenges to fulfil.

The main concept is to use natural resources to build a shelter, either on your own or by collaboratively interacting with other players over the internet.

The virtual construction environment allows all players, through the anonymity of an avatar, to have a say in the construction process. The freedom within the game, and the ability to act or build as you please, is one of its most popular characteristics.

Now owned by Microsoft, it is often considered to be an update of timehonoured construction games such as Lego and Meccano. And, as those games inspired many people into a career in construction, it is hoped that Minecraft may be able to do the same.

According to the latest Construction Skills Network (CSN) report published by the CITB in January, 230,000 construction jobs are set to be created throughout the UK in the next five years, suggesting that the industry needs to recruit 46,400 new apprentices every year. While the latest statistics show the numbers starting both apprenticeships and undergraduate courses are on an upward trend, the need to maintain and broaden the pipeline of talent remains a pressing concern.

In addition, a technologically advancing industry presents an additional skills challenge. The skills now required will differ

“The use of Minecraft and gaming in general is one way to get young people excited about the built environment” Richard Bayliss , CITB

from those that were valued in the past: to build a career in the industry of the future, young entrants will need knowledge in areas such as materials technology, sustainability, digital construction technologies and logistics. So can tapping in to the Minecraft generation help fill these gaps and attract a more digitally savvy and diverse mix to the industry?

Richard Bayliss, sustainability and innovation strategy lead at the CITB, certainly thinks it’s an opportunity for the industry: “The use of Minecraft and gaming in general is one of the ways to get young people excited about the built environment. We know digital technology is becoming more important in our industry, both for construction projects and for training. Games like

Finalists from the CIOB’s 2015 Minecraft competition, including Guy MacDonnell’s winning CCTV tower (bottom)

Minecraft won’t teach you everything, but I know from the enthusiasm that my own son shows for the game that it presents a great way of figuring out how the built environment works.”

To help link up the Minecraft community and the construction sector, the CIOB has begun running annual Minecraft competitions. By reaching out to the millions of users of the game, it hopes that the construction industry will be able to unearth passion and talent for the built environment and attract the next generation of construction professionals.

The most recent competition, launched to celebrate International Construction Management Day on 14 March, is the CIOB Future Housing challenge. The competition encourages entrants to design and build their idea for a three-bedroom house within limited land space, and with considerations for the environment and energy use as part of the brief.

The competition is open to adults, children and already established construction professionals, but its main aim is to attract a new generation and get them interested in the industry.

In tandem, the CIOB is also developing four freely available Minecraft Education lessons for 12-14-year-olds that can be downloaded by teachers across the globe and accessed via the Minecraft Education platform. The virtual lessons are set to be launched in the summer, and will include exercises such as restoring Battersea Power Station.

Guy MacDonnell ICIOB, a quantity surveyor for Interserve Construction, won the 2015 CIOB competition by designing and building a Minecraft version of the CCTV headquarters tower in Beijing.

MacDonnell has been playing Minecraft for a number of years, and he supports the argument that it develops skills and mindsets relevant to an industry career.

“I believe that, as a gateway into the construction industry, Minecraft does a fine job of letting young people imagine what they can do with their Minecraft > CONSTRUCTION MANAGER | MAY 2016 | 23

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“You can achieve in a game what we do as a contractor in real life, by redefining the future for people and places” Guy MacDonnell ICIOB, Interserve > world,” he says. “It also leaves them questioning whether their creations would be possible within real-life constraints, so allowing them to consider things like material properties and gravity.

That questioning is the valuable part that could spur young people onto a career in the built environment.”

MacDonnell adds that what first attracted him to the game was the ability to modify your own environment to suit your character in the world: “For me this linked strongly with my interest in ergonomics and the way we suit our environment to our own needs. So, by using Minecraft, what you can do is achieve in a game what we look to do as a contractor in real life, by redefining the future for people and places.”

The CIOB initiative builds on existing Minecraft programmes in the education sector. One of the leading innovators has been the Danish Architecture Centre (DAC), which has been running its Chasing Community programme since August 2014. Developed as a partnership between Danish social housing sector organisation BL and the Danish Architecture Centre, it received funding from private association Realdania, which supports philanthropic projects in the realms of architecture and planning.

The game is used as an educational tool to teach pupils in Danish elementary schools about democracy and community in social housing. It is said to strengthen students’ ability to work and think in communities, and challenge them to participate in democratic decision-making and focus on their own surroundings.

Pia Rost Rasmussen, head of learning at the DAC, says: “In the Danish Architecture Centre we believe that learning about architecture, city planning and so on also inspires children and youth in engaging themselves in the built environment — both as future planners and architects but foremost as citizens qualifying democratic discussions about our common environment.”

Minecraft in schools In fact, the idea that Minecraft can be more than just a game, but a learning and education tool, has been gathering momentum over the last few years.

As the game includes elements of building, farming, mining and engineering, teachers have been able to use it to explore everything from architecture and physics to ecology, sustainable agriculture and history.

Last year it was announced that the game would be made available free to every post-primary school in Northern

Minecraft’s educational reach ranges from the classroom (above and top) to events such as the CIOB’s 2016 Minecraft competition (centre)

Ireland, reaching up to 50,000 schoolchildren. The initiative is the first time Minecraft has been distributed on a mass scale this way. It was organised by Londonderry-based innovation festival CultureTECH, which secured £60,000 of funding from Northern Ireland’s Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure to provide free licences to more than 200 schools and 30 libraries.

And in January of this year, Microsoft announced the launch of its new Minecraft: Education Edition, a special version of the game customised for the classroom.

While downloading the game is due to be relatively cheap, at only £3.50 per student per year, making sure that students have the right hardware and equipment could prove more costly, as playing the game on iPad, tablet or desktop can alter the experience, especially as a learning tool. An early access version is expected in June.

Meanwhile, US computer science education company ThoughtSTEM has expanded on the Minecraft and education theme, launching an add-on for Minecraft called LearnToMod, which aims to expand the educational value by teaching children programming skills through making their own modifications (“mods”) for the game.

Sarah Guthals, ThoughtSTEM’s chief technical officer, has been a leading campaigner on the use of Minecraft in education and in helping the spread of its use in the US. “My one main point always about Minecraft and education is that the reason that it is such a great piece of software is that it is so open. You can do it in creative mode, where a teacher might create something, or you can do it in survival mode where you teach things like resource management,” she says.

“Explaining that idea is not difficult, once you get educators to view it. Many teachers and parents are initially opposed to bringing in a game — and one that students spend hours playing anyway. But we get the adults playing it for the first time — that’s always been our strategy.

Once they start playing, they see it.”

Guthals gives an example of how the game can be used to update more traditional education tasks: “One common lesson in every classroom is that students are required to read a book and then draw a scene from a book. So instead of just drawing the picture they actually build

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the scene in Minecraft. And that’s just so much more powerful as a digital resource because the students feel they are fully part of the learning process. They take ownership of their learning.”

She agrees that the game could help foster interest in the built environment as a future career, but more importantly believes that the game can get girls more interested in building and architecture, or other areas that have traditionally been male-dominated. “Minecraft is different as it brings in both stereotypical gender groups. The way you structure the game is up to you and appeals to both genders.

It’s all one big environment — you don’t have to choose the pink version or blue version,” she says.

And there are wider diversity benefits as well. “Not only does it bridge the gender gap but also the racial gap. There was a study done a few years ago that the majority of video game players are in minority groups. So it could be also used a tool to attract minorities to new areas of learning or even future careers,” she says.

“Minecraft is different as it brings in both gender groups… you don’t have to choose the pink version or the blue version” Sarah Guthals, ThoughtSTEM Breaking through the barriers Although a number of UK schools have adopted Minecraft as a teaching method, there is still resistance in some sectors.

In the first place, the idea that Minecraft can be educational is an idea that many adults find hard to fathom.

But, according to Guthals, there are a number of online and practical tutorials that both teachers and parents can take to understand the game and its benefits.

“Some teachers and parents believe if you’re not manipulating something physically with your hands then you’re not really learning,” she says. “But what we’ve seen is that students react to the same way as they do with physical activities, and often are more engaged.”

While Minecraft can be seen as a starting point for getting people interested in construction, it also opens up the possibility of attracting more technical and IT-minded people to the

industry in general — the industry is likely to experience a skills deficit as BIM takes hold, with the sector becoming digital and moving online.

Andrew Pryke, managing director for design and BIM at BAM, says: “As you can tell, we’re moving into a virtual construction industry — everything from Minecraft to 3D printing to coding. We’re creating environments on the computer, to test them out on site. And that’s what Minecraft does, essentially. These are all new areas and tools that can be used in this new virtual construction area, so we need to attract the right people to join us.

“It has been said that in five years’ time, 30% of the construction jobs that we know of now won’t exist. While this might be a bit too soon, I can imagine that within about 10 years this will be the case and I think we’ll be looking much more virtual very quickly. So attracting young people with coding, design or other skills is very important.”

He adds: “We need to embrace this to attract a new and diverse workforce to the industry. By looking more digitally, the younger generation will be able to relate to the construction sector much more through something like Minecraft, rather than, say, a muddy boot.” CM

Keep building and avoid the mobs Being a male born after 1980, I presumed I was highly tuned in to new technology and computer games, writes James Kenny.

Minecraft, however, had passed me by and I decided to find out more about the game that has taken the whole world by storm.

As games go, it’s relatively low cost – available to download for £18 – but there’s also a wealth of YouTube videos with players narrating their experiences. Players like Stampylongnose are almost as popular as the game itself. In the interests of gaining Minecraft experience as quickly as possible, I watched a selection.

The game has two player modes: “survival” and “creative”. I chose to explore the creative mode, where the player has access to an infinite amount of blocks and items available, and can destroy them instantly. In this mode players don’t have to worry about health, armour and hunger, some of the key things needed to survive in the game. And, more for fun, in this mode the player is able to fly.

I was immediately in awe of the vast landscape, miles of endless fields, with trees, animals and other objects scattered throughout.

The first thing to do, I learned, is to build a house or some type of protective structure as, while players cannot die in this mode, and Minecraft is a generally friendly game, at night hostile mobs spawn that can chase and ultimately kill a player.

After chopping wood for a bit, my YouTube guide then used wooden planks to make a crafting table.

The first tool made was a wooden pickaxe, for protection and practical purposes.

As night approached, my guide made a small hole and battened in for the evening. The next day his plan was to build a small two-by-three house made out of wood and dirt. From there, the idea was to build bigger and more fortified structures.

It is this, the gaining of skills and continuing improvement of your structures and experience, that makes the game so addictive.

Starting off as newbie game player, or construction apprentice, in a matter of hours – not years – I would be able to gain the building experience and knowhow of a head of a major contractor.

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Construction Professional

Beyond BIM, change is the new normal Dominic Thasarathar on where the momentum of digitisation and automation will take the industry

l

TODAY TECHNOLOGY IS FRAMED by two irrefutable truisms: the pace of change is accelerating, and the breadth of developments is widening. Just look at the emerging trends vying for your attention: 3D printing, the Internet of Things, robotics, drones, cloud computing, augmented reality, gaming engines, crowdfunding, crowdsourcing, generative design, big data, artificial intelligence, and more.

It’s enough to give anyone a headache, particularly if you’ve just become used to the idea of retooling your organisation for BIM. But thinking about the future of technology is worthy of at least a few minutes of your time. Cast your mind back five years; what would you have done differently if you knew then what you know today about BIM? In an era when “change is the new normal”, having a confident position on the technological future should be just as important to a construction contractor as a strong balance sheet. So what’s likely to lie beyond BIM? Here are four predictions:

be transformed by cloud computing. The cloud will place a theoretically unlimited amount of processing power (“infinite computing”) at the disposal of any company, on demand. Complex analytical challenges will become an in-line process, where the impact of changing an element of a building’s design, tweaking a commercial strategy or trying an alternative business model might be seen in near real-time.

That is going to fundamentally shift the act of design from today’s era of “best practical”, where you’re restricted by the time, resources and money you can throw at a problem, to an era tomorrow of “best possible” as the resources component of that equation is now vast.

“The air-gap between planning and performing physical construction should become minimal”

Physical production Additive manufacturing technologies, like 3D printing, and automation, like robotics, minimise the distance between a design and a real-world component by reducing the “number of touches” to manufacture. You can make an object in a single machine, in a single touch, without having to retool. The Intellectual production complexity of that object is irrelevant. Will How project teams undertake design – of we have these technologies on future everything from buildings to commercial strategies to business models – is going to jobsites? Almost certainly. But, perhaps

What do I need to know about The role of a non-executive director has changed over the years and their responsibilities have widened, in what is an increasingly challenging boardroom role. A priority is to remain independent of the business and its day-to-day activities, but to have an in-depth knowledge of the organisation so that they can ask tough questions, provide valuable insights and make informed decisions.

Typically, a NED will not be involved in dayto-day management of a company, and that is where their value lies – they will focus on board matters and not stray into executive directing.

One prerequisite is being able to see a company

equally exciting will be the rise of microfactories, neighbourhood facilities equipped with such machines, capable of creating components on demand, local to your site.

Technology will increasingly support capturing the real world and bringing it into a silicon environment, with a degree of fidelity that merges the two, supporting decision-making “in context”. Add in the rise of gaming engines, which will support simulating not just geometry, but physics, crowd behaviour etc, and the air-gap between planning and performing physical construction should become minimal.

Technology-driven services Demand for construction services – and the nature of those services – will increasingly be driven by technology. Most is going to come from increasingly complex cities, and from emerging economies. Where and how

Non-executive directors

and its business issues in a broad perspective.

From our – fairly substantial – database of people actively looking for NED roles, only 2% are classed as having worked in the construction sector. A shortage of senior candidates from the sector cannot be accounted for, as many clearly have the skills and experience to offer boards.

Being on a board is very much about behaviours and attributes, such as confidence, self-control and the ability to challenge or support. Certain construction personnel will have the qualities needed to fulfil a NED’s role of contributing to strategy, monitoring management performance, ensuring robust

risk management as well as getting involved in succession planning and remuneration for executive directors.

Site managers and project managers supervise and direct operations to make ensure a project is completed safely, on time and to budget, while construction managers and directors deal with challenges every day from workers, suppliers, clients and other stakeholders, as well as having strong communication skills.

NEDS come in all shapes and sizes. According to our database, a typical NED is a 57-year-old male based in the south-east of England, with

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BIM bytes: Do clients need their own BIM advisers?

should you respond? The answer will frequently be in the data, or rather the “big data”. Trends in population demographics, economic growth, disposable income and more will be crunched by cloud computing to help contractors answer that question.

Now consider the individual. The rise of social media is enabling everyone to have their say in shaping our built environment.

Whether it’s the impact of a new road in a crowded urban neighbourhood or demand for more green spaces, the internet puts our built environment in everyone’s living room – and that brings opportunity.

Engaging with the community via this medium, a contractor might do anything from negotiating times for site deliveries to crowdsourcing design answers during consultation, or even raising finance for clients’ projects through alternative vehicles like crowdfunding.

14 years’ experience as an executive. But we want to explode the myth that boards should look this way – they should have a diverse range of people from a variety of sectors and life experiences, bringing different perspectives.

From 4,819 male and 1,065 female members, a mere 18% are women.

The feedback we’ve been given is that there is a perception of “cronyism” and boardroom politics at this level, and many intermediaries for non-exec positions are male, which can be off-putting.

Our website connects NEDs and companies in an off-market environment,

Smarter, connected products Things are getting smarter; they’re also getting connected, via the Internet of Things. The prospect of masses of connected smart devices with intelligence distributed throughout that network, offers two exciting prospects.

First, we will be able to understand our built environment in ways we’ve never been able to previously. By learning how an asset is used, versus the assumptions made at project inception, the industry should be able to close the gap between what we think we need to build and what we actually need to build to meet demand, across multiple dimensions, such as energy capacity, office space, refinery throughput.

Second, when blended with other data, such as demographics, there is the potential for greater insight to project pipelines. If you monitor utilisation trends, you can monitor changes too. Spotting patterns in asset use allows future demand for construction output to become clearer.

The net result of all this? A new era, the “era of connection”, where any contractor, regardless of size, location or even experience, might connect to unlimited processing power to solve complex problems effortlessly, and to an unlimited number of people to get the best ideas. And one in which any contractor can collide the physical and digital worlds to deliver better outcomes, and foster a freer flow of capital for projects, through reduced project risk and alternative funding techniques. It’s time to start thinking beyond BIM. Dominic Thasarathar is construction industry strategist at Autodesk.

allowing NEDs to confidentially search for vacancies and share their CVS. It works with organisations such as Virgin Media, the NHS and the UK government to post vacancies for non-executive directors and has saved businesses over £5m in recruitment fees last month alone. It has disrupted the sector by putting the power into the hands of businesses – tearing up the model of expensive headhunter fees.

Matthew Roberts is CEO of NonExecutive Directors.com. For more information, visit www.nonexecutivedirectors.com

As the BIM mandate’s 4 April deadline passed, the industry could look back with some satisfaction at what had been achieved and be heartened by the renewed commitment in the budget statement to the further progression to BIM Level 3. But does the Level 2 structure really give clients all the guidance they need?

For clients who are central government departments, the BIM Task Group suggested the use of BIM champions who would spread the word among their organisation and be able to explain the benefits of BIM and the steps to procure it.

These departments also have staff and resources dedicated to asset management, who are keen to see the benefits of better information about the assets they manage.

But outside central government departments, this process of change is not being managed. Clients and the industry have to find their own way to resources and information. Clients who do not have an in-house resource dealing with procurement and asset management will need to rely on external providers.

But there is a limit to what external resources can do.

Given the important link between asset management and the benefits derived from BIM, the client must engage with the process and find the necessary internal information to determine whether BIM will be relevant and, if so, to define its requirements. Many will look to a trusted source of advice.

The RIBA Plan of Work 2013 deals with the inception stage

and suggests one of the tasks an architect should consider is whether a project is delivered in BIM. The CIC BIM protocol assumes that the client will appoint a BIM manager. There is a draft schedule of services in the form of the “outline scope of services for information management“.

Specifications also assist in providing a basis for defining the information requirements: PAS 1192-3: 2014 and BS 8536-1:2015 provide much of the content for clients to follow who wish to define their information requirements.

But where is the source of the trusted adviser? BIM cuts across disciplines and budgets and asks us to retrieve information and co-ordinate a broad range of services. Does the industry need a BIM adviser who engages with the client before the traditional construction phase and helps the client decide whether BIM is used and, if so, how?

The existing role of BIM manager assumes much of this ground has been covered when, in practice, most clients are still unware of BIM and uncertain as to the relevance of BIM to their organisation.

Without providing advice to clients on the relevance and requirements of BIM to their organisation, it is difficult to see how change can be managed and how the benefits of BIM to the client side of the industry will be delivered.

Tim Willis is a consultant in Trowers & Hamlins’ dispute resolution and litigation department.

BIM best practice Read new case studies from around the country demonstrating BIM best practice from Balfour Beatty, BAM, Galliford Try, Kier, Costain and many more. Go to the awardwinning BIM+ website: www.bimplus.co.uk

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Construction Professional

Make sure that you’re paid as scheduled Contractors relying on payment schedules need to check the wording, says Stephanie Geesink THE RECENT CASE OF Grove Developments Ltd

v Balfour Beatty Regional Construction Ltd [2016] EWHC 168 (TCC) is likely to have contractors relying on payment schedules nervously checking their contracts.

Grove Developments engaged Balfour Beatty (then known as Mansell Construction Services Limited) for the design and construction of a hotel and serviced apartments adjoining the O2 complex at Greenwich Peninsula in south-east London. The parties entered into a JCT Design and Build Contract 2011 with bespoke amends in July 2013.

It was agreed that the contract sum was to be £121,059,632 with a date for completion of 22 July 2015. To govern interim payments under the contract, the parties agreed a schedule of 23 valuation and payment dates to cover the period from September 2013 to July 2015.

The works did not complete by 22 July 2015, and in August 2015 Balfour Beatty issued interim application 24 for £23,166,425.92 plus VAT. Grove Developments served a payment notice

“The contractor should ensure there is wording which allows any schedule to continue if the works are delayed or extended”

and pay less notice. Balfour Beatty claimed the notices were out of time.

Grove Developments argued that Balfour Beatty had no contractual right to issue or be paid in respect of interim application 24 as this went beyond the stipulated payment dates in the schedule, but in the alternative, Grove Developments’ payment notice and pay less notice were served in time.

On 19 November 2015 Balfour Beatty commenced adjudication proceedings claiming payment plus interest. Grove Developments served its response on 4 December, but shortly after this commenced court proceedings in order to finally determine key questions of contractual interpretation which arose in the adjudication.

In January 2016, the adjudicator issued a decision confirming that Grove Developments should pay the remaining sums being claimed by Balfour Beatty.

Grove Developments asked the court to determine whether Balfour Beatty had a contractual right to make interim application 24 (or any subsequent application) and have a right to be paid in respect of that application.

Balfour Beatty suggested that the dates in the schedule were merely examples of when payments were to be made, and submitted that the true meaning of the schedule was that it continued indefinitely.

Alternatively, Balfour Beatty relied on the Construction Act 1996 and the accompanying Scheme for Construction Contracts to “fill the gaps” left by the provisions of the contract (ie, what is to happen after the 23rd application).

Grove Developments relied on a strict interpretation of the contract, asking the court to find that Balfour Beatty had no contractual right to make Interim Application 24 as the schedule simply did not contain such a provision.

Court decision: stick to what you agreed The court rejected Balfour Beatty’s arguments, expressly noting that it could not imply provisions from the Scheme which expressly contradicted what the

parties had clearly agreed, which is that there would be “23 interim payments on the dates set out in the agreed schedule and no more”.

In doing so, the court has reminded us that it will take a strict view on what the parties have agreed, and will not amend a “bad bargain”, no matter how disastrous the consequences for either party.

This may be considered by some in the industry to be a harsh outcome, as it potentially leaves the contractor without payment for a significant period of time, depending on when the works complete and how long it takes to negotiate further payment provisions.

However, it should be noted that the contractual amendments and background facts in this case were complicated and appear, on the face of it, to have contributed to this result. A well-drafted payment schedule would usually allow for an express provision for further payments should the works be delayed, or alternatively parties may negotiate and agree further provisions if it appears the works are being delayed. Neither of which was the case here.

In any event, this decision will undoubtedly be an important consideration going forward for those entering into contracts which rely on a payment schedule. The contractor should ensure that there is wording which allows any schedule to continue if the works are delayed or extended, or that the contract generally provides a mechanism for further payments as necessary.

For contractors who have already entered into contracts which rely on payment schedules, it will be important to review the risk of being unable to claim payments beyond any dates or stages in a payment schedule. If there are any such concerns, it will be important to ensure that you negotiate how any further payments are to be dealt with in advance of any delay, to ensure swift payment and maintain cash flow.

Stephanie Geesink is a solicitor at Trowers & Hamlins.

28 | MAY 2016 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

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18/03/2016 15:10

Construction Professional

EU needs to move faster on new PPE rules Neil Hewitt looks at the potential flaws in the CE marking system for protective equipment

CONSTRUCTION SITES CAN be dangerous places: in 2014/15 there were 65,000 self-reported, non-fatal injuries in the UK, with half a million working days lost due to workplace injury. Although the Health and Safety at Work Act ensures that hazards are limited and risks controlled, personal protective equipment (PPE) is of fundamental importance as the last line of defence in keeping workers safe.

PPE is equipment designed to be worn or held by an individual for protection against one or more health and safety hazards with three distinct categories: Category 1 products are defined as “simple design”, to protect against superficial harm, such as a liner glove that doesn’t claim mechanical protection; Category 2 includes items such as safety footwear; Category 3 items are products of “complex design”, intended to protect against serious consequences or irreversible damage to health, such as respirators.

When drawn up in 1989, the PPE Directive was one of the European Union’s first “New Approach” directives.

To facilitate a single European market for goods, over 20 years ago the principal aim of this New Approach was to remove barriers to trade by requiring all products to meet common minimum health and safety requirements, which were supported by agreed European standards at the product level.

In reality, the certification process has its limitations. Once the manufacturer has self-certified PPE or has gained EC Type approval and CE marked the product — a

“New PEE regulation is a good step forward for the industry, but it could take until 2018 for changes to be implemented and we need to act now.”

declaration that it meets the requirements of the applicable EC directives — it is valid for the life of the product or a minimum of five years. Manufacturers should not change components for alternatives without retesting the product.

These weaknesses could allow a less reputable manufacturer or importer to gain CE certification for products they wish to market and subsequently make changes to them. This could impact on its safety performance, as further testing might not be conducted as the CE certificate is already available.

Manufacturers of Category 3 PPE are required to have a third-party monitoring process in place, through annual testing, for example. However, there is no third-party production monitoring process for Category 1 or 2. It is up to the manufacturer to ensure the product continues to conform to the standards.

Currently the UK’s competent authorities for market surveillance of PPE — local authority trading standards departments, the HSE and the Health and Safety Laboratory — are under increasing pressure from reduced budgets, something that might be exploited by less reputable manufacturers.

Taking practical steps In March this year, the new PPE regulation was adopted by the European Parliament, reclassifying some products, introducing a mandatory five-year limit on CE certificates and clearly identifying the obligations of all economic operators — which include manufacturers, distributors and importers — in the supply chain.

The new regulation also clearly defines that an importer or distributor which markets a product in Europe under its own name, brand or trademark becomes liable for the full manufacturer’s obligations.

Although this is a good step forward for the industry, it could take until 2018 for these changes to be implemented, and we need to act now. An example of the weakness in the CE certification process came to light when Arco performed a number of tests on safety footwear

toecaps — products which are at the frontline of safety in the industry.

Traditionally, toecaps were made from steel, to ensure toes were not crushed in the event of an accident. Bones in the foot are easily damaged – any injury can prevent normal movement for several months, which may result in loss of work for the employee and a cost to the business.

Non-metallic materials have entered the marketplace, offering lightweight design and the ability to minimise disruption where metal detection is required. Some non-metallic toecaps are made from composite glass fibre and others from injection-moulded thermoplastics.

During testing in our United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) and SATRA independently accredited lab, it became apparent that the safety footwear using some injection-moulded plastic toe caps in its construction performed significantly worse than the fibreglass composite toecaps during compression testing.

But the use of a thermoplastic toe cap in safety footwear construction is not immediately evident, and purchasers are relying on the CE mark being accurate.

Identifying true product compliance is difficult for the user. The responsibility falls to the manufacturer or importer who may not have the resources in place to ensure regular testing. Anyone who has concerns over the safety of equipment supplied should: l ask suppliers for a declaration of conformity that shows original certification for the PPE purchased; l ask suppliers to define their process for sample testing to ensure safety products continue to meet required standards; l ensure suppliers are members of the British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF) Registered Safety Supplier Scheme; l ask suppliers to define their process of quality assurance at the manufacturing facility to ensure the products are being manufactured as originally certified; l always buy from a trusted source.

Neil Hewitt is divisional director, quality and technical standards, at Arco

30 | MAY 2016 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

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Technology Housing

1999

THE SEVEN AGES OF OFFSITE

Cartwright Pickard’s Murray Grove in Hackney was built of steel-framed modules

2011

With a housing shortage demanding rapid solutions and major investors now moving into the offsite market, could it be that modular housing’s time has come at last? James Kenny reports investment company Legal & General was making a bold move into the housebuilding sector with the launch of a modular housing factory near Leeds was a sign that offsite construction could be moving into a new era.

L&G announced that its new £55m investment, set to launch around June, is expected to be the largest in Europe. The homes will be completely constructed offsite – including white goods and interiors.

This is the first time a major investor has moved into producing offsite homes, demonstrating the changing attitudes to what has been seen as a niche part of the housing industry. But contractors are also upscaling their commitment to offsite: Laing O’Rourke is due to open a new offsite housing production facility at the end of 2016, and Willmott Dixon has also just announced deals with two offsite suppliers, Fusion Building Systems and Robertson Timber Engineering, to build up to half of its 2,000-home-a-year output with offsite methods.

While offsite housing has been voiced as a possible solution to the housing crisis many times before – see timeline (right) – it has yet to take major hold in the industry or shoulder responsibility for addressing the UK housing shortage. But with the

GOOGLE STREET VIEW

THE NEWS IN FEBRUARY that insurance and

Make’s Serpentine housing in Aylesbury used offsite timber frames by Stewart Milne

2015

“I have no doubt we will look back in 10 years’ time and wonder why more homes weren’t built this way before” James Lidgate, Legal & General Capital

William Street Quarter, Barking, made use of Laing O’Rourke’s offsite manufacturing

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Milne

ring

Technology Housing 2007

Richard Rogers’ Oxley Woods, Milton Keynes, used prefabricated components

GOOGLE STREET VIEW

2012

Skanska used the Swedish ModernaHus system on its Fabrik scheme in Brixton

2015

Spacehus built four homes in Blyth in 16 weeks by assembling Swedish components

government targeting a goal of 200,000 new homes a year in England and Wales – but only averaging around 140,000 – new thinking is urgently needed.

The repetitive nature of offsite construction means it’s often a cheaper way to deliver homes, but only if done at scale against a backdrop of demand certainty.

But the lower costs on offer are increasingly compelling, given that construction inflation is soaring, putting the viability of some developments now under threat.

James Lidgate, director of housing at Legal & General Capital, says the growth of offsite construction has been slower than a lot of people had hoped for, as the result of prevailing “short-termism” in the housing market – continuity of demand was difficult to achieve, and the resulting stopstart flow of orders to offsite manufacturers compromised their financial viability.

But these market fundamentals have shifted, he believes: “The opportunity for offsite construction is unquestionable and I have no doubt we will look back in 10 years’ time and wonder why more homes weren’t built this way before.”

“The elephant in the room is that the volume housebuilders will never solve the housing crisis – it’s not in their interests” James Pickard, Cartwright Pickard

been in offsite for more then 20 years, so this is the third cycle I’ve seen. I think the skills constraints and shortage we have now is more profound then ever before. In this sense I think many companies including us are being a lot more robust in our approach to offsite.”

As well as feeding the burgeoning PRS sector, Novakovic believes its future lies in greater integration of offsite elements into conventional construction programmes: “The technology can only help the industry and fill some of these gaps. It’s all about how you integrate it into the housebuilding model. Over the next year we’ll see more of the basic offsite approach being integrated into housebuilding, I think. We’ll see a definite move of companies bringing offsite systems in-house, such as timber-frame, steel-frame, open-panel.”

Build-to-rent driving demand But he agrees that government One key factor driving future uptake of support is critical, and says that the offsite residential solutions, Lidgate next year will be “very interesting to see believes, is the growth in the private what government will do. So far they rented sector (PRS): “Offsite construction have been pretty supportive and have is almost a perfect fit with the build-toheld sessions to see what they can rent market, particularly due to the do, but I think now with the massive sector’s non-cyclical characteristics. The housing targets they realise that design aspects can be fully detailed offsite is a genuine answer.” before the manufacture commences, He adds: “I think we’ll see more factual the homes are more thermally efficient, and practical support than there has been the quality can be assured and the speed before and a move away from just on site is significantly better.” discussions – you want to see government But he calls on the government to do and industry aligning.” more to incentivise offsite methods. “One James Pickard, director at Cartwright way in which central and local government Pickard Architects, a long-time champion can really help create a step change is of offsite construction, agrees that through their procurement strategy. On government policy needs to do more to publicly owned land, there is no reason incentivise the sector, including policies why a higher weighting couldn’t be given to ensure that public sector land can reach to those developers and contractors that prospective self-builders and customutilise offsite construction techniques. builders – another possible source of There are demonstrable benefits, and this demand for offsite construction. should be given more consideration.”

“Instead of being gobbled up by some of The dawn of the offsite housing era the large housebuilders, the government has been heralded many times before, should make 50% of the public land recalls Oliver Novakovic, technical and available for self-build and custom-build.” innovation director at Barratt Pickard continues: “The elephant in the Developments – but he also believes this room that nobody wants to talk about is time it will become more established: “I’ve that the volume housebuilders > CONSTRUCTION MANAGER | MAY 2016 | 33

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Technology Housing

> will never ever solve the housing crisis – it’s not in their interests financially. But one way would be to be to unleash the potential of the offsite and custom-build market. Every other European country has a massive amount of self-build and we’re missing a trick.”

As Pickard points out, offsite, prefabricated housing and modular construction are widely used in countries such as Sweden, Germany and Norway – and further afield in Japan and Australia.

It’s the norm to have large-scale factories churning out liveable, affordable highquality homes. For instance, Lindbäcks, a 90-year-old company in northern Sweden can produce apartments, student housing, sheltered housing and single family homes at a rate of 20 units per week. The units appear bespoke, but in fact are built on a highly standardised chassis.

“In the next couple of years the industry needs to move towards the production of foundations offsite” Adam Wilson, Waldeck Consulting

Introducing BIM efficiencies Using “lean” manufacturing techniques – minimising waste and utilising CAD/CAM methods – is often a key part of offsite production around the world. But Adam Wilson, project engineer at Waldeck Consulting, says that BIM will bring a further dimension to offsite efficiency: “Up until now, developers have been unable to reap the full benefits of BIM due to inefficient onsite collaboration neutralising efficiencies made offsite.

The BIM Level 2 mandate introduced this spring will help tackle this issue, as the government aims to promote collaborative working protocols throughout the entire offsite sector.”

And in future, he says, the industry needs to extend its shopping list of offsite components, to include more options on frame and envelope: “Waldeck was recently involved with an 11-storey residential development in London using precast concrete columns. These were assembled on site once the floor had been poured, saving a considerable amount of time and money. In the next couple of years the industry needs to move towards the production of foundations off site, currently one of the most time-intensive stages of a project.”

Wilson adds: “Composite panelling is the next big thing for domestic offsite construction. For steel-framed houses, separate teams currently work on site to deal with the internal and external skin

2016

‘The developer gave me this challenge’

Architect Simone de Gale’s first offsite venture paid off Simone de Gale Architects in London is working on a project for 44 new apartments in Southall, west London (above), where the developer client insisted on using an offsite system – a new frontier for both of them.

During design research, practice founder Simone de Gale travelled to Vienna to meet the modular manufacturer, Containex, which sells its products all over Europe.

“Up until the last couple of years, offsite construction has probably been seen as a subsidiary development type and not respected to the level it could be,” she says.

“Some buildings might not be as appealing aesthetically to the eye, to the buyer, so there’s a little bit of a stigma around it.

“But I believe that, as architects, if we are able to be clever about how the aesthetics are used and implemented in offsite construction, then it will definitely endear itself to the public and buyers who are looking at the market,” she continues.

“From an architect’s perspective, what of the building. Constructing composite panels off site which incorporate both layers will reduce the number of teams required on site, improving overall efficiency and safety.”

Rob Charlton, director of Spacehus, has pioneered a different model of offsite housing. Spacehus is structured as a “virtual factory”, with a number of suppliers around the country providing capacity as needed, but not working on it full time. “You don’t have huge overheads when not building so that gives us maximum flexibility,” he says.

In the five to six years Spacehus has been in operation, Charlton says that the market has already changed out of all recognition: “The market has gone from social rented to very much around homes to buy. Offsite is now becoming more and

the developer has done is given me this challenge of having offsite construction and how I would implement this as an architect.

So it’s a modular construction and we’ve taken the standard sizes [of modular units] so that we can connect the space and make it work for our aesthetic and design plan.”

She adds: “We’ve also introduced a cladding system and we’ve also introduced dormer-type roofs, so it looks like Georgian properties but we know they’ve been introduced through this offsite system.”

The client is very satisfied, says de Gale, who is preparing for planning submissions.

“We’ve done public consultations and everyone is very happy,” she adds. “It also picks up on design features in the area so we feel we have a very strong application to present to the planners. What I think is really, really smart about this proposal is that my client will be able to save about 50% of the cost, just because it’s offsite.

But once it’s built it will look original.” more accepted. If you go back quite a few years they were kind of prefabs, or temporary buildings. Now they are far more accepted and people appreciate that modular can be a solution.”

But while the current environment for offsite residential development clearly presents opportunities for developers and contractors that can control the supply chain, open up a pipeline large enough to keep costs down and tap in to people’s increased willingness to live in nonconventional structures, Charlton points out that competitors have also spotted these market conditions – he’s seen increasing volumes of offsite residential components arrive from China. As voiced in this article, maybe it’s time for the government to step in with hard policy incentives to join the offsite rhetoric. CM

34 | MAY 2016 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

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19/04/2016 14:45

Continuing Professional Development Using drones in construction • Drones are being increasingly used within the industry • Commercial use requires Civil Aviation Authority permission • CAA flight requirements must be followed by all drone users

Getting drones ready for takeoff Robert Barnes of LC Building Consultants and Cassandra Zanelli of Sheffield solicitor Taylor&Emmet advise on the impact of drones, their legal requirements and the consequences of non-compliance IT IS RARE FOR a day to go by without a drone-related story being mentioned in the press or on social media.

Unfortunately, the majority of these stories are about near-misses with commercial aircraft. This is perhaps hardly surprising, as history shows that the drone has a dark and threatening past.

In the mid-1800s, Austria sent unmanned, bomb-filled balloons to attack Venice, while the 1940s saw Germany use the infamous V1 and V2 flying bombs to cause widescale destruction in London and the south-east during the second world war. Today military drones are used regularly in the fight against terror.

Drones are also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), and have been defined by US Department of Defense as a “powered, aerial vehicle that does not carry a human operator, uses aerodynamic

forces to provide vehicle lift, can fly autonomously or be piloted remotely, can be expendable or recoverable and can carry a lethal or nonlethal payload”.

There are a number of different types of commercial drones in use. Excluding the military drones, there are: Fixed-wing drone: These have a more conventional aeroplane look.

These robust, lightweight drones are propeller driven and can fly for up to an hour, covering vast areas at a high altitude. They are predominantly used for geographic mapping, agricultural crop monitoring and offshore applications.

The information they gather can be used to provide accurate 3D mapping or detailed thermal imagery. However, the main disadvantage to their use is that they need a large uninterrupted area for taking off and landing.

CPD

Aerial view of St Willibrord’s church, Manchester, taken as part of an Ascent survey for the Diocese of Salford

Multirotor drone: More commonly known as quad-, hexa- or octocopters, these drones are extremely manoeuvrable as they take off vertically and are able to hover and hold their position. They come in many different sizes, ranging from something that will fit in the palm of your hand to 2m in diameter.

A multirotor can fly on any axis and at speed, making it ideal for filming or inspecting buildings and bridges, especially where space is tight. They are also able to fly indoors.

Multirotors are mainly used for TV and films, restricted access inspections, construction monitoring and thermal imagery. For instance, the quadcopter used by LC Building Consultants’ Ascent division takes HD quality video at 60 frames per second, which can then be converted into high-quality stills. The main disadvantage is that the flight times are short when compared against a fixedwing craft, ranging from 10-25 minutes.

The technology is advancing at a blistering pace and it is clear that there will be an important role for the drone to play within the construction industry. A great deal of research and development is being carried out on a myriad of potential uses. From restricted access condition

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Continuing Professional Development Using drones in construction

are specialist media or photography companies, but the list also includes several police forces, university estates’ departments and housing associations.

And it also shows that dozens of firms in the construction sector have decided to qualify for licences on their own account, including Ove Arup and Berkeley Homes.

surveys to specification compliance inspections, and from health and safety monitoring to thermal imaging, there is an argument for using a drone in most construction disciplines.

Legal requirements The advances in technology have resulted in some drones becoming more affordable for the general public and there has been a huge increase in the domestic market. Unfortunately, most of the reports we are reading about result from these leisure users not flying within the requirements set out by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

All drone users must comply with the CAA requirements, otherwise they face being prosecuted, losing their equipment and having to pay a hefty fine.

The authority’s requirements are summarised as follows: l The person in charge of a small unmanned aircraft may only fly the aircraft if reasonably satisfied that the flight can safely be made. l The person in charge must maintain direct, unaided visual contact with the aircraft at all times.

The person in charge of the aircraft must not fly:

Drones can transfer images live in high definition, providing instant updates

l In certain classifications of airspace

unless permission has been granted; l At a height of more than 400ft (122m) ,

or more than 500m horizontally; l Over or within 150m of any

“There is an argument for using a drone in most construction disciplines”

congested area; l Over or within 150m of an organised open-air assembly of more than 1,000 persons; l Within 50m of any vessel, vehicle or structure that is not under the control of the person in charge of the aircraft; o r l Within 50m of any person, unless they are under the control of the person in charge of the aircraft.

To operate a drone on a commercial basis, you must ensure that you have fulfilled the requirements of the CAA and obtain its permission. This involves: web-based training; a three-day ground school with examination; a one-day flight test; preparation of your operating manual; and valid insurance. This process takes around six months and costs around £2,000.

The CAA has a list of all approved drone operators within the UK; this can be viewed on its website by following this link: http://bit.ly/1oFjQk7.

The list includes around 1,400 licensed operators. The majority of the firms

Drone use in construction The use of drones is becoming more and more popular in the construction industry and is likely to become commonplace in the future. Data can be captured in high definition and in varying formats, and can be used in many different ways, including: l 3D visualisations; l Progress monitoring; l Topographical data capture; l Safety inspections and monitoring; l Thermal imaging; l Asset assessment and condition surveys; and l Restricted access inspections.

Images can be transmitted live in high definition and potential issues can be assessed, with solutions agreed immediately.

A flight path can be predetermined and flown every hour, every day, every week or every month. The information can be used to report on progress against programme.

Details of actual construction during different phases can then be reviewed against the original specification.

Safety assessments can also be carried out in real time, allowing updates to be provided instantaneously if required.

This also helps to identify potential problem areas before they crystallise into serious issues.

The UAV can also be used to locate areas where the building’s fabric is not thermally efficient. This will assist the surveyor in: l Visualising energy losses, air leaks and moisture intrusion; l Detecting missing, damaged or inadequate insulation; l Locating air leaks; l Finding moisture in insulation, in roofs and walls, both in the internal and the external structures; l Locating water infiltration in flat roofs or identifying destructive water damage; and > CONSTRUCTION MANAGER | MAY 2016 | 37

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Continuing Professional Development Using drones in construction

Ascent gives clients a different view drone has been used predominantly to carry out high-level condition surveys of buildings where expensive access would be the only option.

This was the case when we carried out a survey of a distinctive 1930s listed church, where it was not possible to carry out the survey using a cherry picker, due to restricted access around the site and the unusually high parapets at various roof levels. The roof had not been inspected for over 30 years and we found a number of problem areas, which enabled remedial works to be carried out to those areas only – resulting in considerable savings.

As an experienced surveyor, I am able to home in on the problem areas and carry out a full assessment, knowing which sections Aerial view from a survey for the Diocese of Salford I need to look at. The client has been able to view this in real time, with footage assessed in detail before leaving site.

As a chartered building surveyor, I have As a surveyor, I have carried out a gained remote pilot qualification and number of high-level surveys from cherry obtained approval from the Civil Aviation pickers. The downside is that, generally, Authority to fly a UAV on a commercial you cannot get a cherry-picker all the basis – one of a handful of practising UK surveyors to receive such approval, writes way around a building. It has also been Robert Barnes of LC Building Consultants. reported that there have been around 660 near-misses [with this type of machine] Our clients use Ascent to accurately survey all building elevations in real time, since 2009. Why put someone at risk including areas where access would prove using a cherry-picker when this risk can be removed completely? difficult or prohibitively expensive. Our

> l Detecting construction failures.

Drones are also being used to map out sites and provide accurate topological information. Computer generated imagery (CGI) can be used to provide 360 degree visuals, on top of the information captured by the drone, to show a 3D visualisation of the development. The benefits of being able to provide visuals in this way will not only assist in the marketing, feasibility and planning of a project, but will also assist the developer during construction.

Considering the use of drones To help decide whether the use of drone would assist in the delivery of a project, consider the following: Use: What specific application is required?

These might include general construction monitoring/inspection, defect analysis, snagging, mapping, health and safety, heat loss or condition assessments etc.

Data: What type of data is required?

Video, photographs, measurements?

At what resolution or tolerance?

Location: Where is the drone required?

Are there any geographical or regulatory restrictions?

Safety: Is it safer to use a drone to get the information required? Will it help avoid working at height or in a confined space?

Cost: Will it be cheaper to use a drone to get the information required when compared with more traditional methods, such as scaffold or mobile elevated working platform costs?

Operation: Use an operator who has experience within the construction industry who will fully understand your requirements.

Summary The use of drones in construction will increase as technology advances. There are many different uses, which can help to improve safety, and reduce both risk and costs within the industry. However, drone use must always comply with the CAA requirements and a qualified, approved and insured operator should be used, to avoid vicarious liability. CM

CPD online.

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The CIOB has a dedicated CPD portal on the Construction Manager website, featuring CPD modules from the magazine, as well as study topics from a wide range of industry experts. To complete the questionnaire below, and access the free CPD content, go to: www.constructionmanagermagazine.com/cpd

CPD test paper

Using drones in construction 1. What is not a feature of a multirotor drone? l Vertical takeoff l Can fly for up to an hour l Able to fly indoors l Can be as small as the palm of your hand 2. What is the abbreviation by which drones are also known? l UVA l VUA l UAV l CAA 3. What is the maximum height at which a drone can be flown, according to the CAA requirements? l 100ft l 250ft l 400ft l 500ft 4. The CAA restricts flight over or within 150m of an organised open-air assembly of how many persons? l More than 100 l More than 1,000 l More than 5,000 l More than 10,000 5. Which of the following is not part of the preparation to obtain permission from the CAA? l A three-day ground school l A one-day flight test l A three-month period under observation l Web-based training

>

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19/04/2016 14:30

Contact Contact THE CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF BUILDING MEMBERS’ NEWSLETTER ISSUE 142 MAY 2016

IN THIS ISSUE

41-44 ON THE RADAR

All the latest news and developments from the CIOB at HQ and in your area including an international construction conference in Ireland

45 COMMENT

Darren Warmington of BSV Recruitment on selling yourself on today’s job market

46 CBC

The benefits of the new CBC scheme

47 ONE TO WATCH

Anahita Malekyazdi, graduate design manager, Morgan Sindall, Brighton

48 IN GOOD COMPANY

A challenging change to the Norwich skyline

50 MEMBER BENEFITS

Exclusive member offers

51 DATES FOR YOUR DIARY Key events by region for the month ahead

40_41 NR.indd 40

19/04/2016 09:35

ON THE RADAR

Contact | May16

competition

Minecrafters targeted for solutions to future housing

>

With more than 70 million copies sold, Minecraft has taken the online gaming world by storm. Recognising its potential to attract the next generation of construction managers the CIOB has developed a competition that challenges players to come up with imaginative solutions to future housing needs.

Launched to celebrate International Construction Management Day in March the CIOB Future Housing challenge encourages entrants to design and build their idea for a three bedroom house within limited land space and with considerations for the environment and energy use as part of the brief.

Ciaran Gallagher, CIOB competition organiser said: “Minecraft is a great opportunity for the industry to tap on the shoulder of the next generation and promote a career in construction. Unlike Lego you can have direct interaction with the player and that is something the industry should explore further.

“The game has diverse applications and is being used to engage the public in planning built environment projects like Blockholm, a vision for the future of Stockholm. In Northern Ireland secondary schools across the country are using Minecraft Education to teach maths, communication skills and team work. Our competition last year attracted players as young as eight as well as those well into their construction career. We are expecting a range of ideas this year that should throw up some interesting solutions to the challenges facing housing.”

The winning entry will receive a 3D print of their design from the CIOB. The competition is open until 13 May and is open to all age ranges. Entrants will

The CIOB has launched a Minecraft competition as well as an education resource to download

need a copy of Minecraft (PC Version). The competition can be found at www.ciob.org/ICMD. Finalists will be announced on 18 May. Continuing its pursuit of using the Microsoft platform to engage young learners the CIOB is

developing freely available Minecraft Education lessons that can be downloaded by teachers across the globe.

The virtual lessons are set to be launched in the summer and will include exercises like restoring Battersea Power Station.

ciob agm

NOTICE OF MEETING: ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Notice is hereby given that the one hundred and eighty-fifth ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING and the thirty-fifth of The Chartered Institute of Building will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Hong Kong on Monday 11 July 2016 at 0900hrs.

By order of the Board of Trustees Samantha Teague

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Institute Secretary May 2016 Note: All classes of members are welcome to attend the meeting and, with the permission of the Chair, to speak. Only Corporate Members personally present are entitled to vote upon any Resolution. Voting shall be by a show of hands, unless a poll is

demanded in accordance with Bye-Law 49.

AGENDA 1. Notice convening the meeting.

2. Apologies for absence.

3. To confirm the minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 21 July 2015 and the Extraordinary General Meeting held on 21 July 2015 (see note below).

4. To consider the Annual Report

of The Chartered Institute of Building including Audited Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2015.

5. To appoint the auditors of the Institute and to authorise the Board of Trustees to agree their remuneration.

6. To consider the composition of the Board of Trustees for 2016/2017: 6.1. Installation of the new

President.

6.2. Declaration of the election by the Board of Trustees of Officers & co-opted members.

6.3 Confirmation of the Board of Trustees following election and selection.

6.4 Vote of thanks from the Incoming President.

7. Any other business.

8. Date of next meeting June 2017

Note 1: Copies of the minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting held on 21 July 2015 and the Extraordinary General Meeting held on 21 July 2015 will be available at the Annual General Meeting on 11 July 2016.

Any member who requires copies prior to the meeting should apply to the Institute Secretary at CIOB, 1 Arlington Square, Bracknell, Berkshire RG12 1WA, UK.

41

19/04/2016 09:35

ON THE RADAR

Contact | May 16

ireland

south east

High demand and growth will be hampered by skills shortage say experts at Irish conference

TV STAR TO SPEAK AT HAMPSHIRE DINNER: TICKETS ON SALE NOW

>

The sixth Annual International Construction Management Day Conference, sponsored by the CIOB in Ireland, had the highest number of delegates in attendance since the inaugural event in 2011.

The conference delegates heard from 15 expert speakers from Ireland and the UK including CIOB president Chris Chivers.

Topics covered a variety of issues such as the housing crisis in Ireland, opportunities and obstacles within the industry and the need for strategic planning to deliver critical infrastructure to retain Ireland’s competiveness in a global economy.

Chris Chivers gave a presentation on risk in international construction management.

He looked at a number of innovative technologies which will change the way projects are delivered in the future such as battery powered buildings and Li-Fi (wireless communication technology using lighting).

The conference had a particular focus on the housing crisis. Ned Brennan, the CEO of the Respond! Housing Association, Hubert Fitzpatrick, director of housing, planning and development at the Construction Industry Federation (CIF), and Marian Finnegan, chief economist at Sherry FitzGerald Group all pointing out the varying issues.

Key figures from CIOB in Ireland and president Chris Chivers attended the conference

John O’Regan, director of Aecom group in Ireland noted that although it was expected that there would be 15% growth in output in 2016 capacity issues, skills shortages and funding will cause problems.

The president of the Construction Industry Federation, Michael Stone, called for a new Ministry for Construction & Infrastructure and Gerry Carty, managing director of the RPS Group in Ireland, said that a National Infrastructure Council should be established.

David O’Brien, chairman of the Government Construction Committee gave delegates an update on the recent changes to the Public Works Contracts.

A number of UK residential case studies which demonstrated defective workmanship and poor design was presented by David Taylor, Vice-president of the Chartered Association of Building Engineers (CABE).

A case study on a collaborative industryacademic research project was presented

by Dr. Mark Kelly, from GMIT. The project was focused on the Human Biology Building which is currently under construction in Galway. Paul Mannion, who is associate architect with Scott Tallon Walker and Brian Holmes project manager with BAM contractors gave presentations on the project.

The Grand Harbour Hotel will be the venue for this year’s popular Hampshire Centre’s black tie dinner. The iconic landmark on the Southampton waterfront at West Quay will welcome construction professionals from a range of disciplines on14 October.

With a diverse guest list this event will provide a unique opportunity for like-minded professionals to meet and entertain guests in a social setting.

Robert Llewellyn (pictured) will be the principal speaker.

He is best known for his portrayal of Kryten in Red Dwarf and as presenter of Channel 4’s Scrapheap Challenge.

Take Note, a sevenpiece band bringing together top musicians from across the country, will play favourite covers from the 1960s to the present day.

To book tickets or enquire about sponsorship packages please contact blawrence@ ciob.org.uk

benevolent fund agm

CIOB News

NOTICE OF MEETING: ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

42

Notice is hereby given that the twenty-fourth ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of The Chartered Institute of Building Benevolent Fund Limited will be held at 1 Arlington Square, Downshire Way, Bracknell RG12 1WA, on Tuesday 28th June 2016 at 1100hrs for the purposes set out below.

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By order of the Benevolent Fund Board Frank MacDonald Secretary 1 May 2016 Note: Under the Articles of Association, any Corporate, Non corporate or Qualifying Member who has made a ‘suggested contribution’ to the Funds of the Association in the current

Financial Year is a member of the Association and is entitled to attend and vote at the meeting. Other CIOB Members, who have not contributed as outlined above, may attend the Meeting at the discretion of Members of the Association but may not vote.

AGENDA 1. Notice convening the meeting.

2. Apologies for absence.

3. To confirm the Minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting held on 30th June 2015 (see note 1, below).

4. To consider the Report of the Directors and Trustees for the year ended 31 December 2015.

5. To appoint Grant Thornton UK LLP as Auditors and to authorize the Board to agree their remuneration.

6. Appointment of Honorary Auditor.

7. Election of Directors to the Board.

8. Any other business.

9. To confirm the date of the next Annual General Meeting.

Note 1: Copies of the minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting held on 30 June 2015 will be available at the 2016 Annual General on 28 June 2016. Any member who requires a copy prior to the meeting should apply to the Secretary of the CIOB Benevolent Fund at: 1 Arlington Square, Downshire Way, Bracknell RG12 1WA.

18/04/2016 13:04

HAVE WE GOT YOUR CONTACT DETAILS CORRECT?

• If you have moved or changed any of your details recently, don’t forget to tell

us. You can update your details online – simply log in to “members area” of the website www.ciob.org. Or email us at memenquiry@ciob.org.uk or call our membership customer services team on +44 (0) 1344 630706 for further help.

If you would rather post your details send them to: The Chartered Institute of Building, 1 Arlington Square, Downshire Way, Bracknell RG12 1WA, UK

scotland

novus challenge

Entrepreneurs encourage ambition in motivational talks

NEW FELLOWS

NOVUS CHALLENGE WEEKEND DATE SET

Matt Stewart (top right) and Derek Ferguson (above left) inspired guests at Novus event

>

The CIOB NOVUS and the NOVUS Property Solutions put on motivational event in March designed to encourage entrepreneurship, positive attitudes and ambition for professionals in the Scottish Construction Industry.

The event was held at the Corinthian Club in Glasgow. Derek Ferguson, strategic operations manager for Scotland at Novus Property Solutions, spoke about his journey from being on the tools as a joiner to his current position, highlighting the challenges he faced during this exciting journey; and Matt Stewart, from Entrepreneur Me spoke about

professionals having the correct attitude and ambition to succeed. Entrepreneur Me encourages young people to think positively, and inspires entrepreneurial thinking and ambition. It also runs workshops throughout the UK as well as providing resources for schools to help teach enterprise skills.

Lynne McKay CIOB Branch Manager gave a presentation on the CIOB and different routes into the membership while Zeshan Afzal chair of CIOB Novus Scotland spoke about CIOB Novus in Scotland, benefits of attending networking events and encouraged everyone to get involved with Novus.

membership

Novus teams from across the UK will be heading for Bristol over the weekend of 2-4 September to compete in this year’s Novus Challenge.

The weekend kicks-off on the Friday evening with networking and team-building exercises.

The Saturday will test teams in a multitude of ways as they race through the historic streets of Bristol and along the harbourside in an urban challenge. This unique activity is based around elements of treasure hunting, problem solving, adventure racing and orienteering testing physical, and mental ability, initiative and team working skills.

Winning teams of the weekend challenges will be announced on the Saturday evening with a prizegiving and further networking opportunities before heading out and exploring Bristol’s renowned arts and culture scene.

The UK Novus Challenge is now in its fourth year and continues to grow and attract young professionals from across the UK. Novus South West is currently looking for sponsors to get involved with the event and have a range of sponsorship packages available for companies looking to invest in the next generation of construction professionals and leaders. Please contact Sarah Holborn sholborn@ ciob.org.uk or on 0845 0706108 for further information.

Congratulations to the following Members who were elected to Fellowship on the 8th March 2016 Roy Allport FCIOB Craig Battye FCIOB Robert Biggs FCIOB Emma Bull FCIOB Stephen Coppin FCIOB Mark Cottrell FCIOB Alan Davies FCIOB Paul Delaney FCIOB Jason Denly FCIOB Gemma Donkin FCIOB Ray Gambell FCIOB David Glazier FCIOB George Hunter FCIOB Philip Kennedy FCIOB Robert Lambe FCIOB Zachary Law FCIOB John McCleary FCIOB Paul Martin FCIOB Amanda Millard FCIOB Barry O’Hagan FCIOB Graham Phillips FCIOB Brian Robinson FCIOB Kifayat Shah FCIOB Gavin Skelly FCIOB Lieh Soh FCIOB Robert Tate FCIOB James Taylor FCIOB Peter Turner FCIOB Wang Guangbin FCIOB Ma Weidong FCIOB John Wilson FCIOB Paul Young FCIOB

student challenge

Student challenge winners with CIOB guests and event sponsors

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The 25th South East Student Challenge on 9 March, held at Chessington World of Adventures’ Safari Hotel, was a hard-fought competition between teams of students from around the South East.

The ‘University

Challenge’-style event put students through their paces in the knock-out heats testing general knowledge as well as their construction knowledge.

The semi-finals were tense with three of the four teams from the

Royal School of Military Engineering, making it to that stage but a team from the University of Brighton managed to defeat three RSME teams to make the final. Victory eventually went to the RSME team with its team member,

Gary Klingenbergs also taking home the Bowen Jenkins Legacy prize for the most outstanding individual.

Thanks go to the main sponsors BSV Recruitment along with Willmott Dixon and Pyramid Consulting.

CIOB News

ADVENTUROUS WINNERS AT SOUTH EAST STUDENT CHALLENGE

43

18/04/2016 13:04

ON THE RADAR

“Concerns over the UK’s productivity growth are echoed by the CIOB; we will be producing research to broaden understanding of construction productivity, as well as proposals to improve it.”

Contact | May 16

Eddie Tuttle, principal policy and public affairs manager responds to the Budget

west midlands

news in brief

West Midlands BIM events off to a great start

>

March kicked-off the return of the BIM Region WM (formerly known as WM BIM Hub) 2016 event series, with the first event of the year taking place at Warwick University, a joint offering between the BIM Region and CIOB West Midlands on ‘Procurement and BIM’.

Coinciding with the April 2016 Government Level 2 BIM mandate the event provided the perfect opportunity to tackle a tricky subject.

Attendees heard from a panel of expert speakers including Fiona Moore of Cirrus Consulting , Timothy Willis of Trowers and Hamlin and Dr. Georgios Kapogiannis who delved into the procurement routes and the legal aspects of delivering a Level 2 BIM project.

Key takeaways from the speakers included procurement considerations and the emphasis on improvement within the industry through BIM starting with intelligent clients and the need for collaboration.

Olly Thomas, BIM Region WM chair, commented: “The construction industry faces – and will continue to face – many challenges; BIM touches on all aspects of our industry and the message is clear through delivering considered and planned information we can inform our decision making and this time we can really make a difference.

> BATTERIES INCLUDED AT POWER FACILITY VISIT

BIM Region WM plans a series of regional events on BIM issues

The goal of the BIM Region WM is to continue to grow and support our members through a series of events over the following year. Going forward our events, hosted across the West Midlands will cover wide range of important topics and we would urge you to attend, input into the discussions and provide feedback.”

The BIM Hub is a growing community and welcomes questions or anyone looking for opportunities to collaborate or present at an event. Get in touch at www.bimregswm.co.uk or via twitter (@BIMregWM).

Members in the East of England paid a visit to the UK Power Networks (UKPN) battery storage site in Leighton Buzzard recently.

The battery is said to be the largest electricity storage facility of its type in Europe. It was switched on in December 2014 as a two-year trial.

The 6MW/10MWh battery is the size of three tennis courts. It can store enough energy to power about 6,000 homes for 1.5 hours, at peak times and 1,100 homes for a whole day during low demand times.

The trial will look at how it can store energy and cope with peaks in demand.

The project was funded with £13.2m from the Low Carbon Networks Fund, £4m from UKPN and £1.2m from business and academia.

ireland

CIOB News

DOUBLE WHAMMY FOR CIOB IN IRELAND EVENTS

44

Members enjoy the annual CIOB In Ireland dinner

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The CIOB in Ireland held its annual dinner at the Hilton Hotel, Lanyon Place, Belfast in February.

The branch also held a student event at Belfast Met. CIOB Novus presented to the Construction & Built

Environment students on the professional management roles that are available in the construction industry.

The event also included a question and answer session with leading recruitment company

Hays. This gave the students the opportunity to hear first-hand about areas within the industry where there is a skills shortage. The consultants from Hays also gave the students top tips on how to prepare a CV as well as

advice on how to get relevant work experience.

Commenting on the event, Paddy Warde, Lecturer at Belfast Met said: “It was great for the students so they can see how getting qualifications will benefit them in the future.”

18/04/2016 13:04

COMMENT darren warmington

What it’s worth Darren Warmington on the importance of experience and demonstrating value in a tough job market

I

t feels a very long time ago since I used to drive from site to site, an apprentice trained tradesman and a product of the previous government’s Youth Training Scheme. It was the recession of the 1990s. Norman Tebbit’s “He didn’t riot; he got on his bike and looked for work” quote, was still a vivid childhood memory from 10 years before. Substitute ‘van’ for ‘bike’ and you get the idea.

But 25 years on, what has really changed since 1991? Work was thin on the ground and I had a mortgage.

OK, interest rates were over 15%, but I had a recognised qualification, relevant

“This is an employee’s market and we have seen a real uplift in salalries as a shortage of much-needed skills nad experience becomes apparent. This is a good time for career progression”

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so students must study harder and bring real value to the work place. The CIOB, and in particular NOVUS, are great conduits through which a worldwide message about a career in construction can be transmitted to a new generation.

The rewards from the construction industry are relative to the level of hard work that is put in. As sponsors of the South East CIOB Student Challenge for the past two years I have seen the high level of work our ‘millennial’ students are putting in. It’s the future of the industry demonstrating a competitive edge that I hope they sustain for the next 25 years.

•

What about the future?

We hear how construction training processes are affected by cost cutting ­ young people today aren’t encouraged to get a trade or to learn skills – and the education system focuses on qualifications and exams rather than skills.

But, they can still be trained and they can get great hands-on skills and experience, which is what potential clients really need

>

Darren Warmington is the managing director of BSV Recruitment Limited.

BSV sponsored the 2016 South East CIOB Student Challenge.

CIOB Column

experience and finding work was quite possible. I shifted from green belt, new-build residential to commercial fit-out and, later, new out-of-town shopping malls.

Skip forward to 2008 when BSV Recruitment was focused on property and international markets as conventional UK construction ground to a halt. We placed welders in Dubai and project managers and surveyors in Abu Dhabi and Libya. Where the Americans couldn’t work, the British were welcomed with open arms.

So, in 2016 what do we have? In short, we have an industry which provides a fluid market with well-paid opportunities abound, either at home or abroad, for academic and/or skilled individuals.

The last two financial quarters has seen the market stutter as the rising cost of construction impacts developers and investors with start dates beginning to slide. But what is in no doubt however, is that if you can remember Norman’s speech, then your construction experience has real value.

We’re asked to find surveyors who know and want to go on site and measure as opposed to sitting in front of a PC. Project managers who haven’t learnt their trade in a subservient recession culture but who know how to fight their corner and bring realism to their clients and the construction process.

This is an employee’s market and we have seen a real uplift in salaries as a shortage of much needed skills and experience becomes apparent. We believe this is a good time for career progression, particularly on production.

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18/04/2016 13:56

CBC • CHARTERED BUILDING COMPANY • CHARTERED BUILDING CONSULTANCIES

>

UPPING THE ANTE >

CIOB CBCs

The new CBC scheme aims to raise industry standards and bring business benefits to those companies that join.

46

October 2015 saw the CIOB introduce new rules for members of the Chartered Building Companies/Consultancies scheme, strengthening the regulations and raising the standards. Industry representatives from sole traders, employers, major contractors and clients were commissioned with redrafting the rules, to ensure that the scheme remains at the forefront of best practice and challenging perceptions about the industry through their professionalism, skill and credibility.

Helen Patel, the CIOB’s Chartered Building Companies/Consultancies Manager, heads up the CBC Team with Nicola James, CBC officer and Julie Robinson, administrator. Helen relaunched the two schemes last October and explained that CBCs have been developed by the industry for the industry, to give greater credence and recognition.

Backed by the CIOB’s global brand, CBCs are the kite mark of quality and excellence, which makes it valuable as a means of building trust with clients, contractors and suppliers.

This is demonstrated by the ever-growing number of chartered organisations who already enjoy the many benefits that corporate membership provides. There are now more than 500 scheme members, from sole traders through to large contractors, both in the UK and internationally. Membership profile is diverse from shop fitters, restoration companies through to conservation and heritage, and the stringent rules ensure that CBCs remain at the cutting edge of today’s industry, representing what the CIOB stands for in the workplace and in the business community.

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“As a CBC you demonstrate to clients and the wider industry, that your organisation is committed to promoting best practice, ethical standards and professionalism”, says Helen.

The new rules stipulate that to be eligible as a CBC: • A minimum of 25% of the Board

• •

•

•

•

are required to be Chartered with the CIOB (Member or Fellow) and a further minimum of 25% of the Board need to be Chartered (Member or Fellow) via an Institute that is relevant to construction T wo years’ minimum trading is required to qualify for the scheme• Commitment to the learning and development of the workforce.

This could be through CIOB Training Partnerships E vidence of policies on Health & Safety, Quality, Environment, Equal Opportunities, CSR must be provided on application D emonstration of positive relationships with clients and the supply chain to be evidenced via references P arent company consent is required for divisions of a company

All applications for membership will go through to the Membership Admissions Panel, who oversee the process by which new members join – and are admitted into company membership – an increasingly valuable asset for construction firms. It will also oversee the process by which companies stay in membership (via the ‘annual return’ that each company submits each year on annual renewal), and finally it will oversee the process by which some companies, in extreme cases, may have to leave.

A key requisite of CBC Membership is regulatory compliance; each company

scheme member shall be subject to a CBC Review at least once every three years. This selection is random and it is an informal review based on the qualification of the scheme and compliance with the Code of Conduct. Part of the role of the CBC Officer, Nicola James, will be to carry out these reviews and Nicola is keen to stress that although it is an important part of the scheme rules, the CBC Review, will

> For more information on becoming a CBC contact Helen Patel on 01344 630746 or email: cbcinfo@ciob. org.uk or visit www.ciob.org/cbc

18/04/2016 15:10

ONETOWATCH Anahita Malekyazdi Graduate design manager, Morgan Sindall, Brighton

Q Tell us about your career to date and why you got involved with NOVUS. I attended Mill Hill School Foundation from 2005-2010. I was not the brightest student and mainly focused on creating great relationships rather than achieving high grades. But my headmaster saw my drive and passion for architecture and took me under his wing. I was presented with the opportunity of an interview at Brighton University and was offered a place to study architectural technology. I want to be part of the advancement of our industry and think Novus is a brilliant way to contribute.

Team work The CBC team(l-r) Julie Robinson, Helen Patel, Nicola James

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scheme ensuring that you are getting the most from your Membership.

“Our members share the same ambitions as we do - to create the very best industry we can, delivering exceptional projects and providing careers that are both fulfilling and rewarding. These new rules make sure CBCs remain at the cutting edge of today’s industry.”

•

Q What has been your toughest challenge?

I took on some work last summer which involved conducting a measured survey and producing basic plans,

Q What are your career ambitions?

I would like to take both design management and architectural design forward within my career.

I would like to merge the role of a design manager and BIM manager taking on greater responsibility of a design and being able to use my CAD skills.

Q When you’re not at work how do you relax/spend your time?

I’m a 24 year old girl living away from home; I like to think the world is my oyster. I enjoy thrill seeking activities – sky diving, bungee jumping – and travelling.

I have a lot of love for music; my housemate opened my eyes to the world of DJ-ing. I absolutely love mixing.

•

CIOB members

be an informal visit and should not take up too much time. “We see the CBC Review as a 360 degree evaluation where I would like to take the opportunity to answer any questions you may have and receive feedback on both the CBC scheme and the CIOB,” she says. It will also be very helpful for Nicola, on behalf of the CBC Scheme, to learn more about you and your company and to help advise you about the CBC

Q Why did you choose construction as a career?

What else would you have done?

Throughout my childhood my father was a property developer. He would take me to site every Sunday and explain what he was doing. This fascinated me; I witnessed all the different trades and found my love for design and technology. I wanted to be a dentist. It was my sister who encouraged me to work on my design technology skills, which may have had something to do with always fixing her electrical items.

indicating the GIA of an 1860s London hotel, all in two weeks.

Being the enthusiastic person that I am, I jumped at the opportunity. Being the inexperienced person that I was at the time I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into. I was surprised to see the hotel was six storeys high and did not have one straight wall. I thought I would be able to survey the ground floor and the rest would simply be a duplicated layout, but I was so wrong; the layouts changed on every floor and the client wanted the GIA of the individual rooms. Major lesson learnt was not to agree to anything without fully understanding the extent of work needed to complete the project.

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INGOODCOMPANY >

Alumno Developments

>

Morgan Sindall Norwich University of Arts

Tall order

State-of-the-art student accommodation has become the tallest building on the Norwich skyline and had to be constructed amidst listed buildings

C

onstructed on the tightest footprint in Norwich City Centre, All Saints Green Student Accommodation for Alumno Developments has given rise to a brand new skyline. The 228 bed, ninestorey scheme for Norwich University of the Arts provides a home-from-home for students.

The design and build project also included the restoration of the Grade II listed Building No.50, which meant the project teams had to mix different elements of expertise across the footprint of the site.

The student digs includes a range of accommodation on the ground and upper floor levels, while other common areas and a glazed reading room provide interaction and study areas for the students.

The car-free development was the tallest light gauge steel frame and is the tallest building of its kind in Norwich. Its bold design, with intentionally irregular façade, along with its 200,000 hand-laid bricks turn heads in the city.

Overcoming challenges

Case study

Surrounded on all sides by listed buildings, the main bus station, YMCA accommodation, Aviva’s HQ and a Travelodge, the team implemented a

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specialist and sensitive logistics plan to ensure business continued as usual throughout the project. Dedicated logistics managers on the site entrance ensured every delivery and visitor was booked in, and, where possible, green travel plans were adopted by regularly visiting staff.

Delivered on time and in budget, the £11m, 65-week scheme ensured students moved in on the day promised. At design stage, a full time management team embarked upon a value engineering exercise to save the project £750k. The approach focussed on innovative design to change the ‘out of sight’ areas, while ensuring the user experience would remain unaffected by the changes. This included changes to the ventilation system, alternative frame selection, off-site manufactured bathroom pods and new door access controls.

From the outset, the team integrated all stakeholders to develop a customer charter in addition to achieveing Constructing Excellence based KPIs. The charter included engagement of the students on site visits, celebration of milestones and early involvement of the FM provider. It scored 10/10 at the post completion customer experience review.

“ On Friday 13 a bus veered off Queens Road crashing into the scaffolding, halting the project with immediate effect” 18/04/2016 15:16

Art class The new student accommodation for Norwich University of the Arts has a dramatic design and is the tallest building on the city Skyline.

It was a challenging build and has been shortliste for a RIBA award.

The team also opted to use a mobile crane in lieu of the tower crane option – this carried a shorter lead time, presented less risk of being winded off and remained flexible for a variety of lifts across the site footprint. It proved to be a key decision in the project’s timely delivery.

A bit of bad luck On Friday 13 February 2015, a bus veered off Queens Road, crashing through the hoarding and into the scaffolding, halting the project with immediate effect.

Through innovative rescheduling of works, accelerating programme and lean planning with the supply chain, the team was able to absorb the four-week delay and still deliver the project on time. Not only that, the team acted swiftly and safely to save lives on the bus.

“Thank you to the Morgan Sindall team working at All Saints Green when the X2 bus crashed into the scaffolding.

Their excellent workmanship, fast response and knowledge of the seriousness, I feel, was paramount and saved my life. The site team are very considerate to the public at all times and we’re truly grateful to them,” said one passenger, Maria Davidson.

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www.alumnodevelopments.com/projects/ all-saints-green-norwich

•

FACT FILE • 9-storey, 228

bed student accommodation • Grade II listed building restoration + landscaping • Tallest Light Gauge Steel Frame (LGSF) during construction • Tallest building of its kind in Norwich • Complex, surrounded city centre site location • BREEAM Very Good • JCT 2005 Design and Build • 65 week contract, September 2015 completion • £750k savings through innovative design • 43/50 Considerate Constructors Scheme score • Delivered on time, in budget, 10/10 customer satisfaction score

Case study

>

From the outset this project was faced with numerous challenges, but through the collaborative relationship between all the stakeholders, it was delivered on time, in budget and scored 10 out of 10 under its customer satisfaction KPI. The soft landings team went over and above to help students move in to their new rooms, making sure the experience was memorable. On move in day, Morgan Sindall laid on a team of tradesmen, site managers and labourers to help fix any issues, provide any training and carry bags and suitcases to the rooms.

“The team has gone beyond what was expected. A number of people involved in the job were local Norfolk people – and there was a pride in what was coming out of the ground – everyone could see it would be a milestone building,” says David Campbell, managing director of Alumno Developments. “Honesty, commitment, transparency, excellence and from our point of view there was an underlying trust – we had that from day one and we couldn’t recommend them enough.”

The building was shortlisted for a RIBA regional architecture award. The winner was due to be announced as CM went to press.

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MEMBER BENEFITS FULL CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP OF CIOB brings with it many benefits, not least the descriptors Chartered Construction Manager or Chartered Builder, the right to vote or to become a trustee. Being a member or fellow also gives you exclusive access to discounts and special deals on products and services that could enhance your professional development, help your business or boost your earning power. Products and services currently on offer from our special partners are listed below...

E SIV LU ER C EX MB NT U MEDISCO

MASTERCLASSES Hill International learning

As highlighted in a recent Global Construction Review article, the risks of project cost escalation and delay continue to be the biggest risk to financial success. Masterclasses continue to provide CIOB Members with the best information on how to cut costs, minimise risks and understand contracts & disputes. Events this year take place in Dublin, Belfast, Johannesburg and Europe. CIOB Members are entitled to a discount.

More details at www.hillintluk.com email annieclift@hillintl.com or call 020 7618 1200.

CIOB INSURANCE SERVICES Premier BusinessCare finance

CIOB HILL INTERNATIONAL MASTERCLASSES Hill International and CIOB’s Masterclass training series Tel: 020 7618 1200 www.hillintluk.com

As the approved business broker to the CIOB, Premier BusinessCare specialises in finding CIOB members the best insurance covers available in the market at competitive prices. Working with a variety of UK insurers, they are able to give you a quick quotation to cover your profession and your business, including Professional Indemnity, Directors and Officers, Liability covers, and many other construction and commercial insurances.

As an added bonus, products purchased through Premier BusinessCare’s CIOB Insurance Services directly support the work of the Institute across the UK. Call 0330 102 6158 or visit www.ciobinsuranceservices.com for more details

FINANCIAL PLANNING AND ADVICE St James's Place Wealth Management

IHS Critical technical information and decision-support tools http://uk.ihs.com

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Whether you are looking to minimise your personal taxation, invest for growth or plan for your retirement, St James's Place can help you reach your financial goals. The company offers members a confidential, no obligation financial review through its UK-wide network of partners. It is authorised and regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority.

Visit www1.sjp.co.uk for more information

ONLINE BIM DEMO OFFER Asta Powerproject BIM CIOB Member Benefits

bim

The 2016 deadline is fast approaching, it’s crucial to ensure that you will be able to work at BIM Level 2 for the planning and control of your major construction projects in the public sector. Asta Powerproject BIM is an enhanced version of the Asta Powerproject scheduling software. A 4D-enabled application, it makes it easy to link your project plan and model together. Our short, online demo An Introduction to Asta Powerproject BIM demonstrates how this works in practice showing how you can quickly create your project plan directly from your IFC model file, compare planned and actual schedule plans, and manage large projects with the ability to save snapshot positions and more.

Email enquiries@astadev.com and to view a demo visit https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/recording/4002738363941721602

CIOB TRAINING CPD-approved courses Tel: 020 7665 2432 (quote WIZ1272) www.thomastelford.com

CIOB and VESOURCE Car Leasing Tel: 0845 052 5268 www.vesource.co.uk/ciob.asp

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DATESFORYOURDIARY EAST OF ENGLAND

Government Soft Landings 10 May, 6pm Mercure Hatfield Oak Hotel Contact: coh@ciob.org.uk The Hamptons Peterborough 11 May, 6.30pm University Centre Peterborough Contact: mrix@ciob.org.uk Delapre Abbey Conservation – Site Visit 17 May, 11am Delapre Abbey Contact: coh@ciob.org.uk CDM Regulations 17 May, 7pm ARU, Chelmsford Contact: coh@ciob.org.uk Aerial Survey by Drone 18 May, 6pm University Campus Suffolk, Ipswich Contact: mrix@ciob.org.uk Construction in the Antarctic 26 May, 6pm Lancaster House, Norwich Contact: mrix@ciob.org.uk

EAST MIDLANDS

AGM 18 May, Nottingham, Contact: jnewton@ciob. org.uk Damp in Old Buildings 19 May, Nottingham, Contact: jnewton@ciob. org.uk

NORTH EAST

Renolit Waterproofing 4 May, 6pm, Renolit Cramlington, Tyneside Contact: dthorpe@ciob. org.uk Building Regs Update 17 May, 6pm, Thirteen Group, Middlesbrough Contact: dthorpe@ciob. org.uk Use of Drones in the Construction Industry 31 May, 12pm, Thirteen Group, Middlesbrough Contact: dthorpe@ciob. org.uk

NORTH WEST

Regional Black Tie Dinner 13 May, Radisson Blu Edwardian, Manchester Contact: bbrown@ciob. org.uk 4D BIM Simulation 19 May, Liverpool John Moores University Contact: kpercival@ciob. org.uk Site Visit Chester Zoo Date tbc Contact: kpercival@ciob. org.uk

SCOTLAND

SOUTH EAST

Site Visit to Canterbury Cathedral 3 May, time tbc, Canterbury Contact: blawrence@ciob. org.uk Hampshire Centre AGM and CPD: Peppa Pig World 10 May, 6.30pm, Paultons Park, Romsey, Hants Contact: blawrence@ciob. org.uk Site visit: i360 12 May, time tbc, Brighton Contact: blawrence@ciob. org.uk Golf afternoon 13 May, time tbc, Burford Gold Club, Burford, Oxon Contact: joparker@ciob. org.uk Kent Centre AGM and CPD Legal 17 May, 6.30pm, Hadlow Manor Hotel, Tonbirdge Contact: blawrence@ciob. org.uk Surrey Centre AGM and CPD: The National Trust The Clandon Park Fire 18 May, 6pm, Betchworth Park Golf Club, Reigate, Surrey Contact: joparker@ciob. org.uk Great Crested Newts: Avoiding the Pitfalls 19 May, 6pm, Oxford Thames Four Pillars, Sandford-on-Thames Contact: joparker@ciob. org.uk

CIOB Yorkshire Branch AGM 18 May, time and venue tbc Contact: sgiles@ciob.org.uk The CIOB Professional Review Workshop for Industry Candidates with Monika Tauchert CIOB Membership manager 25 May, 6pm, The Holiday Inn, Barnsley Contact: sgiles@ciob.org.uk

SOUTH WEST

Factory Visit to Rollalong, Verwood ‘Modular Buildings & their Benefits’ 19 May, Dorset Contact: sholborn@ciob. org.uk

WEST MIDLANDS

Coventry & Warwickshire AGM 5 May, 6pm, Coventry Contact: Gfloyd@ciob.org.uk Understanding your Contract (Variations & Changes). Followed by Birmingham & Solihull Centre AGM 10 May, 6pm, Birmingham Contact: Gfloyd@ciob.org.uk 55 Colmore Row Site Visit 12 May, 6pm, Birmingham Contact: Gfloyd@ciob.org.uk

find out more about events in your area go to www.ciob.org.uk/regions or > To look out for your electronic news and event updates from your CIOB branch or CIOB centre. To receive information from the CIOB visit www.ciob.org.uk and log on to the members’ area to input/update your details and preferences.

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YORKSHIRE

If you have a smartphone, iPhone or tablet, why not search your apps for a free downloadable QR reader and scan our details.

Contacts General Main CIOB telephone number +44 (0)1344 630700 Chief Executive Chris Blythe 01344 630701 Member Services Head of Member & Business Development 01344 630852 Change of Address 01344 630789/630731 Direct Debit Enquiries 01344 630831 Membership Certificates 01344 630720 Membership Enquiries/ Progression 01344 630706 Subs Enquiries (Members) 01344 630831 Training Partnerships 01344 630726 Certificate Ceremonies 01344 630785 SMTS Enquiries 01344 630742 Experienced Practitioner Assessed Programme (EPA) 01344 630887 Experienced Practitioner Assessed Report Route (EPAR) 01344 630887 Benevolent Fund 01344 630780 Professional Development 01344 630716 Library Enquiries 01344 630873/737 Head of Education 01344 630822 Adjudication and Dispute Resolution 01344 630732 Scholarship and Research 01344 630776 Chartered Building Company/ Consultancy Scheme Chartered Building Scheme Manager 01344 630746 Administrator 01344 630743

Publications Magazine subscriptions (non-members) 01344 630811 Construction Research and Innovation (CRI) 01344 630735 Construction Manager 020 7490 5636 Contact 07704 336835 Policy and External Relations Deputy Chief Executive 01344 630702 Press Office 01344 630766 Web Site Enquiries 01344 630738 CIOB International General Enquiries +44 (0) 1344 630791 CIOB Africa + 27 11 234 7877 CIOB Australasia +61 (2) 9816 4700 CIOB China East +86 21 2211 1556 CIOB China North +86 10 6528 1070 CIOB China West/South +86 23 3670 6360 CIOB Hong Kong +852 2543 6369 CIOB Malaysia +852 (603) 2284 5754 CIOB Middle East +971 (0) 4457 9107 CIOB Singapore +65 6334 4116 The views expressed in Contact are not necessarily those of the editor or the CIOB. The editor reserves the right to edit any article submitted for publishing.

Printed on paper produced from a sustainable source.

CIOB Diary Dates

DUNDEE CENTRE Annual AGM Networking event 3 May, 5pm, Abertay University, Dundee Contact: wmarshall@ciob.

IRELAND org.uk Eastern Centre Committee WEST OF SCOTLAND Meeting CENTRE 10 May, Dublin AGM Contact: mcoleman@ciob.

19 May, 6pm, City org.uk Building’s Premises, Conferring Ceremony Glasgow 14 May, Mansion House, Contact: wmarshall@ciob.

Dublin org.uk Contact: mcoleman@ciob.

HIGHLANDS & ISLANDS org.uk CENTRE

AGM LONDON 11 May, 7pm, Inverness Unexploded Ordnance College UHI Longman 9 May, 6pm, Union Jack Campus Club, Sandell Street, Email : ross.cairns.ic@ London, SE1 8UJ uhi.ac.uk Contact: chierlehy@ciob.

ABERDEEN CENTRE org.uk AGM London Branch AGM & Meet 12th May, 5,30pm, Palm the CIOB President Court Hotel Aberdeen 16 May, 6pm, Mace Email: g.lawtie@robertson.

Business School, 155 co.uk Moorgate, EC2M 6XB CIOB SCOTLAND BRANCH Contact: chierlehy@ciob.

AGM org.uk 1 June, 5pm, Thistle Hotel Novus Up at the O2 – Young Cambridge Street Glasgow Professionals Networking Email: wmarshall@ciob.

Event org.uk 26 May. 5.45pm, O2 Arena – Base Camp Cost: £35 Contact: bgrange@ciob. org.uk

MAY TO JUNE 2016

The Chartered Institute of Building

The Chartered Institute of Building is at the heart of a management career in construction.

Our focus is on those entering and already in a management career in construction. By delivering qualifications and certifications that meet the needs of a changing industry. We work with members, employers, academia and governments across the globe to drive forward the science, practice and importance of management in construction.

OUR VISION: Built environment professionals making a difference OUR MISSION: To contribute to a modern, progressive and responsible construction industry, meeting the economic, environmental and social challenges of a global society OUR VALUES: • Creating extraordinary people through professional learning and continuing professional development.

• Promoting the built environment as central to quality of life for everyone, everywhere.

• Achieving a sustainable future worldwide.

• Being socially responsible and advocating exemplary ethical practice, behaviour, integrity and transparency.

• Pursuing excellence in worldwide management practice and technological innovation rooted in evidence based research.

• To be the inclusive valued Institute of choice for built environment professionals.

We have over 47,000 members around the world and are considered to be the international voice of the building professional, representing an unequalled body of knowledge concerning the management of the total building process.

00

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Announcements TO ADVERTISE ON THESE PAGES, CONTACT TOM PEARDON ON T: +44 (0)20 7490 5595 E: tom@atompublishing.co.uk

New era for Secured by Design and ACPO CPI. The national police project Secured by Design and associated crime prevention activities have been owned and operated by ACPO Crime Prevention Initiatives since 1999, when it was established as a not-for-profit, police owned company. With the closure of the Association of Chief Police Officers this highly successful organisation is now owned by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) on behalf of the UK police services and will draw Directors from several police forces.

In future the company will be known as Police Crime Prevention Initiatives, retaining Secured by Design as a trading name and its key, widely-known, trademark brand. Existing business areas Park Mark, Safer Parking, Secured Environments, NPCC Security Systems Group and Community Safety

Accreditation Scheme will all be retained under the new ownership and company name.

Company activity is entirely supported by private sector funding through more than 500 companies that make or supply security-related products meeting the Secured by Design Police Preferred Specification, or through security industry links to the other business areas. In the coming weeks the company will work with them and other key partners to replace their references to ACPO with, what will for industry and public be the more easily recognised, the Police CPI term.

Rebecca Lawrence, MOPAC Strategic Director, joins as Director, whilst Alan McInnes remains as Director and General Manager.

The Company Chairman, Peter Vaughan, Chief Constable of South Wales, welcomed the

changes and said, “The transfer to MOPAC ensures that this country-wide initiative will continue to thrive and support the police service in the reduction of crime. The model is unique and benefits police, the public and industry.”

Rebecca Lawrence, for MOPAC, said, “Secured by Design has made a significant impact on the level of security in homes and buildings, raising standards in security and investing in research to benefit crime prevention across the UK. We at MOPAC welcome the opportunity to ensure it can continue to do so and to develop new projects.”

For more information on company activity and to follow news on these changes see www.securedbydesign.com

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Specifiers’ pages TO SHOWCASE YOUR PRODUCTS ON THESE PAGES, CONTACT TOM PEARDON ON

T: +44 (0)20 7490 5595 E: tom@atompublishing.co.uk MUST HAVE FOR BUILDERS AND PLUMBERS FROM EPSON Automated and fast label printing, cost-saving options, and hands-free operation make Epson’s new industrial-grade LabelWorks LW-Z900FK a must-have for builders and plumbers. The LW-Z900FK is ideal for rapidly, efficiently and affordable labelling electrics, cabling, including audio/video cables, data communications equipment, as well as pipes and machinery. The label printer can use up to seven different tape widths and three different shapes of die-cut labels, all on tapes ,measuring up to nine metres long. Label types include standard and specialist varieties such as heat-resistant, glow in the dark, magnetic, die-cut and heat shrink tube labels, A unique pick and print function enables the LW-Z900FK to print the next label in a pre-set series when it detects that a user has ‘picked’ the previous label. With the ability to save up to 100 different label patterns. Hands-free operation is made possible by magnets that can be used to hold the printer onto steel surfaces. www.epson.co.uk

MOISTURE IN BUILDINGS IS FOCUS OF TRADE BODY CONFERENCE MOISTURE in buildings will be under the spotlight at a key event for construction professionals, as the Property Care Association (PCA) stages its annual International Conference at the Møller Centre – within the University of Cambridge – on May 12.

A panel of expert speakers from around the world will discuss a variety of issues related to the topical subject of moisture in property.

The panel includes renowned forensic industrial hygienist Caoimhin Connell.

A talk on ‘flood resilience in the built environment’

by Stephen Garvin, Director of the Building Research Establishment (BRE) Centre for Resilience will also feature – while Colin King, director of the BRE with responsibility for the refurbishment and hygrothermal performance of buildings, will discuss the unintended consequences of retrofit works, Other speakers include Nicholas Heath, of the Sustainable Traditional Buildings Alliance, who will talk about external wall insulation and its use in retrofit, as well as Neil May of the UK Centre for Moisture in Buildings and Dr Hector Altermarino.

PCA members entitled to one complimentary place and entry for additional attendees costs £75 plus VAT per person. Entry for non-members is £100 plus VAT. More details at www.property-care.org/ annual-conference-2016

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Project of the month Camberwell Library, Southwark, London

WITH GOVERNMENT CUTS threatening the closure of many libraries around the UK, the trend has been reversed in the London borough of Southwark, where Camberwell Library was officially opened last month after being opened to the public in November 2015.

Designed by architect John McAslan + Partners and built by Balfour Beatty, the £2m project is part of an £11m regeneration scheme for the Camberwell area.

Next to Camberwell Green and Camberwell Magistrates’ Court, the twostorey building has a distinctive entrance and aims to create a strong civic presence with large picture windows bringing daylight into the heart of the building.

It consists of three distinct elements: the library entrance space, the pedestrian spine, and the forecourt of the Magistrates’ Court.

An American oak staircase links the ground floor, mezzanine, and first-floor, which includes meeting rooms and

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viewing areas. The building’s green roof is sown with wildflower seeds.

Within the building there are different library areas on the ground floor including a children’s and young person’s zone, with seating and places to read.

The 800 sq m project also includes a photovolatic installation, underfloor heating, and natural ventilation with wind-catchers.

Hannah Lawson, project manager at John McAslan + Partners, said: “Our design responds to the new library’s pivotal location on Camberwell Green, optimising views both into and out of the building.

The newly created public realm provides a prominent civic setting for the new building and will be a dynamic focal point for the local community.”

According to council figures the project has already been a success, with the number of new borrowers, visits and items issued more than doubling since opening in November. CM

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Top left: The twostorey building has a distinctive entrance Top: An oak staircase links the floors Above: Large picture windows bring daylight to the heart of the building Left: The library features a young person’s zone

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