FOCUS THE MAGAZINE OF THE FINISHES AND INTERIORS SECTOR
PRIDE OF SCOTLAND
NOVEMBER 2016
Winners from FIS’s inaugural Scottish Awards Technical focus: steel-framed systems Positive disruption with the Internet of Things CourseSight: FIS’s solution to the skills shortage New campaign for more women in interiors
FIS ❘ Contents
In this issue p17
p31
p25
p8
5 Community
21 Training: CourseSight
Latest news from the sector, including new products and recently completed contracts
New FIS initiative promises to lighten the admin and funding burden of training
8 FIS conference review
25 Women in interiors
High-profile speakers gave their views on post-Brexit activity at this year’s conference
Five women share their experiences as FIS campaigns to make the sector more inclusive
14 Technical: SFS
28 Market review
A new FIS forum is raising awareness about handling steel-framed systems correctly
Economic analysis for uncertain times
17 Technical: Internet of Things
Full details of all the winners at FIS’s inaugural Scottish Awards ceremony in Edinburgh
Technology promises to shake up the sector
31 Scottish Awards
Front cover: Scottish Awards winner Scotwood Interiors at Norloch House, Edinburgh FIS, Olton Bridge, 245 Warwick Road, Solihull, West Midlands B92 7AH T: 0121 707 0077 E: info@thefis.org W: www.thefis.org Printed by Pureprint Editorial production: Wheal Associates Ltd The views expressed in FIS Focus by contributors are not necessarily those of the FIS. The FIS does not sponsor or otherwise support or endorse any substance, commodity, equipment or service advertised by others in FIS Focus and is not responsible for the accuracy or otherwise of any statement made in any advertisement within this publication.
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WELCOME A
t this year’s FIS Conference in Chepstow in October, my opening address considered the significant difference a year makes. At last year’s conference, the industry was enjoying high levels of activity, we all had full order books and we were concerned about the skills shortage and the lack of people to deliver all this work. We had just had a surprising election result that promised more of the same – stability and certainty. We were all focused on how to improve the sector by driving up technical standards and making sure we became more productive and competitive. Twelve months on and the world looks rather different. Everyone’s still pretty busy, but the future has lost that certainty. We are in interesting times, and certainly uncertain times. For as long as “Brexit means Brexit” remains opaque, we will have to live with uncertainty. Dealing with tangible outcomes – the fall in sterling and the consequent double-digit price rises in steel and timber – will be part of the mix. And how will we cope without the free movement of labour? Well, we will have to train more people. And to do that we need to attract more people into the sector. One thing is for sure: we must become more diverse. Described in a recent report as “laddish” and “white male dominated”, we need to change if we are going to attract talent. You will see some great examples in this edition of how women are improving our industry. And FIS’s new training strategy for the sector aims to recruit more young people into the industry by creating career opportunities. This will require a cultural change, so that we all contribute and recognise the value of a skilled workforce. As consultant Mark Farmer starkly puts it in his review of the UK construction labour model, we need to “modernise or die”. Here at FIS, we’ve decided to solve the problem ourselves rather than wait for someone to do it for us. We have chosen to modernise. I trust you will support us. David Frise, FIS chief executive
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Community ❘ News
Build UK holds CourseSight workshop to raise awareness Main contractors, specialist contractors, trade associations and card schemes have given a vote of confidence to the smart technology at the heart of FIS’s CourseSight, and its potential to tackle the skills crisis. At a meeting in early November, organised by Build UK and FIS, participants heard about the benefits of CourseSight and SkillSight, both developed by Reference Point, which use a mobile app and online services to book training courses and update CSCS cards. Representatives from 17 organisations, including BAM, Lendlease, CITB and the National Federation of Roofing Contractors (NFRC), were in attendance. FIS director of skills Helen Yeulet said CourseSight was well received. “First, the technology gives users the ability to provide the evidence needed for grant claims. Second,
FIS throws support behind ex-offenders charity Bounce Back FIS found itself in prison recently – supporting its nominated charity for 2017, Bounce Back, which trains ex-offenders to help them into construction work. The visit to Brixton Prison gave an insight into Bounce Back’s training, to encourage contractors to give work to ex-offenders. FIS will be raising funds for the charity throughout the year at various events. Membership manager Robert Barker, an organiser of the Brixton visit, said: “Bounce Back provides an incentive and real skills for offenders to have a job after prison. We especially like its mentoring and support throughout the in-prison training and after. “ FIS director of skills Helen Yeulet added: “Bounce Back fits perfectly with FIS’s training strategy. One of our goals is to increase the number of new entrants into the sector, so working with Bounce Back is just one of the avenues to achieving this.” Bounce Back CEO Fran Findlater said: “We are so proud to have been nominated to be FIS’s charity for 2017. We are passionate about stopping the cycle of re-offending whilst supporting the construction industry in providing much needed trained labour.”
www.bouncebackproject.com 4
people were impressed that we are working with training providers on an approvals process,” she said. “The more inclusive this is for the industry the better,” she added. “We want to get tier 1 contractors interested, as our aim is to make CourseSight a one-stop skills shop for the construction industry.” At the meeting, NFRC head of training Livia Williams said: “CourseSight is a positive step change, offering an effective, time-saving solution to the way our members can access and book training online with approved training providers. “More important, all the training completed via CourseSight is linked directly to the smart CSCS cards – this is a big change in the way contractors record and track the professional
development for their employees.” Sarah Garry, skills manager at Build UK, said: “Build UK is keen to see the use of smart technology rolled out across construction projects and will be undertaking its first ever CSCS smart card audit in partnership with CECA on 8 February 2017.“ • For more on CourseSight see page 21
BIM process training launched for specialist contractors FIS has launched a training package, based on its BIM Toolbox, that will enable specialist contractors to demonstrate their BIM capability and complete core PQQ requirements with confidence. Contractors completing the training will gain an understanding of the processes and terminology required for achieving BIM Level 2 – by understanding the requirements laid out in PAS 1192-2 and other BIM documents by BSI and the Construction Industry Council. The training will enable participants to demonstrate their BIM capability to main contractors and pre-qualify by completing the PQQ requirements in the relevant sections in PAS 91 and CPIx forms with appropriate evidence of compliance.
The programme will provide specialist contractors with the knowledge to embed practical BIM procedures and processes into their business via four options: • BIM quality management system • Integration of BIM procedures into existing ISO 9001 management system • UKAS-accredited ISO 9001 certification with integrated BIM procedures • Integrated management system that will secure Triple ISO certification with integrated BIM procedures. The programme is a mix of meetings and online sessions to explain the BIM process and provide feedback until completion. For details, contact Andrew Foy on 07528 571357 or andrew@foycertification.com
Surface Design Show 2017 Surface Design Show returns to London’s Business Design Centre from 7-9 February 2017, showcasing the best surfaces the design industry has to offer. The Surface Design Awards, held on the Thursday, will recognise innovative design and use of surfaces, with 13 awards across seven categories. At the last show there were 32 finalists, with IPT Architects taking top
honours for the Howe Farm project it undertook with Ecospace in Buckinghamshire. Another highlight of the show will be a discussion on good design practice in higher education, hosted by FIS. Among the panellists will be Cundall acoustics partner Andy Parkin, who has worked with the association on its Guide to Office Acoustics. www.surfacedesignshow.com www.thefis.org
3D Repo tendering tool ready to use 3DRepo.io, the BIM tool that brings the tendering process between main contractors and specialist contractors to mobiles and tablets, is now available to use. The 3drepo.io platform, launched at Digital Construction Week in October, allows specialist contractors to raise requests for information during tendering stage, without the need for costly hardware or training. The platform was devised as part of FIS’s BID4Free project, launched last year in part to prevent a plethora of different processes being adopted as a result of using BIM.
A successful bid to Innovate UK – the government technology support group previously known as the Technology Strategy Board – then allowed the association to develop the 3D viewer with Balfour Beatty. 3D Repo has been shortlisted in the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s
2016 Innovation Awards, due to be presented on 16 November as FIS Focus went to press.. www.3drepo.org/projects/3drepo-io
PRODUCTS PARTITIONING GLASS DORMA Hüppe’s new Magic Glass features liquid crystals suspended in a conductive layer. As soon as an electric current is passed through the layers, the crystals re-arrange themselves in tight formation to create a clear glass wall. Turn the Magic Glass off and the wall turns into a milky, opaque partition. The product allows an open-plan space to be divided into smaller private rooms and the level of privacy specified. www.dorma-hueppe.com INTEGRATED CEILINGS Armstrong Ceilings’ TechZone ceiling system, which includes a range of technical services, is now available in four standard layouts that organise lighting, air diffusers and returns into 100mm
Left: Magic Glass in a Style fit-out for DBRS in London Below: Siniat Resilient Acoustic Stud
and 150mm wide technical zones. A range of fixtures from Armstrong partner companies – Trox air diffusers and XAL and Zumtobel lighting – have been pre-qualified for fit and finish to give a clean, monolithic look using
Armstrong Ceilings’ integrated TechZone www.thefis.org
standard ceiling panels and suspension systems. Armstrong and XAL have also launched the On Centre linear lighting solution, to allow architects and specifiers to create designs with higher ceiling heights, zero plenum interference and on-centre continuous or non-continuous layouts. The solution can be installed or retro-fitted to existing 600mm by 600mm ceiling modules. www.armstrongceilings.co.uk
DRYWALL STUD Drywall products manufacturer Siniat has launched an acoustic stud product, Resilient Acoustic Stud (RAS), to help specifiers and installers construct thinner acoustic partitions. The stud – which is 17mm
thinner than Siniat’s Resilient Bar System – allows specifiers and installers to meet acoustic performance requirements while maximising floor space. A ‘stud and track’ system also allows easy installation of M&E fixtures. The stud features two steel profile sections held together by an acoustic tape to stop sound passing through. Unlike traditional metal C studs, which transmit airborne and impact sounds from one face of a partition to another, RAS reduces the connection between the two sides of the partition within the stud, removing the need for designers to specify multiple boards or a resilient bar to overcome this. www.siniat.co.uk 5
FIS ❘ News CONTRACTS Planet adds to earthy tones at Moneypenny base Planet Partitioning has completed works on a new 8,450m2 office in Wrexham for telephone answering service Moneypenny. Planet’s Leeds division worked with main contractor Pochin on the quirky interior, designed by AEW Architects in Manchester. The brief was to create a large office that offered high acoustic insulation and a large social atrium for relaxation and meetings. The £15m space consists of two three-storey wings, adjoining a 17m high
central atrium that features a treehouse, a pub and a sun terrace, with a pond and nature trails surrounding the building. In the corridors and lobbies, Planet installed FireStop fire-rated doors in an oak finish to complement the earthy tones and outdoor theme of the office. For the meeting rooms and office partitioning, slimline glass Planet 20 was used, with full-height glass swing doors to maximise the light in the office and atrium areas. www.planetpartitioning.co.uk
Rockfon stands to attention in Army drill hall Rockfon has provided acoustic ceilings at Debdon Army Reserve Centre in Newcastle upon Tyne, as part of a major refurbishment programme for the British Army Reserve. Blanka dB42 ceilings were chosen for Debdon’s drill hall – where companies of up to 200 soldiers practise marching to command – to maximise sound insulation and light. The tiles are 40mm thick and offer Class A sound absorption, minimising echo and preventing noise spreading to adjacent areas. Their super-white
A total of 14,000m of gypsum fibreboard from Fermacell is being installed on the £30m redevelopment of Aberdeen Art Gallery, which is set to reopen next year. The square-edged boards are being used throughout to dryline the project, which will integrate the grade A-listed gallery, Cowdray Hall and Memorial Hall complex to create a venue for art and music. The 6,000m2 redevelopment will transform the three buildings, adding new exhibition and display galleries and improved visitor facilities. Once the boards are installed, it will be possible to hang large paintings and objects up to 50kg per cavity fixing and 30kg per screw from them without using pattressing. www.fermacell.co.uk 2
Saracen gets back into the driving seat Saracen Interiors has completed work for vehicle registration and technical data specialist Carweb at the company’s new office in West Malling, Kent. Valued at £200,000 and covering
NORTH GROUP WORKS ON MARISCHAL SQUARE North Group has started work on the £107m Marischal Square mixed-use development in Aberdeen, which includes 16,260m2 of office space, a 126-room hotel and seven restaurants and bars. The project is due to complete in July 2017. In addition, North Group’s joinery division will design, manufacture and install the reception desks to the two office blocks, along with a drylining package for the offices and doors and ironmongery in the hotel and offices. www.northgroup.co.uk
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370m2 of commercial space, the six-week fit-out included the installation of 6m partitioning and LED lighting; the relocation of air conditioning systems; alterations to power and data; new flooring and a suspended ceiling; a new toilet block; the supply of furniture; and the installation of electric vehicle charge points. The project follows another carrelated job for Saracen earlier this year in Reading, for Carweb’s sister firm, motor claims specialist Audatex. www.saraceninteriors.com
STYLE ADDS SKYFOLD TO WALKIE TALKIE Style has installed its Skyfold Zenith automatic partitioning wall in the offices of credit rating specialist DBRS on the 31st floor of the ‘Walkie Talkie’ building in London. In addition to the partition, Style installed a DORMA Magic Glass sliding wall, which turns from opaque to clear glass as required. www.style-partitions.co.uk
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© David Churchill
Fermacell boosts wall-hanging capacity at Aberdeen Art Gallery
coating, sourced from the US space industry, provides 99% light diffusion and a smooth finish for easy installation, and the ceiling was installed on a Chicago Metallic ceiling grid. www.rockfon.co.uk
FIS ❘ Conference 2016
Sponsored by GOLD
SILVER
CHANGE, CHALLENGE, OPPORTUNITY FIS members gathered at the St Pierre Marriott Hotel, Chepstow, in October in search of reassurance in uncertain times. Chris Wheal reports. Photography by Russell Griffith
O
n the day sixties folk singer Bob Dylan was given the Nobel prize for literature, FIS held its first post-Brexit referendum conference. The theme of the day could so easily have been the title of Dylan’s 1964 classic The Times They Are A Changin’ as FIS chief executive David Frise highlighted just how much had changed since delegates had gathered a year ago. Back then, David Cameron had seemed safe in a confident Tory government with no official opposition. There was austerity in place, with plans for a balanced budget and a strong international future. Now, Frise exclaimed, the world faced the prospect of Donald Trump as US president, the Russians had abandoned nuclear agreements, Syria had worsened and ISIS had risen. And Tesco was [at the time of the conference] no longer stocking Marmite. “These are uncertain times,” Frise said. The future looked even more uncertain. “Even if it weren’t for Brexit, we’d still be talking about uncertainty and uncertain times for the world economy,” Frise said.
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As well as in the US, there will potentially be new leaders in Europe’s two great powerhouses, Germany and France. And other European countries, including Italy and Holland, may also have new governments that are likely to be leading them in different directions. Russian foreign policy could become more invasive. China – already accused of hacking the UK’s National Grid – has been given the contract to build the nuclear power station at Hinkley Point. And there are domestic challenges around the UK’s ageing population and how young people’s aspirations will change. “What will be the impact of Generation Rent on what and how we build?” Frise asked. He also reported research that claimed 60% of children who are now at primary school will enter employment in jobs yet to be invented. However, he challenged whether these would ever provide enough jobs. Frise pointed out that the world’s biggest technology firms – Google, Facebook and Twitter – did not between them employ enough people to provide www.thefis.org
Conference 2016 ❘ FIS
Did you vote to leave or remain in the Brexit vote? Leave: 26% Remain: 74%* Do you expect your company’s activity to grow in 2017? Yes: 86% No: 14%*
POST-BREXIT FEARS Brexit dominated the line-up of speakers, each trying to reassure delegates as best they could that the baby was not necessarily being thrown out with the bathwater. It was clear that Brexit was a headache not of delegates’ making. A live poll of delegates using the Sli.do app recorded that 74% of the audience had voted to remain. Noble Francis, economics director at the Construction Products Association, was scathing about the inaccurate and doom-laden predictions made of immediate recession and stock market collapses following the referendum. He said that within days of the leave vote, Goldman Sachs had predicted the economy would fall. “It was www.thefis.org
rubbish,” said Francis. Despite early instability, many of the losses were quickly recovered. Francis said the lesson was that “it’s unrealistic to forecast accurately five years ahead”, because until the Brexit decision is actually enacted – by triggering Article 50 – nobody could know what was going to happen. He said his own forecasts would for now only run until 2018. Immediately post-Brexit, said Francis, nothing changed. Consumer spending continued, as nobody lost their job or had a pay cut. But investment would fall in future as a result of the uncertainty, so the increase in economic growth would fall from the current 1.7% – the highest level among G7 countries – to just 1% next year. “Brexit doesn’t mean investment falling off a cliff,” he said. Contract awards had fallen 9% in July and August and some large contracts may not be signed, but smaller and medium-sized contracts would continue. Questioned later in the conference, Francis said he feared the economy would go through two quarters of decline – the
* Sli.do polls on the day
jobs for all of Britain’s school-leavers. “Traditional jobs are still going to be important,” he said. But Frise had a clear message for FIS member firms in changin’ times: “Where there is uncertainty, there is always a profit to be made. There is always opportunity.”
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FIS ❘ Conference 2016 technical definition of a recession – but that it would be marginal and the impact not catastrophic. Fears that product, business and management standards used across the industry might be sacrificed in the bonfire of EU regulation demanded by Brexiteers were also quashed. Kieran Parkinson, market development manager at the British Standards Institute (BSI), put the record straight on two myths. First, the UK is a leading light in setting many of European and international standards – the standards have not been “imposed” from Europe; second, the European standards bodies CEN and CENELEC are private bodies, not part of the EU. CEN, for example, already involves 33 countries, including five non-EU nations – Norway, Switzerland and Iceland, which are members of the European Free Trade Association, plus Macedonia and Turkey. And 75% of CE standards have nothing to do with EU directives or legislation. Parkinson made clear this could well continue post-Brexit as BSI is not an arm of the government but an independent private company established under royal charter. “It is our ambition to remain a member of CEN and CENELEC,” he said. But he warned that excessively hard Brexiteers could ruin that. “The UK government must not take any action to prejudice BSI’s full membership or necessitate a change to the statutes of CEN or CENELEC,” he warned. Pressed by FIS’s David Frise to be explicit about what the government might do in the worst-case scenario, Parkinson clarified that the UK government might insist that UK standards be different from European standards, to prevent European firms competing in the UK market. The UK would become isolationist. If that happened, the times certainly would be changin’.
Are you struggling to find the people you really want to employ? Yes: 72% No: 28%*
The Construction Products Association’s economics director, Noble Francis, outlined how key sectors of the economy were expected to perform. He said it was a case of mixed fortunes. The construction industry’s overall performance was flat, with niche pockets doing well. Francis said the housing market had bounced back from an early fall in transactions immediately after the referendum. Housing remained undersupplied and, with government subsidy on 27% of new house sales, there would be continued growth. But he warned that if growth slowed and wages failed to keep up with inflation, that would knock the market. “The average house price in London is 10.3 times the average earnings in London,” Francis explained. But as a result of chronic under-building for the past 30 years, he expected the sector to continue to grow. Uncertainty has hit the commercial sector hardest – it has the highest investment up front with the longest return on that
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investment. Who, he asked, would invest now for the long-term, especially when the investment decision requires approval from an overseas board? The three big retail areas in London – Canary Wharf-Docklands, the City and the West End – account for a staggering one quarter of the UK offices market, Francis said, but they are already at peak levels, with no room for growth. There is a similar level of activity in Birmingham and Manchester. “Contract awards are falling sharply,” Francis said. Given that it takes about 12 months from contract award to significant investment, he expected commercial office work to fall away in the second half of next year. “Problems in the retail sector are nothing to do with Brexit,” he said. “Big supermarkets, which have driven the construction business, have been losing out to smaller rivals and have been engaged in price wars.” Retail sales have risen 6%, he added, but online sales have increased 18 –and that has switched the focus from the high street to
warehouses, which do not require the interior finishes of retail units. “Even Amazon-style high-tech warehouses are not as valuable as retail, and money is just going into tech,” he said. Infrastructure was the only area of continuing growth, put at 6% next year and 10% in 2018, with possible interiors work arising from railway stations and adjoining commercial towers along new transport routes. “These can be high-value work and a great opportunity,” Francis said. Education is expected to grow consistently and Francis said there would continue to be work in health but small to medium-sized projects, not major works. There may be an opportunity for refurbishment rather than fit-out, Francis suggested, and more openings in the regions as companies move work out of London. He warned that commodity prices would rise. Nearly all soft wood in the UK comes from Sweden and that has already seen a 17% rise in prices, said Francis. Costs for HVAC and wiring were all going up too.
www.thefis.org
*Sli.do polls on the day
ECONOMICS FORECAST
Full tile & grid compatibility Hundreds of products on stock Easy-to-install systems*
1 room installed 36 minutes saved 100% jobsite
*The information is given for guidance only. Photo credits: Thinkstock - aressy.com - 09/16 -10166
focused
LESS HASSLE. MORE SPEED. www.armstrongceilings.co.uk
FIS ❘ Conference 2016
TRAINING Attracting new entrants to the industry, recruiting the best staff and ensuring everyone working in fit-out had the right skills to do the best job possible was a recurring theme of this year’s conference. “The jobs children want to do are professional athlete, performer, secret agent, firefighter, astronaut, zoo-keeper,” chief executive David Frise said in his opening address. “Dryliner isn’t in there. Fit-out operative isn’t in. Nor is project manager, architect or quantity surveyor.” Recruitment expert Trevor Rees of Rees Worx said the industry should advertise how good it was to make it more attractive to school-leavers. He praised the Institution of Civil Engineers for its work in this area, whose posters for major motorway bridge-building projects simply state: ‘This is civil engineering’. Rees was also bullish in the face of Brexit. He told delegates that, whatever happened, they could still make the most of the UK market, UK workers and UK opportunities. He flagged up the business opportunities open to construction firms and explained how to get the best from a well-run recruitment strategy, and he warned against “talking ourselves into a recession”. Rees urged delegates to be positive and to seize opportunities. He flagged up a range of framework projects where construction money was available: • Scape national construction mega framework - £7bn • EFA new schools construction framework - £6bn • Public sector framework - £5bn • P22 healthcare framework - £5bn Rees said apprenticeships represented an opportunity, and firms should try to have apprentices making up 5% of their workforce. He suggested that firms develop a recruitment plan and work with professionals. They should publicise and communicate what they do and keep records of potential
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recruits – even when jobs have not yet become available. Skilled workers from Poland were already returning home, said Rees, as the Polish economy recovered and the UK made them feel unwelcome. Here lay another fear expressed by delegates – that with overseas workers returning home, there would be increasing skills shortages and a corresponding rise in union militancy. In a poll of delegates, a worrying 72% said they were struggling to recruit skilled staff. Helen Yeulet, the new FIS skills delivery director, said the association was committed to tackling the sector’s training and skills shortage. “We need to step up and take responsibility for training and skills in our sector,” she said. “So the FIS board has decided to spend some of its reserves doing just that. FIS is determined to have the entire industry fully accurately CSCS carded by 2020, to attract 1,500 new entrants to the sector and to increase the CITB grant claimed by member firms from the current 35% to 50%.” The CourseSight portal of approved training providers, which automatically updates CSCS cards once training is completed and automates the claiming of CITB grants, has already established FIS as a leader in the field. But FIS is not resting on its laurels. Yeulet said she wanted to “sheep dip” all approved trainers – immersing them every year in the sector’s latest technology and skills so they were always at the forefront of best practice. She said members should be approached for a training needs analysis to confirm what was required. Help would be given to firms with trainees and FIS would handhold firms wanting to share apprentices. The association also wanted to develop a recognised continuing professional development (CPD) programme. FIS is to take on two project managers under Yeulet’s lead and at least one other project support worker. • For more on training, see feature page 21
www.thefis.org
Conference 2016 ❘ FIS
Do you feel more confident about the future after today? Yes: 40% No: 60%*
A staggering 95% of the work of the British Standards Institute is European or international, market development manager Kieran Parkinson told the conference. The BSI has “a seat at the table to influence decision-making” on the European and international standards bodies and it plans to keep that after Brexit. That should be possible as the European bodies CEN and CENELEC are independent of the EU, he said. These bodies already have non-EU members and three-quarters of their standards are not connected to EU directives. BSI employs 3,525 people in 76 offices across 30 countries. Many of the world’s standards originated in Britain; none are imposed on Britain by Europe, Parkinson said. Under the rules of the European and international bodies, if one country’s standard is chosen as the base for a new agreed overarching standard, all other countries cease working on their own and concentrate on agreeing the international version. Post-Brexit, BSI’s position on the international standards bodies is safe, as is its role on the European technical standards body ETSI. “We have had strong support from other members of CEN and CENELEC,” Parkinson said. BSI would be “working with UK government ministries, including the Brexit ministry (DExEU) and the new international trade ministry (DIT), to explain the role of standards in Europe and to support trade agreements”, Parkinson added.
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CONFERENCE 2016 AT A GLANCE FIS NEW BOARD MEMBERS Contractors • Andrew Measom, Measom Dryline • Jon Riley, Locker & Riley • Sean Sibthorpe, Overbury Suppliers • Andrew Jackson, Shaw Contract Group FREE LEGAL HELPLINE FIS has agreed a deal on a free helpline with law firm Bond Dickinson. Solicitor Kara Price said FIS members could make four queries a month, including sending documents. They would get an hour of free advice covering payment terms, contracts, disputes and issues with bonds and warranties.
*Sli.do polls on the day
STANDARDS UPDATE
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GET WITH THE
SYSTEM A new FIS Special Interest Forum aims to raise awareness about steel-framed systems – which is a very different beast to drylining. Dean Gurden reports
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S
teel-framed systems (SFS) have been around for a while, but it’s only relatively recently become the go-to method of lightweight construction. All too often, however, it’s misunderstood and misused. So FIS is on a mission to tackle the problem. Its recently formed SFS Special Interest Forum held its inaugural meeting in September to address the problems and issues surrounding specifying and installing SFS products. As Joe Cilia, FIS technical manager, explains, a central problem is the similarity between drylining and SFS. “SFS involves a series of steel studs screwed together, which is very similar to drylining. So the contractors that were drylining and building walls six or seven metres high with jumbo stud can use the same types of skills for this product.” The products look similar but they behave in very different ways, warns Cilia. SFS has a structural bearing to it, so it’s far more dangerous if you get it wrong. “Take the wind loads on the front of a building,” he says. “If you use the wrong fixing, such as a pan-head screw instead of a countersunk screw, or if it’s designed for a
wafer-head screw, it won’t work. You might get movement on the fascia and over time you’ve got loose panels on your hands.” Colin Kennedy, managing director of Veitchi Interiors, which has been installing SFS systems for 15 years, was so concerned about deployments of SFS systems that he’s agreed to chair the SFS Special Interest Forum. “I felt it was imperative everybody in the industry understood that this was a structural component. If you’re a client looking for an installer to put up SFS, do you really understand what you’re buying and the importance of getting it installed correctly? “Sadly, I’ve been on numerous sites where we’ve not done the SFS and seen loads of details built incorrectly that were dangerous. I hope we can make people understand that they need to buy a designed and engineered solution.” Cameron MacBride, director at Frameclad Sections, concurs. When it comes to SFS, his mantra is “design, design, design”. “There are people out there who look at a gap in a wall and simply guestimate what gauge of metal and depth of stud they should be using,” he says. “In many cases, they get away with it. But for www.thefis.org
Technical ❘ FIS
SFS TRAINING Where can FIS members go for advice or training on SFS? The default option, says Cilia, is to go to the people selling the SFS systems to find out more about products. Ask the manufacturers what training they offer and how you can get involved. For a product that’s evolved over the past 15 years, it’s only relatively recently that training schools have been set up, says Kennedy. “But you’ll find that most of the major producers that sell the components run training forums. CITB has also started a training course,” he adds. Metsec, a leading SFS company, offers its own training programme. “It’s designed to increase knowledge, skills and understanding of what SFS is and how it should be deployed, and the differences between
“It is imperative everybody in the industry understands this is a structural component” it to be done properly, it should go through a design and engineering process that specifies how the metal is arranged, how thick it is, are there any special angles or cleats or ancillary items that are needed, and so on.” MacBride says Frameclad’s customers tend to contact the company with drawings of a scheme before they’ve even won a project. “They’ll let us run a technical appraisal of it, so we’ll advise what gauge of material they should be pricing up. “Then, if they win that job, they’ll give us an order that includes the design and engineering as part of what they’re buying from us. They’re not just buying a piece of metal.”
MIX-AND-MATCH WARNING “A potentially disastrous mistake would be taking a mix-and-match approach to SFS,” continues Cilia. “We have seen examples where mixing products from different manufacturers in drylining is common, and we are concerned that this practice will transfer to SFS. “Unless those products have been tested together in the configuration in which you are going to install them, you have no proof of www.thefis.org
their performance, particularly regarding fire resistance,” he says. It might be that five different products are used on a project, and each manufacturer may have guaranteed the integrity of their product when they left the factory, says Encon’s product development director, Chris Barlow. “But what they can’t control is what you’ve done with it after they’ve sold it to you. You need a system guarantee for a range of products that have been tested for their compatibility.” As Barlow points out, gypsum manufacturers are developing their boards and insulation-testing them to provide systems that comply with the 18-metre rule – anything above that height (the maximum reach of a firefighter’s ladder in the UK) must be fire-protected to a standard set out in the Building Regulations. “A lot of people use products that should be fine but there’s been no test for the compatibility of the whole system,” says Barlow. “It’s easy to go to a metal manufacturer whose steel is a penny cheaper, but it’s only guaranteed to stand up; it doesn’t take into
SFS and drywall,” says Stephen Ginger, managing director of the framing and purlin division of Metsec. “It’s not free, but the fee covers administration and the accreditation.” Metsec’s training is for site supervisory staff and management, not for operatives such as drywall fixers. It covers everything from ordering materials to handling them, fixings, and good and bad installation. “I’d like to see the SFS Forum improve standards,” adds Ginger. “At the moment there isn’t a formal accreditation scheme regarding SFS, where people can be nationally trained to NVQ level, for example. That’s the direction the industry really needs to go in.”
SFS SPECIAL INTEREST FORUM “It was clear there were issues that were common across the sector that the industry could address by coming together,” says Joe Cilia, FIS’s technical manager. The Forum aims to address issues such as training in specifying and using SFS, and for this it has already teamed up with the RIBA. The Forum has also begun addressing problems surrounding the measurement of SFS. Cilia explains: “We’ve engaged with the RICS, as it was using standard methods of measurement suitable for drywall but which were written before SFS became available on the market with its slightly different requirements.” Talks have also begun with the Steel Construction Institute on how its SFS guidance can be used to advise specifiers and installers on best practice.
account what products are going to be attached to it. You have to gauge what your entire finished system is required to do.” However, although mistakes are made with SFS products, plenty of specifiers and installers in the market do use steel frames correctly. Cilia urges FIS members to get involved in the association’s work. “There are real opportunities for our members and it’s a growing market – and their drylining skills are relatively transferable,” he says. “But whatever you do, don’t go into this thinking SFS is the same as jumbo stud.” 15
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FIS ❘ Digital
PREPARE FOR DISRUPTION The Internet of Things promises a revolutionary new way to make buildings think for themselves, to the benefit of clients, end users and construction teams. Chris Wheal plugs in www.thefis.org
D
isrupters are coming to the construction industry. They will use the internet of things (IoT) – sensors and controls built into everyday objects – to revolutionise buildings. And fit-out will be at the forefront of this. Facilities managers (FMs) are already using data from smart lifts, security doors, heating and ventilation units and lighting systems to track staff movement, monitor wear and tear, spot dirt and grime and predict breakdowns. Contractual changes are revolutionising the way FMs work. Instead of being paid for doing a fixed number of regular and planned annual, monthly, weekly and daily cleaning and maintenance rounds, they are increasingly being paid by results. So washrooms and
meeting rooms are being scored in real time by the staff using them. If staff report them dirty, the FM loses money. The result is that FMs want to use the data to better plan their time and resources, only cleaning what gets dirty and only repairing and maintaining items about to break, not clearing up after they have broken. But it goes way beyond that. As well as being pulled by FMs, fit-out firms will be pushed by Building Information Modelling (BIM) – which is still being promoted by the government and is already a condition of major public construction projects. Technology evangelists claim that the building supply chain will switch from selling the products and labour needed to build a wall 17
FIS ❘ Digital to contractually committing to meet the wall’s required performance targets for a fixed period of time. The parameters could be sound or heat insulation, fire protection, strength, colour or a combination of these, and other criteria demanded by the building’s owner, architect or tenant. This revolution could even mean switching from construction as capital expenditure to it being a revenue cost through leases, where walls, floors and ceilings – and bathrooms, toilets and kitchens – are leased for the lifetime of the building or their individual usage.
PLASTERBOARD WITH BRAINS Even stock products are being given brains. British Gypsum is developing intelligent plasterboard. Paul French, the firm’s major project leader, is working on fitting electronic tags into plasterboard. This will allow fitters to scan from their GPS-enabled mobile phone, automatically reporting to the BIM model what has been fitted and where. Workers making modifications later will also use the system to report where they have hung pictures or erected shelves. French hopes that this will provide the company with data on the use, condition and contamination of the plasterboard, enabling it to produce new products that better meet niche markets and uses. When future tenants demand a refit, British Gypsum will be told which plasterboard walls are coming down and when, so it can arrange for collection, decontamination (removing screws in the wall, for example) and recycling. This could lead to plasterboard being traded on a lease and return basis, rather than sold. BIM is being driven in the UK by the government-backed BIM Task Group, and Mark Bew is its head. “We’re moving from
construction strategist PCSG, says only pockets of the industry are seriously investigating the full potential of being ‘Industry 4.0. He’s currently working on a report to government on the help needed by product manufacturers to digitise the sector. “The aim is to use data to have mass customisation rather than standard products, but at no extra cost,” he says. “Then we expect products will be linking with IoT to get feedback about performance in use and eventually to develop the circular economy,
“We’re moving from BIM level 2 being a better way of doing an old thing to BIM level 3 being a new way of doing a new thing” BIM level 2 being a better way of doing an old thing to BIM level 3 being a new way of doing a new thing,” he says. “There is much more technology, much more focus on contracts, on security, on customers. Construction is seen as building a building or building a railway and not delivering a service to a customer. That’s why construction has been at the bottom of the pile in an industry with very low margins – because we’ve been seen as delivering very low value. That isn’t the way it has to be in the future,” Bew says. Steve Thompson, senior BIM consultant at 18
so you are tracking the information on how the product is performing in use, the value of that product and what you need to do with it at the end of life. “You’ll know whether you can reuse it on a similar project or whether you need to remanufacture or take it back to its base materials and recycle it.” Thompson agrees that it requires a culture change in the industry. “The key is manufacturers providing services rather than just making products. That could include design for manufacture – so selling more complex
products further downstream – but it is more likely to be an integration of sensors and potential different models where you sell performance,” he says. “You could have a manufacturer say: ‘That wall is degrading and its performance is dropping, so we need to replace or upgrade it’. “It may also be that manufacturers come up with a new product and they know where all their previous products are that can be upgraded. That saves them money and the client money.” Paul Bussey, technical adviser to architect Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, says verifying that what was specified has been used, and correctly fitted, is becoming increasingly difficult, with clients not prepared to pay for human onsite monitoring the whole time. “The industry needs to step up a gear, with at least supervisors carrying the necessary technology,” he says. But he warns that some of the databases being compiled are so large and long that they may prove off-putting. How data is accessed and presented needs to be thought through, he argues.
TECHNOLOGY LIMITS Daniel Romero Cordoba, product manager with fire-resistant product maker Hilti, warns that the technology alone still has its limits. He believes that scanning the product simply tells you it is there, not that it is working and was fitted correctly. Hilti has developed a reporting process that uses scanning of the products linked to their relevant fitting instructions. A maintenance www.thefis.org
FIS ❘ Digital worker could also move fire-retardant material and fail to put it back properly and that has to be avoided. The process begins and ends with the installer taking a photo via the app. Each action is detailed and signed off as having been correctly completed. “If you force people to document it, they become liable. So if you later prove they hadn’t done what they’d documented they’d done, you can sue them. That is a powerful incentive to do it properly,” he says. Paul Russell, strategic sales leader for IBM Watson IoT, believes the demands of buildings’ users will be a stronger driver than BIM. “Real estate, FM, HR and IT people are now all in the same meetings, which you wouldn’t have seen five years ago,” he says. “They are breaking down fiefdoms and challenging old ways of working. I’ve been in meetings in the City of London where they were talking about using the data in buildings to change processes and even to use artificial intelligence to do some tasks.” Russell estimates there will be a “significant number of disruptors in the next five years to make a difference”. He says 80% of them will come from 20% of the market. They may be
“If you prove a contractor hadn’t done what they documented they’d done, you can sue them. That is a powerful incentive to do it properly” new companies that are as yet unheard of, but they may be big-name firms already adopting IoT and data management in their products, such as British Gypsum, lift-maker Kone and lighting firm Philips. “Who’d have thought that a plasterboard manufacturer, a lift maker and a lighting supplier would be at the forefront?” says Russell. “But they are.”
OTHER TECHNOLOGIES TO WATCH WORKFLOW PHONE APP Mobilengine is already in use by on UK construction company, McGee, which has 60 different workflows transferred from paper to the app. The mobile app enables work to be allocated to individuals and teams, and each worker’s CSCS card (showing their skills, training and qualification levels) can be read and checked. Processes can be set in the app, with individuals having to follow them, scanning QR codes or RFID tags at each stage to verify they have done the work in the correct order. More data is generated than using paper forms, where sections may be left blank by workers in a rush. It is claimed to cut down on waste and improve health and safety, and to generate masses of useful information for companies to work with. Sage Smith, mobility adviser for Mobilengine, recommends phased introductions, with more functions added as staff become familiar with the technology. “For 30 years there has been a foreman doing things the same way. Change can take a while to be accepted,” she says.
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SMART HELMET On the horizon, but not yet in use in the UK, is the Smart Helmet, made by US augmented reality firm Daqri. The helmet has 360º cameras, a smart visor, chip-reading technology and heat sensors with thermal vision to warn against picking up anything too hot to handle. It is powered by the sixth generation Intel Core m7 processor and driven by augmented reality software. The user can call up images from BIM models onto the screen, schematic images or pictures of what is being sought or how something should look. Alternatively, a remote expert can guide the worker through their task with instructions while watching live through the cameras. A laser-based 3D sensing camera can present images through smoke or poorly lit areas. Its location functions can map areas and tell workers where vehicles, products, tools or key pieces of equipment are located and guide them safely there. The helmet is currently in pilot testing with construction firms and in other industries.
19
FIS ❘ Training
IN FOR THE SKILL
Recruitment and training are in the doldrums just as hundreds of skilled workers are needed, but FIS has swung into action with its CourseSight initiative to take the trouble out of training. Tori Madine reports
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n 2014, the Interior Sector Training Review, also known as the Stockerl Report, laid bare the extent of the skills challenge facing the sector. Among other statistics (see box, overleaf), it found that two thirds of operatives in the sector have no formal training. Importantly, Dr Karin Stockerl’s review, which was commissioned by FIS, also highlighted the reasons why training is such an intractable problem for the sector. In short, the industry is largely made up of small companies with scant resources to manage the training needs of an often transient workforce. Keen to act quickly on the recommendations made by Stockerl (see box, overleaf), FIS has launched the first phase of a programme of initiatives to improve access to training and participation rates in training courses. Central to this first phase of initiatives was the launch in August of CourseSight, an online portal, accessed via the FIS website, that brings together individuals, employers and providers of training courses that are specific to the finishes and interiors sector (for details on how the portal works, see box above). Free for use by individuals and employers, David Frise, chief executive of FIS, says the chief goal of the portal is to reduce the administrative burden on employers of managing training. “CourseSight is a practical tool to make training, and accessing funding, www.thefis.org
IN DETAIL: COURSESIGHT CourseSight, launched on 15 August, is a resource accessed via the FIS website that brings together details of courses specific to the finishes and interiors sector. Information from CourseSight is passed to SkillSight, a software system that manages CSCS card data, so that newly achieved skills are added to an individual’s CSCS card automatically. Individuals and employers can use the portal to search for and book courses, while employers can manage employees’ training needs through a tailored dashboard system. Training providers can use the tool to market courses and identify training demands. They can also use the software to automate some aspects of course administration – for example, the system can send out joining instructions and handle course cancellations, as well as substitutions. CourseSight is in its first phase of development and FIS is vetting which providers register with the portal. The immediate focus is on listing training providers that are closely associated with the body. In early 2017, the scope of the system will be extended to other parts of the construction sector and a wide range of training providers will be able to use the system, though those approved by FIS will be clearly indicated. CITB is looking to streamline the grants claiming process and FIS is working hard to ensure that CourseSight is part of this solution.
more straightforward,” he says. “Employers, or individuals, can easily find the courses that interest them, view the grants available for that course listed, and then enrol through the portal. “Moreover, any outcome that relates to CSCS card holders will automatically be passed onto SkillSight, ensuring the card is up to date.
Again, this helps employers by reducing the amount of back-office work they have to do to keep on top of employees’ training needs.” Another important benefit of CourseSight that is currently in development will be the opportunity for colleges, and FIS, to aggregate demand for courses. “For the first time, we will 21
FIS ❘ Training
“Many companies are too small to warrant employing someone to look after the admin with training. CourseSight tidies away a lot of that paperwork” 22
be able to instantly see if there is a need for a specific course across several different companies,” explains Frise. “This will help colleges plan their offering and make courses viable that might otherwise not have been worth running.” As Steve Coley, president of FIS and managing director of Lakeside Ceilings and Partitions, explains, FIS has set clear goals on what it wants to achieve over the next few years through the use of initiatives such as CourseSight. “We need 1,500 new entrants to the sector each year and want a fully CSCS carded workforce by 2020. And it’s up to us to make this happen,” he says. “The CITB has failed to boost the number of apprentices in our sector, and the construction industry more generally. So we are taking the initiative by creating tools that will be genuinely useful to our members in getting their workforce trained.” The CITB processes for levy payments and grant claims are so complex that they are often avoided and viewed as stealth tax. As a consequence, in 2016 the industry has paid £14m to the levy system and claimed back just £5m, or 35%. Coley continues: “We want to see the number of grants claimed to rise to around 50% of the levy paid.” According to Coley, bureaucracy is a significant bar to training, as well as a bar to applying for funding. CourseSight is designed to tackle the burden of administration head-on. He says: “As the Stockerl Report made clear, the interiors and finishes sector is fragmented. Many companies employ fewer than eight people and are too small to warrant employing someone to look after the administration
associated with training. CourseSight tidies away a lot of that paperwork.” Logistics is another key challenge that FIS plans to tackle, in part by increasing the delivery of courses through On Site Assessment & Training (OSAT). Peter Carey, director at FIS-approved training provider the NVQ Training Centre, believes colleges offering NVQs specific to the sector are few and far between. “Our interior systems NVQ is based in East Anglia and is the only college around for 80 miles to offer that course,” he says. “Few young people have the will, and few companies have the resources, to travel long distances to access training. “By the same token, NVQ students who earn £2.50 an hour have little incentive to travel to a site that incurs travel costs and means a very long working day. A lot of 16- or 17-year-olds are going to stick to local sites.” Carey is confident, however, that www.thefis.org
Training ❘ FIS
KEY FINDINGS
The Stockerl Report Here are the key findings of the most up-to-date and comprehensive study of skills and training in the finishes and interiors sector: • Over 60,000 site operatives work in the UK sector and around two thirds are without formal qualifications. • The vast majority of companies within the sector are SMEs with limited resources to access and investigate training opportunities and the associated CITB grants. • Most of these SMEs have no CITB-compliant training schemes, do not employ apprentices and do not claim any training grants. • Training of new entrants is informal and most craft operatives remain without any formal qualifications.
KEY RECOMMENDATIONS The Stockerl Report
The 2014 report by Karen Stockerl made a number of recommendations to FIS. The association is in the process of finalising proposals to address these, and negotiate with the CITB where relevant. • A more attractive new entrant and apprenticeship training model • Programme to qualify and upskill the existing workforce • A better levy and grant deal for the sector from the CITB • Increased transparency on training outcomes and levy/grant spending for the sector • The creation of an online training portal • Employer empowerment via trade association leadership
CourseSight will help to overcome the practical problems that employers and individuals face in the sector, describing the initiative as “nothing short of trailblazing”. “It will be a hugely useful and productive tool in matching employers and employees with the courses they need,” he says. “With CourseSight, the finishes and interiors sector is proactively managing the need to upskill workers – and anything that saves employers’ time is a hugely welcome.” What is clear is that the pressure is on to tackle the crisis. Demand for new homes is fuelling a boom and the CITB expects the industry to create upwards of 182,000 jobs in construction by 2018. In some parts of the UK, including London, there are already acute shortages of operatives across all trades. A number of subcontractors based in the South East have reported to FIS that they are fully booked for the next 12 months. www.thefis.org
Qualified plasterers are able to command pay cheques upwards of £35,000 a year in these hotspots, while bricklayers in the capital are reportedly able to earn £2,000 a week for urgent projects. Andrew Measom, managing director of Measom Dryline and a specialist contractor member of FIS, says drylining is suffering a particularly acute shortage of skilled workers, yet the number of apprentices training in the sector is exceptionally low. “Many young people simply learn informally on site,” he says. “Employers have few incentives to enrol new recruits onto apprenticeships – they have no guarantee that the person will stay on after the training and, frankly, some youngsters who are pointed in the direction of the construction industry are not work-ready.” Britain’s impending exit from the European Union is adding further concern about labour supply. It has been reported that nearly 12% of
all construction workers in the UK come from abroad – and the interiors sector is no exception to this reliance on imported labour. If the labour supply is to be reduced, the industry needs to be able to cover its skills requirement by upskilling existing workers and training new recruits through formal routes. Measom and other senior figures in the sector are optimistic that FIS and its members can meet the skills challenge the industry faces. All agree that initiatives such as CourseSight will ease the problem. But these practical tools need to be underpinned by a collective effort by employers, colleges, schools and trade bodies to raise the profile of the sector, and construction, more generally. As Measom says: “It’s an image thing. We need to attract youngsters who positively want to work in the sector and understand the opportunities available. With people keen to learn, there will be more appetite among employers to train.” 23
FIS ❘ Interview
IF THESE WOMEN CAN…
With the construction industry still shockingly under-represented by women, FIS has set up a campaigning group to raise awareness. Dean Gurden meets several women who have already made their mark
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t may not have an official name yet, but FIS is tackling the lack of women entering the fit-out and finishes sector by launching a special interest forum for women. Chaired by Deborah Gore, FIS board member and HR director of Encon Group, the forum seeks to address the industry’s appalling record of attracting and employing women. “Only 11% of the construction workforce is female and less than 1% are working on building sites, which has got to be one of the worst records of any industry. So we have a lot to do,” she says. Gore agreed to chair the forum as she feels passionate about moving the industry forwards. “It’s very much male-dominated and usually of an older demographic. We need a lot more diversity, with more women coming through. The industry is not just about building, it involves lots of technical and specialist jobs that are suitable for both sexes,” she says. She accepts the current situation requires a huge change in mindset, both in the people at the top of organisations and those on site. “We
www.thefis.org
men to join the forum – at the need to make everybody aware of moment it’s just five women, which even the small changes they can isn’t very inclusive. make so the industry becomes “Then we need to decide exactly more accessible to women. which areas we want to tackle and “I don’t think anyone sets out to how wide we want to go.” exclude women from their Gore talks of creating talent companies, but it’s often the programmes that identify younger culture that prevents this from talent and help them rise through happening or stops women working the ranks. The forum discussed up through the ranks.” creating focus groups to explore It’s often an issue of perception, Deborah Gore this and the perceived obstacles. Gore adds. In the forum’s first “Ultimately, I’d like our members to see that meeting, one member commented that there FIS is serious about being a good promoter of were no good role models of women who had women in construction,” she says. made it in the industry. “It’s early days and we’re still working out our “There was a feeling that women who are strategy, but within a year, I’d like to see us successful in the industry become quite have some specific training or perhaps a male-like and driven by power, and have to be mentoring scheme in place that members can a bit rough and ready to fit in. But we should tap into – something tangible and positive.” allow women to remain feminine and be The next meeting was scheduled for themselves,” she says. November. So watch this space. So what exactly would Gore like the forum But for now, we see how four women have to achieve? “We’ve only had one meeting so made their way in construction (overleaf). far, but I think the first step is to get some 25
FIS ❘ Interview NATTOYA LEWIS, DRYLINING APPRENTICE Nattoya Lewis is just five weeks into a two-year apprenticeship as a dryliner and interior systems apprentice with fit-out contractor Astins. 2016 Dryliner/interior systems apprentice, Astins “It’s definitely a new challenge for me 2015 Night shift assistant, American Eagle – I haven’t done anything like it before,” 2012-14 Customer assistant, Argos she says, “but I like to use my hands and 2010-12 Dance choreographer, J’s Dance Factory as soon as I got into it, I knew I wanted 2011 Customer adviser, Zorba Sweets; to do more. engagement officer, Victim Support “At the moment we’re being taught 2009-present Manager/choreographer, Dare2Dream how to use different tools to make the 2008-10 Dance teacher, Acton High School; drylining jobs a lot easier.” choreographer, QPR Football Club You might think the job would be a 2007-08 Customer service/supervisor, Tesco stretch for Lewis – her previous job 2003-07 Fashion retail, customer service roles was a dance instructor – but she isn’t fazed by the physical demands of working in construction. doing a hospital job, the boards are 900mm “The boards I’m working with aren’t too wide, which makes them easier to handle and heavy, but I’m always being encouraged to say less heavy too.” Astins is currently trying get if I need help. And I’m the kind of person who the industry as a whole to move to these likes to test myself anyway,” she says. narrower boards. She raises an interesting point – even a “It was actually quite hard finding this job So how does Lewis handle working in a simple issue, such as making drylining boards and the apprenticeship,” she says. “There male-dominated environment? “You’d expect smaller, would encourage more women to enter a lot of the men to react in a way that suggests definitely needs to be more publicity that there the industry. are roles out there for women in construction. I can’t do the job, but I really haven’t come It’s not such a far-fetched suggestion. As “After I did my CSCS training, I took a chance across that kind of attitude, or anything that Paul Hayter, construction trainer at Astins, and walked on site to see what my options makes me feel like I shouldn’t be here.” points out: “The boards we use here are For Lewis, encouraging more women to enter were. I’d love to see more women giving it a go. 1,200mm wide, but out in Sweden, where we’re the sector comes down to one word: publicity. It’s not as hard as it may seem.”
Nattoya Lewis: CV
LARYSA GROCOCK, OFFICE MANAGER As a single mum with two children in 2003, Larysa Strokosh had no idea she’d end up in construction. With a single qualification in beginners book-keeping and having relocated from the Ukraine to the UK to study English and administration, she was looking for an office job, which she duly secured with Bespoke Drywall. “I started in the office taking phone calls, but it was suggested I go and visit sites from time to time,” she says. “I was initially a bit reluctant, but I gave it a go. It involved me passing my PASMA certification and CSCS.” Larysa Grocock, as she is now, works in the office dealing with the finance and projects side of the business. Her job title is office manager but “at times I’m more of a project coordinator”, she says. Her typical day can involve anything from fielding phone queries, logging tender enquiries or printing drawings to invoicing, arranging payments and booking labour accommodation. “It’s a huge front-office role that encompasses a lot.” She credits colleague Vicki Fletcher with handling the credit control and accounts elements of the company. “We have direct links with the commercial and managing directors and influence the ebb and flow of critical information within the business,” she says. 26
Larysa Grocock: CV 2005–present Bespoke Drywall 2000–04 Studied English language, administration and accountancy in Nottingham 1999 Moved to UK 1995–98 College of accountancy 1993 Finished secondary school in the Ukraine
On the challenge of getting women into the industry, she believes it’s often the men who need to be educated. “Some of them need to learn how to deal with women on site differently – we’re there to do a job and we are good at it,” says Grocock. “I also think women can’t afford to be too sensitive in this industry, especially if you’ve got people demanding things of you in a high-pressure situation. You have to be robust and have a sense of humour.” Her advice to other women is to be strong and assertive. “I’m not saying they have to lose their femininity, but they do have to be tough,” she says. “There are lots of opportunities, on
site and in senior office roles. Women have a significant part to play both in the technically skilled manual trades and in the upper echelons of the white collar element of the modern construction industry. Stop thinking of us as a gender and more as colleagues and assets.” www.thefis.org
FIS ❘ Interview HELEN TAPPER, FINANCE DIRECTOR Now finance director with Tapper Interiors, Helen Tapper started her career as an electrical engineering apprentice back in 1984, going on to become a senior electrical engineer for a large multinational logistics company. Following the birth of her two daughters, she decided to help her husband run the family interiors business while it expanded. “Fifteen years later I‘m still here, and turnover has quadrupled in that time,” says Tapper. “I am responsible for all the back-office functions, although I am fortunate enough to have an accounts supervisor/payroll clerk and PA to take care of the everyday paperwork.” “I take care of the bank and the management accounts and deal with the large cumulative billing contracts, but most of my time is spent simply helping to run the business. We have a large PAYE payroll and a fleet and premises to run – so there is much to do.” Tapper admits it can be difficult to find a voice as a female director in the finishes and interiors sector. “I sit with three male codirectors and although internally I am treated with respect for my input, it can be easy to be overlooked in the sector as a whole,” she says. “I enjoy my job, however, and most issues can be overcome by forging good relationships. Going forward, we just need to make sure
that women don’t need to prove themselves quite as much before being accepted.” Women should be recognised for what they achieve, believes Tapper. “There are many women performing back-office roles that are complex and demanding, and they get little recognition for this. “We also need to encourage young women to enter the industry. Some of the old myths and barriers need to be broken down.” Tapper believes the new FIS forum should introduce a qualification for back-office work. “This is crucial for raising the profile of this role and, most important, encouraging young female talent to join us.” For women wary of entering the sector, Tapper urges them to be take the plunge. “There are so many roles in 2007-present Finance director, Tapper Interiors construction and the rewards 2001-07 Finance manager, Tapper Installations can be great, as pay is high,” she 1997-2001 Senior project engineer, Mannesmann says. “In my twenties I earned far Dematic Systems more than any of my female 1994–97 Senior electrical engineer, Mannesmann friends, including the doctors, Demag solicitors and accountants. 1989–94 Electrical design engineer, Mannesmann “This is a solid profession with Demag real opportunities for travel and 1984–89 Apprentice electrical engineering career development and, above technician, Mannesmann Demag all, that elusive job satisfaction.”
Helen Tapper: CV
LORRIE-ANN FRATER, ASSISTANT QS Lorrie-Ann Frater left school in 2014 and started working at MACS Plasterboard Systems as an assistant quantity surveyor, part of a five-year university course. Having won FIS’s Apprentice of the Year in February, Frater clearly loves what she’s doing, but what drew her to the job? “I have an older brother who got an apprenticeship in plastering with MACS when he left school and I quite liked the idea of being paid while being trained,” she says. “The fact that it was in construction meant I was a bit cautious, it being a very male-dominated area, but then I saw how it was constantly evolving. “The job of quantity surveyor also reminded me of Sim computer games, where you build a project up, which I really enjoy, so I thought I’d take the opportunity.” Frater also loves the variety that the job offers, and that she can designate a different job for each day. “One day I could be checking the ticksheets from the workers, which tells me how far they’ve got with certain jobs and lets me update my spreadsheet,” she explains. “On other days I might have my own sites that I’m running, so I’ll often visit them to do a valuation to send off to the main contractors. Or I could be checking budgets against how much we’ve spent on materials.” When Frater first went on site, she was accompanied by one of the male managers in the office, so she could get her bearings. “Now I just go by myself and have built up relationships with the supervisors,” she says. “It’s just normal. I’ve obviously had men looking at me, but most of them give you a reassuring smile.” www.thefis.org
She acknowledges there’s a stigma attached to being a woman working in construction, but insists it’s not as bad as it’s made out to be. “You just have to be confident and stand up for yourself. They need to know you’re not a pushover from the start. You’re there to do your job just as well as the men are doing theirs.” Encouraging more women into the sector requires more promotion, she says. “When I joined LinkedIn, I suddenly realised there were posts out there, with people promoting blogs on the sector. “Prior to that, I really didn’t know of any websites or forums promoting jobs for women. If there were more of that kind of thing it would be great.”
Lorrie-Ann Frater: CV 2016–present Assistant quantity surveyor, MACS Plasterboard Systems 2016–present Quantity surveying and construction management degree, University of Westminster 2014–16 Level 3 BTEC diploma, construction in the built environment, Bedford College 2014–present Apprentice quantity surveyor, MACS Plasterboard Systems
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FIS ❘ Market Review
MARKET REVIEW What lies ahead for construction in post-Brexit Britain? David Blackman asks the experts
Commercial output
central scenario lower scenario
40,000
upper scenario
35,000
e: estimated
s: scenario
30,000 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000
L
ife in post-Brexit-vote Britain is likely to be a bumpy ride in the fit-out and finishes market, just as in the rest of the economy. So far, the feedback from the industry suggests that the impact on workloads of the 23 June Brexit vote has been minimal. The office construction market is still benefiting from a historic peak in activity. Deloitte Real Estate research shows that new construction starts in London were at a 20-year high during 2015. Projects currently under way are likely to be completed, particularly where there is a pre-let. However, Simon Rawlinson, head of strategic research and insight at Arcadis, has little doubt that the industry is still in a ‘phoney war’ stage and is heading for a contraction. Crunch time will be the middle of next year onwards, when the existing pipeline of pre-EU referendum work starts to dry up, predicts Noble Francis, economics director at the Construction Products Association (CPA). “There appears to be enough in the pipeline to sustain activity, albeit at a slightly lower rate, into the middle of next year, but at
5,000 0 2006 2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016e
2017s
2018s
Source: ONS, Construction Products Assocation Given market uncertainty post-EU referendum, the CPA has developed a central scenario, with higher and lower bounds reflecting the extent of the uncertainty, rather than producing the standard point estimate forecasts
some point that fall-off in activity will feed through,” he says. “If you are looking at commercial office and retail projects, activity on the ground or lack of activity will be in the second half of 2017. That is when the fit-out market is likely to feel the impact.” Across the industry, the CPA forecasts that activity will fall by 0.6% next year before rebounding to the tune of 1.2% growth in 2018.
BREXIT FALL-OUT When it arrives, the Brexit fall-out is likely to hit the commercial sector harder than any other. The CPA predicts that commercial construction will decline by 2.8% next year, with a further 1.8% slide in 2018. The big headache in the office market surrounds an anticipated drying up of speculative development in London as financial
service occupiers rethink whether to maintain existing levels of staffing in a post-Brexit UK. Glenigan economics director Allan Wilén says this slowdown is being felt hardest in London’s traditional financial service hubs, the City and Canary Wharf. In the West End, which depends more on technological and creative businesses, sentiment has been buoyed by Apple’s recent decision to locate its UK headquarters at the recently redeveloped Battersea Power Station. Meanwhile, in Britain’s other major cities, the lack of office development in recent years means workloads are likely to hold up. Wilén says: “Supply is tight in those areas, so new investment should be firm going forward.” Such optimism doesn’t extend to big-ticket office projects. “It’ll be hard to justify that kind of gamble in London or elsewhere,” he says.
Value of project starts by quarter 3,000
Value of project starts (£m)
2,500
2,000
Hotel and leisure
1,500
Retail 1,000
Offices
500
0
2013 Q1
2013 Q2
2013 Q3
2013 Q4
2014 Q1
2014 Q2
2014 Q3
2014 Q4
2015 Q1
2015 Q2
2015 Q3
2015 Q4
2016 Q1
2016 Q2
2016 Q3
Source: Glenigan (includes projects with construction value £250,000 - £100m)
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FIS ❘ Market Review Growth in value of starts by sector, 12 months to Q3 2016 Yorkshire and Humber Wales West Midlands Scotland South West
Hotel and leisure
South East Retail
North West Northern Ireland
Offices
North East London East of England East Midlands
-100%
-50%
0
50%
100%
150%
200%
250%
300%
350%
Source: Glenigan (includes projects with construction value £250,000 - £100m; growth is between 12 months ending September 2016 and corresponding period ending September 2015)
RETAIL HEADACHES In the retail sector, the impact of the 23 June vote is likely to be more indirect than in the office market. The big Brexit headache here is rising inflation resulting from the increasing cost of imports, which will eat into household incomes, meaning less disposable cash for retail spending. This increased pressure on retailers’ margins comes on top of the ongoing shifts in shopping habits resulting from the trend toward online shopping. Convenience stores and warehouses, which are more suited to this new retail ecosystem, don’t require the same level or scale of fit-out as the superstores that dominated the sector until so recently, notes David Frise, chief executive of FIS. However, there will be opportunities for retail fit-out contractors able to adapt what they offer, says Wilén. “More ‘click and collect’ will influence the location and layout of stores. www.thefis.org
Number of project starts by quarter 1,200
1,000
Number of project starts
The silver lining of a slowdown in office development, though, could be a greater appetite for refurbishments among landlords, Wilén reckons. Rather than embark on potentially high-risk redevelopment projects, landlords will be more tempted to play safe and upgrade instead. “There will be a lot of revisiting those plans at the moment,” he says, “which may offer fit-out contractors opportunities for refurbishment as people take a cautious view.” Francis cautions against fit-out contractors getting too enthusiastic about the prospects for a short-term refurbishment boom, given the scale of new build stock coming on stream. “We may in the medium term get a move to refurb,” he says, “but a lot of space coming online in the next 12 to 18 months will have to be used first.”
800
600
Hotel and leisure Retail
400
Offices 200
0 2013 Q1
2013 Q2
2013 Q3
2013 Q4
2014 Q1
2014 Q2
2014 Q3
2014 Q4
2015 Q1
2015 Q2
2015 Q3
2015 Q4
2016 Q1
2016 2016 Q2 Q3
Source: Glenigan (includes projects with construction value £250,000 - £100m)
Retailers need to think about front of house because if customers are using click and collect, there’s an opportunity to sell them something else as well.” The sub-sector that looks set to be the big beneficiary of Brexit is hotels and hospitality. Thanks to the sharp depreciation of the pound over the past six months, overseas tourists need no longer rely on Airbnb for bargain accommodation in the UK. Francis says much of this growth is likely to take place at the higher spec end of the market as the pace of growth at the budget chains, which have expanded so rapidly in recent years, slows down.
PUBLIC SECTOR SPENDING In terms of education and health though, the continued squeeze on public spending means such projects will continue to offer meagre growth prospects. However, the government’s decision not to end local government’s role in education is good news, argues Wilén, because it means councils will be able to respond more rapidly to
looming shortfalls in school places rather than having to cajole academies into furnishing this extra capacity. Any relaxation of the Treasury’s target that public spending should be back in balance by 2019 is likely to be felt most in the infrastructure sector, which was expected to receive a boost in November’s Autumn Statement. But while infrastructure projects involve some fit-out, Francis points out that contractors specialising in commercial projects may not find it easy to switch to such schemes. Frise is confident that fit-out and finishes contractors will be able to weather the storm, even if they are not likely to grow as rapidly as they might have done had the UK voted to remain in the EU. Wilén believes contractors will have to be “light on their feet” in order to respond to last-minute disruptions in project schedules. “That earlier development pipeline is going to be very fluid as people push projects back and rescope,” he says. “They will have to spot where holes are potentially appearing in their workflow and plug them.” 29
Delivery. It’s in our nature. Within a colony, ants communicate with each other and work together to solve complex problems. Rather like our team at Nevill Long. We specialise not only in all aspects of interiors from ceilings, drywall and partitions to facades, floors and finishes, but also in making sure we deliver the right solution for you – at the right time. That’s what makes Nevill Long the Distributor of Choice. Naturally.
For your nearest Nevill Long branch visit nevilllong.co.uk
AN ENCON GROUP COMPANY
CEILINGS
DRYWALL
PARTITIONS
SCOTTISH AWARDS 2016 At FIS’s inaugural Scottish Awards Lunch in Edinburgh, sponsored by Forza Doors, more than 100 members and guests gathered at the George Hotel to see Scotland’s high achievers honoured. The awards were presented by our guest speaker, raconteur and impressionist Sandy Strang (pictured below, bottom right)
THE JUDGES
Top (l-r): Peter Walters and Howard Winter judged all categories but Apprentice and Supplier of the Year; bottom (l-r) Robin and Barry Wilcox judged Plasterwork
CATEGORY INFORMATION Introduced in 2015, the Scottish Awards aim to demonstrate the quality of work and the range of projects that are carried out in Scotland. This year’s awards included: • Interior Fit-Out • Suspended Ceilings • Drywall Construction • Partitioning • Judges’ Award • Plasterwork (general and heritage) • Apprentice of the Year • Supplier of the Year
Awards ❘ Interior Fit Out
Sponsored by SIG
GOLD AXIS SOLUTIONS Project: FDM, West Regent Street, Glasgow This interior design and space planning project had to accommodate the two distinct sides of FDM’s business – corporate and training. The job involved new meeting rooms, boardroom, classrooms and breakout spaces; two receptions; features and flooring; decoration, graphic wall arts and manifestations to create a vibrant workspace. Bespoke full-height revolving veins from China solved a privacy issue in one area. “Engaging with the client at all stages was key to the success of this project,” said the judges. They applauded the “innovative graphic wall arts that linked to company status or personnel, and manifestations that included city landscapes and comic characters”. “The 12-week programme finished on time, despite the many changes made. Full marks for a well considered project.”
SILVER SCOTWOOD INTERIORS Project: Whitespace, Norloch House, Edinburgh This project to create a head office for creative and digital agency Whitespace called for a reception area, waiting area with bespoke desk and timber wall feature, and a meeting room suite combining solid and glazed walls with laminate doors. Breakout areas used reclaimed scaffold boards to form pods, bench seating and feature walls, and Scotwood also installed tea preparation areas on each floor and a breakout area with bar and gantry. “A modern designer and a go-ahead young company combined to present Scotwood with a challenging and enjoyable project that is now much loved by the client,” said the judges. “Much reclaimed timber scaffold boards, sourced from the north of Scotland, were used throughout to make, in Scotwood’s own workshop, cupboards, doors, pods, bench seating and a Jenga-style shelving entrance display. Reclaimed plywood was also used for the stained ceilings.” Vitrage performance partitioning was used and feature write-on walls were constructed throughout. “A corian reception desk shaped up onto the wall is eye-catching on entrance to the building,” added the judges, applauded a hectic 11-week programme, with many impromptu design meetings with input from all staff.
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Awards ❘ Suspended Ceilings GOLD ROSKEL CONTRACTS Project: University of Strathclyde, Technology & Innovation Centre This project – a high-specification suspended ceiling installation within a new 25,000m2 technology centre for Strathclyde University – involved an unusual triangular floorplate, nine floors high in a constricted city centre site. Roskel developed the design, and supplied and installed various ceilings and features: • 9000m2 of Armstrong perforated metal ceilings • 700 Ecophon Solo rafts • 1,500m2 Hunter Douglas solid linear oak slats • Bespoke triangular Gustafs acoustic oak raft panels to the main concourse and lecture theatres • Plasterboard MF soffits, bands and bulkheads. “The impressive ceilings set the tone for this centre,” said the judges. “Logistically, the project had issues, but the standard of work was impeccable. Metal ceilings, solid linear oak slats, rafts and raft panels formed the bulk of the project, together with plasterboard ceilings and bulkheads and a considerable subgrid for a folding wall. On top of that, a challenging programme was no problem for Roskel.”
SILVER CARTER CEILINGS Project: Audi Aberdeen, Balmoral Park Carter Ceilings installed all the suspended ceilings throughout Audi Aberdeen, the new main dealership for John Clark Motor Group. The job comprised the supply and installation of SAS International, Armstrong, British Gypsum and Durlum ceilings to the showroom, office, workshop and used car bay. The judges were in no doubt about the accomplishments. “The excellent curved, sloping and very high plasterboard ceiling installed over the main showroom area, required more than 150 lighting/ air conditioning cut-outs. Detail changes – in some areas, to double-skin plasterboard – were made during the installation. “The SAS metal ceiling required numerous specially sized panels for service integration, based on a ‘din’ sized module, as the whole project had to follow strict brand guidelines from the German carmaker. “An installation that nearly doubled in value – mainly due to 70 variations while recycling plasterboard waste with British Gypsum – had a very impressive outcome.”
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Awards ❘ Drywall Construction SILVER ASTINS Project: Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and The Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow Astins’ package on this project included the design and build of all partitions. Designed by Astins in conjunction with Knauf, the partitions help accommodate 1,109 beds in single-room accommodation, a 256-bed children’s hospital, 30 operating theatres, a laboratory block providing biochemistry, haematology and blood transfusion services, and a standalone energy centre. The highlights of the installation are a 14-storey atrium, lead-lined theatres and the children’s atrium. The walls, mainly Knauf drywall systems, consist of 70mm or 90mm metal stud, boarded with either two layers of 12.5mm Soundshield Plus each side or one layer of 15mm Soundshield, plus boards with acoustic wool insulation as required. The judges hailed “a tremendous achievement in constructing a superb hospital”. “This huge project was a three-year build. The key to its success was the control, management and training of staff, both new and existing, which peaked at 300, including dryliners, fire stoppers and ames tapers.” They noted the challenges posed by the inspection regime. “Boards were marked for screw positions, as external inspections would involve board removal to check fixings. The monitoring system could also identify who had fixed each panel.”
GOLD BRIAN HENDRY INTERIORS Project: Dunedin House, Edinburgh This project consisted of the supply and installation of Speedline partitioning and ceilings for a highly specified residential development in Edinburgh. The refurbishment and conversion of the building involved 26 two-bedroom apartments and six two- and three-bedroom penthouses. This complex project comprised external wall linings, interior partitions and suspended ceilings, subject to strict fire ratings of 120 minutes and acoustic ratings of 60RwdB. The wall linings consisted of two layers of 15mm Soundshield Plus plasterboard, fixed to both sides of metal studs, and one layer of 9mm sheathing plywood fixed to one side of the stud, with two layers of 50mm acoustic roll fitted within each stud. The walls were finished with 12.5mm Soundshield Plus board and the ceilings with Speedline M/F Casoline concealed plasterboard. “Complex technical detailing required some value engineering,” said the judges. “Brian Hendry turned to SIG and undertook all the required tests to satisfy the demands of the client, regularly visiting the site to review progress. A classy project, leaving a very satisfied client and main contractor.”
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Awards ❘ Partitioning
Sponsored by SIG
GOLD WORKSMART Project: Law Society of Scotland offices, Edinburgh Worksmart was required to supply and install Optima architectural glazing systems to freshen up the Law Society’s Edinburgh offices. Optima Rev97 double-glazed screens in 12.8mm acoustic laminated and 12mm toughened clear glass with vertical Ghost dri-joints were erected, incorporating an edge symmetry double-glazed door on quad and floor spring. Optima 117+ single-glazed screens in white, powder-coated aluminium (RAL 9010) were used with single-glazed doors on quad and floor spring. An Optima Kinetic Lite sliding door was also installed. “This classy project produced exactly what the client wanted, with excellent acoustic performance throughout,” said the judges. “Using glass up to heights of 3m, installed by Worksmart’s own operatives with no damage, provided the client with a high-quality installation befitting the building in which it sits.”
SILVER NORTH CONTRACTS Project: The Grande, Aberdeen North Contracts worked in collaboration with Sir Robert McAlpine and Cooper Cromar Architects to meet the needs of this office development in Aberdeen city centre. The project called for the installation of the Triplan TP Lite single- and double-glazed frameless partitioning system, as well as framed glazed units and solid drylining partitioning walls. The partitioning system incorporated full-height American white oak veneered door sets throughout, complete with oak doorframes and ironmongery, and bespoke manifestations were applied to the glazing system. Acoustics was a key requirement, with acoustic barriers installed above and below the partitioning across the five floors to achieve a 50db rating. The judges said: “North Contracts put forward the single- and double-glazed frameless system in conjunction with framed glazed units and solid drylined walls. The 12.8mm acoustic glass used throughout was installed by their own operatives, who developed, on-site, a tool to more accurately and easily install the silicone tape between glass panes. “About 39 tonnes of glass up to 3m high was transported without damage and the company received an environmental commendation for the lack of waste on the project.”
www.thefis.org
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Awards ❘ Plasterwork ❘ Judges’ Award PLASTERWORK AWARD: GOLD DAVID FISHER & SONS (EDINBURGH) Project: RBS, Dundas House, St Andrew Square, Edinburgh David Fisher & Sons was appointed to oversee the conservation and restoration works to the dome of this 1780-built property, originally constructed as a townhouse for Lord Dundas and acquired by the Royal Bank of Scotland in 1825. The project also included plasterworks to the walls of the banking hall that “were a delight to judge”. Work began with a fingertip survey of the dome, followed by repairs to cracks, replacement of damaged lath and plaster, and new mouldings as required. Loose and missing enrichments were repaired, and any cracks through the mouldings were cut out and filled with a sand/lime putty mix. Traditional materials and methods had to be used throughout. Following the removal of existing wallcoverings, the walls were treated with Thistle Bond-It then two coats of gypsum, but the angle of lighting required an exceptionally high standard of finish in these areas. The project was given full marks by both judges. Robin Wilcox said: “The domed ceiling in this category A listed building is truly magnificent. David Fisher & Sons restored this ceiling in a totally faultless manner to its former glory.” Barry Wilcox added: “The conservation, repair and restoration of the ceiling, its mouldings and enrichments has been seamlessly executed using traditional methods and materials, and plastering work to perimeter walls was flawless under critical lighting.”
JUDGES’ AWARD: GOLD VEITCHI INTERIORS Project: RSNO centre, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall The complex integration of new build and refurbishment at this iconic Glasgow landmark made this “well worthy of a Gold”. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) centre is Glasgow’s newest performance space – an acoustically adjustable, 600-seat auditorium for rehearsal and recording facilities. Veitchi provided all drylining, suspended ceilings, acoustic rafts, bespoke joinery work and acoustic wall linings as part of a comprehensive fit-out package. Details included bespoke acoustic timber wall linings, each component hand crafted to exacting standards. The judges dubbed it “a classic case of a subcontractor turning a £500,000 40-month contract into a £2m 24-month contract”. “Due to the specific needs of this demanding project, Vietchi was involved in the design process throughout. Bespoke cable passes, acoustic pads and adjustable acoustic hangers formed part of the input. However, the acoustically adjustable auditorium, which is faced with maple-covered marine ply, provides a world-class rehearsal and recording facility.“
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Awards ❘ Apprentice of the Year
Sponsored by CCF
WINNER
RUNNER-UP
SCOTT BOYLE Brian Hendry Interiors
STEPHEN HART
Brian Hendry Interiors offered three apprentice ceiling fixer positions in August 2015 to one unemployed 19-year-old and two 17-year-old school leavers. It believes it has uncovered “an exceptional talent” in school leaver Scott Boyle. “We carry out a rigorous selection and interview process to select candidates for interview,” said Gordian Mothersole, business development director at Brian Hendry. “Scott’s CV was a standout – CITB-registered whilst at school; excellent work ethic in various part-time jobs; commendable leadership, teamwork and problem-solving skills as a scout leader and captain of his rugby team.” Scott was the top scorer of the 20 interviews for the award. He was then placed on a two-week work trial and passed this with ease. Brian Hendry site supervisors listed his winning qualities: • Good manual dexterity and confidence, keen to learn. • Listens to what’s said, does everything asked and wants to learn. • Shows good initiative – after a couple of hours, he was measuring, cutting and installing full and cut tiles with ease. Since being offered an apprenticeship, Scott has continued to impress. “We are strict with the apprentices on their timesheets, expenses and weekly report cards. His are always completed clearly and submitted on time. If he believes he’s underperformed, he will state this on his reports.” College lecturer Robert Paul Steele and apprentice officer Margaret Key added: “Scott was shy at the start, but as time progressed he was a standout, becoming a keen and confident trainee, always willing to help others whilst working in the rigs. His drive to become a good ceiling fixer is clear, listening to instructions intently and asking questions.”
Stephen has realised a life-long ambition as a mature apprentice joiner, having spent 12 years working in social care. He became a Worksmart apprentice in September 2014 and began applying his course curriculum in a two-phase refurbishment of offices for Loch Lomond Group Distillery in Catrine. He had to create a storage space by setting out metal stud partitions with a demountable framework for doorways, fixing double-layer plasterboard, setting out ceiling heights and ties for noggins, installing ceiling tiles and fixing door checks. This was completed with skirting, facings and hinged doors. Stephen completed his solo tasks to the highest standard. Most apprentice joiners rarely have the chance to work with complex architectural glazing systems, but Worksmart specialises in glazed partitioning and Stephen is constantly expanding his knowledge beyond what is taught in class. He has progressed immensely since this project in his first year as an apprentice. He demonstrates great teamwork – setting up work areas for Worksmart joiners and subcontractors, and getting involved in labouring as necessary. He has made himself indispensable to the team and brings great morale on site. Stephen is committed to personal development. He enjoy taking a concept to final product, bolstering his problem-solving skills. He is a keen candidate and has shown great eagerness to learn. He will go far in the trade.
Awards ❘ Supplier of the Year WINNER CCF CCF managing director Howard Luft (right) receives the award from Steve Coley, FIS president
www.thefis.org
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FIS ❘ Last word
What a year that was… A
ll in all, 2016 has been an unpredictable year, full of twists and unexpected turns. This is the year that all predictions went out of the window and perceived wisdom was turned on its head. If you’d made a £5 bet on the UK electorate voting for Brexit, Donald Trump becoming US president and Leicester City FC winning the Premiership, you’d have won a staggering £15m! Who knows what 2017 will bring, but one thing is for sure – we lost many talented people this year, a few of whom are pictured here. While 2016 may not be missed, those people will be. Best wishes to you all for 2017.
Photos: Creative Commons/Ninian Reid, Marc Wathieu, David Holt, Julian Mason
Steve Coley, FIS president
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