FIS Focus November 2017

FOCUS THE MAGAZINE OF THE FINISHES AND INTERIORS SECTOR

TOP OF THE SCOTS

NOVEMBER 2017

Full details of this year’s Scottish Awards winners Technical: where now for building regulations?

Interview: new FIS president Andrew Smith Highlights from this year’s FIS Conference Training: innovation and collaboration mission

FIS ❘ Contents

In this issue

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p18

p12

p21

4-5 Community news

18 Technical: regulation review

Recent developments across the sector

Experts look ahead to the government’s overhaul of building regulations post-Grenfell

5-7 Contracts and products Completed projects and product releases

8 Interview: Andrew Smith FIS’s incoming president is a born optimist with positive plans for his new role

12 FIS Conference Highlights from this year’s gathering of construction specialists and thought leaders

21 Skills and training Details of the Skills team’s activities this year

24 Roundtable debate FIS, BRE and IWBI gather together industry specialists to tackle the well-being challenge

29 Scottish Awards Full coverage of FIS’s second Scottish Awards

Front cover: Worksmart Contracts’ award-winning fit-out project for Ellis Whittam in Glasgow FIS, Olton Bridge, 245 Warwick Road, Solihull, West Midlands B92 7AH T: 0121 707 0077 E: info@thefis.org W: www.thefis.org Printer: 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 T

he nights are drawing in as we head to Christmas and New Year. Autumn is a season of change, when many of us start new projects or take advantage of the longer nights to learn a new skill.

You’ll see in this issue that FIS has been very busy this summer. Having won a substantial CITB funding bid for our Fit out Futures programme, we’ve been addressing the ticking skills timebomb and the potential impact of Brexit.

We’ll soon be conducting our second Training Needs Analysis to establish your skills needs. And we will continue to press the case for a better deal for our members and a more responsive CITB. The #iBuiltThis campaign to engage and attract new entrants into our sector was launched this year and attracted huge coverage, culminating in an awards ceremony at UKCW hosted by George Clarke (see page 21). We’ll be repeating this in 2018 with even more partners and sponsors – we need to keep sending out positive messages about the sector to the next generation.

Those positive messages from FIS have not gone unnoticed, allowing us to attract a far broader range of clients and professionals to events. The roundtable on well-being and BREEAM is testament to that (see page24).

Our members deliver the projects, so it’s logical for them to engage with us in developing standards and ensuring we promote the highest quality in design and installation. And post-Grenfell, it’s never been more important for firms to prove they meet the specifications.

This will be a key focus for FIS in 2018. But it should not be a cause for concern among members who strive to meet technical standards. The best companies will prove their worth to clients in a tougher enforcement regime.

This autumn is also a time for change of FIS leadership as we welcome Andrew Smith as president. A long-time supporter and board member of FIS (and AIS), he is perfectly qualified to provide the guidance and experience to push our agenda forward. We sadly say goodbye to outgoing president Steve Coley. On behalf of FIS staff and members, I’d like to thank him for his contribution, much of which goes unseen. We’ll miss Steve’s cheerful outlook on life. Top man.

David Frise, FIS chief executive

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Community ❘ News NEWS IN BRIEF OVERBURY ANNOUNCES REGIONAL APPOINTMENTS Fit-out and refurbishment firm Overbury has made two appointments to its southern team based in Bracknell. Chris Letch joins as head of pre-contracts. He has over 18 years’ experience in design and build contracting, working for construction companies including Wates Construction and Bouygues UK. Leanne Pammen joins as head of sales, having spent the past 10 years with BW: Workplace Experts and more recently Como Group. www.overbury.com ENCON CLIMBS UP PERFORMANCE RANKING The Encon Group has been ranked 95th in the Sunday Times Grant Thornton Top Track 250 League Table. This ranks private mid-market growth companies in Britain by sales, placing Encon among organisations such as Aston Martin, Waterstones, Travelodge and David Lloyd Leisure. In 2012, following a management buyout, the business was 207th in the list. www.encon.co.uk NEW RECRUITS AT PARAMOUNT Cardiff-based Paramount Interiors has made two appointments. Carl Gough joins as business development manager, having spent three years at D&G Office Interiors. He will be responsible for generating new business, with a focus on increasing Paramount’s commercial furniture sales. Madison Osborne joins as junior designer, having graduated in 2016 and spent the past year with Llanelli-based Emily May Interiors. www.paramountinteriors.com PLANET WORK HONOURED BY RIBA Planet Partitioning has been recognised for its involvement in a project at the British Museum in 2013 which has won the RIBA London Award in 2017.

The project transformed how the World Conversation and Exhibition Centre displays and cares for its collections. The jury, on behalf of RIBA, praised Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners’ design, for which Planet provided a complex and detailed specification for internal glass partitioning work. www.planetpartitioning.co.uk

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Technical team: Joe Cilia (above) and Dan Cook

FIS expands technical support offer FIS has expanded its technical support services to better meet members’ needs and to respond to a more demanding work environment.

The association’s chief executive, David Frise, said: “We’ve increased our technical advice services and introduced more specialist groups covering sectorspecific areas such as steel framed systems. FIS is also heavily involved in the development of standards with BSI, as well as working on our own best practice guides.”

He added: “Technical compliance will become increasingly important post-Grenfell and we want to help members meet this challenge.”

The enhanced service offering has led to the promotion of Joe Cilia to technical director, in recognition of his contribution to the association and his expanding role.

In addition, Cilia has recently been appointed chair of the technical committee of the Construction Products Association.

He commented: “It has been a rewarding eight years as the technical manager of the association. We have seen more of our members engaging through the special interest forums, and increased contact with BSI, RICS, RIBA and CPA, where our members’ voice is increasingly being heard. We plan to build on this going forward.”

FIS has also welcomed Daniel Cook to the team as technical assistant. Currently completing his PhD thesis, he will support FIS as it expands its technical activities.

“Dan has joined FIS at a crucial time for the sector, as members try to find ways to prove compliance, and we review at least three British Standards and increase our technical publications,” said Cilia. “This and ongoing work to address digitisation and influence environmental issues in fit-out will dominate our workload going forward.’’ www.thefis.org

Association sets out stall at UK Construction Week Making its first appearance

Clarke, presenter of Channel 4’s Amazing Spaces was on hand to give out the prizes (see page 21 for photos and more details).

A sign-up wall encouraged businesses to support new programmes from FIS Technical, Community and Skills. And virtual reality headsets allowed visitors to play a simulation game.

During the three days, FIS chief executive David Frise presented a well received CPD workshop, entitled ‘Current building practice is broken, we need a system reboot’, and gave a presentation on ‘Fit-out Futures – the solution to the sector’s skills gap’.

FIS technical director Joe Cilia also held a CPD workshop – ‘A guide to specification of products’ – which focused on specification as a process; understanding Approved documents; and pitfalls and how to avoid them.

at UK Construction Week this year, FIS used its stand within the Surface and Materials Show to showcase its member benefits and technical guidance, skills and training capability, and the association’s focus on collaboration and innovation.

The show, which was held on 10-12 October at the NEC in Birmingham, attracted more than 33,000 visitors and 650 exhibitors.

“We wanted to make our stand as interactive and fun as possible, with different activities that people could be involved with,” said the association’s marketing manager, Yasmin Kauser.

A big attraction was FIS’s #iBuiltThis2017 competition, designed to attract people into the sector, particularly the younger generation. George

CONTRACTS Scottish double for Knauf AMF ceiling panels Historic Environment Scotland (HES) turned to Knauf AMF earlier this year to complete Scotland’s new building conservation centre, the Engine Shed, in Stirling (pictured left).

The project involved the restoration of an historic engine shed, with single-storey extensions to either side housing a café, a shop and open-plan offices and meeting rooms.

Heradesign Superfine acoustic ceiling panels were installed in the vaulted ceilings, which run the full length of both buildings, to meet acoustic and environmental requirements.

In a separate Scottish project, Heradesign

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has been used alongside Thermatex ceilings in golfing authority the R&A’s equipment testing centre in St Andrews.

The panels were specified to absorb the noise created by testing machinery and maintain a comfortable ambient sound level in the open spaces and meeting rooms.

The ceiling design in the office meant the panels had to be installed within a sloped roof with strip lighting alongside each plank, leaving a sufficient gap for services without losing ceiling height. www.knaufamf.com

Scotwood gets medical in Edinburgh BioQuarter Scotwood Interiors completed a fit-out this summer for MRC Technology in the Edinburgh BioQuarter – a hub for emerging companies in Scotland’s life sciences sector.

Medical research charity MRC partners with academic, biotechnology, pharmaceutical and charity organisations to move medical research forward into patient treatments.

The fit-out of its new Edinburgh facility involved the formation of laboratory areas, a communications room, meeting room space and breakout areas with a semi-floating timber breakout pod, along with a full M&E package. www.scotwood.com 5

FIS ❘ News CONTRACTS Armstrong wood-metal baffles complete office refurb A £3.9m office refurbishment in Middlesex has been the first project in the UK to use Armstrong Ceiling Solutions’ wood-effect metal baffles.

The VP-500 vertical metal baffles with walnut finish were specified by BPR Architects for Blake House, a three-storey office building at Cowley Business Park, near Uxbridge.

The 300mm-high baffles bring a contemporary linear aesthetic to the lobby extension and refurbished main stairs, alongside 2,800m2 of Armstrong’s 600mm x 600mm metal MicroLook tiles in the open-plan office areas.

The firm’s new Drywall Grid System (DGS) for plasterboard ceilings was used in the staircase

areas, and Ultima+ Vector 600mm x 1,200mm mineral tiles in the core areas.

The new look, for client Henry Boot Developments, involved increasing the size of the 1990s steel-framed building from 2,044m2 to 2,787m2 by adding office space to the rear, remodelling the internal core layout and building a double-height entrance lobby (pictured). Black walnut in the fixtures and fittings of the communal areas were specified to echo the baffles.

BPR’s Ross McMahon said: “The baffles soften the acoustics in the lobby and the timber effect brings the outside environment inside the building.” www.armstrongceilings.com

Plain sailing for Spaceway Design and build specialist Spaceway has completed an office transformation for Norwegian Cruise Lines’ head office in Southampton. The project brought together several brands under parent Norwegian Cruise Lines.

The interior has been designed with a nautical theme, including a glass partitioning system manufactured with stainless and frameless glass to ensure no joints are visible.

The glass and curved walls of the corridors mirror a ship’s walkways, although transfers on the glass soften the look.

The office space comprises executive suites, meeting rooms, conference rooms, a kitchen and 600 open-plan desks.

A conference centre for up to 30 people can be split into two smaller areas and features boat-shaped tables and trophy cabinets of model cruise liners. www.spaceway.co.uk

Selectaglaze makes the grade in Cambridge Selectaglaze has helped Jesus College at Cambridge University maximise sustainability while retaining the original features of its West Court development.

Having acquired buildings from its neighbour Wesley House, the college commissioned Niall McLaughlin Architects to refurbish the grade II-listed building to make it as heat-efficient as possible.

Selectaglaze fitted more than 100 secondary glazing units – but these have been installed not to detract from the original

WINDOW FILM PLAYS WITH COLOUR Window Film has added the final touches to a fit-out project at the new offices of gaming software company Derivco in Ipswich.

The project required careful planning with other trades to complete the work before the end-user moved in. It involved transforming the majority of the walls and glass panels in the large office. Graphics and wording were 6

primary windows with iron casements set in stone mullions.

A combination of casement and horizontal sliders were selected to match the original design and avoid new sightlines. Finished in anodised bronze, they complement the overall feel of the building.

The installation will help the college reduce its annual energy costs, and the secondary glazing will decrease noise ingress levels for those staying in the accommodation. www.selectaglaze.co.uk

printed onto clear window film to deliver signage and manifestation requirements, while elsewhere digital wallpaper was applied

DSP creates HQ for Robinson Structures DSP (Interiors) has provided an interior design and fit-out package for the new headquarters of construction firm Robinson Structures.

The project, at Eagle Park, Derby, included the erection of a two- and three-storey office facility, which had been compartmented from the factory premises as part of a first phase of fit-out.

The client brief was to showcase the firm’s abilities and design detailing throughout. This meant leaving the building shell exposed for most of the programme, which made design detailing and finishing more intricate.

An array of bespoke design features included: ceiling and lighting rafts; curved corian reception desk with strip light control; training table linked to an AV display unit and lighting; fitted kitchen; curved seating and dining booths; curved vinyl and carpeted flooring down to bare concrete detailing; and a steel and glass boardroom table. www.dsp-solutions.co.uk

using imagery and messaging appropriate to the company.

One of the most eye-catching aspects is the staff breakout room (pictured), where a forest scene has been installed on three walls.

In addition, more functional film was applied to the standard glazing to deliver privacy and solar control. www.windowfilm.co.uk www.thefis.org

FIS ❘ News PRODUCTS CEILING SYSTEMS OWA has introduced Corpus to its OWAconsult Collection – acoustic ‘boxes’ that can be hung anywhere in the ceiling to create individual designs. Created by architect and designer Hadi Teherani, the system includes 10 rectangular or square shapes and an easy-touse connection system. The elements are available in sizes between 520 x 520 x 150mm and 1,120 x 2,320 x 300mm, with designs in S, M, L, XL and XXL. www.owa-ceilings.com DOORS IsoTec is the latest slimline framed door from Planet Partitioning – a glazed door with the visual impact of a frameless system but the structural benefits of a framed one. The slimline perimeter is 1.58mm thick but can withstand impacts caused by debris getting caught at the base of the door.

IsoTec doors can be fitted with pull or lever handles. The partition

Left: Planet Partitioning’s IsoTec glazed door Below: Sektor’s new-look ceiling

framework, doorframe, door leaf perimeter frame and ironmongery, including dropdown seal, can be finished in one colour to ensure coordination.

Alternatively, the panelled glazing effect, with aluminium trims sitting in the same plane as the perimeter framework, provide a flush finish. The door achieves up to 34dB Rw in acoustic testing. www.planetpartitioning.co.uk

CEILING SYSTEMS Sektor, CCF’s interiors solutions brand, has added mineral, metal and lighting products to its ceilings range. These include two fleece-lined mineral tiles with Class A sound absorption rating

(Pearltone Alpha) or Class C (Pearltone). Three Sektor Forte metal tiles are available in clip-in, lay-in and perforated options. In addition, two Sektor Lumos LED lighting panels are available in a warm or cool white.

The slimline lighting range is new to the Sektor offering, and developed with a lower wattage than traditional fluorescent tube lighting to give increased energy efficiency. www.sektorinteriors.com

GRIDS AND ACCESSORIES Rockfon has made changes to its range of Chicago Metallic grid systems and accessories.

The slot distance on the Chicago Metallic T24 and T15 grids has been reduced from 150mm to 100mm, giving six slots on every main runner per 600mm module instead of four.

The systems are now packaged in lighter boxes of less than 20kg.

The Wall Spring FIXT, used to secure perimeter tiles, accommodates multiple edge tiles and can be installed during or after the installation. Rockfon has created three hold-down clips to prevent the ceiling tiles from being misplaced during dismounting, cleaning or impact, or on sloped installations.

Finally, there are new corner caps for the W profile (shadow moulding wall angle). Using W8x12 and W10x15 profiles, installers can now create neater finished corners without gaps. www.rockfon.co.uk

FIS ❘ Interview

A POSITIVE OUTLOOK Andrew Smith, joint managing director, sales and marketing, at OWA (UK), is FIS’s new president. Dean Gurden hears what he plans for his new role What’s your day job and how did your career get here?

I’m the joint managing director of OWA (UK), the UK’s sales office for the largest manufacturer of ceilings in Germany. In the 12 years I’ve been here, we’ve invested in developing the brand and business in the UK. I’ve worked in sales and marketing roles for manufacturers in construction during my whole career.

I started with glassmaker Pilkington as a graduate trainee about 32 years ago. After seven years there, I spent another seven in a joint venture between Pilkington and ceilings manufacturer Ecophon.

And then I had another seven years – the sevens are purely coincidental!

– with fire protection material manufacturer Promat UK. Finally, 12 years ago I was approached by OWA. They weren’t a very visible brand then, but I went over to look at their set-up in Germany and it was stunning.

So here I am and it’s grown very nicely since then.

Where do you see yourself going professionally in the next few years?

This is a good place to be at the moment. We’ve still got a lot of growth potential; and I’m 54 and still feel young, energetic and committed to the business.

My plan is to grow this business to become a much bigger player than it is now. We’ve tripled in size in the past 12 years, but there’s still tremendous scope to grow more.

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We’re what you would call a full-hand player. We manufacture mineral fibre and metal ceilings, and specialist products as well. Our view is that if we are going to become a major player in our markets, we need to have a breadth of product range. So we are not targeting just one or two niches.

Obviously when you’re quite small, you do focus on specific areas to develop. We’ve done quite well in the retail sector, for example – we’re the exclusive supplier for Aldi and we supply over a dozen major retail brands in the UK. Why did you stand for FIS president?

It’s been a progression really. It started when I was at Ecophon and I was on the board of the Suspended Ceilings Association.

I’ve always supported trade associations and I’ve been on the board of FIS, or the AIS as it was previously known, for about six years. I believe in

CAREER 2005-2017 OWA (UK), joint managing director 2005-08 MBA, University of Southampton 1998-2005 Promat, UK sales director/Cape, European marketing director 1992-1998 Ecophon, marketing manager and commercial manager 1985-1992 Pilkington, sales and marketing manager 1986 Diploma, marketing, CIM 1985 Pilkington, graduate marketing trainee 1985 BA (Hons) business studies, Staffordshire University

the role of professional trade bodies and want to support the future development of FIS too.

The most valuable thing about being an FIS member is being able to network with other professionals and major industry players in the UK, which I enjoy. It’s also useful – it’s the place for people who want to be involved with quality. That suits our business and me as a person.

What are your priorities as president?

In a general sense, it’s to continue the development of the organisation.

We are lucky to have David Frise as a charismatic ambassador for the organisation – it’s been great to work with David during the past few years.

But it’s not simply about having achieved something and we’re now satisfied; it needs to be a continuous process of development in a dynamic way – and ‘dynamic’ isn’t a word you always associate with trade associations!

Therefore, one of my priorities as president is to keep encouraging change and continuous improvement within the organisation.

Specifically, we need to shape the organisation to reflect the tremendous opportunities we’ve got with the skills and apprenticeship work we’re doing.

The big news is that we’ve received quite a large sum of money from the CITB recently (see page 22 for more details). Admittedly, it was like pulling teeth, but we’ve got it.

We now need to be respectful about that and collaborate with the CITB. But www.thefis.org

FIS ❘ Interview

“One of my priorities as president is to keep encouraging change and continuous improvement within the organisation” make no mistake, this is a real game-changer for us. It was a brave move on our part – the fact that we invested some of our reserves in a group of people to bid for the funds.

But it was a risk we took to support our industry. There’s a chronic skills shortage and it’s even more important to address this following the vote for Brexit. We need to be in a position where we can support our sector.

We have three priorities as an organisation at the moment. The skills gap is obviously one, but another is technical advice – we want to show that FIS supports and drives technical issues that affect our members. We’re doing a great job in this respect, but more needs to be done.

The third element is about community and bringing people together across the sector through events and projects.

Again, we’re pretty good at that too, but both these things can be developed further.

What do you see as the key issues for FIS members during the two years of your presidency?

One is skills, which I’ve already talked about. The second is economic uncertainty following Brexit.

I think there is a cyclical nature to recessions and we’re kind of due another one. It’s not for me to predict the future, but asset prices are very overvalued at the moment and consumer debt is rising again.

At a certain point, it’s quite possible that there will be a correction. Nobody www.thefis.org

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FIS ❘ Interview What makes you happy?

As I say, I’m blessed with not having a negative outlook on things. I’m a very positive person. I also think I’m very inclusive. I enjoy working with people much more than just being on my own analysing information – although I can do that too.

But I guess I get my psychological payoff from being with, and engaging with, people. I would also say I’m a very committed individual when I do something, and I like to make a difference.

knows when that will happen – the point at which people lose confidence and stop investing and the recession starts – but it is quite likely.

That’s something the organisation needs to be aware of and we need to be able to support our members through the next difficult period.

What impact has the Grenfell Tower fire had on the sector?

There’s the technical impact of Grenfell to consider – what we might call the need for traceability as to what is built and what is installed.

It’s going to put a big burden on manufacturers, as well as the distributors that sold the products, and the installers that have to demonstrate what went into a building.

It doesn’t mean there won’t be value to be had, providing the systems are compliant and properly tested.

You’ve already touched on it, but what do you think will be the main impact of Brexit on the sector?

The only real impact in the past 15 months – I read about this every day and take an interest in economics and business – has been the exchange rate, which has affected us very badly.

A lot of the major manufacturers of building materials are bringing supplies in from mainland Europe. They’ve had a shock since the Brexit vote.

I look at the dollar rate every day.

That’s how significant it is for us – when it drops, it really hurts us. People have got to make changes and price increases.

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Having said that, it has recovered a bit and is a lot better than it was six months ago. You just have to adjust and adapt to reflect the new reality.

What’s been amazing – and something I didn’t predict – is that employment is at a record level. We’re pretty much at full employment. As the negotiations do (or do not) make progress in the next 18 months – and there’s a chance that they won’t – it will bring uncertainty and could cause a lack of investment in the short term.

But in the medium term, I’m still quite optimistic. I think Britain will be fine, and I still think immigrants will come here to work and fill the roles that we need. I really think they’ll find a way for that to happen.

Ironically, I think the devalued pound will possibly even help the economy, with more exporting and less importing. I’m always an optimist!

Andrew Smith in action at the FIS Conference

What makes you angry?

I don’t know about making me angry, but what frustrates me is when politics and blockers get in the way of change.

I accept the fact that as you get older and face more challenges, you have to manage change and find ways and strategies around those challenges. I studied managing change during my MBA and it’s been very helpful in my career.

How do you relax outside of work?

I’m a family man. I married my wife Sue back in 1985 and we started a family three years later.

My son and daughter are grown up now. My wife was very ill about five years ago, but I’m so thankful to say she was finally discharged last week.

We might have lost her.

As for me, I just love being outside. I’ve always enjoyed playing and watching sports. I play golf, but I’m most happy when I’m in the sea in my kayak, swimming around in a river or walking up a hill.

Growing up in Yorkshire has given me a real taste for the outdoors. So, when I lay back in my kayak on a sunny day, I think there’s simply nowhere better to be.

ANDREW SMITH’S FAVOURITES… Reading material: Sunday Times IPod track: Supper’s Ready by Genesis Holiday location: The UK’s south-west coastline City: London TV show: Match of the Day Hobby: Outdoor pursuits Drink: Real ale

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FIS ❘ Conference 2017

Sponsored by

GET IT RIGHT Delegates at this year’s conference – held at Hanbury Manor, Ware in Hertfordshire this month – heard stark messages and urgent calls for action from speakers.

Chris Wheal reports, photographs by Russell Griffith

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he construction industry – and the finishes and interiors sector more than any – needs to radically change. That was the stark message delegates took home from the FIS Conference 2017.

Noble Francis, economics director at the Construction Products Association, said the average pre-tax profit margin of the top 10 construction firms had dropped from 2.9% in 2014 to a loss of 0.5%. For the top 100 firms, the average profit margin was just 2.8%. Something had to change.

Martyn Coyd, head of health and safety at Mace, explained that the industry’s great strides in health and safety had resulted in the lowest number of construction site deaths last year – though the figure was still 30 – but there had been 454 suicides among construction workers.

“Two of our colleagues have killed themselves today,” he said. “If you work in construction, you are 15 times more likely to die from suicide than from an accident.”

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As if that were not staggering enough, he added: “The building finishes trade is the highest risk sector. Plasterers, painters and decorators are at the highest suicide risk.”

The stats are terrifying. Manual labourers are 44% more likely than average to die from suicide; in the skilled trades, men have a 35% higher risk of committing suicide; across the building and finishing trades, the risk of suicide is double the national average for all men, and men account for 81% of all suicides.

Coyd put up a slide showing that the building finishing trades had an even higher risk of suicide than farm workers – traditionally considered the biggest suicide risk occupation.

“I suspect there are lot of self-employed people being squeezed by contracts, people in the gig economy. I’d hate not knowing where I was going to be working next Monday,” he said. Change here would save lives. Change here was crucial. www.thefis.org

Conference 2017 ❘ FIS

David Frise (left) welcomes FIS delegates to Hanbury Manor, where the four keynote speakers (above) shared their hard-hitting views

The human costs add to the financial costs. Mistakes, errors and simple bad planning are losing construction firms 21% of turnover, Tom Barton, executive director of the Get It Right Initiative, said. A common plea from panel members and delegates alike was the need to take more time.

Coyd recalled one very unusual case – a client who told a construction team not to worry about finishing on time but to ensure they continued working at high quality to produce an excellent building.

“We’ve never got the time to make it right – but we’ve always got the time to put it right,” Barton said.

CHANGE OF APPROACH Changing attitudes to plan better, and to stop and replan when things go wrong, reduces errors and help the industry build more for the same money, Barton said.

And when consultant Geoff Wilkinson told delegates about possible changes to building regulations in the wake www.thefis.org

of the Grenfell fire, the need for change was obvious. An electronic poll, conducted during the presentation, asked if delegates felt they needed to change their business model – a staggering 69% said yes.

Main contractor margins remain under stress (see table overleaf), but one part of the construction sector was doing OK, said Francis – housebuilding. Housebuilders’ profits 13

FIS ❘ Conference 2017

Sponsored by

scale self-employment in the construction industry.

Micro-firms – from one-man bands to nine people – made up the largest group. It showed that more people work in these tiny operations than in all the bigger firms put together, with small firms, employing 10 to 49 people the second biggest group.

were effectively paid for by taxpayers through the Help to Buy scheme – or ‘help to sell’, as Wilkinson dubbed it.

Francis put up a chart showing the percentage of homes built that were supported by Help to Buy government subsidies. Gleeson topped the chart with 66%. The amount Help to Buy contributed per home, Francis said, was 14%.

Another chart demonstrated the prevalence of small-

ENERGY CRISIS FIS chief executive David Frise raised concerns about energy use in buildings, coining the phrase ‘broken buildings, broken people’. He flagged up the energy performance gap between what designers expected and what construction firms actually built.

Buildings use between 200% and 400% more energy than expected, he said. Taxpayers need to pay between £9 and £18 a year each to fund the power stations required to produce the extra energy needed. We are all victims; we are all paying the price.

But as Frise pointed out: “It’s impossible to build something that’s only poor on energy. If it’s poor on energy, it has to be poor on everything.”

He despaired at the number of buildings not built to specifications, but which were still seen as exemplars

GEOFF WILKINSON: HISTORY LESSONS Building regulations expert Geoff Wilkinson gave an explosive presentation about how governments have wilfully undermined safe building standards.

Wilkinson lit the fuse with an attack on politicians for labelling the silencing of Big Ben during recent repairs as the ‘biggest tragedy’ facing the country. A far bigger tragedy, he said, was the Grenfell Tower fire – “where we watched, live on our TV, people burn to death”.

Wilkinson pointed out that 87 sets of human remains had been found in Grenfell – that’s 87 human remains not whole humans.

“That is the state of the UK construction industry. That is what we have delivered.

That is what we are all a part of,” he said.

“We are all part of the problem.”

The Grenfell fire would change everything, he said, just as the Great Fire of London had in 1666, when the first building rules were implemented.

It was a regime that went on to be improved, toughened and updated over the years. But that changed after Margaret Thatcher was elected in 1979 when, according to Wilkinson, one Tory Cabinet minister couldn’t get the house extension he wanted because the building regulations insisted on a specified construction type.

In 1984, prescriptive building regulation was effectively scrapped though the Building Act. Instead of setting out what had to be done and how, Wilkinson said, the legislation

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was changed to: “You can comply in any way you like.” As for retrofitting, he added, the rules boiled down to: “You mustn’t make it any worse than it was”.

From then, change has been piecemeal, said Wilkinson, with campaigners putting pressure on politicians to toughen up the regulations often in response to tragedies – actor Amanda Redman campaigned to stop children being scalded by bathwater, for instance.

The Blair/Brown Labour government introduced a Future of Building Control Implementation Plan in 2009, which set out in three-year tranches which regulations would be reviewed and when, so that industry could plan ahead. But, said Wilkinson, the review of Part B covering fire safety, which commenced in 2013, was never implemented.

In 2010, the coalition government, led by David Cameron and Nick Clegg, promised to scrap regulation. Cameron pledged in 2014 to have ‘a bonfire of the building regulations’ – in hindsight, an appalling term. His aim was to cut more than 100 regulations down to 10 and to scrap at least 90% of “thousands of pages” of regulations covering environmental standards.

Wilkinson left the audience in no doubt that the political folly of past governments was a major factor in the tragedies that followed. The 2013 inquiry into the Lakanal House fire of 2009 criticised how Part B was worded and how difficult it was to understand. “The coroner said the building regulations in this country were unintelligible,” Wilkinson said.

Wilkinson raised concern about the product testing regime that developed in the absence of DCLG rules. We still rely on using wood as the fire base, when in reality buildings use a lot of plastic – and plastic causes fires to reach higher temperatures much faster. And a fully tested system – setting out panel size, fixing spacing and so on – might not be the same as that installed on site.

“You only know a product is safe if you use it exactly the way it was used in the test,” Whilkinson said. A product might be tested but then a manufacture might alter the raw materials supplier or the manufacturing process and not re-test.

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Conference 2017 ❘ FIS

Indeed, a spot poll of delegates at the FIS Conference found that just 9% understood the building regulations.

The Shirley Towers fire of 2010 prompted further proposed changes to regulations after falling cables killed fire firefighters. “That is another change to be incorporated into building regulations that has not been enacted, something else that hasn’t happened,” he said.

The government department responsible for building regulations is the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) – or the “department for cutting long grass”, as Wilkinson called it. But in his Budget of 2015, chancellor George Osborne announced that no

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Will offsite manufacturing solve the skills issues?

Yes: 22% No: 78%* Do you think the next 12 months will mean you need to make changes to your current business model?

Yes: 69% No: 31%

changes would be made to building regulations – a move that was “financially driven by the Treasury”, said Wilkinson.

And then came Brexit, and everything ground to a halt. “That’s how we got to Grenfell Tower: nobody taking responsibility, nobody making the necessary changes,” Wilkinson said.

Brexit might have one benefit, he said. At the moment, an architect cannot specify a named product with known test results for a specific use as it falls foul of EU rules that allow suppliers in EU countries to compete under free movement rules. Architects must state that alternatives ‘similar or equal’ may be substituted.

Do you understand the building regulations?

Yes: 9% No: 91%

Wilkinson pointed to the recent testing of seven cladding products certified for use on buildings more than 18 metres high. Four had failed but are used on 228 buildings; two that passed are not used on any buildings; the other one is used on only 13 buildings.

The inspection system was at fault too, said Wilkinson. “One third of the building control officers from the 1980s have retired,” he said, with the rest not far behind.

Even if the standards do get toughened up, there’s going to be a huge shortage of skilled building control inspectors.

• For more views on the building regulations, see page 18

*Sli.do polls on the day

because they looked good. “We all know a building that is poor but still wins an award,” he said.

Frise said the sector could not wait for change to be introduced at the top and trickle down the supply chain.

“It needs massive change at the top, but contractors also have to prove we’ve built the thing we said we would. We need to focus on the product, the process and the people.

It’s no longer going to be acceptable to say: ‘It’s probably going to be alright’,” he insisted.

FIS has already made a good start on tackling these issues, but Frise said it would also help members meet the new building regulations using a process that can be run on a smartphone or tablet-based app.

The app would enable members to track and provide evidence for each task completed from the original worksheets and specification, identifying products used and taking photos of the installation and any testing.

This kind of innovation is crucial. What was clear from the conference was that things cannot stay the same The sector is not going to stay the same. And with suicide risks adding to the mounting regulatory and financial pressures, it is clear the industry faces a chilling choice: change or die.

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Sponsored by

Conference 2017 ❘ FIS

NOBLE FRANCIS: ECONOMIC FORECAST

TOM BARTON: GET IT RIGHT INITIATIVE In an interactive session, Tom Barton, executive director of the Get It Right Initiative, ran though common causes of error that take time to fix. He produced a list that echoed delegates’ views: • I nadequate planning (from task through to project level) • Late design changes • Poorly communicated design information • Poor culture in relation to quality •P oorly coordinated and incorrect design information • I nadequate attention paid in the design to construction •E xcessive commercial (financial and time) pressures • Poor interface management and design • I neffective communication between team members • Inadequate supervisory skills Taking and allowing more time was crucial, alongside having the right skills and not being afraid to ask others for help when your skill and knowledge levels are not up to the task. But changing the industry’s culture was vital. His five suggestions were:

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What are the two most important areas where you would invest time, money and resources?

Skills and understanding 51%* Culture 47% Systems and processes 45% Attitude 31% Information 18% Equipment 6% Operating environment 2% • Follow procedures • Review errors • Seek advice when lacking experience • Adopt a ‘don’t walk by’ attitude • Strive to change attitudes and cultures.

MARTIN COYD: MENTAL HEALTH PRESSURES Following up on his eye-opening revelations at the FIS Conference two years ago, Martin Coyd, head of health and safety at Mace, outlined why the construction industry still needed to do much more to look after its workers’ mental health needs.

Speaking just days before 11 November and Remembrance Sunday, with much of the audience sporting poppies, he said: “A hundred years ago, the biggest killer of young men was war.

Now they kill themselves.”

Anxiety and stress now account for 27 million lost days at work, costing £100bn. One in four have a mental health issue in a year and with as many as 3.6 million people working in the construction industry and supplier side, that was too many to ignore.

The Building Mental Health campaign would provide 45-minute awareness sessions followed by a three-hour training course in mental health first aid, leading to a badge being worn on safety helmets. This would be CITB funded.

And big companies will recognise the qualification and training without insisting on it being repeated again for a new employer, insisted Coyd.

“There are hundreds of thousands of people in a grim place and those are the people we must help bring back by giving them the opportunity to offload and tell people how they feel,” he said.

*Sli.do polls on the day

Construction Products Association economics director Noble Francis was downbeat about the construction sector.

Activity in commercial offices peaked this year but new orders since the Brexit vote were 19% down last year and 24% down in the first half of this year. Francis predicted a 15% drop next year and a 5% fall in 2019.

But on a positive note, he said the situation was not as bad as the 35% fall after the financial crisis. And demand from technology, media and telecoms remains high, with demand for shared workspaces growing.

In the retail sector, the traditional supermarkets were struggling as Aldi and Lidl expand, said Francis. These two disruptor retailers are looking for big out-of-town shops that will attract other retailers to join them.

In education, Francis predicted a 3.6% drop in activity this year and a flat year in 2019, though the sector is set to suffer if student numbers fall as a result of Brexit.

Not surprisingly, new projects in the health sector are set for a similar fall of 3.2% in 2018 and then flat in 2019.

Brexit negotiations represented nothing but bad news for construction, with the UK government labelling the sector as a low priority sector in the discussions, Francis said. Yet the sector has serious skills shortages, high use of EU immigrant labour, especially in London, and even without tariffs, Francis wondered, products would be stopped at borders and checked, causing delays.

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FIS ❘ Technical

CHANGE

IS COMING After the horrors of Grenfell, the construction industry’s failings have never been more harshly scrutinised. Ahead of a full-scale review of the building regulations, Amanda Birch hears what the experts have to say on the matter

T

he fire at Grenfell Tower in London this summer, in which at least 80 people are known to have died, not only raised serious questions about the safety of tall buildings, but has also ushered in a wide-ranging review of the building regulations.

According to Mark Farmer, chief executive of consultancy Cast, the devastating events of the night of 14 June have highlighted problems endemic within the construction industry.

“What we’ve got now is the potential for one of the most far-reaching analyses of the construction industry in a long, long time, all borne out by the realisation that we have some very deep-seated systemic problems,” he says.

“I don’t think there will be one particular part of the whole process singled out. It’s everything – from how clients brief their team,

Mark Farmer 18

all the way through to how buildings are delivered, handed over and, in post-occupancy, how they are managed.”

An independent review led by Dame Judith Hackitt, chair of manufacturers organisation the EEF, is examining the building regulations and fire safety, particularly relating to high-rise residential buildings.

The government announced the review after large-scale fire tests showed that at least 82 residential high-rises use a combination of cladding and insulation (the same combination used on Grenfell Tower) that do not meet fire safety standards.

We do not yet know what the review’s recommendations are – an interim report will be presented at the end of this year, with a final report next spring – but we do know what it will tackle. The government’s Independent Review

Geoff Wilkinson

of Building Regulations and Fire Safety: terms of reference summarises the task ahead: l Map the current regulatory system (regulations, guidance and processes) as it applies to new and existing buildings through planning, design, construction, maintenance, refurbishment and change management l Consider the competencies, duties and balance of responsibilities of key individuals in the system in ensuring that fire safety standards are adhered to l Assess the theoretical coherence of the current regulatory system and how it operates l Compare this with other international regulatory systems for buildings, and regulatory systems in other sectors that have similar safety risks l Make recommendations that ensure the regulatory system is fit for purpose, with a focus on multi-occupancy high-rise residential buildings.

Farmer, along with building control expert Geoff Wilkinson, director of Wilkinson www.thefis.org

FIS ❘ Technical

Construction Consultants, anticipates that the review will result in a tightening of the building regulations. It will reduce the number of options to comply, increasing accountability – and the need for justifications about variations – to that guidance, says Wilkinson.

In the process of reviewing the system, he wants to see both sides – the regulation setters and the regulation followers – working together. “I would like to see the people from the Department for Communities and Local Government being more engaged, visiting building sites and walking around with inspectors so that they see the issues on the ground on a day-to-day basis,” he says.

“There’s no huge appetite for the building regulations to become totally prescriptive. We already experienced this in the 1980s, when innovation was held back and new products were prevented from coming onto the market.

“The main concern, though, is limiting the substitution of materials during the course of a project – so a contractor swapping one material www.thefis.org

Large-scale fire tests showed that at least 82 residential high-rises use a combination of cladding and insulation that do not meet fire safety standards

for another would require more detailed approval than is currently the case. In many instances, Building Control aren’t even notified that a material has been changed.”

PRODUCT SWITCHING This has long been a cause for concern. And product substitution is believed to have occurred in the cladding system specified at Grenfell, where two different types of insulation were used in different parts of the building and a fire-rated aluminium panel was substituted for a non-fire-rated aluminium panel.

Swapping products within composite panels is also a problem in the partitioning sector, says Wilkinson. A particular make of plasterboard will be specified with a particular brand of insulation and make of stud, for example. But if the plasterboard is replaced by another make, this can invalidate the test certificate.

Paul Tollervey, head of technical UK and Ireland at Knauf, explains: “All drywall systems 19

FIS ❘ Technical (plasterboards, steel stud sections, fixings and accessories) are tested to demonstrate a range of performance parameters – fire, acoustics and robustness. If one product within this system is substituted for another, the performance of this new system will change – which is why each manufacturer’s proprietary systems are always recommended.”

Product substitution is found in retail fit-out too, as contractors value engineer a project in response to constrained budgets and tight time-scales.

“The risk of product substitution has definitely grown, and some of that is down to pressures on site,” agrees Farmer. “There’s also a culture that’s emerged and got worse over the past 10 to 15 years – lowest cost procurement, with everyone trying to get the cheapest possible solution. It’s clear that in some cases, this is having an impact on functional performance.

“But when that functional performance is the difference between something being flammable or not, that takes it to a whole different level.”

Misleading claims by product manufacturers have come to light since the Grenfell fire, says Wilkinson. For instance, a label may indicate that a product is fire-rated, but it is not made clear that it is only fire-rated when used in combination with another product or in a particular location.

So how can those in the interiors sector be confident they are using fully tested products, assembled correctly and fully compliant?

One route is the full-scale testing of an installation, known as BRE 135. Tollervey says this is standard practice for his company. “We would only recommend fully complaint Knauf systems that have been tested by UKAS’s approved party,” he says.

“Whether the system is for exterior walls that may have been used on buildings such as Grenfell Tower, or a system that could be used in the commercial fit-out sector, we offer a full system performance warranty based on that and it gives the customer confidence that what they are installing has been tested and approved.”

Although these large-scale tests are expensive and only apply to a one-off installation, Tollervey insists that testing products within a system is the way forward for providing confidence in the market.

TACKLING THE SKILLS GAP It’s widely agreed that more people with the right skills and qualifications are required to carry out preventative measures and on-site supervision.

“There is a mind set in construction to design down to the building regulations and cut costs as much as possible – whatever the 20

the right aptitude into our industry.”

The experts have different ideas on how the construction industry can tackle this problem. Farmer believes the government has a central role to play, but he believes it’s a much bigger issue than building control – it’s about modernising the whole industry and improving its image to attract more young people.

Meanwhile, in response to skilled labour shortages, some manufacturers are looking at ways of making the installation process less complex. Given the dwindling supply of plasterers, for example, Knauf has come up with a plastering product that can be sprayed on more easily.

“We’ve looked at how we can use modern methods of construction in the application of the products we sell, to supplement a reduction in a skilled labour force,” says Tollervey.

“I’d like to see the people from the DCLG more engaged, visiting sites and walking around with inspectors so they see the issues on the ground on a day-to-day basis”

minimum is to pass,” says Wilkinson. “But in the car industry, no one ever designs down to the minimum level of the MOT. “This has to be changed and the only way is by toughening up the enforcement side – and that includes traceability.”

Whoever is responsible for overseeing this needs to be able to double-check calculations and scrutinise what’s been installed, and that takes experience and strong technical knowledge. But high-calibre professionals with these kinds of qualities are in short supply in the UK construction industry.

“Forget who’s qualified and competent already,” comments Farmer. “We have a really big issue around attracting new people with the right skill sets, the right competencies and

COMPLIANCE TOOL FIS chief executive David Frise says the association is consulting with members about developing a tool to demonstrate compliance – using a mobile phone or tablet to photograph a product delivery note, for example, or to scan a site worker’s CSCS card.

“You’ve got the product, the process and the people tied up in one place, and that becomes a record for the contractor of what was done before a wall or partition was closed off,” explains Frise. “It also gives the client peace of mind that the installation has been carried out correctly.”

Farmer and Wilkinson agree that digital technology, including BIM, is crucial in helping to alleviate traceability issues. In fact, Wilkinson foresees technology increasingly take over human tasks – 3D laser scans and drones scanning buildings as they’re built, checking against the design whether features such as fire doors, plug sockets, fire stoppers and cavity barriers are in the correct place.

“This technology is expensive,” he says. “But if a project has been designed in BIM and the regulations are produced in BIM (enabling the computer model to self-check), then the contractor can prove compliance by saying they carried out a daily 3D laser scan.

“This would prove that what was built was an exact replica of the design; a building inspector would not be needed; and that would result in significant cost savings.”

The government should support this by insisting that all government-funded projects be put through such a process, he adds.

This would in turn encourage businesses to invest in the technology, gradually making it standard practice.

Wilkinson acknowledges this would require a complete culture change within the construction industry, but adds: “We’re seeing this already with home technology and driverless cars. So I believe it’s possible.” www.thefis.org

FIS ❘ Skills

CAUGHT ON CAMERA FIS Skills’ iBuiltThis competition has stirred up some welcome positive vibes this summer

A

n FIS campaign to attract more people into construction – #iBuiltThis2017 – has given people of all ages a chance to show off their building skills this summer.

Divided into three age groups – 13 and under; 14 to 18; and 19 and over – participants were asked to submit a selfie photo of themselves with their building project. The

competition ran throughout September after a social media launch, attracting entries from builders using everything from Jenga blocks to house bricks to garden leaves.

The winners, whose submissions are pictured below, were revealed by Channel 4 TV presenter George Clarke (pictured above) at UK Construction Week (UKCW) in October.

13 and under: Kendrick Long – New Three Little Pigs, a mix of gardening materials, chopsticks and Lego bricks. He won a family package to Legoland, and Brendan Williams, CEO of category sponsor Building Heroes, collected the award on his behalf at UKCW.

14-18: Emily Ash, representing Brooklands College in Surrey – wall and cavity synoptic testing project. She won an iPhone 8, and Jenny Herdman from category sponsor the Home Builders Federation accepted the award at UKCW.

19 and over: Carwyn Jones – the Dragon’s Eye cabin. He won an overnight stay at a top London hotel, plus a trip on the London Eye. He collected his award from Colin Teagle of sponsor Silver Trowel and George Clarke.

Judges Award for Excellence: Frankie Bicker – lime and fibrous plastering restoration at the Royal Academy of Arts. He won a GoPro camera, and Lydia Sharples from category sponsor Nevill Long collected the award.

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George Clarke presents award to Carwyn Jones

FIS Skills delivery director Helen Yeulet explained the thinking behind iBuiltThis.

“It’s by the construction industry, for the construction industry.

It’s about working together to get people into the sector.”

There was little doubt it’s succeeded in this so far. Cross-industry sponsorship included Nevill Long, Tapper Interiors, Vela Training, the Home Builders Federation, the NVQ Training Centre, Silver Trowel, Building Heroes and Career Colleges. And the judging panel represented a wide range of disciplines: • Amanda Clack, president, RICS • Steve Coley, president, FIS • Mark Farmer, founder and CEO, Cast • Steve Neilson, managing director, Worksmart Contracts • Jack Parsons, CEO, YourFeed.com • Wyn Prichard, director of construction skills and business strategy, NPTC Group • Brendan Williams, founder and CEO, Building Heroes • George Clarke, architect and TV host.

There was no shortage of innovation on display among the winners. In his submission, six-year-old Kendrick wrote: “This is the modern Three Little Pigs’ homes. The first little pig has a yurt tent made of plants; the second little pig built a house made of recycled chopsticks; the third little pig built a strongest house made of Lego bricks.”

Meanwhile, 17-year-old Emily, who’s looking to start her construction career with bricklaying, decided “to build a wall using my L1 NVQ skills and apply my cavity wall synoptic skills to withstand strict testing”.

More ambitiously, Carwyn Jones, a 44-year-old self-employed carpenter and joiner from Aberystwyth, created his own cabin inspired by Welsh folklore. And 24-year-old Franckie Bicker, a trainee at Artisan Plastercraft in Kent, was commended for his part in the Royal Academy of Arts’ 250th birthday revamp.

Judge Mark Farmer commented: “FIS is responding in a positive and creative way to the industry’s attraction and retention challenge. iBuiltThis will play its part in getting our industry fitter for the future.”

With the support of sponsors assured, and great enthusiasm from the likes of George Clarke, next year’s competition is expected to be bigger and better and run over a longer period.

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FIS ❘ Skills

DISRUPTIVE INFLUENCE

FIS Skills is on a mission – to bring about a dynamic, collaborative change to training that connects employers, colleges and local authorities to overcome the skills crisis. We find out how it’s been shaking things up

T

here’s been plenty of discussion about a skills crisis in recent years, and FIS’s Training Needs Analysis last year only added to the volume. It highlighted growing concern among its members about an ageing workforce that’s not being replaced quickly enough by a new generation of workers.

The challenge now is to turn this talk into action. The pressure is on to raise the profile of construction at schools and in colleges, to make it an attractive career prospect for

young people and job hunters to get into – and stay in.

Following a 10-month application process, FIS secured £2.1m CITB funding in October to really get to grips with the problem.

To start with, the association is using the funds to roll out its BuildBack scheme, which was launched earlier this year to help jobseekers into a drylining career. It’s also focusing on promoting the sector more vigorously among colleges of further education and employers.

BuildBack

BuildBack was launched earlier this year in north-east England with two cohorts of 10 trainees (see FIS Focus June 2017). Participants took part in two weeks of training at Tyne Metropolitan College to learn the skills and competencies for installing drylining, followed by a two-week work placement on site with a local employer.

Of these, four participants were offered jobs as a direct result of this pilot programme.

“Two others got jobs elsewhere,” says FIS Skills project manager Paul Glover, “but both of them said BuildBack gave them a feeling of self-worth and confidence, which they believed helped them secure employment.”

The CITB money means this positive start can be taken forward to other parts of the UK. Glover is working with existing FIS-approved colleges up and down the country to set up new cohorts, as well as signing up additional colleges and engaging with local employers. And he’s expanding the training offer to cover all aspects of fit-out, not just drylining.

Two new cohorts of 10 are expected to begin training this month – one in Sussex, another in Hampshire – and there may well be more.

Construction firm Astins, which already has its own training academy, has hooked up with FIS to begin a new round of BuildBack training in November.

Astins HR and training manager Rebecca Hislam says: “The big thing is, it’s a coordinated effort, which gives job hunters more widespread opportunities in many different fields. We’re really pleased to take part in BuildBack – it gives us access to really good people, and it shows that drylining involves serious skill and training.”

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FIS ❘ Skills

Engagement in training has long been a problem within the sector. Main contractors and housebuilders are legally obliged to recruit apprentices and retrain, but this requirement inevitably gets passed on, and watered down, through the supply chain. This leaves a typical FIS member with the problem of delivering and evidencing adherence to these requirements.

“Contractors won’t train; they subcontract,” says FIS Skills delivery director Helen Yeulet.

“And workers only train to get a CSCS card to get on site, not because they want to learn.”

FIS’s training survey earlier this year showed that two-thirds of FE college students don’t end up in construction and are not seen as ‘site ready’ – although four weeks’ work vastly increases their job prospects.

“Fix this and the skills shortage issue in the industry almost vanishes,” says Yeulet.

Part of the problem is that the processes by which employers offer on-site work experience are prohibitive, involving health and safety concerns as well as legal checks for mentoring those aged under-18. “It all appears like too much paperwork for very little return,” says Yeulet. “Yet employers won’t employ them straight from college as they aren’t site ready.

So FIS acts as the enabler – smoothing the process for employers to train and matching them with trainees by working with approved training providers and FE colleges. It’s a list that spans more and more of the UK: • Newcastle – Tyne Metropolitan College • Yorkshire – Barnsley College Construction Centre; Sheffield College

© CITB

Spreading the word

• Hampshire – Basingstoke College of Technology • West Sussex – Chichester College • London – South East Colleges; Barking & Dagenham College • Wales – Neath and Port Talbot College (NPTC) Group of Colleges.

And several other colleges are in the process of signing up with FIS, including Manchester College, South Lanarkshire College, and Wigan and Leigh College.

The new CITB funding will be used to spread the FIS message around FE colleges, local authorities and employers across the country.

FIS will outline the breadth of trade options available, and help FE colleges match their courses to local industry requirements. For example, says Yeulet: “Too many trainees are put on plastering courses, but drylining is the greater need.”

The association will also link employers with colleges to provide local on-site work experience and direct training. And it will attract new entrants into the sector via programmes designed to prove that decent training results in a well-paid job.

Wyn Pritchard, who oversees the NPTC Group of Colleges in Wales, is FIS’s key partner in the principality. “Working with employers and the sector is key to delivering the skills and experience demanded by the industry,” he says.

“The approach by FIS can only enhance the image, skills development and apprentices needed at this crucial time.

“In Wales, we have a devolved skills agenda through the Welsh government, which presents opportunities for the partnership to develop new approaches and solutions, something we are already discussing with FIS. It is an exciting time for us both and the sector.”

Action on CRO cards FIS is bidding for a further £500,000 of CITB funding to tackle another impending crisis – the phasing out of CRO cards over the next five years.

Construction Related Occupation (CRO) cards have until now been available to people working in trades not covered by Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) cards – taping and jointing, for example – to get them on site to work. But as of April, CSCS ceased issuing these cards and will not be renewing them. The focus now – especially in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire – is on giving every construction worker a virtual, updatable passport setting out their qualifications and competencies.

“Having all construction workers equipped with the right card in the right place and time has never been more important,” says FIS’s Helen Yeulet. “We want LOSCs to be

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knowledgeable about specified products, and for evidence of this to be on their virtual passport.”

But while the long-term aim is clearly positive, in the short term the interiors sector will be badly hit by the withdrawal of CRO cards. Over the next five years, some 86,000 workers will be affected, leaving thousands of labour-only subcontractors to pay their own way to an NVQ Level 2 to back get on site – at a cost of about £900 each.

FIS is in early discussions with CITB on ways to help LOSCs meet the cost of this training.

But in the meantime, its focus is on attracting qualified assessors into the sector to handle the surge in training this will eventually bring.

“The fundamental problem is money,” says Glover. “You can earn a lot more money working on site as a dryliner than as an assessor.”

The key message from FIS is that being an

assessor is a positive career move, particularly for older professionals or those with children who’d prefer a more flexible work schedule.

And, given how much expertise is lost as older workers leave construction for less physically demanding jobs, by expanding the assessor network, FIS stands to improve the sector’s career profile and its pipeline of knowledge.

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FIS ❘ Roundtable

A recent FIS roundtable debate – sponsored by BRE and the International WELL Building Institute, and conducted under Chatham House rules – enabled industry specialists to discuss well-being solutions for office buildings Round the table

• David Frise, chief executive, FIS • Joe Cilia, technical director, FIS • Martin Townsend, director, BRE • Ann Marie Aguilar, director of operations, Europe, IWBI • Victoria Lockhart, director of business development, Europe, IWBI • Joe Croft, head of environmental and sustainability, Overbury & Morgan Lovell • Ed Dixon, environment manager, Land Securities • Zoe French, environmental and sustainability manager, Overbury & Morgan Lovell • Martin Gettings, group head of sustainability, Canary Wharf Group • Philippa Gill, partner, Verdextra • Elina Grigoriou, director, Grigoriou Interiors • Oliver Heath, director, Oliver Heath Design • Paige Hodsman, concept development office environments, UK and Ireland, Ecophon • Richard Hollis, associate director, AECOM • Katie Livesey, associate director, Anthesis • Mark Randall, managing director, IOR • David Savage, technical director, HKS • Steve Thompson, associate director and head of digital manufacturing, PCSG • Jon Khoo, innovation partner, Interface 24

CALL FOR A

ction, not words, was the FIS clarion call when it pooled industry expertise on health and well-being with the support of the Building Research Establishment – which operates the BRE Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) – and the International WELL Building Institute.

Practical steps to make every office fit-out meet the health and well-being needs of the office workers within – not just more talk – was the demand. What resulted was an impressive array of ideas.

The industry needs to challenge preconceptions and change minds. But in this area, crucially, the focus needs to be from the bottom up, not just the top down.

Educating and empowering office workers to seek improvements to the places in which they spend many hours a day was one ground-breaking idea. “If we can create consumer demand for well-being, we can change a lot quicker than if we must convince the top down that there is a return on investment,” was the view of one delegate.

There were even suggestions that the industry should encourage the BBC, or other broadcasters, to include programmes about health and well-being in the workplace – shifting perceptions of good design away from

the soft furnishings and matching curtains of so many TV design shows.

The problems with the traditional top-down approach were plain, said participants.

“Middle-aged white men at the top are the stumbling block,” said one. Another added: “I met a CEO who thought that as he’d had to struggle in terrible conditions, and coped with it, everyone else should.”

For these leaders, budgets are more important than well-being. “Economics is a tool, but it’s become the aim,” said one.

Anything to do with health and well-being, and its natural partner sustainability, is seen as an unnecessary add-on – not core, but a waste.

The word “emotion” is often seen as a dirty word by this generation of managers, a sign of weakness. And that results in a problem for everyone who works for them.

Then there’s the fact that most tenants never meet their landlords and that most landlords are pension and investment funds whose main concern is income, not the people paying into the pensions.

Even if they own a building that’s operated with high standards and expectations, said one delegate: “If someone says: ‘I’ll take four floors but I’m not following your rules’, you’ll take that rent.”

These are the people who need targeting,

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FIS ❘ Roundtable

REVOLUTION “We have associated value with cost but the two are not linked. What is valuable to you and your staff is more important”

agreed delegates, with real data on the return on investment of well-being in design and management of buildings. They need educating on what it is and why it is important.

Pictured, clockwise from bottom: Martin Townsend and David Frise; Zoe French; Philippa Gill; Mark Randall; Richard Hollis www.thefis.org

MAKING CONNECTIONS Different stakeholders need to be brought together, they said. One delegate cited a meeting between human resources, facilities management, the project manager and the designer, who all learned from each other as misconceptions and misunderstandings about each other’s needs and restrictions were exposed through conversation.

Pension funds and other investor owners need to meet with tenants, delegates agreed.

And customers should meet suppliers throughout the supply chain so there are more open and transparent conversations, breaking down mistrust.

But this is long-term, hard work. And the real change will only happen when the next generation of managers takes over, bringing 25

FIS ❘ Roundtable “The mind-set of some people won’t change: they will have higher sickness costs and staff turnover tomorrow than they have today” Pictured this page, clockwise from right: Ann Marie Aguilar; Martin Gettings; Jon Khoo; Joe Cilia; Steve Thompson; David Frise; Ed Dixon more modern ideas and expectations with them. To really speed up change, a revolutionary approach is needed, working from the bottom up.

The conversation was radical: “We need to democratise well-being. We need to make it mainstream. We need to think: ‘how do we avoid company boards?’,” was one comment.

“We need to empower people to tell the decision-makers that they don’t like their offices,” said another.

It starts with the youngest, said another: “We need to teach our children to tell their teachers that they don’t like their classrooms.”

That means using a different language. It means office labelling – like food labelling – that highlights issues such as air pollutant levels and noise dampening. It means explaining in simple terms the benefits of different aspects of well-being and how it affects workers, not bosses and bottom lines.

There was concern among participants about over-simplifying well-being, which could undermine the design and management skills needed. Any consumer awareness campaign should clarify that different people respond in different ways and a well-designed office incorporates elements that suit a variety of people doing a plethora jobs with multiple ways of working.

“People must not assume that what works for one will work for all. We are each different and will respond in different ways,” was one comment.

Well-being should not be reduced to a tickbox list or simple rules, but needs to be explained in simple-enough terms for people to embrace it – a tough ask, everyone agreed.

VOICE OF THE WORKERS Attention turned to those working in offices.

For this bottom up approach to work, workers need to have the means, channels and encouragement to speak up and make demands. Few do, for fear of being painted as a troublemaker, at best putting their career on hold and at worst facing the sack. “How do we as an employee get listened to?” asked one delegate.

This was where the idea of engaging with the 26

“When everyone realises that the built environment is crap they will vote with their feet. Do we want to be behind, or do we want to be disruptive?” media to promote well-designed office and work environments in an interesting and entertaining way came alive.

“Design is being taken out of the process.

You see a space plan and a furnishings board, but there’s no design involved,” said a participant. “The social norm is what is on TV. We need a different TV design show.”

The third sector – charities, nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and campaign groups – was seen as a potential model. An office well-being campaign should study their tactics and borrow the best, using online petitions and social media to spread messages and lobby for change.

Several delegates believed a trickle of ideas can quickly turn into a flood. A few floors in an office building using the best in well-being and design would be noticed by those passing to other floors and less healthy offices. Those people will want to consider the office environment when they make their next career choice.

“Young people are far more healthconscious,” said one participant. “They know what they are putting into their bodies. They will choose their employer accordingly.”

And many new graduates are already much more health conscious and pollutant-aware.

They understand the importance of health and www.thefis.org

FIS ❘ Roundtable “Change only happens when the risk of not changing is greater than the risk of change”

Pictured this page, clockwise from left: Kate Livesey; Paige Hodsman; Martin Townsend; Victoria Lockhart; David Savage; Oliver Heath; Joe Croft; and Elina Grigoriou (centre)

“We’re conditioned to think that although the office is too dirty, too hot and too noisy to work, because I get a pay cheque at the end of the month, that’s OK” well-being and will be choosing their employers on that basis. Those with the poor offices will struggle to recruit.

Added up, it’s an impressive manifesto, but there are huge risks and challenges to overcome. Post-Grenfell, participants were concerned that regulations for fire safety could have unintended consequences, reducing natural ventilation, introducing more pollutants and slashing sustainability.

Even swinging public opinion behind well-being and health issues could hurt the sustainable side of development, which should go hand in hand with well-being. That had to be watched carefully too. www.thefis.org

Another risk was the industry itself failing to live up to the ideals it was promoting. The biggest killer of construction workers is suicide. Construction sites do not live up to health and well-being standards. And that is not just for the manual trades.

Architects, surveyors and project managers might have fine offices but can spend “four years and windowless basement” as one put it, while running a major construction project. If the industry itself cannot make improvements for its own staff, it cannot tell others to ‘do as it says, not as it does’.

And little steps were not enough, the panel agreed. A real concern is that the beancounters

and the grey suits agree to make minor changes and not go the whole hog. “The risk is if getting through only results in ‘what are we going to do to make things a little less bad?’ when what we need is to clear the decks and start again,” was how one contributor put it.

The first step in this campaign is to find and publish and promote exemplars – real examples where health and well-being has worked, been measured and success recorded.

There are now studies that are starting to empirically measure the improvements and financial benefits – that elusive return on investment – that well-being being designed in to offices can bring. Measured reductions in staff turnover, quantified improved productivity, recorded reduced sickness and absenteeism all needed to be demonstrated.

The industry needs to produce more and to promote it more widely.

Case studies are crucial too. Offices where well-being has been integral need to shout and sing about their success. Firms should produce factsheets and data sheets and release their environment measurements of noise, pollutants, air quality, alongside the human, subjective comments of the office workers.

It goes back down the supply chain too. One contributor had asked all suppliers for detailed information on their products sustainability and well-being measurements, despite knowing most would not produce them, or be able to produce them. The company was then helping its five biggest suppliers to compile that information so that the next time they asked, it would be easier.

If everyone did the same, producing that data – and choosing products with better scores – would become the norm. One manufacturer also said that the industry should demand new products to meet their requirements – “you demand it, we will make it’” was the message. The demand for change came from all sectors of the industry from the top to the bottom of the supply chain.

It may be 100 years since the Russian Revolution but the construction industry is about to face a revolution of its own. Wellbeing is the new ideology. The (internal) walls are about to come tumbling down.

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SCOTTISH AWARDS 2017 FIS’s second Scottish Awards Lunch – sponsored by CCF and Forza Doors, and held at the Principal Edinburgh on 6 October – paid tribute to winners in six categories. Guest speaker and former criminal defence lawyer Bill Copeland was there to hand out the awards

THE JUDGES

Peter Walters and Howard Winter

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 • Partitioning • Plasterwork • Judges’ Award • Apprentice of the Year

Awards ❘ Interior Fit Out

Sponsored by CCF

GOLD VEITCHI INTERIORS Project: Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel, Glasgow Architect: Holmes Miller This first stage of the hotel’s 168-bedroom remodelling project was declared “a must for Gold”. An initial 12 bedrooms were fitted with the must-haves for conference delegates and leisure guests – Rain Showers, wifi, smart TV – and modern furnishing and light fittings. Having been appointed main contractor in January 2016, Veitchi completed the programme in eight weeks. The hotel remained fully operational during the works, which also involved new sanitary ware; floor and wall tiling; floor coverings; partitioning and joinery works; redecoration; and new M&E. The judges said: “The programme to remodel 12 bedrooms was awarded to Veitchi with high expectation. They certainly delivered. The room refurbishment was completed to a very high specification and standard.

All this whilst having to operate in a fully operational hotel.”

SILVER WORKSMART CONTRACTS Project: Ellis Whittam office, Glasgow Worksmart teamed up with the client and designer to create new offices for business services provider Ellis Whittam. The project required detailed off-site bespoke and system manufacturing before work could begin. The fit-out included various services, joinery, ceilings, partitioning and double-glazed partitioning, glazed and timber doors, decoration, floor coverings and graphics, manifestations and signage. The judges applauded the “very high standard – despite the amount of off-site manufacturing”. They acknowledged that the open-plan design “was in fact an area occupied by noisy marketing staff, and lawyers requiring quiet. But white sound was introduced and produced the perfect environment for all concerned”. They also admired the subtle soft furnishing, which provided acoustic support.

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Awards ❘ Suspended Ceilings

Sponsored by Nevill Long

GOLD DV MCCOLL Project: Ayrshire College, Kilmarnock Campus Architect: Keppie This project involved the supply and installation of many types of suspended ceiling – 10,000m2 of Armstrong ceilings; Hydroboard and a range of Ultima finishes, some floating in classroom areas and capped using 50mm Axiom Profile; British Gypsum ceilings and bulkheads; Gyptone acoustic encasements to beams within the atrium; Oranit Shiluvit Western Red Cedar wooden ceilings in the refectory; and Soundhush acoustic rafts and panels to various areas. The judges highlighted one challenging aspect of this this “very large” project – “the acquisition of a suitably large scissor lift to enable the extremely high atrium ceilings to be installed”.

They added: “Undertaking waste segregation whilst installing over 14,000m2 of ceilings with precision and overall quality throughout is no mean achievement. Well worthy of Gold.”

SILVER BRIAN HENDRY INTERIORS Project: Control Room, Hunterston B Power Station, Ayrshire Works to operator EDF’s control room at this nuclear power station consisted of the supply and installation of an Armstrong Seismic system on a 1,800mm wide, 45º slope – “a first for Scotland”.

The system, with a higher rating than normal, was required to ensure the station remains functional and safe at all times. The site, accessed through a temporary opening, involved operatives working on their knees over a sealed crash deck, with the fully operational control room at heightened alert throughout. The deck was fitted with a protective cover to prevent contamination to the control room, and all debris had to be cleared immediately. The judges commented: “This suspended ceiling may look straightforward, but it’s one of the first Seismic sytems in the UK, with the added complication of a slope. Exacting design requirements included every fixing, spacing and bracing checked and certified to meet exhaustive calculations regarding movement and potential stress. The 225m2 project took two years to bring to completion and had to be right first time – no snagging.”

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Awards ❘ Partitioning

GOLD WORKSMART CONTRACTS Project: Glasgow Housing Association, Kingsway Court, Glasgow Architect: Creanor Consultancy Worksmart was appointed to create, build and fit out this site, spread over four high-rise blocks, to provide new offices for Glasgow’s housing team. It constructed the offices using stone cladding, aluminium shop fronts and windows, and liquid plastic

Sponsored by Ocula Systems

roof. Komfort double-glazed partitioning gives 49dB sound attenuation, while Sonic P double-glazed doors separate the office into sections while maintaining an open-plan feel.

The double-glazed partitioning forms a variety of soundsensitive areas, including a boardroom, various managers’ rooms and interview rooms. “A straightforward brief was provided by the GHA for a robust, cost-effective, high sound performance system, forming rooms that require absolute confidentiality,” summarised the judges. “This was an excellent installation in a tight space, earning the right to Gold.”

Awards ❘ Plasterwork

GOLD DAVID FISHER & SONS (EDINBURGH) Project: Botanic Cottage, Edinburgh Architect: Simpson & Brown This Scottish Heritage Property, built in 1760 and saved from demolition in 2008, had been resited, stone by stone, in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh. David Fisher was appointed to handle the interior heritage plasterwork, the results of which “will doubtless attract many visitors”, agreed the judges. Carried out by a team of two tradesmen, a labourer and an apprentice, the works included lime plaster to the hard, lath and lime plaster and cornice works. The judges also noted: “A mix of horse and goat hair had to be used as it was a heritage site, closely scrutinised to ensure historical correctness. The plasterwork is outstanding and completely complements the development.”

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Awards ❘ Judges Award

Sponsored by Minster

SILVER VEITCHI INTERIORS Project: New student accommodation, Haddington Place, Edinburgh

GOLD WORKSMART CONTRACTS Project: Gaiety Theatre, Ayrshire Architect: Austin-Smith:Lord Hailed as a “big, big Gold from the judges”, Worksmart worked with the client and designer for 30 weeks to ensure pre-booked performances could be held the week after handover. Four floors and the main auditorium were fully refurbished, including a new stage, to restore this listed building to its former glory. The judges were in no doubt: “The Ayr Gaiety Partnership spent years raising £2.5m to refurbish this theatre, which was in severe disrepair. Worksmart’s team of 33 trades handled asbestos removal, structural alterations, carpeting, seat recovering, radiator refurbishing, roofing works, rot work, bespoke joinery, specialist plastering, ventilation, lighting, CCTV and security systems, AV and ornate plastering. The logistical issues of scaffolding for so many working areas and craning in material made this a truly difficult and complex project.”

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The project – to create a six-storey Metframe lightweight steel structure forming 240 student residencies – involved a variety of external finishes, including stone cladding to the main elevation, and several terraced roof areas. Working from a podium platform, Veitchi built all load-bearing external and internal walls, metal decking, concrete floors, stairs and roof, including timber decking.

The restricted site between two existing buildings meant all external and internal load-bearing walls were prefabricated off-site, with Veitchi operating a strict just-in-time delivery schedule. The judges commented: “Precise collaboration with the Metframe design team was needed to ensure the design was fully BIM compliant.

Given that this was the first Metframe project installed

by Veitchi, it was a brave decision to take on the project.

But the finished job confirms what a great decision it was. A well earned Silver.”

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Awards ❘ Apprentice of the Year

Sponsored by Komfort Partitioning

RUNNER-UP KIERAN TARLETON Ceiling fixer, Roskel Contracts

WINNER JORDAN MCKAY Ceiling fixer, Brian Hendry Interiors

Hailed as a “great candidate for this award based on his development, personality and general contribution to the company”, Kieran was praised for his positive attitude to work and to other tradesman on site. “Kieran shows a keen willingness to learn and has taken the initiative when put to task.” Tradesman were impressed at how quickly Kieran had picked up the basics, and his willingness to carry out awkward aspects of an installation – as he says: “It needs to be done, and I need to learn”.

“Kieran has always been positive – a pretty good quality to have, given the many challenges that come up. He has a likable, friendly manner, and whilst still young, he is a confident lad who will continue to do well.”

Having switched trades from plumbing to ceilings, Jordan quickly marked himself out as an “attentive, well mannered worker” at Brian Hendry Interiors, and “a pleasure to work with”. One week into his apprenticeship, he damaged his knee playing football – but quickly made up for a three-week absence by doing additional college work.

The supervisor on one site said Jordan showed good initiative and coped well under pressure, helping to keep track of plant and ensuring all tools were returned to the tool chests after work. “He is never idle and has maintained his own routine of tidying up the site every morning whilst the supervisor allocates the work schedule.”

His nomination was roundly endorsed by his CITB apprenticeship officer. “Jordan’s very keen and has made a good impression in college, he keeps himself busy and pushes himself to learn all he can in college time.”

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID “Both nominations exceed the qualities of a good apprentice – willingness to learn, enthusiasm, manners and initiative – and were held in high regard by their companies. Jordan had the edge not only because of his commitment to the company and his personal development, but that his employer holds him in such high esteem.”

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