Government Business Magazine issue 18.5 by Public Sector Publishing

www.governmentbusiness.co.uk | VOLUME 18.5

PLAYGROUNDS

CONFERENCES & EVENTS

HEALTH & SAFETY

Find solutions to working at height at the definitive H&S event

OUTSOURCING

MONEY MATTERS

Can the public sector afford to ignore recovery auditing?

LANDSCAPING & GROUNDSCARE â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Why training and education is the key to success

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE www.governmentbusiness.co.uk | Volume 18.5

PlAYGRouNDS

CoNFeReNCeS & eVeNTS

HeAlTH & SAFeTY

Find solutions to working at height at the definitive H&S event

ouTSouRCING

moNeY mATTeRS

Can the public sector afford to ignore recovery auditing?

lANDSCAPING & GRouNDSCARe – Why training and education is the key to success

Comment

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

WELCOME After a warm sunny Easter, celebrating the Royal Wedding and enjoying the first May Bank Holiday of the year, it’s time to get back to business – Government Business. Whilst recovery audit is widely accepted as good financial practice in the private sector, it is still largely unadopted in the public sector. We find out why more government departments aren’t harnessing the potential of this process, and how they could benefit from it on page 19. Recent leaked documents suggest the government is scaling back plans to use the private sector to deliver public services. However, outsourcing or shared services can still play a significant role in adding value and helping to drive down costs for the public sector, says the National Outsourcing Association on page 30. We also preview some of the most important events coming up, including the Public Procurement Show, the Chartered Institute of Housing’s annual conference and exhibition, and outdoor event PlayFair. Enjoy the issue.

Sofie Lidefjard, Editor editorial@psigroupltd.co.uk

P ONLINE P IN PRINT P MOBILE P FACE TO FACE If you would like to receive 12 issues of Government Business magazine for £95 a year, please contact Public Sector Information, 226 High Road, Loughton, Essex IG10 1ET. Tel: 020 8532 0055, Fax: 020 8532 0066, or visit the Government Business website at:

www.governmenttbusiness.co.uk PUBLISHED BY PUBLIC SECTOR INFORMATION LIMITED

226 High Rd, Loughton, Essex IG10 1ET. Tel: 020 8532 0055 Fax: 020 8532 0066 Web: www.psi-media.co.uk EDITOR Sofie Lidefjard ASSISTANT EDITOR Angela Pisanu PRODUCTION EDITOR Karl O’Sullivan PRODUCTION DESIGN Jacqueline Grist PRODUCTION CONTROLLER Reiss Malone ADVERTISEMENT SALES Kelly Scott, Bernie Miller, Steve Day, Jo Tuohy, Jane Fraser, David Morgan, Julie Watson, Chris Grant PUBLISHER John O’Leary SALES ADMINISTRATION Jackie Carnochan, Martine Carnochan ADMINISTRATION Victoria Leftwich, Joanne Mackerness GROUP PUBLISHER Barry Doyle REPRODUCTION & PRINT Argent Media

© 2011 Public Sector Information Limited. No part of this publication can be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any other means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. Whilst every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the editorial content the publisher cannot be held responsible for errors or omissions. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher. ISSN 1362 - 2541

Volume 18.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

Times are changing... saFeTY & heaLTh eXPO Brings The LaTesT innOVaTiOns anD DeVeLOPmenTs TO LiFe WOrKing aT heighT | OccUPaTiOnaL heaLTh PPe | LegaL aDVice | risK managemenT Training & career DeVeLOPmenT

The DeFiniTiVe heaLTh & saFeTY eVenT Safety & Health Expo is part of the Protection & Management Series, uniting safety with security, fire and facilities management professionals

shOW ParTners

OFFiciaL meDia ParTner

OrganiseD BY

CONTENTS 06 NEWS 09 CONFERENCES & EVENTS We look at why Wales is the perfect destination for a conference or event in these tough financial times

39 BUILT ENVIRONMENT

A look at the recent government proposal to protect financial support for homes, communities and small businesses that produce their own renewable power

The promise of fresh sea air and a relaxed ambiance make coastal destinations ideal for business events

We preview the social and affordable housing sector’s biggest and best attended event, the Chartered Institute of Housing’s annual conference and exhibition on 21-23 June

19 MONEY MATTERS

43 HEALTH & SAFETY

What is recovery auditing and what benefits can it bring? The Institute of Credit Management examines the different learning methods available for credit professionals

30 OUTSOURCING The National Outsourcing Association looks at why public sector outsourcing is on the up and the benefits it can provide

33 PROCUREMENT At The Public Procurement Show you and your colleagues will hear about the developments shaping public sector procurement today

Safety & Health Expo 2011 promises to be more innovative and informative than ever before

51 PUBLIC SAFETY

59 INCENTIVES & REWARDS The Public Sector People Managers’ Association discusses how to sustain staff engagement

62 PLAYGROUNDS A day at PlayFair will allow you to see and discuss first-hand the next generation of equipment

65 LANDSCAPING & GROUNDSCARE We preview the major new event from the the British Association of Landscape Industries, BALI 2011 – the Landscaping Show

The UK’s largest, dedicated fire safety event – International Firex – returns to the NEC Birmingham this month

The Institute of Groundsmanship explains why training is the key to success when maintaining sports amenities and open areas

55 FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

68 CATERING

The Facilities Show, 17-19 May, is the UK’s leading FM event

Government Business

Contents

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You will find everything in vending and water under one roof at AVEX 2011

www.governmentbusiness.co.uk Volume 18.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

News

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NEWS IN BRIEF Residents monitor energy use to save cash and CO2 Following successful pilot schemes in Eastbourne, Hastings, Bexhill and Lewes, East Sussex residents can now keep a close eye on their electricity usage at home by borrowing an energy monitor, for free, from all county public libraries. So far, more than 800 residents have tried them out. TO READ MORE PLEASE VISIT...

www.governmentbusiness.co.uk/n/001

Thanet District Council agrees ambitious crime cutting targets Ambitious plans to cut crime and anti-social behaviour in Thanet by two per cent have been agreed by Thanet District Council. Measures include road safety campaigns, naming and shaming publicity campaigns around environmental crimes, and using the Street Scene Enforcement team to tackle problems such as dog fouling.

FLEET MANAGEMENT

Council to save £250,000 through new fleet tracking system Nottinghamshire County Council is on track to deliver £250,000 of efficiency savings by installing a tracking system across its fleet of vehicles which will also improve staff safety and help the environment. The savings will be made over the next three years and contribute towards the £154m that the authority needs to save over the same time, some of which will be reinvested in children’s social care and supporting vulnerable adults. The vehicle location systems will be installed across the entire corporate fleet of 400 vehicles providing an accurate bird’s eye view of exactly where every vehicle is at any given time. Benefits of the system include reducing costs of fuel and maintenance, improving availability, reducing vehicle hire costs and reducing insurance costs as a result of fewer accidents. Reduced mileage and fuel consumption, and improved vehicle maintenance will

also reduce carbon emissions making for a more environmentally-friendly fleet. Lone workers will benefit as their location is constantly tracked, and drivers in need of specific training will be identified. In 2009 the vehicle location systems were installed in 80 of the council’s fleet. This pilot has already demonstrated an annual nine per cent reduction in mileage, reduced overtime claims and a ten per cent saving in fuel costs. Councillor Richard Jackson, cabinet member for transport and highways said: “Using this technology across our fleet will make it much more efficient as it’s a smarter way of working. “The pilot has shown beyond any doubt its real benefits both financially and socially. Extending its use illustrates how the council is committed to making best use of its resources whilst caring for our staff and the environment,” he added.

District heating networks could cut Swansea’s carbon emissions and save money A report prepared by Swedish consultants has been put together to assess the feasibility of introducing district heating networks in Swansea that would help save money and cut carbon emissions. The report suggests a short-term, start-up solution in Swansea that would see the Civic Centre and National Waterfront Museum try it.

New vehicles reduce Rossendale’s bill Rossendale Council has purchased 18 new refuse wagons, 14 street cleansing vehicles and 15 park vehicles. The new vehicles mean maintenance work is now carried out in-house by the council and the savings achieved will be used to establish a budget to replace the vehicles when they reach the end of their life in around five years time. TO READ MORE PLEASE VISIT...

www.governmentbusiness.co.uk/n/002

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE Volume | 18.5

MOBILE PHONE APPS Environment Agency launches country’s first ever free mobile phone app to warn and prepare for impacts of floods The country’s first ever mobile phone application that provides the public with flood warnings has been launched. ‘Flood Alert’ uses live data from the Environment Agency to provide users with real time updates on nearby flood warnings, as well as up to two extra chosen locations in England and Wales. Developed by Halcrow, the application also displays an overview for specific geographical regions. This free service will help people, communities and businesses make informed decisions about how to respond to potential flooding. The application will also provide users with information on what they should do to help reduce flood risk. It follows on from Environment Agency’s free flood warning service, which has almost one million people at risk from rivers and coastal flooding registered.

Council looks to generate additional £3m The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is considering proposals to generate an additional £3 million of revenue over three years from non-Council Tax sources. Areas being considered by senior councillors include the council selling advertising space on its website, lamp-posts and vehicles, as well as removing subsidies to council services such as allotments, functions in parks, licensing, cemeteries, and harmonising the hours at which parking charges are levied with neighbouring boroughs. Cllr Tony Arbour, Richmond Council’s cabinet member for performance, said: “The council sets discretionary charges for many services where people can pay to use the service or not. Many of these have been subsidised to date by other council tax payers. “In the current financial climate, with the tight squeeze on our budget, fees and charges like these should ideally cover their costs and contribute more to the overall price of running the council.”

News

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HOUSING

Government to release publicly owned land for people to build their own homes, housing minister announces Housing Minister Grant Shapps has announced support for more people to realise their dream of building their own home. Speaking at Grand Designs Live 2011, Shapps said that he wanted self build to become a mainstream housing option – and that government would play its part by making available publicly owned land for use by ordinary people to build their own homes. As a group, self-builders are already Britain’s largest housebuilder, accounting for about one in five of Britain’s new homes each year, but barriers and red tape have led to the UK having one of the lowest proportions of new homes built by self-builders in Europe. Shapps said he wanted to see more land being made available – both private and public – to enable more individual and community self build schemes. He called on private investors to bring forward plots, and for local authorities and housing associations to show their support. The Minister said central government would lead the way – he will shortly announce the first publicly-owned sites to be made available to housebuilders to include plots exclusively for self-builders. This will be part of wider government measures announced in the budget to increase the amount of land made available for housebuilding, including to self-

builders, which the minister hopes will bring self-building into the mainstream and stop it being “the preserve of the privileged few”. It also forms part of Shapps’s drive to remove barriers and strip away bureaucracy which, he argues, have for too long thwarted the aspirations of people who want to build their own home. In February he launched a new Industry Government Working Group – led by the National Self-Build Association – to advise the government on what action

WASTE Thousands sign up for Oxford’s new garden waste subscription service Over 2,000 residents have signed up for Oxford City Council’s new garden waste subscription service. The service costs £35 a year for a brown wheelie bin or residents can purchase Eco Sacks in packs of 10 for £25 or 20 for £35. Councillor John Tanner, board member for a Cleaner, Greener Oxford, said: “It’s fantastic that so many residents have already signed up for the garden waste service through the City Council website. “We very much regret having to charge for the new service but I hope residents will continue to recycle as much as they can. Brown bins, paper sacks, home composting or even a trip to Redbridge, really do help.”

RECYCLING

Council works with take-away restaurants to increase recycling Local take-away restaurants have joined forces with Monmouthshire County Council to encourage customers to recycle more foil trays. The new campaign, the first of its kind in the UK, will involve over half of the take-away restaurants in the county and is supported by the Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation’s (Alupro’s) Aerofoil campaign and the Welsh Assembly Government funded Tidy Towns Wales initiative. More than 20 take-away restaurants in Monmouth, Abergavenny, Chepstow, Caldicot and Usk will promote the red and purple bag recycling scheme, and give customers bespoke re-useable cotton bags for carrying their take-aways. Leaflets and posters will remind householders to rinse their foil trays and put them in the

is needed to reduce barriers, including the burden of regulation and the lack of access to land and development finance. Shapps said: “Self builders deliver affordable, greener and more innovatively-designed homes; and make a big contribution to the number of new homes built in this country, yet there is scope to significantly increase the number of self built homes in the UK.” “I want to turn around the fortunes of self-builders by cutting the red tape and bureaucracy they often face.”

purple recycling bag alongside other recyclable materials. Monmouthshire’s head of waste, Dave Harris said: “We’re aiming for the highest recycling rates in Wales. We want to remind residents that once they’ve enjoyed their favourite take-away meal, all they need to do is rinse out the foil trays and place them in their purple recycling bag. It’s the convenient way to recycle your convenience food trays! Also, if you have any food left overs, this can be placed for collection in your blue food waste bin.” Alupro executive director Rick Hindley said: “We use three billion aluminium foil containers in the UK every year – that’s about 182 per household. The metal can be endlessly recycled, so we are keen to encourage people to recycle whenever and wherever they can.”

RECYCLING

Swindon crackdown on illegal trade waste Swindon Borough Council is clamping down on businesses that illegally dump their trade waste at the town’s Household Waste Recycling Centre. The council has seen an increase in the number of commercial vehicles using the centre since the government increased landfill tax by £8 per tonne. Phil Thomas, the council’s head of community & commercial safety, said: “We are not allowed

to accept any commercial waste at the Household Waste Recycling Centre but we have put measures in place to deter traders from using the site illegally. “Council taxpayers should not have to pay for traders who use the site illegally and we will be monitoring the site to identify traders who are obviously flouting the law and take appropriate action to stop them using the site.”

Volume 18.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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Call 00 44 161 436 1931 or visit parkinn.co.uk/meetings/extras

WELSH VENUES

REDUCED EVENT BUDGET? THE SOLUTION IS IN WALES

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Wales hosts a vast range of value-for-money venues for event buyers tasked with keeping costs down but standards high A new section on the Visit Wales website helps businesses to save money in today’s difficult economic climate by listing the best bargains to be found in venues across Wales. By visiting the easy-to-navigate website (www.businessevents.visitwales.com), businesses can access a list of goodvalue meetings and events venues, with special offers on business packages. Jane Landstrom, senior product marketing executive at Visit Wales, said: “I hope that the offers section of our new website will help attract businesses to Wales for meetings and events. With the click of a button, businesses

are able to download a list of great money saving deals for venues right across Wales. “In the current economic climate, it is crucial that businesses reduce costs and save as much money as possible when organising meetings and events. This new resource allows businesses to book cost-effective packages in high-quality venues quickly and easily.” The offers include a number of high profile venues in Wales, including the Millennium Stadium, Chepstow Racecourse and the SWALEC Stadium. An example of some of the offers available include the Barceló Cardiff Angel Hotel, which

In the current economic climate, it is crucial that businesses reduce costs and save as much money as possible when organising meetings and events. This new resource allows businesses to book cost-effective packages in high-quality venues quickly and easily.

is currently offering one free place to every five delegates until the end of September, and St Brides Spa Hotel, which has a deal on spa treatments for delegates such as stress busting massages and relaxing facials. WHAT’S NEW IN WALES FOR 2011 Just opened in October 2010 is the new £20m Cardiff School of Management building at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC). Its conference and meeting rooms are used for seminars, conferences and networking events, and a range of professional development courses on leadership and management will be offered to businesses and organisations. The new building also includes a rooftop boardroom with panoramic views across Newport. Meanwhile the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, located in the centre of Cardiff, is due to open its new £22.5m million facility in spring 2011. This will include a new 450 seat capacity acoustically excellent world class Concert Hall, 160 seat state-of-the-art theatre, new drama and movement studios and public exhibition and café-bar facilities E

Volume 18.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

The Cardiff Collection Three breathtaking venues in the heart of one capital city

Are you looking for a venue in the heart of Cardiff to hold a meeting, conference or banquet? Or perhaps somewhere unique to offer your clients an event to remember? If so, The Cardiff Collection will not disappoint.

E Access to Cardiff ’s most unique venues E City centre location E Elegant conference rooms steeped in history E Full event support from our dedicated conference and events team E Easy, road, air & public transport connections

For further details, contact us now on: 029 20871736. Or e-mail thecardiffcollection@cardiff.gov.uk Please quote Gov11

£19.99* Summer Special

Day Delegate Rate

Price includes; Room Hire Arrival Refreshments of Tea/Coffee & Biscuits Freshly Baked Parisian Baguettes with Cured Meat & Vegetarian Fillings Real Welsh Crisps & Fresh Fruit Basket Orange Juice with Lunch Afternoon Refreshments of Tea/Coffee & Welsh Cakes Jugs of Iced Water Screen, Flipchart and Pens

029 20 822 105 Or email

kerry.regan@compass-group.co.uk *There is a surcharge of £195 to use the hospitality lounges. Offer ends the end August 2011. Prices are subject to VAT, Terms & Conditions Apply.

www.cardiffconferences.co.uk

WELSH VENUES E and a renovated and upgraded 150-200 seat Bute Theatre. Facilities will be available for conferences and social functions. ART AND BUSINESS Chapter Arts Centre, one of Europe’s largest and most dynamic arts centres, has undergone a major £3.8 million refurbishment programme. Home to many of Wales’ best-known and award-winning names in theatre, dance, music, art and animation, Chapter also has a number of hire spaces and hospitality packages available to the corporate market. This includes the newly revamped Cinema One and Cinema Two, which can hold 188 and 57 delegates theatre style respectively, and First Space and Media Point, which are flexible and welcoming spaces, both of which hold 50 delegates theatre style. Another notable venue is University of Wales’s newly opened £35m city-centre campus in Newport. This is the first phase of an intended two-phase £50m development for the university with partnership funding from Newport City Council and the Welsh Assembly Government.

HISTORIC VENUES Set in 600 acres of Pembrokeshire National Coast Parkland is newly renovated historic country residence, Slebech Park. After a £4million refurbishment the 18th century, Grade II listed building has extensive gardens, woodland trails and a 12th century chapel as well as state of the art conference and meeting facilities for the corporate market. The main corporate facilitates are housed in the venue’s coach house where a maximum of 100 delegates can be accommodated theatre style. There is also the Harbour Room, a semi permanent structure which can hold up to 200 delegates banquet style. Other options include the stable, a number of syndicate rooms, or the terrace of the main building which offers unique water’s edge location. If you’re after sea views, the 46-bedroom cliff-top St Brides Spa Hotel has launched six new luxury-styled apartments to the corporate market. Each apartment has two bedrooms, a lounge, contemporary kitchen area and limestone bathrooms. It has also opened its fourth conference room that can accommodate 20 delegates boardroom style. This is in addition to St

Brides’ three existing sea view suites: the Cliff Room which can host 100 delegates theatre style; the Harbour Room which can host 60 theatre style and the Boardroom, which can host 40 delegates theatre-style

Conferences & Events

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SPORTING VENUES The £6.5m Eirias Park is north Wales’ latest sporting venture, due to be completed in mid September 2011. Located in Colwyn Bay, it will offer delegates the chance to combine meetings with team building, outdoor events space and corporate hospitality. The venue will be available for exclusive hire, and will comprise a 3,000 seat sports stadium with nine boxes, an indoor events and training centre including indoor rugby pitch, a boating lake and an outdoor event space similar in size to a standard Olympic athletics track. In addition, the venue will be adding a dedicated conference facility which will include 11 individual meeting rooms and an indoor space that can hold up to 3,000 delegates. In-house catering will be provided and all rooms will have state-of the-art facilities and Wi-Fi access. E

Incentive Ideas Private tour of the Millennium Stadium www.millenniumstadium.com Behind-the-scenes look at the Welsh National Opera, Wales Millennium Centre www.wmc.org.uk Ghost tours at Tredegar House in Newport www.newport.gov.uk Dine in style on the Ffestiniog Steam Railway www.festrail.co.uk Tour of old mining works by former miners at Big Pit Mining Museum www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/bigpit/ Quack pack involves just one man and his dog and a herd of sheep www.quackpack.co.uk © Crown copyright (2011) Visit Wales

Delegates watch, listen and then have a go at herding up the sheep by using just four commands www.ewe-phoria.co.uk Team spirit will be galvanised with a Dryad Bushcraft team building experience on the stunning Gower peninsula. The day begins with a shipwreck situation! www.dryadbushcraft.co.uk Coasteering is a wild combination of scrambling, climbing, traversing, cliff jumping and swimming that was first developed in Pembrokeshire in the 80s

Volume 18.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

* T H E S W A L E C S TA D I U M Cardiff

The SWALEC Stadium, situated in the heart of Cardiff, offers great value to our Government clients at one of Wales’ finest conferencing venues. • Exclusive Government delegate rates. • All event sizes catered for. • Friendly, experienced and flexible events team. • Located in the heart of Cardiff. • 7 event suites and 22 meeting rooms. • 900m² event suite with no pillars. • All suites have natural daylight, free Wi-Fi and integrated AV. • Free on-site parking. • Reputation for superb catering. • Situated in the beautiful Sophia Gardens.

Please call Huw on 029 2041 9315, email huwmitchell@glamorgancricket.co.uk or visit www.swalecstadium.co.uk for more information.

Court Colman Manor A warm welcome awaits in the beautiful seaside setting at The Trearddur Bay Hotel on the Isle of Anglesey, just minutes from Holyhead Port and rail network. Boardroom style meetings, theatre style conferences, product launches, training events, exhibitions, banquets, we cater for them all. From a handful of delegates to hundreds, we guarantee to deliver your event – professionally and courteously. At The Treardur Bay Hotel we have the knowledge, expertise and experience to guarantee the facilities, the service and the support that makes every conference, meeting and event a winner.

An elegant Grade II listed Georgian house built in 1776 now a popular AA three star country house hotel that combines modern day creature comforts with period charm. Located close to Cardiff, Swansea and Bridgend, just off J36 of the M4 and a mainline train station nearby. Two conference suites have period features, natural light and stunning views – perfect for a relaxed but professional atmosphere. It is the home of the Bokhara Brassarie voted in 2008 & 2009 the best curry restaurant in Wales and in the top 10 for the UK. Take advantage of excellent, friendly service in a relaxed environment at value for money delegate rates.

Lon Isallt, Trearddur Bay, Isle of Anglesey LL65 2UN enquiries@trearddurbayhotel.co.uk www.trearddurbayhotel.co.uk

Pen-y-fai, Bridgend, CF31 4NG Tel: 01656 720212 e-mail: experience@court-colman-manor.com www.court-colman-manor.com

WELSH VENUES University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC)

E The site is also able to host outdoor sporting and music events, with a stadium capacity of 6,000 and an outdoor capacity of 35,000. The Quay Hotel and Spa, Deganwy, located on the north Wales coast on the edge of the Conwy Estuary, has just unveiled its newly refurbished conference and meeting rooms. Its meeting facilities have been moved from the ground floor to the first floor

creating space for 140 extra delegates. The largest of its conference rooms, the Castle Suite, can hold a maximum of 240 delegates theatre style and can also be partitioned into two rooms. The Tegid and Vyrnwy suites can hold 80 and 60 delegates theatre style respectively. The venue also offers the option of a number of breakout rooms. Overlooking the Welsh hills, the venue has

74 accommodation rooms. All rooms have broadband access and interactive TVs and are finished to contemporary, luxury standard. It has also recently refurbished its restaurant. Nant Gwrtheyrn is a refurbished Victorian village located in a 250 acre site that offers conference organisers the chance to hold their events in a range of meeting places. The village is located in a private valley overlooking its own beach. The recent investment has provided new conference facilities in a newly refurbished building for up to 350 delegates theatre style and 150 banquet style with the option of creating multi-room meetings. Accommodation is available for 80 delegates which is located in the refurbished Victorian quarry cottages within the village site and the newly refurbished Plas Education centre. ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CLOSER THAN YOU THINK Accessibility is a key consideration for conference organisers. Cardiff International Airport is 12 miles from the city centre and there are flights nationally to Edinburgh, Belfast, Glasgow and Newcastle and internationally to Amsterdam, Munich, Geneva, and Paris, Toulouse, Palma, Murcia and Sofia. This is in addition to the major international connections that are available via Amsterdam. North Wales is well served by Manchester Airport bringing in the transatlantic market of Washington and Chicago, while Mid Wales is easily accessible from Birmingham Airport. London is just two hours away from Cardiff by train and three hours by road, while five services operate across the Irish Sea, connecting Wales to Ireland. L

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FOR MORE INFORMATION Contact Jane Landstrom Tel: 029 20475359 buisnessevents@visitwales.com www.businessevents.visitwales.com

A measurable return on your training for improved performance Call of the Wild is a multi-award winning Welsh Company providing research led team and leadership development programmes to a range of public and private sector clients across the UK. We seek to provide a measurable return on your training investment through ensuring learning is transferred to the workplace. Metrics are agreed with the client to measure the effectiveness of our intervention. This for instance ensures improved performance and an improved bottom line. We believe that through cost effective development programmes we can facilitate long lasting behavioural change in the workplace. Your organisation needs to deliver lasting results in the workplace not a temporary solution.

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COASTAL VENUES across both public and private sectors. Peter adds: “Many resorts tend to be favoured by association and public sector conferencing and business tourism which held up relatively better in 2009/10 than the private sector. However, as private sector business tourism starts to recover, there are considerable concerns for the fate of public, and to a lesser degree, the association sectors.” “2011 will certainly be a challenging year for business tourism in traditional resorts,” he continues. “In a complex multifaceted industry, added or sustained volume does not always equal sustained or increased values. There is no such thing as a perfect day for every one of the diverse range of businesses that makes up a ‘typical’ resort. No two towns are truly alike in character, let alone in terms of their markets and the factors that influence them.”

THE PULL OF SEASIDE RESORTS

Through increased investment in infrastructure and the introduction of a wide mix of dining, accommodation, entertainment and cultural offerings, seaside towns today rival even the most popular of conferencing cities The promise of fresh sea air and a relaxed ambiance has always been a natural draw for visitors to the British coast and over the past decade, seaside resorts have made great strides in reinventing and diversifying their offering to extend this appeal even further. According to recent research by the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research at Sheffield Hallam University, the tourism sector is deemed one of the healthiest in the country. The study found that the industry directly supports 210,000 individuals, “an impressive figure by any standard,” comments Peter Hampson, chief executive, British Destinations. “But all the more so when it is viewed against the UK figure for the telecommunications industry at 224,000, the motor industry at 165,000 publishing at 154,000 and old traditional like fishing and coal mining at 14,000 and 7,000 respectively.” He adds: “In all, the wider employment impact, including supply chain and multiplier effect, gives a total employment figure attributed to the additional tourism

jobs of some 600,000 – this makes it a really significant UK industry.” BUSINESS TOURISM Within the business tourism sector specifically, through increased investment in infrastructure and the introduction of a wide mix of dining, accommodation, entertainment and cultural offerings, seaside towns today rival even the most popular of conferencing cities. Janet Deacon, area tourism director for Welcome to Yorkshire explains: “Coastal resorts have always been extremely popular for destination conferences as they offer business clients a complete destination experience. We are seeing a considerable uplift in conferences returning to Scarborough, which I believe is due to the affordability and the complete conference solution the coast is able to offer.” However, despite its popularity, the UK coastal resort has not been immune to the impact of budgetary constraints and cuts which have been felt widely

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BRIGHTON UPDATE Brighton continues to invest heavily in its offering to continually enhance the delegate and organisers’ experience. This year, the Brighton Dome completed a £200,000 refurbishment of its Foyer and Mezzanine Bars in its main concert hall, providing better accessibility and a more efficient service for its customers. In addition, the multi-purpose Brighton Centre announced in January a further £1m investment to its facilities, following the successful completion of its phase one refurbishment in 2010. It will now undergo a significant redevelopment of its main entrance including the exterior space, signage and state of the art lighting, resulting in a complete transformation of its outside façade. Also its restaurant, which is regularly used as a breakout space for larger conferences, will be redesigned to include floor-to-ceiling windows with seafront views, while its interior will be completely modernised. Brighton also welcomed the addition of the University of Sussex’s new Fulton Building last June. Situated at the heart of its campus, it’s offered to event planners between July and September. Boasting 3,000sq m of space across three floors, including two 160 seat lecture theatres and 26 seminar rooms (each accommodating 20-60 pax), it echoes the core campus building’s original architecture with additional contemporary features designed to meet the highest environmental standards. EASTBOURNE Those delegates choosing to visit Eastbourne this year will be amongst the first to use the newly installed Wi-Fi at the resort’s main conference venue, Devonshire Park Centre. Coupled with its facilities for up to 1,700 delegates, 3,100sq m exhibition space, recent refurbishment of the Gold Room and the opening of state of the art gallery last year, the Wi-Fi is just another significant addition to what’s available in Eastbourne as a business destination. E

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COASTAL VENUES E Offering thousands of bed spaces at a wide range of accommodation including England’s only five-star coastal hotel, a celebrity owned designer budget hotel and smaller, friendly guesthouses, Eastbourne is also well positioned to offer an attractive destination for delegates and organisers on all budgets. Eastbourne Conference Bureau has just won three significant bookings for dates over the next two years, which will bring more than 1,800 delegates into town. The agent Creative Realisation is bringing a client with 1,000 delegates for a three day conference for 2012 in Eastbourne, while a Southern Rail event and a booking made through agent Principle Promotions will bring a further 800 delegates into town. Also celebrating the revamp of the official Conference Eastbourne website, the Conference Bureau is seeing an increase in enquiries being received. SCARBOROUGH The vibrant resort of Scarborough on the east coast of North Yorkshire offers beautiful architecture, an array of shops, hotels and restaurants and three superb golf courses. Scarborough is the UK’s first resort to offer free Wi-Fi on the seafront and harbour and the town’s assortment of conference venues range from hotels and academic institutions to beautiful buildings such as the 1930s Grade II listed Stephen Joseph Theatre. The Spa, one of the largest multi purpose conference and entertainments venues on the North East coast has recently undergone a £6.5 million refurbishment. This extensive project has seen significant redevelopment of the Grade II listed Victorian concert hall, reception areas and offices as well as the communication systems, air conditioning and technical equipment. The refurbishment will give the ability to reconfigure the Grand Hall in a significant shorter time, meaning the venue will be able to provide a flexible, cost effective conference solution to meet client requirements.

In March this year UKIP held its spring conference at the Spa, bringing with it over 400 delegates travelling from around the country. In total, Scarborough will welcome over 60,000 delegate visits during 2011, which will bring a significant economic benefit to the town and wider area. SOUTHEND-ON-SEA Southend-on-Sea in Essex is rapidly developing its credentials as an outstanding place to hold business events and conferences. Mostly known for its great leisure and cultural offer more and more businesses are turning on to the proposition for corporate opportunity. New investment in the town over the last two years has been transformational, whether at the airport, new hotels or the road infrastructure and seafront. The area offers a good mix of major venues, capable of hosting exhibitions and product launches such as the Cliffs Pavilion, Park Inn Palace Hotel, and the state of the art college or more intimate venues in iconic locations such as the Kursaal function suite or at the Westcliff Hotel. On the famous Southend Pier, the longest pleasure pier in the world, there is soon to be a new flexible exhibition space, a mile and third out to sea. This can be used for conferences and events for up to 250 people and promises to capture new imagination about the special space on this historic building. Last year saw the opening of the Park Inn Place Hotel which has already brought in new conference business including a product launch by Southend based Hi-Tec sportswear. This month there will be a major environmental two day conference in the town which will be of national significance to local government sector and should be an ongoing event in the sustainable calendar. SOUTHPORT Southport is unquestionably recognised as one of the premier conference destinations in the North West. In recent years, it has seen a multi-million pound investment in its business

tourism product and has also successfully rebranded itself as ‘England’s Classic Resort’. At the forefront of the area’s investment has been the £40 million redevelopment of the Southport Theatre & Convention Centre (STCC), one of Merseyside’s largest and most versatile venues. All of the area’s venues fall under the banner of its convention bureau – Southport Conferences, which works hard to provide conference support to visiting delegates and to promote the area’s ever growing credentials. In 2010, this entire portfolio achieved the Meeting Industry Association’s AIM accreditation, in recognition of its high standard of conference and events provision. In addition, Southport Conferences recently launched a delegate bike loan service, designed to not only utilise the accessibility of the town, but also to help reduce the number of cars used by business visitors to the resort. This was first trialled by the Labour North West party during its regional conference in November 2010 and has since gone on to be very well received with other visitors. Perhaps Southport’s greenest attribute however, is its world class golfing facilities, boasting the biggest concentration of championship links courses in the world along the Sefton Coast. Southport Conferences works closely with golf club secretaries to put together bespoke packages that offer anything from a full tournament to golf clinics. In 2011, Southport Conferences will be rolling out a series of new initiatives designed to not only increase awareness of what the resort can offer to visiting delegates, but to also increase its profile on a much wider scale in the business tourism market. This includes a campaign designed to maximise awareness of the conferences and events that are taking place in the town; the launch of the Southport Members Club, designed to reward and encourage its regular bookers through added value and special offers; several environmental projects; and ‘Meetings on the Move’ – a targeted focus on its incentive market. L

Conferences & Events

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Eastbourne – experience expertise and excellence Eastbourne Conference Bureau is dedicated to making the UK’s sunniest place a winning location for your event. Its stunning unspoilt seafront, vast choice of accommodation and easy transport links make it a popular choice for organisers and delegates. Choose Devonshire Park Centre for up to 1,700 delegates or use the Bureau’s free venuefinding service for smaller, unique locations. Re-launched three years ago, Eastbourne Conference Bureau has gone from strength to strength bringing new business into Eastbourne and filling Devonshire Park Centre with thousands of delegates. Devonshire Park Centre is Eastbourne’s

main conference venue and offers facilities for up to 1,700 delegates, dining for 1,000 and over 3,100m2 exhibition space. From the Floral Hall, a famous listed venue within the historic Winter Garden, to the modern International Lawn Tennis Centre, an official pre-2012 training venue and home of the AEGON International,

Devonshire Park Centre offers a choice of rooms for large and small events in the heart of the hotel district and cultural quarter. Situated on the beautiful Sussex shoreline, boasting spectacular South Downs countryside, miles of award-winning beaches, and a cosmopolitan harbour, Eastbourne has a range of venues on its doorstep. So make the most of its free venue-finding service and find the perfect alternative conference space. FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 01323 415437 conference@eastbourne.gov.uk www.conferenceeastbourne.com

Volume 18.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

A practically assured way to generate savings with complete data security Purchase Ledger Recovery from Simpson Associates Information Services OUR PURCHASE LEDGER RECOVERY SERVICE is a no-win, no-fee service, which identifies and recovers purchase ledger overpayments made by our clients to their suppliers and uniquely, we can perform this service without your confidential data ever leaving your premises.

We can, and do, recover overpayments that are up to ten years old. The potential benefit of our service can be considerable for your organisation. Despite the implementation of state of the art ERP systems and continual process improvements, the fact is that mistakes do still occur; all organisations are at risk. Contributing factors include:

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FINANCE

Money Matters

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

TIME TO REAP THE REWARDS FROM A RECOVERY AUDIT

Adam Simon and Jon Francis unravel the myths around recovery auditing and ask whether public sector organisations can afford to ignore these pain-free savings in such a tough economic climate Recovery audit is widely accepted as good financial practice in the private sector, yet is still largely unadopted in the public sector. Far from being a witch hunt, recovery audit is a healthy process that sensitively roots out and rectifies the inevitable payment

errors that naturally occur in any large organisation dealing with a high volume of payment transactions. So why aren’t more government departments harnessing the potential of recovery audit, and how do they derive maximum value from it?

An increasing number of senior civil servants are learning to embrace the kind of scrutiny that has long been successfully deployed by large private sector companies to review past payments and claw back any money leaked from of accounts as a result of accidental overpayments.

Global managing director of business development Adam Simon and client services director Jon Francis, both from PRGX – the leading recovery audit firm which was commended for its outstanding contribution to the public sector at the latest Government Business Awards – unravel the myths around recovery auditing and ask whether civil servants can afford to ignore it. PROCEED WITH CAUTION The concept of recovery audit has traditionally been regarded with a degree of caution by the public sector. In many ways, that is understandable. The thought of an external agency combing through up to six years of spending data to seek out anomalies is not a particularly comforting prospect. E

Volume 18.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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FINANCE

Money Matters

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

PRGX AND THE GOVERNMENT

E However, attitudes are beginning to change. In essence, recovery audit takes transaction data, transforms it for analysis, identifies errors, and works with suppliers or providers to recover overpaid cash. At a time of government pressure to find savings fast, an increasing number of senior civil servants are learning to embrace the kind of scrutiny that has long been successfully deployed by large private sector companies to review past payments and claw back any money leaked from of accounts as a result of accidental overpayments. That initial sense of trepidation is gradually being replaced by a recognition of the significant benefits that recovery audit can deliver. In stark financial terms, recovery audit generates otherwise unavailable money by recouping cash that has been lost from the system.

The Home Office and Department for Transport are two bodies that have recently embarked on recovery audit programmes, each with highly rewarding results. A COMMON OCCURANCE The first and most critical misconception regarding recovery audit is the fear that the process is a finger-pointing exercise with the sole purpose of singling out those responsible for payment errors. Let’s not beat ourselves up. Overpayments occur in all organisations, particularly large organisations dealing with a large volume of transactions. They are inevitable. As evidence of this, PRGX states that it has never encountered an organisation without any recognisable and recoverable overpayments. With the cost of the audit structured as a small percentage E

PRGX is the world’s leading recovery audit firm, and has more than 200 clients across 15 European countries. The company has recovered an average of $1 billion per year for its global clients over the past five years. However, it is in the public sector where the company’s portfolio is growing most rapidly. In the UK, PRGX has won considerable acclaim for its contribution to public sector efficiency. Last year, a recovery audit carried out on behalf of the Home Office earned PRGX outstanding plaudits at the Home Office’s annual Supplier Value and Innovation Awards, where the company won the ‘Most Beneficial Contribution by a SmallMedium Enterprise’ category. More recently, the same project was recognised at the Government Business Awards, where PRGX was one of three finalists nominated for the showpiece category ‘Most Outstanding Contribution to the Public Sector’. Adam Simon, global managing director of PRGX business development, said: “We are extremely proud that our work with the government has been recognised in this way, particularly as it champions the collaborative approach to best practice that we are well known for. It’s very pleasing to see the public sector harnessing the very best private-sector expertise and technology in order to put efficiency and effectiveness at the very top of the agenda. “Our recovery audit service benefits from the deployment of experienced auditors and specially-developed data analysis tools in order to efficiently and sensitively identify payment errors and recover cash that would otherwise be lost. The results have proved invaluable to the wide range of organisations we are privileged to work with.”

Glossary: Recovery Audit In essence, recovery audit takes transaction data, transforms it for analysis, identifies errors, and works with suppliers or providers to recover overpaid cash.

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FINANCE E of the amount that is recovered, it’s a ‘no win, no fee’ arrangement. Most large and successful companies in the private sector accept this and view recovery audit not as an interrogation but as a natural component of their quest for best practice. In other words, it’s a good discipline to adopt. One issue that makes recovery audit a particularly timely concern for the public sector is that organisations undergoing significant structural change are particularly vulnerable to leakage in their payment systems. The administrative transitions that the public sector has undergone in recent years, and continues to do so, make this a pressing concern. When you combine that with the political drive to achieve efficiency savings while protecting frontline services as far as possible, a compelling case for recovery audit begins to emerge. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION Yet an innate hesitancy still remains in some quarters. One reason is the highly confidential nature of the particular information that comes under the microscope. This is where the discretion of the recovery audit agency becomes vitally important. The best organisations in this sector are highly sensitive in their approach, not only E

Money Matters

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

MAKING SENSE OF RECOVERY AUDIT A recovery audit is performed to review supplier compliance to contractual terms and to recover any over payments that may have occurred. It involves a granular review, by professional auditors, of all accounts payable transactions for up to six years in the past. There are a variety of checks that can be made by the auditors using their specialist toolset, for example: Has any invoice been paid twice? This can easily happen where split invoices or copy invoices are processed or where multiple supplier names are held on the vendor master file. Has the supplier statement been fully reconciled? Many organisations routinely review the ‘top 70-80 per cent by value’ believing that the residue is not worthwhile. PRGX experience suggests otherwise: small suppliers can have transaction complexities which leave issues unresolved. Have invoice costs been fully aligned with an agreed contract? Is the price the same as that agreed by e-mail with a buyer? Have agreements to make refunds under certain conditions been checked? Have ‘cost-plus’ contracts been reviewed on an open-book basis? The audit firm will deal with the whole process of audit to recovery – specifying data requirements, processing and auditing the results with reference to the client’s records or contracts, reconciling supplier statements, contacting suppliers where errors are found and recovering the funds from the supplier. The real benefit is that there are no fees for handling this process, the auditors are rewarded on a percentage of recoveries made and they’ll even give you a report with improvement recommendations as part of the service.

Sintons highlights implications of the new paternity leave regulations coming into force recently Keith Land, partner in Sintons LLP’s Employment team, explains the implications of the new Paternity Leave regulations which came into force in April 2011 and mean that parents are entitled to share time off work during their baby’s first year. Prior to April 2011, fathers were entitled to take up to two weeks of ordinary paternity leave (OPL) any time between the date on which the child is born (or placed for adoption) and 56 days later. Fathers are now entitled to additional paternity leave (APL) which allows them to take up to 26 weeks’ leave to care for the child, on top of two weeks of OPL. Whilst we use the term ‘father’ here, the regulations apply equally to the biological father and those in civil partnerships, which include gay and lesbian civil partnerships. The period of APL must be taken within a “window” that starts 20 weeks after, and ends 12 months after, the child’s date of birth or placement for adoption. APL can only be taken if the following conditions are met. The employee must: • be the child’s father or either the spouse, partner or civil partner of the child’s mother • have been on a continuous contract with their employer for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the

baby is due to be born or have 26 weeks continuous employment at the time they are matched with a child for adoption • remain in continuous employment with their employer until the week before the first week of their APL • have, or expect to have, the main responsibilities for bringing up the child. The mother must: • return to work from her statutory maternity or adoption leave • have been entitled to one or more of maternity leave, statutory maternity pay or maternity allowance. The scheme provides for both the employee and partner to sign declarations confirming

that the mother has returned to work from her period of maternity or adoption leave. However, beyond that there is no mechanism for an employer to check the mother’s return. The employer may request the details of the mother’s employer. Parents are now entitled to take six months off to care for a new baby. The government hopes to extend the measures with a fully flexible system of shared parental leave in 2015. A survey of 1,300 organisations showed that over half believed giving extra paternity leave to fathers would be detrimental. This is not necessarily because it is expensive, but because of the extra burden on administration. Employees have a range of statutory remedies in the event they are prevented from taking their leave or are treated detrimentally for doing so. We would advise organisations to prepare for the first requests from employees by being aware of the rights of their employees, and preparing internal policies and procedures to deal with them effectively. FOR MORE INFORMATION For further details about paternity leave or any other employment matter, please contact Keith Land on 0191 2264892 or keith.land@sintons.co.uk

Volume 18.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

Money Matters

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

FINANCE

That initial sense of trepidation is gradually being replaced by a recognition of the significant benefits that recovery audit can deliver. In stark financial terms, recovery audit generates otherwise unavailable money by recouping cash that has been lost from the system. E when poring over up to six years worth of classified data but also in dealing with suppliers in the process of recovering money. It is a process that benefits from having a third-party agency involved to conduct negotiations that are fair, but also firm. However, deriving maximum value from recovery audit isn’t just about a oneoff result. The longer-term benefit is in identifying instances where procedures or policies could be improved to reduce the occurrence of payment errors in the future. Initiating a cash recovery programme is not about admitting any fault but indicating a determination to improve efficiency over the long-term. Typically, a list of recommendations will follow from the findings of a recovery audit,

but it is up to the organisation concerned to act upon them. Thankfully, the majority do so. In the experience of PRGX returning to conduct a second audit within a year of the first, there is generally a 50 per cent reduction in cash leakages. However, the commitment to efficiency has to come from the very top of an organisation. Where this happens, organisations can gain a raft of new insights into their relationships with suppliers. MAINTAINING RELATIONSHIPS A common concern is that the process could irreparably damage relationships with suppliers. In fact, by exploring those relationships and generating detailed spending data that may never have been accurately and comprehensively compiled

before, both sides can move forward on a platform of greater clarity and openness. Many suppliers are unintentional recipients of overpayments and are keen to learn how to avoid the rise of similar problems in the future. The recovery audit process not only benefits those who procure, but it also provides an opportunity to identify ways in which suppliers can honour the terms of their contracts more effectively. There are two further vital factors that should be borne in mind by those pursuing a successful recovery audit programme. The first is the close cooperation of the IT department. At the outset of the process, the IT specialists of both the organisation and the audit firm must work together to identify the necessary data for extraction before it can be securely processed. This may require security clearance to be sought from senior individuals. Secondly, it is important that the audit firm briefs management and staff about the objectives of the process, which will avoid being intrusive and strive towards helping, rather than criticising. Their support will prove to be invaluable. The question for government organisations is whether they can afford to ignore the pain-free savings generated by recovery audit. L

Could you continue to provide essential services if your top three suppliers went bankrupt tomorrow? Credit checking suppliers at the tender stage is a matter of course but when did you last assess the stability of your existing supplier base? How would it affect your essential services if they became bankrupt or insolvent? What can you do to ensure this doesn’t occur? Public sector professionals must have the most up to date, comprehensive credit information available to ensure that the service(s) they provide are not adversely affected by the financial situation of their suppliers. Experian’s Risk Audit Plus is a market leading solution providing a detailed report of your existing supplier database. It offers comprehensive information including Commercial Delphi scores to assess the probability of failure, Experian’s Days Beyond Terms payment information, which shows how long they take to pay their invoices, and it also shows any County Court Judgements they have incurred. Viewed from a secure, userfriendly web interface, Risk Audit Plus helps you to make better-informed decisions while also developing preventative actions such as effective contract management strategies. This powerful insight gives you a graphical easy to use display of your supplier risks. Take a tour of Risk Audit Plus – see for yourself how Risk Audit Plus from Experian

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE Volume | 18.5

can help you to quickly audit, assess and manage supplier credit risks, visit www.experianbi.co.uk/riskauditplus. Once you know about the risk on your supplier base, it’s critical to monitor and continually assess the situation, especially during the current economic downturn. With a choice of over 32 data items to monitor, Experian’s Business Monitoring can notify you of newly filed accounts, a change in directors, or of any adverse information registered against your chosen businesses providing a timely credit risk alert system. Ask about

Business Monitoring being part of your overall supplier risk management package when you enquire about Risk Audit Plus today. Experian is a global leader in providing intelligence to help organisations evaluate the financial stability of potential suppliers, monitor their ongoing financial situation and also manage their own supplier base more effectively. FOR MORE INFORMATION For further information please call Oliver Abbott on 0115 901 6017 or visit www.experianbi.co.uk

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Technology is driving transformation in recovery auditing and Profectus is at the forefront In the continuing drive for greater savings and efficiencies, central government is reappraising the value recovery auditing can bring to the public sector. Government will find some refreshing changes; whilst traditional companies continue to take an auditing approach, newer companies have harnessed technology to drive better outcomes more quickly. As a leading provider of services based on technology, Profectus has observed that recovery audits are no longer a “nice to have” addition to internal and statutory audits and controls, but an essential complement to them. And as they grow in importance, so the techniques of recovery auditing are developing in breadth, depth and accuracy. Technology lies at the heart of these developments. Sophisticated data mining software is now essential both to the analysis of historical transactions and to the prevention of processing errors. The most effective software learns from the billions of transactions it analyses. Every time it finds a new way to create an anomaly in the purchase to payment process it adds algorithms to find similar patterns in future. At a deeper level, technology is enabling the analysis of complex multi-item invoices and their comparison to contractual terms at

line – item level. Software that is sufficiently robust to reveal historical anomalies at this level of detail can be used to manage complex transactions in real time. Technology is also making significant differences to the quality and quantity of recoveries from vendors. First, technology increases the speed of accurate analysis so recoveries can be made promptly. The sooner a duplicate payment is claimed back, the more likely it is to be recovered. Second, technology speeds recovery. It simplifies the process for the vendor, provides an audit trail and improves recovery rates whilst maintaining clients’ good relationships with their vendors. Where theoretically error free transaction processes like electronic and recipient

created invoices have become more widespread, we have begun to see where anomalies do occur. For example, the rates to which clients refer for particular goods or services may be subject to change. In overheads and other areas of indirect expenditure where invoices are being raised without a purchase order, we are finding one to eight per cent overcharging at line item level. This is the next area in which substantial recoveries can be made. FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 020 31764290 Fax: 020 71499980 mcolclough@profectusgroup.com www.profectusgroup.com

Recover Prevent Manage For no initial cost, we recover £millions of our clients’ money every year. And our software saves them £millions more. Government departments, health authorities and multi-national companies use our services. We are data analysts and software developers who specialise in Purchase to Payment processes. We analyse billions of transactions for anomalies like duplicate or over payments. And we recover them promptly and discretely. We do all the administration and take up very little of our clients’ time or resources.

Once we’ve made recoveries, clients can licence our software to manage their own transactions. We deliver our software as “Software as a Service.” It will sit with any existing systems. The software finds anomalies before payments are made, ensures invoices match contract terms at line item level, enables detailed expenditure reporting and automates workflows and payment.

Find out more at the Cabinet Office’s www.innovationlaunchpad.cabinetoffice.gov.uk or phone 020 3176 4290 www.profectusgroup.com

Volume 18.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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TRAINING

THE ROUTE TO BETTER TRAINING In today’s tough economic climate and with limited or no training budget, how can credit professionals gain that much needed training, asks Kerry Walsh at the Institute of Credit Management If businesses are to survive and prosper in the modern world, they need to be more flexible, faster-moving and fasterlearning than ever before. Their ability to do this rests upon the abilities of their workforce to have these characteristics – hence the value of professional training. If

individuals are able to learn, develop and change, then so can their organisations. It is important for any business, large or small, to plan the training that its people may need. While there can be enormous benefits in developing the abilities of the workforce, training doesn’t come cheaply. Training

One of the major benefits of training online is that you can fit it around your work schedule, and when you have a spare hour you can log on and do a bit more or – dare I suggest it – even complete it in your own time, at home.

needs to be directed at the right people, it needs to be the right type of training and it needs to be delivered at the right time.

Money Matters

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

THE MOST EFFECTIVE METHOD With the deluge of courses now being offered on the internet, it could very well be signalling a coup de grâce for classroom training for all but the most technical of courses. In today’s tough economic climate, and with limited or no training budget available, how can you provide that much needed training resource your team needs? One of the major benefits of training online is that you can fit it around your work schedule, and when you have a spare hour you can log on and do a bit more or – dare I suggest it – even complete it in your own time, at home. However, the drawback is that you may be constantly disturbed by office colleagues, phone calls and meetings, or possibly children if you choose to complete it after work. So it makes sense that one of the benefits of classroom training is that it requires you to be out of the office, leaving you to focus 100 per cent on the course. Another major benefit for classroom training is the personal touch – but how important is that personal touch? How could you replicate the adrenaline buzz you get from taking part E

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In the toughest conditions, experience pays. Debt collection is our business. Whether collecting money from individuals or companies, working with our people pays. So whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stopping you? Call The Lewis Group today on 0870 751 3402 or log on to www.lewisgroup.co.uk

TRAINING

When choosing the best training solution for your needs, whilst location and cost are commonly the deciding factor, don’t ever settle for a course just because the training is in your local area. Your own personality and limitations should also play a role in your choice. E in a face-to-face role-play exercise online? And are online products really effective? It’s not an easy decision to make. When choosing the best training solution for your needs, whilst location and cost are commonly the deciding factor, don’t ever settle for a course just because the training is in your local area. Your own personality and limitations should also play a role in your choice. Do you work well without strict supervision and deadlines? Can you set goals for yourself and follow these through? Can you work alone? If your answer to those questions isn’t a resounding ‘yes’ you may not do well with online training. There is a big difference between sitting in a classroom and being left to your own devices to complete the training in isolation. In a classroom, you’re held responsible for keeping pace with the delivery from the trainer and the

other participants. An online course allows you to set your own pace. Some people simply need the structure of a classroom setting to get into a learning mindset. WHERE DO I START? Have you ever taken the time to sit down and work out what online learning is available on the internet? Here are just a few of the more common platforms: A webinar is a neologism to describe a specific type of web conference. Web conferencing is used to conduct live meetings or presentations via the internet. In a web conference, each participant sits at his or her own computer and is connected to other participants via the internet. A podcast is a series of digital computer files, usually either digital audio or video, that is released periodically

and made available for download by means of web syndication. A screencast is a digital recording of computer screen output, also known as a video screen capture, often containing audio narration. A blog (a contraction of the term ‘weblog’) is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. If you are still none the wiser having read the descriptions, maybe the tried and tested route of classroom training will be your preferred route.

Money Matters

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SO WHICH IS BETTER? One size does not fit all. It depends solely on your needs. The value of a live, trainer-led training day is undeniable and with today’s cost-cutting measures in place the online version might be the way forward. One thing is certain – there will always be a need for classroom training but maybe it’s time we should be looking to online training as complementary rather than competing, and accept each has a place in today’s modern society. L FOR MORE INFORMATION www.icm.org.uk www.icmos.org.uk

Have you considered all of your debt recovery options? It’s worth taking a better look at Lowell At a time when central and local governments are under pressure to reduce costs, it becomes more important than ever to recover monies owed. With an estimated £34 billion of outstanding public sector debt (as at end 2009), the need for cuts could be softened if these debts were collected. According to the credit reference agency Experian*, based on the experiences of the private sector around 30 per cent of uncollected debt can be retrieved with the right collections strategy. If that’s the case there are £10 billion of potential recoveries in the public sector, something which is well worth exploring. Traditionally, companies have been faced with two outsourcing choices for debt recovery; to sell to a debt purchaser or outsource to a debt collection agency (DCA) on a commission-only basis. Today that decision isn’t as clear cut, with ‘right to collect’ and ‘outsource to sell’ being two important options to consider. Debt sale – straight debt sale involves the debt purchaser taking on legal ownership of the accounts and is an area where

Lowell has established itself as the UK’s leading provider. Lowell buys consumer debt from a range of organisations, effectively managing the recovery of those debts by working closely with each customer to build a realistic and affordable repayment plan. Debt sale offers immediate and tangible benefits: • Increased cash flow and cash reserves • Greater profit for a healthier trading picture • Higher overall returns compared with traditional methods • Consistency in forecasting recoveries • Improved productivity of existing resources Right to collect – with right to collect the legal ownership of the accounts remains

with the original creditor, with a licence to collect being granted to the purchasing company for a set period of time. Right to collect offers those companies that are unable to sell their debts, or have limitations in place in terms of the amount of debt they are able to sell, a chance to experience many of the benefits of debt sale. Outsource to sell – the latest addition to Lowell’s suite of debt recovery options is our outsource to sell option, which allows companies to outsource accounts for collection on a commission basis initially, with the option to sell them to Lowell at a later date. This new offering allows companies to benefit from Lowell’s experience, without committing to debt sale. *An Experian report – Quarter 4, 2009 FOR MORE INFORMATION Contact Lowell today to find a better way forward for your debt recovery. Tel: 0113 2856612 betterresults@lowellgroup.co.uk www.lowell.co.uk

Volume 18.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

Outsourcing

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

PRIVATE SECTOR CONTRACTS

OUTSOURCING TO THE RESCUE The National Outsourcing Association’s chairman Martyn Hart looks at why public sector outsourcing is on the rise and explains the benefits it can provide in these difficult financial times In recent months, we’ve seen a number of initiatives from the government aimed at making it easier for organisations in the private sector looking to supply services to the public sector. Indeed, by pledging to support growth in enterprise, and by trying its best to clear the path for private sector organisations looking to take on public sector contracts, it seems clear that the coalition has nailed its colours firmly to the outsourcing mast. So why has outsourcing proven so popular, and what are the benefits that outsourcing can provide?

programmes such as Channel 4’s Dispatches programme in March have gone to great lengths to portray outsourcing suppliers as the villains of the piece. However, what very few people seem to take into account is that outsourcing can also provide a number of benefits to the public sector. Of course, perhaps the most easily understood of these benefits is the way in which outsourcing can help to provide lower costs. With outsourcing, costs are lowered through reduction in management, coordination, administration and improved processes – all of which are an important factor for a government looking to cut costs. However, it’s important to recognise, at the same time, that outsourcing should not mean reducing costs at the expense of

LONG TERM EFFICIENCIES It’s easy for people in the current climate to look at suppliers of outsourcing and see them as the ones to benefit from the government’s austerity measures. Indeed, television

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GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE Volume | 18.5

performance. After all, using outsourcing to reduce costs in the short-term can lead to greater long-term inefficiencies, with increased costs incurred as a result. No organisation, whether it is from the public or the private sector, should look to enter in to an outsourcing contract on the basis of cost alone. Instead, organisations must understand the importance of analysing its own performance, identifying which areas it is able to perform well, and using outsourcing suppliers to manage processes which are not part of their core competencies. If managed properly, this can result in not only a reduction in costs, but also an increase in overall efficiency. Perhaps just as important to the overall success of outsourcing in the public sector is that specific objectives are put in place to ensure that both parties understand what they have to deliver at the outset of the relationship in order to make it a success. Outsourcing contracts without clearly defined objectives rarely, if ever, result in a successful outcome – primarily because a successful outcome has not been defined, which means it’s likely that both parties will have conflicting ideas of how successful the contract has been. CUE THE PRIVATE SECTOR Upon reflection, it’s no coincidence that the private sector has been highlighted E

E as one of the key beneficiaries of the coalition government’s austerity measures. Not only can private sector organisations help to lower costs, and drive efficiencies in public sector organisations, but they can also typically call on far greater resources, to ensure that contracts are delivered in a timely, efficient manner. The latest of a number of government-led initiatives aimed at encouraging outsourcing in the public sector was announced by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles, who recently signalled the government’s intention to scrap the ‘Two Tier’ outsourcing code for local government. The code, which was introduced by the Labour Government in 2003, was aimed at preventing the creation of two-tier workforces by protecting employees recruited to work on outsourced public sector contracts from being appointed at lesser rates in comparison to transferred employees. In truth, news of the code’s imminent abolition comes as no real surprise to anyone, as the government’s austerity measures have dictated that the tendering for public sector must focus increasingly on cost efficiencies and quality of service, without having to worry about other considerations. It does, however, demonstrate that public sector outsourcing is on the rise. Indeed, it’s no coincidence that the NOA has

seen a marked increase in activity in recent months, with new members joining from local government telling us that they have been encouraged by the innovative approach suppliers are offering to this sector. But if outsourcing really is the way forward for the public sector, then surely it’s in the best interests of everyone concerned to make sure they know how to manage an outsourcing relationship effectively? BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS A successful outsourcing relationship is something you need to work at and understand, and there is a risk that without proper guidance, public sector organisations could stumble down this road blindly. With this in mind, it’s also come as no surprise to me to learn that NOA Pathway – the NOA’s training arm – has also seen an increase in interest from local government in recent weeks looking for best practice and help to ensure that they get best value from their suppliers. Given that public sector outsourcing is a relatively new phenomenon, perhaps training in how to manage outsourcing suppliers should be an important area of focus? After all, it’s clear that very few public sector departments will have had experience in managing a relationship with an outsourcing supplier, so perhaps this is

Outsourcing

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an area where training has a role to play? NOA Pathway runs the only university accredited qualifications in outsourcing available today, and its programmes are designed to allow students to learn on-thejob, which means that they can add practical value to their organisation while they learn. A GROWING TREND When all’s said and done, it’s important to recognise that the outsourcing industry is buoyant at the moment, because outsourcing is one of the few industries capable of relieving the burden to the taxpayer, by reducing costs and increasing efficiencies in the public sector. As the outsourcing landscape becomes more open in the wake of the government’s commitment to promoting enterprise, more and more suppliers will look for ways they can get a slice of the outsourcing pie, thus bringing more competition, effectiveness and innovation into the public sector. Perhaps, then, the question we should be asking is not why should public sector look to outsourcing? Maybe, instead, we should be asking why it hasn’t done so before. It’s a question that the NOA’s public sector special interest group has been asking for sometime – if you have the time, why not come along and tell us what you feel the answer is? L

Professional, affordable and comprehensive cleaning services Aussie is a leading multi-service company offering a range of services to commercial customers throughout the Greater London area. We have many years of experience in the commercial cleaning sector and can provide a comprehensive and affordable professional cleaning service to hospitals, surgeries, medical centres and other healthcare establishments. All our staff are fully trained and we use the latest cleaning materials and equipment to ensure that your premises are thoroughly and hygienically cleaned every single time. We also have state-of-the-art carpet cleaning systems that are designed to produce a deep down clean that cannot be replicated by a vacuum cleaner. We work with healthcare managers to ensure that all

standards and requirements are rigorously met and that cleaning takes place safely and efficiently, with the greatest consideration for the privacy and needs of patients and healthcare staff. Also, we always consider the environment and use environmentally-friendly materials whenever possible. Aussie also provides a number of other useful services – these include storage, removals, and Man & Van. FOR MORE INFORMATION George Petrou Tel: 020 34052000 info@aussiecleanteam.co.uk www.aussiegroup.co.uk

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Volume 18.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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Grow with us... Vision... ...can take you places you’ve never dreamed of, helping you stay at the forefront of the latest procurement thinking. Opportunities... ...in numbers will ensure you’ll always find the right people for your company, and the resources to help them grow.

Support... ...at the moment you need it most, we’ll give you the confidence to keep moving forward, taking your career to new heights. CIPS – one organisation, 65,000 members, infınite benefits.

CIPS the world’s largest purchasing and supply organisation www.cips.org info@cips.org 01780 756777

Want to be at the cutting edge of FM? Then get involved in the BIFM

Want to get involved in the BIFM? Then look sharp and contact us. As the representative body for facilities management, we’re already the cutting edge of the industry. But as a member (or potential member), you might like to get your teeth into what we do and be a more active participant. It’s a fantastic opportunity to help shape BIFM0209 C

the future of our business – from the business end. Whether you’d like to simply attend a regional meeting and the national conference, organise an event, join a committee, become a mentor or sharpen your vocal or literary skills by being a key speaker or writing

in FM World, we’d love to hear from you. Because to help everyone in the industry make the most of it, we need all the useful tools we can get our hands on. So why not get involved and get more out of FM – for yourself and everyone else.

T: 0845 058 1358 E: membership@bifm.org.uk www.bifm.org.uk

THE PUBLIC PROCUREMENT SHOW

ALL YOU NEED FOR SHAPING PUBLIC SECTOR PROCUREMENT TODAY

Procurement

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If you only attend one event this year, make sure it’s The Public Procurement Show 2011. Taking place 14-15 June at ExCeL London, it is the UK’s leading event for government procurement This year’s Public Procurement Show comes at a time when procurement professionals are under significant pressure to find new ways of managing costs and deliver cashable savings. On 14-15 June, decision makers in public sector procurement can attend for free to hear about innovative new ways of delivering savings. Taking place at ExCeL London, the

exhibition will run alongside Smart Healthcare Live and SmartGov Live, which all comprise of full conference agendas, keynote debates, best practice seminars and innovative feature areas. With the reality of cost-cutting hitting public sector organisations at every level, procurement professionals are facing the joint challenge of reducing costs whilst enabling

Building on last year’s inaugural success, The Public Procurement Show will provide you with the latest thinking, a chance to meet new and existing suppliers and to hear developments shaping public sector procurement today.

their organisations to deliver services more efficiently. Building on last year’s inaugural success, The Public Procurement Show will provide you and your colleagues with the latest thinking, a chance to meet new and existing suppliers and to hear developments shaping public sector procurement today. COLLABORATIVE PROCUREMENT The potential cost benefits of collaborative procurement are widely known. It has been demonstrated that centralising procurement can improve buying power. Alyson Brett, chief executive, NHS South East Coast Collaborative Procurement Hub will discuss how we can encourage organisations to find buying partners and work together and what cost benefits E

Volume 18.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

Save energy, space & cost while making government greener Cut noise, save money Kell IT Cabinets reduce perceived server noise by over 90% and, because now you don’t need a server room, cut capital costs by 65 to 80%.

SMEs use them as their server rooms. Datacentres deploy them as Network Closets & as overflow racks. Energy Consultants recommend them for their Green Credentials. Retail giants use them as a remotely managed Branch Office comms rooms. The BCS has one. So does The White House. And NASA. Why dont you?

We don’t do ugly Our server cabinets are designed to hide Server & IT equipment right in the open office. Kell IT Cabinets are high quality pieces of furniture. Go green Our customers utilise our air-cooled Server Cabinets to reduce their carbon footprint and improve their companies sustainability record.

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Plug-and-play, then take away Our cabinets are delivered within 2 to 4 weeks and are shipped fully built, ready to use straight away. They can also be easily moved. Some additional benefits Extend your IT equipments operating life and reliability by keeping it dust-free using our dust filters. Monitor and control your cabinet from anywhere, simplifying multi-site management and cutting maintenance costs and site visits.

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Mazepoint provide answers and training for budgeting, forecasting, planning, analysis and reporting problems. Answers which help local authorities, central government and national health trusts guide and validate their drive for efficiency, growth and change. Talk to us to discover how we’ve helped the NHS, Oxfordshire County Council and Royal Berkshire Trust with budgeting and reporting, human resource planning and cost analysis. We provide bespoke training, empowering your staff to become self sufficient, eliminating reliance on external consultants. Mazepoint staff are certified in a number of key financial and technology disciplines. Mazepoint Ltd. www.mazepoint.com Tel: 020 7348 7608 Email: info@mazepoint.com

THE PUBLIC PROCUREMENT SHOW E we can expect to see from an effective collaboration. Meanwhile, Martin Chown will explore what role procurement will play in delivering significant savings and improvements, and how different approaches can deliver huge results for the public sector. This year, we will be introducing best practice theatres and creating a dynamic and collaborative forum for hot topics in the sector to be explored. While outsourcing is often viewed as a potential method of delivering significant cashable savings, it has also received a lot of bad press. Peter Howarth, chief executive, Society of Procurement Officers, will tell attendees about his experience in this area, including how to make the decision to outsource in the first place and then how to balance different cultures and needs. KEYNOTE DEBATES High level strategic keynote debates will also run across all three shows on both days. Leading thinkers from across the sector including Allison OgdenNewton, chief executive of Social Enterprise London, Lord Geoffrey Filkin, Dominic Campbell from FutureGov, and Chris Chant, interim executive director for digital, Cabinet Office will discuss rethinking public services, how to get bigger savings, better value and outcomes through procurement and how information technology is changing the UK. In addition to the Procurement Talks and Best Practice Seminars, we will also be introducing two exciting new feature areas. Procurement Skills Workshops will provide you and your colleagues with a free training resource. Sessions include collaboration, outsourcing strategies, cost reduction techniques and managing contractual disputes. Procurement Law Seminars will allow you to gain a greater understanding of how procurement law will shape the future of public sector procurement. Sessions will cover dealing with suppliers in insolvency, strategies for renegotiating contracts and how to make tenders challenge proof. EXHIBITORS You will also meet the UK’s leading providers to the public sector at The Public Procurement Show. Exhibitors will be showcasing hundreds of products and services from office supplies to ICT, furniture to floor coverings and travel agencies to legal services. Exhibitors include Achilles, Amaryllis, Mitie, Kyocera Mita, PayPoint and Royal Mail. By bringing leading public sector influencers, thinkers and suppliers together under one roof, The Public Procurement Show can help procurement professionals understand and use their resources to enable the delivery of public services efficiently and effectively. L FOR MORE INFORMATION For more information and to register free, please visit www.publicprocurementshow.com. Don’t forget to follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/Guardianprocure

Procurement

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Procurement Skills Workshops Tuesday 14 June 10:00-11:00 Deep cut cost reduction techniques 11:30-12:30 Collaboration in and across the public sector 13:00-14:00 Supplier relationship management 14:30-15:30 Sustainable procurement and making it happen Wednesday 15 June 10:00-11:00 Risk profiling in procurement and supply chain 11:30-12:30 Managing contractual disputes in a time of austerity 13:00-14:00 Partnering strategies 14:30-15:30 Outsourcing strategies: the balancing act

Procurement Law Seminars Tuesday 14 June 10:30-11:00 Up for the challenge? How to make tenders challenge proof 11:30-12:15 Is this for real? Dealing with low bidders 12:30-13:15 Modernising European procurement law and is the EU serious? 14:30-15:15 Procuring shared services after LAML 15:30-16:15 Levelling the playing-field. Procuring from small business and the third sector Wednesday 15 June 10:30-11:15 Commercial confidentiality vs the public’s right to know 11:30-12:15 The effect of the Bribery Act on procurement 12:30-13:15 Dealing with suppliers in insolvency 14:30-14:15 Back to basics and strategies for re-negotiating contracts 15:30-16:15 Smooth transfer: State aid and staff mutuals

BIFM – your one essential membership BIFM is the natural home of facilities management in the UK. Membership provides a whole range of benefits, whether you are new to the profession or highly experienced in it. Since we were established we have been driving the FM industry forward. Develop your career and expand your skills, training and experience in a structured and achievable time frame. Resources include CDP opportunities, online CPD records system, annual Careers Guide Supplement, big reductions on our training courses and more. Get the opportunity to share best practice and gain experience across the

FM profession. Connect to the industry and fellow professionals with events that range from special interest groups to regional networks, social events and online forums. Use our indispensable advice, training and know-how to enhance your career. Keep up-to-date with the latest FM thinking to help you achieve your full potential

and deliver to the best of your ability. Membership provides you with an opportunity to demonstrate your experience and professional expertise in the field of FM. Our grading structure provides pathways for any stage of your career, which are recognised throughout the industry. Furthermore, the letters you can put after your name as a member demonstrate your level of expertise. FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 0845 0581356 membership@bifm.org.uk www.bifm.org.uk

Volume 18.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

EXPERTS IN

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CIPS is the world’s largest purchasing and supply organisation

CRYPTOCARD – bringing together new concepts and technologies

The Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply (CIPS) is the leading international body representing purchasing and supply chain professionals. It was founded in 1932, gaining a Royal Charter in 1992. It is at the centre of purchasing and supply management issues, continually improving the professional standards of supply chain management practitioners and raising awareness of their contribution to corporate, national and international prosperity. CIPS provides the only professional qualification in the field at a level equivalent to a university first degree. Tailor-made in-house training programmes are widely available and a series of modular courses have been devised for those working towards

CRYPTOCARD’s vision is to make two-factor authentication available to organisations, regardless of their size. To achieve this, CRYPTOCARD provides solutions that are an order of magnitude simpler, easier and cheaper than traditional systems. Bringing together new concepts and technologies, CRYPTOCARD is revolutionising authentication by making it so simple, easy and cheap that it can be rolled out to everybody. Strong authentication is no longer the mystery and complexity it was a decade ago. Mobile tokens, automated provisioning, self-service and other advances enable authentication for everyone. The new standard is determined by how effectively a vendor can streamline provisioning, mobilise authentication, be ‘the one’ credential and drive cost and complexity into the ground. CRYPTOCARD’s solutions are uniquely positioned

the CIPS Graduate Diploma. CIPS has around 65,000 members in 150 different countries, including senior business people, high ranking civil servants and leading academics. All members are bound by a strict code of ethics which is recognised and adopted by many organisations worldwide. FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 01780 756777 Fax: 01780 751610 info@cips.org www.cips.org

Mazepoint – information management and forecasting specialists Mazepoint provides answers to business-critical budgeting, forecasting, planning, analysis and information management problems. Answers that help companies and public bodies guide and validate their drive for efficiency, growth and change. We apply the best design principles to communicate information in an appealing and accessible way, using financial, statistical and market data. We also ensure every customer can be self sufficient in their information management needs, through bespoke training courses. Providing services on both an outsourced and project-specific basis since 1998, we count major organisations such as the NHS, Toyota and Oxfordshire County Council among our customers. Mazepoint staff are certified in a number of key business and technology disciplines. We are a multi-lingual

team, based in London. Problems we confound include: • Drowning in data, but struggling to reveal insights? • Guessing the impact that future developments could have on productivity? • Worried about visibility and control? • Out-growing Excel-based analysis and reporting? • Over-dependent on multiple, error-prone spreadsheets for budgeting and planning? • Struggling to establish a single version of the truth? • Trouble collecting and verifying data from different sources? • Issues with management information and business intelligence systems and processes? FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 020 73487600 info@mazepoint.com www.mazepoint.com

to deliver on all fronts. CRYPTOCARD drastically reduces spend on existing authentication solutions. For example, with BLACKSHIELD CLOUD organisations don’t have to purchase any hardware upfront – therefore no Capex expenditures – and they don’t have to face any ongoing or recurring costs. Essentially, for the cost of a cup of coffee per user per month, organisations can enjoy authentication on demand. Equally BLACKSHIELD SERVER is the new standard in onsite authentication. The cost to acquire and run these systems is substantially below traditional solutions. FOR MORE INFORMATION www.cryptocard.com

Portable server cabinets and network equipment from Kell Systems Kell’s Server Cabinets provide a quiet, energy efficient home for computer servers and network equipment within offices or other environments, significantly reducing IT running costs and removing the need for a server room. In typical usage, the Kell server cabinet can reduce server noise by a perceived 90 per cent and – compared to a server room – CO2 emissions by up to 97 per cent, floor space by 90 per cent, operating costs by 98 per cent, and capital costs by up to 80 per cent. The stylish, high-quality office furniture is extremely user friendly. The cabinets can be deployed to new users within a matter of weeks rather than months, and can move effortlessly with you if and when your business relocates to new premises. Based in Marlow in the UK, Kell’s UK and global client base includes local government councils, the Foreign &

Commonwealth Office, the Ministry of Defence, the NHS, Accenture, ABN Amro, the BBC, BP, NASA, Shell and Ogilvy to name just a small selection. Kell will be exhibiting at the Guardian’s SmartGov Live show, to be held at ExCeL London on 14-15 June. If you are in attendance of the show we will be at stand number F4 – so please come over to the stand and say hello! FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 01628 474757 info@kellsystems.co.uk www.kellsystems.co.uk

Volume 18.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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Built Environment

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The government is taking action to support homes, small businesses and community schemes that produce their own renewable power through Feed-in Tariffs Proposals to reduce the financial support available to larger scale solarproduced electricity have been published by the government as part of plans to protect financial support for homes, communities and small businesses. The consultation follows the launch in February of a fast-track review into how the Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) work for solar photovoltaic (PV) over 50kW after evidence showing that there could already be 169MW of large scale solar capacity in the planning system – equivalent to funding solar panels on the roofs of around 50,000 homes if tariffs are left unchanged. Such projects could potentially soak up the subsidy that would otherwise go to smaller renewable schemes or other technologies such as wind, hydro and anaerobic digestion. Projections at the start of the scheme had shown no large scale solar under the FITs was expected until at least 2013. The consultation also covers proposals to provide added support to farm-scale anaerobic digestion given the disappointing uptake of such technologies to date. REWARDS FOR THE RIGHT PEOPLE Greg Barker, Climate Change Minister said: “Our cash for green electricity scheme is a great way to reward homes, communities and small businesses that produce their own renewable power. “I’m committed to an ambitious roll out of microgeneration technologies as part of the coalition’s green vision of a much more decentralised energy economy. “I want to make sure that we capture the benefits of fast falling costs in solar technology to allow even more homes to benefit from feed in tariffs, rather than see that money go in bumper profits to a small number of big investors. “These proposals aim to rebalance the scheme and put a stop to the threat of largerscale solar soaking up the cash. The FITs scheme was never designed to be a profit generator for big business and financiers. “Britain’s solar industry is a vital part of our renewables future and our growing green economy. The new tariff rates we’re putting forward for consultation will provide a level of support for all solar PV and ensure a sustained growth path for industry. “Taking a pro-active approach to changing tariffs will allow us to avoid the boom-

and-bust approach we have seen in other countries and enable us to support more homes and community schemes, and a wider range of technologies such as wind, hydro and anaerobic digestion.” As solar PV technology has developed, its costs have reduced, and are now believed to be around 30 per cent lower than originally projected. This means the technology does not need as much support to be competitive. PV TARIFFS The government is therefore proposing to reduce the support for all new PV installations larger than microgeneration size (50kW) and stand alone installations. The new proposed rates are: • 19p/kWh for 50kW to 150kW • 15p/kWh for 150kW to 250kW • 8.5p/kWh for 250kW to 5MW and stand-alone installations These compare with the tariffs that would otherwise apply of: • 32.9p/kWh for 10kw to 100kw • 30.7/kWh for 100kw to 5MW and stand-alone installations Such changes are in line with amendments made to similar schemes in Europe where in Germany, France and Spain tariffs for PV have been reduced sharply over the past year. Alongside the fast-track review of solar, a short study has also been undertaken into the lack of uptake of FITs for farmscale anaerobic digestion. The study suggests that the tariff for this technology is not high enough to make such schemes worthwhile. The proposed new tariffs are: • 14p/kWh for AD installations with a total installed capacity of up to 250 kW • 13p/kWh for AD installations with a total installed capacity of between 250 kW and 500 kW These compare with the tariffs that would otherwise apply of 12.1p/ kWh for AD up to 500 kW. SUSTAINABLE CHANGE Government policy is specifically created to deliver an increase in energy from waste through anaerobic digestion, not to promote energy crops, particularly where these are grown to the exclusion of food producing crops. DECC is talking to Defra and others about the best way to implement controls to make sure this does not happen. The government will not act retrospectively

FIT FACTS An average household solar installation is around 2.5kW. Over 27,000 installations have been registered for the FIT scheme to date. Subject to the outcome of the consultation and parliamentary scrutiny, the revised tariffs would be introduced from 1 August 2011. A separate comprehensive review into the Feed-in Tariffs is now under way. FITs is a Great Britain scheme so any changes following this consultation will apply in England, Wales and Scotland.

and any changes to generation tariffs implemented as a result of the review will only affect new entrants into the FITs scheme. Installations which are already accredited for FITs will not be affected. Solar PV installations less than 50kW are not affected by this fast track review. These changes are proposed to be implemented in advance of the comprehensive review of FITs, which is currently underway and will look at all aspects of the scheme. L

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Johnson & Starley Lighting and energy highlights energy efficient reduction solutions from H&V solutions at CIH DFx Technology Ltd On Stand 202, Hall C at the CIH Exhibition, Johnson & Starley will show its comprehensive range of energy efficient heating and ventilation solutions. The all New Aqua Heating Interface Units for District/Decentralised Heating Systems, provide warm air central heating with or with out DHW. Q-Vent HR whole house mechanical ventilation systems are SAP Appendix Q listed. They accurately control the amount of replacement fresh air into a dwelling that is pre-warmed indirectly by the extracted air. Incorporating energy efficient EC fan motors and a high efficiency counterflow heat exchanger that provides efficiencies up to 95 per cent. The LE 155 and LE 250 whole house heat recovery systems provide essential air management and are also SAP

Appendix Q listed. The C300 Premier central extract system is designed for whole house ventilation and is capable of achieving airflows of 300m3/ hour. For smaller dwellings, the C180 system is available, providing airflow of up to 180m3/hour. RenoXtra high efficiency combination condensing boilers feature a gas saver module that provides additional system efficiency by re-cycling flue gas heat and can provide extra domestic hot water (DHW) efficiency, lower gas consumption as well as reduced carbon emissions. Economaire and Hi –Spec warm air heating systems are fully compliant with the latest amendments to Part L of the Building Regulations.

similar systems in the commercial sector they are now working with housing associations to optimise energy consumption, helping to demonstrate cost-efficiencies and reduce carbon footprint. With over 25 years of experience the company designs and manufacture its products in the UK to ISO 9001:2000 quality standards and are CE and RoHS compliant. As a result the company has a client base that includes some of the world’s largest businesses. FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 01993 705151 www.dfxtech.co.uk/ planetsaver

FOR MORE INFORMATION www.johnsonandstarley.co.uk

Architecture, space planning and strategic space management The practice has over 13 years experience working in-house for large public and private sector institutions across London and the South East. We are equally at home preparing briefs, feasibilities and detailed proposals for any size of project, however large or small, and have the capability to manage complex, multi-sited property portfolios between 500 and 500,000sq ft. We pride ourselves in a professional and timely delivery of high quality information in a variety of formats to suit individual organisational technology platforms and communication methods. Benefits to an organisation of this working model can be summarised across rapid response and refinement of proposals, on-call service delivery and economic, high quality delivery. Professional and trade body

DFx Technology Ltd., innovator in the design and manufacturer of lighting and energy reduction solutions, is leading the way in LED lighting products with its range of PLANETSAVER® T4 and ULP striplights, 2D and 2D emergency lamps and S15 lamps including a hi-render lamp options suitable for locations requiring high quality light environments, such as galleries and museums. Along with its lighting products, DFx Technology has developed a remote energy monitoring and management system specifically designed to be used in multitenant locations. Utilising its expertise gained from deploying

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SOCIAL & AFFORDABLE HOUSING

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Built Environment

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The Chartered Institute of Housing’s annual conference and exhibition will address the challenges facing the sector and bring together more than 6,000 housing professionals The social and affordable housing sector’s biggest and best attended event takes place in Harrogate from 21-23 June. The Chartered Institute of Housing’s annual conference and exhibition will this year address the increasing challenges facing the sector and will include a number of exciting features focused around this year’s hot topic, sustainability. This is the only event in the housing calendar that brings together more than 6,000 housing professionals from leading providers, partners and suppliers, representing the whole sector. Visitors will be able to share ideas and insights and develop a shared understanding of how to move forward. The Housing 2011 exhibition will offer visitors a wide range of added value features to help them keep up to date with sector developments and current thinking on the major issues. SUSTAINABILITY Brand new this year is the Sustainable Solutions Showcase, where the Sustainable Homes Group and their managing director Andrew Eagles (Green Social Housing Champion of the Year 2010, Sustainable Housing Awards) will be offering a guide of the best sustainable innovations on show in Harrogate. Andrew and Nick Duxbury, editor of Sustainable Housing magazine, will be conducting tours of the halls and speaking to a variety of exhibitors at the event. In addition to the sustainable tours, there will also be the chance to have your questions answered by the sector’s sustainability experts – for example Richard Baines from Black Country Housing Group; Paul Ciniglio from Radian Group; and Sally Hancox from Gentoo Green – in dedicated Sustainable Surgeries. While the conference debates policy, the exhibition offers learning opportunities, bringing together housing associations, local authorities and a full range of service providers for a series of seminars at the Ideas Exchange. These free seminars offer practical tips and innovative solutions to the day to day issues facing housing professionals and their organisations. Session topics include ‘Achieving PassivHaus standards – existing stock and new build’, ‘Empty properties cost money – turning round voids’ and ‘Cashing in with clean energy’. New for 2011, the Housing & Localism Zone is all about the implementation of

policy. Bringing practitioners and officials from the CLG, HCA and TSA together, this zone provides a forum to explore how to make policies work in practice. PROCUREMENT Also making its debut in 2011, the Procurement Village, in partnership with the Northern Housing Consortium, will focus on current procurement issues and will feature the Consortium’s framework partners who will be showcasing their products and services. Sponsored by Harvest, The Tenant Action Zone is the meeting point for tenants and will provide a central area for networking, plus activities and sessions designed specifically for tenants. These sessions aim to provide an open forum for tenants to ask questions and discuss issues that matter to them as well as capture and share good practice. Visitors will be able to meet a range of exhibitors including leaders in new build and retrofit, green solutions, repairs and maintenance, IT and smart technology, architects, funders, solicitors, management solutions and housing providers. Exhibitors include MITIE, Mears, Gentoo, Mark Group, Mansell, Evolution Securities, Devonshires Solicitors, Capita, Savills, Harvest Housing Group and Glasgow Housing Association. As the largest event in the sector, networking is key for many visitors. The calendar of social events includes the conference dinner on Monday night, a BBQ at the Sun Pavilion on the Tuesday and the brand new Wednesday night conference party. INDUSTRY EXPERTS With over 50 sessions focusing on the key areas of debate in the new environment, this year’s conference offers the opportunity to hear from some of the most influential thinkers and leaders guiding the sector. Many of these speakers are entirely new to the event – including key influencers like Phillip Blond from ResPublica – referred to by The Telegraph as “a driving force behind David Cameron’s ‘Big Society’ agenda.” Also speaking is Dennis Turner, HSBC’s chief economist; Neil O’Brien from the Policy Exchange, widely regarded as “David Cameron’s favourite think-tank” and Stephen Greenhalgh from Hammersmith and Fulham council (“on a quest to reform the principles of social housing,”said the Guardian). Delegates will also be hearing from the Housing Minister, Grant Shapps,

Opening times Tuesday 21 June 9.00 – 5.30 Wednesday 22 June 9.00 – 5.30 Thursday 23 June 9.00 – 4.00

after a hugely eventful first year in office. The packed agenda will also offer fresh perspectives from outside the sector – for example, one session will combine insights from Chris Moss, the branding guru behind Virgin Atlantic, Orange and 118 118 alongside Shameless scriptwriter Danny Brocklehurst’s as they investigate perceptions around social housing and how to improve them. Throughout the event, key sessions will again contribute to the Housing Pact, which proved a popular new addition in 2010 and will be presented on the final afternoon. Adding to the highly interactive nature of the conference, delegates will have even more opportunities to have their say, to get involved in the debates and to question the speakers – including live interactive polling to gauge audience opinion and real-time Twitter streams contributing to the debate in all of the main sessions. RISING STARS COMPETITION Another new feature of the conference will be the Rising Stars competition, an initiative to unearth the talented housing leaders of tomorrow. Delegates will be given the opportunity to hear from the finalists across the three days, and ultimately vote for a winner who will receive a range of prizes. These include a day shadowing Grant Shapps, a week shadowing a senior civil servant in the Communities and Local Government department, a day with shadow housing minister Alison Seabeck and a day with Lord Best, president of the Local Government Association. They’ll also win £1,000 to spend on furthering their education. This is the only conference of the year which brings all of the sector together to share ideas and insights with each other and offers a genuinely time and costeffective way for housing professionals to gain the support, advice and solutions they need to do more than just survive. L FOR MORE INFORMATION www.cihhousing.com

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SAFETY & HEALTH EXPO

EUROPE’S LARGEST ANNUAL EVENT FOR SAFETY AND HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

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Firmly established as the leading annual event for the health and safety industry, Safety & Health Expo 2011 promises to be more innovative and informative than ever before With an ever increasing focus on changes in health and safety regulation and legislation, it is imperative that industry professionals remain abreast of developments and the Safety & Health Expo 2011 provides an opportunity for those practitioners to do just that. Innovative and varied exhibitors combined with numerous free, interactive, educational features provide unrivalled learning and networking opportunities. Last year’s visitor attendance was 16,388 (Safety & Health Expo and The Facilities Show), which is independently audited by the Audit Bureau of Circulation, highlighting the popularity of this must see exhibition. Located at Birmingham’s NEC, this year’s show is set to be bigger and better than ever before. It will be opened by Judith Hackitt CBE, chair of the Health and Safety Executive, who will also be giving a keynote session in the SHP Legal Arena on the first day of the show. As the only health and safety event with the support of all leading industry bodies – the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), the British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF) and the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) – Safety & Health Expo 2011 brings together those responsible for health and safety and those looking for the latest developments from across the sector, in addition to a wealth of recognised industry professionals. Featuring more than 300 exhibiting companies the exhibition includes industry leading organisations such as the British Red Cross, Draeger, Health and Safety Executive, BM Polyco, Cirrus Research, Latchways, Posturite, Scott Health & Safety, and ARCO. EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS Various free and innovative educational sessions will be available to visitors over the three days with a view to strengthen their existing health and safety knowledge. The SHP Legal Arena, sponsored by The HSE Recruitment Network, will offer analysis and advice on some of the key legal developments of the year, covering a range of the biggest cases in health and safety and related sectors. Key speakers from some of the UK’s leading organisations include: • Paul Verrico, solicitor-advocate at Eversheds, will be bringing delegates up to date with

Innovative and varied exhibitors combined with numerous free educational features provide unrivalled learning and networking opportunities. recent events relating to individuals’ liability for health and safety offences. • Michael Appleby, partner at Housemans, will offer a practical guide to appealing enforcement notices. • Roddy MacLeod, partner at Weightmans, defines what bullying and harassment looks like, and how the related law deals with the issue. He will also look at some recent cases and provide tips on how to avoid compensation claims. • Steffan Groch, partner at law firm DWF, will consider the proposed changes to RIDDOR, and what impact they could have for health and safety. At the Product and Innovation Hub, sponsored by Arco, visitors will have the opportunity to explore and interact with cutting edge products and technologies during keynote presentations from a variety of industry experts. These include talks on PPE, slip, trip and fall prevention, and lone worker protection. Thomas Martin, Arco’s joint managing director, will give the keynote address offering his view on the current trends in health and safety and illustrating how Arco is pioneering ways to keep people safe at work. Arco’s involvement as the exclusive supplier of PPE, footwear and work wear to the BLOODHOUND SSC support team will also be revealed as well as a full-size replica of this supersonic car that will challenge the land speed record.

A brand new feature for 2011 is the Occupational Health Theatre, sponsored by Posturite and Colbrook Bosson Saunders, which will focus on health in the workplace, assessing topics such as stress management, ergonomics, behavioural safety, equality and diversity. Highlights of this theatre include Neil Budworth of EON discussing the practical outputs of the IOSH DWP pilot training programme in addition to an interactive session examining real business case studies; Lisa Purcell from the British Heart Foundation, promoting health in the workplace; and Dr Rob Hampton, explaining the future of fit notes and outlining the GP’s role in sickness absence. WELCOME ADDITION Ian Fletcher Price, CEO of Posturite Ltd, has expressed his enthusiasm for the theatre, saying: “The Occupational Health Theatre is an exciting and welcome addition to the facilities at Safety & Health Expo, and we are delighted to be involved with it. The programme of presentations and discussions that has been lined up for the three days promises to be both stimulating and informative, and I hope visitors will take full advantage of the opportunity to improve their knowledge and understanding of some important workplace health and safety issues.” The Working at Height Knowledge Base, hosted by the Access Industry Forum (AIF) E

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SAFETY & HEALTH EXPO E will return in 2011 after a successful launch in 2010. Featuring panel discussions, debates and demonstrations, the purpose built area will address the hot topics in access and working at height. Fresh insights and perspectives will be provided by guest contributors including a poignant reminder of the importance of health and safety procedure whilst working at height which will be presented by Jason Anker, a victim of an avoidable workplace incident resulting in paralysis from the waist down. ‘The impact of my life after a fall – a victim’s perspective’ promises to have a powerful impact on those listening as Jason has been unable to openly discuss his experience until very recently. Expect a raw and emotional talk taking us back to the day of this tragic incident. The IOSH stand and mini lecture theatre, will be offering a full schedule of informative and valuable presentations. Join IOSH on their stand and visit the theatre to find out about: • IOSH membership • IOSH training courses and products • IOSH technical tools and development fund opportunities • IOSH publications • Online CPD and IPD On 18 and 19 May, the BSIF Distributor Breakfast Club sessions will start at 9am and last one hour to maximise your visit time to the exhibition, which normally opens at

At the Product and Innovation Hub, visitors will have the opportunity to interact with cutting edge products and technologies during keynote presentations from a variety of industry experts. 10am. This year the subjects are very pertinent to distributor staff with direct contact to customers and the Breakfast Club is a great way for them to gain market information, network and meet influential HSE staff, whilst enjoying coffee and bacon roll before visiting the exhibition. If you would like to register to attend the BSIF Distributor Breakfast Club you can do so at the Safety & Health Expo website. Rounding off this impressive educational series, visitors will witness entertaining, graphic demonstrations when this year’s presentations go off with a bang at Explosive Substances Live presented by Denios. The Denios team will be highlighting the consequences which can arise when flammable materials are incorrectly handled. UNITING PROFESSIONALS Safety & Health Expo incorporates visitors from a range of sectors including manufacturing; construction; utilities; oil & gas; transport; food and logistics, creating an opportunity

for attendees to gain unrivalled insight into how the health and safety industry is developing while exploring the most pressing issues within the health and safety arena. Uniting professionals from health & safety, security, fire and facilities management sectors, Safety & Health Expo 2011 is co-located with IFSEC, the world’s leading annual security event, International Firex, one of the largest dedicated fire safety events in the world and The Facilities Show, the UK’s leading annual facilities management event. All events are free to attend for preregistered visitors. L FOR MORE INFORMATION For further information on the exhibition, its features, and to register please visit www.safety-health-expo.co.uk You can also follow Safety & Health Expo on Twitter at @SHExpo http://twitter.com/ SHExpo to keep up to date with show news in the lead up to and during the event.

NCEC – your chemical safety and emergency response partner

Tensator showcases queue management technology at SHE 2011

Established in 1973, we are the UK’s official National Chemical Emergency Centre (NCEC) and provide 24-hour advice to the Emergency Services under the umbrella of the Chemical Industries Association’s (CIA) Chemsafe scheme. As well as working with the public sector, we provide 24/7 multi-lingual support to more than 500 companies around the world including FTSE 100 and Dow 30 chemical manufactures, transporters, distributors, and large users. We deliver our services via a highly-experienced chemical expert team that links chemical knowledge with practical experience in the chemical industry and the Emergency Services. Along with formal education in chemistry-related fields, our team has undergone additional training in chemical health and safety, emergency response, and crisis communication skills.

Tensator is recognised as the global leader in queue management solutions. The company has a portfolio that includes health and safety solutions, digital media platforms, electronic call forward systems, display and signage, access control solutions and inqueue merchandising systems. Tensator is the inventor of the famous Tensabarrier, one of the safest and most respected barriers in the world. As a new exhibitor at the Safety & Health Expo, taking place at the NEC in May, visitors to the Tensator Stand (1K82), will discover that by clearly defining people traffic routes with barriers and wall units, preventing access to operational and maintenance areas and drawing attention to dangerous zones, a controlled environment can be successfully created with minimal financial investment.

In addition, we provide a suite of specially developed software assisting with chemical hazard identification (Chemdata) that is used throughout the UK by First Responders and across the globe at ports, airports, and large chemical facilities. Other offerings include our SDS/COSHH management system (Chemedox) and our legislative support services including SDS authoring, REACH advice, and GHS/CLP implementation, Our 38-year track record and current team of chemical legislation experts and emergency responders deliver fast, up-tothe-minute advice, setting the global standard for emergency response and compliance. FOR MORE INFORMATION www.the-ncec.com

Health & Safety

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Tensator’s Tensabarrier webbing cassettes incorporate a unique patented braking system that includes twin brake shoes. This slow retract technology allows the webbing to fall to the floor upon release and then slowly and safely retract back into the post, eliminating the risk of an accident when the post is in use. Demonstrations will be available on the stand. FOR MORE INFORMATION Visit www.tensator.com for more information, and follow on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube. To make an enquiry or book an appointment, please call +44 (0)1908 684 600.

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Infinitely powerful, infinitely expandable TOOLMINDER® is the latest generation of safety and maintenance software that enables you to upload and download data and produce PAT test and vibration test labels and reports in minutes. Developed by Earlsmere to be fully compatible with the new features of the Megger 400 series and the HAVmeter, it offers a new dimension in PAT testing and vibration management solutions. As well as the traditional transfer of data to and from the software, TOOLMINDER® can also control the PAT remotely which is ideal for workshops and hire company service centres. TOOLMINDER® and the compatible Brother printers both support barcoding and RFID asset labelling. TOOLMINDER® is available in both single user and networked

versions to suit any industry sector. TOOLMINDER® is perfect for: • Asset tracking • Service and maintenance data • Employee vibration exposure records • PAT/vibration test records • PAT/vibration test labelling • PAT/vibration test reports and certificates • Next due date labels and reports • Barcodes and RFID supported FOR MORE INFORMATION Earlsmere Limited Address: Unit 18 Valley Road, Station Road Industrial Estate, Wombwell, Barnsley, South Yorkshire S73 0BS Tel: +44 (0)1226 750111 Fax: +44 (0)1226 754014 enq@earlsmere.co.uk www.earlsmere.co.uk

Spilsolv UK – leading environmental and hygiene specialists Spilsolv UK is an environmental and hygiene specialist company, which offers a range of products and services that ensure businesses are suitably equipped to meet industry standards. With many years’ experience in Liquid Pollution Prevention and Control (LPPC), Spilsolv UK offers a unique selection of environmentally friendly products together with Risk Assessments and Spillage Response Protocols. The Spilsolv UK ‘Ecosorb’ Range improves carbon footprint and integrates well within any environmentally management system (EMS). Spilsolv UK is also pleased to be able to offer Sokerol, an environmentally friendly, nonleaching, 100 per centorganic oil absorbent. Sokerol has a natural preference for hydro-carbons, making it an ideal absorbent to be used when treating spills both on land and water, regardless of the weather conditions. To ensure that employees working remotely or alone have

appropriate sanitation facilities, Spilsolv UK supplies Brief Relief, a product that uses crystals to capture liquid and solid waste. The crystals create a non-smell gel which within the non-leak bag, can be suitably disposed of in any traditional waste bin. The Brief Relief products ensure that companies meet with the health and safety regulations regarding sanitation provisions for remote workers, whilst also tackling issues such as time efficiency, health benefits and reputation management. FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 08700 420966 sales@spilsolv.co.uk www.spilsolv.co.uk

LucasLabels.co.uk – new safety label and printer consumable manufacturer LucasLabels.co.uk has set a new standard for purchasing all your safety labels and desktop printer supplies online. Purchasing and processing orders online is far more efficient and cost effective and all these benefits are passed directly onto you, our customers in the UK and Europe, through lower pricing and volume discounts. We manufacture materials for machines such as CPM-100, CPM-100HE, CPM-100E, CM200, CJ-200C, CJ Pro, CJ 9700, CJ 9700A, Dura Label printers, Brady printers, Kroy printers and many more. All our materials are made from top quality Avery and 3M materials and are clearly branded as such. This provides you with the confidence you are using the best available with industrial outdoor quality adhesives. You can also purchase

thousands of different styles of safety labels, all pre-printed using outdoor grade UV stable materials and there are numerous options for different environments. You will also be pleased to see we also offer a vast array of engraved traffolyte labels for those tough applications. To compliment this we offer engraved labels and signs in stainless steel, aluminium and brass. With our safety labels, supplies for label and sign printers, you can reduce your spend considerably. FOR MORE INFORMATION Sales Office, 4th Floor, 59 Piccadilly, Manchester M1 2AQ Tel: 0161 8500153 Fax: 0161 8500396 sales@LucasLabels.co.uk www.LucasLabels.co.uk

A complete solution to your clean and safe environment Manufactured to comply with current environmental and health & safety legislation, Safety Unlimited‘s range of units for the bulk storage of 205 litre drums or 1,000 litre IBCs are fully bunded, have high and low flame arrested ventilation and are available with sliding or roller shutter doors. All units have fully galvanised roof and rain gutter to prevent corrosion and are internally and externally finished in chemical resistant two pack Acrylic paint. Visit us at The Safety & Health Expo, 17-19 May at the NEC Birmingham, stand Q2, to see our NEW Economy Galvanised Store and how it can be custom made and finished to suit specific requirements. For storage of low flash point flammable liquids and other hazardous materials, we design and manufacture our Relocatable Safety Store, one hour fire rated

in compliance with BS476: part 22 1987. External panels of plastic coated steel provide excellent corrosion resistance, whilst the walls, roof and doors are insulated with Rockwool Firebatt and internally lined with galvanised steel sheet. Each store is equipped with high and low flame arrested ventilation. Optional extras include shelving, EX rated lighting, heating, extraction and temperature control. FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 0845 4501415 sales@safetyunlimited.co.uk www.safetyunlimited.co.uk

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Traka to showcase its product range at Safety & Health Expo 2011 Traka Plc will be showcasing products from its extensive range of intelligent solutions that enable organisations to manage access to critical assets such as keys and valuable equipment. These solutions ensure not only total control over the availability of such assets but also detailed management reporting to identify who had access to what and when it was returned. Visitors to the Traka stand (T42, Hall 2) will also see the company’s fork truck control system. Traka’s intelligent keys iFobs can make conventional keys for fork trucks a thing of the past. Each iFob is assigned to an individual driver whereby it becomes the intelligent key itself and will only give the driver access to the equipment for which he/she is authorised. Furthermore, the system software not only records faults and damage to trucks but also, if a driver’s licence has expired, has the ability to withhold the iFob.

e ... v s a r e h We e answ ... for a clean and all th

Training and Consultancy

Drum and IBC Storage Secondary Containment Safety Cans Spill Control Products & Training Safety Signs & Bespoke Signs Personal Protective Equipment E Bespoke Manufacturing

Stand No. Q2

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Stand Number 2R94 Book and pay online

bskills.org 0800 073 0282 Tel: 0845 45 01 415 E-mail: sales@safetyunlimited.co.uk www.safetyunlimited.co.uk

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FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 01234 712345 www.traka.com

FOR ALL YOUR HEALTH & SAFETY NEEDS

safe environment when storing hazardous liquids

Visit us at The Safety & Health Expo

Demonstrations on the Traka stand will include its Dock Door control solutions for both ‘Goods In’ and ‘Goods Out’ vehicle loading bays within distribution centres. These solutions prevent dock-door drive-offs and ensure safe working environments during loading/unloading operations.

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COSHH IOSH NEBOSH Risk Assessment HSE First Aid Manual Handling Accident Investigation Safeguarding

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Flexible courses within risk management

XSPlatforms: your partner in safe working at height

Nottingham Trent University has recently launched a range of professional courses within Risk Management. The suite of courses allows you to work towards your CPD requirements and specialise in an area of Risk Management with pathways in: Health & Safety Management; Corporate Responsibility; Health & Well-Being and Environmental Management Practice. These flexible courses are contemporary in terms of content and delivery, allowing you to work towards a Masters qualification at a pace you control. The Masters is broken down into three stages, each with a universally recognised exit award. You can choose to break down the Masters and build up over time, depending on your personal, professional

Whether you facilitate or manage working at height, you´ll need a solution that offers optimum protection. XSPlatforms provides you with expert advice about working safely at heights. How? By making a thorough inventory of all of the risks, so that you don’t overlook anything. And by working out tailor-made solutions. Leaving you free to focus on your core business. XSPlatforms has been developing pioneering solutions for working at heights safely for more than 16 years now – from concept and design to production, assembly, inspection and management. Our headquarters is in the Netherlands but we also operate out of branches spread worldwide. With our dealers, we serve a market for safety at work that covers every part of the planet. Our total

and financial commitments. Typically it would take 18-24 months to complete. There is also the option to complete individual CPD courses; upon completion you will be awarded a University Certificate of Achievement, you could choose to build up such courses over time to work towards a Masters. Delivered via blended learning, the courses have the added benefit of their delivery mode. This allows you to study at a distance, whilst having the interaction and support at dedicated study days if you so choose. FOR MORE INFORMATION To contact the programme leader please e-mail s3.enquiries@ntu.ac.uk or call 0115 8484460 www.ntu.ac.uk/lgm

Improve your career prospects with Stourbridge College Business Skills is the employer training arm of Stourbridge College offering a wide range of training courses for people who are keen to improve their career prospects, build on their professional or personal development, pursue higher level skills, find an apprenticeship or get back into work through training. Covering the Black Country and wider West Midlands, Business Skills works with over 1,000 employers in the region and was the first Black Country college to be awarded the Training Quality Standard. Employing 50 people based in Kidderminster, there’s a professional sales team on hand to give advice and guidance on a wide range of courses – some of which are funded. Kim Babb, director at Business Skills, said: “We are a Black Country Chamber Patron and have worked very successfully

with lots of local and national employers including Mansell, Debenhams, Rymans, Fitness First, The Village Hotels, Carillion, Worcester Bosch and Calor Gas. Investing in training, especially in apprenticeships of all ages, is vital to the success of any organisation.” Come and see us at the Safety & Health Expo, NEC Birmingham, 17-19 May, stand 2R94. We’re offering free health and safety checks and free organisational skills analysis. FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 0800 0730282 enquiries@bskills.org www.bskills.org

packages surpass international standards for safety at work. We specialise in tailor-made solutions. Because complex problems demand pioneering systems. A challenge that we rise to every day. We pay the greatest attention to safety, ease of use, quality and design. And we base what we do on your questions and experience. So we can guarantee you optimum comfort at work. Our portfolio includes: fall protection (permanent, mobile & PPE), façade aaccess equipment, suspended platform systems and scaffolding systems. Take a look at our extensive product range online and contact our advisers to discover the possibilities for yourself. FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 01473 278038 Fax: 01473 279661 info@xsplatforms.com www.xsplatforms.com

The new revolutionary ZT Safety Harness The ZT Safety Harness has been developed to eliminate the damage and trauma associated with traditional harnesses. This is a new type of harness that has set new standards for work at height safety, and has already won an award for ‘Contribution to Safe Working at Height’ at the IAPA (International Awards for Powered Access) in Amsterdam April 2011. The harness has gone through unparalleled rigorous testing and development stages, resulting in a superior level of fall safety equipment that exceeds current legislation. In the event of a fall, the design of the traditional harnesses, which has not changed fundamentally in 50 years, has resulted in severe fall arrest trauma. In particular this is caused by the groin straps, which exert huge forces to the body, causing considerable damage to the groin area. The ZT Safety Harness works by clenching

with the calf gaiters, the full body system evenly distributes the fall forces throughout the entire harness, so there is no shock or pressure point loads. Following the fall the user comes to rest in a comfortable seated position that allows the blood to continue its flow freely around the body, we believe reduces the risks of suspension trauma related complications. FOR MORE INFORMATION Visit www.ztsafetysystems.com or call Steve Morris 0844 5734899.

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R&M Clarkson Ltd, trading as Clarkson Safety Services has been established since 1974. The company has its headquarters in Surrey, with offices nationwide including Scotland,and operates a network of engineers to provide a truly nationwide service. Clarkson’s are a versatile company and it’s reputation is second to none holding prestigious accounts in numerous sectors, including Government. Our clients include HMCS and recent projects include a P4 manufactured fully addresable Emergency Lighting system in West London Law Courts, an addresable Fire Alarm System in Southwark Law Courts to name but a few. We also offer all our clients a 24/7 helpline manned by engineers to discuss any issue they may have.

Complete Installation service Includes – Design – Installation – commissioning – Maintenance Project Management • Addressable and Conventional Fire Alarms • Emergency Lighting • Fire Extinguishers • Access Control • CCTV • VA / PA • Gaseous Extinguishing Systems • Radio Fire Alarms • Nationwide Service • 24 / 7 – 365 days Call Out • Dedicated Service Desk

R&M Clarkson Limited FIRE AND SAFETY ENGINEERS

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143 GODSTONE ROAD . WHYTELEAFE . SURREY CR3 0EH Tel: 020 8660 0131 . Fax: 020 8668 4461 Email: info@clarksonsafety.com . Website: www.clarksonsafety.com

INTERNATIONAL FIREX

Public Safety

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DISCOVER THE LATEST INNOVATIVE FIRE SAFETY PRODUCTS AND SOLUTIONS

Showcasing products and services from over 150 exhibitors, and featuring a full, free seminar programme on legislation, standards and best practice, International Firex is the definitive event Where the defence arena is concerned, fire protection and prevention is a significant element of the wider safety portfolio. As such the obligation to minimise and effectively manage fire risk is vital. The opportunity to distinguish any level of threat through the introduction of innovative resources, including the latest fire safety products and services, is therefore fundamental. As the UK’s leading fire protection and prevention show, International Firex is returning to the NEC Birmingham 16-19 May. Showcasing the latest products and services from more than 150 exhibitors, key decision makers and qualified fire protection professionals from across the globe will congregate at one of the largest dedicated fire safety events in the world. With a vast audience of professionals,

Showcasing the latest products and services from more than 150 exhibitors, key decision makers and qualified fire protection professionals from across the globe will congregate at one of the largest dedicated fire safety events in the world. including end users directly responsible for fire safety in their premises and places of work, facilities and health and safety managers, and building control officers, International Firex provides the ideal opportunity to showcase an extensive range of specialist fire safety solutions. Presentations based on the latest product innovations, best practice, standards,

approvals and compliance, and current fire safety legislation will run alongside the comprehensive exhibition – all free of charge. Industry bodies including the Association of Specialist Fire Protection, Fire Industry Association, BSI Global, LPCB (BRE Global) are also amongst those oragnisations exhibiting. The International Firex exhibition will also incorporate four unique feature E

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National one-stop service provider for integrated fire systems R&M Clarkson Ltd provides a fully versatile service in fire prevention, design, installation and maintenance on a national basis. 37 years in the business, and still growing, we specialise in the design, manufacture and maintenance of electronic safety equipment, particularly fire detection systems and emergency lighting. The company was formed in 1974, since then it has undergone a controlled expansion, building a loyal team of dedicated system designers and specialist engineers, and developing its spectrum of operations, whilst cultivating its ultra-high quality standards. To maintain these, the company complies with a Quality Management System to ISO9000 and an environmental management system to ISO14001. From its headquarters in South East England, including a Scotland

Office, Clarkson operates a network of engineers to provide a truly nationwide service, yet at the same time maintaining its small company flexibility, integrity, and attention to detail clients so appreciate. We specialise in services to all sectors including: • Fire and safety engineering • Fire detection systems • Addressable and conventional system specialists • Integrated fire detection and voice alarm systems • Routine contract maintenance • Fire extinguisher supply and maintenance • Emergency lighting • CCTV • Access control FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 020 86600131 Fax: 020 86600131 info@clarksonsafety.com www.clarksonsafety.com

Vaults – protecting business nationwide Vaults Fire and Security Ltd is an established provider of leading security solutions. Based in the Midlands, we are a family run company that specialises in protecting businesses nationwide by providing peace of mind to our customers. We provide a one stop shop for all your security system needs, designing, installing and servicing: • closed circuit television (CCTV) • access control to provide secure entry systems to and within buildings • intruder alarm systems • remote monitoring systems • protection of IT suites and server rooms with security smoke installations Trading for over ten years, we are an NSI NACOSS gold approved company working with both public and private sector companies including local authorities, police and insurance companies. We employ a team

of well trained, highly motivated security professionals, dedicated to building close partnerships with our clients. The safety of staff, the public and property is vital and we are always happy to arrange a site visit to one of our recent customer installations or provide a no obligation security survey. “Since the installation of the CCTV system it has led to several criminal convictions and has proved a huge success. There is always a representative from Vaults available to offer advice or help on their systems and if needed will deploy engineers within 24 hours of any call being placed,” said Stuart Hoddinott from Burntwood Leisure Centre, Lichfield District Council. FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 0121 3545525 sales@vaultssecurity.co.uk www.vaultssecurity.co.uk

IF IT IS REQUIRED UNDER FIRE LEGISLATION WE PROVIDE IT Fire Training International Ltd is a UK wide provider of high quality Fire Risk Assessments, Fire Training and Fire Protection Packages designed specifically to move any organisation to full compliance and safety. The fist step to safety is a thorough Risk Assessment and the creation of procedures and policies. Our team of very experienced assessors will not only carry out your risk assessment, write procedures and policies but also work with you to ensure that the systems put in place, will go on year after year protecting the occupants of your workplace. We also train Fire Safety Managers to do this. Services we provide: 3 Fire Risk Assessments 3 Fire Training Courses on Site or at 50 locations around the UK 3 Fire Alarm Maintenance 3 Fire Extinguisher Sales and Service 3 Sales of all Fire Protection Equipment For more information contact: Email: roger@fire-training-int.com Fire Training Division Email: simon.rothwell@fire-training-int.com Fire Servicing Division Tel: 0800 158 4428 Web: www.fire-training-int.com

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INTERNATIONAL FIREX

Public Safety

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fireexcellenceawards2011 The Fire Excellence Awards will take place at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole during the evening of Tuesday 17 May. IFSEC, the world’s largest annual security event, Safety & Health Expo, Europe’s largest annual safety and health event, and The Facilities Show, the UK’s biggest and fastest growing FM event, will take place alongside International Firex 2011 and are free to attend for all pre-registered visitors.

E areas: ASFP Passive Fire Protection Zone, Info4fire.com Learning Zone, LPCB Red Book Pavilion, and the Fike Village. ASFP PASSIVE FIRE PROTECTION ZONE – NEW FOR 2011 This combined hospitality and free seminar area hosted by the Association of Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP) will focus on products, services and best practice in built-in fire protection. With a strong emphasis on professional expertise and the requirements for approved installers and contractors, the Passive Protection Zone will provide visitors with exclusive access to industry experts and knowledge. The seminar theatre within the Passive Protection Zone will host a number of presentations from specialists in the passive protection field. Each 20-minute presentation is designed to inform visitors about responsibilities with which they may be unfamiliar and offer practical solutions. Seminar sessions on passive fire protection will include themes such as: • Designing buildings with appropriate built-in fire protection • The Risk Relay – fire safety communication between designers, builders and occupants of buildings • Fire risk assessments and passive fire protection • Saving lives and property and staying out of court. INFO4FIRE.COM LEARNING ZONE The Info4fire.com Learning Zone will be run in association with the Fire Industry Association – the UK’s leading trade organisation for the fire safety sector. There will be a range

of free seminars and presentations on fire risk assessment, fire alarm system design, emergency lighting, business advice, portable extinguisher maintenance and fire safety legislation. If you’re an installer of fire alarms or have concerns about fire safety requirements and legislation, this is where you will find the answers. FIKE VILLAGE – NEW FOR 2011 Fike Village will provide a relaxed and informal village for Fike Protection Systems and Fike Safety Technology customers to meet and entertain key specifiers and end users attending the show. Working with a number of key distributors, the latest Fike suppression and alarm fire safety products are essential aspects of the Fike Village where the emphasis will be on innovation and technical expertise. LPCB RED BOOK PAVILION Successfully launched in 2009, this key feature returns to International Firex to provide visitors with vital information on third party approval schemes and product testing currently undertaken by the BRE Global/ LPCB. The free seminar programme and exhibitor village will also provide advice and guidance on the importance of third party approval. FIRE EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2011 Held every two years and coinciding with the International Firex exhibition, the Fire Excellence Awards 2011 celebrate the best products, services and individuals in the fire safety industry. The Fire Excellence Awards offer the chance to gain unrivalled industry recognition as an award winner or finalist. For further information on entering or attending the awards visit www.info4fire.com/

EXHIBITOR NEWS Firetrace International will showcase a number of applications for its tube-based, in-cabinet fire detection and suppression system at the event. The company will also be unveiling its new full-room, Total Flooding system, which is currently available throughout the Middle East. Nick Grant, EMEA vice president and general manager of Firetrace, said: “When it comes to choosing between in-cabinet fire suppression and full-room total flooding for the protection of business-critical assets, size may be a deciding factor. But the smart answer in many cases is not to choose between in-cabinet and total flooding solutions, but to use a combination of the two.” UK fire detection manufacturer Nittan will show its most comprehensive range of conventional and analogue addressable fire safety products yet, such as 0KB3, a conventional smoke detector for industrial use in smaller places, Nittan’s analogue EV-DPH dual optical/heat detector and Evolution sounder beacon bases with or without dual short circuit isolators. Tyco Fire Protection Products will launch The Skum AP3x3 foam concentrate, an environmentally friendly, fluorine free foam. It has also been made without the use of other halogenated organic chemicals, which the company says addresses “market concerns related to the toxicity of fluorine-based foam concentrates”. KAC has chosen International Firex to showcase its expanded range of call points for specialist applications. This includes a new version of the MCP range of break-glass, push button and resettable indoor call points. Other specialist products include MED approved call points for marine environments, and products that operate at 230VAC mains voltage. Visitors to the show will also be able to see the IP67 sealed WCP, and for the first time at Firex, an ATEX approved intrinsically safe WCP. Furthermore, the company will be launching a new modular range of addressable audible visual warning devices. The range includes a common base across AV and detectors and the latest System Sensor digital advanced protocol designed to reduce installation time and costs. L FOR MORE INFORMATION For further information on International Firex 2011 or to register for free entry, please visit www.info4fire.com /internationalfirex

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STAY ON TOP LIVE DEBATES & CASE STUDIES LEGISLATION ADVICE KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

VISIT THE FACILITIES SHOW AND BENEFIT FROM 100 HOURS OF FREE EDUCATION

REGISTER FOR FREE ENTRY AT: WWW.THEFACILITIESSHOW.COM/REGISTER QUOTE CODE GBA2 THE UK’S LEADING FACILITIES EVENT The Facilities Show is part of the Protection and Management Series, uniting facilities with fire, security and safety professionals

FOLLOW THE FACILITIES SHOW ON TWITTER: WWW.TWITTER.COM/FACILITIES_SHOW

THE UK’S LEADING ANNUAL FACILITIES MANAGEMENT EVENT IN ASSOCIATION WITH

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INNOVATIVE DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR FACILITIES PRACTITIONERS

Facilities Management

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Visiting The Facilities Show will give you the tools you need to make informed decisions, compare solutions and discover the most cost effective innovative technologies In order for facilities professionals to provide and maintain the best possible level of service, it is essential that they have access to the most appropriate, cost effective and energy efficient products and services on the market. It is also vital that both in-house and outsourced FMs are able to continuously develop their skills and knowledge with easy access to learning opportunities. This is particularly important when you consider the vast array of services and products which FM practitioners manage on a daily basis and the increasing emphasis on corporate social responsibility for businesses of all sizes, leading to an increasing requirement for self regulation. In an effort to remain abreast of this ever changing and developing industry, FM

professionals from across the country will descend on the Birmingham NEC from 17-19 May for The Facilities Show. As the UK’s leading annual facilities management event, The Facilities Show, organised in association with the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) is a pivotal date in the FM professional’s calendar. This year’s event offers a multitude of exciting and innovative features including a comprehensive seminar programme, a broad and diverse collection of exhibitors and plenty of diverse networking opportunities. SEMINAR PROGRAMME The Facilities Show seminar programme is packed with leading industry experts from both the private and public sectors, all of

whom will be imparting free and varied educational presentations. These sessions will offer thought provoking and innovative comment on facilities management sectors from across the board including: carbon efficiency, private car parking, IT developments, waste management, risk and compliance and budget efficiency. In the busy Facilities Show Seminar Theatre, sponsored by Moneypenny, speakers include: • Julie Kortens, head of Corporate Services and BIFM’s FM of the year, Channel 4 – Exploring ways in which an FM’s profile can be raised within an organisation and how communication and stakeholder engagement can play a fundamental part in how FM is perceived. E

The Facilities Show seminar programme is packed with leading industry experts from both the private and public sectors, all of whom will be imparting free and varied educational presentations. These sessions will offer thought provoking and innovative comment on facilities management sectors from across the board. Volume 18.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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THE FACILITIES SHOW E • Steve Gladwin, CEO, Hochtief FMA – discussion into engaging the CEO and how the knowledge of an organisation’s corporate strategy coupled with a fundamental understanding of fiduciary director duties, will assist facility managers to speak the language of board directors. • BIFM Panel Discussion, hosted by Ian Broadbent, chair of BIFM with Ismena Clout, deputy chair and Stuart Harris, deputy chair – an exploration of how innovation, evolving technology, changing legislation and personal self-development can help managers to deliver FM which offers value to employers/clients. • Megan James, Audit Services team leader, Safecontractor. This session will give an overview of the evolution of contractor selection and assessment for the Safecontractor accreditation. Evaluation is moving away from traditional health and safety questions towards encompassing a wider reaching range of considerations such as environmental factors, financial efficiency and equal opportunities compliance. • Liz Kentish, chair of WiFM. FM coach, Liz Kentish, will be exploring ways to reduce the impact of the engagement deficit. She will be teaching managers how to do more with less, and arguing that ensuring the engagement of employees may be the difference between thriving and merely surviving in the highly competitive FM industry. ‘Engaging the Workforce’ promises to show how and why organisations must harness people power to achieve their objectives. Mitie, Vinci Facilities, Serco, Balfour Beatty WorkPlace, Cundall and powerPerfector are also included in this seminar programme, which is updated regularly on The Facilities Show website. SUSTAINABLE FM ACADEMY In response to the ever increasing emphasis on environmental concerns in the workplace the Sustainable FM Academy, sponsored by powerPerfector Ltd and in association with educational supporter FMX, returns to The Facilities Show for 2011. The Academy offers a lively programme of debate and case studies providing expert opinion, advice, insight, practical information and direction on topical issues such as waste management, energy, efficiency, sustainable systems and green ambitions in the workplace. Speakers include: • Seth Love-Jones, partner, Tuffin Ferraby Taylor, who will focus on several aspects of sustainability in property. These will include a review of the link between property value and the “greenness” of a property, an introduction to the concept of sustainability obsolescence, a run through of green leases and some examples of short term quick-win opportunities for FMs to consider. • John Llewellyn, divisional director, Bauder – beginning with a detailed description of the advantages of many different flat roofing

systems, he will follow on with an examination of exactly what can go wrong with flat roofing projects. • Helen Hensel, senior surveyor sustainability, Drivers Jonas Deloitte. This CRC presentation (formerly known as the Carbon Reduction Commitment) will update you on the proposals to simplify the scheme and outline what you need to do now to ensure compliance and help mitigate your organisation’s CRC liabilities. • Ian Fielder, chair of Panel and CEO of BIFM, is to lead a discussion on ‘Green Ambitions in the Work Place’, which will examine the scale and scope of various organisations’ current environmental objectives and provisions for the workplace, questioning whether they are achievable. The panel will

Management, Greenability, Integrated FM Ltd, Mil-tek GB Ltd, Overton Recycling and Signature Aromas Ltd. A highlight of The Facilities Show 2010, the Approved Operator Parking Zone, hosted by the British Parking Association (BPA) and its Approved Operator Scheme (AOS) returns for a second year. Operators involved in all aspects of car park management business will once again exhibit under the banner of the BPA and AOS. The recent legislation from the ‘Protection of Freedoms Bill’ (Feb 2011) is likely to have a significant effect on the private parking sector as it contains provisions to ban clamping and towing away on private land “without lawful authority” in addition to the proposal of new regulation regarding ticketing and relocation of vehicles. The BPA

Facilities Management

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As the UK’s leading annual facilities management event, The Facilities Show, organised in association with the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) is a pivotal date in the FM professional’s calendar. also assess whether these objectives, coupled with the results of the ‘Green Ambitions for the Workplace’ survey, are ambitious enough to contribute towards the government’s target of an 80 per cent reduction on the UK’s 1990 carbon emissions by 2050. KEY FEATURES Key features at this year’s event include: The Energy Management Zone, The Prop IT Trail, Green FM Trail and the Approved Operator Parking Zone. In 2010, 35 per cent of visitors to The Facilities Show were responsible for the energy management of their building. Showcasing exhibitors offering specific energy management products, services and advice, The Energy Management Zone offers guidance, education and support in this growing area. Exhibitors in the Energy Management Zone include Epoda, Toshiba Information Systems, Pressovac and Greenability. As FM professionals are increasingly looking towards new innovations to make their organisation more efficient, sustainable and productive, the Prop IT Trail provides an area dedicated to cutting edge products and suppliers of new technologies. Exhibitors within the Prop IT trail include FSI, Tabs FM and Tempus MTAS. The Green FM Trail highlights exhibitors offering advice, products and services in response to the every growing green challenge, helping visitors reduce their environmental impact whilst creating more efficient, sustainable workplaces. Exhibitors on the Green FM Trail include Anabas, Balcas Brites, Cleardrains, Environmental Waste

is in close communication with the Home Office and the Department for Transport and is currently looking into these provisions. They will be on hand at The Facilities Show to advise visitors on any developments which may affect their organisations. Leading organisations PHS Compliance, Bauder, Bosch Thermotechnology, FSI, LTT Vending, Toshiba, Shred Station, Screwfix and Refreshment Systems are just some of the more than 200 companies exhibiting at The Facilities Show 2011. Adrian Newton, portfolio director for Safety and Building Management at UBM Live, organisers of The Facilities Show 2011, says: “Having attracted 16,388 (ABC Audited) visitors to the show last year, The Facilities Show is the UK’s biggest and fastest growing FM event. “We pride ourselves on supplying free educational content to the FM industry and are dedicated to providing FM professionals the opportunity to network with leading experts, share industry knowledge and explore innovative FM products and solutions.” The Facilities Show 2011 is co-located with IFSEC, the world’s largest annual security event, Safety & Health Expo, Europe’s largest annual health and safety event and International Firex, one of the largest dedicated fire safety events in the world. All events are free to attend for pre-registered visitors. L FOR MORE INFORMATION For further information on The Facilities Show 2011, or to register for your free pass, visit www.thefacilitiesshow.com Follow us on Twitter @facilities_show for the latest information and join the conversation with #Facilitiesshow

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MOTIVATING STAFF

RECOGNISE OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS AND SUSTAIN ENGAGEMENT

Incentives & Rewards

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With the public sector facing a rapidly changing landscape, Martin Rayson, vice president of the Public Sector People Managers’ Association, discusses how to keep staff motivated and engaged There has been comment in this publication and elsewhere about the importance of sustaining engagement across the public sector workforce at this challenging time. It is essential that we manage effectively the key levers of engagement, such as honest communications, authentic leadership and giving employees and

their representatives a voice. Research by the Nationwide Building Society suggests that reward is also one of the top five drivers of committed and engaged staff. My view would be that in the public sector reward is not the top engagement driver, but unless reward arrangements are felt to be fair, they have the capacity to undermine the others.

The people who work for us are realists and understand the pressures we face. However, when the cost of living is rising, pay rates are frozen, pension benefits are likely to be eroded and terms and conditions are under review, it is important that organisations continue to reflect on the adequacy of their reward offering.

The adequacies of the reward arrangements public sector organisations have in place cannot be ignored at a time when those arrangements are very much in the media spotlight and we face the challenge of doing more with less. Improving productivity is crucial to future success. The people who work for us are realists and understand the pressures we face. However, when the cost of living is rising, pay rates are frozen, pension benefits are likely to be eroded and terms and conditions are under review, it is important that organisations continue to reflect on the adequacy of their reward offering. TOTAL REWARD An increasing number of organisations are showing interest in the concept of “total reward”. The CIPD Reward Management Survey in 2010 reported that nearly one third of respondents from the public sector intended E

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Incentives & Rewards

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MOTIVATING STAFF our workforce our focus may well need to be on relational rewards and the benefits package we provide. Giving our staff a voice, authentic leadership, giving access to training opportunities and creating career paths, will be seen as positive developments by our staff and will build engagement. In addition we should look at how we can be more imaginative in offering a range of benefits that our staff really value. Many public sector employers have a good range of benefits, incorporating salary sacrifice schemes. Fewer though have a clear benefits strategy and are proactively managing their benefits offering as part of their approach to reward and their employer brand. Each employee is motivated by different things and more flexibility around what we offer may enable us to achieve a greater impact from the amount we currently invest in reward. In terms of benefits, do we ask our staff and therefore understand those which they value and those they do not? Do we treat our workforce as one group, or can we differentiate and consider how particular benefits might be attractive to particular groups?

At a time when we need to sustain engagement and motivation and when those aspects of reward which we traditionally focus on, pay and pensions, are under threat, we need to stimulate a debate around our benefits package and our relational rewards, as a means to sustain the attractiveness of our offer and retain the talent we need. E to introduce a total reward strategy in the next 12 months. Some, such as the Departments of Transport and Work and Pensions and Kent County Council already have. Total reward is simply about understanding the value of and managing all parts of the reward package, that is, pay, benefits and the more intangible, relational rewards, which relate very much to engagement. That enthusiasm in the public sector for the total reward approach may have diminished in light of the financial pressure faced. If so this may be a mistake for two reasons. First, research by Hay Group suggests that 78 per cent of employees underestimate the value of the reward package they receive. If issues around pay and reward can inhibit our ability to engage with our staff, it is important that

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE Volume | 18.5

we are able to demonstrate the value of the whole package that we offer. Second, if we wish to sustain the attractiveness of the reward package when pay constraint is likely to remain and pension arrangements will change, we have to manage more proactively the other elements of total reward, if the sector is to remain attractive as an employer to talented people. REWARD STRATEGIES As our focus in the public sector moves from the immediate need to deliver the savings necessary to balance budgets to a longerterm view of future strategy, operating models and organisational cultures, we must consider how our reward strategy should adapt to fit. In redefining our offering to

RANGE OF BENEFITS The introduction of a greater range of voluntary benefits (such as the ability to purchase goods and services at discounted rates) is potentially a way of reflecting the difference in our workforce. Such benefits may also assist employees to stretch their pay packets a bit further at a time when the cost of living is rising. The introduction of lifestyle benefits, such as access to health and dental care, says much about the employer brand, but can also contribute to lower sickness levels. Some private sector employers have introduced vouchers and gift cards as an alternative to cash incentives, as part of their overall reward strategy. In difficult financial times, a business case for investing in benefits would need to be made. A recent IRS survey found that voluntary benefits were offered by 28 per cent of employers in 2009, but only 21 per cent in 2010. A high percentage of those employers had either withdrawn or introduced a benefit in the period, suggesting a careful management of the mix during the recessionary period to ensure maximum impact. As the public sector faces up to a decade of constraint and change, we must think about all aspects of reward. At a time when we need to sustain engagement and motivation and when those aspects of reward which we traditionally focus on, pay and pensions, are under threat, we need to stimulate a debate around our benefits package and our relational rewards, as a means to sustain the attractiveness of our offer and retain the talent we need. L FOR MORE INFORMATION www.ppma.org.uk

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The ideal staff and customer rewards – vouchers and gift cards versus secure codes Gift Vouchers and cards make ideal staff and customer rewards, offering flexibility, a vast range of choice and ease of use for customers. As technology has advanced solutions are now available that make operating a reward programme both easier and quicker, with dramatic cost savings in many cases. The two major constraints of operating a voucher or gift card programme are firstly that you are not always sure as to which voucher would appeal more to staff or customers, and secondly that there is often a time delay between achieving the reward and actually receiving it, which creates disinterest and prevents full adoption of the scheme. Many organisations outsource the fulfilment of their reward programme which adds, in these times of economic restraint, further costs. Even operating the service in-house has added costs in purchasing, securing and distributing the gift cards and vouchers, and often involves posting to customers and or staff home addresses. Rewards and promotions are an even more important aspect in times of shrinking markets and participants need to feel the excitement of achieving their reward. By offering the participant the choice of which retail gift voucher or card and being able to

redemption codes. Instead of purchasing gift vouchers or cards, a purchase is made of secure codes with a defined value and method of delivery. These codes are issued to the participants who are requested to visit a secure website and select the gift vouchers for the retailer or activity they require, to the value of the secure code that has been issued to them. The secure code can be for a mix of different retailers’ gift vouchers and cards, and is shipped direct to the participant by the delivery method selected by the programme operator. This scheme gives ease of use, reduced costs, delivers the reward of the participant’s choice and can be delivered next day, only 24 hours after achieving the award, thereby encouraging further participation or purchase by the customer.

deliver the reward within 24 hours of the achievement can only encourage participation. A solution to meet the current constraints is now available using secure codes, or

FOR MORE INFORMATION Address: Charity Gift Vouchers Marketing Ltd Chicheley, Hempstead Lane Hailsham, East Sussex BN27 3PR Contact: Terry Harvey, Select Rewards Tel: 01323 841253 Fax: 01323 848807 sales@vouchers4charity.org.uk www.vouchers4charity.org.uk

Full sign management service from Whybrow Signing Consultants

Enstrata – turning negative situations into positive strategies

A comprehensive wayfinding scheme will gently guide and answer the visitor needs: Where do I park? Where is the reception? Where do I wait? Can I get a coffee? Where are the toilets? And so on. Whybrow Signing Consultants provide a full sign management service including wayfinding analysis, scheduling, sign specification, cost planning and project management. Wayfinding analysis deals with the identification of visitor types, their flow routes and needs, not only through signing but lighting, building finishes and even art installations. Following on from this, the development of a sign inventory provides structure and a tool for ascertaining costs. Our complete independence allows us a free hand to offer impartial advice and specify

Enstrata Ltd specialises in affordable, high productivity/ high engagement strategies that produce a rapid return on investment for both managers and organisations. We offer practical approaches, tools and techniques for high levels of team (and organisational) purposefulness, engagement, productivity and customer focus, as well as some potential direct savings. Launching late May for managers is our new, flexibly supported, web based ‘learn-do’ programme for directly increasing productivity and engagement. Each week for several weeks, managers learn, in 2-3 hours, practical techniques and apply them directly and relevantly that week. This aims to create ‘more with less’ at the sharp end. Experience suggests managers welcome help on creating inspiring purposes, building customer and team

sign products to match either the aspiration of the client or the constraints of a budget. We are also firm believers in the adage that less is more – the simpler the wayfinding scheme, distilled down to minimum amount of information on the minimum number of signs required, the better. FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 020 8249 8969 info@whybrow.co.uk www.whybrow.co.uk

perceptions, turning negative situations around, identifying bottlenecks, issues and waste, creating synergy, focusing innovation, using practical tools for empowerment, practicing recognition and motivation strategies, and time effective approaches. Learn what the programme will do for you from the video on our website. Alternatively, if you have a really disengaged workforce and tough budgets, contact us. We probably offer more practical solutions than most. FOR MORE INFORMATION john-hall@enstrata.co.uk www.enstrata.co.uk

Volume 18.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

Playgrounds

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

PLAYFAIR

PROVIDING THE BEST POSSIBLE SERVICES FOR YOUR COMMUNITY

PlayFair is the UK’s trade event for all those involved in the selection, purchase, upkeep and replacement of children’s play equipment. It takes place at Stoneleigh Park, 21-22 June Run in conjunction with the Association of Play Industries (API), this is the fourth year the show has run. PlayFair is the only outdoor event dedicated to showing the latest play equipment being used by local school children, giving visitors a unique opportunity to see equipment in action. SEMINARS The show also includes a series of free seminars designed to keep visitors from both the public and private sectors up to date with the latest thinking from industry experts and the demands affecting play spaces. This year the show’s keynote speaker is one of the UK’s greatest athletes, Sally Gunnell OBE, who is to give a speech about the benefits of play on the show’s opening day. She will talk about her journey into sport as an active youth and of the vital link between play and healthy lifestyles for children. Sally said: “I’m very happy to step up and speak out in support of play. It is an important part of getting kids active and tackling the growing problem of child obesity in the UK.” EVENT SPEAKERS Sally will be joined by playground fundraiser and campaigner Emma Kane,

who talks about the challenges she faced when planning and fundraising for a new playbuilder playground in her village and how she engaged the local community. Pauline Foster BSc, MPhil will present her research ‘Health, Lifestyle & Play Amongst School Children’. The research, carried out since 2006, looked into exercise, play and recreational activity amongst 50,000 children and young people from over 300 schools across Gloucestershire. The study looked at physical activity levels, views on safety of playing outside and how children spend their free time through online surveys that used games to encourage participation. THE FUTURE OF PLAY Dr Amanda Gummer will discuss the future of play and its impact on child development. Paradoxically, enquiries into play and child development have shown the dangers of over-protecting our children. In her talk, Amanda looks at different types of play, discusses their role in child development and explains how they can be encouraged in today’s fast-paced, high tech world. Keith Dalton, technical director, RPII will cover what is involved in inspecting your playground, why is it necessary, how often

should you do it who should do it, and who and what is the RPII? All of these questions are frequently asked and this presentation will help to provide the answers. In these difficult financial times it is important to make the best use of the resources available and this seminar will provide some insight into how to achieve the levels of safety required by the implementation of effective regimes in play provision. WITH BALI This year, for the first time, PlayFair will be running alongside the national exhibition for The British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI). The BALI 2011 Landscaping Show is designed to bring together the best producers of landscaping equipment, products and services with those responsible from both the public and private sectors for planning, designing and managing landscapes. Both events offer free parking and are free to attend for all landscape and play and leisure industry professionals. L FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 020 79734695 Fax: 020 72335054 r.baxter@hgluk.com www.playfairuk.com

PlaySmart – safety surfacing for playgrounds PlaySmart is a leader in safety surfacing for playgrounds, pathways and recreation areas – no one in the UK offers a wider range of surfacing solutions. We supply and install surfacing nationwide and our products are specified by numerous councils as well as being the preferred surfacing solution recommended by many play equipment manufacturers. Our surfacing products include: • FireSmart Fire retardant grass matting • ActiveSmart All action safety surfacing • EcoSmart Eco-friendly grass matting • TrailSmart Surfacing for paths and trails • RubbaSmart Wet pour • TigerMulch Natural look safety surfacing

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE Volume | 18.5

We also offer GymSmart outdoor fitness equipment and can supply and install a wide range of play equipment from leading suppliers. FireSmart is the UK’s only fire retardant grass safety surface tested to BS 7044 for flammability, self-extinguishing within 60 seconds; unique compounds also provide UV

stability and durability backed by our 10-year product guarantee and 5-year installation guarantee. All surfacing complies with BS EN 1177 (Critical Fall Heights) and BS 7188 (slip resistance) and are installed in line with BS 1176. Whether you’re installing our surfacing on grass for natural play or refurbishing an existing hard surface, we have a solution for you. Why not experience the difference with PlaySmart for yourselves? FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 01564 742811 Fax: 01564 742822 info@playsmartuk.co.uk www.playsmartuk.co.uk

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Nemetschek Vectorworks – a global leader in design technologies For more than 25 years, Nemetschek Vectorworks has been a global leader in design technologies. The Vectorworks line of software provides design solutions to produce ecofriendly sustainable projects for professionals working in architecture, interior, furniture, landscape, garden and lighting. Over 450,000 designers in more than 85 countries rely on Vectorworks technology. Vectorworks Architect is elegant architectural CAD software that offers BIM capabilities in a flexible, hybrid-design environment. With its superior 2D and 3D functionality, you’ll enjoy an ease-of-use not found in competing products. Vectorworks Landmark is the industry standard in landscape design software. Whether you do landscape architecture, landscape design, contracting, or urban planning, you’ll be able to design whatever you envision with Vectorworks

Landmark. Its flexible tools and intuitive interface provide you with a superior 2D and 3D design application that is second to none. There’s also 3,500+ UK plant libraries available. The 3D CAD Department at Computers Unlimited is the exclusive UK distributor for Vectorworks. We offer consultancy and training on a wide range of software including Vectorworks, Google SketchUp the best tool for conceptual stages of design, Artlantis for photo-realistic, rendering and animation, and formZ, a solid and surface modeller and renderer. FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 020 83586668 3ddesign@unlimited.com www.vectorworks-cad.co.uk

CAD SOFTWARE FOR ARCHITECTS • LANDSCAPE DESIGNERS • URBAN PLANNERS If you’re looking for both a CAD and BIM software solution, Vectorworks is the perfect application that is capable of providing all your design needs from architecture, landscape, urban & garden design, lighting designs through to rendering.

• 20+ years of history running on Windows and Mac • Industry leading CAD solution for Landscape Architecture, Garden Designers and Urban Planning Professionals • Interoperable BIM & CAD solutions • Seamless file translation with AutoCAD files

Image courtesy of Shook Kelley

Image courtesy of Chris Papakirk

British Association of Landscape Industries

Sustainability Now

BALI Landscape Show

Sustainability Now is a free-to-attend online conference and exhibition that you can attend from the comfort of your home or work computer. It will bring you up to date with everything green across the property, construction and architecture sector.

Visit us at the BALI Landscape Show on 21-22 June 2011 at Stand T15 or see one of our latest landscape projects in the Warwick Centre. Tues 21 June - The Rain Chain: Best Sustainable Garden Award. Wed 22 June - A West Country Restoration Project

18th - 19th May 2011

21st - 22nd June 2011

Distributed by

For more information on Vectorworks visit www.vectorworks-cad.co.uk or call 020 8358 6668 133532

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE Volume | 18.5

OPEN SPACES

A NEW LANDSCAPING SHOW The British Association of Landscape Industries has launched a major new landscaping event for landscape architects and designers, contractors, specifiers and procurement professionals

our members and all other show visitors can gain the most value from their representative bodies at a time when our industry needs as much cost efficiency as possible.”

The British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) has joined forces with professional event organisers Brintex, organisers of the PlayFair children’s play equipment exhibition, to launch a major new landscaping event for landscape architects and designers, contractors, specifiers and procurement professionals: BALI 2011 – The Landscaping Show. The new annual event will run on 21-22 June, at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire and has three key elements: an exhibition for suppliers to showcase their products and services to an exclusively professional

SEMINARS Paul Cowell has also been busy compiling a two-day programme of seminars that will attract professionals from all landscaping disciplines. Visitors will have free access to a wide programme of seminar sessions, giving them the opportunity to hear from industry figures presenting real life case studies and progress reports on a wide range of topics including internet marketing, pesticide use and law, planting green roofs, green infrastructure and carbon capture. What’s more, Bartlett Tree Expert will be running live demonstrations at the show. The demonstrations will provide an insight to managing existing trees either as part of new projects or within the management of existing landscapes. Airspade decompaction works, soil fertility treatments and pest and disease management will all be shown along with diagnostic services from Barlett’s consultancy group, which will demonstrate how internal decay can be detected and highlight the help and support they can offer to those working on development site projects. For up-to-date details of the exhibitors and seminar programme take a look at the show website. The event is free to attend for all landscape industry professionals. L

is to provide opportunities to increase visitors’ skills and knowledge base. TWO SHOWS FOR ONE BALI 2011 – The Landscaping Show will run at the same time as PlayFair, now in its fourth year, which already attracts professionals who have an interest in outdoor landscaping and the parks and amenity sector. The benefit of the two shows running concurrently has been acknowledged by both associations responsible for the shows. John Croasdale, the chairman of the Association

BALI 2011 – The Landscaping Show will run at the same time as PlayFair, now in its fourth year, which already attracts professionals who have an interest in outdoor landscaping and the parks and amenity sector. audience; demonstration areas for machinery, product installations and landscaping skills; and a two-day seminar programme with CPD-accredited sessions delivered by key industry speakers in the adjacent Warwick Conference Centre. The decision to launch this new annual event was taken following consultation with BALI affiliate (supplier) members who felt there was a genuine need for a focused event for the professional landscape industry. A major objective of the event

of Play Industries (API), which supports PlayFair, said of the two shows: “The Association of Play Industries is very pleased to learn that the British Association of Landscape Industries will be holding their national exhibition at the same time as PlayFair 2011. In the current economic climate this will give visitors the opportunity to visit two events which complement each other – giving them an even greater reason to make the journey to Stoneleigh Park.” Paul Cowell, BALI’s national chairman, commented: “BALI has taken this step so that

Landscaping & Groundscare

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FOR MORE INFORMATION Contact Ray Baxter at Brintex 020 79734695 r.baxter@hgluk.com www.balishow.co.uk

Support biodiversity with living landscapes Q Lawns is looking forward to meeting Government Business readers on stand E1 at the BALI Landscape Show. The Norfolk based turf grower will be exhibiting products that encourage biodiversity and sustainability. Enviromat Sedum Matting is perfect for small scale green roofing and can be installed by trained operatives or by the company’s own green roof installation service. Ask Angela about Green Roof Information Days, they’re free to attend and tell you everything you need to know about designing and building a living green roof. To keep green roofs in tip top condition, Enviromat also offers a cost effective maintenance service. Meadowmat is a wild flower matting for low maintenance

landscaping that is designed with biodiversity in mind. Easily established – it’s similar to turf in that way, Meadowmat instantly brings 34 native species of wild flowers and grasses to a project. It’s suitable for almost any situation and soil type and will help support

wildlife such as insects, birds and amphibians. Naturally, Q Lawns turf will be on display too, reminding visitors that there really is nothing quite like a natural lawn for enhancing a garden, for playing on or for relaxing on. Q Lawns offers a next day delivery service for most turf, topsoil and woodchip orders and can supply Enviromat and Meadowmat on a three working day lead time. Prices are very competitive. FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 0800 0612653 Fax: 01842 827911 sales@qlawns.co.uk www.qlawns.co.uk

Volume 18.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

Landscaping & Groundscare

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

TRAINING

PLANTING THE RIGHT SKILLS The Institute of Groundsmanship explains why training is the key to success when maintaining sports amenities and open areas The Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) has been recognised as a National Accredited Apprenticeship Provider. This accolade is the latest piece in a comprehensive jigsaw of education and training services that are unmatched for their efficacy and cost-effectiveness for all its clients – including those involved in more general groundscare such as maintaining the sports, amenity and open areas within and around local authorities. More than 10,000 grounds professionals have benefited during the past ten years alone from training and education services provided by the IOG, a City & Guilds/NPTC-approved delivery body and a provider of qualifications and courses accredited in line with National Occupational Standards (levels 1, 2, 3 and 4). PUBLIC SECTOR TAKE-UP In addition to being attended by grounds professionals from across the sports spectrum, IOG training and education courses are increasingly being taken up by a swathe of public and private organisations covering all sports and amenity services, and embracing both the professional and volunteer sector – and for good reason, as Ian Lacy, the IOG’s

clients with a very professional service.” The training could start with the basics of operating hand-held and ride-on machinery, pesticide and fertiliser application, then extend to a range of specialist maintenance procedures that will vary according to the type of grounds you are charged with. As you progress in your career and become responsible for managing budgets, personnel and the purchase of machinery and products, as well as advising on and implementing annual maintenance programmes and renovations, the IOG continues to offer the appropriate training so that you are armed with skills to handle these tasks. ONE-STOP-SHOP The IOG offers training and education that covers the complete gambit, starting with basic lawn care, and they are now also developing a foundation degree for groundsmanship. The result is that the IOG provides a one-stop, end-to-end training and education service that will suit every need. And because not every course is workbased, with the IOG’s Moodle virtual learning platform, students can in a number of cases study at their own pace and in their own time.

In addition to being attended by grounds professionals from across the sports spectrum, IOG training and education courses are increasingly being taken up by a swathe of public and private organisations covering all sports and amenity services. head of professional services, explains: “Whether it is an in-house local authority team or a specialist contractor that provides a range of services for local councils, the rules remain the same for each individual: the better qualified you are then the better the chance of employment – and as your skills/career progresses, so the financial rewards should also increase proportionally. “There is, of course, a similar benefit for employers and their clients; a more highly trained and qualified workforce will generally lead to satisfied customers and, undoubtedly, a greater amount of business opportunities while also providing

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE Volume | 18.5

Lacy adds: “Training (initially one-day courses) extends, for instance, from health and safety to the use of strimmers and mowers (pedestrian and ride-on) plus tractor driving and pesticide application. Also included here are short courses in weeds, pests, diseases and disorders, grass identification, drainage and synthetic surfaces.” APPRENTICESHIPS In terms of education, the IOG offers a variety of courses, including Key Skills (City & Guilds) and IOG National Practical Certificate. Also on offer are apprenticeships (including the IOG Young Apprentice Scheme), level 2 and 3

horticulture sport turf qualifications – workbased or online – and an ongoing continuing professional development programme. Level 1 courses are suitable for anyone involved in practical grounds maintenance and are ideal as an introductory course for those new to the profession or as a refresher course for those who want to keep abreast of the latest techniques. Level 2 will be of particular benefit to those who have completed Level 1 or as a precursor for Level 3, which explains the management techniques and principles required by today’s experienced grounds staff to produce a safe and consistent surface. It will also build on technical knowledge in line with current processes and techniques. Level 3 will be of most benefit to those in senior positions and responsible for making assessments and decisions about the management of resources and the surface. DIFFERENT TYPES OF LEARNING Via its Moodle virtual learning environment, the IOG offers online courses for its National Certificate in E

non-turf sports surfaces • Amenity horticulture in the turf industry, and • Tractor operation and maintenance. This level 2 course extends over a 12-month period; if a candidate studies for approximately 12 hours per week over the academic year, the course will take 36 weeks to complete. Short training courses are also available from the IOG which has a structured and progressive four-tiered scheme available. Many of the courses are sport-specific, and the IOG also offers specialist training covering subjects like pest and disease management or machinery maintenance. For example, the one-day courses embrace a foundation course which is a practical approach to the preparation and maintenance of a sports surface. The intermediate course looks into the theory behind the practice of preparing and maintaining a sports surface, and the advanced course covers the essential science of grounds maintenance. Two-day courses include the management of sports turf – from maintenance to management - and is designed to develop the core skills required by today’s professional grounds managers. In addition, a certificate of achievement can be gained for cricket short courses by taking an online multiple choice questionnaire. This will be based on the content of the course and course work booklet, and this will be completed online via Moodle. “So, as can be seen,” concludes Ian Lacy, “the IOG offers a wide range of easily-accessible, affordable and meaningful options that are open to everyone wishing to take up a career in groundscare and to those already in the industry who are looking to progress.” L

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FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 01908 312511 www.iog.org

E Sports and Amenity Turf Maintenance and Advanced National Certificate in Sports and Amenity Turf Maintenance. In addition, a variety of work-based accreditations are also available: • Key Skills (City & Guilds) • IOG National Practical Certficate • Level 2 Award, Certificate & Diploma in Work-based Horticulture • Level 3 Award, Certificate & Diploma in Work-based Horticulture. There are also apprenticeships on offer for level 2 and 3 sport turf qualifications. These are again work-based or online and there is an ongoing continuing professional development programme. SPORTS AND TURF The Level 2 National Certificate in Sports & Amenity Turf Maintenance, developed by the IOG in conjunction with NPTC and City & Guilds, is suitable for anyone who maintains turf. It comprises six compulsory units and eight optional, of which at least one must be completed. The six compulsory units are: plant growth; principles of machinery; weeds, pests, diseases and disorders; health and safety; operation and maintenance of sports and amenity turf equipment; and the principles of sports and amenity turf. The optional units are maintenance of amenity turf and maintenance of sports turf (choice of cricket, bowling greens, tennis courts, association football pitches, rugby pitches, golf or horseracing facilities). There are also three additional units for candidates of employers who wish these to be added to the main qualification: • Maintenance and repair of

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Volume 18.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

Catering

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VENDING

VENDING TAKES CENTRE STAGE

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE Volume | 18.5

E AVEX is an absolute must for anyone involved in providing a vending and water service. See the best in one place, from more than 100 exhibitors, including household names such as Kraft, Cadbury, Mars and Nestlé. Exhibitors from around the world including the USA, Europe and China will be showing their latest technologies and products. Alongside the regular exhibitors this year we will see some big names exhibiting for the first time. At AVEX every element of the industry is represented – big brand names, specialist suppliers, buying groups, ingredients, machines, coolers, vending surrounds, healthier choices, and lots lots more. The event offers a unique opportunity to meet the right people in a very time efficient way. Specialist vending operator companies will be on hand to give advice and arrange to get an audit of your premises advising what will work for you, your staff and your customers, and give you an indication of the earning potential. FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITIES Vending offers fantastic opportunities with attractive reliable and secure machines, such as around the clock service for your staff and customers earning you extra revenue with no additional staffing costs. A cost efficient vending and water service can extend your catering facilities; by providing additional unmanned service points, being available when the other catering is closed. You can vend all sorts of items; drinks, confectionery right through to shower gels, toothbrushes, leisure accessories etc. The possibilities are endless and why tie up a busy reception when the

relevant to your business today. Phil Hawkins, Queen’s Assay master and head of operations support at The Royal Mint, will be giving tips on how to spot a fake £1. Phil is regarded as one of the world’s leading experts on coin authentication and he will be highlighting the various types of £1 counterfeits that are currently in circulation and the efforts being made to protect vending. Andy Healy, assistant director from Towergate Financial, will be guiding us through the planned Pension Reform, which will completely change the face of pensions in the UK. Do you understand how it will affect your business? If the answer is no, you need to talk to Andy. Jackie Ray of Brethertons Solicitors will be providing advice on the legal aspects of vending; to mitigate risk and reserve title. Something every business needs to understand in today’s litigious world. Cashless payment is transforming the consumer experience and delivering lower costs and increased sales to retailers globally. Vianet’s Alan Johnstone explores the potential benefits of deploying this technology in the vending industry; why the timing is right to embrace it. With an established vending pedigree, Phil Millard from The Vending Intelligence Agency will be launching the vending industry’s new one stop shop for all business development and training. Phil will be explaining the exciting things on offer and also give tips on how to sell more and improve your customer care. Lucy Porter and a team of experts from University Caterer will be exploring tangible ways to embed social responsibility into your catering and vending practices. You will find out that green doesn’t

Vending offers fantastic opportunities with attractive reliable and secure machines, such as around the clock service for your staff and customers earning you extra revenue with no additional staffing costs. machine can display the product, handle the sale and provide total security for the products and the cash very effectively. Bean to cup coffee machines using large paper cups offer superb quality and match up to the range of coffees offered by the high street coffee chains – strategically placed they can provide the coffee shop experience at half the price of the coffee shop and offer you a great extra income stream. Cashless vending means that you can have free vend (ideal for conference delegates) or coin op for casual visitors. You can also vend into attractive big paper cups or if you prefer into china mugs – the choice is yours. Free seminars will run throughout the show and the programme covers topics

Catering

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just look good, but is market-driven by both consumers and competitors. These are just a few snippets from the programme, other hot topics include food allergens – a growing trend, how much do you know? and everything you need to know about water filters. L

The seminars will run throughout the two days, full details are available on the AVEX website and there is no need to book as the seminars will be held on the exhibition floor. FOR MORE INFORMATION To get free entry, attend the free seminars and get a free catalogue, please register at www.avex2011.co.uk

AT AVEX 2011 Discover new technologies Identify new products Do business with key suppliers Meet specialists and experts Maximise sales and manage costs Save time and money Face to face meetings Attend free seminars

Volume 18.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

Advertisers Index

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ADVERTISERS INDEX

The publishers accept no responsibility for errors or omissions in this free service Aussie Group BIFM Call of the Wild Cardiff Collection Charity Gift Vouchers Computers Unlimited CRYPTOCARD Daikin DFx Technology Earlsmere Eastbourne Conference Bureau Enstrata Fire Training International Flexible Storage and Solutions Glyn Williams Architects Greenbuild Expo HC Slingsby Johnson & Starley Kell Systems UK Legal Island Lovibond Tintometer Lowell Group Lucas Technology Matsdirect UK Mazepoint Meridan Cost Benefit Millennium Stadium Minitec UK NCEA-AEA Technology Nottingham Trent University OKI Printing Solutions

30 32 13 10 58 64 36 38 40 47 17 61 52 2 40 38 46 40 34 16 56 26 46 56 34 20 10 42 46 44 IBC

PCMG PKF Playsmart UK Profectus Group Providence Business Services Public Sector Funds Recovery Q Lawns R & M Clarkson Royal Bath Hotel Safety & Health Expo Safety Unlimited Sanli Servicemaster Simpson Associates Sintons Specsavers Spilsolv UK Stourbridge College SVM Cards Swalec Stadium Tensator The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply The Facilities Show The Rezidor Hotel Group Traka Vaults Fire & Security Village Hotels Whybrow Signing Consultants XS Platforms ZT Safety Systems

22 22 63 25 30, 31, 34, 36 22 64 50 16 4 48 67 56 18 12 OBC 44 48 58 12 45 32 54 8 46 52 14 61 44 48

P ONLINE P IN PRINT P MOBILE P FACE TO FACE

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GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE Volume | 18.5

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