Construction Ireland V18N01

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NEWS - 6

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COMMENTS VIVIX® NHBC Protecting your Assets Tackling infection control through ‘Fabric First’ 36 Interview with Mike Petter of CCS 38 Interview with Robert Hopkin of the Rail Alliance 40 FARO

18 20 22 34

PROFILE

Managing Editor Gareth Trevor-Jones Editor Victoria Lee Editorial Robert Atherton Designer Richard Gill Proof Reader Matthew Brown Approvals Sarah Smith Administration Alecia Rowe Credit Control Carol Ryan

14 The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) 42 The Railway Industry Supplier Qualification Scheme (RISQS) 43 CLiP IT Solutions

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COMMUNITY 26 55 56 57 60

St. Mel’s Cathedral Annadale Avenue Creggan Community Centre Westport Town Hall Scout and Community Sports Hall

COMMERCIAL 44 Teva Pharmaceuticals Ireland 47 Amber Petroleum 54 John Mulholland Motors

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CIVIL

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50 Belfast Rapid Transit 52 Gobbins Coastal Path

LEISURE 58 Irish Independent Park

EDUCATION 59 Holy Child School

HEALTH 61 Ballymena Heath and Care Centre

HOUSING

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62 Respond! Housing Association

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NEWS CI

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Work to commence on new Olympia Leisure Centre Plans for the new Olympia Leisure Centre in South Belfast have taken a giant leap forward with work starting on the site which forms part of a £19M sporting and community hub.

Contractors O’Hare and McGovern have been appointed to build the new leisure facility at the west stand of the redeveloped Windsor Park in association with the Irish Football Association.

It will be run by GLL, the Council’s new operating partner for leisure. Future development will include new pitches, a new play space and commercial development opportunities, all accessed by a new boulevard from Boucher Road.

It is part of a £105M Belfast City Council investment in leisure transformation across the city with the Council embracing the opportunities presented by the city’s stadium redevelopments, starting with Olympia and Windsor Park.

Councillor Lee Reynolds, Belfast City Council’s Chair of Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, said: “This is an exciting step in our leisure transformation programme. It will provide the highest quality leisure services at the best value for money with the beginning of construction

for the new Olympia Leisure Centre.

“It is an important move for the city - not just for the fantastic modern facilities it will provide but also for the opportunities available in terms of training and employment.

“Under our investment programme commitment social clauses are written into all contracts like this. We are organising activities to promote job and training opportunities for the unemployed, apprentices and students, and also supply chain opportunities arising from a range of upcoming council contracts.

“It is a wonderful example of partnership working for the benefit of communities across Belfast.”

The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) is contributing £2.75M to the construction of the new leisure centre, as part of their overall funding element of £31M for the Windsor Park redevelopment. This brings the total investment at Olympia to £21.75M. Welcoming the beginning of construction, Acting DCAL Permanent Secretary Cynthia Smith said: “The entire Windsor Park development is about more than football; it is about integrating the entire

community into something which is new and exciting and which will be of significant benefit for the whole area.

“While the department has played its part through its investment in the new Olympia Leisure Centre, the entire complex will be a shining example of what can be achieved when different stakeholders come together with the common aim of improving facilities for the overall public good.

“The new facility will be a tremendous boost for the social, leisure and economic wellbeing of those from the local community and indeed much farther afield.”

Irish FA President, Jim Shaw, said: “Work on the redevelopment of the national football stadium is well underway now and I know that once the project is complete Windsor Park will be a stadium which we will all be proud of.

“Furthermore, the addition of the City Council’s new leisure facilities will enhance the stadium and will provide a major boost not only for the local area but for the wider community as a whole.”

The new leisure centre should be completed by late 2016, while work on the entire site is scheduled to be finished by 2017.

Ministers announce construction of four new schools through Public Private Partnership Building has commenced on four new postprimary schools under Schools Bundle 4 of the Government’s Public Private Partnership (PPP) Programme. The schools and sports pitches will be built by BAM on greenfield sites and funded by AIB Corporate Banking and German Bank KfW IPEX-Bank.

The announcement was made in Dublin by the Minister for Education and Skills, Jan O’Sullivan TD, and Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin, TD at an event to mark the signing of an agreement that was also attended

by Theo Cullinane, CEO of BAM Group Ireland, AIB Director of Personal and Business Banking, Bernard Byrne and Garret Tynan from KfW IPEX-Bank.

An estimated 720 jobs will be generated during the construction phase of the schools which will range in size from 6,500sq m to 10,000sq m.

The new school buildings are: St Mary’s College Dundalk, Co. Louth.

St Josephs Secondary School, Tulla, Co Clare.

Comeragh College, Carrickon-Suir, Co. Tipperary.

Skibbereen (Replacement) School, Co Cork.

A former at risk listed building has been given a sustainable future, bringing economic activity and life back to a crucial part of Derry’s inner city.

Built in 1741 as the Custom House, the building at 33 Shipquay Street has been purchased, conserved and converted by the Inner City Trust with assistance from DOE and the Department for Social Development (DSD).

It will provide offices and a facility to incubate and promote textile design in Derry.

One of the city’s finest Georgian buildings, it later became the offices of a spirit importer but had been underused for many years.

Speaking at the opening of the regenerated building, Environment Minister Mark H Durkan commended the Inner City Trust for its vision in rescuing it, saying: “This is a tremendous boost for Derry. The old Custom House was underused for many years.

It deteriorated to the extent that it was included on the Buildings at Risk Register. Thankfully, the Inner City Trust had a vision for the building, rescuing it and giving it a sustainable future. I commend them for that.”

Minister for Social Development, Mervyn Storey MLA said: “This scheme has not only reinvigorated an unused listed building, but has reinvented it as a Fashion House and a Textile Design Centre, where the local fashion industry’s talent can be nurtured and encouraged.

I am delighted that my Department has been able to support this project and

welcome this important contribution to the regeneration of Shipquay Street. This project demonstrates my Department’s ongoing commitment to the regeneration of Londonderry and will play an important role in the continuing revitalisation of the city.”

Helen Quigley, Chief Executive Officer of Inner City Trust, said: “It will breathe new life into a vacant historic city centre building; it will help create sustainable employment opportunities by giving access to specialised equipment and a comprehensive business support service for existing and emerging fashion and textile designers; it will help revitalise the skills of our recent past and enhance the potential for small, onshore manufacturing and the Centre will host fashion shows, workshops, talks and exhibitions – all of which also have the potential to attract visitors to the city centre as well as serve the local population.”

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The contract with BAM Group Ireland for this project entails designing, building, financing, operating and maintaining the educational facilities involved.

Minister O’Sullivan said: “I am delighted to see the beginning of construction of almost 3,000 new school places. The students of these four schools will benefit from the opportunity to learn in new and improved teaching spaces and modern educational facilities built to a very high standard. These school places are expected to be available from the middle of 2016.

The timely progression of this project has been made possible by the hard work and dedication of the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) and my own Department and the cooperation of all the other stakeholders in the project.’’

BAM Group Ireland’s CEO Theo Cullinane said: “BAM is pleased to once again invest equity in Ireland’s educational infrastructure and to partner with the Department of Education and Skills and the NDFA on this significant project.

We successfully delivered eight schools under Schools Bundle 3 and look forward to providing four state-of-theart, energy efficient schools under this project. The PPP model remains one of the most effective ways for Government to ensure that our infrastructural development maintains momentum and that employment within the construction sector receives a much needed stimulus.”

Derry’s 18th century Custom House now centre of excellence for textiles

Callsafe Services Ltd

CALLSAFE SERVICES LIMITED OVER 25 YEARS PROVIDING EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT HEALTH AND SAFETY ADVICE AND TRAINING TO THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY AND OTHERS David Carr PgD, FIIRSM, DipSM, RFaPS, Managing Director Callsafe Services Limited. Yardley House, 11 Horsefair, Rugeley, Staffordshire. WS15 2EJ Email: enquiries@callsafe-services.co.uk Web: www.callsafe-services.co.uk

Institution of Occupational Safety and Health MANAGING THE CONSTRUCTION DESIGN PROCESS IN THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND 2 Day Course Aims of the Course This course is aimed at providing an understanding of the role of the project supervisor for the design process (PSDP) appointed under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations.

Short practice sessions are provided to enhance this understanding. The course is highly interactive and is presented by qualified and experienced construction health and safety professionals.

Day 1 Course Content: Accidents in Construction and Maintenance Review of types of accidents common in construction and in structural and plant maintenance.

Overview of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations Background and development of the regulations. Overview of the regulation and the duty holders. Key definitions.

The PSDP and the Client Duties and responsibilities of the Project Supervisor Design Process in the design and planning stage.

Co-ordination of the design function. Relationship with others involved in the project. Avoiding conflict. Managing the flow of information. Who is the client?

Making proper appointments.

Providing information to the project supervisor. Controlling the commencement of construction.

Syndicate Exercise: Provision of Information The Safety File Starting the health and safety file.

Development and compilation.

Input from the project supervisor-design stage, designers and contractors. Client’s requirements of the file. Handover to client. Syndicate Exercise: Content of the Safety File Closed Book Examination Day 2 Course Content: Reducing Risk by Design & Designers Responsibilities Who is the designer? Hazard and risk defined. Recognising and recording hazards upon which design decisions are taken. Principles to be applied in reducing risk.

Hierarchy of measures.

Sources of information.

Syndicate Exercise: The design hazard inventory Provision of Information for the Project Supervisor Construction Stage Main purpose of the information.

Level of information required.

When should information be delivered?

Selection and Appointment of Contractors Verification of competence and resources.

Temporary Works Coordination of temporary works, design of structural anchors and the use of permanent, temporary works designed certificates and codes.

Syndicate Exercise: Preparing the Preliminary safety and health plan Closed Book Examination Maximum number of course delegates: 16

Callsafe Services Limited are a health and safety consultancy, primarily working for the construction and facilities management sectors, providing health and safety support, consultancy and training to client, designer and contractor organisations since 1986.

The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) is the Chartered body for health and safety professionals. With more than 42,000 members in 100 countries, IOSH is the world’s biggest professional health and safety organisation.

IOSH set standards, and support, develop and connect their members with resources, guidance, events and training.

IOSH are the voice of the profession, and campaign on issues that affect millions of working people. IOSH was founded in 1945 and is a registered charity with international NGO status.

In-house and Public Courses This course is offered as an in-house course, where an organisation can book the tutor for the 2 days and the course is presented within an organisation’s own premises and occasionally presented as a public course for individual delegates to attend.

Further details of this, and other, courses can be found at: www.callsafe-services.co.uk, or by contacting Gemma Esprey at: gemma.esprey@callsafeservices.co.uk or by phone on: 01889 577701

NEWS CI

Minister Humphreys announces new Heritage Council Community Grants Scheme for 2015 The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys TD, has announced a new Community Grants Scheme for 2015 to be administered by the Heritage Council. The Minister made the announcement on a visit to the Heritage Council’s offices in Kilkenny. It is expected the scheme will generate total investment of e1M. Of the announcement Minister Humphreys said: “I am very pleased to be announcing this new scheme today, which will provide funding for local heritage projects across the country. My Department is providing direct funding of e250,000 for the scheme. When combined with core funding from the Heritage Council and with private sector

funding it is expected this will generate a total investment of up to e1M. “Support for heritage projects has a very positive impact on local communities, where so much time and energy is given to conserving heritage projects on a voluntary basis. As well as delivering conservation benefits for heritage in the long term, this scheme will also help to support building and conservation jobs at a local level.

“I have a huge appreciation for the value of protecting and promoting our heritage. It is expected that this scheme will fund up to 100 projects nationally, and I have no doubt that it will make a huge difference to the individual heritage projects which benefit.

“I would also like to take the opportunity to congratulate the Heritage Council on its upcoming 20th anniversary this year.

I look forward in particular to working with the Council in the year ahead on Ireland 2016, which will include local heritage initiatives to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Rising.”

Chief Executive of the Heritage Council, Michael Starrett, said: “In the year when the Heritage Council celebrates its 20th Anniversary, the additional e250,000 in funding from Minister Humphreys will help us maintain support for a range of communities across the country. It recognises the value and significance of their work and gives us something on which to build for the future.”

Bell and McCann announce new Urban Village projects

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Junior Ministers Jonathan Bell and Jennifer McCann have announced two new Urban Village projects aimed at transforming and regenerating local areas.

The new projects will be based in the Markets, Sandy Row and Donegall Pass area of South Belfast and the Bogside and Fountain area of Derry / Londonderry.

The creation of Urban Villages is part of the Together: Building a United Community Strategy published in May 2013, which outlined that Urban Villages would be established to create and stabilise change within communities. Colin and Lower Newtownards Road were announced as the first two Urban Villages last year.

Junior Minister Jonathan Bell said: “The Northern Ireland Executive is committed to continue to improve good relations throughout Northern Ireland and the ‘Together: Building a

United Community’ Strategy makes real and tangible commitments to build a united, shared and reconciled society.

“The Urban Village project is designed to tackle dereliction and decay within our urban communities, tackling the low social capital that can create instability and disengagement, improving community confidence and securing the necessary foundations to foster better community relations within and between communities. Through this targeted physical regeneration we can improve the life experiences of communities, created happier, healthier and more peaceful future.”

Junior Minister Jennifer McCann said: “This announcement is a key milestone in our vision for what urban villages can achieve. It brings our total number of planned urban villages for the north to

four as originally envisaged, with one additional Urban Village being expected to be also announced in the near future.

By creating these urban villages the Executive is offering a real opportunity for residents to shape and influence their areas, building social cohesion and improving local amenities, based on what they see as the local priorities.

“Through local input and involvement, we will help bring the local community together to work on enhancing their areas to deliver for all residents. I look forward to seeing the transformation of these areas take shape.”

A project team will be set up for each of the new Urban Village areas. The project teams will engage and work within the community in the areas to assess needs and develop priorities for each of the urban village areas.

Construction activity grows strongly at end of 2014

Progress under Construction 2020 will drive job creation in the construction sector in 2015 Alan Kelly TD, Minister for the Environment, Community & Local Government and Minister of State Paudie Coffey have welcomed the announcement on the Action Plan for Jobs 2015. Minister Kelly said: “The main priority for this Government is job creation. We need to get people back to work and we need to build homes to address the supply issues that exist. Increasing supply will also address rising house prices and building homes creates jobs. It is a no brainer and we must ensure continued progress in reducing unemployment and creating sustainable jobs.”

The Government’s ‘Construction 2020 – a Strategy for a Renewed Construction Sector’ provides the basis for rebuilding a sustainable construction sector that has the capacity to build the houses and infrastructure we need as a society, and making its full contribution to economic recovery. Minister Paudie Coffey added: “The overriding aim of Construction 2020 is to provide homes for our people by tripling housing output by 2020 and, in the process, add 60,000 jobs to the construction sector over the same period.

“It is also an essential part of the Government’s effort to return the economy to full employment in 2018. We have said that we are

determined to help all those on the Live Register find meaningful and rewarding work, including the many construction workers who lost their jobs with the sector’s collapse.

“Construction 2020 contains a detailed programme of work, including 75 time-bound actions, across a range of issues including: housing; the planning process; availability of financing; monitoring and regulating the sector; and ensuring a highly skilled workforce and opportunities for construction jobseekers and we are beginning to see the positive outcomes of this strategy.”

One of the key commitments in Construction 2020 was the publication of a new Social Housing Strategy setting out a comprehensive approach to the delivery of social housing to 2020. At the end of November Ministers Kelly and Coffey published the promised strategy.

Minister Kelly concluded: “We are on track to exceed our target of 100,000 additional jobs by 2016 – we have already achieved 80,000. The goal for this year is to provide 40,000 more new jobs. We are setting a goal to bring employment to 2.1 million by 2018 – two years earlier than our original target – effectively restoring all jobs lost during the economic crisis.”

PROTEUS CONSULTING ENGINEERS Proteus Consulting Engineers was set up to provide a highly personalised service to clients and is proud to have carried out the M & E design for the Irish Whiskey Museum.

Contact Joe Rooney at joe@proteus.ie or mobile: 086 380 5446

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The Irish construction sector maintained its recent run of strong growth in activity at the end of 2014. New orders also continued to expand sharply, albeit at a weaker pace, while companies took on extra staff at a rapid rate.

The Ulster Bank Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) – a seasonally adjusted index designed to track changes in total construction activity – remained well above the 50.0 no-change mark in December, posting 63.1, down slightly from 63.5 in November.

This signalled a further strong monthly increase in activity, albeit the slowest in three months.

The average reading for 2014 as a whole was the highest since the series began in mid-2000.

Commenting on the survey, Simon Barry, Chief Economist Republic of Ireland at Ulster Bank, noted that: “Although the new orders index fell to a four-month low, it still remains at very punchy levels and continues to indicate solid expansion in new business activity. New orders have now increased for 18 consecutive months and respondents expect this trend will likely continue, as sentiment remained very bullish in December with approximately two-thirds of respondents forecasting higher activity in 12 months’ time. The sustained expansion in orders and activity, along with high levels of optimism in relation to future business activity, meant firms continued to report increased staffing levels last month. In fact, the employment index remained above the no change 50 level for the 16th consecutive month in December.

“Overall, 2014 marked an important year for the Irish construction sector, with the PMI results through the year pointing to the establishment of a solid, broadly-based recovery. While this recovery needs to be seen in the context of the huge downturn which hit the sector over 2006-13, the encouraging trends in place at the end of the year indicate that the sector will likely enjoy further expansion in 2015.”

Where activity increased, this was linked to rising new business, with the housing sector mentioned as a source of growth by some companies. Residential activity continued to rise sharply despite the pace of expansion slowing for the third month running.

The fastest rise of the three categories of construction was on commercial activity.

Meanwhile, civil engineering activity increased for the third month running, and at the steepest pace since October 2006.

Higher new work and the prospect of further improvements in 2015 led construction firms in Ireland to raise their staffing levels again in December. The 16th successive monthly increase in employment was sharp, and broadly in line with that seen in the previous month.

Construction firms generally expect economic conditions in Ireland to improve further during 2015, resulting in optimism around the prospects for activity over the next 12 months. Although below November’s record, sentiment remained among the strongest registered in the series to date.

ESTIMATING & VALUATION SOFTWARE

For 170 years, H&J Martin have played a part in the creation of many landmark buildings. Starting in Ireland, transforming the cities and landscapes they now build, fit out and develop offices, shopping centres, houses and municipal buildings all over the UK, Ireland & Europe.

Mark Ogle has been a Senior Estimator at H&J Martin Ltd for the last 9 years and during that time, the estimating team have used ConQuest to price a huge range of projects; from fit our jobs worth between £5 and £10 million through to new build construction projects up to £50 million. Mark has even priced specialised refurbishments of listed buildings using ConQuest Estimating Software.

We asked Mark what he liked about the system: “ConQuest is great in the sense that you can clearly demonstrate how your costs are made up, whether this be internally or with clients, it is really easy to see and adjust what you are looking at and make changes wherever you need to.

“Being able to resource the job into work packages helps. We can mark up bill items as we are creating them from the ConQuest library and then ConQuest will automatically create the packages. When the quotes come back, you can quickly insert them into ConQuest Comparisons and everything is all already set up for you.”

We discussed the full life cycle of a construction project and just how big a role ConQuest plays.

It starts with the drawings and specification documents, as these can be accessed in nearly any format directly within the estimating system itself. You can have CAD drawings, photos, PDFs all open next to your specification and all your rates from ConQuest ready to go without ever leaving the estimating system.

Once the job has been priced, ConQuest can be used to send enquiries, within the buying department and for surveyors, planning and accounts.

“A lot of the business has access to ConQuest here which really makes our lives easier. I still get the surveyors knocking on my door sometimes but once I have done the enquiry via the ConQuest Cloud, the surveyors and buyers can all pick that up.”

“I like how I can track each enquiry that I send. I can instantly see who has looked at the enquiry, who is interested in the project and who is not.

The tracking system makes it easy to filter out and quickly contact the suppliers I want to contact.”

H&J Martin use ConQuest from the moment the job comes into estimating, for pricing, take offs, measuring and sending out subcontractor enquiries and comparing them.

ConQuest is clearly more than just an estimating tool. Mark explains that ConQuest works really well in contract meetings to add adjustments and tweak discounts and rates for clients. The buyers use it to obtain exact material requirements and quotes from suppliers and finally, everything is passed to the surveyors when the job goes live.

Many ConQuest users go even further as they can allocate every resource in the ConQuest library a cost code. This cost code is mirrored in their costing/accounts software and every time a job is priced, it is automatically done so under these headings, with no extra effort.

In fact the system is so versatile, with a few clicks you can get a complete Cost Value Reconciliation and highlight where you are making and losing money in a project.

01204 669689 sales@conquest.ltd.uk

THE ESTIMATING SOFTWARE PEOPLE

PROFILE CI

The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE)

Michelle Perry

Tim Dwyer

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CIBSE is the prime source of expertise in the building services industry, giving advice to its 21,000 members.

UK Construction Media spoke to Professor Tim Dwyer, Teaching Fellow at UCL Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering and member of CIBSE BIM Steering Group, and Michelle Perry, Key Account Manager for TROX UK Ltd, member of CIBSE BIM Steering Group and Vice Chair of the Product Data Templates Breakout Group.

They shared their thoughts on the work CIBSE is undertaking to raise BIM awareness and the importance of Product Data Templates (PDTs) for the industry.

The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) is a membershipbased organisation whose history reaches back over 115 years. In its current form, CIBSE has existed since 1976 and has more than 21,000 members comprising of not only traditional building services engineers, but also specialists from a range of associated disciplines such as lighting or facilities management.

Members belong to a global network of professional support and expertise, with a full programme of meetings and events each year offering hundreds of opportunities for members to meet and learn from colleagues and experts to explore new ideas. A further 20,000 non-members are also involved in CIBSE’s specialist interest groups.

The Institution represents key aspects of the supply chain whose input and engagement will be vital if BIM is to live up to its potential to transform the construction industry. A key priority has also been to collaborate with other bodies, the Government, other institutions and trade associations.

The collaboration is crucial because so many different companies in different sectors need the information.

Tim explained:“Building services is very much a multi-disciplinary activity that relies on being interdisciplinary so there’s a need for the management of information.”

CIBSE BIM Steering Group Informally, CIBSE has been involved in BIM for many years through the discipline of information, which is core to all its activities. This was formalised by the

formation of the BIM Steering Group four years ago. In that time the Group has produced a number of important outputs – notably the BIMTalk website and PDTs, an important tool to streamline the input of data into BIM models.

The Group meets once a month and consists of members such as consultants, commissioning/FM companies, manufacturers and main contractors so that the level of information is spread across a variety of sectors. The Group has subcommittees that meet on an informal basis, with break-out groups also sitting in to review various issues such as current industry standards. Tim said it was important that the mix of people involved in this group was varied and eclectic enough to represent the whole industry.

He said: “It truly is a cross-industry group of people on the BIM Group, moving through the ideas that will help solve future problems of information management, as well as meeting the needs of the Government and various standards. The Group has acted as a great catalyst for action within CIBSE.” The Group has run annual surveys to canvass the opinion of members in order to give an idea of what the industry wants from BIM and where it is going.

The results of the latest survey, which was conducted last year, showed that BIM in the building services sector is moving forward faster than others as reported in specific sector surveys. Those who took the survey felt that information they have been given has continued to improve when compared to previous years.

These are particularly encouraging results given that of those that responded, approximately 75% have been involved in BIM projects.

Distributed through CIBSE Journal and Twitter, the two groups who responded in the greatest numbers to the CIBSE BIM Survey were consultants and manufacturers, and it is the latter group that is looking to the Institution for help.

Michelle explained the reason for this is the fact that they are “always at the bottom of the trail.”

She said: “Clients, projects and the Government drive things from the top through main contractors

and consultants, who have to gear themselves up a lot sooner.

“Manufacturers are holding back because they won’t get paid for doing this, so they wait to see which way the industry is going, instead of implementing things and having to change them later.

Obviously with the recession and the way industry has been for a while, money and resources have been tight so it’s about getting our message to the manufacturers and removing the fear factor.”

Two key initiatives which the Group is taking to strip away this fear factor are the development of PDTs and the creation of www.BIMTalk.co.uk - a non-partisan, impartial website that allows people to find out about BIM. BIMTalk.co.uk Created three years ago, this popular website is widely used in the industry and boasts a full glossary, allowing people to find out what all terms used actually mean.

The glossary is an invaluable tool as understanding the BIM language can be a minefield, this website is key in making sure that CIBSE members, as well as other users from the building industry are upto-date with the latest BIM development.

All the results from the CIBSE BIM Group’s annual surveys are published on the website, which also includes other useful information such as website links, case study examples, as well as sections about BIM standards and processes.

More importantly, the CIBSE BIM Group created BIMTalk because there was a need for a site with the sole purpose of enriching the knowledge of its members.

Tim explained: “The reason we created BIMTalk.co.uk is that there many of BIM pages on the web, however, the information is often partial, which is frustrating.

“We are dedicated to keeping this website up to date, allowing visitors to read about the current state of the developments.

“We will also continually update links to other sites, directing them towards other useful information. If we find case studies that would help people to move through the jungle of BIM, we will upload them, saving people the hassle of trawling through journal sites. We

believe it’s an important resource and have had a great feedback so far.”

data for similar products. Now, it will be readily available in a simplified format so a user can compare different types of a similar product effortlessly as they are in the same format and data is presented consistently.

This is much more convenient than having to look at several different forms of data.

Michelle explains how this encourages people to work in the same format: “It is vital to be able to compare data and PDTs/PDSs are a great aid for that. It will simplify the different ways that information is currently presented in manufacturers’ literature and consultants’ schedules.

“For some reason every company presents the data in a slightly different way, yet exactly the same information is presented – the PDTs make the process more efficient.”

PDTs also show their value by ensuring that accurate information is available throughout the lifecycle of the building. In addition, the smoother transfer of information will not only benefit facility management, but will also encourage the design team to consider facilities management requirements much earlier in the design process.

The PDTs can answer all requirements about standards and what the industry wants to achieve. The fact that the information has to be produced only once rather than for every aspect of a project, is a major benefit to everyone.

Tim said that the need to meet the Government’s Level 2 BIM standard was also a driver behind the PDTs, which addressed “a gap in BIM provision.” continued on page 16

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Product Data Templates (PDTs) Along with the BIMTalk website, PDTs form a major part of CIBSE activity around BIM. It is a result of the industry wanting to move BIM forward and provide quality product information into the chain from the beginning of a project.

Initially a CIBSE BIM Object Library was discussed, however PDTs as an open standard were seen as critical to help manufacturers.

Formats such as COBie digital information, as well as German formats were investigated to make sure that the best suggestions could be distilled into a format that could answer productspecific questions required by COBie. PDTs are adopted as a standard product questionnaire that manufacturers have to complete for each of their products once, serving the requirements of all people involved, products and services.

Michelle explained the benefits of the PDTs, saying that as well as ensuring manufacturers only have to input data once, inputting into Excel spreadsheets allows for “consistent transfer of information.”

She said: “We’re promoting PDTs as one common format for all stakeholders meaning they don’t have to keep producing the information in different formats for different companies or project teams, or to suit different software platforms.

“The Excel format is readily usable and adaptable into every type of software.

“The software industry needs to adapt to the construction industry requirements - and not vice versa regarding interoperability of models and data, including the capability to deal with large amounts of data without making the model unusable.”

The definition of the individual PDTs only require updating if there is an attribute that needs adding to this generic product template; this is controlled to ensure that PDTs remain a universal standard.

Once the PDTs are completed, a Product Data Sheet (PDS), which is essentially the answer to the questionnaire, can be produced. The PDTs allow manufacturers to introduce their products to BIM, providing lifelong access to information.

This gives a digital description of everybody’s product, and as a project evolves, it allows for the PDS to be developed in order to add more information to get to the project specific stages.

As a result, the project and industry don’t have to tie themselves to a specific manufacturer from the beginning of the process, and instead can compare several manufacturers’ products at various stages throughout the process. This allows the project to flow and evolve naturally.

The PDT/PDS provides a mechanism for describing a manufacturer’s product in one place on a spreadsheet, with links that will take the prospective user to the manufacturer’s website.

Currently, this information is available in many different sources and formats, which need to be deciphered before you can compare between different manufacturers’

He said: “It was really a case of seeing where there’s a real gap in the BIM provision and that’s what created the impetus and project for the PDTs.” CIBSE is working closely with trade associations creating a route in for manufacturers, whose input into the initiatives such as PDTs is absolutely crucial for them being successful.

Fundamentally, the PDTs are a way of the industry shaping what it needs according to its own requirements, rather than other sectors or software providers dictating these.

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Future challenges BIM is an emerging technology that is not going to stop at Level 2 - the 2016 requirement. Software and demand will develop, and BIM is critical to the future profitability of companies all over the country, which will be enabled through good quality information, readily generated.

The PDTs are designed to enable information to be shared quickly and readily, benefiting the likes of manufacturers in the process.

But despite the positives, Tim and Michelle appreciate that more can

be done to improve the process.

Collaboration is crucial, because BIM has to work across the whole supply chain and lifecycle of a building.

Therefore it is vital for everybody across a project, from architects and engineers to operators, to be communicating and feeding in the information.

At CIBSE’s annual conference in November, RIBA President, Stephen Hodder, used collaboration within BIM as his key theme and said the institutions needed to embrace this approach and find out what members need in order to feed this information downwards and show where the industry and BIM are going.

It is a view that Tim echoed, saying: “We need people to be more open - it has been a real challenge in some parts of the world to get the information shared because people have concerns about their intellectual property.”

Another reoccurring theme is the pace at which software is developing and the way it can and possibly should be used to bring about savings.

The latter point is not an easy one to find a solution for, as many companies use different software for each stage of a project.

For example, an architect will produce a model of a building for a project, but when the model goes to the engineers, information will be re-inputted and another model created. This process can happen many times throughout the project, which increases the chances of mistakes being made.

BIM should eventually tie this together, however there is a need for collaboration

and for software houses to provide a solution where data is interchangeable between models, especially when using different software packages.

Michelle said:“Going forward, that’s where the biggest financial savings will be in the industry. If we can have a model that is adopted by the entire team from inception, right through the full life of the project without having to re-draw at every step, it will make the process a lot smoother instead of starting from scratch each time. That will save a lot of time and a lot of money.”

Finding software that can handle this much information being put into one model is another hurdle. As it stands, the level of detail required by each discipline cannot be put into one model without it ‘falling over’.

Tim and Michelle have both spoken to various software houses and feel this is caused not only by a lack of money to invest as the industry has been hit hard by the downturn in economy, but also by the companies possibly getting too comfortable as they have dominated the market for many years.

It is a challenge to keep moving forward and pushing the attitudes, without doubt.

But CIBSE is committed to raise awareness of these issues with the likes of BIMTalk, its surveys, and PDTs. Going forward, it will undoubtedly lead to more knowledge for the betterment of the building services.

CIBSE would welcome input from those who would like to either create or test PDTs – visit www.cibse.org/bim to find out more.

Visit us at BIM Show Live, Manchester, 8-9 April

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COMMENT CI

VIVIX® panels used for St. James’s hospital façade

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VIVIX® by Formica Group exterior façade panels have been used for the external wall cladding of St. James’s hospital in Dublin.

Equator European Architects, Irish branch, chose VIVIX panels in Redwood from the Woods range, to create a contemporary look that fits in perfectly with the surroundings.

Gavin Veeran of Equator European Architects explains: “St. James’s Hospital Haemophilia and Hepatology Clinical Research Facility building was designed using a rectangular base form as a foundation. Rectangular modulations protrude at intervals with a focus on the off-shutter concrete entrance location. The overall concept was to marry in the rigid form with natural materials using stone and timber.

However, the challenge of using timber was the maintenance and durability of the material; we therefore chose VIVIX panels as they not only exceeded our aesthetics and performance specifications; the maintenance costs have significantly been reduced for the end user.”

As well as being used to clad an entire building, VIVIX panels provide the opportunity to accentuate elements and features of the building design itself, creating a statement or a building identity.

The architects chose VIVIX in Redwood, a beautifully rich woodgrain décor. “We chose this particular design to create a contrast between the natural stone cladding that dominated the building and the cherry wood toned laminate panels.

The woodgrain decor complements the stone that we have used and manages to soften the façade at the same time, achieving our design objective.”

With a range of cladding solutions available, architects are increasingly choosing materials for exterior cladding that are not only decorative, but also practical, functional and can contribute to how the building as a whole performs. VIVIX panels are resistant to impact and abrasion, are weather resistant and can help to enhance the life span of a building. They include double-sided UV protection as standard.

Another key factor in the specification of the VIVIX panels was the product’s sustainability credentials. “Sustainability is becoming more of an influence in design and specification,” adds Gavin Veeran. “We cannot ignore our impact on the living environment, and have to start making changes that include becoming more responsible for our environment and focus our efforts on being resource efficient. As designers, we have many avenues in which to make a difference, from the inception, supply chain and all the way to the end-user.”

VIVIX panels incorporate Formica Group’s commitment to sustainable principles and practices. Manufactured in Europe to ISO 9001 standards, the laminate delivers minimal environmental impact as determined by Formica Group’s product Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). LCA tracks

the ecological effects of a product throughout its lifespan from raw material procurement, manufacture and transport, to its use, reuse and disposal. All of Formica Group’s European manufacturing sites and distribution centres have achieved the internationally-recognised Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Chain of Custody (COC) certification from leading accreditation body, BM TRADA. This ensures that materials used in the production of Formica® High Pressure Laminate (HPL) and wood-based bonded items are from sustainably managed sources.

Formica Group, the inventor of laminate, marks 100 years of invention, innovation and design leadership in 2013. Working closely with architects, designers and specifiers, Formica Group is ideally placed to offer innovative new products and decors which respond to market needs and complement current design trends.

Equator European Architects is a dynamic practice whose management and design team have a proven track record of projects covering a wide spectrum of work. They are committed to quality assurance and guided by procedures that have been designed to suit standard and fast track programming. Their experienced team of architects and technical personnel are well versed in all aspects of design and this is complemented by extensive construction and project management skills.

HEALTH AND SAFETY FOR THE DIGITAL AGE

ICEdot is a leading safety technology company specialising in health technology. Originally a health software company building custom software systems for hospitals, ICEdot started the development of its patient registry system in 2010.

The Company now provides the ICEdot emergency profile and specialist technology focusing on the health and safety of athletes and workers within industries like construction.

The ICEdot emergency ID platform allows a person’s medical details and their emergency contact's details to be easily accessed at the scene of an accident by the first responders.

This allows for medical staff to know what conditions the person suffers from before they apply any treatment which could prove ill-fitting for the individual.

With regard to the construction industry, it would be great to know that this type of software is not needed. However, accidents do happen and having this information on hand for medical teams could potentially make the difference between a serious accident and a fatal one.

Products and Services

The products ICEdot provide all stem from the information held within its emergency ID platform. This information gives each individual on the register a PIN code that identifies them. This PIN allows an individual’s important medical details to be provided to first responders on the site of an accident, and notify the person's emergency contact. Medical information such as allergies, medications, conditions and blood type will be provided.

The benefit of a system like this is that it allows first responders to get the information they need to treat a person even when that person is unconscious or in a state of shock.

The information is released through an SMS system, working anywhere in the world and not phone-type dependent.

This method can be easy to carry out and all the first responder needs is an ICEdot band with the individual’s PIN number on it. The SMS data is also trackable so you can see when the data has been accessed. The registration takes place when an ICEdot band is purchased and the PIN is activated online which gives the user immediate protection once the band arrives. The online emergency profile also allows unlimited, real-time updates without having to purchase a new product. The Company also provides helmet stickers for users, which can be applied to a variety of products including phones, ID cards and hard hats.

With worker health and safety a key component to the running of construction sites, the personal details of a worker, including some medical details and emergency contacts, will be held on site. The difference which is delivered with the ICEdot band is that the information is easily accessible, which is not always the case when sites have hundreds of workers on site or if the person involved is a subcontractor and their company has to be contacted to gather that information. The ICEdot system allows for the instant access of medical details which could result in the difference between life and death.

At an initial purchase cost of £20, which includes full membership for a year, the ICEdot band is a cost effective health and safety technology measure.

Membership goes down to £6 per year, the equivalent of 50p a month! For a product that has the potential to save your life or ensure a loved one is by your side in a time of need, that isn't a lot of money at all.

WWW.ICEDOT.ORG

COMMENT CI

New NHBC registration benefits revealed

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With NHBC’s annual registration statistics showing a 9% increase in 2014 over the previous year and demand for new homes growing steadily, the industry is facing up to a new set of challenges to build upon this buoyancy, which came on top of the significant sector growth in 2013.

Builders and developers who are registered with NHBC have always benefited from being able to use the NHBC brand in promoting their businesses, to offer Buildmark new home warranty and insurance to their customers, and have access to the technical expertise and advice that NHBC offer in new house building.

Following the findings of the NHBC Foundation research into issues impacting small builders NHBC is now launching a wide range of new benefits to its registered builder and developer customers which support their businesses. Smaller companies often do not have the scale to gain significant discounts on trade materials or business insurances, or the contacts to get deals on land sourcing, surveying and valuation services that are essential to building new homes.

From April 2015 NHBC registered builders and developers will be able to access a new set of free or discounted services that will support their business whether or not they are currently building new homes, enabling smaller building companies to operate at lower costs and with increased professional support.

For example, NHBC has teamed up with TradePoint for registered builders to receive special discounts on building materials.

With 360 trade counters across the UK open seven days a week and for longer working hours than most merchants, their stores are more accessible for the builder customer.

NHBC’s support to builders extends to the technical and health & safety helplines which are available for registered builders to call for a range of advice on house building.

NHBC already offers a number of land-related services including market reports, site evaluation reports and land quality endorsement.

To add further value to registered builders NHBC has now agreed a new partnership with Countrywide Properties to provide free access to a dedicated regional land manager for land sourcing.

Countrywide’s nationally based land division source quality on and off-market sites throughout the UK, using their local area knowledge and experience of the local planning system to identify the unidentified.

From single plots to strategic land, residential to retirement, the Countrywide land & planning team will listen to a developer’s land requirements, provide input and guidance on planning matters and can provide early notifications when suitable land opportunities become available.

Also available is a free pre-site valuation advice service, designed to suit smaller developers who can access Pre-site mortgage related valuation advice from a RICS qualified surveyor and direct contact with a qualified, RICS registered valuer through Countrywide Surveying Services, one of the largest new build valuers in the UK.

Also new as a benefit this year is a 10% discount on asset protection insurance with DUAL Asset Underwriting Ltd on residential and commercial legal indemnity and title insurance products.

The new partnership means that builders will have access to a 10% discount on an extensive range of ‘Specific Risk’ and ‘All Risks’ legal indemnity policies that can help manage issues identified during land acquisition and site development such as; ••easement/servitude ••restrictive covenants/title conditions ••breaches of planning ••mines and minerals ••boundary issues To assist in selling homes, builders and developers also now have access to the NHBC Home User Guide which is available free for every new plot registered, discounted home exchange solutions services via the Countrywide Home Exchange Exclusive service and can promote properties on the Propertywide portal.

For more information on becoming an NHBC registered builder or any of the benefits, both new and existing, please visit www.nhbc.co.uk/register or call 0844 633 1000 and ask for ‘register’.

Property Developers!!

Respond! Housing Association offers its assistance in the design and provision of much needed housing in Ireland.

Respond! Housing Association, a leading provider of Integrated Housing in Ireland - having built over 5,300 dwellings nationally - offers its inhouse design, planning expertise and development assistance to Property Developers to respond positively to the housing needs of families and communities across the country.

We invite Property Developers to work with us cooperatively in a “housing construction collaboration”, towards the provision of housing of all tenure types.

Contact:

Mr. Liam Fewer, Production Manager, Respond!, Airmount, Waterford Tel: 0818-357901 Email: liam.fewer@respond.ie www.respond.ie Respond! is unique as a Housing Association in Ireland in having had its own inhouse Planning and Design department for most of its 33 years in operation.

St. John’s College, Waterford St. Johns College dates back to the 19th century and was a seminary up until its closure in 1999. It was bought by Respond! from the Diocese of Waterford and Lismore in 2007. It is a listed building which status Respond! has respected in its plans. The project was designed by and currently being project managed by Respond!’s own in-house Property Services Team.

The whole redevelopment will provide a fitting and resourced location for some 68 older persons and Respond! will work very closely with the City Council to assess all applications from prospective residents as the construction comes to a finish towards the end of 2015. The original planning permission also granted the provision of a medical facility, but unfortunately the Health Service Executive had alternative plans.

The total project costs will come to just €12 million. Some €8 million of this will be made available in state mortgages to Respond! from Waterford City Council through the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. The remaining €4 million will be provided by Respond! of which some €2.25million will come in a private borrowing initiative from the AIB Bank. This lending initiative by the AIB was the first of its kind for social housing in Ireland.

The College building itself will house 21 self-contained apartments and an 11 unit group home for older persons with a supporting Day Centre and Communal Facilities. Respond! is also constructing 36 new-build one-bed apartments on the site parallel to The Folly road, also for older persons.

Mythen Brothers of Longraigue, Foulksmills, Co. Wexford were the successful tendering contractors and construction on site began in the middle of March, 2014.

COMMENT CI

Protecting your Assets Design Implications for Hostile Vehicle Mitigation Background At the time of writing the threat level in the UK designated by Her Majesty’s Government stands at ‘Severe’ meaning an attack is ‘highly likely’. However the threat of terrorism in the UK has a long history than those most commonly reported on the evening news over the past ten years. In October 2010 the Government published a new national security strategy which identified terrorism as a high risk to the country and committed to countering that threat.

This article concentrates on the danger posed by a vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) and the hostile vehicle mitigation (HVM) available to counter that threat. The most recently recorded of these attacks was at Glasgow airport in June 2007. This assault highlighted the vulnerability of public buildings. Until this attack it was largely assumed that terrorists would target government facilities and in the most part these were already protected. Following the Glasgow incident

the Centre for Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) re-evaluated the threat to crowded spaces such as sports stadiums, transport hubs, public buildings, libraries, museums and shopping centres and issued guidance to this effect.

The key drivers such as the protection of life and property are readily understood however there are also less tangible aspects such as perception, credibility and corporate responsibility that require consideration. Insurance premiums could also be affected by the implementation or omission of HVM’s.

Design Considerations A multitude of design considerations affect the implementation of HVM schemes which can be broken down into three main headings.

1. Threat assessment.

2. Statutory considerations.

3. Location specific issues.

1. Threat Assessment

In simple terms, what is the risk? The police have a network of Counter Terrorism Security Advisors (CTSA’s), who are specially trained and can be consulted about the most appropriate measures to secure a site. There are also specialist security consultants that bring expertise to the field. Both these groups can assist the client in establishing a risk profile for the asset and identifying potential weaknesses of the site. Each property owner will view the risk differently and, as there is no legal requirement to implement measures at a site, they must make their own assessment on what is appropriate. This is the first step and will depend on their attitude to the risk.

The building or site is easily identified as a potential target as are the typical threat vehicles and possible approach routes. However, the client’s perception of the risk is, perhaps, less tangible and requires careful consideration.

The client may wish to protect certain operational assets, such as control rooms

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Barricades don’t need to look like barricades Emirates Stadium uses concrete lettering as HVM

or be sensitive to adverse publicity.

At this initial stage it may be possible to discount certain risks by implementing operational changes or simply accepting that the risk exists and cannot be adequately mitigated against (eg: a car park linked to a building).

Having established the size of the threat vehicle and approach routes the security consultant takes over. It is critical to the specification of equipment that a vehicle dynamic assessment (VDA) is undertaken to establish the level of protection required at the point of impact. This forms the basis for the choice of the HVM. Ideally this process should be carried out early in the design process when the HVM can form part of the base build construction and is therefore easier to implement. A retro-fit exercise for an existing building is likely to prove challenging given the constraints of architectural features and structure.

2. Statutory Considerations As with most works within the built

environment the works are governed by statutory regulations, in broad terms these are as follows: 1. Planning 2. Building Regulations 3. British Standards or PAS 68/69 4. Statutory Undertakers 1. Planning The installation of measures at the boundary of the site is often subject to the planning permission. This can often be sensitive in city centre locations and in particular conservation areas or where Listed Buildings are affected. Ideally HVM should be positioned away from the structure in order to create what is termed ‘stand-off’. However this zone will be limited by the extent of the site. In certain circumstances it may be possible to arrange a Section 278 Agreement with the local authority to position equipment outside the demise line, in which case early engagement with the relevant

authority is recommended to understand any overriding concerns. The involvement of the local CTSA may assist in these discussions to facilitate implementation.

2. Building Regulations Building Regulations is required where the installation of HVM affects structure. However, this is very rarely contentious given the requirements to protect the property. Nevertheless as the potential targets in the façade are generally the entrance or exit points, accessibility and means of escape are essential aspects of the design and are governed by Building Regulations.

3. British Standards The equipment approved by the CPNI is tested to certain standards to provide the requisite level of security. Moreover the installation has to be carried out in a certain way (ie: as tested) to ensure the measures will live up to continued on page 24 The Arsenal Cannons can withstand a seven tonne lorry

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expectations. Various consultancies offer this engineering level of expertise and monitor the installation to ensure compliance.

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4. Statutory Undertakers As with all excavations the usual issues relating to underground services (mains water, gas, electric and telecoms) are all potential risks to a successful installation. Each of the authorities can be approached for drawings indicating the position of their equipment however it is recommended that the building owner undertake their own ground radar surveys and trial holes to accurately establish the position of services as these will impact on the final layout of equipment.

Other interests in neighbouring land such as Network Rail or the National River Authority may also impact on implementation should be identified early in the process. Similarly, the treatment of any excavated material which may be contaminated needs to be dealt with appropriately.

Location Specific Each installation will have its own unique design considerations which cannot all be reviewed within the scope of this article. Each building will have various constraints and requirements that need to be agreed with the various stakeholders in the scheme. The range of issues that will be considered range from specific ground conditions or service requirements, aesthetics, costs and operational issues such as maintenance and cleaning, to how the measures will actually be installed.

When considered at feasibility stage of a development there are relatively few physical barriers to the installation of HVM’s. The structural design can accommodate their inclusion and combined with creative design such as the use of street furniture, the orientation of entrances and natural features to create stand-off or reduce vehicle speeds, the protection can be achieved as part of the overall design. Nevertheless for this to happen early consideration is required in the design process, as the risks need

to be understood to avoid potentially extensive changes later on in the build.

In a retrofit scenario the phrase ‘you don’t make an omelette without breaking some eggs’ is particularly true for HVM install. The excavations required for certain retractable products can be up to two metres in depth. The less intrusive, fixed bollards require foundations of circa 300400mm and will require working space to install. Generally, HVM measures are implemented at the entrance points of an asset and as such, access needs to be maintained during construction. Phasing the installation or out of hours working operations need to be considered and have their own cost implications. The work face is also exposed to staff and customers and therefore health and safety is a concern during the build itself.

For a new development, the design considerations of structure, services provision and links to building management systems can be accommodated relatively easily providing the employer is clear on the desired result.

The situation is rather more complicated where a retro-fit solution is contemplated.

As built information provides a starting point however, this is sometimes lacking or may not be accurate. Similarly statutory services drawings (where available) tend to be indicative at best.

It is highly recommended that ground radar surveys and intrusive investigations are undertaken to inform the design process and establish the setting out.

However, it should be recognised that surveys and intrusive work do not provide a 100% certainty. Therefore balance needs to be reached between employer and contractor for the risk of ground conditions that can be assessed.

Operational considerations such as access, provision for maintenance or commercial activities and even future proofing the installation having due regard to likely vehicle sizes and their tracking requirements all need to be factored into the installation and these extend beyond the immediate vicinity of the measures themselves (eg: turning

circles for articulated vehicles).

Aesthetics are always an emotive issue.

By their very nature, the design of HVMs is bulky. Bollards can be sleeved but their size and diameter is likely to be determined by the VDA ratings. Bespoke solutions have been incorporated within the street furniture (eg: ‘Arsenal FC’ signage at the Emirates Stadium) and existing architectural features (The Houses of Parliament, Westminster).

The costs of the actual product are the immediate issue for clients however ongoing maintenance contracts for automated equipment post installation need to be built into the FM and maintenance budgets, particularly where interface is required with other access systems such as intercom or roller shutter doors.

One of the first questions raised by CTSA’s when assessing the threat to an asset is “what hostile vehicles mitigation measures are in place?”

For a new development early consideration of the requirements for HVM is paramount to ensure the requisite level of protection is incorporated in the base-build.

Creative design at this stage can often reduce vehicle speeds and hence the size of the equipment required, or design out the risk completely. For existing assets compromises often have to be made in order to provide the necessary level of protection, whilst retaining the functionality of the asset during and after the construction phase.

Conclusion In an increasingly uncertain world, hostile vehicle mitigation will be a very real consideration for new development and existing buildings.

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COMMUNITY CI

Saint Mel’s Cathedral reopens five years after devastating fire

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It was a particularly cold winter in 2009, with the local area being covered with heavy frost and snow when St Mel’s Cathedral in Longford, one of Ireland’s most beautiful and cherished cathedrals, was destroyed in a fire.

On Christmas Eve, the boiler in the Cathedral would normally only be in use for a few hours before midnight mass. However, because of the bitterly cold weather conditions, the boiler of the dated heating system had been running for 17 hours.

It was these circumstances that led to the fire which devastated St Mel’s. When

the boiler was turned off at 11 o’clock at night as usual, embers from within the flue received combustion oxygen causing a chimney fire that led into the sacristy. This culminated in the near total destruction of everything within the walls of the Cathedral.

A bird’s eye view of the Cathedral the morning after the fire would show the four walls and the campanile of the Cathedral but a look inside would reveal the complete devastation. The roof, the barrel vault ceiling and the ground floor of the nave and the isle were destroyed. The heat being so intense that even the marble fittings had melted.

Sadly, many historic paintings, tapestries and statues were also consumed in the flames.

Even with what amounted to only the external walls still standing, there was a strong determination from within the devastated community to see St Mel’s returned to its former state and glory.

In January 2010 a statement was issued

by Bishop Colm O’Reilly confirming that the Cathedral would be restored and that same month, The Friends of St Mel’s Cathedral restoration fund was set up to facilitate the many people wanting to contribute to the work of reinstating the

Main Contractor Gem Purcell faced many huge challenges in the restoration, with perhaps the biggest one being trying to replace 26 huge limestone pillars that lined the central aisles of St Mel’s.

Ronan Moore, Senior Project Manager for Gem Purcell, said: “We had to painstakingly remove every one of them and replace them with new stone. This was one of the most challenging pieces of work I have ever had to take on – when one considers that each of those stone columns stood eight metres high, each one consisting of a decorative capital, a fillet stone, four intermediate drums and a base. Each weighed something like five tonnes.”

Gem Purcell had to contend with there being no floor, no roof and that the 26 hand-carved limestone columns which supported the structure were by and large destroyed, they devised a system which allowed the restoration work to proceed on three levels at the same time.

Without any floor to support scaffolding, a suspended steel support bridge structure was built which allowed one team to work on the roof while the replacement of the columns below could continue alongside the defrassing of the firedamaged internal masonry walls.

During the restoration of St Mel’s there existed an opportunity to modernise certain aspects of the building and improve upon some of its design flaws.

Niall Meagher, Managing Director of Interactive Project Managers Ltd, who had overall responsibility for delivering the restoration of the Cathedral said: “The Cathedral is a protected structure in the Irish context, which means that the works proposed to the Cathedral had to be done in cooperation with the local authority and all of the stakeholders. You also have the need for historical restoration and accuracy. Allied with that is an continued on page 30

CI COMMUNITY

original splendour of St Mel’s Cathedral.

There was, however, a real fear that the building core could actually collapse because of the initial damage caused by the fire and the remains required emergency stabilisation works.

Hegarty Demolition arrived on-site to secure it and make the building safe for inspection. They carried out work initially under the direction of the Gardai and structural engineers.

Hegarty Demolition had to ensure that all internal walls were sufficiently supported and installed a temporary roof structure to cover the Cathedral to protect the inside from the elements and to allow work to go on underneath.

Shutters were fitted to the windows of the Cathedral in order to seal the building from the elements. In order to halt the deterioration and for safety, the internal columns and arches had to be supported with steel bracing and netting.

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Quality Brass & Iron Craft Since 1985 Quality Brass Supplies Ltd have been responding to a growing market demand for quality fenders and fireplace accessories.

As a family run company, we take quality so personally we included it in our name as a constant challenge and reminder of our vision.

A combination of traditional skills and expert craftsmen, careful selection of materials and meticulous attention to detail have always been the distinction of a Quality Brass Product.

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Public clocks, nationwide service.

Quality Brass design on the other hand is a mark of distinction in itself. Reluctant to sit still, we have strived towards constant innovation, we take pride in our ability to adapt to meet the ever changing needs of our customers.

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"Restoration & Conservation of Historical Buildings, Monuments & Period Houses."

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We are a building faรงade restoration company with over 20 years experience in the conservation and restoration of listed buildings, protected structures and national monuments.

Summit work hand in hand with the architect, design team and client to achieve the best methodology of restoration, repair and conservation to suit the buildings requirements.

Conservation & Restoration are pleased to be associated with the restoration of

St Mel's Cathedral and wish to congratulate

the Design Team and Main Contractor on this wonderful project.

Conservation & Restoration (I) Ltd Summit Conservation & Restoration Ltd. 27 Orchardstown Park, Dublin 14, IRELAND

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Phone 01-4954443 or Mobile 087-2431434

info@summitconservation.ie www.summitconservation.ie

Kilmurry, Gorey, Co Wexford

Mob: 087 2575009 t/f: 053 94 81604 www.conservationandrestoration.ie

ELECTRICAL SERVICES Celebrating 30 Years

PROVIDING QUALITY WORKMANSHIP AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICE RECENT PROJECTS COMPLETED St Mel’s Cathedral Longford Libraries, Museums, Interpretative Centres Schools, Churches and Public Office Buildings Hospitals, Nursing Homes & Medical Centres Industrial Plants, Factories & Warehouses

Longford Tel: (043) 33 48111 Fax: (043) 33 47885 Dublin Tel: (01) 628 4771 Fax: (01) 628 4781 Email: info@keoghelectrical.ie www.keoghelectrical.ie

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opportunity to right the wrongs of the past. For example, the roof would originally have been slate but it was subsequently covered in copper. The new roof, therefore, was instead constructed with a natural Bangor blue slate, which will now provide a modern, ventilated and insulated roof.

“The barrel vaulted ceiling would have originally been lime plaster and the replacement of that was with traditional lime plaster. There was no modern plasterboard used in the replacement of the critical elements such as the barrel-vaulted ceiling.

“The mechanical and electrical systems provided an opportunity to completely revaluate what was required and

install the latest systems. Smoke detection, fire detection, heating systems, under floor heating, modern boilers, low energy and long life LED lighting – we’ve completely changed the electrical scope in the Cathedral.”

Arup was heavily involved in the restoration process as Services Engineers and provided lighting design, mechanical and electrical engineering services.

The lighting scheme in the new Cathedral strives to find a balance between the old and new to create an appropriate atmosphere through the use of modern LEDs and lighting concepts.

Another of the new lighting’s functions is to highlight liturgical and architectural

features in the building, whilst taking into consideration the building conservation and energy efficiency issues and also taking account of the textures of the building fabric and volume of space.

This was done by the use of a complex system of lighting types but with controls that are easy to use by providing a simple interface in the form of ‘pre-set’ scene settings that could be used for typical services throughout the liturgical year.

New lighting technology was combined with original brass fittings in some areas to maintain some of the history of the Cathedral whilst being able to provide a better solution in terms of control, maintenance and energy efficiency.

Fortunately, an architectural inspection done a few years prior to the fire provided a good quality photographic evaluation of roof spaces. This showed various elements of the interior and exterior aesthetics of the roof.

This resulted in the sophisticated and innovative recreation of the roof structure, which is a glue laminated base beam and solid timber making up the rest of the queen post truss. This supports not only the slate roof above but also the barrel vault below.

When putting back the barrel vault roof, there were surviving pieces of plasterwork. Moulds and photographs of these were taken and then recreated.

One addition to St Mel’s Cathedral is the new organ, built in Italy by Fratelli Ruffatti,

a family owned business from Padua. The contract was tendered to three companies but the beautiful design submitted by Ruffatti meant that they became the obvious choice.

The organ was relocated from its original location with the choir at the back of the Cathedral and moved beside the altar in the transept.

In terms of the sound and acoustics provided by the organ, Niall Meagher said: “It is an astounding addition to the Cathedral and the sound of it is amazing. Acoustics in a very hard atmosphere like that are very reflective. You need a very sophisticated sound system in order to be heard. If you put in traditional amplification, continued on page 32

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Along with the restoration works, new mechanical and electrical services were provided throughout and new lifts were installed to improve access to the upper levels. Measures to protect against the spread of fire were also incorporated, reinforced by a special fire detection system recessed within the ceiling of the Nave.

Susan Cormican, Lead Engineer for Arup said: “Arup was delighted to be part of the initiative. I think we have arrived at the optimum balance between old and new to create an atmosphere appropriate for such a sacred place.”

Recreation of the Cathedral’s historic features did not prove to be the easiest of tasks given that original documentation was quite limited.

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the sound quality can be very poor because of the reverberation time.

“We had to put in a quite specialist amplification system which you might describe as ‘zoned’. It controls the pressure to the various parts where people sit. That’s quite different from your traditional speaker, which in an uncontrolled way just blasts noise all over the place. This actually funnels noise and, as a result, the acoustics are stunning.”

Other alterations to St Mel’s have come about because of the change in Liturgy.

As it was built in various stages between 1840 and 1893, the Cathedral has lived through a number of re-orderings, most significantly the 1970s and 1980s. This involves the rearrangement and adaptation of church elements to accommodate changes in religious practise.

Now in the new millennium, thinking has moved on again. The baptismal font would have originally been in one of the five porches, before moving closer to the altar in the rethinking of the 1970s and 1980s.

The font will now take up a new position to reflect more modern liturgical thinking.

The reconstruction of St Mel’s created up to 100 jobs and contributed e7.5M to the state’s tax revenues. In total, e30M was spent on the restoration project, with the majority of that money coming from the Cathedral’s insurers, Alliance. A further e1M was donated in voluntary funds.

It is estimated that for every on-site job, an off-site job was also created. The restoration of the Cathedral also resulted in two training courses for 60 people being created, one of which upskilled local workers in heritage restoration.

On Friday 19th December 2014, Main Contractor, Gem Purcell, successfully handed over the restored Cathedral in time for a series of ceremonies, ahead of Christmas Eve Mass 2014.

Representatives of Gem Purcell presented Bishop Francis, Bishop of Ardagh & Clonmacnois with a commemorative

chalice in memory of the works that almost there and then moving away. From took place and all that were involved the Main Contractors, Gem Purcell, to in the painstaking restoration. the people who were employed in any Fr Tom Healy, Administrator of St Mel’s, of the many subcontracts that we had, co-celebrated the first Mass since the all can look back with great pride and fire, along with Bishop Francis Duffy, satisfaction on a great achievement.”

Bishop Emeritus Colm O’Reilly and Colm Redmond, Project Architect, said: other members of the clergy.

“We have been very fortunate with the Bishop Francis Duffy, speaking at the press quality and the skills of the craftsmen conference to mark the reopening of the and women who have worked on the Cathedral said: “I recall seeing the reports Cathedral over the last four years. Many of the fire on Christmas Day 2009. There of the crafts and trades are traditional was a clear sense of devastation and skills, which have found new life and sorrow among people interviewed. One vigour in new hands where knowledge voice was clear about what would happen, and skill has been passed on to a new Bishop Colm. He said that St Mel’s would generation. These skills harken back to be rebuilt; that was the voice of leadership. older traditions and play an important part Today, from the bottom of my heart, I in the management, care and restoration wish to thank Bishop Colm for his vision of our historic buildings on this island. and his determination. Here we are five “It is my hope that the people of the years on, in our beautifully reconstructed Diocese of Ardagh and Clonacnois will Cathedral of St Mel, ready to open its embrace their Cathedral as the return familiar doors in welcome to the faithful of an old friend, that they recognise in of the town, the diocese, and beyond.” the building features they have known Bishop Colm O’Reilly said: “The Cathedral for many years, while welcoming new restoration is done (and even dusted) I am the interventions as a new phase pleased to say. The many people who have in the life of the Cathedral.” been digging and drilling, plastering and painting and a hundred other things can lift their eyes at last and admire the work of their heads and hands. The Project Manager, Design Team, and all who have pored over maps, Spanfix are specialist interior contractors and have been drawings and established since 1998. cost estimates can Our services include: begin to close the Suspended Ceilings ● Metal Stud Partitioning ● Dry Lining books. A building Fire & Acoustic Proofing ● Interior Fit Outs of quite exceptional complexity has We also offer a full interior fit-out package from stand alone shop units to been steered into office blocks and larger scale developments. the destination Knockloughlin, Longford that seemed at Tel: (043) 33 48776 Fax: (043) 33 48792 Email: spanfix@eircom.net www.spanfix.ie times to behave like a mirage,

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COMMENT CI

Tackling infection control through ‘Fabric First’

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Early and close collaboration between designers, architects, engineers, facilities managers, IPC teams and healthcare staff can help reduce hospital infections through the careful specification of internal surface materials. Health Building Note 00-09: Infection control in the built environment, recommends measures should be ‘designed in’ at the outset of planning and design. Kate Waterston, UK Sales Manager of Construction Specialties, examines the issues that need to be considered when specifying and selecting from the wide range of products available.

Around 300,000 patients each year acquire infections as a result of visiting healthcare facilities in England, costing the NHS up to £1bn a year, as well as putting extra pressure on healthcare resources and risking patient safety and comfort.

For any healthcare provider, be it private or public, patient safety is the cornerstone of care, which means preventing these kinds of infections is a priority. Along with ever-more stringent regulations aimed at preventing infection control, the

challenge is compounded by constraints on budgets and a lack of staff resources, particularly in the public sector.

While it is important to educate staff, patients and visitors on the importance of maintaining a high level of hygiene, through hand cleansing and waste disposal, a critical element in infection prevention and control (IPC) is the specification and selection of the most appropriate materials for walls, ceilings, floors and doors, particularly where there is the possibility of contamination with blood or body fluid.

There are a multitude of products available but fundamentally the issues will be the same: does the surface material help prevent infection; is it easy to install, maintain and clean; and, with image becoming increasingly important (for influencing stakeholders and public opinion, as well as reducing patient anxiety), does it fit with the interior design?

The first lines of defence in infection control are thresholds. Health Building Note 00-10 Part A: Flooring recommends

that entrance matting suitable for pedestrian and trolley/wheelchair users should be provided at all entrances, to reduce dirt being trafficked into buildings.

Furthermore, BS 7953:1999 Entrance flooring systems. Selection, installation and maintenance, recommends 2.1m of entrance matting in the direction of traffic but most experts agree that 6m is the optimum “walk-off length”, to allow effective dirt and moisture removal.

Specification should be based on the effectiveness in trapping dirt, as this will not only help with infection control but will also save on internal cleaning and maintenance costs. Of course, the matting itself must be easy to clean and an appropriate cleaning and maintenance programme should be put in place to ensure its effectiveness over a long period.

Further inside the building, specifying resilient and hygienic wall, floor and ceiling finishes is essential. Health Building Note 00-10 Part B: Walls and ceilings, specifies the performance requirements and the types of finishes for different areas.

protection can also be fitted to doors to create full or half height protection, kick plates and push plates, maintaining doors’ integrity and increasing their working life.

Wall coatings and sheet protection systems offer a high degree of flexibility to allow designers to brighten up rooms and corridors. Wall coatings can be matched to a number of different colour standards including NCS, RAL and BS, while wall sheet protection systems also come in a wide range of colours and finishes. Some wall panel systems allow high-quality images or artwork to be embedded, creating bespoke floor to ceiling designs in high-traffic areas, removing the worry of damage and without compromising on infection control.

It is clear that whatever systems are chosen for IPC, careful selection at the design stage is critical, involving all stakeholders, including the design and construction teams, healthcare estate managers, staff and patients, to ensure

that an environment is created that is not only durable, clean and healthy but that also minimises maintenance and whole-life costs, while helping to improve patient care and recovery. choice of inserts, Pedisystems matting offers systems up to 44mm deep, that can take up to 500kg per wheel rolling load and have up to 85% absorption area, and includes Helix PVC tiles and Tetras carpet tiles for clean-off areas. The range includes recessed or surface-mounted options; a wide range of tread types, colours and finishes; the ability to include a logo; and all are easy to clean and replace. for reliable performance of fire rated doors (30 and 60 minute resistance).

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In sensitive areas, such as operating theatres, high-performance coatings offering increased chemical resistance are needed to cope with intensive cleaning. Some also include bactericides and fungicides in every layer (primer, middle coat and top coat), so even the most rigorous cleaning regimes do not diminish the coating’s ability to inhibit microbial growth.

Where durability is of particular concern, it is worth considering an impact-resistant wall sheet or panel protection system, which also supports IPC and is easy to clean. Both panels and sheet products can be used on flat surfaces, come in a wide range of colours and can be affixed to a diverse range of substrates.

Doors and door frames are clearly some of the most vulnerable items in a healthcare facility and damaged doorsets not only compromise hygiene and interior aesthetics but also fire safety. The same impactresistant sheet materials used for wall

INTERVIEW CI

Interview with Mike Petter of CCS Could you tell us a little about yourself and your own career?

I’m a Chartered Civil Engineer and was with Geoffrey Osborne Ltd for a number of years after graduation. I was Director of Civil Engineering when I left in 1996 and joined Alfred McAlpine Plc for four years, running their civil engineering operations in the south east.

This led me back to Geoffrey Osborne until 2001 as a Group Board Director, but I then branched out on my own as a technical consultant and assisted with culture change amongst a number of construction clients including McAlpine and various group subsidiary businesses.

This is still my main core business, but from 2008 I joined the Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS) as a Monitor.

I’m also a non-Executive Director of a National Health Foundation Trust in the south, a Group Board non-Executive for the Guinness Partnership Housing Association and business advisor to a start-up organisation in Chichester.

Construction is my background and the work I do with the NHS and the Housing Association overlap; I also do a lot of work with them around their management and asset portfolio.

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How did you become a Monitor at CCS? The Scheme regularly runs adverts for Monitors and I responded to one of those.

We have a model of a Monitor we’re looking for - somebody who has served time in the industry, relatively senior and experienced.

I applied in 2008 and was asked to join.

Monitors are self employed within the Scheme and we have some who do half a day, to a day a month, whereas others do something approaching a full time role.

I’m in the 6-8 days a month bracket. I look after the Portsmouth-Southampton area and the governance structure we have includes Monitor Directors. So when you’ve served as a Monitor, you can then become involved in other areas such as recruitment and training of new Monitors to allow you to move up.

Therefore in 2012 I was invited to join the Board as a Monitor Director. We have five of these positions on a fixed term appointment of three years.

One of the Monitor Directors is then chosen to be Vice Chairman which leads to becoming Chairman a year later, so I served as Vice Chairman from 20132014 and then took on the role of Chairman. It is a two-year term but can be extended through reappointment.

What do you feel you have added to CCS? What are you most proud of?

My major contribution was at the beginning of 2014 when I was heavily involved in looking at the strategy for CCS over the next three-five years.

We’d reached the end of the recession and I wanted us to think about the purpose of the Scheme and what it should be doing in five

years’ time. Should it continue monitoring sites or is there something else we could do?

The key output is, instead of just being a Scheme that goes out, monitors sites and gives a score - which has a lot of validity - we want to be able to provide advice and guidance as to what best practice looks like, and support and help site teams in improving.

So there was this new string to our bow I wanted to bring in, a focus on advice and guidance and starting with finding the mechanism to capture best practice and share it.

That’s probably my biggest contribution and will be when moving forward, to make sure our newly launched Best Practice Hub settles in which will lead to setting up an advice, guidance and consultancytype style to the way we work.

So instead of coming in and telling people how well they’ve done, we’ll tell them how well they could do and give them guidance, so they can strive for even higher levels of consideration.

Do you find that companies need a bit of guidance on how to get the best rating?

We were going to sites that were really well-performing, giving them a good score, but they then wanted to know what to do to become excellent or exceptional sites.

We used to be there to just observe on what had been done, whereas now, if people ask what ‘excellent’ looks like, we’ll be able to give guidance to site managers on what we’ve seen on similar projects.

They also want to go to a simple, single location like the Best Practice Hub and see what their peers are doing in a similar situation. That was the message we were hearing from the industry, which is why we’re making it even easier for any construction professional to read about the latest best practice and even share their own to benefit others.

Do you think this sets CCS apart?

Yes. There aren’t a lot of schemes similar.

CCS is owned by the industry, not-forprofit and borne out of the industry wanting to improve its own image, so we don’t improve the image of the industry, the industry improves its own image.

What we do is give them an independent view as to whether or not they’re achieving it, so in that respect, we’re not the same as other schemes. I think one of the key differentiators is that our Monitors are not only there to assess, but to support and offer guidance. We are here to help the industry improve itself.

You have just launched the Best Practice Hub. Can you give some information about how this came about?

We have over 140 Monitors at the moment who average around 15,000 visits a

year on construction sites, so we were seeing an awful lot of good practice!

We were then writing reports about them, which went back to the sites, but so much of it was not being shared which meant others couldn’t benefit.

At the Scheme, we always look for ways to improve, and it was clear this was an area that needed some focus.

We felt there was an absolute need to set up a repository of best practice which led to the creation of the Hub, which is a dynamic database that’s constantly being updated with the latest initiatives seen by Monitors.

It is free and accessible to anyone, including site teams, clients, professionals and the public, although it’s predominantly targeted to those involved in construction.

People can filter the available information to effectively describe a project similar to their own by project type, size, duration etc. This means the search results are all relevant so users are not faced with a long list of irrelevant information.

Going forward, we’ll continue to update the Hub with examples seen by our Monitors. We also hope to eventually expand and learn from other sectors, not only in the UK, but also with examples throughout the rest of Europe.

Our aim is that this will be the go-to place for anyone in the industry who wants to read about the latest best practice, and through the sharing of information, every site in the UK will be able to raise their considerate standards which in turn will improve the image of our industry.

Are you looking at the Best Practice Hub being something for advice and guidance too?

Definitely, it will become the centre of everything we do. One of the new considerations coming into our Monitors’ Checklist at the moment is about mental health issues in the construction industry.

Occupational health has been looked at by the industry and we’ve got better at providing general health information, however we are still very poor at mental health information and awareness.

Through the Best Practice Hub, we can address the issue of mental health much more effectively by highlighting the help and support available.

The Hub will become the essence of the Scheme and when sites ask us how they can become ‘excellent’, we’ll be able to point them in the direction of the Hub to see examples of other brilliant work to use as a marker.

In terms of planning and launching schemes at CCS, how far back does the planning go?

The Best Practice Hub is a good example. Our first discussions took place in January/February 2014.

After the initiative was agreed at a Board meeting, we tasked our administration

office with setting up a team to deal with capturing the best practice we already had on record from years of monitoring and setting up a group to deal with IT solutions.

With any initiative we run, a launch date must be decided. Our Scheme year runs from January to January and generally, most initiatives will be launched to suit this calendar.

With this in mind, it gave us a target of Christmas 2014/January 2015 for the launch date.

With the Best Practice Hub, it was hugely important to develop it with the industry in mind. We have a group of 57 Associate Members ranging from the likes of Balfour Beatty to Spencer Metcalfe who have close relationships with the Scheme, so we used them as a soundboard to ensure the Hub would be completely user friendly.

The Best Practice Hub took us 11 months to create from concept to launch.

The time frame of planning and launching a new initiative can however differ depending on the scope of the work.

When we launched the revised Code of Considerate Practice and Monitors’ Checklist in 2013, it actually took two years in the planning to ensure it was right. This was because it was such a fundamental change to the way we looked at things.

It was a thorough process from concept to launch which involved us running a series of pilots and trials, gaining valuable feedback from the industry throughout.

The Scheme will soon be launching a new concept called Ultra Sites. That took less time to develop and has so far only been launched as a pilot and a trial before we look to offer it industry-wide.

We have a continued dialogue with the industry, especially with our Associate Members, and their feedback is very much valued when we are looking at developing new initiatives to ensure they will be of benefit to the industry.

Would you like to see companies having to put more of an effort in to improve safety?

We issue a report and score to all of our registered sites, companies and suppliers against our Code according to the discussion had between the Monitor and the site or company manager during their visit. If a site is compliant with our Checklist, a number of basic requirements have to have been addressed - Have they got a safety policy?

Is there training? Are the workforce signing in and out? Are walkways protected?

Are toolbox talks taking place? Is the site or project secure? Is there hoarding or fencing? If the basic requirement is being met, they’ll score five out of ten which demonstrates compliance with the Code.

If sites go above and beyond these requirements, the score they receive will increase accordingly. We have score descriptors which help define how the Monitor has judged the site’s considerate performance; five is compliant, six is good, seven is very good, eight is excellent and nine is exceptional.

Our definition of exceptional is that the site is at the forefront of industry best practice, so if Monitors witness initiatives that have been put in place on-site which are excellent and exceptional, they’ll receive high scores.

Ultimately, if they are performing well in health and safety, they’re generally also doing just as well in all the other areas and those are the sites, companies and suppliers who will receive our National Awards, as well as winning repeat business with clients.

We’re seeing that clients like Crossrail, Network Rail and Heathrow Airport are building in minimum scores into their pre-tender qualifications that have to be met and demonstrated.

It means that those doing the bare minimum won’t receive the high scores or may lose repeat business. And that’s the virtuous link - sites are registering with us not because they have to, but because they want to for all the right reasons and are engaging their supply chain to do so as well.

Do you have any other ambitions for your time at CCS? For me it comes back to education and training. One of the things we will look at this year with a view to next year is to develop training modules that can be used in university, college and hopefully in the

school curriculum. It will start to get the next generation to understand the industry.

The image of the industry is important because if it has the right image, it will encourage people to have a career in it.

Before Christmas I spoke to Constructing Excellence and asked why can’t construction be like the RAF? You see an advert for the RAF and it’s a single RAF where you can be a cook, mechanic or fighter pilot and people see this as a worthwhile career.

We are currently unable to sell the construction industry as a whole in the same light and part of what we need to do is get the right message to the next generation. This is particularly important when it comes to young females, as we are very poor at trade level at attracting women into our industry.

That for me is the next big target. I want us to develop as a Scheme a number of modules that the education establishments can use so when people get to the end of college or university, they understand why health and safety is important, why environment is important, why the appearance and professionalism of a site is important, and why community engagement is important.

We’ll be working on that through 2015 and I’ve already started some early conversations with people who might be able to develop accredited courses for us.

We may be able to get an NVQ module based around what we do. If we can get there, that will be a huge success for me.

The problem is construction is seen as something to do when all else fails and until we can change that image, until people start wanting to get into it because it’s worthwhile and they know about the opportunities available to them, we will always be at that place in society.

Mike Petter

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Do you have anything in place about health and safety at the minute?

Our Code of Considerate Practice has five sections, which includes ‘Secure everyone’s Safety’. It has no more importance than the sections of ‘Care about Appearance’, ‘Respect the Community’, ‘Protect the Environment’ and ‘Value their Workforce’.

The statutory requirement of what companies have to do under health and safety legislation is the minimum we would expect in order to comply with our Code. What we look for is how registered sites, companies and suppliers go above and beyond the minimum requirement.

In the safety arena, we’re looking to identify what safety systems are in place to protect both the workforce and the public and how attitudes and behaviours are embedded within the workforce to enhance safety performance.

We are quite stringent with our expectations. If a business chooses to do what they have to legally do, they will comply with the Scheme, but won’t receive the higher scores. Our Monitors are looking to see sites that go above and beyond safety legislation, to witness

initiatives or activities that secure everyone’s safety – and these are the examples of best practice that can be found on the Hub. Every year, we review the Monitors’ Checklist to ensure it remains current and continues to challenge registered sites, companies and suppliers. This year, additions to the Checklist include fatigue. For this, we ask how it is being checked. For example, are journey times, working hours and the effects of shift work considered?

We have also started to look at stress and occupational health and we use very open questions to ask sites, companies and suppliers what they are doing to improve and promote occupational health awareness on the site.

INTERVIEW CI

Interview with Robert Hopkin of the Rail Alliance

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UK Construction Media talks to Robert Hopkin of the Rail Alliance about his journey into rail and his role as a board member to the RISQS scheme.

Could you give us an introduction about yourself and your own career?

After initially training as an engineering apprentice in the gas turbine, diesel engine and pump sectors – I then trained to become a maths, science and PE teacher and did that for five years but then – disappointed with prospects in the teaching profession – I joined the Air Force in 1988, somewhat late in life at a youthful 29 years old.

However I had great fun and professionally it was a most rewarding career switch. I retired from the RAF in 2009 as a Wing Commander and I was looking for something different to do again and thought there was lots of opportunity in the rail industry, as well as public funding. I really wanted a challenge.

My colleague and Chief Executive of the Rail Alliance, who I’d known for 20 years, invited me along to help him to develop the Rail Alliance from a successful startup into what we have today – the largest networking organisation for the Rail SME supply base. We were right at the start of many things – not least the National Skills Academy for Rail Engineering (NSARE) and I was one of a team of three who prepared the (successful as it turned out) Expression of Interest for that organisation.

What I’ve done is pick up the aspects that an SME would be expected to comply with and RISQS is one of those. It has morphed from Achilles running it into the industry running the scheme with Achilles operating as the service provider.

Additionally, just like in military service you wouldn’t ask someone to do something you weren’t prepared to do yourself (although that doesn’t always work … my attempts at welding are still the butt (pun intended) of many jokes).

I helped take the Rail Alliance through the Link Up Engage accreditation process on the basis that if rail SMEs have to go through Link Up, then I should have experienced the same pains and gains – especially if I was to represent their interests on the RIOSQS Board.

Another British Standard that came out in late 2010 was BS 11000 – the world’s first national standard for Collaborative Business Relationships. So I got trained up in that standard as a facilitator and with a great deal of additional assistance from the Institute for Collaborative Working I developed and ran courses on collaborative business relationships for SMEs so people have understanding about BS 11000.

This is typical of our proactive stance

and approach – we’ve always tried to make the Rail Alliance as helpful as possible to our SME client base; in a way, we never stand still, not least because complacency (along with cash flow!) is the death knell of the SME. Our strapline is innovate, collaborate, network and thrive and that’s what we’re all about. We help companies innovate, while collaborating where possible.

Anything that helps put the message of the Rail Alliance and its client base across the Internet is fantastic for us as the world is embracing digital presence and webbased portals have to be the future.

What is the great strength of RISQS? The scheme has brought leadership and an agenda to the supplier qualification scheme. Achilles still have an important role but they are a service provider and with any service provider, what you need is to be on top of management issues.

At RISQS, you get straightforward leadership with Richard Sharp and Don Clarke. They don’t take leadership lightly.

They are good, solid, capable people and the RISQS Board is full of people like that who all want to do better for the rail SME supply base as well as the more traditional Tier 1 customer bases and the OEMs, principal contractors and the like across this marvellous industry of ours, taking in overground and underground systems as well as light rail in metropolitan areas.

What is your role as a Board member at RISQS? Along with other representatives from the likes of RICA and the Rail Plant Association (RPA), CICA, we are all on the Board as representing the associations’ memberships.

We’re not voted on but we’re basically acting as free consultants (there’s a thing!) to make sure that any change or development of RISQS scheme is not punitive or disadvantageous to any of our varied members. If you add them all up, there must be close to 2,000 members represented on the RISQS Board by the various people from the associations; that said, there are nearly 4,000 people registered on Achilles Engage so, perhaps we all have unfinished business!

What sets RISQS apart from other qualification schemes?

We’re driving down costs wherever we can. The rail industry is mandated to deliver 21.9% of efficiency over the fiveyear period according to the Government,

so anything that can offer the industry options of how to do things differently (ie faster, cheaper, better) is useful. What we’re trying to do is encourage the buyers higher up the tiers, such as Network Rail, Carillion, Costain to name but a few, to look at their supply chain and seek out different ways of doing the same things to get more value to the country.

For the rail services to improve, they need to look for something else. And you’re now seeing the likes of OEMs and Tier 1 companies coming out showing interest in the Whole Life Cost debate. Even if it’s going to cost more to buy a widget in the first place, but it can be proved to provide overall savings after say ten years of operation, a conversation will be had.

That’s something we need to capture more of, in terms of the Whole Life Costs argument.

My suggestion on the Whole Life Cost debate is how could RISQS make that information more available to the buying community – it’s not an easy question, nothing worth doing in life rarely is easy and I’m not even saying it’s ‘doable’ but it is an example of the way we have to think!

The other thing I’m interested in is how people get obsessed by the number Robert Hopkin

of suppliers that are RISQS-qualified through Achilles. We get excited when we hear it can take less than two days after a company’s questionnaire is completed for it to be published.

But I want to know how many more buyers have been recruited, how many more searches they are doing and, if there are buyers out there who haven’t made searches in, say, the last three or six months, what are we doing about it?

It’s a departure from the norm that I’d like to see – more focus on both ends of the buying continuum. For a sale to take place, you need a buyer, supplier and commodity. I would contend there are loads of good SMEs out there, more often than not trading in the automotive, aerospace, marine, advanced manufacturing and construction sectors that need to be given a chance to have their voice heard. So, I think topics such as the Whole Life Costs argument or entertaining expertise and innovation from another sector should be a big part in supplying to the railway sector and hopefully RISQS can further develop to be able to deliver more solutions to existing railway sector supply issues from other sectors.

The news by Achilles that they will be publishing Network Rail’s tender alerts to the RISQS community is a good move but they shouldn’t stop there and should be asking for all principal contractors to do likewise.

How important is the collaboration on the RISQS Board to the scheme?

I think it’s vital and we’re very fortunate to have the representation on the RISQS Board that we have. I think it could easily have been a lot of grey men in grey suits, but we’re far from it. We’re vibrant, keen to argue and it’s a forum where argument is even entertained if it is going to make things better.

You can learn so much from other sectors, and it could be said that the railway has been slow to embrace expertise of other sectors.

Having a greater breadth of knowledge and opinion can only be a good thing to help us achieve what the Rail Delivery Group has mandated as part of the McNulty Review, which showed the UK railway can be up to 30% more expensive than that in mainland Europe – now I know that there are several who will challenge these figures – but the facts are that we have to drive down costs and eradicate waste whilst maintaining or improving performance, reliability, resilience and safety.

The breadth of opinion and expertise from those who make up the RISQS Board also affects the service provided by Achilles and the direction they will take in improving the system. If, for example, your service provider gets blinkered advice from those who don’t have experience of thinking outside the box, you’ll end up with the Henry Ford thing of “if you always ask for what you have always asked for, then you will always get what you’ve always got” and I think this is where RISQS is becoming closer to the customer and supply bases it represents and this is why I believe RISQS must look at the buyer community as much as the supplier community.

Is there anything else that you would like to add?

My wish for RISQS would be that more of the buying community were to take more of an interest in RISQS, though I naturally exclude all those members of the buying community on the RISQS Board at the moment who are doing a sterling job.

But I think there is some way to go so that people know and can source what RISQS

can offer. We need to be able to produce that information in an easily digestible format and maybe there’s work for us to do there because these people are very busy.

From the supplier’s perspective, the issue of volume is important. For example, if you are a company that produces a geotextile membrane that goes under the ballast on the railway; if they wanted to move into the rail sector, were prepared to spend money to get in the rail sector, there is nowhere they can find out the volume of sale.

This is where Achilles might, for instance, be able to provide volume data of sales that have taken place through their portal year-on-year. Is there a better way where a potential new entrant to the sector who might have an innovative solution to a burning issue, would know whether it was worth their while supplying to the industry?

My very last point is about the new Train Operating Companies franchises having a 1% innovation target, so 1% of the budget is withheld and then FutureRailway make sure the money has been spent in an innovative fashion.

As a consequence, there will be more train operating companies looking for innovative ways of solving challenges.

For those who contend that 1% is ‘hardly anything’, once you look at running costs, salary costs and commercial rents, track access charges, lease costs for the rolling stock, there will not be much budgetary headroom left and, then, that 1% becomes an extremely significant figure!

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COMMENT CI

Faro supplies 3D model scans of Irish mine

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Successful scanning of Tankardstown mine in Ireland to build digital 3D models Following the work Geospatial Survey Solutions Ltd and Deri Jones & Associates Ltd (GSS/DJA) had done on recording abandoned lead mines in Mid Wales for the RCAHMW, they succeeded in bidding for a survey project in Ireland. Tankardstown mine in Bunmahon, Co. Waterford is part of the Copper Coast Geopark (www. coppercoastgeopark.com). Sited on the sea cliffs to the east of the village, the impressive engine house and chimney stack are still in relatively good repair.

Underneath the workings, there lies a veritable rabbit warren of tunnels and shafts, extending some 300m under the shaft head and 12.5km in extent, judging by the late 19th century mines plan.

The majority of the workings are now inaccessible due to flooding and cave-ins, but some 500m of the tunnels can still be entered by experienced mine explorers.

“A project of this nature requires detailed paperwork to ensure access to the site, insurance cover for the kit and people and detailed risk and equipment assessments to ensure we could handle anything the mine could put in our way” states Deri Jones, Director of Deri Jones & Associates Ltd. GSS/ DJA assembled a pretty unique team consisting of an experienced mine explorer, an ace photographer and then worked with a local group to get the kit (and them) down and back out the mine and provide safety cover. Opti-Cal Survey Equipment provided a Faro Laser Scanner Focus3D and all of the survey work was tied together finally by a total station.

The plan was to do the surface works within one full day of scanning and pano photography and then three days to complete the underground workings.

The access to the mine was achieved via an adit tunnel located some eight metres above the beach, at the bottom of a steep and loose gully in the seacliff, or via a 45m shaft from the roadside. Inside the mine it was generally dry after a short thigh deep wade, but typically muddy. Another adit ran

out of the cliff face further to the west, allowing a traverse loop to locate the bottom of the shaft and resection to survey points on the cliff-top. Even at low tide, this meant carrying out total station work in knee deep seawater to be able to see the survey points at the top of the cliff.

Scanning For the surface works, GSS/DJA carried out 26 scans, giving a good coverage of the buildings and getting close enough to counteract the effect of the fog lying on the site, essential for the colour overlay data and panoramic photography.

Underground, they recorded 56 scans using the FARO Laser Scanner Focus3D, referenced to the total station traverse using spherical targets, which was tied in to the OSI grid using the RTK GPS. Photography Due to the nature of the project and prior experience with getting good images underground, GSS/DJA built a LED powered light rig for their camera and made use of exposure bracketing and HDR imaging to capture as much of the

fantastic colour and detail as possible.

Over a thousand images were taken for the panoramic aspect of the project and cooked down to create the panoramic tours of the surface works and underground.

Deliverables “In addition to the scan data and photos, we also received a set of mine plans from the team at Copper Coast. These were modelled up in 3D and tied in to the survey data to give a true 3D representation of the site and the workings below it. Two short animated flythroughs were created by using the scanned data from the surface and the underground working.

The created panoramic tours of the site are made available online.” concluded Mr. Jones.

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PROFILE CI

RIA Technical Director, Francis How, on the challenges facing RISQS Francis How is the Technical Director of the Railway Industry Association and a member of the RISQS Board.

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Francis How told UK Construction Media about the challenges facing RISQS and how he would like to see the scheme enhanced even further: At RISQS, we are proud of how we have taken the former qualification scheme that was known as Link-Up and improved the governance so it is now run by the industry, for the industry.

We are under no illusions that more needs to be done though to make this scheme one that is universally used across the industry as a qualification scheme for suppliers.

I am a Board member at RISQS as a representative of the Railway Industry Association (RIA). In addition, I sit on the Strategy Group which focuses on the long-term ambitions and targets of RISQS. It is something I feel strongly about and there are many challenges that we face.

There are many companies that make use of RISQS as buyers, such as Network Rail and some train operators but we’d like to see this volume increase, which is no small challenge.

Another objective is to help the industry understand the benefits of reducing the number of repetitive audits by clients that suppliers have to undergo.

Both RISQS and the Rail Industry Suppliers Approval Scheme (RISAS) include audits as part of the supplier assurance arrangements, which can reduce the amount of repetitive audits. Our challenge is to make sure that the industry realise there are benefits to doing this and what they are.

Speaking of RISQS and RISAS, this year we will look at possibly integrating the

schemes or at the very least, aligning them more closely than they currently are.

Although the schemes don’t have identical purposes, the reason for this alignment or integration is simple: both schemes work within supplier assurance and managing them together would benefit the industry as a whole.

I firmly believe that RISQS is the best industry standard for suppliers within the industry but I feel that RISQS has a role to play in other areas too.

One of these is to stimulate a greater emphasis on continuous improvement in the supply chain.

Traditionally, the UK rail industry has focused on standards and compliance and can be characterised by “transactional” relationships between clients and suppliers.

By this I mean working relationships are carried out as intended through contractual requirements but generally, this can result in neglecting long-term relationships.

It doesn’t apply to everyone of course, and there are examples of strong, longlasting relationships but I want to see more cases where the relationship between clients and suppliers is enduring.

For many years, RIA has operated its “Value Improvement Programme” (VIP) that promotes strong collaboration between clients and suppliers and this is being revised and then relaunched.

Despite this, I believe more can be done and RIA is working with the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) to consider how continuous improvement

can be embedded strongly in the rolling stock maintenance and overhaul market. This could then be extended to other parts of the rail industry.

I believe that RISQS offers what no other scheme can, and yet I still want to enhance our offering even further. Therefore, I want RISQS to be more transparent because it will reduce barriers to entry for new suppliers, meaning the companies that have the correct qualifications, expertise and approach to safety will find it easier to obtain supplier qualification.

Finally, I feel it would be greatly beneficial to re-appraise how RISQS can bring greater benefit for suppliers. In the past, RISQS has focused on purchasing and client organisations and although suppliers have used the scheme, it has been seen as necessary by these companies because of their desire to do business with Network Rail.

What I would particularly like to see is the nature of RISQS change over time so that suppliers no longer see the scheme as a burden and instead view it as something that can provide them a range of benefits.

For example, if RISQS was able to provide feedback to suppliers and enable them to benchmark themselves against companies operating in the same part of the rail market, it would see RISQS become a valuable tool for them, and not just the buyers.

CI PROFILE

CLiP IT Solutions Carl Purbrick of CLiP IT Solutions spoke to UK Construction Media about the importance of accountancy and job costing software. and what we can offer the industry.

Part of this comes from the fact our services aren’t aimed at the larger companies and we’re under no illusions how difficult it is to change this awareness issue but it is a challenge we are very much looking forward to.

One of the ways we have tried to address this is by offering free software to our customers’ accountants so they can reload the data of their own clients.

This is beneficial to all because when an accountant is aware of Construction Industry Accounts (CIA), they often recommend us to their other construction clients, so we are getting our name out into the public domain in that way.

What we have found is that when clients have used and benefited from our software, it is something they wish they knew about previously because of how it helps them.

CIA software is a brilliant tool for the industry because only one entry is needed to update everything necessary.

So for example, if a customer was to enter a purchase invoice, this and the accounts and VAT are updated, but the invoice is also allocated to any of the jobs involved.

Each job is set up when a contract is won, which can be broken down into any number of subdivisions, build phases, labour, materials. After this, the user can decide the level of detail needed in accordance with their requirements.

The job costing part of CIA is the biggest reason people choose CLiP IT Solutions, as it is more important to the majority of customers. This is the key to many companies making or losing money.

Customers need to see information that is right up to date with one click of a button, in order to see how a contract is progressing.

But alongside the likes of our job costing software, we believe our other systems are invaluable to the industry. We have retentions diaries that allow customers to know how much retention is outstanding and when it’s due to be released.

There have been many occasions when

myself or somebody else at the company has demonstrated this software to a customer and their records of which retentions are due are filed away without any organisation whatsoever.

This is extremely time consuming but with our retentions diaries, this problem can be removed, as the diary automatically updates when certificate of payments are recorded and invoices paid.

We are confident that our software represents the direction that the construction industry is going in.

Therefore, CLiP IT Solutions is well placed to help construction companies and software to become more productive.

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CLiP IT Solutions was formed 13 years ago because there was a belief that there was a gap in the market to create an accounts and job costing software package to help the industry’s smaller to mid-range companies.

Although we wanted to produce software to meet the needs of these companies, it was important to the directors to also provide customer support unrivalled anywhere else. Therefore, customers could trust that the support line was always available, and any queries would be answered quickly and efficiently.

Now that companies are getting busier, the likes of job costing has become even more important because it is crucial to making sure that projects are managed properly and ultimately, make profit.

The way in which it’s useful is that rather than people within a project having to wait to know what is being spent on a job, the integrated accounts and job costing system means information only needs to be entered once, updating everything in the process.

Extra spreadsheets are not required.

In the old days, people would have to wait for information to be collated and entered before knowing the cost of each part of a job. With this system, that is no longer an issue because everything is up to date and relevant.

This is also beneficial because it allows issues to be spotted early and where necessary, customers can be charged for work earlier than what was once possible.

Things like retentions can be claimed when due, invoices and applications produced quickly and accurately, which all helps the contract manager to stay on top of the project.

The benefits to the systems provided by CLiP IT Solutions are obvious but we still find a general reluctance within the industry to embrace this type of technology.

Reasons for this are varied and encompass the cost of the software, the re-training of staff but what I’ve found is that many of these small and mid-range companies simply aren’t aware of what we do

COMMERCIAL CI

Teva Pharmaceuticals Ireland A state-of-the-art extension takes shape In 2014 a world-renowned pharmaceutical company embarked on a significant programme of works to extend a state-ofthe-art manufacturing facility in Waterford.

Representative of a substantial investment in company infrastructure, the extension - due for completion in early 2015 - is set to bolster Teva Pharmaceutical Ireland’s current provision and is indicative of the Company’s ongoing industry success.

Teva Pharmaceuticals Ireland is a division of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. A leading global pharmaceutical company with a commitment to increasing access to high quality healthcare – Teva Pharmaceutical Industries develop, produce and market affordable generic drugs, in addition to innovative and speciality pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients.

With a direct presence in an approximate 60 countries and a workforce some 45,000 people strong, the Israeli company consistently ranks among the top 20 pharmaceutical organisations in the world.

Responsible for the manufacture and development of respiratory products for supply to the United States and other global markets, Teva’s Waterford campus is of great strategic value to the Teva

manufacturing network. The sizeable use of BIM (Building Information Modelling) 1,300sq m extension adjoins the existing – an experience that proved valuable. facility and consists of a 17m high steel McElroy Structural Engineer, Will Norton, braced frame weighing 175 tonnes. explains: “The position of various Given the obvious importance of the elements, such as lift cores and Waterford campus, minimising potential mezzanines, within a proposed building disruption to Teva has proven a major envelope can frequently change at consideration. To this end, Semiton Ltd scheme design stage and the Teva – a distinguished Clonmel-based Main extension was no exception. Without Contractor – has worked tirelessly alongside continued on page 46 the Client, Architect PROCHEM Engineering and a raft of subcontractors to ensure minimal impact on the day-to-day running of the facility.

The project has With offices in Navan and Limerick, Grange Construction and also proven to Roofing Ltd. have been in business since 1998. We use a be something of a milestone variety of the best quality roofing and cladding products and for McElroy - the have worked on many major construction projects in Ireland.

Dublin-based consulting engineer and project manager. The scheme marked the Company’s first

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ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS

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Wishing continued success to Teva Pharmaceuticals on completion of their new EQ Warehouse extension

Ph: 051-294610 Fax: 051-294612 Email: info@crosselectrical.ie

Carrolls Cross, Kilmacthomas, Co. Waterford.

Grange, Bective, Navan, Co. Meath.

Tel: 046 9021468 Fax: 046 9073785 E-mail: info@grangeroofing.com www.grangeroofing.com

www.semiton.com

MAIN CONTRACTOR

EQUILIBRATION WAREHOUSE AND LOADING BAYS FOR TEVA PHARMACEUTICALS IRELAND

Proud to be Associated with TEVA Pharmaceuticals since 2005 Semiton Ltd have been operating since the late 1970’s as a Contracting and Project Management Company with a strong focus on the Pharmaceutical, Food Processing, Industrial, Commercial & Healthcare Sectors.

Since its founding, Semiton LTD has become well established in the Pharmaceutical Sector completing extensions, new builds, shutdowns, upgrades and re-development works, for various High Profile Clients within this sector.

Abbott Vasular

Abbey Machinery

MSD , Ballydine

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Structural BIM integration we would have had to re-model the structure twice for each design change, once in Fastrak and again in Autodesk Revit.

With seamless synchronisation between the two software packages we were able to maintain a single model, sharing all the latest data. The implementation of Structural BIM has streamlined our design approach, reduced the risk of errors, provided huge time saving and improved communication enormously.”

With completion nearing, Teva has applied for planning consent for an additional three-

storey, 1,800sq m extension. Supplementary manufacturing space would be provided at ground floor level, with plant rooms, storage space and office accommodation above.

Such investment comes at a critical point for healthcare in Ireland as Sandra Gannon, Sales and Marketing Manager for Teva Pharmaceuticals Ireland, is quick to point out: “Demands on our health services are growing so long-term planning is critical. We already know that the provision of medicines to patients is facing challenges brought about by an ageing population which is living longer

and the increase in chronic diseases such as diabetes or obesity. “This will place huge pressures on our current provision of medicines to patients, not least in terms of the affordability, sustainability and availability of such medicines, However, we currently do not have a long term strategy mapping how we achieve these objectives – we need to start planning for the future now.”

CI COMMERCIAL

Revamped Fermoy Service Station nears completion The e1M major extension of Amber Petroleum’s Service Station on the Dublin Road, Fermoy is now close to completion.

The business opened in August 2010 and has grown in popularity with local customers as well as passing motorway traffic. The revamped site will help the service station cope with increased customer volume and expand the food choices on offer to customers.

The site is owned by Liam Fitzgerald who owns Amber Petroleum and leases out the Turnkey franchise. Formed in 1980, realising that fuel prices in Ireland were excessively high, the Company sought to fill a gap in the market for a fuel discounter with an emphasis on exceptional customer service.

Building on its success on winning numerous accolades including the 2012 ‘Costcutter Forecourt Store of the Year’, a ‘Best In

Food to Go’ award and the recent 2014 national C Store Award for Best Food to Go, the ambitious revamp will see the creation of a new restaurant and take away with external seating and terrace area.

The service station will also see additional new parking facilities for 17 trucks and an additional 60 car parking spaces on a further 1.5 acres of adjoining land. continued on page 48

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The Main Contractor on this project is Jim Davis & Co Ltd. Based in Cork, they are specialists in building and civil engineering projects with over 30 years experience.

The architectural services on the site are being provided by is Coveney & Associates.

The construction of the development is due for completion in February 2015 with the fit-out due to finish shortly after in April.

Licensee of the award winning Costcutter store and the other driving force behind the operation of the successful service station, David Ryan, is hoping that the new development will attract business from the passing M8 motorway. He commented: “It’s a big commitment from Amber, there’s a big commitment all around but we think there’s room in the market for it.

“You have to change; we think we’ve a strong opportunity to grow our motorway business. We’re actively trying to increase footfall.”

Already hugely popular with locals, the future looks bright for Amber Petroleum’s Service Station with this exciting expansion.

We at West Building Products are involved in the manufacturing of all our product range since 1985.

We have a comprehensive range of products in a variety of styles and colours.

We provide a complete fitting and after sales service with all our products. Our experienced sales team are here to provide and help you to achieve the finished product that you desire.

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Carrigaline Industrial Park, Carrigaline, Co. Cork.

Tel: 021 4372929 Email: info@westbuildingproducts.com www.westbuildingproducts.com

Main Contractor to the recent Amber extension “Wishing Amber all the best for the future”

From all the staff at Jim Davis and Co

Reputation based on reliability, professionalism and quality Building & Civil Engineering Contractors Established since 1980 Jim Davis & Co. 15 John Redmond Street Mulgrave Road Cork Tel: 021 4507 596/021 4508010 Fax: 021 4500996

Email: info@jimdavisandco.com Web: www.jimdavisandco.com

CIVIL CI

Belfast Rapid Transit System: Phase I up and running

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The new Translink Dundonald Park & Ride facility is now open with free car parking for over 500 cars and a dedicated service providing a 15 minute frequency during peak periods.

The aim of the Park & Ride scheme is to encourage more people to take the bus at the busiest times of the day thereby reducing congestion on the main arterial roads and city centre streets.

Passengers can travel from just £2.80 per day with a Smartlink card, with services operating between 7am-7pm Monday to Friday.

Dundonald Park & Ride will form a key part of the new Belfast Rapid Transit system, which is scheduled to start services in 2017.

The Rapid Transit System is a modern bus system that will bring buses along priority routes from park and ride facilities into Belfast city centre.

Initially, three routes are planned to link Dundonald in east Belfast, McKinstry Road in west Belfast and the Titanic Quarter with and through the city centre. These routes will connect with a one-way city centre loop.

In the run up to this, the park and ride will be served by a new dedicated limited stop Metro 4X service during peak hours and by existing Translink Ulsterbus services at other times. The dedicated Metro service will use new environmentally friendly Euro 6 double-deck vehicles. These

meet the latest emissions standards and are amongst the most environmentally friendly vehicles in their fleet.

Bicycle parking facilities are also provided adjacent to the building.

The work involved to create the new transport system included the relocation of street furniture, road resurfacing and widening to accommodate the priority bus lanes.

The new park and ride facility features a sustainable urban drainage system to manage the surface water from the site. This will help reduce the impact of the new car park on the drainage system in the surrounding area.

Transport Minister, Danny Alexander, commented on the new transport system: “Belfast Rapid Transit is an innovative and ambitious project that will create a modern and dynamic public transport system for Belfast, one that will provide people with better access to jobs, hospitals, shops, schools, colleges, leisure and entertainment facilities.

“It will help promote an image of Belfast as a modern, vibrant city and provide an excellent environment for passengers in terms of comfort, space, security and on-board information.

“The system will incorporate high quality halts enabling easy access to vehicles, real-time information systems for

easier journey planning and off-vehicle ticketing to speed up the boarding process. The vehicles currently being procured will use the latest hybrid diesel/ electric engine technology, the first of their kind for Northern Ireland.”

Whitemountain Quarries were the Main Contractor on this project.

They are a market leading Lagan company across a range of sectors.

The design team was Amey, one of the largest and most diverse companies working for the public and regulated sectors in the UK. Subject to the success of the initial routes, Belfast Rapid Transit routes and the future availability of funding, the flexibility of this bus-based system will allow it to be extended to serve north and south Belfast.

Work on the Belfast Rapid Transit routes in the east and west of Belfast is ongoing.

David Strahan, Translink Group Chief Executive said the opening of the new facility would benefit thousands of commuters travelling to the city.

He commented: “The popularity of park and ride across Northern Ireland continues to go from strength to strength.

This latest facility gives customers even better travel choices; so we are looking forward to welcoming more new people on board to enjoy hassle free journeys with more time to relax.”

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CIVIL CI

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Gobbins Coastal Path The Gobbins cliff path, which was built in 1902 and in its heyday attracted more visitors than the Giant’s Causeway, is to be reinstated at a cost of £6M with over half of the funding coming through the European Union’s INTERREG IVA Programme, managed by the Special European Union’s Programmes Body (SEUPB) and administered by the North East Partnership. Larne Borough Council provided £2M with further funding of £200,000 from the Ulster Garden Villages organisation.

Clinging to the sides of sheer basalt cliffs, pounded by the waves of the North Channel, the path was masterminded as a tourist attraction by Berkeley Dean Wise, an Irish railway engineer. The path fell into decline following the intervention of World War II before closing in the 1950s. The ‘Gobbins re-envisioned’ will see this engineering masterpiece brought back to life alongside the eroded remains of the original path.

Once restored, this unique coastal experience will provide spectacular bridges, tunnels and staircases where visitors will be able to feel like they are walking on water as they hear the wind, see the birds and clamber over the rocks with waves crashing alongside.

The Gobbins was declared an ASSI by NIEA in 2008. The ASSI (283) citation notes that ‘The Gobbins are of importance for their geological interest, breeding seabird colony and a range of maritime plant communities and notable species’. The Gobbins Path is located within the ASSI, therefore, a number of restrictions were imposed on the proposed works. These included a restriction on works in the northern half of the path during breeding season (March-August), no rock or scrub removal (unless agreed with the department), and no permanent netting of the cliff face.

A natural sea cave created within the cliffs, formed part of the original coastal path and is being restored as part of this project. At present, it fills up with water under certain tidal conditions, therefore, new Grade 316L Stainless Steel staircases are to be provided at the north and south ends of the tunnel, along with a water well

to ensure path visitors remain dry during periods when the tunnels contain sea water.

The suspension bridge at Gordon’s Leap was one of the most iconic structures of the original Gobbin’s Path. A 23m long replacement bridge, cognisant of the form and appearance of the original structure will be constructed in its place.

The tubular bridge that connected the Man ‘O’ War sea stack to the original path will also be replaced in such a way.

The restoration plans include the creation of an exciting visitor/community building in Islandmagee to manage visitors to the Gobbins. It will include a café, interpretation/exhibition space, pre-tour rooms, outlet for branded memorabilia and local crafts, as well as a tourist information point.

Speaking at a ceremony to mark the beginning of work on the Gobbins, Mayor of Larne, Maureen Morrow, said: “With the support of our funders we are truly on the way to fulfilling the long held vision of Larne Borough Council to reinstate this outstanding heritage feature of our coastline. Today marks the beginning of works that will take us through to the completion of our visitor centre/community centre in July next year with the cliff path opening the following month.”

A new visitor centre at Bunglass/Slaibh Liag in County Donegal, will also receive funding under the cross border initiative. With the highest sea cliffs in Europe, Sliabh Liag is already a popular visitor attraction in south west County Donegal, attracting 120,000 visitors annually. The INTERREG project aims to develop a world-class visitor management plan, improve the access on the key routes around Slaibh Liag, and further promote the site as a hiking and hill-walking mecca.

The project will also strengthen linkages between communities and stakeholders in both Sliabh Liag and Larne areas.

Welcoming the project, Lorraine McCourt, Director with the SEUPB, said: “This is a cross-border tourism project which brings together two coastal attractions, based in Counties Donegal and Antrim.

It will serve to enhance the growing

coastal tourism route across Northern Ireland and the Border Region of Ireland, thereby increasing the number of visitors that come to our shores every year.

“Upon completion, the project will help to establish two unique tourism products and introduce a new cross-border dimension into our regional tourist offering.”

Both construction contracts will provide employment opportunities and will be targeted at those currently out of work as well as offering apprenticeships for engineering and construction students. There are also opportunities for Social Economy Enterprises in relation to arts and crafts and support and assistance will be through the Council’s Economic Development programmes delivered through LEDCOM, the Local Enterprise Agency.

The Main Contractor for the Coastal Path is McLaughlin & Harvey. As one of Northern Ireland’s largest building and civil engineering contractors, it has over 150 years experience combining the traditional values of quality work and delivery on time with an advanced, innovative approach.

The Main Contractor for the visitor centre is Tracy Brothers who has been operating for over 60 years with a wide experience in new build construction, refurbishment and restoration works.

Responsibility for the architectural design is shared by three entities; the bridge structure location, overall form and function are being undertaken by RPS. Doran Consulting, who is supported for geotechnical foundation by Byrne Looby Partners, is providing detail design.

Consarc Design Group and Mullarkey Pederson provide architectural services for the visitor centre.

Upon completion, the Gobbins path will become an internationally recognised visitor attraction and a significant contributor to the success of the Causeway Coastal Route.

It is anticipated to attract 50,000 paying visitors on fully guided ‘experience tours’ which will interpret the history and heritage of the site, it’s flora and fauna and its geological features.

At DNC Fabrication Limited, we concentrate our efforts on quality, using the latest innovative technology and manufacturing solutions. Our aim is give complete customer satisfaction, from the manufacturing process to the end product.

We take pride in delivering quality and excellence of service throughout our entire operation, from the smallest pet project to the most complex industrial machinery.

It is this focus that drives our business forward so we can meet the high standards our customers expect. If you have a project that requires the highest standards of quality, please contact us.

DNC Fabrications Kernan Technology Park 4 Kernan Road, Gilford, BT63 6BU

Tel: +44 (0)28 3883 1538 www.dncfabrications.com

COMMERCIAL CI

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John Mulholland Motors: The Drive to Succeed John Mulholland Motors has been trading in Northern Ireland since 1988 and has built up a first class reputation for their Skoda, Hyundai, Ford and U-First used car operations.

With showrooms in two locations; Randalstown and the more recently established Campsie dealership in County Derry, the family run business has attracted customers all over Ireland and the UK and offer excellent customer service, combined with extremely competitive pricing to suit all budgets and lifestyles.

To underpin this success, a new ÂŁ1M state-of-the-art extension to the Skoda and Hyundai showroom in Randalstown has been completed.

One of the main reasons behind this was to align the showroom with Skoda’s new corporate identity. The decision was also taken to do the same with Hyundai, meaning that John Mulholland Motors are the first Hyundai dealership in Northern Ireland to boast the new Hyundai corporate identity. This upgrade ensures the Company meet with the stringent high standards of these manufacturers and means they will be the only Skoda and Hyundai dealerships boasting these state-of-the-art facilities for both sales and after-sales in the province. Part of the new identity means the dealership boasts modern, aesthetically pleasing designer furniture creating a

superb working environment for staff and company; the highest award achievable. the perfect ambience for customers.

The Main Contractor on this The first phase in this project was to project was County Antrim based create a completely new road access Hugh Griffin and Sons Ltd. with significant work taking place to the The project was managed by Hamill Randalstown site and U-First operation.

Gallagher Chartered Quantity Surveyors The second phase saw work commence and Project Managers, providing a on extending the showroom facility, comprehensive design and cost management allowing greater floor space to service from inception to completion. showcase the exciting latest vehicles With this state-of-the-art Skoda and that Skoda and Hyundai have to offer.

Hyundai showroom, John Mulholland John Mulholland Motors is the most recent Motors are well placed to continue to Skoda dealership in Northern Ireland to provide value, service and choice to all achieve the ISO Partner Accreditation. This of their Northern Ireland customers. means that the Company achieved the rigorous and demanding standards detailed by the Quality Management System prescribed

by Skoda UK. Also, Managing We are pleased to be associated with John Mulholland Director, John Motors and wish them continued success Mulholland, has been personally made a fellow of the Institute of the 95 Glen Road, Maghera, Co Derry, N. Ireland BT46 5JG Tel: 028 79642112 / 79643585 Motor Industry Fax:028 79643945 in recognition Email: enquiries@hmelectrics.com of 25 years development of his

CI COMMUNITY

Barnardo’s Annadale Avenue, Galwally: New Build and Refurbishment highest standard of design and service. to the overall success of the scheme.”

Adam Quinn, Project Architect for RE Quinn The Main Contractor is DugannonArchitects, commented: “Part of the driving based Connolly & Fee Ltd. who have force for Barnardo’s and Triangle was the forged a strong reputation working improvement of the thermal capacity of the in the commercial, education, health existing apartments. As these were within care and social housing sectors. a listed building, challenges such as huge The extension and improvements made sliding sash windows, very big floor to at Annadale Avenue will help Barnardo’s ceiling heights, large open spaces and the provide more options to young adults preservation of historic detailing all needed to leaving care and give them the full be addressed in a careful, considerate manner. range of support services available.

“As these factors were financially draining to the young, selfsupporting occupants it was imperative that improvements be made to the building’s existing fabric and overall energy consumption. Given the listed nature of the property, careful attention to specification and detailing was given to ensure the existing character remained intact, yet was sufficiently thermally enhanced throughout.

“This venture also provided an excellent opportunity to Fully Insured extend the building, Gas Safe Registered & Solar Services where three new Free Quotes & A Friendly Service apartments built to modern standards were constructed.

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Annadale Avenue is one of five community houses that make up a part of Barnardo’s Leaving Care project and is run in partnership with Triangle Housing Association.

Barnardo’s Leaving Care project provides a range of housing and support services to young adults aged 16 and over who are leaving residential, foster or family care.

The project aims to provide supported accommodation to help young adults develop the skills, experience and understanding of independent living, with the aim of enabling them to live independently in the community of their choice. The scheme not only focuses on the practical aspects but also seeks to provide the emotional support needed with this major life transition.

Each young adult is allocated a project worker who will provide session support working in the young adult’s home. The average length of stay in the scheme is anticipated to be between six to 18 months.

The project sees a contrasting extension and renovation to a Grade B II listed property owned by Triangle Housing Association.

The existing building was six apartments, one common room and staff office with a small sized laundrette facility.

The existing rear return was demolished and a new three-storey extension constructed that linked to the existing building via the staircase half landings. The half landings became the new floor levels for the extension.

A platform lift was also added to provide accessibility throughout the building.

The existing apartments were reconfigured to increase thermal capacity and also improve the layout.

The rear three-storey extension includes two completely new apartments, a fully disabled apartment on the ground floor, disabled toilets and a social area, which provides greater accessibility to the garden areas.

Improvements to the existing staff quarters and common room were also carried out.

The Architect on this project is RE Quinn Architects Ltd, who aim to cater for all design services and provide each client with the

COMMUNITY CI

Creggan Community Centre In late 2013, Education Minister, John and voluntary sectors since 2009.” of youth work making a positive O’Dowd, announced that 53 capital One such development is taking place at contribution to the lives of young people. projects were to proceed as part of a £12M “Over one-third of young people between Creggan Community Centre. In a bid to investment in the voluntary youth sector. the ages of four and 25 participate augment facilities for local people who use The Minister made the announcement on the facility, Derry City Council is undertaking regularly in youth work activity. Youth the day he viewed the commencement of a project which has seen the original work’s non-formal approach to education work at a £1.4M stand-alone controlled 1970s Centre partially demolished and is as important as formal education in youth facility in Belvoir in south Belfast. terms of young people’s engagement then rebuilt with an additional extension.

Mr O’Dowd said: “This funding will be used in both learning and development.

This will offer a rebuilt main hall and an for a variety of projects, including the “That is why I have continued to invest in extension to provide new offices and refurbishment and upgrade of buildings ancillary accommodation. There is also a new the sector. Since the return of devolved to ensure youth facilities meet current services installation and new site works. government, funding for front-line youth health and safety standards through to the The Main Contractor on this project services has increased by over 30%, to demolition of old buildings and construction £33M per annum. On the capital side is TAL Ltd and the Architect behind of new, fit-for-purpose facilities. £27.6M has been invested in the controlled the design is W & M Given.

“It will benefit communities right across the north and will help the staff and volunteers in the youth sector deliver an improved service to the young people they Civil Engineering & Building ● Heavy Plant Hire & Machinery cater for. This service is invaluable, particularly for those who face Site Clearance barriers to learning, and provides Earthworks an opportunity for the development of skills and the improvement of Pipelines educational outcomes outside of Groundworks the formal learning environment.

“My decision to proceed with 53 capital works programmes demonstrates my ongoing commitment to support a sector that undertakes such important work and that plays a vital role in supporting schools in the delivery of educational improvements, particularly in areas of high disadvantage.

“This investment reflects my commitment to supporting the youth sector in the important work it does. During frequent visits to 02871 880 205 | 07789 772 860 | info@stjudescivilengineering.com youth clubs and programmes I have witnessed many examples

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ST JUDES PLANT & CIVIL ENGINEERING

CI COMMUNITY

Westport Town Hall nears completion Westport Town Hall has been at the cultural heart of Westport since first opening its doors to the public in the early 1900s. Located centrally on the Octagon (the town’s main civic space), it has been home to many of the town’s active arts, community and voluntary organisations.

The Hall was last refurbished in 1973 and was, until its closure on health and safety grounds in 2008, a significant part of the performing arts product mix.

The absolute imperativeness of a core cultural base for a thriving community such as Westport is what has united the people of the town in their quest to see Westport Town Hall open its doors and be restored to the town.

The project has already captured the imagination of the local people and business community of Westport and the funding of this project has been raised from donations and ongoing support from the local community, local businesses, St Patrick’s Drama Group, Mayo County Council, Fáilte Ireland, LEADER and The Department of the Arts & Heritage. The success and broad base of this fundraising campaign is indicative of the strong community spirit driving and supporting the project.

The Main Contractor on this project, which is on schedule to complete in April 2015, is LM Keating, whist the design has been created by Kavanagh Group.

The project actually forms part of a larger programme of funding within the Boyne Valley, Kilkenny and Westport. Failte Ireland, which determines where tourism capital grants are invested, has allocated the funding under the Tourism Capital Investment Programme. They include an extensive range of projects in Kilkenny city including a new riverside garden and exhibition centre, while high-tech displays and a virtual Book of Kells will be provided in the Boyne Valley.

Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Leo Varadkar said: “This funding proves the Government’s ongoing commitment

to investing in tourism. It’s crucial that we offer top-quality attractions, particularly in areas with a strong tourism base, so that we can compete for tourists in the tough international market. These three projects are very different, but they are all innovative.

Each is also tailor-made for its specific area. I’m delighted that Fáilte Ireland has signed off on these investments.”

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LEISURE CI

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Redevelopment of Irish Independent Park complete Irish Independent Park (formerly known Musgrave Park) is the Cork home of Munster Rugby and is also home to All Ireland League Senior Club sides, Dolphin RFC and Sundays Well RFC. Work has completed on a e3.2M investment

by Munster Rugby into the creation of a new, purpose-built West Stand for 3,600 seats which will see capacity increase from 8,500 to just under 10,000. The new stand also provides accommodation for two dressing rooms, facilities for the officials, media and medical staff, plus a hospitality area and public toilets.

The East Terrace will also be covered from endline to endline to improve the match day experience of the supporters.

The new stand replaces the temporary stand that had been in place for three years and was proving to be unsustainable due to the high yearly running costs.

The dressing room situation also needed to be addressed. The dressing rooms of the two tenant teams, Dolphin RFC and Sundays Well RFC, had to be used for the home and away teams respectively. These areas were quite small in size and dated back to the 1950s. Given the increasing squad sizes in the professional era of the game, the need for better, larger facilities was obvious.

The body of the stand is constructed of precast concrete supplied by Banagher Precast Concrete, one of the leading precast suppliers to the Irish and UK markets.

The roof is a structured steel and cantilevered structure with a tie back at the rear.

The Main Contractor was BAM Property.

Established in Ireland in 2004 with the intention to provide a clear focus for BAM’s property developments, its primary focus is to manage the property development activities of the group in both selfgenerated and joint venture projects.

Horganlynch Consulting Engineers, who specialise in sport related projects and stadia design, performed the role of Stadium

Designer, Civil/Structural Engineers and Project Manager on the redevelopment.

The planning was undertaken by one of Ireland’s leading planning consultancies, McCutcheon Halley Walsh.

The Architect on the redevelopment was Wilson Architecture. Cost Control was managed by Tony O’Regan & Associates and the Mechanical and Electrical Consultants were EDC. Speaking to Munster Rugby’s official site, the Chairman of the Munster Rugby Development Committee, Denis Kelleher, commented: “The redevelopment of Musgrave Park has always been one of our longterm strategic objectives.

“The new stand and facilities ensure Munster can continue playing competitive matches in Cork, in addition to hosting numerous club and school matches. I would like to thank all those that have made this project happen, both past and present, as we continue to enhance our playing facilities in the province.”

The newly redeveloped Irish Independent Park opened its doors for

its first competitive match on 30th January 2015 with a sell out encounter between Ireland Wolfhounds and England Saxons.

In line with safety regulations for the new development, the full 10,000 capacity of the stadium will be introduced on a phase-byphase basis with the first match having a maximum permitted capacity of 8,200.

CI EDUCATION

New sports hall for Holy Child School, Killiney including basketball, volleyball, badminton, the new sports hall confirms the School’s circuit training, gymnastics, aerobics, commitment to the role of sport within the indoor hockey and other programmes. curriculum and these new facilities will help The new building will also be big Holy Child Killiney to attract students for enough to provide space for large generations to come, ensuring the future assemblies and examinations. of the School, students and community.

The sports hall will replace the current gym, which will instead be developed into science laboratories, a home economics room and an art room.

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Holy Child School Killiney are looking forward to the building of a new sports hall, which is the first in three phases of development the School has planned. The three stages of development will take place over a five to ten year period and will also see the expansion of academic facilities and the provision of student social areas Since the School’s foundation in 1947, Holly Child Killiney has become synonymous with educational excellence for girls. Currently, the School has 340 students and fundamentally sees education as a partnership between pupils, parents and teachers and looks to celebrate and encourage excellence and enthusiasm in equal measure.

The benefits to young people playing sport are obvious and central to a rounded education. It promotes health and wellbeing and is also extremely important in forming relationships, developing teamwork and giving a sense of achievement and belonging.

Located between the all weather pitch and the tennis courts, this new multi-purpose building is an essential part of the School’s development. The 900sq m sports hall will provide accommodation for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities

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Scout and Community Sports Hall officially opens A new, purpose built Scout and Community Sports Hall has officially opened providing the 4th Portadown Scout group with a new home and the people of County Armagh with a new facility for sports, training and educational activities.

The new building replaces the old PE school that had stood on the site since its construction in 1847 and had deteriorated to such an extent that it had no running water or flushing toilets and was little more than a crumbling ruin.

The Scouts had called this building home for 30 years and sought funding to improve the situation. The initial attempt to gain grant funding was done with the intention of renovating the existing building. However, the building had become riddled with damp and there were very real concerns that it wouldn’t even be possible to re-roof the property as rot had set in on the inside.

Given the age of the building, it was feared it might be a listed property, greatly impacting on the scope of any work that could potentially be carried out. Fortunately, that was not the case and it had become clear that demolition and the construction of a new building was the only option available.

A building committee was formed to seek grant aid from funding bodies, and suffered numerous rejections before finally getting the first grant approved.

Most of the money for the project came from Sport NI who contributed £245,000, with £140,000 provided by the Department of Education, and the Scout Group itself raising £10,000.

Paul Walker, Group Chairman of the 4th Portadown Scouts and County Commissioner for Scouting in Armagh, commented: “We’re a scout group and first and foremost we thought we needed a replacement scout hall,

and project delivery, the Company is but a little bit in, we thought why not involved in a wide range of project open this up to the community.” types across both the private and The front of the building contains areas public sectors throughout Ireland. for male and female changing facilities Education Minister, John O’Dowd, speaking and toilets, a large hallway, kitchen, at the announcement of the funding of meeting room and disabled toilets and a 53 capital projects that included the new shower. The space above this area is used community sports hall commented: “This for the storage of sporting equipment, funding will be used for a variety of tents, camping equipment, etc. projects, including the refurbishment The sports hall itself is only a foot short and upgrade of buildings to ensure youth of an international 5-a-side pitch and facilities meet current health and safety is of a height suitable for games of standards through to the demolition badminton and basketball. The floor is of old buildings and construction constructed of a sprung sports surface of new, fit for purpose facilities. and the ceiling has been sound proofed.

“It will benefit communities right across A new hot water heating system has the north and will help the staff and been installed with four thermostatically volunteers in the youth sector deliver an controlled heaters situated in improved service to the young people each corner of the building. they cater for. This service is invaluable, Simplicity is very much at the forefront particularly for those who face barriers in terms of the building design. Having to learning, and provides an opportunity been troubled by break-ins in the past, a conscious effort was made to reduce the risk for the development of skills and the improvement of educational outcomes of crime. There are no low level windows, all outside the formal learning environment.” doors are steel and a perimeter fence runs around exterior of the building.

The Main Contractor on this project was the Lowry Brothers. Based in County Tyrone, they are specialists in building and civil engineering projects.

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CI HEALTH

Ballymena Health and Care Centre O’Hare and McGovern is currently making good progress on the contract to build the new Health and Care Centre in Ballymena.

The new £25M health and care centre will improve the provision and delivery of health and social care services to people in Ballymena and throughout the Trust area.

The Trust currently provides primary and community care services from a number of locations across the Ballymena area.

The new Health and Care Centre will bring together a range of services in a modern, accessible, one-stop facility. GP services, selected acute outpatient and diagnostic services and a large number of community and primary care multidisciplinary teams will be available under one roof.

Alison Renfrew, Assistant Director of Capital Development in the Northern Trust said: “This much needed facility will replace outdated accommodation and dramatically improve the provision and delivery of health care and social services to people living in the Northern Trust area”.

She continued: “By providing services in one area in the community closer to where people live they will be able to live independently for longer in their own homes and reduce unnecessary hospitalisation as outlined in the Transforming Your Care report. Local access to health care will help to promote good health, improve chronic disease management and allow for early diagnosis and treatment of conditions”.

Welcoming the new Health and Care Centre, Laurence O’Kane, Northern Local Commissioning Group Chair, said: “We look forward to the opening of this brand new centre which will bring a wide range of health and care services together that will ultimately benefit patients and promote good outcomes for patients, families and their carers.

The new centre in Ballymena is part of a planned programme of health and care centre developments that will support the implementation

of ‘Transforming Your Care.”

The new centre will bring together six of local GP practices currently located within the Health Centre on the site and will deliver a range of acute, primary and community care, adult and children’s services. These will include diagnostic and rehabilitation services, such as community dental, physiotherapy and X-ray, podiatry and occupational therapy. An outpatient department with consultant and nurse led clinics and a children’s department.

The centre will also house the local out-ofhours, Dalriada Urgent Care Service, which will relocate from its current accommodation.

Ballymena Health and Care Centre is the first in a series of new healthcare projects that the collaborative architectural team of Keppie Design and Gareth Hoskins Architects have been appointed to design for the Northern Health Trust through the PCCI Framework for Northern Ireland Health Estates.

It is anticipated that the health and care centre will be completed by May 2015 and will open by autumn 2015.

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HOUSING CI

Responding to housing need

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Respond! St John’s College redevelopment Respond! is Ireland’s leading housing association. Its mission is to “Create a positive future for people by alleviating poverty and creating vibrant, socially integrated communities.”

This is achieved by providing access to education, childcare, community development programmes, housing and other supports.

Established in 1982, the Association has built more than 5,400 homes nationwide; from traditional family homes, to loneparent families, older persons homes, and properties for the disabled and homeless.

Respond! believes in providing housing for social investment rather than financial profit and therefore focuses on providing housing for society’s most vulnerable groups, including those who have lived for long periods in hostels, temporary and insecure accommodation.

Founded in Waterford in the early 1980s from Franciscan roots and membership, Respond!’s first ever housing scheme was in Larchville, Waterford. This comprised 15 houses for older persons, along with a community room.

Since then Respond! has been instrumental in a number of significant housing schemes across Waterford.

Spring 2014 saw work begin on the redevelopment of St John’s College for Respond!, the first social housing scheme to be funded by private borrowing from AIB. The total project costs come to some e12M, with e8M of this made available in state mortgages to Respond! from Waterford City Council through the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. The remaining e4M has been provided by Respond! of which some e2.25M will come in private borrowing initiative from the AIB Bank.

St John’s College dates back to the 19th century and was a seminary up until its closure in 1999. The project will transform the existing Listed building into 21 self contained apartments for older persons on the upper levels along with 11 bedroom units and communal facilities on the ground floor and administrative offices in the attic.

Some 36 new one-bedroom older persons apartments are also being built on the grounds adjacent to the existing building.

The existing building consists of solid stone walls with timber beams, while the internal layout has been stripped out and redesigned to allow for the new flats. As

a Listed structure, a number of elements blocks, each with its own lift and stair. needed protecting and retaining, while new Construction comprises of concrete block services needed to be installed throughout, cavity wall with precast concrete floors as well as providing additional structural and steel framing for cantilever balconies. support (steel floor beams) in the floors The roof is clay tile on timber trusses. to accommodate the new apartments.

The project was designed by and currently Extensive external work needed to be being project managed by Respond!’s undertaken, including repointing of the own in-house property services team, with stone, refurbishment of the existing timber Mythen Brothers as the contractors. windows, the replacement of the existing slate roof and the removal and replacement of all timber damaged by rot.

A new, glazed entry vestibule is being provided at the side of the Established in 1995, G. Sexton & Partners are Chartered Engineers and Fire existing building as Safety Consultants providing expert technical consultancy services covering all a new accessible aspects of Fire Safety from the overall fire safety design assessment of buildings entry point, while through to fire safety management practices. a new, glazed conservatory will be built adjacent to Deise House, Link Road, Railway Square, Waterford the dining area.

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