Excellence - May

MAY 2017

32

TOXIC AIR CRISIS London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone mapped out for April 2019.

40

MODEL ARMY Industry experts address the changing face of Facilities Management.

52

MASSIVE ATTACK Protecting smart buildings against cyber threats.

BEFORE

AFTER

QUARTZDEK has been developed from proven technology used extensively in Europe during the past 25 years for the renovation of balconies and terraces.

These areas are often considered to be our ‘private retreats’ where sunshine and relaxation can be enjoyed. However, the constantly changing climate together with mechanical wear and tear can soon turn our pleasure into nightmare.

Application of QUARTZDEK to balconies and terraces will not only prevent damage and deterioration as described above but will provide

BEFORE

T 01925 213655 E info@acrypolproducts.co.uk W www.acrypolproducts.co.uk A 4 Asher Court, Lyncastle Way, Barleycastle Lane, Appleton, Warrington WA4 4ST

AFTER

WELCOME to the latest edition of UK Construction Excellence - celebrating the very best in British building.

Despite Article 50’s recent triggering and the prospect of a short and sharp snap election early next month, construction industry growth continues apace - thanks in part to a raft of large-scale, high value infrastructure schemes currently in the works.

HS2, Crossrail and Hinckley Point

C are among the many projects driving construction industry employment and growth, and updates for each can be found within our news section beginning on page four.

Elsewhere, UK Construction Excellence takes a closer look at Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s controversial proposals for an Ultra Low Emission Zone, Facilities Management specialist Cathy Hayward considers the changing face of FM, and Vince

58 Unlocking Economic Benefit New road links to boost Bedfordshire economy by £2Bn.

Warrington - Founder of Protective Intelligence - speaks to our very own Matt Brown about the emergence of ‘smart buildings’ and the cyber threats associated.

All this and more can be found inside, along with contributions from guest commentators and breaking news from Great Britain and beyond.

Robert Atherton Publications Editor

64 AMP6 Update Behind the scenes at Thames Water’s £250M Deephams transformation.

70 Privatisation in Progress Green Investment Bank acquired by Macquarie-led consortium.

Publications Editor Robert Atherton

General Manager Ian Parker

Designer James Ormerod

Production Manager Gareth Trevor-Jones

Publications Officer Abigail Burr Sales Administrator Sarah Livesley

Creative Digital Seamus Norton

ISSN 1461-1279

Display Advertising Sales T: 01257 231900 admin@ukconstructionmedia.co.uk

Follow us on...

UK Construction Media, Stirling House, Ackhurst Business Park, Chorley, PR7 1NY 01257 231900 • admin@ukconstructionmedia.co.uk • www.ukconstructionmedia.co.uk © Copyright Pro-Mark. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or transmitted in any form without the prior permission of Pro-Mark. Views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher.

3

Large-scale projects drive construction growth in March CIVIL engineering was the construction industry’s strongest performing sector according to the latest Markit/CIPS UK Construction PMI figures.

Overall, construction growth softened slightly in March with a PMI reading of 52.2 - down from February’s figure of 52.5, yet still above the growth threshold of 50.0.

been attributed to the slowdown of the UK housing market.

Hearteningly, the survey also revealed high levels of optimism within the construction industry as fears over Brexit receded, while positivity rose to its highest recorded level since December 2015.

Growth was spurred on by strong performances from the civil engineering and commercial sectors however. Civil engineering output was the fastest recorded so far in 2017 and the strongest performing sub-sector in March.

Nearly 50% of all respondents predicted a rise in business for the year ahead, with only 9% expecting to see a decrease. This, coupled with the resilience of the UK economy, was also reflected in an increase of new invitations to tender.

Loss of momentum was largely due to the weakening performance of the housebuilding sector, which has since

Construction costs remained high due to the upward cost of imported materials stemming from the weaker

pound. The overall rate of cost inflation, however, eased from January’s eightand-half year peak.

Tim Moore, Senior Economist at IHS Markit said: “UK construction firms experienced a growth slowdown in March, with the loss of momentum centred on housebuilding. A weaker trend for residential work has been reported throughout 2017 so far, which provides an indication that the cooling UK housing market has started to act as a drag on the construction sector.

“Civil engineering projects were the construction sector’s main growth engine in March, driven by rising infrastructure spending and a strong pipeline of new work throughout the UK."

ConQuest Estimating software tried and tested by thousands of users 4

HS2 seek partners for £220M station contracts HS2 has started its search for partners to deliver three new stations and a major expansion of London Euston.

Birmingham Curzon Street stations is a major step towards making HS2 a catalyst for growth across the country.

The contract opportunities are worth £220M as HS2 Ltd casts it's net to find architects, designers and developers to build three new stations at Birmingham Curzon Street, Birmingham Interchange and London’s Old Oak Common plus the extension of London Euston.

“The winning bidders will need to ensure the stations provide the best possible customer experience.

There are also huge opportunities for development near all the HS2 stations. HS2 Ltd is progressing its search for a partner to deliver new homes, shops and offices around Euston station once the core HS2 work is complete.”

The Government estimate that the projects will see over 170,000 new jobs created in the wider development areas near the four stations.

A Master Development Partner will also be sought to provide guidance and develop opportunities for new homes, offices and retail space surrounding the redeveloped of London Euston.

The winner will collaborate with HS2 Ltd, Network Rail, the station design contract winner and local authorities to come up with a deliver an integrated strategy to unlock the full potential of the area.

Transport Minister Andrew Jones said: “The search for design teams to produce plans for new stations and world-class amenities for London Euston, Old Oak Common, Birmingham Interchange and

A shortlist for the station design bidders and the Euston Master Development Partner will be announced in the summer with contracts signed in early 2018.

HS2 Ltd Commercial Director Beth West said: “We’re looking for the brightest and the best from across the industry to help us deliver one of the most tangible legacies of the HS2 project - three brand new stations and a major expansion of London Euston.

“All four present unique challenges and opportunities for the winning bidders. Together we will deliver world-class designs that help unlock wider local regeneration opportunities and provide unparalleled levels of accessibility, ease and convenience for the travelling public.”

Construction well underway on Hinckley Point C CONSTRUCTION is well underway on Hinkley Point C in Somerset as EDF Energy says “good progress” is being made on the £18Bn project.

The French energy giant who is leading the scheme announced concrete pouring had begun after receiving the green light to start construction.

Ground preparation is now underway, and three million cubic metres of earth have already been moved.

Currently, there are 1,600 workers onsite. Their focus so far has been the construction of tunnels to carry cabling and pipework, a sea wall to protect the plant proper, and a 500m temporary jetty along the Bristol Channel allowing for 80% of the required aggregate to be brought in by sea rather than road.

Up to three million tonnes of concrete and 230,000 tonnes of steel reinforcement will be used during the construction phase.

Hinkley Point C Project Director, Philippe Bordarier said: “Pouring the concrete for the first permanent structure of HPC is a significant milestone. It is the outcome of many years of preparation and hard work from all our teams and supply chain across the UK and France. It demonstrates our ability to undertake the serious responsibility of nuclear power plant construction.

“Whilst we reflect on this great achievement we will continue to look for opportunities to improve, learn and teach others, embracing the values of the HPC project.”

Construction of the structure to house the first reactor is due to start in 2019 when concrete will be poured to form the reactor platform.

5

Big turnout for Dover Western Docks Revival supplier event A recent Meet the Buyer event for the Dover Western Docks Revival attracted over 100 companies and 250 attendees from across Kent and the South East.

The event was hosted by the Port of Dover and VolkerStevin Boskalis Westminster (VSBW), in partnership with Constructionline, at Dover’s iconic Cruise Terminal 1 and provided companies with the chance to discover more about the scope of the forthcoming works at the Port.

The Dover Western Docks Revival is the single biggest investment ever undertaken by the Port of Dover with around £250M committed to delivering the first phase.

Local companies discussed the many subcontracting opportunities available and were given the opportunity to tender.

Stuart Eckersley, Project Director for VSBW, stated: “Bringing together potential subcontractors and suppliers with a large principal contractor in this way is a fantastic opportunity to strengthen the local economy, forging new business relationships and bringing job and training opportunities for local people.”

With a contract value of £115M, the construction stage will include the design and build of two new berths including quay walls and land reclamation, a new marina pier, the marina curve, navigation channel and new lock gates, Bascule Bridge and capital dredging work.

Natalie Hart, Key Account Manager for Constructionline said: “We believe strongly in the value that local suppliers can provide to main contractor supply chains, and continue to proactively support events like this.”

Chancellor urged to approve second Crossrail A total of 66 housebuilders and property developers have urged the Government and Chancellor Phillip Hammond to back Crossrail 2 in order to “fix the housing crisis”.

Property industry leaders have backed the project, saying it would help ease London’s housing crisis by unlocking more than 200,000 homes.

Writing to the Chancellor Philip Hammond, they said: “It will transform transport capacity and connectivity for underdeveloped areas of the capital, such as the Upper Lea Valley, giving the certainty needed to accelerate the development of up to 200,000 new homes.”

Signatories of the letter include Melanie Leech, Head of the British Property Federation, all members of the G15 - London’s biggest housing associations - and Tony Pidgley, Chairman of Berkeley Homes.

Many areas currently underserved by transport would be opened up

by Crossrail 2, boosting housing across the wider South East, with 30% of new homes to be delivered outside the capital.

According to Ms Leech, the

6

scheme “will stimulate regeneration up and down its route from the Solent to the Wash, opening sites for new housing and employment.

A swift decision from Government on Crossrail 2 would provide a vote of confidence for our industry”.

In 2019, Crossrail 1 is due to open in its entirety, and has unlocked the development of Thameside in South East London, with 20,000 new homes built by Peabody.

Stephen Howlett, Chief Executive of the housing association, said: “Crossrail 2 would have a similarly transformative effect across London.”

A new report by JLL for the Westminster Property Association found that the property sector could pay more towards the cost of the project than the Elizabeth Line, due to revenue from the community infrastructure levy and the business rate supplement.

London has committed to meeting half the cost of the project.

More than 70 businesses including EY, Canary Wharf Group and Heathrow Airport have said that Crossrail 2 was “of national importance”, adding that it would create more than 100,000 additional jobs in the Capital.

Apprenticeship Levy comes into effect The Apprenticeship Levy has come into force. Companies with a wage bill of £3M or more are now required to contribute 0.5% of their employee costs to the scheme, enabling the Government to create three million apprenticeship starts by 2020.

According to the Government, the money generated will be invested in quality training provision for apprentices. As such, annual investment in apprenticeships is expected to double to £2.5Bn by 2020 in comparison to 2011’s figures.

The hope now is that the Levy will encourage employers to see the benefit of apprenticeships and help more people progress to a rewarding career.

Skills Minister Robert Halfon said: “More than 90% of apprentices go into work or further training, and the quality on-the-job training on offer will make sure we have the people with the skills, knowledge and technical excellence to drive our country forward.

“Building an apprenticeship and skills nation is essential in ensuring that we have the home-grown workforce we need in post-Brexit Britain to address the skills shortages facing industry and give everyone the chance to succeed.”

For those companies with an annual wage bill less than £3M, the Government will contribute 90% of the cost to train and evaluate their apprentices.

Smaller companies who employ less than 50 people that take on an apprentice aged between 16 and 18 can expect to have 100% of their training costs paid for.

Neil Carberry, CBI Director for People and Skills Policy, said the Apprenticeship Levy would only be a success if the focus was on quality rather than the number of employees.

not just create more apprenticeships.

Shifting the focus onto quality is essential to delivering much needed stability to England’s skills system, that’s why business is focused on helping the Institute for Apprenticeships get this right.

“As it stands, there is a genuine risk that firms aren’t going to be able to use their funds if the system does not deliver the training apprentices need.”

Peter Vinden, Managing Director of The Vinden Partnership - a leading multidisciplinary consultant company to the built environment - said: “The desire to produce home grown talent to fill the skills gap is one we can all get behind.

Creating more apprentices is a positive step but we need to be certain that the investment is being used wisely and that the construction industry will be getting quality employees with the required skillsets at the end of it.”

Mr Carberry commented: “For the Levy to be a success, it must deliver longlasting careers and close skills gaps,

ConQuest Estimating software tried and tested by thousands of users 8

Leeds Bradford Airport reveals its ‘Route to 2030’ LEEDS Bradford Airport has released its Masterplan detailing how the airport will develop to meet the demands of 7.1 million passengers by 2030.

The airport has unveiled its final Strategic Development Plan ‘Route to 2030’ document following a public consultation period after draft proposals were unveiled in March 2016.

A regional event was held to showcase the plans and was attended by a group of senior council leaders, councillors and MPs. The document has been published alongside the Surface Access Strategy, which has also been updated to set out short, medium and long-term plans for improving surface transport to the region.

The Masterplan includes support for an airport parkway station on the Harrogate-Leeds railway line and a new road link between the A658 and A65 with a spur to the airport.

Aircraft stands, boarding areas and taxiways will be expanded, with the terminal building also undergoing development.

An ‘Economic Hub’ will comprise of an Airport Village, Air Innovation Park and an Air Freight Park that the Masterplan document says will “create a high quality well connected mixed-use development zone that provides a focus for core and related airport requirements, as well as wider enterprise and innovation, attracted to an airport location.”

It is envisaged the Hub will create additional 5,000 jobs and generate investment and tax revenues for the region.

Leeds Bradford Airport Chief Executive, John Parkin, said: “This Masterplan paves the way for the future of LBA and importantly sets out ways in which we will seek to meet air travel demand in a sustainable way, while contributing significantly to the economy.

“Our vision is to be an outstanding airport, connecting Yorkshire with the world and this document is central to how we will deliver that.

“We will continue to work closely with the Local and Combined Authorities and Local Enterprise Partnership to ensure that our plans are of benefit to all.”

Preferred Lower Thames Crossing route unveiled TRANSPORT Secretary Chris Grayling has revealed the preferred route for a new Lower Thames Crossing that could see the creation of over 6,000 jobs and contribute more than £8Bn to the UK economy.

The new crossing will create a link between the A2 and M25, cutting the heavy congestion currently experienced along the Dartford Crossing.

The planned route will begin on the M25 near North Ockendon and cross the A13 at Orsett, before running underneath the Thames east of Tilbury and Gravesend. A new link road will then funnel traffic towards the A2 near Shorne, close to where the route becomes the M2.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: “The new Lower Thames Crossing, and other improvements in and around Dartford and Thurrock announced today, will further strengthen our economy while also creating thousands of jobs.”

The majority of some 47,000 respondents identified the route as the best possible solution to congestion woes along the Dartford Crossing.

An additional £10M will go towards easing congestion around the existing crossing, with further studies to be conducted into avoiding what the Government calls “rat-running through Dartford and Thurrock.”

Tim Waggott, Port of Dover Chief

Executive, welcomed the decision, saying: “The Lower Thames Crossing is an essential ingredient of the strategic infrastructure mix required to deliver national economic prosperity.

“The port fully supports today’s announcement by the government and warmly welcomes its commitment to keep the nation’s traffic and trade moving.”

9

New luxury residential development for MediaCityUK BOUYGUES UK has been appointed by MediaCityUK to deliver construction of the Lightbox - a £35M development consisting of 238 apartments over 19 storeys.

The Lightbox has been designed by AHR and will see the creation of luxury studio one, two and three bed apartments.

MediaCityUK has described the scheme as “offering stunning views over Salford Quays, Coronation Street and the Manchester skyline.”

Vodafone’s £2Bn expansion to boost Northern Powerhouse TELECOM giants Vodafone are to create 800 jobs as part of a £2Bn expansion in Manchester.

of the Government’s long-term strategy to create strong economic performance across the North.

The Government has welcomed the move as it pushes forward with plans for the Northern Powerhouse that it hopes will create a strong and vibrant economy in the North of England.

This has included a £3.4Bn investment through Local Growth Deals to boost economic growth and a dedicated Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, which provides worth of £400M to support small businesses to reach their full potential.

Vodafone currently employ around 900 staff its customer service centre in Wythenshawe.

The number of leading organisations backing the Government’s Northern Powerhouse project has now increased to nearly 90 after eight new partners signed up earlier in the year.

February saw Santander, Ernst & Young and Eversheds LLP join other leading partners in pledging their commitment to create jobs, attract investment and support innovation in the North.

Northern Powerhouse Minister Andrew Percy and Commercial Secretary Baroness Neville-Rolfe met with the new and existing 88 Northern Powerhouse Partners in Manchester to explore opportunities and ideas to promote the region.

The project remains a key part

10

Northern Powerhouse Minister Andrew Percy said: “We’re determined to support this region so that it reaches its full potential. Now we’ve got the backing of almost 90 different organisations, which is absolutely vital to securing the economic future of the north for years to come.”

Commercial Secretary to the Treasury, Baroness Neville-Rolfe added: “I’m committed to secure the infrastructure, investment and support the North needs to become a global economic heavyweight at the very heart of the UK economy.

“That’s why we are meeting businesses, universities and organisations across the region today to listen to their views on the action we can take to help unleash the North’s full potential.”

It will also feature a full concierge service and car parking spaces for rent, in addition to bicycle storage facilities.

Stephen Wild, Managing Director of MediaCityUK said: “We are very proud of what we have achieved here at MediaCityUK so far, and Lightbox will bring a new residential community to what is already a thriving and vibrant destination.”

“Located in the heart of MediaCityUK, with panoramic waterfront views, easy access to all retail and restaurants, and more still to come, this is an incredibly exciting place to live."

Mr Wild said the Lightbox development had attracted a great deal of interest since it was first announced last year and welcomed the opportunity to work with Bouygues during its delivery.

Craig Tatton, Chief Operating Officer at Bouygues UK described the appointment as a “fantastic achievement”.

He commented: “As well as providing high-quality new homes and regenerating land, we are committed to delivering the maximum benefit to the community by engaging with local suppliers, residents and community groups.”

The scheme is expected to complete by March 2019.

UK Summit 2017 16 May 2017, London The Summit is the first of its kind to address the major touch points of change, presenting the UK's built environment sector with both unprecedented challenges and opportunities in the coming years.

Attend key sessions to: • Hear about the current and future trends in global real estate markets with our keynote address from JLL EMEA CEO Guy Grainger.

• Listen to an interactive panel discussion with Arup Associate Global Foresight Manager Josef Hargrave, L&Q Development Director Andy Rowland and British Land Head of Office Leasing Michael Wiseman on how UK real estate can and should respond to changing workspace, and changing lifestyles.

• Discuss with Heathrow Development Director Phil Wilbraham, along with other contributors from the road and rail sectors where the opportunities in UK infrastructure currently lie.

• Observe an in-depth interview session, including Cushman & Wakefield James Maddock looking at how disruption can positively impact your business.

Book now and join senior attendees from high profile companies.

View the programme and book now at rics.org/uksummit

Plans submitted for £21M residential Liverpool Waters regeneration scheme PEEL Land and Property and the Regenda Group have submitted exciting new plans to develop a £21M residential tower, Plaza 1821 - a PRS (Private Rented Sector) scheme.

2,000 new homes to be delivered as London housing scheme is given the green light A 1,965 home development has been given the go-ahead, with real estate specialist Greystar appointing Meinhardt UK - alongside architect HTA Design and cost consultant Alinea Consulting - to regenerate an area of industrial wasteland adjacent to the Grand Union Canal.

Though the development targets the multi-family rental market, an eclectic mix of private sale, affordable and shared ownership homes - each set within a mixed-use neighbourhood will also be available.

The canny Meinhardt team has developed an in-depth earthworks strategy that will enable the developer to retain and re-use demolition material to improve the ground conditions, which currently slope some six metres from one end of the site to the other.

Having surveyed the site, Meinhardt will now working alongside the utility companies to schedule demolition and enabling works packages so that the grounds can be cleared in time for the main contractor later on in the year.

With blocks accommodating between 198 and 379 apartments, the newly approved plans promise 1,439 rented homes and 526 homes for market sale, with agreed affordable housing comprising discount rented and shared ownership homes. The scheme will also deliver communal space, 59,500sq ft of office accommodation, as well as 65,000sq ft for retail - including a new grocery store - and 33,000sq ft for restaurant and café units.

Crucially, the development has to work within the confines of a listed ‘Art Deco’ building - the former GSK HQ - which will be extended and renovated behind a retained facade.

The proposal retains its use as a commercial building.

A new primary school is to be built on-site, in addition to accommodation for a healthcare centre. There are also plans for a new pedestrian crossing over a nearby canal and a proposal to reopen Berkeley Avenue with a view to improving overall accessibility.

Neil Baumber, Peel Land and Property’s Development Director for Residential, said: “Plaza 1821 is the latest and significant piece in the jigsaw for Peel’s vision at Liverpool Waters, as it will bring much needed quality residential apartments to a vibrant waterfront location.

“Liverpool Waters is an important part of our Strategic Waters strategy and is one of the most dynamic regeneration projects in the City’s history. The proposals for Plaza 1821 will bring us one step closer to achieving our vision to create a world class destination where people can live, work and play.”

The development will feature 105 residential apartments, many with stunning waterfront views, and support Peel’s commitment to driving forward its multi-billion regeneration plans for Liverpool Waters.

Martin Davies, Director of Development at Regenda, said: “Plaza 1821 is a landmark project for Regenda. It marks our biggest ever investment - made even more special because it’s right here in Liverpool, where we’re proudly based. The vision for Liverpool Waters is truly spectacular, something that will further enhance our city region.

“We recognised this unique opportunity to work with Peel to create a distinctive scheme with a ‘wow factor’ worthy of Liverpool’s waterfront.”

The scheme is one of three waterside residential schemes that will be under construction this year.

ConQuest Estimating software tried and tested by thousands of users 12

Brexit Infrastructure Group calls for European funding replacement plan THE Brexit Infrastructure Group has said that the Government needs to consider setting up a UK Infrastructure Bank to replace any impending loss in finance from the European Union.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) provided more than €20Bn of anchor investment for UK infrastructure projects between 2011 and 2015, which also helped pull in additional private funding.

The Brexit Infrastructure Group was set up to lobby the Government to provide expert insight on behalf of the construction industry.

Sir John Armitt, the Group’s Chairman, said: “The EIB has been a vital part of the investment mix, acting as a critical

anchor investor, funding billions of UK infrastructure projects and attracting other sources of funding.

“If we are at risk of losing this source of investment, the Government should start consulting with industry now on alternative options, including the potential for an infrastructure investment bank. This will send a clear signal to the market, and help consolidate the UK’s reputation as a global leader in infrastructure delivery.”

The Government has prior experience of setting up banks to attract infrastructure investment. In 2012, the Coalition set up the Green Investment Bank (GIB) to promote the renewable energy sector. To date it has backed 98 green infrastructure projects,

committing £3.4Bn of public money to projects worth an approximate £12Bn. The Government has been trying to sell the GIB since 2015, however, and remove it from the Treasury’s balance sheet. This suggests that the Government may not have any desire to set up a UK Infrastructure Investment Bank, as proposed by Armitt’s committee.

The Brexit Leadership Group also recommends that the Government guarantee the status of foreign EU nationals currently working in the UK in advance of any reciprocal deal securing rights for UK workers across the EU.

Mayor of London brokers deal to deliver 20,000 new homes THE Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced a deal with housing association L&Q that will invest £8Bn to deliver 20,000 new homes across the capital.

Of the 20,000 new homes to be created through the link-up, 12,000 will be classed as “genuinely affordable”, with City Hall providing £400M to help boost affordable housing delivery and to assist with land purchases and infrastructure costs.

The agreement with L&Q is the first under the Mayor of London’s £3.15Bn affordable housing deal secured from the Government in November last year, which will see 90,000 new affordable

homes started by 2021.

Mr Khan called for more housing associations to follow L&Q’s lead and take on similar projects before he announces other large-scale partnerships when further funding is allocated in the summer.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “For far too long, London has not been building enough homes. This has meant that Londoners born and raised in our great capital have struggled to rent and stood little or no chance of owning a home in their own city.

new and genuinely affordable homes for Londoners. This announcement demonstrates real progress on the long road towards tackling London’s housing crisis and signals my intention to work with housing associations to deliver thousands of homes with at least 60% being affordable.

I urge other housing associations to work with us to get on and build the homes London needs.”

“I welcome L&Q’s commitment and significant investment in building

13

Scape announce £7Bn National Construction Framework appointments SCAPE Group has announced the four companies that will lead the procurement group’s new National Construction Framework.

Willmott Dixon, Robertson, Wates and Lendlease will each act as lead contractors, with support from an extensive supply chain of over 70,000 SMEs.

Executive, praised the qualities of the construction firms chosen to lead the Framework, citing their expertise and capacity to deliver current and future projects.

He commented: “The possible Brexit cost to the construction sector due to a loss of EU talent, the increased

costs of building material imports and higher tariffs could be significant.

Therefore a robust and stable delivery model led by strong contractors and supported by local enterprise, will be an important delivery option for the public sector as we progress through the next four years.

“The quality of our built environment underpins the economic growth and attractiveness of the UK from an inward investment perspective, so facilitating their delivery is vital to the health of the wider economy. The National Construction Framework, structured with multiple lead contractors, ensures public sector bodies have capacity and expertise at their fingertips. Governed by our rigorous performance management processes, we will ensure that this framework, will continue our heritage of speed and quality of delivery, with social value sitting at the heart of project success.”

The initiative, which replaces the National Major Works Framework, has the highest value of any framework ever procured in the UK. Scape says it will help deliver a wide variety of projects including regeneration schemes, new primary and secondary schools, universities and colleges, hospitals, central government buildings and housing to keep pace with the demands of an increasing population.

Mark Robinson, Scape Group Chief

Retirement development given the goahead in Bath amid housing crisis concerns PROPOSALS to transform a vacant car garage into retirement apartments have been approved by Bath and North East Somerset Council. Specialist retirement developer PegasusLife plans to demolish the garage on Upper Bristol Road to make way for the scheme, which includes a health and wellbeing suite and a riverside cafe open to the public.

is designed to combat issues such as loneliness in later life, an issue that is often overlooked and yet can have a severe impact on a person’s health and wellbeing. Having a cafe on-site that is open to the public will ensure our development, and the people who live there, are very much a part of this vibrant city.”

The development can be found

Howard Phillips, CEO at PegasusLife, commented: “Having secured planning, we now want to concentrate on building well-designed homes for the local retirement community in Bath. The UK is in the midst of a housing crisis and to address it requires developers, planners and councils to work together to meet the needs of everyone who needs a suitable home and that includes those over sixty.

“This development will have its own thriving social hub for residents, which

14

close to Royal Victoria Park, the Royal Crescent and also backs onto the riverside. Plans include a mixture of one, two and ‘2+’ bedroom apartments and car parking. The social and wellbeing spaces - a pivotal part of any retirement development - include a wellness centre, a communal lounge and guest suites, in addition to the riverside cafe.

Alfriston School/Duggan Morris Architects Š Jack Hobhouse Design tm-studio.co.uk

Apprenticeship Levy can address skills crisis - but only if employers seize the opportunity THE Apprenticeship Levy has met with a mixed response. But there are some overwhelming benefits, which should be recognised, particularly by the construction sector as they face up to a severe skills shortage.

From April this year, all UK employers will be charged a levy of 0.5% on their annual pay bill (if this is greater than £3M). In return for these payments, organisations will receive electronic vouchers which can be used to provide apprenticeship training for their employees. The aim of the Levy is to incentivise businesses to meet the Government’s target of three million additional apprentices by the year 2020.

So how will this help solve the current skills crisis? After all, apprenticeships have been around for generations.

In recent decades, apprenticeships had been neglected and appeared to have fallen out of favour with both employees and employers alike.

Technical colleges and polytechnics - once the bedrock of engineering and construction training - have been replaced by more academic universities, into which schoolleavers have been driven in increasing numbers since the 1990s.

Consequently, attracting the most able candidates to take on skilled apprenticeships has become increasingly difficult and has been exacerbated over the last 30 years by reduced opportunities as the UK transformed into a predominantly service-based economy.

An additional consideration is the underlying prejudice with many that an apprenticeship is somehow the route to an inferior, purely manual role, rather than the start of a vital, high-skilled career.

16

Long-term, valuable training has been neglected in favour of short-term profitability and a focus on meeting regulatory demands. Too often, training is still seen more as a cost than an investment, and this seems at odds with the need for businesses to prepare for the future by training and developing their future managers.

As a result, a dearth of apprenticeships has been a major contributory factor towards the aforementioned skills gap, which is widening as the industry loses highly-skilled and knowledgeable people to retirement.

However, there is a catch. My fear is that the scheme is too heavily biased towards meeting targets rather than providing a route to meet the needs of UK businesses.

Three million apprenticeships in call centre management, hairdressing or book-keeping may tick the right boxes in Government statistics (and possibly provide a solid career for those involved) but it would fail to tackle the UK’s real skills shortages in engineering, mechanics and other technical subjects critical to our national infrastructure.

Therefore, industry must ensure it works to offer increased numbers of apprenticeships in a wide range of roles that result in a variety of relevant qualifications - covering domestic, commercial, metering and emergency service-related operatives. This could make a huge contribution to delivering a new generation of workers in the areas that currently suffer from shortages.

Beyond the introduction of the Levy, more fundamental change is needed. Schoolchildren need better, broader careers advice so they have

a comprehensive understanding of all the post-school options, rather than simply being pushed into university degree courses, some of which may have minimal employment opportunities following graduation.

The hope is that genuine interest in industry can be generated and if successful, industry role models might be discovered or created along the way, providing the basis of a virtuous cycle of reinforcement. Increased interaction between employers and schools would be a fine way to approach this, and one of Develop Training Limited’s partners through our Industry Skills Forum - Founders 4 Schools - is well placed to facilitate.

The Industry Skills Forum brings together leaders from the utilities, energy, construction and facilities management sectors to develop ideas and share best practice around recruitment, training and development.

This is no talking-shop; it’s a platform for bringing about tangible, positive change. We’ve seen a desire within industry for this in the numbers and varied groups attending over the past 18 months.

With the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy, employers must prepare now to be ready to take on apprentices. For large companies, this may require creating and expanding internal infrastructure.

Worryingly, many of the companies I talk to are unsure about how the Levy will work - suggesting it may take some time for the (potentially) positive impact of the scheme to materialise.

Given the urgency to address the skills gap, this is somewhat concerning.

Ultimately, any new scheme promoting apprenticeships should be welcomed,

and the Levy sends a strong message to businesses. However, businesses cannot rely on Government to push them into doing the right thing. They must take responsibility for their own future and ensure there is a suitably trained next generation of workers to ensure their survival and provide the services that the UK requires.

They can start by getting ready to do more than simply meeting their responsibilities under the Apprenticeship Levy by using this essential initiative to help provide a more sustainable future within their individual sectors.

In order to do this, employers can now access a list of top quality training providers via The Skills Funding Agency’s new Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers (RoATP), giving them a level of assurance that the organisations they are using have the capacity and capability to deliver effective apprenticeship training.

By Chris Wood, CEO of Develop Training Limited

17

DO IT YOURSELF (“DIY”) ADJUDICATION UPDATE Many years ago, I wrote an article on do-it-yourself adjudication. The article suggested that as a result of developments in adjudication law, practice and procedure, any party choosing to run an adjudication without professional assistance might be described as brave, foolhardy or both. My opinion hasn’t changed, if anything it has hardened. I do accept, however, that where a dispute is a simple one and the associated law is not overly complicated, there is no reason why a party should not adopt a “diy” approach to the

process. After all, that is what parliament intended when it introduced the statutory right to adjudication and the Housing Grants Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 became operative on 1 May 1998.

So, if you are going to have a go at diy adjudication, what advice is out there and available to assist you brave souls? Well for a start, a free guide is available from the Construction Industry Council (“CIC”). Its Users' Guide to Adjudication can be downloaded by typing

cic.org.uk/download. php?f=cic-users-guide-toadjudication-2017-2.pdf into your web browser. The document you will gain access to is described as “A guide for participants in adjudications conducted under Part II of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 as amended by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009”. This free document is invaluable and although I don’t fully agree with everything that is set out in the guide and it is a little basic in places, it is,

Regent House, Folds Point, Folds Road, Bolton BL1 2RZ t. 01204 362888 f. 01204362808 tvp@vinden.co.uk www.vinden.co.uk

18

Firstly, can I suggest that you do not even dream about drafting and serving the all-important Notice of Adjudication until you have finished drafting the Referral Notice.

nevertheless, a great place to start.

For those of you who feel that you have a good grasp of the basics but feel that you need a more in-depth understanding on all things to do with adjudication, I recommend Coulson on Construction Adjudication as your next stop. Currently in its third edition, a new copy can be purchased for around ÂŁ245.

This might sound a lot but it is less than a good solicitor or claims consultant is likely to charge you for a single hour of advice.

Now for two further pieces of free advice. Firstly, can I suggest that you do not even dream about drafting and serving the all-important Notice of Adjudication until you have finished drafting the Referral Notice. The Notice of Adjudication defines the matters the adjudicator has to address and it is vitally important that it is comprehensive, covers every aspect of your dispute and

allows the adjudicator to address and deal with all the matters you want him or her to decide.

The theory is that the Notice of Adjudication should contain a description of the dispute, details of how the dispute has arisen, the decision you want the adjudicator to make and the names and addresses of the parties involved.

I know it may sound like I am being over cautious but it really is amazing how often you think you know what the dispute is and what remedy(s) you require from your appointed adjudicator only to find that things change as you draft the Referral Notice.

You simply do not want to find that the Notice of Adjudication you served before you drafted the Referral is no longer adequate. These sorts of nightmares are best left for other parties to experience.

derive his or her jurisdiction from, can I suggest that you make a small investment with a good claims consultant or lawyer and get the Notice checked before it is issued.

Yes, I know it means spending a few quid but don’t get thrashed by your opponent simply for being penny-wise and pound-foolish all at the same time!

Peter Vinden is a practising Arbitrator, Adjudicator, Mediator and Expert. He is Managing Director of The Vinden Partnership and can be contacted by email at pvinden@vinden.co.uk. For similar articles please visit www.vinden.co.uk.

Secondly, as the Notice of Adjudication is where your appointed adjudicator will

Regent House, Folds Point, Folds Road, Bolton BL1 2RZ t. 01204 362888 f. 01204362808 tvp@vinden.co.uk www.vinden.co.uk

19

UK construction sector faced with a talent ticking time bomb IN December last year, The Federation of Master Builders’ (FMB) State of Trade Report revealed that the total employment net balance in the UK construction sector fell by 6% points from +10 in Q3 to +4 in Q4. Of those surveyed, only 21% of firms predicted rising staffing levels in the coming quarter and 14% actually forecast employment cuts.

When coupled with figures predicting a 1.7% growth in construction output levels over the next five years, the stats begin to paint a worrying picture of the critical shortage of skills facing the construction industry in the immediate future. In order to tackle the problem head on, trade organisations must take responsibility for attracting and training more construction professionals - and must do so fast...

SKILLS AND DEMAND As one of the leading drivers of the British economy - generating £90Bn annually (6.7% of GDP) - the construction sector is responsible for employing over 2.93 million professionals in the UK, and contributes considerably to the UK’s total output.

With this output expected to rise (thanks to increased investments from both government and private organisations in, for example, housing

20

and infrastructure projects) the demand for skilled construction professionals will follow suit.

However, the situation at present will only serve to widen the gap between the number of skilled professionals required to meet objectives and the number of qualified candidates actually available in the market. Failure to meet this demand poses an issue for employers and recruiters alike.

Acknowledging the talent gap Unfortunately the UK’s construction skills gap isn’t a new problem. The financial crisis of 2008 sparked a reluctance in banks to grant loans for construction projects, and resulted in many skilled tradesmen and construction professionals leaving the industry, graduate and apprenticeship programmes being cut, and very little hiring for the following years.

This gap in job opportunities, the lack of comprehensive apprenticeships across the industry and a failure to encourage candidates into construction careers all contributed to the shortage of ‘young talent’ (those with five to eight years’ experience) we feel in the sector today.

The situation is set to worsen over the next five years, as a large proportion of qualified professionals and tradesmen

are now approaching retirement age - 22% over 50, and 15% in their 60s. As these professionals prepare to leave the industry (with very few of them having trained apprentices) replenishing their experience and bridging the talent gap is now of upmost importance. But how?

BRIDGING THE TALENT GAP In recent years, the lack of apprenticeship opportunities and reluctance of young talent to join the industry has resulted in fewer fully qualified individuals in the talent pool. The solution here (although not ideal) has been for construction jobs to be simplified - for example, some carpenters only do first fix or second fix work. While this narrows the skills gap it has resulted in construction becoming a less attractive vocation for potential industry entrants.

Foreign labour has also proven an effective way for the UK to fill its talent gap - yet amid the current climate of uncertainty surrounding Brexit, establishing the long-term viability of this as a solution could prove tricky.

Should foreign labour laws change in the future, there is no guarantee that the UK could continue to make use of this essential resource so easily.

Instead some companies are now re-

Insolvency and the unique regime of adjudication enforcement

establishing apprenticeship schemes to take advantage of the newly implemented Apprenticeship Levy.

Though not able to solve the skills gap on its own, apprenticeships that run theory training alongside practical experience will quickly mark a positive step forward for home-grown talent in the UK. Constructing a resolution With increased investment in residential and infrastructure projects across the country, the demand for skilled construction professionals will continue to grow. Not only does this make the sector a very attractive one for individuals seeking a long term career that is less susceptible to be replaced by technology, but a lucrative one in which the majority of experienced individuals will earn well above the average UK salary.

By promoting the positives of this essential industry to the next generation of UK workers, and by ensuring organisations, the Government, schools and businesses are providing the training opportunities needed by young talent, the construction industry can begin to build the bridges it needs in order to overcome the skills shortage.

By Mark Beacom, Operating Director at Michael Page Property & Construction

A claimant who has succeeded in adjudication will often apply to the court for summary judgment to enforce the adjudicator’s decision. A recent case considers the impact on enforcement when the paying party issues a notice of intention (NOI) to appoint an administrator. The NOI gives rise to a moratorium, during which proceedings may be instituted or continued against the party applying for administration only with the permission of the court. In South Coast Construction Ltd v Iverson Road Ltd (2017), the judge, Coulson J, would have given permission to the claimant to continue the enforcement proceedings to judgment (but this was not necessary as judgment was given on the day after the moratorium had expired).

The judge summarised the existing authorities: the court must balance the legitimate interests of the claimant and of the other creditors: Re Atlantic Computer Systems PLC (1992); permission to institute or continue proceedings is given only in exceptional cases if the claim is simply a monetary one: AES Barry Ltd v TXU Europe energy Trading (2014); a relevant factor is the state of the proceedings, for example continuance is more likely to be permitted if they are already well advanced: Ronelp Marine Ltd v STX Offshore and Shipbuilding Co Ltd (2016); the conduct of the parties is also a relevant factor: X-Fab Semiconductor Foundries AG v Plessey Semiconductors Ltd (2014); Re Cornercare Ltd (2010).

In South Coast Construction, the proceedings were well advanced when the NOI was given; the court was due to have the summary

judgment hearing on the date the moratorium expired. As for conduct, the claimant acted properly throughout, whereas the judge took a dim view of the defendant issuing serial NOIs which contained no evidence about the underlying financial position of the company; issuing NOIs after losing the adjudication and not informing the claimant; and engaging in the enforcement litigation without informing the claimant or the court of the latest NOI and moratorium until one clear day before the hearing, by which time the defendant was in breach of the court’s order relating to preparation for the hearing.

The judge also had a separate reason which would have led him to allow the claimant to continue, concerning the nature of adjudication, which he described by quoting a well-known passage from the Court of Appeal decision in Carillion Construction Ltd v Royal Devonport Dockyard Ltd (2005), to the effect that the court will normally enforce an adjudicator’s decision and it is rare for the court to interfere with the decision of an adjudicator.

The judge considered that adjudication enforcement normally meets the Ronelp test, because there is already an adjudicator’s decision, the claimant is entitled to money and the defendant is in breach in not paying; all that remains is an enforcement hearing. It also meets the AES Barry test, because the unique enforcement regime described in Carillion is in itself exceptional.

By Peter Sheridan, Partner, Sheridan Gold LLP

21

CUSTOM-BUILT CONSTRUCTION INSURANCE Building insurance solutions for over 40 years.

Let’s talk on 0161 786 3160

info@mcmgroup.co.uk mcmgroup.co.uk

THE pace at which technology is racing ahead to our advantage, leaves us little time to catch-up, as though its momentum is too fragile to restrain. But with cyber crime rife at every technical touch point, it’s always best to proceed with caution – perhaps more so given the dangers associated with the failure of a construction project of any kind.

The 4th Industrial Revolution or “Industry 4.0” is upon us, and connected technology, from smartphones to wearable technology and everything in between is the driving force.

It seems there's not one sector where the Internet of Things (IoT), the collective term for the scope of today’s digital capabilities, can’t have an impact, and this is just as true with the construction sector.

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a modern-day blessing in the construction arena, creating digital representations of a facility, which can be shared to inform each stage of the project from creation to demolition, if applicable.

In addition to BIM, improvements in drones, wearable tech including hard-hat sensors, and geofencing all have the ability to drastically improve onsite safety and efficiency, while project management software and high-quality smartphone cameras can build a more accurate BIM. Such is the potential that Upendra Dharmadhikary, the man charged with defining Innovative Digital Solutions for Citizens and Businesses, envisages a 40% reduction in project costs within the next five years, all thanks to IoT. Unfortunately, it won't just be the construction industry that is excited

by this prospect. For every data touch point, digital progress report, BIM or device, there'll be a route for those who want to use it for their own gain.

Cyber terrorists controlling computers onboard trains may seem like the plot of a film set far in the future, but the private firm responsible for safeguarding the Government’s digital railway project reported four cyber attacks in the space of a year.

While these were judged to be “explorative” – there’s no doubt in the mind of chief technology officer Dave Palmer that the control in the wrong hands has potential to create “real disaster.”

However, you don’t need to let your imagination run even this wild to conceive the threats your construction project might face.

Software platforms designed to give access to key project contributors, including engineers, contractors, designers and owners, naturally leaves sensitive information vulnerable to an increased chance of tailgating, whereby hackers “follow” users through their password login.

The safest option, not using technology at all, is not worth considering by any organisation wanting to make any ground in their market. But that’s not to say your security can’t be managed to counteract the risks.

Cyber insurance can cover losses to your business and to third parties, which might include business interruption, network damage and data breaches. It’s important to be aware that these areas may not otherwise be covered by your construction insurance package, but could cause as much financial damage as interruption caused by a delay in start-up or staff injury.

Take a step back, and you can look into mitigating the risks before they come round. Training employees may seem obvious, but given the significant part human error can play in a cyber incident it should not be overlooked. If you have lots of different parties accessing the same system, as is common on a large construction project, you should restrict access to sensitive information, such as the BIM software, so it’s not universally available to everyone with a login.

CUSTOM-BUILT CUSTOM-BUILT CONSTRUCTION CONSTRUCTION INSURANCE INSURANCE

From here, data can be corrupted, destroyed, or even altered without anyone noticing, which could cause a huge error within the project itself.

A reply to a malicious email, either accessed on a contributor’s desktop computer or smartphone, could leave sensitive information such as build plans or HR folders wide open to ill-use.

And finally, if you do decide to invest in the kind of technology which promises to revolutionise your processes, make sure you have the security protection, and the insurance, to accompany it. With the costs associated with a cyber breach, your digital advancements may prove to be a false economy if not.

Building Building insurance insurance solutions solutions

By Steve Whetham, forfor over over 4040 years. years.

Director of MCM Insurance

And as technology is channelled in ever more sophisticated ways, it’s best to assume that the methods used to exploit will follow suit.

Let’s Let’s talk talk onon 0161 0161 786 786 3160 3160

info@mcmgroup.co.uk info@mcmgroup.co.uk info@mcmgroup.co.uk mcmgroup.co.uk mcmgroup.co.uk mcmgroup.co.uk

24 

Focus the Mind: Pressures of the modern property business STRESS IN THE WORKPLACE Stress accounts for 40% of all work-related illness. With national employment at an all-time high, it goes without saying that if you want the best people to stay with you, you have to look after their wellbeing.

The effects of stress at work, cannot and should not be underestimated.

‘There’s no health without mental health’ was the recent, central and powerful message from the UK’s Department of Health. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), reported that 428,000 people in the UK suffered from work-related stress “at a level they believed was making them ill”.

We all have mental health, just as we all have physical health. Both change throughout our lives and, like our bodies, our minds can become unwell.

The UK Chief Medical Officer raised concerns in a report in 2014 stating that 70 million working days are lost each year in the UK due to mental illness, of which stress was a significant portion.

So, with stress levels in the workforce on the increase, at a time when the unemployment figures in the UK are amongst their lowest, can you afford to ignore wellbeing and still attract the right staff? The leverage of a significant salary may not be the driver it once was when retaining or attracting the best employees; many will be looking at the 'whole picture'. All employers have to move with the market, offering more and more money to procure the best talent - that’s just business. However, today's successful employers have identified that offering their employee’s job satisfaction and equipping them with what they need to complete their job is just as important as how much is in their bank account at the end of the month.

In the property management sector particularly, staff are being asked to take on more. The requirements of a modern day client have escalated significantly - more responsibility and pressure to do things quicker, more efficiently and at reduced cost. Faced with these demands, unless you change how your department works or bolster your teams, the constant firefighting soon becomes waring. Quickly, staff become less happy, stop talking to one another because they are “too busy”, which in turn leads to communication failure, isolation, sickness rates rising and staff retention problems.

Consider the Gallup 12 employment survey. It’s about how you feel valued in your place of work, how you interact with your workplace and engage with others in it. How, by being able to do your job well, you grow in confidence and are afforded opportunities to learn and become the very best version of you possible. People thrive on challenges. Often, when they feel confident they achieve things that they thought they weren’t capable of doing.

The more successful organisations encourage this at all levels of the business. They ensure staff have time to grow and are not dragged down with mundane tasks, which often take the most time and seemingly never end.

Many articles relating to employee wellbeing have been written over the past few years. Largely they concentrate on wellbeing initiatives afforded to the employee - for example: Perkbox, free fruit, coffee machines, gym membership etc.

These are bonuses, and yes - of course - they are important. However this is just papering over the cracks.

Fundamentally if you are constantly unable to do your job, a skinny latte or a pepperoni slice won’t give you the job satisfaction and sense of accomplishment that successfully

completing tasks does.

SO WHAT CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE? Simply put, allowing people to excel in their jobs. Being innovative as to how you can free up their time to be good at the things they are employed to do.

When it comes to property, this means reducing client risk, providing tenants with an excellent building experience and ensuring the building itself is maintained and managed in a way that protects the owner’s good name and makes it as desirable to potential buyers and tenants as possible.

There are options and solutions that don’t involve spending thousands of pounds on coffee machines or corporate gym memberships. In the property sector, the aim should be to give property managers the tools to do their job successfully by reducing the time consuming and mundane tasks for them. It should be about assisting them and providing additional resource and support, whilst freeing up their time to make them, and your business, more productive.

Absolutely employers need to take employee wellbeing seriously and it should be a major contributor to how any business sets its stall out. Wellbeing initiatives aren’t just a great idea, they are a necessity and really can improve staff morale, loyalty and absolutely give the employee a sense of belonging and value. But let’s not forget that getting the job done is the driver for any employee and the best place to start is to provide them with the tools to do it. And only then can they enjoy the coffee machines, pizza and gym membership.

By Chris Eldridge, Sales Director at Propertyserve UK

25

High rate soil processin CELTIC IS A LEADING REMEDIATION AND BROWNFIELD ENABLING WORKS CONTRACTOR WITH A PROVEN TRACK RECORD FOR DELIVERY, AFTER MORE THAN 20 YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY.

BUILDING ON OUR EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE AND CAPABILITY WE ARE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE LATEST ADDITION TO OUR RANGE OF SOLUTIONS, A MOBILE CONTINUOUS MIXING PLANT FOR THE RAPID STABILISATION OF SOILS USING ADDITIVES INCLUDING CEMENT, LIME, PFA AND GGBS.

www.celtic-ltd.com I 0118 916 7340

LEADIN IN SOIL T AND STA

ing for remediation and geotechnical stabilisation

NG THE WAY TREATMENT ABILISATION

APPLICATIONS OF THE CONTINUOUS MIXING PLANT The continuous mixing plant has a variety of applications, perfectly suited to the remediation, geotechnical and construction industries.

The advantages of using this equipment include: • Processing capacity of upto 600 tonnes per hour for the rapid treatment of bulk soil volumes • A small operating footprint • Multiple feed points allowing for complex binders to be added • Powder and liquid additives can be used • Complete soil homogenisation ensures robust treatment • On-site treatment of ‘out of specification’ soils allows off-site disposal and import of geotechnical fill materials to be reduced • Suitable for a vast range of soil improvement approaches

28 

Evolution Not Revolution: How 20 years of progress has put project contracts at the heart of enabling better collaboration and digital innovation NEC Product Development Manager, Elizabeth Brookfield MEd PhD, explores how two decades of user feedback and ever-changing industry trends have reshaped the built environment contract industry.

cost reimbursable contracts) has also given clients flexibility in the allocation of risk, and the ability to share risk and jointly manage it, collaboratively.

TO go back 20 years and compare attitudes to many modern elements of procurement and contracts is almost impossible, such has been the vast evolution in a truly exciting and fastpaced age progress.

In a world where projects are increasingly delivered by companies, people and supply chains from across the world, the use of plain English and present tense which can easily be translated and understood by people whose first language is not English, remains important.

And yet, as with the latest all singing all dancing smartphone in our pockets, we now expect the latest technology and solutions at our fingertips and don’t give a second thought to the transformative evolution that has shaped our lives, when it simply didn’t exist two decades ago.

It is 12 years since NEC3 was published, and it has been used on countless highprofile and iconic international projects including the London 2012 Olympics, Crossrail, Christchurch International Airport and the Halley VI British Antarctic Survey research station.

Considerations such as shared, proactive and flexible management of risk on construction projects now play a critical role in the built environment process and, with our industry increasingly committed to collaboration and digital innovation, the requirements and shape of the contracts being used will never stand still.

Through a network of more than 400 companies who are regularly engaged via the NEC3 Users Group, and from clients generally, the NEC team has received a lot of feedback and requests for further features and contract solutions which support on-going improvement.

The engineering and construction industry has made major step change improvements in the way projects and work programmes are procured and delivered. It has been refreshing to see how the industry has innovated and improved, leaving behind a historical reliance upon traditional methods of procurement and limited forms of contract.

Designed for projects and works programmes of all types and sizes, NEC4 enhances the successful NEC3 contract suite, with some new features and some new forms of contract. All of the changes are a direct result of feedback from industry, to support methods and provide solutions which clients are demanding.

NEC has played a part in helping the engineering and construction industry do things differently and better. For example, NEC introduced effective project management procedures requiring proactive management of risk and change, and the day-to-day use of an up-to-date works programme, into the contract itself.

The ability to choose different pricing options (including target contracts and

At their core, all contracts must support the on-going drive for further collaboration and integration of teams, use of modern work methods, to avoid disputes, and to identify and manage both risk and opportunity for a successful outcome.

For example, NEC4’s Design, Build and Operate Contract allows clients to procure a more integrated whole-life

delivery solution. The ability to combine responsibility for usually disparate functions - design, construction, operation and/or maintenance, procured from a single supplier has been developed in response to industry need.

Similarly, the Alliance Contract (ALC) fully integrates the delivery team for large complex projects. Our industry’s commitment to collaboration means there is a greater number of clients that wish to enter into a single collaborative contract with a number of participants in order to deliver a project or programme of work.

The basis of the contract will be that all parties work together in achieving client objectives, and share in the risks and benefits of doing so.

Likewise, as the UK continues to set the international standard for digital engineering and BIM innovation, contracts have evolved to incorporate the increasing level of intellectual property sharing. With project partners increasingly working from shared BIM models, the need for either party to transfer the benefit or any rights under the contract to another party - introduced to keep step with client demands, and to avoid the need for Z-clause amendments, is vital.

NEC is fully committed to continually improving the way that projects and work programmes are delivered, and, as our industry continues to tread new ground and innovate at a truly excited pace, procurement practices will continue to evolve.

Our industry must never rest from driving further collaboration and integration of teams, use of modern work methods, to avoid disputes, and to identify and manage both risk and opportunity for a successful project outcome.

29

BCIS CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE DATASETS – 2017 RELEASES We're excited to announce the revised datasets are now available to purchase Online and in hard copy.

• BCIS Comprehensive Building Prices 2017 • BCIS Alterations and Refurbishment Price Book 2017 • BCIS Building maintenance 2017 • BCIS Painting and decorating 2017 • BCIS Guide to estimating for small works 2017 (available in hard copy only) • The BCIS Dilapidations Price Book 2015 is also available BCIS COMPREHENSIVE BUILDING 2017 The 34th edition of the BCIS Comprehensive building dataset is supplied as two volumes − major works and minor works. The BCIS major works estimating dataset focuses predominantly on large 'new build' projects, reflecting the economies of scale found in these forms of construction. The BCIS minor works estimating dataset focuses on small to medium sized 'new build' projects, reflecting the increase in costs brought about by reduced output, lower discounts, and increased carriage and supervision, to similar items to those in the major works dataset.

BCIS ALTERATIONS & REFURBISHMENT 2017 The 22nd edition of the Alterations & refurbishment Dataset focuses on small to medium sized projects, generally within an existing building, and reflects the increase in costs brought about by the reduction in output, smaller discounts, increased carriage, increased supervision, as well as decreased productivity resulting from fewer economies of scale, increased production costs, more difficult access and the possibility of working in occupied premises.

All material, plant and labour prices have been fully reviewed and updated. The base date used for the materials cost is second quarter 2016. The general trend has seen prices rises around 1% to 3%, highlighting the importance of using the most up-to-date dataset to ensure that your estimates are accurate.

BCIS BUILDING MAINTENANCE 2017 The 37th edition of the BCIS Building

maintenance dataset has been completely revised and updated, taking into account all changes to wage rates up to January 2017. It includes extended sections on LED lighting, soft landscaping, wall cleaning and repairs, and concrete waterproofing.

While the general trend has seen prices rise by around 2.5% some trades have increased by more significant amounts.

An example is the cost of hardwood doors and windows, which have generally increased by over 6% due to an increase in resource costs.

BCIS PAINTING AND DECORATING 2017 The 24th edition of the BCIS Painting and decorating dataset provides the most reliable prices to the painting and decorating sector. The pricing information is current as at December 2016 and includes new items in the composite rates section.

The general trend has seen prices rises around 3% due to an upturn in resource costs, highlighting the importance of using the most up-to-date price book to ensure that your estimates are accurate.

BCIS GUIDE TO ESTIMATING FOR SMALL WORKS 2017 The BCIS Guide to estimating for small works is a unique dataset which shows the true power of resource based estimating. Now in its 23rd edition, it continues to be the 'must have' book for estimating and pricing of domestic sized extensions and loft conversions up to £100,000. The pricing information is current as at December 2016.

The general trend in this sector has seen prices rise around 2.8%, with pressure on labour rates and increases in materials costs contributing to the rises.

BCIS DILAPIDATIONS PRICE BOOK 2015 The 2015 edition is essential for anyone providing early cost advice to landlords or tenants on costs of complying with Schedules of Dilapidations. The edition is set out in accordance with the RICS New rules of measurement includes; over 4,000 supply and install costs, a new section on wall, floor and ceiling finishes and decorations now with percentage adjustments for larger areas, additional items for repairs to sheet roof cladding, roof lights and associated gutters, and sheet wall cladding.

AVAILABLE ONLINE VIA BCIS SCHEDULE OF RATES The online versions of the datasets (Schedule of Rates Online) are easily accessible on your computer, netbook or tablet. They allow subscribers to create, save and reuse abstracts for Bills of Quantities and have the option of adjusting rates for location and base date as well as providing rate breakdowns. To find out more visit rics. org/scheduleofrates.

Limited access to the database, without the measured rates breakdown, is also available through a subscription to Building Running Costs Online, rics.org/ buildingrunningcostsonline.

To purchase a Price Book visit www.rics.org/bcispricebooks

BCIS Schedule of rates The independent data source for estimating construction costs

2017 rates now available Visit rics.org/scheduleofrates or phone +44 (0)24 7686 8433

2017 rates now available

BCIS Schedule of rates The independent data source for estimating costs Providing rapid access through our online platform to the latest construction cost rates for creating and benchmarking estimates.

The service now gives you: • Improved usability allowing you to enter quantities when you select the rate.

• Ability to create, save and reuse stored abstracts by rebasing with BCIS data or your own adjustment factors, enabling you to cost out individual projects and save valuable time.

• The new and improved download layout provides more clarity and faster analysis.

• Download a rate and resource build-up giving you in-depth analysis and detailed customisation.

The service provides a range of datasets to suit your individual needs including civil engineering, small and large projects, alterations and refurbishment, maintenance, dilapidations and painting and decorating.

Visit rics.org/scheduleofrates or phone +44 (0)24 7686 8433

Mayor of London to introduce Ultra Low Emission Zone in April 2019 FROM 8 April 2019, London’s most polluting vehicles will have to pay a daily charge to drive within the city centre under bold new proposals courtesy of Sadiq Khan - to curb the so-called ‘toxic air crisis’.

What’s more, the Mayor of London is proposing to expand the area of effect - dubbed the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) - across Greater London for heavy diesel vehicles - buses, coaches, lorries and the like - in 2020, and along the North and South Circular roads for cars and vans in 2021.

32

Already, Mr Khan has confirmed a £10 T-Charge - due to begin in October of this year. The ULEZ is to be its replacement however, and a period of consultation now follows.

For those unaware, petrol vehicles that do not meet Euro 4 standards and diesel vehicles that do not meet Euro 6 standards will be required to pay a ULEZ daily charge - £12.50 for cars, vans and motorbikes, and a whopping £100 for buses, coaches and HGVs - to drive through the zone; 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

As a general yardstick, petrol cars more than 13 years old in 2019 and diesel cars more than four years old in 2019 will not meet the new standards. Only London’s iconic black cabs will be exempt from the charge.

Crucially, research indicates that the introduction of a ULEZ in central London will result in a near 50% reduction in toxic road transport NOx emissions by 2020.

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: “The air in London is lethal and I will

further. I want to expand the ULEZ from 2020 for heavy vehicles such as buses, coaches and lorries so that all of London will benefit from cleaner air.

Then from 2021, I want to expand it up to the North and South Circular roads for light vehicles, including cars and vans. These measures will help improve the air that millions of Londoners breathe.

“I want to announce my intention to consult on these proposals in good time so that business and those affected by new charges will have time to make changes they need to adapt to our low emission requirements.

“Now I urge the Government to step up and match my ambition to transform the appalling air we breathe. Ministers need to deliver a national vehicle scrappage fund, reform fiscal incentives like vehicle excise duty and pass a powerful new Clean Air Act to Act end the toxic smog in London once and for all.”

Though well-intentioned, response to Mr Khan’s Ultra Low Emission Zone has been somewhat mixed. Jonathan Grigg, Professor of Paediatric and Environmental Medicine at Queen Mary University of London, was among the first to welcome the new measures: “The Mayor of London is to be congratulated in bringing forward the date of the ULEZ. Reducing diesel emissions in the congestion charge zone will reduce exposure to toxic soot particles and gases. To maximise the effectiveness of this initiative, the Government must now act to remove the current toxic fleet of diesel cars, vans and buses from all our roads” not stand by and do nothing. Today I’m announcing bold proposals which are critically needed to safeguard Londoners from our air quality health crisis.

“I am introducing a new T-Charge this October and subject to consultation, I want to introduce the Ultra Low Emission Zone in central London in April 2019. This alone will mean the capital has the toughest emission standard of any world city.

“But the scale of our air quality challenge is so big that I need to go

The Fleet Transport Association (FTA) was less effusive however, with the implications for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) an all too apparent concern. “We need to continue the improvement in London’s air quality which is happening anyway, but this regulation taking effect in 2019 will severely disadvantage small businesses working in the capital’s centre,” said Natalie Chapman, FTA’s Head of Policy for London and the South East. “The impact will be especially hard for van users, as by 2019 there will only be two and a half years’ worth of compliant vehicles in the

fleet - and no second hand compliant vehicles available for purchase at all.”

According to the Mayor of London, the Zone will extend to Greater London for HGVs in 2020 and Inner London for vans the year following - a move which has given the FTA little comfort. Ms Chapman continued: “It is encouraging that this is not happening in 2019 as had been suggested; this shows the Mayor has listened to some of the concerns that had been raised.

But the expansions of the Zone will still increase the burden on business exponentially. We are calling for businesses based in the affected area to have access to a sunset clause, such as has been offered to private residents, allowing them greater time to comply with the change required without the need for unnecessary and potentially crippling additional charges for new vehicles.

“Previously, the Mayor has called on the Government to fund a scrappage scheme aimed at owners of older diesel cars and vans: we fully support him in that call and believe it is the place of national Government to help prevent the cost burden to implement these measures falling on local authorities, businesses and residents. If such a scrappage scheme were created, it would give the Mayor the necessary room to introduce more flexibility to the London ULEZ, helping operators to avoid some of this unwieldy and unexpected burden on small businesses.”

Outlining her position, Ms Chapman concluded: “At a time when London’s businesses face an increasingly challenging trading environment, the Mayor should be taking every possible step to help the capital’s small businesses, and we will urge through this consultation for more consideration to be given to those affected by the introduction of these new measures.”

Of course, the true impact remains of the ULEZ to be seen. The hope now is that London’s many SMEs will have time enough to adequately prepare.

To have your say on London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone, please visit: www.tfl.gov.uk/airquality-consultation

33

BVRLA underscore role of the vehicle rental and leasing sector NEWLY published figures, courtesy of the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA), have underscored the sector’s central role in enabling companies and consumers both to get behind the wheel of a brand new automobile.

Following a quarterly survey of its membership, the BVRLA found that business car and van leasing fleet had grown by 6.6% year-on-year in Q4 2016. This accounted for a modest 3.6% rise in the number of cars, and a substantial 16.2% rise in the number of vans.

In terms of total car leasing fleet, survey respondents reported a much more rapid expansion than business car fleet - around 12% yearon-year. It’s also worth noting that personal contract hire contributed an overwhelming 49% of this growth.

BVRLA Chief Executive Gerry Keaney had this to say: “It’s great to see our members’ business lease fleet increasing, but the real growth is

34

coming from personal contract hire.

BVRLA members can tailor a personal contract hire arrangement to suit a driver’s monthly budget and include costs such as maintenance and replacement tyres, and it’s clear that more and more customers appreciate these benefits.”

In addition, the survey showed that lease cars emitted on-average 110.8g/ km CO2 in 2016 - around 7% less than the typical new car registered over the same period. Mr Keaney commented: “Once again, our members are leading the way when it comes to reducing emissions, but the data shows the first signs that CO2 reductions are slowing down. We believe this is a result of the Government’s motoring taxation strategy, and policymakers must address this issue by offering a progressive tax regime.”

Elsewhere, the BVRLA’s leasing broker statistics have highlighted the importance of the broker channel when buying a new vehicle. In Q4 2016, the association’s leasing broker

membership had 26% more vehicles on contract in comparison to Q4 2015, with vans showing a significant 30% increase. According to the survey, leasing brokers signed 27% more contracts during 2016 than in the previous year.

Of the total contracts, 70.6% pertain to cars and 29.4% to vans - which compares to 71.5% and 28.5% respectively at the end of 2015. With regard to leasing broker car contracts, the findings revealed that 93% are leased through contract hire (46%) or personal contract hire (47%). Crucially, this is the first time that personal contract hire has outpaced contract hire.

Commenting on this set of data, BVRLA Chief Executive Gerry Keaney concluded: “Our latest statistics show that leasing brokers are providing more and more consumers and businesses with access to affordable vehicle finance. As a lot of the growth is coming from a new audience - small businesses and consumers who are coming to leasing for the first time.”

The specifics of service through partnership The growing complexity of projects means that delivering exceptional service to customers is now almost entirely about strong partnership.

As a transport business that supports many companies in this sector, we find this is especially true of construction and infrastructure. The mixture of priorities sets the parameters for the intensity of service delivery: highly specific vehicle requirements and nationwide coverage, sometimes in remote locations, plus tightly structured SLAs, many of which are tied in to penalties if deadlines are missed.

Exceptional service is not an option, whether we are supplying vehicles to a major contractor or a smaller regional partner in the supply chain.

Specially-equipped vans and other commercial vehicles with specialist equipment and storage facilities, such as bespoke racking and shelving, need to be carefully maintained. Companies also need replacement vehicles available around the country when needed that are sufficiently adapted to meet the same requirement.

One size doesn’t fit all. The vans needed to carry cables to be laid under a road in Lincolnshire will have very different fit-out requirements to those needed for building a block of flats in Aberdeen.

Vehicles often require other specialist equipment that’s also dependent on the nature of the work. This can include safety equipment such as internal and external cameras, reversing alarms and parking sensors, as well as telematics, extra internal lighting and additional auxiliary power sockets.

For example, McNicholas Construction Services recently secured 100 additional VW Caddy Maxi panel vans from Enterprise Flex-E-Rent on a four-year flexible deal to respond to the growth in service requirements for major telecoms provider Virgin Media.

McNicholas now operates more than 300 Enterprise vans on flexible rental.

These newest vehicles enable its service engineers to respond to domestic installations within the south of England and Scotland and contribute to the delivery of outstanding and timely service.

Spencer Ward, Head of Fleet, Plant and Insurance Services at McNicholas, said: “We’ve worked with Enterprise Flex-E-Rent for a number of years and needed these new vans to be ready with a very short lead time.

It was vital that we maintained use of the exact VW Caddy specification that we have within the rest of our fleet and Enterprise delivered this precisely to ensure a seamless integration of these new vehicles.

“Enterprise were also particularly helpful working closely and efficiently with our

To find out more about the difference we can make to your business, call 0800 328 9001 or visit flexerent.co.uk

nominated fit-out specialist to ensure the specification, up to the latest safety standards, was delivered on time.”

Support and customer service means delivering new vehicles fast and specified correctly, as well as full-spec replacement vehicles when and where businesses need them to minimise downtime. Another key part of that is access to a UK-wide network of workshops, so that vehicles can be fitted out, repaired and maintained no matter where they are and what they’ve been doing.

A flexible approach to how those vehicles are financed and supplied is also essential. We need to offer a range of different options so that each business receives the package that best suits its own particular needs.

All of this is about the service the customer chooses. Receiving the best of everything is vital to an effective commercial vehicle operation – from the rental process to the detail of the fit-out. With the right support levels in place, organisations in the construction sector can continue to deliver great service to their own customers.

CASE unveil new G-Series Wheel Loaders CASE Construction Equipment has launched the seven model G-Series range of wheel loaders, said to prioritise operator comfort alongside CASE productivity and fuel efficiency.

According to CASE Construction Equipment, this is the quietest, most comfortable wheel loader cab on the market today, and it is available across a new seven model range of G-Series machines. The G-Series wheel loaders are thought to deliver the highest possible levels of visibility and control, providing operators with the perfect working environment to maximise productivity.

“Next year will mark the 60th anniversary of CASE Construction Equipment wheel loaders,” said Alain de Nanteuil, CASE EMEA Wheel Loader Product Manager. “Through the years every generation has introduced new innovations and capabilities and this all-new G-Series generation of CASE Construction Equipment wheel loaders is the biggest leap forwards.”

36

The cab is the wheel loader operator’s home and office, and it plays a major role in their everyday life. Drivers can spend many hours a day in the machine, making cab comfort and working environment an essential component of a productive machine.

CASE Construction Equipment has - in their own words - a “history of innovation”, having pioneered generations of wheel loaders since 1958. The G-Series cab takes comfort and visibility to new heights however, delivering a host of improvements.

This includes a full width panoramic windscreen, a colourful Premium Control interface with 8” display, fully adjustable seat-mounted control console, the security of a password protected ignition and the ease of automatic bucket functions adjustable from within the cab. The operator also benefits from smooth, low effort loader controls, an active suspension seat and the machine features handsfree mobile phone connectivity.

Building upon the popular CASE F-Series cab, which already boasts a best-in-class windscreen size, the G-Series loaders have a one-piece curved front screen that provides an unparalleled view from side to side, and ground to sky. Along with a slim engine cover, heated rear window and multiple rear view mirrors, the G-Series wheel loaders deliver an impressive level of front and rear visibility.

In-cab noise levels are a full 2dB lower than the previous generation of machines. The 521G to 821G loaders boast just 68dB in the cab, while the 921G to 1121G have noise levels set at just 69dB - the lowest internal levels to be seen on a CASE loader. The cabs benefit from improved primary and recirculation air filtration, with longer filter replacement intervals.

High effectiveness and Active Carbon Filters can also be supplied for tougher working conditions.

Cont'd on Page 38

THE DARTFORD CROSSING: MAKING OR BREAKING YOUR JOURNEY FEW motorists in the country will have many kind words to say about the Dartford Crossing; this portion of the M25 can make or break a journey. There is a sense of deflated acceptance whenever you join the queue for the bridge or the tunnel, coupled with unexpected closures in bad weather and the heavily criticised new payment method, Dart Charge, this small stretch of road is a source of endless frustration for millions.

Since 1991, no new crossings over the Thames have been made east of London. Each year, 55 million journeys are made over the Crossing, 6 million more than it was designed to cater for, prompting widespread calls for increased capacity over the river.

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation has criticised the crossing, labelling it “a regular source of misery for tens of thousands of motorists.”

Earlier this month, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling announced that plans for a new crossing, east of Dartford had been finalised. After a public consultation in which 47,000 responses were given, they had decided on a tunnel beneath the river, east of Gravesend and Tilbury, in combination with new roads to connect the crossing with the M25.

Source: Highways England The project is the most expensive of the three that had been considered, with the cost estimated to be between £4.4 billion and £6.2 billion and a completion date of between 2025 and 2027. The particular route was selected to have minimal impact on communities and the environment of the local area, at the same time, providing the desired benefits in terms of transport and the economy. Large infrastructure projects like this are rarely straightforward and will likely encounter hurdles on its way to construction, but motorists around the country will applaud the fact that a concrete plan has finally been announced for increased traffic capacity across the Thames.

Highways England have stated that the new crossing will unlock billions of pounds of investment

and create thousands of new jobs, in addition to boosting cross river capacity by 70%. For traffic coming from the North or the East, the new Lower Thames Crossing will provide a much better and much more reliable means to travel towards the port of Dover. Road freight will be one industry that will certainly welcome this announcement, improved journey times and a more predictable schedule will be invaluable for drivers and an estimated 4.5 million HGVs will use the new tunnel in its first year of operation.

In addition to the new Thames Crossing, Mr Grayling also announced a £10 million investment to improve the traffic problems surrounding the existing crossing at Dartford, presumably to counter the decade wait for the new crossing, and a further £66 million to widen the nearby A13.

Although the plans are very much still in their infancy, motorists all over the UK will welcome them with open arms. Steve Gooding sums it up well; “Now that this long-awaited decision has been made, drivers will be keen to know when today’s promise of shovels in the ground will actually deliver the capacity needed to ensure safe and reliable journeys.”

KE Y FAC T S ESTIMATED COST £4.4BN TO £6.2BN

70% INCREASE IN CROSS RIVER CAPACITY

OPENING 2025 – 2027

47,000 REPLIES TO PUBLIC CONSULTATION

The operator control interface in the G-Series wheel loader cab is relatively easy to use, and contributes to the overall controllability and productivity.

A bright, full colour 8” display is easy to read regardless of external light conditions, delivering intuitive navigation through machine settings and information screens. The display also provides a wide view rear monitor when required.

There is a new control pad for automatic bucket functions to be set and adjusted from within the cab.

The seat-mounted console is fully adjustable and features a wide armrest and ergonomic joystick that, combined with electro-hydraulic controls and the redesigned premium active suspension seat, delivers accurate control in all working conditions.

A joystick steering option provides two equally-sized joysticks with wide armrests on both sides of the seat, much like CASE Construction Equipment excavators. Joystick steering features speed proportional sensitivity with three settings that allow the operator to match the machine to every operation and jobsite requirement.

38

New features include an integrated microphone that, combined with a Bluetooth connection and automatic answering function, allows operators to answer phone calls safely without taking their eyes of the working area or their hands off the controls. Operators will also welcome the convenience of multiple storage areas for documents and personal effects and a fridge box option that can keep food and drinks fresh and cool all day.

All G-Series wheel loaders are powered by efficient EU Stage IV/Tier 4 Final diesel engines with no Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) or Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR). FPT Industrial’s Hi-eSCR after-treatment system uses fewer components to meet exhaust emissions standards, allowing for a compact engine compartment and reduced maintenance costs for customers. All major components are sourced and the machines are assembled in Europe.

A cooling cube, which puts the machine’s radiators and coolers in the middle of the machine rather that at the rear, ensures that cooling cores are kept out of dusty working areas to provide maximum cooling

effectiveness. Optimised weight distribution contributes to increased payload capability and machine stability.

The G Series machines drive via CASE transmissions that offer improved fuel efficiency and reduced cycle times.

CASE heavy duty axles with wet, multidisc brakes, have open differentials to reduce friction, with an optional 100% auto-lock to deliver maximum tractive effort and reduced tyre wear.

The G-Series loaders feature the new CASE Construction Equipment livery, present in all product ranges, which reinforces the core values of the brand.

“We have used trends that are being led by our automotive brands, with dark colours on the wheels and lower mechanical section of the machines and the upper bodywork in ‘power tan’ to enhance the feeling of strength,” said David Wilkie, CNH Industrial Design Centre Director. “We have also done a lot of work on graphics, moving towards a very bold, clear, 2D graphic that gives a feeling of clarity and with a reflective finish that can be seen at night.”

Easy automated payments for a paperless journey Streamline your admin with cashless payments through number plate recognition – free to use!

Parking

Washing

Recovery

Repair

Dartford

+44 (0)1603 777242 | www.snapacc.com

Daily Checks

#DrivingEfficiency

Model Army: The Chang FACILITIES management service delivery models are constantly developing. Thirty years ago, it was all in-house delivery with only very specialist services, such as lift maintenance, being outsourced to specialist companies. But as the market has matured, so have delivery models.

Although there remain examples of organisations retaining in-house services critical to their organisation, such as security in a banking environment, FM is now largely outsourced with few organisations employing more than a management layer concerned with supervising service delivery partners.

The general trend, as reported in Changing Times in Facilities Management, the 2016 report from Sheffield Hallam University, is for greater levels of outsourcing in both private and public sectors, often with a pan-European or pan-global flavour.

Research from Global Industry Analysts revealed that over 70% of end users plan to adopt multinational contracts by 2020, compared to only 40% in 2010. Currently 69% of the UK market outsources more than half of their facilities services.

But client side organisations are under numerous pressures which are affecting the way they need their FM delivered,

40

says Colin Kenton, Managing Director of FM Services at KBR, indicating that service delivery will change as a result.

He points to changing economic and political times as a result of Brexit prompting concerns over future labour supply, more collaborative working designed to improve efficiency and reduce costs across estate footprints, the challenge of managing workplace data, the need to focus on the core business and not keep unnecessary FM head count in-house, and the requirement, in the public sector at least, to support small and medium-sized enterprises by bringing them into their supply chain, as all affecting the way FM is being, and will be, delivered.

“All this change is causing organisations to reassess their FM to see if there are more innovative and effective ways of delivering facilities management to their businesses,” he says. One organisation which has successfully done just that is the Metropolitan Police which introduced The Integrator model, a matured and adapted version of the traditional managing agent model, in 2013 and has seen substantial savings, an increase in SMEs delivering services and greater supply chain performance data as a result. Kenton, who helped to develop The Integrator model, believes more organisation will look outside

the current service delivery options in the future and that models like The Integrator will grow in popularity.

Although TFM might be increasing – from 6% of the market in 2012 to 12% today according to the Sheffield Hallam research – it’s not right for everyone, says Graham Davenport, Director of Platinum Facilities and Maintenance Services, an SME expert in M&E maintenance. “The TFM model is suitable for pan-European or global contracts but smaller clients benefit from using a single service model where they receive specialist expertise from individual suppliers. Some businesses don’t want the same service provider delivering their M&E, catering and cleaning.”

Although single service accounts for 22% of the market currently, and has been declining over recent years, Davenport believes it will increase, as organisations tire of the one-size-fits-all approach and prefer a more bespoke approach – even if it means bundling single services together. Platinum, for example, will manage soft services on behalf of the client and sub-contract to a partner organisation. “The key is to be transparent about costs in that kind of model, and flexible with how services are delivered. Flexibility is what clients need.”

ging Face of FM Delivery But even when global organisations procure FM, not all choose to go down the single supplier route. A prime example is EMC, now part of Dell Technologies, which uses multiple FM partners across EMEA, many of whom do have the ability to deliver across the region but are used in a country-by-country or country cluster basis. “By using multiple partners, we get access to much more innovation,” explains Dell Technologies’ Senior Facilities Professional Bruce Barclay, who is also author of the BIFM’s Good Practice Guide to Managing FM Teams Across Borders. “If you deal with one player, however good they are, you only get the innovation as good as the thought leaders in that one company.

Whereas by partnering with several large service providers, you get access to the innovative ideas from several players and can then take an idea from one service partner in one country or region and implement it in another.” There is a reciprocal benefit for the service partners too, Barclay says, as they are exposed to more innovation which they can then deliver to other clients.

But larger players do not necessarily mean less specialist, says Andrew Sugars, a Director at FM service provider Servest which offers numerous facilities services across the UK, Europe and

Africa. While the business has grown organically, it has also undertaken several key acquisitions over the past few years in core areas such as security, catering, M&E, landscaping and pest control to complement its cleaning roots. “We provide the best of both worlds to the client – the specialism offered by experts in each service line but the convenience of one point of contact, one invoice and little need to have an extensive in-house FM team.”

But Sugars says that the greatest innovation is in how FM service providers are structuring their businesses. The days when a client in any sector, whether it be retail, professional services, logistics or distribution, would be talking to the same teams are going. “Now, we have a specialist division for our manufacturing clients to our media clients run by experts in that area. Running FM at a distribution centre is so fundamentally different from FM in a law firm, that we feel that we need separate divisions to do this. Our retail clients expect us to be experts in delivering FM in retail environments. The sector has gone through a period of unprecedented upheaval in the last ten years and retailers want their FM partner to know their challenges intimately and be more agile and customer centric with their

offering for ‘store 4.0’.”

In some ways, this is nothing knew – caterers for example, have been creating dedicated divisions or companies for their education, healthcare, leisure and corporate clients for years. But to be done on a company-wide basis for all services is relatively new. FM is clearly moving from a service-line approach – where the major service providers organised their businesses into cleaning, security, catering and M&E divisions – into a sector-based approach where the divisions are dedicated to the sectors they service from leisure to manufacturing – in some areas at least in response to the challenges faced by their clients.

The wider the service delivery options for clients and the greater willingness of service partners to innovate to find the best solution for each client, the more successful FM is going to be. These changes point to a sector which is finally gearing itself up to become a strategic business partner to its clients rather than simply a service provider. All of which is good news for FM and UK Plc more widely.

By Cathy Hayward, a writer specialising in facilities management and the workplace.

41

Unlocking Doors an The Benefits of the A ON the 4th April of this year, the Apprenticeship Levy was introduced across the UK. For some, the Levy had been a long time coming; for others, it came as a surprise and a shock to the business system. Whichever way you see it, it’s undeniable that the Apprenticeship Levy is set to be a game changer. Implemented as an attempt to help the Government double the level of funding available for apprenticeships to £3Bn by 2020, the Levy will no doubt increase the number of apprenticeship applicants as well as encouraging more businesses to source talent.

While the effects of Brexit have not been fully felt yet, there is an anticipative air, a level of uncertainty about how the UK will combat the major skills shortages following our leave from the European Union. Industries which are already facing a notable skills gap such as manufacturing, construction, engineering, IT and facilities management could therefore reap the benefits of this imposed levy. Instead of viewing it as yet another government tax, businesses should see it as a welcome opportunity and consider the

42

ways in which they can utilise it to their advantage.

Public opinion on apprenticeships is changing and has been over the past decade, with young people and businesses recognizing the practical advantages apprenticeships can bring. This can especially benefit the facilities management industry, as an industry which requires a more “hands-on” approach. Public opinion on apprenticeships is changing and has been over the past decade, with young people and businesses recognising the practical advantages apprenticeships can bring. “We are in a transitional stage where the gap in perceptions of university degrees and apprenticeship qualifications are closing. Over time, and sped up by the help of this levy, apprenticeships will become the way most employers think of training their staff,” says Glen Cardinal, Managing Director of London-based Platinum Facilities and Maintenance Services.

The Levy is only designed to affect employers with an annual pay bill of more than £3M, who will be required to spend 0.5% of the total on the Levy.

However, savvy SMEs can use the Levy as a model template, and in effect

mimic its very design and motivations.

Cardinal believes that as an SME in the M&E sector, training two apprentices per year has helped in the company’s overall growth and freshened up their approach to learning and career development. As a whole this will be of benefit to both current and future employees.

Although the Levy may be seen as a catalyst in learning and development departments for some, for others, the Levy is simply a new label for something they have been doing for years. Rob Legge, Group CEO of global leading facilities management provider Servest comments: “We were waving the ‘apprenticeship’ flag long before the idea of a levy to fund future placements was even on the horizon. Apprenticeships are a valuable part of the UK economy and the Levy should improve the prospects for young people entering employment.” Servest are in a position to measure the successes of their learning and development initiatives: the business has seen an increase in internal promotions and movement from 10% to 31%. Demonstrably then, nurturing internal talent can improve

nd Creating Inroads: Apprenticeship Levy both turnover rates and business performance.

But apprenticeships, like any relationship in business, are a two way street - the benefits gained for an organisation are certainly felt more strongly if the apprentice is valued and if their skills are utilised in the best possible way. Adrian Powell, Director of build and move specialists Active, believes an apprentice has “real potential to grow within your business, and they are arguably the most beneficial way to futureproof your workforce.” He advises businesses to “bear this in mind during training and try to keep apprentices involved in business decisions to make them feel a real part of the team - as one day they may well have taken up a more senior role”.

To prove his point, he draws on the success of Active’s own apprenticeship program which has seen Jennie Armley go from an apprentice back in 2015 to her current position as a member of their marketing team.

Powell even hints at the power of apprenticeship programs to attract diverse talent, stating: “Our latest addition to the team is doing fantastically well and it’s great to

see such a positive female role in an otherwise male-dominated sector.”

For organisations trying to advance their diversity programs and become more inclusive, apprenticeships can be a great way to do so. Unlike unpaid internships which very much cater to those who can afford to work for free, apprenticeships are open to all and are attractive to those who need to gain experience and skills in a working environment whilst earning a salary which can also support them. They also provide a route onto the career ladder which many people may not have considered. Programs like Servest’s ‘Future Leaders’, which allow apprentices to gain experience in a wide range of sectors, mean that a young woman keen to gain experience in HR may actually end up falling in love with the work she undertook as an apprentice in the building services or security division.

But while the Levy aims to increase the number of apprenticeships, it’s not just about the quantity, especially for those smaller firms in facilities management.

Quality and commitment from just one apprentice can be way more beneficial than employing several apprentices

who you have to train individually.

“In the space of 18 months, our first and only apprentice to date has been involved in everything from office admin, stock control and management, to dealing with inbound customer enquiries,” says Rob Scantlebury Head of Operations at Access Cameras. “As a small business, this has had a direct impact on our ability to grow, allowing more experienced staff to focus their time on revenue generating tasks.”

It’s fair to say that facilities management isn’t naturally the first choice for young people entering the world of work, mainly due to lack of awareness. If FM organisations create inroads for young people to explore the possibilities of the industry, then this will help with talent attraction and retention. The strongest divisions in companies have the strongest succession plans; and managerial success is often quantified by the quality of the people coming up from underneath the managers in question.

Apprenticeships place the onus on the quality of the leadership in question.

By Alice Finney, a writer specialising in workplace and the built environment.

43

Sink or Swim: How to manage the Big Data Flood THE Internet of Things (IoT) is constantly in the news. That’s understandable since forecasts anticipate that there will soon be tens of billions of connected devices, helping the IoT sector to generate more than £7.5Tn worth of economic activity worldwide. In fact, according to McKinsey Global, the IoT economic impact on factories, retail settings, work sites, offices and homes could total as much as £3.55Tn by 2025.

One area where the IoT is driving development is in smart buildings.

Today’s more complex buildings are generating vast quantities of data, but building management systems (BMS) are not leveraging that data as much as they could, and are not always capturing the right data to make useful decisions. With 42% of the world’s energy consumed by buildings, facility managers face escalating demand for environmentally friendly, highperformance buildings that are efficient and sustainable. The data collected can

44

help them to achieve this.

However, many facility managers lack the time and resources to investigate the convenient methods that can help them to turn the flood of IoT and other sensor data they’re exposed to, into actionable insights FORCED TO DO MORE WITH LESS Reduced budgets force building owners to manage sophisticated building systems with fewer resources.

This issue is further aggravated by older systems becoming inefficient over time. Even when there is sufficient budget, it is increasingly difficult and time-consuming to hire, develop, and retain staff with the skills and knowledge to take advantage of BMS capabilities.

Facility managers also face challenges maintaining existing equipment performance. Components can break or fall out of calibration, and general

wear and tear often leads to a marked decline in a building’s operational efficiency.

Changes in building use and occupancy can contribute to indoor air-quality problems, uncomfortable environments, and higher overall energy costs. These changes begin immediately after construction is complete.

Owners often undertake recommissioning projects to fine-tune their buildings. Such work is intended to bring the facility back to its best possible operation level. However, recommissioning is often done as a reactive measure, and traditional maintenance may not identify all areas of energy waste. Operational inefficiencies that are not obvious, or that do not result in occupant discomfort, may go undetected.

UPSKILLING THE CURRENT WORKFORCE

functions is one way to overcome these issues. However, vendors must be managed closely to ensure efficacy, and to ensure that outsourcing costs do not accrue significantly as third parties spend more time on-site.

IN TECH WE TRUST Technology has become an important part of building management, as BMS play an ever bigger role in how facility managers perform their jobs and operate buildings. Newer technologies like data visualisation dashboards let facility managers view building performance metrics in a single window, helping them to spot trends and gather insights. By visualising data in terms of graphs, charts, and conversion to different equivalents - for example, kWh to pound cost or kWh to carbon footprint - an experienced building operator can manually identify areas of concern for closer inspection.

Many tools have come onto the market over the past decade to help employees get a better understanding of their facilities and assist them in their day-to-day operations and long-term planning. This can include anything from dashboards and automated analytics platforms to machine-learning optimisation engines. However, much like the sophisticated BMS platforms available today, for each tool you deploy, more investment is needed in time for training. In fact, research shows that lacking training is evident with roughly only 20% of facility managers using 80% of capabilities available to them within their BMS. The remaining 80% use a very limited amount (20%) of the potential functionality in their system.

With personnel turnover and competing facility management responsibilities, many facilities are left without staff who have the time to learn the full capabilities of these tools. Of course, outsourcing different

Yet, while dashboards can be helpful in determining building behaviour, the data is often complex and challenging to interpret. In fact, even if building staff have the time and skills to review and understand the data, dashboard information alone tells only part of the building performance story. Facility managers can identify where inefficiencies exist but usually not why. This requires additional troubleshooting and investigation.

Therefore, dashboards are most effective for simple monitoring in environments where there are plenty of trained staff to perform troubleshooting and identify the root causes of issues.

ANALYTICS IS THE ANSWER To gain more from a BMS deployment, many facility managers are turning to data analytics software to interpret large volumes of BMS data. Best-inclass software automatically trends energy and equipment use, identifies faults, provides root-cause analysis, and prioritises opportunities for improvement based on cost, comfort and maintenance impact. This software complements BMS dashboards because it takes the additional step of interpreting the data - showing not just where but why inefficiencies occur. Engineers can then convert this intelligence into “actionable information” for troubleshooting and preventative maintenance, as well as for solving more complicated

operational challenges.

Using this software, facility managers can proactively optimise and commission building operations more effectively than with a BMS alone. It enables them to understand why a building is or isn’t operating efficiently so that they can introduce permanent solutions rather than temporary fixes.

For instance, with data analytics, facility managers can proactively identify operational problems such as equipment that needs to be repaired or replaced. Moreover, it can do this before critical failure and before it has an impact on the building occupants.

Repairs can be scheduled before an emergency arises, eliminating costly short-notice or out-of-hours replacement and avoiding failure and downtime. With this proactive approach, equipment becomes more reliable, the cost of replacement and repair can be much lower, and occupants are assured of optimal comfort. In fact, by following best practice, they can even reduce HVAC energy costs by up to 30%.

THE FUTURE Smart, connected technology has taken us beyond the human ability to manage what can amount to hundreds of thousands of data points in large buildings. Efficient operations require a proactive response. Analytics solutions effectively manage the new state of information overload created by a digital world and filter out what’s not valuable to you. For example, they can provide insight on how to fix problems when they are first observed, before total failure. This predictive maintenance approach means capital assets can be preserved and significant energy savings can be made. The advent of IoT means that we must shift our approach to facility management in order to deliver against the financial, wellbeing and sustainability targets of today’s facilities. By investing in a sophisticated BMS, users can uncover which data to ignore and which to act upon. After all, data for data’s sake is useless. Being able to use a building’s performance data to augment operational efficiency, increase occupant comfort, and improve overall energy consumption so that the financial wellbeing of buildings can be sustained, is of paramount importance.

By Rachel Cooper, Category Marketing Manager - Field Services at Schneider Electric

45

FIVE WAYS TO CUT COSTS ON CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS Wastage and excess expenditure are the onsite nightmare of everyone involved in the construction process.

We’d all love to streamline workflows and cut costs onsite but implementing measures that save time and money can all-to-often seem as complex and cost prohibitive as simply hoping for the best on a job-by-job basis.

However, building within a budget is essential if your business is to be successful. It’s also vital that you’re proactive and on the front foot when it comes to putting in systems and strategies that stifle over-spend and mean you don’t have to find more money when a job’s underway.

Here are five key ways you can keep overspend in check and complete projects on time and within budget.

[1] Estimate Your Costs from the outset At the outset of any project, while you’re still in the prebuild phase, it’s hugely important to ensure your estimates are accurate and thorough. Accuracy is crucial and mistakes at this early stage can result in serious financial fallout as the project progresses.

The only way to guarantee precise and flawless estimating is the use of reputable and high-quality estimation software. With the right software tool in place, you’ll be able to make correct estimates, perform digital take-offs, manage bid processes and generate comprehensive reports.

Estimation software is now extremely sophisticated and it’s possible to select a product that fits your business to a T. Instead of cover-all, one-sizefits-all, solutions you can now invest in a product that directly meets the specific needs of your business. An increased trend for fixed-bid contracts and growing competition in the market place, make accurate estimates more essential than ever. The more tailored software is to your individual business needs, the better. With the right software, estimation and for take-off will definitely help you save time and money on every job.

[2] Identify risks and uncertainties early

Identifying risks and highlighting uncertainties early on is vitally important. It will save you a considerable amount of time later in the project and we all know what time equals. It’s really important that any identified risks are assigned both cost and time implications. To not do so makes it a lot harder to analyse their potential impact on project outcomes.

It’s also worth remembering that uncertainty is not the same as risk.

Uncertainty concerns circumstances or events of which little is known whereas a risk is the fallout from an event the likelihood of which is dictated by statistical probability. Both however, can prove costly if they aren’t identified and, where possible, mitigated!

[3] Open the lines of communication and keep them open Developing long-term relationships with contractors and suppliers can be a real money-saver on projects. People aren’t going to shy away from repeat business and are willing to negotiate on price and deadlines in order to ensure they’ll be used on future projects. Even though margins are tight in the industry, almost anyone will be open to negotiation as long as they can see an advantage in the bigger picture.

Negotiating and getting the best rate from suppliers and contractors is one of the most common ways of cutting overhead costs for your business. It also enables you to build up a relationship where mutual trust, respect and quality can be counted upon time and time again.

[4] Take steps to avoid the need for rework Rework is not only exceptionally costly it also results in late delivery and, often, creates tension between the different stakeholders involved in a project. In the worst case scenario, it can lead to litigation and even damage a firm’s reputation and their ability to win new work.

Preventing (or at least minimising) the need for rework is one of the most effective cost-cutting measures you can put in place. Fortunately, technology and changes in the way the industry is

working make this, theoretically at least, a simpler process than ever before.

No matter how skilled your workforce is, working by rules of thumb, laying-out manually and the guess work of working on complex retrofit projects when you don’t know what to expect are all prone to error.

Technology and the processes it has facilitated, such as BIM, mean that it’s now possible to be far more precise in each of these (and other) areas. While changing the culture of your business away from the ‘traditional’ way of doing things into one fuelled by the collaborative philosophy underpinning BIM may seem like a challenge, the added accuracy will pay dividends. Similarly, although a robotic total station (RTS), 3D scanner or cutting edge design and detail software might feel like a hefty investment, as these begin to negate the need for reworking, you’ll soon reap the rewards in terms of time and cost.

[5] Hire versatile staff who can comfortably multitask Staff who can undertake more than one job are priceless and achieving optimal productivity from every employee is a guarantee of success. During the hiring process, look for workers who can fit into multiple roles and can manage several tasks at once. With a versatile team you can get more output with less input. Also, treat your staff appropriately. View our top tips for a happy and productive workforce here.

We are working in a time of considerable change in our industry but this shouldn’t be viewed as an obstacle to cutting costs onsite. Happily, developments and innovations in technology provide ideal opportunities to manage and take control of construction expenditure.

Far from being difficult to implement and operate, many such solutions are designed to be outstandingly user-friendly. They’re also, typically, designed by industry professionals who intrinsically understand the day-to-day needs of contractors in the field.

Visit Trimble MEP for more tips to help you cut costs on your next project.

Visit Trimble MEP for more tips to help you cut costs on your next project

Trimble Field Link for MEP Trimble Field Link for MEP enables one person to handle layout faster and more accurately than two people using a tape measure, reducing labour costs and eliminating mistakes that lead to costly re-work.

Robotic Total Station

Field Tablet & Software

Provides continuous measurement information for the accurate layout of your design data. One person can accurately layout hundreds of points in a single day.

Reduce errors by exporting hanger points or cable tray attachment locations from your models to the field software for easy field location and staking.

mep.trimble.co.uk 0800 028 28 28

The Value of BIM in Han DESIGN and construction teams are typically contracted to deliver a structured information handover package to support a client’s asset operations and maintenance at a project’s end. How often is this handover information checked for completeness, accuracy and appropriateness at the point of receipt?

It’s very likely the answer to this question is ‘never’!

This goes some way to explaining why asset owners and facilities managers can often struggle to ensure an asset delivers against its expectations (cost or scope) in the early years. So, there’s a case to be made that facilities managers can be more upfront to clarify all preferences and expectations of the information they need on day one. BIM and a collaborative approach to building design, construction and handover can play a crucial role in taking us even further along the path towards better executed built assets and less headaches for all.

When they are handed the keys at the end of a construction project, what a facilities manager (FM) will be typically given is a box, be it virtual or physical, filled with information and data. That box should contain explanations on

48

building maintenance, equipment warranties, security operating instructions and asset lists among other things. This information may be in all kinds of formats, including paper and digital media like CDs and USB keys.

To complicate matters further, vital building-related information risks being lost during the handover of that box.

When the facilities manager notices that there is information missing, they will need to spend unwanted time tracking down historical project information. This is a waste of efforts, not least because of the labour involved. The information that is resurrected after the ordeal often might be inaccurate or incomplete. In the worst-case scenario, that data can’t be recovered and the FM then must undertake a fresh survey of the building or part to capture its as-built condition.

The result of this is a cost paid twice over by the building owner for a survey (and for the maintenance contractor) which should only have to happen once.

On the other hand, assume that every piece of data handed-over was proper, complete and future friendly. Not only that, but it was relevant with all immaterial information either filtered

out already or organised so that it could be easily sorted and made usable for the next twenty years. Then, the information could contribute to the improved ongoing operation of the building, not just now, but for years after the handover.

What’s all of this got to do with building information modelling (BIM)? BIM lets information flow seamlessly from the start of a construction project all the way through to facilities management.

It articulates to the client everything from floor plans and layouts to materials used, asset shelf-life and required maintenance schedules – essentially, it depicts what products are in the building, where they are, how they work, and how they all fit together.

It relates objects in a model and links them to each other for the greater understanding of all parties involved in the design, construction, operations and ongoing upkeep of the structure.

What this means in the long term is enhanced predictability and the opportunity to take early steps towards proactive FM action; they can realise the full value of their asset over its useful life through cost-, sustainabilityand time-effective operation and maintenance. With BIM, facility

ndover and Maintenance managers can visualise facilities being created, helping them to understand project intent. BIM lets them see into the future – it lets them see the effect individual design features will have in the immediate future, that very evening and in the days following.

BIM can also act as a bridge between different stages of the handover process. Where teams implement Common Data Environments, such as Aconex, workflows can be automated on a shared, neutral platform, whilst providing a comprehensive information resource accessible by interested parties and shared during or after the project. In this way, the risk of losing asset information created earlier on in the project is lessened. Accurate information should have been recorded, verified, and submitted in a timely fashion throughout the process, not just collected at the end.

It is common for FMs to be concerned that they haven’t been involved in contributing to the design of the building and that this makes their job harder. What BIM will mean for them is working not harder, but smarter. New working practices encourage, through embracing BIM, a need to involve asset owners and facilities managers

to understand the information they require on handover. It will mean bringing people together. Facilities managers do not have to know everything about CAD technology or 3D modelling – but they can still have an important say during design, can impact the result, and can ensure the information handed over by the contractor fits their specific needs.

How do we achieve this collaborative way of working? By encouraging open conversation between all disciplines.

The direction of travel in the industry will eventually lead to a point where facilities management experts can help and educate others within the design and construction stages on the longterm benefits of using BIM to aid the asset lifecycle. A specific role comes to the open BIM formats like IFC (Industry Foundation Classes). It’s an international data standard for BIM which allows communication between parties during the project, irrespective of the software platforms they use, and makes sure that the data can still be read in ten years and more. It creates rules and foundations for collaboration to ensure that everybody is speaking the same language.

Without sophisticated digital handover tools, contractors are scrambling

to retrospectively gather project information at practical completion to deliver to the owner, or risk penalties or late payments. Even then much of this information is inaccurate and/ or incomplete. BIM gives owners a multidimensional model of the asbuilt asset, but more importantly, the opportunity to develop a structured digital information source of the asset so that the design can be modified and approved while testing its constructability. In the future, the facilities manager has the opportunity to influence the quality of the information they receive, including a complete digital representation, and a geospatial view, with all relevant project and handover information detail included.

Education affords many things. In our line of work, it opens doors and windows so that clients are fully conscious of the data they will need to make their lives easier. With more meaningful insights added every day, digital twins will emerge as the digital replica of physical buildings. Harnessing that sort of cutting-edge technology can elevate facilities management to a new space.

By Steve Cooper, General Manager UK & Ireland at Aconex.

49

XS CAD PROVIDES PRE – CONSTRUCTION, BIM AND 3D MODELING SERVICES TO RETAILERS, HOMEBUILDERS, ARCHITECTS, GENERAL CONTRACTORS AND MEP ENGINEERS

We currently work on projects in a number of regions including the US, UK, Canada, Europe and Australia.

We are an ISO9001:2008 quality certified company and an early adopter of technology within construction. We were amongst the first to use BIM software and online collaboration technology in several of our key markets.

Our team of engineers, architects and interior designers use the latest technology from Autodesk to create high quality 3d models and design documents that are used for construction planning, design and installation.

MEP S ERVICES

We provide MEP designers and MEP trades with a range of MEP design and contracting solutions and services including: • BIM Coordination Services • MEP Design Services • MEP Modelling & Interference Analysis • Pre – Fabrication Design Support • Plant Room Modeling & Coordination

ARCHITEC TUR AL S ERVICES

We provide architects, retailers and homebuilders with a range of architectural design and detailing services including: • 3D Revit BIM Models • Concept Design Drawings • Design Development Drawings • Rendered Image Production Virtual Reality Modelling: XS CAD has launched its immersive experience service ‘Virtual Reality Modeling’ recently. XS CAD uses 3ds Max to create models and realtime walkthroughs with teleporting features to provide real-world experiences for designs based on standards established by clients. Using VR models, homebuilders, retailers, architects and designers will be able to showcase their designs, elevations and layouts in a real-world environment.

www.xscad.com

UK (tel): (+44 (0) 1527 518 880) (E): info@xscad.com US (tel): (+18882859115) (E): usa@xscad.com INDIA (tel): (+912226876456) (E): india@xscad.com

Massive Attack: Protecting smart buildings against cyber threats UK Construction Excellence’s Matt Brown speaks with Vince Warrington, Founder of Protective Intelligence, about the emergence of smart building technology and the evolving cyber threats facing unsuspecting companies.

Vince is a leading Information Assurance and Cyber Security expert with over 15 years’ experience heading-up large-scale, organisationwide IT and cyber security programmes for central Government departments, blue chip private companies and well-known voluntary organisations across the globe.

Vince founded Protective Intelligence in 2005 to provide an optimum IT

and cyber security service to enable organisations to effectively prevent accidental data leaks, secure their IT networks successfully and deliver robust security awareness training for all staff and stakeholders. His mission is to educate businesses, charities and Government departments to move away from traditional IT security models, to one where everyone within an organisation works towards the common goal of protecting information through joint responsibility and co-ordinated thinking.

WHEN PEOPLE HEAR THE TERM ‘CYBER SECURITY’ THEY MAY THINK

OF THINGS LIKE NORTON OR MCAFEE ON THEIR PCS BUT IT’S IS MUCH BIGGER THAN THAT, ISN’T IT? What people may think of when it comes to cyber security - the likes of Norton and McAfee - we call ‘end point protection’. This basically just protects a single computer but actual cyber security is much wider than that.

It involves everything from what people might think of as typical hackers and expands out to what happened with the US election. It is massive - you have nation states fighting each other in cyber space; you’ve got serious organized criminals making millions and millions of dollars from cybercrime. It is a pretty big area.

SOME PEOPLE SEE HACKING IN FILMS AND IT SEEMS TO BE MAGIC TOOL FOR THE BAD GUYS TO WREAK HAVOC BUT WHAT REALISTICALLY CAN HAPPEN IF A SMART BUILDING WAS TO COME

52

UNDER ATTACK? We’ve had one not too long ago in Finland. Hackers managed to gain control of a smart building’s air conditioning system and managed to turn it off remotely.

Some might look at this scenario and think ‘so what?’ - just go back in and turn it on again.

However, what people might not realise is that these systems are collecting a lot of data at the same time. When we look at the future in terms of concepts like smart cities, buildings might be talking to each other to make sure they’re making the best use of energy. If that was to be tampered with, a cybercriminal could have ability to knock the lights off in a person’s building because the one next door has been compromised.

An attacker could decide to crank up the building’s energy usage by turning up all the high energy consuming functions such as the air conditioning.

It has implications for everything from people’s houses right through to data centres and power stations.

We are at this stage where smart technology is being put into many areas but what tends to happen is that they think of the use for it rather than the security around it; the security is very much an afterthought.

Quite often, the devices used have very simple administrator credentials; things such as ‘administrator’ and ‘password’ as default log in details that have never been changed since initial set up.

If you have a fully smart building it is entirely plausible that somebody could get into those systems and carry out attacks that could disable lifts when they’re in use or even switch off fire monitoring systems.

Sometimes you would need to get access to the building itself depending on how the devices are setup but quite often, you could send an email to the appropriate person in the building with an attachment on it that contains a device called a ‘key logger’. This would record every keystroke you make on your computer and send it back to the hacker. They will then know remotely the user names and passwords for getting into the building’s systems.

COULD SOMETHING LIKE THE SMART METER ROLL-OUT BE COMPROMISED? The people rolling the programme out will say that they conducted all their tests and I’m sure they have but experience tells me that, inevitably, somebody will find a weakness because there is always one somewhere. You can test for the most common stuff but you just can’t test for everything.

Typically, what a cybercriminal will do is use something called a ‘zero day exploit’. This is a hack or flaw that nobody else has seen before to manipulate that system.

This is really hard to defend against because even the manufacturer of the device hasn’t seen that flaw or that kind of attack before so it’s really difficult to stop.

The concern for people at home is that it is entirely possible for false energy consumption figures to be sent back to the supplier.

DO PEOPLE THINK THAT CYBER SECURITY IS JUST SOMETHING THAT DOESN’T APPLY TO THEM? I think with the general public, there is a feeling that it is something they don’t really need to worry about. In business, although awareness is getting better, there is still a mind-set of ‘why would anybody want to hack us?’

One of the things you have to say to people is their data has value to somebody else. We’ve heard of incidents where companies have been hacked by their competitors to find out what they’re bidding for a tender.

The private sector is starting to get it but there is still an element of people burying their heads in the sand and thinking it’s just the IT department asking for money for something with flashing lights on that they view as non-essential.

COULD YOU TELL ME THE KIND OF DISTRESS AND DISRUPTION RANSOMWARE COULD HAVE UPON AN SME BUSINESS? SMEs are particularly vulnerable to ransomware. It is almost like a virus with a specific design. Once you become infected, it then encrypts all the data that it can find on your computer and servers. Until you pay the ransom, you cannot use that data and it essentially turns your computers into stone.

There are only two ways out of this; the first is to restore all your data from a backup, which is time consuming and even for an SME, could take days to recover all the information. That’s assuming the backups are current and haven’t been also been corrupted.

The other option is to pay the ransom.

Most authorities would recommend that you don’t do that. As a last resort, you might be tempted to do so but there are no guarantees that your data would be released. The hackers already have what they want - your money.

SMEs are especially susceptible because they tend to have less strict back up regimes and controls. If you are in the building industry and you’re constantly sending and receiving information like Word documents and PDFs in your email system, this makes

53

you quite vulnerable because the infected files are usually masquerading as those types of documents.

DO CRIMINALS TARGET CERTAIN DEVICES MORE THAN OTHERS? Windows devices are attacked the most simply because of their numbers.

It may surprise a lot of people but something like 90% of the entire world’s computers run a version of Windows.

There’s a myth that Apple devices don’t get hacked or don’t have viruses but it’s simply a numbers game. If you’re a cybercriminal, you go for the biggest pool because that’s where you get your most success.

In terms of mobile devices, Android is attacked more than Apple. The primary reason for this being that Android is open architecture so people can see how it works and manipulate it. Apple, on the other hand, keep their operating systems very tightly under control.

We are also seeing smart systems and the Internet of Things (IoT) devices get hit quite a lot these days. Primarily because they are used to create what are known as ‘Botnets’ and then used to undertake a DDoS attack.

You might remember in the news last year when half the Internet dropped off one day - this was because of a DDoS attack.

It’s like the London Underground; in normal hours everything flows fine but in the rush hour, as soon as you get ten times the number of people trying

54

to get through the system, everything jams up. It’s the same principle with these IoT attacks using a bit of code to flood the target with too much data until the target company or website’s servers just basically stop working.

That again is because these smart devices have very poor security and are very easy to manipulate.

IS THE THREAT EVOLVING AND IF SO, HOW CAN SECURITY KEEP PACE? If your laptop has Microsoft Windows 10 on it for example, you will often find there are regular security updates.

Things like anti-virus and operating system software get updated quite regularly and most of this happens in the background without the end-user even noticing.

The problem we have with smart buildings is that those systems, as they stand at the moment, are quite difficult to update. Things like smart meters have a basic, stripped down computer inside them without much security bolted on top. The issue is having those devices connected to the Internet and then getting the manufacturers of those to supply update and patches.

Quite often we will see a device come onto the market and then because technology is moving so fast, manufacturers will drop support for it shortly afterwards.

One of the things that the Government will have to examine is making sure that the manufacturers of these products are regularly updating the devices with the latest security

patches. That really should be the responsibility of the manufacturers rather than the people installing it into buildings.

I don’t think a building company should necessarily need a massive team of cyber security experts looking at every single device they plug in. They should be able to trust that the device is secure and the manufacturers make sure it is secure by default.

IS ENOUGH BEING DONE TO TRACK DOWN CYBERCRIMINALS? In the past, if somebody came into a Post Office with a balaclava and a shotgun, you are probably going to be able to narrow down the search quite quickly, whereas nowadays if somebody comes into your virtual finance system and steals money, that person could be sat at computer in Kazakhstan. There’s a real problem in attributing who is undertaking the attacks.

The launch of the new National Cyber Security Centre a few weeks back is part of the Government’s efforts to encourage businesses to take cyber security more seriously. Ultimately, there is only so far governments can go in regulating; it’s down to individuals and businesses to make sure they are taking it seriously.

The EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR or GDPR), which will essentially replace the Data Protection Act from May 2018, is something else businesses must consider.

UK Summit 2017 16 May 2017, London The Summit is the first of its kind to address the major touch points of change, presenting the UK's built environment sector with both unprecedented challenges and opportunities in the coming years.

Attend key sessions to: • Hear about the current and future trends in global real estate markets with our keynote address from JLL EMEA CEO Guy Grainger.

• Listen to an interactive panel discussion with Arup Associate Global Foresight Manager Josef Hargrave, L&Q Development Director Andy Rowland and British Land Head of Office Leasing Michael Wiseman on how UK real estate can and should respond to changing workspace, and changing lifestyles.

• Discuss with Heathrow Development Director Phil Wilbraham, along with other contributors from the road and rail sectors where the opportunities in UK infrastructure currently lie.

• Observe an in-depth interview session, including Cushman & Wakefield James Maddock looking at how disruption can positively impact your business.

Book now and join senior attendees from high profile companies.

View the programme and book now at rics.org/uksummit

The difference between the present system and the new regulations that should make businesses sit up and take notice is that currently the Information Commissioners Office can fine companies a maximum of £500,000 for a data breach. The most they have ever fined any company is £400,000 and that was when Talk Talk got hit a few years ago.

The new regulations can hit firms with fines of up to €20M or 4% of global revenue - so that’s a significant increase.

One of the other aspects is that as soon as you become aware of a data breach where personal data has been lost, it must be reported within 72 hours.

There is now a lot of incentive to ensure people start taking cybersecurity more seriously because you’re going to end up with an Information Commissioner levying some massive fines on people.

IS EITHER PUBLIC OR PRIVATE SECTOR TAKING THE INITIATIVE ON THIS? I don’t think either are driving it

56

particularly well at the moment. We currently have a situation where the Government doesn’t really want to mandate any sort of security standards onto businesses.

Their feeling is that the EU GDPR will do that for them. There is a real reluctance within government to mandate security although they obviously will be giving out guidance advising companies to take the threat seriously but won’t actually force any compliance.

In terms of the private sector, it is getting better. We are now getting boards of big companies realising this is a problem that just can’t be passed off to the IT department to deal with and represents a genuine business risk.

Unfortunately, what tends to happen is a company gets burned by one of these things and only then they decide to take it seriously. We need firms to appreciate it is a big risk before they become a victim.

There is an unwillingness within senior management levels to say that this is something we have to take seriously because it’s not their world; it’s not something they understand - it’s just IT stuff to them.

One of the things we’re trying to do is get around to companies and make them aware that is a business risk. It’s not about an IT or technology risk, it’s about how you react as a company when a ransomware attack occurs and you can’t access all of your data; you can’t pay your staff because everything is frozen.

How do you act as a business if you go and install devices into buildings that turn out to be massively insecure?

How do deal with the reputation damage?

Inevitably somebody will put up a big building in Canary Wharf, something bad will happen and it won’t be the manufacturer to blame - it will be the property developer and the construction firms who suffer the reputation damage.

The message is clear, industry, government and public need to be aware of their cyber security requirements and keep up-to-date.

Cyber Essentials can put you on the path to a safer digital future.

Looking for choice in construction and contracting software?

No matter what size your construction or house building business, how fast you want to grow, or what stage in the project lifecycle you need to streamline, Eque2 is likely to be the last software provider you’ll ever need to buy from.

Contractors

Enterprise Contractors

Estimators

House Builders

Contractors

Enterprise Contractors

It’s important to manage your job costing processes effectively to protect your margins and have visibility of your cash flow. Eque2’s construction-specific software for small-medium businesses with Sage Accounts at its core, helps you monitor cash flow, manage variations, and reduce costs and enhance margins by increasing efficiency.

With very tight margins, your construction business needs to run at optimal efficiency.

Eque2’s construction ERP software, built on Microsoft Dynamics NAV, helps your projects come to completion on time – and to budget – by giving you full control of your commercial, financial and operational processes and your data.

Estimators

House Builders

Managing subcontractor enquiries and processing accurate and consistent estimates is key to any estimator. Produce fast, accurate and consistent tenders, budget cost plans and final accounts with Eque2’s pre- and post-contract construction estimating software.

No matter the size of your housebuilding business, managing processes and information from one phase to the next can be complex and lead to inaccuracies. Gain a competitive advantage with Eque2 house building software to increase speed, efficiency and accuracy; from land-purchase through build and sales to customer care.

www.eque2.co.uk | 0845 080 4940 | construction@eque2.com

Unlocking Economic B to boost Bedfordshire BUSINESSES large and small are set to benefit from two new roads in Bedfordshire, both of which are fast approaching the final phase of construction.

Highways England’s A5-M1 Link - a 2.8 mile dual carriageway which will create a new junction along the M1 and improve east-west connectivity between the A5 and the motorway - and Central Bedfordshire Council’s Woodside Link - a 1.8 mile road adjoining a number of industrial parks to the new M1 junction - are already benefitting organisations and their ongoing growth, and attracting all manner of new businesses to the wider Dunstable region.

Iftikhar Mir, Highways England’s Major Projects Director overseeing the A5-M1 Link, said: “The M1 is the backbone of the national road network, and the improved links that Highways England and Central Bedfordshire Council are creating near Dunstable will help businesses of any size to connect to

58

their customers anywhere in the UK and beyond.

“Whether it is helping an established business invest and grow or attracting new operators to the area, these new link roads will benefit Bedfordshire, the region and the entire country.”

Since the schemes first began in early 2015, more than 50 contracts have been signed for industrial and distribution space across Dunstable, Houghton Regis and Leighton Buzzard, generating an additional 2,500 jobs regionally. What’s more, this investment is thought to amount to an astounding £2Bn boost for the local economy.

Transport infrastructure has a vital role to play in unlocking economic opportunity. In Bedfordshire, businesses are beginning to sense the benefit of improved access to both the M1 and the wider road network. The availability of skilled workers - thanks in part to the planned HRN1 housing

development, which will introduce more than 5,000 new homes north of Houghton Regis - is another key consideration for companies looking to invest.

According to Highways England, the business parks are filling up fast. A tranche of new developments are likely to free up a further 52 hectares of commercial space however, with sites available for occupancy from winter 2017/18 onwards.

THE BUSINESS CASE In light of the new A5-M1 and Woodside links, there are many reasons a business might establish a Bedfordshire presence.

Bodybuilding.com is a fitness website and supplement store with sales of $0.5Bn and growing. Established in 1999, the Idaho-based business has humble origins - having initially operated out of a domestic garage but now supplies to customers in 127

Benefit: New road links e economy by £2Bn countries around the globe.

Since 2015, the US Company’s European operation has been based along the A1-M1 corridor in Houghton Regis. Caroline Underwood, Bodybuilding.com’s Vice President of Operations UK, was on-hand to explain why: “Central Bedfordshire stood out on the map as the ideal location, with a hub of employable people within the resident population.

Business has more than doubled for Bodybuilding.com since it arrived in the UK and our current warehouse and office facility has plenty of room to create more jobs.

“Improved transport links to the M1, via the new junction 11A and the Woodside Link, are another key part of the infrastructure, offering fast access to the M1 and airport links for quick and easy transport to international markets.”

Signature Flatbreads is another such business. Beginning as a modest

family-run, London-based baker in 1984 - known then as Honeytop Signature Flatbreads has emerged a world leader in flatbread production, with state-of-the-art bakeries in the UK and India.

In 1995, Signature Flatbreads relocated to larger premises within the A1-M1 corridor near Dunstable to accommodate a wider product range and ever-increasing customer demand.

David Laurence, Signature Flatbread’s Commercial Director, said: “Given that we have a 24 hour production facility supplying fresh and long-life products with daily deliveries to all UK retailers, we have a constant flow of delivery vehicles collecting goods with booking slots to meet at their end destination.

“We rely heavily on the road network to deliver our products so better, less congested links thanks to the A5-M1 and Woodside links will make it easier for us to meet our commitments to our clients.

“And if it also means that our

employees arrive on time and in a better state of mind then so much the better!”

At a cost of £162.1M, the awardwinning A5-M1 Link involves the construction of an entirely new dualled road, three new junctions including an additional motorway connection, and six new bridges.

Crucially, the scheme will unlock up to 40 hectares of land for business use and deliver infrastructure enough for 7,000 new homes to be built north of Houghton Regis. Access to the M1 via the A5 will also be substantially improved and congestion through Dunstable’s town centre markedly reduced, offering motorists consistently faster and safer journeys.

Elsewhere, the nearby £38.3M Woodside Link will also alleviate congestion on local roads and provide better access to the M1 from the Dunstable and Houghton Regis regions.

59

Highways England give behind the sc A Highways England Project Manager has given a sneak preview of progress to date on the largest road upgrade currently under construction in the UK. Four months have passed since the £1.5Bn A14 upgrade began in Cambridgeshire. Now, word of the innovative feats of engineering and archaeological finds is being made public for the very first time.

For those unaware, the landmark A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement programme began in November of last year, and a great deal of progress has been made in the intervening months.

It is thought that the upgrade - which applies to the A14 between Ellington, west of Huntingdon, and the Milton junction on the Cambridge Northern Bypass, and includes the widening of the A1 between Brampton and Alconbury - will relieve congestion, unlock growth and better connect communities across the East of

60

England.

project nears completion.

Chris Griffin, A14 Project Manager at Highways England, was on-hand to explain more: “As yellow diggers have become a familiar sight along the A14 corridor in Cambridgeshire, drivers will have noticed the changes along the existing A14. But there is plenty happening that they might not have noticed.”

Chris went on: “We are committed to keeping the main roads at full capacity during the day, so we only use overnight lane or carriageway closures if it is absolutely necessary. Like, for instance, if we need to install signs or barriers, carry out pavement surveys or strengthen the carriageway where heavy machinery will need to cross on a regular basis.

On matters of traffic management, Mr Griffin remarked: “The narrow lanes, temporary speed limits, cones and barriers we’ve installed allow workers to build accesses for construction traffic and carry out vegetation clearance ahead of the bird nesting season while keeping disruption on the road to a minimum and keeping road users safe.”

“We’ve also installed CCTV cameras along the A14 so we can actively manage disruption to road users from a dedicated control room within the scheme’s main compound. This helps us to stay aware at all times of conditions on the road and to take measures quickly if things don’t go to plan.”

With sustainability an obvious concern, any trees felled as part of vegetation clearance will be used as fodder for local biomass energy production.

Saplings will also be planted once the

All of which is fairly typical of a largescale improvement programme. To learn more about the schemes most distinctive aspects, we must first venture away from the A14’s roadside.

cenes insight on £1.5Bn A14 upgrade According to Mr Griffin: “A significant part of the scheme is a new bypass, including a viaduct over the River Great Ouse, which will run south of Huntingdon. This bypass is a brand new road so is being built away from the existing A14, with no disruption to road users other than when plant occasionally cross local roads while travelling along the new construction haul roads.

“Work on this section of the project is progressing well and to schedule.

Building the 750 metre long River Great Ouse viaduct, which will carry the new A14 across the flood plain and river, is a complex task. The first step has been to install a pontoon which has a 52 tonne capacity, allowing fully laden dump trucks and plant access across the river. This pontoon is allowing us to install a temporary bridge so we can start building the viaduct itself.”

Construction of the foundation and viaduct columns is also underway, with plans announced for later this

year to begin installation of the steelwork that will support the bridge’s deck and the casting of some 800 concrete panels required.

Chris added: “We have also been building foundations for several of the new bridges. People may have noticed our construction teams installing giant steel cages along the A1 recently.

Once these are in place, concrete will be poured around them to form the bridge foundations and we’ll be able to start building the bridges themselves.”

Archaeology is a key consideration as well. Here, a dedicated archaeological team has made considerable progress, excavating great swathes of land following a period of extensive surveys and trial trenching. As of April, important archaeological remains - some of which date back to the prehistoric era, others to the RomanoBritish and medieval periods - have been unearthed.

identified some 350 hectares of land that our archaeologists would need to look at.

“Most of the remains show evidence of settlements or industrial activity, including a well-preserved series of Romano-British pottery kilns, some carving tools and even the remains of a cow.”

Further excavations are scheduled to take place throughout 2017, and the team has made public plans to present its findings to the wider community once the archaeological dig is finished.

In conclusion, Chris gave his opinion on progress to date: “I am pleased with progress so far on the scheme. We have a challenging timetable to deliver the scheme and open the new A14 to traffic by the end of 2020, so it is good to see the speed at which work is progressing as well as the innovative solutions we are using to tackle challenges.”

Mr Griffin clarified: “The trial trenching

61

62 

PRECAST Explore Offsit e E d u ARCHITECTURAL 18cation Event th May 2017 & STRUCTURAL SOLUTIONS Visit us at

Click here to b your ticketsook

At FP McCann, we believe in working with you as a partner from the start, which means offering our expertise in designing and manufacturing rooms to suit every individual project. Far from being an off-the-shelf solution, our architectural and structural solutions are made-to-measure, whilst maintaining our design philosophies and standard details.

Our precast concrete crosswall construction is a fast and convenient way to produce multi-unit structures such as hotels, education, student, secure and health accommodation, private and social housing in a fraction of the time of traditionally built structures.

SALES@FPMCCCANN.CO.UK FPMCCANN.CO.UK BYLEY OFFICE 01606 843500 LONDON OFFICE 020 3905 7640 63

Thames Water’s £250M Deephams transformation a team effort WORK is well underway at Deephams Sewage Treatment Works, where a £250M upgrade has begun to take shape. According to Thames Water, there’s barely a scrap of space at the 170 acre site that isn’t a hive of activity. And yet, despite its many interconnected elements, the upgrade has yet to interfere with Deephams’ daily running.

A wholesale transformation is taking place. Deephams is being brought headlong into the 21st century in terms of output, energy generation and odour control, though the waste of some 800,000 residents remains the priority.

This is no small feat. To date, it has required considerable effort from both Thames Water’s customer liaison operation and the men and women of AMK – the joint venture of AECOM, Murphy and Kier responsible for the works.

Using pure and simple circus terminology, it has been something of a tightrope walk. Process streams have had to be taken offline and refurbished without any loss in capacity.

Complicating matters is a near constant stream of inbound sewage, which cannot be stopped. What’s more, there can be no compromise in quality - discharged water must be maintained throughout.

For Rachel Groves however Community Engagement Manager at Deephams - the scheme has brought out the very best in each of the disparate organisations at work. “Working hand-in-hand, the operational and project teams have gone to extraordinary lengths to understand and appreciate each

64

other’s strengths and weaknesses.

They’ve shared tasks on-site, gathered and shared information openly and honestly and this has led to a common understanding and shared goals.”

In part, Thames Water attribute this success to a truly sustainable approach as Ron Gulliver, Environmental Manager at AMK, explains: “By reusing the original site and many of the original structures, the design reduces the need for waste to go to landfill.

The earth removed while structures such as tanks were under construction has been kept on-site to reduce lorry movements and, where possible, some elements of the new process have been constructed at factories offsite to reduce the need for concrete structures to be built here.

“Every effort has been made to consider the scheme’s environmental impact - even down to building new nest-boxes for the birds on-site.”

As Community Engagement Manager, Ms Groves also has a role to play. Engagement with the wider community and those most affected by the upgrade is absolutely critical.

Here, Thames Water has taken the rather unconventional step of inviting residents on-site to view progress firsthand. Collectively, their feedback has also helped inform the transformation process from a neighbourhood perspective.

Rachel continued: “In addition, we’ve raised more than £20,000 for local and national charities and fully embraced Thames Water’s Give Someone a Start scheme, helping people with challenges who may have been out of work for a while to get back in work by

offering experience here.

“Working with the local JobCentre Plus, our candidates were put through a construction industry programme and helped to obtain an NVQ level 2 in health and safety. And from the original course, five from the eight are now in full-time employment, two of them right here.”

Unfortunately, it’s too soon for Thames Water to rest on its laurels. With much left to be done, the transformation is likely to last until August of next year.

What Deephams does show, however, is that large-scale infrastructure improvements can be made without compromising essential services.

Jim Jenkins, North Central Operations Manager at Thames Water, said: “Since we started, we have had a number of unique challenges and to date each of them has been tackled by the five teams which feed into Team Deephams, pooling their resources together and approaching the issues with a desire to overcome, improve and get the best solution for the site.”

Thames Water Project Lead Martin Hoff concluded: “We have a fantastically enthusiastic team of people at Deephams who are working tirelessly to achieve great results in a demanding project and operational environment.

“It is a testament to the spirit of true collaboration and forward thinking that we have been able to overcome the many challenges faced and deliver real success for Deephams. With the next phase just getting under way there are more exciting times ahead for Team Deephams. Keep up the good work!”

United Utilities outline plans for North West water and wastewater network HOUSEHOLDS across the North West are set to benefit from an unprecedented investment which will significantly improve water provision in the region over the coming 12 months.

Water supplier United Utilities plan to spend the multi-million pound sum through the 2017/18 financial year. A programme of essential engineering works will safeguard water supplies, reduce leaks and sewer flooding, and better protect rivers and bathing waters.

In Blackpool, work is well underway on priority schemes at Anchorsholme Park and Lennox Gate, with more than £100M expected to be spent.

Collectively, this investment will reduce sewer spills on the Fylde Coast and build upon the improvements made to local bathing waters.

By the year’s end, a multi-million pound upgrade to wastewater treatment works at Blackburn and Darwen will begin in earnest and improve overall water quality in the River Ribble. What’s more, a £70M upgrade at Morecambe wastewater treatment works will enhance the environment for shellfish and bathing waters in Morecambe Bay. Across Greater Manchester, work continues on a £200M modernisation programme at Davyhulme wastewater treatment works in Trafford, which will bolster the amount of treatment and enable the plant to keep pace with an ever-increasing population.

In Oldham, an £80M project to boost water quality in the River Irk continues apace with the construction of a new sewer pipeline and the introduction of enhanced processes at Oldham wastewater treatment works. Before the end of the year, work will also commence on a £20M upgrade at Failsworth wastewater treatment works and a £22M infrastructure scheme to provide additional storm water storage at Snipe Clough and the wider Oldham region, with a view to reducing pollutants in the River Medlock.

In Cumbria, a brand new £300M pipeline will transfer water from Thirlmere reservoir to West Cumbria, safeguarding existing water supplies and protecting such sensitive environments as the River Ehen.

Meanwhile, in Kendal, a £12M upgrade to the town’s wastewater treatment works will improve water quality in the River Kent. Ulverston will also benefit from a £22M project to reduce pollution of local watercourses during heavy rain, while work continues in Carlisle on a £13M scheme to clean key water mains across the city.

Finally, in Cheshire, a programme of wastewater infrastructure investment will include £13M at Winsford, £20M at Crewe and £45M at Ellesmere Port.

This will substantially improve the quality of water returned to local rivers, bringing benefits to wildlife and the wider community.

Each of these projects forms part of a £3.5Bn investment programme for the North West water and wastewater network, running between 2015 and 2020. This investment will be part funded through customers’ water bills which, on average, are set to rise from April 1 to around £419 per household up £8 on last year. The increase of 2% is due to inflation and is broadly in line with other regions of the UK. Louise Beardmore, United Utilities' Customer Services Director, commented: "Back in 2015 we committed to keeping customers’ bills as low as we possibly could over the next five years while still delivering all the service improvements that our customers expect.

“The small increase in bills this year is less than the rise in inflation. It means householders in the North West will have all their water and sewerage services for around £1.14 a day, half the price of a cup of coffee on the high street.

"We know for many of our customers that any rise may put more pressure on them as they juggle household bills.

We have lots of ways we can support people who might need help to make their water bill more manageable.

"We are here to help whether that's a payment scheme which might help or other advice on how to lower your bill and save money."

65

Balfour Beatty chosen for Glasgow Queen Street Station redevelopment NETWORK Rail has appointed Balfour Beatty to undertake £16M worth of enabling works for the redevelopment of Glasgow Queen Street Station.

The contract will see platform buildings demolished and the construction of a new operations building ahead of the platform being lengthened to accommodate four-carriage trains.

Staff facilities will be relocated to a new building built on the North Hanover Street side of the station ahead of the demolition works.

The works are part of Network

Rail’s £742M Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme to improve connectivity between the two cities, accommodate increased passenger capacity through the station from 20 million to 28 million by 2030, and significantly reduce congestion.

of Glasgow Queen Street Station will generate additional community benefit through our commitment to local employment and apprenticeships and will further support the region’s economy, creating opportunities for SMEs.

Balfour Beatty has recently completed work on the new Edinburgh Gateway Railway Station and is currently providing services on the Dundee Railway Station and hotel.

“This is an exciting development in the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme, and will allow for evergrowing passenger numbers passing through Scotland’s third busiest railway station.”

Hector MacAulay, Balfour Beatty Managing Director for Scotland, commented: “The redevelopment

Enabling works are due to get underway shortly and are expected to take a year to complete.

Energy Minister backs island wind THE Government must recognise the overriding importance of island renewables to the UK energy market, Paul Wheelhouse said ahead of talks with his UK counterpart in Stornoway.

66

Scotland’s Energy Minister and the UK Energy Secretary Greg Clark co-chaired the fifth meeting of the Scottish Islands Renewables Delivery Forum in Stornoway last month.

Outlining his case, Mr Wheelhouse commented: “Our position on island wind is both consistent and very clear - we must do all we can to enable our island communities to benefit from this substantial resource, large enough to meet 5% of total UK electricity demand, provide significant boost to decarbonising our electricity supply, and would be worth up to £725M to local economies.

Discussion focused on the UK Government’s recent consultation which backtracked on support for wind projects on the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland. The development of proposed major projects alone would trigger initial investment of £2.5Bn.

“The planned projects on the Western and Shetland Isles would face extremely high locational transmission charges to provide electricity to the mainland. That is why an appropriate support mechanism is so important to help unlock very significant capital

investment from the private sector and community-owned developers as well as, in turn, underpinning the investment case to National Grid for vital islands grid connections.”

Scotland’s Energy Minister concluded: “Responses to the UK Government’s consultation show the case for supporting island wind projects is stronger than ever - our own submission was robust and credible.

The projects under discussion would deliver tangible economic benefits to the communities involved while helping to ensure resilience in GB market electricity supplies.”

Shortlist of four battle for £50M A96 contract FOUR design consultancies or joint ventures have been invited to bid on a contract for a 26-mile stretch of the A96 from east of Huntly to Aberdeen.

The contract, worth up to £50M, on the eastern section of the Scottish Government’s ambitious programme to dual the A96 from Inverness to Aberdeen by 2030, will awarded later this year.

Contractor appointed for social housing scheme in Edinburgh ESH Border Construction has won a £1.5M tender to transform a dilapidated Edinburgh care home into much-needed social housing.

The Livingston-based company will internally reconfigure St Stephen’s Court in Calder Gardens to provide 29 one bedroom properties for Edinburgh City Council.

The local authority says that the building, which has lain derelict for five years, will be refurbished “to provide an asset that meets current housing needs and demands.”

Esh Border Construction expects to start on-site shortly with a projected completion date of December 2017.

It will improve the energy efficiency of the building through increased insulation and double glazing, along with more efficient heating systems.

In 2010, the Council and its Health, Social Care and Housing Committee agreed to purchase the property for temporary accommodation.

However, no plans were taken forward at that point. In 2015, the local authority resolved to seek “a cost effective and sustainable solution to bringing the building back into use”.

City of Edinburgh Council believes that the completed apartments “will contribute to improving the health, physical security, standards of living and the right to an individual, family or social life for the future tenants”.

Regional Managing Director of Esh Border Construction, Simon Phillips said: “We are pleased to have won this significant tender, which continues our relationship with City of Edinburgh Council.

The company, which recently achieved an Investors in Young People silver accreditation, is part of the City of Edinburgh Housing Asset Management Framework, and provides general fabric repair work across the Council’s extensive housing stock of some 19,800 homes.

“We’re looking forward to now commencing work on St Stephen’s Court.

Built in 1976, St Stephen’s Court was a purpose-built sheltered housing complex, providing 34 bedsit flats within the Calders Estate. Due to the small size of the flats, previous owners Castle Rock Edinvar found it increasingly difficult to let them and approached the Council to discuss alternative uses for the building.

“We hope that the new apartments will help to improve the area’s social and economic prosperity and attractiveness, while supporting City of Edinburgh Council’s vision of sustainable housing that is fit for the 21st century.”

“We expect it to progress quickly, delivering much-needed accommodation in west Edinburgh as the local authority continues to deliver on its housing pledges.

The four consultancies or JV invited to tender for the works are AECOM Limited; Amey Arup Joint Venture; Atkins WSP Joint Venture and Jacobs UK Ltd. Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work, Keith Brown, said the project would provide years of work for the successful bidder and create significant opportunities for many SMEs as roles are sub-contracted out.

Mr Brown said: “This major contract marks a further milestone towards the dualling of the A96 with all the investment and improvements that will bring to the North East and the Highland’s, including improved journey time and reliability, improved connectivity and improved road safety for all those who use this key artery connecting Scotland’s two most northerly cities.

“When this contract is awarded later this year, design work for the eastern section will step up a gear with route option assessment work getting underway. This contract will also provide the successful bidders with steady work for years to come and many more opportunities for small and medium enterprises through subcontracted work, so it will be a boost for the local and national economy.

“At the same time, we are progressing other parts of the A96 dualling programme with draft orders published for the Inverness to Nairn (including Nairn Bypass) late last year. Design work is also underway for the western section between Hardmuir and Fochabers and we hope to let the public see and comment on the options being developed in the summer.”

67

Green light for ‘world’s largest’ floating wind farm The reimagining of Dumfries as a so-called ‘Learning Town’ has taken another step forward following a groundbreaking ceremony at ‘The Bridge’ - an innovative new educational facility intended to drive opportunity and benefit the wider region.

Stylish and contemporary, The Bridge is to be built adjacent to the King George V Sports Complex on Glasgow Road.

It will help those hoping to attain the specialist skills and knowledge needed for further education and employment.

This is the most recent undertaking by hub South West - a construction and infrastructure focused partnership which works alongside forward thinking companies in Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway.

What’s more, it marks a major milestone for Dumfries Learning Town which aims to roll-out education on a ‘whole town’ basis; to ensure education of the highest quality with students benefitting from common timetables,

68

shared resources and improved facilities.

The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by officials from Dumfries and Galloway Council, hub South West and Graham Construction - the contractor responsible for the development.

Graham anticipate construction will last until winter of next year.

Michael McBrearty, hub South West Chief Executive, added: "Dumfries Learning Town an exciting and ambitious project of which hub South West is thrilled to be a part. With work on the St. Joseph's modernisation and development of the new North West Campus well underway, Phase I of the whole-town learning initiative is progressing well.

Jeff Leaver, Chair of Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Education Committee, said: "Dumfries Learning Town is vital to the future of children in and around the Dumfries area as we strive to deliver first-class educational facilities which are fit for the future.

"The Bridge will be a modern and innovative approach to supporting the additional learning and further education of youngsters in the Dumfries area so it is fantastic that plans have now moved forward. We will be on-site in the coming weeks."

"We are making excellent progress on all our projects, but The Bridge is a key component of the DLT development.

This groundbreaking ceremony marks the start something special. The young people of tomorrow will be able to take advantage of this fabulous undertaking."

A hub South West partnership enables cost-effective design and construction of community facilities within South West Scotland. The aim is to deliver value for money and generate lasting growth in the local economy through a new method of partnership working and procurement.

Interplan Panel Systems Interplan Panel Systems guide to washroom health & safety WHEN designing your washroom, style and appearance are important, but these elements need to be combined with safety and practicality. Interplan Panel Systems have picked out the top six health and safety and practicality considerations to bear in mind when specifying your commercial washroom.

Safety: One of the most, if not the most important factor to consider when starting your washroom project is the safety of its users. Safety features can range from ensuring that doors have anti-finger trap locks right through to making sure that doors can be lifted off the hinges in an emergency situation.

Many of Interplan’s commercial washroom cubicles have lockable doors with emergency release locks, to ensure that day to day privacy is met but in an emergency access can be gained.

Space & Accessibility: Busy environments with a high footfall will need appropriate and spacious washrooms to accommodate users of all ages and abilities. Providing adequate space for your users is important not just for safety but also for comfort and it’s important to ensure that your commercial washroom environment is accessible for everyone. All of Interplan’s washrooms can be supplied to comply with the latest DDA Regulations ensuring access and comfort for all.

Lighting: The colour and lighting of a commercial washroom is more important than you may think. As well as sufficient lighting for safety purposes, the Light Reflectance Values should be taken into consideration for different areas to meet with DDA regulations. You can also use materials that provide a refreshing, light and spacious environment such as Interplan’s Coolite range manufactured from toughened safety glass.

Maintenance: As well as being a top health and safety issue, the cleanliness of commercial washrooms is an important factor in terms of user satisfaction. You may be surprised how many people are deterred by unclean or faulty facilities.

Interplan’s Splash range in Solid Grade Laminate is hard wearing, durable and easy to maintain. The access of IPS Ducting should also be considered to ensure that problems can be accessed and fixed easily, with minimal disruption.

Hygiene: As well as materials that can withstand being cleaned appropriately, having the right facilities for users to ensure their hygiene is also essential.

Interplan provide a range of washroom accessories including liquid soap dispensers and hand dryers that help promote a clean environment for all.

Privacy: Of course, an integral feature of any public washroom is an appropriate

level of privacy, though sometimes it can be tricky to ensure that your washroom provides both a welcoming environment and the privacy level that users require.

Interplan’s Urban range is a great choice for ensuring privacy as well as creating a clean, sleek appearance. It is flush fronted and available in standard height and floor to ceiling height, offering maximum privacy.

Interplan know that washroom health and safety is paramount. With over 30 years of experience, they offer a unique combination of distinctive, original and safe solutions, all fitted by their specialist installers. For further information contact a member of their team on Tel: 0141 336 4040 or visit www.interplanpanelsystems.com

Green Investment Bank acquired

by Macquarie-led consortium THE much-anticipated privatisation of the UK Green Investment Bank has borne fruit following an unprecedented £2.3Bn bid on behalf of a Macquarieled consortium. Comprising Macquarie Group, the Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 5 (MEIF5) and the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), the consortium is poised to take ownership of the Green Investment Bank and has pledged to safeguard its mandate for environmentally responsible infrastructure.

Once fully transitioned, the newlyrealigned Green Investment Bank will oversee some £4Bn worth of green infrastructure initiatives, courtesy of investors MEIF5, USS, GCP Infrastructure and the UK Government. The aim here is to establish three new investment platforms; one for offshore wind, another for low carbon lending, and a third for green infrastructure investment.

Discussing the acquisition, Daniel Wong - Head of Macquarie Capital in Europe - said: “It is a privilege to be selected by HM Government to acquire the Green Investment Bank.

The Green Investment Bank is a pioneering business, with outstanding people, expertise, credentials, brand and networks. By combining the Green Investment Bank with the largest infrastructure investor in the world, we will create a market leading

70

platform dedicated to investment in the low carbon economy in the UK and beyond. We understand the responsibilities that come with this ownership, and we are fully committed to maintaining its green purpose as we grow the business.”

And grow the business they shall.

The Green Investment Bank is set to become Macquarie’s central platform for green infrastructure investment, both in the UK and abroad. The financial provider is already a substantial investor in the UK’s renewable energy sector, and it will now look to integrate these energy concerns with those of the Green Investment Bank.

Crucially, both the Green Investment Bank brand and its sizable Edinburgh presence will be maintained - welcome relief to the organisation’s existing workforce, I’m sure. What’s more, Macquarie has elected to honour the Green Investment Bank’s aim of £3Bn in new investment for renewable energy initiatives over the coming three years - either directly or by wrangling capital from other investors. Funding will go towards energy efficiency initiatives, bioenergy and energy from waste, onshore and offshore wind, solar and tidal energy, and energy storage.

Responding to the acquisition, Lord Smith of Kelvin - Independent Chair of the Green Investment Bank (GIB)

- commented: “Macquarie has made significant and important commitments to the UK Government to maintain GIB as a discrete entity within its business, maintaining GIB’s investment focus and approach with a target to invest more capital each year than GIB has historically. Macquarie will also uphold GIB’s green investment principles and report transparently on GIB’s green impact. Macquarie will utilise the market-leading expertise of the existing GIB team and will build on GIB’s deep commitment to Edinburgh.”

Collaboration with the UK Government - via UK Climate Investments and the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy - will continue in spite of the privatisation. Furthermore, both the Green Investment Bank and the Government will contribute to a new renewable energy investment platform to manage a small number of existing assets and initiatives.

Lord Smith concluded: “GIB in private ownership can, and should, continue to play an important leadership role in supporting the global low carbon transition and the UK Government’s ambitious plans for a strengthened industrial strategy and emissions reduction.”

Subject to an in-depth regulatory approvals process, the transaction will be finalised in the first half of 2017.

OFFICIALLY SUPPORTED BY

Up-to-date UK and International news Exclusive features & interviews Interactive content & resources Engage directly with industry experts and professionals

DELIVERED BY

POWERED BY

£1Bn infrastructure investment confirmed by Welsh Government THE Welsh Government has confirmed its commitment to delivering £1Bn of capital infrastructure investment through innovative finance, using the new Mutual Investment Model (MIM). The MIM was launched at an event held on March 24 2017

by Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford, Health Secretary Vaughan Gething and Education Secretary Kirsty Williams, each of whom provided an update on the three schemes being taken forward to potential partners.

Firms from the finance and construction sectors can expect to hear more about the model and schemes, including assurance provisions and development timelines, in the near future.

Professor Drakeford said: “The Welsh Government have been carefully designing the MIM to finance major capital projects while protecting the public purse.”

The three new projects are completion of the dualling on the A465 from Dowlais Top to Hirwaun; the much-anticipated Velindre Cancer

Centre, and a significant tranche of the next phase of the 21st century schools and education programme.

Professor Drakeford said: “Over the last 18 months, we’ve worked closely with the Office for National Statistics and experts at the European Investment Bank to carefully design and secure our new Mutual Investment Model. It has been designed to promote and protect public interests, while also providing the right mix of incentives to private partners.

“I am pleased we’ve had such an interest from potential private partners.

It is a clear sign that the market is interested in working alongside the public sector on these three important schemes.

“We are continuing to face unprecedented challenges to public finances so it is vitally important that we unlock all opportunities to boost infrastructure investment. This new public-private partnership model will deliver a £1Bn capital infrastructure investment boost for crucial transport, health and education schemes.”

Economy Secretary announces £2M investment for Welsh ports ECONOMY Secretary Ken Skates has invited ports across Wales to bid for their share of a £2M sum of Welsh Government funding to develop the nation’s ports.

The Ports Development Fund will support the growth of Welsh ports, helping ensure they continue to be a key contributor to economic growth and provide opportunities for new jobs within the industry.

Economy Minister Ken Skates said: “It’s clear that continuing and improving links both within Wales and internationally is as important today as it has ever been, and our ports play an important role in this regard.

“We want to see our ports continue to contribute on a local, regional and national level, helping drive a more prosperous and united Welsh economy and I’m delighted to announce this new fund today, which will see our ports come forward with proposals for how best they would use public funding to achieve this.

“I look forward to seeing the proposals and to carry on working with ports across Wales to build on the good work already evident, ensuring they are ready to overcome any challenges and maximise all opportunities.”

72

UWTSD seeks development partners for joint venture THE University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) is seeking development partners for a unique joint venture as part of the much-anticipated £300M mixed-use SA1 Swansea Waterfront works.

The University proposes to develop 23 acres of land at SA1 Swansea Waterfront and contribute to the wider dockside regeneration. Of this, eight acres have been set aside for the creation of a new waterfront development currently on-site.

The joint venture initiative will enable the redevelopment of the remaining 15 acres for residential and commercial use, with the distinct possibility of incorporating UWTSD’s existing tenanted commercial properties within the waterfront region.

Understandably, the University is determined to capitalise on any and all opportunities arising from the recent City Deal, and transform its landholding into an effective regeneration partnership for the benefit of Swansea and Wales as a whole.

Ray Selby, SA1 Development Director at UWTSD, was on-hand to explain more: “This is an exciting opportunity for the right partner or partners to work with us to unlock the potential of our SA1 Swansea Waterfront site, which is expected to generate profitable returns.

It comes at a time when Swansea is on the UK and International agenda following the City Deal announcement which has the potential to transform the whole region and put it on the world stage.

“Such a venture will be an exciting opportunity for the partner or partners to make their mark in Swansea at such an exciting time for the city, whilst maximising UWTSD’s commitment and contribution to sustainable economic regeneration in the area. We welcome expressions of interest from local businesses and from further afield as we seek to widen the visibility of this exciting scheme. With our next Meet the Buyer event taking place in London, we will also be seeking to highlight the development opportunities in SA1 to the financial sector and will continue our engagement with local businesses via our on-site Marketing Suite.”

Following expressions of interest, a tender process is anticipated to launch in June with the aim of appointing the preferred partner or partners by late summer 2017.

Project team for £350M Specialist and Critical Care Centre takes shape PROPERTY and construction consultancy Gleeds has been appointed project and cost manager, joining principal contractor Laing O’Rourke, to deliver the £350M Specialist and Critical Care Centre (SCCC) in Llanfrechfa, Wales, for the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board.

The announcement follows approval of the Full Business Case by the Welsh Government at the end of 2016. The 470 bed, 55,000sq m new build hospital will provide complex specialist and critical care treatment for over 600,000 people in South East Wales, and includes a 24 hour acute assessment unit and emergency department.

The Laing O’Rourke/Gleeds team will use the latest Building Information Modelling technology (BIM level 2) to bring the scheme to life, with completion scheduled for spring 2021.

Director for Gleeds in Wales, Simon Williams, commented: “We are absolutely delighted to have reached this important milestone with the official sanction marking a turning point for the project. Having worked with the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board since 2007 through the development of the business case process for Welsh Government approval, we are best placed to drive this project forward to deliver a much needed state-of-the-art specialist facility for the area.”

““The SCCC is a major part of delivering our Clinical Futures Strategy and everybody associated with the Health Board is extremely excited about this state-of-the-art hospital which will help us to provide 21st Century healthcare for the people of Gwent.

The Specialist and Critical Care Centre is a core element of the wider Clinical Futures Programme, through which Aneurin Bevan University Health Board is developing its integrated healthcare provision, from community and primary care services right the way through to specialist and acute services.

“We now look forward to working with Gleeds and Laing O’Rourke to make the plans for this new hospital a reality, with work on the building’s foundations beginning this summer.”

Judith Paget, Chief Executive of Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, added:

“We have fantastic support from local people living in the Health Board area as they understand the benefits this new hospital will bring.

A period of market benchmarking is currently being carried out to validate the construction prices with the Welsh Government before enabling works begin on-site in August 2017.

73

£60M in Aston Martin contracts up for grabs in Wales ASTON Martin contracts worth more than £60M are up for grabs to businesses all over Wales following the Welsh Government’s decision to open up its Sell2Wales procurement platform to the luxury car manufacturer, First Minister Carwyn Jones has announced.

74

announce that we have now opened up our Sell2Wales procurement channel to Aston Martin. This is exciting news for Welsh business as it is the first time the channel has been used to award private sector contracts.

This is the first time that private sector contracts have been advertised on Sell2Wales. Welsh SMEs will now have “easy access” to a raft of contracts being awarded by Aston Martin for work linked to the preparation and commencement of production at its new St Athan site.

“The move means that Welsh SMEs will now have easy access to the range of contracts being advertised by Aston Martin for work on the St Athan site and when combined with for example active supplier development from Business Wales could potentially mean over £60M of contracts coming to Wales.

Aston Martin contracts worth several million pounds have already been advertised on Sell2Wales, with the Ammanford-based contractor TRJ being one of the main beneficiaries, having secured a contract for Phase I of the initial St Athan works.

“Aston Martin is already having a positive influence on the economy of Wales with more than 40 Welsh workers already employed at the Gaydon site and we know that many more job opportunities will follow before 2020.

The Welsh First Minister made the announcement ahead of an official ceremony to mark the commencement of Phase II. He said: “I am delighted to

“The company’s move to St Athan is a major success story for Wales and I look forward to continuing to build on our working partnership with the

company in order to bring maximum benefits to our economy and enhance our worldwide reputation.”

Dr Andy Palmer, President and CEO of Aston Martin added: “We are delighted to have made another significant step forward on our St Athan journey, as we develop the former MOD site to our new manufacturing facility. Being able to use the Sell2Wales procurement channel has enabled us to promote the various contracts we have to a wider audience within Wales and beyond.”

Last year, Aston Martin announced it had selected St Athan from 20 potential locations worldwide for its second manufacturing facility as part of a £200M investment in new products and facilities.

The St Athan site is expected to employ 750 workers before 2020, with many more jobs for the local supply chain.

What’s more, it is estimated the move will bring economic benefits worth half a billion pounds to Wales.

Precast Concrete Solutions

Drainage

Retaining Walls

Specialist Precast

Water Management

Rail

Off-Site Solutions

The CPM Group is a market leading manufacturer of concrete products, with production facilities across the UK. This, combined with a network of specialist distributors, enables us to provide our customers with complete coverage.

The CPM business is built on a solid reputation for delivering high quality products and providing a first class service, with diversification and innovation a key to our strength, we supply a vast range of sustainable precast products to every sector of the construction industry, fully supported by our experienced technical and engineering teams who are here to help you.

To download our BIM product information and our free Redi-Rock™ design software please visit www.cpm-group.com

T: 01179 814500 F: 01179 814511 E: sales@cpm-group.com www.cpm-group.com

Concrete for Life

Wales “open for business” amid employment inroads A noticeable rise in Welsh employment levels is yet another indication that Wales is open for business according to the Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Cairns.

Newly publish figures, courtesy of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), have shown that the employment rate in Wales has risen by 0.5% across the quarter and 0.9% over the past year.

It’s an encouraging trend, and one that is mirrored throughout the UK. According to the ONS, national employment has risen 0.1% quarterly and 0.5% annually. In fact, the employment rate across the UK is now at its joint highest level since records began.

Headlines figures from the Labour Market Statistics include: • Employment in Wales is up 6,000 over the quarter and stands now at 1.466 million. Over the year, Welsh employment rose by 11,000.

76

• Economic inactivity is down

18,000 over the quarter to 441,000, while the rate has fallen 0.9 percentage points to 23.2%.

Over the year, inactivity decreased by 16,000 and the rate fell 0.8 percentage points.

• Overall, employment in the UK has risen by some 39,000 over the quarter to 31,841 million. The rate increased 0.1 percentage points, finishing up at 74.6%. Over the year, employment rose by 312,000 with a rate increase of 0.5 percentage points. The current employment rate is at a joint record high.

• Total UK unemployment decreased by 45,000 over the quarter to 1.559 million, with the rate also falling to 4.7%. Over the year, unemployment dropped off by 141,000 and the rate by 0.4 percentage points. Tellingly, it has not been lower since July to September 1975.

• Unemployment in Wales is up 8,000 over the quarter to 74,000.

Over the year however, the level shrank by 2,000 and the rate was down 0.1 percentage point.

Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns commented: “I’m delighted to see that 6,000 more people are in work across Wales than three months ago and the unemployment rate is lower than it was this time last year.

“Companies are continuing to demonstrate their confidence in the Welsh workforce, as I saw for myself at Aston Martin in St Athan. This prestigious company’s investment will create a lasting legacy for the region, bringing 750 jobs and a further 1,000 across the supply chain to the area. The Ministry of Defence’s £330M contract awarded to General Dynamics UK will also support 300 high-tech jobs in South Wales.

“The UK Government is committed to ensuring that Wales remains open for business. I hope more companies will follow Aston Martin’s lead and decide to invest in Wales.”

Choose endless vision with our frameless systems Structural Frameless skylight frameless sliding patio doors

Find out more on our website flushed threshold www.slimlinealuminium.co.uk

Here to work closely with our clients to bring concepts in structural glazing, aluminium design and manufacturing into reality.

sales@slimlinealuminium.co.uk

€5M scheme announced to part fund deep retrofit homes THE Minister for Communications, Climate Action & Environment Denis Naughten has announced a new multiannual scheme to provide financial support to people who want to upgrade their homes to an A rating on the Building Energy Rating (BER) scale.

€20M funding package for rural Ireland unveiled THE Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Heather Humphreys, has been joined

by Michael Ring - Minister of State for Regional Economic Development - to announce €20M in funding for rural towns and villages as part of the ‘Action Plan for Rural Development’.

The Ministers made their joint announcement during an event held at the Tuar Ard Arts Centre in Moate, County Westmeath.

Up to 300 towns and villages are set to benefit from the funding under the ‘2017 Town and Village Renewal Scheme’, which will be made available through local authorities over the next 15 months. The scheme specifically targets rural towns and villages with populations of 10,000 or less. Applications can range from €20,000 to a maximum of €100,000.

Funding of up to €200,000 will also be considered for those projects that demonstrate exceptionally strong economic benefit to towns and their outlying areas.

Minister Humphreys commented: “The Action Plan for Rural Development, which was launched in January of this year, contains over 270 actions across Government to help rural Ireland achieve its full economic and social potential.

Ireland’s towns and villages are the heart of our rural communities and it is important that we continue the

78

task of rebuilding and breathing life back into our rural towns and villages and their hinterlands to enable them to become hubs of economic activity, where people want to live and work and meet at a social level.”

“Following on from the success of the 2016 scheme, I am allocating €20M for an enhanced programme this year which will benefit up to 300 towns and villages right across Ireland. This year’s scheme will place an emphasis on measures which have a clear economic impact on rural towns and villages. Some funding will also be available for art works in public spaces which reflect the culture of a town or region and involve participation by local artists, which was a commitment under the Action Plan for Rural Development.”

Minister of State for Regional Economic Development, Michael Ring TD, said: “The scheme will again be administered through the Local Authorities, who will be required to work closely with local businesses and local communities to develop and implement ideas that can make a real and sustainable impact in revitalising rural towns and villages across the country. Successful town and village revival is most likely to be achieved where there is close partnership between the community, public and private sectors.”

The allocation of €5M will fund major energy efficiency upgrades to homes and low carbon heating systems. It will be administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). The scheme will meet up to half the cost of upgrades for individual householders.

Launching the 2017 SEAI Energy Show in the RDS, Minister Naughten said: “Deep retrofit is a significant upgrade to bring a home as close as possible to Nearly Zero Energy Building standards.

People live in a wide variety of homes across a broad swath of locations and they live in very different circumstances be they homeowners or renters. We need to develop a range of solutions that will work for everyone. Achieving the transition to a low carbon energy system in our existing housing stock is not just an Irish challenge, it is a global one. But we need to develop, from the bottom up, a range of solutions to create the evidence base for what really works in Ireland. Critical as it is to reduce carbon emissions from our residential sector, it is as important to reap the additional benefits that come with making a home low carbon, such as lower energy bills and improved health and comfort.”

The Minister concluded: “As Ireland becomes increasingly connected in the information age, where smarter homes fuelled cleanly and efficiently, we can bridge the gap between global challenge and national responsibility.”

Belfast City Council progress with exciting new developments DEVELOPMENT of two new leisure facilities in east and west Belfast is a step closer this month.

Planning permission has been granted for the redevelopment of the Robinson Centre in Castlereagh and the Brook Activity Centre in Twinbrook. These developments form part a £105M programme, courtesy of Belfast City Council, to improve leisure provision across the City.

The £20M transformation of the Robinson Centre will see existing leisure and community facilities replaced with a state-of-the-art site - the emphasis being aquatics. A 25 metre by eight lane gala pool with

accommodation for 250 spectators will feature alongside a 20 metre long training pool, a four court sports hall, a 140 station fitness suite, and outdoor five-a-side pitches. A new community centre will also be incorporated as part of the build.

What’s more, a £15M rebuild of the Brook Activity Centre will emphasise outdoor leisure provision, with a new GAA pitch including two football pitches across its width, three indoor and three outdoor five-a-side pitches, ten team changing rooms, a hurling wall, playground, and ‘trim trail’. A 25 metre four-lane swimming pool, five court sports hall and 60 station fitness suite will also be provided.

“We are delighted to see our Leisure Transformation Programme moving forward,” said Councillor Peter Johnston, Chairman of the Council’s Planning Committee.

“This programme is a substantial investment in the future health and wellbeing of both the City and its citizens, with each of the new centres deliberately designed to offer different facilities. We now look forward to construction work on both these projects beginning over the summer, and to the facilities becoming operational in the early part of 2019.”

Construction activity rises at fastest pace for five months THE rate of expansion remained strong in the Irish construction sector amid reports of improving client demand.

New order growth was sharp and only marginally weaker than in February.

Constructors responded by raising their own input buying and employment levels. Business confidence remained positive as firms generally expect recent improvements to continue over the coming year. The Ulster Bank Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) - a seasonally adjusted index designed to track changes in total construction activity - rose for the second month running to 60.8 in March from 57.9 in February.

This pointed to a sharp monthly increase in total construction activity, and the most marked since last October. According to respondents, strengthening customer demand was the main factor leading activity to rise.

Commenting on the survey, Simon Barry, Chief Economist Republic of Ireland at Ulster Bank, noted that: “Growth in Irish construction activity accelerated further in March, according to the latest results of the Ulster Bank Construction PMI survey. The rate of overall expansion picked up to a five-month high last month, as the headline index rose to 60.8 from 57.9 in February signalling robust expansion of activity. There was a very sharp acceleration in commercial activity which took the Commercial PMI to its highest level since last October, in the process leaving commercial as the strongest performing activity category last month. Housing activity continues to expand at a very rapid rate, albeit that the pace of growth in residential activity eased modestly in March.

Civil engineering remained an area of weakness, however, with respondents

reporting a fifth consecutive decline in activity.

“Other details from the survey also highlight the strength of the ongoing expansion in activity. Strong demand for the services of construction firms was very much evident in further substantial increases in new orders, employment and input buying last month. And respondents continue to judge the sector’s outlook to be very favourable, with improving economic conditions, strengthening client demand and plans for business expansion cited as important sources of support. Indeed, confidence about future activity prospects edged higher in March with more than 57% of respondents anticipating a rise in their activity levels over the coming twelve months.”

79

Ulster General Hospital welcomes first intake to new inpatient block BAKERHICKS - a multi-disciplinary design and engineering specialist - is celebrating the successful completion of Ulster General Hospital’s latest phase, bringing one of the largest redevelopment projects in Europe that much closer to completion.

The newly built ‘Inpatient Ward Block’ (IWB) admitted its first intake of patients early last month. Standing seven storeys tall, the 288 single bedroom facility forms part of the Phase B Redevelopment Programme, which will provide Ulster Hospital with two new ward blocks. BakerHicks is responsible for the civil and structural design of Phase B, which began in 2013 and has attracted £232M in investment.

A busy hospital environment makes for a challenging construction programme however. All works had to be carefully coordinated with little or no impact to ongoing services or access to public and blue light routes. Particular focus was given to vibration analysis so as not to interfere with sensitive imaging and scanning equipment, operations or

80

patient care.

Detailed planning and sequential implementation was therefore key, as was consultation with the client and associated construction partners.

Here, information sharing - supported through the use of 3D modelling - was essential.

Design of the 30,000sq m IWB prioritises comfort with 12 wards spread across four levels, each comprising 100% single, en-suite bedrooms to maximum patient privacy.

The IWB also features four operating theatres, an endoscopy suite, cardiac cath lab, aseptic suite, a pharmacy department and cafe.

Robbie McKillop, Director for the Public Sector at BakerHicks, said: “Hospitals are very design intensive projects, with very specific requirements that need close collaboration and coordination with regards planning and delivery.

They also tend to be heavily serviced buildings in terms of M&E provision, which demands the highest levels of

skill, expertise and experience in terms of design.

“This complex and large-scale project was particularly challenging as it had to be completed in a live acute hospital environment, whilst maintaining access to essential clinical services.”

Work on the next element of the capital redevelopment project - dubbed Phase B3 - commenced in April 2016. This will involve the design and build of a brand new Acute Services Block (ASB) which will house a new emergency department, inpatient imaging and specialist wards. A temporary link bridging the IWB and the Critical Care Complex will also be put in place to allowing patients and staff continued ease of access during construction.

BakerHicks, formerly Morgan Sindall Professional Services, was awarded the Civil and Structural Design contract by The South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust (SEHSCT).

Healthcare Estates Conference. Exhibition. Dinner. Awards.

10-11 October 2017 Manchester Central

200+ 3,849 No.1 Official 2016 Total attendance including visitors, delegates, speakers & dinner guests

Companies exhibit their latest products & services

Event in the UK for health estates, engineering, and facilities professionals

Call: 01892 518877 for stand availability or for more information visit www.healthcare-estates.com

Book your stand today... @HCEstates

Space Only

Meet specifiers and decisionmakers responsible for controlling NHS budgets

£350 +VAT per M

2

Contact the team for further availability and prices.

Call: 01892 518877 email: healthcare@stepex.com

Event Partner Event Sponsor Principal Media Partner

Present and demonstrate your expertise to a highly targeted and motivated audience

Gain valuable feedback and insights that can feed into your new product and business development processes

VIP Sponsor

Healthcare Estates is a truly unique event in the UK market – the only national conference and exhibition to bring together those who fund, design, build, manage, and maintain the UK’s healthcare facilities.

Raise your profile in the healthcare sector, and gain a genuine competitive advantage

Talk directly to ‘front line’ staff about the challenges they face and how your products and service can help them to address them

Shell Scheme £385 +VAT per M2

Contact the team for further availability and prices.

Call: 01892 518877 email: healthcare@stepex.com

Supporters

Enterprise Ireland urge SMEs to ‘Prepare for Brexit’ WITH Article 50 well and truly triggered and Brexit now a mere formality, thoughts turn to life outside the European Union - the practicalities and the implications, not just for the UK but also Ireland.

The Irish republic is our closest neighbour after all, and its economic performance is inexorably tied to our own. Many of Ireland’s small and medium-sized enterprises operate throughout the UK, be it over the border or across the Irish Sea. As such, the separation process and uncertainty that follows may test the Irish economy in more ways than one.

With this in mind, Enterprise Ireland has made public plans for a series of nationwide ‘Prepare for Brexit’ roadshows - the first of which is set to take place at the Maryborough Hotel in Cork on 3 May. As part of the #PrepareforBrexit campaign, the Cork roadshow will feature guest speakers from a broad spectrum of SMEs, larger companies

82

and innovative start-ups, alongside Enterprise Ireland’s own Global Team and Brexit Unit. Veteran broadcaster Jonathan Healy will also be on-hand to moderate the morning’s debate.

The hope here is to ready Irish SMEs for the possibility of a so-called ‘hard’ Brexit and provide a platform for “robust discussion, information sharing and practical advice”. Attendance is free-ofcharge, though participants must first register their interest via BrexitUnit@ enterprise-ireland.com.

Also up for discussion is the ‘Brexit SME Scorecard’ - an interactive online platform, courtesy of Enterprise Ireland - which enables Irish companies to self-assess their exposure to Brexit via six criteria; namely Business Strategy, Operations, Innovation, Sales and Marketing, Finance and People Management. In turn, this feedback forms the basis of an in-depth appraisal which outlines possible actions, available resources and upcoming events for SMEs. The Brexit SME Scorecard can be accessed at www. prepareforbrexit.ie.

Martin Corkery - South and South East Regional Director at Enterprise Ireland - commented: “Over 250 companies have completed the Enterprise Ireland Brexit SME Scorecard since it was launched two weeks ago. As a next step on the road to preparing for Brexit, these regional roadshows will provide Irish companies with the opportunity to hear first-hand how other companies, of all sizes, are preparing for Brexit.

Enterprise Ireland’s Global Team and Brexit Unit will give insights into the challenges and opportunities Brexit presents, and the practical supports that are available to companies.

“The UK continues to be Ireland’s main trading partner and our objective is to equip our client companies to strengthen their presences in the UK, while also preparing them to look at diversifying into new international markets.”

Further ‘Prepare for Brexit’ roadshows are planned for Galway, Waterford and Monaghan in the near future.

MARKET LEADING LAND & MARINE PILING SPECIALISTS

CMP History COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIAL AND RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENTS

EXTRACTION AND REMOVAL

KING POST RETAINING WALLS

OUTFALLS & PIPELINES

PIERS MARINAS & JETTIES

PLANT AND EQUIPMENT

PORTS HARBOURS AND DOCKS

RIVER & CANAL WORKS

ROAD & RAIL WORKS

SEA & FLOOD DEFENCES

SILENT & VIBRATION FREE

STEEL PROPPED SUPPORT FRAMES

TEMPORARY WORKS AND COFFERDAMS

TIMBER BEACH GROYNES

WATER AUTHORITY

Commercial Underwater Contractors Ltd was formed by Nigel Craddock in 1990 as a Specialist Diving Company. As a result of two successful contracts involving Beach Groyne Construction, the company diversified into Sheet Steel Pile Installation and the construction of Timber Sea Defence Structures.

In order to gain a competitive advantage in the market, the company invested in technologically advanced equipment and in a welltrained workforce. This investment along with efficient management of the projects undertaken secured an excellent reputation in the industry.

The merging of the companies has provided the opportunity for two long established businesses to operate as one, giving a full National Cover as a highly professional and diverse company in the fields of steel piling and marine construction.

Industry could be ‘revolutionised’ by offsite construction A new report from the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) claims that offsite construction has the potential to revolutionise the construction industry and even provide a solution to housing shortage that grips the UK. There is a caveat to the claim that the changes can only come about if the construction sector invests in the training to develop the right kind of skills.

The research white paper, ‘Faster Smarter, More Efficient: Building Skills for Offsite Construction’ revealed that 42% of construction firms that employ over 100 staff believe they will be using offsite methods in five years’ time.

In terms of specific products, 100% of the companies surveyed said they expected the use of precast concrete panels to increase, with 91% predicting a rise in the use of precast concrete frame.

Currently, only 10% of the industry’s output comes from the offsite process.

The advantages of using offsite construction methods are greater efficiencies in time and cost. Also, with on-site time greatly reduced, disruption is minimised along with the common hazards associated with working on a building site.

The report, which follows the recommendations laid out in industry expert Mark Farmer’s governmentbacked review of UK construction, revealed that almost half of construction industry clients expect to see the use of offsite construction to increase over the next five years.

Mr Farmer welcomed the report, saying it couldn’t have come at a more opportune time for the industry

84

as it faces up to replacing an ageing workforce and the growing need to modernise its processes.

He commented: “Any strategic shift towards pre-manufacturing and offsite construction creates an immediate requirement to define our future skills needs through collaboration between industry, educators, training providers and government.

“This is crucial to ensuring we can transition to a higher productivity, digitally enabled industry which inherently attracts more of the young talent we so desperately need. It should also set out clear opportunities for the existing construction workforce and indeed workers from other industries to reskill through a new family of career pathways.”

Steve Radley, Director of Policy at CITB, said the potential for offsite construction is huge, particularly in the housing and commercial sectors.

He said: “The Government recently announced an additional £1.4Bn of funding for affordable homes, with an increase in offsite construction set as an objective, representing a clear opportunity for growth in this area.

“The greatest potential currently lies within the housing and commercial sectors, where mass customisation can create the buildings we need more quickly and to higher standards.

There are also opportunities to bring the benefits of offsite to large-scale infrastructure projects - some high profile examples include HS2 and Hinkley Point, which are already using offsite techniques.”

When it comes to solving the disparity between the advances of this building

process and the skills to deliver it, the CITB’s report states it will be crucial for workers to develop the skills to move between offsite and on-site environments.

The research highlights six core skills areas required to achieve this - digital design; estimating/commercial; offsite manufacturing; logistics; site management and integration and onsite placement and assembly.

However, the CITB believe that the construction industry must overcome “significant barriers” to achieve the delivery of the skills training. These include a gap in existing training with regards to the required offsite content; a lack of awareness and suitability of available training and qualifications and a shortage of training providers and assessors.

Mr Radley said the CITB would continue to work closely with the construction sector over the next five years to move forward with the offsite agenda.

He said: “Our next steps will focus on the delivery of the required employer training, knowledge and soft skills, tailored specifically to the six key areas identified in the report. This will also include a review of the available training and qualifications to make sure we address any gaps and issues.

“We will also work with other stakeholders - such as in design and manufacturing - to apply existing training in a construction context.

We will step up our promotion of the career opportunities offsite can offer, emphasising digital skills, to attract a wider pool of people into these key roles.”

COMMUNITY

STAKEHOLDER

E-BOOKS

VIDEO

WHAT DOES THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR ORGANISATION?

For more information please contact us on 01257 231900 or email enquiries@promarkmedia.co.uk