ISSUE 2 2015
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6 News 25 Power without the price 29 Can you teach good behaviour? 36 BIM Task Group
40 Content Creation
For many businesses operating within the construction industry, BIM (Building Information Management) has been steeped in mystery and often considered unnecessary for their small element of the whole. But that’s not the case now.
44 Advancing BIM for project delivery 48 BIM Show Live 55 ARUP launches BIM Maturity Measure 58 Sustainability in the NHS 64 Setting new standards in education 74 The Department for Communities and Local Government 78 Greenwich Peninsula 80 Albert Sloman Library 82 CDM 2015 86 The Environment Agency 88 Street lighting revolution 96 Property Care Association 100 Security Industry Authority 104 Pre-Election Budget 110 Smarter printing Managing Editor Gareth Trevor-Jones
Designer Richard Gill
Editor Victoria Lee
Proof Reader Matthew Brown
Editorial Robert Atherton
Approvals Sarah Smith
Administration Alecia Rowe
Credit Control Carol Ryan
General Manager Ian Parker E: ian.parker@ukconstructionmedia.co.uk Display Advertising Sales T: 01257 231900 E: admin@ukconstructionmedia.co.uk www.ukconstructionmedia.co.uk
ISSN 1461-1279
Follow us on... UK Construction Media, Stirling House, Ackhurst Business Park, Chorley, PR7 1NY T: 01257 231900 E: admin@ukconstructionmedia.co.uk www.ukconstructionmedia.co.uk Š 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.
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CDM15/2 Industry guidance for Principal Designers www.citb.co.uk/documents/cd m%20regs/industry-guidanceprincipal-designer.pdf
Shaping and sharing best practice in construction health and safety risk management
CDM2015 CONSTRUCTION (DESIGN AND MANAGEMENT) REGULATIONS 2015 ARE WE READY? As the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have issued the draft Guidances for CDM2015 and state that, subject to Parliamentary approval, the regulations will come into force on 6th April 2015; the question must be asked of all construction industry organisations, and the industry itself, are we ready? On Friday, 9th January 2015, the HSE issued the draft text of L153 (draft), Guidance on the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, including the draft regulations, which can be downloaded from: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/pric ed/draft-l153.pdf On the same date, the guidances produced for the five duty holders under CDM, plus the workers, were published in draft. The guidances set out, in practical terms, what actions are required of them to deliver a safe and healthy construction project. These documents have been written by the Construction Industry Advisory Committee (CONIAC). These six ‘Industry Guidances’ are available for free download, as follows: CDM15/1 Industry guidance for Clients www.citb.co.uk/documents/ cdm%20regs/industry-guida nce-clients.pdf
CDM15/3 Industry guidance for Contractors www.citb.co.uk/documents/cd m%20regs/industry-guidancecontractors.pdf CDM15/4 Industry guidance for Designers www.citb.co.uk/documents/cd m%20regs/industry-guidancedesigners.pdf CDM15/5 Industry guidance for Principal Contractors www.citb.co.uk/documents/cd m%20regs/industry-guidanceprincipal-contractors.pdf CDM15/6 Industry guidance for Workers www.citb.co.uk/documents/cd m%20regs/industry-guidanceworkers.pdf
Policies and Procedures CDM2015 will require all CDM duty holders to amend their policies and procedures to some extent. • Clients will need to develop their arrangements for the enhanced client duties on significantly more projects. • Those who would act as the Principal Designer (PD) will need to develop their procedures to perform these duties for all elements of design and planning, not just their design or their subconsultants’/sub-contractors’ design, but for all design, including temporary works design performed during construction. • Principal Contractors and Contractors will need to address the requirement for having a Construction Phase Plan on all works, and the Domestic Client duties if they work in the domestic client sector. • Designers have the least amendments to make, as their duties have minimal changes, unless they take on the Principal Designer’s duties.
Training
Additional training will be required to update all of the duty holders with the amended regulations and guidances. Callsafe Services are currently developing the following courses, based on the draft documents: • CDM2015 Senior Management Briefing • CDM2015 Update • CDM2015 Overview • CDM2015 Client • CDM2015 Design Phase Risk Management Co-ordination • CDM2015 Design Risk Management • CDM2015 Reducing Risk by Design • CDM2015 Principal Contractor and Contractors
If you need assistance with amending your arrangements and/or training your staff in CDM2015 , please contact the experts at Callsafe Services. Callsafe Services Limited Yardley House, 11 Horsefair, Rugeley, Staffordshire. WS15 2EJ Telephone: 01889 577701 Email: enquiries@callsafe-services.co.uk Website: www.callsafe-services.co.uk
Course Content:
Institution of Occupational Safety and Health MANAGING SAFELY IN CONSTRUCTION 5 DAY COURSE This is the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) Managing Safely course, amended to make the subjects and content more specific to the construction industry, and separately accredited by IOSH. It is highly interactive and is presented by qualified and experienced construction health and safety professionals, who also are appointed to projects as CDM coordinator.
Intended for:
Anyone who supervises or manages designers or contractors in the construction and allied industries. Also relevant for client representatives and CDM coordinators.
Course Aims:
To ensure that managers/ supervisors: • Understand their responsibilities for health and safety as an integral part of their construction and other management/ supervision roles; • Are able to recognise a sound health and safety management system, including effective construction risk management; • Are able to recognise the key risks in the construction industry and understand the precautions to be taken.
Day 1 • Introduction and Setting Course Objectives • Principles of Good Safety Management • Legal Foundation for Health and Safety • Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide • Safety Management on Construction Projects Day 2 • Understanding the Legal Framework for Safety and Health at Work • Accident Causation and Accident Prevention • Applying Management Principles to Health and Safety Day 3 Key Legislation, Commonly Occurring Hazards and Their Controls: • The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 • Working time • First aid • Reporting of accidents • Fire • Safety signs and signals • Electricity • Display screen equipment • Manual handling • Chemicals/Hazardous substances • Personal protective equipment • Work equipment and Machinery • Traffic management Day 4 Construction Related Legislation, Commonly Occurring Hazards and Their Controls: • Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007, Part 4 • Lifting operations and equipment • Noise • Vibration • Lead • Asbestos • Confined spaces • Pressure systems • Radiation • Elevated working places • Safety in earthworks • Flammable liquids and gases • The construction working environment Day 5 • Human Behaviour in Accident and Ill-Health Prevention • Effective Communication • Control of Contractors • Training
• Course Assessment (A 30 minute test paper, similar in format to mock assessments performed during the course) • Course Discussion and Completion (Including the introduction to the Course Project, which is an inspection and risk assessment performed by the delegates of their workplace. This is performed subsequent to the course and submitted to the course tutor for marking)
Maximum number of course delegates: 16
Public Courses
This course is offered as a public course, for individuals to book and attend.
Course Cost: £820.00 per delegate, plus VAT (Discounts for multiple bookings) Currently programmed public courses are: • 28, 29 & 30 April and 6 & 7 May 2015 (Staffordshire) (Ref: IMSC150428)
In-house Courses
This course is also offered as an in-house course, where an organisation can book the tutor for the 5 days and the course is presented within the organisation’s own premises. This option can reduce the course cost and the travel/accommodation costs where the organisation has a number of their staff requiring this training. A lump sum price can be provided for in-house courses. Further details of this, and other, courses can be found at: www.callsafe-services.co.uk, or by contacting Gemma Esprey at: gemma.esprey@callsafeservices.co.uk or by phone on: 01889 577701
www.turnerandtownsend.com
Turner & Townsend oversees a ‘Wellcome’ renaissance Following the success of Wellcome Collection since its opening in 2007, this venue for the incurably curious on Euston Road, London, has undergone a redevelopment, and launched to the general public in March 2015. Turner & Townsend, the global construction and project management consultancy, is delighted to have supported with the delivery of the expansion of the gallery facilities, providing cost management services. Designed to maximise footfall and capitalise on the venue’s status as a major London attraction, the £17.5M upgrade of the facilities include: a new thematic gallery, cafe, restaurant, expanded library and remodelled reading room. A spectacular new feature staircase now spirals through three floors, designed to draw visitors up through the building. The helical staircase has been designed to improve access to the expanded galleries. Visitor numbers had already risen from the 100,000 predicted on opening in 2007, to more than half a million. Visitor numbers are expected to double again with the completion of the remodelling project.
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Turner & Townsend was appointed from RIBA Stage B through to completion over a 24-month period. The functional area cost planning approach adopted by the consultancy allowed the Wellcome Trust, which runs Wellcome Collection to manage the stakeholder group effectively. Chris Bunker, Construction Director at the Wellcome Trust said: “Turner & Townsend was a key member of the team throughout this project having been involved from concept through to completion. The team worked together extremely effectively and collaboratively allowing us to maintain tight control and ultimately delivering the project on budget.” Jon White, UK Managing Director at Turner & Townsend, commented: “We are delighted to continue our long-standing relationship with the Wellcome Trust, working on one of London’s top attractions. The successful delivery of this project is a reflection of the strong alliance and team work between the Wellcome Trust and Turner & Townsend. We look forward to seeing the venue go from strength to strength.”
ISG commences £11M Belle Vue stadium scheme
The scheme delivers high-specification leisure facilities for both community and elite users, including the partial refurbishment of the existing leisure centre on-site and the provision of two new floodlit 3G artificial grass sports pitches. The 6,000 capacity speedway stadium will become the home of the historic Belle Vue Aces team and features a 1,842 seat grandstand, including 208 VIP seats. The new National Basketball Performance Centre boasts a 2,000 seat match court and will be the hub for England Basketball’s national teams. The National Speedway Stadium brings international standard facilities to the North West. The new grandstand features a first floor hospitality area, with function rooms, a bar area and VIP suite overlooking the 343m long track. A ground floor concourse provides additional catering facilities. ISG will construct a large pit area for riders and a maintenance yard for the secure storage of plant and equipment. The track itself is designed to speedway industry FIM specification with up to 17m wide bends tapering to a 13m wide straight. Within the centre of the speedway track, ISG will form a 3G artificial grass pitch, constructed to IRB 22 standards for the use of nearby St Peter’s RC High School and the local community. A larger 3G artificial grass pitch will also be
constructed on the sports village site for wider community use and as a hub for community rugby league. To minimise the impact of the new stadium, which is adjacent to the current home of the Belle Vue Aces, ISG will erect four metre high acoustic screening to the south side of the development. Linked to the existing leisure centre, the new National Basketball Performance Centre will be home to community basketball leagues and clubs, as well as national performance teams. The facility will be housed in a new build, steel frame structure, with modern composite cladding panels to its facade. Constructed to international FIBA level 1 standards, the facility includes three courts with timber sprung flooring. Perimeter bleacher seating provides a 2,000 seat capacity for the number one centre court on match days.
www.isgplc.com
ISG has commenced work on a circa £11M project to create a new National Speedway Stadium and National Basketball Performance Centre in Manchester. Procured through North West Construction Hub (NWCH), the Belle Vue Sports Village development is set to transform this strategic area of east Manchester and bolster the international sporting credentials of the city.
The Belle Vue Leisure Centre will be upgraded and remains operational throughout the duration of the project. At ground floor level, ISG will upgrade the changing facilities to provide modern amenities for the National Basketball Performance Centre. Offices will be created at first floor level for England Basketball’s use and the existing sports hall will be refurbished. Danny Murray, ISG’s Northern Regional Managing Director, added: “This highly-anticipated development marks a major investment by the council into outstanding new sporting facilities in east Manchester. Procured through NWCH, the scheme is rooted in the principles of maximising efficiencies and driving out waste from the construction process. ISG is also committed to providing a community skills and training legacy, as well as fully utilising the expertise of the regional supply chain to deliver this keynote regeneration project.”
Hundreds of jobs could be created in Yorkshire and Humberside by a major wind farm An offshore wind project has been given the go ahead by the Government and is expected to support up to 900 green jobs in Yorkshire and Humberside and millions of pounds’ worth of investment to the UK’s economy. Dogger Bank Creyke Beck A and B wind project will include up to 400 wind turbines, around 130km off the coast of the East Riding of Yorkshire. With a maximum capacity of 2400MW it will generate enough electricity to power almost two million homes once built. Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey said: “This is another great boost for Yorkshire and Humberside. This development has the potential to support hundreds of green jobs and power up to two million homes.
Wind power is vital to this plan, with £14.5Bn invested since 2010 into an industry which supports 35,400 jobs.” Almost half of the costs associated with building and operating a wind farm are spent buying services and products from UK businesses. This translates into real jobs, particularly in areas like Yorkshire which is becoming an energy hub. Siemens and ABP announced a combined investment of £310M to develop new wind turbine production and installation facilities in Hull last year, creating over 1,000 new jobs. This is one of the largest investments in the Humberside area in the last 50 years and clearly demonstrates that the UK is the leading market for the sector.
“Making the most of Britain’s home grown energy is creating jobs and businesses in the UK, getting the best deal for consumers and reducing our reliance on foreign imports.
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www.derbyarena.uk.com www.arup.com
Derby Arena opens Derby Arena, the city’s first multi-sport stadium and velodrome, has opened. The Arena houses the first new build velodrome constructed in England since the 2012 Olympics, as well as facilities for community sport and fitness activities - including a 12 badminton court size sports hall and a gym. Derby Arena will primarily serve as a sporting venue, but it will also host cultural events, exhibitions, product launches and conferences. This new flexible, column free space is designed to hold up to 5,000 spectators for both sporting and non-sporting events. Arup was appointed by Derby City Council to provide civil, structural, mechanical, electrical geotechnical engineering, as well as transportation, acoustics and fire consultancy services on the project.
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Arup worked closely with project manager Mace, architects FaulknerBrowns and contractor Bowmer and Kirkland to ensure that this iconic building could be realised on a particularly challenging brownfield site. The Arena is located next to Pride Park Football Stadium, home to Derby County Football Club, and is located within the area of the remediation scheme designed by Arup in the 1990’s for the whole of Pride Park. John Read, Associate Director, Buildings for Arup Midlands Group said: “Derby Arena has been a great project to work on, with a very collaborative and enthusiastic team from Derby Council, Mace, FaulknerBrowns, Arup, and Bowmer and Kirkland and their supply chain. This has enabled a high quality facility to be delivered on time and budget, which will be a fantastic catalyst for sporting activity in the region”
Exciting regeneration scheme for Ecclesall Road announced Retail units at ground floor level are also part of the proposed development designed to replace what was once a car dealership and reintroducing an active streetscape to the section. Two main elements are planned. One will have approximately 120 residential apartments designed for single people, couples and families - aimed predominately at the professional sector. The other will have 44 highspecification student apartments, each with comprehensive shared facilities for the increasing number of overseas students who are choosing to study in Sheffield. MAF Properties has been providing student and private housing in Sheffield for over 25 years, including the nearby Ecclesall Gate residential development. It is nearing completion of another student complex, Devonshire Point, in Fitzwilliam Street, again on the fringe of the city centre. This latest project is being delivered by the Sheffield-based Hallminster Ltd and designed by the award-winning Bond Bryan Architects Ltd. Ownership of the land, its redevelopment and its management will remain in the same local hands.
Of the proposed regeneration Hallminster representative Dan Simpson said: “The development is intended to look visually striking and will have a very high specification. It will incorporate environmentally-friendly measures, modern methods of construction and the utilisation of materials that have a relatively low embodied energy will make the development sustainable throughout its life. “There will be a sustainable external amenity space in the form of semi-private gardens, roof top terraces and balconies will appeal to young families. There is also a large landscaped communal courtyard at the heart of the development with a variety of native species of plants and trees encouraging biodiversity and providing a habitat for wildlife.” Public consultation is being held ahead of a planning application being submitted to the council. It is hoped that construction can start in autumn 2015 ready for the first residents in summer 2017. The Ecclesall Road project reflects a surge of interest among developers in sites on the edge of the city centre, especially around the south west and with a view to attracting students. Land between nearby London Road and Bramall Lane is earmarked for the £65M New Era Square ‘Chinatown’ development of student accommodation, shops, business incubator units, offices and food and drink outlets.
In his new role Delvin will oversee all aspects of the day-today running of Anesco, with particular focus on the ECO, ESCO, and the biomass businesses. With almost 20 years experience in the energy and environmental sector Delvin, 40, has extensive skills in developing businesses through high level networks and relationships across a range of business sectors. Prior to Anesco he was the Head of Energy Services at EDF, the UK’s largest producer of low-carbon electricity, where he led the energy services business to help and support customers in delivering cash and carbon savings.
Of his new role Delvin said: “This is an excellent opportunity with Anesco as it continues to set new bench marks in this exciting sector. Its growth and the impact it has had on the industry as a whole has been nothing short of remarkable. I am thrilled to be part of the team.” Anesco CEO Adrian Pike said: “Delvin has been instrumental in the growth of energy efficiency in some major UK and European organisations. This wealth of experience and Delvin’s management skills will help Anesco to continue its present growth and expansion. His excellent credentials make him a natural fit for Anesco and we welcome him as a great addition to the team.”
www.anesco.co.uk
New Commercial Director for Anesco Delvin Lane has been appointed as the new Commercial Director at national energy efficiency solutions company, Anesco.
www.mafproperties.com
A £35M scheme to regenerate a site on Ecclesall Road in Sheffield with private and student apartments has been unveiled.
Delvin also gained invaluable experience at the Carbon Trust and National Grid Transco before becoming the Head of Energy360 for Centrica and then Mitie’s Industrial Director. Through these roles he has developed a unique insight into energy efficiency from inception and he will be a key part in the accelerated growth of Anesco in the energy efficiency sector.
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Temporary Power Solutions have provided various power solutions for ISG PLC, on a series of large M&E replacement on Data Centre projects for a large UK Banking Group. These have included provision & installation of temporary 1Mva UPS systems required for resilience to DC’s during replacement works. Provision of 6Mva of generators & integration into the existing control and power systems, to allow full replacement of the DC generator system by ISG.Also TPS worked with ISG on another highly challenging / complex project, TPS provided a temporary HV & LV power package equating to 50% of the Data Center power infrastructure allowing a complex plant replacement to be undertaken, with no risk or loss of resilience to the Client’s operations.The delivery, service and value for money of the TPS power solution packages have been outstanding, and if I require temporary power projects or immediate response for emergency power, TPS are on standby to deliver.
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www.wandsworth.gov.uk
Shortlist unveiled for Nine Elms to Pimlico bridge competition Wandsworth Council has revealed the four design teams to have made it through to the second stage of the Nine Elms to Pimlico bridge competition.
Wandsworth Council expects to announce the winning team in late autumn this year. A new bridge would require planning permission before it could be built.
The high profile contest had attracted 74 entries with each team submitting a rival proposal for a new pedestrian and cycle link across the Thames.
Cllr Ravi Govindia, said: “I want to thank the jury panel and all of the designers who took part and made this such an exciting process. The quality of the submissions went beyond our best expectations and the interest this competition has generated across London has been tremendous.
The successful teams are: Buro Happold Limited - with Marks Barfield Architects, J&L Gibbons Landscape Architects, Gardiner and Theobald Bystrup Architecture Design and Engineering - with Robin Snell & Partners, Sven Ole Hansen ApS, Aarsleff and ÅF Lighting Ove Arup & Partners Ltd - with AL_A, Gross Max, Equals Consulting and Movement Strategies Ove Arup & Partners Ltd with - Hopkins Architects and Grant Associates The finalists were unanimously selected by the competition’s jury panel which includes Wandsworth Council Leader Ravi Govindia, Lambeth Councillor Joanne Simpson, Architect Graham Stirk, Engineer Henry Bardsley and Chair of Cabe at Design Council Pam Alexander. In coming to their decision the panel considered feedback from more than 1,000 people who responded to the stage one public exhibitions, as well as detailed technical assessments for each proposal. The next stage of the competition will see the shortlisted teams develop their initial ideas into detailed designs.
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“Congratulations to our shortlisted teams and I look forward to seeing their initial ideas developed further. The devil will be in the detail and the next stage will show us whether these four highly skilled and innovative design teams can meet the complex challenges this project presents.” A TfL transport study confirms the Nine Elms to Pimlico bridge has a strong business case and would provide another valuable route through central London to support the shift towards zero emission, sustainable travel options. A £26M contribution is already identified from the development of Nine Elms and the new design would be used to lever-in further funding. The scheme has the support of the Mayor of London. The bridge is part of the infrastructure package needed to support growth in Nine Elms and Vauxhall where tens of thousands of new jobs and homes are now being created alongside billions in growth and tax receipts. The competition is being run by Colander and follows OJEU public sector procurement processes so the successful design team can be appointed to the project.
£50M Southampton regeneration scheme gets go ahead current occupiers and the community to produce a scheme to regenerate this area of the city.
Fareham-based Hampshire and Regional Property Group devised the scheme on the site of the former fruit and vegetable market.
“It’s an important scheme for Southampton both socially and economically. Demand for urban living is increasing in the south and nowhere more so than Southampton. This development will bring much-needed homes and jobs to the city - about 300 will be created with the construction alone.”
The phased regeneration project will see 279 homes - a mix of affordable and private apartments - built over the next three years with the first phase of construction starting in the summer. The development will also provide parking and shops on the ground floor and is good news for the city as it brings much-needed housing and jobs.
Cllr Letts, Leader of Southampton City Council, said: “It’s great to see another piece of the city centre masterplan fall into place with the granting of planning permission on the second phase of the fruit and veg market proposals. Along with Watermark WestQuay and the new arts complex this demonstrates that Southampton is now moving forward.”
Following the decision, Hampshire and Regional Property Group Chief Executive Shaun Adams, said: “This really is great news for Southampton. We’ve worked hard in partnership with planners, architects, the city council,
The development, designed by Fareham-based architects HGP and supported by planning consultants Vail Williams, will be built over three phases by Portsmouth construction firm PMC.
www.hgp-architects.co.uk
A £50M scheme to transform a dilapidated site in the centre of Southampton has been given the go ahead by city planners.
Carillion named as development partner for Tower Works area of Holbeck Urban Village, Leeds The brief is to create a mixed-use, sustainable community with a distinctive sense of place, which balances high quality and contemporary design with the existing heritage structures which occupy the site. The combined development value of the proposed masterplan will be in the region of £80M and construction work will start in January 2016. The 1.04 hectare site is an old industrial location which houses three Italianate Towers. It is these Grade II listed buildings which give the site its name. Carillion’s developments proposals include 92,000sq ft of commercial office space, 20,000sq ft of A1 and A3 retail restaurant and bar spaces and 147 residential units.
residential accommodation and commercial office spaces supported by complementary cafe bars and restaurants in an exciting part of Leeds City Centre. We look forward to working in partnership with the HCA and Leeds City Council to deliver these proposals.” Councillor Richard Lewis, Leeds City Council’s Executive Member for Transport and the Economy, said: “Tower Works is truly an iconic site and it is very important for the regeneration of the South Bank. As a council we are keen that developments here have high quality designs and that they include housing for families - a first for this area.
www.carillionplc.com
Carillion has been selected by the Homes & Communities Agency as the preferred development partner to deliver a new prestigious mixed-use development at Tower Works, a key development site within Holbeck Urban Village, Leeds.
“I particularly welcome the quality of the proposed residential elements of the Carillion scheme and the plans for housing suitable for families. This scheme can be a catalyst for more good quality city living and the physical regeneration of Holbeck Urban Village.”
Gareth Jackson, Development Director for Carillion Developments said: “This is an excellent development site in Leeds City Centre which forms a key part of the Leeds City skyline. Our masterplan proposals respectfully emulate the urban grain of Holbeck Urban Village whilst delivering a unique place making proposition of spacious canal side
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EIH Systems Ltd is the franchise holder for the hicoTHERMŽ Infrared Heating System for the UK and Ireland. The system is manufactured by Frenzelit AG and is up to 50% more efficient than conventional heating systems with lower investment costs. EIH Systems provide the UK and Ireland with the newest, most efficient heating technology for residential homes, commercial buildings, offices, schools, wellness areas, holiday cabins, etc. They are also regularly used in operating theatres, baby incubators and doctor’s waiting rooms. The infrared rays used in the heating system should not be confused with skin-damaging ultra-violet rays and are completely harmless. They can be beneficial for the human body, penetrating deep within to help stimulate metabolism and ease joint pain. There is also no affect in air quality and room humidity remains unchanged. Another benefit to infrared heating is the air does not circulate as with convection heating so airborne allergen,
dust and germs are greatly reduced. This is one of the reasons why the system is a poplar form of heating for individuals with respiratory problems such as asthma. Installing a new heating system has traditionally provided quite a challenge in many ways: boiler pipes and radiators take up a great deal of space. Underfloor heating requires the floor to be raised to allow installation so that potentially dangerous steps are created or problems are encountered with room or balcony doors. New heating systems are also supposed to be able to eliminate cold spots in the room and prevent mould formation as a result. hicoTHERMÂŽ provides a flexible system solution to these problems that combines minimum modernisation effort and expense with optimum room comfort.
hicoTherm® radiant heating is a complete system that is ready for easy, safe and quick installation. It provides a flexible heating solution that is suitable for new buildings as well as for the modernisation of existing flats, houses and weekend homes. It is a suitable choice as the main heating system as well as the source of additional heat or for the permanent drying of walls that are susceptible to mould growth. hicoTHERM heating films make floors, walls or ceilings into invisible but extremely effective radiant heaters. Carbon fibres in the films, which are only 0.4 millimetres thick, act as highly efficient conductors that turn electrical power into pleasant infrared heat. Low voltage technology guarantees simple installation and safe heating operation in wet areas. ®
The ultra thin hicoTHERM® direct heating system runs on safe low-voltage power and can be integrated in small bathrooms or lounging areas without taking up valuable space. Thanks to the extremely small amount of space it requires and the flexibility with which heating areas can be designed, hicoTHERM® can also be integrated in practically any winter garden floor.
The heaters are installed directly below the wall or floor covering, as close as possible to the surface. The heating can be applied to any flat surface made from such inorganic materials as stone, screed, plaster, etc or such organic materials as wood, cork, PVC, plastic, etc, provided that they are suitable for underfloor heating and/or resist temperatures of up to 60oC. The heating films are either pressed into a thin bed of plaster / adhesive or are easy to cut to length. A thin 1-2mm covering layer is then applied, followed by the wall or floor covering. The toroidal transformer can be surface or flush-mounted and a temperature sensor should be also installed if thermostat control is planned. The infrared heat from the floor, wall or ceiling is available at the touch of a button and is immediate and lasts only as long as required. hicoTherm® radiant heating is therefore extremely energy-efficient, distributing the heat quickly and evenly around the room, however cold it is outside. The heating system is also much more efficient when used with our Renewable Energy solutions.
For further information please visit www.hicoTHERM.co.uk
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2 Stoneycroft Road, South Queensferry, Edinburgh, EH30 9HX Telephone: 0131 281 5876 Email: info@eih-systems.co.uk www.eih-systems.co.uk
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www.crossrail.co.uk/route/stations/liverpool-street
Tunnelling machine Victoria arrives at Liverpool Street Tunnel machine Victoria, named after Queen Victoria who oversaw the birth of modern railways, has successfully broken in to the eastern end of Liverpool Street Crossrail station.
The breakthrough, 40m beneath the City of London, is part of Crossrail’s longest tunnel drive, 8.3km from Limmo Peninsula, near Canning Town, to Farringdon. Victoria joins her sister machine, Elizabeth, who arrived in January. Victoria now has 750m of tunnel to bore, before arriving at her final destination at Farringdon station this spring when Crossrail tunnelling will complete. Over 40km out of 42km of rail have now been constructed as part of Europe’s largest infrastructure project. Elizabeth and Victoria each weigh 1,000 tonnes, are 150m long and over seven metres in diameter. They are the last of eight Crossrail tunnel machines to have carved a route beneath London linking the West End, the City, Canary Wharf and south east London.
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Crossrail will boost the capital’s rail capacity by 10%, bringing an additional 1.5m people with 45 minutes commute of central London. Liverpool Street is one of ten new Crossrail stations being built in central and south east London. The new station will be located between London Underground’s existing Liverpool Street and Moorgate stations, with connections to both. Crossrail services through central London will commence in December 2018. When the TfL-run Crossrail service is fully open in 2019, it will give commuters easy access to destinations across London and the South East including Canary Wharf and Heathrow. Joint Venture Dragados Sisk is constructing the eastern tunnels between Pudding Mill Lane and Stepney Green, Limmo Peninsula and Farringdon, and Victoria Dock Portal and Limmo. The station tunnels at Liverpool Street have been built by a joint venture comprising Balfour Beatty, BeMo Tunnelling, Morgan Sindall and Vinci Construction.
Government invests £25M in game-changing green technologies Windows that act as solar panels, an engine which runs on landfill emissions and Europe’s biggest battery are all a step closer to reality after receiving a share of £24.5M of Government funding. These projects are among 40 new technologies which have won funding through the first round of Innovate UK’s Energy Catalyst, which is designed to help tackle the so-called energy ‘trilemma’ of reducing carbon emissions, increasing security of supply and cutting the cost of energy. Business and Energy Minister, Matthew Hancock said: “The projects we are backing, through the Energy Catalyst, demonstrate the depth and breadth of British innovation in the sector. Many of these projects are not only UK firsts, but world firsts, and by supporting them at this early stage, we will ensure the UK reaps the rewards in the future. “By funding this research we are not only working towards our goal of reducing carbon emissions, but fostering an environment that will create jobs, grow business and maintain the UK’s position at the cutting edge of technological advancement.”
Rob Saunders, Head of Energy at Innovate UK, said: “The projects that have won funding in this first round are exactly the sort of innovative ideas we had in mind when the Energy Catalyst was created. The second round is well under way and I’m certainly looking forward to seeing UK firms come forward with more new ways of securing a reliable, low carbon and low cost energy system.” Among the winners is Cambridge-based Nyak Technology which has been awarded almost £200,000 to help develop an organic solar cell that could eventually see the windows in our homes replaced by transparent, energy producing solar panels. Not only would this be a far more discreet and convenient means of harnessing solar power in the home, it could also prove to be far cheaper. Early research suggests that these cells could reduce the overall cost of solar devices by as much as 70%. Another winner, Oaktec, is intending to use the £220,000 it has received to fund a system which is not dissimilar to technology first seen in the ‘80s classic movie, Back to the Future. It will be testing the feasibility of its Pulse-R engine system, which can use the untreated gas from landfill sites to power a self-supercharged biogas engine.
Orbit Group, the 38,000 homes housing association group based in Coventry, has placed a £250M bond (including £50M retained bonds) to support its major housing investment plans to 2020.
The over-subscribed bond was placed at a coupon of 3.5%, at a margin of 1.15% above the gilt, and has a maturity of 30 years, is a clear sign of strong market confidence in Orbit’s plans. It follows a Moody’s market rating of the business at A1. Orbit is aiming to bring another 30% of homes into management by 2020, by developing 12,000 new homes for the affordable and market sectors in residential sale, shared ownership and rent. It has completed over 2,000 new homes in the first 201315 phase of its growth plan and has the third largest
Government grant-funded affordable housing programme in the country for 2015-18. On top of its affordable programme, Orbit expects to build and sell over 200 market sale homes in 2015-16 and has secured sites for its first private rental sector schemes in Norwich and Stratfordupon-Avon.
www.orbit.org.uk
£250M bond ‘massive boost’ for Orbit’s investment plans
Paul High, Executive Director of Orbit Homes, said: “This £250M bond supports our development objectives for the next five years. We are in the market for new sites for residential development across the tenure spectrum. “We expect to secure additional grant funding for affordable homes development in the coming years, and we’re seeking to expand our market sale and PRS activities. The bond is a massive boost to our investment plans and allows us to accelerate new site acquisitions and partnership opportunities. Orbit is open for business.”
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www.hyundaipowerequipment.co.uk
Power without the price Until a few years ago this wouldn’t have been the case. An ongoing brand awareness drive has brought the selection of products to new markets and the impact is getting bigger. This growing demand is helped by the fantastic reputation that Hyundai Power Equipment is gaining throughout the construction industry. Greg Ace, of LBS Builders Merchants, says that Hyundai Power Equipment products are “extremely popular in the construction industry and we are finding that trade related sales are increasing through our branch network and online. The fantastic build quality and value for money makes the Hyundai products the perfect choice for any professional in the industry and we’ve heard nothing but positive comments from our customers.”
Ranging from 3.4kVA to 120kVA, the Hyundai range of petrol and diesel generators are the best selling products which are helping building sites and construction workers keep their equipment powered around the clock. The UK energy crisis is also driving sales of Hyundai’s standby generators in both the professional and domestic markets. With the narrowest energy margin in eight years during 2014/15 winter months and hundreds of thousands of households and businesses left without power as a result, a standby generator is now becoming an essential investment to maintain a reliable power supply. With the increasing demand for standby power solutions at the home and workplace, architects are now adapting their designs to allow for room to safely house a standby generator.
Since Genpower became the sole UK importer of Hyundai Power Equipment in 2008, the range of products has seen significant growth
Since Genpower became the sole UK importer of Hyundai Power Equipment in 2008, the range of products have seen significant growth in popularity in the UK. The Hyundai brand name is now being used in the construction sector as much as it is in your local car dealership. The reason for this? Robust, reliable, value for money machinery.
Hyundai understand that to succeed in the construction environment means never letting the user down. Every builder will know the horror of losing a day’s work due to machinery refusing to function and this is the scenario that Hyundai aims to eradicate. Hyundai also have a UK-based warehouse where they stock every spare part for their machines which guarantees a quick turnaround for any repairs that are needed in the unlikely event that something does go wrong. From open frame petrol generators and standby diesel generators, to water pumps and air compressors, Hyundai has developed a variety of machines which will perform in the construction environment. DHY11KSE Diesel Generator
www.hyundaipowerequipment.co.uk Isaac Way, Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire SA72 4RW Tel: +44 (0) 1646 687 880 Email: info@hyundaipowerequipment.co.uk
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Keep
Trenchless Technology
GUARANTEEING EFFICIENT AND SUCCESSFUL REPAIR OR INSTALLATION ABOUT THE COMPANY Since its formation, Keep Trenchless Technology has been providing a range of trenchless technology services to water and waste industries as well as corporate customers. Working throughout the UK, the Company specialises in UV cured pipe installation, CCTV surveys, lateral cutting, and mechanical cutting for concrete/grout/roots and other difficult obstruction removal including intruding connections. UV cured liners have been installed nationally for the sewerage industry, and the success of this is clear by looking at the list of clients that encompasses Northumbrian Water, Yorkshire Water, Thames Water, Severn Trent, Guernsey Water, Scottish Water and many more. Northumbrian Water has been a valued customer during this time, and in the last five years, has seen more than 10km of liner installed each year.
BENEFITS OF UV CURED LINERS Trenchless technology offers important benefits for companies and utilities providers and with more than 20 years of experience, the team at Keep Trenchless Technology is ideally placed to help organisations reap the rewards of such advantages. The conventional way of repairing pipes can be disruptive and time consuming, all of which holds up production. The Company’s experience is crucial because its trenchless technology can be used to counter these issues by repairing pipes at the same time as guaranteeing the minimum amount of disruption. The technology also helps to eliminate any halts in production. There is also a real commitment to provide customers with the best possible service and the team of specialists have years of experience. In addition, the fleet of vans have the capacity to monitor and record pipe repair at every step of the way.
Aligned to this are the UV cured liners that are manufactured to the most stringent standards by Berolina that can cure the lining at speeds of up to one metre each minute. Because these are manufactured by Berolina, materials made by a fibreglass that is corrosion-resistant is used; this unique wall structure is decisive for the outstanding quality and versatile application of the Berolina liner. With five layers of resin-saturated fibreglass complexes and/or polyester webs, the liners are stretchable, and can be optimally adjusted to circular or oval profiles in diameters of 150mm to 1500mm, which can also be used with cross-section or profile passages without any problems. The energy flux is optimised because of the continuous fibre orientation in the perimeter direction. The best mechanical values are produced in this Keep Trenchless Technology product because of the fibreglass reinforcement, meaning no more than slight wall thicknesses are necessary and therefore, cross-section leakage is reduced to a minimum after pipe sanitation. The advantage of the UV cured lining provided is it allows liner replacement to be expected before curing. The curing process is recorded at every stage and reports are instantly generated. Just as important is the fact that only one site visit is necessary, which again minimises disruption.
KOMATSU PIPELINE REHABILITATION As well as the work carried out for the many water organisations, the Company also has a number of commercial clients who have benefited from trenchless projects. One such development was undertaken in County Durham where work was carried out on pipeline rehabilitation for Komatsu. Keep Trenchless Technology was called upon for the project in Birtley because the sewer system there for Komatsu’s
Keep Trenchless Technology Ltd Unit 9a Stratford Road, Pattinson South Industrial Estate, Washington, Tyne & Wear NE38 8QP
European manufacturing plant for the production of crawler hydraulic excavators showed the pitch fibre pipe network needed to be replaced.
undergone and passed stringent tests to ensure the pipe is at its tightest level so it won’t leak, while making sure infiltration is prevented.
The Company undertook a CCTV survey on behalf of Komatsu and the results showed that the pitch fibre pipes, first installed in the 1960s, were deformed, had holes in the pipe wall and in one place, was closed with hardly any room to manoeuvre through it.
Work on the pipeline rehabilitation took just seven days, with 18 individual lining set ups having to be achieved in that time while also working around other contractors.
Finding a solution to this damage was made more difficult because of the limited access in terms of timescale and space in order to place equipment, owing to Komatsu’s production schedules. Options considered included cutting the pipeline open to carry out the repair work, but this was rejected because it would have slowed down the production schedule due to the failed pipe being located in the centre of the main production area. Excavation would have been required, which would have made the project duration longer, and with three major surrounding walls around the designated work area, any traditional method of work was fraught with danger. Therefore, it was decided the best way to rehabilitate the pipe was to undertake re-rounding work followed by insertion of a structural lining. Traditional work would have taken 18 weeks to complete, whereas trenchless technology could ensure the project was completed within a week. Accordingly, the UV cured options were investigated and the Berolina liner system was chosen. This is where the fibre fabrics overlapping are effective. They are staggered, which means the Berolina liner can be installed in one piece even where there is a crossover, and with no hindrance on elasticity, it easily adjusts to local conditions. The UV cure resin is injected into the liners at the factory so that when they arrive on site, they are ready for installation. As a proven product of Keep Trenchless Technology, the Berolina liner has undergone a significant amount of testing to ensure it is fit for purpose. This WRc-approved system has also
Telephone 0191 415 3372 Email info@keep-ltd.com
During one of these set ups, the extent of the problem Komatsu had been facing became clear because a huge section of pipe was almost completely closed up. The tight timescale on the project meant the Company’s only option was to attempt installation even though this made a successful outcome uncertain. But the expertise meant that the deformed section of pipe was reached, though a hole was then found in the host pipe. In response, Keep Trenchless Technology managed to pass a line through the defect and a pre-liner was pulled into place over the hole before it was lined with the intended reinforced liner. Lining was successful on this set-up, as well as the other 17 that had to be undertaken. Paul Collins is the Building Maintenance Manager at Komatsu and he praised the ‘groundbreaking technology’ and the advantages is has brought. He said: “We selected Keep Trenchless Technology Ltd to carry out this repair due to the location of the drain and the amazing groundbreaking technology offered. The professional approach was second to none and a full survey and repair method was fully communicated. “What could have been very disruptive to our production turned out to be a quick and simple repair with zero effect to our busy production schedule. “Since the repair, we have used the liner method many times to maintain and repair our waste framework. The advantages of using such a repair are numerous; the fact there is very little disruption to the repair vicinity and no environmental impacts compared to other repair methods are just a few.”
www.keep-ltd.com
Skanska starts building world class New Papworth Hospital in Cambridgeshire Skanska has signed a contract to deliver the New Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, which will provide patients, staff and the local community with a world class healthcare facility. Papworth Hospital, which will cover a 40,000sq m area when complete, will provide 300 beds, seven operating theatres and five catheterisation labs. The latest business information modelling (BIM) technology will be used in the design phase to maximise energy efficiency and ensure the hospital offers long-term flexibility. The construction techniques used will allow reconfiguration of the hospital over time, making it fit for purpose both on delivery and for the future. The technology is also being used to engage clinicians in the construction process. Skanska, with healthcare delivery expertise spread across its global network of projects, will provide Cambridgeshire with a hospital that is an exemplar of the facilities available to NHS patients and clinicians. Sustainability is at the heart of the new hospital, which will specialise in cardiothoracic care. Papworth is designed to achieve an EPC ‘B’ energy rating, the first hospital in the UK to do so. Measures to reduce carbon emissions will include a large-scale ground-source heat pump system. The tranquil, landscaped setting of the new hospital will capture the essence of the existing Papworth Hospital, with its surrounding parkland, pond and gentle slopes. As well as providing a healing environment for patients, it will be a pleasant place for visitors and staff members.
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Skanska will also collaborate with the Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to develop a green travel plan for site, which will aim to reduce reliance on car travel and encourage the use of public transport. Secure cycle racks, changing facilities and showers will be provided for employees. The public-private partnership contract includes design, build, finance and hard and soft facilities management, with construction to begin immediately and completion due in 2018. The construction contract is worth around £140M. Hard facilities management services at the hospital will also be provided by Skanska for a 30-year post-completion period. Skanska’s share of the equity investment will be 50% and Equitix will commit the remaining 50%. Richard Spencer, Project Director at Skanska, said: “The stunning architecture of the new hospital will showcase a confident civic presence that will help to attract the very best staff and clinicians, and will make Papworth a treatment centre of choice, both within the UK and internationally.” Allison Newell, Director of Healthcare Strategy at Skanska, commented: “The successful delivery and subsequent estate management of the New Papworth Hospital will provide patients and staff with a leading edge facility for many years. We look forward to building on our productive and collaborative approach with the hospital trust, so as to best serve those using and working at this impressive new facility.”
Can you teach good behaviour? I’d say the answer to that is a resounding NO. To justify that I’d like to refer back to some research done in the 1930s by a pioneer social psychologist, Kurt Lewin. He created a simple formula which pretty much explains everything we do:- B = f(P,E), which reads as “Behaviour is a function of a Person and their Environment.” Now here’s the thing, when we start to talk about psychology and behaviour what springs immediately to mind for many people is Behavioural Safety. It seems to me the problem with a lot of Behavioural Safety implementations is that they’ve forgotten the basic equation that drives it all. So the focus, like a lot of “classic” Health & Safety, is on modifying the Person and there’s the danger. At the extreme end, a really bad behavioural safety implementation can be summarised as “We’ve told you the rules, now BEHAVE!” Essentially, much of classic Health & Safety is the same.
Procedures are written, training is given, toolbox talks and safety alerts reinforce the initial training, audits are done. When a slip-up comes to light, the mantra is “time for a refresher”. MORE time effort and money expended. Incidentally, it’s often seen as “Punishment Training” and it’s both the workforce and the budget that get hit! So what’s the answer? Simple! – Look again at Lewin, remember the environment and realise that you can only influence a person, never completely control them (even in extreme political regimes!) but what management can control is the environment. By environment, we mean the physical environment of course, so site layout, access routes and also the tools and equipment provided. More than that though, for a really in-depth implementation, we need to consider the soft environment too – the Safety Culture. That’s why we believe the real solution for ensuring best behaviour lies beyond Behavioural Safety in Cultural Safety™.
Paul Bizzell, Operations Director RyderMarshSharman Limited. www.rydermarshsharman.com
Well, there’s an awful lot of time, effort and money spent trying to do that so I suppose technically the answer is “Yes”. However, given the number of non-compliances picked up in audits, never mind the shortcuts that go undetected, the better question might be “Can you teach good behaviour effectively?”
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Kingsmill Industries (UK) Ltd “For 15 years we have supplied in bulk to two of the biggest rail companies in the UK - Unipart Rail and Atkins Rail.”
D ow n to e a r th
Kingsmill Industries (UK) Ltd is a leading manufacturer and distributor of earthing materials and lightning protection products to the UK and international markets. Conscientious and attentive to the needs of its clients, the Company attributes its many successes to an extensive product range and a comprehensive customer care service. UK Construction Excellence spoke with Jason Leatherland, Kingsmill’s UK Sales & Business Development Manager, about the Company’s industry success and customer focused ethos. Could you first of all provide our readers with an introduction to Kingsmill Industries (UK) Ltd? Kingsmill Industries (UK) Ltd is a manufacturer and supplier of earthing materials and lightning protection products. We are a fully UK owned, family run business located in the heart of the UK which prides itself on manufacturing and supplying top quality products delivered with excellent service. Since our inception in 1999 we have gone from strength to strength and have developed into one of the industry’s market leaders. We have achieved this by focusing on our core tenets of service, quality, price, delivery, commitment and trust. Kingsmill can manufacture and supply a variety of products and product ranges: earth bars, air terminations, earthing, earth rod clamps, conductors, conductor network, clips, earth points, earthing plates/mats, soil conditioning agent, inspection pits, earth rod seals, bonded connections, compression connections, fasteners and fixings, lightning protection accessories, early streamer emission devices, Kingsweld exothermic welding, static control and surge protection. One of our main strengths is that we do not limit ourselves to our product catalogue items. Kingsmill is happy to go that extra mile for our clients and we thrive on providing customers with product solutions. With a dedicated workshop that combines high tech machinery with a skilled workforce, we are able to engineer or modify products to
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your exact requirements, from simple modification to a completely new and bespoke item. We are pleased to say that we have been manufacturing excellence since 1999! Does the Company specialise in any particular sectors? Kingsmill’s products and services are aimed at all companies that require it. We have a very broad range of clients across a spectrum of market sectors. These clients include exporters, distributors, manufacturers, major and minor contractors, wholesalers, fitters, and rail clients to name but a few. The market sectors which we cover include construction, energy, industrial, utilities, communication, electronics, transportation, electricity, engineering, rail and more. What experience does Kingsmill have in the rail industry? Kingsmill is proud to be a registered and qualified RISQS company. We have been supplying into the rail industry since 1999. For 15 years we have supplied in bulk to two of the biggest rail companies in the UK - Unipart Rail and Atkins Rail. We have also manufactured and supplied a range of earthing materials specifically for the earthing requirements of the rail industry. These specific rail earthing products include: solid copper earth rods, copperbond earth rods, copper earth tape, braid bonds, bonding jumpers and earth straps, Marconite and Bentonite, earth bars (standard or custom made), lattice copper earth mats, rod to cable clamps, concrete earth inspection pits, plastic earth inspection pits and more. Kingsmill products have also been used to earth the following rail specific products and product sections: signalling (signals and structures), location cases, REB (Relocatable Equipment Buildings), telecommunications and radios, power supply equipment, electrical and electronics, overhead line, points heating and level crossing controls. As a qualified RISQS member, what kinds of innovative rail products are available to contractors? Generally speaking earthing and lightning protection products are fairly standard, therefore it is difficult to be
‘innovative’ with this range. What we do offer, however, is a bespoke manufacturing service.
ranges in detail coupled with gaining feedback from our clients - the people who are actually using our products.
We know that one product is not going to cover all variations of requirements 100% of the time. Therefore if a client needs a particular product altering or modifying, or requires a unique item, then we invite them to speak with us.
What differentiates Kingsmill from its competitors? We are highly customer focused, having built our success on customer service. We employ a staff that takes great pride in the work that they do for their clients. We all have a genuinely caring attitude towards our clients and it is because of this attitude that we find it easy to go above and beyond for our clients.
We want to help our customers with their product problems. We want to stay in close contact with our clients and gain feedback on our products. Whether that feedback is good or bad we invite all clients to tell us their thoughts. If it’s good feedback then that’s great, but if it’s bad feedback we work to rectify the situation so that next time it is good. How have these products been iterated and improved on over the years? As a company we are constantly looking to improve, develop and evolve. This includes improvement to the actual products themselves. We do this by reviewing our
Has the Company taken part in any recent high profile rail projects? With us being an actual manufacturer of products, supplying to different client bases and sectors, it is difficult to track the actual rail projects our materials are being supplied into. With us supplying directly to Unipart Rail and Atkins Rail in bulk we are extremely confident that our products have been used in many prestigious rails projects all over the country.
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MANUFACTURER & DISTRIBUTOR OF EARTHING MATERIALS & LIGHTNING PROTECTION PRODUCTS Kingsmill Industries (UK) Ltd are a leading manufacturer and supplier of earthing materials and lightning protection products for the UK and international markets. Our products are designed, manufactured and tested to meet rigorous standards ensuring high levels of safety and protection for buildings, people, livestock, content and sensitive electronic equipment. History - We are proud to be a UK owned, family run business, located in the heart of the UK and are pleased to say that we have been supplying excellent service into the industry since 1999. Since our inception, we have gone from strength to strength and have developed into one of the industry market leaders, we have done this by focusing on service, quality, price, delivery, commitment and trust. Kingsmill Industries (UK) Ltd is an ISO 9001 registered company and this is where our commitment to quality begins. We aim to provide the highest standard of products, service and customer care without compromising quality or price. This commitment to quality follows throughout all aspects of the company including manufacture, development, customer support and service. Bespoke Manufacturing - Here at Kingsmill, we do not limit ourselves to just our product catalogue items, we are happy to go that extra mile for our clients, we thrive on solving customer products problems. In our dedicated workshop, using a combination of high tech machinery and skilled staff we have the ability to engineer or modify product items to your exact requirements. From a simple modification to a complete new bespoke item.
Product Range – earthing, lightning protection, earth rod, copperbond earth rod, solid copper earth dowel, soil conditioning agent, bentonite, marconite, concrete inspection pit, plastic inspection pit, in u-bolt type rod to tape clamp, rob to cable clamp, GUV rod to cable clamp, rod to lug cable clamp, b bond, earth bar, earth bar with link, earth bar with twin link, disconnecting link, tinned earth bar, insula tape, copper bar, tinned copper bar, flexible braid, bare aluminium, pvc covered aluminium, solid circu cable/wire, tape guard, down conductor clips, saddles, non-metallic down conductor clips, slate ho clamp, screw down test clamp, cable test clamp, bi-metallic connector, air terminal, elevation rod, mu c-crimp, split bolt connector, denso tape, unial paste, silfos, exothermic welding, surge protection, st
QUALITY • SERVICE
MANUFACTURE • PRIDE
TRUST • DEVELOPMENT
h rod, stainless steel earth rod, rod coupler, rod driving stud, rod driving head, rod driving spike, rod nspection pit earth bar, earth rod seal, copper earth plate, lattice copper earth mat, rod to tape clamp, b-bond clamp, rwp bond clamp, tower earth clamp, earth point, earth point with tail, earth boss, braid ator, fasteners, bare copper tape, pvc covered copper tape, lead covered copper tape, tinned copper ular copper, solid circular pvc covered, solid circular aluminium, bare stranded cable/wire, pvc covered oldfast, cable clip, tape clip, adhesive tape clip, square clamp, tee clamp, test clamp, plate type test ulti-point air terminal, air terminal base, rod bracket, rod coupling, puddle flange, tinned copper lugs, tatic earthing, early streamer emission device, bus bar, earthing strap, earth bond.
Kingsmill Industries (UK) Ltd Unit 4, Plymouth Avenue, Pinxton, Derbyshire, NG16 6NS
Tel: +44 (0) 1773 510001 Fax: +44 (0) 1773 863336 Email: sales@kingsmillearthing.co.uk www.kingsmillearthing.co.uk follow us on
IT’S ALL IN TH
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HE
D E TA I L
The UK’s ambitious BIM objectives and their centralised approach has been envied by many other nations – a client offering clear leadership in a switch to digital.
Exclusive interview: David Philp, BIM Task Group David Philp, MSC, BSC, FCIOB, FRICS, FICES, FGBC, is Head of BIM at the BIM Task Group and has spent time as Head of BIM Implementation at the Cabinet Office. The Cabinet Offices’ BIM requirements are delivered through the Task Group and David is responsible for this. This Group is the driving force in supporting and delivering the objectives of the Government Construction Strategy and the requirements to strengthen the public sector’s capability in BIM implementation. David Philp spoke with UK Construction Excellence about his own journey and how BIM’s importance is continuing to grow. Please could you give us some background as to your own career and what attracted you towards BIM? I graduated in the early 90s (engineering and project management) and then joined a leading infrastructure organisation (Balfour Beatty) as a graduate engineer. I advanced through the company, becoming Director of Technical Services and BIM Programme Director before leaving to join Mace as Head of BIM then AECOM as Director BIM - EMEA. I am also a Professor at Glasgow Caledonian University and visiting Professor at Middlesex University. In 2011, I was seconded into the Cabinet Office’s construction team as Head of BIM Implementation for the Government’s Construction Strategy. I have continued this secondment with the BIM Task Group core BIM team (Head of BIM). I have always enjoyed highlighting the potential of new technologies and how we interact with them to bring added value to the client and unlock new ways of working throughout the entire life-cycle. I am passionate about our industry and perceived BIM as being a catalyst for reform and rebranding as a technologically advanced sector. I was however initially attracted to BIM as an enabler of more integrated and concurrent working practices. At what point in your career did you see BIM becoming as influential in the industry as it is and what steps did you take to make sure the companies you worked for got involved within this? It was in the noughties that BIM caught my interest though perhaps in a different guise than we recognise it today. I was lucky to be steered by some great folks such as Andrew Wolstenholme (CEO, Crossrail) and John Tocci (Tocci CEO) who showed me a vision of a more integrated industry powered by digital data. Whilst BIM has been about for many years it was 2011 and the publication of the Government Construction Strategy that we really saw a tipping point in motion with clients looking to leverage the benefits of computer readable data. I think at this point we started to herald the beginnings of the digitised construction sector.
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Tell us a little bit more about BIM and how it would typically be better for projects than more traditional methods? BIM has many definitions but essentially it is about the creation and management of digital data in our built environment; it allows the virtual production, analysis, evaluation and optimal development of an asset in a digital environment that mimics the understanding and behaviour of the solution to the realisation of that solution in reality. Level 2 BIM maturity in the Government pilot projects has a more for less agenda and is achieving a whole range of additional benefits: • Improved stakeholder engagement and better decision making • Encourage collaborative working including early engagement of FM and Operation • Visualisation, prototyping and lifecycle solution testing • Accurate and complete data improving quality of bids, reducing risk allowances in target prices and lump sum bids • 3D model input into the assessment of the impact changes at all stages in a project lifecycle • Input of a populated asset data set into CAFM systems – saving time and avoiding duplication • Better outcomes for the end user How were projects undertaken before BIM became so prominent and what changes have been made? Firstly we must recognise that the UK has a built environment sector to be proud of, one that is rich in heritage and has delivered many world class projects. As our sector becomes more globalised we are having to compete on a new basis and need to ensure that we stay in the vanguard of efficiency and digitisation of our sector is a key enabler. Smarter BIM-enabled procurement and operation is fundamental to this process ensuring clients are buying their information only once in a validated and co-ordinated form which they can reuse for many purposes. You were Head of BIM Implementation at the Cabinet Office and now Head of BIM at the BIM Task Group. How did this come about and how do you drive projects within the industry? I was interviewed for the position which was identified in the Government Construction Strategy. I am proud to be part of a team working with industry and Government to leave a strong digital legacy. We help clients understand the purpose of the data (use) and how they best define this in a computational form, procure it and use it. The Government has previously said that it wants BIM in public sector contracts by 2015/16. Are you still on target for this? As set out in the Government Construction Strategy launched in 2011 the UK Government is aiming to achieve Level 2 BIM maturity on all centrally procured projects
With the heavy lifting on the enabling processes and tools being almost complete I would say that Government is exactly where it should be at this stage of the programme. How has the industry’s involvement of BIM increased over time? What are the numbers now to say, five years ago? The UK’s ambitious BIM objectives and their centralised approach has been envied by many other nations – a client offering clear leadership in a switch to digital. The Task Group programme has always been about working with industry and we are seeing significant increase in adoption; indeed a recent survey by High Speed 2 noted that 56% of organisations that responded now had leading projects that could be considered as Level 2 maturity. Furthermore a 2014 Hill McGraw report said that the mandate had inspired 76% of organisations to initiate a specific BIM project with 66% encouraged to add BIM resources to their organisation. What steps are being taken to ensure this target is met? The departmental adoption pipeline is reviewed regularly along with a maturity index to ensure the Level 2 BIM is truly imbued within the Government organisation. It is essential that the adoption is tested against the objectives set out in the original strategy such as: Valuable, Understandable, Non-proprietary, Competitive, Open and Verifiable. There is also a BIM Stewardship group with Departmental BIM Champions that are helping drive adoption within their portfolios. Is it just public sector contracts or are there targets for other sectors? The Government Construction Strategy and its associated mandates are limited to the central government departments. However, we are seeing a great uptake from local authority and private sector clients such as Great Portland Estates who are equally reporting a positive return in investment from BIM.
We have also recently formed a BIM4 Clients group that is growing rapidly, allowing us the chance to share knowledge around consistently procuring Level 2 BIM services and data. We also have our website www.bimtaskgroup.org and we like to tweet @BIMgcs. We also have a regular online newsletter to ensure we share latest developments in the programme and highlight what’s going on around the various BIM4 parishes.
www.bimtaskgroup.org
by 2016. Significant progress has been made with this and there are already just around £9.5Bn of public sector Level 2 BIM projects in the pipeline.
Beyond the 2016 targets, how do you see BIM’s involvement in the industry? Are there further targets set out? The Industrial Strategy 2025 sets out a vision of an industry that is innovative and technologically advanced including the concept of a Digital Built Britain (essentially the shift to Level 3 BIM). What does the future hold for BIM? Where do you see it going in terms of different sectors and companies? As we move upwards from the solid foundation set by Level 2 we will start to address the functionality for delivery of operational data sets and integration of telemetry. Level 3 will address these in sector delivery and operational stages, with a focus on enabling total cost and carbon outputs. This move towards real time and often open data rich assets will see us partnering and learning more from other sectors, especially those that employ data science skills. I also see there being much more concurrent cycles in the design and construct process. Are any new technologies being developed that can improve the process further? We are already starting to see a convergence with lots of other technologies such as laser scanning and augmented reality. As we shift towards Level 3 maturity we will see more consideration of telemetry and other technologies to provide real time feedback from our assets. David Philp
How is the reputation of BIM spreading and what do you do to make this happen? What are the best methods to spread the message within the industry? Good communication and knowledge share is really important to us. We have established with industry a series of BIM4 groups with CIOB acting as secretariat. These are communities of practice such as BIM4SME, BIM Regional Hubs that allow us a two-way communication conduit to and from the Task Group.
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Amec Foster Wheeler Environment & Infrastructure Europe - BIM Amec Foster Wheeler Environment & Infrastructure Europe progressed the adoption of BIM through 2014 as part of a standard approach to project delivery and data management within the architectural, buildings and civil construction sectors With the mandating of BIM Level 2 on all government projects by 2016, we have seen a substantial increase in public sector infrastructure projects requiring evidence of BIM capability within the PQQ stages of project bidding. Although the focus is on public sector projects, it is widely recognised that BIM will become the default way of working, a shift equivalent from drawing board to computer aided design, and an expectation for all consultancies to have BIM capability.
adopted sustainably within our business. The objectives of our BIM strategy identified the following critical success factors: • • • • • •
Understanding the BIM requirements of sectors and clients Change management within project teams Project delivery processes Technology requirements Staff knowledge and training On-going research and development
Amec foster wheeler BIM Strategy Our short term strategy set out to meet both the requirements of the BIM Level 2 mandate in line with PAS 1192-2 and 3, and the cultural changes required to ensure BIM is fully engaged and
To begin the process, we formed a BIM Implementation Team which included external BIM consultants and global software partners to propose a roadmap outlining our transition into BIM describing short, medium, and long term goals. As part of our strategy, the BIM Implementation Team identified trial projects within the waste infrastructure and defence sectors to test our delivery process and software solution. These trial projects are allowing us to review our documentation and evaluate our common data environment (CDE) data management and software solutions, as well as critically appraise cultural and project delivery processes.
BIM in the Water Sector BIM technology is less well developed in the Water Sector but we believe the benefits associated with its adoption for Project Delivery and Asset Management are equally as relevant. BIM is outcome focussed and therefore very much aligned with the Water Industry’s vison for asset delivery and management. The water industry is asset centric and BIM provides the ultimate platform for managing existing assets and delivering change in an informed and efficient way. 3D models facilitate virtual construction within the built environment. This enables potential clashes to be identified and addressed at an early stage in the project lifecycle where rectification is much more cost effective. The 3D interface provides a means of coordinating input between designers, constructors, users and maintenance ensuring the system is optimised for greatest benefit at an early stage in the project lifecycle. Linking the construction programme and cost data to the model allows commissioning plans and construction sequencing to be developed to maximise efficiency and minimise impact on operational assets, including cost implications leading to better informed decisions.
Learning from other sectors - Integrated Engineering & Design (IE&D) During the BIM implementation period, our Global Applied Technology team have aligned our BIM strategy and project processes with the business’s wider culture, creating efficiencies through learning from experience within other sectors.
Amec foster wheeler BIM Future Our commitment is to ensure our BIM capability will encompass the full asset lifecycle from concept through to decommissioning and demolition. All engineering, design, and analysis activities will be object oriented and closely integrated, while the assurance and handover of information and documents to downstream activities controlled using the latest database technology. Procurement, construction, cost and schedule management through to operations and maintenance activities will be integrated around the same coherent data model ensuring accuracy and consistency during all projects. Building upon our current experience and proposed BIM processes, the adoption of information centric technologies, common standards and collaborative behaviours will continue to unlock new and more efficient ways of delivering as we head towards 2016 and beyond.
For many years in the oil and gas sectors, Amec Foster Wheeler has seen technology as a key enabler for Integrated Engineering & Design and data driven-engineering, which effectively translates to BIM Level 3 in the built environment. Data centric engineering focuses on electronic workflows and controlled automated data, which means that document production becomes a by-product of the database. As well as the technical similarities between data-driven design and BIM, the oil and gas sector has addressed the ’people’ aspect of adopting new processes, through regular communications ensuring those involved understand the systems, workflows, and roles within the project process.
www.amecfw.com
Content Creation “All at CDI ICM are delighted with our choice of BIM Strategy to assist in the progression of our business to the next level and are delighted with their support.”
B I M Str ate g y/ N i ve n A rc h ite c t s For many businesses operating within the construction industry, BIM (Building Information Management) has been steeped in mystery and often considered unnecessary for their small element of the whole. Consequently, it has largely been ignored as a worthwhile investment and left for ‘others’ to pursue. Increasingly, Government funded projects are being procured under BIM protocols and by 2016 all will have to be delivered in this way. BIM is going to touch every part of our industry from initial design concepts to every component manufacturer and installer. The breadth of the holistic approach required stretches from the initial client’s brief for a project through its design and construction, lifelong maintenance and subsequent demolition. Lifecycle and running costs are an essential part of a fully integrated BIM approach. At Niven Architects we have been working for three years at the forefront of the development of BIM technologies with Teesside University through our Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) which has recently been graded ‘Outstanding’ by the Technology Strategy Board, also involved representatives from many other construction disciplines and has led to significant success in winning key awards in ‘Build Sydney Live’ and ‘Build Qatar Live’ competitions. We are now using this expertise to bring practical application to BIM through our associate company, BIM Strategy Ltd. Peter Hodges, Director of BIM Strategy and Niven Architects said: “In my 40 years in the construction industry I cannot remember a more exciting period of change in the way we will design, build and maintain our buildings and infrastructure. Building Information Modelling, or ‘Management’ as we prefer to call it, is transforming the quality and efficiency of the way we create buildings. It is very clear to see,
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how many of the industry’s recurrent co-ordination and implementation problems will be resolved at source using a truly integrated BIM approach. We are already seeing the fruits of this in recently completed and current projects.” Product manufacturers and suppliers need to be aware that their products can be modelled and thereby integrated into BIM databases making them readily available to designers for integration into their building models as they develop them. At BIM Strategy we provide a service to product manufacturers, which converts all product data into BIM format (content creation) and makes this accessible data available to all designers operating with BIM technology. Our experienced team are able to transform a catalogue of products and components in to fully-functional Revit or IFC. files. Each component can contain as much or as little of the technical information as required and can be enhanced in line with NBS Object Standards. Once complete, components can be hosted on company websites or via third-party libraries. In order to future proof the components we are working towards facilitating Revit families’ compatibility with NBS Create: providing a seamless workflow from data-rich BIM content to a comprehensive building specification. Many private clients and developers are adopting this approach. Suppliers and manufacturers therefore will need to have their products available in BIM format to
maintain and enhance their standing in the marketplace for designers and specifiers to call on.
One such company is CDI Innovative Construction Materials, their Director, Ian Larnach, said: “As a progressive SME, we are well aware of the need to constantly improve and up-grade products, systems and services within our client base. “Although current methods of creating product and system awareness work well, the need to constantly develop project specifications is the key to our ongoing success - in our opinion the way forward is to support existing efforts with the addition of a BIM modelling strategy. “After considering various options we decided to invite BIM Strategy/Niven Architects to provide bespoke BIM packages for our specialist floor systems.
“The team at BIM Strategy were a delight to work with, after an initial product/system briefing from ourselves, BIM Strategy showed real enthusiasm and zest towards the delivery of an easy to understand BIM model for each of our systems. “All at CDI ICM are delighted with our choice of BIM Strategy to assist in the progression of our business to the next level and are delighted with their support. “We are really looking forward to the launch of our BIM Strategy models - keeping CDI Innovative Construction Materials at the forefront as a supplier of innovative structural flooring systems.” We anticipate BIM being standard practice for all new projects within three years and certainly Government initiatives are driving the transformation at a fast pace. Complacency may leave many construction businesses and suppliers behind so it is essential to stay tuned to the latest developments. At BIM Strategy we can provide the advice and expertise to make the transformation and take the mystery out of BIM.
For further information on this, please get in touch with BIM Strategy’s Technical Manager, Marc Warren.
The ROI benefits achieved by our existing clients have been remarkable - offering these free components to the industry can result in an increase in enquiries and orders during the lead up to the Government’s ‘2016 BIM Maturity Level 2’ mandate.
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FOR COST EFFECTIVE CAD SOLUTION THE CAD ROOM HAS IT COVERED The Cad Room Ltd was founded in 2003 to provide an outsource cad service for consulting engineers and mechanical and electrical contractors for the building services industry. We are one of the UK’s leading cad outsource companies providing high quality, cost effective cad solutions for the built environment. Our capabilities have grown from just simple 2D draughting to now fully co-ordinated multi service 3D CAD/BIM services and visualisations. In the past 2 years we have completed numerous high profile projects implementing the latest BIM Software (building information modelling). We are now fully integrated with Revit and all the latest BIM processes ahead of the 2016 government deadline. The secret to our successful working relationships and most importantly repeat business and client referrals is our professional and flexible approach to meet the ever demanding project time constraints and budgets. Our senior BIM/CAD Coordinators have the necessary experience to carry out all aspects of the project helped with our cad operators who strive to constantly improve and develop their skills in coordination and the latest Autodesk software technologies.
tel: 0161 427 0348 www.thecadroom.com
What is SketchUp? SketchUp Pro is like a pencil with superpowers. Start by drawing lines and shapes. Push and pull surfaces to turn them into 3D forms. Stretch, copy, rotate and paint to make anything you like. More advanced? Start modelling from CAD and terrain data, photographs or even hand sketches.
New to SketchUp 2015 New tools • •
can now draw precise rectangles unbound by default axes. ways to draw arc’ed edges.
• We’ve overhauled LayOut’s Label tool. You can now conveniently place and align beautiful, two-segmented leader labels.
Performance • We’ve sharpened “Face-Finder,” the code SketchUp uses to create faces while you’re modelling. • SketchUp is now self-aware of styles that help your model render faster.
SketchUp Pro licensing is now friendlier than ever before. Every SketchUp 2015 download starts with a 30-day trial of Pro features. Even better, 2015 Pro licenses can be used on a Mac or a PC.
Contact Elmtec, Sketchup’s distribution Partner in the UK
E: sales@elmtec.co.uk
T: 01844 263750
W: www.elmtec.co.uk
“We are very excited about the CONNECT Edition, our next generation of software at your service.”
Advancing BIM for comprehensive project delivery
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With governments and clients around the world demanding BIM, and organisations required to deliver larger and more complex capital projects for the construction or renovation of industrial and infrastructure assets, many firms are now moving toward the use of BIM solutions. New tools are empowering designers to explore new materials, builders to take advantage of innovative construction methods, and entire project teams to deliver better-performing projects. Anne Busson, Bentley Industry Marketing Director, AEC, explains what BIM is and how it is used in project work. What’s your take on BIM? BIM is a business process, not a technology. It can unlock new ways of working and sharing information, while encouraging the exploration of new design methods and project delivery workflows, and infrastructure operations.
a great example of a BIM-driven approach. The approach is fundamental to the delivery of this extraordinary project and will continue to support the effective and efficient operation of the terminal building throughout its lifecycle once it has been completed. Moreover, BIM is helping to minimize risk on this world-class project and ensure its success. On this project, Consolidated Contractors Company, part of the TCA Joint Venture of TAV, CCC, and Arabtec, managed to reduce the cycle of critical RFIs from 28 days down to between two and seven days. The joint venture saved $1M and 51,000 working hours by resolving clashes between just the facade and other disciplines. The joint venture also dedicated fewer resources to surveying than expected, enabling team members to focus on other responsibilities.
Bentley will continue to work toward advancing BIM to support our ability to integrate, collaborate, and provide proven technology and industry expertise to help our users along their BIM journey.
Another example of this approach at work is Arup’s Madrid office, which implemented BIM for its $30M transportation projects in Doha, Qatar. “Arup has already produced the first projects using a civil BIM strategy, saving 30% of the costs” said Oscar Julián, BIM manager infrastructure department, Arup. The use of BIM has provided Arup Madrid with integrated project delivery, improving project performance, while reducing costs and delivery times. Arup uses Bentley software to design 90% of its installations, including AECOsim Building Designer for structures, buildings, and utilities; InRoads for road design; and SewerCAD and WaterCAD for water networks.
Can you share best practices? Today we are seeing projects delivering a return on investment in BIM when our users integrate people and processes, and are supported by appropriate technology. The new Abu Dhabi Midfield Terminal Building project is
How are you supporting your customers in their BIM journey? Bentley Systems provides software and services that empower multi-discipline project teams to advance to what some call BIM Level 2 by facilitating optioneering
When an organization undertakes a new BIM program, it must facilitate standard business change management best practices and consider the same issues associated with the implementation of most information technologies. These include business impact, people, project process, and technology.
(through an increased depth of information modelling that includes performance simulation and analysis) as well as by enhancing project delivery (through an increased breadth of information mobility from design to construction and into operations). The ability to collaborate and share information throughout the project lifecycle regardless of asset type is paramount. Bentley’s ProjectWise has long been recognised as the industry standard for work sharing, content reuse, and dynamic feedback required for design integration and project information management. Last year we launched ProjectWise Essentials, which we like to think of as ‘ProjectWise for everyone’. With ProjectWise Essentials, organisations of all sizes can now get immediate access to ProjectWise capabilities. It is fully provisioned as a ‘software at your service’, providing cloud-based access to ProjectWise and incorporating industry standards such as BS 1192 workflows, best practices, and processes based on our experience working with larger organisations. With our proven technology and Bentley LEARNservices, we help users address their design, engineering, and construction challenges. For example, the Crossrail-Bentley Information Academy was launched as part of a technology partnership with Crossrail, Europe’s largest infrastructure project. The Academy educates participants in the people, processes, technology, and workflows required to achieve the Crossrail target of delivering a world-class asset, and is one of the innovative initiatives helping Crossrail become among the first organizations to reach BIM Level 2. Bentley recently introduced the CONNECT Edition. How do you see these new capabilities impacting the industry and your users? We are very excited about the CONNECT Edition, our next generation of software at your service. We strongly believe that over the next several years, the CONNECT Edition will empower our users to attain the full potential of BIM advancements through a connected environment for comprehensive project delivery. To ensure information integrity, unify multi-discipline project teams, and improve project performance, the CONNECT Edition brings a common modelling environment, a common data environment, and a common project environment. It will accelerate information mobility with integrity, to and from the right project contributors, anytime and anywhere.
For example, ProjectWise CONNECT Edition will provide a comprehensive project delivery solution that virtually connects every project partner and remote team member to project information and processes throughout the project lifecycle, including initial planning, design, and construction, and handover to operations. The challenge for an organisation is to get the most advantage of constructible models? How do you respond to that challenge? Our mission is to help our users leverage construction modelling for the benefit of capital, industrial, and infrastructure project delivery. That’s why we are focusing on improving information mobility, construction modelling, and industry interoperability. For example, we are collaborating with Trimble to deliver real-world solutions that will transform the design to construction workflow - by enabling greater information mobility through ProjectWise CONNECT Edition and Trimble Connect platform. Construction modelling is our response to fill the gap between what design creates and construction needs. We believe that construction modelling will offer new levels of construction data visibility, drive greater efficiencies, and reduce rework and risk.
Anne Busson
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www.4projects.com
www.4projects.com
www.4projects.com
BIM Show Live: Exclusive UK Construction Excellence interview Could you give us an introduction to BIM Show Live and its purpose? This is our fifth year and originally, Rob Charlton of Space Group and BIM Technologies came to us and wanted to look at the idea of hosting an event associated with BIM and the key learning for the industry. We’ve partnered with Rob and the guys for the last five years and it’s grown year on year. So the first year it ran, it was quite a small one-day conference, co-located with another event. This year we’re in Manchester with space for 70 exhibitors. The two days of content will feature plenary sessions and seminars. How we try and separate ourselves out is by being a much more practical conference so rather than purely covering the big, holistic issues such as are we right to adopt BIM, along those lines, it’s more about finding out what people need to know to be able to implement and execute BIM more effectively. So we have some real in-depth technical sessions rather than just generic debate. And the aim is that everyone who comes can go away with something they can practically use the next day. That has always been the drive behind it. Would you say that practical side sets you apart? Yes, definitely. There are loads of great BIM conferences out there, loads of discussion and debate to be had. When we first started, there weren’t many people on board and engaged with it, but as that’s grown our themes have developed. This year, we want people to ‘prove it’. Last year’s strapline was ‘now it’s serious’. The theory around ‘prove it’ is that we’re doing it now. Let’s start getting some return on investment, projects delivered and see how BIM has offered value rather than a process people have adopted.
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We try and steer clear of the big thinking that doesn’t lead to action. Our plenary sessions have panel debates and we have keynote speakers who are a bit more open in that regard. One of the other things we do is get the whole supply chain involved. So rather than operating a conference just for architects and designers, just for engineers etc, it’s essential that every single one of those collaborate and work together. So let’s give learning for all of those in one space. There’s loads of networking opportunities so they can get together and learn from each other as well. What do you feel have been the results to the industry? There’s been a big drive in the industry and I believe we have been a big part of that, but there’s been a lot going on. What we’d like to say is we’ve helped bring the community together. We work very closely with them, whether it’s Twitter, the UK BIM Crew, David Philp and the BIM Task Group, we work with all those different bodies and try and be as independent as possible so it’s about engaging the industry rather than saying what we want to do at the conference and that is final. For example, the way we source our seminar programme is open in the industry. Rather than us saying ‘these are the sessions we want to run, these are the topics we think are important’, we go out to the industry with the course papers where people put forward what they’d like to present on. It might be an interesting project they’ve worked on, it might be a new bit of software that’s changing the way they work. We have a panel of judges who pick the best sessions and that’s about finding out where the industry is at, what these people are doing and giving a platform to share it. That’s probably one of the biggest things we do as a show; it’s about the industry and gives it a platform and I’d like to think we’ve done a good job of doing that.
So you start to map out key topics well in advance, but until you get past the show it’s quite a moveable object which changes as things develop and grow. So you look quite far ahead. From a logistics point of view, you’re looking at sic-nine month basis where you look at venue hire, logistics detail around getting stands and suppliers booked. The content, we would look to launch two-three months prior to the conference itself and that’s when we start to really promote it. But, for example, this year our call for papers closed around Christmas time and the final selection happened and we launched in January. So we’re relatively in advance, but not so much so we’re not getting the latest and most relevant content. Is it the case that you’re already formulating the themes for next year right now, even before this year’s exhibition? Yes, but I think to be honest, some of this will happen at the show. We are really lucky that our judging panel for the seminars is ten of the leading experts in the industry who help formulate our plans and thinking. But we’ve also got 6070 speakers as part of the show who we talk to and discuss the issues with. Then there’s everyone you meet at the show who turn around and tell you which sessions they enjoyed and want to find out more about. So there’s lots of discussion and debate and the one thing that the BIM Show is amazing for is the community networking, debate and discussion. This year, we’ll look at where we’re at with Level 2 and after that, there’ll be a look ahead to Level 3 as the Government see it. We’ll work with the Task Force on things like that. For me, I think I’d like to see more in terms of operation, so last year we started to explore facilities management to see how BIM is impacting on that.
We started amassing good examples of what people are doing, and in Edinburgh there was a great piece from BAM FM about how BIM is being used for facilities management. We’re hoping this year we’ll see more of that, even more in 2016, and I think then it could build into a conversation about how individuals are working within the built environment, because you’ve got design intent, delivery, operation and while facilities guys play a big part on that, there’s also a big debate over you and I and how we impact in a building. There are major infrastructure projects we’ll see come to a completion. I went to the Bentley Year and Infrastructure Conference and saw Andrew McNaughton talk about how he sees digital growing and the use of the information part of BIM. He gave a great example of how you’d use apps on mobile phones to do ticketing and if you were late from a meeting, you could do an instant changeover. All those elements of connectivity and how we design with that in mind is the real future that’s coming to fruition. It’ll be interesting to see that side of things and greater integration. Each individual discipline has gone and learnt and developed what they’re doing with BIM. Bringing that together is the key and I think we’re seeing that a lot more. How is it decided who speaks at the exhibition and what is the decision process? It’s a real mix. We’re content-heavy with the show and the biggest challenge is scheduling all of this with the exhibition and everything else.
“There’s then three key learning points, a bit around who the target audience is and it’s built across the four stages of BIM, from start to completion.”
What does the planning entail and how far in advance does it begin? In truth, we’re thinking about next year’s show before we’ve done this year. It’s not necessarily the logistics detail, it’s more to do with what we want to talk about. There’s one piece around where do we see the content and key themes going? You look at the beginning of next year, you’ve got Level 2 and where that sits, the next year beyond that there’ll hopefully be updates on Level 3 and the discussions going on.
You break it into two main pieces. One is the plenary conference sessions. They kick off on day one in the morning, and go into the afternoon of day two. These are where David Philp does an opening address and Rob Charlton does a state of the nation speech, and Simon Rawlinson closes the conference. Last year our keynote speaker was Marc Priestley who’s an ex-F1 McLaren mechanic and he spoke about the challenges their industry found in terms of innovation and adoption and there was a nice synergy. There’s a real, interesting higher level discussion that goes on in the plenary.
Read more on page 50
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“We have our marketing team so Mike Cockin is our Marketing Manager on BIM Show Live and he does huge amounts of work as far as promoting and content-driven stuff goes.”
We tie that up with a panel session involving industry experts looking in detail around what these guys are doing in their businesses. That’s something I work to select, so I work closely with Rob Charlton and we work with the judges, our chairman, our chairpeople. The judges help give a steer on what the topics are, who the speakers might be, if it’s people they’ve been working with or heard from. For the plenary, it’s part influenced by the call for papers. So where there are potential topics not covered as much in the call for papers, we might look to build a main stage session in and around that. This year, we’re looking at BIM and return on investment (ROI) again, a similar session but hopefully a bit further forward and we wanted to talk around what the ROI is and what people are getting out of it. We wanted to put that as a main stage session so that’ll be on day one. On day two, we’re doing a BIM and specification, BIM for manufacturers session, which was born out of the fact there were a lot of presentations around it. Sometimes that’s formulated by what the industry supplies, whether there are areas we’re lacking or whether there are areas with lots of content and we feel it’s more important. This is generally curated by us as a group. The seminar programme is sent out for the whole of the industry. We have about 100 entries as well as another 20+ that have missed the deadline who want an extension. From this, we pick 32. We get a lot of requests to speak and present. We then assemble a judging panel of industry experts who get the course papers. If you want to enter, you have to submit a 500-word description of what you want to talk
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about, what your presentation would feature and what it would include. There’s then three key learning points, a bit around who the target audience is and it’s built across the four stages of BIM, from start to completion. The judges get those papers, spend a bit of their own time which is fantastic, pick out their top 30-40 and then we have a big judging day at the UBM offices where we pick out the top ones of who we agree should be placed in the seminar programme. Quite often, you get about 20 that are unanimous and then there’s a big debate around the other 12 that get in because, inevitably, there are a lot of good presentations that should make it but don’t. We usually end up with a big ‘maybes’ pile and we have to debate the merits over one or the other. In truth, we’re always fully aware that we’re going to miss out on some great presentations. Quite often, we’ll get a lot of presentations on a similar theme and we can only pick so many. Last year COBie was the big topic where we had a lot of entries, but we couldn’t have them all. The others, I’ve no doubt, would have been great presentations, but that can be the challenge. We had something similar this year, with many presentations from SMEs covering similar topics. So rather than picking one or two, we’ve gone to each of the speakers and asked if they’d mind taking part in a super SME group and have a big debate and discussion, with BIM SME Group chairing that.
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bim@ibsecad.net
DELIVERING A NEW DATA RICH ENVIRONMENT The concept of BIM is remarkably straight forward; build a 3D model of what you plan to construct, review and check the model to make sure it works in a virtual environment and then construct it. In addition, we can extend the functionality to facilitate the downstream operation and management of the asset by providing access to essential information at the point of use.
Our opportunity through BIM remains; to reduce the waste in what we do by rationalising the process of achieving the outcome, as well as finding new opportunity from a better understanding and alignment of the end product with the initial requirements. This ideal remains at the heart of the BIM journey.
Extract from Bew-Richard 2008
Many saw the opportunity, but it commendably took Government to lead the charge and deliver the well-known route map and ingredients to reach the first milestone, level 2 BIM by 2016, nevertheless level 2 BIM is only the start of the end game.
The opportunity is significant; • Involve technology – to fundamentally enable the opportunity. • Cause us to change our processes – to realise the opportunity and, most importantly of all • Involve the engagement of people – to embrace and deliver a new outcome. Needless to say these changes should not be restricted to visual representation alone. Leveraging the intelligence of the objects that we use to create the 3D virtual model allows us to count, measure, attach information and link to associated information.
With all this information connected through a virtual model of our assets in which information and knowledge can be displayed in many different forms to support our decision making, we start to replicate the simplicity and access we now see in many aspects of everyday life.
Whilst the use of technology and the internet have become part of our everyday lives, it has also become an influencing factor in the way that we work. BIM and the Cloud are starting to do the same, but there is a way to go until we repeat the same physical and behavioural impact that has happened in our daily lives. So what needs to change to this people, process and technology infusion to reach the sweet spot of real success and make this happen? We know real success will need to come from open easy sharing of transferrable information. At Clearbox we believe the initial stepping stone comes from how easily we can access and manage the information to allow our teams to work together, this is
require a simpler, faster, more robust and scalable viewer that connects to the data environment contained in our core product BIMXtra.
the true simplicity of the common data environment (CDE) referred to in PAS 1192 Pt2.
What are Clearbox doing to support this transformation? At Clearbox we see this issue wrapped up in the difference between a model centric approach to BIM and a data centric approach. Ultimately our issue is to ensure that our ease of sharing and access to common data is delivered through a visual interface that allows us to see the outcomes we need at the required level of definition to suit the type of device we are using. For us, the architecture of the product is key. When we search on Google Earth we don’t load the detailed the model of the world as a multitude of small models. The world is loaded at a level of detail and information pertinent to the view we need and the view is then refined and the data we have access to updated as we proceed. When we access a retail website, on our smartphone the view is tailored to suit the device and the information we need, and while that view is rarely fully customisable, it is inevitably likely to be pre-customised to suit the view we require while providing access to other information should we need more. We see that the management of the data is the mechanism to control the visual interface. While we at Clearbox have made best use of existing industry tools, our opportunity to step up our offering for users has been rate limited by the products currently on the market and we have long recognised that we
We have also recognised that such a viewer needs to be supported by the data as opposed to being completely standalone in order to manage very large projects and we have now built an exciting new viewer, based around the type of technology that powers gaming, while providing the simplicity of the interfaces and access arrangements we see in everyday life. Our approach is to make best use of and connect to, best in class tools, wherever they exist, and where they don’t, develop our own to allow the sharing of intelligent data and information based around industry standards. This is a fast evolving environment but we know from the world around us that data is the new oil, and that a data centric approach to managing BIM is critical to the simplicity, scalability and future-proofing of our BIM solutions, just look at the road map‌ level 3 is next. Graeme Forbes is the Managing Director of Clearbox, a specialist digital information solution provider that is focussed on bringing game changing solutions to the construction industry and other asset intensive industries based around BIM based processes.
Access to Clearbox website can be found at www.clearboxbim.com
www.clearboxbim.com
+44(0)800 085 9872
www.bimshowlive.co.uk
There’s a big challenge with this, a day-long task picking out the presentations. But it’s great because we get a feel of where the industry is at. It’s something that does really set us apart as an event.
We have our marketing team, so Mike Cockin is our Marketing Manager on BIM Show Live and he does huge amounts of work as far as promoting and content-driven stuff goes.
How many exhibitors are they and how is it decided who is there? There are 70 comprising a mix of sponsors and pure exhibitors.
A big part of the delivery is Sarah Austin, our Head of Event Logistics, who does the logistics side of thing and being honest, that’s often the biggest challenge, bringing it all together and making sure it runs smoothly. There’s quite a team behind the exhibition.
Last year when we moved to Manchester, we did so because we needed a bigger venue. We were at Park Plaza in 2013 and outgrew the space so Manchester Central gives a nice venue layout. You’ve got an exhibition hall in the middle, off to the left there are seminar rooms and to the right you’ve got the auditorium so there’s a good flow of traffic and that was one of the big selling points for moving there. So you’ve got loads of content in the conference and seminars, but also great exhibitors with interesting software and innovative technology that we want the delegates to see. We’re much bigger now than we were. In truth, we don’t have a vetting process because last year we took a bigger space. Sponsorship is less vetting but more the type of people we work with. We’ve got five gold sponsors this year who we work closely with and help us with content, social media and marketing. The reason for that is there’s a bigger partnership with these. We tend to seek partners at that level who can help grow and develop the event. They’ll submit blogs to go on our site. The exhibition space is a bit of a first come first served process. We’re oversubscribed this year so it’s been a challenge to accommodate people at the stands that they want. We’ve also this year seen a lot of new exhibitors who are either start-up businesses with new software or have come in from overseas and are looking at the UK market, so there’s quite a mix. We vet to a degree but we get a lot of incoming requests to exhibit and to take part in the show which is fantastic. There’s scope for us to grow again. What is the most difficult aspect of arranging the exhibition? There’s quite a big team and we work closely with Rob Charlton and his team who offer huge amounts of knowledge and contacts.
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From my point of view, getting the content right is a real challenge because the whole show hangs on that. Getting the seminar programme right, getting the speakers in - there are a lot of people to manage with that. It is quite a challenge. I think we’ve been quite lucky because there’s a great team here who know how to put on a great event. The last month in the build up is definitely the big challenge. Once we’ve curated all the content and got all the speakers on board, you’re off and away then. Is there anything else you’d like to mention? For me, the biggest thing with BIM Show is the community. It’s an event that we try to have as independent as possible and that’s something we’ve grown. The 800 people we have through the doors, the networking and how they collaborate is the essence of the show. Last year we had the BIM Show Party on the night of the first day to offer the attendees the chance to get together, have a drink, unwind and have a chat about what they’ve seen or found really interesting. We weren’t entirely sure how many people would come and expected the worst but hoped for the best. What we got was the best. There were about 600 there, nearly every delegate attended. It was great and everyone wanted to stay and have a chat. A lot of people fed back that it was a highlight, networking and discussing with peers, colleagues - and that’s one of the really great things about BIM Show for me.
Arup launches BIM Maturity Measure model Arup developed the tool to assess the use of BIM across its different projects around the world and realise a common view of BIM best practice. By making the tool freely available for wider industry use, Arup hopes to demystify BIM, drive awareness of what BIM best practise looks like and help raise capability across design and engineering disciplines. The discipline-diagnostic tool enables users to assess BIM’s use in 25 areas to build-up a comprehensive view of its implementation within a project. The data generated can then be used to identify gaps in an enterprise’s BIM implementation strategy and shape future investment decisions.
“Our BIM Maturity Measure tool aims to democratise assessment, enabling comparisons to be made across all projects quickly and easily. This will allow us to recognise where BIM has been used effectively, creating a code of best practise and helping to identify trends and training needs. We have stopped counting the projects that are doing ‘BIM’ and have started to measure the maturity of BIM application on every project”
www.arup.com
Arup, the design and engineering consultancy, has launched the Building Information Modelling Maturity Measure, a simple tool to assess the maturity - and success - of BIM implementation within projects.
Michael adds: “The introduction of BIM is enabling efficiency gains across the construction industry. Nevertheless, BIM has also become a buzz acronym and although we are all eager to state our BIM credentials, poor or unclear implementation will not help the average project progress. By encouraging BIM assessment, we’re aiming to drive a more open conversation about the use of BIM to improve its positive impact across the project spectrum.”
Assessment is completed directly by users, who fill-in a short series of multiple-choice questions and numerical scale rankings. It is designed for speed and ease, but also to drive the objectivity essential to benchmark one project against another. It is also shareable, allowing different project teams to participate in its completion. Michael Stych, Arup, comments: “To date, BIM assessment has been complex, providing only a high level overview of its implementation and has been limited to high achieving projects,”
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www.faro.com
“The long-term health impacts of poor air quality asthma, lung cancer and cardiovascular disease - continue to pose a significant threat in many parts of the country. “
Sustainability in the NHS
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Based in Cambridge, The Sustainable Development Unit (SDU) is a national organisation working on behalf of the health and care system in England.
The Unit supports the NHS, public health and social care system to be sustainable - environmentally, financially and socially - by engaging across the system to identify the frameworks, networks and mechanisms that will encourage a healthier environment and enable services to be resilient to adverse weather effects and climate change. Established since April 2008, the SDU is jointly funded by NHS England and Public Health England to ensure that the health and care system fulfils its potential as a leading sustainable and low carbon service. David Pencheon, current Director of the SDU, was previously Director of the NHS Eastern Region Public Health Observatory, serving the East of England from 2001 to 2007. David now heads a core team of industry experts and advisers, each of whom provide expert advice and support to the health and care system in England.
At an environmental level this includes addressing issues of energy, travel, waste, procurement, water, infrastructure adaptation and buildings. The Unit also considers sustainability in more broader terms however, with the long-term needs of the health service being paramount. To this end, the SDU examines the adaptation of heath service delivery, health promotion, corporate social responsibility and developing new sustainable models of care. The Unit also provides practical advice to colleagues hoping to meet stringent carbon reduction targets, and engages with those individuals and organisations looking to change existing attitudes and behaviours and embrace a fully sustainable lifestyle. This is indicative of the SDU’s most ambitious goal - to affect a cultural sea change in which dated thinking is abandoned in favour of innovative new methods. But what is sustainable development? The SDU identifies the overarching aim of sustainable development as being to ‘meet the needs of today, without compromising the needs of tomorrow’. Stabilising and reducing carbon
The Unit is currently supporting the system to become a good corporate citizen by helping it to find the optimum balance between financial, social and environmental sustainability. This will help save money, improve overall quality and build a resilient healthcare service that is effectively future proofed, without imposing a toll on our natural resources. The Unit is also investigating the
potential implications of Building Information Modelling (BIM) on the health and care estate. BIM is currently revolutionising the way key infrastructure is maintained and delivered, and its adoption could increase efficiency across the sector. Adapting to climate change The long-term health impacts of poor air quality - asthma, lung cancer and cardiovascular disease - continue to pose a significant threat in many parts of the country. In addition to taking immediate action, the SDU is also attempting to understand how changes in our climate might effect air quality in the future. Particulate matter, ambient ground-level ozone, and nitrogen dioxide account for the three most prevalent air pollutants with the greatest population health burden and, while increased airtightness is necessary in the pursuit of energy efficiency, the absence of adequate ventilation may compound risk further. With this in mind, the SDU has assembled a number of responses to
“Within our communities we see widespread prevalence of both health and social inequality.�
emissions is key to living within environmental limits. For England’s health system this is no small feat however. The NHS employs over 1.3 million people alone, all of whom contribute to a sizeable carbon footprint. Indeed, the NHS emits a staggering 21 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent each year and is the largest public sector contributor to climate change in Europe. The onus is on individuals and organisations alike to mitigate the effects of climate change, which the SDU argues is the most significant heath threat we face this century. The health system therefore has an obligation to become a highly effective public sector exemplar in sustainable development and carbon reduction, and the SDU is instrumental in achieving this.
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UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL BRISTOL NHS FOUNDATION TRUST
CASE STUDY – SUSTAINABILITY IN THE NHS
“We have an excellent ongoing partnership with Thermal Energy and they regularly pop in to check how the systems are performing. As with all projects, we have had some minor issues and Thermal Energy have worked to get them sorted quickly and with no disruption to patient services” Sam Willitts, Energy & Sustainability Manager Annual gas savings of £300,000 Saved 3,000+ tonnes CO2 so far, Reduction of 10-20% Instant payback through shared savings
The NHS is having every last penny squeezed from its budget and the focus of any investment needs to be maintaining or improving patient care. At the same time, the Government is setting energy reduction targets for 2015, 2020 and beyond. In line with these targets, University Hospital Bristol NHS Foundation Trust (UH Bristol) has set a corporate objective to reduce carbon emissions by 5% per annum in line with the national carbon reduction target of 80% by 2050. Samuel Willitts, Energy & Sustainability Manager for the UH Bristol has the responsibility to hit these targets. Being one of Bristol’s largest employers, the UH Bristol has added pressure from the council to become more sustainable and reduce the city’s carbon footprint. In order to meet this target, Sam has implemented many projects including solar panel installation, new energy efficient buildings & recycling. Faced with the challenge of finding new energy saving projects and the ever rising gas price, Sam decided to look at UH Bristol’s extensive steam system to find somewhere he could save money. He was approached by Thermal Energy International (TEI), with an overall solution to regain 80% of the boiler plants’ wasted energy.
stack. For a natural gas boiler, this latent energy will be around 18% of energy in the fuel. By the time boiler and distribution losses have been accounted for, TEI can typically save 20% of the fuel bill, as long there is a use for the energy. The heat recovery unit makes use of the waste heat from UH Bristol’s three 6.4 MW boilers and the exhaust gasses from the 8 MW CHP plant downstream of waste heat steam generator. The recovered energy is used to pre-heat the boilerhouse, make up water and displace steam from the Domestic Hot Water (DHW) and heating systems in the Maternity ward 600m away. For the right heat sink, TEI have installed piping loops of up to 1,000m from the source of recovered heat. The Trust is saving 11million kWh of gas and 2,070 tonnes of CO2 per annum by putting this waste energy to use. The FLU-ACE™ control panel continually records the heat being recovered by the hospital and provides fault warnings if there are any issues. With the 7 year maintenance contract provided by TEI, heat recovery availability is maximised to ensure savings are delivered. TEI can also make minor adjustments to optimise heat recovery remotely and will be on site within 3 working days for any major problems.
“As one of the biggest employers in Bristol, we have a significant environmental impact on our city and so we have a duty to show leadership,” Working with TEI, an operating lease agreement was built so that the Trust could benefit from the carbon savings and increased efficiency, whilst using some of the financial savings to pay for it. This allowed the projects to provide the benefits, without the drawbacks of owning capital equipment and compromising budgets reserved for patient care. The first phase with TEI was to install the company’s proprietary FLU-ACE™ technology. The FLU-ACE™ is a direct contact condensing economiser, which reduces the boiler exhaust gas temperature below the exhaust dew point to about 25°C. Cooling beyond the dew point releases all the latent energy in the exhaust by condensing all the moisture inside a separate
The installation of the unit was achieved without shutting down the boiler house and only required 3-4 hours downtime for each individual boiler, maintaining sufficient steam generation capacity to provide services for patients and wards throughout the install. The second phase of the projects involved converting all 337 mechanical steam traps to TEI’s GEM Steam Trap. To keep the steam dry and free of water, a steam trap is required to remove the water formed as the steam condenses at each point of use (heat exchanger), as well as every 30 – 40m along the steam pipework. The UH Bristol has over 300 steam traps installed across site for this purpose.
An Innovative Technology Company Providing Custom Energy and Emission Reduction Solutions
The US DoE estimates that “approximately 20% of the steam leaving a central boiler plant is lost via leaking traps in typical space heating systems without proactive assessment programs.” These losses occur because conventional mechanical steam traps are designed with a large orifice, requiring an opening and closing mechanism to regulate the flow of condensate through the trap. It is these moving parts that frequently fail in the hot, dirty, pressurised environment of a steam system; either in an open position wasting large amounts of energy or closed preventing heat transfer and causing potentially
Conventional mechanical steam traps fail at an industry accepted rate of 10% per year. Keeping on top of steam trap maintenance was a time consuming activity for the Estates department - a simple audit used to take at least a man-week. To ensure there is no wastage of live steam, TEI’s team of engineers design each GEM Trap for its specific application and subsequently commission it following installation. This project has eliminated the steam loss from the typical 10% failure rate that conventional mechanical steam traps suffer every
“We were very impressed with how the installation went. Working with our project managers and estates team, Thermal Energy ensured that we had minimal downtime on our systems whilst connections were made, as well as incorporating our views into pipe runs and critical areas.” says Sam Willitts, Energy and Sustainability Manager. dangerous water hammer. The advantage of this design is that specification is simple, typically requiring only the pipework diameter, but with rising energy costs a more efficient and reliable alternative is required. These problems can be eliminated using the GEM Steam Trap, a permanent steam trap solution with a unique design that eliminates moving parts. With an orifice sized for the maximum condensate flow, it cannot fail open and leak live steam. The only maintenance required is occasional filter and orifice cleaning. This can be completed inline in less than 5 minutes with TEI’s GEM servicing tool. Each GEM Trap is performance guaranteed for 10 years, with customers experiencing up to 20 years continuous service with no deterioration in performance.
year. Additionally during onsite testing, the GEM Trap was demonstrated to be more efficient than fully operational mechanical steam traps. GEM Traps were supplied for all applications across site, including steam distribution line drainage, variable load domestic and hot water heat exchangers and performance critical sterile services. Across these two projects, the trust has made reductions in gas usage by more than £300,000 a year. UH Bristol has also saved significant time and money in maintenance, as servicing and replacement of failing traps is no longer required. Additionally, these projects have saved over 3,000 tonnes of CO2, which has helped the trust overachieve the 5% target of emission reduction it had been set.
Energy Consumption
The UH Bristol steam distribution system is more than 5km in length, with steam from the central boiler and CHP plant delivering energy for hot Trap performance over time - GEM vs Conventional Mechanical Traps water, space heating and sterile services across the entire estate. Steam is commonly used for heat Mechanical trap New traps distribution as a constant fail - replace cycle installed single kilogram of steam contains 15-20 l ua ate times more energy n Increase in an re r than the same quantity energy u % l i 0 of hot water. This 1 fa consumption p energy density as mechanical tra significantly reduces traps fail piping infrastructure and heater exchanger Increase in size. Unlike hot water efficiency of heating systems, GEM traps steam carries its GEM Traps maintain efficiency energy in the form of latent heat, which is released at constant 3 1 2 temperature as it condenses to water. Years
Thermal Energy International 1 John Street, Bristol, United Kingdom, BS1 2HR
Email: sales@thermalenergy.com
Tel: 01179177010 www.thermalenergy.com
“While a great many challenges remain ahead of 2020, it is clear that the sustainable development of the NHS is a genuine possibility thanks in part to the efforts of the SDU.”
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help mitigate the effects of air pollution. These include identifying those most vulnerable to harmful exposure the elderly, the very young and those with a pre-existing condition - and increasing awareness for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affair’s daily air quality index and health advice. The SDU is also working alongside Barts Health NHS Trust in east London to help realise their vision to become the most sustainable NHS trust by 2020. To achieve this, Barts Health is cutting emissions that contribute to poor air quality around various hospital sites and helping atrisk community groups to cope with the negative effects of air pollution. Ian Basnett, Director for Public Health at Barts NHS Trust, explains: “Within our communities we see widespread prevalence of both health and social inequality. By actively engaging with our communities and empowering individuals to take action the ‘Barts Health Cleaner air for
east London project’ we can start to tackle some of these significant issues, which currently result in a significant number of premature death each year.” In this sense, Barts Health is a prime example of the SDU’s ideal - a responsible organisation that seeks to minimise its environmental impact on the world around it, while also educating and encouraging health and sustainability in the surrounding community. Sustainability in the NHS But what of the future? Following the recent Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) in March, the Chair of the Committee, Joan Walley, noted good progress in the sustainable development of the NHS - with specific praise for the SDU’s highlighting of the ‘potential for sustainability improvements with substantial cost and quality co-benefits’. While a great many challenges remain ahead of 2020, it is clear that the sustainable development of the NHS is a genuine possibility thanks in part to the efforts of the SDU.
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Setting new standards in education
P r i o r it y S c h o o l B u i l d i n g P ro g r a m m e The Priority School Building Programme (PSBP) is a centrally managed programme set up to address the needs of the schools most in need of urgent repair. Through the programme, 260 schools will be rebuilt or have their condition needs met by the Education Funding Agency (EFA).
As of February 2015, 16 PSBP schools have now opened in new buildings, 55 schools are currently under construction and all the schools are due for completion by the end of 2017 - two years earlier than originally planned. Given the success of the PSBP, Ministers have also announced a second phase of the programme, worth around £2Bn.
The PSBP is being overseen by the Department for Education (DfE) and represents a concerted effort on behalf of the DfE to improve England’s education infrastructure.
Schools Minister David Laws said: “The opening of Whitmore Park marks a major milestone in the Priority School Building Programme, which is making great strides in ensuring that vital building work takes place at some of the schools in the worst state across the country.
The first school to be rebuilt as part of the Government’s PSBP opened to its pupils in May 2014. Pupils and teachers at Whitmore Park Primary School in Coventry have had their dilapidated school building completely rebuilt as part of the £2.4Bn programme.
“It is providing much better value for money than previous school building schemes, and forms part of the Government’s drive to deliver the best schools for young people in order to help deliver both a stronger economy and a fairer society. “Whitmore Park Primary has become a model for PSBP schools, with procurement taking only 13 weeks and building works complete in just 11 months.”
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“Our previous building was past its best so the new school will mean that less money will have to be spent on repairs and can be spent on better equipment or more staff instead.” The £5M project comprises a new build primary school for 630 pupils with a 39-place nursery. The two wings share a central hub comprising the entrance, studio and hall, making it an efficient and effective design. Stephen Beechey, Managing Director Education and Investment at Wates, the contractor who built the school, said: “The Priority School Building Programme is proving itself an extremely successful means of ensuring new school facilities result in inspirational learning environments that encourage educational excellence. “This can clearly be seen in the delivery of Whitmore Park. Wates has maintained a close working partnership with the Education Funding Agency throughout the design and build programme to maintain cost and time efficiency, leading to completion of the first school under the programme.”
With Whitmore Park Primary School complete, a raft of new school rebuilds have begun on-site. In December 2014 Hessle High School and Sixth-Form College hosted an official turf-cutting ceremony to mark the commencement of an £18.5M scheme to replace its deteriorating school building. Excited students and staff from the school were joined by council dignitaries, representatives from the EFA and the contractor, Galliford Try, to celebrate the start of work. Situated in East Yorkshire, Hessle High School and Sixth-Form College has accommodation for 1,450 pupils, including 200 sixth form students, and is currently split over two sites. The fit-for-purpose rebuild - one of five such PSPB projects being rebuilt or refurbished by Galliford Try across the region - will allow the school to operate from a single site and provide state-of-the-art science labs, ICT and teaching areas, and sports facilities for up to 1,550 pupils, including 230 sixth form students. The Hessle High School and Sixth-Form College scheme is due for completion by summer 2016. In total, ten schools will be rebuilt or refurbished under the PSBP in the Hull and East Riding area.
“The opening of Whitmore Park marks a major milestone in the Priority School Building Programme,
Caroline Kiely, Executive Headteacher at Whitmore Park Primary School, said: “I’m sure the new school environment will make a real difference to the staff and children here at Whitmore Park.
Withernsea High School, also in East Yorkshire, will too benefit from the PSBP. The 1,000-place secondary school has received a £13M investment which will provide a three-storey school building alongside a partial refurbishment of the existing school. While the new build element is due for completion in summer 2015, the full programme of works will be completed in summer of the following year.
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McAvoy Teaches Schools the Off Site Rule Modern methods of construction have transformed a previously cramped primary school which was struggling to accommodate growing pupil demand into one which features a state-of-the-art 4D classroom – one of the first schools in England to have the interactive classroom technology.
technology can create many different environments from around the world including everything from the Arctic Circle to an Amazonian Rainforest thanks to incredible 4D visuals which are also interactive.
Jo Bland, Principal at Boston Pioneers Free School Academy in Lincolnshire, says off-site building company McAvoy has revolutionised school life for the pupils and staff following the construction of the new two-storey 1983 sq metre building.
Jo adds, though, it’s not just the exciting technology that has transformed the school, but the whole project from start to finish: “One of the best elements of the new build school was that we got to work closely with the architect to ensure all of the school’s needs are in the finished building.”
The £3.4m school project, which began earlier this year to replace the former Conway School originally located in Tunnard Street, has resulted in an innovative and inspirational new education facility with modern classrooms and features.
She agrees off-site building techniques have completely changed school life for the pupils at Boston Pioneers who were able to watch their new school’s component parts being transported onto the site for construction.
McAvoy won the contract to design and build the new school funded by the Education Funding Agency (EFA).
“It was amazing how quickly the building was erected and fitted out – it just seemed to pop up one day.
A former car showroom at the new school site was demolished to make way for the modern build which is set to accommodate 420 pupils by 2019.
“McAvoy’s commitment to the school and attention to detail was something else. It took six months to construct and finish out this wonderful new school.”
Now, a bright, airy new school with 21 classrooms, has not only replaced the old 14-classroom premises but has created a completely new teaching environment with the 4D classroom, a sports hall, kitchen/food technology areas, breakout space, a main hall and showering facilities for Boston pupils, who are aged from four to 11.
Jo explains: “The new school looks like a traditional build with every possible amenity. The interior finish is excellent with features such as underfloor heating – you would never know it was a rapid build constructed off-site.”
The old school needed to be replaced as it was unable to cope with growing pupil numbers – it was originally designed to house 60 children, but Boston School had 120. Now the old fashioned building is gone, having been replaced at a new location with a modern, well-appointed school with up-to-date facilities and enough new classrooms to accommodate Boston’s unique approach to teaching in smaller groups. Off-site build meant the new school was built in just six months, much faster than using traditional building techniques as most of the work is done at McAvoy’s purpose built factories prior to construction on site. The high specification building which features the latest innovative building materials, health and safety requirements and meets the most demanding building regulations will play a critical part in the education of the local community here. Being one of the few English schools to have a 4D classroom is a real coup for Boston Pioneers School. The 21st century
Jo says: “Our school numbers are set to grow by 60 each year thanks to this amazing, gigantic new building.”
“The Priority School Building Programme is proving itself an extremely successful means of ensuring new school facilities result in inspirational learning environments”
Speaking at the turf-cutting in December, Richard Williman, Headteacher of Withernsea High School, said: “Having worked so closely with the EFA, BAM and the local authority on the planning of our new school, seeing the cutting of the first turf is a really exciting day. This development will have such a profound impact on the whole Withernsea community that today has even greater significance. We look forward to seeing the building evolve over the next 18 months.” Paul Cleminson, Project Director for BAM Construction, added: “We understand how much these facilities mean to the community of Withernsea, as well as to the school itself. We’ll be making every effort during the build to make sure the broader community knows what’s going on, and also benefits economically and socially from the work we are doing here. From our considerable experience in this sector we know that a new school is a very significant thing for a community and we appreciate that our approach to building it has to be as professional as the technicalities of the construction. We’re looking forward to getting involved and making a rapid start.” Investing in the school estate With the first phase well and truly underway, the Department for Education has set about detailing Phase II of the PSBP together with the proposed school conditional funding allocations. Here the Government has redoubled its efforts by dedicating an astounding £6Bn of investment to improve the condition of the school estate. Such investment is indicative of the Government’s long-term economic plan to ensure good quality schools that are safe and fit for learning.
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The investment is a hearty endorsement of the Priority School Building Programme, which has seen ageing school infrastructure improved faster and cheaper than those built under the previous school building initiative - Building Schools for the Future (BSF). While construction could take as long as three years to begin under the BSF, the PSBP has seen waiting times slashed to a single year and overall project costs reduced by a third. Of the £6Bn of funding announced, £2Bn will be invested in rebuilding and major refurbishment projects to address the needs of school buildings in the very worst condition. In total a further 277 schools will have one or more of their buildings addressed under the second phase of the PSBP. The remaining £4Bn will be allocated to schools, local authorities, academy trusts and voluntary-aided partnerships to fund the improvement and maintenance of UK schools as Nicky Morgan, the Secretary of State for Education, explains: “For the first time in years, we have reliable information on the condition of school buildings from the property data survey - the most comprehensive survey of the school estate ever undertaken. All of those responsible for schools will now receive funding in proportion to the size and condition of their schools. Where necessary, we are providing additional support to those responsible for schools with the most severe condition need.” The funding announced will, for the first time, cover three years - from 2015 to 2016 and 2017 to 2018 - to guarantee certainty and stability for the various local authorities, academy trusts and voluntary-aided partnerships. The
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The Raylor Centre | James Street | York | YO10 3DW
Tel: 01904 422856 Fax: 01904 422891 Mobile: 07966 038783 www.eastwood-group.co.uk
“All of those responsible for schools will now receive funding in proportion to the size and condition of their schools.”
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measure will enable those responsible to plan effectively and make good strategic investment decisions that deliver the best possible value for their schools.
“To create a stronger economy we have to invest in a fairer society so that our young people can be successful in the future.”
In an effort to increase transparency, the Government will also collect information from all bodies responsible for the maintenance of the school estate on how they have used their funding. This information will be simple, high-level and easily accessible to the public.
The Government is determined to raise the standard of schools and the education they provide as part of its longterm plan. The PSBP is building on the progress which has already been made in delivering a more efficient, faster, less bureaucratic approach to building schools.
In summation Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: “It is crucial that we invest properly in education, so that every child has a fair start in life. Thousands of pupils will benefit from better, brighter, warmer classrooms thanks to this funding.
Thanks to the decisions taken following Sebastian James’ ‘Review of School Capital’ to improve efficiency and reduce waste in central school building programmes, the Government is building or improving the condition of almost 900 schools.
“Children can’t learn and teachers can’t teach in schools that are cold and have leaking roofs.
SUPER FAST CONSTRUCTION CREATES A STIR IN LIVERPOOL
Next phase of Liverpool student accommodation project demonstrates power of unique timber frame volumetric construction techniques in UK The latest block in a major student accommodation project in Liverpool is going on site later this month and will showcase the speed, efficiency, sustainability and safety benefits of volumetric construction using the only timber frame modules of their type in the UK. The Nordic Construction UK site at Hope Street, Liverpool is a 339 bedroom mixed use development of 10,000 sq m. It includes apartments and accessible studios, complete with fully fitted kitchens and ensuite bathrooms, in a purpose built student centre including a cinema, gym, bars and restaurants opening onto a central landscaped courtyard. The volumetric construction system being used is not usually available in the UK – highly insulated, FSC/PEFC certificated timber frame modules which are manufactured and delivered on site fully fitted, decorated to a high standard and ready wired and plumbed for all services. Similar steel frame modules have been used in the UK before, but timber frame systems currently tend to be manufactured in the UK only in separate wall, floor and roof panels rather than full modules. The Nordic Construction approach harnesses the sustainability and cost benefits of timber frame with the well-known speed and safety advantages of genuine volumetric construction. Work started on site over a year ago for foundations and is due for completion in summer 2015. Of the four blocks, ranging from four to eight storeys above the ground floor retail units, Block C was completed in October with 93 modules lifted in place at the rate of 10-12 a day to build a full floor a day. Block D is going on site this month. Adam Greenfield, managing director of Nordic Construction, says: “This site has been a revelation to the client, the construction team and the local community who have never seen a project so fast or so smart. “We have had a steady stream of developers and consultants wanting to see what we are doing here in Liverpool. Time is money, so everyone is interested in the speed of construction and how this can reduce financing costs, bring in faster rental income and so significantly improve cash flow and return on capital investment. “When all factors are included, including the design and manufacturing time, construction has already been 30% faster than traditional build techniques. Waste on site is down by 60%. Water use overall is down 35%. We have zero
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health and safety incidents on site and no problems with the public who are walking within a couple of metres of one of the biggest luffing cranes in Europe. “The knowledge transfer from a project of this type has also been important to the entire supply chain. As one of the consultants said to me the other day, the only pods he’d seen before had peas in them. Given the experience they have now had, everyone agrees that this is the future of construction for projects of this type.” Addressing any potential concerns about timber frame volumetric, Adam Greenfield explains: “Timber frame construction is already popular because of its built-in thermal performance, airtightness and carbon capture. But using these new modules, we can enjoy all the benefits of timber frame construction without the potential problems of a site this large. For example, there is a huge reduction in fire risk on site as the modules are arriving already fully built, insulated, clad and fire protected. The quality of manufacture is very high and has not suffered at all in transportation. This project has exceeded all our hopes and expectations.” Key Facts about Hope Street • Mixed use development at corner of Hope Street and Myrtle Street, Liverpool, including 339 student bedroom apartments and accessible studios • Steel frame ground floor retail units with timber frame volumetric construction above • £15.6 million construction cost • Apartments range from 15 sq m - 22 sq m each • 79 week programme in total, including all manufacturing time • 30% faster construction compared to traditional methods • Even including manufacture in the factory, water use reduced by 35% • Waste reduced on site by 60% • Each module weighs 9 -14.5 tonnes • Compliance with all 2010 Building Regulations • Wall U value of 0.21 W/m2K • Main contractor: Nordic Construction UK Ltd • Volumetric timber frame module manufacturer: Nordic Homes, Latvia • Architects: Hester Architects • Structural Engineers: Curtins Consulting • M&E Contractors: Hurstwood Environmental Engineering • Owned by Liverpool Students 2013 Ltd • Student accommodation managed by Collegiate
info@nordic-construction.co.uk
www.nordic-construction.co.uk
‘the people behind the power’
Challenges in the Progression in the Development of Competitive Market Framework for Electrical Connections It was noted with interest that ‘The World Bank Report of the Ease of Doing Business in the United Kingdom’ ranked the UK’s position in providing electricity as 74th of 189 economies in 2014, which was actually 10 positions worse than in the same poll conducted in 2013. The frontier economies adopted streamlined processes removing duplication and unnecessary approval requirements, which in turn reduced connection times and costs to the customer. Clearly the UK has a challenge to improve the situation. Ofgem’s recent findings in its review into the electricity connections market1 published 21st January 2015, recognised that “Effective competition will help improve the quality of service that customers receive and reduce the cost of connection. Competition can also encourage innovation in the type of services on offer. A well-functioning market for connections to the distribution network should benefit us all – connections that are timely and cost effective help the economy to grow and help to decarbonize the energy we use.” One of the key drivers for change within the UK will be the delivery of a fully open and competitive market place for provision of electrical connections to distribution networks owned and operated by the incumbent Distribution Network Owners (DNO’s). Whilst it is accepted some progress has been achieved, there is still a long way to go. There are many outstanding issues, such as streamlined processes targeting at minimising times not maximum durations; accessing DNO records systems to enable self-service and self-approval processes. With these arrangements in place, it would provide an open competitive market place aimed at meeting the end customers’ needs in a time frame they desire.
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From Power On’s position, there is a need to swiftly manage transition of the ability to service our customers’ needs with the minimum of DNO engagement. The proposed national Code of Practice which is currently being discussed between Ofgem, and the DNO’s with consultation with ICP’s and IDNO’s, if successfully adopted and implemented, will support a truly open and competitive marketplace where quality of service and cost efficiencies can be derived. As the UK’s No 1 Independent Connections Provider, we have the recognised capabilities and competencies as required by the DNO and audited through independent audits undertaken by Lloyd’s through the National Electricity Registration Scheme. However, we are still subject to DNO Approval, Audit and Review as well as seemingly endless trails. Every Power On employee interfaces on a daily basis with the bureaucratic processes which have evolved from the DNO’s from enquiry through to the adoption of the assets. Fortunately, throughout the past ten years of engagement, we have developed the knowledge and capability to successfully get through these barriers, but are still at times disadvantaged by the draconian application of maximum times for responses and endless gates of approval and double checking. Naturally, we are the leading advocates of change and we have leadership roles on all the national debating platforms for Competition in Connections. We are strongly supported by our Sister company, GTC, who are the largest Independent Distribution Network Owner and Operator in the UK to try to drive this requirement forward, which we all believe will deliver improved customer service, shorter delivery times and a more cost effective solution for electrical connections.
www.ofgem.gov.uk/ofgempublications/92527/connectionscompetitionreviewfindings-pdf
Power On Connections, Dovecote Court, Potters Marston Hall, Leicestershire LE9 3JR
t: 0845 230 0116 f: 01455 274906 e: enquiries@poweronconnections.co.uk www.poweronconnections.co.uk
Power On Connections Providing Competitive Electricity Connection Solutions Despite the continuing challenge of overcoming the inherent issues identified previously, Power On has led the Independent Connections Providers (ICP) Competitions in Connections Marketplace since its inception in 2003. Growing significantly from a Leicester based organization to operating nationally through 5 regional offices and depots with over 160 employees. Power On Connections is the UK’s largest and leading ICP specialising in the designing, delivery and adoption management of high voltage and low voltage electrical infrastructure servicing the commercial, industrial, retail and city living developments. More recently we have been connecting sustainable developments such as windfarms, solar sites and district heating schemes. Power on Connections has completed over 3,000 competitively won projects since its formation in 2003 and, most recently, its specialist teams delivered electrical infrastructure to the high profile new Industrial, Commercial and Housing development south of Cambridge. As part of the project, Power On constructed and installed 2 x 15MVA 33/11KV primary substation as well as a multi-panel 11KV switchboard and numerous distribution transformers and cabling to service the development. The scheme was serviced via twin 33kV circuits, 8km off-site cable route crossing a rail bridge, river and major roads, terminating on site into a multi-panel 11kv switchboard. The company’s unique position within the electricity industry means customers can benefit greatly from the power behind this highly successful ICP and its unparalleled Group sister companies. The Gas Transportation Company (GTC), Britain’s principal independent provider of energy infrastructure servicing the domestic marketplace for Gas and Electricity connections.
Through our sister company, See the Light have developed a relationship with Sky to offer their services across our 300Mb fibre optic network, providing our customers with unrivalled quality service and speed. As well as clean and foul water service connections through our Water business, further complementing our unique utility service provision are our Sustainable energy experts, Metropolitan, who offer a range of district heating and energy schemes. We all operate under the same group, Brookfield Utilities UK, the leading independent provider of last-mile networks with over 30,000 discrete networks serving over 1.5 million utility connections throughout mainland UK. This means that Power On Connections‘customers have access to specialist expertise and decades of industry experience in traditional and next generation utility infrastructure including gas, electricity, water, superfast fibre and community-based district energy. Whilst Power On Connections’ core business centers on delivering complex electricity solutions, the company has the power behind it to provide multi-utility infrastructure to every development and being part of a big family in Brookfield Utilities UK has many advantages for our customers. We are able to offer all the traditional as well as next-generation utility infrastructure solutions through just one partner, which gives the best possible customer experience. Utilities are time critical in every development project and that kind of continuity can make a vital difference.
“We’re seeing an enormous recovery in house-building. It’s been growing every year over the last years, and part of that is because of Help to Buy.”
The Department for Communities and Local Government
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The role of the Department for Communities and Local Government is to create great places to live and work, and to give more power to local people to shape what happens in their area. Their responsibilities include supporting local government by giving them the power to act for their community without interference from central government and helping communities to solve their own problems so neighbourhoods are strong, attractive and thriving. The Department is also responsible for working with local enterprise partnerships and enterprise zones to aid growth in the private sector and make the planning system work more efficiently and effectively. Other responsibilities include supporting local fire and rescue authorities so that they are able to respond to emergencies and reduce the number and impact of fires. One of their key priorities is getting the housing market moving again so there are more homes to buy and to rent at affordable prices. For decades, there has been a shortage of homes to meet the demands of the growing and aging population. From 2009 to 2010, only 115,00 new-builds were completed in England – fewer than any other year in peace time since the 1920s. The global economic crisis hit the housing market hard and the Government’s priority has been to see and to understand the circumstance where lenders couldn’t lend, so builders couldn’t build and buyers couldn’t buy.
The Department for Communities and Local Government aim to increasing housing supply by removing unnecessarily complex regulations. Further assistance will come in the way of providing finance for projects that can’t proceed without it and by helping buyers who can’t afford to buy a home because they can’t afford the deposit. It is hoped these measures will help builders, investors and local councils to increase the supply of both new builds and repurposed empty homes. The Government has also made available more public sector land that will allow for the creation of more new homes. Over 103,000 new homes have been built and the amount of land sold by the Government surpasses the original commitment set by the Prime Minister. The Government is asking for councils and developers to turn the land into housing as soon as possible and hopes that local authorities across the country will take this lead and seek to sell their unused sites and buildings. Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said: “House building is at the heart of the Government’s long-term economic plan. That’s why, rather than leaving surplus public sector land idle, we are putting it to good use by releasing it to build new homes across the country. “This is part of wider efforts that have got Britain building again, leading to the delivery of 700,000 new homes since the end of 2009. I now want to see councils following Whitehall’s example and explore what they can do to release land and deliver new homes and savings for local taxpayers.”
Another component to the Help to By scheme is its support of responsible lending and not being the primary factor in the rising cost of property. This is illustrated by the latest figures showing that the average house price for both parts of the scheme, at £185,000 (£156,000 for the mortgage guarantee and £212,000 for the equity loan scheme), remains significantly below the national average house price of £272,000.
Alongside the Government’s Help to Buy: NewBuy scheme, which offers 95% mortgages for those buying new build properties, it has been announced this month that the number of new home owners has reached nearly 90,000.
The average house price to income multiplier under the mortgage guarantee scheme is just over three and a half times a person’s salary, and capped at a ratio of four and half time times to ensure responsible lending.
Over 80% of those using Help to Buy are first-time buyers, showing that the scheme has been a massive benefit to them. The vast majority of sales have been outside of London and at prices well below the national average.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister David Cameron visited a construction site in Cannock, Staffordshire where Bellway Homes are building more than 200 new properties on the site on an old automotive lighting factory. He said: “We’re seeing an enormous recovery in house-building. It’s been growing every year over the last years, and part of that is because of Help to Buy.
The long-term health of the housing market is supported by the Help to Buy scheme increasing housing supply and stimulating the building of new homes. Over 50% of the homes bought through the scheme are new build properties and help to contribute to the 37% rise in private housing since its launch. Help to Buy has also incentivised growth in the construction industry, which has been growing now for 21 consecutive months. Last year, housing starts increased by ten per cent, with annual housing starts and planning approvals now at a seven-year high, with 537,000 new homes being built during this parliament.
“Today, we demonstrate that 88,000 people in our country have been able to get on to the housing ladder because of the Help to Buy scheme. So we are now seeing housing starts up, housing completions, building taking place. “The estate we are standing on now, the builder said to me it was because of Help to Buy that they started building more homes, building more quickly. It’s working, and more people are getting the security and stability of owning a home of their own.
www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-communities-and-local-government
Help to Buy is the Government’s flagship housing scheme that was created in 2013 with the intention of providing support to hard working tax payers who could pay a mortgage but couldn’t afford the high deposits demanded by lenders in the aftermath of the economic crisis. It allows buyers to borrow up to 20% of a property’s value from the Government to add to the buyer’s five per cent contribution to the deposit.
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RAY OF HOPE FOR FUEL POVERTY: SUN SHINES AGAIN FOR SOCIAL HOUSING
Simon Crowe Managing Director of Low Carbon Alliance and BPVA Committee member talks about the resurrection of the solar PV for providers of social housing There are now over 650,000 solar PV installations in the UK, taking the size of the market to over 6GW making it the sixth largest globally. The recent trend has been for ground mounted solar farms as developers and investors looked to squeeze as many schemes as possible into the Renewable Obligation subsidy before it closed for over 5MW projects at the end of March 2015. Deployment in the domestic market is steady at around 8000 to 10000 installations per month but is markedly down on the first couple of years where monthly rates were on average 15000. Observers will say that this is down to the Government slashing the Feed in Tariff (FIT) rate in 2011. True, however, with the increasing cost to power our homes and increasing numbers of people either in or close to fuel poverty, one can’t help but think this a massive opportunity that is being missed. Why? In 2010 the FIT for domestic installations was 42p/kWh and even when halved in 2011 to 21p/kWh, the carrot was so big to investors and Registered Providers (RP’s) that portfolios of hundreds of thousands of houses were bragged about, paying roof top rents to RP’s as well as providing free electricity to tenants. Expectations were set, though as the FIT was reduced further, hardly a project was built due to the time it takes to deliver such schemes and now the sector seems to sit and wait for the golden goose that never was, to return. Some though are adjusting their expectations. Helping some of the poorest communities reduce their living costs is reward enough. Attracting hundreds of thousands of pounds of investment into their portfolios is enough. Improving SAP and EPC ratings without capital cost is enough. Working with a specialist social housing solar PV developer, Access Energy, Origin Housing has grasped the opportunity and is close to commencing surveys on its portfolio that will see somewhere between 600 and 1000 resident families benefit from free electricity produced by solar PV. Tim Hayton, Head of Asset Management for Origin Housing says – ‘It’s not been easy with the changes to the Feed in Tariff and the challenges in our portfolio with a mixture of single dwellings and blocks of flats in and around London but working with the team at Access Energy and Low Carbon Alliance, we have developed an exciting programme that will deliver significant benefits to our tenants.’ The key to successfully delivering these programmes is understanding the economics early, and getting the correct legal structure in place. These projects are complex. Multiple small installations across different
roof and building types, geographically spread, all with separate contact and access arrangements. Buy in and support from the Registered Provider is critical to success. Craig Gordon Operations Director and Access Energy says - ‘The team at Access has all the necessary skills to analyse multiple property portfolios accurately and plan and deliver solar PV programmes but without the support of the Origin team from the neighbourhood managers, the asset management team and executive board our job would be impossible’ It’s not just about roof top analysis, the legal structure around projects has to be right for all stakeholders; the Landlord and their lenders, the tenant and the funder. The Origin/Access project has a rooftop lease that has been through a thorough due diligence process with multiple lenders and is now a project enabling contract for other Registered Providers to benefit from. If structured correctly, funded programmes will also avoid the need for time consuming and costly OJEU procurement processes. The Origin Housing PV programme will be fully funded by Access Energy’s partner, Lightsource, so save for their management time and legal costs, the programme will not cost Origin Housing a penny, leaving them with capital budgets to spend on other energy saving measures such as solid wall insulation and LED lighting projects. There are over four million social housing units in England, Scotland and Wales. It’s time that more landlords resurrected shelved projects and looked to their roof tops to help tackle fuel poverty.
THE ACCESS ENERGY AND LIGHTSOURCE FREE SOLAR PARTNERSHIP ON RSL AND PRIVATE HOUSING STOCK Access Energy have partnered with Lightsource renewable Energy ltd in delivering their fuel poverty solution to Social Housing Tenants. By employing our own team of in house developers, planners and surveyors the partnership are able to control costs, quality and timing of developments nationwide. The Department of Energy and Climate Change predict that 2.33m people will be living in fuel poverty in 2015. Our offering benefits your tenants by providing free solar generated electricity which assists in eradicating fuel poverty and the decision “to heat or eat”. We rely on a network of trusted, audited installation partners to deliver an investment grade product which, in turn, creates local employment opportunities. This benefit will last 20 years at optimum levels and if properly maintained will continue to produce for 30 years or more. The proven Access Energy Fuel Poverty Solution will deliver substantial financial benefit – not only when the sun shines but in cloudy conditions and throughout the winter months too.
This will be translated into
...real savings!
PRIVATE DOMESTIC Due to our expert modelling, Access Energy in conjunction with Lightsource, can now offer private householders the same benefits that have been implemented on Social Housing. Using our specialist software we are able to quickly identify suitable local properties.
Access Energy plc
Lightsource Renewable Energy Limited
01764 430541 0333 200 0755 www.aeplc.co.uk www.lightsource-re.co.uk
Greenwich Peninsula For more information about Greenwich Peninsula please visit: www.greenwichpeninsula.co.uk
O n th e wate r f ro nt
Working in partnership with the Mayor of London and the Royal Borough of Greenwich, Knight Dragon is creating an exciting new district for London – Greenwich Peninsula. This significant residential, business and leisure hub will consist of 10,000 new homes, including approximately 3,270 affordable homes for rent or part-rent, alongside 600 student beds and 3.5 million square feet of commercial floor space. The 10,000 residential units are to be divided between 51 separate developments and will provide homes for an approximate 23,000 residents. Knight Dragon, an investment vehicle owned by Dr Henry Cheng Kar-Shun, previously held a 60% interest in Greenwich Peninsula Regeneration Limited (GPRL) – the joint venture holding company. In 2013 the developer acquired the remaining 40% stake from Quintain PLC, further consolidating its commitment to redeveloping the 147 acre site. GPRL now has development rights to an approximate 14 million square foot residential-led mixed-use scheme, including 18.6 acres of land already owned by the Group. Greenwich Peninsula forms an integral part of the Mayor of London’s ambition to release surplus public land in an effort to boost construction jobs, drive investment and deliver additional housing so desperately needed in our nation’s capital. Almost 90% of the 670 hectares of public land taken on by the Mayor in 2012 is now in the development pipeline. No stranger to innovation, the district currently houses the O2 Arena and the Royal Borough of Greenwich’s state-ofthe-art Digital Enterprise Greenwich Centre. With excellent public transport connections – including the Jubilee Line, North Greenwich Pier, and the Emirates Airline cable car connecting Greenwich Peninsula to London’s Royal Docks – exciting new developments at Silvertown Quays and Royal Albert Dock are readily commutable. Construction of the southern quarter of the site, dubbed Peninsula Riverside, is well underway, with 704 new homes expected by the end of 2015. In early 2014 planning permission was secured for a further 882 homes now onsite, while a mixed-use development to the north east of the peninsula – to provide 1,000 new homes together with public squares, retail provision and a riverside walkway – is planned. A new road link beneath the River Thames, named the Silvertown Tunnel, has also been proposed. With the capital’s population forecast to grow to ten million people by 2030 – and with much of this growth due to take place in east London – demand for crossing the River Thames is set to increase. The Silvertown Tunnel is therefore something of an anticipatory measure, designed to meet the future infrastructure needs of the region. Plans for the tunnel are currently being refined following an extensive public consultation phase in autumn 2014. Of Greenwich Peninsular the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “As London’s population continues to grow we are doing everything possible to unlock development and double house building. These new homes on Greenwich
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Peninsula are testament to the enormous construction now transforming the capital and creating the homes Londoners so desperately need. Large scale schemes like this would not be possible without world class supporting infrastructure, and the proposed Silvertown Tunnel will be essential not just for east London, but for the capital as a whole and its continued success as the motor of the UK economy.” GB Building solutions is currently working alongside Knight Dragon to deliver a key milestone in the regeneration of Greenwich Peninsula. Plot M0117 will accommodate a nine-storey apartment building comprising 161 units for private, shared ownership and social housing. This high specification development has been sensitively designed by the award-winning Jestico + Whiles to reduce energy demand. The thermal performance of the building has been a key concern with strong focus placed on the optimisation of the glazed façade, the canny use of balconies for shading, and the improved thermal performance of the building’s outer leaf. Such considerations are indicative of a wider design approach. Though immense in size, Greenwich Peninsula has employed responsible construction methods throughout. Sustainable principles and initiatives have been integrated at the earliest possible point to ensure functional, high performance buildings that work with the occupant rather than against. Speaking at the building’s ‘topping out’ ceremony held in August 2014, Richard Margree, Chief Executive of Knight Dragon, said: “This ceremony marks a very exciting phase of the development on the south of the Peninsular Riverside, and moves us one step closer to seeing residents living on this iconic new development next year. Greenwich Peninsula represents a unique opportunity to reinvigorate the area, and Knight Dragon remains fully committed to delivering this landmark scheme, creating thousands of new jobs, enviable new homes and a thriving community where people will want to live.” In an effort to encourage innovation in the construction industry, GB Building Solutions also invited industry experts to the site. Martin Smout, Executive Chairman of GB Group, said: “We think it’s important to share our experiences and examples of best practice and to help develop the innovative thinking that will ultimately deliver a sustainable and prosperous future for the UK’s built environment.” Construction at the M0117 site is due for completion in spring 2015. Monumental in scope, Greenwich Peninsula is one of the most important residential-led developments in the UK today. In 2014 more than 1,300 new homes, including 457 for low cost rent and 229 shared ownership for first time buyers, were under construction on the Peninsula. That year alone, more affordable homes were being built than in any other since 1980. With population levels set to swell, such investment is absolutely essential. Yet the regeneration is also of great benefit to the UK construction industry, providing hundreds of additional jobs and ensuring work throughout the supply chain for years to come.
Established in 2004, PIB Contractors (PIB) is a leading provider of fit-out, refurbishment and new build projects nationwide. Operating across the UK, Europe and, most recently, the Middle East, PIB collaborate with main contractors and developers alike – delivering cost-effective strategic solutions to ensure an unparalleled finish. The Company specialises in a range of construction services including high quality internal wall, ceiling and floor systems, drylining, plastering, envelope construction and external renders. While residential and commercial works account for much of the Company’s impressive portfolio, PIB is able to apply its expertise to a wide variety of sectors, having previously delivered a number of high specification schemes in the leisure, health and education industries. Theirs is a truly multidisciplinary approach – one in which a culture of problem solving is fostered, through the combination of specialist knowledge and on-site experience, to guarantee client satisfaction.
This core ethos has positioned PIB as a well-respected industry player. Indeed, the Company has established longstanding and mutually beneficial relationships with many of the UK’s most celebrated main contractors. The company is currently working in conjunction to deliver a nine-storey, 161-bed apartment building for private, shared ownership and social housing use. The multi-million pound scheme forms an integral part of the Greenwich Peninsula regeneration – a sizable redevelopment of the region with the potential to provide the City of London with an approximate 10,000 new homes alongside additional retail and leisure accommodation.
Large scale projects often prove a daunting prospect for the supply chain as the resources and manpower necessary are unavailable to many small and medium-sized enterprises. PIB has a ‘main contractor mentality' however – a unique perspective that has enabled the Company to embark on a raft of distinguished projects such as the regeneration of Greenwich Peninsula and the London 2012 Athletes Village. PIB pride themselves on diligence and transparency through an early engagement process in which all contract details are rigorously fine-tuned to meet the needs of the end user. This bespoke approach ensures the best possible outcome and is representative of the Contractor’s dedication to best practice. A considerate contractor with the ability and means to match, PIB Contractors is sure to have a long and lucrative future ahead.
WWW.PIBCONTRACTORS.CO.UK
Albert Sloman Library libwww.essex.ac.uk
U n i ve r sit y of E s s ex
Work is coming to a close at the University of Essex’s Colchester Campus, where a large extension to the Albert Sloman Library and a new student centre is being built. The iconic building has served the University’s students for almost 50 years and now, as the University implements expansion plans, a significant extension to the building is needed. Further to this a new three-storey student centre is being created to provide a 24-hour open-access Learning Hub, with new IT facilities including touch down access, an IT helpdesk and a new, state-of-the-art media centre for the Student’s Union. These two new buildings are at the heart of the University’s commitment to offer excellence in education, by providing the best possible facilities to current and future Essex students. The new development is set to be the largest new building on campus since 1965 and includes a new student centre and a lakeside square which will create an important ‘new front door’ to the University. Opening this spring, the five-storey library extension will offer 388 new study spaces and a new 24/7 postgraduate reading room with 42 study spaces, and will increase the library space by 30%, allowing a collection of 1.4M books to be housed. The building will provide an integrated learning centre, library, special collections, reading room, student media centre, one-stop-shop for students and a board room for the University Council. Working on their second project for the University, the Architect for the development is Patel Taylor. The Practice has worked closely within the context of the existing Albert Sloman Library, the 1960s campus infrastructure and the heritage parkland setting, to create a design that shows the importance of context and programme to conceive a flexible design resonating with a sense of place and setting.
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Construction work began in April 2013, with Kier Eastern Limited chosen as Main Contractor to deliver the project. Due to the nature of the site, contractors had to be very aware of the students both for safety and noise disruption. Numerous measures have been put in place to minimise any disruption, including acoustic screening, specialist equipment to reduce noise, and carefully designed access routes for contractors. Levels of building work were also reduced during exam and revision periods and work ceased during graduation in July 2014. PMJ Masonry was tasked with using Anaster Limestone in repetitive piers and walling to create an external envelope for the building. Main Contractor, Kier, were so impressed with PMJ that they were awarded the Kier Monthly Safety Award for the site in October, which was awarded to Martin Hollins of PMJ Masonry for his positive attitude towards personal and collective safety. The extension and new student centre are part of the capital investment plan, which is funding a major programme of new building and refurbishment across the University’s three campuses. Planning for the Silberrad Student Centre and Library extension started in 2009 and in June 2010 the University Council gave in principle approval for the project. In February 2011, the University appointed Architect Patel Taylor to design the two buildings and associated external space and in May the same year, the University Council gave final approval for detailed planning and construction of the two buildings. Together the Silberrad Student Centre and Library extension will provide a technology rich learning space; bring together a range of student-facing services which were dispersed across the campus, increase the capacity of the library and provide a high-impact space for the relocated visitor reception.
Liverpool University
Keighley College
Bangor University
Liverpool Science Park
THE UK’S LEADING SPECIALISTS IN THE FIELD OF DESIGN AND INSTALLATION OF NATURAL STONE FOR COMMERCIAL PROJECTS Arts & Leisure
Commercial
Education
Private Residential
Equinox House | Clifton Park Avenue | Shipton Road | York | YO30 5PA Here at PMJ Masonry we are passionate about Natural Stone. We only use the finest materials and highly skilled masons to make your paper dreams a reality. We have an extensive list of worldwide suppliers that provide us with a large range of different types of Natural Stone: Granite, Marble, Slate, Limestone and Sandstone, you will truly be spoiled for choice. Our 50 years of construction experience is shown through our award winning work. You are guaranteed to be in safe hands and most of all, enjoy your experience with us. Web: www.pmjmasonry.com | Twitter: @PMJMasonryLtd | Google+: PMJ Masonry Limited | Tel: 01904 761361
Draft CDM 2015 guidance published “ICE welcomes the publication of the draft CDM Regulation package, and the consideration given to points the Institution and its members raised during the consultation.”
H S E p u b l is h e s d r af t of C D M 2 01 5 R e g u l ati o n s a h e a d of p a r l i a m e nt a r y a p p rova l
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The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published its draft guidance of the legal requirements for the new Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015).
“In addition, we have worked with the industry to produce guidance to assist small businesses. Both sets of guidance complement each other and will help anyone affected by CDM 2015 to prepare for the changes in the law.”
Governing the management of health, safety and welfare throughout any construction project, the regulations will replace CDM 2007 on 6th April 2015.
Under the new regulations, the CDM co-ordinator role will be replaced by a principal designer.
These changes are still subject to parliamentary approval, so alterations could still be made but the guidance is there to help those who have duties under the regulations, helping them to prepare for April 2015. Philip White, Chief Inspector of Construction, said that the guidance, published on Friday 9th January, will help those affected by the changes get to grips with the main requirements. He said: “The guidance may be subject to change while the regulations are awaiting parliamentary approval but we want duty holders to have the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the main requirements before they come into force.
Therefore, the co-ordination of the pre-construction phase will now be the responsibility of an existing member of the design team. The influence and importance of the client as the head of the supply chain will be recognised by the new regulations, placing them as the most suitable to set standards required in a project. In terms of competence, this will be split into skills, knowledge, training and experience, and organisational capability when relating to an organisation. It will result in giving the industry assistance in assessing and demonstrating that construction project teams have the attributes needed to deliver a healthy and safe project.
So, anybody who has a duty to provide health and safety information or instructions have to guarantee that they are easy to understand, and anybody involved in a project is duty-bound to report any instance where they feel somebody is working in such a way that could place them or anyone else in danger.
These arrangements include appointing the project team, making sure sufficient resources are available for each stage of the project, giving each person on the team their role, setting out the standards to make sure health and safety performance of designers and contractors are maintained throughout, and also providing workers with suitable welfare facilities throughout the project.
The guidance also sets out duties placed on designers, who have to eliminate, reduce or control foreseeable health and safety risks during the design process such as those that may arise throughout work or in maintaining and using a building when it is constructed.
This responsibility for health and safety stretches further if warranted by the nature of a project, meaning the likes of safe working practices and the means by which these standards are maintained throughout are the responsibility of the client. CDM 2015 also sets out requirements on anyone working on a project with certain responsibilities, relating to appointment of contractors, the need for co-operation between duty holders, and reporting anything that could endanger health and safety, while also guaranteeing information and instruction provided is understandable.
Publication of this guidance has been welcomed by ICE’s Health and Safety Panel Chair, Margaret Sackey, who said: “ICE welcomes the publication of the draft CDM Regulation package, and the consideration given to points the Institution and its members raised during the consultation.
The full CDM 2015 draft document can be viewed by visiting the HSE website. www.hse.gov.uk
Under CDM 2015, clients are accountable for the impact that their decisions and approach have on health, safety and welfare of a project. While they are not expected to be experts in the construction process, the client is expected to make the arrangements needed so that the health, safety and welfare of those working on a project is secured.
“This package represents the third attempt to ensure that health and safety risk management is well embedded in a project throughout the design and construction process, and it is essential that it is fit for purpose in all regards.”
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CDM2015 and domestic projects The phone line has been red hot since the beginning of the year. Everyone wants to know the implications of the new CDM Regulations; what they mean for their projects, clients, designers and contractors. “Can I be a Principal Designer?” “My client wants to appoint me to carry on giving him advice on his construction projects – is that allowed?” “How strict is the Principal Designer duty to ensure designers comply with the regulations?” “What is going to happen on domestic projects?” “What if my domestic client appoints all the contractors separately?” CDM2015 is aimed at small and domestic projects – the very area where most construction accidents and incidents are occurring – and many of the calls are from architects who do nothing but domestic projects. So what do Domestic Clients Need to do? CDM2015 understands that most domestic clients will not be familiar with design or construction projects or associated legislation. If someone is about to alter or extend their house or buildings, thinking of putting up a new one or demolishing an existing one, then the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM2015) place a number of specific duties on them as a construction Client. The aim of the CDM2015 Regulations is to make health & safety an essential and integral part of the planning and management of projects and to make sure that everyone works together to reduce the risk to the health or safety of those who work on the structure, who may be affected by these works, or who will use it once it’s completed. A domestic client is someone who has construction work done on their own home, or the home of a family member which is not in connection with a business. Unlike CDM2007, domestic clients have duties under CDM2015. The extent of these duties varies with the type of project involved. On projects that are likely to involve more than one contractor, the domestic client is required to appoint a Principal Designer before significant detailed design work starts so that they can advise and assist the client with their health and safety duties and plan, manage, monitor and co-ordinate the health & safety of the pre-construction phase of the project. The Principal Designer is a designer (architect, building surveyor or engineer for example) who can demonstrate to the client that they have knowledge, skill and experience of CDM2015 and understand the process of design risk management. When clients are talking to a designer or designers about their project they should
check that the designer has the capability and experience to do the work. A designer might be a member of one of the following professional bodies - ARB, RIBA, RIAS, CIAT, RICS, IStructE etc. and, in order to carry out the Principal Designer role, should have an accreditation in construction health & safety risk management (Registered membership of APS for example) or can provide evidence of having undertaken appropriate training on CDM2015. The Regulations recognise that Clients hold the power to influence and control the designers and contractors they engage or appoint on a project, and therefore that the ultimate responsibility for the achievement of a safe and healthy project is in your hands as much as theirs. The Regulations are about making sure that there is: • Early appointment or engagement of capable key people or organisations that have sufficient skills, knowledge, experience and resources; • A realistic project programme which gives enough time for planning and programming as well as carrying out the work itself; • Early identification and reduction of construction risks and proper management of those that remain, so that construction is safe and does not damage the health of workers or others; • Co-operation between all involved in a project and effective coordination regarding Health & Safety issues; • Adequate welfare facilities provided from the start and throughout the construction phase, and that • Appropriate information is made available to the right people at the right time so that work can be carried out safely and without risk to health. However it is very important that the amount of effort devoted to managing health & safety is kept appropriate and proportionate to the complexity of the project and level of risks. It is particularly important to be aware of, and avoid, unnecessary paperwork. Most domestic work should be relatively simple and therefore require minimal paperwork. What type of domestic project is being planned? Irrespective of size or duration, the CDM2015 regulations separate construction projects into two types dependent on how many contractors will be involved in the project. The two types are: 1. Projects with only one contractor – where the project will only require one contractor working on the site. An example of this might be an electrician
rewiring the house or a plumber installing a replacement boiler, when no other trades are required to do any work. Where the project only involves one contractor, the client duties specified in CDM2015 Regulation 4(1) to (7) and Regulation 6, must be carried out by the contractor. The contractor needs to undertake these duties in addition to their own duties as a contractor. When clients are selecting a contractor, they should ensure that the contractor is aware of the client duties under CDM2015 as well as their own contractor duties. Clients are advised to ask for examples of how the contractor has done this on previous projects. 2. Projects that are likely to involve more than one contractor - this will be the majority of projects. For example, if the work will require a bricklayer, electrician, plumber, roofer and plasterer, then that is five contractors. 3. If it is likely that the project will require more than one contractor, then the client must appoint a designer with control over the pre-construction phase as Principal Designer and a contractor with control over the construction phase as Principal Contractor. These appointments must be made as soon as practicable and before the construction phase begins. If the client fails to make these appointments, then the designer in control of the pre-construction phase is deemed to be the Principal Designer and the contractor in control of the construction phase is deemed to be the Principal Contractor. If the client is in doubt, they should assume that the project will require more than one contractor. The appointed designer or contractor should be able to help clients decide or alternatively clients can contact the free Public CDM Helpline as a source of independent advice on 0333 088 2015.
WILL YOU HAVE THE SKILLS TO BE A PRINCIPAL DESIGNER? Industry recognised advice, guidance & training FIND OUT MORE AT
www.aps.org.uk
www.gov.uk/government/organisations/environment-agency
The Environment Agency: Reducing the threats of flooding and coastal change As has been seen in recent years, serious flooding can happen at any time and can have a devastating effect on individuals, communities and property. In England, more than five million properties are at risk of flooding - that’s nearly one in six.
“With one in six homes in England at risk of flooding, and recognising the risk of flooding can never be eliminated, we would also encourage people to take their own steps to prepare for flooding, for example by signing up to the Environment Agency’s free flood warning service.”
There are also more than 200 homes at risk of complete loss to coastal erosion in the next 20 years, with a potential for 2,000 more properties to be at risk over this period.
As part of this huge investment, homes in the Thames Valley will benefit form new flood defences at a cost of close to £300M.
The Environment Agency was established in 1996 to protect and improve the environment with the focus to create better places for people and wildlife and support sustainable development. It is responsible within England for managing the risk of flooding from surface water, groundwater and watercourses and helping communities’ recovery efforts.
The new flood defence scheme in Oxford is worth over £100M and will provide protection to over 3,000 homes. Government funding has also been allocated to the Lower Thames scheme, which will offer better protection to around 15,000 homes. The Thames Estuary programme will reduce the risk to 8,219 properties. The Oxford Western Conveyance Flood Channel will offer protection to 1,200 properties and the Lower Mole Flood Alleviation scheme will reduce the risk to 3,064 properties in Surrey.
The Environment Agency has recently announced a sixyear £2.3Bn flood defence programme to better protect homes, businesses and farmland in England from the risk of flooding. This first ever long-term investment programme will protect over 300,000 properties; reduce flood risk by 5% and save the economy £2.7Bn by 2021. The lifetime benefits are expected to be even higher at over £30Bn. With 1,400 projects to be undertaken within the programme, and the potential for new schemes to be added as the programme progresses, local authorities will be able to plan ahead and reassure communities that the threat of flood risk is being addressed in their area. Environment Agency Chairman, Sir Philip Dilley, said: “Our priority is to do as much as we can with every pound of funding from Government and local partners, we now expect to provide better flood protection to an additional 300,000 properties in England by the end of the decade.
In Teesside, the first phase of an estimated £19M scheme to reduce the risk of flooding at Port Clarence and Greatham South has begun. Port Clarence experienced severe flooding in December 2013 when a tidal surge combined with high spring tides, affecting around 50 homes and businesses. Local business Wilton Engineering will now manufacture part of the flood defences to help protect its local community in Port Clarence. Environment Agency Flood and Coastal Risk Manager, Phil Welton said: “The work at Port Clarence will improve on existing defences, and will be a mixture of embankments, flood walls and ground raising. “There will also be a section of removable defence along the River Tees so that Wilton Engineering is still able to operate from the river. “We’ve been working closely with Wilton throughout the development of the project and they’re playing a key role in protecting their local community.” Wilton Engineering’s Chief Executive, Bill Scott said: “This is a fantastic project which secures the houses and businesses within the community of Port Clarence. We have formed a partnership with the Environment Agency to ensure this project is a successful one and one which benefits everyone here. “Having been through the recent flood which impacted on our business we’ve learned first hand the importance of protecting our assets, our people and the community, so this project is close to our hearts and we are therefore determined to ensure its success.”
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“By switching all of the UK’s street lamps from inefficient bulbs to LEDs, councils could cut their collective electricity bill from over £300M a year to near £100M. “
Street lighting revolution could save local authorities millions of pounds
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If you’ve ever flown over London, Glasgow or any other big city at night then you’ll have noticed the huge amount of light that escapes up into the night’s sky. That familiar orange glow from the sodium-vapour bulbs in street lights has become as much a part of our urban landscape as cracked pavements and pot-holed roads. Yet those street lights don’t just spoil our cities, towns and villages for stargazers; switching them on and off each and every night already costs the UK more than £300M a year and this is rising. Street lights soak up an average of 30% of a local council’s energy bill, with nearly a third of that light escaping up into space rather than being directed down onto the pavements, roads and car parks where it’s actually needed. Street lighting might not seem the most interesting topic, but in this age of tight budgets and low carbon that we’re
living through, it’s become an ever-more important subject. No matter which party or parties form the next UK Government after May’s General Election, the amount of money available to local authorities each year in their budgets is going to continue to be under huge pressure. That’s why it’s so important for councillors and their officials to get to grips now with spending on street lighting, which can free up cash for other essential services, saving money for council tax payers and cutting our country’s greenhouse gas emissions at the same time. One of the best ways of tackling the issue is to switch from using traditional sodium and other inefficient bulbs in our street lamps to the latest generation of light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Back in the 1980s, LEDs only ever seemed to be used for the ‘on’ light on our hi-fi sets. But since then the cost of producing them has tumbled and now they’re
By switching all of the UK’s street lamps from inefficient bulbs to LEDs, councils could cut their collective electricity bill from over £300M a year to near £100M. At the moment, less than 10% of Britain’s 7.4 million street lamps use LEDs, but making the switch could cut councils’ recurring electricity bills by between 50% and 70%. Standard bulbs also only last for about 15,000 hours, while LEDs can offer 100,000 hours of light, saving time and money when it comes to replacing broken or damaged lamps. All of these advantages mean that local authorities could pay off their initial investment in LEDs in less than ten years. But with council budgets under pressure, where is the cash going to come from to pay for the switch from
traditional bulbs to LEDs? To get the most out of the new lamps, experts have said that central management systems should also be installed, allowing for remote dimming and monitoring of lights, but at an extra cost. To help councils pay for their new street lights, the Green Investment Bank (GIB) - the investment vehicle launched by the UK Government in October 2012 to use £3.8Bn of public funds to kick-start renewable energy projects, energy-from-waste schemes and other programmes designed to reduce the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions while also growing the economy - has launched its Green Loan for Local Authorities. These low-cost loans give local authorities the chance to ‘spend to save’, borrowing the money up front to meet the
“GIB carried out financial modelling for 15 councils and found that ‘spend to save’ after financing costs was possible on each project.”
everywhere, from the headlamps in our cars to the screens on our televisions.
Read more on page 92
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Cost effective and energy saving LED lighting solutions Bamford Lighting specialises in the design, supply and installation of LED solutions for a mix of industrial and commercial clients throughout the UK and Ireland. The Company is ideally placed now that LED lighting is becoming even more important, bringing crucial benefits to industrial and commercial businesses.
Where the Company excels is by providing the complete range of services through the whole life of a project, from initial concept to completion.
Manufactured to the highest standards, the lighting is used in a wide range of areas. Bamford Lighting has provided its LED products in factories, hospitals, car parks, schools, offices, airports, warehouses, sporting stadia, bars and restaurants, along with chemical companies, the food manufacturing and horticulture industries.
Free site surveys are undertaken to ensure all lighting requirements are known as well as the energy reduction targets of each customer. To make sure that all clients understand the type of benefits they can expect through using LED lighting, a
financial appraisal is given. This gives both the cost and return on investment that can be expected, as will the carbon reduction, while lighting designs are offered which show proposed levels of lighting, colour temperature and energy consumption. The availability of a free trial speeds up the decision process because it allows each customer to see the lights before any agreement is made, clearly displaying the bespoke solutions for each and every business.
Throughout the whole process, Bamford Lighting provide support to customers, keeping them informed with the latest in LED technology and of course, the Company has a team of qualified electrical installers who carry out a professional service. If a client wants to carry out installation themselves, the Company is also on hand to support any preferred contractor.
UK Office Millgate House, Market Street, Shawforth, Rochdale, England OL12 8NX Ireland Office 70 Ballyronan Road, Magherafelt, Northern Ireland BT45 6EW
0800 043 1153 www.bamfordlighting.com
initial outlay and then paying back the capital costs from the money saved on their electricity bills. So far uptake of LED street lighting has been slow, but the cost of LEDs has fallen over the past 12 months as the market matures and becomes more competitive. GIB has spoken to more than 100 local authorities from throughout the UK over the past year and one of the barriers is the high cost of replacing bulbs with LEDs. But the GIB Green Loan can help councils to spread that cost over up to 25 years. The financial modelling GIB undertakes with each council allows individual loans to be tailored, shaping them to the forecast long-term savings and realising cash savings immediately to help council budgets. GIB carried out financial modelling for 15 councils and found that ‘spend to save’ after financing costs was possible on each project, even where money had to be spent replacing the poles or columns that hold up the street lamps, plus other development costs.
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The first local authority to make use of the GIB’s Green Loan is Glasgow City Council, which worked with GIB to begin replacing 10,000 lamps along its main arterial roads, with Phase II of the project looking at replacing a further 60,000 street lamps and their columns. GIB already has a strong track record of financing projects throughout the UK. During its first two years of operations, it invested in more than 40 projects spread over 200 communities. Its investment strategy has also appealed to the private sector, attracting more than 70 co-investors, meaning that for every £1 invested by the GIB, a further £3 of private funding has been injected into these projects. The UK Government’s Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) and the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT), a Scottish Government body set up in 2008 to advise public sector organisations on their infrastructure projects, have both produced toolkits for councils on LED projects and are running workshops to assist local authorities in developing such schemes. The UK Government’s Department for
Transport also unveiled a £675M Highways Maintenance Challenge fund in December 2014, with some of its funding available for LED street lighting programmes.
Gregor Paterson-Jones
GIB estimates that switching all of the UK’s street lights from bulbs to LEDs could prevent circa 475,000 tonnes of the carbon found in carbon dioxide gas from being emitted into the atmosphere, the equivalent of more than 200,000 cars off the road. With compelling financial and environmental figures and GIB’s Green Loan offer, lets hope that more councils will be making the switch up and down the country. Gregor Paterson-Jones, Managing Director of Energy Efficiency at GIB
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Today's LEDs - Reducing operational costs and improving performance Lawrence Baynham, from INDO Lighting, discusses how recent developments in LED lighting are dispelling initial misconceptions about the technology With the dawn of LED technology came teething issues and bad press. Most new technology developments start their life being inferior to the incumbent technology - this is natural as there are early adaptors who will ultimately invest in a new technology before it "overtakes" the existing tech. As the technology matures, R&D efforts will allow the performance (in various areas) to exceed that of the existing technologies.
Technology "S curves" demonstrate the typical performance benefits over time from a new technology
The very first LEDs were created in a laboratory environment in 1927, which emitted light in the infra-red part of the electromagnetic spectrum. It was not until 1962 that the first visible light (red) LEDs were created, and a further 32 years until the revolutionary development of the blue LED in 1994. This crucial development was then used in combination with phosphor technology to create high brightness white light LEDs, enabling the development of LED products for area lighting. The Nobel Prize in Physics of 2014 was awarded to Shuji Nakamura, Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano for their work in this area. Although the broad semiconductor technology associated with LED sources is relatively mature, it is clear that the developments in recent years have been significant, with vast improvements to quality of light since the turn of the millennium. It might therefore come as a surprise that LED street lights were beginning to be installed as early as 2006, with the application of the technology still in its infancy. Or perhaps this is not so much of a surprise, but rather an explanation for the initial dissatisfaction with the results.
Furthermore, there have been leaps in performance when it comes to the question of colour stability. Some early LEDs severely suffered from physical changes to the structure of the LED package which resulted in a visible increase in the green element of the light output after a relatively short period of time. Although newer LED packages are generally less susceptible to this, it would not be true to say the issue is entirely resolved; it is important that the correct LED is selected for the application, and that thermal management of the LEDs is carefully considered to minimise the effects. Specifiers should work with established lighting manufacturers to ensure this is the case. With the above in mind, LED fixtures can now be used as a tool for designers to improve the appearance and safety of an area, with the financial savings being an important secondary factor. Today's LED products are able to offer features and specifications which outperform that of older technologies, and indeed the LED products that were installed by early adopters at the beginning of the LED era. A deserved reputation of quality is now being established, and slowly but surely the initial pitfalls of the technology are being forgotten, paving the way for a high performance, low carbon, low cost lighting infrastructure in the UK.
Case study
An example of such an installation is in the use of INDO's RD12 fixture in parks within central London. The driving factor was to improve lighting performance to make the area feel safer for residents. As such, a lantern was selected to provide a clean, white light, and an optic able to offer a far improved uniformity, removing the dark spots between lamp posts. Careful consideration was used to ensure the light was of a neutral white colour, rather than a blue colour which is often used to achieve higher apparent brightness figures. INDO Lighting RD12 installation - London
Even in the last two years or so we have seen drastic improvements in the quality of light generated from LED fixtures. It is now the case that LED sources not only offer the financial savings that initially excited the market (attributable to the lower energy consumption and hugely improved life), but also other clear improvements when compared to older technology such as high pressure sodium (SON) and low pressure sodium (SOX) technologies. Importantly, the latest LEDs are able to offer hugely enhanced colour rendering index (CRI) which enables exceptional ability to perceive and recognise colours - figures well in excess of 90 (out of a maximum achievable value of 100) are now possible, compared to values around 25 for high pressure sodium technologies. Combining this with the ability to carefully control the light distribution, it is possible to achieve a high quality, uniform output.
✓ Increased brightness ✓ Improved quality of light ✓ Increased uniformity Colour appearance under Low Pressure Sodium (before) - left, and INDO LED RD12 (after) - right
A power reduction of over 50% was achieved, and the maintenance free nature of the solution will save thousands on lamp changes. The result is an objectively improved street scene with project finances boasting attractive payback periods and return on investments.
www.indolighting.com
info@indolighting.com
+44 (0)20 3051 1687
Property Care Association “When choosing a member of the PCA, people can be certain that they have undergone rigorous, ongoing checks to achieve and retain membership.”.
P ro m oti n g s k i l l s a n d g o o d p r a c ti c e
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Japanese knotweed causes huge problems for the UK property market as it puts down deep roots, affecting the foundations of buildings and invading drains. But the Property Care Association (PCA) insists there’s a straightforward approach to tackling the problem and in the film, available to view at http://bit.ly/1cUWSie, it dispels some of the myths surrounding what has become a major issue. Steve Hodgson, Chief Executive of the PCA, said: “Japanese knotweed has been in the news a lot recently as it has caused big problems within the UK property sector. “It’s a very fast growing and very vigorous plant that has even caused problems to buyers trying to obtain mortgages and people seem to be running scared. “But the problem can be dealt with just like so many other household problems and there is a recognised framework to tackle it. “People affected by the plant just need to make sure they get the right people doing the right diagnostic investigation and producing the right specifications for treatment.” The film reveals how the PCA can help consumers to reach professional treatment companies - offering assurance, standardisation and certainty in tackling the problem. The PCA has worked with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors - supported by the Council of Mortgage Lenders and The Building Societies Association - together with Japanese knotweed control companies to develop the Invasive Weed Control Group.
The trade body, noted for its technical expertise, has also developed a code of practice and an industryrecognised training programme for its professional members and those interested in the biology and control of the plant. Mr Hodgson adds: “The control of Japanese knotweed has attracted a string of rogue traders claiming they’re able to eradicate problems in a short space of time and for very little money. “But the PCA’s Invasive Weed Group has been created to uphold standards and make sure clients get the correct outcomes. “Members have been audited and meet the necessary standards to gain admission to the Association.” The PCA is an established organisation that has built a strong reputation over decades by promoting good practice. It represents building preservation specialists who help consumers deal with a range of building defects. The Association is also a member of Trustmark, the Government-backed scheme which aims to help consumers find reliable and trustworthy tradesmen when making improvements or repairs to their homes. Late 2014 saw the PCA attend Flood Expo where they highlighted how their new Flood Protection Group enables specialists operating in the sector to align themselves with a recognised trade body and reinforce their professional approach within the industry. This new initiative delivers
The new Flood Protection Group has been developed by the PCA to give consumers confidence in finding contractors, assessors and products that are right for the job. Stephen Hodgson says the new group will remove the uncertainty in the UK in finding solutions to protect homes from flooding. He said: “Until now homeowners and professionals have had no obvious way of finding products and contractors that really understand what they are doing. The PCA is bringing the same level of operational and technical rigour for which we are renowned, to this increasingly important specialism.” The Flood Protection Group will become a reference point for legislators, community groups, insurers and importantly, homeowners who want to understand what can be done to effectively protect their property from the effects of flooding. The initiative will link consumers to reliable, competent and trustworthy flood protection specialists. The Association will inspect and verify the skills, knowledge, operational capabilities of contractors and ensure products are dependable and reliable. This level of rigour will not only apply to providers of work aimed at keeping the water out, known as, flood resistance, it will also be applied to those who undertake work that make buildings resilient, by taking steps that will reduce the impact of water that has entered the building. Ultimately, this new group will drive standards and create consumer confidence to meet the needs of the nation. The end result will see a defined route in the UK to access a professional group of experts with specialist focused skills, able to design and deliver comprehensive, holistically designed, flood protection solutions that work. Acclaimed flood campaigner Mary Dhonau OBE is working with the PCA to build and support the Flood Protection Group. Mary has been instrumental in bringing together
the PCA and members of the Flood Protection Association (FPA) to form a strong and technically capable group, that can bring real value to the consumer. Mary is a tireless campaigner on flood-related issues, receiving her OBE in 2009 for this work. She has first-hand experience of the upheaval flooding causes following a catalogue of flood damage to her own home in Worcester. As both a victim of flooding and the former Chairman of both the National Flood Forum and the FPA she understands the challenges and importance of providing reliable, dependable flood resilience and resistant solutions.
www.property-care.org
assurance and certainty to those looking to protect themselves from the worst effects of future floods.
Mary said: “Being flooded is an appalling experience, but often the reality is that for those victims of flooding, the repair stage can be even worse than being flooded. Sadly, the issue is all too often compounded by shabby workmanship and a fear that another flood event could happen at any time in the future. “The Flood Protection Group within the PCA, will make it easier for those who want to protect their homes from flood water. We want to see the problems of flooding dramatically reduced throughout the UK, and the creation of this new group means we now have a national platform to promote best practice, high standards and most importantly, peace of mind to those who have or could be affected by flooding.” When choosing a member of the PCA, people can be certain that they have undergone rigorous, ongoing checks to achieve and retain membership. The PCA is noted for its training and technical expertise, with an industry-recognised training programme and a renowned technical panel able to share best practice and guidance with members.” It is also a scheme operator of Trustmark, the Governmentbacked scheme which aims to help consumers find reliable and trustworthy tradesmen when making improvements or repairs to their homes.
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THE PROBLEMS CAUSED BY JAPANESE KNOTWEED AND HOW TO DEAL WITH THEM In the last few years leading experts within the Japanese Knotweed industry working closely with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, major lenders, building societies, the Property Care Association, insurance underwriters and more recently revised Government regulations have combined to both resolve and assist private and public land owners with solutions to Japanese Knotweed infestations. The outcome has been the adoption of advice from the RICS which in turn removes the risk identified by lenders and by the Property Care Association Invasive Weed Group members who now have access to 10 year insured treatment polices. This has been followed by Home Office guidance designed to enforce control and to protect property owners from infestation spread from adjoining land i.e. more specific legislation. The guidance explains how Council officers or police can use community protection notices to “stop of prevent” people allowing growth of Japanese Knotweed if it is causing problems. It is important to understand that the public sector are not exempt from this guidance and local government and public sector land has the same obligations as private. Individuals who ignore control orders will have committed a criminal offence and can be fined up to £2,500.00, organisations could be fined up to £20,000.00. We hope that this will lead to improved collaboration between neighbours, local authorities and miscellaneous land owners where cross boundary issues have historically been difficult to resolve. Composite treatment programmes between all parties is the sensible way forward. What would we recommend? The first and obvious question is “Do we need to control or do we prefer to eradicate?”
There is no singular solution to the problem, it is always dependent upon individual circumstances, usually dictated by other constraints from an infestation in a domestic garden through to a redevelopment programme which requires more immediate actions for the sale of land or a redevelopment proposal with a strict timetable for construction implementation. In the last twelve months we have dealt with a small single stand in a front garden through to a major infestation on a multimillion superstore retail development. Experts within the Japanese Knotweed industry such as ourselves will be compliant with adopted code of practice and can offer options for eradication.
What you need to be looking for should include: • Expert site assessment. • A follow up report and proposal in the form of a Japanese Knotweed management plan. • The plan should include consideration of the options and an explanation as to how the recommended action was arrived at. • The plan should include or be accompanied by costs or a programme of costs. • If relevant to circumstances you should be offered an appropriate warranty for the work and the option of an insured guarantee. • If you accept the Japanese Knotweed management plan and associated costs you should be offered a contract to agree the works with the Japanese Knotweed specialist. Remember, if you want to know more or simply seek advice then your contact will always be welcomed.
Assuming the answer is to eradicate then as with most things seek professional advice but choose wisely.
Guide to Japanese Knotweed: If you would like a free copy of our Guide to Japanese Knotweed please email michael@i-v-m.co.uk to request one.
If you choose control then compare the cost of continuous control without defined outcome with the induction of professional expertise and peace of mind for at least 10 years.
Michael Alderwick Director IVM
LEADING THE WAY IN JAPANESE KNOTWEED ERADICATION THROUGHOUT ENGLAND AND WALES All IVM’s techniques for vegetation control have been developed with the environment at the forefront of thoughts
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Security Industry Authority The Security Industry Authority (SIA) is the organisation responsible for regulating the private security industry. They are an independent body reporting to the Home Secretary, under the terms of the Private Security Industry Act 2001, with responsibilities to regulate the private security industry in the United Kingdom effectively; to reduce criminality, remove from the private security industry those individuals who seek to use their position to undertake criminal activities, raise standards of competence and professionalism, increase public confidence in the industry, and recognise quality service. One of the SIA’s key objectives is to protect the public by making sure that only fit and proper people and organisations deliver regulated private security services.
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structured training programme that results in a recognised qualification. As such, individuals applying for a front line SIA licence must prove that they are sufficiently qualified to do their job. If the applicant does not hold an SIA-endorsed qualification (or a previously existing qualification in security-related disciplines that may allow exemptions from all or part of the SIA approved training scheme), their application for a licence will be refused. This will ensure a more competent and professional workforce whilst also improving the public perception of the private security industry and also make it a more enticing option to potential employees.
The SIA do this by performing two fundamental roles. The first being the compulsory licensing of individuals performing designated activities within the private security industry. SIA licensing covers manned guarding (including security guarding, door supervision, close protection, cash and valuables in transit, and public space surveillance using CCTV), key holding and vehicle immobilising. Licensing makes sure that private security operatives are properly trained and qualified to do their job.
The second function of the SIA is to manage the voluntary Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS), which measures private security suppliers against independently assessed criteria. The ACS is based upon widely recognised business improvement models: ISO9001 and the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model. The scheme also references the British Standard codes of practice applicable to the private security industry and conformance to the relevant codes is built into the Approved Contractor Scheme requirements.
It is the regulator’s position that it is essential that people working within the private security industry undergo a
The ACS Standard encompasses all aspects of a business operation and takes a holistic view of how well an
organisation is managed, how effectively it services its customers and how well it treats its employees. Those organisations that demonstrate to an independent assessor that they can meet the defined standards are awarded Approved Contractor status. This gives buyers of private security services independent proof of a contractor’s commitment to quality. For businesses, choosing an ACS accredited supplier to undertake contract security services will help to meet security obligations to staff, shareholders and other stakeholders. SIA’s Approved Contractors are demonstrably committed to customer service and the compulsory licensing of their staff. This ensures that customers can be safe in the knowledge that every private security operative deployed on their premises will be working within the law. Businesses can also rest assured that the employment practices of an Approved Contractor have been extensively assessed in terms of quality and best practice. Should an Approved Contractor choose to sub contract, they will have to do so to other SIA Approved Contractors, meaning the integrity of the supply chain is constantly maintained. The Security Industry Authority is continuously looking to improve upon the services it delivers to the private security industry and, as such, is modernising its licensing systems and developing new streamlined processes for SIA applicants, licence holders, and security businesses. The improved licensing services will be more flexible and introduce new online facilities, which will make it easier
for licensing applicants to manage and keep track of their applications. Licence holders will be able to manage their account online, ensuring their details are kept up to date. Secure processes will be introduced to enable people to give consent to share their licence account information with their employer. Security businesses will find it easier to manage licence applications on behalf of their staff and have greater interaction with an individual’s licence application and ongoing licence account. Employers will also find it simpler to find relevant information about their employee’s licences. The Security Industry Authority will enhance its website to offer new online functions and there will be more efficient ways of responding to enquiries through digital and online channels. By modernising its systems, the SIA hope to form closer working relationships with security businesses and licence holders, saving individuals and companies time and expense. The SIA licence will also be updated and introduce new security features to combat fraud within the licence. The regulator is consulting the industry and partners as it develops the new facilities and investigates how to introduce new systems and processes. It is hoped this will minimise any inconvenience to security businesses and individuals and ensure the continuity of SIA services. With these consultations and improvements, the SIA will strengthen its ability to regulate more effectively and give businesses the extra confidence they require.
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CREATING INTEGRATED SECURITY SOLUTIONS FOR THE UK’S CONSTRUCTION SITES The various security risks faced by construction sites are already well-documented. Plant theft remains an ongoing issue for many sites, for example1, as does vandalism. Not only does this cost companies a considerable amount of money each year, it also results in delays to the completion of projects. Indeed, it is estimated that theft costs the construction industry more than £1 million each day.2 Even individual thefts can cost companies as much as £50,000 in damage and lost materials.
terms of the site owner’s legal responsibility to prevent unauthorised access as much as possible.3
There are also environmental factors to consider, such as adverse weather conditions, as these cannot be allowed to create safety or security issues. Similarly, issues with utilities, such as water or gas breakages are common in vacant construction sites, or as a consequence of metal thefts.
An integrated security solution of this nature will allow sites to benefit from multiple approaches, while still staying within the designated budget. For example, manned guarding operations still have the advantage of providing a clear visual deterrent (especially if accompanied by canines) and being able to respond immediately to any on-site alerts. However, the ongoing cost of 24/7 manned guarding is often too much for most budgets, especially for larger sites that will require multiple security officers.
These risks are multiplied if sites are in quite remote areas, or will be left vacant for any period of time, particularly as construction sites are already perceived as an easy target by many criminals. An effective security operation is therefore essential, not just in terms of loss prevention, but also in
1 2 3
However, a simple manned guarding operation will almost certainly not prove sufficient. The needs of construction sites are simply too varied. To keep construction sites safe and secure throughout every stage of their lifecycle, a combination of first-rate security officers and cutting-edge technology, tailored to each site’s specific requirements, will prove ideal.
This issue of cost can be mitigated through a patrol & response-based service, in which mobile security officers
www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmtran/1609/1609vw12.htm www.vps-sitesecurity.co.uk/ddme_cms/userfiles/files/Cons%20White%20Paper%20for%20web.pdf www.thamesvalley.police.uk/form_123.pdf
make both random and scheduled patrols of multiple properties, as well as acting whenever an alarm is triggered. This flexible approach can be further enhanced by the use of the latest security technology.
security tools available to the owners of construction sites in this way will not only result in a higher standard of safety and security on-site, but also ensure the operation stays within the designated budget.
Considerable strides have been made in this area in recent years, particularly when it comes to solutions for vacant properties. CCTV towers are now available in flexible, modular designs, which are able to operate with or without an external power supply. This makes them an especially attractive option for construction sites of any size, particularly during periods of vacancy. If they are used as part of a fully integrated security system, alarm and CCTV monitoring can be extended to cover the site’s utilities, so environmental issues can be identified and dealt with before they lead to structural damage.
While this approach to security certainly requires the services of a specialist in the field of construction sites and vacant properties, the potential is huge. The more security companies are willing and able to deliver fully integrated solutions to the UK’s construction sites, the sooner we should see a decline in the amount of money, time and resources lost through security issues.
None of these individual elements are likely to prove sufficient on their own. However, through a proper assessment, conducted by a specialist in security for vacant properties, a tailored combination can be delivered that perfectly fulfils each site’s unique requirements. Integrating the varied
G4S Secure Solutions (UK & I) Ltd Sutton Park House, 15 Carshalton Road, Sutton, Surrey SM1 4LD Tel: 0208 722 2000 www.g4s.com
Osborne lays out plans in Pre-Election Budget “We’re now bringing forward more money to protect thousands more homes and businesses sooner than originally planned, as part of our long-term economic plan.”
N o r th e r n P owe r h o u s e p l a n s p ro g re s s i n th is P a r l i a m e nt ’s f i n a l B u d g e t
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With uncertainty regarding the state of the nation following the General Election in May being a cause for contractors to be cautious about the construction industry’s growth this year, UK Construction Media takes a look at what’s on the cards following George Osborne’s final pre-Election Budget. UK employment rates released in March were a big topic for the Chancellor, who praised the fact that the country now has more people in work than ever before. This was backed by news that the National Minimum Wage and wage rates for apprentices will increase later this year. The country also had the fastest growth in the G7 last year and this, the Chancellor said, means a lot to the economy, though more needs to be done to support businesses and boost productivity. The plans outlined today will see a major boost for many regions across the UK and in particular the Northern Powerhouse vision benefits from funding and measures announced. The Government will work with Transport for the North to roll out better roads, quicker journeys and improved rail links between the major cities in the North. Further announcements to help the build of a Northern Powerhouse include confirmation of £20M worth of funding to Health North to build new centres in Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds, a £3.5M Government investment to renovate a former Co-Op department store in the Castlegate area of Sheffield, £3.7M investment to aid the renovation of a former police headquarters in Leeds into a
six-floor incubator and £14M Government funding for the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre in Sheffield. In the South West there was a commitment for over £7Bn of transport investment announced also including better roads and support for air links. Local areas will be given more power, with the announcement of a devolution deal for transport and business support for West Yorkshire and more planning powers for London, and there will be a further ten Enterprise Zones implemented across the country. There will be new city deals with Cardiff, Aberdeen and Inverness negotiations opening and the continuation of the Glasgow city deal agreement, and as outlined in the National Infrastructure Plan, the Budget confirmed that negotiations will be opened on the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon. The plans for a Greater Manchester elected Mayor with more control over the local area was also backed with the devolution of health budgets now in plan, and the announcement that Greater Manchester will be able to keep 100% of the additional growth in local business rates to help build the Northern Powerhouse. House builders across the country will also benefit from the Budget’s announcement of 20 new Housing Zones outside London, these will be primarily located in the Midlands and the South West with areas including Derby, Stoke-on-Trent, South Bristol, Weston-super-Mare and Gloucester. Small businesses will also benefit from the confirmation
The Government also announced that £140M of the promised £2.3Bn six-year flood defence programme confirmed in December will be brought forward with 47 new schemes having been given the green light. Work on a further 165 flood defence projects is also expected to start earlier than previously announced. Environment Secretary Elizabeth Truss said: “We’ve already protected 230,000 homes from the risk of flooding and coastal erosion so far this Parliament. “We’re now bringing forward more money to protect thousands more homes and businesses sooner than originally planned, as part of our long-term economic plan.” Schemes given the green light so far include the Fairhaven and Church Scar Coast Protection scheme in Fylde, Lancashire which is expected to start three years earlier than originally planned and the Southsea Coastal Flood and Erosion Risk Management scheme which is now scheduled to start development more than two years earlier. Apprenticeship wage rises and Northern Powerhouse plans are welcome but could the Budget have done more? The Budget announcement generated a great deal of response from the construction sector, as usual, and UK
Construction Media has taken a look at what some people in the industry think of the announcement. Andrew Gale, Director at Iceni Projects, said: “The reality is that this Budget failed to tackle some of the real issues holding back economic growth. “The fact that national planning initiatives or construction barely featured in today’s statement is perhaps an indication that the Chancellor has run out of ideas. Our housing crisis has profound social and economic implications and more needs to be done to enable delivery of the new homes desperately required. Likewise, further devolution of powers and a shot in the arm for major infrastructure schemes is welcome, but we cannot look at these regional initiatives in isolation. “What is required is a national strategic plan that sets a proper direction for how to accommodate our growth needs. This would enable schemes to be considered in the context of a 20-year delivery strategy combined with a proper acknowledgement from Government that building on some of the less valuable green belt land is required if we are to properly tackle the housing deficit. The next Government, whoever it may be, must make the hard decisions required to get the country moving and properly tackle our housing deficit.”
“Despite this, there are some interesting nuggets of where public sector money might be spent, or at least protected, in the event that the Chancellor returns to 11 Downing St in May.”
that corporation tax will be cut by 20%, one of the lowest rates of any major economy in the world, and the abolishment of National Insurance contribution for employing under 21s and young apprentices.
Jon Hart, Infrastructure partner at Pinsent Masons, said: “From a purely infrastructure perspective, things could have
Read more on page 108
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Tier 4 Technologies – Clearing The Air The move from Stage IIIA/Tier 3 to Stage IV/Tier 4 Final has brought about the most significant change in engine technologies to date, to deliver the required “near-zero” NOx and PM emissions levels. For this, the industry has developed its own language of abbreviations and buzzwords such as EGR, VGT, SCR, DPF and HPCR. Cummins has delivered a solution delivering a totally integrated air intake to exhaust system with key technologies available in-house, and “clears the air” explaining the details for operators of Stage IV/Tier 4 equipment.
Variable Geometry Turbocharging Cummins own Variable Geometry Turbocharger forms a key component of a totally integrated air intake to exhaust system, delivering significant benefits in performance, responsiveness, efficiency and EGR air flow. The key to turbocharging is to maximise and control the boost pressure over as wide a field of engine operation as possible. Cummins Turbo Technologies’ patented technology gives infinite control of boost pressure. The VGT uses a turbine stage where the swallowing capacity is automatically varied while the engine is running. This permits turbine power to be set, providing sufficient energy to drive the compressor at the desired boost level wherever the engine is operating. It is achieved by varying the area of a nozzle; a set of guide vanes that control the flow of exhaust gas through the turbine. Conventional designs pivot the vanes to achieve different nozzle areas. The Cummins VGT is extraordinary in that the vanes do not pivot but slide axially; this design ensures a high level of durability and reliability, essential for today’s industrial diesel applications.
Cooled EGR Cooled Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) technology is very effective at controlling NOx. The EGR system takes a measured quantity of exhaust gas and passes it through a cooler before mixing it with the incoming air charge to the cylinder. The EGR adds heat capacity and reduces oxygen concentration in the combustion chamber by diluting the incoming ambient air with cool exhaust gas. During combustion, the lower oxygen content has the effect of reducing flame temperatures, which in turn reduces NOx, since NOx production is exponentially proportional to flame temperature. This allows the engine to be tuned for the best fuel economy and performance at low NOx levels.
The sliding nozzle ring alters the aperture through which the exhaust gases flow onto the turbine wheel. This alteration in the geometry of the turbocharger increases the boost as the nozzle is closed down. Reducing the aperture increases exhaust manifold pressure and increases the turbo speed. As the nozzle ring opens up, the exhaust pressure reduces and the turbocharger boost decreases. In effect it creates an infinite number of fixed geometry turbochargers.
Operational Benefits • • • • • •
Excellent transient response Improved fuel economy Increased useful engine operating speed range Enhanced compression brake capability Reduced engine swept volume and package size for a given rating Helps control EGR to meet emissions regulations
Exhaust Aftertreatment The technology which removes emissions from a diesel engine’s exhaust flow ‘downstream’ of its combustion chamber – or in other words, after the exhaust gases have left the combustion chamber.
SCR Cummins engines above 85 hp use Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) aftertreatment.
www.cumminsengines.com SCR is an exhaust after-treatment technology that injects liquid urea (aka AdBlue or DEF) into the hot stream of exhaust gases where it breaks down into ammonia. The ammonia is then used by the catalytic convertor to convert NOx into harmless nitrogen gas (N2) and water vapour (H2O). The SCR catalyst works in unison with the on-engine EGR system to reduce NOx in line with the emissions requirements. The optimum balance of how these technologies reduce NOx emissions delivers the best levels of fuel efficiency.
The PM is largely removed from the DPF through passive regeneration. At higher temperatures, the captured PM is oxidized through direct reaction with oxygen (O2). At lower temperatures, the primary method of PM oxidation is through reaction with nitrogen dioxide (NO2) developed in the oxidation catalyst incorporated within the filter housing. In certain circumstances, the DPF can accumulate PM at a rate that exceeds the oxidation rate. An active regeneration is then needed to prevent the filter plugging, by removing the excess PM buildup. When needed to raise the temperature and actively manage the DPF regeneration, a small quantity of fuel is injected through the High Pressure Common Rail fuel system. The design challenge is to enable reliable and consistent regeneration events, so that PM is removed in all types of duty cycles. The active regeneration control is designed so that it can take place under low ambient temperature/low load conditions when exhaust temperatures are low.
DPF Engines above 335 hp use Cummins diesel particulate filter (DPF), below that a Diesel Oxidation Catalyst (DOC) is used. In a catalyzed DPF, the particulate matter is collected on the filter. The PM is oxidized gradually by passive regeneration or by active regeneration when the exhaust temperature is increased, typically by injecting small amounts of fuel. The DPF replaces the muffler in the exhaust stream and is designed to provide the necessary acoustic attenuation. The housing incorporates an oxidation catalyst and the ceramic particulate filter. The DPF features a porous ceramic wall-flow particulate filter captures up to 90% of the PM. This consists of an array of small channels through which the exhaust gas flows. Adjacent channels are plugged at opposite ends, forcing the exhaust gas to flow through the porous wall, capturing the PM on the surface and inside pores of the media before it can exit.
The buildup of incombustible ash will eventually require the filter to be cleaned to prevent plugging. The service event is anticipated at very long intervals extending to several thousand hours, depending on duty cycle. The ash is part of the oil additive package and is intended to absorb acids in the oil resulting from combustion. During engine operation, trace amounts of ash collect in the filter as engine oil is consumed during normal operation. Low-ash oils, which maintain the important lubricity capability of the lubricant, are specified to reduce ash buildup in the filter.
HPCR Fuel Systems High-pressure common-rail fuel systems continue to be a critical element in the emissions reduction recipe. There are many injection characteristics that must be balanced and tuned with all other critical engine subsystems (base engine, air handling, aftertreatment and controls). Full electronic control over fuel timing, quantity, pressure, delivery rate shape and the number of injection events is a must for optimum emissions solutions and performance. Highly flexible control of fuel injection offered by these systems results in better atomization of the fuel with a corresponding reduction in unburnt carbon and more efficient combustion.
“As our members have shown, housing models can be developed that create a genuine partnership between local authorities and developers.”
been better, but they could have much worse, too. A budget for vicars and optimists. “Election budgets are often a heady mix of selfcongratulation on past performance, claims to fiscal probity and opaque promises for the future. 2015 appears to follow this trend. The Chancellor has flagged the good times returning to parts the economy. However, there is no likelihood of calling time on austerity: the Chancellor has announced that he will be seeking a further £30Bn of savings over the next three years. Including a further £13Bn from Government spending. This is inevitably going to impact upon the pipeline for potential infrastructure projects. “Despite this, there are some interesting nuggets of where public sector money might be spent, or at least protected, in the event that the Chancellor returns to 11 Downing St in May. No reference to the National Infrastructure Plan, but a few guest appearances of certain projects, such as the Swansea Tidal Lagoon scheme, the Northern Powerhouse and investments in the South West and Wales. These are to be welcomed as part of the process of dragging the UK up from its lowly position of 27th in the World Economic Forum’s, infrastructure league table. “The Chancellor made no specific reference to the roads budget and newly-empowered Highways Agency (although it is going to be cheaper to get to Wales over the Severn Bridge, apparently). There were some welcome commitments to transport spending and a new rail franchise for the South West and the pre-announcement of a transport strategy for the cities of the North – which will further enhance the case for HS2. “Importantly, there is also a projection of future direction of travel for urban investment with certain cities being given the right to retain increases in revenue from business rates (and for other cities being given the right to bid for these increases) coupled with an expansion of Enterprise Zones. There was also reference to an increase in the opportunity for housing
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growth in London, building on the announcements in the Infrastructure Act. All of this needs to be balanced against the promise a future review of business rates themselves, but provides a potential platform for the development by cities of their own infrastructure plans and the involvement of future private sector investment. This will no doubt increase the attractiveness of the UK to foreign investors, who already regard the UK as a safe haven for investment. “All this and a tripling of the church roof fund.” For all the Chancellor talked about a Northern Powerhouse, there is no mention of how the North East of England and its many needs in infrastructure might benefit, says Douglas Kell, Director of the Civil Engineering Contractors’ Association in the region. “The creation of housing zones and help for first-time buyers will stimulate the housebuilding and this is good. Otherwise there is not even assurance that funding needed for ongoing work on roads and other transport development earlier announced will still be forthcoming,” Kell said. “Abolition of National Insurance payments for under 21s should help encourage the hiring of trainees”, he added, but felt it should apply immediately to counter the skills shortage in construction and civil engineering. Cuts in corporation tax would help firms, but otherwise in the North East the industry stood to gain little, in his view. “It will be a matter of scanning the small print for any small hints of encouragement,” he added. Apprenticeship vouchers show Government has listened, says FMB The Government’s proposed voucher model for apprenticeship funding is an improvement on what was formerly proposed and shows that Ministers have listened to the construction industry, according to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).
Berry continued: “The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) predicts that an additional 200,000 jobs will be created in the construction industry over the next five years and up to 400,000 people could retire over the same period. It’s therefore crucial that Government does nothing to undermine the desire or ability of small construction firms to train apprentices. Let’s not forget, two-thirds of all construction apprentices are trained by the very smallest firms so we need to carefully develop a framework which works for them, not against them.” Berry concluded: “The message we want our members and all small construction firms to take away is that regardless of the forthcoming changes, until 2017, it’s business as usual in terms of apprenticeship funding. With the skills time bomb ticking ever more loudly, the last thing we need is for employers to stop hiring apprentices in the interim. According to our latest survey, 20% of FMB members are currently training apprentices which is up from 18% two years ago. However, we need more small employers – and all large employers – to recognise the commercial value of training apprentices and do their bit to help close the skills gap.”
The British Property Federation has welcomed plans to create the first 20 Housing Zones outside of London. Chief Executive Melanie Leech said: “The Federation was an early proponent of Housing Zones and we are pleased to see their rollout and the Government’s increased ambition to introduce them on brownfield sites. “Spending cuts have meant that support for brownfield development all but disappeared during the recession. Housing Zones are welcome recognition that we can deliver significant amounts of desperately-needed housing on brownfield land, but that this will often need both central Government support and clarity of purpose at local level.” The BPF also welcomed a new housing support package for London that could unlock over 4,000 homes on brownfield and public sector land. Melanie Leech said: “We very much welcome the housing support package for London given the acute need for more homes in the capital. However, the London Land Commission should be seen as the start of a process and not an end in itself, with strong incentives to dispose of public land for housing use, and a backstop of GLA taking responsibility for land that is slow to be used by other public bodies.
www.gov.uk/government/publications/budget-2015-documents
Commenting on the Budget Statement, Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “It’s been a long and bumpy road since the Richard Review first touted the idea of putting the purchasing power back in the hands of the employer but today the Government has finally set out a clear direction of travel in terms of its apprenticeship funding reforms. The new digital apprenticeship voucher model is a vast improvement on what was formerly proposed. However, we do still have some concerns about the potential for this new system to add additional administrative burden for small firms. To counter this, we will be working closely with the next Government to minimise any added bureaucracy. For SMEs, bureaucracy is the biggest barrier to engagement in any scheme so industry and Government must work together to help ensure this new system does not have a detrimental impact on apprenticeship numbers.”
“As our members have shown, housing models can be developed that create a genuine partnership between local authorities and developers. These partnerships can earn local authorities an income through the leasing of land for homes to rent, rather than out-and-out sale of public land.”
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The smarter way to print telephone: 01784 274300 www.oki.co.uk
A n d rew H a l l , M a r ke ti n g M a n a g e r, O K I Sys te m s U K Ltd Major capital investment in new office equipment was one of the first casualties of the cuts for many businesses. Which means that for five or six years now, they have had no alternative but to make do with increasingly inefficient and outdated technology. Sometimes devices such as printers are so old that they are no longer supported by the vendor. Or someone has to manage a complex web of variable maintenance contracts and order different sets of consumables for each device. So in these cases, maintaining the status quo could be a false economy. Digital printers have progressed in leaps and bounds over the past few years. Typically these now have a smaller footprint and are far more energy-efficient than previously. Also, print, fax and scan are now combined in one multifunction device, to save even more space and overheads. The addition of the new generation of A3+ digital LED printers with professional print output has enabled the industry to invest in these devices for fast and affordable A3 prints. To benefit from these advances, businesses can now also buy printers and printing as a service, which can grow or contract as required. Evidence shows that this kind of arrangement can save up to 30% of printing costs. Taking this route means that instead of making a large, upfront investment, the organisation buys printers, supplies, maintenance and support in one all-inclusive and rolling contract. This arrangement enables continual tracking of costs and helps control budgets.
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However, perhaps the most important part of this service is that subscribers have ongoing access to the expertise of the vendor. OKI, for example, works with its managed print services clients, to devise a print policy that minimises downtime and ensures the best use of the latest models. The costs of printing are often overlooked, but purchasing print and printing as a service helps identify them, minimise them and then keep them under control into the future.
SpeedVision – the next generation of Speed Monitoring Following the success of the SpeedVision versions SV1 and SV2, Speedar Ltd has now extended its SpeedVision range. These new models not only meet the requirements of traditional speed monitoring and enforcement, they also provide solutions to the demands of the construction industry. The increasing demand for the construction industry to improve health and safety on sites has created an interest in the monitoring of speed to reduce injury and death from speed related accidents. There is also an increasing requirement on main contractors to be responsible for the actions of their sub-contractors. Traditional methods of handheld or tripod mounted speed equipment does in itself create a risk to ‘road side’
operators of the equipment, particularly in the environment of a construction site where terrain, vehicle size and driver visibility are factors. The use of ‘road side’ portable equipment also has a manpower and cost implication. There is also a need to control speed on large commercial and industrial sites such as processing, oil and gas, power industries and transport depots. Whilst VAS signs (Vehicle Activated Signs) are appropriate in some situations they do not in themselves present a deterrent as they have no record of offenders and are therefore often ignored by drivers.
THE LEADING EUROPEAN MANUFACTURER OF HANDHELD DIRECTION SENSING RADARGUNS ALSO KNOWN AS SPEEDGUNS
SpeedVision SV3R
SpeedVision SV3W
The SV3R is a modified version of the SV2 with the same radar technology and high quality camera, but with the flip up screen removed.
The SV3W is the same camera unit but with wireless transmission of the video up to a distance of 3km dependant on ‘line of sight’ This enables several cameras to relay to a central office where all monitoring can be carried out. This has the benefit of minimizing labour requirements and cost.
Additional is the aluminium housing containing an 8” screen, and Motion JPEG recorder recording to a CF card. The recording software is specific to the recorder thus recordings can only be replayed on a computer having this dedicated software.
On completion of a site, the equipment can be removed and moved to the next location / contract.
The SpeedVision unit can be tripod, wall or post mounted and the screen housing can be handheld or mounted ‘in vehicle’ when tripod mounted or wall or desk mounted in fixed applications.
SpeedVision SV3N
The video contains colour clips of the vehicles violating the speed limit together with the vehicle speed, speed limit, date and time. Vehicle registration plate and other vehicle markings will also be evident. Such information provides the evidence for disciplinary or exclusion measures as is deemed appropriate. Still photographs can be extracted from the video and printed.
Speedar Ltd is currently developing a Speedvision version to transfer speed data and video over a network. It is envisaged that this will be beneficial where buildings prevent ‘line of sight’ for the wireless version and where a network may already exist on the site. This will centralise monitoring and recording into one location.
Speedar Limited 45 St Richards Road, Crowborough, East Sussex, TN6 3AS Telephone: 01892 655909 Fax: 01892 655909 Email: sales@speedar.co.uk www.speedar.co.uk
BMC Combustion Ltd is a new company but have a background of over 25 years within the mechanical engineering industry and have many clients from schools, commercial premises and working with the NHS. We are Gas Safe registered and use an external health and safety team to address all our policies.
BM
We have installed all major boilers from Potterton, Hamworthy, Broag and Ideal. All engineers are fully trained within our field. BMC Combustion can offer full service and breakdown cover to all clients and also offer maintenance contracts which allows the client to have peace of mind. We also install all types of heating and domestic pumps including booster sets for buildings with low water pressure.
For more details please contact us: 3 Chilton Grove, London SE8 5DX
Tel: 07909 730322 Email: brian1@bmccombustionltd.co.uk
Estimating & Valuation Software 01204 669689
sales@conquest.ltd.uk
www.conquest.ltd.uk