UK Construction Journal March 2016

V19 No3

THE JOHN ROAN SCHOOL – HOW A TWO-SITE SCHOOL WAS TRANSFORMED

26-27 April 2016. Olympia, London.

Efficient Productivity Without Compromising Quality Hospital Innovations offers visitors and delegates the chance to hear from, and interact with leading trusts, supporting organisations and sponsors, who focus on improving Governance, Efficiency & Productivity without compromising patient safety and quality of service.

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NEWS 4 News

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COMMENTS 30 Considerate Constructors Checklist –tackling illegal working 31 BSIA: Lone workers and minimising the risk 32 Thomas Eggar: The consequences of Brexit

Publications Editor Victoria Maggiani Designer James Ormerod Publications Officers Robert Atherton Abigail Burr Junior Publications Officer Ciara Morris

34 Sheridan Gold: Liquidated damages and penalties

Sales Administrator Alecia Rowe

36 Liquidated damages and construction contracts

Approvals Beka Patterson

37 On disabled workers: lessons learned from Starbucks 38 Raising tinnitus awareness in the construction industry

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Head of Operations Gareth Trevor-Jones

39 Powered Now: Impress your prospects and win more work

General Manager Ian Parker Product Development Seamus Norton Display Advertising Sales T: 01257 231900 admin@ukconstructionmedia.co.uk

40 Cheetah Learning: When success is your only option 41 Welcome to the NHBC Tech Zone 42 The Migration Advisory Committee under the spotlight

Follow us on...

43 BIM and the era of connection 46 London’s Burning – Why a great fire is anything but…

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48 To certify BREEAM or to BREEAM not – that is the question?

50 Ecobuild 2016 preview 54 Apprenticeships key to overcoming skills shortage 56 BREEAM on sustainable building 57 Building better relationships in construction 62 The true cost of bad quality 64 StreetwiseSubbie: Eyes wide open

CASE STUDY 24 Megacities – building smartly

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27 Victorian heritage returns to Winstanley Estate 44 The John Roan School: How a two-site school was transformed

ISSN 1461-1279 UK Construction Media Stirling House Ackhurst Business Park Chorley PR7 1NY T: 01257 231900 E: admin@ukconstructionmedia.co.uk www.ukconstructionmedia.co.uk

© Copyright UK Construction Media. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or transmitted in any form without the prior permission of UK Construction Media. Views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher.

UKC NEWS

Proposal made for Port Talbot Enterprise Zone Port Talbot could be designated as an Enterprise Zone by Welsh Government in a step to further assist the area against the impact of Tata Steel’s recent cutbacks.

Economy Minister Edwina Hart said the creation of an Enterprise Zone was a proposal being considered by Welsh Government to provide further potential support and investment to the Port Talbot area following the announcement that 750 jobs would be lost at its steel plant.

said: “With the agreement of the First Minister, I have today written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer setting out our proposal to create an additional Enterprise Zone in Wales. An Enterprise Zone that encompasses the Port Talbot site would not only send an important signal to the industry, it would also create a growth environment within which other business and industry could flourish.

But the move would require cooperation from the UK Government to provide the Enterprise Zone with the full package of policy levers, as Enhanced Capital Allowances (ECAs) are a matter for the UK Government.

“However, for maximum impact, such an Enterprise Zone would need the full package of policy levers including Enhanced Capital Allowances (ECAs). As ECAs are a matter for the UK Government, I have asked for the Chancellor’s early response as to whether the UK Government would be agreeable this.”

Addressing the Assembly, Mrs Hart

Acknowledging the impacts are likely

to be wider than just the workers being displaced, Mrs Hart added: “We are determined to do all that we can to support the employer, its workforce and those in the local supply chain.”

“The steel industry is a fundamental cornerstone of our manufacturing sector.

It sustains thousands of jobs and provides above average salaries, often in areas of below average income. Steel making is part of our heritage and we are committed to ensuring it is part of our future.”

Wales currently has seven Enterprise Zones focusing on different key sectors ranging from finance to manufacturing.

To date, the zones have created, assisted or safeguarded over 7,795 jobs in Wales and paved the way for further investment and development.

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Lendlease’s construction business has announced that it has signed a major new contract with Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU). Lendlease has been appointed to undertake the enabling works and pre-construction services as principal contractor at the former Royal Mail sorting office at Copperas Hill, which is to be redeveloped into a flagship, state-of-the-art university building.

Lendlease is the university’s preferred bidder for the whole project and already has staff on site surveying the existing structure in order to strip it back to its frame ahead of developing it into a university building.

The Copperas Hill development is expected to create a significant focal point for LJMU, and for the area of Liverpool City Centre where it is located, opposite Lime Street

Station. It will create a gateway to Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter, and bring together the university’s Mount Pleasant and Byrom Street campuses.

Simon Gorski, Executive General Manager of UK Regions for Lendlease, said: “We’re really pleased to be getting underway with our work at Copperas Hill, which has been described as a ‘transformational’ investment for LJMU. The challenge of retaining the existing and very prominent structure and utilising it to create an iconic and inspirational multi-purpose facility is really exciting. We are delighted to be back in Liverpool.”

The new building will house the university’s three libraries (which will be combined into one facility), a central teaching unit with lecture theatres and seminar rooms, and study zones and IT suites. Sports facilities

NEWS UKC

Contract awarded for £80M Liverpool John Moores University redevelopment on the site will include an eight court sports hall, a gym and dance studios, while the building will also house offices for the Liverpool Students’ Union and spaces for other services including a careers centre and cafes.

Two new mezzanine floors will be added to the existing structure and the roof developed to allow use for sports and recreation, with the total floor area of the building increasing from an existing 280,000sq ft to 355,500sq ft.

Enabling work is due to complete in August, and Lendlease is hoping to commence the main construction works in the summer, with a view to delivering a completed building in the first half of 2018. The design team for the project comprises BDP Architects, Curtins Structural Engineers and Arup Building Services Engineer.

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UKC NEWS

A556 scheme demonstrates environmental credentials Work on a series of ponds, being provided as an integral feature of the new A556 Knutsford to Bowdon dual carriageway, is underlining the environmental credentials of the £192M Highways England project.

In all, four ponds are being provided along the length of the 4.5 mile new road. They are designed to deal with rain water and other ‘run-off’ from the road surface which is often contaminated by engine oil and fuel spilled from vehicles as well as other liquids and debris from collisions and breakdowns.

As well as collecting the run-off, the special ‘attenuation’ ponds will slowly filter contaminates out of the water before it can be released safely at a controlled rate into the River Bollin.

The first of the four ponds - known as

‘Pond D’ - is nearing completion. Pond D can be found on Yarwood Heath, sandwiched between the existing slip road from the M56 up to Bowdon roundabout and a new dedicated link road and roundabout, which will service a new dual carriageway to the west.

Jonathan Stokes, Highways England’s A556 project manager, said: “A number of people have asked us about the pond at Yarwood Heath and why it’s being provided. The use of attenuation ponds along the new A556 will significantly reduce the amount of water currently ending up untreated in the local water courses.

“These ponds will considerably improve the environmental credentials of the link between the M56 and M6. They are sustainable and aesthetically pleasing

and as well as providing filtration for day to day run-off from the new road, the ponds will act as holding tanks in the event of severe flooding or a major spillage from a collision.”

Providing the ponds is just one of the environmental improvement measures in the scheme. The project also includes improved and dedicated facilities for pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders along the existing A556 road and providing a unique ‘green’ bridge - for the use of farm and wild animals - across the new dual carriageway near Mere.

Construction of the new link roads and roundabout arrangements around Bowdon and junction seven of the M56 should be completed this summer with the new bypass opening in spring of next year.

GreenOak finds contractor for £16.9M Dixon House scheme ISG has been awarded a £16.9M refurbishment project by independent property investment company, GreenOak, at Dixon House, 72-75 Fenchurch Street.

Located in the heart of the City of London, the seven-storey Grade II listed office building will undergo partial demolition and the addition of three new floors as part of an ambitious programme to transform and upgrade the property. ISG will deliver 60,000sq ft of contemporary Cat A open plan office accommodation.

Carefully retaining the original ornate Portland Stone facade, ISG will systematically demolish the existing building down to the fourth floor slab and remove two staircases across the lower part of the building. The Contractor will also demolish a significant central area of the remaining structure down to basement

level to enable complete reconfiguration of the building core. A new triple lift shaft will then be constructed within this central area.

This challenging scheme requires extensive temporary works to ensure structural stability of the existing building during both demolition and construction phases. Horizontal supports will temporarily support the retained facade and core as part of the complex engineering measures employed on the project.

Dixon House is set to become an excellent showcase for those visionary owners looking to transform their outdated property assets to maximise demand and commercial value.”

Stuart Deverill, ISG’s Southern Regional Managing Director, commented: “This latest scheme plays to our significant strengths delivering highly complex structural refurbishments in logistically challenging and busy locations.

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NEWS UKC

£200M invested in bus priority schemes A £200M investment in new bus priority schemes in London is already speeding up journeys for passengers in the Capital.

More than 100 of the schemes will be in place by April this year, helping hundreds of thousands of passengers get through busy parts of the London more quickly.

The Capital’s roads are seeing an increase in congestion due to a construction boom and a significant growth in population, so Transport for London (TfL) is investing heavily in helping to keep the roads moving through a range of means. Part of this programme is designed to help buses get through congested areas quicker and more reliably. The new bus priority schemes include changes to road layouts and junctions, and enabling small changes to routes so that buses can avoid traffic hotspots.

As an example, the most recently completed scheme, in Battersea, allows route 156 buses to make a right turn from northbound on Queenstown Road to eastbound on Battersea Park Road. It will

reduce average journey times by around a minute and a half in each direction in the morning and evening peaks, benefitting approximately 800,000 passengers a year.

Around 50 bus priority schemes were delivered across the Capital in 2015 and a total of 116 will be in place by the end of April. These improvements will benefit passengers in 17 London boroughs right across the Capital. Bus Priority Schemes to be completed this year include:

• A new 500m bus lane in Plumstead, Greenwich, that will improve journey times for passengers travelling on a number of westbound routes towards Woolwich.

• A scheme on North End Road in Erith will enable buses to turn across a dual carriageway rather than having to drive an extra kilometre to turn around at a roundabout, thereby saving time for passengers.

• Route 274 buses will be able to turn right near Camden Road Station, reducing the distance buses have to travel and speeding up journey times for passengers.

• A bus-only slip road for route 206 buses is being created on Brentfield Road, near IKEA in Neasden, enabling buses to take a more direct route that aims to save roughly five minutes journey time. The changes

will also mean that buses can travel the same route in both directions, making the route easier for customers to understand.

Mike Weston, TfL’s Director of Buses, said: “London’s continued success means that it is a very busy city with a huge range of construction projects underway, particularly in central London, and this is having an effect on traffic. To ensure that the bus network remains reliable and efficient, we are investing £200M in modernising roads across the Capital so that bus passengers can avoid potential delays to their journeys.

Fifty schemes were completed last year and there are dozens more that will be completed over the next few months, ensuring that bus journeys are as quick and easy as possible.

“We’re working 24 hours a day to relieve congestion through our Traffic Control Centre and cracking down on illegal or inconsiderate drivers through our expanded team of dedicated traffic enforcement officers.”

Bus Priority Schemes are TfL-funded but delivered in partnership with local boroughs, which are often responsible for the local roads that the buses serve and represent the communities around them.

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UKC NEWS

Ainscough Industrial Services bucks engineering services sector trend Rapidly-expanding national integrated engineering services provider, Ainscough Industrial Services (AIS), is celebrating success amidst the UK’s under-pressure industrial sector after announcing a record turnover of £42M in 2015, reflecting 50% year on year growth.

The north west headquartered and privately owned Company, which employs 280 people across its ten UK facilities, attributes this performance to the strategic integration of its numerous whollyowned subsidiaries into one combined capital and maintenance-driven projects service provider over the last two years.

Its innovative move to overhaul and position its suite of specialist businesses installation, mechanical, pipework, electrical, fabrication, technical lifting, logistics plus control and automation - as one full service offer, has come against a backdrop of incredibly challenging trading conditions.

Defying such a turbulent market, the company has created more than 90 jobs

over the past 12 months, representing a 30% increase in staff with local opportunities created across its UK bases - located in Wigan, Preston, Rotherham, Birmingham, Retford, Glasgow, Bridgend, Bristol, Newcastle and Bath.

CEO Matt Ainscough, who purchased the Company founded by his grandfather in 1982 from the family in 2010, has overseen turnover growth rise of more than £30M in the past five years and set his sights on further expansion, specifically in the food and beverage manufacturing market.

He believes the integration of AIS’s business services was vital for the Company to flourish and represents an essential blueprint for the future of the M&E sector.

He commented: “The built environment sector, let alone the M&E arena, is changing at an unprecedented rate, and we knew that in order to survive, let alone succeed, we couldn’t stand still.

“But rather than spread ourselves too thinly, we took a decision to add, then

combine additional related capabilities in order to provide our clients with an all-encompassing front-facing offer.

“Rather than competing for, as an example, subcontracted pipework or heavy lifting contracts, we are winning bigger integrated contracts as ‘one team’ direct from clients across the entire UK. “By doing so, we know we’re putting ourselves up against a much larger market of competitors in addition to those that we’ve faced traditionally, but we believe our combined specialisms make us a perfect fit for industries that require precise, technically complex and time-critical support, relevant to the entire industrial sector.

“The immediate impact of the realignment has been outstanding with sales at our pipework subsidiary up 60% year on year (£6.5M). Likewise, we’re extremely proud and committed to continuing to build upon our UK wide footprint.”

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NEWS UKC

Environment Agency outlines response to record-breaking floods The Environment Agency has carried out 16,000 inspections and identified around 660 flood defences needing repair work in the wake of recordbreaking wet weather in December.

Heavy rain throughout December led to it becoming the wettest month on record, with 14 rivers across the north recording their highest ever flows.

Almost 200 Environment Agency river level gauges recorded their highest ever river level - 10% of the total across England. Honister Pass in Cumbria saw the highest amount of rainfall ever in a 24-hour period, as more than 341mm fell.

• Around 300 Environment Agency staff and contractors are working on recovery.

• Flood support officers have visited more than 150 communities.

Environment Agency Acting Chairman Emma Howard Boyd said: “Our teams have worked tirelessly to repair flood defences and help communities in particular across Cumbria, Lancashire and Yorkshire get back on their feet after the terrible flooding we saw over December and January.

Environment Agency flood defences protected 12,500 properties during Storm Desmond and 10,900 during Storm Eva but more than 20,000 properties flooded as a result of the extreme weather.

The ongoing recovery work includes:

“Last week I visited Croston in Lancashire and saw the fantastic work that had been done to repair the flood bank and restore protection to residents in the village. This is the crucial work we are now focusing on to restore protection to those homes and businesses at risk.”

• High priority damaged flood assets, such as the banks at Croston and St Michaels in Lancashire, have already been repaired either permanently or on a temporary basis.

Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency, said: “Vital flood recovery work is underway across the north of England as Environment Agency teams work to

identify repairs and restore protection to communities. We will be using the £40M provided to us by the government to carry out these essential repairs.

“We will also continue to work with the government on its Flood Resilience Review, which will assess how we can be better protected in future from the type of extreme weather we saw in December.”

More than 80% of inspections (16,000) of flood defence assets have now been completed, with assistance from the military during the extreme weather. Assets in some areas remain underwater and will be inspected when water levels subside. So far 660 repair projects have been identified, with some repairs already complete, including in Croston, Lancashire, where sheets of corrugated metal were driven into the ground to repair a river bank damaged by high flows on the River Douglas.

The repair work will be funded in part by the government’s investment in recovery from Storm Eva and Storm Desmond, which now amounts to nearly £200M.

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UKC NEWS

Games Workshop co-founder to open two free schools One of the founders of Games Workshop, who helped revamp the computing curriculum, is to open two new free schools specialising in computer science, technology and the arts, Education Secretary Nicky Morgan has revealed.

Drawing on his experience as a videogame entrepreneur, Ian Livingstone will open the Livingstone Academies in Tower Hamlets and Bournemouth, which will provide over 3,000 children with a rigorous education rooted in STEAM - science, technology, engineering, arts and maths.

The schools, to be opened under the Aspirations Academy Trust, will use the founder’s extensive links to the creative industries to instil creative thinking and enterprise in their pupils, who will sit ‘Dragon’s Den’ style competitions and start up mock companies at the schools.

In 2010 Ian Livingstone was invited to review digital skills in England and concluded that poor-quality IT

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teaching in schools is an obstacle to growth. The review was influential in leading to an overhauling of IT teaching and the introduction of a new computer science curriculum. The two schools announced will build on this by being exemplary institutions of computing and creative thinking.

The two schools to be opened

by Ian Livingstone join 20 others recently announced, which will in total create more than 18,000 places for parents across the country.

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said: “Free schools are offering a rigorous education in communities which have never before had the opportunity of a good local school. Parents are flocking to them in their droves - and today’s announcement means that over 18,000 more children can benefit from a place in a free school.

“With leading entrepreneur Ian Livingstone stepping up to open two schools, the free schools programme is proving to be a vital outlet for our society’s most creative and innovative people to spread their excellence to future generations.”

Ian Livingstone CBE, Founder and Chairman of the Livingstone Foundation, said: “The arts and sciences should no longer be a question of either/or - and to further this I’m delighted to be opening two free schools to embed digital creativity in future generations of our society.

“It is the combination of computer programming skills and creativity by which today’s world changing companies are built. I encourage other digital entrepreneurs to seize the opportunity offered by the free schools programme in helping to give children an authentic education for the jobs and opportunities of the digital world.”

WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff has been appointed by Glennmont Partners to provide design and engineering services on the £160M biomass plant in Teesside. Set to enter commercial operation in 2018, the Port Clarence Renewable Energy Plant will generate electricity to power around 75,000 homes across the Tees Valley and in the North East, as well as create 300 jobs at the peak of the construction period.

Local engineers from WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff’s Middlesbrough office are providing project management, programme and design review and supervising the construction of the biomass plant from start to completion. The construction of the plant is carried out by a Babcock & Wilcox Volund and Lagan Construction

Group JV in partnership with Eco2.

Biomass is an important source of renewable energy using material derived from living or recently living organisms such as wood, plants and animal waste to generate electricity. In Q4 2015, electricity generation from biomass provided 7% of the UK’s overall renewable energy production.

NEWS UKC

Engineer appointed for £160M biomass plant in Teesside “This low carbon development is important as an addition to the North East economy and for helping the UK achieve its 2020 renewable energy targets. We are working collaboratively with key stakeholders to ensure that the project meets and exceeds our client’s expectations.”

The Port Clarence Energy project will predominantly use waste from wood chips. The remaining feedstock will be sourced from construction, demolition and civic amenities sites as well as packaging, meaning that the plant will have very limited carbon footprint.

Phil Morland, Energy Project Manager at WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff said:

HS2 Ltd to recruit community engagement specialists A team of dedicated community engagement specialists is to be recruited by HS2 Ltd to understand and respond to the views of people living along the route of HS2, Britain’s new high speed rail network.

HS2 Ltd has announced a recruitment drive for community engagement specialists following feedback from the project’s Residents’ Commissioner, local authorities and local communities.

The eleven specialist roles will be based in regions along the proposed route for Phase I of HS2, between London and the West Midlands. Their primary role will be to ensure that HS2 is both

talking and listening to all those who are affected by the project in their area.

This will involve responsibility for the running of local information events and ongoing dialogue with communities to ensure the organisation listens to and acts on people’s concerns.

The roles will also help HS2 to better recognise the unique needs of each community as the project moves towards construction.

The successful candidates will become the ‘go-to’ people within the communities and will be integral in identifying local issues, needs and requirements.

HS2 Ltd Senior Area Engagement Manager, Jonathan Lord said: “As HS2 moves towards construction we recognise that it will have a significant impact on the lives of local residents and businesses who live and work along the line of route.

“We are looking to build a strong team of experienced community engagement specialists to put the concerns of people at the heart of what we do and to give us a thorough understanding of local issues.

“We need to continue to listen to and act on local concerns about HS2 and having the right people on the ground is critical to our community engagement.”

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UKC NEWS

Stratford wins over London’s workers Stratford and Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park has been voted the area in London likely to improve most by 2020, according to a new poll of over 1,000 Londoners by YouGov and leading international property and infrastructure group, Lendlease.

More than one in five (21%) London adults chose Stratford and Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, twice as much as any other area in the capital and ahead of prominent redevelopment districts including Croydon (9%), the City (9%), Tottenham (6%), Canary Wharf (4%) and Wembley (4%).

The research follows the recent combined investment of more than £615M in the first phase of The International Quarter

by Legal & General and Deutsche Bank Asset Management, through their respective purchases of the new Transport for London (TfL) building and the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) new headquarters. Both buildings are now under construction and the investments demonstrate the confidence the business community has in the future of Stratford, which is set to become London’s fourth business district.

The poll also found that more than one in ten (13%) would favour working in Stratford over other fast-growing areas as Wembley (5%), Croydon (6%), and Tottenham (3%). With the opportunity to

live and work in the same place, as well as Stratford becoming Zone 2/3, the area is quickly becoming a prime destination for London’s businesses and workers.

Findings also reveal that only a quarter of employees (24%) in the capital believe they get enough fresh air at work. As such, the open spaces of Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park could be an attractive proposition for London’s workers.

Lendlease and joint venture partner LCR are delivering The International Quarter – a new world class workplace in Stratford that is set to be London’s fourth business district alongside the City, West End and Canary Wharf. TfL and the FCA will relocate to The International Quarter in 2017 and 2018 respectively, and discussions are underway with a number of other major businesses to move to the site – which, once completed, will house an estimated 25,000 workers.

International Quarter at Lendlease, said: “Stratford won over the hearts of Londoners in 2012, and now nearly four years on we’re seeing that legacy continue in the minds of people across the capital. TfL’s recent rezoning of Stratford, Stratford International, and Stratford High Street stations as Zones 2/3 will save local residents and workers hundreds of pounds a year. With the combination of The International Quarter delivering London’s fourth business district, Olympicopolis creating a world class education and cultural hub, unparalleled retail and the ever improving transport connections, it’s no surprise Stratford is leading the pack as a place to live and work ahead of other areas across London.”

In addition, Olympicopolis will provide a unique cultural and educational offer for Stratford and London. This world class district will see a new branch of the Victoria and Albert Museum, a Sadler’s Wells dance theatre, UAL’s London College of Fashion and University College London located in the heart of the east London.

Ian Crockford, Project Director, The

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UKC NEWS

Robertson appointed to redevelop iconic Edinburgh sporting ground Robertson has been appointed to lead the redevelopment of Raeburn Place, the iconic Edinburgh sports ground.

Raeburn Place Foundation’s (RPF) development arm has selected Robertson Central business as principal contractor for the £15M contract, to redevelop the birthplace of international rugby following a competitive process.

Raeburn Place, in the city’s Stockbridge area, secured its place in history by hosting the first rugby international in 1871, which saw Scotland beat rival England. It was also home to the first Calcutta Cup match in 1879.

It is home to Edinburgh Academicals, Scotland’s oldest rugby club and the second oldest in the world.

The plans for the multi-million pound development include a covered, 2,500-seater stand, a new rugby pitch, mini training pitches, changing rooms, a sprint track, purpose-built gym, medical and physiotherapy rooms. A cricket field will be reinstated along with practise nets, a sustainable surface draining system and upgraded floodlighting.

The development will include new function suites, a cafe bar, retail and

commercial units and enhanced public space, along with a Museum of International Rugby, which will showcase the heritage of Raeburn Place and its integral role in the development of world rugby.

David Cairns, Regional Managing Director, Robertson Central, said: “We are delighted to be selected as principal contractor on the redevelopment of Raeburn Place, which will transform this area of Stockbridge to the benefit of the entire community.

“This is a complex development with many different elements and it is a challenge we are well equipped to handle thanks to our extensive experience. We will work closely with the Raeburn Place Foundation over the coming months to deliver the design and look forward to starting work on site this summer.”

David Newlands, Chairman, Raeburn Place Foundation, said: “This is an exciting moment for everyone who has been involved in planning for this project. We are delighted to have appointed Robertson Central to build new facilities at Raeburn Place.

“We were impressed by their understanding of the importance of our

heritage and the community in delivering high quality, sustainable facilities that will enhance this important part of the city.

“Robertson Central has a great track record in delivering similar projects on time and on budget and we are confident that they will deliver for Raeburn Place.”

Edinburgh City Council awarded planning permission for the development in July 2014, followed a year later by licences.

RPF’s vision is to improve lives through sport. Its mission is to be a financially independent organisation that supports and provides sport, sports programmes and healthy recreation for all.

RPF, through its subsidiary Raeburn Place Development Limited, will develop and manage the historic ground at Raeburn Place, the birthplace of international rugby, ensuring its continued use by future generations.

The charity will also build and run the Museum of International Rugby (MoIR) to display the heritage and history of the ground, the clubs associated with it, the development of international rugby and sport more widely.

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NEWS UKC

Four cities awarded £40M fund to encourage drivers to go green Nottingham, Bristol, Milton Keynes and London have been named as winners of multi-million fund to drive green car revolution across UK cities.

After successful bidding for a share of the £40M funding created to support the take-up of plug-in electric cars across the UK, four cities have today been awarded the funds to promote green vehicle technology.

The winners of the Go Ultra Low City scheme were announced by Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin, after they designed schemes that will help encourage thousands of people to consider switching to a plug-in car.

The government competition will support the UK’s thriving green vehicle sector, improve air quality in urban hotspots and help the government meet its emission cutting targets.

The four cities will deliver cutting edge technology, such as rapid charging hubs and street lighting that double as charge points, along with a range of innovative proposals that will give privileges to plug-in car owners, such as access to bus lanes in city centres.

Around 25,000 parking spaces will also be opened up for plug-in car owners saving commuters as much as £1,300 a year.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: “These Go Ultra Low Cities have proposed exciting, innovative ideas that will encourage drivers to choose an electric car. I want to see thousands more greener vehicles on our roads and I am proud to back this ambition with £40M to help the UK become international pioneers of emission cutting technology.

“The UK is a world leader in the uptake of low emission vehicles and our long-term economic plan is investing £600M by 2020 to improve air quality, create jobs and achieve our goal of every new car and van in the UK being ultra-low emission by 2040.”

As part of the Go Ultra Low Cities announcement, London is awarded £13M to create “Neighbourhoods of the future”, making ultra-slow emission vehicles priority in several boroughs across the capital. Streets in Hackney will introduce electric charging street lighting, while Harrow will develop a low emission zone offering parking and traffic priority to owners of plug-in vehicles. London’s proposals aim to deliver 70,000 ULEVs sold by 2020.

A total of £9M will go to Milton Keynes, to open a city centre Electric Vehicle Experience Centre, a “one stop shop” providing customer advice and short-term vehicle loan,

along with 20,000 free parking bays for EVs and co-brand bus lanes.

Bristol have £7M to offer free parking for ULEV’s, access to three carpool lanes, 80 rapid and fast chargers across the city and a scheme to encourage people to lease a plug-in car for up to four weeks to help them understand the benefits of electric vehicles.

Nottinghamshire and Derby will use £6M of funding to install 230 chargepoints and offer ULEV owners discount parking and over 13 miles of bus lanes across key routes of the city.

The funding will also support highly skilled jobs in the automotive industry, by encouraging the sale of thousands of extra plug-in cars, many of which will be built and tested in the UK. The Go Ultra Low Cities fund is just one element of a comprehensive £600 million package of measures from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles by 2020, which also includes £400M of guaranteed money for individual plug-in car grants, investment in low emission buses and taxis, and research and development funding for innovative technology such as lighter vehicles and longer-lasting car batteries.

Join the many thousands of estimators & surveyors who have made the switch to ConQuest 19

We are often asked whether ConQuest is suitable for pricing refurbishment work, which is what the estimators at Bradec Construction Ltd in Andover spend a lot of their time doing. The company will work anywhere in the United Kingdom and will undertake any kind of construction work, but Bradec has established a particular reputation as a specialist in high end refurbishment work, often in demanding or difficult locations, such as central London. All of their work is priced using the ConQuest estimating system and recent projects are as varied as a large hotel refurbishment, a restaurant refurbishment in Piccadilly, and the complete redecoration of Tedworth House for the charity Help for Heroes.

A good example of the quality and complexity of Bradec’s work is the recent alteration and improvement work to a luxury apartment in West London, including Giorgio Armani/ Roca bathroom fittings, and Dinesen Oak flooring from Denmark. The oak planks had to be ordered nine months in advance to ensure delivery and were supplied in 30 x 500 x 5500 lengths which were too long to be taken up by the building’s internal hoist, and had to be craned up to the sixth floor. This could only be done by closing a bus lane in the busy Bayswater Road, not once but three times during the course of the contract. Each time, this required careful negotiation between Bradec’s Managing Director Steve Bradbury, Transport for London, and Westminster City Council. Bradec are clearly problem solvers.

Steve, who originally trained as a QS, has been using the ConQuest estimating system since it was first introduced over twenty years ago,

“We do a lot of taking off”, he told us, “and we find your On Screen Measurement System very useful.

If the phone rings, when you go back, you can remember where you were because the measured work has automatically been coloured in on the electronic drawing. It’s so quick. Brilliant for measuring weird and wonderful shapes in groundworks such as driveways. It’s simple to use and fantastic the way that you can measure an area and it automatically measures the perimeters, or you measure the length of a partition and it can give you the vertical area at the same time”.

Bradec Construction has recently been using the revolutionary ConQuest Online Enquiry system which is Cloud based and drastically reduces the time it takes to get enquiries out to subcontractors. “If we have a BQ from an outside consultant we can very quickly

ConQuest Ltd Derwent Suite, Paragon House, Paragon Business Park Chorley New Road, Horwich, Bolton BL6 6HG T 01204 669689 • F 01204 667689 • E sales@conquest.ltd.uk

import it into ConQuest, and whereas a big enquiry might have taken us a week before, we can now mark up the Bill and get the enquiries out on the same day”, said Steve. “When the quotes come back we feed them into the ConQuest Comparison system, which makes the selection process very quick, especially if there are a lot of Bill items.

All of this information is available to our surveyors, post contract, and we use the ConQuest Valuation system for monthly valuations and to produce Cost Value Reconciliations comparing resource information imported from our accounts system”.

It is very rewarding for us to see customers like Bradec Construction completely adopting our system, and we look forward to a continuing relationship with them long into the future.

www.conquest.ltd.uk

NEWS UKC

Boost for housing as government puts hundreds of acres of land up for sale Six hundred acres of surplus public land put up for sale to deliver new homes and boost local growth.

The government has announced details of 600 acres of surplus public sector land as part of plans to deliver thousands of new homes and local growth.

Developers are being urged to seize the opportunity, after Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said it was proof that the government was getting the country building again. The government has now embarked on the largest housing building programme since the 1970s, as it looks to deliver a million new homes 160,000 of them through the sale of surplus sector land.

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has more than 80 public land sites for sale and a further 40 sites will be brought to market over the next 18 months, providing a boost to local economies and a significant return to the taxpayer.

The new sites will support an around 5,000 new homes as well as land for industry and business.

Over 20% of the sites already have outline or detailed planning permission.

The largest plot will be a 27.7-hectare site in Warrington, while other notable pieces of land include a 19.28-hectare site in Doncaster and a 11.86-hectare site in Stoke-on-Trent. Other significant plots include a site of 9.42 hectares in Leyland and another of 7.18 hectares in the nearby new town of Buckshaw.

Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said: “Using surplus public sector land for housing has helped us get the country building again with the number of new homes up by 25%.

“Selling off these sites will allow us to go even further, delivering on our ambition to support a further 160,000 homes, while providing a significant boost to local economies and the taxpayer.

“I now want to see developers getting shovels in the ground as quick as possible and build the homes hardworking people want and deserve.”

The HCA is the government’s disposal agency for surplus public land, and using its local market knowledge, commercial expertise and experience of managing large portfolios of land, exceeded its contribution to the government’s last land

programme by more than 3,000 homes.

The sale of surplus land helps to meet government priorities to build more homes and business premises.

Chief Executive of the HCA, Andy Rose, said: “We will use our commercial expertise and local market knowledge to make land attractive to house builders, to help get homes built more quickly and meet local priorities.

“As the government’s disposal agency for surplus public land, we are well placed to support other departments and agencies in meeting their contribution to the government’s land programme”.

The newly published Land Development and Disposal Plan also sets out some key principles of land disposal, which followed a review of the HCA’s processes and were developed in cooperation with the Home Builders Federation and its members.

These include clearer objectives for each site prior to sale, early and meaningful market engagement with a transparent pipeline of sites and clearer commercial terms.

Join the many thousands of estimators & surveyors who have made the switch to ConQuest 21

UKC NEWS

PM announces support package to boost tourism across flood-hit north Prime Minister David Cameron has announced funding for damages caused by floods and a campaign to promote tourism in the north.

David Cameron has announced a new package that will include £2M of government funding which will be used to fix bridges, rebuild walls and restore footpaths across the Lake District National park. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) have identified 180 local apprentices who will be mobilised to help with the park’s repair effort.

visit to Cumbria and Lancashire, where he will witness first-hand the investment in the area that is helping businesses and communities recover from the December floods.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: “From York Minster to Honister Mine, Carlisle Castle to the Leeds Armouries, the north has some of the most iconic tourist attractions the UK has to offer. So it is absolutely right that we do everything we can to make sure these businesses feel supported and ready to receive visitors.

The package will include £1M to boost the north of England’s tourism industry and encourage British families to visit the region over the Easter break, with the launch of a marketing campaign co-ordinated by VisitEngland.

“The measures we’ve announced today are an important step, showcasing the best the region’s tourist industry has to offer while helping one of its key attractions in the Lake District National Park get back on its feet.”

The package builds on the government’s £10M programme to grow tourism in the north with a new £4M Holidays at home are GREAT campaign, and advertising space worth £500,000 has also been made available at Heathrow to promote flood affected areas.

The funding announced will ensure that any damage to the Lake District Park’s 1400 bridges and 2,000 miles of paths, will be fixed as quickly as possible, with reinforcement of structures to ensure that they are resilient to flooding in the future.

The announcement comes before the Prime Ministers schedules

Environment Secretary Elizabeth Truss added: “The support we have promised today will help get those parts of the

park in need of repair ready for visitors, so that families looking forward to their Easter and summer breaks can visit this stunning environment and back businesses and communities affected by the recent floods.”

The new DCMS-funded advertising campaign launched on February 9 to coincide with the run-up to the February half-term and Easter holidays.

The target audience will be London and the south-east, using London Underground posters, national press, social media and radio as well as key markets in Scotland and the North. The campaign will showcase key attractions and the picturesque countryside that Yorkshire, Northumberland, Cumbria and Lancashire have to offer.

The government’s support comes after some businesses in affected areas reported a drop in bookings of up to 60%.

Tourism businesses that have been directly impacted by the flooding are eligible for Department of Business, Innovation and Skills’ £6M flood recovery grant.

ConQuest Estimating & Surveying Software Truly unique in capability, flexibility & stability 22

NEWS UKC

Hundreds of acres of land up for grabs The government has published details of 600 acres of surplus public sector land as part of its drive to deliver tens of thousands of new homes and boost local growth.

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has more than 80 public land sites for sale and will bring a further 40 more sites to market over the next 18 months, providing a boost to local economies and a significant return to the taxpayer.

It is estimated these sites will support more than 5,000 homes as well as land for industry and business. Over 20% of the sites already have outline or detailed planning permission.

The government has embarked on the largest house building programme since the 1970s as it looks to deliver a million new homes. It will support the delivery of 160,000 homes through the sale of surplus public sector land.

Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said: “Using surplus public sector land for housing has helped us get the country building again with the

number of new homes up by 25%.

“Selling off these sites will allow us to go even further, delivering on our ambition to support a further 160,000 homes, while providing a significant boost to local economies and the taxpayer.

“I now want to see developers getting shovels in the ground as quick as possible and build the homes hard working people want and deserve.”

The HCA is the government’s disposal agency for surplus public land, and using its local market knowledge, commercial expertise and experience of managing large portfolios of land, exceeded its contribution to the government’s last land programme by more than 3,000 homes.

In total, Whitehall departments released enough public sector land to support more than 109,000 homes during the last parliament.

Chief Executive of the HCA, Andy Rose, said: “The sale of surplus public land helps to meet government

priorities to build more homes and business premises, while delivering a financial return to the taxpayer.

“We will use our commercial expertise and local market knowledge to make land attractive to house builders, to help get homes built more quickly and meet local priorities.

“As the government’s disposal agency for surplus public land, we are well placed to support other departments and agencies in meeting their contribution to the government’s land programme.”

The recently published Land Development and Disposal Plan also sets out some key principles of land disposal, which followed a review of the HCA’s processes and were developed in cooperation with the Home Builders Federation and its members.

These include clearer objectives for each site prior to sale, early and meaningful market engagement with a transparent pipeline of sites and clearer commercial terms.

Join the many thousands of estimators & surveyors who have made the switch to ConQuest 23

UKC CASE STUDY

Building tomorrow’s Megacities smartly

By Andreas Schierenbeck, CEO thyssenkrupp Elevator More people today live in cities than rural areas. And by the end of the century it is expected approximately 80% of people will inhabit urban spaces as the global urban population projected to hit nine billion.

These numbers pose huge challenges for the megacities of tomorrow - especially those in fast developing regions such Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Cities such as Shanghai, Sao Paulo, Istanbul and Lagos are examples of economies that now contain populations well over the ten million mark.

The colossal migration to urban areas can be explained, as people leave their homes for the big cities in search of a better quality of life – better jobs and wages, access to education for children, and more variety of things to do in their spare time and people to meet. To put this into perspective, back in 1950, it was

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almost the opposite of today with 70% people living and working in rural areas.

New York and Tokyo may be amongst the most well-known megacities – meaning cities with a population of over ten million people, but by 2020, China will lead the way with 121 urban conglomerations. India will follow with 58 and the US with 46.

Subsequently, the societies, governments and businesses of such megacities will face challenges in the form of congestion, waste management and sanitation to name a few. It is also well documented that urbanisation poses serious concerns for the future of our planet, as pollution becomes more and more damaging to both the environment and the health if citizens living there. Burning fossil fuels to feed rapid urbanisation not only leads to harmful emissions, but it means that we are and will continue to use resources at an unsustainable rate.

In spite of some of these challenges, urbanisation can be tackled using the power of creativity to make cities smarter. The implementation of ‘smart cities’ can accommodate for our growing needs by essentially making cities greener and more efficient.

One such frontrunner, Singapore, is trying to accelerate the adoption of smarter technologies process to make 80% of its buildings “green” by 2030. This year, Singapore is on target as building professionals plan more than 60% of their work to be green, compared to only 19% back in 2009 (according to Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority).

Efficient urban planning and infrastructure development are significant factors in ensuring successful urbanisation and smarter cities. Nonetheless, it remains to be seen if other countries

CASE STUDY UKC

will implement such technologies. In China, there have been investments of €532Bn for residential units and €210Bn for commercial units, with these numbers only expected to rise.

From a building and infrastructure perspective, overcrowding is one of the top challenges facing megacities. An estimated 85% of the existing urban and commercial floor space will need to be developed by 2025. The world’s answer to this has been the building of mid to high-rise buildings that not only occupy less land, but allow for green areas in the city. Such benefits have established a trend and in London, high-rise construction has increased by 56%, with 263 buildings over 20-storeys approved for building according to New London Architecture (NLA) and consultancy GL Hearn.

As buildings get taller, elevators and

technology to keep people moving becomes more important. For example, although sometimes overlooked elevators transport more than one billion people every single day. They also contribute some seven per cent of a building’s total electricity consumption and depending on the size of the building, the elevator footprint can occupy between 25% and 50% of a building’s floor space. To work around this, technologies pioneered by companies such as ThyssenKrupp – like MUTLI or the ‘Willy Wonka’ as some like to call it – have been developed that use two cabins operating in the same shaft across different floors, resulting in energy savings of 27% and a 30% reduction in floor space being occupied.

Also buildings can now evolve, reach new heights, shapes and purposes.

Another new technology introduced in partnership recently by ThyssenKrupp

and Microsoft will make getting stuck in an elevator a thing of the past. The technology nicknamed MAX is a game changing predictive and pre-emptive maintenance service solution. By monitoring individual elevators that are connected to the Cloud, tapping into the Internet of Things it is capable of identifying in real-time the need for replacements in components and systems before the end of their lifecycles.

This will save time, stress and also make the lives of service engineers and building managers that little bit better.

There are significant decisions for developing nations to make as our world continues to grow and evolve.

What is pleasing is how companies are working hand in hand offering their skills to design infrastructure and technology to make sure our cities are the best mankind has ever lived in.

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CASE STUDY UKC

How green spaces and Battersea’s Victorian heritage could support regeneration plans for the notorious Winstanley Estate in South London

By Jake Mason, CEO of Evolve As the detailed plans unfurl to bulldoze the Winstanley Estate in Battersea, it will present Wandsworth Council with an opportunity to create a community with its roots placed firmly in the area’s rich and vibrant history.

The local authority is planning to rebuild the housing estate, where controversial hip hop group So Solid Crew formed, and replace it with more than 2,000 homes and new retail, leisure, community and office space. It will also knock down and rebuild the nearby York Road housing estate. The plan is to rebuild hundreds of out-dated council homes and to create new affordable housing, private rented and private for sale accommodation, as well as a range of commercial and community spaces. The council wants to improve the local environment and create a well-designed mixed-use scheme. And it is currently appealing for a joint venture partner to help deliver the scheme in central Battersea.

A look into the history of the area provides much inspiration for the architecture, identity and marketing of any potential scheme. Before the Winstanley Estate was built in the 1960s and 1970s, the area was a Victorian slum and was earmarked for demolition. However heavy bombing during World War II levelled much of the area. The irony is that these days the Victorian terraced homes which remain have rocketed in price, going for more than £1M. Now that the council is planning to rebuild the estate, it provides it with an opportunity to revive elements of this lost Victorian neighbourhood.

Historic street names could be used again and building design could take inspiration from this era. It would help

the developer to create a sense of place and tie the new community to the local area. The beautiful Victorian architecture which was destroyed by the war could be restored to the residents.

Another way the council could firmly root the development in the local area is to look to Battersea’s connection with the market gardening industry.

Before the industrial revolution much of the area was farmland. In the 16th century the area became a home to Protestant Huguenots fleeing persecution in France, who planted lavender and gardens, as well as founding a range of other industries. Between the 17th century and the 19th century it supplied fruit, vegetables and flowers to London markets. Could flowers lend their names to new buildings and public spaces?

Could allotments or flower meadows be included in the development as a nod to the area’s past? This would also help to promote community cohesion. Growing your own food provides light exercise and cheap fruit and vegetables. Another way to incorporate the area’s market gardening history could be a community garden or orchard. Again this would bring the community together and give people a beautiful space to enjoy. An insight report which our agency recently published called ‘Wild Cities’ looks at how having access to green spaces and taking part in community gardening makes residents happier and helps them to ward off the alienation often associated with living in a big city. It also makes developments more attractive to buyers and helps the community to thrive.

developers are using. A look around London new build developments will prove this. But simply by weaving in some of the local history from Battersea, it will help the revived Winstanley and York Road Estates to merge with their new surroundings effortlessly. We used this technique in Fitzroy Gate in Isleworth.

The housing development is being built on an historic riverside estate and we took inspiration from its close proximity to royal parks such as Richmond Park and Kew Gardens. We included royal blues and purples in the design. We created a gold logo which could look at home in historic royal palaces. We decided to focus on the history of the area to create an interesting narrative around the development. It also helped Fitzroy Gate to become part of the local story and to blend in with its surroundings: something all developers should consider when gifted huge regeneration.

To read Evolve’s recently released report, Wild Cities, please visit: evolveagency.com

Meanwhile for marketers looking to create emotion around products these readymade stories are a gift. This is a technique which too few property

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UKC COMMENT

New Checklist challenges constructors to tackle illegal working Edward Hardy, Chief Executive, Considerate Constructors Scheme Ensuring the legitimacy of the workforce is one of the key challenges facing the construction industry. Employing illegal workers isn’t just against the law; there is an undeniable relationship between illegal workers and those subjected to modern slavery. The statistics speak for themselves: the National Crime Agency has pinpointed the construction sector as the sixth most prevalent for labour exploitation; and in 2013 the government pinpointed 53 “potential victims of modern slavery” within the industry.

What everyone is clear about is that it is very damaging for those individuals concerned, and the industry’s image as a whole. This can lead to widespread reputational damage at a time where portraying the industry in a very positive light is critical to attracting and retaining skilled workers to meet the pipeline of future work.

As the Government’s recent actions have demonstrated - with Operation Magnify starting last autumn and the Modern Slavery Act being applied from 1st April 2016 - there is growing pressure on the Industry to make sure that all of the checks and balances are in place to assess and monitor their workforce.

But valuing the workforce by ensuring their legitimacy to work shouldn’t just be a ‘kneejerk’ reaction to the Government’s latest actions - it should be part of the day-in, day-out routine of every element of construction activity throughout the UK. To help this become a reality and continually raise standards in this area, the Considerate Constructors Scheme introduced a new question in its Monitors’ Checklist earlier this month; specifically challenging constructors registered with the Scheme on ensure the legitimacy of their workforce: How does the site assess and monitor the legitimacy and competency of the workforce?

This question challenges contractors and their supply chains to take greater responsibility for the way they recruit their workforce. It also puts a structure

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in place encouraging everyone in the supply chain to provide evidence that, as subcontractors, they are making sure this takes place.

By challenging sites to explore how they currently assess and monitor the legitimacy of their workforce, the Scheme believes that in the not-sodistant future, all registered sites, companies and suppliers will have a routine in place. This will ensure that when they are questioned by the Monitor, they will provide a ‘standard’ response, intrinsic to their organisation.

The Scheme is in a prime position to effect real change amongst the industry and it is great to see that the CIOB’s CPD module ‘Stamping out illegal working on every site’ includes a question about the new Checklist.

Sites, sub-contractors and suppliers should establish a transparent culture whereby workers feel able to highlight to management when they have concerns over colleagues.

The recent recognition from the Government in how the Scheme is helping to tackle this issue also underlines the impact the Scheme will have. Immigration Minister James Brokenshire said: “Our work to stamp out illegal working involves close collaborative working with lead industry bodies. We are fully supportive of genuine efforts, such as this scheme, to drive compliance with the rules.

“Employers within the construction sector have a crucial and ongoing part to play in helping combat illegal working by ensuring they carry out the straightforward ‘Right to Work’ checks on potential employees.”

As ever, the need to continually drive improvement and progress within the industry means that much more still needs to be done.

While this is the case, it is really important to highlight that there are numerous examples throughout the

Industry of tremendous improvements which have been made over the last decade in how construction values its workforce. Those registered with the Scheme [see Best Practice Hub for examples] have made significant progress in terms of establishing a supporting and caring working environment, by: • Providing a workplace where everyone is respected, treated fairly, encouraged and supported.

• Identifying personal development needs and promoting training.

• Caring for the health and wellbeing of the workforce.

• Providing and maintaining high standards of welfare.

Now is the time to tackle illegal working on sites. There has never been a better moment for the industry to rise to the challenge and ensure that checks for workers’ legitimacy become firmly entrenched within all construction activity across the UK; once again underlining that UK construction is at the very forefront of best practice.

CASE STUDY UKC

Security for NHS lone workers Protection for NHS employees is becoming an ever increasing priority within the security sector, focusing mainly on lone workers who provide the NHS home service to patients across the UK. There has been an increase in the number of security companies starting to manufacture safety products in order to help lower the risks NHS lone workers could face whilst on the job.

James Kelly, Chief Executive of the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) discusses the development in technology to prevent risks towards lone workers.

What is a “Lone Worker”?

Millions of employees in the UK are working independently without supervision and often putting themselves in circumstances which can carry a higher risk. Many jobs in the public and private sector require employees to work unsociable hours (shift work) operating alone for a majority of their shift pattern. Lone working can be both intimidating and at times dangerous. The protection of lone workers is becoming an issue to which security providers are now responding by regularly developing new devices to help reduce risks.

What are the Risks?

As an employer, the NHS should carry out a full risk assessment, setting some reasonable and appropriate measures for each employee’s protection whilst in that particular role. Measures may include a risk management service as well as a defined Lone Worker Policy (LWP).

Implementing such measures can prevent the probability or exposure to:

The most popular solution is the use of two-way audio panic alarms. These alarms are programmed to have a built in audio system which allows the lone worker to raise attention to an ARC (Alarm Receiving Centre). The ARC coordinators can then listen to the incident and decide whether the lone workers need further support. These devices are also fitted with a GPS tracking system which enables the ARC coordinators to forward the location of the lone worker onto the police if further action is required. Similarly, with two thirds of the population now using smartphones, a new software application has been launched as a practical alternative. This is a new way of keeping workers safe by simply using their mobile phone.

One of the UK’s leading Lone Workers security companies and a current member of the BSIA – Skyguard - were founded in 2000 and are renowned for producing innovative, well designed personal safety devices. They have recently worked with Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust (DCHS), which provides healthcare services throughout Derbyshire County. A proportion of their staff is responsible for ‘in home’ services which are requested by a large number of patients in the area. DCHS approached Skyguard to enquire about additional security support for their staff.

Skyguard advised DCHS to implement MySOS personal safety alarms. These alarms are very discreet but a powerful protection resource for lone working staff

that are often in vulnerable positions.

When a member of staff raises an alarm, the Skyguard Incident Management Centre (IMC) is alerted and provided with their location using GPS tracking.

In addition the trained controllers at the IMC are then able to evaluate the situation using the two-way audio system also embedded in the alarm before referring the incident to the Police if required. All alerts forwarded to the Police by the IMC will be listed as an emergency and actioned promptly.

So how do I make a choice?

Finding the best solution for your lone workers can be challenging. When sourcing lone worker products the BSIA recommend choosing a device or smartphone application certified to BS8484. This means that the device or smartphone app is monitored by an ARC (Alarm Receiving Centre). All solutions offered by members of the BSIA’s Lone Worker Section are certified to BS8484 through audit - or are working towards certification in the next 12 months.

Suppliers of lone worker security Members of the BSIA’s Lone workers section are experts in finding solutions which are best suited to protecting your employees and can offer advice on the different types of products available.

To source a member company near you, please visit the Association’s website: www.bsia.co.uk

• Violence and aggression • Mental and/or physical abuse • Various occupational risks, such as slips and falls • Personal well-being risks, such as stress or anxiety How Technology Can Help?

Technology is continuing to transform the future of the security industry; various solutions are entering the market and challenging the “art of possible” when it comes to the protection of lone workers.

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UKC COMMENT

What consequences might Brexit have on public procurement, in or out?

Whether you sit on the in or out side of the Brexit campaign, you may well be thinking the media has been full of hot air regarding the UK’s future in the European Union.

With a referendum possible as early as June 2016, it is about time people started thinking pragmatically about the effect Brexit would have on industry.

So, what would Brexit mean for the construction industry in the context of public sector procurement?

Whether you have been on the employer or land owner side or the contractor or development side of a large scale public sector development, you will likely be aware of just how costly and complex the mandatory tender process can be.

You might be forgiven for thinking that the cost savings accrued fall far short of the collective amount spent on the tender process in professional fees.

This process has been a European Union level requirement for public sector project procurement since 2004, for any project of more than a modest size (as low €135,000 under the more recent 2015 regulations, depending on who you are supplying).

But would things change in this arena if the UK was to withdraw from the European Union? What if it were to stay?

answer is not so straightforward.

First, if the UK withdrew from the Union, regulations and statute deriving from Union law will have to remain in force until replaced or amended; else a void would be left in regulation. The real question is, if the Public Contracts Regulations were in the crosshairs, how high up the Conservative agenda are they? The legislative process takes time, and there may no longer be a Conservative Prime Minister in office by the time aim is moved away from the headline grabbing issues.

Second, what will replace our membership? The UK would likely seek to join the European Free Trade Association, which is bound by EU rules on public procurement. In other words, the UK would still have to abide by the regulations, but would have very limited input next time the regulations are up for discussion.

Finally, even if the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 were to be replaced, what would they be replaced with?

Public sector bodies would still likely be required to have their own tender framework in place. Whilst such framework might be less costly to take part in, decisions would still be subject to appeal by way of Judicial Review.

In summary, very little is likely to change.

Out Given one of David Cameron’s aims in on-going negotiations is to improve competitiveness by reducing the burden of excessive regulation, the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 may well be in the crosshairs should the UK leave. However, the

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In Perhaps counter intuitively, the best place for the UK to be in order to achieve a reduction in red tape may be within the Union, renegotiated or otherwise.

In an open letter last week,

Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council, pledged: “On competitiveness, the draft Decision of the Heads, together with a more detailed European Council Declaration and a draft Commission Declaration, will set out our commitment to increase efforts to enhance competitiveness. We will regularly assess progress in simplifying legislation and reducing burden on business so that red tape is cut.”

Whilst it would be dangerous to speculate whether public procurement would be included in this ‘simplification’, it may be the best hope for those unhappy with the status quo.

Mark Clinton, Partner at Thomas Eggar, a trading style of Irwin Mitchell LLP.

THE GROUNDWORK PRODUCT SPECIALISTS Drainfast Ltd is the UK’s leading groundwork product specialist.

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UKC COMMENT

Liquidated Damages and Penalties: the New Approach

By Peter Sheridan, Partner, Sheridan Gold LLP A comprehensive review of the rule against penalties was undertaken recently in the Supreme Court, with seven judges participating in what is now the leading case, Cavendish Square Holding Bv v El Makdessi (2015). For the previous 100 years, the leading case had been Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co Ltd v New Garage & Motor Co Ltd (1915).

Where parties provide in their contract for what the consequence of breach may be, often in construction contracts for payment of a sum of money for delay, that provision will be either a liquidated damages provision (valid) or a penalty (invalid). In Dunlop, Lord Dunedin (seeking to summarise the existing case law) stated that a liquidated damages provision is justified where it provides a genuine pre-estimate of the loss caused by the breach; that a penalty provision is one where the court takes the view that the clause is oppressive, extravagant or unconscionable; and that a penalty clause is one which is in terrorem of the offending party (which modern courts interpreted as meaning ‘intended to deter breach’).

Before the recent Supreme Court case, the courts had refined the approach over the past 20 years, to the effect that a clause which provides for payment exceeding a genuine pre-estimate of the loss caused by the breach may yet be valid, if it has a proper commercial justification, provided that the primary purpose is to compensate and not to deter: see Lordsdale Finance v Bank of Zambia (1996), Cine Bes Filmcilik v United International Pictures (2003) and Murray v Leisureplay Plc (2005).

The rule against penalties has been described as anomalous, an interference with contractual freedom and in

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Cavendish as “an ancient, haphazardly constructed edifice which has not weathered well”. However the Supreme Court declined to abolish the rule against penalties; it is well established and a major change in the law should be left to legislators. The Supreme Court also declined to extend the principle to clause which is not concerned with the consequences of a breach, as has been done in Australia in Andrews v ANZ Banking Group (2012).

The Supreme Court drew a distinction between a primary obligation, an example of which would be to complete by a particular date, and a secondary obligation, which would arise following breach, an example of which would be an obligation to pay liquidated damages for delay. The rule against penalties applies only to secondary obligations, so, as the court, recognised, it may be possible to avoid the rule by framing the obligation in a different way. For example, if payment of part of the contract sum is conditional on completion by a particular date, that is a primary obligation.

However, in standard construction contracts at present there is normally a secondary obligation to pay liquidated damages on breach of the completion obligation. The rule against penalties is therefore engaged; the tribunal then considers whether the clause is valid or if it offends against the rule.

The test applicable now is whether the impugned provision is a secondary obligation which imposes a detriment on the contract-breaker out of all proportion to any legitimate interest of the innocent party in the enforcement of the primary obligation. The innocent party has no proper interest in punishing the defaulter.

In the case of a straightforward damages clause (as in many construction contracts’

liquidated damages provisions), that interest will rarely extend beyond compensation for the breach. To that extent, the Lord Dunedin approach in Dunlop will still be adequate to determine validity. But compensation is not necessarily the only legitimate interest that the innocent party may have. One of the cases before the Supreme Court illustrates this: it concerned a shoppers’ car park where parking was free for two hours and there was then a charge of £85 for overstaying. This was upheld on the legitimate interest ground, although the sum did not reflect loss caused by the breach. Dunlop itself is a further example, where Dunlop had a legitimate interest in keeping prices of its products globally at or above list price, although its charge for breach did not reflect its loss for a single sale below list price.

It follows that deterrence is not penal if there is a legitimate interest, so it would be unsafe now to regard deterrence as a key issue; the real issue is whether the charge seeks to punish or is out of proportion to the legitimate interest so that the innocent party is in effect profiteering.

The Supreme Court also made the point that in a negotiated contract between properly advised parties of comparable bargaining power, the strong initial presumption is that the parties themselves are the best judges of what is legitimate in a provision dealing with the consequences of breach.

For more information, contact Peter Sheridan Partner at Sheridan Gold LLP T: 01737 735088 E: psheridan@sheridangold.co.uk www.sheridangold.co.uk

For the uninitiated, would you be able to provide our readers with an introduction to Vision London? What would you describe as being the core aims and objectives of the event?

Vision is a two day event which takes place at London Olympia on the 7th and 8th June. It is visited by architects, specifiers and their clients; which include health, education, retail chains, housebuilders, local authorities and developers. The event launched last year and was a great success, so this will be our second year.

It combines an exhibition of suppliers, a two day seminar programme and networking events. It’s free of charge to attend when you register in advance.

The core aim of the event is to showcase and discuss the latest innovations and developments in architecture, design and the built environment. It is not a general ‘building show’ per se, rather it is the only event in the UK which is specifically aimed at architects and specifiers; an opportunity for them to come together and find innovative ways and new products to build better buildings. Vision is a meeting point, bringing the architects, specifiers and their clients together with those suppliers who are creating and distributing some of the most innovative products and services on the market today. At the same time our seminar programme enables them to expand their knowledge, develop their skills and discuss the latest ideas in the industry.

As we saw from the success of last year’s show, there is a real demand for an event specifically targeted at this market.

Vision London launched last year

to great acclaim. In retrospect, how do you feel the event went?

The launch event was a great success.

We succeeded in attracting our target audience and the feedback from across the industry was overwhelmingly positive.

After so many months of planning, as an organiser the most satisfying part, of course, is seeing full seminar theatres and exhibitors involved in conversations with potential customers. We had very strong visitor numbers and most importantly, our exhibitors - who ranged from large international organisations to start-ups - all felt that the quality of the visitors they met was very high. So we really succeeded in delivering that niche audience. We also had the support of high profile sponsors such as Saint Gobain and Stora Enso, as well as key media partners in the architecture, design and construction industry. I think it’s testament to the success of the event that many of our exhibitors rebooked onsite for 2016, so we will be looking forward to welcoming them back this year.

The educational content was also a big success, and received overwhelming praise from our visitors. In keeping with our raison d’etre it was very specifically targeted at our niche audience of architects and specifiers, which again was reflected in the quality of visitors it attracted. So we’ll be looking to develop that even further this year into an even more impressive seminar programme, which again will be free of charge to attend. So yes, from our perspective the launch show was a real success.

How is Vision London looking to

build upon this initial success?

Firstly the exhibition will be larger this year. We have a number of high profile new exhibitors, including Wienerberger, Recticel, Soprema UK and Jacksons Fencing. We also have a number of international pavilions from Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands, who will all be bringing several companies to the event; and we’ve developed a very exciting partnership with the Alliance for Sustainable Building Products.

We felt that the educational content was a real success at last year’s event and was a driving force for the show. The theatres were packed with several of the sessions oversubscribed, and so we will be expanding our educational programme further this year in response to demand.

We’ll have over 160 speakers this year.

Saint Gobain are once again sponsoring our Building Health and Wellness seminar stream and I’m delighted to welcome Marshalls on board as the new sponsor of our Innovation in Architecture and Design seminar stream. We’ve added some new seminar streams such as Smart Buildings and Offsite Construction, and are looking at BIM again in more detail. We’re constantly looking for ways to improve and develop, to create an event that reflects and grows with the needs of the industry.

Vision 2016 takes place at London Olympia on 7th and 8th June 2016.

To claim your free visitor pass visit www.visionlondon.com/register To enquire about exhibiting, contact Adam Redmayne on 07985 587 634 or adam.redmayne@visionlondon.com

UKC COMMENT

Liquidated Damages and Construction Contracts Typically, construction contracts provide that if the contractor causes delay to the project then the contractor must pay to the employer ‘liquidated damages’ (known in the construction industry as ‘LADs’). LADs are a predetermined amount of damages or sum determined by reference to a formula/ fixed rate as stipulated in the contract.

LADs have been the subject of much legal debate; the Courts have grappled with whether LADs are a fair compensation to the employer or, on the other hand, a punishment on the contractor to deter breach.

The legal principle had always been, until a recent Supreme Court Judgment, that in order for a LADs clause to be enforceable the damages must be ‘a genuine pre-estimate’ of the employer’s likely losses arising from the contractor’s breach of contract.

The application of the LADs clause does not require the employer to actually prove its loss. Yet, when challenged by the contractor, the Court expected the employer to demonstrate that it had pre-estimated its loss, as opposed to simply inserting an arbitrary figure.

However, in the recent case of Cavendish Square Holding BV v El Makdessi and ParkingEye Ltd v Beavis [2015] UKSC 67, the Supreme Court changed the way we approach the test of whether a LADs clause is a penalty and, therefore, unenforceable.

The Court heard a combined appeal of two separate cases. One case was ParkingEye which involved a car parking overstay charge. Notices were displayed in the car park showing the maximum stay was 2 hours. Significantly a notice stated that any overstay “will result in a parking charge of £85”. The motorist, Mr Beavis, overstayed and did not pay the charge. In the proceedings, Mr Beavis in his defence argued that the £85 charge was a ‘penalty’ and/

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or an ‘unfair’ contractual term.

The other case was Cavendish which involved a commercial agreement between Mr Makdessi and Mr Ghossoub for the sale of part of their shares to the company Cavendish. Cavendish was to pay Makdessi/ Ghossoub stage payments in consideration for the sale of the shares.

The agreement had a condition that if Makdessi/ Ghossoub breached any of the restrictions imposed on them then they would not receive consideration payments and all of their shares were available for purchase by Cavendish at an undervalue.

Makdessi breached the restrictions. In the proceedings, Makdessi argued that the consequence of his breach amounted to a ‘penalty’ because it precluded him from recovering the full value of his shares.

In reaching their decision on both cases the Court observed that if a clause was not a genuine pre-estimate of loss that did not necessarily mean that the clause was, by default, a penalty. Therefore, it is also no longer necessary to consider if the clause is a deterrent either.

The true test, the Court stated, was whether the contractual provision “imposes a detriment on the contractbreaker out of all proportion to any legitimate interest of the innocent party”.

In the context of a construction contract the employer would want to be compensated for the contractor’s breach, however, if the contract includes a sum that the contractor can demonstrate is “out of all proportion” to the employer’s “legitimate interest” in that contract, then the contractor may seek to challenge the LADs clause.

However, if the employer can show that its loss arising from the delay is, say, impossible to quantify, or, has no relationship to the LADs being claimed then the Court, taking into account all of the wider commercial factors in the contractual negotiation, could not automatically deem the LADs a

‘penalty’. Despite the LADs not being a genuine pre-estimate of loss, if the employer is able to demonstrate a legitimate reason why its actual loss suffered would not be sufficient compensation, then the employer should be entitled to the LADs claimed.

When preparing a contract, employers (and their professional team) should seek to agree with the contractor the LADs clause and state in the contract that the parties have agreed and were on mutual footing in their negotiation.

Employers should identify what its commercial interests are and set those out in the contract. Employers should consider whether separate LAD clauses for specific events/breaches would be more appropriate as opposed to a ‘catch all’ sum or formula. Employers should also consider using separate sums or rates depending on the seriousness and financial consequences of the anticipated contractor’s breach.

For more information, contact Michelle Dixon Associate Solicitor specialising in construction law at Humphries Kirk LLP T: 01202 725400 E: m.dixon@hklaw.eu W: www.hklaw.eu

COMMENT UKC

Lessons from Starbucks: Practical tips on dealing with disabled employees In a well-publicised recent case, Meseret Kumulchew, who suffers from dyslexia, successfully claimed disability discrimination against Starbucks, her employer. Kumulchew had been disciplined for making mistakes in recording fridge and water temperatures; the employment tribunal found that Starbucks should have made reasonable adjustments to working conditions to accommodate her disability.

How do cases of this nature impact on the construction industry? It is important for construction managers to get a good grasp on how to deal with disability issues. This is particularly important in an industry where workers are often asked to carry out physically exerting tasks.

Zee Hussain, employment law partner at Simpson Millar Solicitors LLP, provides guidance for employers.

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Equality legislation is far-reaching in that it applies to agency, temporary and casual workers, as well as full-time permanent employees.

Employers are not excused from dealing with disabled workers if they are agency or temporary staff.

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Employers should not assume that an employee does not have a disability. In the Starbucks case, the tribunal found that the employee’s dyslexia constituted a disability.

Disability is defined under the Equality Act as a “physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and adverse long-term effect on the employee’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities”. If in doubt, employers should consult with the employee and obtain any relevant medical evidence. This could involve a referral to occupational health.

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Where an employer is aware that an employee may be disabled, managers should consult with him or her at the earliest possible opportunity. This should consist of a review meeting.

Ask the employee about the extent of their condition. Are there any tasks that they may struggle to do as a result of their condition?

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Are there any particular adjustments that the employer may be able to implement to assist an employee?

Managers should conduct an analysis, having consulted with the employee. Typical adjustments may

include altering the employee’s duties, changing their hours of work or making a physical adjustment to the workplace. Any decision not to make adjustments should only follow a careful analysis; the employer must have a strong business case, and should take legal advice.

5 Assessing the needs of a disabled employee should be a continual process. Employers should try to identity whether or not the needs of the employee have changed. This could involve a further review meeting or medical assessment, and may result in a review of any existing adjustments that are in place, or new adjustments.

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Particular care should be taken when a disabled employee is subject to the disciplinary process. In the Starbucks case, the employee reported that her alleged acts of misconduct came about as a result of her disability.

Employers should take reasonable steps to investigate the employee’s claims. Practically, this should involve reviewing any medical evidence and making relevant enquiries of qualified medical advisors.

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UKC COMMENT

Tinnitus Awareness in the Construction Industry The UK’s Tinnitus Awareness Week ran from 8th to 14th February. Melanie Burden, Head of General Personal Injury at Simpson Millar Solicitors LLP, provides timely guidance for construction professionals on this widespread, but little-understood, condition.

Why raise awareness of the condition?

Tinnitus arising from hearing loss can be caused by work-related head and neck injuries. Once the damage has occurred, it can lead to permanent and in some cases, disabling symptoms.

Raising the awareness of tinnitus in the workplace is essential as the condition can be prevented if proper health and safety adjustments are in place.

What is Tinnitus?

Tinnitus comes from the Latin word “ringing” and is used to describe the condition where the sufferer experiences a noise in the head or ears where no actual external noise is present. It can be heard in 1 ear, both ears or the middle of the head. The noise experienced can be low, medium or high pitched. Words used by sufferers to describe the sound include “buzzing, whistling, hissing, swooshing and clinking “. It can be temporary, it can come and go - or sadly for some sufferers, it can be constant.

For those sufferers who experience permanent symptoms, it can have a profound effect on their day to day living, causing insomnia, depression and anxiety.

Who gets it?

It is estimated that 10% of UK adults have tinnitus, that’s around six million people (BTA – British Tinnitus Association).

It has been estimated that 17,000 people in the UK suffer deafness, tinnitus or other ear conditions as a result of exposure to excessive noise at work (The 2008 / 9 Labour Force Survey (LFS)).

Anyone can get it at any age including children, although it is more common for people over aged 65.

What can cause Tinnitus?

It can be caused by a head or neck injury.

If the injury causes interference with the blood follow to the neck / head or interference with nerves or muscles in the area, then people can experience tinnitus. It can also come on after exposure

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to loud noise (a common example of this is when people come away from a music concert with loud ringing in their ears – this is usually temporary in nature).

It can come on though after exposure to excessive or prolonged noise at work associated with some hearing loss.

It can even have a dental cause, be associated with hearing loss or an ear condition or be caused by excessive build-up of wax or an ear infection.

For some people there is no known cause.

In fact, for 1 in 3 people with tinnitus, they don’t have any obvious problems with their ears or hearing (NHS Choices).

How could a construction worker potentially develop Tinnitus?

• It might follow an accident at work which involves a blow to the head or neck.

• It might come on after exposure to a very loud one off noise or prolonged exposure to noisy machinery and equipment on site which brings on the onset of tinnitus associated with some hearing loss.

What is the relevant law which applies to the construction industry?

The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 places an obligation on employers to reduce noise exposure for workers: • If there is a daily or weekly average noise exposure level of 80 dB (decibels), then the employer must provide information and training and make hearing protection available.

• If the daily / weekly average noise reaches 85 dB, then the employer is required to take reasonably practicable measures to reduce noise exposure.

The use of hearing protection is mandatory if the noise cannot be controlled or whilst the steps are being taken to reduce the noise levels.

• The exposure limit is 87 dB above which no worker can be exposed.

• Employers need to identify hearing protection zones (areas where the use of hearing protection is compulsory and mark the area with warning signs).

• Ensure that the hearing protectors are regularly inspected and maintained.

• Ensure that all employees are fully trained on the use and care of the hearing protectors.

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, employers need to have regard to the safety other members of the public in addition to workers who

might be exposed to excessive noise.

The Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 1992 impose a duty on employers in the construction industry to ensure all workers are provided with suitable head protection where there is a risk of injury to the head (this really applies to almost all situations on a Construction Site). This is to prevent or minimise the risk of head injury.

• Hard hats should be inspected and regularly maintained.

• They should be in good condition, if they are damaged they must be thrown away and replaced.

• The style / design of the hard hat should not prevent workers wearing hearing protectors if they are needed.

• Employers should ensure all workers wear them at all times on site.

Where can I find out any further information about my duties as an Employer to help reduce the risk of a head injury on sight or exposure to noise induced hearing loss?

There is no substitute for reading the full body of the relevant legislation listed above, this is readily accessible and downloadable on the HSE website.

HSE provides some excellent guides for preventative advice to employers with free downloadable guidance booklets and leaflets including: • HSE – Noise – Advice for Employers • HSE – Noise – How do I reduce noise?

• HSE Noise – How can I choose quieter equipment and machinery?

• HSE Noise: Noise good practice – Concrete and cement production • HSE Hard hats – what you need to know as a busy builder What should I do if I think I am suffering from Tinnitus?

Consult your GP for advice as soon as you can so any potential underlying causes can be ruled out and any treatment can be recommended if a cause is identified.

If a cause cannot be identified, then sadly there is no known cure but there are a number of treatments available to help sufferers manage and cope with their system on a day to day basis including: • CBT – Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Treatment • Counselling • Sound Therapy • Tinnitus Retraining Therapy

COMMENT UKC

Impress your prospects and win more work Benjamin Dyer, CEO of Powered Now “People buy from people” is a wellknown saying in sales circles and it is largely true. That’s why it’s always worth ensuring that someone from your company sees all prospects face to face. This gives you a chance to start building a relationship but also to discover the prospect’s motivation and if there are any more opportunities.

It’s amazing what can be discovered lurking behind an unpromising lead.

Every contact also helps to build trust and this should be a major aim.

People buy from people they trust.

Understand the motivation There are a variety of reasons why customers want work done. While fixing something that has broken is obvious, there can be many other reasons. Is that extension needed because grandma is getting old and will be joining the family? Has the wife got a particular agenda? Are they maximising the value of their property before selling?

The important thing about understanding motivation is that it helps you to suggest the right solution. You can also talk about the job in a context that is important to your prospect, and refer back to this driver if the sale looks like stalling. That’s why finding out the motivation and empathising with it should be your number one objective when a new job comes up.

trade businesses to complain that they don’t understand why they lost the deal.

In Powered Now’s recent survey of 1,000 homeowners, 83% said their biggest irritation was with trade companies failing to show up when they said.

Technology can help. James Chandler of Chandler Building describes how he works: “We turn up on a job to quote, do it all on the iPhone and send it to the customer from our app. We’ve noticed that getting the paperwork out to the customer quickly normally means we win the job”.

We’ve noticed in talking to several fast-growing clients that turning round quotes within 24 hours is a common theme. This is a simple way to provide a great impression and remains unusual.

Building trust is critical to any sales situation, and I myself have gone with a higher cost option on a really big deal because I trusted the team more.

That’s why you should see every single interaction as an opportunity to build trust. So it’s not just important to turn up when you said, it’s vital. The same goes for delivering quotes by the time you promised. It’s a failure to address these sorts of issues that lead disappointed

Set price expectations in the right range Surprises kill sales, which is why it is vital to ensure that your prospect is thinking in the right ball park before you send them your quote. Failure in this area is why sometimes your customer will angrily reject your proposal and then inexplicably sign up with a competitor who is charging even more.

Close with care

Be easy to do business with If your potential customers can’t easily contact you when they haven’t even placed their business, they will speculate very negatively about what you will be like once work starts. Having a helpful sounding answer phone message and getting back quickly represents the minimum standard. It’s what you would want if you were looking for help yourself.

Try to make sure that you note everything the prospect asks for, nobody enjoys having to point out things that have been forgotten.

Be credible

Your word is your bond

Qualifications, trade association memberships and talking about similar jobs you have done in the past all help.

Referencing pitfalls and lessons learned shows you know what you are talking about and discourages them from thinking that DIY might be a good alternative.

Demonstrating your professionalism enables you to establish credibility. For instance, few homeowners understand or have an appetite for completing complex paperwork for their local authority. So demonstrating your knowledge of what is required, without being patronising, helps you in every way. And if your customer doesn’t care about building regulations, it’s worth considering whether they will have a similarly cavalier attitude towards paying your bill.

Trust is the magic ingredient to making closing the deal easy, and with trust, closing can be done in a natural way - “What sort of date would be convenient for us to start?”

Because trust is the vital ingredient, word of mouth recommendations are much easier to sell to. After all, with recommendations the prospect at least half trusts you before they have even spoken to you.

This explains why doing a great job at a reasonable price remains the key to growth for companies in the construction space. The great thing is that this also comes with the satisfaction of seeing and interacting with happy customers.

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UKC COMMENT

What Happens When Success is Your Only Option

By Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP®, PMI-ACP, Chief Cheetah and Founder of Cheetah Learning When you run a small business, as small as even just yourself, does failure ever really occur? I’ve been running a small business in one form or another for almost 30 years now. Yes, I’ve stopped offering some services and stopped making some products, and at one point in time, I did take a job with a paycheck – but even then I still had a small business going on the side. I realized after almost a decade of being in business that failure was just a perspective, especially in a world where everything changes.

Most ideas go through thousands if not millions of iterations. If we are to view each tweak to a new product or service idea as a “failure,” then everyone who has ever created anything new is far more of a failure than a success. The whole idea of failure is not relevant to the seasoned small business owner and entrepreneur.

The question then becomes not, “how will I succeed?,” but, “how efficient can I become in creating something someone else wants to purchase?”

What I’ve discovered over the years is that it’s my abilities in Project Management that help me create efficiencies in every situation. Whether it’s dismantling something that is no longer serving us to make room for what’s new, launching that sparkly new initiative, or refining the processes of that old workhorse product everyone still loves after twenty years, all of these require projects. My life as a small business owner became much more enjoyable when I started to see it more like the life

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of a Project Manager with everything in the perpetual motion of a project.

I started to notice the more disciplined I am with setting up projects using my very simple project planning template, the more smoothly things go. I’m able to more easily delegate work with our small staff who wear many hats. We are all very well-versed now in using a simple the three page project plan to organize our work. This helps us all understand both the big picture and the small details of what we need to do. It eliminates any of us duplicating effort or doing things that are not aligned with our project goal. Plus, by doing a simple project plan organizational effort repeatedly, we all now have better instincts on what is required on projects before they even make it to the final cut of something we actually want to pursue.

The portfolio of projects we pursue is better balanced, reducing our costs while improving our revenues from new initiatives. It has just overall made great business sense for me as the boss to become a much better project manager.

What else helps tremendously about being a small business owner and Project Manager is that I’m a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®). I got this designation because, well, first of all, I wrote a book on Project Management (mostly to record my techniques for myself so I’d remember to use them in my businesses). But I also wanted to publish my book, and I knew that in order to publish a book as a Project

Manager, I’d need those letters, “PMP,” after my name to be taken seriously.

What I did not know at the time was the club I would be entering. Now, there are 600,000 people worldwide who are PMPs and many of them work in large organizations. I am able to sit at the table with them as a small business owner and speak the same language they do about doing projects.

I gained almost instant credibility with some very large prospective clients when I earned the right to put those three initials after my name.

I’ve realized after thirty years of being in small business that the question isn’t if my small business is going to succeed - it’s how is it going to succeed.

And I’ve found time and time again, it succeeds in the most enjoyable ways when I do the basics of Project Management really well. Master Project Management, become a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®), and make success your only option.

COMMENT UKC

NHBC Tech-Zone NHBC’s Head of House-Building Standards Mark Jones explains how the organisation is helping builders stay up-to-date with all of the latest technical developments and legislation with a new, free on-line resource…

NHBC’s role within the UK housebuilding sector is well established – in helping to support the country’s builders in delivering the new homes that the UK desperately needs at this time of considerable growth in the new homes market.

Despite the many challenges the housebuilding sector continues to face, NHBC has been an effective partner in supporting the industry, working with builders to stay abreast of changes, and retain the right skills to enable the construction of high standard and quality homes.

As always, NHBC’s mission is to ensure construction quality of the very highest standard in new homes across the UK and that this emphasis on quality remains unwavering – particularly during periods of increased activity and production.

With our 2015 annual registration statistics showing a seven per cent increase in new home volumes, compared to 2014, the housebuilding sector is experiencing its busiest period in eight years.

• NHBC Building Regulations Plus for England and Wales – our new resources containing all the Approved Documents for England and Wales - again with supplementary guidance documents to help you interpret the regulations.

• Technical support for NHBC Standards.

• A news area with industry technical news updates and events.

NHBC TechZone is optimised for use on tablets and other mobile devices so this brilliant resource is always accessible, whether you’re in the office or out on site.

Building Regulations (Plus) is the newest addition to TechZone – an interactive document incorporating all of the Approved Documents, which follows in the footsteps of NHBC Standards 2016 in that it is freely available to all website visitors.

NHBC Standards 2016 underwent the most significant design and content review in almost two decades when it was introduced last year and now features fewer pages, more concise

copy, colour-coded topics, improved illustrations, 3D models and more.

TechZone also includes access to the Technical Extra series of publications – a dedicated resource looking at timely, technical subjects of interest to the wider industry. The latest issue – Technical Extra 19 includes articles on Standards Chapter 5.4 ‘Waterproofing of basements and other below ground structures’ and an update on fire safety issues most commonly seen by NHBC inspectors during site inspections.

The latest industry news is also available at TechZone along with access to NHBC’s range of technical mobile apps, including the NHBC 3D Viewer for Standards 2016 and the NHBC Foundation Depth Calculator.

I hope that you take the opportunity to have a good look around TechZone and familiarise yourself with the vast array of information, interactive features and the latest developments affecting you and your colleagues in the house-building industry.

For further information please visit www.nhbc.co.uk/techzone

With this in mind we are delighted to showcase the NHBC TechZone – The new resource centre for NHBC Standards, Building Regulations, technical apps, news and support.

Free to access, the site includes; • NHBC Standards Plus 2016 - our interactive version of the latest Standards with full technical guidance notes, videos and, for the first time, 3D models.

• An archive of previous versions of NHBC Standards, all the way back to 2006.

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UKC COMMENT

Migration Advisory Committee recommendations – will they trigger a very large hole in the construction sector?

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has been tasked with looking at ways to reduce migration through the sponsored worker route, under Tier 2 of the UK’s Points Based System. This is a route that is used by UK businesses to fill skill gaps in shortage occupations and roles for which they have been unable to recruit a worker from the UK or Europe.

Tier 2 is designed for skilled workers; jobs must be at graduate level and carry a minimum salary of £20,800.

Many industries – including construction, engineering, nursing and teaching – rely heavily on recruitment under Tier 2 to fill gaps in their workforce. The construction industry has seen significant growth in the last 12 months, with a renewed appetite for investment in residential and commercial property and large infrastructure projects.

As net migration figures continue to rise, the MAC was asked to look at Tier

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2 – part of the Government’s wildgoose chase to bring net migration into the tens of thousands.

The headline recommendations from the MAC are that: • The minimum salary threshold should rise by 50%, from the current £20,800 to £30,000; and • An Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) of £1,000 per worker should be introduced, to act as a skills levy on employers using migrant labour.

Many jobs currently filled by overseas nationals in the construction sector carry salary rates that fall well below £30,000. There is a real concern that these proposals would result in deeper skills shortages in the sector, and limit the growth that could be achieved if essential recruitment were possible.

The Government’s answer is that the construction sector should recruit from the UK and Europe. However, the premise of Tier 2 is that internal recruitment has been unsuccessful, because there are simply not enough skilled workers in the UK and Europe to fill the posts.

It is intended that the ISC would raise £250 million, which would be invested into skills training in the UK, including apprenticeships. At first glance, the plan makes sense – but has the Government factored in the years of academic and professional training it would take an apprentice to reach the required skill level for current Tier 2 roles, particularly if these are limited to positions attracting a salary of £30,000 or higher?

Is the inevitable outcome of the MAC’s recommendations that the Government makes a very small in dent in net migration, but a very large hole in the construction sector?

COMMENT UKC

The Era of Connection – The Future for BIM The construction industry is changing – but that’s nothing new.

The construction of buildings and infrastructure are experiencing phenomenal changes and it is digital technology that is behind much of this change. How buildings are developed, the design processes we use and the technology being used are all dramatically changing the way we build.

For an industry that has long been defined by the phrase “high risk, low margin”, how are today’s developments revolutionising the construction landscape?

Three major technology-driven disruptions are creating this new era for the construction industry. These include; Changes in the means of production, how teams plan, design, create and operate buildings; Changes in the nature of demand for construction services and Changes in products demanded by end-users and their interconnect and intelligent properties.

One of the greatest impacts is that consumers are becoming more connected and educated about products, have more choice around which products they purchase and require a more personalised and sustainable service. This may sound perfectly plausible when thinking of the changes in manufacturing and when talking about mobile phones or other

consumer-led tech products. But putting it in the context of the construction industry, it is a relatively new mind-set.

Construction-led examples can be seen in the likes of customer-configured housing, inter-connected appliances and fittings and sustainable and social infrastructure. The most recent example of this is thermostats that learn occupant behaviours and offer environmental and energy efficiency controls.

These new ways of adding value to buildings and infrastructure require not only construction professionals and architects, but also manufacturers, surveyors and clients to engage on a greater scale.

Building Information Modelling has enabled customers to better understand and optimise projects on one platform, simultaneously evaluate take-off quantities and predict carbon footprint from the same data. The next phase of this Era of Connection is integrating cloud, social and mobile technology to expand dynamic external factors such as environmental, economic, even social outcomes.

printing are all driving these changes.

So, what do these changes mean for the Construction industry right now?

How you finance, plan, design and construct buildings will have to change and so too will the very business of construction contracting. The interconnected approach seen in BIM is only set to grow, connecting talent and experience across geographies and commercial interfaces. Intelligent digital connectivity within and between assets will be a key driving force and play a key role for the project owner, especially when looking at the long-term efficiencies and effectiveness of that building.

For more information about the Future of BIM, the Era of Connection and impacts this will have for the construction industry, come to our FREE breakfast event at Preston’s College 23rd March 2016. Or for more information click here or contact bim@quadrasol.co.uk

This new era of connection drives the need to add certain efficiencies to building design processes.

Technology-based projects, Modelbased fabrication, data-driven project delivery and Prefabrication and 3D

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UKC CASE STUDY

THE JOHN ROAN SCHOOL – HOW A TWO-SITE SCHOOL WAS TRANSFORMED In this article, Jamie Barrett, Managing Director of construction consultancy Evolution5, looks at how a historic school in London was transformed to help address the increasing pressure on education provision in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and considers some of the lessons learned from its project management.

Greenwich has one of the fastestgrowing school-age populations in the UK. This project was required to help address the increasing pressure on education provision in the area.

The John Roan School is a secondary school, which dates back to 1677.

It occupies two sites adjacent to Greenwich Park – the lower school was located at Westcombe Park and the original school which was built in 1928 and is a neo-classical Grade II listed building, is at Maze Hill.

State-of-the-art teaching facilities and flexible, transformational and inspiring

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learning environments were required to take the school into the next century and expand places to 1,400 pupils including 350 for sixth form students.

A Three-phase Solution Evolution5 was appointed to provide project management and cost management services to redevelop the John Roan School sites through Greenwich Council’s strategic partnership arrangement with Babcock International.

The scheme was a complex, twoyear new build, refurbishment and extension programme. It has created spacious, well-lit buildings that offer high quality facilities for both vocational and academic learning.

Remodelling and Extension The listed building at Maze Hill was extensively and sensitively remodelled and extended to improve the classrooms and circulation areas, and to create new

social, dining and learning spaces in one of the internal courtyards covered with an ETFE ‘floating pillow’ roof. A dedicated sixth form centre and ICT facilities have also been added.

Demolition and Redevelopment The building at Westcombe Park was completely demolished and replaced with a new purpose-built, three-storey 7,845sq m school for years 9, 10 and 11.

Decant sports accommodation was also provided during the build programme.

The finished campus now accommodates general classrooms, design and technology laboratories, and an entrance atrium with stepped seating to create a performance space linked to the main curriculum and sports wings. There are multi-purpose and open-plan spaces for use as an open learning resource centre and break-out study areas; a winter garden, and drama and activities studios. A sports and amenity building doubles as a valuable community facility.

CASE STUDY UKC

Refurbishment for Interim Decant and Primary Use An unused school building at Royal Hill was refurbished to provide an interim decant facility for John Roan year 10 and 11 students. On completion of the new school at Westcombe Park, the Royal Hill scheme was upgraded and converted for occupation by James Wolfe Primary School.

A Highly Complex and Challenging Project The redevelopment of The John Roan School was highly complex and involved many challenges: • Children could not be displaced and teaching had to remain uninterrupted throughout, despite working in a live school environment during each phase.

This involved moving year groups around and noise levels were carefully managed. During exam periods, construction activity levels were halted and then accelerated to maintain programme.

• This was a multi-stakeholder project which required continuous liaison and dialogue between different parties.

• Managing the design and installation of a lightweight, transparent ETFE roof at Maze Hill connected to the listed building on three sides involved multiple agreements, a high degree of consultation with different

interested parties and a visit to another application of this structure to inform the project management of the process.

• All finishes had to be signed off by the school before design close. To achieve this samples of furniture, wall colours, fixtures and fittings were obtained and ‘mock’ classroom areas created to attain feedback and a high degree of engagement with teaching staff.

• School technology was constantly evolving, with initial designs incorporating projectors, which moved to interactive white boards and finally touch screens.

• The construction budget was constrained and various funding streams had to be managed.

Lessons Learned • Consistent and regular communications are essential on a project of this scale and with so many stakeholders and in the context of having to manage constantly changing requirements from the school.

• Site walks throughout the construction process were very useful to inform everyone what was taking place and when. Evolution5 conducted monthly meetings with school governors and took senior management around the new buildings

when it was safe to do so. These initiatives worked very well.

• The sample classrooms were invaluable in helping to obtain informed and constructive feedback on design detailing from teaching staff, whilst effectively managing the school’s expectations.

The Client’s Perspective Andrew Carr, Contracts Manager, Royal Borough of Greenwich Council, said: “We were kept up-to-date at every stage and the project management of this highly complex school redevelopment was excellent. The approach to communication was really helpful and we could pinpoint the project’s progress precisely, at any point. The consultancy team was fast to respond to any challenges and engaged with us at every level. They were extremely thorough, identifying any issues and the most appropriate solution. They did a great job on this challenging scheme and we can’t think of any areas they could improve on.”

At the opening, Des Malone, Head Teacher of The John Roan School, said: “This is a landmark for The John Roan which opens our outstanding buildings fit for 21st century learning.

We are all immensely proud of our very special school.” www.evolution5.co.uk

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UKC COMMENT

London’s Burning: Why a great fire is anything but

By Hannah Mansell, BWF-CERTIFIRE Manager, BWF-CERTIFIRE Scheme The Great Fire of 1666 turned out to be a seminal moment in fire safety management, which ultimately led to today’s comprehensive building regulations requirements and more recently, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Despite this, the latest research findings from the Fire Door Inspection Scheme (FDIS) show a widespread complacency towards fire safety which highlights how responsibilities in this area are simply not being taken seriously enough.

When the Great Fire occurred, it swept through London, gutting at least a third of the medieval city, destroying parish churches, wiping out landmarks such as St Paul’s Cathedral and making an estimated 100,000 people homeless.

Thanks to Britain’s stringent fire safety regulations, we are now living in very different times. Those who fail to act responsibly may face major penalties in the form of a prison sentence, a hefty fine, or often both. So it’s somewhat shocking to learn that in 2015, over £1M of fines were issued for faulty fire doors.

This figure is based on every news report that FDIS could find on prosecutions under the Fire Safety Order since the start of 2015, including references made to faulty or missing fire doors.

In total, 53 published prosecutions across the country and including various building types were accounted for.

More than £1M in fines and costs were imposed by the courts in these cases. These were handed to private landlords, business owners and care home managers after they failed to install or maintain adequate fire doors.

On top of the large number of fines given, many defendants also received suspended prison sentences of typically three to eight months, or longer. In some of the worst cases, prison was seen as the only suitable punishment for deterring other, future would-be offenders.

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The majority of prosecutions seen by FDIS (57%) were issued to landlords of houses in multiple occupancy (HMOs), such as bedsits, flat-lets and shared houses. Letting agents were often included in these fines as well.

A number of cases in the hospitality and leisure sectors were also found, with just over 22% of cases reviewed involving pubs, hotels, bed and breakfast accommodation, restaurants, nightclubs and takeaways.

This was followed closely by 19% of prosecutions involving nurseries or care homes - buildings that tend to house the most vulnerable. In most of these cases, either special measures were put in place or buildings were closed down altogether.

However, a million pound problem is likely to be an underestimate. What we’re looking at here are the cases that have been publicised in the press – cases representing only the very tip of the iceberg. As the figures show, continued and widespread ignorance surrounding fire door safety is a massive issue.

And, it’s placing our lives, the lives of fire service personnel and the buildings in which we inhabit in great danger.

The level of fines may be significantly high but the real cost of fire is even greater when you take into account the knock-on effects. Take the consequential loss to business for example, this could also result in job or contract losses or even closure.

Fire can also cause huge disruption in the local community, especially when healthcare or educational facilities are badly damaged or the short supply of housing is impacted further because of it.

Fire doors need to be correctly specified, fitted and maintained in order to help prevent the spread of fire. Every building owner or landlord should be regularly inspecting their fire

doors, or using a qualified professional to ensure they are fit for purpose.

The city of London is preparing to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire this year – at a time when we’ve benefitted from Fire Safety Order legislation for just over a decade.

As we reflect on what was possibly one of the biggest disasters to have ever hit the capital, we should also remember that the characteristics of fire remain the same today as they did then. In this day and age there really is no excuse for seeing prosecutions relating to faulty fire doors on such a high scale. So what’s it going to take for attitudes to change?

Developed by industry experts within the BWF-CERTIFIRE Scheme and the Guild of Architectural Ironmongers, FDIS is Europe’s first qualification and inspection scheme for fire door safety.

BWF-CERTIFIRE is the UK’s largest fire door certification scheme.

Through it, around two million fire doors are tested and certified in the UK each year, which equates to approximately 70% of the market.

Together, our organisations campaign for improved fire safety in all the buildings we design, construct, manage, own and use. You can join us at www.bwfcertifire.org.uk.

UKC COMMENT

To certify BREEAM or to BREEAM not – that is the question?

In such a harsh economic climate, it is imperative that designers, developers and clients all ask the question – does sustainability pay? Nick Milestone, MD of B & K Structures, shares his views.

that companies within the industry are able to back up claims to environmental consciousness within their processes.

BREEAM is one of the world’s leading sustainability assessment method for master planning projects, infrastructure and buildings. The certification is designed to inspire designers and developers to make full effective use of resources. The focus on sustainable value and efficiency makes BREEAM certified developments attractive property investments as well as generating sustainable environments that enhance the well-being of the end user and the surrounding environment.

With eco-credentials of the highest importance in the construction and modern trading world, having the correct certification is fundamental to success.

“When executed correctly, the owners and occupiers of a sustainably effective building will see economic advantages across a range of areas. It is important

Here at B & K Structures, we are regarded as a leading provider of optimised hybrid solutions and we constantly strive to keep sustainability at the heart of our

Since the economic downturn, cost has been the key priority for most new builds. There is now a culture that has developed across the industry of creating cheaper buildings at a rapid rate and ultimately resulting in a faster return on investment. It is easy to fall into the trap of sourcing the most economic components and materials for the short term, but it is important for clients to consider the long term savings that can be made on a building when using environmentally and energy efficient materials and methods of construction.

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corporate social responsibility ethos.

Through the application of timber - the number one renewable mainstream construction material - B & K Structures are able to produce greener buildings with low carbon footprints. But sustainability does not end with the completion of the development – producing airtight, energy efficient structures positively impacts on the whole life-cycle of the building and reduces ongoing energy and maintenance costs.

We adopt and apply Best Practice sustainability principles through all aspects of our processes - from raw material procurement through to design and manufacture, offsite processes and onsite assembly.

B & K Structures demonstrate our commitment to sustainability through a range of credentials and have been known to achieve Excellent BREEAM ratings on a number of our buildings.

COMMENT UKC

A recent build that exhibits the highest levels of sustainability is the groundbreaking BSkyB Believe in Better Building (BiBB). This new educational facility for graduates, apprentices and staff training, reflects the Sky’s sustainable aspirations. Based at the Sky Campus at Osterley, West London, the 3,000sq m development provides an inviting multi-functional amenity.

BSkyB’s own sustainability strategy shaped the building philosophy. The new educational facility incorporates a Combined Cooling Heating and Power Plant (CCHP), along with BSkyB’s existing wind turbine.

BSkyB had specific sustainability targets mapped out for the structural framing options including: • 15% reduction in embodied carbon of construction • 27% of recycled content • responsible sourcing of materials through PEFC or FSC timber • 80% of key materials by mass manufacture within a given radius depending on density The building was awarded with a BREEAM Excellent rating – demonstrating that it not only meets but exceeds best practice in sustainable building design, construction and operation through a widely recognised measure of environmental performance of a building. An engineered timber industrial system offered optimum airtightness through insulated panel facades. With B & K Structures’ well established sustainable supply chain, the correct manufacturing partners were appointed that aligned with the requirements for green materials that were both PEFC and FSC certified.

The glulam and cross laminated timber (CLT) structure, previously unheard of in a commercial building of this

size in Britain, could achieve beyond zero embodied CO2 emissions (when including carbon sequestered during the trees growth). The team specified materials that have low or no VOC content to avoid off-gassing problems and where concrete was used, it has 100% secondary aggregate and sand and uses the minimum cement through 40% PFA OPC replacement.

During the construction of the timber, there was a noticeable buzz among the Sky staff. The project exceeded Sky’s sustainability aspirations, through renewable and zero carbon timber construction. The client was so impressed, that we have been appointed to provide sustainable structures for the next two buildings which will be constructed from timber systems using the same supply chain.

Initial upfront investment in a robust, airtight building, will reap benefits in the long term from reduced maintenance and running costs – vital for public buildings such as schools and hospitals. Housing developers, retailers and commercial end users have a different set of priorities with speed of construction rating one of the highest. Optimised hybrid structures offer a rapid return on investment for developers, together with delivering quick and efficient build process for the retail and commercial sector - getting buildings on stream and operational in the optimum time.”

Optimised Hybrid Structures - CPD By selecting the most effective combination of systems and materials to meet the brief and performance specification, B & K Structures, as the UK’s leading sustainable frame contractor, specialise in the design, manufacture and delivery of optimised hybrid structures For more information or book an Optimised Hybrid CPD session, please: Call: 01773 853 400 Email: sales@bkstructures.co.uk Visit: www.bkstructures.co.uk

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UKC COMMENT

Spotlight on industry growth and market priorities at ECOBUILD 2016 Ecobuild, the UK’s largest show dedicated to construction and energy, returns in March with an increased and in-depth focus on the latest industry trends, challenges and opportunities – and how professionals from across the whole supply chain can capitalise on them.

The show will provide visitors with access to invaluable industry insights and projections relating to all aspects of the construction sector through a mix of a high-level conference, CPDaccredited learning hubs and more than 800 exhibitors showcasing a wide range of new products, materials, solutions and services.

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Ecobuild’s essential educational offering Ecobuild 2016 will also feature six CPD-accredited learning hubs; Building Performance, Design, Energy, #BuildCircular, Infrastructure Revolution and Digital Building. A highly-provoking seminar programme, it will provide visitors and exhibitors with the know-how to do their jobs better and the business case to help them make more informed decisions to address future challenges.

Attracting more than 40,000 industry professionals from across the whole supply chain each year, Ecobuild is the leading exhibition and conference for the UK construction and energy market. It attracts a broad range of visitors from architects to manufacturers, suppliers to installers.

The programme will be delivered by industry leading figures and organisations including Architype, Glenn Howells Architects, Marks & Spencer, British Land, Jones Lang LaSalle, BRE, ICE, Zero Carbon Hub and Willmott Dixon Energy Services.

The Energy Hub has a particular focus on ways of reducing carbon emissions in buildings and providing low or zero carbon energy power. Seminars will look at everything from ‘life after the Green Deal’ to delivering efficient and reliable low carbon heat.

The 2016 event will see an evolved proposition for the event to focus on areas of industry growth and market priorities such as housing, infrastructure, next generation innovation, technology and people.

Among those making their compelling case will be representatives from some of the most powerful and influential voices in the building, engineering and energy sectors including CIBSE, BRE and Sweett Group.

The Infrastructure Revolution powered

by ICE investigates how we deliver infrastructure which supports economic growth in a resilient and affordable way.

It includes a hard-hitting session entitled ‘How world class infrastructure will bring resilience to the economy’ starts the programme, chaired by ICE Vice President Keith Clarke, and featuring speakers from GLA and The Airport Operators Association. Other sessions will debate the future demands of urban infrastructure, how we accommodate demand for energy at the lowest possible environmental cost, and whether there is a place for smaller scale innovations in the supply chain.

Dedicated days to Homes, Architecture and Next Generation Ecobuild 2016’s high-level conference is split into three daily streams. The first day’s stream of Homes explores the most pressing, divisive and important decisions that the industry must take to deliver comfortable, sustainable, resilient places and homes. What do new-build and retrofitted homes and communities need to deliver, and at what cost?

Chaired by broadcaster Cathy Newman, speakers include Tony Pidgley, Chairman of Berkeley Group; David

COMMENT UKC

Sheridan, Chief Executive of Keepmoat, and Rowan Moore, Architecture Critic for the Observer. All three will provide a unique and inspiring look at what makes good housing.

talent and nurture the next generation of skills while Richard Francis, Prinicipal, The Monomoy Company will deliver a speech entitled ‘What’s good for the next generation of buildings?’

The second day focuses on Architecture and looks at the changing role of the architect, the importance of architecture across the built environment, the need for change and some of the most interesting and inspiring architectural projects.

Each stream will include input from the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC), Ecobuild’s lead partner for 2016, which will be addressing the future of the built environment.

Speakers include Sadie Morgan, Founder of dRMM and chair of the HS2 Design Panel, Simon Allford of Sterling Prize winners AHMM, Xavier de Kestelier of Foster & Partners, and writer, journalist, essayist and film-maker, Jonathan Meades.

The Next Generation day looks to the future: how smart technology, changing demographics and wellness will drive design and construction in the future as well as how to address the skills gap and attract young talent to the industry.

Ecobuild’s most exploratory, provocative and inspiring day – it is a must for all those with an interest in ‘what’s next’.

Among the speakers, David Hancock, Head of Construction, UK Cabinet Office will talk about how to inspire

Following the agreement of a new global deal at the recent climate conference in Paris, UK-GBC will be explaining the role the private sector can play in helping ensure the pledges made are delivered.

UK-GBC Chief Executive Julie Hirigoyen will pose five future challenges for the construction industry on each of the three conference days to a panel of industry leaders and future leaders, inviting them to respond with practical ideas on delivery. UK-GBC will also provide more bite-sized content at the UK-GBC Lounge.

Focus on increasing resource efficiency Resource is a show that is co-located with Ecobuild. It is devoted to increasing resource efficiency across all aspects of the construction industry and beyond.

Resource is unique in its focus and scale, being the largest learning and networking

opportunity for businesses and public sector bodies looking to reduce waste and reuse materials, recovering value from what was traditionally ‘waste’.

The newly introduced #buildcircular theatre acts as the learning, innovation and networking hub for those interested to explore which circular economy principles could and should be adopted in the built environment, from modular construction, off-site construction, building design, materials lifecycle thinking and construction through to intelligent demolition.

Reflecting the construction industry, Ecobuild is constantly evolving; ensuring that it continues to provide relevant, dynamic content and create opportunities to make new connections.

Visitors will find a wealth of specialist support and solutions – and much more besides – at Ecobuild 2016.

Ecobuild 2016 is co-located with Resource, the leading resource efficiency event, from 8th to 10th March at London’s ExCeL. For more information please visit www.ecobuild.co.uk.

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UKC COMMENT

UK’s Changing Perspective on Apprenticeships Why need has fostered a new outlook on industry skills acquisition The UK field of engineering is at a crossroads, and actions must be taken.

We face a retention gap that, in the next decade, is estimated to cost the industry up to £9.5Bn, as well as a lack of skills to satisfy ~1.82 million jobs. As such, no longer can companies excuse themselves from addressing, at least in part, such problems – the industry must work together to ensure skills are fostered that will benefit and make the future skills pipeline sustainable.

As encapsulated by Graham Nicholson, Executive Managing Director, Tony Gee and Partners, “There is a real sense of optimism a real sense of optimism within the construction community. However this optimism is tempered by a concern as to whether we have the right quantity and quality of skilled personnel that we need in order to meet our commitments.

Recent forecasts have shown that the highest annual recruitment requirement is amongst professional and technical staff. Clearly we, as companies, need to look beyond our traditional recruitment sources and offer more varied and flexible routes into engineering to help meet the demand for skills.”

The government has recently made

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strides to address the lack of skills projected within the UK workforce pipeline. Capturing the attention of many involved within industry is the ambitious target set for three million apprenticeship positions by 2020. This is exceedingly ambitious as it would equate to recruiting one apprentice every minute for the next five years.

consultancy practices to create Technician Apprenticeship Consortium (TAC).

While making apprenticeships more mainstream and acceptable paths to careers in the field, in order to ensure the success of apprenticeship, particularly within the field of infrastructure, a quality program for apprenticeships is essential. It is for this reason that the Technicial Apprenticeship Consortium (TAC) was created in 2010, prior to the current Trailblazer initiative.

Now according to Sheila Hoile, project manager for the consortium, “there are 20 companies involved in our national group, and having started in London there are an additional 50 firms now engaged regionally as demand increases”.

Until 2010 there were only a few engineering consultancy practices that participated in or ran their own apprenticeship programmes to develop skills, being reliant mainly on graduate programmes to develop staff. The change in perspective about the importance of skills development, and subsequently apprenticeships was through the increased occurrence of apprenticeships related standards within procurement criteria. This procurement process, such as the Transport for London (TfL) framework, pushed six major engineering

An award winning programme that has now seen over 1,000 apprentices, the number of companies involved in TAC has increased as the need for apprenticeships to develops skills have become obvious, throughout the UK.

With both a skills and retention gap, amounting to ~1.82 million jobs that must be satisfied and up to £9.5Bn in potential turnover loss, involvement in TAC or other apprenticeship schemes is increasing as a form of necessity for business.

Amongst other benefits to business, Neil Weller a Partner at Troup Bywater + Anders stresses the apprenticeships allow for an “increased home grown talent who understand the culture of our business and bridging the ever growing skills gap in engineering” with other useful benefits in terms of bringing “exuberance to the office” as well as “growing the diversity.”

Given the benefits apprenticeships bring

COMMENT UKC

to individual businesses it is not surprising that if a greater number of businesses participate the industry at large will see a positive improvement towards being able to address future demands or challenges.

As said by Debra Larkman, HR Development Director for BDP, “Apprentices are hugely important to our industry. There are too few graduates to meet demand in most areas and apprenticeships can fill this gap in resources very effectively. Allowing talented individuals to earn while they learn and providing an alternative route into the professions also encourages much needed diversity. It is remarkable how rapidly the mix of work-based and academic leaning allows apprentices to become productive members of the team. “ Recently the Apprenticeship Levy has also appeared on the radar. Set at .5% of payroll with a £15,000 payback for smaller companies, will have a major impact upon engineering consultancy practices. This cost will continue to drive companies towards further involvement in apprenticeship schemes.

Yet as companies veer towards incorporating apprenticeships into their business model, they must take heed of what has been learnt from peers as well as consider the repute

of programmes being implemented.

Claire Oliver, HR Manager of Troup Bywaters + Anders, has three insights for employers thinking to take on an apprentice.

• “Find the right training provider before the apprentices start and build a good relationship with them • Make sure all apprentices are given a mentor at work who is committed to their development and takes responsibility for their progress and any concerns they want to share. The mentors should appreciate the importance of this role in that it is passing their knowledge on to the next generation • Develop an outline schedule of things the apprentices will learn at work and regularly review their progress and achievements.”

For potential apprentices or for parents of apprentices, it is vital to ensure that the hands on learning which takes place prepares one for a future in the field.

As such quality assurance is highly desired within an apprenticeship.

all TAC apprenticeship programmes is that they are developed with the support of the relevant Professional Engineering Institutions and correlate to the Eng Tech requirements for UKSPEC. Making TAC a viable step to a new career for participants, and a new industry skills outlook for businesses.

National Apprenticeship Week, occurring from the 14th to 18th of March celebrates the accomplishments of all UK apprentices, those businesses that participate in apprenticeship programmes, along with the apprenticeship programmes assisting the UK to ‘rise to the top’ for skills development.

It is together that we can move forward to secure the future of our industry, by fostering the skills of tomorrow’s leaders and ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to join this exciting field.

For more information on Technician Apprenticeship Consortium (TAC), please visit tacnet.org.uk . Please participate in National Apprenticeship Week on Twitter by using the hashtag #NAW2016 and tagging @TAC_Apprentices

To meet industry needs and foster a long term career, a defining feature of

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UKC COMMENT

Apprenticeships key to overcoming skills shortage The construction industry is facing a skills shortage. There are not enough young people entering the profession to meet current employer’s requirements and counter the number of qualified engineers and engineering technicians who are retiring. This demand for skills has become particularly acute with the increasing use of digital technology used today to deliver design information. New skills are needed to make best use of the latest software and data management.

With this background it is vital that the industry attracts, recruits, trains and retains young people from all backgrounds to meet these demands.

Apprenticeship schemes, such as the Technician Apprenticeship Consortium, help companies to reach many more young people by using a collective and collaborative approach to promoting

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apprenticeships. The industry has a responsibility to develop the skills required for the future by employing young people now and training them now.

For some of the larger businesses it is perhaps easier for them to provide a resource dedicated to apprentices. For the smaller firms, and in particular the SME’s, the cost and time of developing relationships with colleges and recruiting apprentices is proportionately more significant. This is where the consortium really helps.

With each organisation contributing to the consortium the combined output is large and importantly, consistent.

The skill base developed is therefore appropriate for the industry as a whole and is not just tailored to one particular organisation. The colleges liaise with the consortium rather than with each and every organisation so they also benefit.

At Tony Gee we have found that apprentices become an important part of our design teams after a relatively short time. Tasks are set to match the apprentice’s ability and confidence levels.

The work is done on real projects with real outputs, unlike the exercise work undertaken in the colleges. College work is important and provides the foundation for knowledge but working on active projects adds purpose and excitement. Support is given by the firms throughout. The apprentices know that others will rely on their work and that helps them to learn quickly.

There are some key elements to making an engineering apprenticeship successful.

The first is to recruit candidates who have a basic understanding of mathematics and who can communicate.

The emphasis here is on the word basic. Software has removed the need for technicians to have complex

mathematical ability but an understanding of geometry remains important.

The second element is for the firm to have a clearly defined career path for any apprentice. This will demonstrate to an apprentice how they can progress their careers. This adds motivation for their learning and keeps them informed on their next steps. The pathway can lead to the highest positions in a business and the achievement of professional qualifications. However, there will be many stepping off points along the way which can allow everyone to

reach their aspirations and potential.

A third and equally important element is for the employer to provide mentoring support. Learning from others is a crucial part of developing skills. The Technician Apprenticeship Consortium (TAC) provides its members with an expertly written mentoring guide so that best practice can be shared across the industry. Feedback from apprentices indicates that working in a challenging environment with supportive colleagues results in high job satisfaction.

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Graham Nicholson, chair of TAC, as well as the Executive Managing Director of Tony Gee and Partners.

Working with TAC has enabled firms to confidently employ apprentices knowing that they will receive a consistent and quality education from their day release at vetted colleges. TAC has, though its relationships with the profession institutions developed pathways that lead to a professional qualification. The end product is that many young people can now embark upon an exciting and rewarding career in engineering without necessarily going to university. The apprenticeship route develops skills and knowledge whilst working in industry with the added benefit of earning a salary.

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UKC COMMENT

Evander: BREEAM on sustainable building BREEAM was first founded 26 years ago with the goal of bringing sustainable value to developments. It aims to encourage the use of natural resources to investors, designers, developers and construction teams.

Whilst the costs involved with building in line with BREEAM’s enhanced standards can prove higher than average, evidence shows that a sustainable development has increased financial returns for investors.

However, in order to see the full value of BREEAM, you need to look all stages of the development process – let us explain.

Higher value to investors Research has found that office developers are willing to invest up to 2% more for higher BREEAM rated buildings, in the knowledge that the savings on energy and water bills will recover the additional investment in just 2-5 years.

Reduced risk to investors and developers The industry is only going one way in terms of the emphasis being put on sustainable buildings. As time goes on and the focus on climate change intensifies, stricter regulations are likely

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to be imposed upon developments.

This means older buildings with lower BREEAM ratings could be forced to either invest heavily in improving their standards or face the risk of depreciation.

Increased returns for investors A study published by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICs) found that “Green Buildings” achieved a 21% premium on transaction prices and an 18% premium on rents.

Sustainability is now being immediately associated with quality and attractiveness within the real estate industry.

Increased Value to Occupants Prospective occupants of office space will look for offices that increase employee productivity and well-being.

A productive and healthy workforce is one the makes the company money, a company that makes money attracts the best talent – and so it goes on.

It is said that “Green Buildings” do just this; the efficient energy and heating systems not only reduce operating costs, but they create an optimal working environment.

This then comes back to the point of increased returns for investors; companies searching for office space will see the office space as an opportunity for business growth – they will therefore be more willing to part with additional cash if they believe they can recover the costs through increase employee productivity.

Conclusion Achieving BREEAM certification is becoming more and more important as time goes on. Whilst the initial capital outlay of BREEAM standards may prove high, the lifecycle savings of the building will quickly outweigh this outlay.

It is also highly likely that as time goes on, tighter regulations for sustainable developments will mean that many old office blocks will require significant investment to keep up. By getting ahead of the curve, you’re essentially bullet-proofing your development against further financial investment.

Over two million buildings have registered for assessment since BREEAM’s launch in 1990. As more people start to see the value that BREEAM can bring to a development this number is only going one way.

COMMENT UKC

‘We’re great at building Homes - we need to be great at building Relationships!’

Glen Robertson, Director, Forum Interactive Ltd The above quote has come from Ed Woods, Health & Safety Director for Taylor Wimpey UK. Since the financial crisis of 2008, the building and construction sector has experienced the impact of a significant slow-down in demand across both commercial and house building areas.

The contraction in activity led to many redundancies in all building trades and a loss to the industry of thousands of skilled workers.

So, where have these people gone? They can’t all be driving taxis now surely?

But perhaps sitting in a cab, out of the wind and rain, rather than working outdoors exposed to the elements feels like a more attractive prospect for many ex-building tradespeople?

However, house building is now experiencing a significant upturn in demand and consequent activity, the result of which is a critical shortage of skilled labour in a growing market.

“Taylor Wimpey said it is building more homes than at any other point in the last six years, with a rise of 7% in sales in 2015.”

BBC News 6th Jan 2016 “FTSE 100 housebuilder Persimmon increased revenues 13 per cent in 2015 as it built more homes, boosted by house price rises and a government drive to get more people on the housing ladder and that it had completed 14,572 new homes in 2015, an 8 per cent rise from a year earlier.”

Financial Times 7th Jan 2016 “Growth in Scotland’s construction industry over the next five years will largely be driven by housebuilding as many of the national large-scale infrastructure come to an end, though more than 21,000 new workers will be needed to replace those leaving the workforce, according to new research (CITB).”

Scottish Construction Now 27th Jan 2016 “A shortage of skilled workers in

the construction industry pushed up wages in the sector in 2015 and could threaten some of the government’s biggest housing and infrastructure programmes, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has said.

“Bricklayers and quantity surveyors were in particularly short supply, with six in ten RICS survey respondents having difficulty finding them for projects.

“Construction wages increased by more than 6% in the year to October, three times the average wage rise for UK workers, RICS said on Thursday. The organisation’s latest construction market survey, covering the last three months of 2015, found labour shortages were considered the biggest barrier to growth by 66% of industry professionals.”

The Guardian 14th Jan 2016 This current situation brings with it difficulties, not just recruitment but also in the retention of skilled and experienced operatives.

Skilled and experienced workers can pick and choose where they want to work and it’s not just about following the money!

The quality of the experience that companies provide to operatives on a site is a critical factor in retaining staff.

But what do we mean by the experience on site?

In the past, when there was an abundant pool of skilled and experienced operatives available to companies some site managers perhaps would take a ‘my way or the highway’ or ‘when I say jump, you say how high?’ approach to staff interactions on sites.

Why on earth would any operative whose skills and experience are at a premium accept such an approach?

The reality is that they don’t need to - they will go elsewhere.

So, what can be done to enhance the site experience and aid retention?

Ed Woods Health & Safety Director at Taylor Wimpey says: “At Taylor

Wimpey we’ve always believed that the quality of the relationships that are developed on sites and elsewhere in our business are a critical element not just in maintaining the highest standards of safety but in the resultant exceptional quality of our homes and developments.

“During the downturn we attempted to keep as many sites as active as possible and maintain levels of the employment. Operatives tend not to forget how they’ve been treated and many are still with us and don’t want to move, which together with our commitment to our apprenticeship programme helps development and retention of our staff, site teams and the quality of the homes we build.”

One way that Taylor Wimpey worked on the issue of on-site relationships and interactions was through practical drama based training sessions with senior staff which was designed and delivered by Forum Interactive, the specialist learning and development consultancy. The sessions focused on how the way we choose to communicate expectations to Site Managers for example, has a massive impact on behaviour - particularly on safety but also beyond that to how we see our work more generally.

Ed Woods again: “The drama was incredibly realistic and powerful, to the extent that the participants spoke to the actors as if they were an MD or Site Manager - it was totally absorbing. No other training technique has delivered this sort of buy-in.”

If everyone on sites and beyond, considered their behaviour in their interactions with colleagues and the positive influence that they can have on the working relationships and culture of their workplaces then everyone would benefit.

The impact on quality and safe working would be enhanced and it would go some way to not just retaining a skilled and experienced workforce, but attracting new recruits to the house building business generally and perhaps a drop in the number of cabbies!

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Adjudication Costs Recovery When Sir Michael Latham issued his “Constructing the Team” report in 1994 and adjudication was first floated as an idea to resolve disputes quickly, efficiently and at low cost, he could never have foreseen that the process of resolving construction disputes by adjudication would evolve into the complex process that it is today.

I could write a large essay speculating on the reasons for this but my own personal view (it may well be wrong) is that the courts have realised that very few cases that have been adjudicated end up in litigation or arbitration. For this reason the courts are keen to make sure that the adjudication process is seen to run fairly and that published decisions are as close as possible to what the court’s judgement or an arbitrator’s award would be, based on the same facts and legal arguments delivered in the same very tight time scales.

If you have been involved in an adjudication over the last few years you will know that it has become a high pressure, legalistic, complex and expensive process that should only be embarked upon by those that are thoroughly prepared, brave and well represented.

If you don’t believe what I am saying, ask any party that has been involved in adjudication over the last few years and they are likely to tell you that the process of referring disputes to adjudication is becoming increasingly expensive. It would be easy to blame this on the legal profession hijacking a process that was supposed to be quick and cost-effective, but I suspect that the answer is somewhat more complicated and in reality it is probably the case that most parties will conclude that the costs of re-running the same dispute in court or arbitration would simply be prohibitive. An adjudicator’s decision is therefore likely to be the final word on the dispute.

So, with parties realising that adjudication is likely to be the one and only referral of a dispute to a third party for a determination, parties are increasingly prepared to invest more and more resources in order to try to get that all important win. This results in more and more submissions, often a one or two day hearing, an extended timetable and much bigger legal bills all round.

Readers will know that in all but exceptional circumstances each party has to bear its own costs of representation. These costs can be very

substantial and if you are the losing party you will also be expected to pay the adjudicator’s fees and expenses. So, what can you do to protect your company from this experience? You might be thinking that you are never going to start an adjudication so what is the problem, but this will not help you if you are forced to respond to an action that is taken by a disgruntled Employer, Contractor or Sub-Contractor. You may not want to fight but you may have no choice.

So what can be done to protect yourself from the costs of adjudication? One obvious answer is to insure the risk.

However, as Adjudicators invariably lack the power to deal with interparty costs, insurers have been very reluctant to insure a party’s exposure to its own legal costs and those of the Adjudicator if the decision goes against it, that is, until now.

The answer to the conundrum of the spiralling cost of adjudication may finally have been addressed with the introduction of ALADINS. Adjudication Legal And Dispute INSurance is a full scope legal expenses insurance policy available to Contractors, Sub-Contractors and Consultants in the UK exclusively

Regent House, Folds Point, Folds Road, Bolton BL1 2RZ t. 01204 632888 f. 01204362808 tvp@vinden.co.uk www.vinden.co.uk

through The Vinden Partnership and Watson Laurie Insurance Brokers. In exchange for a modest annual premium the policy insures a Client’s liability to pay legal expenses arising from a whole range of disputes arising under Commercial Contracts through to Employment disputes. Most importantly, however, is that legal costs arising from adjudication proceedings under construction contracts are covered by ALADINS with legal expenses cover of £1,000,000 available in any one year of insurance limited to £100,000 per claim.

Premiums are calculated on a declared turnover basis so by way of an example, a company with an annual turnover of £10 million would be charged an annual premium of £6,000 plus IPT. At the risk of stating the obvious and in the event of a dispute proceeding to adjudication, an insured party’s own costs and exposure to the adjudicator’s fees are insured. ALADINS will not respond where claims are adjudged to have little or no chance of success but in reality such claims have never been pursued in any event. ALADINS will respond, however, where a claim or the defence of a claim is adjudged to have reasonable prospects for success.

Limit of £100,000 any one claim, £1m in the aggregate Excess: £2,500 each & every claim Cover only for disputes £20,000 + Sections of cover: Construction Contract Disputes, Contract Disputes, Criminal Prosecution, Employment Disputes, Tax Protection, Property Disputes, Data Protection, Statutory Licence, Personal Injury, Wrongful Arrest, Jury Service Allowance Only covers contracts entered into after inception date Adjudication Costs:All Adjudication Expenses shall be first met out of any damages, compensation or monies received in that adjudication or subsequent litigation or settlement thereof

ALADINS has been two years in planning and is available to purchase from 1 October 2015. For further information on ALADINS and/or a no obligation quotation please contact either Steve Padley (spadley@vinden. co.uk) or Gary Brooks (gbrooks@ watsonlaurie.co.uk)

The client if pursuing and they won would pay for the adjudication expenses out of any damages or compensation or monies received in that adjudication or subsequent litigation or settlement thereof. If the client lost the adjudication expenses would be picked up by the legal expenses policy.

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

Subject to set criteria otherwise individually underwritten.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------You must notify Watson Laurie Limited immediately in any of the following circumstances, providing full details in order that your premium and terms can be reassessed:

For similar articles please visit www. vinden.co.uk

The client if defending and they won or lost would have the adjudication expenses paid for by the legal expenses policy.

• If there is any cause, event or circumstance which may give rise to a claim being made under this insurance which has not already been notified • If an Insurer has ever refused commercial legal expenses insurance, imposed special terms or declined to renew a commercial legal expenses insurance policy.

• If there has been more than one claim or dispute to which this insurance would have applied or any disputes in which fees or expenses exceed £3,000 in the last 3 years.

• The Insured is not domiciled within The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

• If the Insured’s Turnover exceeds £20,000,000 • Excludes property developers

Regent House, Folds Point, Folds Road, Bolton BL1 2RZ t. 01204 632888 f. 01204362808 tvp@vinden.co.uk www.vinden.co.uk

UKC NEWS

Government calls for construction industry to invest in home grown talent Ministers have called upon the construction industry to remove barriers to get more young people to consider careers in construction and develop an ambitious action plan to address the skills pressures and other constraints that are limiting housebuilding and infrastructure development.

Housing Minister Brandon Lewis and Skills Minister Nick Boles want the construction industry to look at whether current business models are holding back the industry from developing the skills it needs - and to consider new models of construction such as offsite manufacturing.

The Construction Leadership Council has been called upon to review what skills the construction industry need to provide the homes the nation needs.

Consequently, the Council has asked Mark Farmer, of real estate and construction consultancy Cast, to

identify actions that will help bring more workers to the industry.

Views are being sought on how to best train a workforce which has a high level of self-employment and bring about greater use of off-site construction. The review will also look at how the industry can introduce measures that encourage more investment and new ways of working.

Skills Minister Nick Boles said: “The government is committed to getting Britain building. We are investing in measures to cut red tape and increase the number of young people doing apprenticeships and traineeships to ensure we have a pipeline of skilled workers.

“As leaders in the industry, the Council is best placed to advise on how to boost productivity in the sector and build the houses and infrastructure our nation needs.”

Join the many thousands of estimators & surveyors who have made the switch to ConQuest 60

Mark Farmer, Chief Executive Officer at Cast, said: “I’m delighted to be asked to lead this review. The construction industry’s skills shortfall has been growing progressively and its ageing workforce now means affirmative action needs to be taken to avoid more acute issues in the future.

“A healthy and robust construction sector is vital to underpinning the government’s commitment to delivering critical new housing and infrastructure projects. It will also ensure the unrivalled economic multiplier effect related to construction activity continues to play its part within the wider UK economy.

“The industry needs to seize the opportunity to celebrate the vital contribution it makes and, in partnership with government and other key stakeholders, ensure it overcomes the current barriers to fulfilling its potential.”

UKC COMMENT

The true cost of bad quality Andrew Holt, CQI Technical Content Executive, interviews Daniel Keeling as he embarks on a major project and report to measure the cost of quality in the construction industry Only a handful of studies on the implementation of cost of quality in the construction industry have ever been undertaken. However there is no data worldwide to cover the total cost of quality in the end product, according to Daniel Keeling, Chair of the CQI Cost of Quality Working Group, which is a supporting group of the CQI Construction Special Interest Group.

The group therefore undertook the challenge to fill this gaping void. The aim of the report is to quantify the cost of poor quality and to develop measures to reduce failures and so reduce operational costs. “We have looked at the whole aspect of the cost of quality. One could say it is the cost of non-quality,” says Keeling. “It is about the failure to deliver what the client actually wanted.”

But this is not as easy as it initially sounds. “This failure comes in various forms a failure to: fully specify a project, to understand what is wanted or to give the correct direction to the

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contractor, all leading to a failure to meet the requirements of the customer.”

have therefore come up with a structure, suitable definitions and measurement.”

Keeling says: “There is very little analysis done on costs and failure, yet you are talking projects that are big money.

The UK construction industry is worth £100bn each year, and if you take just a conservative estimate of 1-2% as a failure cost, you are talking of around £1bn to £2bn in the UK.” An American study has found that 5-6% can be lost on defects.

To take the project forward, a relationship has been struck-up with University College London (UCL) and its construction research department.

UCL Bartlett School of Construction and Project Management will be undertaking a mixed method research study. It is hoped that this work will contribute to the development of a new integration model that could support a reduction in operational failures.

The CQI group has been working for 18 months and has representatives from all sides of the industry, from clients, consultants and contractors. To begin the research, an accepted model of measurement would have to be agreed and implemented. Keeling explains: “We had to break it down and make it measurable. We decided to focus our efforts on the costs of not delivering client requirements post-handover. The cost of quality after handover is broken down in all types of paths. We will measure all these individual paths. We

The study will be three years in the making. Keeling enthuses about the final report and its appeal. “We think this will be of phenomenal interest to clients worldwide: a comprehensive report which can benefit all construction clients across the world.”

Challenges and opportunities Keeling confesses there are challenges ahead: “Organisations are not always

COMMENT UKC

giving us the information we need, as they are protecting their commercial interests. Insurance has also been more difficult than anticipated in the measurement of cost. Their models are difficult to get hold of and it is difficult to measure how they come up with a number relating to costs.”

Nevertheless, this report and undertaking has also led to other interest for future projects, with thought being given to a second report being undertaken due to the scale of the whole project.

Keeling’s experience in the field of construction and quality is mightily impressive, spanning 35 years. He began as a Senior Engineer in the Yanbu Industrial City in Saudi Arabia in the early 1980s when its population was 500. It is now over 200,000.

Reflecting on this time, Keeling considers how quality has changed, or at least its perception. “In Yanbu, quality and assurance sat together, reporting

directly to the director general. I had the power to disqualify any supplier. I had to approve every supplier and monitor them thoroughly. Since then, my power has come through being persuasive.

It appears the power of the quality manager is not as great as it was then.”

Other factors have come into play to shift the position of quality. “I would say safety is climbing up the commercial tree in importance and quality is slightly drifting down the tree.” But, Keeling notes: “If you don’t have quality you don’t have safety: quality is all-encompassing.”

Learning lessons Since his time in Saudi Arabia Keeling has worked on, and been responsible for, the quality systems involved in the building of the Channel Tunnel and then as Head of Quality for HS1 during design construction testing and the first phase of operations when the trains began running.

settling into his current role as Director of his own quality consultancy firm, Dankeel Associates. “The construction industry doesn’t learn lessons as quickly as it should,” Keeling says, suggesting challenging times ahead.

So what is his biggest lesson learned?

“You need to be technically able and focused enough to be able to influence the industry. You have to see the big picture. Focusing solely on inspection is not right. Focusing solely on processes is not right. You have to see the big picture and ask: what is the end product and what does it look like?”

And, as work begins in earnest on the cost of quality report, Keeling’s final advice for everyone in quality: “Be proud in what you do and stand up for what you believe in.”

He moved over to Crossrail before

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UKC COMMENT

Eyes wide open Last week I went out to visit a new StreetwiseSubbie member with high hopes of expanding his business by working on commercial as well as residential projects.

He was delighted to have already been offered a contract for a new project and was busy planning how it would fit in with his schedule of works, what raw materials were required, who’d be working on the job etc. When I began to ask him about some of the specific terms in the contract, I wish I could say he was aware of them and they’d all been ironed out. You know what’s coming…his eyes were wide shut.

The simplest way to put onerous terms into context is to ask yourself this question: “Why, when there are all manner of Standard Form contracts around such as JCT, NEC and MF/1, does anyone need to produce their own terms?” The simple answer is that it isn’t for your benefit!

So, what things should you look out for? Here are a few examples:

Not all contracts are the same and, as demonstrated above, onerous terms are waiting to rip off the unwary. You will usually find them lurking in the depths of Contractor’s own “non-standard” documents, but they can also arise as amendments to Standard Form contracts.

• Extended payment periods • Long notice period before you are allowed to suspend performance • Pay when certified (unlawful in contracts to which the Construction Act applies) • Extended fixed price periods • Non-payment for unfixed materials • Excessive discount • Discount not linked to prompt payment • Excessive retentions and/or prolonged repayment periods • Onerous set-off and cross contract set-off clauses • Acceleration without payment • Vague programme information • Open ended co-ordination obligations • Restricted rights of ecovery on variations • Protection of your works • Client’s milestone dates for access • Excessive liquidated damages • Restricted extension of time entitlements • Restricted loss and expense entitlements • Delay notice periods made a condition precedent • Adjudication entitlements restricted or delayed • Costs of adjudication to be paid by the Sub-Contractor

These terms are deliberately designed to reduce your entitlements and increase your obligations. They will make your

The best time to find out about onerous provisions is at the enquiry stage even before you have submitted your price.

The more questions I asked, the more the blood drained from his face. His excitement was replaced by trepidation. It was a sobering experience and I warned him that not every relationship he formed in the commercial sector would be warm and cosy. On the contrary, many main contractors he might end up working with wouldn’t bat an eyelid at deliberately swindling him for their own benefit.

None of us likes being ripped off but that’s exactly what some of these contracts are designed to do. We’d complain in a supermarket if the bottle of wine we wanted was advertised at £5 but when we got to the till we were charged £10. We know what we’re supposed to be paying so why don’t Specialist Contractors adopt the same mentality when their business is being ripped off by onerous terms?

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life more difficult, they could end up costing you a substantial amount of money, and in the worst case scenario they may even cost you your business.

You should always be clear about the terms and conditions you will be working under if your tender is successful.

If you don’t know or don’t have time to find out about terms and conditions you should always qualify your tender.

For example you could qualify it by stating: “Our price is based on the assumption that an appropriate JCT Standard Form of Sub-Contract will be used and subject to agreement of all necessary details to enable Articles of Agreement to be completed” If your tender is successful then you will be invited to enter into a contract or possibly sent an Order or Contract to sign. This is a dangerous time because a contract including any of the onerous provisions outlined above could easily come into being.

The first line of defense lies in recognising onerous terms and conditions in the first place. Whilst you may be tempted to ignore the small print, you may subsequently find that a contract has come into force incorporating onerous terms that have fatal consequences for your business.

You also have to be wary of clauses that are not there, as well as checking the ones that are! For instance, if you are designing the works and the contract is silent about design liability, then you will have a very onerous “fitness for purpose” obligation. This is much worse than it sounds because you are literally guaranteeing your design will satisfy the employer’s needs irrespective of what you knew or didn’t know about his business or industry.

In order not to be caught by onerous provision you must always make it perfectly clear that you are rejecting their onerous terms. Notice I said rejecting their terms, not rejecting their order.

Keep your eyes wide open at every stage and, if in doubt, give us a call!

Your colleagues are amazing.

Let’s keep them that way.

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