construction manager | september 2011 | www.construction-manager.co.uk
IBP subscription magazine of the year 2011 for members of the CIOB september 2011 www.construction-manager.co.uk
on site at king’s cross meet ireland’s cMYA gold medallist agency worker regs explained inside: contact newsletter
If they won’t do what they’re supposed to, how do we make the Green Deal work?
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green deal
The trouble with renewables...
Agenda
sep11
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News and views 05
Contractors get mentors
Government assigns experts to aid construction procurement. 06 Fire rules hit timber frame Tough HSE regulations mean many are returning to block construction. 9 Done good in Dublin We catch up with Donal McCarthy whose work on Dublin’s Convention Centre won him the Gold Medal at the CMYA in Ireland. 12 Leader We need to get the little things right before Green Deal will work. 13 Feedback Letters; and readers tell us what they think the effects of the new Construction Act will be.
Features 16
Cover Story Taking the green gremlins in hand
Poor installation, maintenance and communication means renewable technologies are underperforming. What does it mean for the Green Deal next year? First-class return At King’s Cross the new Central Saint Martins art college has been skillfully hidden behind Victorian buildings. Why we specified... Pristine’s Stretch Ceiling at Scotland’s Dollan Aqua Centre. Plus new products. Have you thought of... Competing in the skills Olympics; appearing on Big Brother; making your swimming pool sustainable?
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Construction professional 23
Agency Worker Regulations From October agency staff will have the same rights as comparable full-time workers. 24 Case notes Garry Winter outlines a case that highlights the importance of reading and understanding your contracts. 26 A new era of planning
The draft National Planning Policy Framework is out for consultation. But will it change anything?
+ Contact
39-46 CIOB asks where the plaudits are for building the Olympics — plus all the runners and riders in this year’s Construction Manager of the Year Awards.
Cover: Brett Ryder conStruction manager | september 2011 | 3
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News
September 11 memorial to open On the day after the 10th anniversary of Al-Qaeda’s September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center the National 9/11 Memorial, designed by architect Michael Arad, will be opened. Two huge 3,500m2 stone waterfalls have been positioned exactly on the site of the towers’ foundations and cascade down 10m to a small central opening on the walls of which are carved the names of the 2,983 people that died when the towers collapsed. The $700m project will also comprise a museum, which is due to open next year.
Contractors get Whitehall mentors X Factor-style mandarins will meet contractor bosses to solve problems. Michael Glackin reports Contractors on public sector contracts are set to get X Factor-style “mentors” in the shape of senior civil servants who will monitor their work and provide feedback to company bosses to help improve performance. Under new procedures for public sector contracts, government departments will appoint a “crown representative” who will hold regular meetings with the chief executives of the “top 10” contractors and consultants working on government contracts. The plan is part of new procurement rules put forward by the Efficiency and Reform Group (ERG), under the aegis of cabinet office minister and paymaster general Francis Maude, and is expected to be rolled out over the next year. The ERG, which replaced the Office of Government Commerce after last year’s election, was established with a remit to reduce costs and provide Whitehall with additional leverage with its buying power when negotiating with suppliers. One supplier said: “The mentor will be a very senior civil servant, not some 24-year-old that’s wet behind the ears, but someone with lots of experience in government procurement who can
talk one on one to chief executives and managing directors. The idea is they will meet two to three times each year to discuss the supplier’s performance and what improvements can be made to benefit both parties.” He added: “It is a bit like the X Factor, but it’s really all about ensuring the government gets value for money. It will also give contractors the chance to discuss specific issues on a contract or issues surrounding government procurement in general with a senior Whitehall figure on a regular basis.” A cabinet office spokesperson said: “Crown representatives enable government to fundamentally change the way it does business with its major suppliers. We are putting an end to the days when departments could sign up, without any central control or coordination, to a series of different contracts with the same supplier.” She added: “Crown representatives can also intervene to solve problems more quickly as they interact at a more senior level, liaising with construction company chief executives on behalf of departments.” Crown representatives have been
“It’s a bit like the X Factor, but it’s really all about ensuring the government gets value for money. ”
used extensively by other government departments such as the MoD, but only now is the mentoring role being used for construction procurement. For the initial phase of the scheme, Vincent Godfrey, procurement director at the Ministry of Justice and Ann Pedder, commercial director with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, will mentor Balfour Beatty, Carillion and Interserve. While only the largest will be given a mentor, all suppliers will now be rated by the Contractor Appraisal Feedback (CAF) system, under which they will be rated twice a year by government departments on their ability to improve performance and reduce costs. They will also be rated on their commitment to sustainability as well as their technical and commercial capability. Contractors will also be rated on their willingness to attend regular client meetings and ranked on their ability to achieve high BREEAM ratings and reduce the carbon impact of suppliers within their own supply chain. Under the CAF scoring system, contractors will be rated on a sliding scale of 0-5, with zero denoting “unacceptable” and 5 standing for “excellent”. conStruction manager | september 2011 | 5
News
In brief
Fire safety rules hit timber frame Contractors are warning that the cost of complying with more stringent fire safety requirements on multi-storey timber frame developments could lead to many switching back to traditional construction, writes Michael Glackin. Use of timber frame building in the UK jumped sharply during the housing boom as contractors sought to speed up construction schedules to meet increasing demand and comply with new environmental requirements. But a series of fires in recent years on sites where multi-storey timber frame developments were under construction led the HSE to issue more stringent safety requirements in October 2010. The main emphasis of the requirements is to prevent fires spreading throughout a site, which means contractors must Fires on sites with timber frame developments led the HSE to introduce new safety requirements. Paul Wood/frpix
implement a range of temporary fire protection measures during the building phase, increasing costs. David Stockham, divisional managing director of Balfour Beatty-owned Cowlin Construction, which has just finished a timber-frame scheme at Exeter University, said: “The increased burden of taking measures to comply with HSE fire guidance for timber frame means it is becoming less efficient and less cost effective.” He added: “In terms of the cost difference between timber frame and block construction I think we are getting close to a tipping point, where traditional construction is actually less expensive, even allowing for the speed of timber frame construction.” Measures firms have to put in place include employing fire marshalls to patrol
“In terms of the cost difference between timber frame and block construction I think we are close to a tipping point.” David Stockham, Cowlin Construction
buildings round the clock during construction, erecting screens to act as fire breaks between buildings, and installing temporary fire escapes. David Nimmo, technical and construction director at Stewart Milne Timber Systems, said: “The HSE guidelines have certainly forced companies to think differently about their health and safety management.” He added: “Our team is continually developing innovative practices to deliver the required compartmentation with minimal cost and time implications. As a timber frame provider, we actively encourage progressive handovers, so if anything, the guidelines have benefited our existing on-site processes.” Simon Orrells, chairman of the UK Timber Frame Association, said: “We know from our own research that over 80% of UK contractors are concerned about the cost of site security regardless of the build method so this isn’t an issue specific to timber frame. Having said that, if contractors engaged with timber frame manufacturers much earlier in the design process then the cost of site security could be negated by better overall cost management of the build.” QS Stuart Hill, an associate at Calfordseaden, said: ”Contractors have difficulty in proving compliance with the new HSE guidance. The consequence is that on sites developed under design-andbuild agreements it is easier to revert to masonry construction.”
khartoum visitors
Reading University’s School of Construction Management has held workshops and presentations for staff members of the Faculty of Architecture from the University of Khartoum in Sudan. The visit was part of a three-year project funded with £60,000 from the Department for International Development. Lectures covered Sudan’s slum problem and its development of a social housing programme.
new JCT suite online
The new 2011 JCT suite of contracts launches this month in anticipation of the changes to the Construction Act from 1 October. Included is reference to the new Bribery Act and a revised insolvency definition.
Open House
The 19th London Open House event will take place on 17-18 September, with more than 700 of the capital’s buildings, both ancient and modern, opening their doors to the public — all for free. Highlights will include the BT Tower and site visits to Blackfriars station.
Talks to decide future of CSCS cards after chairman survives vote Contractors and unions are to hold crunch talks in a fresh bid to oust Construction Skills Certification Scheme chairman Trevor Walker. The talks follow August’s failed attempt to force Walker’s resignation by a number of CSCS board members. A motion to remove him failed to pass after Walker used his casting vote as chairman to tie the ballot and save himself. CSCS chief executive Brian
Adams, who is stepping down at Christmas, voted to support Walker, along with three union representatives and the clients’ group board member. But CM has learned the unions may withdraw their support in return for a commitment from Walker’s opposers that they will develop the current CSCS card amid speculation that the UK Contractors Group wants to abandon it for its own scheme.
6 | September 2011 | conStruction manager
A source close to the row said: “Those opposed to Walker could meet with a sympathetic ear if they are committed to developing the CSCS card. The card needs to be much more rigorous in its health and safety requirements, for example, and if there is a commitment to that I suspect the unions will support the rebels. But any talk of establishing a new card when the current one has over a million users is a non-starter.”
UKCG chief executive Stephen Ratcliffe declined to comment on whether his organisation will set up an alternative skill card and refused to confirm upcoming talks with construction unions. He said: “We’re working very hard to resolve the situation. The UKCG is fully committed to having a card scheme that has the full support of all the industry.” No one at the CSCS was available for comment.
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Donal's Dublin delight This year's Gold Medal winner at the CMYA in Ireland is Donal McCarthy for the Dublin Convention Centre. He tells Denise Chevin what makes the building special “Another tremendous gig in the
Convention Centre last night. I’ve worked in the event industry for years and we were just crying out for a facility like this. It’s lovely to see not only a venue that matches the best the rest of Europe has to offer, but one that betters most of them. I can’t say a bad word about the place, it’s definitely something the city should be proud of.” Since it was completed in August 2010 Dublin’s new Convention Centre has been showered with plaudits — and not just from locals like Quentin D here, waxing lyrical on review site Yelp. It’s picked up a string of awards from the travel and events industries — and has 300 conferences already scheduled to take place there. Now the man in charge of delivering this granite-clad trophy building in Dublin has also received due recognition. He scooped the Gold Medal in the Construction Manager of the Year in Ireland Awards this summer, after steering the project home on time and budget and snag-free. It was Donal McCarthy’s first
year of entering the awards, which have been celebrating construction excellence since 1993, and are flourishing despite the deep industry recession. The Convention Centre was a major feat for McCarthy, senior contracts manager with CMP (a joint venture between Sisk and Treasury Holdings), because of its technical demands and in the way it was procured, which meant that he had a multi-headed client to deal with. Asked what kept him awake at night on the project, McCarthy says: "Most of it! It was constant pressure from beginning to end. It took a great deal of management." He puts his ability to pull it off down to his varied experience. "I saw myself going into engineering but I soon learnt that building buildings was what interested me. I've done a lot of different jobs which has given me the experience a good construction manager needs." This is the biggest project that the 43-year-old Dubliner has tackled in his 20 years in the sector — 10 of which have been at two stints with John Sisk in Dublin: first, when he graduated in electrical and
“During the boom companies were stretched to perform. We’ve managed to get good people on site. No cheaper but much better quality.” Donal McCarthy
mechanical engineering; and since 2002 when he returned from an eight-year stint in New York. "In the US I got involved with heavy construction and then high-end residential which is all about finishes and quality and an eye for detail." Designed by Pritzker award-winning Irish-born architect Kevin Roche, it’s the first conference centre of its type to be procured by a public private partnership and the largest-single use building constructed in Ireland in decades, with 44,000m2 of floor space. The €225m (£198m) building provides a main auditorium with capacity for 2,000 delegates, two huge exhibition halls of 2,000 and 3,000-seat capacities, supporting kitchens for 2,000 guests, and a host of other break-out spaces and back-of-house facilities. A defining characteristic of the building is a glazed drum which also houses all the vertical circulation. For McCarthy, the design and construction of the drum is one of the four main innovative and original aspects of the project. McCarthy also cites construction of the > conStruction manager | September 2011 | 9
CIOB News
Chris Blythe Can Euro economics triumph over politics?
> 2,000-seat auditorium on the 5th floor — “effectively building a stage in the sky” on his list. The other two are the “planning and carrying out of Ireland’s single largest ever concrete pour of 2,598m3 in 17 hours — and the design and installation of what we believe to be the world’s first 25-tonne truck lift with a travel height of 30m from lower basement to stage level”. Under the PPP arrangement, the contract to design, build and operate the building was put out to tender by the Office of Public Works, with the CMP consortium (Construction Management Partnership), submitting the winning bid. "One of the biggest challenges on that job was the number of different stakeholders," says McCarthy. These included representatives for and from the Office of Works Procurement, funders and Treasury Holdings. It was McCarthy’s job to coordinate all aspects of the project from the development of the design from concept stage through to handover and client sign-off. Because of the type of building this included more than the usual collection of specialist designers as well as more than 90 subcontractors.
In Dublin’s fair city... the Convention Centre with its distinct glazed drum won Donal McCarthy the Gold Medal at the Irish CMYA
Entries up for CMYA Ireland There were a record number of entries in this year’s CMYA Ireland with contenders from a variety of building types, including leisure and education. Donal McCarthy was the overall Gold Medal winner drawn from the Silver Medalists of the five award categories. There were six contenders in all because his category for projects of ¤100m plus, had two Silver Medalists. The other was Alan Coakley, for The Criminal Courts
of Justice Dublin. Silver medalists in the other categories were: ¤30-100m, Rob Fox, for the 02 Dublin; ¤10-30m, Jonathan Murphy, Ionas Building NUI Maynooth; up to ¤10 Glenn Gilmore, Craigavon Hospital Theatre & Orthopedic Centre; Green Buildings, Paul Stewart, Government Offices Roscommon. More details of the finalists and awards can be found at in the July/August edition in the Contact section on page 46.
10 | september 2011 | conStruction manager
At its peak there were 1,100 people working on site, and still an enviable health and record of 1.3 million accident free hours was achieved. Logistics were also a bit of nightmare because the site was so confined: “We had the river Liffey on one side, a canal on another, an office block on the third and light rail on the fourth,” says McCarthy. The 40-month construction itself was a fixed-price lump sum agreed on concept design details and represented the biggest risk. "We priced the job on 70% of the design being completed," he says. Though the building was built during the recession McCarthy says falling prices weren’t a big help in keeping costs on track because most of the major contracts packages had been procured before prices started falling. That said, it did have its benefits: “During the boom companies were stretched to perform. What we’ve managed to get was good people on site. No cheaper but much better quality.” New forecasts from Davis Langdon in Ireland point to tough times still to come. By the end of this year output will have fallen to around ¤8.9bn (£7.85bn) from a high of ¤38bn (£33.5bn) in 2007. By 2012 output is expected to fall another 5%. McCarthy points to flickers of life in the commercial sector – in terms of fit out and refurbishments, but adds it is “very difficult and very competitive, with many people putting in bids below cost”. Reflecting on his time in the US, McCarthy says: “There is not really a great deal of difference between working in the US and Ireland. It's all about quality, health and safety, managing contractors and clients.” Exactly the priorities that have brought McCarthy his well-earned success and Dublin a building of which it can be proud."
So we’re facing a massacre in the financial markets again. But rather than the banks being to blame, this time the finger points clearly at the politicians. The difficulty the Eurozone leaders have dealing with the euro’s problems is that the politicians have failed to resolve the politics. The dodgy book keeping that went on to show countries had met the financial and economic tests is now clear to see. We are seeing a rerun of what happened in 2008, except this time it is not mortgages at the root of the problem but sovereign debt. The Germans have the biggest problem in that they want to hold the euro together, but know that in doing so they risk the prudence and self restraint that has underpinned their economic strength. Stereotypes notwithstanding, the fact is that Germans pay their taxes; the Greeks don’t. Why should German taxpayers feel happy about their taxes being used to bail out the Greeks who don’t pay a half of what they are supposed to? For the euro to survive, all the countries in the Eurozone will have to adopt similar policies on taxation and national financial management. Some of this is sort of being put into effect through some of the bailout measures: sales of state assets, higher taxes, wage cuts in the public sector. Some countries are probably doing more than others. But unless there is a more complete fiscal union, the Eurozone will remain a bit of a basket case. This is where the politicians really need to man up. Are they going to say that complete fiscal authority is going to be passed outside their national parliaments to a super finance ministry in Brussels? Governments that do not control their money have no power and a government with no power is a bit like a local authority. With respect to some of the smaller nations in the Eurozone, they are more like local authorities and now some of the bigger nations face that prospect too. Italy has already climbed down and announced a series of cuts aimed at reducing their deficit but with an election on the horizon, will they stick to it? I doubt it. A government promising and delivering cuts usually gets booted out of office. Whether that will happen before or after they hand over control of the country’s finances to the EU will be a moot point. It didn’t make any difference in Ireland. The new government had to go with the same basic deal as the old one because the problem does not change with a change in government.
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Views
Renewable issues add up to a deal of trouble
Vox pop What do you think will be the effect of the changes to the Construction Act in October? Peter Gracia
The devil, as they say, is in the detail.
And nowhere is this truer than in the installation of new technologies in our attempts to reduce energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. But as we report in our cover feature, this attention to detail appears to missing, as popular renewable technologies such as biomass boilers and ground-source heat pumps bring a host of teething problems and surprises in new homes. This is not by and large because there is anything inherently wrong with the kit. It is because the technology is more complex than landlords, builders and home owners anticipate. It’s all very well installing toilets that use rainwater for flushing, but not if a slight problem with a valve installation means that if it doesn’t rain they don’t switch over to mains water — and won’t flush. Or installing heat recovery systems and then forgetting to change the filters. Our feature focuses on the problems in domestic settings, but the hiccups don’t end there. Recent findings by the Carbon Trust reveal that low energy buildings of all types are using on average three to five times more energy than expected. Imprecision with installation, commissioning and maintenance, plus poor communication between installer and user is undermining performance. But one thing is for sure: if energy efficiency and renewable technologies get repeatedly used in the same sentence as trouble, the government may as well forget about rolling out the Green Deal. There are already indications that the scheme will be greeted with a lukewarm response when it launches next autumn. Almost half the homeowners who expressed interest in a Green Deal pilot scheme in Sutton then turned it down, despite the offer of a 40% grant, because they thought the long-term savings would be lower than expected. And there lies the key problem: building 12 | september 2011 | conStruction manager
firms don’t want to invest in training until they see a tangible workload, while housing associations may not be able to afford specialist maintenance training because they have so few properties where these technologies are installed. On the positive side three sector skills councils, including ConstructionSkills, have come together to research what training is required. The government too is on the verge of drawing up a new Green Deal standard to protect the consumer. But at the grass roots we’re in classic chicken and egg territory to which there is no easy answer. That said, this is not an agenda that’s going away and at the very least companies should start educating staff into the complexity of the technology and the knock-on effect of even the smallest errors. Another step to improvement is admitting to problems. No clients ever want to hang out their dirty linen in public. But evaluating performance is one of the key gaps in creating greener buildings. So somehow the industry needs to be able to talk openly about teething issues as it steers a path through uncharted waters. And from sharing mistakes, allow others to learn from them.
Construction plays the X Factor So Francis Maude has taken a page out of Simon Cowell’s book and is giving senior servants the job of mentoring large contracting firms. The premise is that by working more closely the two sides will stand a much better chance of reducing costs of government procurement. It won’t sit particularly well with many small firms who might see this as another example of a policy that favours the big boys. But really no one should be complaining about it. The industry has long lamented the lack of interest from Whitehall, so if more top-level civil servants understand the sector, this scheme has the potential to benefit everyone.
Director, Gracia Consult The Construction Act will not bring a new dawn for the construction industry. The old 96 Act rules will still be used for ages as the 2009 rules will not have retrospective effect. Removing the written contract provisions will certainly not simplify things and lots of arguments will run on the oral contracts and what was actually agreed. Parties are still unable to issue withholding notices properly 10 years after the legislation came into force and the new “I can issue or you can issue” seesaw provisions will lead to more disputes. Everyone has seen a downturn in adjudication business and the courts have been relatively quiet in the past four months or so, but this recent lull may well pick up again after enactment, but only for the new contracts.
Stuart Hill Associate, Calfordseaden It’s strange seeing the Act coming in during a recession, as I can see a tension between what companies will purport to do to meet its requirements and what they’ll actually do out of sheer economic necessity. Everyone’s looking at the bottom line at the moment, and while expectations in contracts remain high, the emphasis is really on driving costs down. With these all going design and build, the contractor is assuming risk. Subs go bust, contracts are re-tendered, all at cost, and I wonder how much everyone will actually buy into the procedural stuff they should. I know people are now not disclosing payment records, yet they might be needed to prove compliance with the Act. This creates a lack of trust in the industry, and you get the feeling that there will be a lot of blind
Feedback
eyes turned.
Simon Rawlinson Head of Strategic Research, EC Harris Revisions to payment certification such as the “pay less notice” will be made more complex because organisations will be running projects based on both the old and new payment systems. There are challenges in the “pay when paid” provisions, where payments under one contract cannot be linked to payments in another. Combined with a strengthened right of suspension, the likelihood is that cash will flow down to subcontractors more quickly — potentially putting contractor cash flow and finances under greater strain. The industry should be able to manage the transition, but these are stressful times and organisations are being run very “lean”, so omissions might result, and these are best avoided by early affirmative action.
Our news story ‘Gay group calls for diversity’ in the July/August edition generated many comments online. Here’s a selection Simon Oak A little over 5% of our workforce are openly gay, marginally under the national average of 6%. Does this make us champions of diversity? I don’t know. We believe in equality, ie the best person to do the job irrespective of sex, race, religion or sexual orientation. What would be wrong is to start imposing quotas. Do I support equality? Yes. Do I support bias? Most definitely not.
Contact us
Danielle Cafferkey Pre-contracts negotiations director, Shepherd Construction I’d be surprised if anyone would be shocked by its proposals. We’ve been working with all our supply chains for a while and developed good working relationships with them, so from a general contracts administration angle I don’t think it’s anything that’s going to upset to our business. What will be interesting is how the courts interpret the Act and how they rule on it. Given the unusual economic situation the country’s in, we’re going to see a legal bias one way or the other,
Do you have an opinion on any of this month’s articles? Email: constructionmanager@atom publishing.co.uk
Apologies to reader Chris Grisenthwaite whose informative letter in July/ August about education was attributed to the wrong author.
➜ Online poll This month Recruitment companies are reporting increased activity in the jobs market. Do you hope to move jobs in the next 12 months? Vote now at: www. construction manager.co.uk
Last month Would you consider, or have you been involved with, putting in a bid for work at or below cost?
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Shaun Brennan I take issue with this article, when does anyone walk up to someone on site and tell them in the introduction what their sexual orientation is. I also take issue with the statement that construction is a few years behind other industries. The construction industry has been a champion of minorities and women. Just because they are not sat at the top of the tree of management within years doesn’t mean we are discriminating against them, it is because they are not yet right for the posts. It is time to stop putting people in boxes and labelling them — our industry works as a team, regardless of colour, creed or sexual orientation. Callum Lee Stonewall is right — we’re stuck in the 1970s in the construction industry. It’s not about bias or quotas, it’s about removing the barriers and helping gay and lesbian people get into the industry and move up in it. Matthew Shepherd The gap in current practice isn’t about “we need X number of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transexual (LGBT) employees”, it’s about fostering and encouraging an inclusive attitude towards LGBT people within the profession. If you come from a minority then, given pre-existing workplace networks, you can easily find yourself in a position that you have to work twice as hard to catch up and move up in your job. The issue is that minorities
King kong wins gong The Empire State Building, as seen in King Kong, has been voted as your favourite building in films, following our feature in July/ August. Die Hard’s Fox Plaza was second. Other suggestions included The White House in Independence Day and New York’s Natural History Museum in Night at the Museum.
don’t have access to the top jobs and are held back by a “glass ceiling”. As Stonewall points out, this isn’t just a “fluffy” exercise in equality — there are quantifiable economic benefits too. This shouldn’t be seen as an attack on existing approaches to improve inclusiveness in construction, but a springboard from which the sector can grow and take a lead in these sorts of issues. Phillip Dawson At Fraser Brown MacKenna Architects 10% of our workforce are LGBT – that statistic includes me. 45% of our staff are female (which I think is unusual for the architectural profession). Whilst these statistics are interesting for those who are in to that sort of thing, they aren’t something I give much thought to — they are simply the product of our decision to recruit solely on the basis of talent. I agree about not wanting to see any form of “quota”. However, as a result of the make up of our office I would hope that prospective employees feel more reassured about our credentials in terms of equality and diversity and that in turn may well encourage more applicants — which can only be to the benefit of the business? > conStruction manager | september 2011 | 13
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Feature Green Deal
Poor installation and maintenance means renewable technologies are underperforming in many homes. Unless the industry can get to grips with the problem it doesn’t bode well for the launch of the Green Deal next year. Stephen Cousins reports. Illustrations by Brett Ryder
Taking the green gremlins in hand A spreading stain on the bathroom ceiling
and a strange noise emanating from the loft were the first indications that something was wrong, so the owners of the two-bed, Code Level 5 demonstration house in the south-east called in an engineer to take a look. A closer inspection revealed the source of the leak to be the mechanical ventilation and heat recovery system, where a large pool of water had gathered in the main unit due to poorly insulated ductwork and ventilation problems that had allowed water to condense inside. The unit had not been commissioned properly, says the development manager for the housing association that led the project, who described the problems on the condition that the housing association would remain anonymous: “The commissioning report was completed, but there was confusion over whether it was the plumber or electrician’s responsibility. Whoever had done it was very lax and just thought ‘as long was we can switch it on it works’, but the unit needed fine tuning.” Teething problems on the house, which was designed to test building techniques and technologies intended for zero carbon homes and retrofits, did not end there: external pipes for a rainwater harvesting system burst in the cold weather due to a lack of insulation; and delays getting the building watertight during construction caused internal plastering to crack. 16 | SEptember 2011 | conStruction manager
New standards in the pipeline “The intention was to build the external skin up quickly, using high thermal performance lightweight concrete blocks, then get the roof on and get weathertight fast,” explains the development manager. “But the builder erected the walls like traditional masonry in two layers, which slowed the project down and the weather caught us out.” Meanwhile, the owners’ heating bills turned out much higher than expected after they grew frustrated with the slow response from a ground source heat pump and repeatedly used the immersion. Such problems are by no means isolated in an industry struggling to get to grips with a changing environmental agenda, and research on new build and retrofitted properties shows that several key technologies are failing to deliver, either because systems are underperforming in-situ, or because of poor installation or commissioning. There are also issues surrounding poor communication over how renewable technologies work and lack of management of homeowners’ expectations. Attention to detail In many ways, the industry is still playing catch up with green training and knowledge. “It should be about getting design messages from the design team to the site and understanding that achieving ambitious energy standards means paying greater attention to detail and more care over commissioning,” says the development manager. “I’ve come a cross a range of schemes which have all had similar issues with the correct set up and commissioning,” adds Terry Keech, head of sustainability at Calford Seaden. “This has led to residents’ perception of poorly performing renewable technologies and clients’ concern at above-average defects reports. “The main concern is residents’ lack of bonding (for want of a better word) with the technology to really realise the potential energy savings. Perceptions of poor performance lead residents to bypass the technology, or in some cases the client to remove and replace it. Responses range from lukewarm, to feelings that renewable technologies are little more than a gimmick.” Things will come to a head at the launch >
With 25 million UK homes in need of energy improvements, the industry clearly has some catching up to do if it is to deliver a competent assessment and installation workforce in time for the launch of the Green Deal. To tackle this issue, the three sector skills councils — Asset Skills, ConstructionSkills and SummitSkills — have formed the Green Deal Skills Alliance to research and prepare an action plan for the roll out of training and to develop common standards to sit across all aspects of Green Deal assessment, advice and installation. There is a need for Green Deal energy advisers to assess properties and recommend measures to homeowners, says Cat Hirst, sustainability training and education programme manager at the UK Green Building Council: “For me, there are two critical factors: the home energy assessment process itself; and the expertise of the assessors. We will need a core group of highly competent assessors in place or the whole Green Deal could fail before it has even started. The good news is, there is a lot of work going on to ensure that building assessments are accurate and can be delivered in a standardised way.” Installers also need to understand the complex interaction of materials and systems when retrofitting existing properties, says Tony Howard, head of business development at ConstructionSkills. “Many people don’t understand the knock-on effects of the work they are doing. Something as simple as an engineer installing a gas boiler and drilling a hole through a wall for a flue could damage the fabric membrane, or compromise the entire ventilation process if it’s a house with a MVHR system,” he says. This new approach could trigger a sea change in the way installers work. Rather than considering their work in isolation, plumbers or electricians, for example, might have to consider the potential impacts their work has on a building’s overall energy efficiency. This holistic approach could also bring about a need for construction managers to oversee developmentwide projects and understand how various works interrelate and impact
on building performance. Solid wall insulation is generally considered critical to cutting energy wastage from many existing properties, but it’s a very complex area and still very niche for the industry, says Brian Scannell, managing director of energy efficiency expert National Energy Services and chair of the qualification and accreditation forum for Green Deal advisers. “Serious problems can arise. Get it wrong and you can find damp problems, or interstitial condensation, it’s vital to get detailing right around windows and doors," says Scannell. “On external walls it’s equally complex. My architect colleagues are saying you have no idea how complex this is until you get into it.” Given the industry’s chequered reputation, the Green Deal will set in
“Something as simple as an engineer installing a gas boiler and drilling a hole through a wall for a flue could compromise the entire ventilation process.” Tony Howard, ConstructionSkills place new standards, checks and balances to ensure consistency and to sufficiently protect the public from shoddy work. All Green Deal advisers, providers and installers will have to become accredited under the relevant certification scheme for their trade. “This is a major step change,” says Scannell. “Consumers need to know how they can differentiate between cowboy builders who appear to be offering you the same thing at a discounted price and those that are operating to a much higher standard.” The government plans to build on existing certification methods, including competent person schemes and Trustmark. These schemes, in turn, will have to comply with the new Green Deal Standard (Publicly Available Standard 2030) currently being developed by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and due for publication in January, which will identify the precise competencies > conStruction manager | september 2011 | 17
Feature Green Deal Taking the standard approach (cont)
> of the government’s Green Deal in October next year, when the industry will require a small army of newly qualified installers to implement a range of energy efficiency measures on the nation’s existing housing stock. The initiative is expected to create 200,000 jobs and provide millions of pounds worth of work on the 14 million homes targeted for renovation by 2020, simultaneously driving down emissions to help Britain meet its 80% carbon emissions reduction target by 2050. But many are wondering how on earth the industry is going to be ready in time. Over the coming months, the industry must identify the gaps in its skills and knowledge and develop new courses to help address them. No mean feat, when you consider that just two in 10 small builders and tradespeople are confident they have the right knowledge and skills to meet the challenge of the Green Deal, according to a July poll by market research company onehundredpercentcotton. The Green Deal’s success hinges on consumer take-up, so new rules on the accreditation of home energy advisers and installers will also be introduced to ensure people don’t fall foul of cowboys — a big task as most of the work will be carried out by small builders who currently require no qualifications to operate. “It’s a massive challenge to work out all the skills required and there is concern among the consulting bodies advising the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) about how we are going to get this all done in time,” says Brian Berry, director of external affairs at the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). “It’s a bit of a learning exercise in terms of best practice and identifying the right remedial measures for properties, 18 | September 2011 | conStruction manager
but at least we have started and the government has recognised that all of this needs to be pulled together.” With the twin imperative of cutting domestic fuel costs and carbon emissions, under the Green Deal private firms, such as retailers or energy providers, will offer consumers energy efficiency improvements to their homes at no upfront cost, then recoup payments through a charge on energy bills. Under current plans, homeowners will be able to choose from 23 different technologies, including cavity wall insulation, draught proofing, solar water heating, wood burning stoves or biomass boilers. Delivering on promises If it is to work, the Green Deal must ensure that technologies deliver the required energy performance and associated savings needed to offset the initial capital costs of their installation. Effective insulation and airtightness are seen as fundamental to cutting a home’s energy and space heating needs, but it is still rare to find this done properly, says Ian Mawditt, director of consultant Four Walls, an expert on building fabric issues and technical adviser to the government on building standards. “I’ve inspected hundreds of new-build properties and it’s not often I see a faultfree cavity wall installation where the insulation has been dressed properly, or where there are no air gaps or thermal bypass issues,” says Mawditt. “I’ve completed thermal imaging studies that show only two thirds of a house’s walls have been effectively insulated.” Loft insulation upgrades in existing properties are also failing to match up >
“It’s a massive challenge to work out all the skills required and there is concern about how we are going to get this all done in time.” Brian Berry, FMB
> and qualifications Green Deal installers require. The standard will also cover skills required for installing environmental technologies such as solar PV or biomass. The UK Accreditation Service will then provide independent accreditation of certification bodies to ensure that they are meeting this standard. On the energy adviser side, the DECC has asked Asset Skills to develop a new suite of National Occupational Standards for energy assessment and certification, which will also look at the creation of new standards for Green Deal awareness raising, support and services for customers, advisers providing financial advice and motivating householders towards greater energy efficiency and carbon reduction. There will be increased emphasis on quality assurance to ensure installations are done to the manufacturers’, or engineer/ architects’ specification with spot checks likely to be carried out by a supervisor or a site manager, or the installer’s federation or certification body. “It’s important these safeguards are in place,” says Paul Everall chief executive of Local Authority Building Control and spokesman for the CIOB’s Chartered Building Company scheme. “It may be down to the LABC to check that installs comply with regulations, but checks by competent person schemes should ensure a high standard.” There are also plans to implement mandatory insurance-backed warranties to cover work so consumers are covered if there are faults with advice or installations (see panel overleaf).
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Feature Green Deal Consumer protection > to manufacturers’ heat conservation claims, says Mawditt. Four Walls recently completed a study of 40 homes retrofitted with the recommended 270mm depth of loft insulation and found that in most cases U-values were much lower than advertised. “Manufacturers are claiming 270mm can reduce home heating costs by 20-25%, but the quality of work is not there,” he says. “The biggest problem is getting insulation rolls into the eaves to prevent thermal bypass. In reality we are seeing U-values of 0.25W/m2K, nowhere near what’s being claimed.” The effectiveness of solar photovoltaic panels, which are also likely to become available under the Green Deal, is also in question. A 2.7kWp domestic installation costing £12,000 was originally estimated to knock £120 a year off household bills, but the Energy Saving Trust has since revised this estimate to £70 a year, saying that, for most people, only 25% of the energy produced is used in the home because solar panels only operate during the day, when occupiers are out. Meanwhile, a report by Which? highlighted the poor solar PV advice being given to homeowners by installers. Of the 12 solar PV panel companies investigated, two thirds overestimated how much energy panels would produce, and eight underestimated how long it would take for the system to pay for itself. Renewable energy issues Other renewable energy systems, such as communal biomass and green water recycling, have been causing teething problems on a development of Code Level 5 homes, completed towards the end of 2009 by a UK housing association (which also asked to remain anonymous). Counter to design predictions, the communal biomass boiler, used for heating and hot water, proved very expensive to run, using far more pellets than predicted, a spokesperson says. The 9 tonne annual consumption estimate, had already reached 12-13 tonnes by July this year, and the system requires £4,000 of electricity a year to run. Heat recovery systems had problems with condensation build up, which means filters have to be cleaned every three months, a big problem in tenanted properties where access can be an issue. “If we did the whole thing again, we’d ask a few hard questions about how much 20 | september 2011 | conStruction manager
maintenance is required,” a senior manager at the housing association admits. “We have tried to brief our maintenance people, but they are not geared up for it. Tenants will ring up and say the boiler isn’t working — the fact is they don’t have a boiler — so the maintenance staff go and tinker with the biomass, but really they don’t know how to fix it.” Ultimately, the Green Deal should act as a catalyst to revise how industry allots responsibility for work. Product manufacturers will take greater interest in how their products are being installed, as they are often the first point of contact for homeowners when something goes wrong. Green Deal providers will focus more on the quality of the installers they use and there will be renewed interest in managing liability on jobs. But the Green Deal has its work cut out to expand environmental retrofit work from a very small industry sector to cover the entire country and there’s a danger that such rapid growth could lead to poor practice and skills shortages. The DECC and industry partners are moving to address these issues, with primary legislation for the Green Deal expected in early autumn, dependent on Royal Assent to the Energy Bill, followed shortly after by consultation on secondary regulations. There’s a lot to be optimistic about, but success is by no means guaranteed, says the UKGBC’s Cat Hirst: “It’s a chicken and egg thing — you need a skilled workforce to enable the launch and to get customers signing up, but at the same time you need the market there to encourage businesses to put employees through the training. As we get closer, businesses will need reassurances that the market is actually going to materialise,” she says. cm
“Maintenance staff go into the central plant room and tinker with the biomass boiler, but really they don’t know how to fix it.” Housing association spokesperson
Safeguards for consumers will be built into the Green Deal from the outset to ensure that homeowners are covered for faults with advice or installation. A Department of Energy and Climate Change task group is considering how this will be managed. Long-term insurancebacked warranties are being discussed, but also on the table are escrow schemes, such as Bondpay, through which Green Deal loans are held in an account on behalf of the homeowner and the contractor, with funds only released to the contractor when the homeowner is satisfied that the work has been completed to a good standard. The governmentlicensed Trustmark reliable tradesman scheme recommends Bondpay on its website. “The problem with warranties is they are all about the homeowner, so there’s less incentive for the builder to make sure work is done well,” says Bondpay’s managing director Nick Edgell. “Bondpay is an evolution of the warranty that benefits both contractual parties. The builder can be confident the money will be paid on satisfactory completion and the homeowner is reassured the builder can’t run off with money or receive a deposit and then not complete the job.” Both parties are notified by email when the funds are deposited into a secure account, and the contractor pays Bondpay a fee worth 2.5% of held funds, “it’s around same fee as merchant fees when using a credit card”, says Edgell. If the homeowner is not satisfied with the work, BondPay investigates as an impartial referee, taking a chartered surveyor to inspect the work. If problems are identified the contractor is asked to return to site to make good. The scheme also guarantees work for 12 months after completion at no cost.
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Construction Professional
Temps have rights now too you know The Agency Workers Regulations become law this year. Christopher Syder and James Pike explain what they mean for construction firms.
Jonathan Deayton
As some construction businesses begin
to see an upturn in demand, many are turning to temporary agency workers as a way of dealing with new work, without having to commit to recruiting permanent employees. The Agency Workers Regulations 2010, which come into force in October, will give these agency workers many of the same rights as full-time workers. The regulations do not apply to the genuinely self employed. Unfortunately this means that those in sham selfemployment arrangements are likely to be treated as outside the scope of the new regulations and so not benefit from their rights under it. Unions are therefore warning that if the government doesn’t do more to tackle sham selfemployment the regulations will be undermined as more employers and agencies encourage temporary workers to go down this route. The introduction of the regulations is thus both important for the industry in that it grants new rights to agency workers and because it is also likely to increase the focus of construction unions in exposing situations where agencies and employers are using sham selfemployment as a loophole to bypass their new responsibilities. Day one rights From the first day of an assignment, agency workers will be entitled to access collective facilities and amenities available to a hirer’s comparable full time staff, such as car parking or staff canteen. They will also be entitled to receive information about job vacancies. When they have completed 12 weeks on assignment in the same role, an agency worker will be entitled to the same basic working terms and conditions as the hirer’s comparable full-time staff. This includes conditions relating to pay (including some bonuses, shift allowances or overtime payments) and annual leave. The new regulations state that each employment term will be considered
from the hirer about its basic working and employment conditions. The regulations contain anti-avoidance provisions to prevent hirers and/or TWAs from structuring assignments in such a way as to prevent agency workers from acquiring the right to equal treatment. If an employment tribunal considers this to have happened, it can determine that the agency worker has acquired the right to equal treatment and impose a fine on the hirer and/or the TWA of up to £5,000.
individually, so an agency worker receiving more basic pay than their comparator does not mean they are not entitled to equality of terms elsewhere. This means that agency workers will be entitled to the same level of shift allowance received by a comparable worker, irrespective of whether their daily rate of pay is more than that worker. In monitoring 12 weeks’ service, if an agency worker finishes an assignment with a hirer and starts a new assignment (undertaking the same role) with a break of less than six weeks in between, then this simply suspends continuity and service during the previous assignment will count towards their 12 weeks. Penalties If an agency worker pursues a claim in relation to their day one rights, it could result in compensation being awarded, for which the hirer will be solely liable. The level of compensation will be whatever an employment tribunal considers “just and equitable” in the circumstances, which is likely to relate to any financial loss suffered by the worker. Liability for claims relating to breaching the right to equal treatment will rest with either the temporary worker agency (TWA) and/or the hirer. However, the TWA has a defence if it can demonstrate it took reasonable steps to obtain information
When they have completed 12 weeks in the same role, an agency worker will be entitled to the same basic working terms and conditions, as the hirer’s comparable full-time staff
Potential exemption The new regulations also provide a potential exemption from the right to equal treatment in relation to pay. This applies where the TWA engages an agency worker on a permanent contract of employment and pays them a minimum sum between assignments. This is known as the Swedish Derogation Model and the exemption means the hirer does not have to worry about equality of basic working terms and conditions and the need to disclose information about internal pay rates to the TWA. However, it is important to recognise that this only means that agency workers will not be entitled to equality of pay. They are still entitled to day one rights and the other elements of the right to equal treatment when they have completed 12 weeks’ service. Companies engaging temporary workers should therefore undertake an impact assessment to determine the extent to which their operations will be affected by the regulations. This includes identifying how many agency workers are used; the average length of assignment; and what pay and conditions they receive. In addition, firms should be check their terms and conditions with TWAs to check if these need to be revisited to ensure compliance with the new regulations. Christopher Syder is a partner and head of employment and James Pike is an associate at law firm Davies Arnold Cooper conStruction manager | september 2011 | 23
Construction Professional
Garry Winter’s case notes: Inframatrix Investments v Dean Construction Technology and Construction Court, 25 July 2011 Inframatrix (“Infra”) wanted to build a camera factory. Dean was the contractor for the cladding and roofing works. Infra’s solicitors drafted a formal contract, but Dean renegotiated the terms and the original 12-year limitation period was reduced to one year. The relevant term read: “17.4 No action or proceedings under or in respect of this Agreement shall be brought against the Contractor after: (a) The expiry of one year from the date of Practical Completion of the Services or; (b) Where such date does not occur, the expiry of 1 year from the date the Contractor last performed Services in relation to the project.” Dean carried out the works in November and December 2008. In January 2009, Infra’s engineer asked Dean to rectify defects in the work. Dean did so and on 9 February sent an email confirming completion of the repairs. Despite this, in May 2009, Infra’s solicitors wrote to Dean making references to snagging items and giving Dean two weeks to resolve them. Dean replied that it had completed the works and was seeking the outstanding money due. In July, Infra’s solicitors wrote again to Dean detailing specific defects of leaks, vibration in high winds, general poor quality of work and failure of air leakage testing. Dean denied liability and reiterated that it had undertaken remedial works in January. In October 2009, before issuing proceedings, Infra’s solicitors sent a letter in accordance with the pre-action protocol formally setting out Infra’s claims and highlighting the requirement that the parties meet on a without prejudice basis within 28 days. Informal correspondence between the parties’ solicitors continued but a formal response to Infra’s October letter was not made until 26 February 2010. Dean denied responsibility but said it was willing to attend site to identify any remedial work required. A meeting was arranged in March 2010. Dean then issued a report to Infra in April offering to undertake further investigative remedial work, if necessary, on the provision that the outstanding sums be paid. Infra did not accept. Dean repeated the offer in December 2010 but said that this offer would lapse if proceedings were issued. Again, Infra did not accept and on 29 December 2010 Infra issued proceedings. Dean’s solicitors applied to strike out the claim on the basis that it was time barred, alleging that the year-long limitation period had expired. Infra’s response to the limitation defence was threefold. First, it argued the limitation period had
24 | september 2011 | conStruction manager
not begun to run. It said that no certificate had been issued in accordance with clause 17.4 (a) and in interpreting clause 17.4 (b) that only came into effect “where such date does not occur”. The judge dismissed this and held that the limitation period simply expired 12 months after Dean’s last performance of services. Second, Infra argued that the period had not expired as Dean had performed services less than a year before proceedings were started. Infra’s assertion was that Dean’s inspection in March 2010 and its report in April including an offer to return was a service. The judge rejected this on the grounds that the protocol required the parties to meet, that the meeting was on a without prejudice basis and as such did not prejudice Dean’s rights. Infra’s final point was that Dean, by its conduct, had waived its right to rely on the limitation clause. The conduct Infra referred to was the meeting and Dean’s failure to mention the limitation period during negotiations despite being aware of its right to rely on clause 17.4. The judge found that waiver by election was not applicable and that waiver by estoppel was not made out on the facts. He found that the without prejudice meeting and the offers did not amount to conduct that implied Dean would not rely on clause 17.4 or was unconscionable. Garry Winter’s analysis Many parties to contracts do not read them in detail to understand what they have agreed to. Dean did and negotiated and amended it, which paid off. The case also highlights the value of “without prejudice” correspondence. If the correspondence is a genuine attempt to resolve the dispute and without prejudice then any offer will not prejudice that party’s open position. It is possible for a party to waive its contractual rights; therefore care should be taken in response to any breach of contract. Waiver by election occurs where a party entitled to alternative but inconsistent rights elects one, abandoning the other. Waiver by estoppel occurs when a party clearly and unequivocally leads the other to believe that they will not insist upon their contractual rights and in response to this restraint the other party alters its position or acts upon this, as was alleged in this case. Finally, this case shows the importance of ensuring proceedings are commenced in time. Garry Winter is a senior consultant with Knowles, a Hill International company. Tel: 01962 842929
Five ways to… ...make the most of Twitter
01
Get signed up and join in Twitter is a great networking site that can help professionals in the loop. Users have just 140 characters to post their messages. Signing up at Twitter.com is easy, but making early headway takes time. It helps to complete your Twitter profile (mixing business with some personal is good). Use your avatar too — people like to see who’s behind the tweets.
02
Follow interesting people Your existing industry contacts and professional bodies may already be tweeting so find them, look at their followers, and see who else you might be able to learn from, or help. If you have favourite journalists or bloggers, follow them, and look out for recommendations — Fridays in particular are days when many tweeters suggest useful people that others might follow (#ff or FollowFriday). And don’t get fixated by the number of followers you have: it’s quality not quantity that counts.
03
Learn the netiquette Watch and learn how people use Twitter to have conversations, to re-tweet (RT) interesting items, and to ask questions. Be useful. Don’t just broadcast (ie only issue blatant advertisements, special offers or news releases), don’t spam (ie send unsolicited tweets direct to people you don’t know), don’t SHOUT or swear, and don’t tweet when drunk.
04
Make use of Twitter apps and tags Using a smartphone you can keep in touch and interact while you’re commuting or between meetings. Desktop, online and mobile phone tools such as Tweetdeck or HootSuite can help you monitor what’s happening in the Twitter-sphere. Hash tags allow you to tag content in your tweets or to search for specific content. For example, search for #construction and you will find all tweets that have construction tagged in them. But don’t overuse hash tags.
05
Take the conversation offline occasionally Look for opportunities to meet face-to-face occasionally — people are more likely to do business with or recommend someone they’ve actually met. A “tweet-up” at or after a conference or exhibition can help you meet existing contacts and find new ones to stay in touch with. By PR and marketing consultant Paul Wilkinson. Follow his tweets @EEpaul
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Construction Professional
The draft National Planning Policy Framework is the government’s attempt to simplify the planning process. But, ask David Keene and Helen Flett, is it anything new?
New planning era or same old same old? Squeezing a quart into a pint pot. This is the
challenge that faced the authors of the draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) , the document which will guide the way councils can make development decisions as early as April next year. More than 1,000 pages have been condensed into some 60 pages of guidance. Initial reactions from commentators to the draft, which is now out for consultation, have varied. Environmental groups have styled it a developers’ charter, while Sir Peter Hall, professor of planning and regeneration at UCL, questions how radical the NPPF really is and what all the fuss has been about. At the centre of the fuss is a new presumption in favour of development with local councils Multideck AdtoConstructManager:Aug11 obliged prove that the adverse impacts30/8/11 of a development “significantly and demonstrably”
outweigh the benefits before turning down planning applications. The NPPF is thus perceived to be pro-growth and many housebuilding interests have jumped on this concept. Critics have focused on this pro-growth approach and appear to think that encouraging housebuilding and employmentrelated development will mean developers and local authorities across the country will lose the ability to deliver high-quality development in the right place. However, there is the all-important golden rule that development is still required to be “sustainable” and the debate over what this means will occupy eminent legal brains at many a public inquiry. This is one of many subtle checks 14:48 Page 1 on development embedded in this system. Recent government policy has focused
on localism — ie giving more power to local communities to determine their own future in planning, financial and organisational terms. There are clear financial rewards, such as the New Homes Bonus, to incentivise councils to build more homes. But localism, combined with major policy shifts to abandon regional planning, has provided cover for many planning authorities to revisit their growth targets and often seek to reduce them. Development outside London is still slowing. This is particularly unwelcome when the world economic picture is gloomy, share prices are falling and consumer spending has dried up with dire consequences for the High Street. Boosting construction is one of the quickest ways to take people off the dole queues — a point the government has been surprisingly slow to grasp.
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The NPPF can be seen as an attempt to redress the development balance by fingering local authorities to produce up-to-date Local Plans (heard that term before?) to address properly justified development needs. This, of course, is what the planning system should have been doing in any event. The NPPF seeks simplification and harks back to a time when prospective developers could look at one document with a straightforward ordnance survey-based Proposals Map to quickly assess development potential. There is an increased emphasis on maintaining an adequate housing land supply, which is defined as five years, plus at least 20%. This simple requirement will stimulate the submission of planning applications and probably enhance the chances of success at appeal. The draft NPPF suggests the removal of the brownfield target for residential development. This has been slated by conservation and environmental bodies who assume this means waving goodbye to high-value greenfield land. The NPPF seeks to make local planning authorities responsible for where development
The NPPF seeks to make local planning authorities responsible for where development should go should go. The onus remains on developers to prepare high-quality, well-planned and well-designed developments, particularly for greenfield sites. Without this, winning the argument of whether development is sustainable development becomes increasingly difficult. Responsibility is again passed to local authorities for setting affordable housing targets and thresholds. The NPPF suggests the removal of any national threshold. This currently affects sites delivering 15 homes or more. This is a further signal that the government is trying to move decision making to the local level, reasoning that councils are best placed to determine their local needs. One risk of this change is that a reduction in thresholds could actually deter developers from bringing forward smaller schemes.
Local authorities will have to have an up-to-date plan in place because the draft NPPF imposes a requirement for applications to be determined in accordance with the Framework where a plan may be absent or out of date. Planning by appeal will loom again. There is an untested requirement for a “certificate of conformity” to be sought by local authorities. It is far from clear how this process will operate and it also has the potential to introduce further delays. The commendable initiative to produce concise guidance to manage a complex field of activity should be welcomed and put into practice as soon as possible. But supplementary and detailed technical guidance has always been important in the planning system. There are rumblings that such guidance may be needed to support the NPPF. This would make the NPPF a more robust document. However, it must not be used as an excuse for further delay because the imperative to deliver sustainable growth increases all the time. David Keene is a partner and Helen Flett is a senior planner at David Lock Associates
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Technical Refurbishment
First-class return
A famous art college in the former King’s Cross train sheds fuses industrial history with modern construction. Jan-Carlos Kucharek reports. Photography by John Sturrock
Forming the cultural centrepiece of
developer Argent’s 27 ha mixed-use commercial scheme at London’s King’s Cross is the striking new Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. The £110m project consolidates all the faculties of the school into one campus. At the end of this month 5,000 students and staff will be passing through its doors into a 39,000m2, state-of-the-art concrete and glass building containing studios, lecture theatres and seminar rooms, along with a theatre, bars, refectory and an enormous multi-use atrium running almost the full length of the building acting as the social heart of the new University of the Arts London. But the most interesting thing about the new college is that approaching from three sides, you would be hard pressed to notice there was a new building there. This is because the whole college is flanked not only by two Victorian “east” and “west” transit sheds measuring 180m x 25m, but to the south by a beautiful 55m x 31m six-storey brick, cast iron and timber granary building.
The eastern transit shed is to become the college’s workshop spaces, while the granary building is to become the library and administrative building. Forming the campus’s outer edge, the new structure has been skillfully inserted within these existing facades, like an egg in a box. To achieve this, the existing grade IIlisted buildings, designed in 1851 by architect Lewis Cubitt, had to undergo extensive refurbishment. This would prove to be not only a significant engineering challenge, it required the contractor to jump through hoops with the conservation lobby. The works were carried out using a planning permission riddled with “reserved matters”, which had to be resolved in a strict seven-week period, and under a two-stage Design and Build contract — one of the least amenable contracts to use on a project full of uncertainties. According to Michael Beare of AKS Ward Lister Beare, the conservation engineer for the new development, which worked on the restoration of neighbouring St
Bird’s eye view of the buildings with the communal “street” running through the middle n Newbuild block n Granary building n Transit sheds
Far right: The north elevation of the granary building addresses the eastwest link and the new college building. Traces of the old sheds remain and give character
Left: The granary building and west and east elevations together barely give a clue to the modernity and size of the college behind Right: T-beams carry the load of the eastwest link roof across to just below the cornice of the granary building
28 | September 2011 | conStruction manager
Pancras, this was not made any easier by the fact that the steel trusses of the transit sheds’ roofs needed to be removed to allow the piling works for the new building to be carried out. “It gave us a lot of trouble, as the walls were effectively unsupported, sitting on corbelled foundations that ran as far as 6m down into the basement stables and at the original ground level of the site,” recalls Beare. “This meant the bespoke design of temporary propping to support the walls while new construction went ahead.” Along their lengths, walls were out of tolerance by up to 80mm, which exceeded British Standards. Helical tie bars were inserted into the existing masonry to give additional strength to the heritage walls and were monitored for movement during construction of the new structure. The transit shed roofs were reconstructed using timber glulam beams, rather than steel, to reintroduce their original materials, as well as ensuring they conformed with the latest Part L of the Building Regulations. Many of the blind arches that formed >
> conStruction conStruction managermanager | november/december | July/august 2011 2009 | 29
Technical Refurbishment
Do you want lime with that? Engineers used lime mortar in keeping with the original design >the original eastern transit shed were opened out to allow the sheds to become part of the new design, says Beare. The brickwork was in bad condition and the brick bonding was not consistent through the 400mm thickness of the walls, which meant that simply removing them from beneath the arch was not possible. “It meant that not only did we have to saw through the brick, we needed additional steels inserted with a curved web and flange to support the arches themselves,” explains Beare. All the removed bricks were re-used elsewhere on the site. Brickwork joints were all restored using original lime mortars (see box) which, due to the longer periods required to reach 28-day strength, needed to be monitored to check that walls were assuming the loadings correctly. >
30 | september 2011 | conStruction manager
Below left: Enhancedperformance windows were installed in the granary building Below centre: The basements of the transit sheds originally housed stables — now they are plant rooms Below right: Evidence of Second World War dogfights above King’s Cross was retained at EH’s request Bottom: At the top floor of the granary building the original hoists for the grain have been preserved
Michael Beare is not only one of the few members of the Conservation Accreditation Register for Engineers, he’s also treasurer of the Building Limes Forum, which seeks to increase awareness of the use of traditional lime mortars in new construction. The industry has been quick to dismiss the use of lime mortar, claiming it is weak and can’t take tension, but that is purely a curing time issue, says Beare: “The main thing is that it is a cement-free mortar, with the sustainability benefits that that brings with it.” He adds: “The fact that the free lime within it dissolves and resets means that it ‘micro-cracks’ at close centres. This is unlike cement mortar, which can take tension
better, but which, as a result, will crack more significantly but at wider centres. So in a sense you want the intrinsic flexibility that lime mortar brings.” Beare also notes that because it is more permeable than brick, salts will tend to bleed through lime mortar. With cement mortar, because it is less permeable, moisture “backs up” in the brick, and is thus more likely to result in crystallisation of the salts on the surface. Dr Ali Arasteh, principal structural engineer at the Brick Development Association, says that lime mortar’s ability to accommodate structural movement is a great plus point, but the three months it might take to achieve the
conventional 28 day strength of cement mortars does not work in its favour, given that construction contracts are so time critical. But that does not preclude its use, he says: “It’s all about the management of the project — this could be phased into the construction programme.” He does, however, question the assumption that lime mortars contain less embodied energy. “All of this is dependent on whether the lime is locally sourced, and on things like the efficiencies of the kiln etc,” he says. “These sustainability angles need to be looked at in more detail — despite lime mortar’s obvious benefits, they should all be evaluated on a quantitative and project-byproject basis.”
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Technical Refurbishment
Where the new meets the old Heritage facades hide some seriously modern engineering >
In addition, none of the masonry walls had damp proof courses (DPCs), as they originally relied on airflow past the surface of the brick to evaporate moisture. Installing new ones in walls that at points are 1m thick is difficult, especially as they would need to be natural slate and the use of waterproof renders would merely move the problem to elsewhere in the wall. Therefore the decision was made to ensure that internal air exchanges would continue that air flow, and particular attention was given to monitoring moisture levels in the basement. Beare says the granary building restoration was a fascinating project due to its composite construction. Its exterior brick walls taper from 1m thick to 600mm at the top, but within is an elaborate cast iron structure of columns and beams supporting a heavy timber floor. Historically designed to take huge loads, some of the floorboards are 50mm thick, sitting on 300mm deep timber beams. “It was a sophisticated structure,” says Beare. “There were even metal strips between every floorboard, stopping dust transferring through floors. We also
32 | september 2011 | conStruction manager
discovered fine threaded rods running across the building below the floors, acting as ties for the walls, preventing them from bowing outwards.” But although the building was designed to take high loads, change of use requirements meant engineers had to analyse the structure for disproportionate collapse. “It was difficult to do, as modern codes of practice are not really written to take account of the composite nature of structural materials, such as we had here, so it took time to prove that the building could meet them,” says Beare. “In the end, we proved that the structure was so sophisticated, that each system was independent. Column heads went through floors, meaning the steel frame was an independent structure — whole sections of timber floor could be taken up without any negative effect. It was challenging, but a fascinating result, and a great demonstration of the Victorian engineers’ abilities.” This meant a light-filled atrium could be opened out along the length of the building, and a section of the north facade could be removed to allow for hydraulic lifts >
The new college building, designed by architect Stanton Williams, is a feat of fair-faced concrete and glass in itself, even if it is skilfully hidden behind Richard Griffith’s Architects’ heritage facades, explains BAM director of structural engineering David Carter. The main building is a reinforced concrete frame structure at 7.6m centres, over 150m long, with ground-bearing floor slabs and pile foundations inserted into the voids between the transit sheds. The flat slab construction, designed to take loads of 10kN/m2, is stabilised by the structure’s frame action and solid reinforced concrete wall cores. The two new blocks are separated by an internal “street”, covered with an ETFE roof that allows light to pour in. These structures are independent of the heritage walls of the transit sheds, although they are pinned back to
them, giving the old walls some additional lateral restraint. The engineer, AKS Ward Lister Beare, was keen to ensure that there wouldn’t be any additional stress loadings on them. The architects wanted the architectural expression of the structure, so the main fair-faced reinforced concrete walls of the new structure are 450mm thick and very solid. “Given the length of the building’s walls, we needed to control cracking, so we’ve built in two movement joints and thermal breaks, even if this ended up breaking the structural integrity,” says Carter. In terms of contract, Carter says there were “risks involved with using the D&B route, as we were dealing with a heritage structure that was being revealed and restored, but there were separate agreements in place with the client to help protect against these”. The main “street” of the new Central Saint Martins extends over 150m northwards between the east and west transit sheds
© Mark Maloney
No Christmas Card Appeal
“God rest ye, merry gentlemen...” This year we need your help more than ever to build a future for homeless people. Please support our 2011 No Christmas Card Appeal Have you thought about your company’s Christmas cards yet? It can be a bit of a chore – especially if you’ve left it until the last minute. But a CRASH e-card can take the hassle away… and show your clients and suppliers that you’re entering the real spirit of Christmas by helping homeless people throughout 2012. If you donate your Christmas card budget to CRASH, we’ll give you the 2011 CRASH Christmas e-card with your logo on it. There’ll be no postage costs, no carbon footprint – and it will demonstrate your company’s commitment to corporate social responsibility. Job losses and the capping of housing benefits will mean many hundreds of people will find themselves homeless in 2012. The work of CRASH and the homelessness charities we support will be needed more than ever before. We desperately need more help to support people who will find themselves out on the
street this Christmas. Please do your bit by donating your company’s Christmas card budget to CRASH. Every company that supports the appeal will be listed in our ‘Thank You’ adverts which we’ll be running in the construction trade press over Christmas and the new year. To make a gift to our No Christmas Card Appeal, please contact Kate Marsh at CRASH on 020 8742 0717 or email: kmarsh@crash.org.uk A sincere thank you from everyone at CRASH, the construction and property industry’s charity. CRASH is a UK registered charity (no. 1054107) and operates throughout the UK. www.crash.org.uk
Technical Refurbishment
>to be installed with its own framework. In fact, the engineers liaised with both English Heritage and Camden council’s conservation department from the early stages, and was ongoing throughout the project. BAM Construction design engineer Jeff Carter recalls that the negotiation processes with both conservation teams was completely programme driven. “The challenge was the clearance of listed building conditions in the seven-week period available, as there were hundreds of them, and required a full-time team of 12 to discharge them,” he says. One such liaison was with the Midland stone sandstone cornices, some weighing nearly two tonnes, cantilevering over the brick parapets. These were tied to each other with giant cast iron ties set into their top faces — all in a severe state of corrosion, expanding and splitting the stone off the parapet. Spalling was also occurring due to water ingress. The ties were removed and replaced with stainless steel ones. The decision was taken not to clean the wall. “The view was that grime was part of the building’s industrial past and that it should remain,” says Ewen Hunter, contracts manager at BAM Construction. “It even extended to damage that occurred during the Second World War, where lead from machine gun bullets had sprayed across some sections, but has been preserved untouched.” Windows were naturally all in a bad state of repair, but being a heritage building, it was not necessary for new windows to be code compliant. However, as much effort as possible was made to ensure that they were all enhanced performance fittings. Any new glazing spanning the new internal structure and
transit shed walls was designed to minimise the imposition on the listed structure, so they are held internally by spider fixings to create a seamless surface. These slide in above the old metal beams of the east-west link. This area is probably the biggest statement of the new building, as it interfaces with the north elevation of the granary building, creating a 55m x 15m internal plaza for the college, forming the east-west link. As a means of spanning the space the architects wanted to cantilever a huge roof across from the new building to the old, so that it could merely “kiss” the granary wall. “The architects made every effort to create a ‘soft’ joint,” says Carter. “But the spans were simply creating a structure that was far too thick, or which was deflecting too much. English Heritage would have preferred that no load be imposed on the granary wall, but this wasn’t viable.” In the end, fabricated mild steel cranked tee beams, fixed to the roof’s primary structure, rest on a 200mm x 90mm horizontal steel parallel flange channel recessed into the granary wall’s brickwork. The glass rooflight is below this, recessed in the metal channel. Not only does this accommodate horizontal movement and give a waterproof seal, it also gives the impression of floating in the channel. Carter explains that allowing the structure to impose on the granary wall made it far lighter than it ever could have been if cantilevered. “We managed to sell the idea that a ‘light touch’ was the more discreet option,” he says. It’s a point of view, as you enter the glass and concrete behemoth that sits behind those fine, low Victorian dark brick walls, that you can’t help but agree with. cm
Above: The new studio buildings are inserted between the existing Victorian transit shed walls and behind the granary building
Below: Looking south across the King’s Cross site, the new college building reveals itself as a modern structure between the sheds
Cross section of buildings from the side North-south section through the new building gives the extent of the transit sheds hiding the new four-storey Central Saint Martins college. To the south is the “public” space of the east-west link and the college’s library and admin block in the granary building 4
1 Granary building 2 East-west link 3 Entrance to CSM campus 6
1 2
3
34 | September 2011 | conStruction manager
5
4 Cantilevering 4.6m centre primary beams 5 Studio building west 6 ETFE roof over CSM “street” atrium
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Technical Refurbishment
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Avoiding refurbishment pitfalls
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For refurbishment of an existing building you should consider its age, whether it is listed and its condition. Undertake a structural/ground investigations and surveys to assess the materials use in the building. The form of construction needs to be determined as well as any protection requirements of important features.
02
Scottish Modernist Alexander Buchanan Campbell’s Dollan Aqua Centre was completed in 1968. It is the only centre to be grade A listed by Historic Scotland. It is made from huge reinforced concrete ribs and roof shell, and its side walls are completely glazed. Hanging beneath these ribs was a white sprayed concrete roof with a crawl space between that would have allowed access to ducts and soffit lighting. This sprayed concrete, however, was impregnated with asbestos and was removed in the 1980s. It was replaced with another sprayed concrete roof, but humidity in the space meant it never really set, and occasionally clods would fall to the pool space below. When it came to the refurbishment of the pool at the end of 2008, the ceiling was so pocked and dirty that we decided
to do away with it completely. Historic Scotland insisted that the replacement maintain the same profile, and our performance criteria were that the roof be fire retardant and that it would form a vapour barrier between the structural roof and the pool space. We opted for Pristine’s Stretch Ceiling — a stretched PVC membrane installed onto a steel track framework. As asbestos traces had been found in the original concrete roof, it had been encapsulated, meaning that Pristine could not drill into it. Instead, it opted for a clamping system attached to the ribs from which to hang the track framework. The PVC was then heat-treated and installed into the track, contracting as it cooled to stretch over it. The pool has been open for a few months and the first thing you notice when you walk in is how bright and clean the space feels. Alexander Campbell always said once that he wanted the interior of his pool to feel like a marquee, and we think he would have been happy with the result.
Products
Stretch Ceiling by Pristine Ceilings Dollan Aqua Centre, East Kilbride, Scotland Mary Walker, architect, South Lanarkshire Council
If demolition is to be undertaken and the building contains asbestos, a type 3 intrusive survey will require the building to be vacated and the Health & Safety Executive to be notified. You will need a thorough understanding of the surrounding environment to mitigate the impact of noise and vibration. If necessary speak to the environmental health officer.
03
In terms of logistics you need to consider any traffic restrictions — such as Red Routes and parking bays — plus road and footpath widths. You may need licenses and/or approvals from the local authority. If you plan to use a hoist where will it stand and can it be fed effectively? Will you be using scaffolding or cranes that may require road closures?
04
Programming is vital. Items that have long lead times — such as lifts, stone, windows, curtain walling — need to be identified. Structural alterations need to sequenced in detail. There will be more than one critical path and this will change during the project, so progress needs to be monitored and your team needs to adopt a flexible approach to react quickly to changing situations.
05
If the building is occupied while refurbishment is taking place ensure you have an experienced manager in place to deal with tenants and make sure any building services will not be disturbed by the work. By Brian Tippett, head of planning, Kier London
Product news The roof of the refurbished Weston-super-Mare pier is finally weatherproof again after its catastrophic fire in 2008. It’s due to the installation of its SpeedDeck SpeedZip aluminium standing seam roof. This was no mean feat — with the building works effectively occurring out at sea, loads that could not make it along the pier had to be delivered by boat from a bargemounted crane. Some of the roofing sheets ran to 80m long, built at the land end of the pier and then carried up to roof level by teams of men on a huge ramp. www.speeddeck.com
36 | September 2011 | conStruction manager
Most people wouldn’t consider a
nuclear bunker a home, unless you’re in the midst of the Third World War. But one, built into a hillside in Yeovil, Somerset, has been converted from a concrete box into a highly energy efficient, five-bedroom home with the help of heat recovery ventilation and air source heat pumps by Total Home Environments. The GES Energy 2 ventilation system can condition spaces of up to 312m2, and with two of the home’s four levels underground, this wasn’t a luxury, but a necessity. www.totalhome.co.uk
This year’s INSITE 11 event will take place at the BRE’s Watford site on 4-5 October, and will showcase 50 new refurbishment technologies that aim to sustainably transform the retrofit arena. INSITE aims to bring the whole supply chain together to demonstrate creative approaches to refurbishment, and part of the event includes a two-day conference, which will highlight exemplar retrofit projects in the UK. There will also be tours of the BRE’S Innovation Park, and its Victorian Terrace and Prince’s Foundation Natural House (above). www.insite11.com
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Contact The Chartered Institute of Building | Members’ Newsletter | Issue 95 | September 11
Middlemiss wins achievement award from CIOB
news
UK construction deserves recognition for Olympic build
Where are the plaudits for Olympic construction? asks CIOB The CIOB has criticised the media for failing to recognise the part played by UK construction companies in the preparation for the London Olympics. The Institute says that among the sports personalities and design critics making the headlines the actual people who have built one of the UK’s most important and iconic regeneration developments of the 21st Century are being overlooked. “The closest praise so far has been back-handed compliments that ‘at least it’s not another Wembley’, with only the architecture drawing any sort of recognition,” said Chris Blythe, chief executive of the CIOB. “Yet it’s the people of UK construction who have turned those five-ringed dreams into reality,” he added. “The UK should be proud of its construction industry for creating a landmark development on time, on budget, and with an excellent health and safety record in tough economic times and with a barrage of complexity.” A total of 98% of the facilities for the Games have been built by UK companies, equating to £6bn worth of business, or 1,400 contracts. Altogether, an estimated 75,000 firms
have won work related to the 2012 Olympics. The government’s Plan for Growth highlighted the critical importance of an efficient construction industry to the UK economy, Blythe pointed out, adding that construction represents some 7% of GDP, or £110bn a year of expenditure, some 40% of this being in the public sector with central government being the industry’s biggest customer. “The bigger picture at play here is that whilst UK construction is quietly, frustratingly so, delivering an eyepopping regeneration project it is setting new standards along the way,” said Blythe. “The truth is the Olympics are just a small part of what the construction industry delivers every day. The professional expertise within our industry is exported all over the world and it still leads the way. “So while we naturally focus on London 2012 let’s not forget the myriad projects up and down the country and across the world that are delivered to world class standards. Brazil 2016 will have a hard act to follow, but it will be made easier because no doubt UK construction will be involved there too,” concluded Blythe.
Innovation experts head up CIOB research panel The CIOB’s Innovation and Research Panel has appointed a new chair and vice-chair. Professor Stuart Green (left), head of the School of Construction Management and Engineering at the University of Reading has taken the role of chair and the vice-chair is Peter Ball (top right), strategic research director at BRE.
Professor Green is a highly accomplished academic with a background in the construction industry. A recipient of numerous research awards and an expert consultant to a host of research groups and industry bodies, his current areas of interest are construction sector competitiveness; through-life management; innovation in large complex projects; sustainability and
corporate social responsibility; and value management. Peter Ball is an awardwinning innovator who was appointed by BRE in 2010 to research and develop innovations and new technologies. He previously worked at Costain. Look out for more coverage of the Innovation and Research Panel in future issues of Contact.
Brian Middlemiss FCIOB has been awarded this year’s Recognition of Achievement Award by the CIOB. Middlemiss has been a member of the Institute for more than 30 years, working at centre, branch and national level. He served on the Professional Membership Panel between 1996 and 2004 and on the Policy & Resources Committee in 2006-07. He also served on the Southern Regional Council. At a branch/centre level, Brian has been a committee member of the Surrey Centre for 15 years and served as Chair on three separate terms. He has been a dedicated member and has aided the progression of local members by conducting CPD seminars to prepare candidates for their professional review. In more recent years, he has prepared and run the annual Surrey Centre Building Quiz and has also been instrumental in the staging of the Surrey Centre’s Keen to be Green exhibition, run in conjunction with Woking Borough Council. He also took a lead role in the organisation of the very successful 175th Anniversary Charity Dinner at Epsom Downs race course. Middlemiss spent more than 10 years as building services manager with Nestlé UK in London and a further eight years as a senior contracts manager. He is now a leading consultant covering the many aspects of specialist roofing, predominantly in the area of health and safety, and continues to present seminars, in particular at the Access Industry Forum and the H&S Expo at the Birmingham NEC.
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John Baggley CCG (Scotland) Pearce Street Residential Development Glasgow Nick Cuffe FCIOB MPR Projects Cedar Gate Ringwood, Hants Harry Dainton MCIOB Miller Homes North West Millers Green Heysham, Lancs Graham Fletcher-Campbell Hill Partnerships Thornberry Court London NW10 Phil Holden Seddon Construction Tulloch Court Cherry Tree Care Blackpool Tony Maguire Higgins Construction John Bond House London E3 Steve Malmquist Lovell Partnerships Watton Housing Carbrooke, Thetford Allen Marshall ICIOB Miller Homes East Midlands Royal Gate Derby Giles Staines Leadbitter Group Radford Estate Plymouth Mark Tomalin MCIOB Denne Construction Margaret House Uckfield, East Sussex Simon Waters Castleoak Riverdale Court Welling
Housing/Accommodation over £6 Million Sponsored by
TV and RADIO PRESENTER Claudia Winkleman will present the awards on an evening that promises top-class entertainment and excellent networking opportunities. Details on how to book your tables at the event can be found at www.cmya.co.uk/Booking. For more details on the awards contact Yvette Rizzello on 01344 630878 or yrizzello@englemere.co.uk
Rob Ashcroft Bramall Construction Kingsway Extra Care Home Blackburn Matt Ayers Galliford Try Derwent Point London EC1 Lawrence Baxter ACIOB Wates Group Velocity, Ward Road Stratford, E15 Peter Crane Higgins Construction The Quadrant London SW8 Darren Green ICIOB Shaylor Group Bromford Lane Care Centre Birmingham Ian Lively MCIOB Miller Homes North West Woodland Park Darwen, Lancs
Michael Poole-Sutherland ICIOB Lend Lease Project Slam Vimy Barracks, Yorks Ian Randall Leadbitter Group St Oswald’s Park Gloucester Dean Revell Hill Partnerships Richard Newton House Cambridge Adrian Smith Willmott Dixon Housing Meadway Extra Care Home Birmingham
PFI
Sponsored by
Paul Barrie Laing O’Rourke Forth Valley Royal Hospital Larbert, Scotland Roger Frost MCIOB Balfour Beatty Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Tom Maguire MCIOB Lend Lease Hameldon Community College Burnley Christopher Martin Kier London Thamesview School Gravesend Tony Mulcahy Wates Group Challney High School for Girls Luton Andrew Pilling ICIOB Lend Lease Marsden Heights Community College Nelson, Lancs Andrew Richardson ICIOB Brookfield Multiplex Peterborough City Hospital Peter Worth Higgins Construction Brockley Refurbishment Lewisham, London
New Build/Refurbishment £4 Million & below John Adie Stewart Milne Construction Kydd Building University of Abertay, Dundee Robert Bassett BAM Nuttall Aston University Library Birmingham Alistair Broadley Kier Scotland Security Forecourt Enhancements Edinburgh Airport John Hamill ICIOB BAM Nuttall 20 Buchanan Street Glasgow Simon Harewood Kier Southern Bristow-Clavell Science Centre Portsmouth Grammar School Carl Hudson Simons Construction Customer Experience Centre National Operations Centre Newbury Gordon MacKenzie Conlon Construction Faith Primary School Liverpool
Thursday 13 October, The Great Room, Marriott Grosvenor House, Park Lane, London
Neil Molloy ICIOB Wates Group Arts, Tech, Maths Block Parkstone Grammar School Poole Gareth Speed MCIOB Simons Construction Bestseller,Oxford Street, London
New Build/Refurbishment between £4-7 Million
Rob Bailey BAM Nuttall Glan Clwyd North Wales Cancer Treatment Centre Andrew Bowns Leadbitter Group Henderson Centre St George’s College, Addlestone Kieran Danby MCIOB Willmott Dixon Richmond Primary School Hinckley Gary Gibson MCIOB Colorado Group Starlaw Distillery West Lothian Dave Goddard MCIOB Henry Boot Construction Burns Unit/Surgical Assessment Centre/ Renal E and F Sheffield Northern General Hospital Frank Horrocks Seddon Construction Willowtree Primary School Salford, Lancs Patrick Leyden FCIOB Denne Construction LEMO Headquarters Worthing Alan Maile Killby & Gayford Henry Dawes Centre St John’s School, Leatherhead Darren Pope Laing O’Rourke Sterile Services Dept Bedford Hospital Graham Potts Geoffrey Osborne The Henrietta Barnett School Hampstead Mike Woodage Britannia Construction Student Union Building University of Bath
New Build/Refurbishment between £7-11 Million Sponsored by
John Bolton Kier London Barking Hospital Redevelopment Paul Galloway Morgan Sindall The Point, Lancashire County Cricket Club Manchester Mark Johnston MCIOB Mansell Build Aston Joint Service Centre Sheffield Glyn Jones Willmott Dixon Gateshead Leisure Centre Paul Lacy Willmott Dixon Bournville Primary School Weston-super-Mare Neil McKay MCIOB Midas Construction Project Star Wimborne
Simon Neath MCIOB Wates Group Castle Wood School Coventry Michael Rolfe MCIOB Higgins Construction Latymer Upper School Hammersmith Chris Taylor Kier Marriott “Himalaya” Twycross Zoo Atherstone Darren Wisbey MCIOB Kier London Broadfields Primary School Edgware, London
New Build/Refurbishment between £11-17 Million Sponsored by
Steven Arthrell Skanska 40 Bruton Street London W1 Iain Bushell MCIOB Skanska St Bernadette Catholic School Bristol Mark Charlton MCIOB GB Building Solutions West End Extra Care Retirement Village Stoke-on-Trent Wes Day Dawnus Construction One Guildhall Square Southampton David Files Britannia Construction Tesco Extra Risca Newport, Gwent Paul Hey Wates Retail M&S, Gemini Retail Park Warrington Nick Hilton MCIOB Morgan Sindall Percy Gee Building University of Leicester Nick Howdle BAM Nuttall The Arts Tower Sheffield Andy Knowles Kier Eastern Mersea Ward Colchester General Hospital Simon Sutcliffe BAM Nuttall Carnegie Pavilion Headingley Stadium, Leeds Steve Wibberley ACIOB Willmott Dixon The James Hehir Building University Quay, Ipswich
New Build/Refurbishment between £17-22 Million Sponsored by
Shane Benson Wates Group Dame Joan Bakewell & James Whitworth Buildings Stockport College
Darren Chandler Kier Southern St George’s C of E School Broadstairs, Kent Raymond Clarke Morgan Sindall Alsop High School Liverpool Paul Field Willmott Dixon Holyport Manor SEN School Maidenhead Damien Froehlich MCIOB Mansell Build GMP Divisional Headquarters, Bury Philip Galbraith MCIOB Robertson Construction Lothians Midlothian Community Hospital, Dalkeith Matt Heshmati MCIOB Wates Group Kentish Town Sports Centre London NW5 Clifford Kinch ICIOB Leadbitter Group Watts Building, The Hub, The Link & Aspire Building Southampton City College Sean McNicholas MCIOB Willmott Dixon Blaydon Primary Care & Leisure Centre Gateshead Robert Olley Kier Eastern The Open Academy Norwich Phillip White MCIOB Kier Northern Carmel College St Helens, Merseyside
New Build/Refurbishment between £22-30 Million
Richard David MCIOB Willmott Dixon City Centre Campus University of Wales, Newport Michael Docherty MCIOB Leadbitter Group Hillingdon Sports & Leisure Complex Middlesex Ian Hazelton MCIOB Willmott Dixon Stoke Newington 6th Form & School: Media Arts & Science College London N16 Shaun Kearney MCIOB Miller Construction 6th Form College Stoke-on-Trent Duncan Mitchell Sir Robert McAlpine Horizon House Bristol Barry O’Hagan Lend Lease Modernisation Programme South Lanarkshire Primary Schools Roger Quew Interserve Project Services Torquay Community College Craig Reason Willmott Dixon RSA Academy Tipton, West Midlands Shah Shahnavaz Wates Group 1 Lancaster Circus Birmingham Andrew Young Kier Northern Woodchurch High School Wirral
New Build/Refurbishment between £30-60 Million Sponsored by
Mark Chamberlain FCIOB Willmott Dixon Aylesbury Waterside Theatre Bucks Tom Cornish BAM Nuttall Roslin Institute Building Easter Bush Research Centre, University of Edinburgh Ian French BAM Nuttall Severn Trent Centre Coventry Julian Goodliffe Kier Longley Bexhill High School East Sussex Adam Harding ICIOB BAM Nuttall Watford Campus West Herts College Kevin Lake Simons Construction St Catherine’s Walk, Shopping and Entertainment Centre Camarthen Mike Morris Laing O’Rourke Earth Sciences Building Oxford University Joe Murphy Kier London Whitmore High School Harrow David Sizer ACIOB GB Building Solutions William Wake House Northampton Jim Ward MCIOB BAM Nuttall Riverside Museum, Glasgow
New Build/Refurbishment over £60 Million Sponsored by
Alan Blewett MCIOB Laing O’Rourke Mint Hotel London EC3 Phillip Clarke MCIOB Lend Lease One New Change London EC4 Matthew Cova MCIOB Skanska The St Botolph Building London EC3 Steve Fennell Lend Lease Central Saint Giles Centre Point, London WC1 Gary Hills Sir Robert McAlpine Eldon Square Newcastle upon Tyne Paul Lynchehaun Laing O’Rourke One Hyde Park London SW1 Nick Mann MCIOB Kier Build Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University Darren Pettitt McLaren Construction City of Westminster College London W2
Read all about CMYA and download your table booking form at www.cmya.co.uk
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Contact | Sep 11
Regional News
south west
Record entries produce bumper crop of winners for South West awards The Constructing Excellence South West and CIOB South West Built Environment Awards 2011 produced yet another crop of very worthy winners from the region following the highest number of entries to date. Winners of the awards automatically go forward to the CE National Awards. Last year the South
West region winners went on to achieve the highest number of awards at national level compared with other regions and the South West Branch wishes all regional winners well for the national awards in London later this year. The event was a great success with 334 guests attending from a range of companies across the
South West region. Members of Novus and G4C members also attended, providing them with the opportunity to share ideas in advance of their launches later this year. Chris Blythe gave a brief presentation about the CIOB and Tom Harper spoke for CESW. More than £3,000 was raised for Help for Heroes.
The Constructing Excellence South West and CIOB South West Built Environment Awards 2011 AWARD WINNER
SPONSOR
Achiever’s Award
Andrew Carpenter
Kier
Client of the Year
Bristol City Council
Rider Levett Bucknall
Highly Commended: Magnox –
Magnox Limited Commercial Strategy
Health and Safety
Laing O’Rourke
Association for Project Safety
Heritage
CS Williams (for Tyntesfield House Conservation Project)
Willmott Dixon Construction
Highly Commended: Midas Group (for refurbishment of the Theatre Royal Bath)
Innovation
Speller Metcalfe Gloucester (for Heart of the Forest Community School)
University of Bristol
Integration and Collaborative Working
Gloucestershire County Council Framework (for PVI Nurseries)
Constructing Excellence Bristol Club
Leadership & People Development
Local Authority Building Control (for LABC Training) Highly Commended: Gloucestershire County Council (for Training and Business Model)
Gaiger
SME Award
Schooling Building Contractor
Travis Perkins
Highly Commended: Bray & Slaughter.
Sustainability
CosyHome Company (UK)
iNets South West Environmental
Value Award
Clean Footprint
ISG Pearce
Project of the Year
Henry W Pollard & Sons (for Bridgwater YMCA Multi-Use Centre)
Advantage South West
Highly Commended: Cowlin Construction (for South Bristol Skills Academy)
West Midlands dinner a success The CIOB West Midlands Branch co-hosted the annual Celebrating Construction Dinner at the ICC in Birmingham. The event was held in partnership with Birmingham City Council and West Midlands Centre for Constructing Excellence (WMCCE) and was attended by more than 750 people. Sandi Toksvig, comedian, author and radio and television presenter, compered the Built in Quality
Guests at the awards event
Awards on behalf of Birmingham City Council and the WMCCE Constructing Excellence Awards. The 34 awards were presented by Lord Mayor of Birmingham,
Councillor Anita Ward, and sponsors of the event. Also present were James Wates FCIOB, CIOB President, and Saleem Akram, director of construction innovation and development for CIOB. During the evening almost £4,000 was raised for the Lord Mayor’s charities which include The Royal British Legion, St Margaret’s Community Trust, Tiny Babies, Big
Appeal at the Women’s Hospital and The Irish Guards Appeal. Tony Wehby, a CIOB Ambassador and chairman of the WMCCE judging panel, said there was clear evidence from the awards submissions that the recession had had little effect on the drive for continuous improvement. Ken Jones from Birmingham City Council received a surprise accolade for all his hard work on the awards.
Contact | Sep 11
Regional News
September – October Diary highlights East of England
Site visit to Earlham Academy 12 September, 5pm, Bluebell Road, Norwich Contact: mrix@ciob.org.uk Tour of Ickworth Basement 14 September, 4pm, the Rotunda, Horringer, Bury St Edmunds Contact: mrix@ciob.org.uk Recycling on a Green Scale 14 September, 6pm, Marsham Contact: mrix@ciob.org.uk Back to College Open Evening and Tour of Trinity College Cambridge 14 September, 6pm, Cambridge Contact: mrix@ciob.org.uk The New Construction Act 13 September, 7.30pm, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford Contact: sbriggs@ciob.org.uk Visit to the Olympic Park 14 September, 3.30pm, Stratford Contact: sbriggs@ciob.org.uk Site Visit to Kidbrooke Regeneration Project 16 September, 1pm Kidbrooke Regeneration Centre, London Contact: sbriggs@ciob.org.uk Archaeology — What Impact Does It Have On Building Operations? 11 October, 6pm, Old Kitchens, Girton College, Cambridge Contact: mrix@ciob.org.uk
East midlands
Sustainability Conference 14 September, Nottinghamshire Contact: trock@ciob.org.uk Joint RICS Matrics Great Balls of Fire Networking Event 23 September, Leicester Contact: www.rics.org/eastmidlands Contracts & Legal Conference 13 October, Derbyshire Contact: jnewton@ciob.org.uk
IRELAND
Building Information Modelling (BIM) Seminar 12 September, City Hotel, Derry Contact: bmccotter@ciob.org.uk Retrofit UK Road Show 2011 — Buildings for Climate Change 27 September 2011, 5.30pm, CITB ConstructionSkills head office, Crumlin Contact: bmccotter@ciob.org.uk Southern Centre Annual Dinner 2011 30 September, 7.30pm, Rochestown Park Hotel, Douglas, Cork Contact: pgiuriato@ciob.org.uk
Irish Sustainable Building Show 2011 6-8 October, Royal Dublin Society (RDS), Dublin 4 — Stand S8 Contact: pgiuriato@ciob.org.uk Professional Review Interviews — Dublin 12 October, Carlton Hotel Dublin Airport Contact: pgiuriato@ciob.org.uk
North East
Professional Review Workshop 15 September, 6pm, Allergate House, Durham Contact: jknox@ciob.org.uk Managing Scaffolding in Compliance with TG20:08 and SG4:10 21 September, 6.30pm, Angel View Inn, Gateshead Contact: dthorpe@ciob.org.uk Novus North East Official Launch 22 September, 5.30pm, Union Rooms, JD Wetherspoon, Newcastle Contact: novusnortheast@ciob.org.uk or dthorpe@ciob.org.uk CBC & Training Partnership Event 5 October, 3pm, Gosforth Park Marriott Hotel Contact: jknox@ciob.org.uk Trenchless Technology 6 October, 6pm, Allergate house, Belmont, Durham Contact: dthorpe@ciob.org.uk An Introduction to the CIOB Site Management Course and Other Qualifications 12 October, 6pm, Darlington College Contact: dthorpe@ciob.org.uk Teamworking, Communication and Project Management 12 October, 1pm, Darlington College Contact: novusnortheast@ciob.org.uk or dthorpe@ciob.org.uk
Scotland
Aberdeen Site Visit: The Emergency Care Centre – Aberdeen Royal Infirmary 22 September, 5pm, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary Contact: Graeme Lawtie 01224 747209 Dundee Event: Committee Meeting 5 September and 4 October East of Scotland Committee Meeting 20 September, RMP Edinburgh Event Contractual/Legal type event 27 September, 5.30pm, Napier University, Craiglockhart Campus, Edinburgh Contact: Ron Sutherland 07971 803706
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2011
West of Scotland Site Visit to New Velodrome, Glasgow 20 September, 6pm Contact: eflavells@ciob.org.uk Legal Update 3 October, 6pm, McRoberts Solicitors Capella, Atlantic Quay Contact: eflavells@ciob.org.uk
South East
Site visit to Oxford University Project (Ashmolean Museum or Bodleian Library) 8 or 15 September (tbc), 5.30pm Contact: sgould@ciob.org.uk Visit and Tour of Weald & Downland Open-Air Museum 11 September, 2pm, Chichester Contact: sgould@ciob.org.uk A Thousand Years of Reading 14 September, 6.30pm, Reading College, Kings Road, Reading Going for Gold — An Olympic Story. Lecture and Dinner with Mike Breton from Sir Robert McAlpine 20 September, 7pm, Hadlow Manor Hotel, Hadlow Contact: sgould@ciob.org.uk Falmer Stadium Site Visit 22 September, 6pm, North Stands club office, Brighton Contact: sgould@ciob.org.uk River Thames Boat Trip 24 September, 1pm, Barry Avenue, opposite Windsor Castle Contact: sgould@ciob.org.uk Annual Construction Industry Dinner 7 October, 6.30pm, De Vere Grand Harbour Hotel, Southampton London 2012 Update & Legacy Issues 13 October, 6.30pm, Holiday Inn Oxford Contact: sgould@ciob.org.uk
Exton Acoustic and Fire Solutions 12 October, 6pm, The Executive Business Centre, Landsdowne Campus, Bournemouth University Contact: sholborn@ciob.org.uk Japanese Knotweed — Invasive Weeds 12 October, 12pm, Plymouth Guildhall Contact: jculver@ciob.org.uk The Localism Bill Explained 20 October, 6pm, Hall for Cornwall, Back Quay, Truro Contact: jculver@ciob.org.uk Legal update on JCT and NEC Standard Forms of Contract 20 October, 6pm, The Devon Hotel, Matford, Exeter Contact: jculver@ciob.org.uk
YORKSHIRE
Professional Review Workshop 13 September, 6pm for 6.30pm, Holiday Inn Garforth Contact: ewhitworth@ciob.org.uk Retrofit UK Road Show — Buildings for Climate Change 14 September, 5.30pm for 6pm, Broadcasting Place, Leeds Contact: fevans@ciob.org.uk Visit to Flemingate — to be replaced with a different event 23 September, check the website for latest details Contact: fevans@ciob.org.uk Sustainability 28 September, 6.30pm, Barnsley College Contact: fevans@ciob.org.uk CCISY Awards Dinner 7 October, Cutlers’ Hall, Sheffield Contact: nickysenior@littlespark.co.uk
South West
Visit to Kingspoint Tower, Poundbury 14 September, 5.30pm, Duchy of Cornwall Office, Corchester, Dorset Contact: jward@ciob.org.uk Site Visit to Heartlands, Redruth 15 September, 5.15pm, Robinson’s Shaft, Dundancelane, Contact: jculver@ciob.org.uk Into Membership & Membership Progression Event 20 September, 6pm, The Executive Business Centre, Landsdowne Campus, Bournemouth University Contact: sholborn@ciob.org.uk Into Membership & Membership Progression Event 10 October, 6pm, University of Plymouth, Room 005 Babbage Building Contact: sholborn@ciob.org.uk
To find out more about events in your area go to www.ciob.org.uk/regions or look out for your electronic news and event updates from your CIOB branch or CIOB Centre. To receive information from the CIOB visit ww.ciob.org.uk and log on to the members’ area to input/update your details and preferences.
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News in Brief
Contact | Sep 11
Regional News
Bedford builders win top safety award
Bedford-based SDC Builders has won a prestigious International Safety Award Distinction from the British Safety Council for the eighth consecutive year. SDC gained full marks — one of just 33 out of 546 winners to achieve a 100% pass rate.
East Anglian rubbish trip yorkshire
Celebrating Construction in South Yorkshire Awards launched
The Cambridgeshire and Suffolk Centre recently visited a £42m state-of-the-art black bin rubbish recycling plant near Cambridge. Active member Jacquie Silverton reported on the visit in her blog at http://silvertonprop.wordpress. com/2011/06/07/don’t-talk-rubbish
East of England Branch tours the Olympic Park
In July 25 East of England members took a free tour of the Olympic Park. Work is well under way to create around 250 acres of new parklands on former industrial land, that will provide a colourful and festival atmosphere for the London 2012 Games and afterwards become the largest new urban park in the UK for more than a century. The latest employment and skills figures published by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) show that the combined Olympic Park and Olympic Village “big build” workforce has reached 12,635 as the projects near completion.
Norfolk harbours ideas about windfarms Members of the Sheffield & South Yorkshire Centre organising committee
The Celebrating Construction in South Yorkshire (CCISY) Awards 2011 were officially launched at the Cutlers Hall, Sheffield, in July, attended by sponsors and guests. Now in its fourth year the CCISY Awards event is promoted by the CIOB and aims to celebrate high quality work by all parts of the region’s construction industry supply chain including developers, designers, builders and end-users, both large and small. Ten award categories have been chosen:
• Excellence & Quality Award, sponsored by Arcus Consulting • Innovation Award, sponsored by Kennedys • Sustainability Award, sponsored by Soar Build • Health & Safety Award, sponsored by Yorkshire Windows • Collaborative Working Award, sponsored by Vinci Construction • Environmental & Renewable Technologies Award, sponsored by Henry Boot Construction
• Small Business Award, sponsored by Green Energy Solutions • Corporate Responsibility Award, sponsored by NFB • Project of the Year Award, sponsored by Keepmoat • Training Award, sponsored by Linear Recruitment
For an application form and more details visit www.ciob.org.uk/events/celebrating-constructionsouth-yorkshire-ccisy-awards-dinner. To book tickets for the event call Nicky Senior on 07817 974804.
Heritage buildings deliver energy lessons Best practice models of energy-saving heritage buildings can teach us a lot about non-listed buildings, according to conservation expert, Dr Alan Coday. Dr Coday (above left), from Anglia Ruskin University in Chelmsford, showed members of the CIOB in Essex how listed building exemplars provide a sound platform for informing the upgrade of non listed buildings that represent the majority of our built environment. Dr Coday used English Heritage data to demonstrate how the built environment
produces 50% of the carbon emissions in the UK. Interestingly, pre-1900 buildings with high thermal mass, low reliance upon technology and “realistic” user expectations can be more energy efficient than modern counterparts. Architectural technology student Matt Kennington presented examples of achieving near-building-regulation U-values without compromising historic character. The presentation concluded by reviewing sustainable exemplar projects from the Association of Building Preservation Trusts.
Members of the Norfolk Centre and Members from the Association of Building Engineers visited Wells-nextthe-Sea during the summer to view the new Outer Harbour Project. Wells Harbour has been chosen as the base for survey, crew and work boats supporting construction and future operation of the new Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm. Following trials in 2008, work began in earnest late in 2009. The harbour entrance channel has been deepened to extend the times that small-draft workboats for windfarm workers and crews can enter and leave the harbour. The new Outer Harbour has 165m of shore-accessed pontoon berths with all associated services, including fuel, fresh water and electricity. Robert Smith, Wells harbourmaster, gave an in-depth talk about project and the problems that had to be overcome.
Hertfordshire student aiming for the top
Hertfordshire Centre student member Ryann Burden was recently named as the highest ranking candidate from the University of Hertfordshire, after the June 2011 examinations. He is studying for a Construction Management degree (part time) at Oaklands College via the University of Hertfordshire whilst working for Lovell Partnerships. Burden plans to continue his hard work and hopes to achieve a First Class degree.
Contact | Sep 11
Education and Novus
Meet a member Claire Brown MCIOB, Chair of Novus West Midlands and supply chain manager with Balfour Beatty Construction Tell us about your career so far After graduating from Loughborough University with a BSc Hons in Architectural Engineering and Design Management in 2006, I joined Balfour Beatty Construction Northern as an assistant design coordinator in the Midlands. I initially started working on a number of education projects across Birmingham, which included coordinating the delivery of the design for a primary school. During my first few years I gained experience in site engineering and in the tendering process for a number of large schemes. Supported by my company I also undertook a number of NVQs in both technical design and site technical support working towards gaining full membership with the CIOB. For me, becoming a full member of the CIOB was always a priority and in February 2010 I gained my MCIOB status, an achievement I am immensely proud of. I hope to use the knowledge I have gained to help others achieve full membership. Why did you become involved with Novus? I am very passionate about educating young people about careers and opportunities within the construction industry. I am already a CIOB Construction Ambassador and think Novus is the ideal platform to inform people about the fantastic opportunities available within the industry. It is there to support new members and make the CIOB more accessible to students. What are the challenges facing young construction professionals? A few years after graduating I visited the Civil and Building Engineering Department at Loughborough University to meet students and talk to them about career opportunities. One of the most talked about subjects was gaining employment after graduating. It is difficult when a number of students are competing for one job – so students must find a way to differentiate themselves. Gaining rounded experience is important — for instance, I worked in a multidisciplinary design office for a year during my studies — but I think becoming a student member of the CIOB is vital as using the support at hand is a great way of showing prospective employers that you are committed to working in the industry.
training
Students put theory into practice at Constructionarium This year’s group, comprising 96 degree students from the BSc Construction Management and BEng Civil Engineering courses, successfully worked in teams on four challenging projects based on: • The slender Kingsgate Bridge in Durham • The inspiring cable stayed Brewer’s Wharf Bridge in Liverpool • The Don Valley stadium • The Millennium Galleries
Students work on real-life projects at Constructionarium
Students and staff from the University of East London (UEL) recently teamed up with contractor PJ Carey and consultant WS Atkins to run a successful Constructionarium event at the National Construction College in Norfolk. The Constructionarium is a hands-on construction experience for students and young professionals following civil engineering or building courses where they get to put theory into practice and construct scaled down versions of real projects working with real companies in the industry. A university, contractor and consultant work together to deliver a new learning experience which combines the academic perspective with those of the design professional and practical site delivery.
The challenge began with a planning meeting on Sunday evening followed by regular 8am starts on site, with students undertaking all the activities ranging from producing risk assessments, method statements, setting out the works, carrying out formwork construction, fixing the steel and placing the concrete, right down to cleaning the canteen area. Students were given specialist on-the-job training in all aspects of the work, including the correct use of power tools. To further help the students PJ Carey brought some of its most highly skilled supervisors to mentor and aid the students’ progress. Their efforts were rewarded when three groups successfully kept to their programmes and topped out their projects on Friday as planned. The fourth project, while technically completed, couldn’t be assembled due to insufficient time allowed for curing of the concrete roof. The organisers are most grateful to PJ Carey for making the event possible and for supporting students.
Novus North West thinks about BIM The North West Novus and the School of the Built Environment at the University of Salford ran a CPD event on Building Information Modelling (BIM) in June. Held at the University’s THINKpod in the THINKlab, the event focused on how the construction industry could learn, apply and benefit from BIM concept and technologies based upon successful projects in the US, Nordic area and the UK. Among the presenters were Mark Pearson, project director at Balfour Beatty; Professor
Arto Kiviniemi, the director of the new BIM and Integrated Design Masters degree at the University of Salford; Dr Patricia Tzortzopoulos; and the next President of the CIOB, Professor Chassan Aouad. A panel and audience discussion also took place with Novus committee members, including Georgio Kapogianni, associate lecturer at the University of Salford; Ian Lineell Simmon, project engineer at Balfour Beatty; and Harry Basra, building manager at Willmott Dixon and Chair of North West Novus.
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Contact | September 11
Member benefits masterclasses
INFORMATION
Speaking Frankly…
Frank MacDonald, secretary of the CIOB Benevolent Fund, offers practical advice on financial problems Having been made redundant in June, I am having increasing difficulty managing my household finances. I have mortgage arrears, credit card bills outstanding and am struggling with the costs of upkeep on my car, which I need for travelling to interviews. What additional resources might be available and how can I get my monthly repayments under control? In these circumstances try to identify all financial commitments and consider which are of absolute priority (mortgage/rent; Council Tax, secured loans). Approach your mortgage provider to seek some rescheduling of repayments in the short-term. You might be able to pay off your mortgage arrears gradually and by reducing the money you pay each month to non-priority creditors (credit cards/ storecards). You would be wise to consider enlisting the excellent, free advice and support of either www.cccs.co.uk or www.nationaldebtline.co.uk in negotiating with creditors, which can be stubborn in agreeing to receive lower monthly payments. Both CCCS and National Debtline can help remove the immediate financial pressure, enabling you to maintain repayments to priority creditors while concentrating on your job search. If you have a partner and/or children, you might be able to qualify for Child Tax Credits. If your partner is not employed, check that you are in receipt of your full entitlement to state benefits at www.adviceguide.org.uk. Keeping your car running is particularly vital to you in pursuit of employment. The CIOB Benevolent Fund can sometimes offer financial assistance in cases of hardship. More details are available here: www.ciob. org.uk/resources/benevolentfund The CIOB Benevolent Fund helps members with advice, employment matters, housing issues, consequences of ill-health or early retirement. If you would like to discuss any concern contact Frank at fmacdonald@ciob. org.uk or call 01344 630780. All enquiries are entirely confidential.
Build right, build airtight
Gen up on latest construction law
Imagine heating a home then opening all the windows... This is the effect that gaps and cracks in a building have on thermal insulation. A new report on airtightness in buildings by BRE Trust has been written to support the requirements on airtightness as specified in the Building Regulations. “This is the only guide available that provides comprehensive practical guidance on airtightness and detailing for commercial and public buildings, and other non-domestic buildings to satisfy the requirements contained within the recently published 2010 Building Regulations (England and Wales) Approved Document L2A, and the equivalent building regulations in Northern Ireland and Scotland,” says Michael Jaggs, one of the authors of the report. The guide provides generic examples of frequently occurring air leakage paths and practical guidance on methods and materials suitable for sealing common construction detailing. Published by IHS BRE Press, the report provides a valuable resource for designers, project managers and specialist contractors A two-part digest on selecting and placing material for use as hardcore has also been published.
Recent changes to the law and the new Construction Act, which comes into force on 1 October, are likely to have a significant effect on the way that construction and the law interact, and keeping up to date with the changes can be daunting. However, the CIOB and Hill International continue their partnership to ensure that CIOB members have the tools to keep up to date with developments as they arise. The next Hill International and CIOB Masterclass is on 9-10 November in London, and will look not only at the changes to UK law, but the increasing use of new and international contracts, such as FIDIC and NEC. How to minimise risks, reduce and cut the cost of disputes, and manage time and cost will also be covered at the intensive two-day course. The last Masterclass in Edinburgh was described as “a truly excellent course”, and the event continues to lead the way in educating attendees in new developments in construction and the law. Special rates are available to CIOB members. To reserve your place on the next Masterclass, please contact Stuart Wilks on 020 7618 1200, or Alison Jones on 01344 630801. Future events will be held in the UK and around the world in 2012, see www.hillintluk.com for more details
Both publications are available from www.constructionbooksdirect.com or by calling +44 (0) 1344 630810 ISBN 978-1-84806-174-3
Late holiday offers for members Missed out on a summer holiday? Then take advantage of a new CIOB member benefit. Members now have free access to WEXAS – The Traveller’s Club, which offers advice from well-travelled destination specialists, free VIP lounge access at the airport,
member-only offers and events and many other benefits. There’s never been a better time to sign up to the WEXAS travel service. With the WEXAS British Airways Club Europe Holiday sale, members can travel in style and save up to 50% on selected holidays and city breaks. Relax by the sea in
Dubrovnik (pictured left) , or discover the enchanting city of Prague. Take a city break to Rome or escape to the romance of Venice. Check out the website for details of the many destinations on offer. To register for your free WEXAS White membership, call WEXAS on 020 7838 5820 or visit www.wexas.com/CIOB.
Member benefits
CIOB HILL INTERNATIONAL MASTERCLASSES Hill International and CIOB’s Masterclass training series Tel: 020 7 618 1200 www.hillintluk.com
CIOB HOME INSURANCE Home insurance for professional people. Tel: 0845 365 1289 www.hiscox.co.uk/ciob
IHS Critical technical information and decision-support tools http://uk.ihs.com
CIOB INSURANCE SERVICES All forms of insurance. Tel: 0845 305 8390
www.ciobinsurance services.co.uk
Contracts Manager £neg Faculty of Technology, Design and Environment
Global-MSI plc is a successful specialist sub-contractor operating in a niche market. We are seeking a construction professional with a minimum of 2 years recent management experience. Fuel station forecourt experience would be highly regarded but is not a pre-requisite. Computer literacy essential. Experience of steelwork and cladding an advantage. An understanding of Lean Business principles would be a benefit.
Senior Lecturer in Construction Management Starting salary: £36,862, rising annually to £45,336 The Faculty of Technology, Design and Environment at Oxford Brookes University has a strong tradition of excellence in teaching and research with strong links in the professional fields of real estate, construction management, planning and architecture. The Department of Real Estate and Construction has recently redesigned and expanded its portfolio of courses, and is now seeking to recruit additional staff in response to sustained growth in student numbers. We are seeking individuals capable of teaching and undertaking research in the real estate and construction management disciplines and providing leadership in certain of the Department’s activities. This post is targeted at applicants with recent industry experience in project/commercial management in construction with an ability to teach in the areas of procurement, contract practice and administration, quantity surveying, and related areas in construction management. You will be responsible for: n teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels n pursuing research leading to high quality publications n seeking external funding for research n leading programmes and curriculum development n leading the development of new educational initiatives You should have: n a first degree in a construction-related discipline n a professional qualification in a construction-related discipline n recent industry experience in project/commercial management in construction n a commitment to teaching in higher education n the potential to develop and sustain specialist research n experience of working as part of a multi-professional team Closing date: 23 September 2011
Ref: 142/15326/PR
Apply online or contact Human Resources Tel: 01865 484537 (answerphone) Minicom: 01865 485928 Follow us at http://twitter.com/BrookesJobs Working for equal opportunities
This is a new position and the successful candidate will be a key member of a dynamic team. The work will be varied and fast paced with much involvement with Customers, as well as internal design and manufacturing functions, that will ensure significant job satisfaction. If you are highly organised and motivated, forward your CV to 3D Visualisation
Martin Steggles MCIOB, Managing Director, at martin@global-msi.com or Global-MSI plc, Balby Carr Bank, Doncaster, DN4 8DH.
Industry Specialists To advertise your product on these pages, contact TOM PEARDON on:
Achieve Chartered Status of th T: +44 (0)20 7490 5644 E: tom@atompublishing.co.uk
www.brookes.ac.uk/vacancy
EXPERIENCED PRACTITIONER ASSESSED (EPA) Route to
Achieve Chartered Status l London l Birmingham l Southampton l Newbury l Guildford of the CIOB
8 one-day workshops (Saturday or Sunday, depending on venue) 2011 to June 2012 : Distance option also availabl
EXPERIENCED PRACTITIONER ASSESSED (EPA) From September Route to MCIOB London & Guildford
8x1 day workshops (Saturday or Sunday) Sept 2011 to June 2012. THROUGH EXPERIENCE In-house/distance QUALIFY option also available.
via EPAR : SENIOR MANAGEMENT ROUTE T One-to-one mentoring and support for report completion & interview QUALIFY THROUGH EXPERIENCE – SENIOR
MANAGEMENT ROUTE TO MCIOB – the ‘EPAR’
PROFESSIONAL One-to-one mentoring and support for report completion & interview
REVIEW/INTERVIEW : Sunday 19 June 2011 – Lon One day Workshop - Degree or EPA holders – includes review & feedback on PROFESSIONAL REVIEW/INTERVIEW
London or Guildford 17 or 18 September
DIPLOMA One day Workshop - Degree or EPA Part B holdersin – includes review & feedback on your draft package
SITE SUPERVISORY STUDIES • CERT & DIPLOMA in SITE MA * CIOB Level 3 & 4 : London and Home Counties * Sept 2011 start *
Planning Tutorials for Builders
CHARTERED ENVIRONMENTALIST * Courses ideal for construction workers looking to climb the management ladder (L Benefit from Interactive Training Modules Wednesday 19 October– London BasedLEARNING on Asta PowerProject Software For Members/Fellows - evening workshop starts 5.30 pm – DISTANCE OPTIONS guidance for Report & Interview stage of CEnv
More than just a Training Seminar Professional Review, EPA, EPAR, Fellowship & Chartered Environmentalist - UK
DISTANCE LEARNING OPTIONS: UK & Overseas MCIOB allows the individual to apply for the• CSCS CSCS Professionally Qualified Person (PQP) card
Learn at your Own Pace in your Own Space
Professionally Qualified Person cardTopics can be secured via M Study any or(PQP) All of Three • CSCS Experienced Technical Manager card via Level 4 D 1. BasicSupervisor Planning foror Builders 10 Modules
Contact: Chris Westacott FCIOB CEnv
2. Advanced Planning for Builders 10 Modules
Westacott Management Resources L 3. Principles of Delay Analysis 7 Modules
Westacott Management Resources Ltd
Tel: 01233 503691 Email chris.westacott@btinternet.com
Contact: Chris Westacott FCIOB CEnv Contact: Dawn Parias MCIOB Visit: www.planningacademy.org Telephone: 01233 503691 01908 218366 Mo and try beforeTelephone: you buy E mail chris.westacott@btinternet.com E mail dawn@constructionm conStruction manager | SEPTEMBER 2011 | 47
Products To showcase your product on these pages, contact TOM PEARDON on
T: +44 (0)20 7490 5644 E: tom@atompublishing.co.uk KERAkOLl UK Slc Eco Aqua-Pur HPX is a two component varnish to protect and enhance hardwood floors which is ideal for use on floors which are subjected to a lot of use such as sports halls as it allows for a shorter application time due to its two coats and is also extremely hard wearing. The reduced solvent content also safeguards health and the environment.. t:
01527 578000 e: info@kerakoll.co.uk w: www.kerakoll.co.uk
LEVOLUX LOOKS UP AT WALBROOK The Walbrook Building in central London is an ultra-modern office building, which appears impressive, even when viewed from above, thanks to a Roof Screening solution, designed, manufactured and installed by Levolux. The solution comprises 64 horizontal panels, fitted with 200mm wide extruded aluminium, Aerofoil Fins, finished in a dark grey powder coating. t:
020 8863 9111 e: info@levolux.com
Lorient launches online CPD with Academy e-learning Developing professional skills and keeping knowledge up-to-date is an ongoing challenge; Lorient’s online module offers those in the construction industry the flexibility to learn and claim CPD points whenever they want. The module which is independently certified by the Construction CPD Certification Service can be accessed through Academy e-learning, which is a portal which features a whole host of freely-available CPD and e-Learning material for the construction industry.
t:
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www.academy-elearning.co.uk.
SAINT-GOBAIN WEBER Saint-Gobain Weber has hosted the Insulated Render and Cladding Association Specialist Apprenticeship (INCA) Programme in External Wall Insulation offering for the first time a recognised training course for entrants to the industry. The two-year programme is developed in conjunction with ConstructionSkills. Successful completion will result in a Level 2 NVQ Certificate in Insulation and Building Treatments: EWI; the CSCS Blue Skilled Worker card, and the Apprenticeship Completion Certificate from ConstructionSkills.
08703 330070 w: www.netweber.co.uk
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www.kinetico.co.uk
48 | SEPTEMBER 2011 | conStruction manager
www.levolux.com
NEW SCHUECO WINDOW ACHIEVES PASSIVHAUS INSULATION LEVELS With a whole window ‘U’ value of 0.8 W/m2K, the pioneering new AWS 90.SI aluminium window system from Schueco, achieves PassivHaus levels of insulation – previously only obtainable using PVC-U or timber – in a frame depth of just 90 mm. Designed for use with triple-glazed units delivering a ‘U’ value of 0.6 W/m²K, this elegant window is ideal for use in highly insulated residential or commercial buildings. e: mkinfobox@schueco.com Arco’s Big Book The Arco Big Book has become the reference tool for safety managers, business owners and workers throughout the UK and Ireland. With pages giving advice and guidance on choosing the right product for the job and meeting the required standards, the Arco catalogue is a trusted source of information and expert advice. Get your free copy by calling
MPROVE BUILDING SERVICES EQUIPMENT EFFICIENCY WITH KINETICO WATER SOFTENERS With fuel efficiency and carbon reduction top of the agenda, Kinetico, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of commercial softeners and filters, is urging building services consultants and contractors to consider the positive contribution effective water treatment technology can make, especially in hard water areas.
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01482 222522 www.arco.co.uk/catrequest
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Saving Drivers and Salmon In the recent realignment of Scotland’s popular A7 route at Auchenrivock, Dumfries and Galloway, Tensar International’s low environmental impact Tensartech slope and wall systems enabled realignment of dangerous bends with minimum disruption to the environment. This allowed conservation of the adjacent River Esk and several culverted feeder streams, so spawning gravels for migratory fish were undisturbed, thus maintaining the river’s amenity and environmental value.
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www.tensar.co.uk
Stormsaver takes centre stage Stormsaver, the UK’s leading designer and manufacturer of rainwater harvesting systems, has won a new contract with Harrogate International Centre. The centre is currently expanding its exhibition offer with the addition of two new exhibition halls due to open later this year. The £13 million development will provide greater exhibition capacity and increased flexibility for exhibitors and conference providers. w:
New BIM and CPD Services from Zehnder Zehnder, Europe’s leading manufacturer of indoor climate solutions, enhances its range of design services to train, support, and inform the Architectural, Engineering and Construction Industry in the specification and installation of its products. Designed as fully parametric Revit families, the Zehnder BIM objects are available to download free from;
www.stormsaver.com
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Victorian Church Undergoes Extensive Roof Restoration Project When a Victorian Church in Worcestershire underwent an extensive restoration project to renovate its large roof, architects chose new rather than reclaimed clay tiles to achieve the required historic appearance. The architect used a new distressed-look clay tile, the Marley Eternit Hawkins clay plain tile in Fired Sienna. It is manufactured to consist of irregularities and imperfections on the surface, similar to those of a weathered, aged tile.
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FIVE STAR SPECIFICATION Washroom specialist Washroom Washroom recently completed an exclusive ‘back of house’ refurbishment at the luxurious Mandarin Oriental in Hyde Park, London. The prestigious contract saw Washroom Washroom install its Luminoso frameless glass shower cubicle system and its Marcato WC cubicle range. Customized hybrid Octave lockers ensured secure storage for staff and changing areas were completed with matching Corian vanities and Concerto solid ducts.
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www.washroom.co.uk
Elta fans provide breath of fresh air for busy Devon kitchen When publicans John Milan and Steve Bellman decided to refurb The Three Crowns Inn, they turned to Elta Fans to provide one of the most important elements of their new kitchen ventilation system. The Three Crowns is an impressive 13th century granite inn in Chagford, a small town and thriving community on the north-east edge of Dartmoor, in Devon close to the River Teign. w: www.eltafans.com Knauf’s competence cuts components on flagship hospital project Through close collaboration with both architects and the main contractor Knauf Drywall has enabled Linear Projects to handle the biggest project in its 18 year history – installing more than 100,000m2 of partitioning in a major new acute hospital in Scotland – with a set of standardized components that rationalised its supply chain.
SIKA-TROCAL MAKES LIGHT WORK OF ROOFING INSTALLATION AT BILLINGHAM FORUM REDEVELOPMENT Built in the 1960s, Billingham Forum leisure complex in Stockton-on-Tees, was showing substantial signs of deterioration and needed comprehensive improvements to bring it up to modern standards. Several options were considered – including complete demolition and rebuild – but following the Grade II listing of the theatre, a full refurbishment was the most suitable option and Sika-Trocal Type S single ply membrane was used for the creation of the new roof.
www.zehnder.co.uk/bim.
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SAS International invests in machinery producing 40 pre-formed hangers per minute The newly designed Emac Hanger from SAS International is a significant component for installing all types of suspended ceilings. SAS understands the importance of this crucial product to help projects be delivered on time and to budget, whilst eliminating excess wastage on site, and has invested in new machinery which enables production of over 40 Emac Hangers per minute, equating to 2,500 ph. w:
www.sasint.co.uk
The Steel Window Association has long had a close relationship with the British Fenestration Rating Council, it is registered as Systems Company 001, and now SWA members get automatic access to BFRC’s marketing tool kit. The SWA supports member companies with wide ranging services including product development, market research and promotion. At the same time SWA helps ensure that each member operates to the highest industry standards.
New Espresso Bar in London features range of Formica® High Pressure Laminate and ColorCore® by Formica Group Jonathan Clark Architects has designed the Restaurant and Bar Design Awards nominated Tinderbox Espresso Bar in Spitalfields, London. Featuring a range of High Pressure Laminate (HPL) from the Formica® Collection, this trendy coffee bar is an exciting addition to this increasingly popular area of the City.
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SWA is NUMBER ONE FOR BFRC
www.steel-window-association.co.uk
www.formica.com conStruction manager | SEPTEMBER | 49
Back page Have you thought of…
... Competing in the Skills Olympics?
...Making your swimming pool more sustainable?
...Being more aware of Breast cancer?
It’s a real drag, isn’t it? You love skinnydipping with all your groovy friends at your spring break pool party, but now you’re being told it’s a sustainability issue? Well, according to Thermapool MD Nigel Rose, to meet our zero carbon commitments, we’re going to have to insulate our swimming pools. Rose lobbied government to introduce Building Regulations applying to outdoor pool insulation from 2013, after his research showed that the majority of pool heat is not lost from its surface, but through its walls and floor. Which is handy for him, as he’s also developed his patented Thermapool insulation system, meaning you can now heat a pool with as little as 3kW. So the next time you decide to don your budgie smugglers for a dip, bear in mind that with every pool in the UK uninsulated, you’re contributing to the destruction of a forest as big as London — that’s 43 million pairs of trunks!
Power tool manufacturer Makita UK is and it’s adopted Breast Cancer Care as its Charity of the Year. To mark the tie up, it is launching a limited edition Makita Charity drill this month. It’s a Barbie pink version of its DF330D Liion, 10.8V drill driver. Retailing at £84.99, Makita will donate £5 to the charity for every one sold. The initiative has the backing of former Ground Force presenter Tommy Walsh, who’s lending his time for free. Meanwhile, Makita’s US arm has been busy on its website promoting the credentials of its two calendar girls: Harmony Moniz, aka Miss Makita 2011; and Señorita Makita Celeste Santana. Both feature in videos wearing tiny crop tops and getting to grips with the firm’s latest tools. Perhaps it’s reassuring that in a world beset by political correctness, the firm is enthusiastically supporting breasts at both ends of the PC spectrum.
Editor Elaine Knutt (Elaine is on maternity leave) Acting editor Denise Chevin +44 20 7490 5636 Acting deputy editor Jan-Carlos Kucharek +44 20 7490 5585 Contributing editor Stephen Cousins Production editor Lucien Howlett
Art editor Jonathan Deayton Advertising manager James Magnani +44 20 7490 5661 Production manager Peter Songi
Forget 2012, the 41st WorldSkills London 2011 is kicking off from 5-8 October. Running every two years since 1953, WorldSkills brings together 1,000 competitors from more than 50 countries to compete in 46 skills competitions across seven sectors. The construction sector has 12 people in the running showing off their skills in, among other things, tiling bricklaying, welding and plumbing. At the last competition in 2009 in Calgary, Canada, the UK came overall 6th in the world, but construction only managed to win a gold in painting and decorating. Not quite a whitewash, then.
Construction Manager Published for the Chartered Institute of Building by Atom Publishing Clerkenwell House 45/47 Clerkenwell Green London EC1R 0EB
Digital manager Sara Loane Publisher Emma Tilley Managing director Stephen Quirke
50 | september 2011 | conStruction manager
Tel: +44 20 7490 5595 Fax: +44 20 7490 4957 firstname@atompublishing.co.uk
...Appearing on Big Brother? Andy Warhol said that we’d all get our 15 minutes of fame, and with the Big Brother TV format, maybe we have. And it looks like Portakabin has too — it has just created a state-of-the-art interim production facility for TV production company Endemol’s Big Brother House at Elstree Studios. The “BB Village” comprises 38 buildings and totals over 1,000m2 of space for the show’s 200 staff, and includes the Reality Gallery — the structure that wraps around the house itself, holding all those cameras behind one-way mirrors, which the show’s desperate wannabes are encouraged to cavort in front of. Unlike the BB housemates, Endemol line producer, the reflectively named Philippe Luzy, says that the buildings “have performed extremely well”. The whole lot was thrown up by Portakabin in just four weeks, two months less than the three months the toe curlingly bad show actually blights our screens for.
Subscriptions Alison Jones Englemere Ltd. The White House, Englemere, Kings Ride, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7JR cbd@ciob.org.uk UK £73.00 Overseas £83.00 Circulation Net average circulation 33,370 Audit Period: 1 July 2009– 30 June 2010
Construction Manager is published monthly by Atom Publishing. The contents of this magazine are copyright. Reproduction in part or in full is forbidden without permission of the editor. The opinions expressed by writers of signed articles (even with pseudonyms) and letters appearing in the magazine are those of their respective authors, and neither the CIOB, Atom Publishing nor Construction Manager is responsible for these opinions or statements. The editor will give careful consideration to material submitted – articles, photographs, drawings and so on – but does not undertake responsibility for damage or their safe return. Printed by Headley Brothers Ltd. All rights in the magazine, including copyright, content and design, are owned by CIOB and/or Atom Publishing. ISSN 1360 3566
You could play the odds but if you gamble with fire protection you are playing with lives. Switching the specification from Promat SUPALUX® to an inferior fire protection board is a risk not worth taking. In the event of a fire, you could be putting lives at risk and be liable to prosecution. Promat SUPALUX® is fully certified and independently tested to provide up to 240 minutes fire resistance and has over 30 years proven performance. That’s why it’s specified.
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