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News

Comment – Duty of Care by Michelle Dixon, Humphries Kirk LLP

Comment – The impact of insolvency on payment entitlement, Peter Sheridan, Sheridan Gold LLP

Comment – The Green commitment, BSIA Chief Executive, James Kelly

Comment -Contracts Matter! Mark Clinton, Thomas Eggar

Comment – A productive workspace, Michelle Labrosse, Cheetah Learning

Comment – Interim Payment Schedules, Peter Vinden, The Vinden Partnership

Comment – Are you really in control? Barry Ashmore, StreetwiseSubbie

Comment – Pushing up the profit, Benjamin Dyer, Powered Now

Case Study – Tottenham Hotspur’s ground breaking stadium receives consent

Augmented and virtual reality in the construction sector

Hillhead 2016: Quarrying, construction & recycling

Exclusive Interview – Raj Chawla from BIM4SME

Comment - Re-igniting the construction sector

Environment Spotlight – Moors for the future

Environment spotlight – Lobster Pictures, monitoring expertise to the renewables industry

Environment Spotlight – How does BREEAM measure sustainability?

Comment – Outstanding billing and the impact on cashflow, Euan Bell, Ultimate Finance

Active House : A holistic approach to sustainable construction

Re-engineering the M&E industry, Ainscough Industrial Services

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A multi-million pound scheme in Teesside, which will improve flood defences around 350 homes and 32 businesses, is complete.

The Environment Agency joined forces with local business Wilton Engineering to deliver the Port Clarence flood alleviation scheme.

A removable section of defence, which protects the work site and the local community from flooding, has been manufactured by Wilton. The defence allows Wilton to still operate from the river.

The sections of removable defence join with a concrete floor wall which runs along the rest of the front of Wilton’s site.

The total length of the new defences measures almost 1.5km. There’s been 132 precast concrete units used weighing nearly six tonnes each.

A total of 47 bespoke removable sections of steel defence, each six metres long and weighing 1.2 tonnes each have been lifted into place.

There are also new flood embankments to the east and west of Wilton, and a 35m section of the road on the approach to the Transporter Bridge has been raised by around half a metre.

The Environment Agency’s Operations Manager for the north east, Alan Cadas, said: “This has been a really innovative collaboration between ourselves and Wilton Engineering – seeing us work together with industry to protect the local area.

“I remember well the impact of the most recent floods on the local community and I hope the completion of this scheme provides reassurance for residents going into the future as well as protecting local industry.”

The scheme also includes a mixture of embankments, flood walls and ground raising along the River Tees to reduce the risk of flooding.

Wilton Engineering Chief Executive Bill Scott added: “Flooding is a huge problem

throughout many parts of the UK. I am sure the residents of Port Clarence will be able to sleep knowing that they are now protected against similar flooding events to that which occurred during the tidal surge back in December 2013.”

The Environment Agency recently attended High Clarence Primary School to talk to pupils about flooding, the new defences and how the scheme protects where they live and the surrounding local businesses.

The most recent impact of flooding in Port Clarence in December 2013 saw a tidal surge combined with high spring tides, which affected around 50 homes and businesses.

The Environment Agency’s flood schemes have protected an extra 182,000 properties in the past three years – and is spending £2.3Bn over the next six years to reduce the risk of floods to a further 300,000 properties.

£3M flood defences boost protection in north east

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The construction industry is to be transformed by the implementation of Building Information Modelling (BIM) Level 2 according to Costain Design & BIM Manager, David Owens.

Speaking in his capacity as an advisor to Highways England on BIM, Mr Owens told a recent meeting of Construct IT for Business about the recent history of BIM in highways and what lies ahead.

The UK Government Construction Strategy will require the use of BIM Level 2 by all Government departments on all projects by April this year. The government hopes that that will see a reduction cost, speed up delivery, greater sustainability and bring about

BIM Level 2 will ‘transform construction industry’

a narrowing in the trade gap for construction products and materials.

As a member of the Government Construction Board that devised the strategy, Highways England will use BIM on its projects by 2016, stating its BIM vision is to ‘make informed decisions and achieve excellence in delivery with visible benefits’.

Costain currently has a number of early-adopter Highways England BIM Level 2 projects underway including the A556 Knutsford to Bowdon and the A160/A180 Port of Immingham improvement schemes.

Mr Owens said: “Level 1 was 2D

and 3D CAD with dumb lines and annotations. But at Level 2 objects know what they are. Level 3 is yet to be defined but we know it will include integrated and online object sharing.”

“We’ve already seen progress such as the development of a IAN 184 CAD/BIM standard, a BIM change programme, and communications and training.

“Next steps will include adding BIM requirements to all relevant tenders, the introduction of BIM KPIs, and the roll-out of a standard set of BIM documents.“Going from Level 1 to Level 2 will be like moving from analogue to digital – it’s the transformation of an industry.”

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IS THE SUN SETTING ON THE HELICOPTER INDUSTRY?

ARE UAVs TAKING OVER THEIR WORLD?

No, of course not. The helicopter will continue to be a vital tool in many aspects of industry worldwide. However helicopter operators are going to have to redirect their business plans as the use of UAVs will take a lot of work away from their sector.

UAVs will be the primary tool for survey, patrol and photography.

Helicopters will be needed for transport and heavy lift.

The smart helicopter operator will incorporate UAVs into their business model, transporting the people to remote locations where the filming, survey and patrol will be done.

The operation of UAVs is a new, exciting and innovative section of the world’s aviation industry. It will dovetail with manned aircraft to great effect and benefit to our lives.

But there lies the current conundrum – how easily will the two sectors come together?

Untrained UAV operators flying with no regard to the rules and regulations are already causing problems. Air-misses between aircraft and UAVs are being reported and rumours of engine ingestion damage are rife.

This is why Insurance is playing a vital role in helping set rules for safety and good operating practices.

And this is why UAV operators need specialist insurance help.

Besso Ltd is a Lloyd’s broker with a specialist aviation team who understand the problems and nuances of flying any type of aircraft – small unmanned aircraft, twin engine helicopter or jumbo jet.

We use a number of insurers, we are not restricted to the one programme, and we can insure you anywhere in the world.

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The Winners and Highly Commended entrants for the National Government Opportunities (GO) Excellence in Public Procurement Awards 2016/17 celebrated their achievements at the sparkling Hilton Manchester Deansgate on Tuesday 8th March.

The sell-out event was hosted by TV presenter Sarah Heaney, who led the way in the grand finale to the National GO Awards’ biggest ever event, which demonstrated in style just how much the GO Awards have evolved over the past few years.

The GO Awards supported the Realising Dreams Foundation – a registered charity, set up by BiP Solutions in 2014. The Realising Dreams Foundation helps to remove barriers for children and young people so they can achieve their full potential, expand their horizons and exceed their own ambitions.

Opening the black tie event, Grahame Steed, Managing Editor of GO and Chair of the Judging Panel said: “This was our third year back in Manchester and what a truly tremendous night it’s been! The standard of submissions and amount of entries was staggering, so much so that we had to increase the number of award categories on the night to cater for the huge number of sectors involved. Well done to everyone involved this year, you really were testing yourself against the best of the best!”

Sally Collier, Chief Executive Officer at the Crown Commercial Service said that “procurement is the lynch pin in devolution”. She was a passionate member of the panel of judges, made up of experts in the UK procurement and commissioning which included Ainslie McLaughlin, Director of Procurement and Commercial at the Scottish Government.UK Construction Media were proud to be a sponsor at the event.

The evening saw Horsham District

National GO Awards a night to remember

Council win the GO Sustainability / Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative of the Year Award, while The City of Edinburgh Council won GO Contract Management Initiative of the Year Award and GO Procurement Innovation or Initiative of the Year Award – Local Government and Consortia.The GO Small Business/Third Sector Engagement Initiative of the Year Award was won by the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, who have an excellent reputation for delivering high quality patient care.Peterborough City Council won the GO Best Service Award – Health and Social Care, and MAP Chartered Surveyors took the award for GO Best Service Award.

Other winners included Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Lincolnshire County Council – Homecare, Scotland Excel, Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London Borough of Waltham Forest, Crown Commercial Service, and STAR Procurement.

The Hilton was home to an abundance of laughter and applause, and a true celebration of the very best that public sector procurement has to offer as a career, as a market sector and, most importantly, as a means of delivering more efficient and effective public services.

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Labour’s Shadow Housing and Planning Minister visits innovative Blackwall Reach regeneration project in Tower Hamlets.

Labour’s Shadow Housing and Planning Minister, John Healey MP met Mayor John Biggs, senior officers, and councillors, as part of a visit to see how Tower Hamlets Council is rising to the challenge of the housing crisis.

Over the next ten years, a £300M scheme at the old Robin Hood Gardens estate will deliver more than 1,500 new homes, replacing the existing 252 homes. The development will also include new community facilities, commercial units and improved green open spaces.

The Blackwall Reach scheme is being delivered in partnership with Swan Housing Group and the Greater London Authority.

John Healey said: “I welcomed the

opportunity to hear about how Tower Hamlets Council are dealing with the housing challenges their residents face. Locally-led regeneration schemes like Blackwall Reach can revitalise local areas and create new affordable homes. Tower Hamlets is showing what councils can do with limited space but high aspirations.”

Mayor of Tower Hamlets, John Biggs added: “We have a growing population and providing homes and essential services is a real challenge. The Blackwall Reach scheme has shown what can be achieved with good partnership working and engaging fully with residents from the start.”

“We have a long way to go and the council is seeking every opportunity to maximise on building more genuinely affordable homes and creating real neighbourhoods.”

The MP was also briefed on the reshaping

of Whitechapel Town Centre, another ambitious scheme in the heart of the borough which aims to deliver 3,500 new homes by 2025. The scheme includes a substantial number of family and affordable homes, major improvements to public spaces, roads, and new shopping and leisure opportunities.

The council has also secured £7M from its Right to Buy receipts and will work with housing associations to deliver around 70 homes at social rents, as part of Mayor Bigg’s pledge to deliver 1,000 new council homes.

Cllr Sirajul Islam, Statutory Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Housing added: “We are working hard to build more genuinely affordable homes in the borough and to also improve existing council homes to improve residents’ quality life.”

Shadow Minister visits Tower Hamlets to discuss housing challenge

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Consent has been granted for a second landmark office building at the Ruskin Square development in Croydon.

The £500M Schroder UK Real Estate Fund (SREF) scheme, adjacent to East Croydon station, is coming out of the ground fast with the first 180,000sq ft office now topped out and a first residential building due for completion this summer.

Now the newly consented second commercial building, larger at 250,000sq ft and standing 63m tall, will deliver a further 200,000sq ft of offices, with retail and dining at ground floor and will target a BREEAM Excellent sustainability rating.

With Croydon set to become London’s biggest growth centre with more than £5.25Bn of investment over the next five years, Ruskin Square is being

speculatively developed by Schroder UK Real Estate Fund in partnership with developer, Stanhope PLC.

On a nine acre site, new accommodation will be delivered including much needed high specification offices, retail and dining, public spaces and up to 625 homes.

Award winning international architectural practice, Make designed the 13-storey second building, drawing on the vernacular architecture of the Croydon borough setting while ensuring animation at ground floor through the retail entrances and their connection with the public realm surroundings.

Commenting, James Lass, Fund Manager, Schroder UK Real Estate Fund, said: “This latest planning milestone allows us to maintain and build

upon the momentum that is building at Ruskin Square. With occupiers increasingly seeking high quality offices in non-core London locations with good public transport access, Croydon is becoming a go-to destination.”

Jason Margrave, Development Director, Stanhope PLC, added: “With Building One’s structural steelwork due to complete within the next few weeks, the programme for the first office is firmly on track for delivery before the end of 2016 and we are delighted to have secured consent for the second building to follow close behind.”

Savills and JLL are the retained commercial letting agents for Ruskin Square.

The residential building on site is being delivered in partnership with Places for People.

Croydon’s new quarter takes shape

HS2 Ltd plan to launch two consultations on its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) scope and methodology reports for construction and operation of the Phase 2a section of the project.

A variety of views from statutory and expert bodies will be sought on the scope, methodology and overall approach of the assessments for the EIA and EQIA for Phase IIa.

The Environmental Impact Assessment will be used to examine any significant environmental effects of the planned scheme and the measures implemented to combat these. The EIA will accompany a hybrid Bill to Parliament that will authorise the construction, operation and maintenance of the Phase IIa section of HS2, planned to run between the West Midlands and Crewe.

The Equality Impact Assessment will

HS2 Ltd is to launch two scope andmethodology report consultationsfor Phase IIa

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be created at the same time to inform the development of the Phase IIa proposals and ascertain any qualities groups that could be disproportionately affected and any action required to limit any potential effects.

The consultations will run until 13th May 2016.

HS2 Ltd’s Managing Director –

Development, Alison Munro said: “It is important to consult on the nature and approach of the upcoming Environmental Impact Assessment and Equality Impact Assessment so that in preparing them we capture the appropriate information to describe the effects of the scheme.

“I’d encourage organisations who can provide feedback to take part in these consultations.”

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A £200M road building investment that will unlock economic growth by connecting new businesses and up to 7,000 new homes, is part of the government’s long term economic plan for Bedfordshire.

The two linked projects are passing their one year milestone this spring and will be completed in 2017.

The 2.8 mile, £162M A5-M1 Link scheme is being delivered by Highways England, to improve the east-west connection between the A5 and M1 and includes the building of a new duelled road, three new junctions including a new motorway junction and six new bridges.

The £38M, 1.8 mile Woodside Link project is being completed by Central Bedfordshire Council and will connect the industrial areas of Houghton Regis and Dunstable to new M1 junction 11a.

Up to 40 hectares of land for business will be unlocked, and the schemes will provide the infrastructure for 7,000 new homes to be built to the north of Houghton Regis. They will also provide better access to the M1 and reduce congestion in Dunstable.

On the A5-M1 link, milestones that have been reached include starting the work on the layout for the new M1 junction 11A, with new roundabouts and bridges, as well as the rebuilding of the B579 Luton Road East and West to align it with junction 11a. Work on the link road itself has also progressed, with drainage, fencing and some of the foundations and surfacing completed. Work on the new A5 roundabout has started too.

Woodside Link milestones so far include the completion of major earthworks, the construction of two bridges, the installation of drainage and a retaining wall, and the cutting of ‘road boxes’ prior to surfacing.

Roads Minister Andrew Jones said: “We are determined to deliver better journeys and the infrastructure that will allow the economy to grow in Bedfordshire.

“We are investing £15Bn nationally to improve our roads, and this project is an important part of that.

“It is pleasing to see the progress that has been made with the A5-M1 and Woodside link schemes which will lay the ground for new businesses to thrive and homes to

be built for hard working people.”

Highways England Project Manager Karen Green said: “We continue to work closely with Central Bedfordshire Council to ensure both projects progress alongside and to minimise disruption to users.

“Once opened, we anticipate that both schemes together will provide significant improvements in terms of journey time reliability and safety for long distance and local traffic. Local communities will also see pressure easing on their local roads as more traffic will be using the new routes.”

The HRN1 development is contributing a total of £45M to help deliver the A5-M1 Link Road, along with land for the Woodside Connection. The improved connectivity that these roads can deliver will promote increased business productivity, skills and economic performance, all of which are needed to support and deliver additional housing growth.

In addition to new houses and associated services, HRN1 will deliver over 5,000 new jobs, bring 130,500sq m gross of employment land including new office space and the opportunity for business start-ups next to the new junction 11a.

£200M Central Bedfordshire roadbuilding investment on time andto budget

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Chancellor George Osborne has delivered his Budget promising a fundamental reform of the business system to provide a boost small business and enterprise.

The Chancellor said that the government would be “sticking to long term economic plan” and said the government was on course to achieve an economic surplus by 2020.

Small businesses are set to benefit from reforms to the business rates that will mean 250,000 will see their rates reduced from April next year and 6,000 small companies will no rates at all.

Mr Osborne decided against increasing fuel duty despite cheaper pump prices and instead opted to freeze it for the sixth consecutive year, saying the decision would “keep Britain on the move”.

The Chancellor said he was “making

the Northern Powerhouse a reality” as announced major new commitments to infrastructure projects by giving the go ahead to HS3 rail scheme between Manchester and Leeds, the widening of the M62 and improved road links in the North Pennines.

Also included in the budget was a change to the North Sea tax system in an effort to help the UK’s ailing oil and gas industry.Mr Osborne said that Petroleum Revenue Tax (PRT) will be “effectively abolished” and will cut supplementary tax in half from 20% to 10% in a move likely to welcomed by oil and gas producers. Both of these measures are to be backdated to the start of 2016.

The cut to supplementary tax follows reductions made in last year’s Budget from 30% to 20%. PRT was previously cut from 50% to 35%.

Mr Osborne said: “The oil and gas sector employs hundreds of thousands of people in Scotland and around our country.

“In my budget a year ago I made major reductions in taxes, but the oil price has continued to fall so we need to act now for the long term.

“I am today cutting in half the supplementary charge on oil and gas from 20% to 10% and I am effectively abolishing Petroleum Revenue Tax too – backing this key Scottish industry and supporting jobs right across Britain.”

The Chancellor also announced a 0.5% increase in insurance premium tax with the £700M raised from this measure to be spent on improving flood defences with schemes in Yorkshire and Cumbria given the green light.

Chancellor delivers“Budget for small businesses”

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Hill, an award-winning UK housebuilder, has received planning approval from Oxford City Council to build the first 237 new homes at Barton Park. The project is a sustainable urban extension to the north east of the city led by Barton Oxford LLP, a development partnership between Oxford City Council and property investment and development firm Grosvenor Britain & Ireland. Hill was appointed by the partnership to develop the first phase of homes in January 2015.

Barton Park is the first significant residential development in Oxford for many years, bringing 885 much needed new homes to the area. The first new homes will include a selection of apartments through to a number of large family homes. Designed by Pollard Thomas Edwards and Alison Brooks Architects, the characterful new homes have been partly inspired by central Oxford’s 19th century residential neighbourhoods, and will include a striking

Planning approval for landmark Barton Park

crescent of three-storey townhouses.

Importantly 40% of all new homes have been designated affordable properties to be managed by Oxford City Council.Alongside providing 237 new homes in a mixture of tenures, this first phase of development will form a gateway to Barton Park, connecting the new community with Oxford city centre.

Hill will commence construction on site in the summer of 2016, following the first phase of infrastructure works, with the first residents expected to move into the new homes in summer 2017.

Andy Hill, Chief Executive at Hill, commented: “This is great news for Oxford. A lack of new homes is putting pressure on local families, and so investing in developments like Barton Park is vital if the city is to continue to grow and prosper.

“Barton Park is a landmark development for Hill and our design team have worked hard to incorporate Oxford’s heritage into the new homes, while creating a modern and sustainable extension of the city’s north eastern edge. We’re very pleased that the council and the local community have been supportive of our plans and we are looking forward to starting work on site.”

Councillor Mike Rowley, Board Member of Housing at Oxford City Council, commented: “I am delighted that with this approval, we can now expect to see what will become the new extension of the Barton community take shape as the first 237 homes are built. Despite proposals by the government that will make delivering new affordable homes in the city even more challenging, the Council remains committed to meeting Oxford’s housing need and the new Barton development reflects this ambition.”

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Pioneering councils are to help lead the way in bringing forward derelict and underused land for new homes.

Communities Secretary Greg Clark has announced that 73 councils across England will pilot one of the new brownfield registers, which will provide house builders with up-to-date and publically available information on all brownfield sites available for housing locally.

The construction of new homes will be sped up, with registers that will help housebuilders identify suitable sites quickly.

They will also allow communities to draw attention to local sites for listing, including in some cases derelict buildings and eyesores that are primed for redevelopment and that could attract investment to the area.

The government has pledged to

get planning permission in place on 90% of suitable brownfield sites for housing. The move ramps up the brownfield land building commitment.

Communities Secretary Greg Clark said: “A key part of our ambition to build one million homes is to get work started on brownfield sites across the country – many of which are currently nothing more than blight on a community’s landscape.“These councils will be at the forefront of these efforts to list land and encourage builders to deliver new homes for aspiring homeowners.

“But this is just the first step and I would urge councils to continue to offer up brownfield sites to deliver the homes their residents want and need.”

Registers will eventually become mandatory for all councils under proposals going through Parliament in the Housing and Planning Bill.

Other measures in the Housing and Planning Bill will enable ‘permission in principle’ to be granted for housing-led development sites listed on the new brownfield registers. This will mean developers building new homes on brownfield land will have a greater degree of certainty in relation to location, use and the amount of development.

A total of 15 councils with most brownfield land taking part in the brownfield register pilot project are Cherwell, County Durham, Huntingdonshire, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Medway, Newcastle upon Tyne, Peterborough, Selby, Sheffield, South Cambridgeshire, Sunderland, Tonbridge and Malling and Wigan. They were identified in the final complete publication of National Land Use Database statistics.

A further 36 areas made up of 58 councils (some bids are joint) were selected on a competitive basis.

Derelict and underused land for new homes brought forward

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Heathrow Airport has appointed four contractors for third runway despite no green light from the government.

Following a competitive process, Arup, CH2M, MACE and Turner & Townsend have been chosen to work on the expansion of Heathrow Airport with a third runway, before government approval.

Ian Ballentine, Heathrow Director of Procurement said: ”I’m delighted that our client partners are now on board and I look forward to working with them to give the UK a truly world-class, sustainable hub airport.

“This privately financed, £16Bn project will benefit the whole UK as we work to widen the supply-chain right across the nation.”

Turner & Townsend Chief Executive Vincent Clancy said: “We are delighted to be supporting Heathrow in the next phase of their expansion. We are ready to bring our programme

management and commercial expertise from airports in over 20 countries to deliver the capacity and global connectivity the UK so urgently needs.

“The Airports Commission has made a clear recommendation and we now need the Government to stop stalling and give Heathrow permission to build an airport of which the country can be proud.”

Last year, the Government’s independent Airports Commission, led by Royal Bank of Scotland Chairman Sir Howard Davies, unanimously recommended the expansion of Heathrow, and said that it could be done within the environmental limits. Heathrow is now ready to being the process as soon as the Government give the green light.

The government said in December that it would delay making a decision on airport expansion in the south east until at least this summer, saying “more work will be done on

environmental impacts” in the interim.

International Development Secretary Justine Greening said: “I just don’t think it is a smart decision.

“Trying to expand Heathrow is like trying to build an eight bedroom mansion on the site of a terraced house. It is a hub airport that is just simply in the wrong place.”

Heathrow’s expansion programme will focus on creating a world-class, sustainable hub airport which is commercially attractive to both Heathrow’s shareholders and the airlines. It will be tasked with developing a skilled, nationwide supply chain that can expand the airport on-time, on-budget, to world-class standards whilst spreading the benefits right across the country.

This privately financed, £16Bn project will benefit the whole UK as we work to widen the supply-chain right across the nation.

Heathrow Airport hires four contractors to build third runway

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Scaffolding supplier Altrad NSG has hired two local apprenticeships to work on the Mersey Gateway Project.

In recognition of National Apprenticeship Week Merseylink has announced that its scaffolding supplier have hired two local apprentices on a 20 month apprenticeship scheme.

David McNamara, 22, and Paul Humphries, 20, both from Runcorn, have joined the scaffolding and industrial services specialist, Altrad HSG’s, which are erecting scaffolding right across the project from the bridge piers, pylons and elevated approach roads.

David, who is based on site at Ditton in Widnes, said: “I’ve worked with Altrad NSG as a labourer since I left school and I’m keen to progress in the trade. When I asked about opportunities I was encouraged to apply for the apprenticeship. I’m enjoying it a lot; it’s like working with big Lego. I’m learning so much from working on site and the lads are really supportive.”

Paul has joined the scaffolding gang working on the moveable scaffolding system. He said: “I applied for the apprenticeship because I want to learn a trade. I’m enjoying finding out what all of the scaffolding equipment is and how it works. The Mersey Gateway Project is one of the biggest things going on and it’s right next to home so it’s great to be working on it.”

The two apprentices will be learning on-the-job alongside senior scaffolders while working towards an NVQ Level 2 in Scaffolding. The apprenticeship is a practical work-based programme that teaches the basics of the scaffolding trade. It covers workplace safety, erecting and dismantling all types of scaffolding structures, building methods and construction technologies.

Mike Carr, Managing Director at Altrad NSG, said: “We are very pleased to once again create employment opportunities by way of Apprenticeships. Altrad NSG has employed Apprentices across its businesses for many years

and this has proved to be beneficial to the company as a whole, especially as we have an extremely high rate of skill retention once training is complete.

“The labour market place has been very challenging due to skills shortages and the utilisation of apprenticeships is one solution to this problem. We have worked closely with our training providers (Training 2000 and Simian) to ensure our Apprentices are trained to a high level in a supportive environment.”

A total of 21 apprentices have been hired to work on the Mersey Gateway Project in the areas of office administration, accountancy, IT, traffic management, scaffolding, steel fixing and general construction.

Merseylink has directly appointed 12 apprentices and 9 have been employed by the project’s subcontractors, which include Altrad NSG, Sword, Tarmac and Adept 4.

The Mersey Gateway Bridge is on schedule to open in autumn 2017.

Local apprentices to work on Mersey Gateway project

New figures show that the number of planning permissions for homes rose six per cent on a year earlier, as housing measures continue to turn the market around with new builds for hard workers and first time buyers.

The number of major applications being processed quickly by local authorities is at an all-time high with a record 81% decided within the required time.

The number of planning permissions granted for homes in 2015 was the highest since 2007. According to analysis of Glenigan data also published, permission was granted for 253,000 homes during the year.

Government figures show that as well as rising numbers of planning permissions for homes, the number of planning permissions granted overall between October and December 2015 was four per cent greater than a year earlier, with councils granting 92,000 decisions.

Planning Minister Brandon Lewis said: “We’ve brought the housing market back from the brink with more than 700,000 new homes delivered since 2010 and a further one million granted planning permission.

“Today’s figures are further good news for hard-working families and first time buyers wanting to achieve their dream of home ownership with constructions rates up and plenty of homes in the pipeline.”

More than 1,000 pages were cut out of the reformed planning system and National Planning Policy Framework, simplifying the process for obtaining planning permission whilst maintaining safeguards for the countryside.

The government is currently moving ahead with its Housing and Planning Bill, which will help deliver on its ambition to build a million more homes.

Measures include new affordable Starter Homes on all reasonably sized new development sites, permission in principle for sites identified in plans and brownfield registers and planning reforms to support small builders.

Planning permissions for homes hits eight year high

ConQuest Estimating & Surveying Software

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The LowCVP and the Clean Air Alliance have announced an initiative to help combat the health effects of urban air pollution and meet the demand for a reduction in carbon.

The scheme was launched on 1st March at a seminar and Parliamentary reception, which was attended by over 200 people. It will focus on the impacts of road transport and has published a communique revealing the areas of agreement and potential collaboration between the two communities.

Signatories to the communiqué include: The Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership; Clean Air Alliance; Environmental Protection UK; Clean Air in London; Kings College London, Environmental Research Group; Imperial College London, National Heart & Lung Institute; Environmental Industries Commission; Transport for Greater Manchester; Green Alliance; Deliver Change; Society for the Environment; Institution of Mechanical Engineers; Cenex and the Institution of Environmental Sciences.

The initiative will aim to demonstrate

that climate change and air quality communities can work hand in hand. It will also reveal the number of policies aimed at tackling climate change also serve to limit air pollution.

Areas of tension or confusion will also be identified between the two agendas and investigated to see how coordinated activity can help to resolve both, for the benefit of all.

Almost 20% of all the UK’s total emissions of CO2 and most of the critical emissions (particulates and NOx), which can be extremely damaging to health in areas of high pollution concentration, comes as a direct consequence of road transport.

The UK is legally obligated under the Climate Change Act and European regulations to reduce emissions of both types.

The launch of the scheme follows the news that London exceeded its annual pollution limits after just one week into 2016. The government is also set to introduce five Clean Air Zones in the UK.

Andy Eastlake, Managing Director, LowCVP said: “The LowCVP has been working throughout to make sure that the climate initiatives in which we’re involved also make a positive contribution to air quality, but forging closer relationships and working in an even broader partnership can only help both of our agendas.

“We look forward to collaborating with representatives of the air quality community and will be looking for practical ways to embed consideration of air pollution into all our processes.”

Dan Byles, Chair of the Clean Air Alliance said: “The science shows that if air pollution is addressed, there will generally also be a significant decrease in climate carbon emissions.

“It’s vital that this exciting partnership between the Clean Air Alliance and the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership helps the air quality and climate change communities work more closely together to better understand the links between them and the benefits of addressing the two issues together.”

New initiative to tackle carbon and improve health launched

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A new guideline issued by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and China’s State Council could see an end to the country’s trend of eccentric architecture.

In February, China released the guideline on urban planning in an effort to deal with problems associated with increasing urbanisation and rapidly expanding city sizes.

The government wants an end to “bizarre architecture that is not economical, functional, aesthetically pleasing or environmentally friendly,” and instead see buildings that are “suitable, economic, green and pleasing to the eye”.

Construction methods that generate less waste and use fewer resources, such as prefabricated buildings, will be encouraged by the government.

It is hoped this will lead to dramatic changes to China’s city skylines and improve the urban layout to prevent uncontrolled rapid expansion so that cities can no longer grow beyond what their resources can support.

The guidelines predict that in ten years time, 30% of all new buildings we be prefabricated.

In an effort to keep an eye on urban sprawl, the report says that the government should utilise a number of methods including remote satellite sensing to find buildings that violate existing urban planning policies. A map containing all offending architecture will be created within five years, with action being taken against those who break the new regulations.

More green areas and parks will also

be created as China looks to tackle shantytowns and run down buildings.

There will also efforts made to limit the number of copycat buildings in China that ‘borrow’ their design from other famous buildings and landmarks around the world, such as the Eiffel Tower and the White House.

China is home to a number of eye-catching buildings including the headquarters of China Central Television (CCTV), likened by some to pair of trousers, which won the Best Tall Building Worldwide from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat in 2013.

Another example is the world’s tallest circle-shaped building, the Guangzhou Circle, which stands at 138m situated by the Pearl River.

China in ‘bizarre’ architecture ban

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Since September 2015, all new cars registered are required to meet Euro-6 standards. This European Union legislation aims to make cars environmentally cleaner by reducing the levels of harmful vehicle emissions such as nitrogen oxide (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (THC and NMHC) and particulate matter (PM).

The very first Euro-1 legislation came into force in 1993 and was introduced for cars, trucks and buses leading to a significant reduction of emissions produced by these vehicles.

The new Euro-6 regulations are the most stringent to date and are binding for all new models launched since September 1, 2014 and for all new vehicle registrations from September 1, 2015.

The new regulations have different implications for petrol and diesel powered vehicles. Diesel cars the permitted level of NOx emissions has dropped to a maximum of 80mg/km compared to the 180mg/km level that was required for cars to meet the previous Euro 5 emissions standards.

NOx emissions for petrol vehicles have remained at the previous Euro-5 standard of 60mg/km.

Older models of diesel cars are known to produce high levels of NOx and PM and have faced criticism from environmental groups. The government had previously encouraged motorists towards diesel-powered vehicles with lower vehicle excise duty and company car tax structures that reward low CO2 emissions but that will soon no longer be the case.

Transport for London’s plan to introduce an ultra low emission zone in central London in 2020 will see a crackdown on diesel with no new black cabs being allowed to be powered by the fuel. Drivers will also be incentivised to switch to electric powered cars from their existing diesel engines.

London Mayor Boris Johnson said: “The taxi and minicab trades have a crucial role to play in helping to improve London’s air quality.

“This is why we have made them a central part of our ultra-low emission zone plans. We understand this will take time and that is why we are giving financial assistance to help clean up these vehicle fleets.”

As part of the ultra low emission zone, older diesel vehicles that don’t conform to Euro-6 emission standards face being hit with an extra £10 to enter London in addition to standard London congestion charge.

Such is the backlash against diesel vehicles that the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) launched a campaign last year to raise awareness of clean diesel technology to prevent people from ignoring clean diesel cars.

Chief executive of the SMMT, Mike Hawes, commented: “Today’s diesel engines are the cleanest ever, and the culmination of billions of pounds of investment by manufacturers to improve air quality. Bans and parking taxes on diesel vehicles therefore make no sense from an environmental point of view.

“We need to avoid penalising one vehicle technology over another and instead encourage the uptake of the latest vehicle technology by consumers.”

For commercial vehicles, the latest models of heavy-duty vehicles such as trucks and buses have already had the Euro-6 standards in place since the end of 2013.

To meet these standards, vehicle manufacturers have examined a number of options that include reduced vehicle weight, reduced compression ratio and more efficient drive-trains.

However, new after-treatment system

technologies such as Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) and diesel particulate filters (DPFs) have proved most effective in reducing harmful emissions.

Selective Catalytic Reduction work with a reduction agent, typically known as AdBlue, and the Lean NOx trap, which is used instead of a normal oxidation catalytic converter.

AdBlue is continuously sprayed into the exhaust gas and helps to breakdown NOx, turning nitrogen oxide into safe steam and nitrogen. As it is consumed in proportion to engine usage, it will require regular monitoring and checking.

Consumption of AdBlue can differ enormously depending on the vehicle type and model, load, environmental conditions, and the manner in which the vehicle is driven.

For unwitting fleet operators, use of AdBlue could be a hidden cost when it comes to selecting new Euro-6 compliant vehicles, particularly on a large fleet.

An alternative to AdBlue is the maintenance-free Lean NOx trap. Again fitted instead of an oxidisation catalyser, in normal running traps the NOx pollutant from the engine in its porous core.

Both Ford and Volvo have opted for this method over an SCR system due to the advantages of it being maintenance-free and not requiring any interaction from the driver in the vehicle’s lifetime.

A drawback to Lean NOx trap is that it doesn’t work on all types of vehicles, as it doesn’t perform as well at very high temperatures.

Whilst the new regulations might have much impact upon everyday road users, fleet managers have been left with a number of things to consider when looking to replace ageing fleet with Euro-6 compliant vehicles.

Euro-6 vehicle regulations and what you need to know

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Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd have substantial experience and understanding in the delivery of complex projects that embrace safe, sustainable and considerate construction.

Mark Davis has been with Buckingham Group for over 10 years and became Estimating Director 5 years ago focussing on the build/stadia sectors of the business. Dave Stannage joined Buckingham Group 2 years ago as a senior estimator.

Mark and Dave each have over 25 years experience working for many

reputable companies pricing building, civils and refurbishment projects.

We talk to them both about the decision to buy ConQuest, the implementation process and what it does for them. Mark explains...

‘’Several main reasons, firstly I wanted to utilise a system that was familiar to most estimators, the type of estimating software we use is a typical conversation that takes place in all interviews I have conducted for potential estimating candidates.

Secondly, having the ability to send

out and manage enquiries within ConQuest means that we don’t have to use separate online portals any more. Also we are finding that most subcontractors are familiar with receiving enquiries through ConQuest, the live tracking updates are particularly useful providing us with an opportunity to make informed choices earlier in the tender process.

The third reason is that I wanted a system that was reliable and ConQuest has been around for some time. I previously used it some 12 years ago and remembered that it worked well but after seeing

Buckingham Group have nearly 60 years experience in both the public and private sector, they provide a range of services in Building, Civil Engineering, Sport & Leisure, Rail and more. Buckingham are also moving their expertise into public sector work such as office blocks, schools & colleges.

As a family/Owner managed business they maintain a business ethos based on traditional family values, this mirrors the way that ConQuest also works as a business.

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

www.conquest.ltd.uk

BUCKINGHAM GROUP

Capital Park Cambridge - D&B of a 3 storey 40,190 sq ft building featuring an

impressive double height atrium within the reception area. Value £7m

Caudwell - Design & Construction of a 54,300 sqft administration, assessment & training centre. Value - £10m base build

with £10m fit out.

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

www.conquest.ltd.uk

the latest version demonstrated I was convinced that it was time to implement ConQuest’’.

‘’Training was good and setting this up was easy, whilst the training was not conducted within our office this actually has some benefits in that there are no distractions and the trainer can control the event keeping everyone learning at the same pace. Installation happened on the planned day and worked first time’’.

Dave Stannage tells us that the first job they ever priced on ConQuest (Capital Park – Pictured) they won:

‘’Capital Park in Cambridge was the first job we priced on ConQuest, I’m glad we had it. It worked really well because there were a lot of late design adjustments, ConQuest made these really easy to deal with’’Dave Continues: ‘’You can price anything on ConQuest, I price work from 50K through to £50 million and it is very flexible. I understand people who say you may as well price a smaller job in Excel but once you know ConQuest it just isn’t the same, you can’t get the same level of information out of Excel’’

We asked Mark how ConQuest helps him as a Director and what he likes about the system in general:

‘’For me, having confidence in the bid is important, ConQuest is an essential tool that helps my team provide me with this confidence, the software is simple to use, it is accurate and items can be found quickly and interrogated as necessary. ConQuest is a good solid estimating system, it is flexible enough to cater for complex bids without compromising on accuracy. I have used other estimating systems in the past and for tendering on build related projects ConQuest is the best package available in my opinion’’.

We asked Dave the same question from a Senior Estimators point of view:

‘’The thing is you could look at all the different parts of ConQuest individually; On Screen Take Off & Measurement, Estimating, Subcontractor & Supplier Comparisons / Enquiries and yes the comparisons module is a bit more detailed than other systems, and the enquires software is far superior to anything we have ever used but it is ConQuest as a whole integrated package that is great, it is just a really flexible & friendly management tool”

DP World - London Gateway Common User Facility CUF

The New, BREEAM Very Good, 375,000ft2, Multi-Purpose specialist cargo handling centre will be fully integrated with the new deep-sea

container port DP World London GatewayValue— £17.5m

Orbit Slide—Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Design & construction of a slide at

ArcelorMittal Orbit. Value—£2.5m

ConQuest is the leading supplier of Estimating & Surveying software in the UK & Ireland.

Specialists in Analytical Estimating/Surveying, Sending Enquiries, Subcontractor Quotation Comparisons, On Screen Taking Off and

detailed analysis of all parts of your tender.

STAKEHOLDER

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WHAT DOES THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT

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Automated and fast label printing, cost-saving options, and hands-free operation make Epson’s new industrial-grade LabelWorks LW-Z900FK a must-have for jobs in demanding environments.

Ideally suited to installers, maintenance contractors, builders and plumbers, the LabelWorks LW-Z900FK is ideal for rapidly, efficiently and affordably labelling electrics, cabling, including audio/video cables, data communications equipment, as well as pipes and machinery, in offices, factories, server rooms and construction sites.

A unique Pick & Print function enables the LW-Z900FK to print the next label in a pre-set series when it detects that a user has ‘picked’ the previous label – this is combined with automatic full and half cutting. That’s the perfect time-saver for repetitive jobs, as is its ability to save up to 100 different label patterns. Hands-free operation is made possible by an automatic cutter that cuts full or half-size labels, and magnets that can be used to hold the printer onto steel surfaces. Text entry is made easier by a central keyboard – alternatively a PC keyboard can be used while using Epson’s Label Editor software.

The LabelWorks LW-Z900FK can use up to seven

different tape widths - from 4 to 36mm - and three different shapes of die-cut labels, all on tapes measuring up to 9m long. Though the tapes it uses are affordable, it minimises their use, offering label margins as small as 1mm to save money. Label types include heat-resistant, glow in the dark, reflective and many more. Despite that versatility, quality is assured, with the LabelWorks LW-Z900FK producing clear and concise 360dpi resolution labels. Its built-in carry handle and protective casing ensure that it’s at home in demanding industrial environments.

Key features:

• Pick & Print printing • Auto cutter (full / half) • Up to seven different tape widths from 4-36mm • Tape lengths up to 9m maximum • Mix-length function can print up to 50 different lengths of labels in one job • Down to 1mm label margins • Label types include standard and specialist varieties, such as heat-resistant, glow in the dark, magnetic, die-cut and heat shrink tube (HST) labels. • 360-dpi quality • Drop Stop functionality – ensures that labels do not drop from the printer when printed and automatically cut • Data download function from laptops and PCs • Long life Li-Ion battery • Qwertz/Azerty keyboard for Germany/France • Integrated carry handle

HANDS-FREE INDUSTRIAL LABEL PRINTER SAVES TIME AND MONEY

EPSON’S LABELWORKS LW-Z900FK IS IDEAL FOR DEMANDING ENVIRONMENTS THANKS TO A RUGGED DESIGN AND PICK & PRINT AUTOMATION

We have all been there – the telephone goes and it’s your mother or your best friend asking for ‘informal’ professional advice because there’s a leak in their new conservatory or the neighbour has made a hole through their wall etc.

Whether you are being asked to give advice as a solicitor, architect, surveyor or any other professional, is there such a thing as “informal – you cannot sue me for negligence” advice? Do you as the professional owe your friends and family a ‘duty of care’ like you do to your clients?

In the recent case of Burgess and another v Lejonvarn [2016] EWHC 40 (TCC), the High Court was asked just that.

Lenjonvarn had architectural qualifications and was a long-standing friend of the Burgess couple. The couple planned landscaping works to their home and asked Lenjonvarn for advice. In fact, that advice extended to preparing designs and project management services, despite no contract or fee being discussed. This was not the first time that Lenjonvarn had provided professional services to the couple.

The friendship broke down with the couple criticising Lenjonvarn’s project procurement, project management, budgeting and cost control. The couple appointed a third party landscaper and subsequently claimed the delay and remedial costs from Lenjonvarn.

In deciding on a preliminary issue the High Court has to consider whether there was a contract between the parties, whether a fee had been agreed and whether there was a duty of care owed to the couple.

Liability can arise out of two legal principles: contractual and tortious duties. ‘Contractual’ is where there is a contract between the professional and the client, for example where the terms have been negotiated and agreed.

Tortious is where, even in the absence of a contract, the law imposes on the professional a duty to give its services to certain standards of conduct.

Therefore, whilst you may not have a contract between you and your friend when giving professional advice, you may still owe a professional duty of care.

In the Burgess case, the Court held that although there was no contract between the parties, Lenjonvarn did owe a duty of care in respect of the supervision services and professional advice she provided, albeit gratuitous, and that the couple relied on those services which in law gave them a right to a remedy.

It should be noted that the Court reached this decision based on evidence of a more formal relationship, where services had been provided for a long period of time; as opposed to mere social and informal ad hoc advice.

This case serves as a good reminder that the law places duties on professionals, even where there is no contract and no fee. As Mr Alexander Nissen QC (sitting as a Deputy High court Judge) explained:“In conclusion, it is established that in law a duty of care extends to the protection against economic loss in respect of both advice and any service in which a special skill is exercised by a professional. The duty can extend to negligent omissions as well as the performance of negligent acts. For present purposes, the relevant ingredients giving rise to the duty are an assumption of responsibility by the provider of the service coupled with reliance by the recipient of the service, all in circumstances which make it appropriate for a remedy to apply in law. The passages above make specific reference to the fact that a duty of care may be found to arise even in circumstances where services are performed gratuitously and in the absence of a contract. However, as

identified by Lord Goff, in the absence of a contract it is important to exercise greater care in distinguishing between social and professional relationships.”

In order to avoid being caught up in a dispute, it is good practice to always formulate a written agreement with the recipient to your advice. Make the boundaries clear and negotiate the terms. Ask yourself if the advice you are giving is something which would be regarded as informal ‘one-off’ help, consider your own professional conduct rules and whether your Professional Indemnity Insurance would cover the scenario if it all went wrong.

If you want to be super cautious, just tell your mother that for once you are taking the day off!

For more information, contact Michelle DixonAssociate Solicitor specialising in construction law at Humphries Kirk LLP

T: 01202 725400E: m.dixon@hklaw.eu W: www.hklaw.eu

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Normally a contractor is entitled to payment of certified sums and if there is no pay less notice from the employer, that right is easily enforceable in adjudication or in the courts. But the position becomes less straightforward if the contractor becomes insolvent before payment is made.

The position was considered by the House of Lords in Melville Dundas Ltd v George Wimpey Ltd (2007), before the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 (the LDEDC Act). It was held that that parties to a building contract could validly agree that, on termination, interim payments which had become due were no longer payable. The case was decided in respect of termination for insolvency, but the principle was not necessarily restricted to insolvency. The purpose of these termination provisions is to allow the employer to hold on to funds pending a final reckoning of claims and cross-claims, when a balance is due one way or the other.

The position was then dealt with in the statutory provisions of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, as amended by the LDEDC Act (the HGCR Act). Under the HGCR Act s.111(1) the payer must pay the notified sum, but this is subject to s.111(10), which states that sub-section (1) does not apply where (a) the contract provides that, if the payee becomes insolvent the payer need not pay and (b) the payee has become insolvent. Therefore, the Melville Dundas approach was maintained by statute, but restricted to insolvency.

A case concerning two JCT Intermediate contracts, clause 8.7.3 of which provided that on the contractor’s insolvency the employer “need not pay any sum that has already become due”, recently came before the Court of Appeal (Wilson and Sharp Investments Ltd v Harbour View Developments Ltd (2015)). Clause 8.7.3 was part of the termination provisions of the contracts.

The contractor, Harbour View, had sums certified in its favour under both contracts. The employer did not issue pay less notices and did not dispute that the certified sums became payable. But it was common ground that the contracts were terminated (how and by which party did not have to be determined). The contractor entered into creditor’s voluntary liquidation and was therefore insolvent as defined in the contracts; so the employer relied on clause 8.7.3. The trial judge’s view that this clause did not apply where the relevant contract had already been terminated prior to the insolvency of the contractor was not accepted by the Court of Appeal, so the employer was correct that clause 8.7.3 was engaged.

Harbour View sought to present a winding up petition against the employer, on the basis that the employer was not paying debts that were due to be paid. However, such an application may be resisted if there is a bona fide dispute on substantial grounds. That was the position here, as it was arguable that the employer was not obliged to pay the sums due under the interim certificates but was entitled to delay payment until the taking of the final account under the termination provisions.

The contractor was restrained by the Court of Appeal from presenting its winding-up petition. The employer argued that the works were over-valued in the certificates and that it had substantial claims against the contractor. These matters had to be bona fide and arguable on the facts for the employer to succeed.

It was also argued by the employer that it was the established practice in the Technology and Construction Court not to enforce interim payment obligations in favour of insolvent contractors. The Court of Appeal stated that the case law did establish that in appropriate circumstances, including where the contractor is insolvent, the court will refuse summary judgment (in the sense that a stay of execution is granted: see e.g. Bouygues UK Ltd v Dahl-Jensen U K Ltd (2000)). But it is not an absolute rule; the court looks at all the circumstances. It is important to establish not only that the contractor is insolvent but also that there is a genuine dispute over the contractor’s claim to payment.

The Bouygues case (also in the Court of Appeal) had established that there might well be a compelling reason to refuse summary judgment arising out of an adjudication where there are cross-claims and one party is in liquidation.

For more information, contactPeter SheridanPartner at Sheridan Gold LLPT: 01737 735088E: psheridan@sheridangold.co.ukwww.sheridangold.co.uk

The impact of insolvency on payment entitlementBy Peter Sheridan, Partner, Sheridan Gold LLP

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When we discuss sustainability it is imperative that we talk about green companies and how the world is moving towards being self-sustainable. The security manufacturing industry is no different, as the construction industry moves towards green building projects, contractors are more likely to work with green manufactures. James Kelly Chief Executive of the British Security Industry Association explores how the larger shift across the whole industry is an incentive for manufacturing companies to make a commitment to being greener than ever before.

As the world becomes more reliant on technology and moves away from traditional paper and pen, what to do with the waste of these products becomes more of an issue. With around 50 million tonnes of e-waste produced in 20141, tackling the problem is firmly in the mind of security manufactures.

Almost half of the UK’s carbon emissions are caused by buildings. The long-term goal is to reduce CO2 emissions by 80% by 2050, and that means creating buildings with minimal environmental impact2. One way to achieve this is through designing and constructing more sustainable housing. A similar process is applied at manufacturing level. Companies now look to not only reduce emission in the production of their products but also how to be more efficient with their waste. Like in other sectors, security industry companies too are turning green.

In addition to becoming more sustainable internally, security industry manufacturers are developing innovative green products and systems that eco-friendly integrators are installing. The move to

produce more environmentally friendly products not only saves their customers money, but also opens doors to other business opportunities that may not have present themselves before. With a recent study stating that green building is expect to double by 20183 the importance of tapping in to this market is key and assuring you stay ahead of the trend is increasingly important.

The production of greener products starts at already at the design phase. Using recycled products is a simple and effective way of helping produce green products. Tighter regulations mean that companies must be more creative in producing environmentally friendly products. Ideas such as designing products easy to disassemble and recycle at the end of the product’s life is something new but also a really smart way to help make a product green.

Using life cycle thinking is the next step in increasing the prospects of pollution prevention. The process has gone from an emphasis on production processes (greener production), to products (design for sustainability) and then to product systems (integrating transport logistics, end-of life collection and component reuse or materials recycling). Manufactures should look at this holistic process when producing green product while also work harder at trying to adhere to certain standards.

With over ten separate standards just to do with environmental issues that security manufactures must adhere to it can be extremely difficult for manufactures to produce environmentally friendly products and at the same time still being able to make a profit. When looking towards how companies can operate

best practices security manufacturing companies look towards EURALARM’s for guidance. EURALARM’s is the collective trade body for European electronic security companies; it helps to provide information to companies on how to produce products while also being environmentally responsible.

The importance for manufacturers of making sure their green credentials are well established becomes an even bigger factor when we look companies’ social responsibility. The increase risk of climate change and the very real prospect of a generation leaving the world in a worst place for future generation is something that must be considered. Choosing a product that helps the environment makes a huge difference. If a change can be made to make eco-friendly products the norm, the collective difference will make this world a far better place.

Members of the BSIA’s Security Equipment management section are experts in security equipment solutions and can offer advice on the different types of products available and the environments they are best suited to.

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

The Green commitment - why it pays to make it

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QUARTZDEK has been developed from proventechnology used extensively for over 25 yearsfor the renovation of balconies and terraces. • Prevents damage and deterioration • Highly durable and abrasive • Transparent resin base • Can be applied to concrete, cement, asphalt, new plywood ramps/decking

Tel: 01925 213655 • Fax: 01925 213656Email: info@acrypolproducts.co.uk • www.acrypolproducts.co.ukAcrypol Products Ltd 4 Asher Court, Lyncastle Way, Barleycastle Lane, Appleton, Warrington WA4 4ST

The construction industry has a long history of failing to get its contractual paperwork in order before work is started. Often, letters of intent will be used as an unsatisfactory stopgap on substantial projects. Sometimes the contract is largely agreed, but certain items are left to be agreed later. That was what happened in a contract between Grove Developments Limited and Balfour Beatty Regional Construction Ltd which ended up before the courts in February. The case is a salutary lesson about getting the paperwork sorted out at the outset, if a further lesson is needed.

The project was a substantial one. The contract price was in excess of £121 million. The payment arrangements would, I expect, have been quite an important element of the contract. The parties agreed to use the JCT stage payment option but had not agreed the details. They therefore completed the contract saying those details would be agreed within 2 weeks. That should set alarm bells ringing. Agreements to agree are generally unenforceable. The very nature is that they only work if both parties agree but each has the right not to do so. If agreement had not been reached, the parties would have been stuck with the provisions of the Scheme for Construction Contracts.

In the event, the parties did reach agreement. What they agreed was not a schedule of stage payments but a schedule of valuation and payment dates. It provided for 23 valuations, applications and payments. They had therefore changed from the JCT stage payment regime to the interim valuation and payment regime.

The project fell into delay and, anticipating that further interim payments would need to be added to the schedule, the parties entered into discussions and correspondence to that end. The last valuation date in the original schedule was in mid-July 2015, so the parties started their dialogue in late May. They disagreed about some details, the most important being what the due date for each payment was. The due date dictated the final date for payment and the date for any pay less notice.

The parties were effectively 7 days apart. The exchanges continued until early June but then ran out of steam.

The 23 applications provided for in the schedule came and went and in August, application 24 was submitted. Remember, the schedule did not provide for applications after number 23 and the parties had failed to agree additions to the schedule. Nonetheless, a payment certificate was issued. An invoice was duly raised for the amount in the certificate. Then, came a pay less notice.

At this point, Balfour Beatty claimed that both the certificate and pay less notice were out of time. It seems that in calculating the dates for the certificate and notice Grove thought it would play safe by using the dates that Balfour Beatty had been arguing for when trying to agree extensions to the payment schedule. Balfour Beatty now said that because no agreement had been reached, the dates were to be derived from the Construction Act and Scheme for Construction Contracts and those dates had not been met.

Balfour Beatty’s arguments backfired rather badly. The Construction Act requires provision to be made for interim payments in contracts that will last more than 45 days. The Act does not stipulate how many payments must be provided for nor how much they must be for. The schedule of 23 payments met the requirement. The Act did not require that there must be further interim payments if the works extended beyond the 23rd valuation date. Accordingly, and contrary to Balfour Beatty’s arguments, the Act and Scheme did not provide dates for valuations after number 23. The parties having failed to agree further dates, the court held that there was no entitlement at all to interim payments after the 23rd one. Regarding the date of the court hearing, the project is still ongoing, some 6 months after the original completion date. That is a long time to go without an entitlement to payment, particularly on a project of this size.

The first point to draw from this unhappy tale is that it really is important to get a proper contract agreed and in place before

work starts. Agreements to agree are of little value. Although the parties did agree the original schedule, the subsequent attempts to agree an extension to it show how easily these things can break down and be left unresolved. That happens not infrequently where letters of intent are issued and attempts to agree the contract subsequently run out of steam.

The second is that if you are going to include a schedule of payment dates in the contract, you must make sure that it enables dates to be derived for however long the project may take. The means for doing so, of course, should not be an agreement to agree.

The third point is that great care is needed when amending a contract. Here there was a change from stage payments to progress payments. I suspect that had the contract particulars been revised and had the schedule cross-referred to the relevant provisions in the conditions, the difficulties that arose might have been avoided. It is also important these days to keep in mind the provisions of the Construction Act.

Finally, as always, when debating points of detail one must keep an eye on the big picture.

Contracts MatterMark Clinton, partner at Thomas Eggar, recently merged with Irwin Mitchell LLP

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Your project teams seem to have all the right pieces - team members’ technical proficiency, good internal communication, an organised Project Manager - but something still isn’t quite right. Your team still struggles to get projects done on-time and is not as productive as it could be. What’s going on here? It might have something to do with your physical work environment.

I’m a big fan of using the Japanese technique of the “5 S’s” to improve productivity with my project teams. The 5 S’s are a way to get your workspace organised so that your environment is set up in a way that will best improve your productivity and efficiency. Do these tasks in the following order to organise your workspace:

1. SORTThis means going through and getting rid of things you don’t use. You also can remove those items in your workspace that you don’t need right at your fingertips. Though it may seem like a trivial detail, the amount of visual clutter in your work area impacts your ability to concentrate on the task at hand and can subtly impact your sense of feeling stressed. A clean, organised environment helps you maintain a calm and focused mental state - the first step toward increasing your productivity.

2. SET IN ORDERMake sure all the materials you need for your day-to-day work are in the places right where you need them. When our workspaces are poorly organised, we impede our ability to shift gears between activities and waste an astonishing amount of time just locating

what we need to start on a new task. Having what you need for your day’s activities requires a small investment of prep time at the beginning or end of each work day, but ultimately saves you time throughout your work day.

3. SHINESet up your workspace so that not only is it clean but, more importantly, it is easy to keep clean. The initial effort you put toward making your space easy to clean quickly pays off by saving you cleaning time later.

4. STANDARDISEPeople who follow standard routines for starting and ending their days tend to be more productive. Distractions are the biggest productivity losses for project teams in all organisations, so having a standard process to shift into a working mindset can create a more productive environment. This is because our minds naturally crave consistency and stability - think about how little thought you need to put into tasks that are a habit for you (like brushing your teeth in the morning) compared with tasks that are not habitual (like waking up earlier than usual for a morning meeting). The more we can make our daily work tasks part of a routine, the less time we need to spend deciding what to do next and transitioning between tasks.

5. SUSTAINEntropy is a natural state of affairs (it’s how our offices get so chaotic in the first place). Taking a few minutes every day to keep your workspace tidy and organised pays off in big productivity dividends long-term. This also ties into the importance of following a standard

routine each day; setting a time to maintain the cleanliness and organisation of your space is a simple and easy task to integrate into your daily routine.

Transitions in your organisation are a great time to implement the 5 S strategy with your project team. Some transitions where you can take a few hours to implement the 5 S’s are:

1. When the days get longer and warmer (the reason for our “spring cleaning” rituals) 2. When we move to new office space 3. When we add or lose a team member

Cheetah Learning students love the 40-hour online course, Project Management of Spring Cleaning, where they learn how to implement the 5 S strategy in their home or their work environment to improve both their personal or professional productivity. To learn more about the PM of Spring Cleaning course and Cheetah’s other online Project Management courses, visit www.cheetahlearning.com.

Setting up a productive workspace with the 5 S’sBy Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP®, PMI-ACP,Chief Cheetah and Founder of Cheetah Learning

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The Housing Grants Construction & Regeneration Act 1996 as amended by The Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 (“the Act”) requires a construction contract (that is intended to be on site longer than 45 days) to incorporate an adequate payment mechanism setting out when interim payments will become due and the final date for payment of these.

The Act goes on to set out the requirements for the issue of Payment Notices and Pay Less

Notices which have to be issued within an agreed period of the payment’s due date in the case of a Payment Notice or, in the case of a Pay Less Notice, by the final date for payment. The system can be confusing, mistakes are made, notices are not issued and if things go wrong an Employer can find itself contractually obliged to hand over a large sum of cash that may have been applied, which bears no resemblance to the value of works actually undertaken up to that point in time. Not a great situation.

To combat problems and confusion over the payment system, it has become quite popular to incorporate payment schedules into contracts to identify valuation dates for each month the contractor will be on site, with corresponding application dates, payment due dates, final dates for payment, Payment Notices, Pay Less Notices and so forth.

This is exactly what Grove Developments Ltd (“Grove”) and Balfour Beatty Regional Construction Ltd (“Balfour Beatty”)

Interim Payment Schedules – Getting Caught Between A Rock And A Hard Place

Regent House, Folds Point, Folds Road, Bolton BL1 2RZt. 01204 632888 f. 01204362808

tvp@vinden.co.uk www.vinden.co.uk

Regent House, Folds Point, Folds Road, Bolton BL1 2RZt. 01204 632888 f. 01204362808

tvp@vinden.co.uk www.vinden.co.uk

Whilst it may seem practical and tempting to agree a Schedule of Payment Dates in order to provide clarity, it must not be forgotten that construction

project delays are a fact of life in the UK.

did in respect of a construction contract anticipated to last for 23 months, with the last interim payment scheduled to coincide with the contract completion date.

The system agreed by the Parties worked well until the contract completion date of 22 July 2015 came and passed by with Balfour Beatty still slaving away on site.

Perhaps not unsurprisingly, Balfour Beatty believed that it was still entitled to receive interim payments, even though the schedule of interim payments dates did not cover its extended presence on site. Balfour Beatty therefore submitted a further interim application for payment on 21 August 2015. Unfortunately, Grove refused to accept that Balfour Beatty was entitled to any further interim payments and so the matter came before the Technology and Construction Court in January of this year.

In a judgement that took many by surprise, the court decided that Balfour Beatty was not entitled to any further interim payments beyond the dates set out in the

Parties’ agreed schedule. The Court refused to find that there was either an implied term giving a right to ongoing interim payments or that The Scheme for Construction Contracts should apply to fill the void left between the last interim payment date set down in the Parties’ Payment Schedule and the delayed date for completion. In effect, Balfour Beatty had lost the right to receive any further interim payments.

As Balfour Beatty would, no doubt, have been under an ongoing obligation to pay its Sub-Contractors and Suppliers whilst having no right to receive ongoing interim payments from Grove Developments, it will have found itself between a rock and a hard place. Never an enjoyable experience for any company and one to be avoided.

So where does this leave us?

Whilst it may seem practical and tempting to agree a Schedule of Payment Dates in order to provide clarity, it must not be forgotten that construction project delays are a fact of life in the UK. Any

agreed Schedule of Payment Dates should therefore go well beyond the contractual date for completion in anticipation of the above scenario. Alternatively, you might want to insert a new mechanism to determine both payment due dates and final dates for payment after the contract completion date has passed but before practical completion is certified as having been achieved.

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

Barry Ashmore, MD and co-founder of StreetwiseSubbie.com whichprovides business solutions for Specialist Contractors throughout the UK.

I’ve been catching up on some reading recently and wanted to share some topical insight I picked up from best-seller, ‘The Art of Thinking Clearly’ by Rolf Dobelli.

Chapter 17 is entitled ‘You control less than you think’ and it discusses the ‘illusion of control’, something that really resonates with me as a former sub-contractor and business owner.

The author opens the chapter by telling us about a man with a red hat who stands in a square at 9am every day waving his cap wildly in the air. One day, a policeman approaches the man and asks him what he is doing. The man’s reply? “I’m keeping the giraffes away.” “But there aren’t any giraffes,” replies the policeman. “Well I must be doing a good job then,” comes the reply.

Another analogy Dobelli uses to illustrate our ‘illusion of control’ is the fact that in casinos most people throw a dice as hard as they can if they need a high number and as delicately as possible if they need a low number. What nonsense! He compares this to football fans believing they can swing the result of the game by gesticulating at the TV - come on now, we’ve all been there!

This shared illusion that we can somehow influence the world by sending out the ‘right’ thoughts, positive energy or that karma actually exists is essentially a basic human instinct. States Dobelli: “The illusion of control is the tendency to believe that we can influence something over which we have absolutely no sway”

and was discovered in 1965 by two researchers, Jenkins and Ward, who carried out a simple experiment involving two switches and a light. The men could adjust when the switches connected to the light and when they didn’t. Even when the light randomly flashed on and then off the subjects were convinced they could influence it by using the switches.

Do you approach your contracts like those experiment subjects? Do you feel that you are in control of how your various construction projects are progressing? Do you feel you have a tangible influence on the whole decision making process? Chances are you have very little under your control simply because that is the way our industry operates and has always operated.

I’ve talked time and again about how specialist contractors bear the brunt when a project gets out of control or if something goes wrong. It’s usually the default setting of the main contractor to lay the blame at the subbie’s door and when that happens it’s a sure sign that everything is spiraling out of control.

It’s the same when it comes to the spectre of late or non-payment. The ‘illusion of control’ is particularly strong here: maybe if you are the client or the client’s representative, (particularly on public sector projects), you think that paying the main contractor on time means everyone gets paid on time.If you are a specialist contractor however, the fact that you entered into a contract in good faith, you’ve done

everything expected of you (and often even more!), you checked all the small print but there’s still a delay. So why?

It seems like it’s out of your control. Or is it?

Dobelli closes the chapter by asking the reader: “Do you have everything under control?” and concludes that, most of us are just like the man in the red hat.

But, when it comes to payment, ensuring that you are in control is easier than you might think. You can stay in control simply by focusing on the few things that are actually important and you can influence.

For example, by being very clear about, and understanding the terms and conditions you will be working under before you enter into the contract. Don’t be led astray or distracted by things that aren’t relevant to you or your business. Make a list of what is key for you and ensure you can positively influence these things. If you can’t, maybe it’s not a project or contract you should even entertain entering into. Turning down new business is very difficult, I accept that, but remember, one bad contract could take down your entire business!

Dobelli’s advice when it comes to the ‘illusion of control’, and mine too for that matter: concentrate on what’s important and make sure you control it. Don’t be the man with the red hat!

And as for everything else? Dobelli puts it so eloquently: que sera, sera.

Are you the man with the red hat?

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Sites Continue to Benefit from Wireless CCTV

More and more sites are benefiting from the use of the OnGarde CCTV tower, in fact 2015 saw a 140% growth in the number of sites using this CCTV tower to protect their assets and reduce security costs.

One of the factors in driving this increase in usage was undoubtedly the launch of the OnGarde Duo in the last quarter of 2015. The OnGarde Duo allows users to choose the power and lighting option which best meets their site needs.

Customers can choose Infrared lighting if there is no power available during the night or at weekends or they are operating sites in areas where light pollution could be a problem. Alternatively they can benefit from the systems original LED lighting which acts as a deterrent and can reduce the need for additional light sources on site.

The benefit of the new duo has already built on the formidable features of the original tower which include:

• Verified alarms using smart Video Contents Analytics software, so no false alarms • Highly visible 3m tall deterrent • On alarm verification a live audio warning is sent to the site to warn the intruder that they are being monitored and recorded and that the authorities have been called. • Rapid installation in around one hour

The effectiveness of the OnGarde tower was once again proven over the busy Christmas period. With many sites closed for the festive period there is an increased opportunity for theft and vandalism but OnGarde are pleased to report that for the fourth consecutive year they recorded zero theft and vandalism on sites which it monitors during this key period.

Unfortunately, during the festive period there was a good deal of coverage in the news about the devastating floods which hit many parts of the country, this included some areas where the OnGarde tower was deployed, this included a site in Leeds. As you can see from the photo the flooding on the site was bad with the base of the OnGarde tower actually underwater, despite this the tower continued to work and even detected and highlight a plank of wood floating by which was obviously verified as being no threat so no audio warning was given.

For more information about the OnGarde CCTV Rapid Deployment Tower and the NEW OnGarde Duo visitongardecctv.com

Construction is a hard business and although some people are relatively happy to just survive, that doesn’t allow for things ever going wrong. If you’re either in the “lifestyle matters” camp or among those who are ambitious and want to grow fast, you need a cushion for unexpected bills or problems. Benjamin Dyer of Powered Now examines how to avoid living hand-to-mouth by boosting your profits.

Some people have modest aims for their business. They just want a degree of freedom and to enjoy their work. The problem is, even if you are of this mind-set, profit is still essential for survival. This is due to the fact that you not only need to pay yourself, you also need to buy tools, run a van and go on the odd course. And all of that is before you allow for the occasional loss-making problem job which could otherwise ruin your reputation.

In contrast, some construction companies are ambitious to grow. That means that as well as covering normal running costs, they need ever more working capital. That’s on top of funding the up-front costs of marketing and additional staff.

The bottom line is that everyone needs to make a profit.

DECENT PRICING

If there is one issue that causes the most problems with profitability it is pricing too low.

I am assuming here that you already do excellent work, else all other bets are off. But having said that, charging a decent price and earning a profit is the next most important thing.

The price that you quote should include: the total cost of materials; enough to pay yourself and your staff a decent rate; an allowance for things going wrong; overheads; and critically some profit after all that.

You might think that this will mean you won’t win any business. But the fact

that the roads aren’t exclusively full of Kia Matiz’s (described by Jeremy Clarkson as “cheaper than walking”) shows that price isn’t the only thing people think about when it comes to buying. The large numbers of Audis, BMWs and Mercedes that you see on the roads illustrates this point perfectly.

However, it’s not always easy to raise your prices. This is why it’s important to do everything you can to come across as totally professional. That makes customers more willing to pay a premium. Turning up on time, being dressed smartly and treating customers highly professionally are all factors that will help you to achieve higher pricing with all but the most cost-conscious.

Finally, remember that if you never lose on price you are probably pitching too low.

BEING WELL ORGANISED

Being brilliantly organised undoubtedly helps profits. It’s all about efficiency rather than cost because, for instance, employing cheap but poorly trained staff or using cheap tools often costs more in the long run.

Reliable vans that look smart can also earn their keep.

The final suggestion here is to use some of the new technology that is being developed. My company, Powered Now, is one of many investing millions to make life easier for builders. James Chandler runs Chandler Building on the Isle of Wight. He explains his view: “You can’t ignore technology, even in the building trade. Builders that want to be successful must move on.”

KEEPING YOUR COSTS DOWN

Obviously, lower costs should lead to higher profits. Some ideas for cost savings might be: • Look at your biggest costs first. Shopping around for best price on a new tool may take more time than

doing the same for materials which you use in large quantities every week. Don’t ever bother looking at anything if buying it for 50% less wouldn’t be noticeable. Concentrate on what matters.

• Open trade accounts and get the best payment terms with any supplier that you use regularly.

• Work hard at getting prices down at your builders merchant. The quoted price is usually a rip off, and most branch managers have huge discretion over pricing. So don’t let yourself be one of the mugs.

• Plan your materials carefully and make sure they are on site in time. Trips to Wickes from site and then paying retail prices wastes both time and money.

ACT NOW

Making a fair profit isn’t as easy as writing an article about it! Clearly if you price too high you may find you hardly win any business. However, provided you do good work, this isn’t the mistake most builders make. No or little profit can result in huge headaches and often drives sole traders out of business and back into employment. For larger companies it creates the risk of going bust.

Each passing hour means missed opportunities so I hope that some of these points have rung a bell. It just remains for me to wish you the best of luck.

Pushing up the profitBenjamin Dyer, CEO of Powered Now

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zappshelter

Welcome to ZappshelterWith our unpredictable weather conditions, innovation is needed to keep projects on track and on budget. Zappshelters are the smart way to get under cover fast. Rapid to install and using only the most basic of equipment, Zappshelter usually require no planning permission to erect, and are easy to dismantle and relocate as needed.

temporary or permanent covered areas for your location. They are available in a great range of widths, and the lengths work perfectly with standard steel containers.

Paragon Protection Systems Ltd

Inveralmond Industrial Estate | Perth | PH2 9LW

• plant/vehicle maintenance areas • steel fabrication areas • timber kit assembly areas • site workshops • wash bays • shot-blast and paint bays

• plant and vehicle storage • bulk material storage • aggregate and salt storage • delivery and stores areas • site training areas • welfare areas • precast areas

• animal housing • hay, straw and feed storage • farm equipment shelters • exhibitions, festivals and events • aircraft hangars • marine repair facilities • emergency services facilities.

Typical applications :

0208 0505 121 | sales@zappshelter.com

www.zappshelter.com

Spurs given mayoral consent for ground-breaking new stadium

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THE Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has given formal approval for the £400M development of Tottenham Hotspur’s new White Hart Lane stadium.

The North London club’s revised proposal will see a new 61,000-seater stadium created on the site of their current home and features the world’s first fully retractable pitch, which will host not only football matches but two American Football (NFL) games per season. Additionally, the stadium - which has a current capacity of 36,000 - will host other international sports events and concerts.

Tottenham’s ambitious plans include new public space to host dedicated events programmes and a 180-bed hotel, sports and health centre, while the Grade II listed Warmington House will be transformed into an interactive club museum. In total, 585 new homes will be built on the site with a minimum of £48.4M secured from the residential development going towards the White Hart Lane stadium improvements.

Londoners will also benefit from a ‘sky walk’ attraction, which will allow visitors to climb the exterior of the south stand

allowing views across the capital.The redevelopment of White Hart Lane is central to the Mayor’s ongoing regeneration of Tottenham. To date, City Hall has invested £28M from the Mayor’s Regeneration Fund and the London Enterprise Panel to reinvigorate the area. This includes investment in Tottenham High Road, new highways and parking improvements, upgrades to Tottenham Hale station and numerous employment and training initiatives.

Haringey Council gave outline planning permission for the

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redevelopment plans in December 2015 and, now that the Mayor has given his seal of approval, it is hoped that the club will be on track to complete the works in time for the start of the 2018/19 season.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson MP, said: “White Hart Lane is already an iconic stadium, steeped in history, and the new venue will not only almost double its capacity, but provide world class facilities to watch Premier League football, international sports events and concerts in the heart of the capital.

“The stadium will also be the focal point of a major drive to

regenerate Tottenham, breathing new life into the area, creating jobs and boosting growth.”

In response to the decision, Daniel Levy, Chairman of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, said: “This marks yet another major milestone for this vital and complex scheme and we are grateful to the Mayor for his ongoing support. We remain focused on completing the final stages of the planning process.

“This new scheme carries enormous public benefits and will play a key role in kick-starting place change, bringing exceptional opportunities for the local community and wider stakeholders.

We are proud to be part of this important step forward for an area that has been our home for more than 130 years and where we shall continue to live and play our part.”

Haringey Council Leader Claire Kober added: “The redevelopment of White Hart Lane and our work to bring new jobs and homes to Tottenham will improve the quality of life for thousands of our residents.

“The new stadium will put Haringey on the international stage with Premier League football and NFL games being broadcast around the world helping to attract further investment and significantly

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boosting business opportunities.”

Drawing inspiration from a host of international venues, the fully retractable pitch remains the most innovative aspect of the ‘visually dramatic’ design. Christopher Lee – Senior Principal of Populous, the architectural practice responsible for the revised proposal – explains: “Moving pitches in stadia, such as the University of Phoenix (NFL) stadium or the moving roof over centre court at Wimbledon, have provided the critical experience to allow us to design a stadium that is perfect for both English football and American football.

“In a world first, the stadium will

include a retractable natural turf surface for English football, with an AstroTurf pitch for American football underneath. This combination allows each sport to play on its own dedicated pitch and provides perfect sightlines for their fans.”

In addition to providing Tottenham Hotspur with a NFL compliant surface, the retractable pitch will enable the club to host a variety of events whilst also protecting the integrity of the playing field. It is hoped that this multi-faceted approach will cement White Hart Lane’s reputation as a world-class venue for North London.

Christopher concludes: “Tottenham

Hotspur’s stadium marks a new generation of stadia design: stadia that provide an unparalleled experience for all fans, that are civic in their nature and hold community at their heart, but above all else create the most intense and atmospheric place to watch football.

“The seating bowl is designed to create an intimate relationship between player and spectator. Its 17,000 capacity single tier end stand – a tribute to traditional English football grounds – will be the largest in the UK and will be the engine that drives the intensity and atmosphere in the new Spurs stadium. It will be like no other.”

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Augmented and Virtual Reality in the construction sectorVirtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are hot topics at the moment, but what can they do for the construction industry?

Across all sectors, VR and AR are expected to have a major impact on the building sector over coming years, with investments being made for developing the technology and finding its true potential.

Virtual reality is all about the creation of a virtual world that users can interact with. This virtual world should be designed in such a way that users would find it difficult to tell the difference from what is real and what is not. Furthermore, VR is usually achieved by the wearing of a VR helmet or goggles similar to the Oculus Rift.

Augmented reality is the blending of virtual reality and real life, as developers can create images within applications that blend in with contents in the real world.

With AR, users are able to interact with virtual contents in the real world, and are able to distinguish between the two.

VR has potential, specifically in design, as it offers people the opportunity to “walk through” and experience a building as it will function and appear when the final as-built product is delivered, using technology to make changes to locations of partitions and walls as an example. It has the ability to test a number of factors without the time and cost of building a structure, which could drastically reduce the number of errors present in the completed building.

The future of AR in construction could see builders having tablets on-site and using apps to render 3D models so that construction teams can compare models to blueprint. It can combine the 3D architectural layout of the building with GPS data of a worker’s

location and allows workers to put on goggles or hold up an iPad and get a three dimensional concept of where things need to go relative to where they are.

The need for 2D construction documents should be no more, however the display on the tablet still requires interpretation between the model and the actual building site. It may leave terms wondering which line on the blueprint corresponds to which edge in the model.

AR could be the answer to this issue, as it leverages the real world such as a building site and places the building model direction into the site in real time, allowing the user to see exactly how a design fits into the construction site. This includes how parts and systems that have yet to be constructed will fit in comparison to those which have already been constructed.

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Hillhead is the largest free-to-attend exhibition of its kind in the world today. Internationally-renowned, the three day event showcases the latest products, services and equipment for the quarrying, construction and recycling industries, while also providing visitors with a valuable opportunity to view specialist plant first hand, via four live demonstration areas.

Formed in 1982 by Nottingham-based QMJ Publishing Ltd, the biennial exhibition will this year welcome more than 17,000 attendees and 450 exhibiting companies from Great Britain and beyond. In 2014, overseas visitors from 87 countries accounted for 8% of all attendees – a statistic that speaks volumes of Hillhead’s growing worldwide appeal.

Central to this appeal is the event’s innovative use of the iconic Hillhead Quarry landscape. Spanning an approximate 140,000sq m, this vast expanse of land allows exhibitors to put their products to the test in a live quarry environment.

This year, representatives from Hyundai, JCB, Sandvik, Terex Group and Volvo will be on-hand to demonstrate their expertise, while the exhibition’s indoor pavilions

will offer a range of ancillary equipment including computer software, health and safety gear, and security systems. This winning combination of working demonstrations and static displays is strenuously supervised by the event’s organiser in accordance with the latest quarry regulations.

Each of the exhibition’s four demonstration zones has its own unique focus. While the Quarry Face plays host to hydraulic breakers and large wheel loaders, Rock Processing takes place in the aptly named Crusher Alley, where tracked and skid mounted crushers, screens, and scalping grids are showcased.

Sited towards Hillhead Quarry’s southern boundary, the Recycling Area will exhibit a variety of shredding, screening and washing equipment, while the Registration Area – created specifically for Hillhead 2014 – returns for 2016 and provides additional rock processing and recycling space.

The preparation necessary for an event of this size and scale is considerable however. To produce the 10,000 tonnes of raw material required for demonstrations, the Quarry Face has been

comprehensively drilled and blasted.Elsewhere, three concrete bunkers have been constructed within the Recycling Area to accommodate the large volumes of imported material intended for processing.

The showground has also been extended for 2016 by a further 2,000sq m. In total, 16,000 tonnes of material was excavated to allow for this extension to the exhibition site. Show Director Richard Bradbury explains: “We are delighted to be able to accommodate some of the extra demand for stand space in the new area. Two access points have been created to maximize visitor flow – one opposite the far end of the JCB stand and the other coming off the aisle populated by the Invest Northern Ireland stands.”

Hillhead 2016 is exciting prospect then. To date, visitor interest has proven extremely high and prospective attendees are now being advised to pre-register for their free tickets to avoid delays.

Hillhead 2016 will take place from 28th – 30th June 2016 at Hillhead Quarry, near Buxton, Derbyshire. To learn more about the event or register your interest, please visit the Hillhead 2016 website.

Hillhead 2016: Quarrying + Construction + Recycling

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Exclusive interviewRaj Chawla from BIM4SMEUK Construction Online talk to Raj Chawla, Vice Chair of BIM4SME, to discuss the approaching BIM Level 2 mandate and SMEs’ state of readiness, the digital2all initiative, and looking to BIM Level 3 and beyond.

With Building Information Modelling (BIM), the lead tends to come from the larger companies within the industry so providing support to SMEs regarding BIM Level 2 is extremely important. Could you give us a brief outline in how BIM4SME goes about this?

There are two aspects to the SME: One, the SME is it is never going to do end to end Level 2. That will reside with the client and the tier 1 and tier 2 contractors. What the SME has to do is learn to interact with tier 1 and the client. It needs to understand when to enter a particular stage and when to exit a particular stage of the process.

The most important is that the SME needs to understand its obligations when it enters the process. Fully understand what they have to supply in terms of information for their goods or services and when they exit the process, they insure that the information they are supplying is complete, accurate and in the correct format.

As far as the PAS documents are concerned, yes of course they need to know how these framework standards work. These are framework documents and the SME has to distil and see how the processes fits into their daily businesses. It is this

guidance that is desperately missing and it this that BIM4SME are attempting to plug.

With the BIM Level 2 mandate approaching in April, are you satisfied with the state of readiness of SMEs within the industry?

The understanding needs to be clear. The function of the BIM Task Group has been to take political intent via government strategy and deploy this. The BIM Regions Group are the awareness campaign to get critical mass so that the whole industry is engaged, while the BIM4 are intertwined within industry dealing with the mechanics of implementing and using BIM. This is the premise that BIM4SME has been predicated on. There is some support from institutes and others, but is anchored to individuals from such groups.

For the SMEs that we have touched, I am happy that they will be capable of participating in Level 2 type of work. However, if you’re talking about the entire country then I am afraid that out of the 2.5M people employed in the construction industry, maybe just 5-6% know what Level 2 is about and that is the biggest problem we are facing at the moment.

The issue is that we need to get to a critical mass of something like 700,000 people in the industry actually practicing and working with BIM at Level 2. Only then will that critical mass engage and move forward. Even the tier 1 and tier 2 contractors are not fully conversant with Level 2. It is only

a small group of people within these large organisations that are becoming BIM-ready purely for the purposes for bidding on contracts.

It scares me sometimes thinking that this mandate is coming up and the industry is not ready and it’s going to start to crumble. It’s a negative thing, but it is the reality I’m afraid. That’s what we’re trying to bridge the gap at moment and trying to get the word out as much as possible and let everybody know what BIM and Level 2 is all about.

What advice would you give to any companies struggling to be ready for the introduction of the mandate?

Most SMEs struggle because of poor and mixed messages. When the message is explained, as it is meant to be, it becomes less daunting. When we interact with an SME, we try and not focus on the term ‘BIM’. Typically for the manufacturing and product supply chain, we simply advise that the information that they have is more than likely all present. It is structuring the information in a format that that is required.

As an example, our practice simply asks for the information by providing a template to fill in. This is usually a spread sheet. We ask suppliers to provide it in this exact format as we know they have the information; it’s just its not assembled in the correct way.

That’s one of the biggest heartache and that’s the thing that we are trying to preach at the moment throughout the SMEs – you

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have the information, you know what to do as far as your job is concerned, but you need to assemble the information in a certain way. This means that when the information is handled and passed on further to the next level, they don’t need to reassemble or check the information again. It can be passed on to the client directly without the need for it to be constantly re-assembled and checked at each stage.

That’s what we are trying to teach the SMEs – whatever information they pass on should be accurate and complete.

So you don’t bog the SMEs down too much with the bigger picture and focus on the individual steps?

You can describe the bigger picture, but as far as the nuts and bolts are concerned, you really just tell them exactly what they need to do. The companies are very capable of doing it. They do not need to

spend huge amounts of money. Architectural practices and other professionals had a lot of concern about software tools costing too much money, but in fact it doesn’t; you can rent the use of software it on a month-by-month basis. It is the learning of the software that is the problem and nobody can force the learning on anybody. This is an initiative that the SME have to take up themselves and make sure they understand and keep up with the latest tools.

For me as far as Level 2 is concerned, the supply chain can transact with 2D drawings and a spreadsheet. It is developing and delivering information for a projects in a consistent and structured way.

There is a further issue that need to be managed; a consistent way the information from manufacturers and suppliers is structured. The reason is that there is no formative standard that allows this structured approach. This need to come sooner than

later in the form of a standard.

Can you tell us about the background to digital2all?

digital2all has come about for two main reasons. One, creating an ecosystem where the campaign is future proofed and can sit under the Digital Built Britain agenda and the wider digital economy and secondly to start to consolidate the all the learning and sharing with other groups and campaigns.

Firstly, digital2all is here to harvest value from the Digital Built Britain, construction strategy, the professional strategy, smart cities strategy and this in turn starts to connect to the digital economy. The construction industry needs to become a slick industry like retail or food industry. If you look at these industries, these people are really well organised in terms of their logistics. We can order something from a supermarket and it can be delivered later that afternoon. There is a digital map that has

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been set; everything is connected digitally. That is what we want to see in the construction industry.

It might take some years to accomplish, but it will be great accolade. We are starting to design buildings virtually and if done properly, all the information is there to program to get the goods and services just in time.

So idea behind digital2all is to discover and engage with technologies that are suitable for the supply chain and start to connect directly to the construction economy and the wider digital economy.

For me the SMEs are the engine of the economy. They need to be fully engaged within the digital agenda and this is the first step that we have taken to make it a wider berth to include not just the architects, designers and contractors, but also include lawyers, procurement, manufacturers and operations. They all need to understand that when something is built, it is built for a very long time and know how we can service and engage with it in an economical and quick way if everything is digitally connected. This is the initial step towards that agenda.

The second reason for the digital2all is a little more current and very important. There is huge value and collateral being generated by various groups and campaigns in this journey. Some groups are ahead of the learning curve while others are starting. What is very visible is that there is little or no connect in sharing this collateral. Each group and campaign are facing the same problems and are reinventing what has already been done. The digital2all initiative is to allow for this sharing to be facilitated.

The connected supply chain is often described as the Holy Grail; is digital2all the stepping-stone to achieving it?

Undoubtedly, it is the Holy Grail. As a simplistic example, if we take Amazon or Alibaba; they are well

connected that people can buy or subscribe as sellers and go on to the website and sell their products. These processes are regulate. This ensures buyers receive their items and sellers don’t sell rubbish. It is all digitally enabled.

digital2all intends to support a technology channel. This will allow new and existing digital technologies to be showcased, but more importantly to reveal their connectivity potential, analytics potential and show how the digital technologies can support the construction industry by enabling seamless transactions. That is indeed the Holy Grail.

Is digital2all a reaction to companies asking for advice beyond Level 2 or is it more about getting ahead of the game?

The SMEs are very slick and can change very quickly. Unfortunately, the message that comes out at government level or a very high level is absolutely meaningless to them. What we are trying to do is take that government strategy and break it down to bite size pieces that are easily understood by the supply chain. They understand what to do, when to do it and how it do it. The idea of digital2all is really trying to make them future proof – like when you buy a smart phone and in two years time it goes past its sell by date and you need to ready for the next generation with all the latest application. What we are trying to do for the construction industry is tell them they have to be ready and future proof them. That is simplest explanation for digital2all – future proofing.

You talked about successful transitional models in the retail and financial sector and how these could be applied to the construction industry. Could you tell me a little more about this?

The retail sector has had a lot of advances in logistics to point of sale and demand management. One of the reasons this is the case, is that the sector understands the value of

data and importance of connectivity.

I recently had the privilege to see the logistics operations of a major retailer. I followed one random transaction. This was an item purchased via the retailers’ website in Grantham at 11am. The order was received by the retailer, payment processed, stock checked in the UK, showing unavailable, demand checked with the manufacturer in Turkey showing as available, notice sent to their logistic management company who found the best route and best courier price, labels printed out at the manufacturer in Turkey. This took 1mins 16sec from the purchaser hitting the Buy Button. The goods were picked up the same day put on an aircraft and arrived in the UK at Stansted and delivered by UPS in Grantham at 8:15 am the following day. There were two humans who physically handled the box. The driver who picked up the package in Turkey and the driver who remove the package from the truck to take it to the door of the purchaser.

It is not magic. The retailer has set up a digital transactional map. This is widely written about and is now a common practice in retail and financial sectors.

The transitional lesson is advocating a digital transactional map, whether at project level or departmental level with the highest priority to seamless connectivity. This is very rarely done in the AECO sector.

The advantages of digitising the construction industry should open up the financial market?

There discussions on going about the missing link between the financial sector and the construction sector. The issue being that the construction sector has to fight to get funding. The reason why there is this issue is the assessment of risk that the financial sector applies compared to the management of risk that the construction sector perceives are leagues apart. What BIM and the digital agenda are bringing to the fore are technologies that are able to visualise the

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proposed or existing assets, carry out analyses, play scenarios using gaming technologies all for the benefit for de-risking. The financial sectors risk assessment are based on data and methodologies that are old. They simply need an upgrade.

What we’re trying to do is make sure that everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet and that when the financial sector has to fund a construction project, there will of course always be uncertainties in every single project, but what we can say to the financial sector is we’re going to provide data on pretty much real time of basis and reporting is not a month or two months old.

That’s the thing about digitising the construction industry; when things are happening, you can see them happen live. Tools like camera feeds, models and clash detection, etc. are used to ensure that risk is removed out of the construction practice.

The financial sector is very far removed from how they perceive the construction sector – they just think it’s a body of risk. Our message therefore to the financial sector should be that risks is being better managed.

The link with the financial sector is extremely crucial in all of this and hopefully we will try and bridge that gap by making sure that the key people who lend on construction projects will come and sit round a table and talk to us and see how we can facilitate each other.

What is happening is that when you build something efficiently you get more for your money. Adding value. This need to be demonstrated. The whole idea of BIM is predicated around essentially building a building twice. You may ask, how are we going to build it twice? We’re going to build it digitally first and understand where the problems are. The second aspect is that when you build a virtual asset you are also capturing all the information about the asset.

This information can then be used for analysing energy consumption, human flow and usability, carbon analysis etc. All these aspects come with considerable costs over the life of the asset if not done or managed properly.

So it is very useful to understand that BIM and digitisation of the industry is actually facilitating in the de-risking quite a lot, because you’re constructing the asset virtually, testing it, and then building it in reality.

Do you already anticipate any key obstacles digital2all will have to overcome in looking towards Level 3?

I think the biggest obstacle to us as far as digital2all is concerned is making sure that whatever comes from a strategy level can be easily explained and very simple guidance put forward. That was one thing that was missing with Level 2; there wasn’t any guidance provided. The standards were published; the standards are very good standards, they can work very well but you need to present guidance as to how to engage with these.

I think one thing that Level 3 should do is focus on guidance and they should make sure that whatever strategy is developed at high level, it is broken down and filtered into bite size pieces so that people can understand it and have very clear guidance at all levels.

Unfortunately, that is still desperately needed today for Level 2 and one of the things that BIM4SME is doing and will launch in middle of May –June is a set of very simple guidelines for the very small SMEs to engage and disengage from the Level 2 process.

Presumably moving from level 2 to level 3 brings a completely different set of issues from preparing the industry for Level 2. How will digital2all tackle this?

Of course. One thing that is

really outside of our control is the advancement of technology; the manufacture of sensors, cameras, measuring equipment, it is all advancing at the rate of knots. What we have to do is make sure that we understand how fast they’re moving and move closely behind them so that we can actually use and adopt that technology.

What we don’t want to do is try and invent something that is not achievable. We’re trying to assemble a built environment, but we want to make sure that we can successfully integrate digital knowhow very easily and the connectivity needs to be very simple. So it’s a push-button type connectivity rather than write thousands and thousands of lines of code so two things can connect. This is the very problem today. If I have to connect two things together then that’s a lot of very difficult work. With the Level 3 proposal, all this should become seamless with the connectivity becoming simple.

What we have to do is educate the people going from Level 2 to Level 3 that both levels can be very similar in terms of when you transact information, it’s just that the information is going to be transacted not semi manually, it will be transacted completely digitally. We need to make sure that they learn that you have to understand that whatever you do within the construction industry is treated like a transaction and you have to make sure that you fulfil this transaction completely.

Let me give an example – if I’m going to a supermarket and take a £10 bottle of wine to the checkout and pay £10 for it, then I have completed that transaction. If I go into the supermarket, take the bottle of wine and leave without paying for it, then that transaction is incomplete. In construction what we’re trying to teach the SME is that whatever people are asking of you, treat every single entity as a transaction, break it down to the smallest level. Even if it’s in a contract for example, which

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says ‘thou shall send a letter out for a demand for payment to your client’ – that is a transaction. In the construction industry the concept of a “complete transaction” is alien, this thinking has to embed for the sector to come into the digital transaction age.

The jump from Level 2 to Level 3 is about educating the masses in the construction sector that everything is now going to become a digital transaction and you’re to make sure that this digital transaction remains very pure. Whether the information is coming from the client down or whether it’s going up to the client, it is a transaction and no matter what you do, it must be complete.

The same could be applied to a signal received from a sensor that the motor is running. The signal received says that a control block has completed its transaction.

That’s the mantra behind the jump from Level 2 to 3.

Do you think we are far away from the tipping point or the point of no return in terms of the take up of BIM by the construction industry?

Yes I think it will start to take effect within about a year or a year and a half’s time. One of my mad scientists at our practice worked out the critical mass. Assuming that there are 2.5 million people employed in the construction industry, he worked a critical

mass number of 672,342, which is now engrained into my brain!

This number basically says that we have to get to this particular point in order to make sure that the industry reaches the point of critical mass. Now that said, it should be easy to get to that critical mass, but we are struggling over here. Why we are struggling over here? Let me explain – we have all the main institutes such as RIBA, CIOB, IEEE, IStructE, etc. etc. that all have small factions that talk about BIM and Level 2, maybe 200 to 300 people engaging in the BIM story. There are quangos, product groups, excellence groups etc. Now if I take the mailing list of all these institutes and mail it out, it gives me about 800,000 people, why this has not been enabled I have no idea. The constant reminder and notice to clients, designers, engineers, procurement, lawyers, supply chain, institute members is the only way.

In order to get those in the industry to work at Level 2, there is a huge amount of educating that needs to be done, and it is not just six people sitting on a floor plate of 170 in a large construction company who know about BIM, it is everyone down to the cleaner who needs to know what it’s all about; it is a digital agenda. That’s not being broadcast very clearly.

There are groups called BIM regions, which are putting the word out there, but their readership and

attendances at their conferences is only the best part of 100 people. You could take 20 BIM regions and that would still only be 2,000 people; that’s not critical mass. The BIM Regions are an awareness campaign. If we want a critical mass, then the BIM Regions must be sensibly funded, join with a good PR Agency and broadcast aggressively. Everyone needs to know about it, but it’s not happening. It’s treated like a very specialist subject; and why so, I have no idea.

Once we reach the tipping point, do you think achieving future levels will come more easily?

Absolutely. The industry has been stuck in the dark for ages for decades. There have been cutting edge projects, but these have been few and far between. For everyone to engage, we have to make sure that we engage with the masses; there is no other way of looking at it. Full immersion.

Once we reach that tipping point, Level 3 and beyond will be a lot easier to work with because one of the problems is the industry is very lethargic and there is a lot of old guard within the construction sector reluctant to change.

Today I wouldn’t preach or I wouldn’t say anything to the older folk. I’m not interested in the CEO’s or MD’s of companies. I want to focus on the next generation because they are the ones who are going to make the change happen. The old guard today are really stuck in their thinking and that is the problem. It is that cultural shift that needs to happen in order to achieve the tipping point. And it’s the youth that will come up and the people who are coming up in the management chain understand the value of digital. It is these people who will start to take hold of the agenda, but that will take time obviously.

So of course the tipping point is one of the key levers for us to make sure that Level 2 is actually successful.

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Government infra spending pledge could help reignite UK construction, but local firms must spend on skills and new tech in order to maximise benefit.Global Industry Director of Construction at IFS talks to us about BIM skills shortage and 4D scheduling technology from a construction SMEs perspective.

UK construction output continued its decline in Q4 2015, according to the latest findings of the Office of National Statistics owing partly to a fall in public housing and infrastructure spending. UK construction companies must have therefore cheered the Chancellor’s infrastructure spending commitments in last week’s budget review. Although an encouraging step to re-energising the sector, the Chancellor’s commitment will not be a quick fix. For these projects to come to fruition, UK construction will still have to resolve a persistent skills shortage, highlighted as a main barrier to regional growth by a recent report by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. Local construction companies can therefore

be a central part of the solution.

Is there an opportunity for small-medium construction companies?

The Government projects include HS3, rail networks and a series of road improvements in the North of England. As the projects begin over the next five years, they will generate significant contracts for construction companies and boost regional development.

However, in order to realise these opportunities, local construction companies will have to invest in plugging their BIM skills shortage and accelerating the adoption of 4D scheduling technology reaping efficiency benefits and taking ownership of their resource planning processes. Multinational corporations (MNCs) are already undertaking major pushes in both of these areas, so this will be essential to remaining competitive. How can SMEs become the best contenders? While a number of consultancies and

multinational construction companies have the capacity to implement long-term Building Information Modelling (BIM) in practice, many smaller business see this as a hurdle and a box-ticking exercise, rather than focusing on the significant long-term benefits BIM will bring. This is particularly important in the context of the budget review. Most of the announced projects are incredibly large-scale which makes it very difficult for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to become involved. In order to maximise their chances, they should use their size to their advantage and build nimble and forward-looking teams. The lowered business rates announced by the Chancellor also present an incentive for SMEs to make these decisions sooner rather than later.

Across the industry, it is difficult to find people able to navigate BIM and those who currently can, have great leverage in the job market. The industry has to address a lingering perception gap here, as BIM remains a poorly understood term and one mainly associated with

Re-igniting the construction sector

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flashy visualisation tools. That does not do justice to the real and lasting value that it yields to a business’ bottom-line in harnessing the power of information. Businesses can implement a more integrated, modern set of business processes and systems. Specifically, BIM pools all of the project’s information at the same place and presents it in a similar fashion to all actors involved. This not only improves coherence, communication and cooperation among the team but also reduces errors and time-consuming rework that are common at early stages. On that basis, local companies should therefore opt for a far-sighted strategy when it comes to BIM and recruit IT specialists with relevant skills on a long-term basis, acknowledging that BIM will be essential in remaining competitive in the years to come.

This forward thinking can already be seen with the UK government prioritising BIM as part of its Digital Britain initiative. As a result we are increasingly seeing the term BIM appear in job titles at many construction firms and local companies

should make sure they are engaged in these energies, particularly as skills pools tend to cluster in business centres such as London. As they tend to hire and train their personnel locally, SMEs have a vested interest in the success of schemes that enrich the talent pool of their communities and regions. Backing these schemes will also improve their credibility as regional stakeholders which may in turn boost their chances and candidacy for local projects.

Maximise workforce efficiency with 4D scheduling technology

With 4D scheduling technology - the linking of individual 3D CAD components or assemblies with time or schedule-related information - construction businesses can ensure material production and delivery are matched exactly to construction project timelines. This process is further streamlined by 3D printing technology, which enables parts of buildings to be constructed off-site. Historically, such ‘detailed’ scheduling was done on spreadsheets

and there is now an opportunity to automate and streamline this process through a resource planning platform. This ensures that resource usage is maximised and that production schedules match construction project timelines. This is critical given the incoming flurry of projects that companies will have to keep abreast of. This type of technology enables companies to model potential new projects and scale accordingly – a particular challenge for small and medium-sized businesses which may have never experienced a busier pipeline. Local construction companies should welcome the spending promises made by the Chancellor. They should not presume, however, that they will naturally benefit from the plans to increase investment in key projects. Instead, they should reciprocate with a few commitments of their own. Namely, build richer ties with their ecosystems, develop a BIM talent pool that their larger competitors have traditionally monopolised and modernise their planning processes with a tailored 4D software solution.

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Revitalising natural landscapes can reduce flood risk says Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency.

Sir James Bevan has visited the uplands in the Peak District National Park to see first-hand how the Environment Agency’s investment is supporting the Moors for the Future Partnership in reversing the effects of hundreds of years of industrial pollution, while also helping to reduce flood risk.

The Partnership is leading a series of visits for Environment Agency staff to moorlands in Derbyshire, near Sheffield, where conservation work has transformed the peat landscape that had been damaged by more than 150 years of pollution from coal-fired factories on either side of the Pennines, and devastating wildfires.

The work also ‘slows the flow’ of water running down from moorland into the River Derwent, which in turn reduces the flood risk and improves water quality for communities in Derbyshire and the Trent Valley.

In the past 12 years the Partnership has brought over five square kilometres of bare and eroding peat moorland back to life, covering the ground with a protective layer of heather cuttings and temporary grasses while native species are re-introduced. This has prevented thousands of tonnes of carbon from being washed away into water courses and reservoirs where it has to be removed before the water is used for domestic supply.

Healthy peat bogs are naturally wet but bare peat is vulnerable to drying out. In the past 12 years the Partnership has built more than 10,000 dams to help hold water on the moors and trap peat sediment. It has also reintroduced sphagnum moss to ten square kilometres of moorland. This moss was virtually wiped out by pollution dating back to the industrial revolution and is essential for the formation of new peat.

Sir James saw areas that have been planted with native woodlands in the steep cloughs leading down from the moors. This is part of 2.7 square kilometres of new clough woodlands – thought to be one of the largest native woodland creation schemes in the country. Working with the Forestry Commission, Natural England, Environment Agency, National Trust and RSPB, the project

aims to provide benefits to biodiversity, downstream flood risk, water quality and enhance the landscape character.

After the site visit, Sir James Bevan launched a new briefing note on the three Defra funded flood-management projects at Pickering, Holnicote and Kinder Scout in the Peak District. It confirms the benefits of the measures on natural flood risk management, as well as water quality, carbon sequestration, and improved landscapes for people and wildlife.

Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency said: “Working with the natural landscape damaged by industrialisation can reduce local flood risk, while benefiting the environment.

“The Partnership approach here in the Peak District is providing evidence that surface roughness of re-vegetated bare peat slows overland water flow, which in turn reduces the risk of flooding for communities downstream.”

Sarah Fowler, Chief Executive of the Peak District National Park, said: “This habitat restoration, covering tens of square kilometres in the Peak District National Park, is replicated across the UK’s 15 National Parks. This work delivers significant services to those who live in the National Park and to the millions living in surrounding communities. Services like slowing the flow, improving water quality and storing carbon as well as bringing business innovation and engaging communities in science so together we protect these landscapes for all to enjoy.”

With flood risk a constant concern

however, the Environment Agency has outlined an extensive £10M repair programme in Cumbria as it builds on 100 days of vital flood recovery work following record-breaking wet weather in December.

More than 3,000 flood defences have been inspected and around 100 repair projects identified across the county as part of the programme of work due to be completed by the autumn this year.

Kath Tanner, Flood Recovery Manager at the Environment Agency, said: “This winter’s flooding has had a devastating effect on people in Cumbria and the Environment Agency is doing everything possible to restore protection to communities with a repair programme underway worth around £10M.

“As well as carrying out emergency repairs, inspecting defences and clearing thousands of tonnes of gravel from rivers, we have also been visiting communities to hear from those people affected. We want to tap into local knowledge and give local people a chance to shape our plans for the future to ensure we have the best possible plans in place to reduce the risk of flooding.”

Alongside the recovery work, the Environment Agency is on track to better protect 44,000 properties across England this year through its continued programme of investment in flood defence schemes. This work is part of a £2.3Bn government investment in more than 1,500 flood defence schemes, reducing flood risk to 300,000 properties by 2021.

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Lobster Pictures - the world leader in high quality remote time-lapse camera systems - has documented the erection of one of the UK’s most significant renewable energy developments in recent memory: The West of Duddon Sands Offshore Wind Farm.

A joint venture between DONG Energy and Scottish Power Renewables, this huge project involved the installation and commissioning of 108 Siemens Wind Power turbines, each with a 3.6MW capacity. At peak output, 389MW of renewable energy will be generated by the now-complete offshore wind farm - energy enough to power over 340,000 households nationwide.

Sited in the East Irish Sea - some 14km from the closest coast of Walney Island, Cumbria - West of Duddon

Sands is making a much-needed contribution to carbon reduction targets and renewable energy production in the UK. But how did this considerable undertaking come to be?

Lobster Pictures was approached at an early stage - prior to the construction of an onshore substation in Heysham, Lancashire - to help bring this landmark renewable development to life. Beginning in Heysham, two Lobster Pot cameras were deployed to engage stakeholders across Europe in the construction process.

Only professional-grade digital SLR cameras and lenses are specified for Lobster Pot to ensure absolute visual clarity. Locations are precisely documented with pin point accuracy and zero distortion, day or night.

Once the monitoring benefits became apparent, Lobster Pictures was commissioned to install an additional ten cameras across the entirety of the project, including four devices at Belfast Harbour’s specialist Offshore Wind Terminal. Hoisted atop 40m high lighting masts, these hardy cameras required a specialist rope access and rescue plan to install safely. A further three cameras were mounted at an Operations & Maintenance facility in nearby Barrow-in-Furness.

Deployment of the three remaining Lobster Pots - on the installation craft Sea Installer and Pacific Orca in Belfast, and the Vetag 8 cable-laying vessel in Rotterdam – would prove uniquely challenging however.

Recognising the requirement for filming at on board these vessels, Lobster

All at seaHow Lobster Pictures apply their monitoringexpertise to the renewables industry

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Pictures trained its engineering staff in offshore health and safety procedures. A rigorous programme - which included helicopter escapes, boat transfers and more - was organised to great success. Three members of Lobster Pictures’ dedicated workforce are now fully certified for offshore work, meaning that the Company is ideally placed to cater to clients sector-wide.

With extreme weather a very real possibility, Lobster Pictures designed and manufactured a bespoke vibration-resistant mount to secure each camera in place. Lobster Pot is also IP66 rated - the only UK system certified to such a specification - which ensures protection against heavy seas or high pressure jets of water.

Testament to those credentials, Lobster Pictures was able to document the eight month undertaking without interruption. And though the system travelled outside 3G range for extended periods of time, monitoring continued throughout, thanks in part to a patented innovation - The Crab - found on-board each and every Lobster Pot.

The Crab provides Lobster Pictures with a simple and independent method of monitoring power and device status. Revolutionary servers can detect the operational state of the Lobster Pot and instruct The Crab to reboot or shut down individual components as necessary. Crucially, The Crab reads output directly from the professional DSLR camera, meaning that - in the event of a 3G network outage - Lobster Pictures can verify that it’s still taking pictures.

The client also sought to document the ‘fork’ between the transition piece and the monopole - a process never before captured on film. The challenge involved the installation of a camera and lighting system inside a pitch black 30m long

section. With no access during lifting, this had to be triggered remotely and retrieved once in place. Lobster Pictures built a specialist, fully submersible camera rig, triggered by magnets, to successfully film the connection at sea.

Lobster Pictures’ expertise extended further however. Shooting teams were sent to Heysham substation to document first-hand the delivery and installation of both the transformers and the cabling that now stretches out across Morecombe Bay. Working to a fluid timetable, Lobster Pictures was able to deploy multiple camera teams safely and at extremely short notice.

This accumulated footage amounts to far more than a record of work undertaken however. It is providing engineers and technicians with a valuable training resource; a demonstration of various complex procedures, many of which had never been committed to film before. The use of time-stamped HD images, as opposed to standard video, has preserved these processes in unprecedented detail and resolution.

Lobster Pictures’ monitoring spanned the length and breadth of the project, and the

footage captured helped to create films for PR and publicity use. Intricate aspects of the scheme were communicated online and via broadcast TV – including both the BBC and ITV – in a manner palatable to mainstream audiences.James Platt, Senior Communications Manager for DONG Energy, summarises: “Lobster Pictures’ ability to capture complex procedures - and create accessible and interesting content - helped bring the technical aspects of this project to life. The end result was some fantastic footage that we have used both internally and externally, including a film shown at the official opening of the wind farm by the UK Secretary of State for Energy.”

The West of Duddon Sands Offshore Wind Farm is one of the many renewable projects documented by Lobster Pictures. It demonstrates both their innovation and outside-of-the-box methodology, and the lengths they will take to ensure that they’re producing high-value, relevant and amazing video - not just time lapse.

For more information on the Lobster Pictures service please visit their website or call them on 01173255671.

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Lobster Pictures offer the highest resolution monitored long term time-lapse camera in the world.Using Lobster Vision, an online viewer, you can see your site at anytime from anywhere. Whatever the project, whatever the site, see it come to life in the sharpest possible detail.

Discover what high definition time-lapse means for succesful projects lobsterpictures.tvLobster Pot Camera Image: Dong Energy

SEE THINGS DIFFERENTLY

Lobster Pictures offer the highest resolution monitored long term time-lapse camera in the world.Using Lobster Vision, an online viewer, you can see your site at anytime from anywhere. Whatever the project, whatever the site, see it come to life in the sharpest possible detail.

Discover what high definition time-lapse means for succesful projects lobsterpictures.tvLobster Pot Camera Image: Dong Energy

SEE THINGS DIFFERENTLY

Sustainability is a fundamental aspect of building design in the United Kingdom and in many instances is integrated into projects through the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM). However stakeholders, especially clients, are often unclear how much the BREEAM process may cost and what benefits it brings. What’s the point? Exactly what value can BREEAM add to the built environment? The overall aim of BREEAM is to mitigate the life cycle impacts of new buildings on the environment in a robust and cost effective manner. How successful a project has been in accomplishing this is quantified by its performance across a number of individual issues in a range of environmental categories. There is a common misconception that BREEAM primarily assesses the energy performance of a building. But it also measures issues relating to the management of the building, health and wellbeing, transport, water use, materials, waste generation and management, land use, ecology and pollution impacts.

How can BREEAM add value to a building?

BREEAM encourages energy efficient building solutions, systems and equipment that will contribute to a

reduction of CO2 emissions. A recent example is a new office in Cambridge in which Mott MacDonald are tenants. Using BRE’s own energy calculator, the building achieved an energy performance ratio for new constructions of 0.63, which equated to 10 out of 15 credits under BREEAM 2011 and met the energy performance required for an overall ‘Outstanding’ rating. A building CO2 emissions rate of 16.1 was also achieved, a 34% reduction compared to the notional building target. This was a result of the specification of features such as energy efficient LED lighting and photovoltaic panels, as well as air source and ground source heat pumps.

Water use is another area in which this project benefited from BREEAM, with a 25% improvement in water consumption compared with the baseline. This was a result of highly efficient sanitaryware fittings and the inclusion of leak prevention measures.

BREEAM can also bring social benefits, though these are more difficult to quantify. Successful implementation of the health and wellbeing criteria can result in a much improved internal environment for building occupants, in terms of indoor air quality, thermal comfort and access to daylight. In its report ‘Health, Wellbeing & Productivity in Offices’ , the

World Green Building Council states that more efficient ventilation and reduced pollution can result in productivity gains of up to 11%. Healthier and more productive staff can itself lead to commercial benefits for an organisation.

The challenges of successfully integrating BREEAM

Like all positive change, the sustainability gains offered by BREEAM must be carefully planned for and the plan rigorously implemented. Often BREEAM is treated as an ‘add on’ to gain planning approval, or BREEAM assessors are appointed as an afterthought. In such cases, projects are likely to perform badly. It is key that the BREEAM process is engaged early in a project’s timeframe, preferably before the preparation and brief stage ends, so that realistic targets can be set and ultimately achieved. Improvements in building performance can result in reduced operational costs and greater occupant wellbeing. However, potential benefits from good design can only be realised if the building operator runs the building in line with the BREEAM requirements throughout occupation. If this takes place, the result can be a building with a high level of sustainability that makes a lasting economic, social and environmental contribution.

How does BREEAM measure sustainability?Luke Aminu, graduate sustainability consultant, Mott MacDonald

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An interview with Matt Underhill, Event Director Part Two

4. What feedback did Vision 2015 receive from visitors and exhibitors? How has this feedback informed the 2016 event?

Vision launched in 2015, in response to a demand in the industry for an event specifically targeted at architects, specifiers and their clients. Feedback from both visitors and exhibitors on the 2015 event was excellent. We had a lot of positive comments from visiting architects and specifiers who said how great it was to attend an exhibition where all the products were specifically targeted at them rather than more generally across the construction industry. They also commented on the strength of the education programme that ran across the two days of the event. This was hugely popular with several sessions oversubscribed. Feedback from exhibitors was also very positive, the majority felt that the show really delivered on, and often exceeded, their expectations and a large number rebooked their stands for 2016 at last year’s event.

One of the main pieces of constructive feedback that we received from visitors was that they wished the show was open later into the evening, so that they could attend in the late afternoon or after work. So this year we have taken that feedback onboard and will be offering extended opening hours on day one. On the 7th June Vision will be open from 10am until 9pm, with an evening drinks reception running alongside the exhibition from 5.30pm. This is an excellent chance for busy architects and specifiers to come along with their clients and enjoy a glass of wine whilst looking around the exhibition of products and suppliers. There’ll be special

events running during the evening too, including the Pecha Kucha presentations run by New London Architecture.

We’ve also developed our 2016 daytime seminar programme in response to the positive feedback we received from visitors, with additional seminar streams added, building on the comprehensive content we had last year.

5. How many exhibitors are expected this year? What kind of organisations will be exhibiting?

We’re expecting around 150 exhibitors at Vision 2016, a 50% increase on last year’s number. You can expect to see a wide range of companies who are all promoting their products and services to architects, specifiers and their clients. On the water management and infrastructure side Graf UK and ACO will be returning, and we have a wide range of roofing and cladding and insulation products on display from companies such as VMZINC, Renson, Aperam and KME who are all returning after a successful event last year. The likes of Tobermore and Marshalls will be showing paving products and we have a lot of timber solutions on display from Wiehag, Cygnum Timber Frame and Munster Joinery. We also have a number of innovative windows solutions from companies such as Mumford & Wood. New exhibitors for 2016 include AkzoNobel, Soprema UK and Jacksons Fencing. Our exhibitors range from large international companies to SMEs, showcasing the full spectrum of products, solutions and new innovations available in today’s market.

6. Approximately how many visitors attended last year? Broadly speaking, what professions

did attendees account for?

The launch event last year attracted just over 3,000 visitors and this year we are well on course to grow that to over 5,000. The professions that our visitors came from broadly speaking were architects, developers, local authorities, contractors, housebuilders, engineers and their clients from retail, heath and education.

7. Do you feel that Vision London succeeded in bringing professionals from across the built environment together?

Vision was launched with the aim of bringing architects, specifiers, their clients and suppliers together at one event and it certainly achieved that aim. It is the only show in the UK specifically targeted at this market. An opportunity for our audience to come together over two days to discover the latest innovations and solutions, to expand their knowledge and discuss ideas. As well as the exhibition and comprehensive seminar programme, Vision 2015 also included several organised networking opportunities, which we will be increasing further in 2016. For example this year we’ve got Enterprise Europe hosting a matchmaking event for us, with the aim of creating partnerships at the show between suppliers and distributors. We’re constantly looking for ways to improve and develop, to create an event that reflects and grows with the needs of the industry.

Vision 2016 takes place at London Olympia on 7th and 8th June 2016. To claim your free visitor pass visit www.visionlondon.com/register

To enquire about exhibiting, contact Adam Redmayne on 07985 587 634 or adam.redmayne@visionlondon.com

Which do you want first, the good news or the bad news?

Well the bad news, as you may know, is that according to data from the Office of National Statistics, UK construction output took everyone by surprise by falling 0.2% in January, compared to December, when analyst were predicting a rise of 0.3%.

Further statistics from Markit/CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), indicated that growth in Britain’s construction industry unexpectedly dipped to a ten-month low in February.

It also revealed that optimism among construction companies regarding business activity for the year ahead fell to its lowest level since December 2014.But fear not…now for the good news!

George Osbourne announced mid-March that the Government is to accelerate spending by pumping billions into the construction of new roads, railways and housing so the economy doesn’t stagnate.

He lists loads of exciting projects across the UK, with quite a bit of emphasis on creating his much talked about Northern Powerhouse.

Whether you’re a ‘glass half full or half empty’ type will dictate whether you are concerned about the slow down or excited by George’s news. Either way both will probably have an impact on cashflow.

For those that have plenty of work on, the slowdown may have little effect on the volume of business in the short term. However many of those

companies may be subcontracting for the bigger firms who are most likely to be the first to feel the pinch.

If they do, it will inevitably lead to them hanging on to their cash a bit longer, leading to a domino effect all the way down the line with the squeeze getting greater and greater, depending on your position in the ‘pecking order’.

It doesn’t make those smaller companies any less successful, it just means it’s taking longer to be paid for the work they have been asked to do. This is compounded by the fact that SMEs in the construction industry are second only to the manufacturing sector in having the most unpaid outstanding billing, according to research by the Asset Based Finance Association.

Furthermore, when it comes to payment times, construction companies are treated the worst, having to wait an average of 107 days before their billing is settled. Put these factors together and it results in an ever-increasing strain on cashflow.

One solution is to go to the bank to arrange or increase your overdraft limit – ‘blood and stone’ come to mind.Another is to make the most of your assets, and by that we mean your outstanding billing, whether it is ‘Uncertified Applications for Payment’ or invoices.

By arranging an invoice finance facility these ‘assets’ can be turned into cash the next day. If you have earned it, why should you have to wait an average of 107 days to get paid? This will ensure problems being experienced ‘up the line’ will have less impact on you.

On the other hand, experience tells us that the extra work planned for the sector by the Chancellor could also put a strain on cashflow.

We have worked with many companies that have been asked to tender for a large project who have seriously considered turning it down because they could not afford to take it on.

That’s because they would have to recruit extra staff and purchase the materials to carry out the contract. With cashflow already tight it looked like a non-starter.

At Ultimate Finance we believe that successful companies winning new contracts should not be held back because they are being made to wait three months or more to be paid for a job they have completed successfully.

By using an invoice finance facility the outstanding billing can be turned into cash almost as soon as they are issued which means they can tender for the contracts and not worry about the consequences if they win them.

If you haven’t already done so, it would be worthwhile reviewing your working capital position and calculate the potential value to be released in outstanding billing. Then just think about how the company could benefit, and grow, if they were all paid now.

Ultimate Finance has offices across the UK and further information is available at http://www.ultimatefinance.co.uk/industry-finance/construction-finance

Good news or bad? Both can have a significant impact on cashflowRegional director of Ultimate Construction Finance, Euan Bell, suggests companies should turn outstanding billings in to cash rather than waiting months for them to be paid.

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register online: www.competefor.com/summit

CompeteFor Supply Chain Access Forum 2016

Hear from those charged with setting the strategicgoals for infrastructure in London and the South East

Connect with those Tier 1 contractors winning contracts in London and the South East

Event supported by:

Find out how you can engage withthe major projects under way andthose planned for the future

20 April 2016 London Olympia

C42016 A4 Construction_advert_Layout 1 28/01/2016 10:13 Page 1

Active House is a vision of buildings that create healthier and more comfortable lives for their occupants without negatively impacting the surrounding environment.

UK Construction Journal speaks to Peder Vejsig Pedersen, Director of the Denmark-based Cenergia, about his work with the Active House Alliance, the Organisation’s remit and the challenges facing sustainability in the construction industry.

For the uninitiated, could you provide our readers with an introduction to the Active House Alliance?

The Active House Alliance was originally established in April 2010 during a conference held in Brussels. There, both the board of directors and the advisory board for the Alliance was agreed. The board of directors currently includes representatives from such organisations as The VELUX Group, Saint-Gobain and Hunter Douglas. The London-based architect firm HTA is a member of the advisory board besides Cenergia and others.

Since then, the Alliance has – with a lot of specialist involvement – developed the Active House Specification. As part of this there are three key areas – energy, comfort and environment – and for each of these there are three sub-categories. Each category helps document the quality of a building project and its

eligibility for the Active House label.

Previously, there has been a lot of discussion about how to show that a project lives up to the Active House standard. The Alliance decided upon a simple label, with a minimum demand in all nine areas of quality, so that successful developers are able to promote their project as being Active House compliant. A specialist institution has also been elected to verify projects that aim to live up to this standard. The Alliance has established networks to other associations worldwide and, in the UK, there is cooperation with the Good Homes Alliance.

How did you come to be involved in the Active House Alliance?

I was actually quite involved in the creation of the concept of the Active House Alliance. In 2005, Cenergia worked with The VELUX Group on an iconic project – sol tag or solar roof in English. This was a zero energy building, which used building integrated PV, heat pumps and so on. It was developed as an energy neutral rooftop apartment in Copenhagen and used as an exhibition house.

Active House: A holistic approach to sustainable construction

That was the start of our cooperation and, in 2006, The VELUX Group became very focused on the climate agenda and wanted to promote a standard for these kinds of energy neutral buildings.

How does the Active House Specification differ from The Passivhaus Standard?

I think Active House Alliance should be viewed in the context of European development in the low energy building sector. There has been some quite considerable success with Passivhaus – at Cenergia we made the first Passivhaus project in Denmark. But it was felt that the Passivhaus quality was limited to the climate shield. Though they’re very efficient buildings, comfort and sustainability are not the focus.

Some of the larger companies like ROCKWOOL and VELUX thought that it would be good to have a simple labelling system that had the same qualities as

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Passivhaus, but with additional focus on energy, comfort and environment also.

Can buildings be comfortable, energy efficient and environmentally friendly, whilst also remaining cost effective?

It’s very possible, but you have to be smart. We’re seeing the same thing with Passivhaus. Though there’s a lot of insulation involved, it is more to do with the qualities that you aim for rather than the cost to avoid potential code breaches.

For Passivhaus, we have seen that you need to have high performance windows. But triple glazing decreases in cost the more that it is used, meaning – at least in Scandinavian climates – that it is becoming the standard solution.The concept of heat recovery has also become a standard feature in new buildings during the last five to ten years, and with it the demand for air tightness has risen. It’s something new but it adds to the comfort of the building while also ensuring better ventilation and very low heat loss.

We’ve seen the same development for solar solutions. Solar PV systems have dropped in price very rapidly and now, in Denmark, you can actually buy facade and roofing materials that can be architecturally integrated so that they look almost like a normal aspect.

If it’s not a matter of cost, is the challenge changing attitudes in the construction industry?

Yes. That’s where the challenge is, I think. The EU building directive arrived in 2002 and, in 2006, it was introduced into the Danish building regulations. Since then, we have worked within the ever increasing demands of these directions. Still, if you follow new regulations – the Danish Building Regulations 2015, for example – you can also employ the Building 2020 standard, which is 25% better and normally involves some sort of renewable energy.

But the big challenge is not really new builds, where renewables cost relatively little and are now part of standard practice, but existing buildings. It’s a very different situation in different European countries. The social housing sector has

a lot of old concrete buildings from the sixties, for example. In Denmark, there is a special system for social housing - tenants pay an extra fee of five to ten percent on top of their normal rent. That fee goes into a special fund for social housing stock, meaning that social housing associations can apply for funding for the renovation of their buildings.

This is possible in Denmark, but in Sweden they don’t have that kind of fund. They need to find other ways of financing improvements to existing building stock and that can be more difficult.

How does the UK’s sustainably credentials stack up against other countries in Europe?

We have done several projects in the UK over the years, with EU funding in some cases. It was always a little more difficult than in Denmark because of the simple fact that energy in Denmark is very expensive. We have a lot of taxes on both electricity and heating, while the UK has less than half the cost, and with no VAT on energy. This means that the business of improving a building becomes more difficult because the payback is not as good.

On the other hand, my impression is that there is now a focus on this and the overall climate agenda in the UK.

Generally speaking, is the construction industry doing enough to encourage the use of sustainable construction techniques? What more can be done?

That’s a good question. The idea behind the Active House label is the focus on certain qualities and the documentation of those qualities. It has not been standard practice to show how good a building is performing on different criteria, but there’s no doubt that this will be a demand in the future and it is part of the EU building directive. All countries will need to introduce performance documentation of buildings before 2020.

What we have seen is that it’s actually Sweden – our neighbour country – that has put this into practice. It is part of their building regulations and that has changed their whole way of working.

The construction industry, together with building owners, must focus on how to measure building performance across a range of criteria. This has a tremendous effect on the quality of Swedish building projects. We’re hoping that this will come to Denmark in the next few years, but all European countries will need to follow it eventually.

How do you see the Active House Alliance continuing to develop in the future?

Once we’ve introduced the labelling system this spring, the hope is that it can be linked to a focus on performance documentation. You will be able to calculate that a building lives up to a certain standard, while also showing how a building performs in practice.For more information about the Active House Alliance, please visit: http://www.activehouse.info/

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Set against headlines heralding the UK’s resurgent build environment sector since the recession, it’s important to remember that the M&E industry is only just recovering from some of the most challenging market trading conditions ever.

It is emerging as a different animal.Across the board we’ve become a leaner, more cost-effective and more sustainable industry. Reaching this point has however been a very real struggle, as surviving alone has been a bridge too far for hundreds, if not thousands, of companies.

As the owner of Ainscough Industrial Services (AIS), a complete engineering solutions provider which owns and manages a strategically chosen collection of multi-disciplined industrial engineering businesses across ten regional bases, I know ‘Integration’ has been our key word of the past two years. It’s a trend I believe is vital to the exciting transition of the sector.

With around 280 staff across the country and separate specialist teams in installation, mechanical, pipework, electrical, controls & automation, fabrication and technical lifting and

Re-engineering the M&E industrylogistics, our previous business model saw each of these teams concentrate on winning smaller sub-contracts, one discipline at a time.

And while it sounds simple, the process of consolidating, integrating and expanding our capital and maintenance-driven projects service offer has taken five years of hard work and dedication which has inspired a company-wide culture change.

At the heart of our change was the question ‘how can we make life easier for the end-user, our client?’Rather than spreading themselves too thinly, M&E companies are deciding to combine their offer then add additional related capabilities to provide clients with an all-encompassing, front-facing service.

This essential repositioning of M&E businesses as strategic engineering partners directly to clients is, without doubt, creating a more efficient, integrated and collaborative working relationships.

By removing the reliance on third party contractors and by offering clients a ‘one-team’ package which significantly reduces

the number of companies on site, M&E companies are working smarter and better directly alongside clients.

Take the food and drink and manufacturing sectors as examples. These industries present unique challenges, where hygiene standards are intrinsically linked to health and safety requirements, equipment use and material selection amongst other things.

These types of specialist project environments also might normally require five teams - heavy lifting, automation, pipework, electrical and logistics, for example - from different sub-contractors to be on-site at the same time. All of these teams will have different standards, processes and health and safety records.Time efficiency is, of course, also vital. A delay on an M&E contract which causes a production line stoppage is costing the client money by the second.

Therefore, an integrated offer and one united team on site, means M&E contractors can provide the client with a much more time and safety efficient as well as cost-effective project. The same format can be applied to any sector build projects.

By consolidating and expanding your M&E offer, does of course require inward investment and therefore it’s particularly heartening to see that the model is succeeding across the country as it certainly represents an initial financial risk.

The integration of our business over the past two years at AIS has, however, seen us announce turnover growth rise of more than £30M in the past five years and a record turnover of £42M in 2015, reflecting 50% year on year growth.

Industry wide culture change will not happen overnight however there are fantastic signs of market recovery. I firmly believe that this innovative move to overhaul and position a suite of specialist businesses as one full service represents an essential blueprint for the future of the M&E sector.

For more information about Ainscough Industrial Services visit:www.ainscoughindustrial.co.uk

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