November 13, 2015

Essential Living creates tier two subcontractor framework

Exclusive: Essential Living will start to procure directly with some “key trades” through a new tier two framework, according to its managing director. Scott Hammond said the London residential developer, backed by US institutional investor M3 Capital Partner, was setting up a panel of five or six subcontractors for big

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SNORKEL SECONDARY GUARDING SYSTEM NOW FITTED AS STANDARD

Snorkel, the global manufacturer of aerial work platforms, is pleased to announce that effective 1st September 2015, all new Snorkel boom lifts with platform heights of 40-feet (12.1m) and above, will be fitted with Snorkel Guard™ as standard. Unveiled at The Rental Show 2015, Snorkel Guard™ is the company’s secondary

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Issue 322 : Nov 2024

November 13, 2015

Wolverhampton demolition expert knocks down the competition to land Institute of Construction Management title

A Wolverhampton businessman claimed a notable coup last week when he became the first demolition expert to be named as the Institute of Construction Management (ICM)’s Construction Manager of the Year. John Woodward, founder of C&D Consultancy, beat off the challenge of over 50 professionals to claim the prestigious honour, impressing judges with his pioneering work in Glasgow and on the bank of the Thames river in London. He was also praised for his outstanding role in educating young people about the sector and how they can carve a rewarding career in demolition. “This came as a bit of a shock to me if I’m being honest, but I’m delighted that my industry, which often gets overlooked, has been recognised for the work we do in clearing the way for the future,” explained John. “It has been a massive year for the business and one that has seen a number of the projects we’ve been consulting on hit the national headlines.” He continued: “I’m keen to use this ICM Award to do even more Primary Future talks to promote and push our sector, showing the future generation of workers that demolition offers great career opportunities both at home and abroad.” John formed C&D Consultancy in 2003 and has seen it become one of the leading demolition specialists in the country, coordinating a host of projects across the UK and Europe every year. A team of 8 experts advises on initial planning, project management and one-off consultancy, as well as being brought in to turn around crisis jobs. “We’ve been involved in some really complex projects over the last eighteen months, most noticeably Albert Embankment demolition for Berkeley Housing Group and helping to bring down 15 of Glasgow’s most iconic tower blocks,” added John. He concluded: “This – combined with securing The Institute for Construction Management’s main prize – takes our reputation to the next level and will hopefully see us pass £1m turnover by the end of the year.” For further information on C&D, please visit http://demolishdismantle.blogspot.co.uk or follow @castlecroftrngr on twitter.  

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GATE SAFE LAUNCHES FREE USER FRIENDLY ‘GATE SAFE VISUALISER’ TOOL

Gate Safe is proud to announce the launch of its innovative Gate Safe Visualiser, an interactive tool designed to help anyone looking to specify a safe automated gate. The Gate Safe Visualiser has been in development for 10 months and represents a pioneering move towards improving the understanding of how to install a safe powered gate. The detailed infographic takes the specifier (who could be an architect, an electrician, a home owner or anyone involved in making the decision to install this type of device) through a step by step list of questions, supported by a series of visual prompts detailing the various factors that need to be taken into consideration to enable a safe and legally compliant installation. Gate Safe has always adopted a practical ‘plain english’ approach to explaining automated gate safety and this is a further example of how the charity is striving to maximise the understanding of the complex subject matter – in an easy to follow, user friendly format. The Gate Safe Visualiser is accessible via the Gate Safe website. Initial industry feedback on the Visualiser is positive: ECA Training, Health and Safety Manager John Corcoran commented: “The ECA has been working with Gate Safe for around four years and were one of the first organisations to endorse their safety-first approach. We strongly support initiatives like this which are aimed at improving safety and security in the sector.” Commenting on the launch of the Gate Safe Visualiser, Gate Safe founder Richard Jackson says, “Gate Safe has always tried to demystify the technical jargon which, features in most of the guidance pertaining to automated gate safety. By ‘talking’ in pictures and providing a step by step guide as to how to deliver a safe gate we hope that we can put an end to the installation of hazardous gates and address the fact that currently more than 70% of gates in the field are capable of causing serious injury – or death. Five years on since our original launch in 2010 we continue to look at new ways of sharing the knowledge required to fully understand what constitutes a safe and legally compliant installation.” The Gate Safe Visualiser can be accessed via the following link: www.visualiser.gate-safe.org.

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Essential Living creates tier two subcontractor framework

Exclusive: Essential Living will start to procure directly with some “key trades” through a new tier two framework, according to its managing director. Scott Hammond said the London residential developer, backed by US institutional investor M3 Capital Partner, was setting up a panel of five or six subcontractors for big packages of work such as M&E, groundworks and drylining. Essential Living already operates a tier one framework which includes the likes of Balfour Beatty and Brookfield Multiplex. Mr Hammond said that while the company’s “mission is to create a product, not be a contractor”, the supply chain market was proving “hugely challenging”. When the developer entered the market it had intended to procure work through fixed-price, design-and-build contracts, but has been forced to move away from that due to market conditions.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLJGI4PmKZE&feature=youtu.be On its three most recent schemes, Mr Hammond said one involved the firm working with a construction manager/contractor, one as a pure construction manager and a third using a design-and-build process. He said 25-30 per cent of the cost of the construction was procured by Essential Living through its own supply chain agreements for products such as flooring, heating systems and taps. Mr Hammond was speaking at the Construction News Summit on a panel alongside Anthology managing director Mark Dickinson, who said the developer was only interested in “light touch” development. Mr Dickinson said Anthology would continue to outsource building and professional services on developments, for which its “sweet spot” was 250-400 residential units. Anthology was originally set up to develop residential property within London’s Zone 1, but has expanded out to Zone 3 and 4 due to increased cost and demand. It is backed by Oaktree’s European Principal Group, which has $6bn (£4.03bn) of assets under management in London, Los Angeles, Paris, Frankfurt and Luxembourg. Mr Dickinson said Anthology wanted to be “seen as the best client to work for”. “We know the market isn’t receptive to the aggressive tendering of 18 months ago,” he said. “We have a framework with three contractors [Bouygues, Sisk and Wates] on a two-stage process.” The developer appoints contractors to schemes under preconstruction services agreements and then works up overheads, prelims and indicative cost on a collaborative basis. He admitted there had been a “cyclical” nature to residential contracting where developer and contractor take turns “beating each other up” and warned the supply chain that the market would “turn” again. Legal and General Property head of residential James Lidgate explained the firm’s investment in the industry, saying: “In any other industry where demand outstrips supply you would invest, so why not housing?” Mr Lidgate added that without taking on development, planning or construction risk, developers were looking at a “negligible return on capital employed”. Hyde Group group business development director David Gannicott said the biggest challenge facing the residential sector was capacity, pointing to the number of medium-sized housebuilders shrinking from 13,000 to just 3,000 during the downturn.

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SNORKEL SECONDARY GUARDING SYSTEM NOW FITTED AS STANDARD

Snorkel, the global manufacturer of aerial work platforms, is pleased to announce that effective 1st September 2015, all new Snorkel boom lifts with platform heights of 40-feet (12.1m) and above, will be fitted with Snorkel Guard™ as standard. Unveiled at The Rental Show 2015, Snorkel Guard™ is the company’s secondary guarding solution. Designed in-house by Snorkel’s engineering team, the simple, mechanical system features a spring-loaded rail that sits above the upper control panel which cuts out machine operations when compressed, for example, in the case of the operator being involuntarily pushed against the controls. The operator can override Snorkel Guard™ using a switch in the platform, in the event that the system is activated in error. Additionally, when Snorkel Guard™ is activated, the lift can be operated from the lower control panel. Snorkel Guard™ has undergone extensive field-testing and has already received high praise from a major global contractor, who favors the simplicity of Snorkel’s design over other more complex systems on the market. Matthew Elvin, Snorkel CEO, said “Snorkel Guard™ is a robust and simple design which does not add any complexity to the lift, yet offers an additional level of protection for the operator. Operator safety is paramount, which is why we have rolled out the system as a standard feature globally, as well as offering it as a retrofit solution.” All new-build Snorkel boom lifts with platform heights of 40-feet (12.1m) and above will be fitted with Snorkel Guard™ as standard from 1st September 2015. In addition, the Snorkel Guard™ system can be easily retrofitted to most Snorkel booms in the field. Available globally, the retrofit kit can be ordered via Snorkel Customer Services or official Snorkel distributors. For regional contact details, visit www.snorkellifts.com.

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