Costain is negotiating with operators of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to create a framework of approved suppliers that can meet its needs. Costain has used UAVs, more commonly known as drones, on several projects, to survey large areas or parts of structures that are hard to access. However, it has
Knauf AMF asked specifiers what would make their lives easier when it came to specifying acoustic ceiling and wall solutions. From this research, Knauf AMF has launched an innovative app, AMF InfoCentre, designed to make choosing the right acoustic solution for any project easy and convenient at the touch of
HomeServe hosts recruitment open days to fill around 100 roles Published: 26 April, 2016 Home assistance company HomeServe is organising two open days as part of an ongoing recruitment drive to serve its customers, with around 100 roles available. HomeServe, which only recently launched a giant recruitment push for more
National Grid has said it may have to curtail wind generation over the summer to balance the system, with electricity demand forecast to fall by nearly 2 per cent to its lowest levels on record. In its summer outlook report, Grid forecasted a peak demand of 35.7GW
Blackpool engineering is helping Britain’s most remote theatre expand its revenue streams. For Theatre by the Lake in Keswick’s new £700,000 café, architect Aedas focused on a design that was sympathetic to the building’s location, by the foreshore of Derwentwater: wood, natural light and natural ventilation prevail in the monopitch
The biggest names in the industry gathered together for the Association for Decentralised Energy (ADE) Awards to recognise the sector’s high-achievers and celebrate the 10-year anniversary of The Natural History Museum’s (NHM) trigeneration scheme. To celebrate the awards, and our decade-long partnership with The Natural History Museum, we have produced
2017 will mark the 45th anniversary of the establishment of the UK sales, training and distribution centre for global power tool manufacturer Makita Corporation. An unbroken record of annual sales growth confirms that today the Makita brand is market leader in the UK’s competitive professional power tool league. Just two
Ministers have given the green light for construction to begin on thousands of discounted homes for first-time buyers. The government chose 30 local authorities to partner with in developing the first wave of Starter Homes, which will be available to buyers aged 23-40 at 20 per cent below market value.
Using ultrafast imaging of moving energy in photosynthesis, scientists at Imperial College London have determined the speed of crucial processes for the first time, which could be copied to produce fuels by artificial photosynthesis. During photosynthesis, plants harvest light and, though a chemical process involving water and carbon dioxide, convert
Costain is negotiating with operators of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to create a framework of approved suppliers that can meet its needs. Costain has used UAVs, more commonly known as drones, on several projects, to survey large areas or parts of structures that are hard to access. However, it has decided against investing in the technology directly, preferring to outsource, because of the speed at which the technology is still developing. “We have been developing an understanding of how and where the technology can deliver projects more efficiently and safely,” said Peter Slater, Costain’s aerial solutions manager. “One of the main drivers of the work comes down to taking people out of hazardous environments,” said Peter. “In addition, improvements in speed, efficiency and payload make this a technology with high potential.” He said: “We’re speaking to industry leaders in the UAV technology space and getting them to understand our needs and our customers’ needs. We have working relationships with a number of suppliers and will create a framework agreement with sector-specific suppliers that can cover a range of requirements.” Although Peter Slater has completed his Remote Pilot Qualification ground school, he does not see Costain operating the UAVs itself just yet. “The technologies involved can become obsolete quite quickly,” he said. “On top of that, the regulatory environment governing their operation will continue to undergo some notable changes.” This article was published on 23 Jun 2016 (last updated on 23 Jun 2016). Source link
Knauf AMF asked specifiers what would make their lives easier when it came to specifying acoustic ceiling and wall solutions. From this research, Knauf AMF has launched an innovative app, AMF InfoCentre, designed to make choosing the right acoustic solution for any project easy and convenient at the touch of the screen. Knauf AMF asked specifiers what would make their lives easier when it came to specifying acoustic ceiling and wall solutions. From this research, Knauf AMF has launched an innovative app, AMF InfoCentre, designed to make choosing the right acoustic solution for any project easy and convenient at the touch of the screen. Knauf AMF is known for being at the forefront of new technology when developing acoustic ceiling solutions that help transform buildings into healthy environments. Their new app, AMF InfoCentre, which is intuitive and incredibly easy to use, enables architects, acousticians and contractors to download helpful information about the whole of Knauf AMF’s product range. The app offers clever tools that make it convenient including: smart search and bookmark functions so users can find what they’re looking for with ease. Push notifications alert you to new products and changes to the range, so you’re always up to date. To help make product selecting and specifying easier, Knauf AMF also offers a free Room Acoustics Calculator app that adds real value when calculating the acoustics of a space. With 24 room types to choose from, the app calculates the reverberation times of different frequencies and predicts how they would change if the room’s acoustics were optimised. Armed with this information, specifiers can choose the right solution for the project.AMF Infocentre and Room Acoustics Calculator are available to download free from Google Play Store and Apple App Store. They are compatible with all smartphones and tablets so users can access them wherever they are. Source link
HomeServe hosts recruitment open days to fill around 100 roles Published: 26 April, 2016 Home assistance company HomeServe is organising two open days as part of an ongoing recruitment drive to serve its customers, with around 100 roles available. HomeServe, which only recently launched a giant recruitment push for more than 160 new engineers nationwide, is seeking talented people from across the region to join its award-winning customer contact centre. Potential candidates are being invited along to the two recruitment days, which will be held at its Walsall headquarters on 12 May, from 5pm to 8pm and 14 May from 10am to 2pm. Alternatively, people can apply for new roles via HomeServe’s new Careers Hub. “As our UK business continues to develop, so does our need for great people to come and help us”, said Martin Bennett, CEO of HomeServe. “We have a simple mantra at Homeserve which is if our people are happy, they will take care of our customers and that will give us a successful business – we are all very proud of the unique culture we have built and are looking for people to join us who share the same passion and care for customers as we do.” Source link
National Grid has said it may have to curtail wind generation over the summer to balance the system, with electricity demand forecast to fall by nearly 2 per cent to its lowest levels on record. In its summer outlook report, Grid forecasted a peak demand of 35.7GW – a drop of nearly 2 per cent compared with 37.5GW last year. Minimum summer demand is forecast to be 18.1GW – a slight decrease from the 2015 demand of 18.4GW, while daytime minimum demand is expected to be 23.5GW, lower than the 2015 minimum of 25.8GW. The company said that while underlying demand is expected to remain broadly similar to last summer, demand on the transmission network will be lower because of the proliferation of embedded generation, particularly domestic solar PV. As a result, it said, it may be forced to instruct inflexible generators – such as nuclear, combined heat and power, some hydropower and wind – to reduce their output during periods of peak demand, in order to balance the system. Despite the spare capacity, with power prices in the UK remaining higher than in France and the Netherlands, National Grid predicted “full imports” from continental Europe via interconnectors. The network operator said gas was likely to be the “favoured fuel” for thermal generation over the summer, based on the forward prices for gas, coal and carbon. However, it added that the price difference between the least efficient gas-fired plants and the most efficient coal-fired plants was “narrow” and so a small change in fuel prices was likely to result in switching. Source link
Blackpool engineering is helping Britain’s most remote theatre expand its revenue streams. For Theatre by the Lake in Keswick’s new £700,000 café, architect Aedas focused on a design that was sympathetic to the building’s location, by the foreshore of Derwentwater: wood, natural light and natural ventilation prevail in the monopitch structure which reaches 35ft at its highest point. Leading air movement specialist Gilberts Blackpool has delivered the natural ventilation strategy, focusing on three of its Mistrale WHF75 flanged high weather performance louvres, integrated at high level into the wall at the lowest point of the roof, behind the kitchen area. Each of the louvres features Gilberts’ integrated VN75 volume control dampers. One of the louvres, also includes an LPHW coil, to make up air to the kitchen extract. Gilberts’ Mistrale 75 is designed to provide smooth, accurate and stable airflow. The system attains a U value of 0.96W/m2/K, with air leakage less than 5m3/hr/m2. The 75mm blade pitch of the core WHF louvres delivers high performance with Class A weatherability, and a free ventilation area of 50%. Mistrale is a core element of Gilberts’ air movement solutions, which incorporates grilles, louvres, and diffusers for natural, hybrid and mechanical ventilation. Founded 55 years ago, Gilberts Blackpool is Britain’s leading independent air movement specialist engineering company, and is unique in its ability to develop components- be it ‘mainstream’ or bespoke- entirely in-house, from initial design through tooling, production, testing and supply, at its 85,000 ft2 manufacturing facility. Its state of the art test centre, designed and built in-house, is one of the most technically advanced in the country.
The biggest names in the industry gathered together for the Association for Decentralised Energy (ADE) Awards to recognise the sector’s high-achievers and celebrate the 10-year anniversary of The Natural History Museum’s (NHM) trigeneration scheme. To celebrate the awards, and our decade-long partnership with The Natural History Museum, we have produced a video which captures the atmosphere of the big night, looks at the positive impact of the trigeneration scheme and even sees the legendary Dippy the Dinosaur take a farewell bow Which has seen their energy scheme evolve. Group Sales & Strategy Director for Vital Energi, Nick Gosling commented, “The installation at the Natural History Museum has a decade-long track record and has outperformed its guaranteed carbon and financial savings in every year of operation. We are proud to be part of the history of the museum, which has seen their energy scheme evolve from Victorian coal-fired boilers to a 21st Century trigeneration installation, and we hope the video captures some of the excitement the project generated on the evening.” The combined cooling, heating and power scheme at the NHM has been one of the big success stories in the sustainable power sector, delivering £11million of energy savings and reducing carbon emissions by over 15,000 tonnes during the last decade. The project, which serves both the Natural History Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum, saw us install the energy solution, which is underpinned by an energy performance contract that guarantees minimum carbon savings and financial returns. If you’d like to learn more about the trigeneration scheme at the Natural History Museum, you can read the full case study here: https://www.vitalenergi.co.uk/casestudies/natural-history-museum
2017 will mark the 45th anniversary of the establishment of the UK sales, training and distribution centre for global power tool manufacturer Makita Corporation. An unbroken record of annual sales growth confirms that today the Makita brand is market leader in the UK’s competitive professional power tool league. Just two years ago Makita worldwide celebrated a century of growth since the Company’s foundation in 1915 at Anjo, Japan. Since 1972 Makita UK has delivered a consistently successful and ever expanding range of power tools for the professional tradesman. Today, there are more than 600 tools in the Makita UK range and unrivalled innovation has become the hallmark of the brand, constantly improving performance and capability to make many tasks in the construction world more productive, safer for operators, achieving faster, more efficient, completion. Exceptional product innovations such as the valuable AVT™ – Advanced Vibration Technology – which dramatically reduces HAV risks for operators; Brushless motors for cordless tools that increases motor power output, expands run time and lengthens tool and battery life; and the brilliant MM4 mini 4-stroke petrol engine that produces more power, consumes less fuel, cuts noise and emissions of grounds maintenance machines, are just three examples of the constant flow of product science and technology that makes Makita the market leader. Today’s Makita range includes cordless machines which now rival some mains powered variants for impact power and torque. The popular 18v Lithium-Ion battery platform, introduced in 2005, has expanded to more than 110 different products and recently the Twin 18v (36v) machines, powered by two of the ever popular existing 18v batteries, along with a range of domestic and professional cordless garden tools that further expands the powerful cordless range. Pneumatic tools include nailers and staplers whilst there are ever more petrol engine machines for construction and outdoor equipment, and horticultural machines for grounds maintenance and landscape professionals. An equally broad inventory of high quality accessories, such as drill bits, blades, abrasives and diamond cutting wheels, further enhances the ultimate performance of Makita tools. The Makita philosophy has always been ‘customer service first and foremost. “The Makita philosophy has always been ‘customer service first and foremost’ and to meet the aspirations of the end user first, then our dealers and then finally us as the manufacturer,” explains Barry Smart, National Sales Manager, Makita UK. “Our market has evolved since 1972 when it was 100% mains until today where it is 60/40 in favour of cordless machines. Our forecasts are for continued growth in cordless; our Twin battery 36v machines meet end user requirements for power and performance and this is expanding quickly in our horticultural range. Opening our new training and customer service centre in Glasgow is further illustration of our commitment to giving our customers the very best possible backup to make their business successful.” Makita is Britain’s number 1 professional power tool manufacturer, and their ISO accredited facility at Telford in Shropshire is one of 18 worldwide production plants. Here more than 1.25 million individual power tools are manufactured annually, of which 80% are exported to the worlds markets. Two further factors are the cornerstones of Makita’s market success in the UK. The establishment and continuous development of the strongest national network of professional distributors, backed by a skilled sales and demonstration force, is coupled with the ethos of correct training. This enables the selection of the most efficient tool for the job and the correct and safe use of the tools in active conditions. This belief is borne out by the major investment in the established training course facility at the Milton Keynes HQ and the new centre in Scotland. For more news and product information about Makita UK please visit www.makitauk.com. Follow us on Twitter @MakitaUK, Facebook.com/makitauk and google.com/+makitauk MAKITA UK MARKS 45 YEARS IN UK WITH POWER TOOL MARKET LEADERSHIP “Customer service first and foremost” New training and service centre to open in Scotland
Ministers have given the green light for construction to begin on thousands of discounted homes for first-time buyers. The government chose 30 local authorities to partner with in developing the first wave of Starter Homes, which will be available to buyers aged 23-40 at 20 per cent below market value. The homes will be built on brownfield sites across the UK, with the councils being chosen on availability of land and ability to deliver homes quickly. The partnerships between the Homes and Communities Agency and the local authorities have been established under the government’s £1.2bn Starter Homes Land Fund, which was launched last April. The fund supports the acquisition, remediation and de-risking of brownfield land for Starter Home developments. Construction of the first Starter Homes will begin later this year. Housing and planning minister Gavin Barwell said: “This government is committed to building Starter Homes to help young first-time buyers get on the housing ladder. “This first wave of partnerships shows the strong local interest to build thousands of Starter Homes on hundreds of brownfield sites in the coming years. One in three councils has expressed an interest to work with us so far.” Read more at https://www.constructionnews.co.uk/markets/sectors/housing/government-kick-starts-starter-homes-construction/10016061.article
Using ultrafast imaging of moving energy in photosynthesis, scientists at Imperial College London have determined the speed of crucial processes for the first time, which could be copied to produce fuels by artificial photosynthesis. During photosynthesis, plants harvest light and, though a chemical process involving water and carbon dioxide, convert this into energy. A vital part of this process is using the light energy to split water into oxygen and hydrogen. This is done by an enzyme called Photosystem II. Light energy is harvested by ‘antennae’, and transferred to the reaction centre of Photosystem II, which strips electrons from water. This conversion of excitation energy into chemical energy, known as ‘charge separation’, is the first step in splitting water. It was previously thought that the process of charge separation in the reaction centre was the slowest step in photosynthesis that created a ‘bottleneck’, in comparison to the transfer of energy along the antennae. However, since the structure of Photosystem II was first determined in 2001, there was some suggestion the energy transfer step was the slowest part of photosynthesis, but it was not yet possible to prove experimentally. Using ultrafast imaging of electronic excitations that uses small crystals of Photosystem II, scientists from Imperial College London and Johannes Kepler University (JKU) in Austria have now been able to prove that the slowest step is in fact the process through which the plants harvest light and transfer its energy through the antennae to the reaction centre. The new insights into the precise mechanics of photosynthesis should help researchers hoping to copy the efficiency of natural photosynthesis to produce green fuels. The study is published in Nature Communications. Study author Dr Jasper van Thor, from the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial, said: “We can now see how nature has optimised the physics of converting light energy to fuel, and can probe this process using our new technique of ultrafast crystal measurements. “For example, is it important that the bottleneck occurs at this stage, in order to preserve overall efficiency? Can we mimic it or tune it to make artificial photosynthesis more efficient? These questions, and many others, can now be explored.” Although the researchers could determine which step is faster, both steps occur incredibly quickly – the whole process takes a matter of nanoseconds, with the individual steps of energy transfer and charge separation taking only picoseconds. Read more at http://www.imeche.org/news/news-article/ultrafast-imaging-of-photosynthesis-could-help-development-of-green-fuel
