Following the recent earthquake in Nepal, the RIBA has the following advice for members who would like to support the aid efforts: In the first instance, money is the most important resource. It needs to be channelled through organisations with wide experience of disaster relief, already present in the country, familiar with the territory and well-connected with local organisations and agencies. In the UK, the main channel for making donations is the Disasters Emergency Committee, representing the 13 major relief agencies. Alternatively, Article 25 has launched its own urgent appeal for donations. RIBA is working with the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to help identify Nepalese nationals or others with relevant local or regional experience to provide technical expertise. The IFRC has already deployed approximately 100 people to support the Nepal Red Cross in search and rescue efforts, emergency health, water and sanitation, relief, shelter and interagency coordination as well as support services such as telecoms and logistics. Given the operational constraints in the country, most agencies are wary of overloading country teams at this stage. However, the IFRC anticipates there will be a need for additional technical expertise in due course. RIBA members or practices with the necessary expertise and experience to help – particularly those who would be fully funded or self-resourced – are encouraged to register their interest with RIBA Head of International, Marcus Deeley. Ends Notes to editors: 1. For further press information: Melanie Mayfield, RIBA Press Office: melanie.mayfield@riba.org 020 7307 3662 2. RIBA’s International Task Group led by RIBA International Vice President Peter Oborn set out a detailed plan for RIBA’s role in engaging with international communities facing natural disaster, civil conflict and human rights violations. The full report: http://www.architecture.com/RIBA/Aboutus/Whoweare/RIBACouncil/InternationalTaskGroupreport.aspx 3. RIBA is hosting Designing City Resilience 2015, a two-day Summit on disaster prevention and resilience in June 2015. The Summit is supported by the Commonwealth Secretary General, the Government Office for Science and the Rockefeller Foundation. www.designingcityresilience.com 4. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) champions better buildings, communities and the environment through architecture and our members www.architecture.com 5. Follow us on Twitter for regular RIBA updates www.twitter.com/RIBA   Posted on Tuesday 28th April 2015 Source link

New home lending to owner occupiers in Australia saw solid growth during April, up 4% month on month but still 5.9% lower than a year ago. The figures, published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, also show that loans for building new homes increased by 4.4% and for buying new homes there was a 3.3% rise. The official figures confirm that demand for new home purchase across Australia remains very strong, according to Housing Industry Association, the voice of the residential building industry.  ‘Even though the amount of new home lending for owner occupiers peaked over a year ago, current loan volumes remain elevated by historic standards. This means that activity on the ground over the remainder of 2016 will be healthy,’ said HIA senior economist Shane Garrett. He pointed out that May’s interest rate reduction is likely to provide some impetus to new home lending over the coming months. The HIA believes that 2016 will be another remarkably strong year overall. ‘Further easing on the interest rate front would augur even better for the short term outlook in residential building,’ added Garrett.  Compared with a year earlier, the number of loans to owner occupiers constructing or purchasing new homes increased in four of the eight states during April 2016. A breakdown of the figures show that in the Australian Capital Territory there was a 30% rise, in South Australia and increased of 9.7%, in Victoria a rise of 4.5% and in New South Wales a rise of 1.1%. But there were declines over the same period in Western Australia with a fall of 18.9%, a fall of 15.2% in Tasmania, a fall of 2.2% in Queensland and a fall of 1.8% in the Northern Territory. Source link

©Reuters The crisis in coal mining has claimed its biggest victim yet as Peabody Energy filed for bankruptcy protection after being ground down by low prices and falling demand from China. The world’s largest private-sector coal producer by output filed a petition for Chapter 11 protection in Missouri weeks after warning of its potential inability to continue as a going concern and after delaying two bond interest payments. More On this topic IN Mining The indebted miner blamed “unprecedented” factors affecting the global coal industry, including a sharp drop in the price of metallurgical coal and weakness in the Chinese economy. Peabody also pointed to “overproduction” of shale gas in the US, which has made coal less competitive, as well as regulatory challenges, such as moves to reduce carbon emissions, that have put pressure on the coal industry. “This was a difficult decision, but it is the right path forward for Peabody. We begin today to build a highly successful global leader for tomorrow,” said Glenn Kellow, chief executive. “Through today’s action, we will seek an in-court solution to Peabody’s substantial debt burden amid a historically challenged industry backdrop.” Shares in the miner have been suspended. Its operations will continue. Peabody said its operations in Australia were not included in the filing and would not be affected. The US group also said the planned sale of mines in New Mexico and Colorado had fallen through “after the buyer was unable to complete the transaction”. Peabody had $6.3bn of debt at the end of 2015. The company said it “intends to reduce its overall debt level, lower fixed charges, improve operating cash flow and position the company for long-term success, while continuing to operate under the protection of the court process”. The filing for bankruptcy protection follows a string of similar actions by other US coal producers, including that of Arch Coal earlier this year. Peabody posted a $2bn net loss in 2015, underscoring the pressure on the industry from low prices. However, the company said all of its US operations were cash flow positive last year. Along with the filing Peabody said it had arranged $800m of “debtor-in-possession” financing facilities with Citigroup. You need JavaScript active on your browser in order to see this video. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2016. You may share using our article tools. Please don’t cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web. Source link

A national crane hire company has been sentenced for failings that led to the death of two men as a crane collapsed in London. Southwark Crown Court heard crane operator Jonathan Cloke, 37, died after falling from the crane as it collapsed. It fell onto Michael Alexa, 23, a member of the public, and also killed him. The court heard how sections of the tower crane, which was on a housing development in Thessaly Road, Battersea, separated when 24 bolts failed due to metal fatigue. The 24 bolts were a significant safety feature on the crane’s slew ring, which connected the mast (tower) to the slew turret. This allows the arms of the crane (jib) to rotate through 360 degrees. When the bolts failed the slew turret and jib separated from the mast and fell to the ground. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation into the incident, in September 2006, found Falcon Crane Hire Ltd did not investigate a similar incident which happened nine weeks before, when the bolts failed on the same crane and had to be replaced. HSE found the company had an inadequate system to manage the inspection and maintenance of their fleet of cranes. Their process to investigate the underlying cause of components’ failings was also inadequate. It told the court the particular bolts were a safety critical part of the crane. The court also heard the bolts failing previously was an exceptional and significant occurrence, which should have been recognised by Falcon Crane Hire. Lilliana Alexa, Michael’s mother, said on behalf of her family: “Michael was a lovely son, a wonderful big brother and a devoted father. His son has had to grow up without the love and support of Michael, who adored him. He was denied that opportunity because his life was taken away and with his, ours too. “The memories of that day will never leave our family. We heard the crash and felt the ground shake. I found Michael and it’s an image that haunts my nightmares. If only we had stopped to chat or parked the car somewhere else he would still be alive. We know we are not to blame but it does not stop us all feeling guilt. “We cannot comprehend how our beloved son, brother, father and friend who was so full of live has gone. The whole crane industry must learn from our tragedy and the devastation it has caused. We do not want another family to endure the same pain of losing their child.” Mike Wilcock, HSE Head of Operations, said: “Jonathan and Michael’s deaths were tragic, needless and entirely avoidable. These two men need not have died had Falcon Crane Hire taken the right, decisive action when the bolts failed the first time. The company fell far short of its health and safety obligation.” Falcon Crane Hire Ltd were fined £750,000 and ordered to pay costs of £100,000 for breaching Sections 2 and 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Etc Act. Ends Notes to editors The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: www.legislation.gov.uk/   and guidance at HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk Journalists should approach HSE press office with any queries on regional press releases. Source link

Barnshaws Polska has been using their expertise in the construction of a giant retail sign. The sign is located in Hungary and Barnshaws has been able to use the specialist knowledge of the fabrication of steel while constructing the sign. The main contractor for this project was a company that originates from Budapest and awarded the contract to Barnshaws because of their reputation for working with the materials specified for the sign. Barnshaws is known for their ability to create and supply curved sections of steel for a number of different projects. As part of this sign work, the company worked to supply around 40 tonnes of steel that had to be precision rolled in order to make sure that the cylinder and cones that were created fit perfectly and were able to support the Triangle sign structure that sat at the top. The company has already worked on a number of projects where they have had to supply curved structures of pipes and tubes to the site of some of Europe’s largest construction projects. The steel plates that were selected in order to make the structures for the sign included 12,14,16 and 18 thickness. The curved steel specialists then used their in-house rolling abilities which allowed them to create the different cones and cylinders that were needed for the project. Each of the cylinders had a height of 3000 mm with diameters of the cones and the cylinders between 1000 mm and 1500 mm. The sections were then beveled in order to allow them to be welded together easily on the site while the sign was being constructed. Barnshaws are continuing to expand their reputation as one of the best profile bending companies in the world. The company works on a range of different projects including work within the construction sector, power generation, mining, transport and general manufacturing.