A number of Building and construction companies in Britain are at risk of receiving hefty fines because of new Data Protection rules that are being put into place. The new wide ranging rules have been introduced that will change the way businesses are able to process personal information that they
Around 20 years ago the Centre for Window and Cladding Technology created a university course, the MSc in Façade Engineering has now been reformatted and will be offered as part of a partnership that has been formed with the University of the West of England. It is thought that over
The founder and managing director of an East Kilbride-based electrical business has come out top after being awarded the accolade of “best presentation” at the conclusion of a prestigious business development course organised by hub South West. Steven Maclaren, who started Maclaren Electrical Services in 2006 and which now has
Barthelme LED Solutions has developed a fully encapsulated plastic linear LED luminaire. As a result, the Nuremberg company offers a genuine alternative to conventional linear luminaire with metal housing. The leading edge LED technology in the AQUALUC S:OLID is protected by a closely meshed polyurethane-ceramic encapsulation which shields it from
With little under a month to go until the highly-anticipated 18th Edition of the IET Wiring Regulations come into force, Bureau Veritas is calling on duty holders to step up efforts aimed at reducing the safety risk posed by poor electrics. Due to be published in July, BS 7671
A number of Building and construction companies in Britain are at risk of receiving hefty fines because of new Data Protection rules that are being put into place. The new wide ranging rules have been introduced that will change the way businesses are able to process personal information that they have access to. The government’s GDPR will replace the data protection laws that are already in place. The new rules are set to come into action in less than a year and the consequences of breaking the new rules are harsher than previously. According to a survey that has been carried out by YouGov, only 30% of the 190 different construction firms that were asked knew that there were new rules coming into force. This is event more concerning when the results of the study showed that the maximum fine for breaching the new data protection rules would make 25% of the construction businesses go out of business. The new General Data Protection Regulations will come into force on the 25th of May 2018 and it has been stated that the maximum fine for specific data breaches that occur in the UK will increase from £500,000 to €20 million or 4% of the company’s global turnover, depending on which figure is larger. From the results of the YouGov survey, 77% of the construction companies that were asked said that they were unaware of the new fines that are going to be implemented next year. It is thought that by the regulations some data breaches that would have an impact on privacy must see the Regulator notified within 72 hours. Although, further research that has been carried out by Irwin Mitchell has discovered that only18% of construction companies could be certain that they have the ability to detect a data breach in their organisation. 27% of companies have expressed confidence being able to inform the relevant stakeholders inside the required three day time period.
Around 20 years ago the Centre for Window and Cladding Technology created a university course, the MSc in Façade Engineering has now been reformatted and will be offered as part of a partnership that has been formed with the University of the West of England. It is thought that over the course of the last ten years there has been significant change in the Façade sector and it has made the professional role of façade engineer more and more important as a part of the construction industry. Now the development of a professional qualification will be on offer and is only available as an MSc at the University of the West of England. As buildings designs get more complex, as they get larger and as they push the design standards while requiring more in terms of being sustainable it is becoming more vital that people who have trained in order to understand, design and advise of the best structure façades throughout the construction process. The façade is seen as the first modifier in terms of environmental impact and while more countries are starting to set tighter restrictions on carbon emissions in the construction industry, being able to utilise this aspect of the project in order to be more sustainable will be vital when it comes to meeting targets later on. With the Paris Agreement being a key feature in the news to emphasise this issue, and the expansion of cities meaning architects ahre getting more taller and more adventurous in terms of design the development of more façade training could support the construction industry in the future. The façade of a building has a great deal of investment put into it as it is the space to make a statement for the architect or the client as well as an aspect of the building that it is vitally important to have delivered on time and on budget in order to not take away from the rest of the development.
The founder and managing director of an East Kilbride-based electrical business has come out top after being awarded the accolade of “best presentation” at the conclusion of a prestigious business development course organised by hub South West. Steven Maclaren, who started Maclaren Electrical Services in 2006 and which now has annual sales in excess of £1m, impressed the judges with his drive and ambition for the business as well as his determination to always do the right thing for his 21-strong workforce. All of the company’s employees, for example, enjoy private medical insurance cover. Steven said: “I was delighted to be judged best performer at the hub South West Award Event especially since the overall standard of company presentations by my fellow participants on the programme seemed to me to be very high.” A public-private partnership funded by Scotland’s business development agencies and a clutch of Tier One contractors including Morisons, Graham, Morgan Sindall and Keir, hub South West’s development programme is aimed at ambitious companies in construction and related sectors based in Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway. Hub South West’s sixth Building for Growth programme got under way in March this year and ran over 8 half-day sessions (10-2) over a period of 12 weeks. It concluded at the Award Ceremony on Friday 2 June at 29 Private Members Club in Glasgow; 42 companies based in the south west region have now ‘graduated’ from the programme. The programme is open to any business looking to grow in a sustainable manner by building the skills and internal capacity to take on increasing volumes of business. A golden rule is ‘no competitors’, leaving participants free to discuss any business issues, challenges and opportunities in a safe and supportive environment with a like-minded group of business people. Said Steven: “Each representative of the eight companies participating in the programme is required to make a presentation at the conclusion of the course which covers the benefits they have derived from it and the lessons they will take forward to improve the chances of their company winning work from some of the Tier One contractors. “I told my audience that I had taken lots of knowledge and understanding from the programme whose lessons I believe I can put into practice by helping take our company to win bigger and better contracts. The judges were kind enough to say my presentation was best on the day.” Michael McBrearty, Chief Executive of hub South West, said: “Our aim is to help generate growth in the local economy through innovative methods of partnership working and procurement which also provide value for money solutions. “Our Building for Growth programme, has already delivered success to the leaders of its participating companies by both broadening and deepening their grasp of the factors needed to win more new, bigger contracts from the Tier One contractors and we hope and trust that Steven Maclaren and the others participants in our sixth programme will follow in their footsteps.”
Barthelme LED Solutions has developed a fully encapsulated plastic linear LED luminaire. As a result, the Nuremberg company offers a genuine alternative to conventional linear luminaire with metal housing. The leading edge LED technology in the AQUALUC S:OLID is protected by a closely meshed polyurethane-ceramic encapsulation which shields it from its surroundings. The luminaire has a rating of IP 68 and can be operated permanently underwater. Ceramic content in the polyurethane ensures efficient heat dissipation and a long lifetime of more than 60,000 hours. In addition, the linear luminaire has an impact test rating of IK 10 and is therefore highly robust. The AQUALUC S:OLID has an evenly distributed light-emitting surface and is operated with 24 V. At 4,000 K the AQUALUC S:OLID achieves an extraordinarily high brightness of 1,343 lm/m at a typical power of only 34 Watt. With dimensions of 17.5 x 17.5 mm the luminaire is available in individual lengths of up to 2.90 m. Two luminaires can be installed head to head without loss of light so that a continuous light line of almost 6 m can be realized. Equipped for range of applications AQUALUC S:OLID is a genuine all-rounder thanks to its excellent technical characteristics and is ideally suited for a wide range of applications. Permanent deployment of the rigid light line underwater is possible as are numerous other applications such as use in handrails. The protective encapsulation provides resistance against salt water, chlorine, UV-radiation, abrasions and chemicals. Due to the high lumen package and beam angle of 120° it is possible to realize stylish accent illumination as well as classical functional lighting tasks. As with all products from Barthelme, the AQUALUC S:OLID is available in a range of standard colour temperatures: 2,800 K, 3,100 K, 4,000 K, 5,700 K and RGB. In addition, single colours are available on request. Further information about AQUALUC S:OLID and suitable accessories can be found at www.barthelme.de
With little under a month to go until the highly-anticipated 18th Edition of the IET Wiring Regulations come into force, Bureau Veritas is calling on duty holders to step up efforts aimed at reducing the safety risk posed by poor electrics. Due to be published in July, BS 7671 – IET Wiring Regulations 18th edition will apply to all new and rewired installations designed after January 2019. The legislation is set to include a number of significant changes in relation to protection against fire, protection against overvoltages and clarity on special location installations, in a bid to optimise safety in domestic, industrial and commercial locations. The more stringent standards will look to address the risks presented by faulty electrical installations and wiring systems, after estimates show that electricity is the leading cause of over 20,000 accidental fires in the UK each year1. In the run up to implementation, global certification firm Bureau Veritas is urging all duty holders to review their existing electrical safety standards and intensify their ‘safety first’ approach to compliance. Nathan Cliff, electrical principal engineer for electrical systems at Bureau Veritas, said: “With poor electrical installations still responsible for five accidents in the UK every single day, it’s no surprise the 18th Edition will force us as an industry to place a greater emphasis on the protection of people. “For duty holders, our advice is clear – do not wait until the regulations take hold to take action. Instead, start by reviewing existing electrical safety protocols to ensure they take a ‘safety first’ approach to protecting employees, students and residents so that best practice is achieved every step of the way.” According to Bureau Veritas, one important aspect for duty holders to consider is that the 18th edition puts a greater onus on a risk assessment when it comes to protection against transient overvoltage (e.g. lightning) required for buildings to protect against the risk of fires and loss of supply. In addition, protection must be provided for high risk and sensitive locations, such as medical locations, heritage buildings, banks, IT centres etc. Nathan adds: “For many, these new regulations will no doubt be hard to decipher and put into practice. However, it’s literally a matter of life and death for duty holders to get to grips with these reforms as soon as they can as achieving compliance now ahead of the January 2019 deadline will, ultimately, help to save lives.” To find out more about Bureau Veritas please call 0345 600 1828 or email info@uk.bureauveritas.com. Alternatively, please visit www.bureauveritas.co.uk
