September 20, 2017

Royal becomes French president’s first ally

©Magali Delporte Ségolène Royal, pictured for the Financial Times at the environment ministry in Paris Ségolène Royal says her bluntness has been a potent weapon as well as her trademark during a three-decade political career that brought her close to becoming France’s first female president. It helped her as early

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Architects confidence stays strong

Confidence in the North of England and Northern Ireland catches up with rest of UK Anecdotal evidence suggests practices starting to struggle to attract skilled staff Housing remains the most resilient sector despite slipping back in November The RIBA Future Trends Workload Index fell back this month,

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Moving one train stop could save you £118,000

Moving one train stop could save you £118,000 Although it is essentially a bit of fun, it’s always interesting to see which pockets of the nation are outperforming the rest from a property point of view, as well as the big jumps between stations Hybrid estate agent, eMoov.co.uk,

Read More »

Josh Phillips – Cheap Batteries

One of the big obstacles to the uptake of electric vehicles by the masses is the cost of batteries. They need to be big enough to store enough energy for hundreds of miles of driving between charges, yet light enough to not be a drain on the cars carrying them.

Read More »

Celebrations as 2017 BALI National Landscape Award winners announced

60 BALI members have now been informed they have won a BALI National Landscape Award, with some members successful in more than one category. This year’s Awards, in association with Horticulture Week and supported by headline sponsor Green-tech, sees 80 National Awards bestowed upon BALI members by the adjudication panel,

Read More »

BAM Nuttall leads the way in LED site lighting

BAM Nuttall, the UK based supplier of civil engineering services, has opted to purchase twenty X-ECO lighting towers from the Cambridgeshire supplier, Trime (UK) Limited. In order to validate the sustainable features that the Trime X-ECO highlights and with sustainability at the heart of their operations, the company evaluated a

Read More »

Drone technology adds another dimension to SoilsCon 2017

Delegates at SoilsCon 2017, which takes place in Henley-on-Thames on Wednesday, 18th October, will learn about the application of drone technology in site assessment, thanks to an additional presentation and demonstration organised by soil and landscape consultant Tim O’Hare for his annual soils conference.  An already packed SoilsCon programme, with

Read More »

McCue Creates New Industrial Safety Solution

As the Industrial workplace changes, the health and safety demand in the workplace will be changing with it. McCue, the industrial safety experts have been using their range of protection products in facilities around the world. The company has been working to deliver their customers the highest possible service with

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Issue 324 : Jan 2025

September 20, 2017

Bsria head of sustainable construction presenting at Facilities Management Forum

Bsria’s head of Sustainable Construction, Joanna Harris, will be presenting at the Facilities Management Forum at the Whittlebury Hall Hotel & Spa, Northampton on Monday 11 and Tuesday 12 July.   Facilities management is at the heart of a good workplace. It starts at design of a facility and continues during operation. Harris will discuss how an FM makes a positive impact on workplace productivity and wellbeing. She will discuss how to influence the design of a facility and the environment that can improve workplace wellbeing. Drawing on good examples from recent new build projects that have been monitored and published. Concluding with how on-going management of the workplace environment can promote wellbeing. Harris said: “I am delighted to be speaking at the forum. I’m passionate about facilities that meet the needs of the users and the facilities management industry has a large part to play in improving users experiences. I keen to pass on lessons learned and influence the delegates to engage in the design and construction process much earlier and ensure standards are not let to slide during operation.” The event is a perfect opportunity for industry to share its experience with a pre-qualified audience. The seminars are 45 minutes and are intended to be an education programme for the delegates. Facilities Management Forum is a niche event, with a tailored personalised itinerary of face to face meetings, for full delegate participation.    Source link

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Royal becomes French president’s first ally

©Magali Delporte Ségolène Royal, pictured for the Financial Times at the environment ministry in Paris Ségolène Royal says her bluntness has been a potent weapon as well as her trademark during a three-decade political career that brought her close to becoming France’s first female president. It helped her as early as in 1988, shortly after winning her first seat for the Socialist Party at the age of 35. Ms Royal applied for the vice-presidency of a parliamentary committee investigating the mad cow disease. More On this topic IN Europe “This is great, we’ll have a mad cow in the bureau,” the committee president joked sparking laughter from colleagues. “Better a mad cow than an old pig,” she snapped back. “I already had repartee back then,” the 62-year-old Ms Royal, now energy and environment minister, says with a chuckle. “Nowadays, this man’s behaviour would be impossible in public. But sexism still exists — in politics as much as anywhere else.” Ms Royal’s straight-talking manners, political longevity and experience as presidential candidate — she lost to Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007 — are among the traits that have made her a popular figure of French politics. Since being appointed minister in 2014 by President François Hollande, who is the father of her four children, her former partner and university classmate, she has reached a unique position in power — not quite a first lady (Mr Hollande and Ms Royal separated when she ran for president), more than a close ally, yet an independent thinker who speaks her mind. Now, with approval ratings double that of the deeply unpopular French president, she is expected to play an instrumental role in his attempts to win back the hearts of disaffected leftwing voters to get reelected next year. “With her presidential run in 2007, she’s a household name, more so than most of the presidential hopefuls in the right and left,” says Laurent Bouvet, a political sciences professor at Versailles university. “She’s an asset, and Hollande is making sure she’s on his side.” Ms Royal shuts down when asked about Mr Hollande and the next presidential elections: “I’m not saying anything on this.” ©AFP Ségolène Royal earlier this month with François Hollande, French president and her former husband But her appeal to leftwing working class voters and the environmentally minded would help the president mend fences with an electorate who feels betrayed by the government’s midterm pro-business shift, according to Francois Miquet-Marty, a pollster at ViaVoice. “She is vital to unify the different factions of the left,” says Mr Miquet-Marty. Ms Royal defends Mr Hollande’s legislation intended to insert a dose of flexibility in the country’s labour market. It tore the socialist party apart, sparked union protests and forced the government to use decree powers to bypass parliament earlier this week. It was an attempt to “better take into account the constraints of companies while maintaining employees’ rights,” she says. “We need to make companies more agile, but the problem is, they don’t always have virtuous behaviours,” she adds. Ms Royal, who became a member of the socialist party in 1978, when she entered ENA — the elite school that grooms France’s top civil servants and where she met Mr Hollande — criticises the market-oriented approaches pushed by Emmanuel Macron, the 38-year old economy minister who has emerged as a potential rival to Mr Hollande for next year’s presidential elections. She dismisses Mr Macron’s views that too much work protection and regulation have created a world of insiders clinging to their long-term jobs and benefits at the expense of outsiders who struggle on temporary contracts or make up France’s 10 per cent unemployed. “I do not share this vision, which is a bit backward looking, because with this kind of reasoning, you end up resenting the railways workers just because they managed to secure some rights,” she said. “You don’t want all workers to become precarious; ideally you want all the employees with secure jobs.” The daughter of a navy colonel who divorced her mother and left her in charge of eight children, Ms Royal says the rise of the far-right National Front is due to “a fear of identity loss, the disintegration of families, massive migratory movements, climate change.” “It is the fear of losing an idealised past for a future unknown that no one can draw,” said Ms Royal, who chairs the UN’s climate change conference and as such is the guardian of last year’s Paris accord. “It’s the increasing inequalities, with the poor who get poorer, the middle class that stumbles and the wealthy who get wealthier.” Feminism has also been a constant feature in her career. Ms Royal says she always picks the female candidate among two equally skilled applicants. She says she was instrumental in the choice of Isabelle Kocher as head of Engie, the state-backed gas supplier. Ms Kocher is the first French female chief executive of a CAC 40 company. “If she had been a man, it’s not certain that she would be there,” Ms Royal says. “It’s a shame that women who succeed don’t use their success as a symbol for the other women. I’ve always said that I was here too to open doors for women.” 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

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Architects confidence stays strong

Confidence in the North of England and Northern Ireland catches up with rest of UK Anecdotal evidence suggests practices starting to struggle to attract skilled staff Housing remains the most resilient sector despite slipping back in November The RIBA Future Trends Workload Index fell back this month, standing at +29 in November 2014 compared with +37 in October 2014, but remaining firmly in very positive territory. In terms of geographical analysis the highest balance figures were in Northern Ireland (+50) and the North of England (+46), as some of the areas that were initially the slowest to indicate a return to growth continue to catch up with the rest of the country.  Workload forecast balance figures were positive in all nations and regions of the United Kingdom in November. In terms of practice size, small practices (1 – 10 staff), with a balance figure of +23, stay positive about the outlook for future workloads, but medium-sized practices (11 – 50 staff) with a balance figure of +70 and large-sized practices (51+ staff) with a balance figure of +60 remain even more optimistic about the likely shape of their medium term order books. In terms of different work sectors, the private housing sector workload forecast fell back somewhat to +26 in October 2014, down from +34 in November 2014, but remaining the most buoyant of our sector forecasts.  The commercial sector workload forecast continued its recent steady upward trend, nudging ahead by a single point to stand at +20 in November 2014; clearly a sign that practices anticipate the growth this sector has experienced in 2014 to continue in the New Year. Our participating practices continue to predict stability but little growth in public sector work (balance figure +3) and there remain few signs of any significant increase in the community sector commissions (balance figure +5).   The RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index stands at +11 in November 2014, down a little from +14 in October 2014, but remaining strongly in positive territory, with only 4% of practices predicting a decrease in overall permanent staffing levels over the next quarter.  Medium-sized practices (11 – 50 staff) with a balance figure of +52 and large practices (51+ staff) with a balance figure of +40 continue to be more confident about their ability to sustain higher staffing levels in the medium term. In November 2014, the percentage of our respondents reporting that they had personally been under-employed in the last month was 12%, representing the lowest level since our survey began in January 2009, and suggesting that most of the spare capacity retained within the profession during the recession is now being productively employed.  Prospects for salaried architects going into 2015 look better than they have been for a number of years.  Our practices report that they are currently employing 6% more year-out and post Part 2 students than they were 12 months ago. RIBA Director of Practice Adrian Dobson said: “We are beginning to see the first real evidence of practices encountering difficulties in attracting new staff with the right mix of skills and experience.  This seems to be a countrywide phenomenon and not particularly confined to specific geographical locations.  “There are also reports of an increasing gap between the salary expectations of applicants and potential employers.  At the present time profit margins remain tight for many practices, as a legacy of the long recession which inevitably depressed fee levels, and this is clearly constraining the capacity of practices to increase salary offers.” ENDS Notes to editors 1. For further press information contact the RIBA Press Office: 020 7307 3761 pressoffice@riba.org 2. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) champions better buildings, communities and the environment through architecture and our members. 3. Completed by a mix of small, medium and large firms based on a geographically representative sample, the RIBA Future Trends Survey was launched in January 2009 to monitor business and employment trends affecting the architects’ profession. 4. The Future Trends Survey is carried out by the RIBA in partnership with the Fees Bureau. Results of the survey, including a full graphical analysis, are published each month at: http://www.architecture.com/RIBA/Professionalsupport/FutureTrendsSurvey.aspx 5. To participate in the RIBA Future Trends Survey, please contact the RIBA Practice Department on 020 7307 3749 or email practice@riba.org.  The survey takes approximately five minutes to complete each month, and all returns are independently processed in strict confidence 6. The definition for the workload balance figure is the difference between those expecting more work and those expecting less. A negative figure means more respondents expect less work than those expecting more work.  This figure is used to represent the RIBA Future Trends Workload Index, which for November 2014 was +29 7. The definition for the staffing balance figure is the difference between those expecting to employ more permanent staff in the next three months and those expecting to employ fewer. A negative figure means more respondents expect to employ fewer permanent staff.  This figure is used to represent the RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index, which for November 2014 was +11   Posted on Thursday 18th December 2014 Source link

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Moving one train stop could save you £118,000

Moving one train stop could save you £118,000 Although it is essentially a bit of fun, it’s always interesting to see which pockets of the nation are outperforming the rest from a property point of view, as well as the big jumps between stations Hybrid estate agent, eMoov.co.uk, has released its latest research into the UK property market, charting the average house price across each overground train station in England, Wales and Scotland. eMoov previously conducted the same research across each of the London Underground tube stations and have now applied it to train stations the length and breadth of the nation. eMoov grouped each of London’s 14 major terminals to determine the overall London average of £1,024,070, the highest across the nation as you could probably have guessed. Outside of the central London bubble, the average property price across all stations came nowhere close to the capital, just tipping £221,000. Even outside of London’s main terminals the capital accounted for the highest house price of all stations on the map, with property prices around Wimbledon costing an average of £736,000. Outside of the capital as a whole, Henley-on-Thames is the most expensive place to purchase a property on the rail network, with the average property costing £731,000. At just £58,000, Treherbert in Wales offers the lowest property price point on the entire rail network. That’s more than 12 properties for the price of one around Henley-on-Thames, but you would have to forgo the yearly regatta. Although for the sake of a four-hour train journey and £40, you could still make the regatta and save yourself nearly £673,000. Russell Quirk, founder and CEO of eMoov.co.uk, commented:  “Although it is essentially a bit of fun, it’s always interesting to see which pockets of the nation are outperforming the rest from a property point of view, as well as the big jumps between stations. For example, a property around Kirkham and Wesham station will set you back over £200,000, one stop down the line to Blackpool North and this drops to just £82,000. The latest trend for homeowners in London has been to forsake the capital’s inflated property market for the commuter belt surrounding it. But when you look elsewhere in the country there are other examples of homeowners opting to live outside larger cities to save on the price of their property. This property rail map allows you to visualise these. Making the choice to commute one stop from Thornaby into Middlesbrough can save you nearly £40,000. One stop from Swansea to Llanelli means paying over £30,000 less for a property. Even far down west, one stop from Newquay to Par saves you nearly £70,000!” Source link

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Josh Phillips – Cheap Batteries

One of the big obstacles to the uptake of electric vehicles by the masses is the cost of batteries. They need to be big enough to store enough energy for hundreds of miles of driving between charges, yet light enough to not be a drain on the cars carrying them. “For an electric car, the cost of a battery is crudely the same as the cost of the rest. That is quite the wrong proportion for it to take off. So people are desperate to find ways to supply cheaper batteries,” says Chris Wright, chairman of Faradion, the technology company researching low-cost energy storage solutions. In an interview with the Guardian, Wright explains that the motor industry needs to find a way to produce batteries that doesn’t rely on lithium, the base element of rechargeable batteries. His company’s answer is sodium – far cheaper to source and with similar energy-storing properties. It means electric vehicles could soon be a more viable option for many, including commuters and drivers who have just passed their test who are looking for an easy-to-use and affordable vehicle to put their skills to use with. “We set out to make sodium materials that worked in a simple electrochemical [battery] cell that behaved as well as if not better than some of the lithium systems,” Wright says in the interview. “We were able to produce material which outperformed lithium-ion phosphate, which has until recently been the workhorse in automotive batteries.” Although the sale of electric vehicles has risen sharply over the last year, traditionally-aspirated vehicle sales still far outweigh them. But as the cost of producing electric vehicles’ power plant drops, those savings will be passed onto the marketplace. Range anxiety – the fear of running out of power and being stranded in the middle of nowhere – is receding. Now motorists are realising how much cheaper it could be to run an electric vehicle, not to mention how much greener it is. Charging a car for a 250-mile journey could cost as little as £5. Bjӧrn Nykvist and Måns Nilsson, Swedish scientists at the Stockholm Environment Institute, predict a ‘potential paradigm shit in vehicle technology’ if the price of powering electric vehicles continues to fall at the same rate. A report on TechnologyReview.com highlights that the pair’s analysis suggests that battery pack prices are falling by about 8 per cent every year. That decline in cost could be accelerated if large-scale electric vehicle manufacturers such as Toyota, Tesla and Nissan follow through with their plans to ramp up battery pack production in the near future. In the same article, Luis Munuera, an International Energy Agency analyst, advised a note of caution with Nykvist and Nilsson’s research. The cost reductions predicted should be ‘taken with care’ he wrote in an email to TechnologyReview.com. This is because battery costs from different sources may not be directly comparable, and it is unclear exactly how far into the future such price predicting is accurate to. But he does admit: “We have seen events moving quicker than expected in lithium-ion battery technology.”   Source link

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Celebrations as 2017 BALI National Landscape Award winners announced

60 BALI members have now been informed they have won a BALI National Landscape Award, with some members successful in more than one category. This year’s Awards, in association with Horticulture Week and supported by headline sponsor Green-tech, sees 80 National Awards bestowed upon BALI members by the adjudication panel, which is chaired by landscape consultant and former senior lecturer in landscape studies at Writtle College, Greg Allen.  Following a summer of visiting every entry, Greg and his team of six judges – John Melmoe, Richard Barnard, Jason Lock, Robin Templar Williams, Steve Roberts and Andrew Legg – met at BALI Landscape House in late August for the adjudication process that selects the award-winning schemes. Deliberations over the 115 entries took three days, at the end of which the list of winners was confirmed. Reflecting on this year’s process, Greg said: “As BALI Awards judges we all see this task as a privilege, even when the heavens open and we are faced with challenging weather, as we experienced quite frequently this year. We are rarely disappointed by the standard of workmanship, horticultural knowledge and design expertise we are asked to judge – the hardest task is in sticking to our stringent criteria, which demands we only reward real excellence across the board, with no quarter given when an error, however insignificant, compromises the overall scheme. We are not here to reward achievement of the standards we expect of a BALI member, rather to recognise when members have really excelled and their work represents outstanding delivery.  We have been delighted to judge this year’s entries and I congratulate every winner, who can be enormously proud of their achievements.” BALI’s Chief Executive Wayne Grills is an observer during the final adjudication and knows only too well the work and time each of the judges puts in to ensure the entries are given their full commitment and consideration:  “I would like to express my very sincere thanks and the thanks of the entire BALI membership for the dedication the adjudication panel shows to this important task. The esteem that the wider industry has for the reputation and expertise of each judge ensures that the BALI National Landscape Awards remain the most sought after and respected awards in the landscape industry. I am privileged to witness the panel at work during the adjudication process and I can assure every award winner that they have every right to be extremely proud of their achievements. Congratulations to them all and I wish them well at the Awards Ceremony on 1st December when they will find out whether they have won a Principal, Special or the Grand Award.”   This year’s Awards Ceremony, to be held at the Grosvenor House on 1 December, will be hosted by BBC journalist and Breakfast business presenter Steph McGovern. The following BALI members are 2017 BALI National Landscape Award Winners: 2017 BALI National Landscape Awards National Award Winners The 2017 National Award winners are: Domestic Garden Construction – cost between £30k – £60k – sponsored by Hedges Direct City Gardens for Private Residence in Exeter Cube 1994 for Our Space Spruce Landscapes for The Eco Garden Domestic Garden Construction – cost between £60k – £100k – sponsored by Johnsons of Whixley The Landscape and Garden Company for Private Residence in Enfield Bowles & Wyer for A Regent’s Park Garden Designscape for Private Residence in Staffordshire Skidmores of Hertford for Private Residence in Kings Langley PWP Landscape Design for Contemporary Garden Graduate Gardeners for Private Residence in Hatherop Domestic Garden Construction – cost between £100k – £250k – sponsored by Makita UK Windsor & Harris Landscapes for Private Residence in Shepperton Graduate Gardeners for Private Residence in Chedworth Cube 1994 for Light on Water Creative Landscape Company for A Riverside Garden PWP Landscape Design for Urban Courtyard Bowles & Wyer for Private Residence in London Domestic Garden Construction – cost over £250k – sponsored by Europlants UK Outdoor Options for Private Residence in Cobham Baikie Landscape Construction for Private Residence in Goring-on-Thames Outdoor Creations for Private Residence in Betchworth Outdoor Options for Private Residence in Richmond PC Landscapes for Arle House Domestic Garden Construction – Soft Landscaping – Unlimited Cost NT Killingley for Private Residence in North Yorkshire Soft Landscaping Construction (Non-Domestic) Cost under £300k Elmtree Garden Contractors for Bath Western Riverside Podium Garden Bowles & Wyer for St Peter’s College, Perenco, Phase 1 In-Ex Landscapes for Woodberry Down, Block 1 Soft Landscaping Construction (Non-Domestic) Cost between £300k-£1.5m – sponsored by Todds Nursery Grace Landscapes for Glasgow Fort MSCP and Retail Units In-Ex Landscapes for Providence Tower Kingston Landscape Group for Dickens Yard Hard Landscaping Construction (Non-Domestic) Cost under £300k sponsored by Vander Moortel NV In-Ex Landscapes for Woodberry Down, Block 1 Hard Landscaping Construction (Non-Domestic) Cost between £300k – £1.5m – sponsored by Quinton Edwards Endrick Landscapes for Horatio’s Garden, Scotland Total Protection T/A Total Protection Landscaping for Dollar Bay Blakedown Landscapes (SE) for St Mary’s Churchyard idverde UK for Gateway, University of Salford NT Killingley for Fielding Johnson Square Hard Landscaping Construction (Non-Domestic) Cost over £1.5 million – sponsored by NatraTex by BituChem Elite Landscapes for Chelsea Creek Blakedown Landscapes (SE) for Shadwell Estate Improvements Maylim for One Tower Bridge Maylim for Paddington Central, Phase 2 Community and Schools Development – sponsored by Brett Landscaping Northumbrian Landscaping for A Homecoming Prayer Elmtree Garden Contractors for Happy Dayz Pre-School Scandor Landscape Contractors for Porchester Community School Baylis Landscapes for Dulwich Prep School, Early Years Playground Development Garden Club London for Merchant Square Floating Pocket Park Glendale for Monmouth Road Open Space Regeneration Scheme over £500k Talbot Farm Landscapes for Hyde Park Parade Ground Reinstatement Works idverde UK for Houghton Hall Park In-Ex Landscapes for London City Island Grounds Maintenance – Free Public Access – sponsored by Harrowden Turf Ground Control for Royal Museums, Greenwich idverde UK for Manor Gardens Turfsoil for Greenwich Park Grounds Maintenance – Limited Public Access – sponsored by Reesink Turfcare Ground Control for HM Tower of

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Northern Arc Named as a Winner of the Hyperloop One Global Challenge

Northern Arc has been announced as the winner of the Hyperloop One Global Challenge. The proposal was led by both Ryder Architecture and Arup has been chosen as one of the ten winners in the global challenge. The teams had to compete against thousands of entries, submitted from around the world. The Hyperloop One Global was an ideas competition that looked for a range of innovative opportunities where practical application of the evolving Hyperloop technology could be explored. The Northern Arc’s idea was an economic opportunity to widen the concept of the Northern Powerhouse in order to include the Scottish Central Belt, and in doing so, linking a wide range of major cities located across the North of England. Hyperloop is an innovative technology that will allow passengers to travel between all cities in a little over 45 minutes, according to The Northern Arc’s ideas. This could lead to the creation of a Pan-Northern City region, with a population in excess of 10 million people and the ability to compete on the world economic stage. Hyperloop, when teamed with other improvements to the transport network that are currently underway could keep future generations moving. The Northern Arc team is committed to be at the front of the innovation as other similar technologies to Hyperloop are developed. One of the partners at Ryder, Paul Bell has expressed the team’s excitement to be a part of the proposal and collaborating with Hyperloop. Hyperloop One is at the moment working in Nevada on a proof of concept work. The developments being made with this technology are taking place at a significant rate and the technology could offer a new transport innovation. the north of the UK was pivotal with providing railway technology to for the world, and The Northern Arc are committed to making sure that the north is at the forefront of the next transport innovation.

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BAM Nuttall leads the way in LED site lighting

BAM Nuttall, the UK based supplier of civil engineering services, has opted to purchase twenty X-ECO lighting towers from the Cambridgeshire supplier, Trime (UK) Limited. In order to validate the sustainable features that the Trime X-ECO highlights and with sustainability at the heart of their operations, the company evaluated a demonstration unit during a series of extensive field trials over a six week period. Following the conclusion of this trial period, BAM Nuttall’s plant manager, Andy Haythorne said, “We were extremely impressed with the ease of operation of the X-ECO, Trime have succeeded in combining an evident reliable and robust machine with sustainable features and fuel saving capabilities.” “This is our first venture into LED lighting for our sites and we needed a set that helps to maintain our strong commitment to becoming a more sustainable and responsible business, in keeping with our Beyond Zero programme,” added Andy. With storage and delivery facilities at capacity during peak operations, the compact size and relatively low weight of the X-ECO will bring immediate benefits to BAM Nuttall logistics operations. Up to thirteen X-ECO sets can be loaded on one single truck which, potentially, means an increase in their transport vehicle fleet utilisation Trime engineers have calculated that the X-ECO uses approximately £336.00 less in fuel each month when compared to many lighting sets currently available. These savings equate to a reduction in C02 output by around 888kg per month. The Trime manufacturing plant is based in Cassinetta di Lugagnano, near Milan and Trime UK Limited is headquartered in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. In 2016, BAM Group UK (legal entity comprising of BAM Nuttall and BAM Construct UK) were awarded the CEMARS gold standard for achieving significant carbon savings year-on-year over a six-year period by following a systematic carbon reduction programme that have resulted in a reduction in emissions of 17.72% when compared with baseline data. CEMARS is the Carbon Emissions Measurement and Reduction Scheme and refers to ISO14064-1:2006. This achievement has been accomplished by the implementation of several energy saving initiatives across both organisations. The sourcing of more efficient plant and equipment is also a key part of the BAM Sustainability Strategy as we work towards challenging 2020 targets for carbon reduction.

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Drone technology adds another dimension to SoilsCon 2017

Delegates at SoilsCon 2017, which takes place in Henley-on-Thames on Wednesday, 18th October, will learn about the application of drone technology in site assessment, thanks to an additional presentation and demonstration organised by soil and landscape consultant Tim O’Hare for his annual soils conference.  An already packed SoilsCon programme, with speakers including Phil Askew, Carolyn Willitts, Tim and other leading industry experts, will now benefit from an additional presentation by Peter Wilder, who specialises in the integration of surface water management into urban and residential masterplans. Peter’s interest in terrain modelling and hydrology led him to establish his expertise in drone survey in 2015. With the ability to map, model and design the landscape, he has established himself as one of the leading land planners in the UK. An associate and consultant to BRE and a visiting lecturer on SuDS and landscape technology at the University of Greenwich, Peter will speak at SoilsCon 2017 about the integration of drone technology into land planning, and the many applications for which this equipment can be used; weather permitting he will also conduct a demonstration of one of his drones during the conference lunch break. This year’s SoilsCon will be the third soils conference to be organised by Tim O’Hare, and it promises landscape architects, contractors, garden designers, developers, topsoil manufacturers and other industry professionals a day of invaluable professional development, discussion and debate. For the first time a Soil Surgery will be run during the conference by members of the Tim O’Hare Associates team to help delegates with their specific soil issues.   Go to www.toha.co.uk to book online

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McCue Creates New Industrial Safety Solution

As the Industrial workplace changes, the health and safety demand in the workplace will be changing with it. McCue, the industrial safety experts have been using their range of protection products in facilities around the world. The company has been working to deliver their customers the highest possible service with protection products for decades. McCue has been selected to create walkway protections for a high profile customer. The Research and Development team at McCue have developed a new solution for the client that will protect walkways from potential danger of protruding ground level forklift truck forks. The result is a Polyethylene pedestrian barrier that is now becoming a vital part of the intelligent health and safety procedures being used in a number of different facilities. The barriers are low maintenance and easy to use to organise a facility and segregate pedestrians from the moving vehicles. The research and development team also offered a solution for if the forklift forks protrude under the barriers and onto the walkways by delivering an ultra-strong and multifunctional FlexCore Guard Rail. The reinforced ground level rail is fitted with hidden hardware and offers an extra strong level of protection and the ability to deflect any intrusive forks in order to make sure that pedestrians are kept safe. It is great to see the company listening to their customers in order to manufacture safety solutions that are needed and effective. The FlexCore Guard Rail has been manufactured with a wide range of applications and can be combined with a range of McCue’s products in order to offer their customers an extensive safety solution across their entire facility. The new safety products that have been created by McCue will be showcased at the Health & Safety North Trade show between the 10th and the 11th October and at Manufacturing Management on the 22nd and 23rd of November.

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