Anderton Concrete provided the Crossrail line in Maidenhead with a pioneering railway cable theft deterrent aiming to offer protection and security. As the area was deemed to be at high risk from cable theft, the company several products to minimise this risk, including Ander-fin, Anderlite Troughing and Ander-Loc. Ander-fin has
SALZER’s high security steel door series S4 convinced a high-profile international jury and received the German Design Award. The award distinguishes innovative products, as well as their manufacturers and designer, which are pioneering in the German and international design world. Günter Ludwig, who is responsible for the development and production
Joint ventures (JV) collaboration for construction companies are becoming more common. Bringing two or more companies together – sometimes from different countries with differing cultures, processes and ways of working – offers many benefits. At the same time problems can arise. Both in terms of the set up of the
Explore Offsite Housing, which will take place at the NEC, Birmingham, on the 10th and 11th of April, will present guests with a variety of approaches and in-depth analysis and discussions on the issue of the shortfall in housing stock. As offsite manufacturing methods have been identified by the government
Anderton Concrete provided the Crossrail line in Maidenhead with a pioneering railway cable theft deterrent aiming to offer protection and security. As the area was deemed to be at high risk from cable theft, the company several products to minimise this risk, including Ander-fin, Anderlite Troughing and Ander-Loc. Ander-fin has proved to significantly reduce the frequency of rail cable theft where installed. The product responds to a very distinct market need: in the current Network Rail control period, the rail industry has lost more than 200,000 minutes to cable theft costings millions of pounds. An incident like this costs the industry up to £300,000. “We installed Ander-fin on Crossrail at Maidenhead because it is quick and easy to install and offers a unique, cost effective method of cable theft prevention. Given the high cost of cable theft and the risk to life I would like to see this product installed on all major schemes going forward. It has gone down as a great success with our client Network Rail and I believe they will insist on using this product in the future,” said Steve Snell, Project Engineer for Balfour Beatty, the company that oversees the Network Rail project. Manufactured from glass filled nylon, Ander-fin has a failure load in excess of 2kN, it is easy to install and it enables cables to be secured to troughs every metre in high risk areas. “Ander-fin is a revolutionary cable anchoring system which is designed to tension and secure the cable to the trough, preventing its removal. For this high-risk stretch of line on Crossrail it offers a cost-effective solution which should reduce the amount of time lost through cable theft,” commented Sharon Rice, Rail Manager at Anderton Concrete. Anderton Concrete is a UK market leader in the supply of cable protection products to the rail industry. The company has been manufacturing precast concrete products for more than 50 years and its extensive rage includes drainage catchpits, signal bases, point rod rollers, ballast boards, posts and postmix.
SALZER’s high security steel door series S4 convinced a high-profile international jury and received the German Design Award. The award distinguishes innovative products, as well as their manufacturers and designer, which are pioneering in the German and international design world. Günter Ludwig, who is responsible for the development and production of the door, explained that the steel door is a flexible modular construction system that can offer the varying protection levels requested by the clients and, at the same time, fulfilling esthetical requirements. Some of the design possibilities include the use of large glazing, variations of orientation and sizes, as well as an unlimited prospect for surface finishes and individual hardware solutions. In addition, each door is custom made according to the customer’s security and design requirements. The goal is to offer ‘invisible security’, which has been achieved by SALZER with the achievement of the German Design Award. The steel door has been tested and certified at independent international test institutes in accordance to the European Standards to the highest levels of resistance: Forced Entry (up to RC6), bullet resistance (up to FB7 NS), explosion resistance (up to EXR5), fire resistance (up to T90 and BS 476 120 minutes) smoke resistance (RS-1 and RS-2). SALZER has been manufacturing and delivering custom made doors, windows, facades, barriers and guard houses in various different security resistance classes for more than 40 years in over 90 countries around the world. The services it offers also include installation and maintenance.
Joint ventures (JV) collaboration for construction companies are becoming more common. Bringing two or more companies together – sometimes from different countries with differing cultures, processes and ways of working – offers many benefits. At the same time problems can arise. Both in terms of the set up of the alliance but also with relationships in the team One of the biggest challenges for JV teams is the level of pressure that the team is under, due to the scale of projects they work on. This can drive a high focus on task which often means time spent on team development is difficult to justify. In addition, people working under pressure are much more likely to become defensive and less aware of themselves and others. Add to this the natural inclination for all of us to relate to our “home” team and there are some aspects of human behaviour that need addressing if JV teams are to truly collaborate. Building a collaborative team What makes truly collaborative teams often lies in two very simple but very rare traits. Firstly, the team will have no problem having robust and open conversations. This means that problems are dealt with quickly and effectively and better decisions are made. Secondly, everyone in the team takes accountability and calls out other team members when this isn’t happening. Collaboration in teams works at three levels – attitude, feeling and behaviour. The attitude of every team member lies at the root of a collaborative team. Where there is positive regard for each other, and a belief and confidence in the team, there will be higher levels of trust and “psychological safety”. Rather than feel the need to protect themselves from each other and tread carefully around others, team members will feel “safe” involving themselves in productive debates and conflicts in order to resolve issues. At the feelings level, how people feel about the team and about being in the team will drive openness, collective energy and motivation. Where this is positive, team members will feel that their input is properly considered. They feel comfortable asking for help or admitting mistakes, and energy and commitment to the team will be high. Both the attitude and feeling within the team drives behaviour. At this level, team members work effectively together and also pay attention to the goals of the team rather than focusing on their individual goals or interests. This is Emotional Intelligence. Get individuals and teams working in an emotionally intelligent way and, collaboration and the successful delivery of complex projects will follow. Five key requirements for collaboration success A clear and shared understanding of how collaboration adds value and where it is most important in order to focus effort. Clear values and principles to support the collaboration process. Processes that enable collaboration and are adopted by all key stakeholders. This includes goal setting processes to ensure aligned goals. Open and effective relationships built on attitudes / mindsets that create an authentically collaborative team environment. Individuals with a ‘win-win’ mindset who understand their derailers and defences that can limit collaboration. Individuals with the skills and the knowledge needed to work collaboratively. To find out more about effective individual and team collaboration go to jcaglobal.com/solutions/teams-and-relationships/creating-high-performance-teams/ ARTICLE PRODUCED FOR BDC MAGAZINE BY JILL PENNINGTON AT JCA GLOBAL
Explore Offsite Housing, which will take place at the NEC, Birmingham, on the 10th and 11th of April, will present guests with a variety of approaches and in-depth analysis and discussions on the issue of the shortfall in housing stock. As offsite manufacturing methods have been identified by the government and the wider construction industry as a catalyst for change, one way to drive growth is taking advantage of the benefits of new technologies. During the two-day event, technology leaders will discuss the growing opportunities that the housing shortage presents for offsite construction. In addition, guests will find out how migrating construction from the building site to a quality-controlled factory environment will accelerate the building process, increase productivity and create a new generation of high quality housing stock. Official figures were released at the end of 2017 that showed an increase in the number of new homes in England by more than 217,000 in 2016. This represents the highest level of net additions since the recession and it is the first time in almost a decade that the 200,000 milestone has been reached. The market need and the political will signal a real opportunity for a step-change in the adoption of offsite construction methods. Moving the construction of houses into factories enables the build to take place both efficiently and economically, making the national shortage of traditional site-based skills, less of a concern. The Explore Offsite Housing conference and exhibition will provide a fantastic opportunity for members of the construction industry who want to tap into the huge opportunities on offer across the offsite construction sector. The event format provides a dynamic and interactive learning experience for all visitors through presentations and a wide array of exhibitors. Tickets cost £225 + VAT for the two days or £125 + VAT for one day, including entry to the conference and exhibition, free parking, lunch and refreshments.