The industry’s first property management franchise scheme, SDL Property Partners celebrated its ‘first birthday’ in style at an exclusive Central London location on Friday 12th October. The event which took place at the RAF Club in London’s Mayfair, celebrated all of the year’s achievements with the SDL Property Partners team and
Working in the construction sector can be extremely rewarding when you see the benefits of the hard work that you have put in. However, despite the benefits, the construction industry remains a dangerous industry to work in – owing to the heavy machinery, power tools and large vehicles that are
In this technological era, everything seems to be easy. Most things can be done with just a single tap on your device. From setting the room temperature to opening the garage gate, you don’t need to stand up and do it by yourself. Imagine yourself coming home after a very
Not all bridges are built equal, it must be said. Some just get you from one point to another. How boring, especially when you consider that some bridges out there can curl up on themselves to let boats pass, or even breathe fire! There’re bridges that are said to claim
Crown Worldwide, today announces the acquisition of Premier Workplace Services as the group underlines its commitment to the workspace sector. The acquisition is a catalyst for Crown’s continued expansion in the workplace services arena and is one of the business’ most significant in its 53-year history. Crown Workspace, one of
The Brinell Building, a speculative office development in Brighton, has been fully let ahead of completion in June 2019. The newly developed 65,253 sq ft Grade A, seven-storey office building, is being delivered by developer and contractor McAleer & Rushe. The Brinell Building achieved record rents for the city with
A new energy-from-waste centre in Avonmouth, Bristol has offered its £8.2 million contract for the delivery of all mechanical and electrical (M&E) works to SES Engineering Services (SES) and Clugston Construction. The firms will support the development of Viridor’s new £252 million facility by completing a series of works, including
A total of 65 potential sites have progressed to the next stage of consideration for the new offsite construction centres at Heathrow, with the final four sites being identified next year following the completion and assessment of a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ). They have until the 18th of January to make
Do you manage a block (or blocks) fitted with a fire alarm system? If so, to remain compliant with British Standard 5839 you should be testing the system every week. In my experience this is simply not happening. It is unrealistic to expect property managers to visit all their sites
The industry’s first property management franchise scheme, SDL Property Partners celebrated its ‘first birthday’ in style at an exclusive Central London location on Friday 12th October. The event which took place at the RAF Club in London’s Mayfair, celebrated all of the year’s achievements with the SDL Property Partners team and the scheme’s franchisees. As this event was held during the same week as World Mental Health Day (Wednesday 10th October), the day’s agenda reflected this. There was a seminar session with SDL Property Partner’s own Business Development Manager, Fred Hopkins, on how to overcome obstacles and mental barriers, as well as News on the Block’s Louise Newton, treating delegates to an introduction to yoga therapy, meditation and mindfulness. In addition to shining a spotlight on mental health, one seminar focused on how property managers could be key in stopping domestic abuse. The passionate talk given by Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance’s (DAHA) co-founder, Gudrun Burnet, urged the property managers in the room to stop and consider if antisocial behaviour shown by a tenant could be a sign of domestic abuse. The day’s agenda also looked at the franchise’s first year, as Nick Faulkner, managing director of SDL Property Partners took the opportunity to thank his franchisees for all their work and belief in the scheme during its first year. Above all, he thanked their efforts in helping to change the industry’s image with their professional approach. Nick commented: “I have been in the property industry for 26 years and I wanted to give people some of the opportunities I have had along the way. This is a great industry to generate repeat income and provide a quality service to leaseholders. SDL Property Partners has provided an amazing chance to give back, and we have changed the industry in the space of a year. “Our next challenge is to grow this franchise and have a network of over 100 franchisees; that will be when open the champagne again and have our next celebration!”
Working in the construction sector can be extremely rewarding when you see the benefits of the hard work that you have put in. However, despite the benefits, the construction industry remains a dangerous industry to work in – owing to the heavy machinery, power tools and large vehicles that are necessary, as well as the general injury that can occur through manual labour. This is why possessing insurance to cover your workforce, construction site and the general public is vital to the success of your firm. According to the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), there were over 71,000 non-fatal injuries recorded in the workplace by employers across 2017 and 2018. When evaluating these statistics, it’s naïve to think that every one of these injuries was covered by valid insurance. This article will explain the huge importance of insurance in the construction sector and how it can help both your firm and the third parties that are involved. Public liability insurance Public liability insurance is vital to ensuring that you’re covered in the face of third-party claims related to your construction site. These claims can be related to contractors working on your building site or coming from events or altercations involving the public while transporting goods in and out of the site, or even how your project’s infrastructure is affecting the local community. We’ve all witnessed our fair share of nasty injuries throughout our time working in construction. It’s bad enough when they happen to our own workforce, but when an unpleasant injury happens to a member of the general public, it could pose serious risks to your business’s financial situation and the success of your project. Public liability insurance will cover you against paying compensation for injuries and damages to third parties within your industry as well as ensure that all medical bills and transportation costs are covered without you having to pay any more than your standard insurance bill. Other types of insurance within the construction sector We’ve covered how PL insurance covers third parties, but what about your own workforce and your employees? Employers liability cover is a legal requirement in the UK and covers you when one of your employees falls ill or suffers an injury at work. As an employer, you may have never experienced any long-term injuries within the construction industry and choose to ride your luck until the time comes. Statistics provided by HSE show that, each year in the UK, around 80,000 construction workers suffer from work-related ill health, with 65% of those instances occurring through musculoskeletal injuries. Whether your employees are off work on short-term sickness or plan to take you to court over a compensation claim following a long-term injury they have sustained, employers liability insurance can cover you against costly financial battles that, otherwise, could potentially ruin your livelihood. Another type of insurance that is vital to the construction industry is the one that covers your tools and equipment in the face of theft or damage. Without these tools, you’re unable to complete your project on budget and on time. Therefore, the reputation of your business could be lowered in the eyes of site foreman and customers.
In this technological era, everything seems to be easy. Most things can be done with just a single tap on your device. From setting the room temperature to opening the garage gate, you don’t need to stand up and do it by yourself. Imagine yourself coming home after a very long and tiring day. That was winter and the cold wind is blowing angrily on your window. You quickly enter your house and only to find that the cold has penetrated the insides of your home. You immediately turn on the thermostat. But before it could manage to heat the whole place up, you are already shivering with cold. Grabbing your favorite blanket, you head to the couch and roll yourself into a ball. Well, that should not be happening by now with smart thermostats readily available in the market. With the smart thermostat, you can turn it on way before you even step on your porch. Once you arrive at your house, the room has been heated up and all. Smart thermostats also turn itself off automatically if it doesn’t detect any motion happening in the house. That comes handy when you forgot to turn it off. Instead of consuming a lot of energy, it helps lower down your energy bills. One of the best thermostats you can buy is Nest. You can easily connect it to the Wi-Fi network in your home plus you can control it using your smartphone by downloading the Nest app from the Google Play Store. There, you can see the room temperature as well as the temperature outside your house. You can also adjust the temperature according to your liking. Aside from Nest, there are still other thermostats that can fulfill your needs. If you want to know what are the best thermostats that are compatible with Google Home, you should check out the article The Best Google Home Compatible Thermostats for Smart Climate Control. You’ll be offered 7 thermostat options and helpful answers to the frequently asked questions. A Brief History on Smart Home Since day 1, people have been obsessed with creating machines that would lessen manual work. Before smart devices are a thing, electric-powered appliances have been helping humans in getting the work done fast and efficient. In the early 1900s, the first washing machine, vacuum cleaner, clothes dryer, dishwasher, water heater, sewing machine, and refrigerator were introduced. Those machines did reduce the workload, and their success became a stepping stone for more home automation projects. More than 70 years after, the first general-purpose home automation technology was born. The network was meant to control multiple tasks at once, which in turn, will consume less time and require lesser effort to manage. Although technological breakthrough seemed slow, its potential can’t be denied. True enough, we’re now living in a world where almost everything can be manipulated using smart devices. And it seems like we are not stopping, either. Creating Smart Homes From Scratch To have an automated home, it should be smart from the ground-up. Of course, that requires a great deal of planning and . . . money. However, for the homeowners of the future, it sure doesn’t matter as long as it will make their life much easier. It’s true that you can purchase individual smart devices to handle different tasks, but it’s a lot better if you integrate home automation while you are still building your home from scratch. In that way, you can manage them all using just one platform. Controlling different home features such as security, temperature, lights, and maintenance can be quite tiring and difficult. But, you have a choice to do it simultaneously if your house is smart enough from the beginning. Supposing that the world is heading is up for more advancements, we can rightfully believe that in the years to come, all homes will be controlled by smart machines. Why not start now? It is a good investment as it will increase the value of your home with a couple of thousand dollars. Wrapping Up Internet of things, or IoT, is gradually being seen as the new standard nowadays. As the world becomes more and more tech-oriented, no doubt, smart homes will be the home of the future. Home development will never be the same, but way better.
Not all bridges are built equal, it must be said. Some just get you from one point to another. How boring, especially when you consider that some bridges out there can curl up on themselves to let boats pass, or even breathe fire! There’re bridges that are said to claim souls, bridges built from tree roots, and bridges hundred of years in the making. With the expertise of structure analysis software providers Oasys, we take a trip around the world without leaving our desks to see the best bridges. 1. A bridge that the Devil built Photograph by A. Landgraf When coupled with its own reflection on the water’s surface, Rakotzbrücke in Germany takes the form of a perfect circle. The bridge is said to have been commissioned by a knight in 1860. But the rocks and stones used for its creation are jagged and spikey, so it was dangerous to cross. Earth Trekkers notes that Devil Bridges were built a few times in history, and were deemed a challenge of a mason’s skill. The idea was that only Satan himself could help with a difficult build such as these bridges, and the first human who crossed the completed bridge would pay for the Devil’s helping hand by giving up his soul. The bridge is off-limits today in order to preserve it. But it is still an oddly beautiful sight to behold! 2. A bridge that tidies itself away Photograph by Loz Pycock A creation of Heatherwick Studios, London’s Rolling Bridge allows people to cross an inlet. What makes this bridge so unique is that it can tidy itself away! When needed, this bridge curls up into an octogen shape to stand on one side of the canal until a boat passes. The bridge also curls up every day at noon, if you want to see it in action! 3. A bridge built by the trees Photograph by Arshiya Urveeja Bose Roots, time, and a lot of patience went into these bridges in India. These beautifully natural bridges were formed by guiding rubber tree roots with hollow canes so that they would grow outwards and meet from either side of a stream. It would take years to reach the opposite bank, but the hard work paid off as these Living Roots bridges can support the weight of a human. They were originally made by the Khasi tribe, who realised the bamboo bridges they were building would collapse or rot after a monsoon or heavy storm. 4. A bridge of water and fire Photograph by Ehrin Macksey / Noi Pictures Be careful not to say “dracarys” when crossing this bridge! Located in Da Nang in Vietnam, the Dragon Bridge is certainly a spectacular sight. The bridge is the result of an international competition by the Da Nang People’s Committee in order to improve travel in the city. The bridge has six lanes for vehicles, two lanes for pedestrians, and 2,500 LED lights. Best of all, the Dragon Bridge can actually breathe fire. In fact, the bridge can spout water or fire, and this display is often used for special occasions in the city. 5. A bridge hundreds of years in the making Photograph by Egil Kvaleberg The blueprints for this bridge were originally drawn up around 500 years ago by Leonardo da Vinci. The intention was for it to be built across the Golden Horn in Istanbul. The original drawing had a single span of 240 metres, but the project did not go ahead as it was believed that such a design was not feasible. It would be many years before the bridge was finally built, and its construction in Norway is the first example of a major engineering success from a da Vinci sketch. The bridge has just three arches to support the structure. Though the Norwegian bridge is a smaller version of the original plans, it shows that the design works — one arch under the bridge, and two arches either side leaning inwards to spread the weight. Sources: https://bocadolobo.com/blog/architecture/10-of-the-worlds-most-beautiful-and-unique-bridges/ https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/design/g248/4335705/ http://boredomtherapy.com/unique-bridges-around-the-world/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azalea_and_Rhododendron_Park_Kromlau https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_root_bridges https://www.bemytravelmuse.com/rakotzbrucke-devils-bridge/ https://www.earthtrekkers.com/rakotzbrucke-fairytale-bridge-saxony-germany/ https://www.flickr.com/people/45649858@N08 http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20150218-indias-amazing-living-root-bridges https://www.flickr.com/photos/blahflowers/ https://www.visitbritain.com/gb/en/rolling-bridge-london https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn1510-da-vinci-bridge-finally-built-after-500-years/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_and_inventions_of_Leonardo_da_Vinci#Bridges_and_Hydraulics http://www.vietnam-guide.com/da-nang/attractions/dragon-bridge.htm https://www.louisberger.com/our-work/project/fire-breathing-dragon-bridge-vietnam
Crown Worldwide, today announces the acquisition of Premier Workplace Services as the group underlines its commitment to the workspace sector. The acquisition is a catalyst for Crown’s continued expansion in the workplace services arena and is one of the business’ most significant in its 53-year history. Crown Workspace, one of the group’s key growth brands, already provides interior design, fit-out, space planning, move management and commercial relocations. With a 20-year plus track record, Premier Workplace Services is a recognised leader in the workplace services space with £20m turnover, 200 staff and a roster of 600 clients, including a wealth of blue-chip businesses such as KPMG, Tesco, Transport for London, Metropolitan Police and Man Group. Combined group services will include: commercial relocations, space planning, design, interior refurbishment, fit-out, specialist IT, and sustainable furniture. Premier Workplace Services will retain its brand, with both businesses run in parallel. The heads of each reporting to Steve Hardie, Managing Director UKI & Northern Europe at Crown Worldwide Group. Steve Hardie, Managing Director UKI & Northern Europe, commented: “This acquisition enhances our total offering and provides a wonderful opportunity to share skills and expertise. We will provide a business-as-usual service for our customers, who we believe will benefit from the many synergies and shared values, such as Premier’s ‘business class’ service and commitment to sustainability. “We are very excited about developing this market together as we welcome Premier Workplace Services to the Crown family.” The purchase offers new opportunities for both brands to capitalise on Crown Worldwide’s global footprint across its 265 offices in all four corners of the globe. David Russinger, Director of Premier Workplace Services, added: “I am immensely proud of what our teams have achieved over the last 22 years. We have a strong platform for growth and an exciting new phase in the company’s development to look forward to. “We had many offers from prospective buyers to consider and Crown stood out. Finding the right cultural fit was a very important consideration for us. Despite Crown’s much larger size we could see straight away how our common values and culture would benefit our staff and clients. “We are looking forward to developing our service offering further and widening our geographic reach as part of the Crown Worldwide group.” Established in 1965, Crown Worldwide operates in some 60 countries, with services spanning workplace services, global mobility, relocation, records and information management, logistics and storage services.
The Brinell Building, a speculative office development in Brighton, has been fully let ahead of completion in June 2019. The newly developed 65,253 sq ft Grade A, seven-storey office building, is being delivered by developer and contractor McAleer & Rushe. The Brinell Building achieved record rents for the city with each pre-let transaction, topping out at £32.00 per sq ft. Unity Technologies, the ApS video game development company based in San Francisco with a market cap in the region of $2.5Bn (May 2017), has become the final occupier to take space at The Brinell Building. The tech company, who will be the anchor tenant, has committed to 37,398 sq ft over the first to fourth floors on a ten-year lease. Unity Technologies joins other standout occupiers including Diversified, the leading technology integrator delivering innovative digital media, broadcasting, electronic security and OTT solutions, which has pre-let 8,272 sq ft on the ground floor on a 15-year lease. As well as professional services firm Dehns which has pre-let the top two floors covering 18,514 sq ft on a 15-year lease. Angus Monteith, Property Development Director at McAleer & Rushe, said: “McAleer & Rushe successfully developed CityView in 2016 and we saw the opportunity to bring forward additional office space to meet untapped demand in central Brighton. Our decision to speculatively develop The Brinell Building has been rewarded with 100% pre-lettings to a first class tenant line-up six months ahead of practical completion.” Jack Riley, Associate, National Offices Knight Frank, said: “The Brighton occupier market has historically been underpinned by corporate giants like L&G, American Express and BUPA but the letting success at The Brinell Building highlights demand from the ever-expanding TMT sector. Brighton’s amenity offering coupled with a young, skilled labour force and growing tech sector is making it a hotbed for talent. With vacancy rates at an all-time low, speculative schemes providing Grade A office stock, such as The Brinell Building, are crucial for the continued growth of Brighton’s thriving business community.” Emma Lockey, Associate at CBRE, said: “We have worked alongside Unity for a number of years, advising on its original offices at CityView. We are delighted to have secured The Brinell Building for one of Brighton’s rapidly growing businesses in what is one of the largest office pre-lets for many years.” Knight Frank acted jointly with SHW for McAleer & Rushee and CBRE acted for Unity Technologies.
A new energy-from-waste centre in Avonmouth, Bristol has offered its £8.2 million contract for the delivery of all mechanical and electrical (M&E) works to SES Engineering Services (SES) and Clugston Construction. The firms will support the development of Viridor’s new £252 million facility by completing a series of works, including containment, lighting, small power, access control, ICT, CCTV, domestic water services, sanitary ware, above ground drainage, cooling, and mechanical ventilation. “We have a long history of delivering complex projects like this, and increasing our profile in the energy and waste sectors is an important growth driver for our business. Our experience gained on similar projects like Margam and Drax Power Station was a key decision maker for our appointment, and we look forward to applying this expertise to the Avonmouth project to ensure it is delivered safely and within its tight timescale,” said Steve Tovey, SES Business Director, Midlands and South West. The Avonmouth Resource Recovery Centre will process waste destined for landfill, to create energy for the national grid. Once completed, the site is expected to generate 32MWe of energy – enough to power 44,000 homes – and save 320,000 tonnes of waste from entering landfill. The bottom ash residue will also be reused for construction aggregate.SES is expected to start on site in January 2019 with hot commissioning scheduled to commence in October 2019, and full completion due in February 2020. Acquired by the Wates Group in 2015, SES Engineering Services (SES) is the UK’s pre-eminent design-led Mechanical and Electrical (M&E) provider. SES specialises in the design and installation of building services and infrastructure solutions covering all aspects of M&E. Clugston has over 80 years experience and it is proud to have built up a wealth of knowledge from a wide range of building and civil engineering projects, many of them high profile award winning schemes for national and international customers.
A total of 65 potential sites have progressed to the next stage of consideration for the new offsite construction centres at Heathrow, with the final four sites being identified next year following the completion and assessment of a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ). They have until the 18th of January to make their case for the project. Various sites across the UK have been visited by Heathrow representatives in order to identify the location for the future hubs, which will be used for off-site construction to make the multi-billion expansion more affordable and sustainable. “This is an exciting opportunity for us to engage with site promoters that are passionate about creating a lasting legacy. These responses will help us understand which sites will best work for the expansion programme as well as for future construction projects,” said Heathrow’s Executive Director for Expansion, Emma Gilthorpe. “When we began this search last year, we were inspired by just how many locations up and down the country were interested in playing a role in delivering the third runway. This shows the great potential there is for offsite construction to revolutionise the way major infrastructure is delivered in the UK,” she added. The expansion project will have four sites either assembling components of the expanded airport or serving as a consolidation centre for these loads before they are transported to Heathrow. Of the potential sites, 50 are existing or functioning sites, many of which are already experienced in delivering major projects, while the other 15 sites are either undeveloped or proposed facilities with the potential for additional flexibility and customisation.
Do you manage a block (or blocks) fitted with a fire alarm system? If so, to remain compliant with British Standard 5839 you should be testing the system every week. In my experience this is simply not happening. It is unrealistic to expect property managers to visit all their sites weekly to test the fire alarm is in good working order. And paying for a ‘skilled person’ to carry out these tests can prove expensive over the course of a year. However, these arguments won’t wash if you find yourself involved in a dispute revolving around an untested alarm system. With this in mind, Future Fire Systems is offering a solution to make testing simple and ensure the safety of all your residents – why not let us train your cleaning team, or any contractor that attends your sites weekly, to test the alarms for you. What’s involved in weekly testing? For fire alarm systems with a control panel (BS 5839) a testing regime could be to: Test a different manual call point each week Confirm that the fire alarm equipment is providing an output to the fire alarm sounders Confirm that the fire alarm equipment is providing an output to an ARC (Alarm Receiving Centre) – if applicable The result of the weekly test and the identity of the manual call point could then be recorded in the system logbook. If the system is connected to NOD*, the property manager will receive the weekly fire alarm test signal, so KPIs can be monitored. In addition, for interlinked fire alarms of the domestic type, good practice for a weekly test would be to: Test a different sensor each time Confirm that the sensor activates its sounder, along with others that are interconnected – if practical The result of the weekly test and the identity of the sensor can then be recorded in the system logbook. Six- monthly inspections – which are common – are too far apart. That’s leaving it a very long time before you discover that something isn’t quite right with the system/signalling. Ensuring that systems that are tested weekly, at approximately the same time each week (or at least on the same day) and advising residents that this service is in place, not only promotes the professionalism of the property manager but also gives flat owners peace of mind that the system is working. Train the trainer Of course, each site will have a different version of the fire alarm control panel, along with different manual call points. We are happy to train the supervisor of the cleaning or maintenance team to ensure he or she is fully competent to carry out the testing. If you are interested in accessing this service, we will provide: Crib sheet for each site specific Correct test key for call points Correct fire alarm panel control key A, B, C guide on testing the call point / silencing the control panel / resetting the control panel / data entry to the log book / contact name _ number if system didn’t perform to requirements *NOD is an auto-notification device that can be retro-fitted into existing alarm control panels to monitor systems in real time, sending signals to a cloud-based app or web portal if the system is in fault or fire condition. Bradley Parker, Managing Director at Future Fire Systems.
