May 10, 2019

Cavanna Homes Invests in Artisan Bricklayer

Traditional, handcrafted building styles have made way for more cost-effective and less time-consuming modern-day methods as the homebuilding industry works hard to deliver the government’s ambitious target of 300,000 new builds each year. In the Westcountry however, fourth-generation family firm Cavanna Homes is investing in the skills of an artisan

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Lincolnshire Welcomes Beach Management Scheme

Coastal flood risk in Lincolnshire is due to be managed by a £7 million Beach Management scheme, which will benefit around 20,000 homes and businesses. The Environment Agency scheme will see contractors pump around 400,000 cubic metres of sand onto Lincolnshire’s beaches to help protect people and their properties from

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Construction Connectivity – Getting Back to Basics

The European construction industry is continuing to demonstrate encouraging growth, with Deloitte forecasting that the market is on track to grow at a steady rate of 2.5 per cent a year to 2022. With this continued growth, firms face increasing pressure to deliver against rising demand, but it’s widely recognised

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Issue 323 : Dec 2024

May 10, 2019

Cavanna Homes Invests in Artisan Bricklayer

Traditional, handcrafted building styles have made way for more cost-effective and less time-consuming modern-day methods as the homebuilding industry works hard to deliver the government’s ambitious target of 300,000 new builds each year. In the Westcountry however, fourth-generation family firm Cavanna Homes is investing in the skills of an artisan bricklayer to help define the character of its homes and developments, in turn, helping to keep the ancient craft of stonemasonry alive. Born and bred in the South Hams, Terry Newman currently spends his three-day working week as a subcontractor for West Country Brickworks Ltd on projects for Cavanna Homes, which has its headquarters in Torquay and is in its 96th year. Cavanna Homes incorporates stonemasonry in its developments to reflect a local vernacular and to make a new scheme look more mature so it immediately fits into its existing surroundings. Work incorporating traditional stonemasonry skills is intricate and time consuming: a three-metre stone panel takes around a day to build, while the same sized panel in bricks takes half-a-day, or a couple of hours for concrete blocks, plus wet weather can prolong a job involving stone work because the materials must be kept dry. “Nowadays, time and cost are big factors in the house building industry,” says bricklayer Terry. “So if a developer includes stonemasonry in its schemes, they’re adding time, and time is money! I take my hat off to those firms including stonework at their new developments; it not only adds character and charm to modern buildings but it’s keeping the tradition alive.” Terry trained as a bricklayer at South Devon College in the late 1970s when stonemasonry was included in the course, completing an apprenticeship with a local firm which “happened” to include stonemasonry in its remit. Nowadays, there are no colleges offering stonemasonry courses west of Bath and Weymouth, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a construction or bricklaying course which offers even a hint of stonemasonry. But Terry has used the skills of his industry’s forefathers ever since his teens. At Cavanna’s Dartington developments, Origins and Yarners Mill, Terry created stone walls and panels to add historic charm to the homes in-keeping with their position in the picturesque Dart Valley, and one of his most recent tasks has been the construction of a 30-metre wall at the entrance of Cavanna @ Wolborough Hill – a collection of 26 luxury-style homes in Newton Abbot – to replace the original wall. Also on his immediate list of pending jobs is replacing the coping (the top of a wall which acts like a lid, keeping the rain out) at Palstone Meadow – Cavanna’s 26-home development in South Brent – and building a wall at Kings Orchard – Cavanna’s emerging 53-home scheme in Stoke Gabriel. Traditionally, stone doesn’t tend to travel very far after it’s excavated, so where the job is determines what type of stone Terry works with. “In Cornwall it’s always shillet which is quarried there and has been used for building for centuries,” he says. “And in South Devon I often work with Stoneycombe, Glendinnings, Yennadon and Mill Hill Quarries stone, excavated on the doorstep.” Type “stonemasonry” into Google and you’ll find numerous glossaries explaining the terminology, which is often linked to the geography as well as the stones themselves. Take the style of the coping at the wall at Cavanna @ Wolborough for example. Bricklayer Terry describes it as “cock and hen” (where vertically placed stones run along the top of a wall). “I don’t know why it’s called cock and hen,” laughs Terry. “That’s what we call it down in the Westcountry.” Elsewhere, it’s known as “buck and doe”. Terry also describes using a method called “snail creep pointing” on the walls at his son’s house in Ivybridge. The effect can be achieved by using the handle of a metal watering can, cut in half. “It looks lovely when it’s finished,” Terry says, offering an insight into the intricacies of his craft, which includes being resourceful. Around a century ago it was typical for stonemasons to wade into rivers to collect stones. In the 90s, at a private residence in the South Hams, Terry found himself thigh-deep in a river which ran through the grounds, collecting stones to make sure the buttress he was building blended with the existing structure. Terry explains that stone can either be left in its natural state, known as rustic stone, or can be cut, so the face of the stone (the part which faces out, forming the side of the wall) has a smoother finish. Terry prefers the former and describes working with “random rubble”, the technical term for a mixture of different sized and shaped stones, which makes his job rather like a giant 3D jigsaw puzzle. Stonemasonry involves a huge variety of different styles and techniques and there is also far more to the pointing (or jointing) work (the joining together of the stones) than merely cementing between bricks. “At Origins I had to keep the jointing quite flush and create an indent of about half-an-inch between the stones,” he explains. “So instead of the surface being flat, the stones protrude a little. Usually the style will be down to the architects who designed the buildings, although often it will be the site manager who decides the finish.” For the wall at Cavanna @ Wolborough, bricklayer Terry said his biggest challenge was finding stones with “good faces”. “With slate or shillet you’ll use a larger quantity of stone but because of their shape it’s almost like stacking them on top of one another, whereas with random rubble a lot goes to waste because you have to have stones with good faces and which sit up well to create a wall with them. Although sometimes they won’t do either!” Although building in stone can be costly and slows down the build process, when completed to a high standard it gives a far higher quality finish.

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Lincolnshire Welcomes Beach Management Scheme

Coastal flood risk in Lincolnshire is due to be managed by a £7 million Beach Management scheme, which will benefit around 20,000 homes and businesses. The Environment Agency scheme will see contractors pump around 400,000 cubic metres of sand onto Lincolnshire’s beaches to help protect people and their properties from coastal flood risk by preventing damage to the sea defences along the coast and reducing the risk of overtopping. “Our Lincolnshire Beach Management scheme helps us protect thousands of homes and businesses on the Lincolnshire coast. The scheme also offers real value to Lincolnshire’s coastal tourism economy, by maintaining the sandy beaches that are so well-loved by residents and visitors alike,” said Mark Robinson, senior flood risk advisor for the Environment Agency. As well as local homes and businesses, the Lincolnshire Beach Management (LBM) scheme will also protect 24,500 static caravans and 35,000 hectares of land. “While our annual beach nourishment works continue to be very effective, our long-term estimates suggest that it will not be sustainable to continue with just sand as a method of flood risk management in the future due to the impact of climate change,” added Mark. “This is why we have worked over a number of years to review our strategy for coastal flood risk management between Saltfleet and Gibraltar Point. We took a shortlist of options to public consultation in early 2019 and are currently finalising our new draft strategy for coastal flood risk management over the next 100 years, which we will be taking forward to consultation later this year.” Work will begin on the project on Monday 13 May and run for six weeks. Beaches at Trusthorpe, Mablethorpe, Ingoldmells, Trunch Lane, Wolla Bank, Chapel Six Marshes and Huttoft will be replenished during the programme.

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Ibstock Brick Wins Regional Business Award for its Commitment to Sustainability

Ibstock Brick has been announced as a winner in the category of Most Ethical / Sustainable Manufacturer of the Year at the 2019 at the Made in the Midlands Awards. The awards, coordinated by leading business publisher, INSIDER Media, took place in Birmingham on May 2nd 2019. They celebrate excellence and achievement from businesses based in the Midlands region. Ibstock was recognised for its commitment – through its products and processes – to ‘forging a more sustainable future for the company and region’. The judges were impressed by Ibstock’s demonstration of its social and environmental concerns – and the way this has become part of its wider business strategy. As the UK’s leading brick manufacturer, Ibstock Brick is proud to be at forefront of responsible manufacturing – both in the Midlands region and elsewhere in the UK. Sustained investments in energy efficient plant, clean technologies and performance improvements are coupled strong commitment to skills-building and community engagement. The judges cited the company’s unique People First approach to sustainability – commenting that this methodology set Ibstock apart from the other shortlisted businesses. As winner of the Most Ethical / Sustainable Manufacturer of the Year category, the Ibstock team will take part in the INSIDER Media National Finals in June 2020. Commenting on the Made in the Midlands award win, Michael McGowan, said: “This is the latest in a long line of high-profile award wins that recognise the positive impacts we are making in terms of sustainability and we are absolutely delighted to receive it. Our win is very much testament to the hard work of our colleagues across the business. Sustainability is embedded within our business culture and we could not be prouder to lead the way both in the Midlands and further afield.” Ibstock Brick was also shortlisted in the category of Manufacturer of the Year (Over £25M).

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Abtec BT improves efficiency with environmental controls upgrade across school site

Abtec Building Technologies (Abtec BT) has upgraded the environmental controls in various buildings at Arthur Mellows Village College, a sixth form secondary school located near Peterborough. As well as reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions, the new controls have provided the school with greater ease of use and operational efficiencies. Serving pupils aged from 11 to 18, Arthur Mellows Village College is a secondary school in Glinton, around 8km north of Peterborough. Although Olympic medal-winning gymnast Louis Smith and footballer Luke Steele (goalkeeper at Nottingham Forest) are among notable alumni, the school is an academy with a specialism in technology. As such, facilities like its Science Department require regular investment.   The original project  Arthur Mellows Village College relocated its Science Department to a new build in 2009, leaving its previous building to become disused and unfit for purpose. However, the school recently wanted to breathe new life into the old Science Department building and, with a combination of funds from DfE grants, The Wolfson Foundation and its own financial resources, Arthur Mellows Village College set about creating a vision that would be called the McLaren Building. The upgraded facility would house art, science and media studies classrooms. A major aspect of the refurbishment would focus on the upgrading of environmental controls, with Abtec appointed by the project consultant to undertake this work. “In the old science block we were tasked with providing integrated lighting controls, mechanical vents and a BMS plant room based on Tridium technology – totally replacing the old systems,” explains Phil Peer, Project Manager at Abtec. Upon completion of the work, it was clear to see that the McLaren Building, which opened in 2016, had been refurbished to a very high standard. Indeed, the facility exceeds current thermal insulation levels. Housed within the revamped building are five dedicated art classrooms, a kiln room, screen-printing room, two science laboratories, a science preparation room, two media rooms, a media studio, a computer room and two further classrooms. The total cost of refurbishment works and fit out was approximately £1.5 million.   Further works Due to the success of the McLaren Building, Abtec has since completed several additional projects at Arthur Mellows Village College, including the introduction of: a BMS in the humanities block; lighting controls in the newly constructed site office block; and lighting controls and BMS in the sports hall. “We also performed BMS works in the main plant room, which was originally served by another system,” says Mr Peer. “Equipment has been installed that interfaces with other plant rooms – it’s all in one place. The college sublets spaces for events, so the BMS had to offer easy adjustment.” Another area that leveraged the expertise of Abtec was the refectory, where extra space was constructed on to the existing block. Abtec provided a solution for controlling the underfloor heating, CO2 mechanical vent, lighting control and plant room controls – all of which were fed from the main plant room. “Throughout the various projects we adopted an agnostic approach, using DALI, which is industry-recognised open technology,” says Mr Peer. “It was important to avoid reliance on any one manufacturer, so if something needs to be replaced, it can be.” The systems installed by Abtec also facilitate the automatic testing of emergency lighting on a monthly basis, a function that saves on labour costs and time – boosting operational efficiency in the process. A common head end sits on a virtual school server, so all data is aggregated back to one place. In addition, a single set of graphics is deployed across all plant rooms to provide the same look and feel.   The results All of the newly introduced lighting is based on LED technology, which in combination with the Abtec control systems means a better learning environment for pupils. Furthermore, new heating plant is helping to drive energy efficiency and CO2 reductions in line with Part L of the Building Regulations.   “The temperature and lighting is a lot easier to control now, whereas before it was difficult to say the least,” states Gary Wentworth, Site Manager at Arthur Mellows Village College. “We had to go down to the boiler room and locate the right switch, which was not necessarily obvious. Now it’s all centralised on one computer, so we can alter time zones and schedules, and respond to issues quickly; it only takes a couple of minutes. The lighting has daylight harvesting control, which is saving energy as well as ensuring the right light levels for students and staff.” image credit © Paul Bryan (cc-by-sa/2.0)’

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Construction Connectivity – Getting Back to Basics

The European construction industry is continuing to demonstrate encouraging growth, with Deloitte forecasting that the market is on track to grow at a steady rate of 2.5 per cent a year to 2022. With this continued growth, firms face increasing pressure to deliver against rising demand, but it’s widely recognised that the construction industry has a reputation for often delivering projects later than expected and significantly over-budget. Large scale projects in particular can typically take 20 per cent longer to complete than planned and can be up to 80 per cent over budget – so how can the industry adapt to fulfil these ever-expanding expectations when current efficiency levels often leave a lot to be desired?  The adoption of new technology and smarter processes can deliver tangible benefits for construction firms, but there remains a fundamental stumbling block for those organisations looking to capitalise on new innovation – a frequent lack of high speed, portable and reliable Internet connectivity. It is therefore imperative that the industry addresses these key issues as a matter of urgency so that firms can gain access to the connectivity they need at new sites from day one.  The construction site of the future With rapid advances in technology and the advent of cloud based solutions, the way we work and interact has drastically changed. Technology innovation has led industries to continually strive to be more efficient, productive and cost effective. Yet, when it comes to the world of construction, investment in IT has remained low in comparison to other industries. The market has been hampered by technical challenges relating to projects that can be large, complex and geographically dispersed. Combined with varying proficiency and maturity levels of smaller subcontractors, advancing at scale has been difficult and has subsequently led to the slow progress of the digitisation of the construction industry.  Despite these challenges, the available technology in construction has advanced rapidly and we are now starting to see examples of how advents in digital technology can deliver efficiency and productivity opportunities at the start of all projects – truly revolutionising the construction sites of the past. Drones, robotics, 3D printing and augmented reality are no longer works of fiction but can be adopted by forward thinking firms looking to capitalise on the benefits that embracing innovation can bring to the construction site. Connectivity is essential Connectivity is a necessity for businesses in virtually every industry and construction is no exception. Crucially, this is still one fundamental hurdle that the industry must overcome if it is to create a solid foundation for all new innovation. Technology that is crucial for the industry to innovate and keep up with demand, cannot function without high speed, portable and reliable internet connection, but gaining access to connectivity can be a challenge for new sites, particularly those that are located in a Green or Brownfield location where there is typically no existing connection. Often, a fixed line is simply not an option and the reliability of 4G is still patchy, even as talk around the possibilities of 5G continue to dominate the headlines. Conclusion The construction industry cannot continue to utilise outdated processes and management methods but instead must embrace digital advances and adopt smarter processes and technology to stay competitive. But there is no way that the construction sites of the future will ever become a reality unless the industry can conquer the basics of connectivity. So, how can construction firms ensure that a strong and stable connection is established quickly at a new site to ensure lack of connectivity does not negatively impact on projects? By working with an ecosystem of experienced and trusted providers who can supply the connectivity and IoT services that sites require. The industry will then be able to continually benefit from the opportunities that the latest advances in innovation present. The potential rewards to firms that capitalise on digitisation will be instantaneous. – Nick Sacke, Head of IoT and Products, Comms365 

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