May 24, 2019

Contractor Appointed for Winchester Primary School

Winchester’s first primary academy school is due to be delivered by contractor Willmott Dixon, which was awarded the £8.35 million contract by Hampshire County Council. The new Barton Farm Academy is a single storey two-form entry school that features a main hall, holistic music and drama studio, ‘discovery point’ library,

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New Office Opening for Willmott Dixon

Leading UK construction company Willmott Dixon has strengthened its presence in Sussex with a new office.  The firm held an event to celebrate the opening of the Gatwick office, welcoming leaders and representatives from both Crawley and Surrey County Council. The new base expands the company’s presence as it looks

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Roll Converting Equipment and Its Benefits

Since the beginning of time, humankind needed tools. They used tools to hunt, forage, make fire, and survive. It made everything so much easier, even in those early days. Since then, humans used tools and invented machines to help them in everyday activities and hard work. Exhausting physical labor has

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Latest Issue
Issue 323 : Dec 2024

May 24, 2019

Contractor Appointed for Winchester Primary School

Winchester’s first primary academy school is due to be delivered by contractor Willmott Dixon, which was awarded the £8.35 million contract by Hampshire County Council. The new Barton Farm Academy is a single storey two-form entry school that features a main hall, holistic music and drama studio, ‘discovery point’ library, staff room and workspace, administration offices and parent waiting rooms. As a response to the 2,000 new homes that are being built on the Barton Farm site, the Council has decided appoint a contractor and build further school places too. The school will target a BREEAM Excellent energy efficiency rating to provide a sustainable learning environment when it opens in September 2020. “The University is an outstanding provider of teacher education and has a strong track record of raising aspiration among young people. Pupils at the school will benefit from our values-driven ethos, extensive regional school partnerships, our evidence-based learning and teaching, our powerful links with local business and community organisations, and our passionate commitment to social justice and sustainability. The innovative Academy buildings, including state-of-the-art indoor and outdoor learning environments, will also meet our very high standards for sustainability,” said Professor Joy Carter CBE, DL, Vice-Chancellor of the University and Chair of the University of Winchester Academy Trust, which will run the school. This project win adds to Willmott Dixon’s recent contract to build the new Winchester Sport and Leisure Park to replace the River Park Leisure Centre. “Willmott Dixon is delighted to be involved in this project. The new school will provide much-needed inspirational learning spaces. We are always delighted to play a part in supporting the learning of the next generation. As will all our projects we aim to leave a positive legacy in the local community and are targeting 140 apprenticeship weeks on the project,” added Richard Poulter, managing director of Willmott Dixon in the Central South. Barton Farm Academy has been designed by Hampshire County Council’s in-house team of architects and landscape designers and meets the highest standards for environmental sustainability and will provide inspiring and creative learning spaces for children to flourish. The new school forms part of the County Council investment in new school places across Hampshire.

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New Office Opening for Willmott Dixon

Leading UK construction company Willmott Dixon has strengthened its presence in Sussex with a new office.  The firm held an event to celebrate the opening of the Gatwick office, welcoming leaders and representatives from both Crawley and Surrey County Council. The new base expands the company’s presence as it looks to deliver more projects that play a key role in the county’s future. The opening comes shortly after the successful completion of L3 Technologies’ new flight simulator production and training facility on Gatwick Road in Crawley. It was designed to promote an agile, collaborative, project-led working approach, and will accommodate both pre-construction and operations staff, with partners and customers also encouraged to utilise the space. “Willmott Dixon has been well established in the county since 1930 when we built Bailiffscourt at Climping near Littlehampton for Lord Moyne. Since then we’ve grown across Sussex and opening our new Gatwick hub, close to where many of our people live, is a natural evolution,” explained Russell Miller, Willmott Dixon Director for Delivery in Sussex. “Gatwick is a thriving area and has, along with Sussex, a really bright future with many bold and imaginative initiatives to encourage growth and investment. We want to be part of shaping that by basing ourselves in an area close to our partners and customers,” Russell added. The event also saw Chestnut Tree House – the children’s hospice for Sussex –presented with a cheque for £7,104.12 which was raised by the team at Willmott Dixon following a sponsored skydive.

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Government to Give £200m to Replace Grenfell-Style Cladding: Is it Enough?

The government has confirmed that it will allocate £200 million to fix private tower blocks that are wrapped in combustible aluminium composite material cladding, the same kind that sent the Grenfell Tower block up in flames back in June 2017, claiming the lives of 72 people. This decision is a response to the anger over freeholders and developers that have refused to fund the costs of replacing the hazardous cladding in their buildings. Whilst many have praised the funding as a “step in the right direction”, there are concerns that the amount is just not enough. Two Years Since Grenfell On 14th June 2017, a fire broke out in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower block of flats in North Kensington, West London. It was the deadliest structural fire in the UK since 1988 and the worst residential fire since World War II. The fire was started by a malfunctioning fridge-freezer on the fourth floor and spread rapidly up the building’s exterior. The devastating spread of the fire that claimed so many lives and injured many more was attributed to the building’s cladding. Grenfell’s exterior cladding was aluminium sandwich plates with polyethylene core and insulation made of PIR (polyisocyanurate) foam plates. According to the police, both of these materials later failed fire safety tests that were conducted after the fire. It was later discovered that the project team for Grenfell chose the cheaper, combustible material despite the nationwide warning that the combustible insulation used should only be used with cladding that does not burn. There are estimated to be 600 high-rise blocks of flats in the UK that have similar cladding to that in Grenfell. In October 2018, the government announced plans to ban flammable cladding on newly built buildings, however, it has been argued that it should be banned in its entirety, also applying to existing buildings. Leaseholders Facing a Crisis Thousands of people across the UK reside in tower blocks that use the same kind of cladding as Grenfell. As a result, residents have been suffering bouts of stress, depression and suicidal feelings; living in unsafe homes is taking a serious toll on people’s mental health. Whilst some landlords have stepped up and vowed to replace their building’s cladding with safer materials, others have refused to pay. Some leaseholders have been forced to start their own 24-hour patrols of their buildings to ensure that fires don’t break out, whilst other’s homes have become unsaleable. For developers refusing to pay for cladding replacement, the costs have been passed onto their leaseholders who have been footed with the bill. This has caused a deadlock between leaseholders who cannot afford to pay, and developers who say they are not obliged to pay under law. Leaseholders are facing bills of tens of thousands each to fix the buildings. In Burton Place in Manchester, the residents were told that they would be facing a bill of £80,000 each for repairs to replace wooden cladding, combustible insulation and missing fire breaks. Of the recent funding announcement, Prime Minister Theresa May said: “It is of paramount importance that everybody is able to feel and be safe in their homes. That is why we asked building owners in the private sector to take action and make sure appropriate safety measures were in place. “And we’ve seen a number of private building owners doing the right thing and taking responsibility, but unfortunately too many are continuing to pass on the costs of removal and replacement to leaseholders.” People fearing another disaster on the scale of Grenfell are looking to their representatives for answers. It is clear that there is mass confusion as to why, after widespread acceptance that fire safety remediation is needed, two years later thousands have been left to live in homes that are unsafe, and so far, very little has been done. The safety threats of living in buildings with unsafe cladding combined with the financial stress of not being able to afford to the costs of replacement is said to be ruining lives. How Far Will £200 Million Go? The £200 million in funding comes after lobbying from leaseholders who said the unsafe cladding in their buildings was making them fear for their lives in their own homes. And after the government’s preferred solution of asking building owners to do the right thing and pay for the work has failed, this funding is a much needed welcome. However, the UK Cladding Action Group that launched a campaign back in March to secure the funding for residential properties have stressed that the money, whilst welcomed, will not cover the costs of removing all the cladding. One of the founders of the group, Rituparna Saha, lives in Northpoint block in Bromley, where leaseholders are facing combined costs of £3.5 million for cladding replacement alone. She claims that news sets up a “cladding lottery”, as the funding will only cover aluminium composite material (ACM) panels which helped spread the fire in Grenfell, but combustible non-ACM cladding would not be covered. Latest figures show that, of the 176 buildings identified as having ACM cladding since the disaster, 166 of those have yet to have had any work started on them. The funds will be made available to remove the cladding from these high-rise buildings across England. Building owners will have three months to claim the funds, with the condition that they take “reasonable steps” to recover the costs from those responsible for the cladding’s presence, citing that the Government has “committed to cover the cost temporarily”. Grenfell United, a group of survivors and the bereaved, have praised the news as offering hope to people who feel at risk at home.   This article was written by Stephen Horin, Managing Director at Bushbury Cladding. Bushbury Cladding are a family run business who have been supplying corrugated steel roofing sheets and wall cladding sheets for many years.

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NYEs Building Supplies raises £794 for charity during family fun day

Kingsfold-based builders’ merchant NYEs Building Supplies has raised £794 for the charity Rainy Day Trust during a family fun day at its depot.   The event, named ‘Have a NYEs day’, was held to celebrate the company’s recent rebrand and completion of its new 1000m2 warehouse. Attended by more than 1,000 people, it included a variety of free activities and the chance to meet Bob the Builder.    Raffle tickets were sold in aid of the charity during the event, which was run by one of the charity’s trustees, Aaron Frogley, along with his son, Connor. Top prizes included family days out to Drusillas Park and Fishers Farm Park, cinema tickets, power tools and restaurant vouchers.   The Rainy Day Trust is the UK’s only charity supporting the home improvement workforce in times of need.   Rex Nye, who is Managing Director at NYEs, said:    “It was a hugely successful day with lots of families turning up to enjoy our celebration. We couldn’t have hoped for a better turnout. We’d like to thank everyone who came along, supported us and helped to raise money for a very worthy cause at the same time. We hope the money will help the charity to continue its vital work supporting people in the building sector who have fallen on hard times.”   Aaron Frogley, Trustee at the Rainy Day Trust, added:   “Our warmest thanks to NYEs for supporting our charity and giving us the opportunity to be part of its excellent event. Sadly, more and more people are turning to us for financial assistance. The money raised at NYEs family fun day will go towards supporting them by helping to make ends meet, and providing the necessary advice, counselling and training so they can get back on their feet.”

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Roll Converting Equipment and Its Benefits

Since the beginning of time, humankind needed tools. They used tools to hunt, forage, make fire, and survive. It made everything so much easier, even in those early days. Since then, humans used tools and invented machines to help them in everyday activities and hard work. Exhausting physical labor has been changed with machines. So, people don’t have to lift a finger to do anything. Nowadays, there is a machine for every single thing. You just have to push some buttons, and it is all taken care of. There is absolutely no need for you to do anything demanding and draining. When it comes down to choosing the proper machine for your need, you need to ask yourself one question. That question is what you need from that machine. What problem you need solving. Some people require roll converting machinery. If you are unfamiliar with this term, these machines are a part of the converting industry that transforms rolls of various materials into final products. It is not that easy as it sounds. The product goes through multiple phases until it reaches its final form. Some businesses are in desperate need of these machines. So, it is good to have some information about them before purchasing them. Cost   The first thing anyone wants to know before buying something is how much it will cost them. It is not easy investing in something if you are not so sure it will pay off in the end. First, it is essential to have some money saved up because they are quite pricey. This is not that surprising since all kinds of tools and machines cost a fortune. However, they make our life so much easier, so you get to complain that much. Then, after the first step is taken care of, you can look for the perfect tool for your needs. You have so many options to choose from. It all depends on you. When asking around how much these things cost, do not be shocked when you hear that their prices vary between 8,000 to 10,000 USD. It is a lot to pay for at once, that is for sure. However, a lot of Roll Converting Equipment owners are quite satisfied with them.  The manufacturers of these machines provide excellent quality for that cost. The most crucial thing is to be aware and read more about how each device contributes to your needs. There are so many different types to choose from. So, be sure to do extensive research and read more about them online. Productivity After paying for any type of product, machine, or tool, you want to know how much you will use it and how much it will change your life. You want to it to pay off till the last penny. So, do not worry about this. You are guaranteed to get about 40% productivity when you compare it with having to do this all manually. That is why we invented machines, isn’t it? To change manual labor with machines. The technology and software that comes with this converting equipment are made with cut optimizers. That way, they arrange things to increase in productivity. Additionally, the software comes with its precise cuts. They result in less waste, which is very good to hear. That way, you get the most out of your materials. Also, you make your contribution to making the environment less damaged and waste-free. That is a great relief, especially to larger companies. Moreover, these precise cuts end up with fewer rejections and fewer complaints from customers. That way, everyone is happy. New Technology In these last few decades, there have been thousands of new inventions and technological advancements. So, it is no wonder to hear that these types of machinery work with a brand new technical system. It is known as computer numerical control or CNC. This helps slitting and cut planning, as well as control over the master rolls and goods. It does bar code label printing. Also, it does an excellent job at job management. With its precise cuts, you do not have to worry about waste and pollution. Learn more about CNC here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numerical_control Various Types of Materials It is essential to know that these roll converting machines can process different types of materials. Ranging from wallpapers, papers, and photo papers to heat transfer materials and digital magnetic papers, it can prepare them all and convert them into a final product. It is a great relief to the potential buyers to hear about this. However, not all machines can process every type of material. So, it is vital to get more information before investing in something like this. Importing and Processing of Orders Another benefit to purchasing a roll converting equipment is that its software makes importing a lot easier. It grants importing as well as order data processing from your systems. All this makes your order processing faster and more efficient. You do not have to worry about anything of the sort. Customizable Every buyer will be pleased to learn that most manufacturers can customize their equipment. All products may be suited to most of the customer’s needs and specifications. That way, the machinery can accommodate and satisfy any needs. All you have to do as a buyer is to mention your wishes and requirements to your manufacturer. Hopefully, your wish will be granted.

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Removal of industrial machinery is no easy task without the help of an expert

Planning the removal or relocation of heavy industrial machinery can be a daunting prospect. It is not just the dismantling and reinstallation, but the logistics of the entire project, including transportation, that is difficult to coordinate. Added to the challenge is the knowledge that every single day the machinery is not in operation for its intended purpose is a day that the business is losing production time and therefore revenue. It stands to reason that the best course of action is to hire an expert to deliver this tricky piece of work for you, and here are some things to consider when choosing whose services to procure. Using a single provider reduces risk to your project The removal, transportation and installation of heavy industrial machinery is no easy task. It has not been unusual in the past for companies to hire several different providers to cover each part of the process, even for a single project. This was simply because it was virtually impossible to find a company that could safely, and expertly cover all aspects of machinery removals, covering only perhaps part of the process. This coordination of multiple suppliers in a project is a nightmare, and introduces a lot of additional moving parts and risk to project timelines that is completely unnecessary. Nowadays it is entirely possible to hire a company that can cover everything, from mechanics, electricity, electronics, pneumatics, hydraulics, plumbing, welding and cutting of structures, movement to loading, transport and start-up for any industry sector. Hire a company that values training its workforce Of course if you are trusting a single vendor to provide all of the services in relation to industrial machinery removal and installation, you need to be able to trust in their expertise. As part of your vetting procedures and due diligence during contract negotiation it is very important to look at how professional and well trained the staff are, and make sure they are trained to an adequate level to fulfil any quality standards you need. You want someone who has years of experience in the industry too. After all every project will be completely unique in almost every respects, so you need enough experience to be able to adapt to any possible roadblock or issue encountered during the project. You also want to be sure that they can handle the scale of the project, whether large or small, and that they have the equipment and resources available to deliver what you need, on time and to the highest standards. Finally safety standards are also incredibly imports, especially when it comes to operation and set up of industrial machinery. You should be looking for a zero-incidents orientated provider.   Innovation and flexibility is key to success As previously mentioned, no two removal or relocation of industrial machinery will be the same. Not only should a services provider have years of experience, but you also need them to be flexible and innovative – able to come up with ingenious solutions to a multitude of problems they could encounter along the way. They also need to be flexible to moulding to what your business needs operationally, and be sensitive to production lines. You want a company with access to sophisticated tools, a highly trained workforce, and be able to offer a complete service that lives up to your expectations. After all you need to be up and running as quickly as possible. Ultimately you need to choose someone who puts the customer first in their delivery, and can offer administrative, logistical and technical personnel and guidance at each stage of the project from start to finish.

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What Can We Expect From the Construction Technology in Near Future?

The world has become a very competitive place for companies in every industry. Construction companies cannot compete with price, so they must find a way to lower their costs and inefficiencies. Leading companies from all over the world push the boundaries of technology solutions, in order to make their work more efficient as well as reduce expenses. The key elements for standing out in the construction business are innovations in construction technology. The other problem that they face is the lack of knowledge in that sector as the experienced professionals start to retire. The safety of the workers is also a crucial part of using innovative technology in this business. Furthermore, we will discuss some of the innovations that are coming to the construction business. The Internet of Things (IoT) As the world is going forward, many of the sectors must follow the path in order to survive. The construction business can be improved a lot if we use data-driven technology. This will enable every company to be more efficient and precise. Internet of Things means that the business will be followed, analyzed, and improved using the technology from today. Embedded sensors on a connected worksite can create huge possibilities and improvements by collecting and managing data, performance, workflow and so on. Smart devices that will be wearable in the construction business will be everywhere analyzing every worker and position in the company. The innovations in the construction technology will bring us the whole system connected together such as cameras, sensors, etc. communicating with one another with the opportunity to improve the results. AI and Machine Learning Artificial Intelligence is the world’s number one trend for the future. People are expecting to bring machine brain into the industry which will have a big impact on the work. Robotics combined with Artificial Intelligence defines the process of Machine Learning. In order to have faster, more efficient and precise results, people in every industry are going to be replaced with machines that are capable of completing the work. Some of the innovations are already here such as the Smartvid.io which aggregates visual information from the cameras placed on the workplace and using artificial intelligence can detect potential hazards and safety violations. With this, we just scratched the service of the technology. AI has enormous potential that will have a positive outcome when it will be used in the construction business. Predictive Analytics Predictive analytics is the new trend that combines statistic, modeling, machine learning, AI and data mining. This innovative technology can point out any safety concerns and provide us with budget outlooks, more innovations, and increased development. This method is so sophisticated that can predict opportunities, anticipate problems, and help managers for their decisions. It is already used in tennis betting and other kind of gambling industries as well as by sports pundits and managers. Predictive Analytics can be used in the construction business as well, as a new way of problem-solving with the use of data and predicting patterns in the workflow. Virtual Reality (VR) / Augmented Reality (AR) Virtual Reality is not designed just for games. Actually, alongside with Augmenter Reality, it can provide incredible support to the construction business. Both AR and VR technology can provide real-time 3D models to physical spaces. This will provide more precise projects as well as testing them into the real world with the AR technology. The special awareness of the workers can be improved with VR/AR as well as providing a real-time construction idea in the real world. People will be able to design a building or a room only with their VR headset. Autonomous Equipment Actually, this technology is already available and is widely used in the automotive industry. Robotics can provide greater efficiency as well as safety. Nowadays, the use of drones in construction is massive, providing valuable information that was out of reach for humans a couple of years ago. For example, the drone can generate a 3D model of a building by calculating the area through GPS in minutes, calculate the volume of earth that needs to be moved and much more. Construction business is all about reducing costs. Only that way you can stay competitive and increase your earnings. Costs can be reduced by efficiency and error-free workplace, and the only way you can create that environment is by using autonomous equipment in construction. These are some of the innovations in the construction business that will ensure a more stable, easier and safer future. The technology can be used in every industry, we just have to use our imagination and improve constantly. We will see what improvements will the future bring to the construction technology in business. Author: Mario Petkovski

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