The British Safety Council has launched a campaign for air pollution to be officially recognised as an occupational health hazard for construction workers and others who worked outdoors. Among the measures it is calling for is the adoption of a workplace exposure limit for diesel engine exhaust emissions. Air pollution
NBS, the leading technology platform for the construction industry has announced the appointment of Chris Slinn as its new Chief Revenue Officer. Chris joins as the fourth executive director at NBS and will support the existing board. In the newly created role of Chief Revenue Officer at NBS, Chris will lead
Nottingham is due to see the arrival of a new £5 million student accommodation scheme, which is ahead of completion later this year. Located at Derby Road, The Nest will comprise of 57 new flats and a ground floor commercial space. Tang Developments is leading the scheme, with support from
BDC 319 : Aug 2024
The British Safety Council has launched a campaign for air pollution to be officially recognised as an occupational health hazard for construction workers and others who worked outdoors. Among the measures it is calling for is the adoption of a workplace exposure limit for diesel engine exhaust emissions. Air pollution is linked with up to 36,000 early deaths a year in the UK. It is considered the biggest environmental risk to public health. Research from King’s College London suggests that more than 9,400 people die prematurely due to poor air quality in London alone. Ambient air pollution is linked to cancer, lung and heart disease, type-2 diabetes, infertility and early dementia. The British Safety Council has launched a report ‘Impact of air pollution on the health of outdoor workers’ which provides evidence to recognise ambient air pollution as an occupational health hazard in Britain. In the report, the charity presents the demands that spearhead its campaign to limit the dangers of air pollution to the health of outdoor workers. Several pilot schemes are beginning to monitor and measure the levels of air pollution experienced by people working and living in London. Their findings will be instrumental in developing recommendations for reducing people’s exposure to air pollution in the capital. However, the government and regulatory bodies such as the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) continue to show a lack of interest in regulation and guidance on air pollution, the British Safety Council says. In March 2019, the council launched its Time to Breathe campaign, which is focused on the protection of outdoor workers from air pollution. The cornerstone of the campaign is Canairy, a mobile app that gives outdoor workers and their employers insights into pollution and how to reduce staff exposure to it. It has been created in co-operation with King’s College London. Canairy draws on the London Air Quality Network (LAQN) pollution map at King’s and the user’s GPS to calculate an individual’s exposure to pollution on an hourly basis. The new report ‘Impact of air pollution on the health of outdoor workers’ is the next step in the campaign. It gathers available evidence about the causes and consequences of air pollution in Britain. It also reviews international examples of initiatives set up to measure air pollution in different locations and their recommendations for risk reduction.
NBS, the leading technology platform for the construction industry has announced the appointment of Chris Slinn as its new Chief Revenue Officer. Chris joins as the fourth executive director at NBS and will support the existing board. In the newly created role of Chief Revenue Officer at NBS, Chris will lead on NBS’s ambitious sales growth, in the UK and globally. Chris has extensive experience of global sales and marketing strategy achievement within the construction sector, experience that has spanned a number of transformational years for the industry, including the move to cloud based offerings. Pair this knowledge and experience with NBS’s leading platform with its unrivalled reputation for supporting customers around the world, NBS is well positioned to achieve its growth. The appointment is a further extension of the continued investment in NBS, following the £31.8m investment in the business by LDC in 2018, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group. I am delighted to be able to welcome Chris to the team and look forward to working with him to drive our business forward. Chris brings a wealth of experience with him which will be invaluable in supporting continued growth in our core UK markets, as well as building our businesses in Canada, Australia and the Asia Pacific region. On starting his new role, Chris said: When I was approached to join NBS, I could immediately see the opportunity for growth both in the UK and Internationally. Our market leading software for specification and collaboration in the construction process, combined with the unparalleled exposure we can provide building product manufacturers – means we are uniquely placed to enable support efficient digital construction. I am genuinely looking forward to working with the NBS team and LDC as we look to take this business to the next level. Formerly in the role of Sales Director for EMEA at Trimble, Chris was accountable for direct sales in Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Romania, France, UK and the Middle East. In 2017 NBS acquired Canada based Digicon a well-established specification content business in this territory, and at the same time set-up a team in Australia. Since then, NBS has collaborated with specifiers, manufacturers and the wider construction sector, to develop the Canadian and Australian content sets. The result being a platform what the industry wants and needs, NBS Chorus, a cloud -based specification platform supporting global design and construction. The use of cloud technology, ensures that those using the new platform have the latest software and global content at all times, improving collaboration and efficiencies across whole teams. Minimising risk and maximising efficiency with access on all devices, any time anywhere. To find out more about NBS Chorus, please visit www.theNBS.com
Nottingham is due to see the arrival of a new £5 million student accommodation scheme, which is ahead of completion later this year. Located at Derby Road, The Nest will comprise of 57 new flats and a ground floor commercial space. Tang Developments is leading the scheme, with support from GraceMachin and design plans from Nottingham-based architects Cleveley King. A dilapidated building was demolished and replaced with a contemporary structure as part of the project, with multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy Dice forming an integral part of the team. Wayne Oakes, director at Dice, said: “The Nest is a bespoke, student accommodation which has been designed with international students in mind – incorporating the latest in studio design, great communal facilities and all in an amazing location, close to the city centre.” He continued: “One of the key design challenges associated with this development related to the client’s wish for the building to incorporate both a masonry and timber frame superstructure which, for a five-storey building, presented numerous design complications associated with disproportionate collapse. “In addition to this the project delivery team also faced interesting challenges during the early stages of the project due to experiencing poor ground conditions, which impacted upon the piled foundation solution and the contiguous piled retaining structure which was installed to support the public highway of Wollaton Street at the rear of the site. “We’ve worked closely with the developers and architects to create a building which has minimal impact on the environment and which complements the existing buildings in the vicinity – overcoming these challenges and delivering an impressive new structure on Derby Road. “There are a lot of Nottingham teams involved in the construction of The Nest – from us on the engineering side and BEC on the mechanical and electrical engineering side, to the contractors, J A Ball, delivering the work itself – which is, of course, fantastic for the local economy and the city’s construction industry. “There really is a hive of activity going on along Derby Road and across Canning Circus, with new sites progressing everyday – promoting the city’s commercial and residential offering. We’re confident that The Nest will be another welcome addition to the development of this area of the city.” The Nest will welcome its first batch of students in January 2020.
