December 5, 2019
The Troy Homes Portfolio: Wrapping Up 2019

The Troy Homes Portfolio: Wrapping Up 2019

Since 2015, Troy Homes has been steadily building a stunning portfolio of small to medium-sized developments across the South East of England. Each home in our collection has been built to first-class specifications throughout. In the kitchens, you’ll find high-gloss furniture and quartz worktops, complete with a quality selection of

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Association for Project Management Registers 1000th Individual

Association for Project Management Registers 1000th Individual

Association for Project Management (APM), the chartered body for the project profession, has added the 1000th Chartered Project Professional (ChPP) to its register. Having received its Royal Charter in 2017, APM has led the way in setting and maintaining universally high standards for the project profession. The ChPP benchmark – the internationally

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Construction Company Adopts Fingerprinting Drug Test

Construction Company Adopts Fingerprinting Drug Test

Part of the Wilco Group, the largest civil and landscape development group in Western Canada, has adopted the Intelligent Fingerprinting Drug Test to use in its recruitment process. The HR team at Wilco Contractors Southwest Inc’s headquarters in Calgary is using the fingerprint-based drug screening system, that works by collecting and analysing tiny traces of

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Latest Issue
Issue 322 : Nov 2024

December 5, 2019

The Troy Homes Portfolio: Wrapping Up 2019

The Troy Homes Portfolio: Wrapping Up 2019

Since 2015, Troy Homes has been steadily building a stunning portfolio of small to medium-sized developments across the South East of England. Each home in our collection has been built to first-class specifications throughout. In the kitchens, you’ll find high-gloss furniture and quartz worktops, complete with a quality selection of integrated Siemens appliances — while the bathrooms boast stunning sanitaryware and Hansgrohe taps and showers. It’s safe to say 2019 has been no different. Our award-winning team has been very busy this year, continuing to create homes that exceed customer expectations through high-quality design and meticulous attention to detail.  100% sold at Salisbury Court Ideally located on the edge of London, on one of Northwood’s most popular residential roads, Salisbury Court is a modern development of just nine exceptional two-bedroom apartments. All of these homes have now been sold. But there’s no need to worry if you didn’t snap up your dream home this time around. We have plenty of stunning homes available across our other developments… 50% remaining at Burns Court  Burns Court blends beautifully with its neighbours, offering superior accommodation and elegant suburban living throughout each of its 14 two-bedroom apartments. The high-class neighbourhood of Gidea Park provides the best of the South East and London on your doorstep — boasting excellent train links to the city thanks to the regular Crossrail Elizabeth Line service. There are a mix of apartments available at Burns Court, including two luxurious and spacious penthouses — which really have to be seen to get the full experience! 25% sold at Chestnut mews Consisting of a diverse collection of eight two-bedroom homes (many of which include an additional study), our Chestnut Mews development in Theydon Bois is also in high demand. Providing the ideal backdrop for a contemporary country lifestyle, this development offers excellent amenities, a vibrant community and a relaxed rural atmosphere — all within a tube journey of central London. Chestnut Mews has a variety of properties still available, including two duplex apartments and a beautiful detached cottage.  Only two homes left at Harvester Close! Located a short walk from the bustling town centre of Royston, Harvester Close is an exclusive selection of 19 three, four and five-bedroom homes designed to offer the ultimate in modern family living. There are now just two houses remaining at the development. The Huntingdon is a superb four-bedroom family home featuring generous living spaces, a landscaped garden accessible from the breakfast room and a double garage.  The Goodwood is a five-bedroom house offering a stunning space for modern family living. Boasting a private study, double garage, dressing room to the master suite and a large kitchen/dining/family room with doors onto the secluded garden, this home is ideal for raising a family in comfort. Part exchange is available on both of these houses subject to terms and conditions.  Looking ahead to 2020 Ideally located in the exclusive and vibrant community of Hadley Wood, our latest development Sambrook Court comprises an exceptional collection of modern 14 one and two-bedroom apartments. Sambrook Court offers an aspirational lifestyle just 30 minutes from central London — with the bustling local community boasting excellent schools, churches, independent stores, cafes, pubs and award-winning restaurants. Early reservations are now being taken with the show home expected to be ready for viewing in January 2020. In the new year, we will also be unveiling two further developments. Located on Camlet Way, Hadley Wood’s most prestigious road, Maytree Court will consist of seven luxury one, two and three-bedroom apartments with basement parking, plus two four-bedroom homes. In Elstree, our new Lawn Manor development on Barnet Lane will be set within extensive communal grounds and comprise sixteen two-bedroom apartments with parking. Preview events are expected to take place at the beginning of 2020 — so keep your eyes peeled for further details!

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New Arup report reveals best and worst scenarios for the future of our planet

An ever-expanding population and declining planetary health could lead to gigantic air domes combatting the leading cause of death, air pollution, and the total destabilisation of global weather patterns. This is according to one of the four future scenarios for our planet in a new report released today by global engineering consultancy, Arup. With the global population expected to increase by 2 billion people, from 7.7 billion to 9.7 billion, by 2050, ‘2050 Scenarios: Four Plausible Futures’ depict how we could live in 2050, based on the intersection between our planet’s health and societal conditions. The four divergent futures in the report – Humans Inc., Extinction Express, Greentocracy and Post Anthropocene – range from the collapse of our society and natural system, to the two living in sustainable harmony. In ‘Humans Inc.’, global temperatures have exceeded the 2°C target and coordinated action on a global level continues to struggle. Here, increased frequency and severity of weather events continue to have a detrimental effect on our cities and ecosystems, yet technological advances have reduced poverty, improved education and ensured jobs are abundant.   ‘Extinction Express’ details the dramatic decline in planetary health and human society, where global temperatures far exceed 2°C and the long-term inaction of society and continued exploitation of planetary resources have resulted in colonies on the moon and underwater.  ‘Greentocracy’ shows an improvement in planetary health but this has been enabled by severe restrictions on human society: poor living conditions, conflict and authoritarian regimes prevail. The global mean temperature rise remains below 1.5°C due to climate action and fostering biodiversity being at the top of the agenda. ‘Post Anthropocene’, in this future, human society and planetary health exist in a harmonious relationship. Large-scale climate change consequences, such as 15% of artic sea ice melting, catalyse global cooperation on climate change action, helping the global mean temperature rise to remain below 1.5°C. Society only consumes resources at the rate at which can be replenished, and everyone has a carbon quota. Josef Hargrave, Global Foresight Manager at Arup, said: “The four scenarios that we have projected are each extreme yet plausible. To some they may seem alarmist, to others not extreme enough. In every case they help us gain a deeper understanding of both the opportunities and threats we are facing over the coming decades and possible pathways towards these futures. We have the power to shape our future, but which future do we actually want?” The report is intended to inform decisions on the design and planning of our built environment. Each scenario has been developed using detailed research of trends and projections from think thanks, governments, statistical data, NGOs and research institutions, and shows how progress towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) can drive change for our planet and outlook for humanity.  Jo da Silva, Global Sustainable Development Leader at Arup, commented: “Sustainable development is fundamentally about creating a balance between the needs of a growing world population and the finite resources and health of our planet – our life support system. As engineers, scientists and planners, we all have a responsibility to make sure that the decisions made today have a positive impact on our future. We must act now in our shared quest for a safe, resilient and resource-efficient world for all.”

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Association for Project Management Registers 1000th Individual

Association for Project Management Registers 1000th Individual

Association for Project Management (APM), the chartered body for the project profession, has added the 1000th Chartered Project Professional (ChPP) to its register. Having received its Royal Charter in 2017, APM has led the way in setting and maintaining universally high standards for the project profession. The ChPP benchmark – the internationally recognised benchmark standard for the profession – enables those who meet the required chartered standard to demonstrate a defined level of technical knowledge, professional practice and ethical behaviour. Applicants who achieve APM’s chartered status are included on the Register of Chartered Project Professionals. People from a wide range of industries have succeeded in becoming a ChPP including engineering, defence, finance, healthcare, construction, transport and manufacturing. Recognition of the importance and value of the chartered standard is growing among these sectors and others. Debbie Dore, chief executive at APM, said: “This is a significant milestone for APM and the profession. We are seeing a growing interest in chartership from both individuals and employers as they realise the benefit and value it can bring – both to people’s careers and to businesses. With the project profession adding £156bn* to the UK economy annually, having more chartered professionals will only bring further value.” The youngest ChPP so far is Craig Scott, aged 26, a project manager at Eurofighter GmbH, who started with BAE Systems as a business apprentice straight from school.  Craig said: “It’s fantastic to be recognised as the youngest person ever to become Chartered. I have worked extremely hard over the past four-and-a-half years ensuring that I have a full rounded level of experience within the profession by undertaking different roles, from customer-facing and supplier based roles to delivering all aspects of the project lifecycle from bids through to contract execution and closure.     My advice for anyone looking to become chartered is to ensure you have broad experience, keep track of everything that you have done, and keep a note of it. You will realise you have done more than you think, and it’s quite refreshing to see what you have achieved!” Sue Phillips, a programme manager for HM Revenue & Customs, believes that becoming a ChPP has given her greater confidence in her professional skills and has had a positive impact on her career. Sue said: “Achieving chartered status has given me greater confidence in my own professional skills. It is recognised by colleagues and stakeholders as a premier award. My professionalism is recognised and accepted without question. I have recently moved to a new programme leadership role and being a ChPP has helped me establish strong professional relationships quickly.”

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Construction Company Adopts Fingerprinting Drug Test

Construction Company Adopts Fingerprinting Drug Test

Part of the Wilco Group, the largest civil and landscape development group in Western Canada, has adopted the Intelligent Fingerprinting Drug Test to use in its recruitment process. The HR team at Wilco Contractors Southwest Inc’s headquarters in Calgary is using the fingerprint-based drug screening system, that works by collecting and analysing tiny traces of sweat from a fingerprint to detect drugs, to assess fitness for works in the construction sector. The rapid, non-invasive fingerprint method replaces a traditional off-site urine test approach. Together with operational and efficiency savings resulting from Intelligent Fingerprinting’s 10-minute test, the switch to the fingerprint method is set to save Wilco Southwest $20-25,000 CAD annually. As part of Wilco Southwest’s commitment to workforce health and safety, all new employees who are set to operate construction heavy plant vehicles, truck operators or labourers who are working in these environments are required to take a drug test as part of their interview process. Previously, candidates were asked to visit a third party off-site location within 48 hours of the interview to provide a urine sample. Dan Maat, Vice President of Wilco Contractors Southwest Inc said: “We recruit up to 500 new employees annually who work in quite high risk environments, so we want to ensure from the outset that our employees are safe and fit to work. As part of this, we routinely drug test as part of our recruitment process. We were attracted to the fingerprint method as we can now test in-house, and gain access to results within minutes during the interview process. We’ve also found that interviewees are much happier to provide a fingerprint sweat sample compared to our previous intrusive urine test approach. From a process and operational perspective, we have also projected that the adoption of fingerprint drug testing is set to save us between $20-25,000 CAD in the first year alone. “This saving is not only due to the cost-effectiveness of the fingerprint method, but also thanks to savings from optimising our recruitment process and increasing the percentage of candidates offered a position who accept our employment. Previously we found that we lost candidates and money due to the urine test taking 24-48 hours post-interview. We were having to pay for many booked appointments where the candidate failed to turn up – either where the candidate was put off by the urine test or, in that one to two day period, they were offered alternative positions. Our HR manager is now managing the drug tests himself during the interview process – eliminating the need for an external party and enabling job offers to be made there and then,” added Dan Maat. Intelligent Fingerprinting’s Dr Paul Yates added: “Drug testing clearly has a valuable role to play in recruitment, particularly as tackling drug misuse is so important in maintaining a safe workplace. Because fingerprint drug testing is quick and easy to use – unlike traditional urine or saliva-based tests that can be invasive, time-consuming and undignified for both testers and employees alike – our approach is certainly attracting attention from construction businesses – both in North America with Wilco and in Europe with organisations such as Alandale Group.  And because our portable drug screening system supports all forms of employee drug testing – from pre-employment screens and random drug tests to post-accident investigations – construction firms are finding that fingerprint-based drug tests provide a cost-effective and practical way of supporting their health and safety initiatives and enabling drug misuse policies.” Fingerprint-based drug testing – how it worksIntelligent Fingerprinting’s drug testing solution features a small, tamper-evident drug screening cartridge onto which ten fingerprint sweat samples are collected, in a process which takes less than a minute. The Intelligent Fingerprinting portable analysis unit then reads the cartridge and provides a positive or negative result on-screen for all drugs in the test in ten minutes.

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