The HALO Urban Regeneration Company today (14th May 2020) announces the joint appointment of two Marketing Agents for its Enterprise & Innovation Hub in Kilmarnock as the HALO enters its next phase. A £63m urban regeneration project on a 23-acre site, the HALO Kilmarnock, formerly the home of Johnnie Walker,
It has now been over eight weeks since restrictions on movement in the UK were put in place. Here we explore what effect these restrictions have had on the Construction and Engineering industry, and how it might influence how we work in the future. On 30th March, The Secretary of
HOME STAGING company Lemon and Lime Interiors has seen great success with the first trials of its new virtual service after partnering with an East Midlands-based property developer on two new homes. The Lemon and Lime Interiors team are experts in presenting houses to make a memorable first impression for potential buyers. Elaine
Decorative lighting design company Imagin has partnered with hospitality design expert Dexter Moren Associates (DMA) to launch the world’s first decorative wall-mounted touch free hand sanitiser dispensers, the Imagin CleansePoint Collection. Comprising four bespoke finished designs, The Windsor and The Richmond in collaboration with Dexter Moren; The Henley and The
As more people start to return to the workplace this week, a new survey by Association for Project Management (APM), the chartered body for the project profession, reveals the majority of project professionals say their main project is causing them stress, with the majority expecting more disruption to projects due
Sheet metal is very important in construction. It is widely used and is very common. Sheet metal is formed through an industrial process. The goal is to make a thin and flat piece of metal for a variety of purposes. Sheet metal is one of the basics of metalworking. It
The HALO Urban Regeneration Company today (14th May 2020) announces the joint appointment of two Marketing Agents for its Enterprise & Innovation Hub in Kilmarnock as the HALO enters its next phase. A £63m urban regeneration project on a 23-acre site, the HALO Kilmarnock, formerly the home of Johnnie Walker, will be the first town centre net zero carbon energy project in Scotland, setting the standard for low carbon energy sites across the UK. The ultimate vision is for a net zero dynamic commercial, educational, cultural, leisure and lifestyle quarter where people can ‘Live, Work, Learn and Play’. Leading agents Graham + Sibbald and CBRE have been appointed to lease out the 48,000 ft2 Grade A building set to open in Spring 2021. Upon completion, the HALO Kilmarnock will feature Gold score comms connectivity accreditation, a Breeam excellent rating alongside other state of the art technology and a diverse resilient comms detection system. Through a platinum partnership with Scottish Power the site will be fully powered by energy from the nearby Scottish Power Whitelee Wind farm. The HALO Enterprise and Innovation Hub will also feature an industry-leading digital, data and cyber training and learning facility within an exciting and digitally connected work space, establishing the HALO at the forefront of the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” – the digital revolution. Drew Macklin, Development Director at the HALO Urban Regeneration Company, said: “Both Graham + Sibbald and CBRE have world class credentials and, as joint marketing agents for the HALO’s Enterprise & Innovation Hub, are perfectly placed to showcase our exciting project nationally and globally. “Their role will be to partner the HALO with dynamic, high growth young businesses who will benefit from the HALO’s unique ability to harness the latest digital technology in a net zero carbon energy environment.” Fraser Lang, Partner – Head of Ayrshire at Graham + Sibbald said: “We are delighted to have been appointed to lead the marketing of the HALO Enterprise and Innovation in Kilmarnock, a prestigious development which boasts net zero carbon energy credentials to take the property sector to the next level in Scotland at a time when Green Energy, Enterprise and Innovation has never mattered so much.” Andy Cunningham, Senior Director at CBRE, said: “We’re very excited to have been instructed to help expose the HALO Enterprise and Innovation Hub to a wider audience. It is an exceptionally innovative office development that will bring significant benefits to the local community. Speculative funding in the UK regional office markets is notoriously difficult to achieve, so it’s fantastic news to see this investment being made in Kilmarnock where the economic and social opportunities will be warmly welcomed. “The unique first-class facilities at the HALO Hub and the further amenities on offer in the wider development will undoubtedly spark significant interest among local, national and international occupiers and we look forward to sharing the opportunities with our extensive network.”
It has now been over eight weeks since restrictions on movement in the UK were put in place. Here we explore what effect these restrictions have had on the Construction and Engineering industry, and how it might influence how we work in the future. On 30th March, The Secretary of State for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy, issued a letter to everyone in the UK construction sector. It detailed that, while those who could work from home should, construction workers were ‘advised’ to continue to travel to their place of work – where safe to do so. If only it had been that easy… With supply chains up and down the country unable to source materials from overseas, building sites were forced to shut down, with some evidence suggesting that over 85% of construction businesses have been impacted. For those sites that have remained open, significant modifications have had to be implemented to ensure safe working practices on site. More recently, industry leaders and the government have formed a taskforce to develop sensible Site Operating procedures to provide guidance. On a number of schemes, both those under construction and those still at the planning stage, architects, civil and structural engineers are having to go back to the drawing board and redesign plans to reflect the current shortage of materials and blockages in the supply chain. With social distancing becoming the new normal, consideration now has to be given to the redesigning concepts, to minimise site construction, with more emphasis on off-site construction. Gemma Cattell from East Northamptonshire Council has spoken about how the council has adapted to the new conditions “Building Control at ENC is still open for business, although we have had to modify some practices to ensure that everyone adheres to social distancing rules during inspections and all inspections are risk assessed before a visit is made to ensure that no one is placed at risk. The Structural Auditing Survey team at JMS, supports some of the largest companies in the world, such as aggregate supplier Hanson. Business continuity for these sites is a priority and, whilst non-urgent surveys have been rescheduled, ‘absolutely essential’ surveys still need to be undertaken on active sites. In these cases, JMS has liaised with the client to identify the best course of action. As the UK starts looking ahead to opening businesses, many in the industry believe that social distancing will remain a daily practice, at least for the remainder of the year. The industry needs to be prepared and employee ‘monitoring’ may have to become compulsory within this sector. Meanwhile, in the US, trials are underway with construction workers wearing a device on their hard hats that sounds an alarm if anyone comes within 2 metres of another worker. It will also track ‘roadmap’ data, so should a construction worker be found to be infected with Covid-19, the data will trace who the worker has come into contact with while on site. Daniel Staines, Managing Director of JMS Civil and Structural Engineers commented “Although we did see a slowdown in appointments on new work at the beginning of the crisis, there has already been a noticeable bounce back and the cloud based systems that JMS has invested in over the past years has meant that we have been able to quickly adapt our working practices to match the work flow whilst maintaining the necessary social distancing and home-working requirements. This investment has allowed us to deliver a continuous, top quality service to our clients. Our number one priority will always be the safety of our staff and we have implemented robust measures, including site specific assessments for every site.” It remains to be seen how severe the long-term impact of COVID-19 will have on the industry, it certainly brings with it a lot of risk, however, there will also be opportunities and, unlike the recession of 2008, bankers are now financially robust, and the hope is that banks and lenders across the UK, with opportunities to invest, will become part of the solution.
HOME STAGING company Lemon and Lime Interiors has seen great success with the first trials of its new virtual service after partnering with an East Midlands-based property developer on two new homes. The Lemon and Lime Interiors team are experts in presenting houses to make a memorable first impression for potential buyers. Elaine Penhaul, the owner of Lemon and Lime Interiors, quickly adapted the business to continue to operate throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and has introduced two new services – virtual home staging and remote staging. Elaine, who began staging homes in 2012 and set up the company in 2015, said: “With the lockdown and social distancing measures still in place, buyers have never had more time on their hands to browse on apps like Rightmove. Viewing on property portals has gone up by 500% since the country effectively went into lockdown and despite the difficult circumstances, buyers are still expecting to see beautifully staged properties.” The first two properties on the market that used Lemon and Lime Interiors new virtual staging service were both built by developer Hereward Homes and are for sale, one through Richardson Estate Agents and the other through Newton Fallowell. The four-bedroom barn conversion in Stamford and the five-bedroom detached house in Oakham have both been virtually staged to help appeal to buyers during this challenging time. Elaine added: “This new service is really important to the property market – during these unprecedented times estate agents needs to ensure their properties are catching the eye of buyers. With viewings all over the country being put on hold or not taking place, beautiful home staging has never been so important in the market.” Peter Ledger, director at Newton Fallowell, said: “When it comes to Lemon & Lime Interior’s new virtual staging service, the results really speak for themselves – the images have massively helped in the hit rate for the Oakham property already. In these difficult times, we must do everything we can to elevate the online profiles of our properties and virtual staging is the perfect way to do this.” The virtual home staging service requires vendors or the agent to take a high- resolution picture of an empty room, which is then sent to Lemon and Lime Interiors. The team use this photo and virtually fill the room with an interior design scheme and luxury furnishings to make the property looked lived in, which in turn, helps people to visualise themselves living in the property. Even better, all the furniture used is available to purchase, so the whole scheme can be bought with the house upon request. Elaine is even working with a videographer to create video including the virtually staged photos to attract more buyers. Home staging has been proven to help generate faster sales for more money and the team are experts in how to furnish a property in order to secure the best sale price. In the year 2018/19 the occupied properties that Lemon and Lime Interiors staged sold – on average – four times faster after staging. Elaine added: “We are offering this service because it means that developers and estate agents can still get advice and top-quality service without having to leave their homes. We can also give guidance on how to dress their homes, which will help them to get a quick sale for more money when they do come to put it on the market.”
Decorative lighting design company Imagin has partnered with hospitality design expert Dexter Moren Associates (DMA) to launch the world’s first decorative wall-mounted touch free hand sanitiser dispensers, the Imagin CleansePoint Collection. Comprising four bespoke finished designs, The Windsor and The Richmond in collaboration with Dexter Moren; The Henley and The Marlow by Imagin’s designers, the CleansePoint decorative wall-mounted automatic hand sanitiser collection was conceived in response to the expected far reaching impact of Covid-19 on hotels. Produced to order, design features include optional finishes, colours and materials; motion sensing technology; optional room numbers for use in hotel corridors; easily refillable, with an optional light. The hospitality industry has seen new coronavirus safety guidelines emerging globally, so with guest’s peace of mind and employee confidence in cleaning standards at the heart of this innovative idea, the launch of the stylish and functional CleansePoint Collection offers to complement these new stringent ‘safe stay’ cleaning practices, as well as the most lavish interiors with its unique decorative designs. Terry Hibbert, Imagin founder and managing director says: “Our vision is to inspire design excellence for unforgettable Interiors and that doesn’t stop at decorative lighting. We’re honoured to have partnered with world famous architect Dexter Moren to introduce our stunning CleansePoint Collection – a world first!” Dexter Moren, partner at Dexter Moren Associates (DMA) comments: “Asked by Hospitality Insights to consider the immediate impact of Covid-19 on hotels I postulated that we are all going to be insanely conscious of ‘touch’ and ‘cleanliness’ as we venture out from our home isolation. I predicted that hand sanitisers would become a ubiquitous feature within hotels and knowing that hotels will need more than a bottle of gel here and there, DMA have collaborated with Imagin to create a bespoke product that can stand on its own or double as a room entry identification for guests, before entering the sanctuary of their own room.” Terry Hibbert concludes: “Whilst there is a huge shift in priorities for hotels to adopt the world of ‘clean’, it should not need to negatively impact the interior beauty of these spaces. There is now a huge emphasis on sanitising hotels to ensure guests feel safe and comfortable, but this shouldn’t need to come at the expense of beautiful interiors.” With a six to eight-week lead time, the competitively priced CleansePoint Collection is produced to order. Please contact us about the Imagin CleansePoint Collection in partnership with Dexter Moren Associates (DMA), or for more information about our decorative lighting products. T: +44 (0)203 0110 444 E: hello@imaginlighting.com W: imaginlighting.com/cleansepoint
As more people start to return to the workplace this week, a new survey by Association for Project Management (APM), the chartered body for the project profession, reveals the majority of project professionals say their main project is causing them stress, with the majority expecting more disruption to projects due to the ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The survey of project professionals, carried out for APM by research company Censuswide, discovered that over 63 per cent of respondents are feeling stressed due to issues relating to their main project. The key factors causing this include: poor work-life balance (cited by 40 per cent of respondents) unrealistic expectations (cited by 32 per cent) having too much to do (cited by 36.5 per cent). The survey also reveals that over one quarter (27.6 per cent) don’t think their workplace is doing enough to support the mental health and wellbeing of those responsible for managing and delivering projects – across industry sectors. Ahead of Mental Health Awareness Week (18-24 May 2020), Dr Clara Cheung, lecturer in project management at the University of Manchester, and author of ‘The Wellbeing of Project Professionals’ report2 sponsored by APM, calls on employers to help improve support for project professionals in the workplace: She said: “APM’s latest survey reveals that project professionals experience high levels of stress in the workplace due to the often frenetic, fast paced and dynamic nature of project-based work. The recent impact of the pandemic including the lockdown period might also have increased the risk of project managers to have mental health problems, such as anxiety, burnout, depression, social isolation and fear of unemployment. Under these circumstances, it’s vital that employers review the mental health support mechanisms provided for staff and how these can be improved upon. “This could include reminding staff of support already in place or looking at the introduction of resilience-training that focuses on post-traumatic growth, wellness action plans, mental health first aiders and access to support from a confidential counselling helpline.” As the chartered body for the project profession, APM is committed to supporting and helping the project community, and for individuals who are feeling a strain on their mental health, has provided a series of helpful tips: Keep up professional development – everyone can benefit from refreshing their skills and boosting their knowledge. APM has recently launched a series of online resources to help support those working in project roles. This includes moving its qualifications online and its massive open online course (MOOC) for project practitioners, delivered in partnership with the Open University. Be ready for new opportunities – be sure to keep LinkedIn profiles and CVs up to date, and to keep in touch with online contacts. Keep connected – although it may not be possible to have physical contact with those outside the immediate household, staying in touch with colleagues, friends, and loved ones via phone, video calling or social media can help combat loneliness and isolation. APM has just launched the APM Hub, a new online community designed exclusively for individual members of APM. Maintain a routine – having a routine can be beneficial for mental wellbeing. Make time for self-care – the current uncertainty can affect emotional wellbeing. It’s also possible to feel isolated as a result of the guidelines on social distancing. Time should be reserved for activities that promote health and happiness.
Sheet metal is very important in construction. It is widely used and is very common. Sheet metal is formed through an industrial process. The goal is to make a thin and flat piece of metal for a variety of purposes. Sheet metal is one of the basics of metalworking. It can be cut and bent further to make different shapes as needed for whatever application needs it. From cars to housing to machines and even some forms of art. Experts such as Bend-tech can help with any questions you may have about it. Sheet Metal Bending Bending sheet metal is done through the application of force or exerting pressure on certain points or linear. In bending, metal is manufactured to a point along a straight axis. It produces V-shape, U-shape, and channel shape. This can be done with press breaks, roll bending machines, or embossing/coining machines. The most common way used for bending are box and pan brakes or other break processes. Process During the process of press brake forming, the metal is positioned over a die block. The die block presses the sheet to form a shape. What happens is that the bending has to overcome the stresses. After bending, the residual stresses cause the material to spring back to its original position. The sheet should be over-bent in order to get the desired angle. Factors that come into play are the material and the type of forming. When a metal sheet is bent, the length is also stretched. Bend Deduction This refers to the amount the metal sheet will stretch as it bends and measured from the outside edges. Bend Radius Bend radius refers to the inside radius. It describes the radius of the inside curvature of a bent sheet metal. It is the minimum radius wherein a pipe, tube, sheet, cable, or hose can be bent without being kinked or damage or shortening its life. The formed radius depends on the dies and material used. It also depends on the thickness of the material. The formed bend radius is dependent upon the dies used, the material properties, and the material thickness The smaller the bend radius is, the greater the material flexibility will be. This is because the radius of the curvature decreases as the curvature increases. Minimum and Maximum Bend Radius The minimum bend radius is the smallest allowable radius a cable is allowed to be bent. Maximum Bend Radius is the determinant on how tight the cable can be bent. This is done with the intent not to add a lot of stress on the cable that can cause damages like kinks and cracks. Calculating Bend Radius The minimum or maximum bend radius can be calculated with a mathematical formula. Minimum bend radius: Step 1: Divide 50 by the material’s tensile reduction percentage. Step 2: Subtract 1 from that answer. Step 3: Multiply that answer by the plate thickness. Maximum bend radius: Step 1: Add the minimum bend radius to the part thickness Step 2: Multiply the result by 2 Common Bending Methods There are many bending methods. Below are some of the more common methods V-Bending This is the most common bending method. V-bending uses a punch and die. The three sub-grouping of this is bottoming, air bending, and coining. From these, about 90% of the most commonly used V-bending methods are air bending and bottoming. Air Bending This refers to partial bending. In this method, the working piece is not totally touching the tooling parts. The workpiece lies on two points. The punch pushes the bend. This process is often done through a press brake without the need for a sided die. A punch tool and a V-shaped bottom die is used in air bending. Air bending allows the sheet material to be bent to an arbitrary angle even without replacing the die or punch tools. Bottoming This is also referred to as bottom pressing or bottom striking. This means the punch presses the metal sheet onto the die. The die’s angle then determines the angle of the workpiece. The inner radius of the angled sheet depends on the radius of the die. Coining In this method, the workpiece is stamped between the punch and die. These penetrate into the metal past a neutral axis with pressure. This used to be a very popular method since it can get accurate results. However, today, machinery can be well-controlled and precise. Hence, coining is not as widely used as before. U-bending This is similar to V-bending. It also uses a die and a punch. However, in U-bending they are both U-shaped, which results in a similar bend. Roll Bending This is often used during the production of cones and tubes into different shapes. This is also bending with a large radius. The most common machine used for this method is a press or hydraulic brake. The reason for this is that other machines result in flat instead of a well-rounded edge. Folding Clamping beams hold the longer side of the sheet. In this method the beam rises. Then it folds the sheet around a bend profile. Wiping In this method, the longest end of the sheet is clamped. The tool then goes up and down, resulting in the bending of the sheet around the bend profile. Wiping, however, has a higher risk for scratches or damages since the tools are hovering over the sheet. Rotary Bending This method uses a freely rotating cylinder. The final formed shape is cut into it and matching the bottom die. Upon contact with the sheet, the roll contacts on the two points. It then rotates while the forming process bends the sheet. Rotary bending is referred to as a ‘non-marking’ process which is suitable to pre-painted or marred surfaces.
