Reimagining workplaces around the world in the new normal is more important than ever As towns, cities, and countries begin to reopen, people that live and work in buildings will need assurance building owners and operators are taking every precaution to ensure health and safety, starting with the air they breathe. Though
Offsite and modular building specialists Enviro Building Solutions have won a contract worth £2.8M for the construction of an eight classroom block for the Thomas Aveling School in Rochester. In line with exacting time schedules, work has just begun on site and the project will be delivered in September of
More details have been unveiled about Sheffield’s Heart of the City II with the council set to move a number of elements of the project forward. A number of high-profile international occupiers have already been attracted to the area, including HSBC, CMS and Radisson Blu, plus Swedish fashion brands, Weekday
It’s unlikely that in your construction health and safety manual, that you’ll find a chapter on managing the risks and hazards in a pandemic. And yet, here we are, writing and implementing back to work procedures post-lockdown to keep construction workers and contractors safe from a potentially deadly virus. What
Sometimes, the cost of having the right structure is taking down the wrong one. In light of that, construction companies, real estate agencies, and general contractors understand the importance of commercial demolition companies. Aside from heavy-duty demolition, many of these setups are actively into the cleanup of construction sites. In
Reimagining workplaces around the world in the new normal is more important than ever As towns, cities, and countries begin to reopen, people that live and work in buildings will need assurance building owners and operators are taking every precaution to ensure health and safety, starting with the air they breathe. Though guidance around the transmission of COVID-19 continues to evolve, experts agree that indoor air quality should be a top priority. Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI), a global leader in creating safe and secure building environments, is committed to helping create spaces that put people at ease. A healthy and safe environment starts with a holistic approach that encompasses a building’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) infrastructure. To do this, Johnson Controls can help building owners and operators identify strategies to increase outdoor air circulation, filtration options to provide better air quality, optimal temperature settings to slow the flow of airborne pathogens and the use of ultraviolet C (UV-C) lighting solutions to kill viral organisms. “Keeping people safe and secure in buildings has always been at the heart of our mission for 135 years, and as we look at a fundamental transformation how buildings operate, even the simplest of upgrades to full building retrofits will be important to reduce the transmission of disease,” said Mike Ellis, executive vice president and chief digital & customer officer, Johnson Controls. “The new normal means being prepared for the unexpected.” “As the UK comes out of lockdown, many business leaders and estates and maintenance managers are faced with the challenge of doing everything they can to keep occupants and visitors safe,” said Gail Hunter, General Manager HVAC and Energy, Johnson Controls UK & Ireland. “We know that HVAC solutions are an important part of the puzzle, alongside the technologies that enable buildings to be ‘contactless’. Now is the time to put the right solutions in place.” Even before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Johnson Controls annual Energy Efficiency Indicator found a desire by owners and operators to maintain healthy buildings. Although the current economic environment has changed dramatically, as the economy rebounds, owners and operators are expected to make further investments on behalf of the people who live and work in their buildings. Johnson Controls has a range of products and solutions to create healthier air in buildings: York Air Handling Units: To reduce airborne pathogens within a building, mixed-air HVAC systems should focus on increasing outdoor air ventilation. York air handling units allow customers to maximise outside air to displace contaminated air and increase ventilation and air change rates. Koch® Filters: Effective air filters are intrinsic to a successful infection control plan. Koch’s clean air solutions include high efficiency air filters, HEPA filters, and portable HEPA solutions for increased building flexibility. Critical Environment Controls: Room pressurisation, air change rates, humidity, and temperature are vital components in reducing airborne contaminants and preventing cross contamination within healthcare and laboratory facilities. The Johnson Controls line of Critical Environment Controls includes the broadest suite of products in the industry. UV-C Lighting: Disinfectant lighting solutions are necessary to reduce pathogens both on surfaces and in the air. Johnson Controls offers a comprehensive suite of disinfecting lighting products, including retrofit options to keep facility disruptions and installation costs to a minimum. For more information on how we are helping reimagine buildings visit: https://www.johnsoncontrols.com/campaigns/reopen-buildings
Offsite and modular building specialists Enviro Building Solutions have won a contract worth £2.8M for the construction of an eight classroom block for the Thomas Aveling School in Rochester. In line with exacting time schedules, work has just begun on site and the project will be delivered in September of this year. Alongside the extra classroom capacity, the project includes an extension to the school’s existing sports changing facilities using traditional construction methods. In addition, Enviro Building Solutions will oversee the construction of a MUGA (Multi Use Games Area) canopy to cover the existing tennis courts, creating an all-weather play facility. “Modular building methods provide the perfect solution for applications where timescales to project delivery are particularly tight,” stated Craig Reidy, Finance Director. “Traditional construction methods could not achieve the build schedules we regularly provide to deliver our projects in line with the requirements of our clients and end users. In addition, today’s advanced modular buildings combine cost effectiveness with versatility and sustainability; we build high quality facilities which often achieve EPC ‘A’ ratings, creating attractive and practical buildings designed to stand the test of time.” The Thomas Aveling School is the joint lead school of the Fort Pitt Thomas Aveling Academies Trust (FPTA), which includes a grammar school, two high schools and two junior schools. It is an 11-19 co-educational, non-selective secondary school and a converter academy with specialist teaching areas for science, design technology, art and sport and a performing arts centre. Enviro Building Solutions has already delivered a number of projects for Medway Council on time and to budget, and was the Council’s preferred partner for this build based on the quality and value of past schemes including classroom blocks for Rainham Mark Grammar School and Riverside Primary School.
More details have been unveiled about Sheffield’s Heart of the City II with the council set to move a number of elements of the project forward. A number of high-profile international occupiers have already been attracted to the area, including HSBC, CMS and Radisson Blu, plus Swedish fashion brands, Weekday and Monki, alongside local companies such as Marmadukes and New World Trading Company. Conversations with John Lewis & Partners were said to be ongoing and the council is seeking authority from cabinet next week to restructure the lease on its Barker’s Pool shop, which would facilitate its refurbishment. Cabinet will also be asked to authorise the release of Block G – the former South Yorkshire Fire Authority Headquarters site and now the Wellington Street surface level car park – to the private sector. Investors or developers will be asked to come forward with ideas for schemes that fit with the updated Heart of the City II masterplan. This move follows the model of Block F, where American investor Angelo Gordon is leading the development of Kangaroo Works, a residential scheme of 364 build-to-rent apartments. “Our investment in Heart of the City II has established the opportunity for Sheffield to become a thriving commercial centre and to create jobs. The ongoing success of the scheme has built up the confidence of the private sector to invest in Sheffield,” said Cllr Mazher Iqbal, cabinet member for business and investment at Sheffield City Council. “As a result, we have made the decision to release Block G of the wider masterplan to the market. This will reduce our borrowing requirements for the scheme from £470m to around £370m, which lowers the financial risk to the council – a prudent approach during the current climate – while maintaining the ambitions of the scheme. “We are also restating our commitments in the two key areas of carbon reduction and fair pay. This is all part of building a city centre that is fit for the future and supports our communities and environment to thrive.”
It’s unlikely that in your construction health and safety manual, that you’ll find a chapter on managing the risks and hazards in a pandemic. And yet, here we are, writing and implementing back to work procedures post-lockdown to keep construction workers and contractors safe from a potentially deadly virus. What are the latest health and safety guidelines for the construction industry from the UK Government? Post-lockdown health and safety in the construction industry The UK Government has issued guidelines that set out health and safety guidance for construction companies post-lockdown. 1 Managing risk Construction companies are expected to have an up-to-date risk assessment relating to COVID-19 and the return of contractors and staff to site. Both the HSE and local authorities have powers to enforce a range of actions if a COVID-19 risk assessment is not carried out and changed implemented. 2 People The easing of lockdown doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone should return to work at the same time and the same way that they did before the public health crisis hit. As part of your updated risk assessment, you should consider: Who needs to be on-site Who could continue working from home Monitoring well-being of staff working on and off-site 3 Social distancing The UK Government has issued updated guidance on social distancing of 1 metre or more in England – Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have different rules and guidance – and social distancing will need to be adhered to, including on construction sites, outdoors and inside. Your risk assessment should include; How staff get to and from work Moving around buildings and worksites Making the workplace safe for people Accidents, security and other incidents 4 Managing customers and site visitors Your risk assessment will also need to include how site visitors will be managed, including contractors. As well as limited numbers of visitors at one time, anyone who comes to the site should be fully briefed as to social distancing and other considerations. Hand washing or hand sanitising facilities need to be provided, as well as an accurate record of who has visited. 5 Cleaning The coronavirus can live on surfaces for anything from hours to days, depending on the material. And this means that as well as spreading via airborne particles, it can also be spread when people touch contaminated surfaces. Effective and regular cleaning is the solution and should be included as part of an updated risk assessment. 6 PPE and face masks Your risk assessment should answer questions such as how often should PPE be changed to when wearing a face mask, and what type, is compulsory. There is also other personal protective equipment that is needed, depending on the environment and circumstances. The updated UK Government guidelines have more detail. 7 Deliveries How goods and deliveries are received and dispatched also needs to be considered and effectively planned for. As well as minimising unnecessary contact, you may also need to change where goods are dropped off and picked up from. 8 Workforce management The likelihood is that not everyone will be able to work the same shift patterns as you traditionally did. Reducing the number of staff on-site will help with social distancing, an essential component of returning to work. Jenny Kilburn, Synergos Consultancy Ltd.
Sometimes, the cost of having the right structure is taking down the wrong one. In light of that, construction companies, real estate agencies, and general contractors understand the importance of commercial demolition companies. Aside from heavy-duty demolition, many of these setups are actively into the cleanup of construction sites. In this article, the subject of why demolition companies are hired will be discussed. However and as explained here, let’s first look at the roles of these companies. What Do Commercial Demolition Companies Do? The name is definitely self-explanatory. These companies are into all sorts of demolition. Here, we are talking about assignments ranging from taking down small buildings to large ones. Depending on the company and task faced with, the strategies can be manual or with heavy-duty machines. Even in this day and age, the manual approach to demolition can come in handy in dealing with little and integral parts of the building. A good example will be the demolishing of a small portion of a large edifice that is to remain intact. Considering that the company may not be able to use heavy-duty pieces of machinery without affecting other parts, the use of manual labor can come in very handy. Although not restricted to these, the major reason for demolition is usually down to reconstruction and new development. If you want more information on the kinds of machines used by these companies, you can read this article. Other than the functions stated, lots of these companies play a huge part in obtaining pertinent paperwork. This is because an operation of such magnitude can cause inconveniences for other residents of the area. This can include noise, the release of toxins into the air among other things. To ensure that things are done properly, there are regulatory bodies that oversee and give permissions. Furthermore, functions such as rodent baiting, drafting out safety plans for construction sites, and removal of dangerous materials are some of the other functions carried out by these setups. Why Do We Need the Services of Demolition Companies? Let’s start by emphasizing how constructions are made to be last as long as forever. When a structure is built, there are no plans to do away with it at a later date. As a result, when such a need eventually arises, it must be carried out by top-notch professionals. This is to avoid the dangerous possibilities that come with the act. Considering this, let us look at some reasons why the services of a professional demolition company may be required. Efficiency When the subject is about pulling down structures for any number of reasons, two things are important. First, it has to be carried out in good time. This is because most times, the commencement of subsequent construction works are dependent on the timing of the demolition. Until the process is effectively carried out, every other thing is brought to a standstill. As a result, the manual or mechanical procedure must be done in good time. This clearly will help the contractors deliver right on time. Secondly, the job must be inch-perfect. Little wonder the amount of scrutiny regulatory bodies channel toward this procedure. For the record, the process is not just about pulling or tearing down a previously constructed structure. This must be executed effectively. This means that the precision with which the demolition is carried out should be such that it causes no harm to any other structure around. After the tearing down, the debris and torn-down construction materials should be discarded and recycled properly. This can only be done by professionals trained and skilled in the act. Steering Clear of Danger Imagine the possibility of a weight of bricks crashing down on a person. Hey, carrying out these jobs is serious work. It is no child’s play. This is because it comes with a lot of dangers. To ensure a high level of safety and proper construction proceedings, hiring the right demolition company is not up for debate. Other than accidents that can happen on-site, other things have to be put in place and done accordingly. An example is how construction debris is handled. These wastes should be disposed of in the right way. This way, the chemical toxins, and other hazards people may be exposed to are dealt with. The Right Tools for the Job Frankly, this is one of the main reasons for engaging the services of these companies. Aside from the efficiency with which they work, they have the right kinds of tools and equipment. As a result, they can deal with seemingly impossible situations. Realistically, some jobs can only be carried out with heavy-duty machines. These companies have different sorts that can attend to different demolition tasks. Furthermore, they have trained hands that can put these machines to use. Dealing with Debris and the Aftermath of a Demolition As stated earlier, what demolition companies do is way more than tearing and pulling down. The torn down structure has to be discarded in the right way. Whichever way this is done, it should not contravene environmental and safety standards. For example, what happens if you dispose of the debris in a dam? This is unhygienic and calling for trouble from the authorities. As a result, these companies know exactly how to dispose of the debris. They know items that should be recycled, reused, reduced, and completely disposed of. Getting Things Right for Regulatory Oversight The jobs of these companies play out at various points in construction. As against the belief that they are only given to demolition, they help at other points in construction. For instance, they can be consulted to effectively clear out the site before any bit of construction is carried out. This way, every worker is safe from potential hazards. Ideally, this is the appropriate way to go about construction. It is dangerous to let workers into areas that have not been inspected by these companies. Haven established this, these companies are very essential in filing paperwork for construction permission
