A derelict former industrial site is set to be transformed following the appointment of a contractor. South Tyneside Council has appointed John F Hunt Regeneration Ltd to carry out civil engineering works on disused docks and former brownfield land at Holborn, South Shields. The remediation works will prepare the nine-hectare
Great Britain’s workplace regulator is asking demolition and construction firms to double-down on thorough planning, management and control of demolition and refurbishment work. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is asking that businesses properly plan, organise, manage, and monitor their work and use competent people to avoid incidents and ill
Following a difficult year for the construction industry caused by overnight price-hikes, material shortages and Covid-19 – a Suffolk construction boss is hopeful for a better new year. SEH French, based in Ipswich and working across East Anglia, is among the countless companies impacted by the challenges of 2021. Director of the
Contractors can create estimates up to 10x faster with Houzz Pro Takeoffs Houzz Inc., the leading platform for home renovation and design, today announced the acquisition of ConX, a SaaS takeoff and estimation tool. The ConX software, which enables contractors to do on-screen takeoffs from construction plans and turn them
An extension to the British Board of Agrément’s ISO 45001 scope to include base and fabricated metal products will benefit its clients by bringing different approval processes under the remit of a single certification body. The BBA has been accredited by UKAS to extend its scope for ISO 45001 Occupational
A derelict former industrial site is set to be transformed following the appointment of a contractor. South Tyneside Council has appointed John F Hunt Regeneration Ltd to carry out civil engineering works on disused docks and former brownfield land at Holborn, South Shields. The remediation works will prepare the nine-hectare site for its transformation into a thriving riverside quarter for living and working, with high quality new public space. The plans will see a failing quay edge wall replaced with a new one and the raising of the former dry docks to overcome serious flooding issues. Three of the docks will be restored to preserve the area’s industrial heritage. John F Hunt Regeneration will focus on overcoming existing site constraints, including contamination, flood risks and an obsolete retaining wall, to ensure it is suitable for follow-on residential and commercial development. The site, which is currently split level, will be reprofiled to create a gentle slope from Commercial Road to the Tyne, making it more suitable for development. ‘Ballast hills’ and an existing eight-metre-high concrete retaining wall will be removed. Earlier this year, the scheme secured £1.85m from the government’s Brownfield Land Release Fund to help deliver 250 of the new dwellings. It also benefits from £9.4 million of funding to support delivery of new office space in the Enterprise Zone opposite Commercial Road. Councillor Tracey Dixon Leader of South Tyneside Council said: “We’re delighted to welcome John F Hunt to join us on this exciting project. “This area has been largely derelict for many years and bears the hallmarks of its former heavy industrial use, which are currently constraints to development. “The civil engineering works are needed to overcome these significant site issues and make it suitable to bring forward a mixed-use development that will deliver family homes and office space, creating hundreds of new jobs. “This scheme will bring brownfield land back into use and transform it into a vibrant riverside quarter that people will be proud to call home.” The project delivers on the council’s key priorities of creating the conditions for recovery and investment and invest in the natural and built environment. Work is expected to start on site early in the new year and will be carried out in phases, with the ground and maritime improvements being completed in autumn 2023. Steve Johnson, Director of John F Hunt Regeneration said: “This brownfield site poses some very complex and challenging problems associated with its historical use. “We are thrilled to be selected by South Tyneside Council as their delivery partner, to bring the site back from its derelict state into a sustainable place for forward development.” Mott MacDonald Limited are acting as the Principal Designer for the civil engineering element of the scheme, whilst the contract will be administered by Driver Project Services. Last year, Keepmoat, working in partnership with Cussins, were appointed as the development partner to deliver around 350 high-quality family houses and apartments and the associated infrastructure, including a new riverside promenade. The scheme, which builds on the considerable investment that has already gone into regenerating South Shields, has secured £9.4million from the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) for the delivery of a future phase of office accommodation.
Great Britain’s workplace regulator is asking demolition and construction firms to double-down on thorough planning, management and control of demolition and refurbishment work. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is asking that businesses properly plan, organise, manage, and monitor their work and use competent people to avoid incidents and ill health amongst their workers and the public. It is reminding companies that the safer they are, the more efficient they are. Good health and safety management increases the likelihood of contracts coming in on time and within budget with fewer added costs, and often to a higher quality. In the past year HSE has dealt with prosecutions involving severe injuries and fatalities as a result of poorly planned demolition work. This has included: A contractor who suffered serious injuries when a single-story roof he was demolishing by hand, collapsed at a construction site in Cobham, Surrey. A 64-year-old man who was killed when a garage wall at a garden in Hampshire collapsed on him during demolition, after a contractor who was operating a digger failed to put an exclusion zone in place whilst carrying out the work. A 21-year-old employee who was killed whilst dismantling a redundant grain drying tunnel at a farm in Kent when a farming partnership failed to ensure the integrity of the structure during the dismantling process. An employee who sustained injuries to his shoulder, and a fractured heel and ankle when he was hit by falling debris from a garage wall in Clitheroe that was being demolished in an unsafe manner. A contractor who was prosecuted for disturbing asbestos and damaging underground cables during demolition works at a site in Blackburn, causing severe disruption to services. The operator of a cherry picker who sustained life-changing injuries when he became trapped during a demolition operation at a site in Greater Manchester. A HSE investigation found the vehicle he was operating was not suitable for the task and had not been fitted with propriety devices to avoid the likelihood of operators being crushed. HSE is reminding contractors that it is crucial to complete a survey ahead of demolition work including structural investigation and appraisal, which considers the age of the structure, type of construction, history of the building including alterations and design codes used to avoid an uncontrolled collapse. Specific consideration should also be given to the effect of additional weight of demolition machinery and debris on suspended floors; and the risks to nearby buildings and structures. HSE’s head of construction Sarah Jardine said: “Structural instability can be a problem in buildings that are old, decayed, poorly maintained, and in newer buildings that have been badly designed and constructed or abused in use. “Even sound structures can become unstable because of a lack of planning of construction and demolition work.” She added: “It is easy to get it wrong even on small, straightforward structures, which makes it even more important to put the planning in place when it comes to demolishing large, complex structures. Demolishing these types of structures is a particularly hazardous activity and doing it safely is highly complicated and technical, so relevant expertise is vital. These jobs require careful planning and execution by contractors who are competent in the full range of demolition techniques and have access to designers and engineers with the right knowledge, skills, and experience in this area.” A systematic approach to demolition projects should be a team effort. Clients must appoint professionals who have the relevant skills, knowledge, experience, organisational capability, and who are adequately resourced. Clients, with the help of the principal designer must provide essential pre-construction information to the relevant designers and engineers. This should include a range of surveys and reports to check for presence of asbestos, structural stability, and the location of above and below ground live services. It is the principal designer’s responsibility to plan, manage, monitor, and coordinate health and safety issues in the pre-construction phase to ensure principal contractors are provided with relevant information to enable them to put safety measures in place. Once the demolition work has begun it is the principal contractor’s responsibility to plan, manage and monitor the demolition activities and coordinate work to ensure that it is carried out without risks to health and safety. While site managers must ensure workers are supervised and are following safe working practice. Sarah Jardine added: “Incidents caused by poor planning and risk management can have substantial human costs that are felt for many years by the victims and their families. “In addition to the impact on people’s lives, incidents can also lead to substantial remediation costs, higher insurance premiums, and, if HSE investigates, court fines and prison sentences, which will inevitably impact reputations. “As well as being morally right, it is simply common sense and good business to ensure rigorous planning, organising, managing and monitoring of the whole project.”
Following a difficult year for the construction industry caused by overnight price-hikes, material shortages and Covid-19 – a Suffolk construction boss is hopeful for a better new year. SEH French, based in Ipswich and working across East Anglia, is among the countless companies impacted by the challenges of 2021. Director of the company, Simon Girling, said: “This year has been extremely challenging for the industry. There’s been issues with the supply chain, it’s still hard to find good-quality people in the industry and obviously there’s been a vast materials shortage. “With the cost situation, I’ve never seen anything like it in my 30 years in construction. The volatile state of the industry and material supply is unprecedented. While price increases and changes have always been there, they’ve always been planned so we could be prepared. Now it’s a case of finding out there’s a price increase and it’s happening on Monday, for example.” While this year was not all plain sailing for SEH French, Mr Girling was happy with how the company rose to the challenge, even taking on more staff including three apprentices. He continued: “It’s a testament to everyone’s efforts at SEH French and One Group Construction, our parent company, that we are able to continue to grow in such an environment. I’m very keen on taking on apprentices when we can, to get new people into the industry. There is a shortage of good-qualified people in construction, so bringing in new people allows us to train them to the high standard we work to.” Although businesses in the UK, including SEH French, source materials locally wherever possible to be sustainable and support other local businesses, some clients specifically request materials from the EU. From 1st January 2022, all goods imported from the EU will need a full customs declaration, including import and VAT payments, completed on arrival to enter the country. It’s due to the end of Brexit transitional measures, which allowed customs declarations to be delayed by 175 days. Mr Girling expects this could lead to delays in the delivery of a small amount of materials if preparations are not made. Despite the ongoing issue to the supply chain, he is hopeful 2022 will be smoother than this year, as companies are now used to a “new normal” for the delivery of materials. Simon added: “There is a want and a will for all industries to continue to invest and grow, which will directly or indirectly benefit the construction industry due to the need for new offices, warehouses, housing and more. “We’re seeing the supply chain is still there with workloads and opportunities coming through. Obviously, we’ve still got to deal with working through a pandemic, alongside material and labour shortages, but I can only see that improving. “I don’t think it [shortages] will be as volatile in 2022 compared to 2021, as I’d like to think people have now adapted to the new normal of how they work and the costs of how they work. I think there will be smaller increment increases in costs. “The same goes for material availability, they will no doubt have got used to how they can produce things and the time it takes, and the new normal will be something taking eight weeks to get hold of instead of four weeks. Therefore, the industry will be able to work to their new timeline to deliver projects.” SEH French remains keen to grow and to create more vacancies during 2022 to help those looking to start a career in construction or people who’ve been out of work for some time. To find out more about SEH French, please visit www.sehfrench.co.uk.
Contractors can create estimates up to 10x faster with Houzz Pro Takeoffs Houzz Inc., the leading platform for home renovation and design, today announced the acquisition of ConX, a SaaS takeoff and estimation tool. The ConX software, which enables contractors to do on-screen takeoffs from construction plans and turn them into professional estimates up to 10 times faster, is now fully integrated and available in Houzz Pro, the all-in-one marketing and business management software. Contractors can streamline the estimation process and turn bids around faster with Houzz Pro Takeoffs, helping them save time and win more jobs. In addition, takeoffs created in Houzz Pro can be directly converted into estimates, as part of the Houzz Pro project management workflow. “We’re excited to bring the power of ConX’s takeoff tool to contractors using Houzz Pro, and to welcome ConX’s customers around the world to the Houzz community,” said Alon Cohen, Houzz co-founder and president. “Creating estimates can be incredibly time intensive for contractors. By providing fully integrated, easy-to-use Houzz Pro Takeoffs, we’re helping pros to efficiently manage and grow their businesses, and spend less time on back-office work.” “We are thrilled to join forces with Houzz in their mission to create the best software for construction and design,” said Annie Slattery, ConX co-founder and CEO. “It is incredibly exciting to see ConX’s tools built into the end-to-end Houzz Pro offering, helping contractors around the world run efficient, profitable businesses.” Houzz Pro Takeoffs is applicable to builders, renovators and speciality contractors across the construction industry from carpenters to roofers, electricians, plumbers and concrete contractors. Pros can upload plans and start measuring instantly. Houzz Pro Takeoffs can auto-calculate total material costs, based on prices added by the pro. The tool is available to Houzz Pro Essential and Ultimate subscribers. Houzz Pro helps residential construction and design professionals to run an efficient, profitable business and makes it easy for them to reach new customers, all while delivering a standout client experience. The software is available in more than 10 countries across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Subscription packages, priced to fit any budget or team, also include estimates, invoicing, lead management and business management tools. Pros can learn more and get started at houzz.co.uk/pro. The Houzz Pro app is available on iOS and Android devices. The Houzz community includes more than 65 million homeowner and home design enthusiasts and over 2.7 million home renovation and design professionals around the world in more than 100 categories, including architects, interior designers, contractors and landscape professionals.
An extension to the British Board of Agrément’s ISO 45001 scope to include base and fabricated metal products will benefit its clients by bringing different approval processes under the remit of a single certification body. The BBA has been accredited by UKAS to extend its scope for ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems to cover IAF17 – Base metals and fabricated metal products following successful completion of a UKAS assessment. ISO 45001 aims to support organisations by improving occupational health and safety, reducing work-related accidents and risks and improving employee safety. The BBA is already a UKAS-accredited Management Systems Certification Body for ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 across a range of IAF product sectors. Karen Maplesden, Technical Lead for the BBA’s management system certification, said: “This is an important expansion of our areas of work. We are already active in the base metals sector for ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, as well as for Factory Production Control certificates and product approvals. This extension to scope allows clients to benefit by combining their different forms of approval under a single certification body.” The first two accredited ISO 45001 Certificates by BBA for IAF17 are in the process of being issued to Celsa Manufacturing (UK) and McEvoy Engineering.
