May 12, 2022

YORKSHIRE CONSTRUCTION FIRM SAILS ONTO £415M PORTS FRAMEWORK

Yorkshire and Lincolnshire construction firm, Hobson & Porter has landed a place on the largest part of a £415m, five-year design and build framework for ports. Associated British Ports (ABP) has named 11 partner contractors to deliver an ambitious building programme at its 21 ports, across five regions of the

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THE BARKER’S POOL BUILDING IN SHEFFIELD LAUNCHED TO MARKET

CBRE Seeking Proposals For Unique Development Opportunity One of Sheffield City Centre’s most prominent development opportunities has been launched to market by CBRE’s UK Development Advisory team, acting on behalf of Sheffield City Council (SCC). The Barker’s Pool Building, a c.200,000 sq ft former department store, forms a significant element

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DCN responds to Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill

Commenting on the publication of the Government’s Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, Cllr Sam Chapman-Allen, Chair of the District Councils’ Network said: “The Levelling Up Bill is mixed news for DCN councils. We want to work with the Government to deliver their commitment to level up the country and empower

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Medical training facility completes at Nottingham Trent University

WORK on a three-storey, specialist training facility for those in the healthcare sector has now been completed at Nottingham Trent University’s (NTU) Clifton Campus. The renovation of existing NTU buildings and the completion of a new building will serve as a base for the Institute of Health & Allied Professions,

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Project to Drive New Standards for UK Infrastructure

Project to Drive New Standards for UK Infrastructure

Researchers at Queen’s University Belfast will play an integral role in a new £7.7m collaborative project, aiming to change how important parts of the UK’s infrastructure are monitored and maintained. Healthy infrastructure, which includes bridges, telecom masts and wind turbines, is critical to ensuring the continued functionality and growth of

Read More »
Roann Limited Secures Kitchen Worktop Project for Housing Development

Roann Limited Secures Kitchen Worktop Project for Housing Development

Yorkshire-based worktop supplier, Roann Limited has secured a £140,000 project deal with Hill Group to supply kitchen worktops for the new Lampton Parkside development in Hounslow, West London. In a joint venture with the award-winning house builder, Hill Group and leading housing association, Notting Hill Genesis, Lampton Parkside will be

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How To Improve Manufacturing And Production Efficiency

Regardless of the size of your manufacturing and production plant or business, there’s one thing that stays at the forefront of operations: efficiency. Businesses today are living under so much pressure to do more, produce more, do better, and compete higher, without spending any more additional time and resources than

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Latest Issue
Issue 322 : Nov 2024

May 12, 2022

Planning approval for 93 luxury apartments on The Bishops Avenue by Hampstead Heath

APPROVAL FOR SUSTAINABLE APARTMENTS BY HAMPSTEAD HEATH Planning permission has been granted for a luxury residential development of 93 sustainable apartments for over 65s on The Bishops Avenue, by Hampstead Heath. Designed by multi-disciplinary design practice, rg+p for retirement living developer, Riverstone, the approved scheme comprises a four-six storey building. The 93 apartments are a mix of one-four bedroom properties together with extensive amenities including swimming pool, sauna and steam room; ballroom; gym; cinema; salon and treatment rooms; concierge and coffee lounge; restaurant and bar with outdoor terrace; library; cycle storage and off-street parking. The interior concept and design have been prepared by Bowler James Brindley. Widely considered one of the most exclusive streets in London, The Bishops Avenue falls just outside the Hampstead Garden Suburb Conservation Area so rg+p’s design has been devised to respond to the neighbourhood. Grant Giblett, rg+p’s London director, explains: “In keeping with nearby properties, the front of the scheme follows a mansion house appearance with ground floor arched windows and decorative chimneys that compliment rich brick detailing that is synonymous with the arts and crafts movement. The rear of the property takes a more playful approach inspired by subterranean vaults and architectural follies.” Ben Walton, rg+p’s design director and the project’s lead architect continues: “The rear of the development uses a simplified language which retains the high level of workmanship and crafted details from which the project takes its inspiration. Comprising two distinct elements united with a glazed shadow gap, these share a common material palette encompassing red brick and a bronze metal panel featuring a motif that flows into metalwork balustrades.” One of the focal points for the scheme is an oak framed entrance canopy, designed to create a sense of arrival. This entrance references a more traditional porch and features a living wall system and biodiverse roof to connect the building to its natural woodland landscape and soften the overall aesthetic. Three further biodiverse roofs are also included. The scheme’s landscape design was heavily influenced by existing mature trees and ferns, which are being retained, and features a woodland walk concept devised by Chelsea Flower Show winner, Andy Sturgeon Garden Landscape & Design. This will optimise the natural setting and enhance biodiversity, with targeted bird, mammal and insect habitats, nature pond and regenerated historic native woodland. Paul Vesty, chief development officer, Riverstone, comments: “The successful acquisition of Riverstone’s third residence marks another important milestone as we prepare to open Riverstone Kensington in June and Riverstone Fulham in late summer 2022. The approved, 230,000 sq ft project at The Bishops Avenue is focused on an all-electric energy strategy targeting a net zero carbon plan. “There will be habitat creation and improvement to the mature landscape, together with green walls to enhance biodiversity, renewable energy generation with bio-solar roof panels, electric vehicle charging points for every parking space, heat recovery technology, heightened thermal performance and rainwater harvesting for landscape irrigation. Modern methods of construction will also be used to reduce waste and time on-site. We look forward to expanding Riverstone’s mix of prime London locations, wide ranging amenities and expert team to include sector-leading sustainability and social value credentials.” The Bishops Avenue marks the third scheme for rg+p with Riverstone, following on from the successful delivery of Riverstone Kensington and Riverstone Fulham. The first apartments are expected to be ready for occupancy by 2025.

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Johnson Controls Spearheads Sustainability and Innovation at Global Headquarters in Cork, Ireland

Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI), the global leader for smart, healthy and sustainable buildings today announced that it will open an OpenBlue Innovation Centre in its global HQ at One Albert Quay, Cork, Ireland. The OpenBlue Innovation Centre in Cork aims to create a future-ready built environment for both local and global customers and is part of an international network of OpenBlue Innovation Centres working to pioneer new ways to provide smart, healthy and sustainable spaces for customers. “We are very pleased to be launching our OpenBlue Innovation Center in Cork. This centre will be focused on working with our customers to identify solutions for them to hit decarbonisation and renewable energy goals while optimising building performance,” said Tomas Brannemo, vice president and president, Building Solutions EMEALA at Johnson Controls. “This centre will serve as our regional centre of excellence to bring clients to see Johnson Controls’ latest cutting-edge innovations on how to solve for net zero”. Fitted with the most advanced Johnson Controls building technology solutions, the OpenBlue Innovation Centre will be a showcase of the latest and most innovative solutions from the company in a live environment. The research and development grant Johnson Controls received from the Irish government will support engineering activities at the centre, including developing a professional services hub for the Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America region over a two-year period. Johnson Controls’ research and development presence has grown substantially in recent years and it is expected that 18 new research and development roles will be created as a result of the OpenBlue Innovation Center, in addition to 40 roles already in place working on the next generation solutions for Johnson Controls and its customers. Research and development at the OpenBlue Innovation Centre will focus on the global priority to reduce carbon emissions in the building sector. The building sector accounts for nearly 40 percent of global annual CO2 emissions, making it a key focus area in the pursuit of a net zero world. “Our partnership with the Irish government through IDA Ireland shows how governments and industry can drive real change. The financial support will allow us to increase our headcount, which will contribute not only to the local economy, but also to the development of our OpenBlue net zero solutions globally to have a positive impact on climate change,” said Eamonn Hughes, vice president and general manager, Digital Solutions EMEALA at Johnson Controls. Welcoming the investment, IDA Ireland’s Head of Engineering and Green Economy, Eileen Sharpe added: “IDA Ireland is committed to supporting the work of world class companies such as Johnson Controls to utilise the latest developments in AI, Data Analytics and Cloud Architecture to build new technologies to enable a more sustainable world. This is a most welcome investment for Cork and for Ireland and is in line with our strategy aim to develop Ireland as a leading location for Sustainability Engineering solutions.” OpenBlue, Johnson Controls’ suite of connected solutions, is a key enabler changing the face of sustainability for customers today, through smart buildings technologies designed for operational energy efficiency, occupant comfort and sustainability. Cutting-edge solutions such as OpenBlue Net Zero Buildings can help drive significant improvements in energy efficiency and corresponding carbon emissions. The OpenBlue Innovation Centre in Cork will launch on May 12, 2022. Building Design and Construction Magazine | The Home of Construction & Property News

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YORKSHIRE CONSTRUCTION FIRM SAILS ONTO £415M PORTS FRAMEWORK

Yorkshire and Lincolnshire construction firm, Hobson & Porter has landed a place on the largest part of a £415m, five-year design and build framework for ports. Associated British Ports (ABP) has named 11 partner contractors to deliver an ambitious building programme at its 21 ports, across five regions of the UK. The work will be focused on the design and build, as well as construct-only agreements, of buildings at the ports. Hobson & Porter, which operates throughout Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, has been selected for the framework’s Humber region, which covers ABP’s largest port area including Hull, Immingham, Grimsby and Goole. The news follows Hobson & Porter recently securing a place on two new regional medium works YORbuild frameworks, which are expected to account for over £640m of spending over the next four years. These cover the YORhub east region led by East Riding of Yorkshire Council, and the west region led by Leeds City Council. These complement Hobson & Porter’s growing portfolio of frameworks including North Lincolnshire Council, Pagabo Medium Works, Efficiency North, Brierley Homes, Lidl and North East Lincolnshire Council. Joe Booth, business development director at Hobson & Porter, said: “Securing a place on the ABP framework follows a rigorous selection process and it is a fantastic achievement for both Hobson & Porter and our valued supply chain across East Yorkshire and North East Lincolnshire. “It has the potential to shape the future development of the main ports on the Humber, which will ultimately benefit global trade for the UK and the local economies in the areas surrounding these ports.” Hobson & Porter has a wealth of experience in industrial, logistics and distribution projects throughout the region, which includes recently extending Ørsted’s flagship £9m East Coast Hub, at the Royal Docks in Grimsby, to create the largest offshore wind operations and maintenance facility in the UK. As a vital part of the supply chains of businesses throughout the nation, ABP’s 21 ports support 119,000 jobs and contribute £7.5 billion to the economy every year, handling approximately a quarter of the nation’s seaborne trade. Building Design and Construction Magazine | The Home of Construction & Property News

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THE BARKER’S POOL BUILDING IN SHEFFIELD LAUNCHED TO MARKET

CBRE Seeking Proposals For Unique Development Opportunity One of Sheffield City Centre’s most prominent development opportunities has been launched to market by CBRE’s UK Development Advisory team, acting on behalf of Sheffield City Council (SCC). The Barker’s Pool Building, a c.200,000 sq ft former department store, forms a significant element of the council’s £470M Heart of the City regeneration scheme and proposals are being sought by June 2022 for the redevelopment of the strategically located property. Originally opened in 1962 as a department store with integrated car park, the property freehold is now owned by SCC who acquired the lease from John Lewis in January 2022. Sitting across 1.25 acres, the five-storey building can be sustainably redeveloped or repurposed for a wide range of uses, subject to planning approval. Holding a prime position alongside the core central streets of Fargate, The Moor and Division Street, the building offers a pivotal location benefitting from nearby landmarks including Sheffield City’s Town Hall and the award-winning Peace Gardens, as well as many food, retail and entertainment destinations. The property is also at the heart of one of the UK’s largest urban regeneration schemes, the 1.5m sq ft Heart of the City which represents a multi-million pound investment into Sheffield City Centre and which will provide active cultural, leisure, retail, residential and office uses to three sides of the property. Since acquiring The Barker’s Pool Building in January 2022, SCC has been busy with securing the building and commissioning various surveys. Works to remove asbestos and strip out redundant plant and machinery are currently out to tender and will commence in the next few months, with anticipated completion in Spring 2023. CBRE is openly marketing the property in a two-stage process, seeking expressions of interest by the end of June, with the second stage starting at the end of the summer once initial expressions of interest have been assessed and discussed with bidders. SCC is seeking proposals that add to the vibrancy and attraction of the widest possible number of visitors and local people into the city centre. Proposals must be of very high quality to enhance what SCC is achieving across the rest of the Heart of the City project and wider city centre. Proposals will be judged on economic, social and environmental benefits rather than purely financial, but will need to be commercially deliverable. Alex Andrews, CBRE’s UK Development Advisory Team, commented: “The Barker’s Pool Building presents an exceptional opportunity for a developer to bring forward a creative solution for this prominent building, delivering a sustainable, environmentally friendly scheme, which in turn will capitalise on the growth and development already being delivered across Sheffield City Centre. The building’s location at the core of the Heart of the City scheme will ensure its long-term prominence and we are looking forward to receiving proposals and discussing with prospective developers”. Kate Martin, Executive Director at Sheffield City Council, said: “We know how important this property is to the people of Sheffield and this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reshape a key city centre location. The decision on how the property and location is reimagined and its future use will be carefully considered. “Although removing the existing building is an option, we are keen to ensure we examine all the options on the table, so we can make a fully informed decision. We plan to make the most of this rare opportunity and develop something truly special for Sheffield. “As part of this process, we are inviting imaginative and deliverable proposals for either refurbishment or redevelopment of the property and are open to ideas around its future use. We look forward to receiving submissions of outstanding quality that will genuinely add to the vibrancy of the city centre and attract the widest possible number of Sheffield residents and visitors to the city.” Building Design and Construction Magazine | The Home of Construction & Property News

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DCN responds to Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill

Commenting on the publication of the Government’s Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, Cllr Sam Chapman-Allen, Chair of the District Councils’ Network said: “The Levelling Up Bill is mixed news for DCN councils. We want to work with the Government to deliver their commitment to level up the country and empower our local communities. “However, we’re concerned that district councils’ local knowledge and ability to deliver on levelling up is being overlooked when it comes to delivering new County Deals. The legislation would prevent district councils being constituent members of the new-style combined authorities and appears to allow district powers to be transferred to the combined authority without their consent. We think this is unnecessary and counter-productive. District councils are well placed to help the Government deliver ambitious deals to improve outcomes for our residents. We want the opportunity to do that as equal partners in county deals and call on the Government to recognise that in the legislation. “We’re pleased with the change of direction on planning reform. It’s right that local plans should drive development and that councils’ powers to regenerate their high streets and local places should be strengthened. Stronger compulsory powers, rental auctions for empty high street properties, and the new local infrastructure levy – to name a few – are all positive on paper. We look forward to working with the Government to make sure they deliver on their promise. “We also welcome the principle of encouraging positive public participation in local planning. The acid test for the idea of street votes will be implementing it in a way that boosts neighbourhood involvement without the unintended consequence of stopping developments that enhance our local places and support economic development “Increased numbers of second homes present challenges to local councils, particularly in rural and coastal communities, and exacerbate housing shortages and affordability for ordinary people. It’s excellent news that the Bill will give councils the power to increase council tax on underused second homes, allowing us to reinvest in improving local infrastructure and services.” Building Design and Construction Magazine | The Home of Construction & Property News

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Medical training facility completes at Nottingham Trent University

WORK on a three-storey, specialist training facility for those in the healthcare sector has now been completed at Nottingham Trent University’s (NTU) Clifton Campus. The renovation of existing NTU buildings and the completion of a new building will serve as a base for the Institute of Health & Allied Professions, which offers a range of specialist courses such as adult and mental health nursing and paramedic science. The whole facility is focused on equipping the healthcare providers of the future with the knowledge and hands-on skills required for modern healthcare. Leading independent property, construction, and infrastructure consultancy, Pick Everard provided architecture, interior design and principal design services from concept to completion, working with main contractor Henry Brothers during the construction period. Devika Parmar, director of architecture at Pick Everard, said: “We are delighted to have provided services for such an important scheme for the university and its healthcare students. We won this project via a competition under the NTU consultancy framework, where we put forward our concept proposals to create a gateway building to the campus that would be visually striking, functional and inspirational for anyone hoping for a career within health services. We’re thrilled that the completed building aligns very closely with our original concept sketch.  “Blending our healthcare and HE knowledge, we designed a building that caters to nursing, paramedical, and other healthcare professionals. It accommodates a variety of clinical simulation spaces that support teaching, assessments, and learning opportunities. “Underpinning our design approach was a modular grid and a simplicity in design to create flexibility and standardisation in space planning and construction delivery. Working closely with university stakeholders, we meticulously planned the building to meet user requirements and allow for new educational technologies to support the evolving learning demands.” With flexibility of use in mind, multi-use spaces have the potential to provide students with fully immersive experiences. The new building also provides a welcoming gateway building to the campus with the external façade treatment and quality materials providing aesthetic interest. One floor of the new development is dedicated to realistic simulated healthcare environments for the training of healthcare students. This includes hospital wards, consultations and counselling rooms and a mock flat for home and emergency care scenarios. Meanwhile, a further two floors provide office and flexible teaching space to accommodate creative learning approaches. David Shaw, national design director at Pick Everard, said: “The architecture of the new development has been designed for maximum visual impact on arrival to the campus. We wanted to ensure this new addition to an evolving campus would be complimentary but also distinctive both externally and internally.  “The whole consultant team worked closely to deliver this project to ensure the architecture, interior design and engineering has been holistically considered. We were intent on combining the existing building into the project, with the atrium space connecting the refurbished and new accommodations to bring people together in a central collaboration space.   “With such unique requirements for its end use, this development provided room for a number of innovations to be adopted. This included the inclusion of virtual reality training spaces that completely immerse students into situational experiences, which is an incredibly valuable experience for their training. “The pandemic has reaffirmed the need for training facilities like this to make sure that the healthcare professionals now and tomorrow have the best quality teaching experience possible. We very much look forward to seeing the building fully occupied by students and professionals and seeing them make the most of their new teaching spaces.” Dr Anne Felton, head of the Institute of Health & Allied Professions at NTU’s School of Social Sciences, said: “We’re incredibly excited that our new teaching centre is now open. The courses we’re providing will directly increase the supply of professional qualified staff into the NHS and related services, as well as providing a dedicated facility to allow greater opportunities for Continuing Professional Development for existing health practitioners within the local area. “The virtual reality training facilities that will provide students with fully immersive situational experiences are a demonstration of NTU’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of the learning experience, while the audio-visual recording equipment installed within the simulation suites will enable feedback and reflection on students’ performances, creating a truly modern learning experience.” Ian Taylor, managing director at Henry Brothers Midlands, the contractor for the development, said: “It’s great to see this project reach completion and I look forward to seeing it full of students. Despite being a challenging project delivered during difficult times, I’m really pleased with how the whole team came together to deliver a great looking building for the university’s students and staff.” For more information about Pick Everard, please visit www.pickeverard.co.uk Building Design and Construction Magazine | The Home of Construction & Property News

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Project to Drive New Standards for UK Infrastructure

Project to Drive New Standards for UK Infrastructure

Researchers at Queen’s University Belfast will play an integral role in a new £7.7m collaborative project, aiming to change how important parts of the UK’s infrastructure are monitored and maintained. Healthy infrastructure, which includes bridges, telecom masts and wind turbines, is critical to ensuring the continued functionality and growth of UK society and the economy. Unfortunately, monitoring and maintaining the buildings and transport network is expensive. In the UK, a backlog of maintenance works, which were identified in 2019, will cost £6.7 billion. With bridges, inspection is usually carried out visually by human experts. However, resources are stretched, so mistakes can be made. In a few extreme cases structural failure can result in fatalities. Collapse is not the only problem; extreme weather events driven by climate change can also test the performance of infrastructure beyond its limits. The offshore wind (OW) sector is another area for concern. OW has driven down energy costs and increased power output, pioneering a global change to clean energy. The UK leads globally in OW energy, providing almost one third of the UK’s annual electricity demand and helping meet the UK’s net-zero-by-2050 target. The drive for turbines in deeper water demands new ways of asset management, controlling and limiting operation/maintenance lifetime costs. As turbines increase in numbers, size, and capacity, these issues become even more important. To address the challenge and come up with innovative solutions, Queen’s University experts have joined a collaborative team of researchers and will work with the University of Sheffield, University of Cambridge and the University of Exeter, as well as key industry partners, including Northern Ireland’s Department for Infrastructure, Translink, Arqiva, Cellnex (UK) and Siemens Gamesa. The ROSEHIPS (Revolutionising Operational Safety and Economy for High-value Infrastructure using Population-based SHM) project aims to solve the infrastructure asset management problem in the UK for maintaining our infrastructure, such as bridges, via transformative new research to automate health monitoring. Instead of expensive scheduled inspections, diagnoses can be provided economically by permanently-installed sensors, collecting structural data continuously and interpreting it via computer algorithms. The researchers from Queen’s will focus on developing novel sensing – this will be customised for infrastructure and will help to overcome obstacles to the real-world implementation of the research. The project brings together expertise on bridge structural health monitoring from Dr David Hester and Professor Su Taylor from the School of Natural and Built Environment at Queen’s and sensor and embedded AI expertise from Professor Roger Woods in the School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Dr David Hester comments: “Our initial work developing innovative sensing solutions and our considerable body of bridge monitoring experience has provided a critical practical platform for this project. Through cutting-edge research, experts at Queen’s are continuing to develop solutions to real world problems on our doorstop, which has a positive impact right across the globe.” Professor Keith Worden, from the University of Sheffield’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, says: “Population-Based Structural Health Monitoring is a game-changing idea, emerging in the UK very recently. It has the potential to overcome current technological barriers and transform our ability to automatically infer the condition of a structure, or a network of structures, from sensor data.” Professor Gerard Hamill, Head of the School of Natural and Built Environment at Queen’s, said: “Queen’s University has a strong track record of undertaking world-class research applied to the solution of practical engineering problems. This project has the potential to radically change how we undertake structural health monitoring, with direct application to infrastructure in Northern Ireland through our links with asset stakeholders.” The EPSRC project will extend and exploit Population Based Structural Health Monitoring (PBSHM), which allows data from one structure, where its state is known, to be used to make inferences about another structure. The project will also develop machine learning, sensing and digital twin technology for automated inference of health for structures in operation now, and drive new standards for safer, greener structures in future. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Home of Construction and Property News

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Roann Limited Secures Kitchen Worktop Project for Housing Development

Roann Limited Secures Kitchen Worktop Project for Housing Development

Yorkshire-based worktop supplier, Roann Limited has secured a £140,000 project deal with Hill Group to supply kitchen worktops for the new Lampton Parkside development in Hounslow, West London. In a joint venture with the award-winning house builder, Hill Group and leading housing association, Notting Hill Genesis, Lampton Parkside will be located by an idyllic 40-acre park close to Hounslow Central tube station. Roann Limited will be responsible for providing 202 quality kitchen worktops in 20mm Caesarstone quartz in colour Snow as part of the new contemporary development. Scheduled for completion in September 2023, the site will combine a collection of studios, one, two and three-bed apartments and three-bedroom houses. Discussing the project, Scott Wharton, Sales Director from Roann Limited, said: “Working on the Lampton Parkside development is an exciting opportunity for us, we are delighted to have secured this city-fringe project in London with Hill Group and Notting Hill Genesis. We are looking forward to installing Caesarstone and seeing the completed project.   “The Caesarstone Snow kitchen worktop brings a clean and refreshing style with a polished finish – a perfect addition to any kitchen.” Established in 1990, Roann Limited specialises in manufacturing and supplying granite and quartz kitchen worktops for new build and high-rise developments in the UK. Based in Wakefield, their purpose-built factory has over £2 million worth of state-of-the-art manufacturing machinery. Roann Limited fit 15,000 per year and have worked with clients such as Taylor Wimpey, Bellway and Sir Robert McAlpine. With over 30 years of experience, Roann Limited proudly holds accreditations with many of the industry’s leading health & safety schemes, including SSIP certification, and is also ConstructionOnline Gold Approved. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Home of Construction and Property News

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How To Improve Manufacturing And Production Efficiency

Regardless of the size of your manufacturing and production plant or business, there’s one thing that stays at the forefront of operations: efficiency. Businesses today are living under so much pressure to do more, produce more, do better, and compete higher, without spending any more additional time and resources than are necessary. Efficiency is, therefore, relative to the capital investment your business puts in. The pursuit of having a competitive edge is never complete without that all-important goal to be more efficient. When you consider each step or process of your production, it’s easy also to see how achieving efficiency may not necessarily be so straightforward. There’s much more that needs to be done, tweak, and learn, to achieve that point for your business. Read on for some of the best ideas on how you can significantly improve your business’ manufacturing and production efficiency. Identify And Eliminate Waste One of the top hindrances to efficiency is waste. If you don’t study every step of your manufacturing and production processes closely, you may be missing out on how much waste is actually generated in every step. The waste being referred to here doesn’t just pertain to the materials, but also time and other resources as well. To start, here are some ways to help you identify and eliminate waste: Create less waste in the long-term by using new operational processes and equipment, like new cutting tools. Say, you’re still stuck using old and inefficient materials and equipment. It’s time to bid those a good farewell by switching to newer, faster, more efficient equipment. Go through each process in manufacturing and production to successfully identify which steps are producing the most waste. Take A Multifaceted Approach In Measuring Data Data is one of the key drivers of making good decisions in manufacturing and production. However, avoid focusing only on one specific point in your manufacturing and production process, without thinking about all others. Simply measuring one type of data won’t give you a complete picture of what needs to be done to improve manufacturing and production. Try to pinpoint some problem areas in efficiency. But rather than measuring multiple factors like labor, capital utilization, and materials, you might have only measured the output per labor hour. In effect, you might unknowingly increase costs elsewhere, like in automated equipment and capital expenditure. A good tip to apply for a successful multifaceted approach is to integrate the software you’re using in manufacturing and production systems with all the other software in all branches or departments of your business. By doing so, you can have a clearer picture as to what productivity looks like in your business. Always Incorporate A Team Approach While it’s upper management that makes the most important decisions, this isn’t to say that a team approach can’t be taken for better goal achievement. Remember that you have to start first by identifying where the bottlenecks exist. Once that’s done, you can proceed with assigning specific teams and members to help address each of those bottlenecks. To make this process more effective and doable, start first with tackling the most expensive bottlenecks. Implement changes in your manufacturing process gradually, to avoid any significant disruptions in your manufacturing and production process. Then, have a sense of accountability to communicate with your teams regularly and check if the changes you’ve implemented were all effective. Improve Training For Employees Having a thorough and rigorous training process upon hiring and onboarding isn’t reason enough to skip training employees regularly. As a matter of fact, you should prioritize continuous employee development. All the more this should be done when you have new equipment in your manufacturing and production line. Remember that the machines aren’t going to do all the work by themselves. No matter how advanced they may be, there still needs to be that element of control done by human beings. Poorly-trained staff can damage the machines. Maintain Your Equipment Whether you’ve modernized all your equipment, or you’re waiting for more resources to be able to replace your machines, you need to keep a keen eye on maintenance. Set aside a budget and come up with a plan for the maintenance of your equipment. The preventive approach, of course, should work best.  Conclusion Manufacturing and production comprise of repetitive processes. One delay or bottleneck in any step affects the others. The next thing you know, the entire efficiency of the operations is severely affected. While it’s a lot of work to master, perfecting efficiency in operations is a must for businesses. Doing so factors total output, customer satisfaction, profitability, and many more. Let the strategies above lead you toward achieving better efficiency.

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