August 2, 2022

Business improvement specialists partner with Supply Chain Sustainability School to upskill built environment

Business improvement specialists, BBI Services strive to transform business performance across the built environment industry in partnership with the Supply Chain Sustainability School (the School). BBI Services has developed a series of exceptional training and coaching programmes, which build the skillsets, mindsets and toolsets of individuals and teams to achieve

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Low-carbon secondary aggregates shipped into London by sea

The first sea shipment of construction aggregate derived from Cornish china clay waste has been brought into London by UK recycled materials specialists GRS. The delivery marks the start of an exclusive deal which enables GRS to import more than half a million tonnes of secondary granite – branded Enviroc®

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Knightsbridge goes full tilt with configurable LED downlights

Knightsbridge has taken the next step in its lighting evolution with the inclusion of SpektroLED® Tilt to the configurable, Knightsbridge SpektroLED® series. SpektroLED® offers so many combinations of wattage, colour temperature and bezel choice that the product provides a genuine 40-in-1 fire-rated downlighting solution, now in both fixed and tilt

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Latest Issue
Issue 323 : Dec 2024

August 2, 2022

Business improvement specialists partner with Supply Chain Sustainability School to upskill built environment

Business improvement specialists, BBI Services strive to transform business performance across the built environment industry in partnership with the Supply Chain Sustainability School (the School). BBI Services has developed a series of exceptional training and coaching programmes, which build the skillsets, mindsets and toolsets of individuals and teams to achieve high performance. The School is a free online learning platform offering 50,000 registered users access to 3,000 learning resources, 400 virtual training sessions each year, and a range of diagnostic and benchmarking tools to support companies with their sustainability strategies. By partnering with the School, BBI Services can train the sector to tackle low productivity levels, enhance quality and reduce cost – all of which will have a positive impact on the ultimate goal, sustainability. The School also enables BBI Services to support members by utilising their CITB levy pot to fund the Improvement Skillset training, allowing them to earn Continued Professional Development points (CPD), positively impacting business performance. Ian Heptonstall, Director of Supply Chain Sustainability School, said: “We started working with BBI Services in 2018 and, in the last two years, the team has been delivering their Improvement Foundation Skillset programme as well as a series of Lunch ‘n’ Learns and interactive workshops to School members on several topics. “We receive incredibly positive feedback from the participants who attend the BBI Services training, and we have seen first-hand how they can help to make a real difference across all levels of an organisation within the built environment. “The industry has faced unprecedented times in the last two years, but the BBI Services team has continued to deliver to a great standard. They offer members great advice, recommendations, and coaching to help organisations tackle their challenges, without sacrificing quality or safety.” Mark Worrall, CEO of BBI Services, said: “Since becoming an official Partner of the Supply Chain Sustainability School two years ago, we’ve been delighted to deliver such valuable sessions to an engaged audience in the construction sector. “This is a great partnership that has created lots of opportunities for us to support the different leadership groups, including offsite, infrastructure and digital. “As well as delivering our specialist training programmes, I also co-chair the Operational Efficiency and Lean leadership group alongside Ian which engages representatives from clients, contractors and manufacturers. “Working closely with the School has also provided the chance for us to access their incredible resource bank, excellent learning management system as well as fully utilise their sustainability tools and techniques. “Following celebrating the School’s tenth anniversary this year, there are some more exciting plans in the pipeline and we can’t wait to get started.” For more information on the BBI Services team and how they can enhance a team’s personal growth and build team engagement and involvement visit: https://www.bbiservices.com/what-we-do/training-services

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UK Power Networks Services wins £40 million Piccadilly line power upgrade

UK Power Networks Services will complete electrical infrastructure upgrades to allow a new fleet of trains to operate on the Piccadilly line and improve reliability and service frequency. The project – which began in June 2022 and is scheduled to finish in June 2025 – will see UK Power Networks Services complete the design and construction works to upgrade several key electrical substations, and the installation of new electrical infrastructure, electrical control systems, and cables along key parts of the line. The initial framework contract runs for six years, with potential for two more. All this will increase electrical capacity to allow Transport for London (TfL) to launch a new fleet of air-conditioned modern trains with improved reliability, efficiency, and accessibility for passengers. Overall, the line upgrade will allow for a 23% uplift in peak capacity, with a train running on the line every 135 seconds at the busiest times from 2027. The announcement extends UK Power Networks Services’ longstanding portfolio on the London Underground. The infrastructure specialists have previously worked on several initiatives, including a major redevelopment at Liverpool Street as part of the Crossrail project, and 16 substation upgrades along the Metropolitan, Circle, Hammersmith & City, and District lines. The high voltage electrical upgrades will take place above and below ground at 21 electricity substations, with planned works at Cobourg Street, Manor House and Mansell Street. Electrical infrastructure benefits include the installation of new transformers, SCADA cabinets, an upgrade of the line’s cable network, and a host of structural improvements. Upgrades will be phased to minimise disruption for passengers, with the line scheduled to stay open throughout the project. Philip Heathcote, head of markets at UK Power Networks Services, said: We’re at our best when we partner with clients to make their long-term objectives a reality. Our teams are excited to bring their unique expertise to this long-term collaboration and add value though innovation, dedication, and a shared vision to make the London Underground more reliable for the future.

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Low-carbon secondary aggregates shipped into London by sea

The first sea shipment of construction aggregate derived from Cornish china clay waste has been brought into London by UK recycled materials specialists GRS. The delivery marks the start of an exclusive deal which enables GRS to import more than half a million tonnes of secondary granite – branded Enviroc® – from Cornwall into London each year by ship, with a fraction of the embodied carbon of other construction aggregates. London developers looking to build greener can specify the GRS material, available in bulk or bags, for almost every construction application from sub-base and capping layers to structural concrete and asphalt, and even decorative landscaping. Recognised by leading green building rating systems as one of the most sustainable alternatives to newly-quarried aggregates, Cornish granite has previously been used in a handful of London developments, including the Olympic Park. But its widespread use has been constrained by the belief that transporting it into London isn’t viable. Yet in partnership with the Port of Tilbury, GRS has invested £4 million in a new Molson CDE aggregates processing plant on the dockside to produce a range of high-quality, certified single-sized products to meet the needs of construction across London. Because of the plant’s location, that material can be delivered across the capital by road, rail and even river using GRS’s wholly-owned Thames freight business Walsh Marine. Power for the aggregates plant is supported by an on-side wind-turbine and the stone washing system uses rainwater that is recycled and reused time after time. Silt washed off the stone is collected for use in land remediation schemes further down the Thames and GRS says these ‘fines’ may themselves be used to produce a lightweight aggregate in the future. For centuries, the production of china clay (kaolin) has shaped the Cornish countryside. For every tonne of china clay extracted, around 9 tonnes of granite by-product is generated – this has built up into enormous waste piles estimated to be around 500 million tonnes which are now the source for Enviroc aggregates.The new venture sees GRS’s Cornish subsidiary Maen Karne haul the raw material from a china clay pit near St Austell to nearby Fowey harbour where it is loaded onto ships to make the 400 nautical mile trip to Tilbury for processing. Antony Beamish, Managing Director for GRS Trading, said: “This major investment allows us to turn an industrial by-product into a high-quality construction aggregate, Enviroc. By also transporting this material by water we can achieve unparalleled environmental performance – an independent study suggests the carbon footprint is on average 47% lower than the equivalent primary aggregates. That makes Enviroc arguably the UK’s most sustainable aggregate. Using it in combination with low-carbon cement, for example, could produce the lowest carbon concrete achievable. “We anticipate that Enviroc will change the way materials are specified on major construction jobs. Contractors can count on a consistent, quality product that meets specification and at the same time know that it’s the most sustainable aggregate there is – a UK-sourced, industrial by-product transported by water. It doesn’t get better than that.” Aggregates make up the single biggest volume of any materials needed for virtually every construction scheme, and London consumes about 10 million tonnes each year. With recycling of demolition and excavation waste virtually at its maximum in the capital, GRS believes the way to further improve the sustainability of aggregates is to use secondaries and transport them as efficiently as possible. Last year GRS announced an exclusive deal to bring to market millions of tonnes of granite aggregate arising from British tungsten mine which has reopened in Devon. Besides a marine wharf and processing plant at Tilbury, GRS is recommissioning a rail freight terminal to be able to transport secondary aggregates more widely across Greater London and the South East. Transporting aggregates by river and rail significantly reduces road miles and traffic congestion, and represents a fraction of the carbon emissions of road haulage. It also frees up road vehicles to focus on ‘the last mile’ to deliver products to construction sites – and GRS runs one of the most modern, clean and safe HGV tipper fleets in the capital, accredited to FORS Gold standard. The inherent characteristics of granite mean that Envirocis one of the most durable, versatile and consistent secondary construction aggregates available. GRS is able to make and supply the vast majority of typical aggregate products including type 1 sub-base, 6F5, single sizes, coarse sand, mortar sand, etc. Enviroc also complies with the requirements of British Standards for use as  concreting aggregate, as unbound and hydraulically bound aggregate in civil engineering works and road construction, in applications such as drainage trenches, earthworks and capping, and in bituminous materials and surface treatments for roads, airfields and other trafficked areas.To find out more about Enviroc® visit www.grsroadstone.co.uk/enviroc call 0845 223 0444 or email sam@grsroadstone.co.uk

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Knightsbridge goes full tilt with configurable LED downlights

Knightsbridge has taken the next step in its lighting evolution with the inclusion of SpektroLED® Tilt to the configurable, Knightsbridge SpektroLED® series. SpektroLED® offers so many combinations of wattage, colour temperature and bezel choice that the product provides a genuine 40-in-1 fire-rated downlighting solution, now in both fixed and tilt versions. With the introduction of SpektroLED®, Knightsbridge – one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of wiring accessories and lighting – has removed the limitations of traditional downlights, offering versatility, performance and style in one unique package, and allowing for customisation and personalisation of lighting design without resorting to multiple lamp types. The new SpektroLED® Tilt variant increases the options again. Like the fixed model, SpektroLED® Tilt offers a choice of two wattages – 5W and 8W – five colour temperatures (CCTs) and five bezel finishes, from white and matt black to chrome, polished chrome and brass; resulting in 40 different style and performance permutations. The wattages and CCTs are switch-selected on the rear of the downlight body. At 5W, SpektroLED® delivers up to 465 lumens and up to 795 lumens at 8W. The four CCTs available are 2700K, 3000K, 4000K and 6000K, representing warm white through to daylight. The choice of five bezels then allows further customisation to complement or contrast with any interior décor or colourway. Installation, as with all Knightsbridge products, is straightforward.  Both units feature simple first fix power connectors with loop in/loop out terminals that can be terminated and hidden away while other works are finished. The downlight can then be plugged in to complete the installation after decoration and lend themselves easily for maintenance and access to the innovative CCT and power properties. The downlights are fire rated for solid timber, web joist and I-joist installation for up to 90 minutes depending on materials and, in addition, are IC rated for retention of efficiency of mineral wool insulation in the ceiling void. SpektroLED® Fixed has an IP65 rating from below, making it suitable for use in bathrooms and wet rooms, while  SpektroLED® Tilt is rated at IP20. Once installed, SpektroLED® will give 50,000 hours of rated LED life and can be used with most leading and trailing-edge dimmers though compatibility should be verified beforehand. A five-year warranty guarantees peace of mind. For further details of the Knightsbridge innovative wiring accessories and lighting products, please visit www.mlaccessories.co.uk or call 01582 887760.

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