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October 4, 2022

This year’s construction benchmarking report finds industry delivered over £1bn in social and local economic value

Kenneth Booth October 4, 2022

The second annual social value benchmarking report has revealed that over £1bn of economic, social and environmental improvements were made by the UK construction industry last year.   The Social Value in Construction Benchmarking Report was compiled jointly by social value measurement consultancy, Social Value Portal and SCAPE, one of the

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Balfour Beatty joins forces with Aker Solutions to collaborate on UK offshore wind opportunities

Kenneth Booth October 4, 2022

Balfour Beatty, the international infrastructure group, today announces that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Aker Solutions – an integrated solutions, products and services provider to the global energy industry – to deliver end-to-end design and construction solutions for the concrete floating and gravity-based UK offshore wind industry.

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Issue 328 : May 2025

October 4, 2022

This year’s construction benchmarking report finds industry delivered over £1bn in social and local economic value

Kenneth Booth October 4, 2022

The second annual social value benchmarking report has revealed that over £1bn of economic, social and environmental improvements were made by the UK construction industry last year.   The Social Value in Construction Benchmarking Report was compiled jointly by social value measurement consultancy, Social Value Portal and SCAPE, one of the UK’s leading public sector procurement authorities. Released annually, the report sets a precedent for how the construction industry should be tackling social and economic value on its projects.   This year’s report found that the construction industry achieved £1.08bn of social and local economic value in 2021, through significant investment in local communities. In comparison, last year’s report found that the delivery of social and local economic value was £949m for 2020, highlighting a 14 per cent increase in 12 months.  Almost 20 per cent of total spend on projects was invested in social value initiatives, valuing £1.8bn. The North West far outperformed other regions in terms of social value delivery and was second highest after Scotland on local economic delivery. The South West had the lowest social and local economic value investment. However, geographical location and total number of projects will have impacted these figures.   The report includes three case study examples from SCAPE framework partners delivering a variety of social value activities ranging from employing ex-offenders, and delivering a 100% spend with SMEs, to donating staff hours to local charities. All activities have been measured using the National TOMs standardised framework.  Social Value and Performance Manager Alison Ramsey at SCAPE, said: “For publicly funded projects, improvement of the economic, social, and environmental wellbeing of the relevant area is an important procurement consideration. We undertake this benchmarking report as a vital investment in measuring success, helping organisations to understand what is being achieved today and what can be achieved in the future.  “It is encouraging to see that the delivery of social value across the construction industry continues to improve and that contractors are supporting local communities for clients investing in the built environment. Not only does this report highlight what excellent work has been achieved so far, but it demonstrates how we can all build on these foundations to further improve performance in this area.”   Nathan Goode, Chief Strategy Officer at Social Value Portal, added; “It may be a little early to talk about trends as such, but seeing year on year progress in social and local economic value delivered by the construction industry is a great start.   “As the largest industry in the UK, employing over three million people and responsible for a large proportion of the UK’s carbon emissions, it is imperative that the sector leads the way in improving society, both in terms of tackling the climate emergency as well as improving the lives of the people who reside in the communities in which they operate.  “The strongest argument for committing to social value generation could be financial: we all want a better world and a better future and delivering more social and local economic value will lead to a more prosperous future. I look forward to seeing further improvement in next year’s report.”  Download the report. 

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Balfour Beatty joins forces with Aker Solutions to collaborate on UK offshore wind opportunities

Kenneth Booth October 4, 2022

Balfour Beatty, the international infrastructure group, today announces that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Aker Solutions – an integrated solutions, products and services provider to the global energy industry – to deliver end-to-end design and construction solutions for the concrete floating and gravity-based UK offshore wind industry. The partnership will see the companies’ complementary skills, resources and experience combined to offer a whole life solution: Balfour Beatty has an extensive track record of executing complex civil engineering works for complex infrastructure and energy projects across the UK, whilst Aker Solutions has a long history of delivering concrete structures for marine environments globally. Stephen Tarr, Chief Executive Officer of Balfour Beatty’s Major Projects business, said: “We are delighted to partner with Aker Solutions to respond to this requirement for increased offshore generation.  This builds on decades of experience of constructing complex structures, most recently demonstrated by the production of large marine concrete components for the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station.” Jason Brown, Aker Solutions’ Head of Renewables in the UK said: “Offshore wind has a pivotal role to play in increasing our use of renewable energy, which in turn is essential to achieving energy security and reducing carbon emissions. Only by moving further out to sea in deeper waters, can we achieve the UK’s ambitious 50 GW target for offshore wind deployment.” “Concrete floating and gravity-based foundations are an excellent solution for offshore wind in the North Sea. They provide the level of performance needed in challenging sea conditions, demand high levels of local content and can be less carbon intensive than other go-to foundation solutions”. The partners have established a joint taskforce with key personnel from both organisations responsible for identifying future opportunities.

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SO RESI LAUNCHES NEW SHARED OWNERSHIP APARTMENTS IN THE ‘UTOPIA’ OF HERTFORDSHIRE

Kenneth Booth October 4, 2022

Blending city and countryside lifestyles, Welwyn Garden City is quickly becoming an untapped hotspot for those wanting to be within touching distance of London but surrounded amongst acres of green space. SO Resi’s latest launch in the so-called ‘Utopia’ of Hertfordshire will see the new homes enter the affordable property market which has experienced a boom in 2022.[1] Sitting in landscaped gardens and designed around the iconic Shredded Wheat Factory, SO Resi Welwyn Garden City complements the area’s rich heritage. All apartments will benefit from private balconies and terraces to enjoy the local scenery. The new homes are available through shared ownership with prices starting from £68,750 for a 25% share. Residents then have the opportunity to purchase more shares through a process known as ‘staircasing’, which enables them to eventually own 100% of the property. Founded by Sir Ebenezer Howard 102 years ago, this ‘garden city’ was designed to give residents the best of both worlds. The town, which includes a 126-acre park, sits a 29-minute train journey from London Kings Cross making it an ideal balance of the two. It also offers a fortnightly food and craft market, unique pubs in the outlying villages as well as largescale community initiatives including the Barn Theatre which hosts the Welywn Drama Festival annually in May. Kush Rawal, Director of Residential Investment at SO Resi, comments, “SO Resi Welwyn Garden City is our second development to launch in the town highlighting the need and want for accessible properties in the area. With a combination of fast connections to London and ample green countryside, we have seen interest from young professionals, especially those who are first time buyers, wanting to get the best of both worlds without breaking the bank especially during the current economic climate. We are proud that our shared ownership scheme here will offer buyers an opportunity to get onto the property ladder in a commuter hotspot at an accessible cost.” SO Resi Welwyn Garden City is also ideal for those seeking access to an adventurous lifestyle. The Gosling Sports Park sits on the development’s doorstep, offering a dry ski slope, a cycling velodrome, driving range and athletics track to name but a few of its amenities. As well as this, the two large lakes providing opportunities for residents to enjoy a variety of water sports at the activity centre. The area is also home to a variety of ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ Ofsted primary schools and secondary schools, with GCSE and A-Level results recorded well above average. SO Resi Welwyn Garden City is a collection of one, two and three-bedroom homes, with prices starting from £68,750 for a 25% share in a one-bedroom apartment [full market value £275,000]. To find out more, visit www.soresi.co.uk or call 020 8607 0550. [1] https://metro.co.uk/2022/02/01/welwyn-garden-city-is-a-surprisingly-cheap-place-to-buy-for-commuters-16024550/

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Faccin Group for the shipbuilding companies: tailor made machines and automation

Faccin Group for the shipbuilding companies: tailor made machines and automation

Nick Child October 4, 2022

A shipbuilding company differentiates itself when it can build all types of vessels, regardless of their complexity, from cruise liners to mega yachts, from military ships to high-tech offshore vessels. In addition to a very competitive market, another big challenge for shipbuilding companies is that the design of ships is constantly changing to become increasingly highly efficient and sustainable for the environment. On account of this, a highly adaptable production with technologically advanced machines becomes the key to a successful operation. Faccin Group’s solution for the shipbuilding industry Nowadays, most companies use production techniques that have become obsolete. They are time-consuming, imprecise, and unsafe and require highly skilled operators, especially when producing very complex shapes like hull panels. Faccin Group, one of the world’s leader brands for the metal forming industry needs, has developed over the years the widest range of dedicated solutions for the shipbuilding industry, which include: Challenges and opportunities in the industry The key point is always to make diagnostics and maintenance simpler, faster, and therefore more efficient. All Faccin Group’s machines can thus be equipped with the latest evolution of the SIEMENS PGS-ULTRA CNC, recognized as the most technologically advanced solution on the market. This revolutionary system is based on GUI technology (Graphic User Interface), which guides the operator over all the programming steps, including the possibility to determine the welding point. As a result, all the information needed by the CNC to calculate the sequence of movements of pre-bending and rolling processes is simply provided by: Faccin Group’s main goal is to provide end users with cutting-edge solutions that give them a competitive advantage in a very aggressive worldwide market. Thanks to the highly advanced features offered by these solutions, the goal has been accomplished. Moreover, all these machines are prepared for “Industry 4.0” to be connected to the customer’s network and consequently improve the working conditions, increase productivity, and upgrade the quality of the final product. The production manager can easily manage remotely the machine and, at the same time, have a clear picture of the machines’ status and production output. In addition, Faccin has developed a new and safe cloud-based RSM remote service management control system to offer fast support and proactive maintenance and to give the possibility to check not only the HMI but any accessory mounted on the machine having an ethernet plug. Through an extensive network of subsidiaries, Faccin Group provides thorough sales and after-sales services worldwide.

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