GIS from Esri UK helps coordinate 8,000 workers on 450-acre site EDF has used enterprise GIS from Esri UK to create a geospatial portal for Hinkley Point C (HPC) nuclear power station, one of Europe’s largest and most complex construction projects. Supporting better collaboration and enabling new digital workflows, the
Paul Raby, Balfour Beatty Group HR Director and Executive Committee member, explores Right to Respect and what it means to Balfour Beatty and the wider construction and infrastructure industry Ours is an industry plagued by historical misconceptions; long heralded as typically male dominated, steeped in the imagery of spades in
Building services and engineering consultants FHP has been specified to provide MEP and design services for a multi-million-pound residential led mixed-use regeneration project in North London. The firm is providing a range of RIBA Stage 3, 4 and 5 MEP technical and construction Revit design services to the city’s leading
Leading property management agent Rendall & Rittner has recently promoted Martin Hellenas to Divisional Director of one of its London divisions. Most recently, Martin has worked as an Area Director at Rendall & Rittner, with a portfolio of developments across London. In his new role, Martin will focus on the
Today, PlanRadar, a leading digital construction, real estate and facilities management platform, announces that it has been adopted by leading fire safety and passive fire protection measures consultancy, Global HSE Solutions. PlanRadar’s powerful software will support the company’s Global Technical Services (GTS) division, which provides fire engineering advice and expertise
Award-winning property group Beresfords has brought an exclusive new development to market, built by prestigious developer Marden Homes, in Brentwood, Essex. Set in 16 acres of private parkland, the Grade II listed building has been converted into a collection of 30 luxury four and three-bedroom homes and two and three-bedroom
Acting for Wates Developments in probably the biggest land deal to take place within the region since September’s mini budget, Leaders Romans Group (LRG), has sold a residential development site in Windsor from Wates Developments to Crest Nicholson. As a leading residential housebuilder with a track record in creating well
Through its construction partner Laing O’Rourke, Everton is proud to be helping nurture local people undertaking various apprenticeship programmes. There are currently 66 apprentices working on or towards the build of the stadium, applying their skills in various fields. Trade and technical apprentices work in areas such as formwork, steel
Ian Gracie Promoted to Key Position with Award Winning Developer Drum Property Group has announced the promotion of Ian Gracie to the role of Construction Director. Gracie has been with Drum since 2019, leading and coordinating large design and construction teams across the company’s extensive portfolio, and has nearly 20 years’ experience
GIS from Esri UK helps coordinate 8,000 workers on 450-acre site EDF has used enterprise GIS from Esri UK to create a geospatial portal for Hinkley Point C (HPC) nuclear power station, one of Europe’s largest and most complex construction projects. Supporting better collaboration and enabling new digital workflows, the portal is sharing a single view of the entire project, helping employees and contractors work seamlessly and improve safety and productivity. Recently opened-up to include Tier 1 contractors when construction of the nuclear reactors started, the portal now has over 1,500 users. Currently one of Europe’s largest construction projects with 8,000 workers on the 450-acre site, Hinkley Point C is the UK’s first new nuclear power station built since Sizewell B in 1995. The nationally significant infrastructure will provide around 7% of the UK’s electricity, power around 6 million homes and contribute to the UK Government’s Net Zero target. Central source of data Delivering clarity of information, the GIS portal is a central source of all spatial data, maps, apps and dashboards, combining multiple sources of information and making them accessible to everyone on site. An interactive primary site map contains over 100 different data layers, from BIM models and CAD data including Revit models, to construction operations, temporary works, utilities, logistics and emergency preparedness. “The scale of the project presents a complex logistical challenge,” said Jon Dolphin, Construction Project Manager and GIS Lead at HPC. “Clarity of construction data is critical and the GIS portal provides a single view of this, which drives collaboration as people can see where things are happening and when. Every employee or contractor is making decisions based on the same data. The confidence this generates makes decision-making faster and strengthens the ability of teams to work more efficiently. As a result, we’ve seen improvements in quality, safety and productivity.” Starting life as a proof of concept three years ago, the GIS portal first became an enterprise roll-out in Spring 2021 and has grown since then. “Small pilots showed what was possible, helping a wider audience understand the benefits of using GIS on a megaproject,” explained Dolphin. “Users now browse the spatial data, explore applications and enable new digital workflows relevant to them. The number of portal users is growing daily as more people become aware of what GIS has to offer and more use cases emerge.” Digitising workflows Esri GIS has enhanced HPC’s ability to collect data out in the field, replacing manual methods using paper checklists, clipboards and spreadsheets. One example is emergency planning data, used to provide assurance for regulatory purposes, which is now collected on tablets and appears in real-time in the GIS portal. Managers view and report on it using dashboards, helping to make more informed decisions. Temporary Works teams use similar new digital workflows, for planning and inspecting hundreds of simultaneous works, including excavations, earth works, scaffolding, ramps or form work for reinforced concrete pours. Adding the spatial context means contractor activities do not clash while physical surveys now take a fraction of the time. Using GIS apps and integrated dashboards for data input and reporting, eliminates the need to transfer information into a report when staff return to the desktop. Mobile GIS Another example of mobile GIS in action is an app created to improve the management of generator permit requests. HPC needed to monitor emissions as the site grew and wanted a detailed understanding of generator use. Now contractors have the ability to use a new mobile app instead of a spreadsheet, to click on a location and request a generator which is submitted into a workflow for approval. A dashboard displays the data so electrical and environmental teams can optimise the use of generators and reduce emissions across the site. “The new digital approach has replaced the previous spreadsheet-based system, which lacked auditability and had no spatial context,” said Dolphin. The portal will see another increase in usage when the MEH phase (Mechanical, Electrical and HVAC) ramps up in 2023, to manage permitting and controlling what is being built on site. This phase will see contractors work together on the complex installation of cabling, pipework and equipment for the power station’s 2,500 rooms. Future plans include using GIS to track and optimise the use of plant around the site to reduce emissions and make transport services more intelligent, by tracking the site’s buses and other vehicles. “Having one GIS portal for our construction data is immensely powerful for breaking down communication barriers, getting everyone on the same page and improving collaboration,” concluded Dolphin. “The use of Esri GIS at Hinkley Point C was a cultural shift for many people but new digital approaches soon become indispensable when working on such complex engineering projects.”
Paul Raby, Balfour Beatty Group HR Director and Executive Committee member, explores Right to Respect and what it means to Balfour Beatty and the wider construction and infrastructure industry Ours is an industry plagued by historical misconceptions; long heralded as typically male dominated, steeped in the imagery of spades in the ground and hard, manual labour. But while a large proportion of our workforce is out on site achieving incredible feats of engineering and construction every day, the construction and infrastructure is progressively diverse and increasingly modern. This isn’t just in the people that choose to work with us, but in the wide range of technical skills and digital capability that we need to drive forward the plethora of mega projects that we are set to deliver. And as our sector evolves, it is imperative that our culture changes too. At Balfour Beatty, we recognise the impact that words and behaviours can have on others – both positive and negative. That is why when we launched our cultural framework, ‘Value Everyone’ was introduced as one of the five behaviours to which we hold ourselves accountable. We want to make sure that everyone feels completely comfortable at work. We’ve come a long way from some of the outdated attitudes many of us once knew, not just in our industry but in wider society, and so much the better. But in this fast-paced world we all need a bit of help to understand where the new lines are. No one wants to work in a sterile environment. We want to encourage our people to communicate, collaborate and enjoy being in the workplace. However, everyone has different tolerances and opinions on what is or isn’t acceptable and sometimes, actions – either by accident or deliberately – can make others feel awkward, excluded, or overlooked. In response, we’re taking action to help develop a shared understanding of where the boundaries are, and how to challenge unacceptable behaviour when we see it – with the launch of Right to Respect – a new approach to driving positive behaviours across our business and the wider construction and infrastructure industry. Successfully piloted with 1,000 of our employees last year, Right to Respect is the first step in a long journey ahead. We know that we have a way to go but we are confident that it will help us, and our supply chain partners, truly ‘Value Everyone’ through a combination of awareness sessions, toolbox talks and visible communications. It will allow us to recognise how the consequences of our words and actions can affect others and also empower us to deal with situations when the arise, effectively and confidently. It is our equivalent to Zero Harm for inclusive behaviour and will be launched in phases across our UK operations this year. It reflects who we are now and who we want to be. We believe that over time and with the support of every colleague across Balfour Beatty, Right to Respect will have the ability to change the perceptions that have loomed over our industry for far too long and bring fresh, new ways of thinking. It will encourage a more collaborative working environment built on respect – and will enable our industry to continue to evolve for the future. Read on our website here. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Building services and engineering consultants FHP has been specified to provide MEP and design services for a multi-million-pound residential led mixed-use regeneration project in North London. The firm is providing a range of RIBA Stage 3, 4 and 5 MEP technical and construction Revit design services to the city’s leading residential-led mixed-use developer Regal London, which is leading the £270 million redevelopment of the former Euro Parts headquarters in Wembley. The site is currently being transformed into 759 new residential units across five high-rise buildings, which will feature 78 three-bedroomed family homes and more than 200 affordable properties. It all comes under plans to deliver a sustainable mixed-use development in line with the local authority’s wider aspirations for the growth and prosperity of the Wembley area. More than 33,000 sq. ft. of flexible commercial space is also under construction to accommodate retail, light industrial and logistics businesses. New communal amenity spaces within the upper roof terraces and at podium level area will eventually feature along with new landscaping, improved public access along the Wealdstone Brook, and the creation of 31,000 sq. ft. of children’s play space. FHP has been closely involved in the project from the start of RIBA Stage 3 providing mechanical, electrical and public health services together with sustainability, building physics and digital engineering support for what is being seen as one of North London’s most prestigious regeneration projects. A key aspect of FHP’s work centred on a review of proposed heating systems, developing two design options for either a 100% electric heating scheme or an alternative connection to a local district heat network. This allowed the developer to decide the best approach – a 1.7MW ASHP (air source heat pump) in conjunction with 1.7MW electric boilers – as part of a revised energy strategy submitted within the overall planning submission. Services to facilitate design stage and As-Built SAP and SBEM energy use and carbon emissions calculations were also completed by FHP as part of a comprehensive package of support. The Regal London project is the latest success for rapidly growing FHP, which employs 52 people and continues to see strong demand for services and growth across its London and Leeds operations. Tony Hewitt, managing director, said: “Fulton Road demonstrates the added value and insight we bring to multi-million-pound investment projects through innovative design-led MEP services. It’s also a reflection of the excellent work our team provides as we develop our commercial offering. We expect to see a strong performance this year as we invest further in expertise and secure new work nationwide.” Ryder Architecture is the lead architect on the Wembley site project. Fulton & Fifth is one of Regal London’s latest developments of more than 800 homes for sale alongside new independent cafés, shops and workspaces, due to complete in Q1 2025, said Damien Cartmell, managing director of construction at Regal London. He added: “With their expertise, technical insight and services, FHP are an important partner in helping to bring forward our vision for Fulton Road. Their input has ensured plans were delivered on time and to the highest standards as the various elements of the project progresses.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Leading property management agent Rendall & Rittner has recently promoted Martin Hellenas to Divisional Director of one of its London divisions. Most recently, Martin has worked as an Area Director at Rendall & Rittner, with a portfolio of developments across London. In his new role, Martin will focus on the strategic management of the division. As a Divisional Director, he will continue to develop relationships with leaseholders and residents, whilst working alongside internal departments. With plans to hire a new Area Director, Martin will work collaboratively to continue to build upon Rendall & Rittner’s success and to further develop the company’s portfolio. After joining the Erinaceous Group (later part of RMG) as a Property Manager in 2008, Martin has worked his way up in the industry. Following 6 years and a promotion to Senior Property Manager, he took on a new role at Premier Estates as it set up its London office, where he worked as an Associate Director. Since joining Rendall & Rittner in 2019, Martin has been an Area Director supporting a portfolio of London developments for clients, residents and leaseholders. Martin comments: “I joined Rendall & Rittner having previously met Matt Rittner and Richard Daver at networking events. Since joining, I have had the opportunity to develop myself and to work with amazing people. The senior management team at Rendall & Rittner is incredible and I am able to learn new things from them. The company culture here makes Rendall & Rittner a great place to work and I am excited to see where the company goes next.” Richard Daver, Group CEO at Rendall & Rittner said: “Since joining Rendall & Rittner, Martin has proven his commitment to delivering exceptional customer service and has gone above and beyond to resolve issues. Martin’s promotion to Divisional Director reflects this and I look forward to seeing how he continues to support our London portfolio in this new role.” For further information please visit: www.rendallandrittner.co.uk Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Today, PlanRadar, a leading digital construction, real estate and facilities management platform, announces that it has been adopted by leading fire safety and passive fire protection measures consultancy, Global HSE Solutions. PlanRadar’s powerful software will support the company’s Global Technical Services (GTS) division, which provides fire engineering advice and expertise to both Tier 1 contractors and Global HSE’s own contracting arm as well as hosting fire door inspection courses through its in-house Global Academy. Particularly, it will assist in the delivery of more efficient, detailed and accessible fire safety information. The service will also help its clients to navigate an ever-changing legislative landscape – including new fire door assessments regulations that came into effect on the 23rd January 2023. It’s a complete approach for delivering surveys and inspection results and will be rolled out across GTS’s entire inspection and surveying team. Commenting on the partnership, PlanRadar Co-CEO, Ibrahim Imam says, “Global HSE and GTS has a well-established reputation for delivering exceptional results in a highly niche, specialised and increasingly important field. Given the stringent requirements around fire safety, there is no margin for error, and a missed record or lack of clarity in inspection reports could have huge ramifications. That’s why we’ve invested in making our tools fit-for-purpose for accurate, compliant and easy to understand data collation fire reporting, specifically for fire professionals. It also ensures that ‘Golden Thread’ principles are being followed throughout, for greater fire safety compliance. “Global HSE’s confidence in our offering is a massive endorsement for PlanRadar’s relevance and efficacy. We look forward to collaborating with them going forward to deliver safe and secure commercial and residential environments.” The efficient secret GTS first became aware of PlanRadar’s digital solutions at FIREX 2022, where they immediately saw the potential for its platform to address an ongoing pain point within the business: The efficient creation and user-friendly presentation of fire surveys and inspection results. Furthermore, they realised the software could also tackle another persistent challenge faced by the business: recruiting enough highly-trained professionals to fill roles required. They saw PlanRadar’s suite of services as a way of streamlining the amount of resource existing staff spent on this important, but time-consuming activity. As Ross O’Loughlin, Head of Global Technical Services at HSE Global explains, “My main concern was how we could speed up our surveys without losing the value within the survey. I wanted to improve the working life of my staff. Reporting, writing, and collating information around a survey has always been a laborious task. If we can consolidate that in any way, it allows us to focus our energy on delivering our expertise.” Large-scale useability The team at GTS were particularly impressed by PlanRadar’s ability to record video and integrate BIM, which could support the division’s compliance requirements around the Building Safety Act and increased expectations for data collection in line with the Golden Thread of Information. Following initial discussion, the platform was tested in a real-world environment to see how the software performed on a project from start to finish. The test was based in a university in Northern England, where the surveying team were carrying out a fire damper inspection survey. With thousands of dampers to inspect, it was a daunting task requiring meticulous record-keeping. The team’s feedback was unanimously positive, with users highlighting how the platform significantly sped up reporting in an easy-to-use way, vindicating the decision to trial it. Better outcomes all-round Following the test, Global HSE and GTS decided to adopt PlanRadar’s platform, with the intention of rolling it out across all its inspection and surveying teams, providing them with an easy way to record and report. A previously arduous task has been made effortless, delivered in real-time as they walk through the building and record voice notes rather than having to stop and make notes on paper, or do lengthy follow-up work in the office. However, the platform’s potential goes further, as O’Loughlin concludes. “With GTS users already being onboarded, we’re exploring how PlanRadar could be used across other parts of the company,” he says. “From a business perspective, uploading as many documents, photos or jpegs at no extra cost is a massive win in comparison to competitors in this space. It’s an incredibly useful tool, and the opportunity we can gain from getting to grips with, and using, all its functions would significantly improve our day-to-day operations. Since introduction, PlanRadar has been brought onto over 20 GTS project, with the intention of using it as the standard reporting tool across the entire portfolio over the course of 2023. To find out more about Global HSE click here. To find out more about PlanRadar click here. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Award-winning property group Beresfords has brought an exclusive new development to market, built by prestigious developer Marden Homes, in Brentwood, Essex. Set in 16 acres of private parkland, the Grade II listed building has been converted into a collection of 30 luxury four and three-bedroom homes and two and three-bedroom apartments – known as Boyles Court. With prices starting from £625,000. Each house has been designed with convenience and luxury at its heart, as well as incorporating a traditional style, with handmade sash windows and impressive German kitchens – including quality integrated appliances, quartz countertops and generous islands. The homes are surrounded by landscaped communal gardens, allocated parking, car ports or garages and all plots have an EV charging point. “We’re delighted to be bringing this unique and truly breath-taking development to market. Boyles Court offers contemporary living to suit all needs, whether you’re looking for a stunning apartment or a brand-new home. Each property has been designed to welcome beautiful spaces, while respecting the heritage of the original building, where you can relax and entertain. It is very rare that something this exceptional comes to the market in such a prime area,” said Nicki Treffers, Marketing Director at Beresfords. Adapted from the original Georgian building, the spacious and contemporary apartments feature traditional elements – such as bespoke joinery radiators and sash windows – that have been configured with modern features including structured cabling, wiring for SkyQ and underfloor heating. The development is landscaped to include mature planting of the original estate, each apartment has parking, and ground floor residents benefit from their own private courtyard garden, with a phenomenal outlook over stunning parkland. Boyles Court has excellent amenities, with Brentwood centre just under two miles away and a 25-minute journey to London Liverpool Street Station. Residents can also now travel straight through central London, without the need to change trains, via the Elizabeth Line. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Acting for Wates Developments in probably the biggest land deal to take place within the region since September’s mini budget, Leaders Romans Group (LRG), has sold a residential development site in Windsor from Wates Developments to Crest Nicholson. As a leading residential housebuilder with a track record in creating well designed, high quality homes in sustainable communities, Crest Nicholson is ideally placed to deliver much needed homes in this popular location. Wates Developments secured release of the site from the Green Belt through an allocation in the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead Local Plan. They worked closely with the community, key stakeholders and Local Authority to develop plans for the residential development and subsequently obtained outline planning consent on part of the site. The scheme includes 135 much-needed homes, (40% of which will be affordable housing), for the 5.4ha site. Plans also include landscaped open spaces, (including recreational space), blue-green infrastructure and sustainable technologies, with a 30.69% net gain in biodiversity that will far exceed local and national planning policy. The site will also deliver improvements to walking and cycling routes into Windsor and other local destinations, as well as improvements to the A308 network to increase capacity. David Brocklebank, Executive Managing Director at Wates Developments Group commented: “We are delighted to have completed this sale of a portion of our land interest in Windsor to Crest and with great support from LRG. This is a truly exceptional new homes site and a fantastic location for a new community in Windsor. We expect to secure planning for the remainder of the wider site early in 2023 to allow the whole scheme to come forward quickly. A great performance by Crest”. Nicholas Daruwalla, Land Director at Crest Nicholson South, commented: “The acquisition of this site in Windsor plays a key role in the expansion of Crest Nicholson’s footprint in the region and allows us to respond to local demand for high-quality homes in the area. We look forward to offering a variety of homes for a range of buyers within the local community, helping to support the Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Local Plan.” Ian Barnett, National Land Director for Leaders Romans Group, who is based in the Group’s Wokingham head office, commented: “This is a significant land deal which will help deliver much-needed homes, including affordable housing. It is one of two substantial land deals that Leaders Romans Group has facilitated in this region in the last month and as such, demonstrates considerable strength in the local market in spite of the wider economic conditions.” Boyer (part of Leaders Romans Group) managed the planning process on behalf of Wates and is now instructed by Crest Nicholson to prepare and submit a reserved matters planning application in the first half of 2023. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Through its construction partner Laing O’Rourke, Everton is proud to be helping nurture local people undertaking various apprenticeship programmes. There are currently 66 apprentices working on or towards the build of the stadium, applying their skills in various fields. Trade and technical apprentices work in areas such as formwork, steel fixing and carpentry, while colleagues on Laing O’Rourke’s Early Talent Professional Apprenticeship Programme are studying disciplines including but not limited to construction management, engineering and quantity surveying. Monday 6 – Friday 12 February is the Department for Education’s National Apprenticeship Week, a campaign that gives organisations the chance to celebrate the achievements of apprentices and the positive impact they make to communities, businesses, and the wider economy. The number of apprentices working on the site in north Liverpool, which is the one of the largest private developments in the UK at present, will only grow as more supply chain partners are introduced in the coming months. In addition to the people employed by Laing O’Rourke, many of the contractors on site also work with apprentices. An example of this is Dylan, who as part of a three-year course with Summit Scaffolding started with smaller duties like oiling fittings and organising materials. His schedule involves visiting a scaffolding training centre in addition to his on-site training at Everton Stadium, where he has been able to undertake tasks from simple edge protection to complex heavy duty design scaffolds. Cameron, 22, explained why he chose to start a level two apprenticeship in formwork and how he is finding it. “I have been in an array of jobs from landscaping and construction to insurance and I always felt like I had more to give. What better way to do that than to apply the knowledge I already had to once in a lifetime opportunity to help build a football stadium almost on my doorstep. Working for Laing O’Rourke has been nothing short of a dream come true. Staff and contractors from top to bottom have made me feel so welcome and have helped me develop in many ways.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Ian Gracie Promoted to Key Position with Award Winning Developer Drum Property Group has announced the promotion of Ian Gracie to the role of Construction Director. Gracie has been with Drum since 2019, leading and coordinating large design and construction teams across the company’s extensive portfolio, and has nearly 20 years’ experience working across the residential, commercial, leisure, retail and public sectors. He takes over the role of Construction Director from Gordon Milne, who has moved to the newly created role of Technical Director for the Group. Welcoming Gracie’s promotion, Graeme Bone, Group Managing Director of Drum said: “Since joining Drum, Ian has proven himself a vital member of the team through the management and delivery of key projects during a uniquely challenging period for the industry. Ian’s promotion is a natural next step in his development and very well deserved – his track record and experience working within Drum will bring further depth to our senior management team. Commenting on Gordon Milne’s new position within the company, Mr Bone added: “Gordon’s new role also allows us to retain a highly experienced director within the business, providing technical and management oversight across all projects and maintaining consistency of delivery as we transition into our next cycle of development and expand our portfolio throughout the UK.” Speaking of his promotion, Ian Gracie said: “Drum has always maintained a strong track record of growth and expansion, and I am pleased to now lead the talented delivery team for such an ambitious and dynamic developer. We have some significant projects to both complete, and in the pipeline, and I look forward to working closely with Graeme and the rest of the team at what is an exciting period of opportunity for the firm.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
