Thirteen contractors have been selected by the Eastern Highways Alliance of local authorities for a four-year framework worth a total £750m. The framework is divided into two lots, according to size of scheme. Lot 1 is for small schemes with a value of up to £1.5m. Lot 2 is for
A major initiative on occupational health in the building services engineering sector has been launched by the Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA), the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) and Constructing Better Health. Starting with a new sector-wide survey, the collaboration aims to provide essential baseline data which will
DECC axed by new Prime Minister Published: 15 July, 2016 The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has been axed as part of new Prime Minister Theresa May’s first Cabinet reshuffle. Instead, the responsibilities DECC held have been merged into a new ministry – the Department of Business, Energy
The Considerate Constructors Scheme is seeking a new board of directors in a major shake-up, which it said will take the organisation to the “next level”. Source link
Newcastle-based social housing landlord Home Group is planning to build a development of 345 homes on the edge of Harrogate, North Yorkshire. Home Group has completed a deal to secure a 46 acre site on the Skipton Road in the outskirts of Harrogate. “This is a prime site in a
Issue Freestyle lane tumble turns banned from Council run swimming pool for health and safety reasons Panel opinion Whilst there can be risks to the swimmer and others from tumble turns, incidents are not common. The decision as to whether or not to allow the practice should be based on
Chelmsford City Council is moving forward with a £25m investment in rebuilding the city’s leisure centre. Chelmsford City Council is redeveloping the Riverside Ice & Leisure centre, which was built in the 1960s. The ice rink is being retained but the existing leisure centre and swimming baths will be demolished
Architect firm Grimshaw has won the tender to provide concept design for the £16bn expansion of Heathrow Airport. Above: Images of concept designs were revealed alongside a fly-through animation of a proposed new design for the Central Terminal Area, also by Grimshaw. The brief is “to bring Heathrow’s vision for
Funding for the Building Lives Academy dries up next month. Watch this video. Do what you can. Funding for the Building Lives Academy dries up next month. Watch this video. Do what you can. Read Full Article: The Construction Index Source link
A round up of some of the week’s most significant corporate events and news stories. JPMorgan’s Dimon warns of threat to biggest US banks ©Getty Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon, chairman and chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, voiced his concerns this week about the issues facing the US
Thirteen contractors have been selected by the Eastern Highways Alliance of local authorities for a four-year framework worth a total £750m. The framework is divided into two lots, according to size of scheme. Lot 1 is for small schemes with a value of up to £1.5m. Lot 2 is for larger schemes worth up to £20m. The total value of Lot 1 is estimated at up to £150m, while Lot 2 is worth a total £600m over the four-year term. Highway works covered by the contract include structural work, surfacing and maintenance, road works and capital schemes. The selected contractors are: Lot 1 — Small Schemes Danaher & Walsh (Civil Engineering) Henderson & Taylor (Public Works Murrill Construction W&H Roads Fox Building & Engineering John Henry & Sons Civil Engineers Toppesfield Lot 2 — Large Schemes Carillion Construction— Tarmac JV Interserve Construction Kier Infrastructure & Overseas Eurovia Infrastucture Jackson Civil Engineering Morgan Sindall The procurement was led by Cambridgeshire County Council on behalf of the Eastern Highways Alliance, which also includes: Bedford Borough Council, Central Bedfordshire Council, Essex County Council, Hertfordshire County Council, Luton Borough Council, Norfolk County Council, Peterborough City Council, Southend On Sea Borough Council, Suffolk County Council and Thurrock Council. This article was published on 5 Apr 2016 (last updated on 5 Apr 2016). Source link
A major initiative on occupational health in the building services engineering sector has been launched by the Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA), the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) and Constructing Better Health. Starting with a new sector-wide survey, the collaboration aims to provide essential baseline data which will lead to practical occupational health information and support for contractors. The move follows the recent construction industry ‘Occupational Health Summit’, which was attended by dozens of chief executives and directors of construction firms and trade bodies, including senior representatives from the building services engineering sector. According to Paul Reeve, director of Business Services at the ECA: “There are numerous examples of effective occupational health provision in our sector and, managed properly, it delivers business benefits and the career health of tens of thousands of engineering employees. But while there have been major sector-wide improvements in workplace safety, many contractors still struggle with occupational health. “Our survey – which is aimed primarily at employers – aims to find out much more about the current situation, to give us an informed baseline for helping contractors to engage with both physical, and mental, health issues.” Tim Rook, director of technical at BESA commented: “The contracting and construction environment is one of the most demanding sectors to work in, and the health of those working in our sector should be considered vital to success. By using the results of this survey we will be able to target and promote best practice, to help both on-site operatives and managers. “I would encourage everyone to take part as fully and honestly as they can to make this initiative really valuable to the sector, the wider industry, and their own businesses”. Bob Blackman MBE, chairman of Constructing Better Health, added: “Our collaborative survey will help us to further demystify the cloudy perceptions about occupational health and target those areas where our members and industry colleagues aren’t making the most of the resources at hand. “The most important message to share with employees is that occupational health management exists to ensure that your job doesn’t affect your health negatively. Ill-health impacts physical and economic well-being, so therefore, utilise all the occupational health services available to you. There’s help at hand.” Reeve concluded: “We urge all building services engineering companies to complete this short, confidential questionnaire, so we have the best possible information to help the sector move forward with cost effective occupational health management.” The overall survey findings will be shared with key stakeholders across the industry in the second quarter of this year. The occupational health survey can be completed here, and is open until Wednesday 13 April. Source link
DECC axed by new Prime Minister Published: 15 July, 2016 The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has been axed as part of new Prime Minister Theresa May’s first Cabinet reshuffle. Instead, the responsibilities DECC held have been merged into a new ministry – the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The new department will be headed by Greg Clark, who was formerly the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). Amber Rudd, who was the Secretary of State responsible for DECC, has been made Home Secretary, while Sajid Javid, former business, innovation and skills secretary, has been moved to the DLCG. In a statement on his new role, Mr Clark said: “I am thrilled to have been appointed to lead this new department charged with delivering a comprehensive industrial strategy, leading government’s relationship with business, furthering our world-class science base, delivering affordable, clean energy and tackling climate change.” Others, however, have expressed concerns over the DECC’s abolishment, with former Labour party leader Ed Miliband describing the move as “just plain stupid” on Twitter. While some business leaders have welcomed the decision to merge the departments, others expressed their concern that energy policy could now slip down the agenda without a dedicated department. Phil Hurley, managing director of renewable heating manufacturer NIBE, said the decision was “unsettling”. He said: “Following the welcome boost provided by the launch of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) in 2014, this decision could throw the industry into a renewed state of uncertainty. It would be wrong to say that we at NIBE have no concerns about the potential implications of this for renewable heat in the UK – particularly as it comes during a pivotal RHI consultation period. “The fact remains that the UK is legally bound by statute to honour its 2030 carbon reduction targets, and technologies like heat pumps will be integral to ensuring this happens. That said, the news does leave plenty of room for speculation about the specific focus of the government’s future energy strategy. While the prime minister made it clear in her speech that fuel security and lower bills will be key priorities, what was noticeably absent was any mention of decarbonisation – and at NIBE, we find this potentially unsettling.” The UK Green Building Council (UK-GBC) described the new department as a golden opportunity to put sustainable business at the heart of jobs and prosperity. Julie Hirigoyen, chief executive officer of the UK-GBC, said: “As a priority [Greg Clark] needs to provide reassurance to businesses so they can invest with confidence in a low carbon future. However, the loss of a dedicated climate change department has the potential to send the wrong signal to the international community.” Source link
The Considerate Constructors Scheme is seeking a new board of directors in a major shake-up, which it said will take the organisation to the “next level”. Source link
Newcastle-based social housing landlord Home Group is planning to build a development of 345 homes on the edge of Harrogate, North Yorkshire. Home Group has completed a deal to secure a 46 acre site on the Skipton Road in the outskirts of Harrogate. “This is a prime site in a very popular town where there is a high demand for housing,” said director of development Sean Egan. “We intend to deliver high quality homes which will be sought after by those wanting to live in the area.” He said: “Our appetite for new land opportunities is strong… The deal supports our growth strategy which is to build more mixed tenure communities and overall 50% of our development programme will involve homes for private sale.” Commercial Estates Group (CEG) secured outline planning permission for the site and has worked with Harrogate Borough Council to masterplan the scheme. This article was published on 28 Jul 2016 (last updated on 28 Jul 2016). Source link
Issue Freestyle lane tumble turns banned from Council run swimming pool for health and safety reasons Panel opinion Whilst there can be risks to the swimmer and others from tumble turns, incidents are not common. The decision as to whether or not to allow the practice should be based on a number of factors including pool depth and configuration; number, abilities and demographic of swimmers involved; and other pool activities and supervision issues. In this instance it appears the operator has considered these factors, though it may have been helpful if they had explained more fully the rationale for banning their use during the public sessions in question. Source link
Chelmsford City Council is moving forward with a £25m investment in rebuilding the city’s leisure centre. Chelmsford City Council is redeveloping the Riverside Ice & Leisure centre, which was built in the 1960s. The ice rink is being retained but the existing leisure centre and swimming baths will be demolished after a new facility has been built. The council has published a prior information notice to ‘warm up’ the market to the opportunity and to gather base information to assist in the procurement of the contractor for the project. The council is working towards an autumn 2018 opening date for the new centre. The process for selection of a design team is currently out for tender. This article was published on 16 Jun 2016 (last updated on 16 Jun 2016). Source link
Architect firm Grimshaw has won the tender to provide concept design for the £16bn expansion of Heathrow Airport. Above: Images of concept designs were revealed alongside a fly-through animation of a proposed new design for the Central Terminal Area, also by Grimshaw. The brief is “to bring Heathrow’s vision for expansion to life”, should the airport get permission to build a third runway. Grimshaw, founded by Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, was selected from a shortlist of four that also included Zaha Hadid, HOK and Benoy. Selection of the architect follows on from the announcement of Arup, CH2M, Mace and Turner & Townsend as programme client partners in March. [See previous report here.] Heathrow design chief Barry Weekes said: “We look forward to working with Grimshaw to develop their bold ideas so that once the government approves the Heathrow expansion, we can create a world-class sustainable hub airport which delivers for our passengers, our airlines and also helps to integrate Heathrow with our local communities. With the concept architect and programme client partners now in place, we are now ready to begin the process of expansion once the government makes the right choice for the whole of Britain.” Grimshaw partner Andrew Thomas said: “We believe the expansion of Heathrow is vital to maintaining the UK’s place within the global economy and we look forward to developing a design that provides an authentic and uniquely British sense of place. Our concept will deliver an outstanding passenger experience by building upon the airport’s rich history, while also setting a new standard for the future of aviation.” Further Images This article was published on 20 Jul 2016 (last updated on 20 Jul 2016). Source link
Funding for the Building Lives Academy dries up next month. Watch this video. Do what you can. Funding for the Building Lives Academy dries up next month. Watch this video. Do what you can. Read Full Article: The Construction Index Source link
A round up of some of the week’s most significant corporate events and news stories. JPMorgan’s Dimon warns of threat to biggest US banks ©Getty Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon, chairman and chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, voiced his concerns this week about the issues facing the US financial services industry, writes Ben McLannahan in New York. In his annual letter to shareholders, Mr Dimon defended the biggest US banks, saying attempts to undermine them could cost America its global leadership in financial services — most likely to China. He argued that structures spanning corporate and investment banking allowed big banks such as his to perform “mission-critical services . . . that regional and community banks simply cannot do”. His comments are likely to be targeted by presidential candidates, both sides having talked of cutting big banks down to size, so the US taxpayer is never again on the hook for a bailout. Mr Dimon said it was tempting, “in today’s heated public dialogue, to frame issues as a winner-take-all fight between opposing interests: big versus small, Main Street versus Wall Street”. However, he said: “The US financial services industry does not conform to simple narratives. It is a complex ecosystem that depends on diverse business models coexisting because there is no other way to effectively serve America’s vast array of customers and clients.” If the country’s biggest banks were not allowed to compete, he said, other nations could take advantage. “I do not want any American to look back in 20 years and try to figure out how and why America’s banks lost the leadership position in financial services. If not us, it will be someone else and likely a Chinese bank.” ● Related Lex note: JPMorgan — Vegging out Facebook and Twitter plan to expand live video output At first, social networks threatened to replace television, now, they are becoming it. Both Facebook and Twitter laid out plans this week to allow people to watch more live video, writes Hannah Kuchler in San Francisco. Perched on a slightly perturbed-looking employee’s desk, Mark Zuckerberg announced the expansion of Facebook Live on a livestream. The founder and chief executive said online video was moving beyond TV and Google’s video platform YouTube, and becoming more about communicating with friends. “We’re entering this new golden age of videos online,” he said. Facebook has created a new hub for live video, made it easier for people to comment and send emoji reactions responding to a livestream and allowed people to stream only to certain groups or events. Mr Zuckerberg said he believed this was about supporting independent artists trying to find an audience on Facebook, in a hint that the company could, like YouTube, share revenue with video producers. The social network is also encouraging news publishers from CNN to the New York Times to post more livestreams by giving temporary financial incentives until it begins to show advertising next to the streams. While Facebook was launching more features to challenge Twitter’s Periscope, Twitter won the rights to show American football games, reportedly beating Facebook and Yahoo bids. Twitter will show 10 NFL games on Thursday nights, so its audience can watch while they tweet. The company hoped its biggest move into live broadcasting would help new users discover the messaging platform, while the NFL hoped to win digital reach and revenue beyond TV — and potentially outside the US. The deal for an undisclosed price is not exclusive, as CBS and NBC will still broadcast the games on TV and the NFL will show them on its own channel. But Twitter has the right to sell some of the advertising to be broadcast during the game. ● Related news story: Twitter appoints two new directors WhatsApp defies snoopers with blanket encryption A billion people had their messages, calls and photos made more secure this week without lifting a finger, as WhatsApp rolled out end-to-end encryption, writes Hannah Kuchler in San Francisco. ©AFP The messaging app pressed ahead with its plan to protect messages from the snooping eyes of governments and the malicious motives of hackers. All WhatsApp messages will be decrypted only on the phone itself, so the company will not have access to them on a server. Messages therefore could be provided to law enforcement agencies. Jan Koum, WhatsApp’s co-founder who grew up in the Soviet Union, said he knew first-hand about wanting to keep information private from an intrusive government. The company started this process long before Apple’s recent legal battle with the FBI over access to an iPhone belonging to Syed Farook, who with his wife carried out the San Bernardino attacks last year. In late 2014 WhatsApp began encrypting messages, but it took longer to make the encryption work on the wide range of devices owned by the app’s users and ensure it covered group messages, photos and calls. Although WhatsApp is owned by Facebook, there is little sign that the social network will deploy the same level of encryption to its other apps. Facebook Messenger, which announced this week that it had 900m monthly active users, is pushing for greater integration with businesses, which could make it hard to roll out end-to-end encryption. Air France-KLM head quits to take top job at trade body Alexandre de Juniac stepped down as chief executive of Air France-KLM this week after three years in the job that were beset by profit warnings and clashes with trade unions, writes Michael Stothard in Paris. ©AFP The 53-year-old executive is leaving one of the hardest roles in aviation to become director-general of the International Air Transport Association, the industry’s main trade body. His departure raised fears of a power vacuum at the group that could delay further cost-cutting. High fixed costs are the main challenge at both Air France and KLM, which are competing with increasingly aggressive European budget airlines and Gulf carriers. Mr de Juniac, who was appointed head of Air France in 2011 and then chief executive of Air France-KLM in 2013,