ECS Engineering Services has been appointed as Principal Contractor for the South East by the Environment Agency, under the MEICA (mechanical, electrical, instrumentation control and automation) Framework. This builds on the existing relationship that has seen ECS deliver maintenance services for over 15 years. Under this agreement, ECS can be
Volumetric offsite methods offer complete solutions to housing, hospitals, student accommodation, office buildings and schools. Amongst other advantages, volumetric offsite construction brings to the factory all critical activities linked to the structure, mechanical and electrical work as well as to the exterior and interior finishes, including special equipment. A Volumetric
The building services and construction products supplier Midland Fixings held a Man Vs Food challenge as part of their 2018 corporate social responsibility (CSR). The challenge took place at its Beeston-based headquarters and six members of staff participated in it. The participants had to eat as many sausage rolls as
Hill’s Panel Products (HPP) is supplying and manufacturing furniture and fittings for hundreds of new apartments in Manchester city centre. Together with Beech Design & Build, a leading landlord and developer of apartments for young professionals, students, and visitors, they are working on a series of apartment schemes. HPP could
The Scottish Affairs Committee is “disappointed” the UK government “has not recognised the uncertainty felt in the renewable sector”, or provided “meaningful support and reassurance”. The committee has published the UK government’s response to the renewable energy in Scotland report, which came out in July. Committee chair
©Reuters Elon Musk SolarCity, the solar power company that has received a takeover approach from Tesla Motors, sought to deal with a tortuous web of potential conflicts of interest on Monday by announcing a special committee of directors to consider the proposal. Despite being made up of only two of
Browser does not support script. Contact us The President of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Jane Duncan, has given the following comment to The Architects’ Journal regarding the procurement of the Garden Bridge. Mrs Duncan has also written directly to the Mayor regarding this issue. RIBA President Jane
The £1.35bn Queensferry Crossing across the Forth river remains on budget and on schedule to open to traffic by the end of the year after completion of the 5,600-tonne north approach viaduct’s launch. Above: The north viaduct was pushed 230 metres Unlike the south viaduct which was constructed in sections,
Wessex Water Services has announced the appointment of Andy Pymer as managing director and James Rider as chief operating officer. Andy Pymer and James Rider Pymer is currently director of Regulation and Customer Services, while Rider is director of operations, The appointments follow a recruitment process led by
Greater Brighton Metropolitan College (MET) held the official opening of the Construction and Trades Centre at the Brighton East Campus with a special ceremony that local businesses, staff, and students attended. The ribbon of the £9 million building was cut by Tim Wates, Chair of Coast to Capital Local Enterprise
ECS Engineering Services has been appointed as Principal Contractor for the South East by the Environment Agency, under the MEICA (mechanical, electrical, instrumentation control and automation) Framework. This builds on the existing relationship that has seen ECS deliver maintenance services for over 15 years. Under this agreement, ECS can be assigned directly to projects at all the Environment Agency’s 600+ sites in the South East, ECS also assumes responsibility for maintenance, servicing, repairs and emergency call-outs. The appointment complements other framework agreements ECS has with the Environment Agency. Dave Searle, ECS’s Project Manager for the South East, says: “We have worked with the Environment Agency for many years on a wide range of project types and sizes. This new appointment reflects our ability to deliver a true turnkey solution using our design expertise with in-house fabrication facilities, project management and site engineers.” ECS Engineering Services is headquartered centrally in Nottinghamshire and works all over the UK utilising smaller, local delivery centres, delivering high quality, reliable and cost-effective engineering solutions. It specialises in the bespoke design and construction of water, energy and environmental projects. About ECS Engineering Services ECS Engineering Services has over 20 years experience in delivering high quality, reliable and cost effective engineering solutions, specialising in bespoke design and construction of water, energy and environmental processing and management projects. In conjunction with key supply partners, ECS has the expertise and capacity to design and install a wide range of water control engineering projects. With in-house fabrication services, which have CE Marking approval to EXC3, well equipped and highly skilled engineers can also complete structural steelwork, bespoke fabrication work and access metalwork to the highest standard. With a complete range of site services available, ECS offers a full turnkey project managed service for mechanical and electrical installations including managing civils contractors and supplying pipework, control and automation work to ensure that every installation is installed and commissioned to the highest standard. Existing clients include the majority of the UK Water Utility companies, Government Agencies and Internal Drainage Boards.
Volumetric offsite methods offer complete solutions to housing, hospitals, student accommodation, office buildings and schools. Amongst other advantages, volumetric offsite construction brings to the factory all critical activities linked to the structure, mechanical and electrical work as well as to the exterior and interior finishes, including special equipment. A Volumetric approach ensures better quality control, but also limits the work to be carried on site to groundwork and foundations, connection to services, and minor finish work. As a result of this, volumetric offsite methods have the potential to help achieve a waste reduction of up to 90% on site compared to traditional construction. By bringing most trades within a controlled factory environment it has been proven that the generation of waste can be limited to less than 1.8% of the total weight of materials processed, and that appropriate recycling measures can limit the waste sent to landfill to less than 0.6%. Volumetric modular manufacturing is based on a lean design and procurement process that optimises the use of materials and ensures better management of resources. Utilising flexible modular construction systems, projects can be undertaken on designated sites that are unsuitable for conventional building developments. Offsite construction enables much of the work to be completed prior to delivery, controlling costs and minimising disruption on site. As a sustainable form of construction, modular buildings offer a unique approach to recycling. By reconfiguring used buildings they are able to breathe new life into existing structures, preserving the embodied energy from the original manufacturing phase and significantly reducing the use of materials. Modules are designed to be dismantled, relocated or recycled at any stage during their lifespan; this approach is integral to the build process, removing the requirement for demolition and in turn minimising the need for disposal in landfill sites. Prefabrication techniques produce a low-energy approach coupled with fast-track construction processes, both equating to minimised carbon emissions. Oliver Lowrie, Director for Ackroyd Lowrie is an architect and co-founder of Ackroyd Lowrie. He will be discussing ‘Optimising design for Volumetric production’ at Explore Offsite Outlooks. Oliver will be joined at Explore Offsite Outlooks by an outstanding speaker line-up that includes: Andrew Orriss, Sales Director – SIG360; Ben Lever, Future Skills Manager – CITB; John Eynon, Engagement Lead – BIM Alliance; Alan Clucas, Director – Explore Manufacturing – Laing O’Rourke… and more. For the full list of speakers go to: http://www.exploreoffsite.co.uk/2018-events/explore-offsite-outlooks/conference-speakers/ This one-day conference and exhibition will create a platform for clients and their professional advisers, contractors and project managers and offsite technology suppliers to network with industry experts to discuss the latest developments in digital construction for the offsite sector. The Explore Offsite Outlooks conference and supporting exhibition is taking place on 28 February 2018. Tickets cost just £125 + vat and includes entry into the conference and exhibition, lunch and refreshments. There will also be an optional guided tour of the BRE Innovation Park. To find out more or to secure your place at Explore Offsite Outlooks go to: www.exploreoffsite.co.uk/book
The building services and construction products supplier Midland Fixings held a Man Vs Food challenge as part of their 2018 corporate social responsibility (CSR). The challenge took place at its Beeston-based headquarters and six members of staff participated in it. The participants had to eat as many sausage rolls as they could in one minute. The winner was Dan Kirk, purchasing assistant at Midland Fixings, who managed to eat 5 sausage rolls. This was the first event of the company’s 2018 CSR programme and it raised more than £1,150 for Alzheimer’s Research UK. “The challenge was lots of fun and all for a great cause. It was a close one at the end but I was determined to win! Not only was it fun to take part in but I think the rest of the team enjoyed watching it too – it definitely provided some entertainment for a Friday lunchtime,” commented Dan Kirk. A new charity fundraiser will be organised by Midland Fixings on the 7th and 8th of March, where a team of enthusiastic cyclists will take part in a 350 km cycle challenge in the Pennines. This time, the funds raised will be donated to Breast Cancer Care. “The Man Vs Food challenge was a great way to kick off our 2018 CSR programme – especially as the team loves food. It was for a worthwhile cause and really brought all the staff together to create a sense of community and excitement,” said Adrian Fowler, the managing director at Midland Fixings. “Since the challenge on Friday we’ve had lots of sign-ups for our next challenge of pedal the Pennines and we are hoping to raise even more money for our chosen charity.” Midland Fixings has been operating in the UK for more than 40 years and it currently has 50 members of full time staff. It provides tailored solutions and products to meet the challenges faced by building services contractors in the Mechanical and Electrical sectors. The company has its own in-house engineering design team and fabrication workshop, which provide solutions for residential schemes, food manufacturing plants, and water and energy systems.
Hill’s Panel Products (HPP) is supplying and manufacturing furniture and fittings for hundreds of new apartments in Manchester city centre. Together with Beech Design & Build, a leading landlord and developer of apartments for young professionals, students, and visitors, they are working on a series of apartment schemes. HPP could potentially provide products for contracts covering between 1,500 and 1,700 apartments. Until now, the company has supplied kitchens, bedrooms, and bathroom furniture and fittings in a few key city centre locations including Portland Street, Princess Street, and Cross Street. The products the company supplies include Avanti doors, HPP’s own manufactured range of Glide sliding doors, PVC-edged Aspects doors, vinyl-wrapped Aspire doors and products by brands such as Egger, Kronospan, XyloCleaf, Blum, and Sensio. Shaun Nolan, HPP’s national contracts manager, explains the type of materials and products they have used: “The carcass materials for rooms have predominantly been made using XyloCleaf products. The kitchens have bespoke designs with built-in handles and strip lighting. For the bedrooms, we have again used a lot of XyloCleaf products for boards and doors, and BLUM fixtures and fittings. We also supplied sliding doors from our Glide range, which are manufactured on-site to any size and specification.” HPP is a distributor of leading brands that offers services such as product sourcing, development, design, manufacturing, and cost control. Moreover, HPP also schedules meeting with the client and provides him with the right alternatives. “Architects and specifiers may have particular ideas of what they want but sometimes this cannot be manufactured at the right cost. With 200 or 300 apartments, the price must be right. HPP can provide alternatives that can be manufactured at the right cost and still provide the desired look and feel,” explained Shaun. “We can produce prototypes, ensure the finished article looks right and then begin full manufacturing.” Since its launch in 1991, HPP has managed to expand its range of products to more than 6,000, including full and processed sheet material, vinyl wrapped furniture doors and furniture fittings. The company’s head office and manufacturing site are located in Oldham and a second distribution Sheffield is currently being extended.
The Scottish Affairs Committee is “disappointed” the UK government “has not recognised the uncertainty felt in the renewable sector”, or provided “meaningful support and reassurance”. The committee has published the UK government’s response to the renewable energy in Scotland report, which came out in July. Committee chair Pete Wishart said: “The government’s response to our report shows a worrying complacency. They are right to recognise the strong performance of Scotland’s renewable sector, but they have not responded to the voices of those in the industry who have told us that they are facing an uncertain future.” In the report, published earlier this year, the committee noted that the removal of subsidies had affected confidence in the long-term viability of plants and technological development. The removal of subsidies for onshore wind, one of cheapest renewable sources, without consultation with the industry or Scottish government was “particularly troubling”. Wishart said: “We are told that everything is fine, but where are the reassurances to the renewable sector that the support will be there to encourage the development of new plants and new technologies? Where is the investment in infrastructure? “They have provided us with a tacit admission that they think onshore wind has reached its limit, let us hope that is not their view of the industry as a whole. “Scotland has been way ahead of the rest of the United Kingdom when it comes to renewable energy. The government should be celebrating this and doing everything it can to ensure this success continues into the future, not cutting support and reducing confidence. “We urge them to do more to work with representatives of the industry and the Scottish government as they develop future plans.” Source link
©Reuters Elon Musk SolarCity, the solar power company that has received a takeover approach from Tesla Motors, sought to deal with a tortuous web of potential conflicts of interest on Monday by announcing a special committee of directors to consider the proposal. Despite being made up of only two of SolarCity’s eight board directors, however, the committee still includes one who was also once on the board of Tesla. More On this topic IN Utilities The overlap highlights the difficulties the solar company faces in persuading shareholders that it will evaluate the Tesla bid approach objectively. It will also have to lay the ground for what legal experts said would be an inevitable challenge in court if a deal is ever completed. Tesla chief executive Elon Musk is also chairman of SolarCity and owns slightly more than 20 per cent of both companies, prompting questions about potential conflicts when his takeover approach was announced last Wednesday. Mr Musk and Antonias Gracias, an investor who also sits on both boards, said at the time that they would not vote their shares in either company in any future shareholder vote on a deal. However, the ties between the two companies’ boards go much further, and only one of SolarCity’s eight-person board has no present or past connection to Tesla. On Monday, the solar company set up a special committee with “exclusive authority” to weigh the company’s “long-term business plan and standalone opportunities for value creation against a broad range of strategic alternatives”. One member, venture capital investor Nancy Pfund, was a board member of Tesla before its 2010 initial public offering, while Donald Kendall, chair of the committee, has no previous ties. The committee will be advised by Skadden Arps and Lazard. “The situation is highly unusual” given how many links there are between the two companies’ boards, said Brian Quinn, a professor at Boston College Law School. The overlaps meant that shareholder lawsuits were likely, with the onus falling on SolarCity’s board to show it acted in the best interests of shareholders, he added. Among the directors to have recused themselves from voting on a Tesla takeover are Mr Musk’s cousins Lyndon and Peter Rive. JB Straubel, Tesla’s chief technology officer and another SolarCity director, has also been forced to count himself out. That has left only three directors able to vote on any future offer — Mr Kendall, Ms Pfund and John Fisher, a partner at venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson, which was also an early backer of Tesla. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2016. You may share using our article tools. Please don’t cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web. Source link
Browser does not support script. Contact us The President of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Jane Duncan, has given the following comment to The Architects’ Journal regarding the procurement of the Garden Bridge. Mrs Duncan has also written directly to the Mayor regarding this issue. RIBA President Jane Duncan said: “The allegations relating to the procurement of the Garden Bridge are extremely concerning. All those who bid for work have a right to expect that their submissions will be judged fairly, transparently and in accordance with the law. “Given the high profile nature of this project, the amount of public money at stake and the seriousness of the allegations, we would urge that the project is put on hold and the whole procurement process is then opened up to detailed scrutiny. “This is by no means a comment on the work of the immensely talented Heatherwick Studio and Arup teams. Our concerns are about the fairness and transparency of the procurement process.” ENDS Posted on Tuesday 9th February 2016 Source link
The £1.35bn Queensferry Crossing across the Forth river remains on budget and on schedule to open to traffic by the end of the year after completion of the 5,600-tonne north approach viaduct’s launch. Above: The north viaduct was pushed 230 metres Unlike the south viaduct which was constructed in sections, the north viaduct was fully assembled on site and pushed out over static temporary supports as a single operation. It is more than 220-metres long and has travelled more than 230 metres. Adding the temporary equipment needed for the launch increases the total weight pushed to over 6,000 tonnes. A distance of only 64 metres now remains between making the connection from the north viaduct to the north deck fan. Michael Martin, project director for the consortium building the new bridge, Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors, said: “The launch of the north approach viaduct into its final position has been one of the most technically challenging operations of its type ever performed. “A massive total of 6,300 tonnes of steel and concrete was launched out 230 metres, in itself a significant feat of engineering. But what makes this operation really special is the fact that we had to slide the trailing edge of the moving structure down two ramp walls in order to raise the front edge by two metres. This allowed us to pivot the entire structure over the top of one of the two support piers as it moved forwards, resulting in the viaduct structure being at the correct geometry to match the emerging deck coming from the north tower.” He added: “This operation was extremely technically challenging. It required the ingenuity of some of the best engineers in the world, to design and build the structure and devise the method of safely and successfully launching it out into position. This is the kind of work being delivered on a daily basis right across this amazing project.” The 2.7km bridge is being built by the Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC) consortium, comprising Hochtief, Dragados, American Bridge and Morrison Construction under a £790m contract. This article was published on 21 Mar 2016 (last updated on 21 Mar 2016). Source link
Wessex Water Services has announced the appointment of Andy Pymer as managing director and James Rider as chief operating officer. Andy Pymer and James Rider Pymer is currently director of Regulation and Customer Services, while Rider is director of operations, The appointments follow a recruitment process led by the independent directors of Wessex Water Services. Gillian Camm, who chaired the interview panel, said: “We were very impressed with the calibre of the applicants we interviewed for the managing director role. It is encouraging that the business has such outstanding candidates that measure up very well to the external world.” Colin Skellett, chief executive of the Wessex and YTL UK group of companies, said: “The appointment of Andy and James demonstrates the strength and depth of management capability within Wessex Water. I am delighted with these appointments and am confident they will maintain Wessex Water Services at the forefront of the UK water industry.” The appointments take effect from 1 August 2016. Source link
Greater Brighton Metropolitan College (MET) held the official opening of the Construction and Trades Centre at the Brighton East Campus with a special ceremony that local businesses, staff, and students attended. The ribbon of the £9 million building was cut by Tim Wates, Chair of Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership. After the ceremony, those present there toured around the new facilities, which will be used to train bricklayers, carpenters, electricians, painters and decorators, plasterers, and plumbers. The plans for this construction were supported financially by local growth deal funding, through the Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership, as part of a deal to boost skills in the wider area. The construction industry is expected to see the biggest percentage growth across the UK, with 21.9% and Sussex with 44% over the next five years. “We were delighted to provide Local Growth Fund investment for the Construction and Trades Centre and it is fantastic to see all the hard work by partners come to fruition,” said Tim Wates. He continues: “A tremendous effort has been made to improve Greater Brighton Metropolitan College’s infrastructure and throughout the process we have been impressed with their plans to address the skills deficit of the region. This centre will be a beacon for a city that has ambitions to be world class in construction and we are excited about the future development and growth at the college.” The MET was created from the merger of City College Brighton and Northbrook College Sussex. It offers a comprehensive range of qualifications for 16 year olds leaving school, full and part time courses for adults, apprenticeships, professional qualifications and university degrees. The MET operates across five campuses in Brighton, Shoreham, and Worthing and teaches around 3,500 16-18 year olds, 7,500 adult learners, 1,000 undergraduates and 800 apprentices.