Dura Ltd, the Brackley based Modular Furniture manufacturer has announced the launch of a new website. Although the launch of a new website is not uncommon for companies nowadays, Dura Ltd hope that is will help to reinvigorate the business while celebrating the 20th anniversary of inventing The Fitted Garage.
Buying a home is normally considered the largest purchase that anyone will ever make. Because of the enormity of such a purchase, buyers want every assurance that their home is the quality investment hey think it is and all that hard work was worth it. The Home Builders Federation’s Star
Offsite Solutions has won the Manufacturer of the Year Award. The leading bathroom pod manufacturer in the UK took home the award from the Made in the South West Awards. The annual awards have been created in order to showcase the manufacturing excellence across the South West and celebrate the
The construction industry has been increasingly utilising new technology, changing the way employees work — even the humble hard hat has had a smart makeover. The industry can even benefit from using telematics, or fleet tracking technology, which has seen increased development and now tracks more than just the GPS
A joint venture between Graham Construction and BAM has been selected to deliver Ulster Hospital’s new £95m acute services block. The acute services block is part of the South Eastern Health & Social Care Trust’s wider redevelopment plan for the Belfast hospital, replacing the outdated existing main ward block and
BEAMA calls for sustained UK commitment to aligned EU energy policy Published: 20 September, 2016 BEAMA has warned the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee that a divergence of framework policies between the EU and the UK can have serious implications affecting investor confidence, energy bills, carbon emissions and a
7 May 2016 – by Alexander Peace Eighteen months after the plan for starter homes was announced at the Conservative Party conference, the details surrounding them are still being hammered out. Estates Gazette, with the help of Savills and a recent British Property Federation and Herbert Smith Freehills round table,
Southern Water has been fined £24,000 after an Environment Agency (EA) investigation found it had failed to meet the conditions set out in its environmental permit for Tunbridge Wells North wastewater treatment works. The water company agreed to pay costs of £33,218. The company has an environmental
Anglian Water has blamed a 24.8 per cent fall in operating profit on the effect of the regulatory price reduction and increased operating costs. The water company reported an underlying operating profit of £340.4 million for the year ended 31 March 2016, down from £452.6 million the previous year. Revenue
The Somerset Infrastructure Alliance, a joint venture of Swedish giant Skanska with local firms RK Bell and Forest Traffic Services, has begun to deliver site infrastructure services for Hinkley Point C nuclear power project. Somerset Infrastructure Alliance will carry out site road maintenance, landscaping, signage and fencing. The alliance will
Dura Ltd, the Brackley based Modular Furniture manufacturer has announced the launch of a new website. Although the launch of a new website is not uncommon for companies nowadays, Dura Ltd hope that is will help to reinvigorate the business while celebrating the 20th anniversary of inventing The Fitted Garage. The company first created this concept in 1997 and been working since to transform the interiors of garages and workshops for customers with the delivery of their modular furniture system. It is thought that workshops with a disparate and cluttered array of oily toolboxes as well as wheelie bins and benches can be transformed wit Dura’s modular systems into state-of-the-art workspaces that are efficient. The company say that the solutions offered create a space that is as efficient and technical as a combination of a formula 1 garage and the operating theatre. Over the years that company has developed, and become so successful that they have become the standard for a number of premium automotive brands such as Audi, Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover at their locations around the world. Dura Ltd has also received the Red Dot Design Award and the Queen’s Award for Enterprise during their company history. Now, after twenty years of success, the company is wanting to transform the way that the workplace is used and thought about in the industrial, commercial and educational sectors. In order to move into these new markets, Dura has launched a new division, with their own website. The website has been designed in house and is a great platform to advertise their services while showcasing what they are able to their customers in any sector, from manufacturing to precision engineering, education and training facilities as well as research & development and laboratories. The company hopes that the experience and expertise that has been gained in the automotive aftermarket can be used to offer a similar solution for a range of different sectors going forward.
Buying a home is normally considered the largest purchase that anyone will ever make. Because of the enormity of such a purchase, buyers want every assurance that their home is the quality investment hey think it is and all that hard work was worth it. The Home Builders Federation’s Star Rating Scheme was launched in 2005 as a part of the national survey of house builders. This rating system is a renowned industry benchmark and is an effective and nationally recognised way of identifying quality house builders when looking for a new home. The Scheme works by awarding stars for the level of customer satisfaction that has been achieved. The scheme also offers any prospective buyers a clear indication of the level of customer service standards on offer from each house builder in their area. Because of the public rating system, companies are thein encouraged to deliver excellence in order to improve or maintain their rating and drive future sales. The public star rating scheme that has been set up by the Home Builders Federation also sets a competitive standard between companies to aim for. Barratt Homes have been showcasing their commitment to this Star Rating Scheme, and has been a five-star housebuilder for eight consecutive years. The company has said that one of the shining stars for the company is the Mill Brae Site Manager, David Oliver. Having won several Pride in the Job awards from the NHBC over the course of this extensive career, David Oliver has repeatedly demonstrated his commitment to delivering quality on behalf of Barratt Homes. The only way that a homebuilding company can receive the full five-star rating as a part of the Home Builder’s Federation Scheme is to earning a consistently high score in the national survey for house builders. This meant that customers have to express their happiness and satisfaction with every single aspect of the buying experience as well as with the product itself. Barratt Homes intends to maintain this rating and, in order to do this, operate a comprehensive sign off process in order to make sure that each home is finished to the same exacting standards.
Offsite Solutions has won the Manufacturer of the Year Award. The leading bathroom pod manufacturer in the UK took home the award from the Made in the South West Awards. The annual awards have been created in order to showcase the manufacturing excellence across the South West and celebrate the commitment that has been made by the region’s businesses to achieving world-class quality and performance. The companies that are entered into these awards represent a diverse range of industries, from aerospace and building products to food and drink brands. The winners at this awards ceremony are then automatically put through to the Made in the UK Awards. Offsite Solutions were presented with the Manufacturer of the Year Award for companies with less than £25 million a year turnover at a ceremony that took place in the Grand Hotel, Bristol. The category that Offsite Solutions was included in assessed manufacturing excellence as well as sales growth and regional economic impact. The judges for the Made in the South West Awards praised the spread of sectors that Offsite Solutions is able to flourish in as well as their £5 million factory investment programme that is now in progress. The company are thrilled with this latest accolade and the Managing Director of Offsite Solutions, James Stephens has said that the recognition is a testament to the hard work and talent that has been shown by the teams working across the company. Offsite Solutions are proud to be leaders in the market of offsite bathroom pod manufacture and are committed to innovation. As a part of their focus on innovation, Offsite Solutions invest in state of the art production facilities in Highbridge which will allow the company to continue to offer the very best quality bathroom pod products available on the market. Offsite offer a comprehensive and expanding range of bathroom pods to suit a wide range of building types and finishes. Being named Manufacturer of the Year will no doubt boost the company’s success going forward.
The construction industry has been increasingly utilising new technology, changing the way employees work — even the humble hard hat has had a smart makeover. The industry can even benefit from using telematics, or fleet tracking technology, which has seen increased development and now tracks more than just the GPS of vehicles in the fleet. With all the features now involved in fleet tracking technology, construction companies can take advantage of telematics to save money and maximise productivity on a daily basis. Fleet tracking can maximise routes and calculate specific arrival times The GPS software that comes with fleet tracking shows where vehicles are in real time, on a live map. Operators can then work out and manage the flow of traffic and vehicles at construction sites. Live arrival times can be shared with site coordinators, negating the need to constantly ring drivers for updates. Newer softwares, such as Movolytics, offer specifically designed telematics for construction companies. This combines different features that are key to construction site, such as proximity alerts for nearby deliveries, tracking of vehicle location and length of use. All of which can be viewed on mobile or tablet apps, as well as desktops, for easy use by the coordinators, wherever they are on or off site. Additionally, telematics systems can track fuel spend and driver behaviour. Inefficient driving uses more fuel, meaning businesses need to spend more money on fuel for the vehicles. Drivers will be able to see where they’re going wrong with the data collected by the fleet tracking system, and change the way their drivers operate, saving money for the company. Vehicle tracking can help companies follow Construction Management Plans Construction Management Plans (CMPs) map out an entire project’s schedule, including the flow of construction vehicles in and out of the development site. Businesses operating without vehicle tracking technology run the risk of building up construction vehicles on-site, which could get dangerous, and may breach the traffic management sector of the CMP. Construction sites are always busy with an influx of different vehicles and machinery arriving and leaving the premises, as well as various workers and deliveries. There may not always be enough space for each vehicle, so knowing the location with a GPS tracker offered by fleet tracking can help plan the day a little easier. Fleet tracking can also send alerts to developers once a vehicle has entered a certain area using geofencing. This can also be used to alert operators to busy periods around the construction zone, making it easier to handle traffic and prevent vehicle build ups. Telematics systems can minimise overworking of construction teams Fleet tracking systems are used to check that workers and drivers are operating efficiently, and on schedule. This info can be used to ensure that workers are running on schedule, and they they are not being overworked, or unnecessarily working overtime. A recent study found that construction workers take the least amount of annual holiday, with the majority taking an average of four days holiday per year. It’s important to keep track of working hours by employees, and ensure they are taking the relevant breaks during the day to reduce the chances of taking unnecessary risks caused by fatigue or by being overworked. Fleet tracking systems can help businesses pay their workers accordingly too, with automated timesheets. Managers will be able to clearly see what time employees arrived to work and what time they left, and will be able to cross-reference timesheets. Fleet tracking will alert you to unauthorised vehicle use Businesses will be able to ensure that vehicles are being used for the company, and are not being used elsewhere. Managers can be alerted if a vehicle is being used for personal trips, which uses up more fuel, therefore costing the business even more money. Using vehicles outside of company hours can also drive up maintenance costs, as the vehicle goes through more wear and tear, which ultimately costs the business more money to repair. Fleet tracking can be massively beneficial to a construction company, and can help make the job easier for staff as well as managers and site coordinators. While it can be used to save money by the business, it also allows staff to be treated fairly by allowing managers to work out payslips, and also improves on the health and safety of staff.
A joint venture between Graham Construction and BAM has been selected to deliver Ulster Hospital’s new £95m acute services block. The acute services block is part of the South Eastern Health & Social Care Trust’s wider redevelopment plan for the Belfast hospital, replacing the outdated existing main ward block and other specialist acute services. It will be built next to the £86m seven-storey ward facility that is already being constructed by the Graham-BAM Healthcare Partnership on the same complex, scheduled to complete in autumn 2016. The new eight-storey, 31,000 m2 acute services block thus represents Phase B of a four-year £185m construction framework that began in 2013. The scheme has been designed to achieve BREEAM Excellent status and will use flat slab construction to integrate the structure with its services and the clinical spaces. The building’s high thermal mass is expected to reduce operational running costs and the delivery of the structural and acoustic solutions will further support the healthcare services. Further Images This article was published on 19 Apr 2016 (last updated on 19 Apr 2016). Source link
BEAMA calls for sustained UK commitment to aligned EU energy policy Published: 20 September, 2016 BEAMA has warned the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee that a divergence of framework policies between the EU and the UK can have serious implications affecting investor confidence, energy bills, carbon emissions and a single market approach to placing products on the EU market. Responding to the Select Committee’s Post Brexit inquiry, BEAMA has referenced a number of framework directives including Energy Performance of Buildings, Renewable Energy and Energy Related Products as ‘game changers’ that have significant long term investment and product development implications that should not be diluted within the terms of Brexit. BEAMA chief executive Dr Howard Porter, said: “Aside from the obvious market signals that building and energy targets can provide to investors, we must not forget that pan-EU product standardisation, intellectual property registration and rules for placing equipment on the market actually make manufacturing processes more efficient within the single market framework.” Dr Porter also supports the principle of freedom of movement of people, stating that there is a very real engineering education gap that will eventually be addressed through the apprenticeship levy but in the meantime we need the freedom of movement of expertise to help the UK meet its energy priorities. Source link
7 May 2016 – by Alexander Peace Eighteen months after the plan for starter homes was announced at the Conservative Party conference, the details surrounding them are still being hammered out. Estates Gazette, with the help of Savills and a recent British Property Federation and Herbert Smith Freehills round table, has identified the key unanswered questions. The basic principles of the starter homes plan are in the Housing and Planning Bill, which just passed through the House of Lords. Next, the secretary of state will set out the rules and regulations. All the content from this weekís magazine, including this article, is available in the new app. A second consultation on how it will work closes on 18 May. Assuming a month to process responses, along with Westminster’s summer hiatus, there is likely to be no clarity until the autumn, leaving just three and a half years to meet the government’s target of 200,000 homes by 2020. The government wants a fifth of new homes to be offered as starter homes to first-time buyers not eligible for affordable housing. Click here to read more Source link
Southern Water has been fined £24,000 after an Environment Agency (EA) investigation found it had failed to meet the conditions set out in its environmental permit for Tunbridge Wells North wastewater treatment works. The water company agreed to pay costs of £33,218. The company has an environmental permit to discharge treated effluent from the Tunbridge Wells North works to the Somerhill Stream. The conditions of the environmental permit are set by the EA to support a healthy river for wildlife and recreation. The EA investigation found that the permit conditions were exceeded between July 2013 and July 2014. Southern Water pleaded guilty to the charges under the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2010. In mitigation, Southern Water stated that it had already spent £360,000 on improvement to the treatment works and a further £6 million was planned for the future. EA environment manager David Willis said: “We take these incidents very seriously and do everything within our powers to safeguard the environment and people that may be affected. “We expect companies to take all necessary actions to comply with the conditions set out in environmental permits and welcome Southern Water’s commitment to spend a further £6 million on planned improvement works.” This article first appeared on wwtonline Source link
Anglian Water has blamed a 24.8 per cent fall in operating profit on the effect of the regulatory price reduction and increased operating costs. The water company reported an underlying operating profit of £340.4 million for the year ended 31 March 2016, down from £452.6 million the previous year. Revenue for the year was £1,185.4 million – down £58.9 million on last year – primarily reflecting the reduction in customer bills which came into effect on 1 April 2015, in line with the regulatory price setting review. This was partially offset by customer growth in the region. Operating costs for the year increased by £36.7 million (7 per cent) to £560.6 million, compared with £523.9 million in 2015. Anglian said almost half of this increase is due to a rise in minor repair costs which used to be capitalised under the old infrastructure renewals accounting rules, and has consequently increased volatility in operating costs. The bad debt charge for the year was down 3.6 per cent on the previous year at £31.9 million (2015: £33.1 million), which the group put down to the impact of the tariff reduction in the year, and improved management of customer credit. Over the five years of AMP6, Anglian plans to invest more than £2.1 billion through its investment programme. It will also invest more than £800 million to “support protection of customer supply”, it said. The company said its business retail arm – Anglian Water Business (AWB) – is “advanced in its preparation” for the opening of the market to supply non-household customers in April 2017. AWB moved into its own office with separate IT and telephony systems in April 2015, and is now operating independently of its wholesale operation. Anglian Water Services is also preparing for competition and has established a wholesale service centre, which will be the single point of contact for all retailers. Anglian chief executive Peter Simpson said: “Despite the fall in revenue that follows the bill reduction, and the significant challenges posed by the introduction of stretching outcome delivery incentives (ODIs), we have delivered a year of very strong performance. “We have exceeded our targets in a number of key areas. All of our ODIs have met their base targets for the year, with three achieving maximum – or close to maximum – reward as a result of exceptionally strong performance against targets that really deliver for the business and for our customers. “Performance in leakage, pollutions and interruptions to supply is particularly pleasing, with measures for all these areas at their best ever… “In the coming year we will continue to drive efficiency across our business, recognising the importance of relative efficiency in the way the industry will be judged. Our focus will remain on maintaining and improving business performance, while continuing to influence national policy to support the case for building long-term resilience in the run up to PR19, planning for which is already underway.” Source link
The Somerset Infrastructure Alliance, a joint venture of Swedish giant Skanska with local firms RK Bell and Forest Traffic Services, has begun to deliver site infrastructure services for Hinkley Point C nuclear power project. Somerset Infrastructure Alliance will carry out site road maintenance, landscaping, signage and fencing. The alliance will also deliver various logistical services to help vehicles move around the site, including carriageway and footway maintenance, site cleaning, traffic management, winter maintenance and minor civils works. It will also be responsible for coordination of all works outside of the main construction areas. Skanska operations director Simon White said: “We are proud to be contributing to this project. The unique alliance arrangement that has been created with our local partners is aimed at delivering the project in a highly collaborative way whilst building a local legacy of skills and employment.” Forest Traffic Services managing director Ross Williams said: “We are delighted to be part of the alliance that will deliver site infrastructure services for such a significant project and are looking forward to working in this innovative and collaborative way with our alliance partners to provide a best quality and highly responsive service. This major opportunity gives us the confidence to make a major investment in recruiting and training additional local staff.” RK Bell managing director Nick Bell added: “This is a fantastic opportunity to move into the new nuclear build sector in a collaborative way, sharing skills and knowledge along the journey. It has given us an opportunity to continually raise the bar across the business whilst enabling us to invest in higher levels of training and apprentice schemes. Choosing the right partners, who can work well together to deliver on the client’s requirements, has been a clear priority.” This article was published on 20 Sep 2016 (last updated on 20 Sep 2016). Source link