R&M recommends systematic digitalization / Manual management of the increasing number of physical connections in digital data networks is now almost impossible. Wetzikon, London – “Digitalization of the economy without a sufficient network infrastructure is as like a railway without tracks,” says Andreas Rüsseler, Chief Marketing Officer for cabling specialist
Predicting the energy future Anyone who predicts the future risks winding up with egg on their face. This is as true in energy as anything else – just look at how the rapid roll-out of renewables caught everyone by surprise. As such, the best tactic is often to avoid predicting
Crosslane Student Developments, part of the Crosslane Group, is pleased to announce that it has submitted its first planning application in Coventry, to deliver a 583 bed purpose-built student accommodation development on Friar’s Road. Proposals are to develop the site into a new purpose-built, high specification 19 storey student accommodation
Is It Possible To Remove Risk From Your Property Development? Investments all come with risks, and the property market has its fair share of those to consider before any decisions can be made. However, it is possible to reduce risk from your property development, to protect yourself, those working for
©Getty Trucks move ore at the Oyu Tolgoi mine in the south Gobi desert region of Mongolia. Rio Tinto is moving ahead with a $5.3bn expansion of its Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia, placing a bigger bet on long-term demand for the industrial metal but increasing its exposure to
5 July 2016 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal North Lincolnshire-based group Clugston has recorded a £2.2 million profit, according to its annual results for the financial year 2015-16. The group, which has operations in construction logistics, property and facilities management, revealed a £2.2 million pre-tax profit on a turnover of £143.4 million.
The founder of The Landscape Agency Patrick James, who created it as far back as 1998, has passed the baton of Managing Director to Alex Robinson. The Agency is reportedly very satisfied with this and are confident that the move will secure the long-running success of the company and ensure
Construction and landscaping specialist Crown Group is to play a leading role in the expansion of Warners Bros studios – home to blockbusters including Harry Potter and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. The Midlands-based company has secured a major landscaping project at the sprawling 150-acre Hertfordshire site as part of
A brand new interactive online tool has analysed 14,236 pieces of data across the 50 biggest British cities to help users determine whether relocating in 2017 would make them any better or worse off depending on their job. Jobs analysed include architecture, building surveyor, chartered surveyor, facilities management, project management,
Rural Housing / Taigheadas Dùthchail BBC ALBA, first episode Monday 23 January, 8.30pm – 9pm A new four-part series on BBC ALBA examines the dramatic development of rural housing In Scotland over the years. Builder Ewen MacKinnon, who has a passion for the beauty of construction, takes us on a
R&M recommends systematic digitalization / Manual management of the increasing number of physical connections in digital data networks is now almost impossible. Wetzikon, London – “Digitalization of the economy without a sufficient network infrastructure is as like a railway without tracks,” says Andreas Rüsseler, Chief Marketing Officer for cabling specialist R&M AG, in his market outlook. R&M, the globally active Swiss developer and provider of cabling systems for high-end network infrastructures based in Wetzikon, expects to see an increase in demand for integrated solutions for network infrastructures in 2017. “Cabling with copper and fiber optic systems is still required as the physical foundation for digitalization – in the same way that tracks are required for transportation by rail. But these days it is more than just a question of cabling,” says R&M CMO Andreas Rüsseler. The building and network infrastructures themselves have to be digitized. “First of all, the basis of a network needs to have the right dimensions and level of reliability in order to cope with the wide-ranging applications of the future,” says Andreas Rüsseler. He adds that, given the high expectations for the age of the digitized economy, it is easy to forget that network installations are just as necessary as apps, computers, data centers, and the billions of things that are connected to the internet – the Internet of Things. Rüsseler even believes that the trend toward digitalization is even making the economy fully dependent on tight-knit, fast, interruption-free network infrastructures. A market study conducted by IT consultancy company Capgemini confirms this trend, revealing that digitalization is the topic currently at the top of the agenda of more than half of all CIOs. And it looks set to stay there for the foreseeable future. R&M is now increasingly recommending that planners, investors, and network operators include the physical level of a network, i.e., the cabling, in the digitalization process from the outset. By this, R&M proposes that a full virtual profile should be stored for each network. The type, function, and status of every connector and cable should be recorded digitally and managed centrally, with control being fully automated via a web application. According to R&M, if this is not the case, it will become impossible to manage the increasing volume of network information and increasing number of network connections brought about by the ubiquitous Internet of Things, cloud services, and the growing demand for bandwidth. R&M’s main market – the structured cabling market – alone is growing by about three percent every year. Hardware manufacturer Cisco estimates that 50 billion sensors will be connected to the Internet of Things by 2020, while chip manufacturer Intel predicts that, by 2030, some 200 billion items, appliances, devices, machines, and buildings will have an internet connection. “Someone is going to have to manage all of these connections and devices,” says Andreas Rüsseler. On this basis, R&M is expecting to see growing demand for integrated network solutions based on comprehensive planning that include the technology and software for digitalization, monitoring, and management, as well as cabling systems. R&M already has an appropriate solution in the form of R&MinteliPhy. This network monitoring system monitors cabling across all distances and in all magnitudes, and also enables three-dimensional digital representation of the data center infrastructure. “We are gradually adding software and services to our cabling portfolio,” explains Andreas Rüsseler. R&M is building up the expertise needed to be able to manage and support IT processes relating to infrastructure. The company is also working on further developments, with the aim of making the management of data networks more user-friendly. R&M identifies data centers as the area where the greatest demand currently lies. “Hyperscale data centers spanning an area equal to football fields cannot be monitored manually. Spatially distributed data centers belonging to cloud providers and other companies also require fully automated infrastructure management that can be managed centrally – known as AIM. This is exactly what is provided by R&MinteliPhy. This level of automation is only possible on the basis of a digital profile of the infrastructure,” explains the CMO. R&M also sees its AIM solution – R&MinteliPhy – as a component of a superordinate Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) system. “Without digital planning, stocktaking, and online management of the entire data center, it is no longer possible for IT providers to present services with high availability. Detailed information and status updates in real time are an absolute requirement,” says Andreas Rüsseler. In this regard, R&M advocates full and continuous monitoring that covers every level of data transmission, from the connector to the application. “What use is there in monitoring the higher layers of a network if somewhere a network connector has been disconnected or inserted incorrectly and nobody has noticed?” asks Andreas Rüsseler. With reference to market statistics, R&M points out that operational errors and other such faults at the passive network infrastructure level are behind more than half of all data center failures. The company believes that this problem alone is reason enough for real-time monitoring of cabling to be introduced. Causes of damages, delays, signal losses, and high consumption data can be identified quickly online by referring to the digital profile of a process or infrastructure. Digital information about the infrastructure therefore becomes a key factor in success. AIM is indispensable from a business perspective, too, in that it makes it possible to view and analyze the life cycle status of assets in use at any time at the click of a mouse. Digital information about the infrastructure therefore becomes a key factor in success, proving essential to long-term value creation, strategic decision-making, and agile reactions to changes on the market, according to R&M. AIM facilitates universal planning, while also simplifying organization and business processes. The CMO points out that: “These are the exact same areas identified by Capgemini as obstacles standing in the way of digitized IT organization.” Information on how to create digital profiles for network infrastructures is available in issue 51 of R&M’s specialist magazine “Connections.”
Predicting the energy future Anyone who predicts the future risks winding up with egg on their face. This is as true in energy as anything else – just look at how the rapid roll-out of renewables caught everyone by surprise. As such, the best tactic is often to avoid predicting at all, or take a conservatively pessimist line. For medium sized UK businesses, that’s often grim resignation to ever-increasing energy prices eating away at the bottom line. I’ll stick my neck out though and say this: the energy future for UK business could actually be very bright indeed. Medium sized UK business – vital to the economy but more exposed than the big multinationals – can vastly reduce the impact of energy costs and insulate themselves against the risks inherent in energy price shocks. All it takes is to take three words to heart: reduce, generate, store. Reduce Reducing energy use should be the first priority for any business. No Kw is greener or cheaper than the one unused. Investments such as LED lighting, efficient boilers and variable speed drives can save huge amounts of money and energy. Back when it was known as DECC, the department estimated 18-25% energy savings were possible for SMEs with an average payback period of less than 1.5 years. Generate But efficiency only takes you so far. Companies can take matters into their own hands by using on-site generation to partially cover their energy needs, reducing the amount needed to be purchased. This could be diesel generators, but is increasingly including clean power sources such as solar, wind or combined heat and power biomass systems. For now, this is the domain of the most forward-thinking companies, but solar PV costs have declined so rapidly in recent years that it will be a feasible and attractive option for many businesses. Some might protest that the roll-back of subsidies such as the Feed-In Tariff (FIT) scheme undermine this. But that’s a setback that should quickly be overcome as panels get cheaper and finance gets smarter. Store The real game changer though, has been the advent of storage. In 2016, we’ve seen commercial and domestic storage make huge strides. Look at Tesla’s Powerwall or AES Storage’s commercial-scale project in Kilroot. As with solar, battery prices are falling and companies are scrambling to develop and commercialise different business models. Storage is the missing piece of the puzzle for UK businesses. You can reduce energy usage and create your own but there will be excess energy because of the intermittency of renewables. Storage can hold that otherwise wasted energy and discharge it when required. The energy future for medium sized UK businesses is one that includes energy reduction, generation and storage. By diligently taking advantage of available tax incentives such as Enhanced Capital Allowances and Annual Investment Allowances, combined with intelligent financing designed to deliver savings greater than repayments, it’s possible for UK businesses to begin that transition now. Doing so means lower costs, greater resiliency and a future-proofed business. That’s my prediction.
Crosslane Student Developments, part of the Crosslane Group, is pleased to announce that it has submitted its first planning application in Coventry, to deliver a 583 bed purpose-built student accommodation development on Friar’s Road. Proposals are to develop the site into a new purpose-built, high specification 19 storey student accommodation scheme, comprising 140 studios and 443 en-suite cluster flats and significant dedicated communal areas, including a common room, along with study room, gym, cinema and kitchen-dining room for entertaining as well as a private outdoor courtyard. The site is located at the junction of Friar’s Road and St Patrick’s Road, within the city’s main ring road, just to the south of Coventry city centre and a short walk to Coventry University campus, the city’s main shopping centre and train station. Coventry University is already the fastest growing university in the UK by student enrolment and the University has recently committed to significant investment in its facilities and buildings over the next five years, which is expected to further increase student applications. Demand for well-located, premium purpose-built student accommodation in the city continues to increase leading to a significant supply-demand imbalance. Mike Moran, Development Manager, Crosslane Student Developments, said: “Crosslane is delighted to have submitted its first planning application for a student accommodation development in Coventry. The proposed scheme is right in the heart of the city centre and a short walk to Coventry University. At 583 beds, the scheme would be a significant contribution to easing the supply/demand fundamentals which persist for purpose-built student accommodation in the city.
Is It Possible To Remove Risk From Your Property Development? Investments all come with risks, and the property market has its fair share of those to consider before any decisions can be made. However, it is possible to reduce risk from your property development, to protect yourself, those working for you and the development itself. RIsk cannot be removed altogether but you can put precautions in place to ensure your losses are minimised. If you have been considering how best to minimise risk in your latest project, read on to discover just how you can go about doing so: Team up with a reputable, knowledgeable builder When it comes to hiring a builder, don’t shop around on the basis of cost alone. Quality is key when working in the property development field, which is why you need to look for a builder who knows what they’re doing, who you can rely on and even turn to advice when it comes to renovations and putting together your vision. They should also be able to overcome any hurdles along the way, they’ll know when to apply for planning permission, who to turn to in the event of an emergency repair and can help you correctly plan timelines for builds and work. Look at what the big players are doing The big property development players and land acquisition companies have got to where they are for a reason, the First Urban Group for example has curated a portfolio of developments, where sustainability is key and the local area is considered carefully. Look carefully at what companies such as this are doing and follow in their footsteps to avoid any risk of taking the wrong path. Take time to understand the property market You should stay up to date on property news, especially with Brexit continuing to cause confusion and caution. If buy-to-let is your main ambition, it’s very important you read up on the latest restrictions applied to this area, making decisions without understanding the implications can have a negative effect on your investments and future as a property developer. Educating yourself about the processes will significantly reduce risk; help you become knowledgeable in the financial areas and ensure you know what you are talking about when dealing with future buyers. Work with the right estate agent Whether you are selling the property on for potential profit or teaming up with a letting agent, ensure you select the right one and avoid risk of taking on the services of an incompetent team. A big name doesn’t always mean the best service, so speak to people in the industry and ask who they recommend. Always ensure you are covered The simplest of things can be forgotten, such as property developer insurance. Ensure you are covered for any house building work to ensure that should something go wrong while the builders are in you are protected financially and legally. It’s worth paying out for and is the simplest way to reduce risk. Before you begin your next development project, check through this list and ensure you feel confident that risk is at a minimum before taking the next step.
©Getty Trucks move ore at the Oyu Tolgoi mine in the south Gobi desert region of Mongolia. Rio Tinto is moving ahead with a $5.3bn expansion of its Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia, placing a bigger bet on long-term demand for the industrial metal but increasing its exposure to a country where it struggled for years to win approval for the project. The board of the Anglo-Australian miner signed off on a plan to more than double output at Oyu Tolgoi to 500,000 tonnes annually over the next decade, making it one of the world’s largest copper mines. More On this topic IN Mining Rio controls the mine through its majority ownership of Canada-listed Turquoise Hill, which owns 66 per cent of the project with the remainder held by Mongolia’s government. While copper prices are close to multiyear lows, miners including Rio expect a healthier outlook for the metal over the medium term, with falling output from existing mines. One common piece of conventional wisdom in the industry is that a project the size of Escondida — the world’s largest copper mine, with more than 1m tonnes of annual production, where Rio is a minority shareholder — is needed each year just to keep pace with the natural decline from older mines. Rio, one of the world’s largest miners of iron ore, has been expected to increase its focus on copper. The group recently said it would replace Sam Walsh, chief executive for the past three years, with Jean-Sébastien Jacques, who headed its copper operations over the same period. Rio first invested in Mongolia more than a decade ago in the first, open-pit phase of Oyu Tolgoi, which went into production in 2013. But the miner battled with Mongolian authorities for several years over the terms for an underground expansion, which Rio said would bring more of the overall profits from the project. Mr Jacques, who headed the last years of talks with Mongolia over the mine and will take over as Rio’s chief executive in July, said the Oyu Tolgoi expansion would mean “unlocking 80 per cent of its value”. “Long-term copper fundamentals remain strong and production from the Oyu Tolgoi underground will commence at a time when copper markets are expected to face a structural deficit,” he said. Myles Allsop, analyst at UBS, said Oyu Tolgoi was “still a high risk project” for Rio because of potential further disputes with Mongolia. “We see a number of potential areas of contention medium term, including the use of cash, power supply, smelter construction, as well as taxes,” Mr Allsop said in a research note that also highlighted risks from the project’s reliance on a single customer — China — and the technical challenges of the underground development. The expansion is one of the largest projects sanctioned by a global miner since commodities went into a sharp downturn. Across the industry, companies have been ratcheting back their capital spending. Rio’s annual investment budget for this year is $4bn, compared with more than $17bn in 2012. But miners that do have funds to commit to projects are expected to benefit from cheaper production and labour costs than during the sector’s boom years, when skilled staff were scarce and machinery was in short supply. Rio agreed $4.4bn of project financing for the development in December, with an option for a further $1.6bn of debt. The first phase of Oyu Tolgoi has already cost almost $7bn. 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
5 July 2016 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal North Lincolnshire-based group Clugston has recorded a £2.2 million profit, according to its annual results for the financial year 2015-16. The group, which has operations in construction logistics, property and facilities management, revealed a £2.2 million pre-tax profit on a turnover of £143.4 million. Although down from the previous year – the highest in Clugston’s history – these results were considered a solid set of figures for a group whose main activities are carried out in some of the UK’s most competitive sectors. Investment in the FM business enabled the division to increase its workload by securing further orders in the chemical, education and industrial sectors. With the majority of these long-term contracts, Clugston has introduced new services in fire prevention, HVAC maintenance and energy management to support existing and new customers. Source link
The founder of The Landscape Agency Patrick James, who created it as far back as 1998, has passed the baton of Managing Director to Alex Robinson. The Agency is reportedly very satisfied with this and are confident that the move will secure the long-running success of the company and ensure the future is forever bright at The Landscape Agency. Mister Robinson’s background is not that of a new outsider: he has been with the company for the last seven years as a Senior Landscape Architect and seems to be fully at home within his new position. Commenting on his new appointment, Mister Robinson expressed his unadulterated passion for landscaping architecture. It is clear that when Robinson looks at a large tract of space, what he does not see is a mere plot of land but a goldmine of various different possibilities, a Pandora’s Box of architectural landscaping potential. As for the founder Patrick James, he will still oversee the future of TLA but in a less managerial position, acting instead in the more stately role as its Director and Founder. Mister James is pleased by this sequence of events, and sees the appointment of a new managing director to his company as a way to celebrate its upcoming 20th birthday with the style and panache that it so blatantly deserves. Based in York, The Landscape Agency has worked with numerous leading architects and concerns itself with subjects in the field as diverse as land regeneration to country houses and stately homes. Their rapport with environmentalists and concern for the ecosystem has also ensured that The Landscape Agency maintains good relations and an equable balance between modern 21st Century development and preserving the wonderful natural landscapes and vistas that the British public hold with such pride and high regard. And with a new enthusiastic Managing Director at its helm with experience from within the company itself, it seems that things can only get better for The Landscape Agency.
Construction and landscaping specialist Crown Group is to play a leading role in the expansion of Warners Bros studios – home to blockbusters including Harry Potter and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. The Midlands-based company has secured a major landscaping project at the sprawling 150-acre Hertfordshire site as part of the latest instalment of the multi-million pound studios’ expansion. Warners Bros is constructing additional sound stages, workshops, a multi-storey car park and a state of the art graphics and design space at Leavesden. A Landscape Planting Strategy, which includes substantial new planting along the western edge of the backlot and in and around the Studio Tour car park extension, will be delivered by Crown Group. Managing director Gareth Emberton said the contract due to complete by Spring 2017 was the latest in a string of business wins for the sub-contractor, which has doubled in size in the last year. He said: “We are passionate about construction and horticulture working hand in hand and we’ve delivered commercial landscaping schemes successfully across the UK for some time. “However, our long term strategy was always to expand our core business, developing more of an integrated approach to the design, building and maintenance of construction and landscaping projects. We’re seeing the result of this in the last year. “We’re seeing the result of this in the last year with a number of high-profile contracts, including this one at the home of cinema’s greatest movies, including Casablanca and of course, the Harry Potter films. “The contract at Warner Bros supports the master plan for the next ten years for the site which attracts more than five million visitors a year.” The Group is also seeing significant growth in its facilities management and environmental management divisions. And Gareth is convinced this is because top construction contractors, whether working on key infrastructure projects such as HS2 or private sector investments like Warners Bros, want contractors who can solve problems. Gareth said: “Our focus is always on how we can innovate the process, to help the construction giants we work with, such as Bowmer & Kirkland and Galliford Try, save time and money.” One of the key factors in our growth has been our ability to not just provide the materials and the manpower, but to work in partnership with leading contractors to plan properly. “We understand how construction works, as the key is to deliver a living product, which both the clients and planners are happy with. This needs to happen during at times complex construction processes and site specific issues and constraints. The aim is always to deliver a high quality project, with a supply chain which spans Europe, nurturing the completed project through it’s establishment and ongoing maintenance through to maturity.” For more information on Crown Group, visit http://www.crownlandscapes.com or call 01743 709411.
A brand new interactive online tool has analysed 14,236 pieces of data across the 50 biggest British cities to help users determine whether relocating in 2017 would make them any better or worse off depending on their job. Jobs analysed include architecture, building surveyor, chartered surveyor, facilities management, project management, quantity surveyor and site manager. Average salaries by job and location, property costs, the average fees associated with moving home and the number of jobs in each field per 10,000 people have all been analysed to help users of a brand-new tool work out whether a 2017 move to a new UK city would benefit them financially or leave them worse off. The Best UK City widget, built by www.Web-Blinds.com, asks users to choose an occupation from an extensive drop-down menu and state the city they live in or a city they are considering relocating to. The tool then directs users to a series of in-depth results pages, showing how each city compares to the rest when it comes the cost of moving and setting up home, the number of job opportunities and an overall table. For example, for Building Surveyor jobs, London scores 39/49 overall, with the following rankings: 3/49 in terms of salary, with an average annual income of £41,254 49/49 in terms of the cost of property and average fees/furnishings, with an average cost of £616,944 12/49 in terms of job opportunities, with 38.31 jobs per 10,000 people LINK TO TOOL: https://www.web-blinds.com/resources/city-jobs-comparison/ Kirsty O’Sullivan, spokesperson for www.Web-Blinds.com, said: “People move to the big city for many reasons – but an improved pay packet is often high among them. That said, people could end up worse off if they move to a city with high accommodation costs. After all, what’s the point in moving for an extra £100 a month if your mortgage jumps up by even more?”
Rural Housing / Taigheadas Dùthchail BBC ALBA, first episode Monday 23 January, 8.30pm – 9pm A new four-part series on BBC ALBA examines the dramatic development of rural housing In Scotland over the years. Builder Ewen MacKinnon, who has a passion for the beauty of construction, takes us on a fascinating and revealing journey through Scotland’s rural housing landscape – telling a story of place, people and home. The history of traditional buildings in the Highlands and Islands resonates particularly with people today as an increasing number of people are choosing to build new homes using the materials from early 19th century homes and in line with much-loved styles such as the blackhouse. The first programme takes a look at some examples of the earliest dwellings in Scotland, dating back to the Iron Age. The programme explores their key qualities, and what they teach us about those who lived there. Over the generations, we can see the changing relationship between crofters and their animals, the changing status of crofters and the relationship between Islanders and outside influences. Amongst the buildings we visit – the impressive Isle of Lewis stone structures, the Bosta Iron Age House on Great Bernera, Uig the Norse Mill in nearby Shawbost, the s-shaped house named Oran na Mara on Harris, the Hebridean Earth House on South Uist and the Carloway broch, Isle of Lewis. These structures have also inspired numerous impressive new island homes. We also find out about the fascinating wooden crannogs, which were built on stilts on Scotland’s lochs, the restored Gearrannan Blackhouse Village on Lewis which has a new life as holiday accommodation and visit a unique reconstruction in Perthshire. Rural Housing / Taigheadas Dùthchail – a stylish new series which explores the many unique elements of our built landscapes, and their influence on the dwellings we live in today. Rural Housing, a four-part series produced by MacTV for BBC ALBA, will be broadcast on Monday 23 January, 8.30pm – 9pm and thereafter on Monday 30th January, 6th February and 13th February at 8.30pm.