BSP Consulting, the civil and structural engineering firm, has promoted three of its members to new positions. Those are the chartered civil engineer Carol Ell and the chartered structural engineer Monika Anszperger who have become associates, and Tim Wilson who has stepped up to become the new associate director. Carol joined the company in July 2004 and works in BSP’s Leicester office in De Montfort Street; Monika joined in January 2014 and is based in the Derby office at Pride Park; and Tom has been with BSP since 2005 and is currently managing the civil engineering team in Leicester. “These changes reflect the much-increased responsibility levels that Tim, Carol and Monika now embrace and perform for the company. I and the BSP team congratulate them on their achievement,” said BSP Managing Director David Sumner. BSP Consulting is an award-winning civil and structural engineering firm offering services throughout the construction sector. It is based on Oxford Street, Nottingham and it provides a comprehensive range of consultancy services in civil, structural, geotechnical, transportation and environmental engineering to all sectors of the construction community, including architects, project managers, contractors, developers, and estate agents. Founded in 1999, the company has three offices across the East Midlands, in Oxford Street, Nottingham, at Pride Park, Derby, and in De Montfort Street, Leicester, and one office in South Yorkshire, on Solly Street in Sheffield. In 2009, BSP Consulting was awarded the prestigious title of Consultant of the Year at the East Midlands Property Dinner.

Although remote monitoring of data centre operations is not a new discipline, it is evolving rapidly into a continuous online process in which reactions to changing circumstances occur with increasing speed, accuracy and automation.   A new White Paper, number 237, from Schneider Electric entitled “Digital Remote Monitoring and How it Changes Data Center Operations and Maintenance” outlines seven trends that are defining monitoring service requirements and how they will lead to improvements in data centre operations and management. The power and cooling infrastructure in today’s data centres typically has about three times more data points and notifications than it had 10 years ago. This raises challenges for management with regard to managing both the maintenance data and the data centre itself for maximum benefit. Although remote monitoring is nothing new, notifications were traditionally intermittent—usually transmitted via e-mail—whereas today instantaneous online notifications are the norm. The trends described in the white paper include: Embedded system performance and cost improvements, cyber security, cloud computing, Big Data analytics, mobile computing, machine learning, and automation for labour efficiency. The appearance of sensors, meters, and data collection points in all manner of infrastructure equipment from cooling units to PDUs is driving the increase in systems-management.  The use of Big Data analytics and machine learning all help to increase efficiency and emergency response without human intervention, leading to quicker and more cost-effective operations. The white paper also discusses how data centre operations will evolve as a result of these trends becoming more efficient, more easily scalable, and more responsive to changing customer needs. The “Network Effect”, which causes activity to increase in value as more people use it, will become apparent as new insights and methods are derived from the data. Data centre operators should review the digital remote monitoring requirements discussed in the paper as they begin to assess the evolution of their own facilities. White Paper 237 “Digital Remote Monitoring and How it Changes Data Center Operations and Maintenance” is available for free download at http://www.apc.com/wp?wp=237    Source link

Details on how the different apprenticeships will be capped have still not been published despite summer recess beginning yesterday. Sources told Construction News they had been expecting a decision before recess but now feared this will be postponed until September at the earliest. The delays add to growing frustrations among contractors who need details on the caps to understand how they will pay for training once the levy comes in next April. The apprenticeship levy was formerly under the control of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, but this has now changed following prime minister Theresa May’s Cabinet reshuffle. It will now come under the remit of the Department for Education. A government spokeswoman said: “Our focus is on ensuring the levy works for businesses of all sizes as they adapt and seize opportunities in the coming months. “We are continuing to work with employers to design the apprenticeship levy around their needs and will shortly be publishing further details.” Construction News reported earlier this month that BIS had missed its original June deadline, with the department saying there would be “a short delay” to its release. The apprenticeship levy is part of the government’s plan to create more than three million new apprentices by 2020. The levy, which is due to come in next April, will see companies with annual wage bills over £3m paying 0.5 per cent of their PAYE into a government fund. As part of the levy, types of apprenticeships will be banded, with the government setting a maximum limit on what can be spent on each standard of apprenticeship. Contractors fear these limits will be lower than the amount it costs to train certain types of apprentices, and that companies will have to foot the extra cost. A number of employers have called for more clarity on the banding levels so they can calculate the cost of future training. CECA chief executive Alasdair Reisner told Construction News earlier this month that any long-term delay could result in BIS having to push back the implementation of the levy.       Source link

According to a new survey from Yorkshire Building Society, nearly half of all first-time buyers in London claimed that spiraling house prices are preventing them from buying a property. The data revealed that 43% said they would be willing to move to a more affordable part of the UK if it meant they were able to own their first property. Alarmingly, 26% of London residents said they would even consider moving to another country to buy their own home. Meanwhile, one in five aspiring first-time buyers in the capital claim they have moved to lower quality or shared accommodation in order to save money for their deposit. Andy Caton, Executive Director at Yorkshire Building Society, said: “The London housing market continues to be very challenging for young people looking to get on to the property ladder, due to prices which are amongst the highest of any city in the world. Even taking into account the typically higher salaries earned in this part of the UK, many young people are finding themselves priced out of the city. It means that many Londoners at the start of their working lives are finding they have little hope of putting down roots in the capital. Although the willingness to relocate demonstrates the importance with which young people regard homeownership – as well as the lengths they are willing to go to achieve it – there are clearly acute problems facing first time buyers in London.” London’s property market recovered strongly from the financial downturn of 2008 and in recent year’s property prices have risen sharply. House prices in the capital are more than 46% above their pre-crisis peak, at an average of £525,000, according to the Office for National Statistics. Private rents have also risen so sharply that the cost is now double the national average, at £1,400 a month, meaning that many Londoners are effectively priced out of living independently in the capital and have to resort to co-habiting with partners, friends or family. In the Yorkshire Building Society survey, conducted by NatCen Social Research, 46% of Londoners hoping to buy their first home said that high house prices in their area were preventing them from getting on the housing ladder, compared with 22%  of first time buyers in the rest of the UK. Londoners saving for their first home were also more likely to be living in lower quality or shared  housing in order to save money on rent, with 23% saying they had moved to cheaper accommodation, compared with 15% for the rest of the country. Another 11% said they had moved back in with family in order to get their deposit together, according to the report. Source link

Browser does not support script. Contact us RIBA South West today announced ten new and exciting buildings have won RIBA South West Awards 2016, with Building of the Year sponsored by Marley Eternit going to Outhouse in Gloucestershire by Loyn & Co architects. From a shortlist of 16, and forty nine initial entries, the projects spread from Cornwall to Gloucestershire, with Dorset having three winning projects RIBA South West Awards 2016 Plymouth School of Creative Arts, by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios The Owers House, Cornwall, by John Pardey Architect Drawing Studio, Arts University Bournemouth, by CRAB Studio (Cook Robotham Architectural Bureau) Student Services Building, Arts University Bournemouth, by Design Engine Architects Bridport Household Recycling Centre, Dorset, by Mitchell Eley Gould Ansty Plum, Dorset, by Coppin Dockray Gloucester Services, by Glenn Howells Architects Outhouse, Gloucestershire by Loyn & Co Blackrock Quarry Training Centre, nr Bristol, by Haverstock Sand Dunes, Cornwall, by Arco2 Architecture Ltd Category Awards RIBA South West Building of the Year (sponsored by Marley Eternit) Outhouse, Gloucestershire by Loyn & Co RIBA South West Project Architect of the Year (sponsored by Tarmac) Andy Theobald, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios (for Plymouth School of Creative Arts) RIBA South West Client of the Year Westmorland for Gloucester Services RIBA South West Sustainability Award (sponsored by Sika) Gloucester Services, by Glenn Howells Architects RIBA South West Small Project of the Year Ansty Plum, By Coppin Dockray Winners were announced at an evening event on the Grand Pier at Weston-super-Mare on 29 April hosted by Michael Holmes, Content Director for Centaur Media, TV presenter and chair of the National Custom and Self-build Association. RIBA South West regional director Jon Watkins said ‘RIBA Awards always bring out the best in local and national architects across our vast region, and this year’s award-winning projects offer quality, diversity of type and scale, excellence in design, and lots of delight’ ENDS Notes to editors: 1. Contact Jon Watkins jon.watkins@riba.org or 07501 466649 for high res press images, judegs citations and further information. 2. The RIBA Awards have been running continuously since 1966 and are judged and presented locally. No matter the shape, size, budget or location, RIBA award-winning schemes set the standard for great architecture all across the country. RIBA awards are for buildings in the UK by RIBA Chartered Architects and International Fellows. 3.The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) champions better buildings, communities and the environment through architecture and our members. www.architecture.com   Posted on Tuesday 3rd May 2016 Source link

7 October 2016 | Jamie Harris The government has begun a tender process for its Estates Professional Services agreement. The current framework, which covers a number of services including estates and property management, estates strategy and building surveying services, is due to expire on 31 March 2017. Current suppliers include Mouchel Ltd (now Kier), JLL, Lambert Smith Hampton LLP and DTZ (now Cushman and Wakefield UK). The framework covers central and local government property, with an objective to identify savings and rationalise the public sector estate. It also adheres to government’s plan to reduce barriers to SME participation; it has set a target for 33 per cent of spending to reach SME organisations by 2020, although a National Audit Office report released earlier this year stated that barriers are still present within the current set up. More information on the Estates Professional Services framework can be found here. Source link

Paragon Mortgages has announced today that it will now accept applications for consumer buy-to-let through Mortgage Trust, its sister brand. The buy-to-let specialist’s revealed that its online application system is now live and ready for intermediaries to submit consumer buy-to-let applications. All existing products in the Mortgage Trust range will be available to consumer buy-to-let customers.   Paragon will only accept consumer buy-to-let applications submitted by intermediaries who are fully registered with the FCA to conduct consumer buy-to-let business.   Applications that may be impacted include:   • A first-time landlord who is remortgaging a property they have inherited, as they have decided to rent it out (and who is not already a landlord) • A first-time landlord who chooses not to sell their existing home having then decided to rent it out and finance it with a buy-to-let mortgage John Heron, Director of Mortgages, said: “We are pleased we have been able to launch our consumer buy-to-let application process ahead of 21 March when MCD takes effect. Whilst the proportion of this type of business is not huge across the industry, it is a potentially important gateway to property investment for first-time landlords and should be supported. Intermediaries will need to be registered to submit this type of business to us and we have designed a decision tree within our system to help them identify those applications that fall into this category.”   Source link