Damien Hirst's Newport Street Gallery wins 2016 RIBA Stirling Prize for the best building of the year Source link
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has made an early statement of intent to show a new attitude to planning in the capital Above: The rejected stadium plan The previous Mayor of London famously approved pretty much any planning application that came his way no matter how awful or inappropriate the
Waterman Group has announced that it has been appointed by Canary Wharf Group to provide structural engineering for a major development at London’s Canary Wharf. The team will assist the Canary Wharf Group with their plans for the next phase of the overall development at Canary Wharf which is likely
The Chief Executive of the British Safety Council has explored the nature of health and safety leadership at the 8th International Forum on Work Safety in Beijing. The event will take place in Beijing, China, on September 27-29 this year and will bring together government officials, business leaders and health
NHBC has launched its Health and Safety Awards 2017 with house builders throughout the UK being encouraged to enter. The NHBC Health and Safety Awards are now in their eighth year and are the only competition exclusively for house builders. The awards honour house builders who have shown outstanding dedication
Facilities management firm MSL has launched a new e-learning facility, underlining their commitment to providing their staff, supply partners and customers with the very best in training and experience. MSL’s e-learning module is available all day every day, from anywhere with an internet connection and at a time and place
Leading insulation and interior products distribution firm CCF has launched a new campaign in conjunction with five leading insulation manufacturers. As part of the scheme, CCF has increased its range of product solutions, technical expertise and support, ensuring that CCF can save the day regardless of the insulation project requirement.
The contractor was appointed to Asda’s global BIM steering group in 2014 and has been awarded the job following trial BIM projects at the company’s new stores at Barry, south Wales and Leeds. The 35,000 sq ft store will be a steel-frame building with a café, in-store bakery and automated
A Bulgarian company that specialises in building climbing walls has been fined half a million pounds for flouting height safety regulations. Above: Hard hats and hi-viz will keep ’em safe… The Health & Safety Executive stepped in when a member of the public reported unsafe working practices during the construction
Latest official figures show construction output was unchanged in July 2016 compared to the previous month but second quarter new orders rose strongly. The Office of National Statistics’ latest bulletin puts construction output growth for July 2016 at zero percent compared with June 2016. All new work increased by 0.5%
Damien Hirst's Newport Street Gallery wins 2016 RIBA Stirling Prize for the best building of the year Source link
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has made an early statement of intent to show a new attitude to planning in the capital Above: The rejected stadium plan The previous Mayor of London famously approved pretty much any planning application that came his way no matter how awful or inappropriate the proposed development was. Sadiq Khan, by contrast, is already showing signs of sticking to his manifesto pledge to protect London’s green belt by refusing planning permission for a development that he felt would encroach on green space in the city. In one of his first planning moves, the new mayor has rejected plans for a three-storey football stadium and blocks of flats in Chislehurst. The development, which included building a football stadium for Cray Wanderers Football Club, community sports pitches and a pair of four-storey residential blocks of 28 flats, had been approved by Bromley Council. However, Mr Khan decided that the plans would cause significant harm to an area of much needed open green space. He was also concerned the application at Flamingo Park Club included no affordable housing. “I am determined to oppose building on the Green Belt, which is now even more important than when it was created,” he said. “Working with my planning team, I will continue to use my full range of planning powers to further strengthen protections for open and green spaces in the London Plan and ensure we are making the most of brownfield sites across the city, including the vast swathes of public land which are ripe for building homes for Londoners.” However, he also said that he wants to get 50,000 news homes built each year in London. “I want to work with developers to build the homes London so desperately needs and I will be the first Mayor to use my planning powers to much greater effect, supporting boroughs rather than hindering them, and getting a firm grip on the housing crisis,” he said. This article was published on 23 Jun 2016 (last updated on 23 Jun 2016). Source link
Waterman Group has announced that it has been appointed by Canary Wharf Group to provide structural engineering for a major development at London’s Canary Wharf. The team will assist the Canary Wharf Group with their plans for the next phase of the overall development at Canary Wharf which is likely to involved more than 200,000 sq m (2,100,000 sq ft) of mixed use buildings. Waterman Group Chief Executive Officer, Nick Taylor, said: “We are honoured and proud to have been appointed as structural engineers on this development which is transforming an exciting part of London into a location of national importance. We look forward to developing our relationship with Canary Wharf Group to create further iconic landmarks.” On Monday October 10, 2016, Waterman will announce their preliminary results for the year ending June 30, 2016. Waterman Group is a multidisciplinary consultancy providing sustainable solutions to meet the planning, engineering design and project delivery needs of the property, infrastructure, environment and energy markets. Founded in 1952 and listed on the London Stock Exchange since 1988, Waterman has grown into a leading engineering and environmental consultancy with offices throughout the UK, Australia and Europe. Waterman works with government agencies, local authorities, government-regulated industries and private sector clients to provide innovative, sustainable and economic solutions across a wide spectrum of business activities. The firm has extensive experience in property and buildings, environmental consultancy, power and energy, roads, highways and rail infrastructure, urban and regional planning. Award winning teams provide professional consultancy services throughout the complete life cycle of the asset starting from initial surveys and concept planning, through to design, delivery, project management, supervision and on-going maintenance. Earlier in the month, Waterman Group appointed Ali Raza as its new Geothenical Director to inject further expertise and drive into its Geothenical discipline in London.
The Chief Executive of the British Safety Council has explored the nature of health and safety leadership at the 8th International Forum on Work Safety in Beijing. The event will take place in Beijing, China, on September 27-29 this year and will bring together government officials, business leaders and health and safety professionals to share their achievements, along with the latest developments and trends in health and safety throughout the world. Chief Executive of the British Safety Council, Mike Robinson, will speak on September 28, presenting the business case for the proportionate management of health and safety, along with the exploration of the nature of leadership in the industry. China’s State Administration of Work Safety and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) will host the forum and demonstrate the country’s continued efforts to cut the toll of injuries in the workplace and ill health and its improving record in occupational health and safety. Robinson said that the global cost of health and safety failures in the workplace is still unacceptably high. He added: “Every day, 6,300 people die as a result of occupational accidents or work-related diseases, which is over 2.3 million deaths per year. This amounts to approximately 4% of global GDP each year, and provides an overwhelming economic reason to protect workers. “International health and safety conferences, such as the Forum in Beijing, are proof that although health and safety records vary throughout the world, there is a lot of good will and resources to share experience and best practice for the benefit of employees and employers worldwide.” At the Beijing Forum, Robinson will describe how a business can create an environment in which employees are encouraged and supported to identify potentially hazardous situations and recommend solutions for improvement that would prevent and potential accidents in the future. Mr Robinson will argue that to encourage such positive employee engagement in health and safety, the management needs to inspire them with passion and dedication, which are the qualities of true leaders.
NHBC has launched its Health and Safety Awards 2017 with house builders throughout the UK being encouraged to enter. The NHBC Health and Safety Awards are now in their eighth year and are the only competition exclusively for house builders. The awards honour house builders who have shown outstanding dedication to health, safety and welfare and help to raise standards by demonstrating and sharing best practice. Overall, more than 450 winning sites have been put through the robust judging process since the competition began with more than 4000 judging visits completed. Some of the important attributes that judges look for during visits to sites are: an infrastructure that supports the site manager in Health and Safety matters, a well-trained site manager and effective planning for Health and Safety before a project commences. NHBC Health and Safety Operations Manager, Tom Kitchen, looked ahead to next year’s awards by saying: “Since 2009, NHBC’s Health and Safety Awards have been rewarding the very best health and safety practices across the UK house-building industry. “Success in these awards offers site managers and their companies the chance of national recognition as well as the opportunity to share best practice amongst peers and colleagues. We look forward to receiving plenty of entries from builders of all sizes over the coming months.” In spring next year, the top scoring sites will be recognised with a Commended award and these winners will then compete for Highly Commended, National Runners Up and National Winners’ awards to be announced at a ceremony in summer 2017. All NHBC registered builders who are actively involved in the building of new homes will be able to enter the awards. NHBC is the UK’s leading independent standard-setting body and provider of warranty and insurance for new homes. Our purpose is to work with the house-building industry to raise the standards of new homes and to provide protection for homebuyers in the form of Buildmark warranty and insurance.
Facilities management firm MSL has launched a new e-learning facility, underlining their commitment to providing their staff, supply partners and customers with the very best in training and experience. MSL’s e-learning module is available all day every day, from anywhere with an internet connection and at a time and place to fit the user’s requirements. Staff and businesses will be able to fit MSL’s e-learning schemes around day to day business commitments without the major disruption of typical classroom based learning. Currently, there are two programmes available: Maintenance Trades and Health & Safety. These programmes include a number of courses that provide a highly flexible approach to personal development and learning. The courses are designed to ensure that the course content is understood through online assessment and a certificate of achievement is awarded upon the completion of every course. MSL’s e-learning courses offer great value for money and save companies outgoing costs for hotels and travel, which makes the whole training process quicker, cost effective and more efficient. Jeremy Harrison, Managing Director, said that they have a proven track record at MSL of investing in the development and training of their people as shown by the recent completion by many staff of the NVQ training programme which covers business administration and customer service. Harrison continued: “Health & Safety has always been at the core of our service delivery, being at the cornerstone of the MSL Safepartner scheme and underpinned by our OHSAS 18001 accreditation. We see the E Learning facility as a natural extension of this commitment to H&S and training and hope that its accessibility will encourage further personal development and learning.” MSL is a facilities management company that responds delivers and anticipates their client’s needs. Experienced and well trained, they give sensible, straight talking advice informed by their in-depth knowledge of property maintenance and facilities management.
Leading insulation and interior products distribution firm CCF has launched a new campaign in conjunction with five leading insulation manufacturers. As part of the scheme, CCF has increased its range of product solutions, technical expertise and support, ensuring that CCF can save the day regardless of the insulation project requirement. Along with major insulation suppliers Rockwool, Knauf Insulation, Kingspan, Isover and Celotex, CCF will be offering insulation installers, interiors building contractors and specifiers the best expertise and insulation products. This will include the addition of new specialist fire protection, flat roof and rain screen product ranges. Part of the investment will see the CCF branch network provide further training to increase its number of dedicated insulation champions, who provide dedicated insulation product guidance and project support in branch. CCF Category Group Manager for Insulation, Annemarie Shotton, commented: “Following investment to increase CCF’s insulation product range, expertise and technical support over the last two years, CCF has recommitted to providing even more added-value for our insulation customers again this year. “Our five strategic insulation partners, Celotex, Isover, Kingspan, Knauf Insulation and Rockwool, ensure that no matter the insulation product or query we have the answer and go-to solution all in one place. This is backed by great availability and quick delivery options as standard too.” For further information on CCF and more about its insulation offering, visit www.ccfltd.co.uk where you can also find your nearest branch. Follow CCF and track #theinsulators on Twitter via @CCF_UK and on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/ccf CCF is one of the UK’s leading distributors of interior building products to the construction industry, supplying ceilings, dry lining, flooring, insulation, partitioning and fire protection materials. Our service and support, combined with a nationwide branch network and extensive fleet of vehicles ensure that the customer gets the materials they require, where and when they need them.
The contractor was appointed to Asda’s global BIM steering group in 2014 and has been awarded the job following trial BIM projects at the company’s new stores at Barry, south Wales and Leeds. The 35,000 sq ft store will be a steel-frame building with a café, in-store bakery and automated petrol filling station. It has been designed with all consultants working on software system Autodesk Revit, resulting in the production of seven fully annotated 3D models. Materials can be quantified in real time and 4D programming will connect the 3D models to the build programme to visually show week-by-week progress. ISG is also acting as Asda’s information manager, collating information and coordinating clash detection with consultants. ISG’s western regional managing director Rob Martin said: “The project represents the culmination of a journey by Asda into advanced collaborative working practices, where ISG has played a key role as a trusted project partner and influencer.” Source link
A Bulgarian company that specialises in building climbing walls has been fined half a million pounds for flouting height safety regulations. Above: Hard hats and hi-viz will keep ’em safe… The Health & Safety Executive stepped in when a member of the public reported unsafe working practices during the construction of an adventure course in Markeaton Park, Derby. Derby Magistrates’ Court heard how a passing member of the public noticed work at height being carried out from a pallet on the forks of a telehandler at the site in Markeaton Park, where a high ropes adventure course was being constructed by Bulgarian firm Walltopia. The member of the public first reported this to the company but despite receiving assurances the matter would be dealt with, unsafe work at height continued. They then reported it to the HSE. HSE’s investigation at the site found work was taking place on a section of roof 11 metres off the ground, without the use of any means to prevent two workers falling from the open edges. In addition, these workers were accessing the roof by climbing from the basket of a boom lift. Walltopia of Bulgaria Boulevard, Letnitsa, Bulgaria, was fined £500,000 and ordered to pay costs of £8,013.25 after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. After the case, HSE inspector Lee Greatorex said: “Using a pallet on a telehandler for planned work at height is an unacceptable means of access. It appears that the company failed to put in place control measures after being alerted about this. “Walltopia failed to follow recognised industry standards during work at height and did not make effective changes to the control of their working methods following the matter being brought to its attention. Work at height should always be sufficiently planned and managed to protect workers from being exposed to extreme risks from falls from height. In this case someone could have suffered significant injuries or death.” Further Images This article was published on 22 Aug 2016 (last updated on 22 Aug 2016). Source link
Latest official figures show construction output was unchanged in July 2016 compared to the previous month but second quarter new orders rose strongly. The Office of National Statistics’ latest bulletin puts construction output growth for July 2016 at zero percent compared with June 2016. All new work increased by 0.5% while all repair and maintenance decreased by 1.1%. Compared with July 2015, construction output decreased by 1.5%. All new work, and repair and maintenance decreased by 0.6% and 3.2% respectively. The underlying pattern as suggested by the three-month on three-month movement in output in the construction industry decreased by 1.2%. New orders for the construction industry in the second quarter (April to June) 2016 were estimated to have increased by 8.6% compared with the first quarter (January to March) 2016 and increased by 7.5% compared with Q2 2015. New housing increased by 25.0% while there was a fall of 17.4% in infrastructure. Michael Thirkettle, chief executive of construction consultant McBains Cooper, said: “The construction industry will view these figures as a welcome fillip, given they are the first gathered since the Brexit result. “Although some projects were put on hold before the referendum, now the result is known the industry can plan with a degree of increased certainty and the majority of investors are telling us that they are not planning on cancelling any major projects. The low value of sterling is also providing an opportunity for more foreign investment in the UK, which could provide a knock-on boost to the wider residential and commercial markets so we are hopeful that construction output will pick up over the next few months. “But the biggest concern for the construction industry with Brexit is its reliance on itinerant labour from EU countries because of acute skills shortages in the UK – a vital supply that will be cut off once we leave the EU. We are calling on the government to prioritise upskilling the UK workforce and scrap the apprenticeship levy otherwise it will mean the industry – which accounts for a crucial 6% of GDP – will suffer another downturn and there will be no chance of the government’s housing targets being met.” This article was published on 12 Sep 2016 (last updated on 12 Sep 2016). Source link