More than half of SME builders feel unprepared for imminent changes in building regulations to improve energy efficiency, claims the Federation of Master Builders, FMB. New rules on ventilation, conservation of fuel and power, overheating and infrastructure for charging electric vehicles come into force on the 15th of June. FMB
Former England and World Cup footballer Trevor Steven is a special guest at this year’s Digital Construction Week event in May, talking about the role that sport and construction technology can play in improving mental health in the sector. Trevor is speaking at a presentation at 3pm on 18 May,
Third-party certification will be the central theme for Warringtonfire at FIREX 2022, with the company running a series of live demonstrations, interactive exhibits, CPD accredited training and seminars at the show. Taking place at London ExCeL between 17 – 19 May 2022, visitors to Warringtonfire’s stand (FI1430) will be able
Countries around the world are setting accelerated targets for decarbonization. In the UK, the government’s latest Carbon Budget features plans to reduce emissions by 78% by 2035 – compared to 1990 levels – taking the nation more than three-quarters of the way to reaching net zero by 2050.[1] Moreover, in
The mental wellbeing of employees is a clear priority for Finning, exclusive dealer of Cat® equipment in the UK and Ireland. To mark this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week (May 9th – 15th) the firm has pledged to double the number of mental health first aiders by the end of
The property division of national law firm Irwin Mitchell has advised land promoter and developer Jaynic on its a land promotion agreement on 279-acres adjacent to the A11 at Barton Mills, Suffolk, with the land offering significant potential for future commercial development. Located on the ‘Cambridge-Norwich A11 Tech Corridor’, this
United Living Group, the provider of infrastructure, housing and property services, is pleased to announce that work is underway on an £8.4 million housing project to create 53 new affordable homes in Walton-on-the-Naze in Essex. Named Wheater’s Meadow, the 100% affordable development is being delivered by United Living New Homes’
Culture Change in Construction Crucial Calls from Industry Experts at Exclusive Event on First Night of UK Construction Week Leading construction industry intelligence provider, Barbour ABI, brought top industry experts together at an exclusive event after the first day of the UK Construction Week exhibition in London to discuss the
Industry leading multi-disciplinary bridge works specialist Spencer Group has come up with a unique method to carry out essential works on an historic structure. Spencer Group is carrying out the design, construction, installation and maintenance of a temporary walkway for Grade II listed Connel Bridge, in Scotland, ahead of major
MAY MEANS CONSTRUCTION SAFETY THIS MAY, Construction Safety Week will join global businesses from across the sector to inspire everyone in the industry to be leaders in safety. James Pecz, global solutions marketing manager at Ramtech, discusses how technology is helping to support the construction industry to raise fire safety
More than half of SME builders feel unprepared for imminent changes in building regulations to improve energy efficiency, claims the Federation of Master Builders, FMB. New rules on ventilation, conservation of fuel and power, overheating and infrastructure for charging electric vehicles come into force on the 15th of June. FMB chief executive Brian Berry said: “Over 50 per cent of small, local builders are not yet prepared or are not aware of the changes. This puts them at real risk of delivering new homes or projects that fall short of the new regulations.” Mr Berry described the latest practical guidance on the changes as complex and difficult for ‘time-poor’ smaller builders to get their heads around. “We are urging the government to provide clear guidance to help make sure small builders are informed of the changes.” Repairs, maintenance and improvement sector up against it He said this was especially important as the repairs, maintenance and improvement sector would be hit on the first day of changes, 15th June. Those in the housebuilding sector who submit plans before that date have one year to construct their development under the existing rules. The changes are interim measures ahead of the future homes and building standards expected in 2025. Property finance intermediary Hank Zarihs Associates said development finance lenders backed the campaign for the government to make guidance clearer for SMEs so they could build with confidence. The concern among smaller builders about the new regulations was a key feature in the FMB’s latest quarterly state of the trade survey. Rising prices and material costs were also a major concern for respondents. Nearly all the FMB members, 98 per cent, reported an increase in material costs with 61 per cent experiencing a rise in wages and salaries. About four out of five said they had increased their charges for work. Although the FMB has welcomed the scrapping of VAT on energy-efficient improvements on the 1st of April, it would like to see this extended to all repairs and maintenance work. “Removal of VAT on all repairs and maintenance jobs, would lower costs for consumers ensuring work doesn’t drop off for builders,” said Mr Berry. Building Design and Construction Magazine | The Home of Construction & Property News
Former England and World Cup footballer Trevor Steven is a special guest at this year’s Digital Construction Week event in May, talking about the role that sport and construction technology can play in improving mental health in the sector. Trevor is speaking at a presentation at 3pm on 18 May, hosted by Causeway Technologies, on ‘Joining the dots between construction, mental health and football’, and will be sharing an update on Causeway’s current research into mental health issues faced by site-based workers in particular. Trevor joined Causeway in November 2020 as Mental Health Ambassador to spearhead Causeway’s partnership with Everton in the Community. The aim of the partnership is to highlight and raise awareness of poor mental health in the construction industry and to campaign for positive change. He is a former England international professional football player with a sporting career spanning 17 years across various clubs including Burnley, Everton, Glasgow Rangers and Olympique de Marseille. Trevor also played for England as part of the 1986 and 1990 World Cup squads. Other topics being discussed by Causeway at Digital Construction Week include a talk by Dr Adam O’Rourke, Causeway’s Emerging Technologies Consultant, on the role of construction technology in helping the sector achieve its Net Zero targets. The session will cover how technology can be used to measure and manage carbon and waste data and how to achieve full transparency on environmental performance across the construction lifecycle. Rebecca Sperti, Customer Relationship Director at Causeway, will also present on the way that digital enablement of a fully interconnected construction ecosystem, not just individual companies, will radically change the sector. Causeway’s vision is to drive a digitally enabled construction industry and become the platform that connects solutions across all parts of the construction value chain. Causeway, which is a headline sponsor of Digital Construction Week, will have an expert team available on Stand DD40 to showcase the full range of Causeway’s software solutions that help companies digitise the entire construction lifecycle. Digital Construction Week is the UK’s only event dedicated to digital construction, engineering, design, manufacturing, and operation. It is running at ExCeL in London on 18-19 May 2022 and is free to attend. Register at: https://www.digitalconstructionweek.com Causeway Technologies was established in 1999. Headquartered in Buckinghamshire in the United Kingdom, it serves over 2,800 customers and has over 370 employees. Causeway provides enterprise and cloud software solutions to the construction and infrastructure maintenance industries and spans the full value and supply chain. www.causeway.com Building Design and Construction Magazine | The Home of Construction & Property News
Third-party certification will be the central theme for Warringtonfire at FIREX 2022, with the company running a series of live demonstrations, interactive exhibits, CPD accredited training and seminars at the show. Taking place at London ExCeL between 17 – 19 May 2022, visitors to Warringtonfire’s stand (FI1430) will be able to interact with a series of exhibits on an 84m2 passive fire protection (PFP) demonstration zone, featuring a full-size corridor and suspended ceiling simulation which showcases “best practice” passive fire protection. The stand will also feature display models of fire doors, glazing systems, pipes and cables which have all been subjected to a fire resistance test, to demonstrate effective PFP in action. Besides the exhibits, Warringtonfire will also be carrying out live demonstrations on its stand each day. This includes how to correctly install a fire door and the fire stopping measures for the many service pipes and cables that run through compartment lines above a suspended ceiling. As well as installation guidance, Warringtonfire’s technical experts will be on hand to discuss the principles of third-party product and personnel certification and the important role played by its Certifire and BM TRADA Q-Mark certification schemes. In addition, technical manager Peter Barker will show edited highlights from two 30-minute fire resistance tests in the Expertise & Guidance theatre on Tuesday 17th May at 2pm. The seminar will demonstrate in dramatic fashion the importance of correct specification and installation of PFP products. Leigh Hill, Division Director at Warringtonfire, said: “We are delighted that third-party certification is the central theme at FIREX 2022 and will be reinforcing its importance in the built environment through a series of live demonstrations, seminars, training and interactive exhibits over the three days.” For more information, please visit: www.warringtonfire.com / www.bmtrada.com. Building Design and Construction Magazine | The Home of Construction & Property News
Countries around the world are setting accelerated targets for decarbonization. In the UK, the government’s latest Carbon Budget features plans to reduce emissions by 78% by 2035 – compared to 1990 levels – taking the nation more than three-quarters of the way to reaching net zero by 2050.[1] Moreover, in its ‘Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution’ this administration has highlighted the decarbonization of buildings as a key aspect of its policy towards reaching these targets.[2] Given buildings account for 36% of final energy use, they are a prime target for energy efficiency initiatives and will be a major contributor to climate target attainment.[3] In order to achieve these goals, more attention needs to be paid to the existing commercial and public building stock. In Europe, for instance, roughly 75% of the building stock is energy-inefficient[4]. This means that a large part of the energy consumed is in effect wasted. Renovating existing buildings could reduce the EU’s total energy consumption by 5-6% and lower carbon dioxide emissions by about 5%. Yet, on average, less than 1% of the national building stock is renovated each year. To meet climate and energy objectives, experts state that the current rates of renovation should at least double[5]. To get on track to net-zero carbon building stock by 2050, the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that by 2030, direct building CO2 emissions need to fall by 50 percent and indirect building sector emissions by 60 percent. A recent study[6] from Siemens Financial Services estimates the gap between the existing rate of investment in energy-efficient smart buildings and the accelerated rate which experts are saying needs to be reached to achieve sustainability and climate change targets. This gap is where smart finance can step in to enable the investment that should be made but is not yet happening. To bridge the investment gap, building owners and managers are having to look at changing how their buildings operate, their business models and how they are going to finance the required upgrades. Regarding operational technology, commercial and public buildings are going to have to become smarter to cope with these new demands for decarbonization. Smarter buildings allow flexible working – whether from the perspective of hot-desking, agile changes of use, security and safety, greater efficiency and flexibility or adapting to cope with volatile circumstances. While there is wide consensus around the need to make buildings smarter, all countries and sectors need a way of making that conversion financially sustainable. Yet how can this be done in practice? The starting point is to use smart technology to reduce building energy consumption. This produces hard financial savings that – through smart financing arrangements – can be harnessed to significantly subsidize the energy efficiency renovation of existing buildings. In selected cases, the energy savings might even pay for overall conversion. This can be done at an enterprise level, or in small incremental steps, each of which proves its return on investment. Typical building energy efficiency savings are usually at least 20%[7] (often far higher) representing very substantial operating economies. New models for smart financing Smart financing takes a variety of forms, depending on the business processes that need to be enabled. At the technology component level, financing tools are available to help vendors and distributors add value with cash flow capabilities for their buyers. For larger installations or systems, smart financing arrangements can be flexed and tailored to align costs with the rate of benefit gained from the energy-efficient technology. At the most complex level, Smart-Buildings-as-a-Service provides the financing solution, with future expected savings from energy efficiency being harnessed and used to pay for the capital investment and more. Conclusions Renovation projects to decarbonize buildings by transforming them into smart, energy-efficient environments are falling behind governments’ declared climate goals around the world. Many experts have declared that the annual investment rate should scale by three times or more to reach those declared targets. In order to bridge the gap between current investment rates and the required volumes, smart financing methods are being offered by private sector finance. They all seek to make the conversion to decarbonized, energy-efficient, smart buildings affordable for owners. At the least, these financing tools ease cash flow and align costs to the rate of benefits gained. At the best, smart financing makes the transition to decarbonization budget neutral, by harnessing future savings to pay for current investment. [1] Gov.uk, ‘UK enshrines new target in law to slash emissions by 78%’, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-enshrines-new-target-in-law-to-slash-emissions-by-78-by-2035 [2] Gov.uk, ‘The Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution’, 2021 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-ten-point-plan-for-a-green-industrial-revolution/title#point-7-greener-buildings, 2020 [3] GlobalABC, Status Report 2019 [4] European Commission, In focus: Energy efficiency in buildings, 17 Feb 2020 [5] European Commission, In focus: Energy efficiency in buildings, 17 Feb 2020 [6] Siemens Financial Services, Bridging the Investment Gap: Smart Financing for Decarbonization in Buildings, 2021 https://www.siemens.com/financing-decarbonization-manufacturing [7] IPF Research Programme, Costing Energy Efficiency Improvements in Existing Commercial Buildings, Oct 2017
The mental wellbeing of employees is a clear priority for Finning, exclusive dealer of Cat® equipment in the UK and Ireland. To mark this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week (May 9th – 15th) the firm has pledged to double the number of mental health first aiders by the end of 2022. Last year saw the UK construction industry record its fastest rate of growth in seven years. As this surge looks set to continue – the sector is predicted to reach £237 billion by 2024 – a concerning consequence is the impact on the mental health of those working across the industry. Although there is no mandatory requirement for offering this type of support, Finning already has 28 of its staff registered as mental health first aiders. Each has been trained and certified by Mental Health First Aid England and provide confidential face-to-face or by phone support for colleagues suffering with mental health issues. By the end of 2022 Finning is planning to put another 30 employees through the programme to increase support levels for everyone across the company, no matter what their role or where in the UK they are based. Andy Lockett, Contracts Manager, and the company lead on mental health support for employees, explains: “We’ve made sure our mental health first aiders are easily identifiable; we’ve each got a “Talk to me!” email banner, along with a day-glow orange lanyard. We have several contact posters around each branch and have a mental health page on our internal internet site. “Our role is to listen to any concerns or anxieties our colleagues have, and signpost them to the most appropriate support organisation. We’ve also been trained to recognise the signs that someone is going through a mental health issue or struggling, so we can sensitively offer them support and signpost if necessary.” The company currently has 1300 employees working at locations across the UK, including Staffordshire, Chesterfield, Slough, Aberdeen, and Dublin. Andy took on the role of mental health support champion for Finning after going through a personal health scare in 2008. He suffered a bleed on the brain, was subsequently diagnosed with a tumour and signed off work for several months. “As well as being worried sick about my health, I was anxious about my job and my family’s financial situation because of being off work. The support I received from Finning, from my work friends and colleagues, right the way up to the executive team was incredible. They provided reassurance very early on that my position was safe and that the priority was on getting me back to health. “I can’t tell you how relieved this made me feel, and without doubt contributed to my recovery. The tumour is still there, and withregular checks and continued support from Finning, I’m doing OK!” “Having experienced such support first-hand, I wanted to do what I could to ensure anyone else struggling or suffering knew there was a safe and confidential network of support available.” Andy leads a monthly meeting with the mental health first aiders and shares weekly updates in the company’s internal newsletter to ensure they’re front of mind for anyone who needs help. Andy continues; “There’s certainly been an increase in the number of people getting in touch in the last 12 to 18 months and the company allows us the time deal with it which illustrates the importance it has at board level. I’m totally committed to this because of my personal experience and how it helped me, and my family through an incredibly difficult time.” Iain Carpenter, Director of Service Operations at Finning, said: “We work extremely hard to ensure we provide a safe and secure environment for all our employees focused on both physical and phycological wellbeing and are committed to do everything we can to help, when they need it most.” “Increasing the number of mental health first aiders will ensure that all members of the Finning family can access the help and support, or they can call our employee assistance helpline or access on-line support tools provided thanks to our partnership with Mates in Mind charity.” Finning also provides ongoing mental health training, such as Starting the Conversation and Managing the Conversation courses, which began in 2018. These courses aim to break down the negative stigma around talking about mental health and give managers and employees the resources and knowledge to provide real and actionable support to their colleagues.
The property division of national law firm Irwin Mitchell has advised land promoter and developer Jaynic on its a land promotion agreement on 279-acres adjacent to the A11 at Barton Mills, Suffolk, with the land offering significant potential for future commercial development. Located on the ‘Cambridge-Norwich A11 Tech Corridor’, this significant employment opportunity would provide a safe new entrance to Barton Mills via a new roundabout on the A11, and the opportunity to close the staggered A11-Newmarket Road crossroads at Herringswell Road and the A11 access from Newmarket Road at Tuddenham Road, both of which have poor highway safety records. Pedestrian/cycleway connectivity would be improved, and sustainable links created via new and existing routes. Andrew Anderson, Director at Jaynic responsible for the proposal, said: “We hope to achieve a local plan allocation in due course for a significant new business park along this strategic corridor, together with key highway safety improvements, both of which will provide local and district-wide benefits. “The site has not been allocated in the draft local plan but was identified in a recent evidence-based document as a potential opportunity to grow the district’s existing commercial sites,” added Anderson. Jaynic said it looks forward to working with all stakeholders including West Suffolk Council, the local community and businesses to promote the very real economic development and highway benefits that would come from such a development. The scheme would also deliver improvements to the ecological constraint zones within the site, meeting Biological Net Gain requirements and providing wider ecological benefits, with potential to help bring forward other developments in the area with significant ecological constraints. The Irwin Mitchell team was led by property partner Martyn Holland, assisted by senior associate Sarah Swann. Martyn Holland said, “This is a great development opportunity for our client for whom we have been advising for many years on numerous development and promotion deals. We believe this new project will provide significant economic benefits to the local area as well as improved traffic safety and we are excited to have been involved.” Jaynic is an established property company focusing on land promotion and business space development in the south and east of England. At Suffolk Park, Bury St Edmunds, it has developed 1.3m sq ft of warehouse and business space to date and has another 283,000 sq ft under construction. Jaynic is also appointed by Mid-Suffolk Council on its Gateway 14 site at Stowmarket to manage the development of up to 2.36m sq ft of business, logistics and innovation development. The company has a strong track record in the promotion of land through the planning process and, thereafter, the delivery of high quality, sustainable and efficient development.
United Living Group, the provider of infrastructure, housing and property services, is pleased to announce that work is underway on an £8.4 million housing project to create 53 new affordable homes in Walton-on-the-Naze in Essex. Named Wheater’s Meadow, the 100% affordable development is being delivered by United Living New Homes’ subsidiary, Partner Construction, on behalf of leading housing developer, Flagship Homes. It will see a mix of 46 social rent and seven shared ownership homes constructed on the site, on Kirby Road in Walton-on-the-Naze. Built on part of a former caravan park and supported by Homes England funding, all the properties will be available for shared ownership or social rent, ensuring genuine affordability for residents and widening the range of housing options for the local community. The first delivery of new homes is expected in August 2022, and the site is due to be completed in early 2024. At a ground-breaking ceremony to get work underway, Frank Lincoln, Regional Managing Director of Partner Construction, United Living New Homes, said: “We are incredibly pleased to have started building at Wheater’s Meadow, working closely with Flagship Homes to create much-needed new homes that residents will be proud to call home”. Tony Tann, Managing Director with Flagship Homes, added: “We are delighted to have commenced construction on this site in Walton-on-the-Naze with United Living and Partner Construction. It is a beautiful area and these rented and shared ownership homes will be tremendous for the local community. We are thrilled to see this development get underway and couldn’t be happier to work alongside Partner Construction on the development. It will provide a huge housing boost to the area and really shows our shared vision with everyone involved.” Wheater’s Meadow is one of two projects being delivered in close partnership between Partner Construction, United Living New Homes and Flagship Homes. The other, is a £9.7 million scheme that will see the creation of 73 new homes, again, all for shared ownership and affordable rent, in Necton, Norfolk. Partner Construction and United Living New Homes is part of United Living Group. It is currently active on 13 live sites across the country and has plans to deliver circa 500 new homes in the current financial year.
Culture Change in Construction Crucial Calls from Industry Experts at Exclusive Event on First Night of UK Construction Week Leading construction industry intelligence provider, Barbour ABI, brought top industry experts together at an exclusive event after the first day of the UK Construction Week exhibition in London to discuss the need for culture change. Dr David Hancock, Construction Director at Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) highlighted the scale of the issue: “The construction industry has to educate and source locally, teach more trades and skills to improve communities and put the heart back. We have to care what we build and want to do better. That’s the change this industry needs. We measure costs, not benefits, and the concern is that with rising inflation hitting construction projects, that could become worse. Our industry must not revert to the old ways.” Trudi Sully, Impact Director at Construction Innovation Hub said: “I deliberately avoided construction for a long time, because it seemed a scary place to work. The Construction Innovation Hub is all about culture change. Enabling, educating and empowering the industry is what we do. Over the last four years of the hub we have worked with more than 400 construction supply chain companies to support research and innovation. Much of transformation is about partnerships, to mitigate risk, bring about change more quickly and enable better decision-based outcomes. Better manufacturing processes are leading to those processes being adopted in construction too. Advances in other industries are providing construction with a playbook to follow to make improvements.” Rebecca Lovelace, Founder and Chief Dot-Joiner at Building People said: “The built environment is about a world of amazing opportunities, and we need to get out of fragmented silos to realise its potential. We need boarder diversity in construction, not just more women as diversity brings more innovation and helps culture change. We need to enable anyone who is interested to become involved in the built environment. Barbour ABI is one of the sponsors and a major exhibitor at the UK’s largest construction industry event. UKCW is a new exhibition held at London’s ExCel from May 3-5, 2022. It brings together the whole construction supply chain and aims to support the industry’s recovery from COVID.
Industry leading multi-disciplinary bridge works specialist Spencer Group has come up with a unique method to carry out essential works on an historic structure. Spencer Group is carrying out the design, construction, installation and maintenance of a temporary walkway for Grade II listed Connel Bridge, in Scotland, ahead of major deck replacement works. The walkway, which will be cantilevered off the east side of the bridge, will allow for pedestrian and cyclist access during the works to replace the entire deck, which will take place over the course of the next two years. The walkway is expected to be completed in four months, with the possibility of retaining the facility depending on a feasibility study and full public consultation. The walkway construction has been programmed to cause minimal disruption to traffic and the local community. The A828 Connel Bridge was the second largest cantilever bridge in Europe when it was built by Sir William Arrol in 1903. It links the villages of Connel and North Connel, close to Oban. Originally a railway bridge, it was used for both rail and road traffic from 1914, until the railway closed in 1966. The new steel walkway design will be in-keeping with the heritage of the bridge, with Spencer Group also self-delivering integrated street lighting. Spencer Group is carrying out the project for BEAR Scotland, a service provider in the Scottish roads maintenance sector, on behalf of the national transport agency for Scotland, Transport Scotland. The temporary walkway is part of the critical enabling works ahead of the deck replacement scheme and Spencer Group, which specialises in providing innovative solutions to complex engineering projects, is mitigating the impact the walkway works will have on traffic and the local community. Luke Fisher, Sector Lead for Bridges and Structures at Spencer Group, said: “We’re delighted to have been selected to carry out this important project, which is the latest in our growing portfolio of heritage bridge works. “During the tender process, we focused our proposals on a sympathetic walkway design and methodologies that reduced traffic management during the construction works. “Our designers proposed a traditional steel walkway design that was in-keeping with the heritage of the bridge, clamping to the existing structure where possible, to minimise invasive construction works to the bridge interface points. “A key element of the project is also to minimise the impact on local residents and traffic, both on Connel Bridge and on the A85 below. “The original design intent was to install support brackets over the side of the masonry viaducts that would require rope access for installation, meaning traffic management would have needed to be in place on the A85. “We’ve come up with an alternative design solution that mitigates this, with brackets that can be installed from the confines of the bridge parapets. In addition, we’ve developed an installation methodology that allows our teams to install the new walkway progressively from the leading edge, almost eliminating the requirement for traffic management on the bridge during the works.” Eddie Ross, BEAR Scotland’s North West Representative, said: “We appreciate the historical importance of the A828 Connel Bridge and the vital transport link it provides to local communities. “This project will allow teams to install a temporary footway on the east side of Connel Bridge, in advance of the deck replacement works which are scheduled to take place next year. The temporary walkway will maintain a route across the bridge whilst the bridge deck is replaced, as we will need to close the existing footpath and carriageway. “Alongside Transport Scotland, we are currently considering making the walkway a permanent facility and will carry out a feasibility study of the options available, which will include consultation with all key stakeholders.” Spencer Group delivers innovative engineering and construction solutions in the transport, infrastructure, materials handling, energy and industrial sectors. For further information about Spencer Group’s extensive bridge project capabilities, visit https://thespencergroup.co.uk/our-work/bridges/.
MAY MEANS CONSTRUCTION SAFETY THIS MAY, Construction Safety Week will join global businesses from across the sector to inspire everyone in the industry to be leaders in safety. James Pecz, global solutions marketing manager at Ramtech, discusses how technology is helping to support the construction industry to raise fire safety standards. The first week of May plays host to some of the biggest events and awareness weeks for the construction sector, including Construction Safety Week 2022 (2 – 6 May) and the UK’s largest construction event UK Construction Week’ (3 – 5 May). With the spotlight firmly on the sector, it is a good opportunity to review the importance of continued progress and excellence in construction. A big part of this success is reliant on safety, which should underpin everything. Ensuring that all construction workers can return home safely and that under construction sites are well protected – from start to project completion – is paramount. At Ramtech, Internet of Things (IoT) wireless technology plays a key role in our approach to keeping construction sites safe. While there are many different safety risks on a site, our work for the construction industry primarily focuses on temporary fire safety and security solutions. Fire protection Busy workers on construction sites operating machinery are often close to sources of ignition, such as highly combustible materials and solvents. On top of this, fire could also happen during the construction phase as open sites are often more vulnerable to theft, vandalism, and arson. Further adding to this risk is the fact that typical building protection systems such as sprinklers, fire walls and wired detectors are not always in place until the final stages of construction. These issues are not unique to just one area and the global construction industry all face the threat of fire. Taking global action The common risk of fire means that as a sector we should all be raising standards by utilising the technology available to us. Relying on manual and outdated methods, such as using an air horn or shouting to raise the alarm is still a concern. In the US, many sites still choose to use air horns as an evacuation method on construction sites. However, this does come with disadvantages. Namely, an air horn cannot provide site-wide evacuation as it isn’t able to tell you where the fire is located, merely that there is a fire somewhere on the site. It can also be hard to distinguish the noise of an air horn above other background sounds on a site. Similarly, the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) still advises that ‘on small low risk sites the alarm may be raised by shouting’. The HSE does advise that ‘on high risk or larger sites a fixed and interconnected system (wired in or wireless) of call points and sounders will be required to provide an effective warning system’. Typically, a wired solution is usually the best form of protection on a completed site, due to the layout of the building being fixed and the access to power sorted. For construction sites that are constantly changing and that also do not have a reliable power source yet, the ability to have a flexible fire alarm solution that does not rely on a fixed location and can be moved or added to as needed is the ideal solution. Wireless solutions and IoT When considering the best ways to protect construction sites, it makes sense to use the best that technology has to offer. Our world is more connected than ever before, and this has helped to influence the next generation of wireless connected solutions. In fact, the IoT spans nearly 100 billion physical objects allowing them to communicate with each other. Due to this progress, wireless fire alarm systems have advanced greatly over the past few decades. Take our fully EN54-25 compliant WES3 24/7 fire alarm monitoring system for example; it can connect to our REACT platform, which is a cloud-based solution that raises alerts in real time, and is sent straight to the people who can act on them via a simple to use mobile app. Because the protection offered by technology like the WES3 is constant, this means that no matter the time or place the fire can be detected and communicated to personnel via the use of secure radio frequencies. With an unlimited number of units able to be used per site, more units can be added as the build progresses. Repeater units ensure the signal gets a boost on especially large sites. An emergency signal can be triggered automatically or manually from anywhere. This is all possible without wires or cables and without having to rely on the presence of workers to detect and extinguish fires. Technology like this is a gamechanger for the construction industry and will reduce risk and prevent incidents from occurring. As we consider how to better protect the safety of our sites from the risk of fire, I urge global professionals who are coming together in the name of construction safety and awareness this May to think carefully and look to embrace technology in a bid to raise industry safety standards. For more information about Ramtech’s construction solutions, please visit www.ramtechglobal.com