The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has put its weight behind a call from six trade unions to take urgent action over ventilation in schools. In a letter to the Education Secretary, the unions have warned that there will be a steep rise in Covid-19 cases when children return to
A new central register and a certification scheme have been launched for building safety managers following the final report and proposals for Working Group 8 – part of the industry response group tasked with developing a new framework of competence for the new Building Safety Manager role (part of the
Calton Hill City Observatory in Scotland’s capital has been nominated for an AJ Architecture Award this week. The design by HarrisonStevens, the Edinburgh-based Landscape Architects and Urban Designers, Calton Hill City Observatory has been nominated in the Landscape and Public Realm category in the annual awards. Situated within a World
Solar Energy Scotland welcomes the inclusion of solar into the Scottish Governments and Scottish Green parties’ draft policy programme, as announced earlier today. The document outlines the joint commitment from both parties to confront some of the greatest challenges faced in Scotland to date, responding to the climate emergency, supporting
Engie’s facilities management and technical services will fall under the new Equans brand. Equans will operate as an autonomous subsidiary of Engie, with 74,000 employees across 17 countries,managed by Jérôme Stubler and his management team. With annual revenue of over €12 billion, electrical, HVAC, cooling, mechanical, digital & IT and facilities management will
Research from the national estate agent, Keller Williams UK, reveals how many hometown properties some of the best-paid English Premier League footballers could afford to buy with their annual salary. It is no secret that Premiership footballers are extremely well remunerated for their work and talent and, as we’ve seen
CONSTRUCTION company Stepnell says that after a year of consolidation and planned improvement, the contractor has experienced a strong start to the financial year with a good level of orders secured for 2021/22 across its regions. The complete construction partner has reported a turnover of £104 million and increased net
Pupils in south east Edinburgh have started the new term in the new Frogston Primary School following the completion of works by Will Rudd Davidson (Edinburgh), consulting engineers. The new two-story building, designed by architect Holmes Miller, also offers great outdoor spaces to promote outdoor learning and a love of
People tend to cross bridges as quickly as possible; because you never know. Experts even have a term for this phenomenon: gephyrophobia or “bridge anxiety”. Yet these valley-spanning structures are true expressions of supreme engineering skill, as illustrated by the new Aftetal bridge in North Rhine-Westphalia. It’s a common enough
The classification, first introduced in 2019, highlights companies and investment funds listed on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market or on AIM that are driving the global green economy. To qualify for the Green Economy Mark, an issuer must generate 50% or more of its total annual revenues from products
The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has put its weight behind a call from six trade unions to take urgent action over ventilation in schools. In a letter to the Education Secretary, the unions have warned that there will be a steep rise in Covid-19 cases when children return to school next month without improvements to airflows and filtration in classrooms and communal areas. They say there should be government funding for carbon dioxide monitors to measure the effectiveness of ventilation, and filtration to remove harmful airborne particles. “The benefits of ventilation in the control of airborne diseases are already well understood and accepted,” their letter said. The National Education Union (NEU), NASUWT, the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), GMB, Unison and Unite have joined forces to push for a more strategic approach to school ventilation. “Government action on ventilation in schools and colleges amounts to little more than recommending that windows are kept open,” said ASCL general secretary Geoff Barton. “This is not sustainable in providing a comfortable learning environment in the depths of a British winter. “If the government is serious about bringing to an end the educational disruption of the past 18 months, then it must provide funding for high-quality ventilation systems as a matter of urgency.” The unions also pointed out that many school windows were painted shut and could not be opened. Threats BESA has produced two pieces of guidance this year to help building managers set up indoor air quality (IAQ) strategies and identify the main threats to health and well-being from airborne pollutants. Using mechanical ventilation systems and targeted filtration is recognised as the most effective way to reduce the risk of disease transmission, but no specific government funding has been allocated to help schools address this issue. The CEO of a primary school trust told a recent BESA webinar that lack of funding prevented schools from addressing the problem. Garry Ratcliffe said that despite greater awareness of the risk of transmitting airborne infections during the pandemic, mechanical ventilation remained a low priority for most headteachers. Ratcliffe, who is CEO of Kent-based Galaxy Trust, said current Department for Education (DfE) guidance was inadequate. “Would it be acceptable advice to tell people in a workplace to open their windows and wear warmer clothes?” he asked. He also said he was concerned that opening windows could be “doing more harm than good” because many schools were close to busy roads, so the children were being exposed to high levels of traffic pollution and noise. He said his three schools had already spent over £325,000 on Covid mitigation measures but had only been able to reclaim £57,000 from the government. Each has an annual capital budget of just £7,000, which is primarily to ensure buildings remain safe and to fix leaking roofs and heating. “If we wanted to free up money to spend on a new ventilation system, we would have to make cuts elsewhere. However, we are judged on the quality of the education we provide…not on the quality of the air.” The BESA guides highlight the fact that opening windows does not provide controlled ventilation. It is not an effective method of managing the direction of airflows to provide the air change rates needed to dilute airborne contaminants and viruses in every part of a room. NEU joint general secretary Kevin Courtney said: “It is shocking that, rather than taking concrete steps now to improve the situation, the Department for Education has only just announced a pilot scheme, involving 30 schools in Bradford, to trial the use of air purifiers, with results not due until the end of the year. “18 months into the pandemic, and given the accumulated knowledge about ventilation, kicking the issue into the long grass in this way is simply not good enough.” BESA’s guidance calls for a mixed approach to ventilation using both mechanical and ‘natural’ systems that can minimise costs for schools, but greatly improve airflows and give teaching staff more control over their indoor environments. “The ventilation industry has a wide range of solutions – many of which can be tailored to schools,” said the Association’s head of technical Graeme Fox. “They are relatively low cost, but they are not free. The government does need to put some level of investment into this and not just to deal with the immediate Covid issue, but to improve indoor conditions for the long-term health and well-being of pupils and staff.” He said BESA members had been flagging up the problems caused by air pollution inside school buildings for many years. “There is a powerful body of evidence linking poor IAQ to rising numbers of children suffering from asthma and other respiratory conditions that have serious long-term implications. BESA applauds the stance taken by the education unions and our industry is standing ready with the solutions they demand,” added Fox.www.theBESA.com/iaq
A new central register and a certification scheme have been launched for building safety managers following the final report and proposals for Working Group 8 – part of the industry response group tasked with developing a new framework of competence for the new Building Safety Manager role (part of the Building Safety Bill). The Building Safety Alliance, an independent industry-led ‘not for profit’ organisation, has been formed by representatives of both the public and private sectors. It aims to implement certification of people wishing to deliver the role of building safety manager (BSM) and produce a publicly accessible register of those certified by the scheme. In due course, it will also work with others to evaluate how organisations that wish to deliver the function of the BSM can be assessed as having the organisational capability to do so. It will also look at how to assist contractors and suppliers involved in higher-risk buildings in delivering a competent workforce that understands how to ensure that residential buildings are safe. The role of the Building Safety Manager, which the accountable person will have to ensure is in place, will be to comply with a number of tasks including: Ensuring the conditions in the Building Registration Certificate are complied with to the satisfaction of the Accountable Person and the Building Safety Regulator Ensuring those employed in the maintenance and management of the building’s fire and structural safety have the necessary competence to carry out their roles Engaging with residents in the safe management of their building by producing and implementing a resident engagement strategy Reporting to a mandatory occurrence reporting regime. Building Safety Managers – the future for compliance? Simon Ince, Project Engineer at UL, explores why defining the future role of Building Safety Managers is imperative to improve the standards of building management to protect people from fire and other risks. This is the first of two articles, the second of which can be found here: Competence – A fundamental part of building safety Keeping people safe inside buildings is vital for those responsible for a building’s management, particularly in a multi-occupied residential or a high-risk setting. To keep people safe, those with the duty of care must have a robust management system in place. They must take safety seriously and plan and resource accordingly. Astonishingly, however, many buildings are still managed haphazardly and without structure or control. Sometimes building managers have questionable competence, caused by management teams imposing safety duties on employees without providing sufficient training or support. One new development that will undoubtedly improve the standard of management within buildings is the acceptance of a standard definition of the role of Building Safety Manager (BSM). As part of the work following the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy and the recommendations of Dame Judith Hackitt, this key position has been subject to much discussion. A position which was undoubtedly insufficiently defined, vague and open to interpretation as to what responsibilities and duties were required. More importantly, there was little consensus on which key life safety critical roles BSMs must undertake. How must this position be defined? Currently the British Standards Institution (BSI) is rapidly developing, via its Flex project, a Publicly Available Standard (PAS) document that will provide clear guidance on the role of the BSM. This PAS will draw influence from the recommendations made by the Competence Steering Groups Working Group 8, who published “Safer People, Safer Homes: Building Safety Management.” This document sets out the competences required for any person or an organisation holding the role of BSM. What will a PAS for the BSM facilitate? With good management of a building being so important for safety, having an accountable person with defined responsibilities and duties will help with the routine management of the property. The existence of well trained and qualified professionals overseeing vital maintenance, inspections, procurement and repairs should reduce risk and help ensure that issues are dealt with promptly. In addition to the physical fire protection measures, BSMs will help with engaging with residents, keeping structured records and reducing risk to as low a level as is reasonably practical through a safety case approach. This will help improve safety within those buildings in scope and for those owners’ operators who use the PAS as a guide to compliance. Why is this role innovative? The work around the BSM is part of a wider movement to increase accountability, competence and traceability in the housing and construction sectors, and having a BSM taking control of occupied buildings is a smart and obvious thing to do. Can smart and obvious be innovative? Absolutely, as the role of a professional building safety manager is much needed! UL continues to support the drive in the UK for improved standards by offering independent testing, inspection, training and certification services.
Calton Hill City Observatory in Scotland’s capital has been nominated for an AJ Architecture Award this week. The design by HarrisonStevens, the Edinburgh-based Landscape Architects and Urban Designers, Calton Hill City Observatory has been nominated in the Landscape and Public Realm category in the annual awards. Situated within a World Heritage Site, The Calton Hill Project design integrates the existing listed buildings into a collective, external environment to create a unique user experience. Martin Stevens, Co-Founder and Managing Director, HarrisonStevens, said, “We are delighted that Calton Hill has been shortlisted. It recognises the work on this challenging project to create a sense of place that encompasses both city views and microclimatic and ecological factors within the physical and historic context of Edinburgh and Scotland. “The planting palette is designed to be extremely low maintenance and has a high biodiversity value and utilises species which are native and that one might readily find on adjacent Arthur’s Seat or within a similar Scottish landscape. Careful consideration was given to providing unity from the inside to the outside spaces, highlighting an opportunity for outdoor exhibition and performance space and drawing visitors through the heritage and contemporary spaces of the site.” The AJ Architecture Awards recognise excellence in UK architecture across a range of categories, from School & Housing Projects to Landscape and Public Realm, and the winners will be revealed during a celebratory event on 17 November 2021.
Solar Energy Scotland welcomes the inclusion of solar into the Scottish Governments and Scottish Green parties’ draft policy programme, as announced earlier today. The document outlines the joint commitment from both parties to confront some of the greatest challenges faced in Scotland to date, responding to the climate emergency, supporting economic recovery and strengthening a green and fair recovery from the global pandemic. Solar Energy UK Chief Executive Chris Hewett said: “Scotland has a more ambitious target on net-zero than the rest of the UK, so we are looking forward to working closely with the new government to ensure solar energy can play a full part in the race to cut carbon emissions. The opportunities are huge, from a new generation of solar parks, to co-location with wind farms, large rooftop schemes and using onsite solar to decarbonise heat and transport.” Solar Energy Scotland Chair Thomas McMillan said: “The solar energy industry in Scotland welcomes the clear recognition in the cooperation agreement of the important role solar can play in Scotland’s drive to meet our 2030 climate obligations. As the cheapest, most readily deployable renewable technology, with substantial benefits for the economy and helping to tackle fuel poverty, it is time for the sector to be allowed to grow and flourish. Scotland’s solar opportunities could see deployment increase 15-fold by 2030, and this would deliver a solar sector in Scotland proportional to what is being achieved elsewhere in the UK.” Solar Energy Scotland is calling on Government to set a minimum solar deployment target of 4GW by 2030, with an ambitious Government delivering as much as 6GW over the next decade.
Engie’s facilities management and technical services will fall under the new Equans brand. Equans will operate as an autonomous subsidiary of Engie, with 74,000 employees across 17 countries,managed by Jérôme Stubler and his management team. With annual revenue of over €12 billion, electrical, HVAC, cooling, mechanical, digital & IT and facilities management will all fall under the Equans brand. Catherine MacGregor, Engie CEO, said: “Today marks an important step forward in the implementation of our strategic roadmap. We are very proud to announce the creation of Equans, an autonomous entity within Engie, known in recent months under the project name “Bright”. We are on track to deliver on our simplification plan through the positioning of Equans as a leader in multi-technical services and reaffirming Engie as a leader in the energy transition, refocused on its growth markets and with a more industrial approach.” Jérôme Stubler, Equans CEO, added: “I would like to acknowledge the incredible work which has been accomplished during the last 6 months to create Equans. “Equans is made of state-of-the-art expertise which totally responds to the needs of our clients in delivering the Energy, Industrial and Digital transitions. This is a great moment for the 74,000 employees all over the world. I am very honoured and pleased to lead this fantastic team.”
Research from the national estate agent, Keller Williams UK, reveals how many hometown properties some of the best-paid English Premier League footballers could afford to buy with their annual salary. It is no secret that Premiership footballers are extremely well remunerated for their work and talent and, as we’ve seen this summer with big transfers for the likes of Jadon Sancho and Jack Grealish, when players hit peak form, clubs will pay extraordinary sums to get them on the books. But what does a young man do with such vast amounts of money? The answer for many is property investment, often seen as an easy and reliable way of creating a legacy income for themselves once their playing days are over. Where better than their hometowns so they can combine visiting their family with managing their potential future buy-to-let portfolio. With this in mind, Keller Williams has analysed the salaries of English players and compared them to the average house price in their respective hometowns to work out exactly how many property investments each player could make in a single year. At the very top of this list, the player who can afford to buy the most hometown homes, is England’s sweetheart, Jack Grealish. Following a bumper transfer to Manchester City, Grealish now earns a base annual salary of £15.6 million. He was born in Birmingham where the average house price is currently £205,615. This means that Grealish could buy 76 hometown houses with his annual pay packet, more than any other player on the list by quite a distance. Second is Jordan Henderson, Liverpool’s no-nonsense captain who earns £7.3 million each year. He was born in Sunderland where the average home cost £127,857 which means Henderson could buy 57 properties with a single year’s salary. Marcus Rashford is third on the list. Widely praised for his vital work off the pitch, Rashford is also a handsomely paid athlete with an annual salary from Manchester United of £10.4 million. Born and raised in Manchester where the average house price is £196,333, he could buy 53 hometown homes each year. Next is another Manchester United player, Harry Maguire, who earns £8.5 million a year. He was born in Sheffield where the average house price is currently £184,701. This means Maguire could buy 46 hometown homes every year. And then there’s Jordan Pickford, England’s animated man between the sticks. He plays for Everton where he is currently paid £5.2 million. Like Jordan Henderson, Pickford is from Sunderland where the average house price is £127,857. This means he could buy 41 hometown homes with a single year’s earnings. An interesting point of note is Harry Kane. The England and Tottenham Hotspur captain is one of the most high-profile and successful goal scorers in world football, currently earning £10.4 million a year. Despite this, Kane is placed towards the very bottom of the list, below many players who earn half of his salary. This is because Kane was born in Waltham Forest, an expensive borough in North East London where the average house price is £487,133. This means he could buy just 21 hometown homes with a year’s earnings, less than a third of Jack Grealish. Still, not too shabby for a potential property portfolio. Table shows how many homes each player could purchase in their home town at the current average house price Player Team Annual salary Hometown AveHP – May 2021 Number of ave homes per year Jack Grealish MCFC £15,600,000 Birmingham £205,615 76 Jordan Henderson LFC £7,280,000 Sunderland £127,857 57 Marcus Rashford MUFC £10,400,000 Manchester £196,333 53 Harry Maguire MUFC £8,464,300 Sheffield £184,701 46 Jordan Pickford EFC £5,208,320 Sunderland £127,857 41 Jamie Vardy LC £7,280,000 Sheffield £184,701 39 John Stones MCFC £5,200,000 Barnsley £140,058 37 Ben Chilwell CFC £9,880,000 Milton Keynes £281,140 35 Dean Henderson MUFC £5,200,000 Copeland £149,395 35 James Milner LFC £7,280,000 Leeds £210,358 35 Jadon Sancho MUFC £18,200,000 Southwark £528,767 34 Kyle Walker MCFC £5,720,000 Sheffield £184,701 31 Raheem Sterling MCFC £15,600,000 Brent £508,571 31 James Maddison LC £5,720,000 Coventry £201,331 28 Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain LFC £6,240,000 Portsmouth £222,279 28 Danny Drinkwater CFC £5,200,000 Manchester £196,333 26 Harry Kane THFC £10,400,000 Waltham Forest £487,133 21 Ben White AFC £6,240,000 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole £299,301 21 Luke Shaw MUFC £6,240,000 Kingston upon Thames £507,702 12 Callum Hudson-Odoi CFC £6,240,000 Wandsworth £625,412 10 Sources Spotrac – EPL Salary Rankings Gov.uk – UK House Price Index (May 2021 – latest available data) Wage / Average House Price
CONSTRUCTION company Stepnell says that after a year of consolidation and planned improvement, the contractor has experienced a strong start to the financial year with a good level of orders secured for 2021/22 across its regions. The complete construction partner has reported a turnover of £104 million and increased net assets of more than £16 million for the year ended 31 March 2021 – with a net profit of £1 million – providing a solid foundation for the company going forward which compares favourably to other construction businesses alike. Tom Wakeford, joint managing director at Stepnell Ltd, said: “2020 was an extremely challenging year for many businesses, particularly for those in the construction industry. The year was dominated by the emergence of the global Covid-19 pandemic and economic uncertainties associated with Brexit. “Stepnell was one of a handful of contractors to continue on site throughout lockdown and the commitment of our employees and our supply chain relationships was fundamental – we were able to source materials and sub-contractor support across our projects. Our results reflect our decision to work with our clients through the pandemic which was a great achievement.” The family-owned firm increased its Net Promoter Score, which is used to assess performance and help measure client satisfaction, to +45 in May 2021, showing that the company is performing well above average and is committed to delivering the best service to its clients. Tom added: “We are delighted to have increased our NPS to +45 which is rated as ‘good.’ This is a tremendous performance and enormous credit to our employees and the companies we work with and is a great achievement, particularly in the current climate.” Stepnell has secured a number of exciting project wins and its current projects are performing well, including Stepnell Park – a new £10m business park adjacent to Stepnell’s head office in Rugby – which is now substantially let. Stepnell has also recently secured work at a number of hospitals including five schemes for Royal Berkshire Hospital, refurbishment works for Northampton Hospital and building works for Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, as well as starting on site at £9.7m retirement build Wooburn Green for Lifestory Group. The contractor has also recently secured a number of other healthcare wins and has started on site at two significant care home projects, including £6.5 million care facility Bennett Drive Care Home for repeat client Cinnamon Care and £4.3m refurbishment project to the existing Town Thorns care centre for Motor and Allied Trades Benevolent Fund, both located in the Midlands. They have also been been appointed to build a £9m grade A office building for repeat client MHR as well as a new £2.5m refurbishment centre for National Grid in Leicester. Tom added: “Stepnell has secured orders which will enable it to deliver sales in excess of £100m during 2021/22, in line with our current business plan. The company has started the current financial year with an excellent level of secured work – circa 85% of the planned workload for the year – which we are really pleased with.” The 154-year old firm, which operates across central and southern England with a three-region model, prides itself on its unique complete construction partner approach offering a wide range of services including detailed risk management and partnership during pre-construction to work with its clients to solve the problems before they occur. Tom added: “We pride ourselves on our ability to be involved early in projects, to provide an end-to-end service where we can understand our clients’ objectives, offer enhanced solutions and work with them to achieve the best outcome. “Despite the challenges of the global pandemic and the uncertainty of Brexit, our focus upon service to our clients is the cornerstone of our business. The continuation of this ethos across the business has led to the majority of the work which has been secured for 2021/22 in respect of which we anticipate a similar level of turnover to 2020/21. “All of our regional teams have been working incredibly hard to secure new project wins and ensure that we emerge from this pandemic as best as we can. Stepnell has a more diversified range of projects than ever before, with the group also having the benefit of a property portfolio of more than £40m. “With our stable business model and continuing our selective approach to tendering for construction projects – to which its skill base is best suited and where terms and conditions do not impose unacceptable levels of construction risk – we are confident of our position to withstand market risks and continue our upward trajectory.” To find out more about Stepnell visit: www.stepnell.co.uk or join the conversation at @Stepnellltd.
Pupils in south east Edinburgh have started the new term in the new Frogston Primary School following the completion of works by Will Rudd Davidson (Edinburgh), consulting engineers. The new two-story building, designed by architect Holmes Miller, also offers great outdoor spaces to promote outdoor learning and a love of nature. To meet the architectural vision for the design, the Will Rudd Davidson team delivered complex engineering solutions to ensure no steel columns were present in the circulation spaces. The roof design also presented some challenges. William Taylor, Project Engineer, Will Rudd Davidson (Edinburgh), said: “The prominent roof arrangement makes a great feature with multiple peaks and troughs to replicate the Pentland Hills. To deliver the structure a series of inventive steel connections were adopted and we worked closely with the architect and construction team to ensure they did not compromise the architectural vision. We are really pleased with the finished result and the project is a great example of the complex engineering solutions we can deliver.” Situated on a greenfield site, Frogston Primary School is one of three schools that Will Rudd Davidson is currently working on for the City of Edinburgh Council, and will cater for a growing population in the south east of the city, accommodating pupils from new housing sites in the surrounding area.
People tend to cross bridges as quickly as possible; because you never know. Experts even have a term for this phenomenon: gephyrophobia or “bridge anxiety”. Yet these valley-spanning structures are true expressions of supreme engineering skill, as illustrated by the new Aftetal bridge in North Rhine-Westphalia. It’s a common enough experience for all motorists: you reduce your speed, see a warning sign for slippery roads or side winds, plus the obligatory windsock – followed by the brief rattle of the transitions, which cause a slight bump in the road. That’s usually all you notice of a bridge. Travellers are rarely able to appreciate their true beauty. Who knows the name of a bridge, let alone the names of the companies involved in its construction? Probably only a handful of people are familiar with the team around Matthias Urban and Markus Mühlnickel from formwork expert Doka – although they are actually always on hand wherever a complex bridge project involving concrete is underway in Germany. This is true, regardless of whether the bridge in question uses cantilevering, incremental launching or launching-girder equipment/load-bearing systems. An impressive example is the steel-concrete colossus named the Aftetal bridge – almost 800 meters long, with around 66 metres high piers, some of them at distances of up to 120 meters. It is a valley bridge, which aims to ease the traffic situation in the Westphalian town of Bad Wünnenberg and facilitate travel between Brilon and Paderborn in the long run. Matthias Urban, the project manager, emphasises: “It is an imposing, very long and wide bridge, and the piers are very massive. You don’t get that very often.” And that says a lot: After all, Doka has been supplying equipment and engineering expertise for cross-valley and cross-river traffic routes such as the Lahntal, the Nuttlar, Pfädchensgraben or Tiefenbach bridge for some time now. Even after 15 and 27 years respectively on the job, the engineers stress, “our department is passionate about bridges”. Markus Mühlnickel, the group leader, quotes Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, who wrote about the importance of teaching people to long for the infinite, vast sea, if you want them to build a ship. This is probably also true if you want to build a bridge: it is best to keep the image of free-flowing traffic in mind right from the start. This is how you encourage motivation and enthusiasm. A bridge, says the engineer, is always a prominent feature and decisively shapes the landscape. It feels wonderful to watch it grow and ultimately create connections between places and people. “Bridges are classic civil engineering,” says Urban, because they usually consist of abutments and piers, pier heads and a superstructure. Nevertheless, they only look alike at first glance. When you take a closer look, they actually entail quite different engineering technologies. And with the complexity of the bridge geometry, formwork requirements grow. From this perspective, the Aftetal bridge is one of the more challenging constructions – with its height, the complex geometry of its piers, the massive pier heads and not least because of its length and span. In principle, engineers tend to rely on standard systems for such a project as well. However, some aspects will always need individual solutions. Urban mentions the special engineering skills required for bridges and the special solutions and interface planning, which are indispensable at this level. A good formwork supplier does more than just supply components and systems. They also know how to make the most of its potential for the project at hand. It’s all about process, deadline and cost certainty. “Clients often give us their plans and expect that we already have a ready-made solution up our sleeves,” adds Mühlnickel. But for a bridge like this, there are no ready-made solutions. You have to sit down with the project partners, involve the team, plan, calculate, check, revise, meet again and continue to coordinate. “It’s about arriving at the best solution, which is ideally also the safest,” says Mühlnickel. “At the end of the day, the workers want to return home safely to their families.” After all, it’s not only about averting the risk of falling, it is also important to ensure that the equipment is ergonomic and minimises physical strain. It is up to Doka to provide its partners with good advice, and to show the advantages and disadvantages of various methods, to make the right decisions with regard to provision and operating time. On top of that, we must design solutions that are safe for life and limb – a “return on prevention”, as it is called in technical jargon. Studies have shown that every euro invested in safe and ergonomic working conditions pays off twice or three time over. In other words, before an actual bridge is built, we have to build interpersonal bridges. Only in this way great things – such as the Aftetal bridge – can happen. In the case of the massive piers, the responsible construction company Max Bögl relied on the principle of automatic climbing formwork. The high-performance, fully hydraulic system from Doka climbed accurately and precisely, every step of the way. The distances climbed were always between five and six meters, up to the V-shaped pier heads, which required another special solution from the formwork experts. This is where the formwork preassembly team came into play. This Doka service pays off especially in the case of exceptional assembly activities, for example when assembling and dismantling or moving the formwork from one pier head to the next – especially since the in-house Doka service results in fewer interfaces and coordination work at the construction site. This is particularly relevant since, in addition to cost savings, it is always the time factor that makes project partners more open to innovative or unconventional solutions. For example, Max Bögl used two composite forming carriages at the Aftetal bridge to join the steel trough with the concrete of the deck slab. To create the cantilevered parapets with parapet wall, a composite forming carriage with two
The classification, first introduced in 2019, highlights companies and investment funds listed on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market or on AIM that are driving the global green economy. To qualify for the Green Economy Mark, an issuer must generate 50% or more of its total annual revenues from products and services that contribute to the global green economy. The underlying methodology is the Green Revenues taxonomy developed by FTSE Russell as part of the FTSE Environmental Markets Classification System. It identifies industrial sectors and subsectors that are contributors to a greener, more sustainable economy such as climate change mitigation and adaptation, water, resource extraction, pollution and sustainable agriculture. SIG is committed to creating long term sustainable value for our stakeholders. To achieve this goal, we have aligned our operations with the Sustainable Development Goals, providing us with a framework to map against, created by the United Nations (UN). This framework provides a blueprint to achieving a better and more sustainable future for all. Our key focus areas in support of a greener, more sustainable economy are climate action, responsible consumption and production and Industry, innovation and infrastructure. We set our environmental objectives from our Low Carbon Sustainability policy, which aims to reduce our consumption of fuel, energy, water and waste, thus reducing our environmental impact. Where possible in the organisation, we focus on responsible consumption, aiming for high levels of recycling across our business, and our Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle policy supports our approach. In addition, our aim is to support industry, innovation and infrastructure through our position as leading supplier of specialist building materials, enabling organisations to complete infrastructure projects that have a positive impact upon the society it is created within. Steve Francis, CEO, commented: “SIG plays an important part in a critical industry. Our mission is to enable modern, sustainable and safe living and working environments in the communities in which we operate, and we fully recognise and commit to our responsibilities in driving efficient, sustainable operations both within the business, and in the industry. We are delighted to be recognised under this initiative by the London Stock Exchange and welcome the opportunity to input into a sustainable economy. We look forward to making further progress on our sustainability activities, such as the reduction of our carbon footprint and more robust waste segregation policies by better understanding the whole supply and disposal chain, and we will continue to focus on driving improvements for a more sustainable future.”