UK residential and commercial property developer Godwin Developments has announced the promotion of James Mulcare to the position of head of residential capital markets. In his new senior role, James will support the company’s strategy on acquisitions, development and funding for all its residential schemes – including urban and suburban
Leeds engineers RWO has won a contract to support the proposed development of a major mixed-use industrial development in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Gateway 36 is part of a 127-acre development located on the site of the former Rockingham Colliery, which is close to Junction 36 of the M1. Harworth Group,
One in three responders to cross-industry survey say payment delays are threatening viability of business Government facing mounting pressure to address administrative failings A survey of industry members involved in the installation of technologies eligible under the Green Homes Grants scheme has reinforced claims that administrative delays are behind the
When it comes to constructing the perfect building, you need to install the vital components and systems. You can find many examples of building systems and components such as electrical, plumbing, fire protection, ventilation, and HVAC. However, they can only operate whenever contractors provide enough protection from many factors. One
Deciding to close doors can be a defining moment for retail stores. It signals the end of its existence and the beginning of its liquidation process. Businesses use liquidation stock procedures as an exit route to efficiently do away with their leftover stock and pay off any remaining obligations before
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is urging the construction industry to get involved in important new research to develop a broader picture of the benefits and challenges of the Principal Designer (PD) role under CDM 2015 by completing an online survey. HSE has appointed MPW R&R Ltd (an independent
VIRTUAL TOURS are to be offered at the state-of-the-art Springfields Independent Living facility in Ashby de la Zouch throughout the coming months, as the project delivered by national contractor Willmott Dixon nears completion. Due to complete in summer 2021, the £12.5m project is being created on behalf of emh care & support and
BigChange, the mobile workforce management technology company, today announced that EDF has selected its pioneering JobWatch system to support the delivery of metering and energy services in the UK. EDF’s Energy Solutions division will use BigChange’s JobWatch system to manage the activities of field engineers serving business customers. Jobs will
A British engineering firm that has created an innovative, life-saving system to improve fire safety in homes has scooped a top national award. Plumis, whose clients include a range of local authorities and housing associations, took gold in the ‘Innovation of the Year’ category at the national finals of the
More innovative installation solutions are required if the UK is to fully capitalise on the economic benefits of fibre optic connections highlighted in a recent independent review of the Government’s Superfast Broadband Programme. The recent Ipsos MORI report found that homes connected to superfast broadband saw their value rise by
UK residential and commercial property developer Godwin Developments has announced the promotion of James Mulcare to the position of head of residential capital markets. In his new senior role, James will support the company’s strategy on acquisitions, development and funding for all its residential schemes – including urban and suburban Build to Rent (BTR), purpose-built student accommodation, affordable homes, and senior living developments. The promotion follows a period of rapid expansion for Godwin, which saw the appointment of the industry heavyweights Owen Michaelson and Lindsay McCombe, to the positions of London regional chairman and senior development director respectively, within the past ten months. Stephen Pratt, board director at Godwin Developments, said: “We are really pleased to have James heading our residential capital markets function. This promotion recognises his achievements and increased involvement with institutional investors and capital markets in the past 12 months. It also complements his continued focus on the BTR market and the delivery of property development projects that align with investors’ requirements.” In his national position, James will work with the firm’s land and development teams, as well as investors and BTR operators to grow Godwin Development’s residential portfolio and secure additional funding and investment sales across the UK. Commenting on his new appointment, James said: “I am delighted to take on this new and important senior role at Godwin Developments at a time when the appetite for residential assets across the sector is on the rise. Residential investment – and particularly BTR – is a key focus for us as we seek to deliver individual assets and portfolio opportunities for domestic and international institutional investors. “While the PBSA sector is a more mature market in the UK, the BTR – and especially single-family BTR sector – continues to grow rapidly and is at a very exciting stage. Moving forward, we will continue to follow the evolving demands of both occupiers and investors – providing a pipeline of secure long term investment opportunities for investors as well as high-quality homes and attractive communities for residents across a spectrum of tenures.” As a qualified member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, James joined Godwin Developments three years ago from MCR Property Group, where he focused on acquisitions and disposals, particularly developing their emerging PRS strategy. Prior to this, James worked in investment and asset management with the likes of LaSalle Investment Management and JLL. Stephen added: “Thanks to our in-house expertise and national coverage, we are well-positioned to provide both urban and suburban schemes in and around key UK towns and cities with strong economies and good social infrastructure, to support the ambitions of our institutional partners. “James has been an invaluable member of the team since joining us, contributing significantly to the growth of the business. We wish him every success in his new role and look forward to continuing to work closely with him in the future.” Godwin Developments is currently progressing a number of residential schemes across the country, including suburban BTR schemes in Doncaster, Nottingham and Ely which will see the creation of 269 single family BTR homes, as well as further urban BTR, PBSA and mixed-use projects in Sheffield, Nottingham, Derby, Worcester, and Bolton. For further information on Godwin Developments, visit https://www.godwingroup.co.uk/developments/.
Leeds engineers RWO has won a contract to support the proposed development of a major mixed-use industrial development in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Gateway 36 is part of a 127-acre development located on the site of the former Rockingham Colliery, which is close to Junction 36 of the M1. Harworth Group, one of the UK’s largest land and property regeneration companies, is developing the site in a move that will provide in excess of 1 million sq. ft. of modern commercial space, generating hundreds of new jobs. RWO, based in Park Place in Leeds city centre, will be providing civil and structural engineering services to support the design and build of the first three buildings which when completed in spring 2022, will provide more than 100,000 sq. ft. of modern commercial space. Plans for the scheme will be submitted to Barnsley Borough Council for reserved matters approval later this spring with an anticipated onsite construction start date in summer 2021. Currently employing 19 people, this is the latest contract success for RWO, which has seen revenues exceed forecasted turnover of £1.75m in the past 12 months and a raft of new work secured in the last three months, including designs for Highways England maintenance depots. Andrew Fairburn, head of RWO’s Leeds office, said: “This is another prestigious project for us, reflecting our ability to take a strategic view of investment projects from an engineering perspective for clients while delivering high quality infrastructure and detailed design work. “We continue to develop our commercial offering and this latest success comes at a time when we will see even more growth in 2021 as we continue to secure new contracts across the region and the UK.” All three phases of Gateway 36, alongside nearby employment and residential land have been unlocked as part of a £17.1m funding package from the Sheffield City Region Investment Fund (SCRIF). It is estimated that the move will support the creation of 2,500 jobs when completed. Robert Cole, project manager at Harworth Group, said Gateway 36 is an important scheme for the region, and added: “RWO, who have impressed with their technical expertise and experience, will be a key partner for this project, ensuring the development is delivered on time and to the highest quality standards as construction rolls out.”
One in three responders to cross-industry survey say payment delays are threatening viability of business Government facing mounting pressure to address administrative failings A survey of industry members involved in the installation of technologies eligible under the Green Homes Grants scheme has reinforced claims that administrative delays are behind the low deployment of a £1.5billion worth of vouchers, with more than 100,000 vouchers applied for and millions of pounds worth of work already undertaken by installers. To date, only 20,000 vouchers have been issued and even fewer payments for completed work have been made. The Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS), Solar Energy UK, Renewable Energy Assurance Ltd (REAL) and the Home Insulation and Energy Systems Quality Assured Contractors Scheme (HIES) are calling on the Government to implement a four-point plan to address the issues in the scheme: Immediate acceleration of payments and processing of vouchers to address installers’ cashflow concerns and increase pace of installations for consumers A greater administrative role established for the Microgeneration Certification Scheme, which has the expertise and existing relationships with installers, auditors and established consumer bodies in the zero-carbon home retrofitting market Greater transparency of the auditing process – particularly the cost criteria of products and installation works should be made visible A commitment in the upcoming Budget to use all of the underspent 2020/21 budget in future years through a longer-term programme of zero-carbon retrofitting until the end of this parliament, applying lessons learned from the successful Local Authority Delivery scheme The four industry bodies surveyed 194 members, yielding the following results: Almost three-quarters (73%) of survey responders have completed work under the Green Homes Grant. The remaining installers identify concerns with the operation of the scheme as their main reason for not participating Of this group who are yet to be convinced to take part, the majority (72%) state that they are waiting to see if improvements can be made to the turnaround of payments, before they will reconsider their involvement Of those installers already working under the scheme, over three quarters (76% are ‘concerned about the time it takes to receive voucher payments’ Over a third (35%) of responders state that delays to scheme payments, is now threatening the viability of their businesses Over half (51%) of installers state that they have hired new people, given an expectation that the scheme would generate a significant volume of new enquiries Over a third (34%) said they were unlikely to retain these new staff, unless significant improvements are made to the operation of the scheme, including the flow of payments A further fifth (17%) of installers state that they have already let their recent new hires go as given issues with working with the voucher scheme MCS chief executive Ian Rippin said: “The Green Homes Grant has good intentions, but it has been over-engineered to the point where it is now significantly affecting how our installers operate. Delays to payments are especially damaging and we are calling for consumer incentives like this to be simplified to enable renewable energy businesses to do what they do best, without worrying about their financial health.” Solar Energy UK chief executive Chris Hewett said: “We are keen to see the Green Homes Grants scheme made a success. The government needs to work with industry to make the process simpler and clearer for installers and consumers alike. Payments for completed work must be made without further delay, and any unspent funds recommitted in following years. If this government is serious about driving a green economic recovery it has to put its money where its mouth is.” REAL CEO Virginia Graham said: “The Green Homes Grant scheme has successfully piqued the public’s interest and has great potential to deliver green home upgrades at scale. But installer confidence is essential if this is to be realised. We therefore urge Government to take heed of these survey results by simplifying and rationalising the voucher redemption process and by rolling over any unspent funds.” HIES chief executive Faisal Hussain said: “The results of the survey are a real concern because of the delay in customers receiving vouchers and installers getting paid for completed work. Furthermore, consumers who have paid a deposit could be in danger of losing it if their chosen installer ceases to trade. We want to work with the government and the scheme administrator to help ensure that consumers and installers are not severely impacted and would welcome a meeting to discuss the findings and potential solutions in more detail.” The government has faced mounting pressure to address the administrative failings of the scheme in recent weeks from both industry and politicians, with the Environmental Audit Committee’s 3rd Parliamentary report calling for the scheme to “be urgently overhauled and extended to provide greater long-term stimulus to the domestic energy efficiency sector.” [2]
When it comes to constructing the perfect building, you need to install the vital components and systems. You can find many examples of building systems and components such as electrical, plumbing, fire protection, ventilation, and HVAC. However, they can only operate whenever contractors provide enough protection from many factors. One way buildings can protect them is by installing access doors. Even if it assures efficient protection, other building owners might say otherwise because they have no idea how it works. If you don’t have enough knowledge about access doors, you can find several reasons why installing them is crucial. 1. Protect Components Effectively As mentioned a while ago, building systems and components need adequate protection from possible elements such as temperament and damage from fires, moisture, etc. Most building components like electrical wires should not come into contact with water as much as possible because it can cause significant building problems. Many building fires have started before because of moisture penetrating and passing through electrical wires, circuit breakers, and other parts of the electrical system. If you don’t have access doors within your building yet, don’t waste any time and have contractors install them as quickly as possible. Once you have them installed, expect no severe problems will happen to your building. 2. Keep Everyone Safe in the Building Contractors will always hide components and systems behind walls, ceilings, and floors because it’s an eyesore and can become a nuisance, mostly when many people walk around. You might encounter several building tenants’ complaints when you have exposed plumbing pipes or electrical wires within your building. A time may come that they will cause accidents like causing people to trip over it. What’s excellent about access doors is they hide them most of the time, providing a safer space for people to walk around. The access doors can even prevent systems like water pipes from getting out. If the pipes suddenly burst, water can gush out in the open and create a slippery surface. Thankfully, you can install access doors with a gasket to prevent water from seeping through the surface. 3. Provide Convenient Access Behind Surfaces Since most building components and systems are behind surfaces, maintenance personnel might have difficulty accessing them. In most instances, they will have no choice but to damage the surface to access and work on the system behind, causing you to pay more for building expenses. But when you have access doors installed within your building, they won’t have to destroy any surface since they can simply open the door and close it once they finish doing the job. Apart from access doors for walls, you can also install aluminum roof hatches if you have technicians accessing your building’s roof frequently. As long as there’s space behind a surface that gets accessed, the access doors can provide safe and easy passage all the time. 4. Become an Alternative for Storage You might have a vault inside the office that you want to hide. You have the usual cover-it-with-a-portrait technique that most spy movies show everyone. Using that trick may not be as effective anymore since anyone can check behind paintings. You don’t have to fret because you can use access doors as an alternative for storage. You can have the vault placed in any area behind your wall’s office and then have an access door installed. You should get access doors that match the walls if you want to make it appear almost invisible. There are even access doors with a thicker door if you want to ensure no one can quickly access your vault. 5. Several Applications If you have enough access doors on your interior walls, you should note that there are other areas where contractors install the components. Examples of areas are the floors and exterior walls, so installing a plain access door will not cut it. These areas need specific access doors to get the right kind of protection. Take Away When you need to install access doors on your building’s exterior areas, they need to be weather-resistant because of the constant exposure to rain, snow, weather, etc. And for components found underneath floors, they need floor hatches because they can withstand pressure from getting stepped on. Your contractor will usually tell you what access door type you need, depending on which systems get access the most by maintenance personnel. Now that you know several reasons about the importance of access doors, the next step is to choose a reliable access door supplier such as Best Roof Hatches. You should always choose high-quality construction materials, and you should never exempt access doors.
Deciding to close doors can be a defining moment for retail stores. It signals the end of its existence and the beginning of its liquidation process. Businesses use liquidation stock procedures as an exit route to efficiently do away with their leftover stock and pay off any remaining obligations before calling it quits and filing for bankruptcy. Retail stores undertake liquidation proceedings with one final attempt to inform the public it’s going out of business. The huge closing sign becomes its last-ditch effort to dispose of merchandise for some profit before eventually retiring the business. When retailer stores close their doors to the public, they unlock other channels to unload inventory. They no longer sell items in pieces to consumers but instead offer them as package deals and bulk to interested back channels planning to resell them online or in flea markets and thrift shops. Where Stock Goes Retailers who still have a lot of inventory left after their final closing out sale need to dispatch of them as soon as possible as these goods’ value will just continue to depreciate. They also need to remove all of these products before their lease expires, so they use several means to dispose of their remaining merchandise through: Post-Closing Sale After customers scour aisles for best deals, hosting a post-closing sale allows retailers to sell inventory in bulk. This way, they can get rid of their merchandise at markdown prices to provide considerable profit. Another difference between the closing out and post-closing sale is that the latter sets a minimum amount for purchases. It also specifies operating hours when the wholesale prices are available. Other alternatives for post-closing sales include selling online through the retail store’s website or via e-commerce sites, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace. Selling closing out merchandise online can also allow flea market vendors, nonprofits, and thrift stores to take advantage of the discounts and resell them back to consumers for profit. Liquidation Auction If there is still stock remaining, retailers can organize a business-to-business liquidation auction or use this online auctioneer to dispose of it. They can host online auctions for retail liquidation stock and sell them in pallets or truckloads, making disposal quick and efficient. Employee Shopping Day Retailers going out of business can also reward their employees and relatives with discounts and allot a special shopping day to enjoy the store’s products. This offer serves as a farewell incentive for staff and a token for their immeasurable contribution to the company. Return Products to Vendors There are times when vendors allow retail stores to return products. While these sell at prices lower than what retail stores initially paid, selling them back to the vendor is advantageous. It allows retailers to unload part of their inventory while vendors may be more than willing to accept product returns to resell them to other customers. Contact Competitors Contacting competitors is also one way retail stores can dispose of part of their remaining items. They can also offer resale and thrift shops their merchandise and have them place bids for the items they want. This way, businesses can profit from its closing by assuming products they can use in their own companies or establishments. Donate to Charity Donating leftovers to charitable organizations helps retailers distribute their products in a humanitarian way. These organizations can use donations of clothes, shoes, and appliances to help impoverished individuals and communities. They can even use your donated items to raise money to support their causes. What’s good about donating to charity is that retail stores can obtain receipts from beneficiaries and use them for tax purposes. Apart from the tax break, donations elevate business by helping retail stores fulfill their social responsibility to the community in spite of the closure. Sell to New Owner There are also instances when retail stores do not close entirely but rather regroup by transferring ownership to another business entity. As one of the steps in dissolving the business, the retailer or owner, under the guidance of a business attorney or an accountant, can sell inventory to the new owner as a part of their turn-over agreement. Conclusion Business closures pose several challenges for stock disposal. Retail stores need to undergo several sales methods to effectively dispatch remaining inventory. In-store and online closing out sales help reaps profits despite discounted rates, while post-closing and liquidation auctions provide ways to sell merchandise in bulk. Selling leftover stock to new owners or competitors and returning them to vendors ensures that products are disposed of properly. Retail stores can also use this opportunity to acknowledge their employees’ immense contributions by holding a special shopping day. At the same time, it can fulfill its social obligation by giving away products and items to support charitable causes. Retail stocks make their way to alternate market venues despite the physical store closing its doors. Although such events are always sad, products will eventually make their way back to the market as resale items on online sites, flea markets, and thrift shops. Now that’s something customers can smile about.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is urging the construction industry to get involved in important new research to develop a broader picture of the benefits and challenges of the Principal Designer (PD) role under CDM 2015 by completing an online survey. HSE has appointed MPW R&R Ltd (an independent construction safety consultancy) to undertake this important research (http://mpwrandr.co.uk/hse-cdm-2015-principal-designer-survey/). The survey is seeking the views of organisations and individuals that have experience of the PD role either by: being appointed as a PD; being appointed as one of the other CDM 2015 duty holders (Client, Designer, Principal Contractor or Contractor); or working on or interacting with construction projects where a PD was appointed. The views of individuals who have experience of the PD role, regardless of project size, would be welcomed. Survey questions will ask how the PD role is being implemented, to broaden understanding of the benefits of the role as well as the challenges of implementing it. In addition to the industry-wide survey, the research will also be seeking the views of key stakeholder organisations via a series of personal interviews and/or written submissions. These will be analysed in conjunction with the survey results to help draw overall conclusions. Research findings will be published on HSE’s website as a Research Report, freely available to download. The survey can be found at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/722855H. It should take around 30 minutes to complete and closes on Friday 5th March.
VIRTUAL TOURS are to be offered at the state-of-the-art Springfields Independent Living facility in Ashby de la Zouch throughout the coming months, as the project delivered by national contractor Willmott Dixon nears completion. Due to complete in summer 2021, the £12.5m project is being created on behalf of emh care & support and will feature 65 one and two-bedroom apartments alongside communal areas such as a beauty salon, hairdressers and bistro. Designed by BRP architects, the homes have been created to provide residents with an inclusive living environment. The apartments will be offered both on preference and individual care and support needs, with 50 available for rent and 15 for sale on a shared ownership basis. Due to the current national lockdown restrictions the scheme’s show homes are currently closed and face-to-face viewings are not able to go ahead as normal. To ensure tours can still take place Willmott Dixon is using its industry-leading 360 Matterport camera to enable emh care & support to welcome potential tenants and homeowners virtually to the new development. Michelle Cotterill, director (delivery) at Willmott Dixon, said: “Throughout the project, we have been working closely with emh care & support to ensure we are creating a scheme that will make the local community proud. We are delighted that, as we near project completion, we have been able to continue supporting the customer with our innovative Matterport scanning cameras. Technology has played a major role throughout the whole development process, from the use of BIM in the design of the scheme, to the implementation of offsite manufacturing in the build process.” Situated at the heart of the National Forest, the development has taken inspiration from surrounding nature and history, producing apartments dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of its residents. All the apartments are completely self-contained and designed to allow wheelchairs and mobility aids to be used. The homes have been finished to the highest specification, ensuring residents can live in comfort in a spacious modern home. The development also features a video door entry system, with each apartment also having access to its own secure entrance and fibre optic broadband. Once operational, the independent living facility will also have a dedicated team of staff available 24 hours a day, to support residents with flexible packages of care to suit individual needs. Jo Grainger, executive director at emh care & support said: “The way that we would usually connect with people to tell them about our new homes has had to change completely due to the local and national restrictions of the pandemic. The use of technology available to us, and the flexibility and support from Wilmott Dixon throughout the project has meant that we have still been able to generate a lot of interest and applications for this amazing new facility. We are now looking forward to an amazing opening and to welcoming people to their new homes.” Michelle added: “Like the rest of the nation, the construction industry has been forced to find new ways of working throughout the pandemic. Therefore, I am particularly proud of our team’s ability to keep 100% of our sites operational throughout the numerous lockdowns – this has enabled us to continue our work providing much-needed high-quality housing for the community in Ashby, while also ensuring that residents can move into the development as soon as possible.” To find out more information about the Springfields Independent Living facility, view the floor plan of the development, contact the team for further information or express your interest in the scheme, please visit: www.emhcareandsupport.org.uk/living-with-us/springfields For further information about Willmott Dixon, please visit: www.willmottdixon.co.uk
BigChange, the mobile workforce management technology company, today announced that EDF has selected its pioneering JobWatch system to support the delivery of metering and energy services in the UK. EDF’s Energy Solutions division will use BigChange’s JobWatch system to manage the activities of field engineers serving business customers. Jobs will be scheduled and automatically dispatched through JobWatch, with activities allocated to the most appropriate engineer after considering a range of factors including their location and skills. Field engineers will be provided with their schedules, optimal routes, job information and worksheets through a BigChange app on their existing Android devices. With details of each job recorded on the app as it is completed, EDF’s back-office team will gain a real-time view of their mobile workforce operations and how each job is progressing. Tony Rabone, Senior Manager for Energy Solutions Delivery at EDF, comments: “We are excited by the potential of BigChange’s technology to improve our field service activities for commercial customers. This new way of working should allow us to be even more responsive to customer needs, while reducing the administrative burden of managing field operations and improving our employees’ experience.” Martin Port, founder and CEO of BigChange, comments: “The ease with which JobWatch is deployed at scale and integrated into third-party ERP systems means BigChange is increasingly chosen by large organisations to replace legacy infrastructure and ways of working. We’ve invested heavily in innovation, integration and achieving ISO27001 information security accreditation to meet the demands of larger customers. We are thrilled that EDF has rewarded these efforts by selecting JobWatch.” BigChange’s pioneering mobile workforce and job management solution, JobWatch, provides organisations of any size with a paperless means of planning, managing, scheduling, and tracking their mobile workforce operations. It is used by 50,000 mobile workers and back-office personnel at over 1,500 organisations worldwide, primarily working in the construction, facilities management, field service, transport, logistics and waste management sectors.
A British engineering firm that has created an innovative, life-saving system to improve fire safety in homes has scooped a top national award. Plumis, whose clients include a range of local authorities and housing associations, took gold in the ‘Innovation of the Year’ category at the national finals of the Make UK Manufacturing Awards. The annual awards recognise the creativity, dedication and resilience of manufacturers that have done exceptional work to provide better solutions to problems. Judges praised the London-based company for its reinvention of the traditional fire sprinkler and the organisation’s growth through developing solutions to meet the needs of new markets. Since its formation in 2008, Plumis has developed the fire suppression misting technology Automist as an effective alternative to sprinklers. Its products are easier and more cost-effective to retrofit, and use less water so are less damaging than conventional sprinkler systems. The company has grown its business rapidly over the last few years and now has 41 employees. Make UK judges said: “Plumis is an innovative British engineering company that has shown impressive revenue growth from its life-saving product, and their customer base looks set to expand. They deserve the greatest of praise for the progress they’re making.” William Makant, CEO and Co-Founder of Plumis, said: “Winning this national award is a testament to our team’s hard work and commitment to taking a fresh approach to addressing the challenges of keeping people safe from fire in their homes. “We formed Plumis with the aim of creating a more effective alternative to traditional fire sprinkler systems and we will continue to innovate as we evolve our products further.” Jim Davison, Region Director for Make UK in the South, said: “I must congratulate Plumis on winning this award for the significant, innovative steps that they’ve made. It’s clear they’ve prioritised research and development, and they are now seeing the benefits. Organisations like Plumis really are trailblazers for the sector and I hope other manufacturers take a leaf out of their book.” The Make UK award was sponsored by High Value Manufacturing Catapult, a group of UK manufacturing research centres. Dick Elsy CBE, the sponsor’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are proud to sponsor these awards, to recognise the achievements of extraordinary innovators such as Plumis. “Companies that grasp the innovation opportunity are among the most competitive and productive in global markets. That’s why innovation is the lifeblood of the UK economy, with HVM Catapult driving growth and success in the manufacturing sector.” Plumis has previously won numerous awards, including the Red Dot Design Award and the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation.
More innovative installation solutions are required if the UK is to fully capitalise on the economic benefits of fibre optic connections highlighted in a recent independent review of the Government’s Superfast Broadband Programme. The recent Ipsos MORI report found that homes connected to superfast broadband saw their value rise by £3,500 since the programme’s 2012 introduction, with 17,600 jobs created in rollout areas and a £1.1 billion increase in Gross Value Added through workplace productivity. According to REHAU, these impressive findings demonstrate the pressing need to connect even more properties to fibre optic broadband, especially as the nation recovers from the economic impact of the pandemic. “The recent report into superfast broadband was welcome but unsurprising news, especially considering the potential of fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) technology,” says Paul Churm, Fibre Optic Specialist at REHAU. “Fibre optic broadband’s benefits are already well-established, but what matters now is the speed at which a nationwide rollout can occur. “Indeed, it is in the statistics around this rollout that the most interesting reading can be found. Specifically, while the report showing that while 96 percent of UK homes can access superfast broadband, a previous Ofcom report calculated that 11 million compatible households are missing out on this potentially transformational technology. With the economic benefits of upgrading so clearly demonstrated in this report, it is vital ISPs look into solutions that could hasten the adoption of FTTH technology on the national level.” A traditional barrier to the quick implementation of fibre optic technology has been the logistical difficulties associated with blowing in cables from the exchange to the home. Two installers and access to the home has usually been required for this process, leading to logistical difficulties arranging installation appointment times with homeowners. It is with this in mind that REHAU has developed RAUSPEED EasyConnect, which can be externally installed at the end of a micro duct to allow one installer to quickly connect multiple homes all at once. “Fibre installation has previously been riven with inconveniences, from the need for two installers to the arranging of individual home visits for blowing in,” explains Paul. “But to maximise the benefits afforded by fibre optic broadband, this cable blowing-in process needs to be streamlined, so skilled personnel can be redeployed to more installations and bring this 11 million-figure down. ““We therefore need practical tools like EasyConnect to get more people connected to fibre broadband, which, as this report shows, will clearly be instrumental to the UK’s post-COVID economic recovery. In the medium-to-long term, a more extensive nation-wide fibre optic telecommunications infrastructure will also be key to the UK coping with surging data transfer levels incurred by new technologies and the likely post-pandemic trend towards working-from-home arrangements.” The EasyConnect is designed with a mechanism that slows down the cable as it enters the box, and a house connection micro duct that is automatically sealed and water and gas-tight up to 0.5 bars of pressure. Its sponge catcher and attached water tank collects and stores excess humidity and lubrication to ensure a contaminant-free blowing-in process. Splicing can be done at a later date as excess cable lengths are collected for ease. For more information on fibre broadband and REHAU’s new EasyConnect system, visit: https://www.rehau.com/uk-en/telecommunication