The UK Government has on the 1st June 2020, released guidance on the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020. There are three sets of guidance with separate versions released for landlords, tenants, and local authorities in England. Private landlords must ensure: Electrical safety standards are
The British Safety Council has announced the individuals, teams, initiatives and organisations who have won awards as part of the 2020 International Safety Awards Scheme (ISAs). These awards recognise and celebrate outstanding achievements around the world amongst those who have made exceptional efforts to ensure peoples’ health, safety and wellbeing.
Leading independent construction, property and management consultancy, Rider Levett Bucknall UK has announced a restructure of its healthcare sector headed up by Partner, Stewart Binns as National Lead. Taking the role alongside his existing position as head of Project Management in Yorkshire and Humber, Binns will lead the sector that
Construction has started on the £3.9m renovation of King Edward VI School in Lichfield, with works being led by Midlands contractor G F Tomlinson for Staffordshire County Council under the Staffordshire Construction framework. This is the second contract secured by G F Tomlinson through the Staffordshire Construction framework for Staffordshire
Specialist supplier AEI Cables has welcomed the move by the Government to ensure sprinkler systems are mandatory in all new high-rise blocks over 11 metres tall when they come into force. The government announced an amendment to the statutory guidance to building safety regulations, known as Approved Document B, reducing
The Building Controls Industry Association (BCIA) has released a new technical guide to add to its portfolio of online guides available to download. The new guide, The Impact of Controls on the Energy Efficiency of Buildings, focuses on the British and European standard, BS EN 15232-1:2017, which assesses the cumulative impact
Mike Brown heads Bellharbour as Director of Property Management. Mike has worked in the Property Management sector for 33 years and in residential management for the last 22, specialising in managing luxury residential buildings and large mixed-use estates. He brings extensive experience both as a managing agent and on the client
A case that The Property Ombudsman was asked to review came from a buyer concerning the survey. The buyer said that the surveyor failed to notify her of the presence of woodworm (active or not). She said that the survey report did not mention evidence of woodworm in the kitchen
A specialist range of LED driving and working lights have been launched to help the construction industry, enabling work to continue safely through the night thanks to their industrial levels of illumination. During this unprecedented time, the construction industry is playing a major role in helping to maintain key infrastructure and
Leading bathroom manufacturer, Geberit, has been announced as a finalist in two categories in the 2020 Builder Merchants Journal (BMJ) Industry Awards. Geberit was one of six manufacturers to make the final cut in the ‘Heating and Plumbing Manufacturer’ category, thanks to innovations in its drainage and piping products including
The UK Government has on the 1st June 2020, released guidance on the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020. There are three sets of guidance with separate versions released for landlords, tenants, and local authorities in England. Private landlords must ensure: Electrical safety standards are met when the property is occupied during a tenancy. Every fixed electrical installation at the property is inspected and tested at least every five years by a qualified person. The first inspection and testing are carried out before new tenancies commence on or after 1 July 2020 and by 1 April 2021 for existing tenancies. Key questions answered WHAT DOES ELECTRICAL SAFETY STANDARDS MEAN? Under the Regulations, electrical safety standards mean that the inspection and test of the installation is carried out in accordance with the eighteenth edition of the wiring regulations BS 7671:2018 (the national standard to which all domestic wiring must conform). WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I HAVE AN EXISTING REPORT? If the landlord has obtained a satisfactory Electrical Installation Safety Report which is less than five years old, they should review the report to see what was recommended on it and consider how the property has been let since it was carried out. If big differences to the property have occurred, then it would be wise to get another check done. If no changes have been made, then the report will remain valid until the next inspection date specified. WHAT TENANCY TYPES ARE COVERED BY THE REGULATIONS? The Regulations apply to all tenancies apart from those listed as excluded tenancies which are social housing, shared accommodation with a landlord or landlord’s family, long leases, student halls of residence, hostels and refuges, care homes, hospitals, and hospices as well as other accommodation relating to healthcare provision. DO THE REGULATIONS APPLY TO HOUSES OF MULTIPLE OCCUPATION (HMO)? Yes, if an HMO is a tenant’s only or main residence and they pay rent, then these regulations apply to the property. Furthermore, these Regulations repeal the previous legislation which set requirements on HMO landlords. WHAT ABOUT NEW BUILD PROPERTY? The Regulations stipulate that all rented properties – even new builds – should have their electrical installations tested every five years. The Electrical Installation Certificate will certify that electrics are safe when they are put into service, but it will not identify any damage, deterioration, or defects that take place subsequently. After five years of use as a rented property, the UK Government believes it is sensible to ask landlords (who have not been living in the property) to ensure that the electrical installation is still safe. WHO CAN CARRY OUT THE CHECKS? Any Electrical Inspector employed to undertake the electrical inspection and testing within the property must have: Adequate insurance. This should include at least £2 million public liability insurance and £250,000 professional indemnity insurance. A qualification covering the current version of the wiring regulations (BS 7671). A qualification covering the periodic inspection, testing, and certification of electrical installations. At least two years’ experience in carrying out periodic inspection and testing See www.electricalcompetentperson.co.uk and www.napit.org.uk/member-search.aspx How do the rules interact with the guidance because of COVID-19? The UK Government recognise that the restrictions imposed by current measures to minimise the infection risks from COVID-19 may make carrying out electrical safety checks more difficult, for example where households are isolating or where an individual has been advised to shield. Under such circumstances, provided the landlord can demonstrate they have taken reasonable steps to comply, they would not be in breach of their legal duties.
The British Safety Council has announced the individuals, teams, initiatives and organisations who have won awards as part of the 2020 International Safety Awards Scheme (ISAs). These awards recognise and celebrate outstanding achievements around the world amongst those who have made exceptional efforts to ensure peoples’ health, safety and wellbeing. The Young Health and Safety Champion of the Year awards recognises the exceptional contribution of individuals aged 16-24 in ensuring the health, safety and wellbeing of their colleagues and others. The winner this year is: Shewale Aniket Prabhakar, EHS engineer, PVVNL IDPS Additional RMU PKG, Ghaziabad, India (winner) The Wellbeing Initiative Award recognises organisations that can demonstrate a proactive and effective approach to improving employee wellbeing. This must be through a new or unique objective with a clear and measurable outcome, over and above the organisation’s routine work. The award is sponsored by Vitality Healthy Workplace, which provides a variety of services to help businesses to build a healthier, more engaged and productive workforce. The winner this year is: Ashgal ‘Health and Wellness Campaign’, India The Health and Safety Transformation Award recognises organisations that have changed or transformed any aspect of health, safety or wellbeing to a significant extent through the use of information. Applicants were required to describe the transformation, how it was used and its positive impact. The award is sponsored by Croner-i, one of the leading providers of information and guidance for businesses in fields such as health and safety, the environment and human resources. The winner this year is: Chr.Hansen New for 2020, the CEO Award recognises the leadership and strategic vision of a CEO who has made a vital contribution to the health and safety of their business and to wider society in 2019. The winner this year is: Matt Brabin, ISS, UK For the second year running the Team of Year Award recognises outstanding achievements resulting in a significant improvement to health, safety or wellbeing, from a collaboration of stakeholders. The winner this year is: ASHGHAL-DW002-P03 Roads and Infrastructure in West Muaither (Al Manasser) Package 3 New for 2020, the James Tye Award honours the founder of the British Safety Council. James campaigned tirelessly to improve the health, safety and welfare of people at work. He founded the British Safety Council in 1957 and continued to support it until he died in 1996. The winner this year is: Transport Corporation of India Ltd. (TCIL) Sector winners Construction and property – Gas Call Services Ltd Education – ISS Education, Working in partnership with University of the West of Scotland Eco-Campus Healthcare – Sodexo Healthcare at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust – Oxford Road Campus Hospitality – Arsenal Football Club Local government – FCC Environment – Wychavon Collections Contract Manufacturing – (joint winners) Advanced Proteins / Flexitallic UK Ltd – Cleckheaton Not for profit – Plymouth Community Homes Oil and gas – SP Armada Oil Exploration Pvt. Ltd.- Armada Sterling II Onshore – GardaWorld Security Services. Middle East & Africa Power and utility – ENKA İnşaat ve Sanayi A.Ş – Nizhnekamsk 495 MW Combined Cycle Power Plant Project Transport – Unipart Logistics Country/regional winners China – China Construction Engineering (Macau) Co. Ltd. – Macau LRT C385R (LRT Depot) India – SP Armada Oil Exploration Pvt. Ltd.- Armada Sterling II Jordan – Indo-Jordan Chemicals Co Ltd Kuwait – Kuwait National Petroleum Company – Head Office Pakistan – (joint winners) Engro Fertilizers Daharki Fatima Fertilizer Company Limited – Plant Site, Sadiqabad Qatar – Urbacon Trading & Contracting – Qatar Saudi Arabia – Sadara Chemical Company. Packaging Center – MdR Operations Sri Lanka – China State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd-Construction of proposed ODEL Mall & Department Store – Colombo 07 Turkey – ENKA Insaat ve Sanayi – Nizhnekamsk 495 MW Combined Cycle Power Plant Project UAE – (joint winners) Dubai Multi Commodities Centre China State Construction Engineering Corporation (Middle East) (L.L.C), R 1013/2D Improvement of Al Shindagha Corridor Phase 2 D ProjectSouth America – Planta San Miguel, Cementos Progreso UK/Ireland – Unipart Logistics Africa – Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals Limited – Port Harcourt, Nigeria Southeast Asia (other) – Ed. Züblin AG, Singapore Branch Announcing the winners Mike Robinson, Chief Executive of the British Safety Council said: “My warmest congratulations to all of the individuals, teams and organisations that have won awards within our prestigious International Safety Awards scheme. “The winners have made huge efforts to protect and enhance the health, safety and wellbeing of everyone in their organisations. All the winners and those who were shortlisted went the extra mile by dedicating additional time, resources and commitment to ensuring that their work, teams and workplaces remained healthy and safe during the previous year.” He went on to say: “I would also like to say thank you to all of the organisations who took time to apply for these awards and to our panel of judges who volunteered to adjudicate them.” He concluded his remarks: “The British Safety Council’s vision is that no-one should be injured or made ill through their work, anywhere in the world. By publicising the achievements of the winners of these awards, we can encourage other employers everywhere to follow their lead and give workers’ health, safety and wellbeing the priority it rightly deserves.” Due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak the British Safety Council took the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 International Safety Awards Gala Dinner. The winners will receive their trophies and certificates by courier at the earliest opportunity.
Leading independent construction, property and management consultancy, Rider Levett Bucknall UK has announced a restructure of its healthcare sector headed up by Partner, Stewart Binns as National Lead. Taking the role alongside his existing position as head of Project Management in Yorkshire and Humber, Binns will lead the sector that has been realigned into three key workstreams, with new leads appointed from within the business to manage each workstream: Capital programmes – James Costello Estate strategy and masterplanning – Adam Hurst Six Facet Surveys – Brook Smith The workstreams align with core healthcare sub-sectors Acute, Primary and Mental Health and are central to RLB’s national healthcare plan and strategy. Binns, who joined RLB in 2018 after heading up the health division at Turner and Townsend, commented, “Healthcare is a sector that has shown strong growth at RLB. It has therefore made sense to pause at this point and realign our structure and teams to ensure that we have the right expertise in the right place to be able to service our clients now and in the future.” “Healthcare continues to be one of our central areas of growth as a business,” continues Andrew Reynolds, Chief Executive of RLB UK. “If the last few months have shown us anything it is how crucial healthcare provision is to all our lives and ensuring that we have healthcare estates that are maintained, adapted and agile will continue to be of national importance. We believe our new structure will support the drive for best practice and to deliver the best outcomes within the sector.”
Construction has started on the £3.9m renovation of King Edward VI School in Lichfield, with works being led by Midlands contractor G F Tomlinson for Staffordshire County Council under the Staffordshire Construction framework. This is the second contract secured by G F Tomlinson through the Staffordshire Construction framework for Staffordshire County Council, led by Entrust Property Services – the first being the £5.2m Poppyfields Primary School in Cannock, which was successfully completed last summer within a major housing development in the area. The project involves the design and build of an extension to an existing building and the construction of a new modular building to provide much needed replacement teaching and auxiliary spaces at King Edward VI School. Building on a winning partnership from the successful delivery of the Poppyfields Primary school, G F Tomlinson again appointed Arc Partnership to provide architectural and engineering services for the scheme. Phase one of works at the Lichfield co-educational comprehensive for pupils aged 11 to 18, involves the construction of a new three-storey extension on the site of a former swimming pool, which had been closed for over ten years and was demolished as part of preliminary site-wide enabling works by ENTRUST prior to commencement. The extension will provide replacement teaching and auxiliary spaces, as well as an administration area on the lower ground floor, which will be the location of the school’s new student services area. Completion for this phase is expected in spring 2021. Phase two involves the demolition of existing accommodation and obsolete prefabricated buildings, to be replaced with the construction of a brand new standalone modular structure, providing modern and enhanced science laboratory teaching facilities at the school. Ideal Modular, part of G F Tomlinson’s existing supply chain, has been appointed to deliver the modular element of this project. Works for phase two are expected to be completed in winter 2020. During the course of the construction works, G F Tomlinson is looking to engage with both staff and students of the school. The site management team will perform virtual live site tours for the school to report project progress and allow them to raise any queries they have. Once government guidelines allow it, the contractor also plans to carry out regular site tours and school assemblies, as well as communicating the project’s progress through meetings with the school. Regular newsletters will also be distributed to the school and local residents. Chris Flint, director of G F Tomlinson, said: “We are pleased to be able to commence construction works for our client Staffordshire County Council, particularly in the current climate. The works will maximise space and upgrade the existing buildings at King Edward VI School. These important renovations will optimise teaching spaces and improve the overall educational experience for students and staff. “It has been rewarding to engage with Entrust Property Services again and we look forward to working for them and Staffordshire County Council to deliver this project, whilst continuing to build strong relationships with Arc Partnership and our other local supply chain partners over the course of both phases.” County Councillor Philip White, cabinet member for learning and skills said: “These works are being completed to ensure the site can accommodate an increased demand for pupil places at the school, as a result of new housing in and around the city. Once finished, the work will enable the school to expand by 150 pupils. “We have been planning for this for a while, and construction is taking place over the course of a year to minimise disruption as much as possible. I’m sure pupils and teachers will enjoy using the brand-new accommodation in September 2021.” John Doherty, CEO of Entrust Support Services, said: “We are proud to see works commence at King Edward VI School following ENTRUST’s master planning of a multifaceted brief across a split campus. This is a complex project which we are proudly project managing with our preferred contractor and we look forward to working with G F Tomlinson, Staffordshire County Council and the school to complete it. Once finished, these new teaching spaces will benefit the school and its pupils well into the future.” Jane Rutherford, headteacher at King Edward School said “With additional students joining us each year, this project will provide all our students and staff with access to improved facilities. We are looking forward to seeing the project completed during the coming academic year”. Staffordshire County Council is leading the project, with project management from ENTRUST, G F Tomlinson acting as main contractors, and Arc partnership acting as architect and structural engineer.
Specialist supplier AEI Cables has welcomed the move by the Government to ensure sprinkler systems are mandatory in all new high-rise blocks over 11 metres tall when they come into force. The government announced an amendment to the statutory guidance to building safety regulations, known as Approved Document B, reducing the requirement for sprinkler systems from the current 30 metres to 11 metres. Stuart Dover, general manager of AEI Cables, said: “We believe sprinkler systems at this level will make a real difference to the safety of lives and property – as long as provision is made for the installation of approved cabling for these purposes. “We look forward to working with the industry to make sure this can work in practice.” The Fire Safety Bill, which was introduced to Parliament in April, will also empower fire and rescue services to take enforcement action and hold building owners to account if they do not comply with the law. The Institution of Fire Prevention Officers (IFPO) is supporting the call by AEI Cables to ensure that reliable continuous power is provided for sprinkler systems. The tried and tested generation of AEI Cables’ fire performance cabling ensure critical fire-safety circuits can continue to operate in the event of a fire from 30 minutes up to 120 minutes and often support systems which provide intelligence for the fire and rescue services. AEI Cables’ Firetec Enhanced cabling is the only cable to be independently approved and certified by LPCB to BS8519 (Annex B) Category 3 Control for firefighting systems including sprinkler pumps, fire suppression water mist systems, water spray systems, wet riser pumps, wet riser valve and equipment monitoring under the Code of Practice. All AEI Cables’ products are supplied with approvals from independent bodies including BASEC and LPCB. It also holds approvals from organisations including Lloyds, the MoD, Network Rail and LUL and works to international standards around the world.
The Building Controls Industry Association (BCIA) has released a new technical guide to add to its portfolio of online guides available to download. The new guide, The Impact of Controls on the Energy Efficiency of Buildings, focuses on the British and European standard, BS EN 15232-1:2017, which assesses the cumulative impact of building automation and controls – commonly referred to as BACS – on the energy efficiency of buildings. Terry Sharp, President of the BCIA, said: “It is a well-documented fact that buildings account for over 40% of global energy consumption, and buildings rarely perform as well as their designers calculated. BCIA member companies use the BS EN 15232 Standard as a guiding light for control system design and operation, so we have released this Technical Guide to help manufacturers and systems integrators understand the Standard better and improve the performance of the buildings they work on.” The BCIA’s technical guides are designed to help members and those in the building controls and BEMS industry work more effectively. All technical guides can be downloaded from the ‘resources’ section of the BCIA website.
Mike Brown heads Bellharbour as Director of Property Management. Mike has worked in the Property Management sector for 33 years and in residential management for the last 22, specialising in managing luxury residential buildings and large mixed-use estates. He brings extensive experience both as a managing agent and on the client side, dealing with everything from small RMCs to large developers. Bellharbour was created out of an identified need to meet specific requirements to high-end developments within the property sector. By bringing together some of the UK’s elite property sector specialists, the company provides over 55 years of combined experience in management of the prime sector. The aim is to provide a truly high-end bespoke service to clients: Lower ratio of development staff to properties than our competitors Maintaining higher standards of presentation of your property More in-depth knowledge of prime developments Strong management training of any staff hired to work onsite An extensive suite of supporting services from the companies within the group Bellharbour expects to grow quickly, with a number of clients already on board even before launch, and some preparing to switch. The central location is ideal for attracting high-end developers in and around Canary Wharf, as well as for recruiting the best talent in the industry. About the Fexco Property Services group Bellharbour is a trading company of Crabtree PM Limited, and part of the Fexco Property Services group, founded in 2015 by the Irish multi-national company Fexco to provide nationally focused management and professional services to the built environment. The group currently consists of Bellharbour, Crabtree PM Limited, Remus Management and Ellis Sloane & Co. Backed by Fexco which has been investing in the UK since 1983 and involved in block management since 1999, successfully growing the largest residential management group in Australia; Prudential Investment Company of Australia Pty Limited (PICA) who currently have 280,000 homes under their management. Together the combined experience of the group amounts to the largest service provider in the UK.
A case that The Property Ombudsman was asked to review came from a buyer concerning the survey. The buyer said that the surveyor failed to notify her of the presence of woodworm (active or not). She said that the survey report did not mention evidence of woodworm in the kitchen or hall floorings even though those areas were not carpeted at the time of the survey. She explained that if she had been alerted to this, she could have had any necessary treatment carried out before moving into the property. Instead, this had to be done after, requiring her to vacate the property for three days. The surveyor said that at the initial inspection, the timber floor was exposed in the hall and kitchen and appeared generally free of defect. There was damp staining in the kitchen and the area was tested with a damp meter which showed the area was dry. In the absence of any further visible defect, they concluded that there was no significant problem to the floor. The surveyor commented on treatment carried out on behalf of the buyer by a woodworm specialist company. They thought that there was a lack of evidence from the contractor’s inspection as the photographs of floorboards showed visible holes on the underside of the floorboards only. They said these would not have been noticeable without the floor being lifted, something the survey report clearly stated would not be done. In addition, the work was carried nine months after their inspection, and they said that conditions could have changed during this time. OMBUDSMAN’S FINDINGS The buyer had commissioned a Level 3 RICS Building Survey Report. The survey stated that the surveyor would use their best endeavours to identify the risk of potential or hidden defects and to see as much as is physically accessible. With specific regard to the floors, the survey explained that surfaces of exposed floors were visually inspected and, where covered, the corners of loose carpets and other floor coverings would be lifted where practicable and with the permission of the owner and/or occupier. The floor was exposed in both the kitchen and hall. The surveyor should have noted any obvious signs of woodworm; the report did not indicate there were any signs. The survey explained that recommendations for further investigations should be included only when the surveyor felt unable to reach necessary conclusions with reasonable confidence. There was no suggestion that, in this case, the surveyor was unable to reach their conclusions about the condition of the floor with confidence. The Ombudsman did not consider that there was anything to put the surveyor on notice that there was a potential infestation; no holes were evident at the time the survey was completed and the surveyor reported that the floors were generally free of defect. While appreciating the inconvenience caused to the buyer as a result of having treatment carried out once she had moved into the property, there was no evidence to indicate that woodworm should have been noted on the survey. Outcome The complaint was not supported.
A specialist range of LED driving and working lights have been launched to help the construction industry, enabling work to continue safely through the night thanks to their industrial levels of illumination. During this unprecedented time, the construction industry is playing a major role in helping to maintain key infrastructure and with several health and safety risks on site, it is important that work can take place safely and securely with efficient visibility, 24/7. Launched by automotive OE lighting specialist, OSRAM, the LEDriving® driving and working lights range offers a variety of performances, shapes and beam patterns, with various illumination profiles including spot, wide and combo. There are four series to choose from: Multifunctional, Functional, Slim and Value, with three LEDriving® working lights available within the Multifunctional series, which have been specially designed for off-road applications, allowing work to continue into the night. The LEDriving CUBE MX85-SP and -WD versions combine two LED lighting performances: a working light and a stylish ‘X’ shape light. The CUBE MX85 is available in a Spot (SP) version, which offers a far-field illumination beam of up to 110 metres with a 13.5° beam angle. There is also a wide-beam pattern (WD) version, which is specialised for near-field illumination with a light beam of up to 55 metres and a particularly wide-beam angle of 43.5°. These two products only work with 12V applications. LEDriving LIGHTBAR MX140-WD can be used with 12V and 24V applications and offers wide beam patterns, producing a powerful far field illumination up to 60 metres. The product has a robust and compact design with a long lifetime of up to 5000 hours. The LED light provides an extremely high optic efficiency, homogeneous light distribution and reduced glare to improve visibility, even during compromised daylight. All OSRAM LEDriving® driving and working lights are rigorously tested under the most extreme environmental conditions to ensure premium quality light for any situation. This includes testing for competence in the field of environmental simulation according to DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025; fully adhering to ECE regulations; light measurement to ensure high performance; vibration and shock testing to check for mechanical robustness; water resistance testing, achieving the highest IP protection class, IP4X; dust resistance testing, classifying as IP5X and IP6X; and salt spray testing to prevent chemical corrosion. All the products in the range come with a five-year OSRAM guarantee, providing customers with complete reassurance. For more information on OSRAM’s range of LEDriving® lights, visit www.osram.co.uk/ledriving-lights.
Leading bathroom manufacturer, Geberit, has been announced as a finalist in two categories in the 2020 Builder Merchants Journal (BMJ) Industry Awards. Geberit was one of six manufacturers to make the final cut in the ‘Heating and Plumbing Manufacturer’ category, thanks to innovations in its drainage and piping products including its Mapress, Mepla and SuperTube systems. In addition, Geberit’s Twyford brand, part of Geberit Group since 2015, is also among the finalists in the ‘Bathroom Manufacturer’category. The BMJ Industry Awards is voted for by the industry. Now in its third year, the awards recognise the very best merchants and manufacturers operating in the industry today. Purdie Proudman, marketing manager for merchant and contractor at Geberit, said: “These awards are judged by industry experts so to be among the finalists in two categories is a huge achievement. It demonstrates our commitment to customer service and our innovations in behind-the-wall and ceramic bathroom solutions.”