Where The Trade Buys, one of the UK’s leading printing companies, has launched a campaign to show support for the NHS during the Covid-19 pandemic. As part of our ‘Together We Are Stronger’ campaign, we are calling on people to print off our posters and colour them in, to your
Construction work on the huge new tower in the city centre is continuing despite the coronavirus lockdown Work on the soon-to-be tallest building in Newcastle is continuing despite the Covid-19 outbreak. The Hadrian’s Tower development, a 27-storey tower which looms over the city centre, is due to be completed later this
FMs involved in or in charge of construction sites can refer to advice issued by the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) regarding temporary closures during the Covid-19 outbreak. Although the government has said that construction can continue if public health requirements and site operating procedures are followed correctly, many have shut.
Poly UK has appointed Bennett Construction as the main contractor for a development project in Mill Hill, London. The £380m Plaza Collection scheme will deliver 257 homes. The company has also secured planning permission for an additional 82 homes. Plaza Collection will mark Poly’s entrance into the UK market, after
VINCI Facilities, a major provider of FM to the NHS, has announced it is diverting volunteers from its mobile repair teams (MRTs) to support existing facilities management services across several hospitals in the North West, Midlands and South East. As well as supporting with the ongoing repair and maintenance of
Sooner or later, you will end up having to deal with some sort of plumbing problem. Knowing what to do and how to fix some can help you save hundreds of dollars. Plumbing disasters can always happen. Unfortunately, most homeowners do not know anything about plumbing work. Obviously, you can
Design & Build Developer, Northern Developments (Cumbria) Limited, based in Carlisle, have been announced as a finalist in the National Building & Construction Awards 2020. They have been shortlisted in the £10M-£25M Category for the M-Sport Evaluation Centre (MEC) project at Dovenby near Cockermouth for M-Sport Limited. Northern Developments’ projects
Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems must be allowed to play their important role in helping essential services deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the UK’s F Gas register REFCOM. It refuted rumours that air conditioning and ventilation could help to spread the virus adding that these were
During digital transformation, taking advantage of new technology will involve increasing the cyber-attack surface of your business. With that said, you do need to ensure that you act with necessary caution. Worst case scenario, if an attack is successful, the downtime could spell financial disaster for your organisation. With cyber-attacks
The ExCeL Arena in London, often used for exhibition events such as The Facilities Show, is being converted into a hospital to help the capital city deal with the expected peak in cases for coronavirus over the coming weeks. The conference centre, to be renamed NHS Nightingale Hospital, will initially
Where The Trade Buys, one of the UK’s leading printing companies, has launched a campaign to show support for the NHS during the Covid-19 pandemic. As part of our ‘Together We Are Stronger’ campaign, we are calling on people to print off our posters and colour them in, to your own tastes, and share them on social media. The campaign launch coincides with the UK public’s overwhelming response to ‘Clap for our Carers’, which saw people head for their balconies, windows, and doors, to applaud NHS health workers in their efforts to fight Covid-19. We’ve created a template for you. All you need to do is print it off enough times for all the family to get involved and get designing! Get your creative juices flowing, display your posters around the house — especially in your windows for the neighbours to see — and even take it to social media. Louise Stephenson, Managing Director at Where The Trade Buys, said: “The pressure the NHS staff are under at the moment is unimaginable. At a time of crisis, it is imperative that we all pull together and there’s no better way to do that than through social engagement. “While the majority of us are limited to the confines of our own homes, it is a great way to interact with our families and celebrate our unsung heroes. Let’s share these posters on social media and show the NHS we are all behind them and put a smile back on their face.” Share your posters between family and friends and engage with the hashtag #TogetherAtHome on social media. Remember to tag Where The Trade Buys in your posts so we can reach an even wider audience. To download your free posters, visit https://www.wherethetradebuys.co.uk/together-at-home
Construction work on the huge new tower in the city centre is continuing despite the coronavirus lockdown Work on the soon-to-be tallest building in Newcastle is continuing despite the Covid-19 outbreak. The Hadrian’s Tower development, a 27-storey tower which looms over the city centre, is due to be completed later this year. Restrictions on construction projects were not included in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s stark address to the nation last Monday evening announcing the lockdown. Halting work on Hadrian’s Tower would mean an unfinished skyscraper on the city’s skyline which could become a poignant image of a North East stopped in its tracks by the global pandemic. The firm carrying out the building work – Tolent – have confirmed that work is continuing for now but conceded that could change. A spokesperson for Tolent said: “The health and wellbeing of our colleagues and supply chain partners continue to be our number one priority throughout this highly dynamic situation. “All welfare procedures and systems on sites that remain open are fully compliant with the guidelines issued by the Government via the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, to ensure that all teams can and are adhering to the 2m social distancing rule. “We continue to monitor the situation diligently and will adapt accordingly to any subsequent advice from the Government.’
FMs involved in or in charge of construction sites can refer to advice issued by the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) regarding temporary closures during the Covid-19 outbreak. Although the government has said that construction can continue if public health requirements and site operating procedures are followed correctly, many have shut. Some of these are expected to open in the near future, as a number of companies have reported that closures will end when all compliance measures are in place, according to Infrastructure Intelligence. The CLC joined with the Construction Coronavirus Taskforce to create the Advice on temporary suspension to sites guidance document. It is designed to assist those in charge of construction sites to ensure that the correct measures are in place to make them safe and avoid issues occurring during their closure. In addition to safety, the document provides guidance on security, environmental protection, commercial considerations and hired plant. Site operators are provided with a checklist of tasks to follow to assist with temporary site closure. The council has also stated that additional guidance will be published to ensure that safe working practices are followed when sites reopen. Those wishing to download the guidance document can do so here.
Poly UK has appointed Bennett Construction as the main contractor for a development project in Mill Hill, London. The £380m Plaza Collection scheme will deliver 257 homes. The company has also secured planning permission for an additional 82 homes. Plaza Collection will mark Poly’s entrance into the UK market, after having success in China, Australia and America. The development scheme is part of the wider Millbrook Park transformation — a new 2,000+ home development on the site of the former Inglis Barracks. Poly UK will deliver in total 700 residential units, a landscaped plaza and 1,400 sqm of associated commercial and retail space over four phases. May Zhao, executive director at Poly UK, said: “As this is Poly’s first residential project in the UK, it is imperative that we have the best-in-class project team, from initial design to delivery, to meet our vision of creating standout homes. “Bennett Construction has a first-class track record in delivering large scale projects of this nature, making it an ideal partner to take the first phase of the site forward.”
VINCI Facilities, a major provider of FM to the NHS, has announced it is diverting volunteers from its mobile repair teams (MRTs) to support existing facilities management services across several hospitals in the North West, Midlands and South East. As well as supporting with the ongoing repair and maintenance of hospital wards and essential services to keep wards going and back up clinical staff, VINCI Facilities engineers and teams are going to be working to help with reconfiguration of other wards in the hospitals to re-purpose them to support the effort against COVID-19. Its teams will be bolstered by the engineers that usually work in the retail sector supporting charity and large chain store contracts bringing with them much needed extra help in maintaining electrical services and systems, air conditioning, heating and ventilation as well as building repairs and joinery work. The MRTs will be providing cover for staff who are unable to attend work through illness or self-isolation as well as add depth to the existing numbers of engineering staff giving further, much needed support.
Sooner or later, you will end up having to deal with some sort of plumbing problem. Knowing what to do and how to fix some can help you save hundreds of dollars. Plumbing disasters can always happen. Unfortunately, most homeowners do not know anything about plumbing work. Obviously, you can always contact a plumber East Melbourne specialist, but you can save a lot of money when you get some work done alone. While many plumbing tips can be offered, some that should be considered as being essential have to be put at the top of the list. This includes the following. Always Check Your Water Main The water main stands out as the very first access point water has when it reaches the home. Usually, this is inside the basement, close to a water heater. You need to identify the access point because there is a shutoff valve there. It is going to completely stop water flowing into the home. Whenever a large plumbing project is started or there is a burst pipe, you want to shut off the main water line. This is always the very first step to take. Dealing With Clogged Drains It is inevitable to eventually have to deal with a clogged drain. As you take a shower, your hair falls out. This builds up as time passes. The first instinct when a clog appears is to use some sort of liquid drain cleaner. Unfortunately, this is usually a very big mistake. At first glance, this seems to be a very easy fix to a problem that is quite annoying. However, the liquid in such products will harm the infrastructure. When the tub or the sink keeps backing up, use a snake to remove blocked debris. This should be the very first thing you do. Monitor Water Pressure The plumbing system cannot be healthy when water pressure is low. Always monitor pressure. Do it as often as you can. It is very easy to buy and use a home pressure gauge. This is available at any home improvement or hardware store. When a more modern, accurate solution is desired, use a smart water monitoring system. This notifies you when there is a leak and water usage is tracked. Use A Pressure Reducing Valve Besides low water pressure, another common problem is having to deal with high water pressure. Whenever this is identified, pressure needs to be taken down. This is possible by installing pressure-reducing valves (commonly known as PRV). When your home is attached to a municipal supply, the pressure reducing valve is particularly important. Municipal water companies always pump water at very high pressure so that high-elevation homes, high-rise buildings, and fire hydrants can be serviced. Usually, the pressure is higher than 100 psi. Home fixtures are designed to deal with the pressure of around 50 psi. Properly Take Care Of The Toilet You should never flush anything besides waste and toilet paper. Things like baby wipes, cotton swabs, and paper towels can easily be caught inside the pipes. Clogs would eventually appear. If there is no plunger in your home, buy one since we all eventually get a clog. The toilet needs to work properly. When the toilet is running, it is a clear sign that some of the toilet tank components have to be replaced. Also, it is possible that the toilet leak is very small. You do not even realize you have one. The best thing you can do is to add some food coloring inside the tank. Wait for 30 minutes and then see if the water inside the bowl changed colors. If so, there is a leak present.
Design & Build Developer, Northern Developments (Cumbria) Limited, based in Carlisle, have been announced as a finalist in the National Building & Construction Awards 2020. They have been shortlisted in the £10M-£25M Category for the M-Sport Evaluation Centre (MEC) project at Dovenby near Cockermouth for M-Sport Limited. Northern Developments’ projects are primarily their own developments across industrial, commercial, residential and purpose built student accommodation (PBSA); the only exception being their long term relationship with M-Sport for whom they have carried out all developments for on their Dovenby Hall Estate site, since it was procured in 1998. Whilst many major national companies are amongst the finalists, Northern Developments are a regional and very professional team, initially established in 1985 then working throughout the UK as Main Contractor; around the start of the new millennium becoming Developer / Contractor. Proud of their Cumbria roots they have, over those 35 years, completed several high-profile projects including multiple PBSA schemes exceeding £50million. They normally design “in-house” architecturally and usually only use external consultants for engineering, M&E, acoustics and specialist services. The MEC project combines large civils & external works alongside high-quality high-tech design and build all within the setting of a Grade II listed building, delivered to the highest standards in a relatively short time frame. The MEC will provide M Sport with the ability to further expand into the wider automotive R&D sector. Northern Developments managed the construction of the existing site facility back in 1999, and it was not long before M Sport were looking to expand further. The new building is more than twice the size of their existing production facilities, providing significant expansion and creating over 100 new jobs in the process. The first phase of the project, now complete, comprised the design and construction of a 2.5km test track. The civils works to facilitate this involved moving 200,000 Tonnes of earth, whilst ensuring a cut and fill balance to ensure that no materials needed to be removed from site. Ground stabilisation techniques were employed to mitigate import of excessive quarried materials. 6.5km of drainage to the track links to several balancing ponds to ensure no negative impact on the local watercourse. An approved scheme of woodland management was deployed at the outset, protecting certain areas of historic interest, with planting of trees and grassland to enhance the habitat across the site. Eddie Ward, Commercial Manager said, “We have worked in deep collaboration with the client for ten years now, to ensure that we deliver a solution to meet their business needs. At the early stages this involved the building element of the project evolving in numerous forms and growing significantly. Drawing on our experience and knowledge combined with our supply chain we were able to deliver significant value engineering solutions, whilst still meeting the business needs.” The groundworks for the 111,000ft2 production facility commenced in May 2019, and construction is now well underway, within six months of commencement over 550T of structural steelwork had been manufactured and erected, roofing complete, all external precast concrete walls installed, and a significant amount of high level M&E works commenced. The next significant milestone being in the installation of the specialist concrete slab. Malcolm Wilson OBE, Managing Director at M-Sport, said “It’s always been important for me to keep the business in Cumbria, and with the help of Cumbria LEP we’re seeing the growth of more and more businesses in our region. The M-Sport Evaluation Centre will provide a unique centre of engineering excellence – allowing world leaders in automotive technology to follow their concepts from design and development, right through to production. Our region is fast becoming a great place for business, and we’re proud to be a part of that.”
Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems must be allowed to play their important role in helping essential services deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the UK’s F Gas register REFCOM. It refuted rumours that air conditioning and ventilation could help to spread the virus adding that these were completely unfounded and not backed up by any scientific evidence. Speaking on a webinar hosted by the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA), Head of REFCOM Graeme Fox, said cooling and ventilation systems were not the problem, but rather they were part of the solution. For example, by switching air handling units to full fresh air mode and temporarily disabling recirculation with heat recovery, facilities managers could ensure contaminated air was not recirculated in occupied spaces. “Health is more important than energy efficiency right now,” said Mr Fox. “It is also important to keep up air change rates – even in partially occupied buildings – to minimise the risk of moisture, which could contain the virus, settling on internal surfaces.” Public Health England stated that transmission of the virus is thought to occur mainly through respiratory droplets generated by coughing and sneezing, and through contact with contaminated surfaces. It has not recommended any special cleaning measures for ventilation and cooling systems. Mr Fox said scaremongering was unhelpful to those trying to understand the threat. Crucial “The truth is that HVAC systems perform a crucial role in keeping essential services like hospitals, supermarkets, care homes and schools operating – this is going to be more important than ever over the coming weeks and months,” he said. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is also urging the industry to keep up its vital work for the NHS, food suppliers and other essential services. During another BESA webinar last week, an official from BEIS confirmed that building maintenance should continue as normal, subject to compliance with Public Health England guidance, the government’s social distancing policy and the site operating guidance published by the Construction Leadership Council. “Building maintenance is helping to save lives,” he said. “People who fix crucial safety issues in buildings…must be able to keep working. They are carrying out important work”. REFCOM’s position is also supported by guidance from REHVA, the European Federation of HVAC associations, which said humidification, air conditioning and duct cleaning had no practical effect on the transmission of the coronavirus. It said Covid-19, unlike some other viruses, is largely resistant to environmental changes and is susceptible only to high relative humidities above 80% and temperatures above 30degC. It is recommending that heating and cooling systems are operated normally to ensure buildings can continue to support critical activities and maintain the health and wellbeing of occupants. www.refcom.org.uk ENGINEERS ON THE FRONTLINE Josh Emerson from Swegon shared pictures with BESA of two of the firm’s service technicians attending a critical breakdown at an NHS hospital. “I know there has been plenty of negative political and social media messaging with regards to the construction industry,” said Mr Emerson. “I am sharing a few pictures that show building services in a positive light. The industry is on the frontline, facing Covid-19, and going to great lengths to keep our hospitals operational to support the NHS.” PIC Caption: Two service engineers from Swegon attending a critical breakdown at an NHS hospital.
During digital transformation, taking advantage of new technology will involve increasing the cyber-attack surface of your business. With that said, you do need to ensure that you act with necessary caution. Worst case scenario, if an attack is successful, the downtime could spell financial disaster for your organisation. With cyber-attacks against UK organisations increasing in 2019, your business can’t afford to take risks. Ransomware attacks have hit some sectors harder than others, including finance, construction and professional services, at a high rate, hackers are targeting all industries with the file-encrypting malware (Datto). Read through our guide below, created to lend you some insight into how to adopt new technologies whilst keeping your business data as secure as possible. Focus on anti-ransomware solutions With the introduction of GDPR legislation, hackers know that encrypted or stolen data could land a business in hot water with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which could lead to fines in the tens of millions. They’ll use this to their advantage to extort ransom payments out of you. It’s never advisable to pay the cybercriminals, as it’s rare you’ll get your data back. Additionally, hackers will identify your business as a guaranteed pay-out and will continue to target you. With ransomware attacks increasing exponentially in recent years, security organisations have created solutions which specifically protect your systems and data from ransomware. Intelligent solutions like Intercept X will prevent ransomware at the point of infiltration. Or, if your business has already fallen victim to this file-encrypting malware, it’ll reverse the damage. You’ll also get access to features like root cause analysis, which identifies how the ransomware got into your business so you can bolster your systems going forward. A business continuity plan is paramount If, like many businesses, you host all of your critical resources on one server, an attack or failure on this system could bring your business down. For years, organisations have been backing up their files and data either on physical devices or into the cloud. But now it’s not enough to simply back up data. Forward-thinking business continuity and disaster recovery solutions will not only back up your data, but back up your entire IT estate,, whether that’s physical, virtual or in the cloud. Say, for example, a key server in your business goes down – that could be due to a malicious attack, an electrical failure or a flood. You can use your business continuity solution to spin up your server virtually and be back up-and-running in no time. A managed IT services partner can help you implement the most suitable solution. With proper training, staff can help to protect your business data Even with the advent of innovative technologies, your biggest attack surface is still your employees. Email is by far the most popular vector to launch a cyber-attack, with an estimated 91% of cyber-attacks starting with an email designed to harvest login credentials (PhishMe research). The phishing emails of the 2010s are significantly more targeted and harder to spot than old-school email scams. Hackers are impersonating the business software you use (including purporting to be Microsoft to get your email credentials), your suppliers and even your colleagues, and they’re more convincing than ever. Ensuring your staff are not only provided with training opportunities, but are continually upskilled in spotting suspicious content, is essential to keeping your business safe. Additionally, you can use tools which simulate phishing attacks to benchmark the existing knowledge amongst your employees and track progress against your training. Bio: Natasha Bougourd is a Lead Applications Writer at TSG, offering managed IT support in London, with expertise across a range of areas including Office 365, Dynamics 365, document management and business intelligence.
The ExCeL Arena in London, often used for exhibition events such as The Facilities Show, is being converted into a hospital to help the capital city deal with the expected peak in cases for coronavirus over the coming weeks. The conference centre, to be renamed NHS Nightingale Hospital, will initially provide 500 ventilator- and oxygen-equipped beds when it opens at the beginning of next week. This capacity is likely to increase to several thousand as and when the city requires it. National newspapers, The Metro and the Guardian, are reporting the ExCeL will be the first of several crisis centres across the United Kingdom to help with the Covid-19 pandemic. Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, said: “In the face of this unprecedented global emergency, we are taking exceptional steps to increase NHS capacity so we can treat more patients, fight the virus and save lives. I applaud the NHS, engineers, and the military for their continued work on setting up the new NHS Nightingale Hospital so it is ready to open its doors next week – a remarkable feat in these challenging circumstances. “Military personnel have been involved in the planning stages and continue to support NHS England by providing infrastructure, logistics and project management advice.” Defence Secretary Ben Wallace added: “Our military planners and engineers are working hand in hand with the NHS to support their development of the NHS Nightingale Hospital. The armed forces have already been distributing personal protective equipment (PPE) to meet the increased demand and we stand ready to assist further in any capacity needed.” Sir Simon Stevens, NHS Chief Executive, said: “Under these exceptionally challenging circumstances the NHS is taking extraordinary steps to fight coronavirus. That’s why NHS clinicians and managers are working with military planners and engineers to create, equip, staff and open the NHS Nightingale London, and we’re very grateful for their support. “This will be a model of care never needed or seen before in this country, but our specialist doctors are in touch with their counterparts internationally who are also opening facilities like this, in response to the shared global pandemic. “Despite these amazing measures, the fact is that no health service in the world will cope if coronavirus lets rip, which is why NHS staff are pleading with the public to follow medical advice – stay at home, stop the virus spreading, and save lives.”