Metsä Group and Business Finland are joining forces in building a wooden Metsä pavilion to be used in Tokyo during the Olympic games. The pavilion will be built on the grounds of the Finnish Embassy in the centre of Tokyo, Japan. The Metsä pavilion offers multifunctional facilities which lend themselves to
Tate Consulting is a well-established national building services engineering company that provides a strategic, flexible, experienced and innovative approach in delivering engineering and management consultancy services for its clients. Tate Consulting’s successful reputation has been built on master planning and managing the utility infrastructure requirements for development sites and their
Planning permission has been granted and works have commenced on Phase 1 of a new development of 36 high-quality homes, including eight affordable houses, in the charming East Yorkshire village of North Cave. Award-winning house builder Duchy Homes gained unanimous approval from the East Riding of Yorkshire Council at a
An iconic luxury waterside development in Lincoln is down to its last few apartments as 84% of dwellings are sold. The One The Brayford development from Jackson Living, part of Jackson & Jackson Developments, resides on the well-lit Brayford waterfront in the heart of Lincoln and boasts panoramic views of
With mounting public pressure and increasing legislation placed on large businesses to reduce their carbon footprints Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) is fast gaining traction as a viable financial instrument to fund and fast track large scale energy improvement projects. “Aging buildings in both the public and private sector, either through
Annette Forster has been appointed as Group Marketing Director at Ibstock plc. Joining the company at the start of the new year, Annette is a well-known and widely respected industry figure having served as Marketing Director at Wienerberger UK. She will be responsible for the strategic development of marketing, innovation
London’s super prime residential real estate more than held its own against the overall Brexit-plagued market last year, according to a report Thursday from Savills. The exclusive portion of the market where properties cost more than £15 million (US$19.5 million) saw transactions soar 43.1% in 2018 compared to 2017, data
Ultra-wealthy tycoons have triggered a boom in sales of U.K. mansions, taking advantage of softening property prices in the wake of uncertainty over Brexit. Figures gathered by property lender Octane Capital show a surge in so-called “super-prime” purchases, defined by some experts as properties costing in excess of £10 million
The quest to increase productivity is known by managers across all industries. However, the construction industry in particular has a well-documented history of mismanagement and inefficiency. In this article, the team at Hitchcock & King will take a look at ways inwhich this can be remedied, so you can get
Contractors – Don’t let timber decay cause your project to stall – know what to advise your clients about timber treatment options. A recent survey by Cornerstone Projects has revealed that 85% of UK contractors experience delays when working on a project. The old saying ‘time equals money’ couldn’t be
Metsä Group and Business Finland are joining forces in building a wooden Metsä pavilion to be used in Tokyo during the Olympic games. The pavilion will be built on the grounds of the Finnish Embassy in the centre of Tokyo, Japan. The Metsä pavilion offers multifunctional facilities which lend themselves to many kinds of events: exhibitions, seminars, celebrations and relaxation. It will serve as a meeting place for Finland’s Olympic team during the Summer Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games. The Metsä pavilion is an excellent example of the advantages offered by industrially manufactured wood elements. The building uses Kerto® LVL (laminated veneer lumber) products produced by Metsä Wood, part of Metsä Group. Building with Kerto® LVL elements is fast and the lightness of the material enables construction on top of existing buildings, as is the case in Tokyo. Similar elements can be used also in buildings of larger scale. “The pavilion takes advantage of high-quality wood products – which function as a long-term carbon store – in a variety of ways. The pavilion can be transported to the site as ready elements, unloaded, moved again, and re-assembled. This is in line with Metsä Group’s goal to replace fossil-based products with renewable and recyclable materials,” says Mikko Saavalainen, SVP, Business Development, at Metsä Wood. The Kerto LVL products to be used in the pavilion’s construction are ecologically sustainable and efficient in terms of their material. The production process of the materials and elements generates very little waste. The elements will be pre-assembled at the plant of Metsä Wood’s partner company and, thanks to this, assembly on site will be rapid. The architectural design of the Metsä pavilion will be carried out by Helin & Co Architects. The design is based on the Kerto® LVL-based elements freely available to everybody in Metsä Wood’s Open Source Wood service.
Tate Consulting is a well-established national building services engineering company that provides a strategic, flexible, experienced and innovative approach in delivering engineering and management consultancy services for its clients. Tate Consulting’s successful reputation has been built on master planning and managing the utility infrastructure requirements for development sites and their experience spans across every market sector; including logistics, industrial, residential and mixed use, commercial, education, retail and leisure. For more information please visit; https://www.tateconsulting.eu As engineering experts, Tate Consulting explain the five main challenges…. Developments in Technology Whilst new digital technology like BIM is changing the way we operate, the speed of innovation and implementation can be slow within teams that aren’t used to the idiosyncrasies of drawing in 3D compared with traditional 2D methods. And as the industry makes greater use of offsite construction methods such as pod bathrooms, offsite manufactured services cupboards and whole building offsite methods, there can be difficulties in front loading design processes to accommodate these techniques at an early stage. The use of smart technology is constantly evolving and therefore our knowledge and implementation needs to keep up. Smart Buildings can present real opportunities for the client to optimise the planning, usage and help them to manage the building more intelligently in order to make it more efficient, better maintained, improve living, working and leisure environments and to create a unique building experience tailored to individual needs. But technology developments within our sector are still largely a new and unfamiliar inclusion to the majority of contractors, so there is a requirement for educating contractors and clients of the benefits, disadvantages and realistic limitations of smart technology systems. Also, managing expectations is still difficult as some clients are generally unaware of exactly what they want to achieve and require detailed guidance on the best use of available technology. The key to successfully implementing smart technology is to discuss and understand the client’s needs and help to educate them on how this can be achieved. It’s important to remember that innovation and technology won’t succeed if they don’t fulfil the clients’ needs, smart technology is only a means to an end and while initial interest in a new product may initially peek the client’s interest, it will soon become a fad if they are stuck with a white elephant which offers little in the way of return. Offsite Construction There are often difficulties in adopting offsite construction methods although they are shown to be quicker for the contractor with less waste and associated carbon emissions compared with traditional building techniques. However, for the greatest value and cost efficiency to be achieved, buildings need to be designed from an early stage for offsite construction rather than late in the process after main contractor appointment. Payment Terms Another on-going problem within our industry is payment in terms of subcontractors. Most people will have seen the recent news headlines and social media posts that went viral after a mini-digger operator was filmed destroying the entrance to a new hotel in Liverpool – on the day it was due to be completed – allegedly because he had not been paid. This is not a scenario anyone within the industry wants to see but also not really a surprising one as it’s often the smaller firms and individuals who suffer. A good example of this was the demise of Carillion last year. Lessons need to be learnt from these mistakes by enforcing fair payment policy and legislation. Regulatory Changes The new revisions to The BS 7671 wiring regulations and the new BREEAM standards are now in effect, and whilst the changes are generally not too dramatic at these early stages there is still a lot of grey areas around their interpretation which will need clarifying and amending over the coming years. With the restructure of the BREEAM New Construction in particular we are now having to target a number of key criteria earlier in the project, which puts more onus on the client to involve a BREEAM advisor/consultant at the early stages of development. This is to prevent credits being missed and the need to then chase more difficult/costly credits later in the project. Also, as these amendments are new it is yet to be seen how the audit process will interpret the changes in evidence requirements. Therefore, assessors will have to be stricter whilst they get used to what will and won’t be accepted. Staff retention and shortage One of the major challenges within engineering is staff shortage and disappointingly it’s still much more a male-orientated role with just 12% of engineers being women, something the industry needs to actively help change. More needs to be done to educate young people on the marketability and benefits of a career in engineering, but for real change to happen this problem needs to be tackled within early education to push science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) industries. Retaining staff within construction and engineering is a constant headache and as a younger new breed enters our industry we need to acknowledge that we need to adapt a new approach in welcoming them and offering the same benefits and perks they’d receive within other industry sectors. This is an area we at Tate Consulting want to improve on in 2019 and are actively looking to recruit new people to join our team in Leeds and expand our London office by offering substantial career incentives as well as a very competitive salary package. If you’re interested in working with us please email; jeff.bearcroft@tateconsulting.eu
Planning permission has been granted and works have commenced on Phase 1 of a new development of 36 high-quality homes, including eight affordable houses, in the charming East Yorkshire village of North Cave. Award-winning house builder Duchy Homes gained unanimous approval from the East Riding of Yorkshire Council at a recent planning committee meeting for its proposal to build a sophisticated collection of houses and bungalows on vacant land off Fountains Way in North Cave. The new development will provide attractive detached family homes in a versatile mix of 3, 4 and 5-bedroom designs to suit a variety of residents’ needs and lifestyles, as well as delivering much-needed additional housing to the area. Many of the plots on the development, named Cricketers’ Walk, benefit from beautiful views across playing fields and the North Yorkshire Wolds. North Cave enjoys an active community with its own public house, newsagents, village hall, highly-regarded primary school and a wide variety of clubs, events and activities to embrace, including its own Women’s Institute, plus cricket, football and indoor bowls for sporting enthusiasts. Situated with easy access to the M62 as well as the A63, residents can quickly reach the larger cities of Hull, Leeds, York, Sheffield and Doncaster. Nearby Brough train station also runs regular services to these towns and cities, making it an ideal base for commuters. Duchy Homes is an award-winning home builder with a strong reputation for building luxury properties in premium locations, with many distinguished developments across Yorkshire, including the prestigious Cygnet Gardens in nearby Swanland and Roseberry Park in Hessle. Recently crowned ‘Best Residential Developer of the Year’ in the Yorkshire Residential Property Awards 2018, buyers can expect excellent build-quality with luxury fittings and generous, thoughtfully-designed interiors. Work has started on site, with a show home and sales launch due in July 2019. Prospective purchasers can register their interest online for further updates at www.duchyhomes.co.uk/north-cave Duchy Homes was established in December 2011 and is a multi-award-winning housebuilder. Awards include: YORKSHIRE RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY AWARDS 2018 Best Residential Developer of the Year WHATHOUSE? AWARDS 2018 Best Small Developer – Silver Award NHBC PRIDE IN THE JOB AWARDS: 2018 Regional Winner – The Ings, Wetherby 2018 Regional Winner – High Gables, Ranskill 2017 Seal of Excellence – Tower Gardens, Scawthorpe 2017 Quality Award – Tower Gardens, Scawthorpe 2016 Regional Winner – The Orchard, Braithwell 2015 Regional Winner – The Orchard, Braithwell 2015 Quality Award – Park Drive, Sprotbrough 2014 Quality Award – Handley Cross Mews, Cantley 2013 Quality Award – Plantation Grove, Sprotbrough NHBC HEALTH & SAFETY AWARDS: 2018 National Winner – The Ings, Wetherby 2018 National Runner Up – High Gables, Ranskill 2018 Highly Commended – The Grange, Bunbury 2017 National Winner – Tower Gardens, Scawthorpe 2017 National Runner Up – Watermill Gardens, Penistone 2016 National Winner – Thorpe Park Gardens, Colton 2016 National Runner Up – The Orchard, Braithwell 2015 Commended – The Orchard, Braithwell 2015 Commended – Park Drive, Sprotbrough 2014 Commended – Treeneuk Gardens, Chesterfield 2013 National Winner – Plantation Grove, Sprotbrough Details of all Duchy Homes new developments can be found at www.duchyhomes.co.uk
An iconic luxury waterside development in Lincoln is down to its last few apartments as 84% of dwellings are sold. The One The Brayford development from Jackson Living, part of Jackson & Jackson Developments, resides on the well-lit Brayford waterfront in the heart of Lincoln and boasts panoramic views of the marina, Lincoln Cathedral and Lincoln Castle. Located in the top five safest counties to live in England and Wales according to a recent ONS report, the development has high standards of security with a concierge service, monitored CCTV and a private car park for residents. Only 16 properties remain for sale at the development and these include one, two and three- bedroom apartments across all floors as well luxury double floor penthouses, with prices starting from £185,000. The premier location has so far attracted residents from all over the world and benefits from a central city location just a six-minute walk from Lincoln’s High Street. Lincolnshire was ranked in the top five safest UK counties and Lincoln city centre is number 14 in the UK’s most popular cities according to a recent YouGov report. With developments such as the £70 million regeneration of Lincoln’s Cornhill Quarter, the city is set to see significant growth in the future. Dominik Jackson director at Jackson & Jackson Developments: “As Lincolnshire-based developers, we are very proud that our county has been ranked one of the safest places to live in the UK. People from outside the county are choosing to move into Lincoln with its reputation for safety, its historical significance and its streetscape with plenty of vibrant amenities on offer. “One The Brayford includes state-of-the-art security including monitored CCTV, secure parking and a concierge service. Coupled with a stunning waterfront location and close proximity to the High Street – the development is an ideal choice for city centre living.” Homes are available through local agent Pygott & Crone and for more information visit One The Brayford.
With mounting public pressure and increasing legislation placed on large businesses to reduce their carbon footprints Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) is fast gaining traction as a viable financial instrument to fund and fast track large scale energy improvement projects. “Aging buildings in both the public and private sector, either through fabric or design, waste significant amounts of money. Typically, 46% of an organisation’s operating costs is spent on energy and utilities with approximately 33% of that expended on wasted energy,” commented Mark McLoughlin, Siemens Industries and Markets. EPCs are appealing as they are sold on the premise of zero-upfront costs and the savings made on energy consumption can be offset by the cost of installing any conservation measures. “Limited access to funds or expertise can often stifle projects at an early stage and any mechanism that unlocks the cash reserves to help organisations’ meet their efficiency, sustainability and infrastructure targets is massively welcome,” continued McLoughlin. McLoughlin: “Energy costs are also forecast to rise over the coming years and anything organisations can do to reduce usage will have a positive impact on finances. EPCs are an efficient capital and cashflow tool; preserving valuable capital for core business assets and other priorities.” A comprehensive audit of an organisation’s power consumption is undertaken to provide the insight to help develop, design, build and, if necessary, finance modernisation projects to cut energy consumption and improve efficiency. Analytics help to develop a robust business case for the EPC outlining the conservation measures, costs and quantifiable savings and energy consumption expected. To date Siemens has helped multiple global organisations reduce their carbon emissions and provided them with the newest technologies and expertise across the entire spectrum of energy management. Improvements include HVAC and lighting management, renewable or storage energy opportunities, retrofit and upgrade/replacement, smart IoT deployments to energy purchasing strategies and water efficiency measures. While mostly found in the public sector i.e. education, healthcare, etc EPCs are also deployed in retail, industrial, commercial building, airports and other sectors. “The UK is already legally bound by the Climate Change Act to reduce emissions 80% by 2050 and large UK businesses bear a responsibility to meet some of that ambition. EPCs will help the environment and deliver world-class sustainable environments built for future generations,” concluded McLoughlin. EPC in action: Hvidovre Hospital in Denmark reduces its heat consumption by 41 percent and electricity usage by 23 percent through an EPC programme. Officially opened in March 1976, Hvidovre Hospital in the Danish city of Hvidovre was built between 1968 and 1979. Comprised four main buildings each three stories high Hvidovre is one of Denmark’s largest hospitals with more than 40,000 patients admitted each year. Siemens conducted a power consumption analysis of the 245,000 m2 hospital and identified measures to reduce its energy consumption and CO2 emissions. With hospitals operational 24/7 there was significant scope for major energy efficiency upgrades. Close cooperation with clinical staff enabled the project to be executed without major disruption to the day-to-day care of patients. The measures implemented at Hvidovre included expanding the photovoltaic system, installing geothermal storage systems and wind turbines, and modernising the building management system. This EPC project is the largest of its kind in Denmark with Siemens financing the costs in advance over a payback period of ten years for the hospital. Improvement measures included: replacement of existing air handling units, installation of 14,770 LED light tubes, replacement of pumps, and migration of the existing building management system to Desigo CC™ building management platform with 4,500 I/O and 409 Total Room Automation (TRA) controllers. The project also included renewable energy from five wind turbines, 1,500 kW of photovoltaics and borehole thermal energy storage (BTES). The hospital has reduced heat consumption by 41 percent and electricity usage by 23 percent with an overall energy saving of 33 percent. The EPC project has helped Hvidovre Hospital make genuine progress towards achieving its environmental goals over a short period of time and has improved a world class healthcare facility. EPC in action: Museums Victoria, Australia achieves a 31.6 percent reduction in utility costs, reduces its water usage by 6 percent and cuts emissions by 35 percent via EPC improvement programme Museums Victoria is the largest public museum organisation to adopt the Victorian Government’s Greener Government Building programme (GGB). It spans six sites: Melbourne Museum, Immigration Museum, Scienceworks Museum, Royal Exhibition Building, Moreland Annexe and the Simcock Avenue storage facilities, each with a unique set of efficiency optimisation requirements. Siemens was selected to undertake a detailed facility study of the museum’s entire real estate pool. The goal was to significantly reduce operating costs and emissions by implementing energy and water efficiency retrofits in government-owned buildings. Siemens’ improvement proposal offered the best outcomes for Museums Victoria in terms of maximising project value and energy savings within the required seven-year simple payback period. HVAC, lighting and water efficiency improvement measures are being implemented over 15 months and financed with Energy Performance Contracting. Efficiency improvements included Desigo CC™ building management platform at Melbourne Museum, Demand Flow™ chilled water system optimisation at Melbourne Museum, lighting upgrades across all six sites, chiller replacement at the Immigration Museum, HVAC control optimisation strategies, water efficiency upgrades across all sites, cogeneration system and subject to approval: the implementation of Navigator – the cloud-based energy and sustainability platform that monitors all buildings. The projected 31.6 percent utility cost reduction exceeded the initial 20 percent target, water usage was down by 6 percent and emissions cut by 35 percent. For further information on the Building Technologies Division, please see https://www.siemens.com/uk/en/home/products/buildingtechnologies.html Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global technology powerhouse that has stood for engineering excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality for 170 years. The company is active around the globe, focusing on the areas of electrification, automation and digitalization. One of the world’s largest producers of energy-efficient, resource-saving technologies, Siemens is a leading supplier of efficient power generation and power transmission solutions and a pioneer in infrastructure solutions as well as automation, drive and
Annette Forster has been appointed as Group Marketing Director at Ibstock plc. Joining the company at the start of the new year, Annette is a well-known and widely respected industry figure having served as Marketing Director at Wienerberger UK. She will be responsible for the strategic development of marketing, innovation and brand strategy for Ibstock plc and its operating companies. Her position as Group Marketing Director will see her join Ibstock’s Executive Leadership Team, reporting to Chief Executive Officer Joe Hudson. Annette brings with her a wealth of international and cross-functional experience. She has previously held high-profile roles at a number of global brands including Victrex plc and Sappi plc. In each role, her customer facing strategic and analytical approach have been the catalyst for commercial growth and elevated brand awareness. Annette is an award-winning marketer. Her education includes a B.Com (Hons) in Marketing from the University of Pretoria and an MBA achieved with distinction, from the University of Manchester; she is also a Chartered Marketer (CIM). Annette is an industry expert; she sits on the Construction Products Association’s Marketing Integrity core team and she has held the position of Chair on the Brick Development Association’s Promotional Working Party. Of her appointment Annette commented: “I am absolutely delighted to join the team at Ibstock plc. This is a business with a long and enviable heritage, unrivalled skills and expertise and an exciting future ahead. I am absolutely determined to drive customer focus and remind people that Ibstock plc is at the heart of Britain’s building solutions market.” Mr Hudson commented: “This is a key appointment to support our drive in the market-led transformation in our sector. The landscape for product marketing is evolving and we need to ensure our family of brands is well presented. Annette is just the person to help us achieve this. Her commercial experience will allow us to build on the Ibstock brand and maintain our market leading position.”
London’s super prime residential real estate more than held its own against the overall Brexit-plagued market last year, according to a report Thursday from Savills. The exclusive portion of the market where properties cost more than £15 million (US$19.5 million) saw transactions soar 43.1% in 2018 compared to 2017, data from the U.K. real estate agency show. The high-end transactions translated to a total sales volume of almost £2 billion, up 41.2% from 2017 and the highest figure since 2014, when the government introduced its new stamp duty rates resulting in much higher transaction costs at the top end of the market. Driving the increases are the relative bargains that can now be found in the prime London market. Some of the most expensive boroughs in London, dogged by political uncertainty, are seeing prices plummet, according to a report Monday from estate agency Your Move. Kensington and Chelsea, the most expensive borough in London where the average price in December was £1.7 million, saw prices drop more than a fifth in 12 months, down 21.2% from £2.25 million in December 2017. The capital has carried the brunt of the U.K.’s Brexit wariness, unsurprisingly, given the influence of immigration and overseas buyers on the market. “The price falls we’ve seen in the central London market, when combined with the depreciation of sterling, means the trophy properties of central London look relatively good value in an international context,” Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills, said in the report. “Despite the backdrop of political uncertainty and a less welcoming tax environment, these figures are clear evidence that London remains an attractive place for a growing pool of international high net worth individuals to live and conduct business,” he added. Values in prime central London peaked in June 2014 and have since fallen by 19.4%, with a 4.1% fall in 2018, Savills said.
Ultra-wealthy tycoons have triggered a boom in sales of U.K. mansions, taking advantage of softening property prices in the wake of uncertainty over Brexit. Figures gathered by property lender Octane Capital show a surge in so-called “super-prime” purchases, defined by some experts as properties costing in excess of £10 million ($12.6 million), as the seriously rich, many from overseas, snap up bargains and take advantage of the weak pound. Octane Capital had requested previously unpublished data from HM Revenue & Customs, the U.K. tax authority, under the Freedom of Information Act. The data shows the number of homes selling for more than £10 million rose by a half in 2017, as uncertainty over the U.K. leaving the EU made property price tags at the highest end of the market significantly more attractive. The figures reveal sales of the country’s most substantial dwellings spiked to 300 in 2017, up from 200 in 2016. In the first three months of 2018, the latest period for which data is available, 100 homes costing more than £10 million were sold. The lack of clarity over Brexit has touched almost every part of the UK economy. The latest purchasing managers’ index, released on January 3, showed manufacturing growing at its quickest rate in six months. Factories have been boosting stock in anticipation of a no-deal Brexit in March. Activity in the property sector was not only seen in the market for mansions. Octane’s HMRC data shows the number of second-home owners buying properties costing over £2 million ($2.5 million) more than doubled in 2017 to 1,900 from 800 in 2016. Jonathan Samuels, chief executive of Octane Capital, said: “While many home owners sit on their hands during times of political and economic volatility, the ultra-wealthy often use these periods to acquire assets at a significant discount. “Brexit had a particular impact on super-prime properties in the capital, so for many very high-net-worth individuals the fallout from the EU referendum vote was an investment opportunity. For investors based overseas, sterling weakness made the price falls even more attractive.” The Brexit-fuelled boom in super-prime property has seen sales of some of the UK’s most stunning piles, according to Octane. It cites a raft of examples including Lambourne Hall in Ascot, Berkshire, close to the racecourse frequented by the royal family. Lambourne Hall, which is over two floors with a lift and two independent staff suites, sold for £21 million ($26.5 million). It includes an indoor swimming pool, gym, spa/Jacuzzi, sauna, steam and treatment room. The property has five reception rooms on the ground floor as well as a separate bar and library/cigar lounge. The five bedroom suites on the first floor all have dressing rooms and en-suite bathrooms. Meanwhile, a four-story, seven-bed Victorian property in Oxford, once home to social reformer and novelist, Mary Arnold Ward, went for a more modest £10.5 million ($13.3 million). Samuels added: “Some of Britain’s wealthiest cities became a goldmine for foreign investors seeking a bargain.” The data also showed the number of homes costing £1 million ($1.3 million) and above exceeded 20,000 for the first time.
The quest to increase productivity is known by managers across all industries. However, the construction industry in particular has a well-documented history of mismanagement and inefficiency. In this article, the team at Hitchcock & King will take a look at ways inwhich this can be remedied, so you can get your team working at optimal efficiency! Workflow map Creating a map of the entire workflow is an excellent starting point for any project. However, it’s often overlooked simply because it can be rather time consuming. Without it, though, resources might not be allocated properly and time not managed correctly, leading to sluggish performance. Knowing who’s doing what at any given time is a good starting point for many managers wanting a more productive and efficient project. Keep an inventory On a construction site, when the flow of work is obstructed momentum can quickly go. For example, if workers are waiting for supplies to be brought in when they run out, the consequent delays can have a real impact on productivity, and getting things back up to speed can be difficult. To combat this, keeping an inventory of all the materials and equipment on site ensures that things can be replenished before they run out, keeping the momentum up. Regular breaks Breaks are important for any workforce as it give employees time to recharge. Construction is no different. In fact, if anything, breaks in the construction industry are even more important. This is largely because, as well as mentally sharp, manual workers need to be well rested in order to carry out their work efficiently. Competitive pay and benefits While money isn’t the only way to incentivise workers, it’s still one of the best. If you only offer low pay and no benefits, you shouldn’t be surprised if you find that your workforce are unhappy and unmotivated. With the right pay, benefits and bonus schemes in place, you will find that employees will be more than happy to keep their energy up all week long. What’s more, sometimes it’s not even about the money – a workforce want to feel valued, and in the construction industry this is no different. Training initiatives Not only does training improve a workforce, allowing them to develop new skill sets, it empowers them, too. That is, if you offer your staff more work and work which enables them to grow, develop and keep their mind focused, they will be much more likely to maintain a high level of productivity. On top of this, offering training initiatives demonstrates to your staff that your company is somewhere worth working for long term, making it much easier to keep their interest. Hitchcock & King are the premier supplier of timber and builders’ materials to construction companies throughout London and the surrounding areas. We have a number of branches throughout the capital stocking high quality tools, materials and more, all at competitive rates. We also offer same/next day delivery services for your complete convenience. Be sure to contact our friendly team today to find out more.
Contractors – Don’t let timber decay cause your project to stall – know what to advise your clients about timber treatment options. A recent survey by Cornerstone Projects has revealed that 85% of UK contractors experience delays when working on a project. The old saying ‘time equals money’ couldn’t be more accurate when translated into the construction industry. Unfortunately, in many cases, 90% of costs caused by delays are the responsibility of the client to pay, whereas in other cases contractors may rely on their insurance to bridge the gap and get the project back on track. One reason for a project to be delayed, particularly during property maintenance work, can be due to the uncovering hidden problems such as decaying timberwork. This problem may not be immediately obvious at the start of a project but removing flooring or taking down ceilings will expose timber. If there are signs of rot or woodworm, then best practice is to get it treated and remedied before continuing with the project. Therefore, knowing how to spot the signs, are essential in your work as a contractor. Tell-Tale Signs of Woodworm Unfortunately, as a sustainable material, timber is susceptible to damp conditions which will increase the chances of insects such as the House Longhorn or furniture beetles taking hold and destroying the strength and makeup of the timbers. Signs to look out for are small insect holes or lines in the wood. An infestation can be so severe it can make timbers completely crumble. Tell-Tale Signs of Rot Revealing signs of a dry or wet rot problem include localised fungus on the wood, cracked sections of beam work, and timber that feels damp. You might also be able to detect a musty odour in the property. Identifying Timber Decay Early in the Project A site visit to carry out a building works quote for a client, will usually include an assessment of the structural integrity of the building before committing to the job. At this point, it is wise to be on the lookout for signs of timber decay or damp and if seen, the best option is to advise your client to get a specialist company to carry out a damp and timber survey. This will provide professional advice on the source of the damp and the steps needed to resolve and treat any problems. It may also highlight any hidden issues such as dry rot lurking under floorboards, and so reduce the risk of any unpleasant surprises being found during the project. Consider Using Specialist Damp and Timber Contractors In many cases calling in professionals who specialise in timber treatment is the best course of action. The treatment of dry rot and woodworm problems is very specialist and it is worth using a professional company who will use and apply the right chemical treatment as well as providing 10 or 20-years timber treatment guarantees. Timber replacement may also be a requirement and advanced techniques such as timber resin repair can be used to do this. This involves replacing sections of the wood rather than removing a whole piece or beam. The damaged section of wood is removed, and holes are drilled into both the existing and new pieces of wood – which will be connected by strengthening bars and resin used to reinforce the repair. Whatever your specialism as a contractor, recognising the signs of timber decay and knowing the most advanced treatment methods to stop the damp and treat the timber problem, will allow you to provide the best possible service to your clients. Ignoring timber decay should never be an option. The most valuable advice is to book a survey with a specialist company who can carry out the work and provides guarantees on the treatment options available to you. Get the problem resolved quickly and correctly, allowing you to get on with the project in hand.