Dads across the country can expect a well-deserved break this Father’s Day as new research shows that most millennials are tackling practical jobs around the home, according to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). The latest research by the FMB shows that despite well over half (57%) of Brits thinking
The recent Why not physics? – a snapshot of females uptake at A-level report foreword from Professor Dame Julia Higgins, claims that “an ill-judged quip that girls ‘can’t’ do maths, or physics is ‘too hard’, can lead to girls making life-changing decisions that alter the subject they study or the
Offsite Solutions, the UK’s leading bathroom pod manufacturer, has supplied the final batch of bathroom pods for its first timber-framed residential development. The project for Renaissance Retirement at Sandhurst in Berkshire is one of three luxury retirement schemes for the developer that are using Offsite Solutions’ high specification, factory-built ensuite
Press-fit technology on modern sprinkler systems can save lives by facilitating quicker, easier and less disruptive installations in existing buildings, says Geberit, despite Dame Judith Hackitt’s omission of mandatory sprinkler installations in her review of Building Regulations and fire safety laws. The Hackitt Review has been criticised for its failure
The mastic asphalt industry’s most impressive projects and professionals were recognised at the Mastic Asphalt Council’s (MAC) 2018 Awards hosted at London’s Royal Horseguards Hotel. Over 140 key players from the sector attended the event which is one of the most prestigious in the calendar for the waterproofing industry. Sponsored
Can the use of blockchain help the property, building and construction sectors – Well Yes it can I think. One of the more innovative technology rich projects to be released this year is an operating system called nOs. This is short for the Neo Operating System. The nOS project was
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group, have agreed a partnership to support the future growth of RIBA Enterprises Ltd, the commercial arm of the RIBA which trades as NBS. NBS is a market-leading provider of technology, content and data services
Unite Students, the UK’s leading manager and developer of student accommodation, has been granted a planning approval to develop a 928-bed student accommodation development in Leeds. The site, located on Merrion Way in the city centre, is close to both the University of Leeds and Leeds Beckett University. The site would
At Snows, our promise to customers is a simple one. We aim to give the trade exactly what they need and inspire trust in our ability to deliver on the promises made. To make this promise a reality, we are making substantial investments to refine and modernise our operations and
Cabinet ministers have backed initial proposals for a new runway at Heathrow Airport, claiming it is an “historic moment”. As MPs prepare to vote on the plans ahead of the July 11 deadline, Paul Meagh, electrical and instrumentation services director at engineering solutions provider Boulting Ltd, explores how a modular
Dads across the country can expect a well-deserved break this Father’s Day as new research shows that most millennials are tackling practical jobs around the home, according to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). The latest research by the FMB shows that despite well over half (57%) of Brits thinking that millennials are hopeless when it comes to DIY and other practical tasks, the following shows the top ten jobs 18-34 year olds have completed: 1) 70% have defrosted a freezer; 2) 66% have hung pictures or photo frames on a wall; 3) 63% have put together flat-pack furniture; 4) 58% have painted a wall or piece of furniture; 5) 57% have hung curtains; 6) 49% have watched a DIY ‘how to’ video; 7) 48% have sewn a button; 8) 44% have bled a radiator; 9) 43% have changed a fuse in a plug; 10) 36% have put up a shelf. Commenting on the research, Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “There’s a popular misconception that most young people rely on their mothers and fathers to complete jobs around the house for them because they lack the interest or knowhow to be self-sufficient. Our research shows that more than half of Brits think millennials are generally inept around the home. However, these new findings also reveal that millennials are actually accustomed to completing some tricky tasks, including DIY jobs. Two thirds of young people have hung pictures or photo frames on the wall and nearly as many have put together flat-pack furniture and painted something. This Father’s Day, dads across the UK can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that when they receive that lunch invitation to the home of their children, they probably won’t be asked to get their hands dirty.” Berry concluded: “To avoid dads across the country having to rescue botched DIY jobs, it’s important that millennials, and other generations alike, know their limits when it comes to DIY and home improvements. It’s one thing putting up a shelf but quite another attempting to knock down a wall or remove a structural beam. Our advice is, if in doubt, commission a professional builder to carry out your home improvement project. If home owners are looking to hire a builder, and aren’t able to find a reliable recommendation from a family member or friend, they should use the FMB’s ‘Find a Builder’ service. All new members of the FMB are vetted and independently inspected before joining and so home owners can rest assured that they’ll be working with a professional and quality builder.”
The recent Why not physics? – a snapshot of females uptake at A-level report foreword from Professor Dame Julia Higgins, claims that “an ill-judged quip that girls ‘can’t’ do maths, or physics is ‘too hard’, can lead to girls making life-changing decisions that alter the subject they study or the career they pursue.” In anticipation of International Women in Engineering Day on June 23, 2018, Lucy Speed, HR advisor at engineering solutions provider Boulting Ltd, explores what employers in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) industries can do to attract more females into the sector. Engineering contributes 26 per cent of the UK’s GDP every year, yet reports suggest that the industry is facing an unprecedented skills shortage. But what can employers realistically do to encourage the next generation of female graduates to consider STEM as a viable career option? Role models and mentors Adopting a mentorship or simple ‘buddy’ system can help women that are joining the workplace feel like they aren’t alone in a disproportionate sector. Pairing employees up to share experience and knowledge helps to create an inclusive environment and can be beneficial in terms of retaining staff that thrive with social stimulation, particularly women. According to the Women Engineering Society (WES), who set up its own mentorship program to specifically support women in STEM roles, those who participated in the scheme benefited from increased confidence, improved listening and coaching skills as well as employment progression. At Boulting, we support our staff with dedicated mentors who support employees to achieve their goals across all levels of the organisation. Flexibility is key Providing a work environment that accommodates flexibility for different personal needs can also be beneficial in attracting female employees. Having an understanding for an individual’s needs, whether that be childcare requirements or being able to schedule time off work around holidays will allow your team members to reaffirm their work-life balance. Natalie Pancheri, HR policy advisor at the London School of Economics also says that “embedding a culture of flexibility begins to chip away at the types of issues that can prevent women from advancing in their careers.” It really can be win-win all round. Young minds By capturing the minds of the next generation of female STEM graduates, we will begin to see an increase in the number of girls pursuing a career in the sector. However, a lot of the work to do this must start at school level. Integrating STEM-style learning through dedicated activities or guest speaker sessions from those in the industry into classrooms, will begin to pave the way for students to consider their future paths. Working with and supporting teachers to understand what a STEM career can actually entail will also open up conversations with students about what is possible. Additionally, organisations, like Boulting, that incorporate student reach-out or collaboration programmes to help harness the enthusiasm and talent from younger generations has the potential to lead to more interest in STEM education and apprenticeship opportunities. At Boulting we have a longstanding and successful apprenticeship scheme that has been the springboard for many employees’ careers in the organisation. Our scheme offers the opportunity to develop skills, knowledge and experience across a wide range of engineering sectors including chemical, pharmaceutical, petro-chemical and renewable energy markets. While some progress has been made to encourage girls to pursue careers in STEM industries, women are still firmly in the minority. Particularly in UK engineering, where, according to the Women in Engineering Society (WES), the UK has the lowest percentage of female engineering professionals in Europe and only eleven per cent of the engineering workforce is female. It’s important for organisations in the engineering sector to recognise the importance, and potential, of the future female workforce and secure any opportunity to help promote science, technology, engineering and maths as exciting and rewarding prospective career path.
Offsite Solutions, the UK’s leading bathroom pod manufacturer, has supplied the final batch of bathroom pods for its first timber-framed residential development. The project for Renaissance Retirement at Sandhurst in Berkshire is one of three luxury retirement schemes for the developer that are using Offsite Solutions’ high specification, factory-built ensuite shower rooms. Under construction by the Hackwood Group, the Fleur-de-Lis development in Sandhurst will provide 42 spacious retirement apartments set in landscaped gardens. Offsite Solutions has manufactured 44 steel-framed bathroom pods for the project. Each ensuite shower room features ceramic-tiled finishes, walk-in rain dance showers with digitally-controlled thermostats, premium sanitaryware and fittings, and a mirrored cabinet – all fully fitted out offsite for a consistently higher standard of finish and quality. Offsite Solutions is also manufacturing shower pods for two further Renaissance developments in Wimborne, Dorset and Crowthorne in Berkshire which are now on site. The timber-framed structure for each scheme has been engineered to create a recess in the cassette floor for the installation of the bathroom pods. This solution allows the application of factory-built bathrooms to work within a timber frame, whilst ensuring level access floors. Commenting on the use of bathroom pods, Graham Snowley, Contracts Manager at Hackwood said, “This is the first time we have used factory-built bathrooms and we have found them to be a brilliant solution. The approach really takes the pain out of bathroom construction. It saves a huge amount of work on site and we have been able to dispense with several processes. The quality of bathroom pods is superior and more consistent compared to site-based construction – the fitting of pans and basins, for example, is more accurate in a factory environment. The use of pods eliminates at least six different trades and reduces construction time for the bathrooms to just three hours for the service connections – a significant time saving.” Nick Watkins, Development Director at Renaissance Retirement said, “The use of pods gives us certainty in both product quality and completion, and with no compromise on bathroom design and finish. The labour market, particularly for finishing trades, is very challenging for developers and contractors, particularly in the South East. The impact of these market fluctuations is completely removed if bathroom construction is carried out offsite. Offsite Solutions’ factory set up is impressive and their products are manufactured to a high standard.” There is now unprecedented demand for bathroom pods in the residential sector – for high-end apartment schemes, mixed-use developments, social housing and build-to-rent. This shift towards offsite is driven by the shortage of skilled labour, particularly in the South East; issues with consistent quality, and the construction industry’s poor delivery record with budget overruns and project delays. The use of an offsite solution for bathroom construction reduces the number of activities and trades on site. This achieves significant programme savings, quality improvements and reductions in waste of up to 50 per cent compared to site-based construction. The production line environment of pod manufacture provides consistently higher quality standards and much greater certainty of delivery on time and on budget. Pre-delivery testing is rigorous and quality assurance procedures are stringent for ready-to-use installation. Offsite Solutions offers a comprehensive and expanding range of bathroom pods to suit different building types and applications. Options include steel-framed pods with traditional tiled finishes for high-end apartments, student residences and hotels; robust and low maintenance GRP composite pods for student accommodation, care homes, social housing and healthcare; hybrid pods for specialist projects, and award-winning demountable GRP pods for ease of installation in refurbishment schemes.
Press-fit technology on modern sprinkler systems can save lives by facilitating quicker, easier and less disruptive installations in existing buildings, says Geberit, despite Dame Judith Hackitt’s omission of mandatory sprinkler installations in her review of Building Regulations and fire safety laws. The Hackitt Review has been criticised for its failure to recommend a ban on combustible cladding products or the mandatory installation of sprinkler systems or automatic fire suppression systems in all new domestic buildings and existing tower blocks. Both measures had been proposed by RIBA as part of its recommended baseline prescriptive requirements ahead of the Hackitt Review’s publication in May. Now Geberit has highlighted the benefits of innovative press-fit technology in a new guide, designed to help specifiers, contractors, developers, engineers and local authorities to overcome the perceived challenges of retrofit installations. Geberit’s guide includes a foreword from Ann Jones AM, the Welsh Assembly Minister who successfully campaigned for sprinkler systems to be installed in all new build domestic properties in Wales. Covering a summary of existing legislation and perceived challenges to retrofit installations, it breaks down the barriers and presents press-fit technology as a viable solution that can help improve the safety of existing buildings – with or without mandatory installations. Antony Corbett, product manager for Geberit piping supply systems, said: “Sprinkler systems save lives but for too long the construction industry has had this perception that retrofit installations are messy, disruptive, unattractive and most importantly too expensive to ensure viability. “With press-fit systems this simply isn’t the case. Contractors and their customers can benefit from fast, reliable connections, with no hot works, lightweight piping and a clean finish. There are cost savings too – BSRIA calculates that the installation efficiencies of press-fit can deliver cost savings of approximately 27 per cent when compared with screwed steel pipework. “It was disappointing that Dame Judith Hackitt didn’t include mandatory sprinkler installations in her review in light of the Grenfell disaster, but the fact remains that sprinklers offer a viable, cost-efficient and proven fire suppression system which can and will save lives in the event of a fire. “We wanted to produce something that would help the industry to overcome any perceived barriers, highlight the benefits of press-fit and enable specifiers and contractors to confidently sell the benefits of modern sprinkler systems, even for retrofit installations.” Writing in the document, Ann Jones AM, Labour Assembly Member, Vale of Clwyd, said: “Often fire safety is seen as reacting to events rather than leading debate in order to avoid such dreadful tragedies and that is why a document like this is vital to keeping the conversation going and also offering learning experiences, building on those who have already taken steps to retrofit sprinkler systems into homes. “There can be no doubt that the installation of a sprinkler system offers a degree of security, protection of one’s home and many precious memories, it has a good environmental footprint and also reduces the burdens on public sector funding. But above all, no one has ever died from a fire related incident where a sprinkler has been installed. “This document will play an important role in helping to educate, agitate and hopefully organise those who have it in their power to fit sprinkler systems into existing properties.” Download the guide To download Geberit’s free white paper, ‘Pressing matters: Breaking the barriers to retrofitting sprinkler systems in existing building stock’, and to learn more about the potential of retrofit sprinkler installations, visit https://www.geberit.co.uk/campaign/pressing-matters.
The mastic asphalt industry’s most impressive projects and professionals were recognised at the Mastic Asphalt Council’s (MAC) 2018 Awards hosted at London’s Royal Horseguards Hotel. Over 140 key players from the sector attended the event which is one of the most prestigious in the calendar for the waterproofing industry. Sponsored by Alltype Specialist Roofing Supplies, Academy Consulting and Sky Gardens, the awards present the ideal opportunity for the Mastic Asphalt Council to honour top projects and professionals across the mastic asphalt industry. Mastic asphalt has an illustrious history as one of the most established and well proven waterproofing membrane systems currently available and the incorporation of modern polymers into mastic asphalt systems has helped lead to its resurgence in the construction industry. The winner of the John Blowers Award for 2018 was Mick Elliott of IKO PLC. Mick started his career as a Laboratory Technician and has played a valuable role in the development and production of polymer modified mastic asphalt. He became a member of IKO Technical Services in 2000 and is well known throughout the industry for promoting the qualities and benefits of mastic asphalt and for offering excellent advice and service to contractors, specifiers and clients. The John Blowers Award commemorates MAC’s long-serving director and secretary, John Blowers, who formed the backbone of the Mastic Asphalt Council for more than two decades before he sadly passed away in April 2016. The Challenge Trophy Award was made to BCC Asphalt for the Church of St. Mary and All Saints project. This award recognises the most impressive project across the year carried out in the most challenging conditions. The application of mastic asphalt was carried out at a problematic working height in very difficult weather conditions. The building was kept watertight as works progressed and different contours and curves of gutters were expertly matched using mastic asphalt. The final award of the event was the highly sought after Project of the Year Award which in a field of outstanding entries, was awarded to Sussex Asphalte for the prestigious St Paul’s Cathedral project in London. Mastic asphalt was first laid in 1906 on the Stone Gallery that circles the Cathedral dome and it provided a remarkable 111 years’ weatherproof protection before it required refurbishment last year. Sussex Asphalte secured the contract to replace the asphalt around the Cathedral dome and completed the refurbishment of this historic building with excellent attention to detail and workmanship throughout, with neat upstands, arrises and splays. Scaffolding and hoists were used to overcome restricted working conditions and a gutter template was expertly formed to ensure the correct width of application. Other projects shortlisted for the Project of the Year accolade included Folkestone Harbour completed by Knight Asphalte, St Hugh’s Monastery completed by Sussex Asphalte, Merridal Court completed by Brindley Asphalt and Church of St Mary & All Saints completed by BCC Asphalt. Following the awards presentation, the attendees were entertained by guest speaker Brian Moore, who formerly played Rugby Union for England and is a well known presenter and pundit for BBC Sport and Talksport. At the event, an impressive sum of £5,000 was also raised for Demelza Hospice which provides care and support for seriously ill babies, children, young people and their families, across East Sussex, Kent and South East London. The Mastic Asphalt Council (MAC) is the trade association for the mastic asphalt industry in the UK. Representing more than 70 companies operating in the sector, MAC members include mastic asphalt manufacturers, specialist application contractors and associated suppliers of equipment and services.
Can the use of blockchain help the property, building and construction sectors – Well Yes it can I think. One of the more innovative technology rich projects to be released this year is an operating system called nOs. This is short for the Neo Operating System. The nOS project was unveiled by Dean van Dugteren at the NEO loves Amsterdam conference held at the DeLaMar Theatre on April 14th, 2018. nOS is a virtual operating system for NEO that will run on mobile and desktop, and functions like a browser and app store. nOS aims to encourage consumer level adoption of NEO dApps by providing a safer and easier way to use applications. There are so many blockchain projects out at the moment. Some in the early stages like nOs and some that are further along. They can be viewed at Coin Market Cap which has over 1600 current projects dealing with the blockchain technology. In our next review of nOs we will explain its full potential for all sectors. Who is involved: – The core nOS team is comprised of City of Zion developers: Dean van Dugteren, founder of Click.DJ and VDT Network, Jason Perry, creator of NEO Ruby, and Matt Huggins, the maintainer of the Neon Wallet.
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group, have agreed a partnership to support the future growth of RIBA Enterprises Ltd, the commercial arm of the RIBA which trades as NBS. NBS is a market-leading provider of technology, content and data services to professionals in the architectural, engineering and construction industries. Headquartered in Newcastle, NBS employs more than 200 people and for the financial year ending December 2017 recorded a turnover of £20.5m. The RIBA is the global professional body for architects and a registered charity with one of the largest and most diverse architectural collections in the world. LDC is investing £31.8m for a significant minority shareholding in NBS. Together the RIBA and LDC are supporting the business, led by the current CEO Richard Waterhouse and existing management team, in delivering its future product development and international growth plans. RIBA Chief Executive Alan Vallance said: “The RIBA is pleased to have secured a fantastic deal on behalf of our members. It is recognition of the success of our commercial activities to date, and the international strength of the brand and products our team has developed. This deal provides welcome investment in NBS and enables the Institute to focus on delivering our ambitious strategy in support of the architecture profession in the UK and internationally. We are delighted to be working in partnership with LDC who we selected based on their extensive pedigree including their experience working in the technology sector.” RIBA President Ben Derbyshire said: “This is an exciting moment for the RIBA and the culmination of a huge amount of work, time and careful consideration by our trustees, executive and expert advisors. We have created a highly attractive market-leading business, and as an Institute prioritising support for our members and the delivery of our wider charitable objectives, the trustees agreed it is the right time to work in partnership with an experienced investor to ramp up its potential. LDC’s investment provides the injection needed to move NBS to the next level, and our members will continue to benefit from our ongoing involvement in the business.” John Garner, head of LDC in Yorkshire & the North East said: “NBS is a market-leading business, renowned for the quality of its products and services. Over its 40-year history, and with a focus on delivering the best service to its customers, it has built an enviable reputation. With a strong management team who have delivered a track-record of growth, the business is well-positioned to embark on the next phase of its growth strategy. We are looking forward to working closely with the RIBA to support Richard and his team, helping the business to deliver further successes at home and overseas.” Richard Waterhouse, NBS CEO, added: “We are delighted to be working with LDC on the next stage of our growth plan that will see NBS strengthen its offering in the UK and overseas, following a recent expansion into Canada and Australia. Bringing in a new partner alongside our long term investor, the RIBA, will create the perfect mix of experience in the market with high growth expertise.” RIBA member services and support are unaffected by this announcement. RIBA was advised by KPMG and Womble Bond Dickinson. LDC was advised by Deloitte and Addleshaw Goddard. NBS was advised by PWC.
Unite Students, the UK’s leading manager and developer of student accommodation, has been granted a planning approval to develop a 928-bed student accommodation development in Leeds. The site, located on Merrion Way in the city centre, is close to both the University of Leeds and Leeds Beckett University. The site would increase Unite’s Leeds portfolio to 4,376 beds, serving a student population of 58,000, and further enhancing Unite’s operating efficiency in the city. In the last five years, Unite’s occupancy in the city has been 99% with over 1,800 beds subject to nominations agreements with Leeds universities. The development will generate a development yield in line with our target returns and will be funded from internally generated sources. It is expected to be open for the 2020 academic year. The transaction reflects Unite’s strategy of aligning its property portfolio with high-ranking universities where student numbers are growing whilst underpinning further earnings growth. Nick Hayes, Group Property Director, Unite Students said: “Leeds is a strong performing market, with a diverse and growing student population. With two high quality Universities, we expect demand for quality, affordable student accommodation to grow and this development will help to fulfil that need.”
At Snows, our promise to customers is a simple one. We aim to give the trade exactly what they need and inspire trust in our ability to deliver on the promises made. To make this promise a reality, we are making substantial investments to refine and modernise our operations and ultimately, better cater for the customers of tomorrow. One of our biggest investments takes place at our Mansfield Distribution Centre, where a regeneration programme of circa. £0.5million is taking place until the end of July 2018. The site will be reconfigured, which will include demolition of existing offices, erection of 900m2 of warehousing and installation of 1200m2 of hardstanding ground adjacent to the existing site – alongside this, an additional high-speed line will be installed in the mill. The result of these changes will improve efficiencies and productivity across the picking and milling of product and enlarge our geographical area for delivery. Double shift capabilities will be introduced into the Mansfield and Glastonbury Distribution Centres to improve overall capacity of the organisation and improve our already-considerable level of flexibility. These operational changes will result in Snows ability to offer competitive prices and deliver on our original promise to give the trade exactly what they need, due to improving cost efficiencies throughout the business. Have you heard about our new National Sales Office? Our Regional Sales Offices have recently been consolidated into a central location in Towcester, Northamptonshire. Its aim is to provide high quality customer service, which promotes two-way communication between us and our customers. Although customers can (and will) still receive support from our regional locations, the change to one central office will allow us to properly structure and manage every aspect of the customer journey – from enquiry, to quotation, order processing and relationship development. The new office is made up of individuals who have a proven track record in customer service, and have a fresh, forward-thinking attitude that align with the new vision of Snows Timber. Customers can be assured that “communication” is set to be the word of the year at Snows.
Cabinet ministers have backed initial proposals for a new runway at Heathrow Airport, claiming it is an “historic moment”. As MPs prepare to vote on the plans ahead of the July 11 deadline, Paul Meagh, electrical and instrumentation services director at engineering solutions provider Boulting Ltd, explores how a modular build will benefit the £14 billion project. Modularisation is not a new concept and has been used by construction and engineering firms for several years as a way of reducing the complexity surrounding the build or refurbishment of a project. For many years, modular construction was thought to be largely box-type structures, providing a bare frame to accommodate construction site workers, large classrooms and residential homes. While the concept still provides benefit for these uses, more and more engineering projects, including the expansion of Heathrow airport, are incorporating the concept into their build as a way of minimising both cost and disruption to the client and end user. The recent announcement by the UK cabinet about the proposed expansion of Heathrow airport has been welcomed by many, including ourselves. The expansion is estimated to create 60,000 new jobs and generate £70 billion in total economic benefits by 2050. While the site itself is in London, Heathrow plans to use the expansion to drive growth in off-site construction across the country. If the vote is successful, a total of four offsite construction and manufacturing hubs will be established across the country, allowing for pre-assembled components to be constructed prior to installation at the new runway. These sites will create thousands of new jobs outside of London, ensuring that more than just the capital city benefits from the expansion. At Boulting, we have 15 years of experience working with modular builds, part of which includes the design, fabrication and installation of the rail station services at Heathrow’s terminal 5. A total of 75 per cent of the project was modularised, enabling us to remove a vast amount of site activity to the controlled environment of a workshop. In addition to minimising disruption to the airport, modularisation improved the overall quality of the project and site safety while reducing the number of site man hours required and total time of the project. Constructing on a dedicated fabrication site, such as Boulting’s facility in St Helens, overcomes these issues as the infrastructure is already in place. Experienced labourers are also at hand to build, test and commission a facility before shipping and erecting in its final location, ensuring a quicker and more cost-effective solution. If the expansion of Heathrow airport is given the green light, its use of modularisation will be one of the largest in the UK. While the concept does have multiple benefits, the decision to use it should not be rushed and all factors should be carefully considered. Working with a leading provider of prefabrication and modularisation services, such as Boulting, can ensure the right decision is made for the project in the most efficient way possible.