In the UK construction industry, physical health is of paramount importance. It is common to see prominent reminders about physical safety, and yet there are less prominent risks that make construction one of the deadliest professions. Every year, more construction workers die from suicide than from falls. Putting the right resources in place to support employees will be the driving force behind real change, thinks Keith Oakes, Head of Safety, Health, Environment and Quality (SHeQ) at exclusive Cat® parts and equipment supplier, Finning UK & Ireland. There’s a reason why mental health in the construction industry is known as the ‘silent epidemic’. When we think about mental illness, it is easy for our minds to run to the most extreme of conditions — the sickest of the sick. What we sometimes fall to account for is the majority of milder cases, experienced by one in four people in the UK every year. A recent survey suggests that 64 per cent of construction workers want better health and wellbeing support from their employers, and there are a wide range of actions employers can take to help to tackle this crisis. These actions start with the very basics — education.  All workers, no matter their role in a business, need to be able to recognise the early warning signs of mental health issues as well as knowing what support is available and how to access it. Finning provides ongoing mental health training, such as Starting the Conversation and Managing the Conversation courses, which began in 2018. These courses aim to break down the negative stigma around talking about mental health and give managers and employees the resources and knowledge to provide real and actionable support to their colleagues. Although there is currently no mandatory legal requirement for offering mental health support, Mental Health First Aiders (MHFAs) are also present throughout the company, providing confidential face-to-face support onsite for anyone suffering. MHFAs, easily identifiable to all by their “Talk to me!” email banner, have been trained to recognise someone going through a mental health issue, and to guide that person to the relevant help that they need. One such MHFA is Julia Winter, occupational health nurse at Finning. When a new employee starts, they are invited to a free health surveillance with Julia, who runs a series of baseline physical health assessments including hearing and eyesight checks, which are repeated every two years. Mental health and wellbeing is a critical part of Julia’s role; alongside the healthy mind, healthy body sessions she runs across the UK branches, her relationship and rapport with employees means that she is the usually the first port of call for anyone struggling. David Fletcher, who’s worked in the New Prep department at the Finning Cannock branch for five years is one of many employees who’ve benefitted from the mental health services that Finning provides. Fresh faced in the role with only three months under his belt, David started to experience pins and needles symptoms, and with support from his boss, gave Julia a call. “Looking back now, I’ve always had mental health issues, but it was never discussed openly. It came to the forefront when I knew my marriage was coming to an end, and I think I was in denial. As the doctors ran tests to determine the cause of the pins and needles, which turned out to be a symptom of anxiety, I got chatting to Julia at work, and I just broke down and told her about everything that was going on at home. “From then on, we talked regularly, pretty much every other day. She didn’t always talk back, she just let me say what I needed to say. Julia really went above and beyond her role and became a firm friend, and I know that I can talk to her about anything. A lot of my close friends are people I work with every day, so the lockdown has had a big impact on my mental health. I wanted to get back to work as soon as it was safe to do so, so Finning did everything it could to make that happen.” The COVID-19 pandemic has had an immeasurable impact on all of our lives, and none more so than Lindsay Fuller, receptionist at the Leeds branch, who recently accessed Finning’s mental health services when her husband fell ill with coronavirus. “My story is not an easy one to tell. In late March, my partner Glen became ill with COVID-19 and was admitted to hospital. He fought hard and the medical team were amazing, but seven days after he was admitted, Glen passed away, aged 62. As he had tested positive for coronavirus, I also had to self-isolate, which meant that our families couldn’t visit me or have any physical contact. “I don’t know what I would have done if it hadn’t had been for Julia. We spoke every single day. It didn’t matter if I was sobbing or screaming, if I called during her lunch break or in the middle of the night, she would be on the other end of phone. She really understood that grief isn’t on a schedule and that was absolutely invaluable. “The support from not just Julia, but the wider Finning family has been outstanding. I’ve had messages of support from colleagues from all across the business, and the senior leadership also video called to send their wishes and to ask whether there was anything they could do. When I was ready to return to work, they ensured my area was COVID-19 safe and always checked in to make sure I felt secure and happy at work. It honestly kept me sane.” David and Lindsay used the services provided by Finning at different points in their career. Regardless of their time in the role, both had access to the same resources and support, even though David had only been in his job for three months. “Finning made sure that, even though I was suffering, my

AES Engineering Ltd has announced the launch of the AES Engineering Reliability Group (AES Reliability). The new group brings Rotherham-based AES Engineering’s range of asset management and plant reliability companies under one banner, offering one of the most comprehensive services on the market. The launch of the new group follows a two-year period of expansion and acquisition and includes: AVT Reliability Ltd, which has bases in Cheshire, UK, and County Cork, the Republic of Ireland; Van Geffen Reliability, based in the Netherlands; and AVT Reliability Inc, based in Tennessee, USA. The companies offer more than 45 years of expertise, delivering plant asset management and reliability improvement services and solutions, with in-depth knowledge of the most advanced condition monitoring technology. “Every company in the group shares one key attribute – it has reliability in its DNA. Very few, if any, companies can deliver the comprehensive, 360° service that the AES Reliability group offers. In addition to on-site services, our Remote Diagnostics Centres are staffed by certified engineers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, providing on-demand support to clients requiring instant or routine problem diagnosis,” said Technical Director of AES Reliability, Lee McFarlane. “Our aim now is to continue to expand the AES Reliability group, with the simple goal of improving the reliability of our customers’ assets and operations, to save them time and money,” he added. The company’s consultancy and on-site services encompass troubleshooting support, condition monitoring, structural monitoring, pipework vibration compliance, rotor dynamics/reciprocating services, energy assessment and pump reliability.

Despite the Covid-19 health crisis impacting significantly on the Lifting Industry, Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA) Sector Benchmark Research reveals optimism for the post-pandemic future, and a move towards new and possibly more productive ways of working. Indeed, 72% of firms reported being optimistic for the next 6 months, with this increasing to 80% for the next 12 months. However, the breadth of specialisms and the number of supply chains in the sector have produced a varied picture in the research. LEEA does not expect the sector to return to pre-pandemic patterns of work as there are now clearly different expectations around training, travel and work patterns, according to the research. The majority of firms (over two thirds) reported their attitude towards e-training had changed in the past 12 months, with it being seen much more as an option. Training by Zoom specifically has its supporters, with nearly three quarters of firms reporting that they now see it as a more likely option. However, there is clearly a view that face-to-face training remains the preference, regardless of company size or specialism. Most firms are looking at more focussed travel, however, with 65% reporting that they expect to make changes to their business travel budget post lockdown. Few can be surprised to see such a large percentage of respondents recording revenue falls due to the economic impact of the pandemic and associated lockdowns. Surprisingly, however, the survey reveals a larger percentage recorded an increase in revenue. The picture improves when looking over the duration of the crisis: during the initial pandemic period (April to June 2020), there was an equal split between those reporting revenues up or down compared to the same period in 2019 (45% each). But, across the longer period of April 2020 to February 2021, the balance shifts to 54% reporting revenues up compared to 39% seeing a drop, which gives reason for optimism looking forward. Nevertheless, there has been a dramatic impact on the workforce with an incredible 50% of respondents making job losses attributable to the pandemic across a range of roles. Half the respondents expect the workforce to be smaller in March 2022 than it was in March 2020. While we can speculate about the reasons behind the ups and downs, further research will be required to fully understand which parts of our sector did better than others. “2020 has been a year that none of us expected. Our personal and work lives have all been impacted and as we look forward, we are now trying our best to predict what the future will look like. A year on from the initial lockdown in the UK, LEEA has issued this research aimed at helping us to understand the implications of the pandemic on our industry. It allows us to see the huge financial effects on our industry and the retrenching we are expecting concerning the size of the workforce, how training is conducted and changes to everyday work,” commented Ross Moloney, CEO of LEEA.

Commercial vehicle specialist MC Truck & Bus has launched a new division in partnership with heavy machinery manufacturing giant SANY. MC Plant has won the franchise to undertake the sales, support service and repairs of SANY excavators and other plant for Kent, Surrey & East Sussex. The move comes as SANY continues to establish a regional dealer network across England and Wales after its arrival in the UK in 2015. New jobs will be created with MC Plant currently hiring specialist technicians and the division will grow organically as business expands. MC Plant will be headquartered at one of the group’s main bases in Larkfield, Maidstone, with support from the company’s existing dealerships in Burgess Hill, Hythe and Aylesford. All new and used machinery will be sold from Larkfield – the first stock is already on the ground – with mobile technicians working from each site. The new division is headed up by MC Truck & Bus’s hugely experienced truck and plant sales manager Paul Cogger. He said: “There are very few dual truck and plant dealers in the UK and so this exciting new venture will not only strengthen links with the industries we serve with our current brands but also create dynamic new synergies. This new focus will undoubtedly reinforce relationships with existing and new customers. Our aim is to provide our customers with continuity through their business by offering plant and commercial vehicle services. “We were honoured when SANY approached us and feel our business foundation of strong service and customer-focused solutions will stand us in good stead. SANY is a global brand in the construction industry, well known for producing many products from excavators and loading shovels to cranes and concrete machinery. Their quality plant, allied to our experience, will lead us to our goal of being the number one excavator & plant supplier in the South East.” SANY, founded in Lianyuan, Hunan province in central China in 1986 and now headquartered in Beijing, has 25 manufacturing bases and 18 overseas regional headquarters and works with 8,000 suppliers and 400 dealers.  SANY ranks among the top three global construction machinery manufacturers, offers an industry leading five year warranty across its full range of excavators sold in the UK. Established in 1987, independently-owned MC Group is a complete commercial vehicle solutions provider and asset management company. It is comprised of MC Truck and Bus Ltd and MC Rental Ltd. The company, which hires out, sells, services and maintains commercial vehicles from seven locations across Essex, Kent, Sussex and Hampshire, employs 380 staff and has a rental fleet of more than 2,800 vehicles. MC Group, praised for keeping essential transport services running during the Covid-19 pandemic, was last year named 190th in the prestigious Sunday Times’ special edition of its Top Track 250 listings with sales up nine per cent at £131.8 million. With strong family links across generations, the company also has its own training school. It offers a comprehensive range of services to the commercial vehicle industry, including new and used truck sales, servicing, repairs contract maintenance and preventative maintenance and parts. 

A freestanding luffing jib tower crane has been increased in height to 105 metres by Bennetts Cranes on a luxury residential development in Fulham, London. This is understood to be the tallest freestanding luffing jib crane in operation in the UK currently, meaning it is not tied to the building. Bennetts, a specialist tower crane company based in Gloucestershire, erected the Raimondi LR 213 tower crane in August 2020 at Chelsea Creek, where a selection of Manhattan, one-, two- and three-bedroom homes is being built by St George, part of Berkeley Group. The height is not extraordinary for a crane, with tower cranes that are tied to buildings going to much greater heights than this. However, the crane is unique at this height because it is freestanding and a luffing jib crane. Typical freestanding luffing jib cranes would be between 30 – 60 metres tall for residential developments, with some occasionally reaching 70 metres or more. There are currently none known to be operating in the UK freestanding at over 100 metres. Between 3 – 4 April, a team from Bennetts Cranes used a 1,000 tonne mobile crane to add mast sections and increase the height of the LR 213 from 55 metres to 105 metres. The crane has base towers that are 4.6 metres square (more than double the typical freestanding crane tower of around 2 metres) to withstand the forces at such a height. Edward Seager, Managing Director of Bennetts Cranes, said: “When you double the height of a tower crane, the forces don’t just double, they square, so one of the ways to counteract that is to use a much wider tower base to spread the forces and make it more stable. This base, which is concreted into the ground, is extremely strong and has been brought in specifically for this job. He added: “We were pleased to increase the height of the crane to its final height of 105 metres over the Easter weekend, with good weather, enabling us to complete it within two days.” There has been a steady trend towards using taller freestanding cranes in recent years, driven by changes in cladding systems. Tying cranes to buildings can obstruct cladding being applied and some developers want to attach them during the build without having crane ties in the way. Mr Seager said: “Freestanding cranes can also provide more flexibility on site, and result in a quicker build time because you don’t need to climb the crane and tie it to the building. There are positives and negatives on both sides, because freestanding cranes are typically more expensive as they need to be reinforced to withstand forces, but the hire time can be reduced with a more efficient build.” The LR 213 is working on site with two further cranes including a LR 273, one of Raimondi’s newest luffing jib cranes with an 18 tonne maximum load capacity, and a 10 tonne capacity hydraulic Raimondi LRH174.