A leading expert has warned that the use of effective programmes could become more and more significant for contractors looking to protect their interests. This warning has come from Michael Gallucci, the Managing Director for MGPQS ahead of the publication of the new FIDIC Yellow Book. It has been predicted
Erika Pärn has carried out studies to look into how construction methods that are more technologically advanced could change the industry and how they carry out mapping for entire buildings, cities and road networks. Erika is a Lecturer at Birmingham University and specialises in Architectural Technology. She has shown through
The Construction Industry Training Board, or CITB have been given their last chance by the Federation of Master Builders, or FMB. Members of the FMB are divided in regards to their opinions on the future of the CITB. Some members would like to see the training board continue, while others
Whether you are constructing a new house or you’re organising an event, you will have to take advantage of services to accomplish your task effectively. For example, if you’re planning to construct a house, you will need a variety of services on the site facility in question to run the
Wheatcroft Land has a new Director. The Leicester-based development company has recently re-emerged with the new director, Catherine Haward following her father’s footsteps and transforming the company into a fierce contender in the Midlands property market. Catherine, in her role of Director, is focused on expanding the company’s presence in
As the Industrial workplace changes, the health and safety demand in the workplace will be changing with it. McCue, the industrial safety experts have been using their range of protection products in facilities around the world. The company has been working to deliver their customers the highest possible service with
On Thursday the 7th of September, there was a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the Cumbernauld Academy and Cumbernauld Theatre Campus. The sod cutting ceremony was led by the Deputy First Minister and the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, John Swinney MSP. This £37 million development project will
Last week the University of Wolverhampton launched the first Demolition Management Master’s Degree. This course is the first of its kind on offer in the UK, and a local businessman is among the first people to sign up for the course. Richard Dolman works for the Nuneaton based company AR
Mick George are diversifying and will be looking to offer vehicle purchasing and leasing services. Construction companies are not necessarily the first companies to look at when exploring the idea of purchasing or hiring vehicles. However, it is worth considering that companies in this industry are able to efficiently operate
Scott, former bid director for the Group sales division at Capita, has a strong background in large-scale sales solutions. While at the five-billion-pound professional services organisation, Scott headed up the growth engine within Capita, and was responsible for securing new business contracts worth 50million pounds and above. Following a successful
A leading expert has warned that the use of effective programmes could become more and more significant for contractors looking to protect their interests. This warning has come from Michael Gallucci, the Managing Director for MGPQS ahead of the publication of the new FIDIC Yellow Book. It has been predicted by Michael that new conditions in ever increasing volumes could mean that implementing programmes and cost controls could be even more important. Mr. Gallucci works to advise a range of construction companies as well as speaking around the world about construction project contract law. The use of programmes are vital when submitting claims for delays or combating counter-claims. These programmes then become yardsticks to use to measure the effects of delays. Mr. Gallucci’s company, MGPQS delivers financial and contractual services in the property sector. From this perspective it is thought that contractors need to consider whether or not they have the right amount of the right personnel in their admin teams in order to ensure that they can produce, revise and update programmes in order to remain up to date with accurate cost records. FIDIC requires that the contractor follow a baseline programme. The new edition also introduces new clauses in a range of critical areas which includes early warning, the ramp up to the requirement for accurate monitoring and record-keeping. The new Yellow Book is expected to increase the administrative burden which is placed on contractors. The report is also set to reset the balance of responsibilities that takes place between employers and contractors. This means that employers may no longer have an open-ended claims window as the Federation looks to introduce new deadlines for both parties. It is vital that, for the development of the FIDIC books, parties are encouraged to work together in order to encourage parties to work together in order to resolve matters before claims. The additional conditions that have been introduced with the FIDIC Yellow Book could lead to fewer disputes being escalated, a benefit to all relevant parties.
Erika Pärn has carried out studies to look into how construction methods that are more technologically advanced could change the industry and how they carry out mapping for entire buildings, cities and road networks. Erika is a Lecturer at Birmingham University and specialises in Architectural Technology. She has shown through her research that technology could have a significant impact on the mapping abilities of the construction industry. It is thought that digital building techniques can be used in order to radically transform infrastructure and communities. This could be the redesigning of an international tourist hotspot or the redevelopment of slums and shanty towns. It is thought that the work in to this field that has been carried out by Erika Pärn is groundbreaking. Her research was recently presented as part of one of the major international infrastructure conferences which took place in Ghana. At this conference Erika gave the keynote speech. The speech was delivered by Erika to a large audience, among them was the Minister for Environment, Science and Technology as well as the Ashanti Minister and the Mayor of Kumasi. As part of her presentation of the conference in Ghana, Erika Pärn showed that using the technology that is slowly coming on to the market can give a clearer idea of how people use land and infrastructure in order to be cleverer with designing and create communities that are more responsive as well as delivering a number of different cost savings when carrying out schemes that ae government funded. Erika Pärn’s research focused on technologies that are currently being utilizes when creating modern commercial spaces and how they can be adapted in order to design smarter cities that are built with the proper facilities and amenities to suit the inhabitants’ needs whether they are affluent or more deprived. Technology like Building Information Modeling are usually used individually on a project, but it is thought that by merging them with other both new and established technologies can be used together in order to help decide on the best locations for infrastructure development.
The Construction Industry Training Board, or CITB have been given their last chance by the Federation of Master Builders, or FMB. Members of the FMB are divided in regards to their opinions on the future of the CITB. Some members would like to see the training board continue, while others feel that the organisation should be completely scrapped. Despite the split decision about the training organisation’s future, it has been agreed upon by members of the Federation that the CITB does not work for smaller firms operating in the construction industry. The call has been made by the FMB for the CITB to carry out significant reforms in order to deliver quality training on a large scale in the smaller firms of the construction industry. The FMB has made the decision to support the continuation of the levy. However, they have explicitly stated that this continuation of support is not an agreement with the status quo, and feel that the CITB is broken, and support is needed from the industry in order to make sure that in the future the levy works for everyone. It is thought that unless the changes are put into place there could be an impact on the construction skills crisis, which will continue to get worse. If a transformation of the CITB isn’t carried out and the skills crisis get worse, the Government will fail in their house building and infrastructure ambitions. It is vital that, for the CITB to succeed, there needs to a review into how the organisation is structured. The CITB Board at the moment only contains one representative from SMEs in the construction industry. This needs to change to ensure more impact and lead to better changes to benefit the smaller companies in this industry. The reforms need to spread further than the CITB according to the FMB with other changes suggested including making the grant scheme more simple, allowing SMEs to claim back CITB grants.
Whether you are constructing a new house or you’re organising an event, you will have to take advantage of services to accomplish your task effectively. For example, if you’re planning to construct a house, you will need a variety of services on the site facility in question to run the construction work effectively, which includes providing all the important facilities required by law for your workers. However, when it comes to organising an event, you have to focus on a wide range of things such as hiring a venue, arranging necessary furniture for accommodating guests, deciding the food and drink menus etc. If you fail to hire services from a company then you may see yourself on the day of the event with half of it missing. SRP Hire Solutions bring you some definite must haves that you need at your new facility. Arrange the Perfect Venue If you’re planning to organise a food festival, you should first decide a wonderful venue for it. Make sure that the venue that you are finalising for your event can be easily accessed by your guests. One of the best ways to ensure that people can easily reach the venue is to hire one close to transport links. That way everyone can easily access the event and drastically reduces the traffic build up when there’s multiple ways of getting there. Hire an Event Management Company If you are organising a large-scale festival then it’s better to hire the services of an event management company. When it comes to using an event management company you don’t even have worry about hiring a venue alone because they’ll even give you suggestions and help you along the way. They’ll give you a couple of options to decide the venue, and then you just pick the one that suits your requirements. An event management company makes sure that your event runs smoothly and hence they arrange all the necessary facilities that are required. Hire Facility Delivery Service There are a lot of companies, such as SRP Hire Solutions, that provide excellent facility delivery services to their clients so that their event can run flawlessly. For example, if you require portable toilets at your facility or the venue in question. then the company will provide you with them and deliver them straight to the event. In addition to that, you can also hire equipment like generators which allow you to manage your electricity related requirements during power failures. Imagine for a second that your event is running in full swing and you suddenly face power failure. How will you manage the whole event? Hire Waste Removal Services Waste removal services are also very important if you want to maintain your portable toilet units in perfect working conditions. You can hire portable toilets and waste removal services from the same company. When you hire both these services from the same company, it becomes much easier for you to manage the whole facility effectively. These are just a few must haves if you’re thinking of organising your own facility, don’t leave it to the last second, get some help to fully prepare.
Wheatcroft Land has a new Director. The Leicester-based development company has recently re-emerged with the new director, Catherine Haward following her father’s footsteps and transforming the company into a fierce contender in the Midlands property market. Catherine, in her role of Director, is focused on expanding the company’s presence in the commercial and retail property sectors. However, her move to take the reigns of the family business has seen Catherine completely switch careers. Four years ago she was working for Leicestershire Police, now Catherine is in her final year of studying a degree in real estate while running Wheatcroft Land by herself. On top of this Catherine is also a mum to a teenage daughter and son, illustrating her capabilities with such diverse responsibilities. Catherine took the decision to leave the police and take over the running of the family business when her father’s health deteriorated and he was unable to be involved in the company. Catherine will be working to make sure that her father’s legacy continues, while also looking to grow Wheatcroft Land’s commercial property portfolio as well as breaking into the residential property market. Catherine feels that the Midlands is an ideal place to invest as the north/south divide appears to be narrowing as development and regeneration increases. Also, in the property market at the moment, more and more people are finding themselves priced out of the southern property market and are looking to commute to London from the areas surrounding the capital. With the increased developments of the rail network other transport link, people have the opportunity to liver farther out, allowing them more house for the price and reducing the commute. There is a great opportunity in Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire for regeneration which can make them more desirable areas for commercial and residential opportunities. Since becoming Director of Wheatcroft, Catherine has been impressed with the progression of a number of new projects while also looking to identify other development sites across the East Midlands.
As the Industrial workplace changes, the health and safety demand in the workplace will be changing with it. McCue, the industrial safety experts have been using their range of protection products in facilities around the world. The company has been working to deliver their customers the highest possible service with protection products for decades. McCue has been selected to create walkway protections for a high profile customer. The Research and Development team at McCue have developed a new solution for the client that will protect walkways from potential danger of protruding ground level forklift truck forks. The result is a Polyethylene pedestrian barrier that is now becoming a vital part of the intelligent health and safety procedures being used in a number of different facilities. The barriers are low maintenance and easy to use to organise a facility and segregate pedestrians from the moving vehicles. The research and development team also offered a solution for if the forklift forks protrude under the barriers and onto the walkways by delivering an ultra-strong and multifunctional FlexCore Guard Rail. The reinforced ground level rail is fitted with hidden hardware and offers an extra strong level of protection and the ability to deflect any intrusive forks in order to make sure that pedestrians are kept safe. It is great to see the company listening to their customers in order to manufacture safety solutions that are needed and effective. The FlexCore Guard Rail has been manufactured with a wide range of applications and can be combined with a range of McCue’s products in order to offer their customers an extensive safety solution across their entire facility. The new safety products that have been created by McCue will be showcased at the Health & Safety North Trade show between the 10th and the 11th October and at Manufacturing Management on the 22nd and 23rd of November.
On Thursday the 7th of September, there was a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the Cumbernauld Academy and Cumbernauld Theatre Campus. The sod cutting ceremony was led by the Deputy First Minister and the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, John Swinney MSP. This £37 million development project will be the third in a series of collaborations which has taken place between North Lanarkshire Council and hub South West Scotland. The partnership will be following on from their success at Greenfaulds High School and Clyde Valley Campus. The project has included a streamlined planning process through the use of tried and tested design principles. Mr. Swinney commented at the event that the construction work will provide a boost to the local economy as well as lead to more apprenticeship opportunities for young people in the construction industry. It is also great to see more progress on the project which will lead to the Cumbernauld Academy and the Cumbernauld Theatre Campus. The project will be an expansion of hub South West’s portfolio of work that has been carried out with North Lanarkshire Council. This project is the third large school development that will be created through this partnership and progress demonstrates the hard work of all of those working on the construction project so far. Increasing efficiencies have been seen across the south west of Scotland over the course of the last few years due to a more productive relationship being formed between hub South West and a range of Tier 1 contractors and local suppliers. This improved relationship has also led to work being carried out for the best value for money. The company, hub South West is a living age employer and also works to secure a participation from local businesses in their projects from at least 65% for all of their contracts.
Last week the University of Wolverhampton launched the first Demolition Management Master’s Degree. This course is the first of its kind on offer in the UK, and a local businessman is among the first people to sign up for the course. Richard Dolman works for the Nuneaton based company AR Demolition and has enrolled on to the course which will begin this month at the University’s School of Architecture and Built Environment. The Master’s Degree course has been accredited by the Institute of Demolition Engineers. The new Demolition Management course has been created with the assistance of industry experts and it is thought that the syllabus will be delivered to the students by academics and specialists in the demolition sector. The creation of this course has taken place after the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding by the University of Wolverhampton and the IDE. This Memorandum was signed in September last year and looked to introduce a range of new opportunities for both students and those already working in the industry. The demolition sector works of more than £8 billion worth of projects each year. The new qualification will hopefully attract more young people to this sector as well as making sure that current demolition engineers have access to the best opportunities for professional development possible. A number of central representatives from the industry and academics that are a part of the curriculum delivery team have attended a range of different planning meetings that have been held over the course of the last two years in order to design and create the new Master’s Degree in Demolition Management. The degree course is a great way to make the industry more professional. For Richard Dolman, getting a degree in his career subject was an interesting prospect, and could also appeal to those who were less interested in academics earlier in life. The degree course is another step towards plugging the skills gap present in the demolition industry at all points.
Mick George are diversifying and will be looking to offer vehicle purchasing and leasing services. Construction companies are not necessarily the first companies to look at when exploring the idea of purchasing or hiring vehicles. However, it is worth considering that companies in this industry are able to efficiently operate and maintain over and above 400-strong fleets in some cases. However, before making this move it is imperative that a construction company fully understand the market it is moving into, as well as have the foresight to carry out the move and have the knowledge to add to their service portfolio in order to move successfully. Mick George Ltd have done just that and made the leap into the commercial vehicle trade. In order to carry out this expansion the company have come to an agreement with one of their established vehicle suppliers, who shares the same vision and ethos as the construction company. Steve Howell is the part owner of Neva Consultants after generating a range of experience throughout his career, which began in Car Sales in 1981. At Neva, Steve pays a central role and has been directly involved in the turning over of up to 2,000 cars a year to a range of different satisfied clients. Steve has been working with Mick George for a number of years, especially with the Finance Director Jon Stump. After helping Jon source a BMW 323SE, Steve became involved in the supply of the Company Cars, Lorries, and Tipper Trucks in volume for the construction company. The car leasing market is stable and buoyant that the moment, and Mick George Ltd will be offering vehicles at a much reduced rate while removing the hassle of maintaining the vehicle and any risk of depreciating value. This plan will be attractive to customers and will offer the construction company an innovative way to stay ahead in this uncertain market while still complementing the core of their business services.
Scott, former bid director for the Group sales division at Capita, has a strong background in large-scale sales solutions. While at the five-billion-pound professional services organisation, Scott headed up the growth engine within Capita, and was responsible for securing new business contracts worth 50million pounds and above. Following a successful four years at Capita, Scott was headhunted by Servest, the leading integrated FM service provider, in a strategic move to upscale the business development and retention strategies, focussing on larger, complex opportunities. Scott, working closely with sales, operations and divisional managing directors will be involved in developing and implementing innovative solutions and streamlining processes, while enhancing Servest’s tailored offering to further meet and exceed client demand. “We are delighted to welcome Greg to the team,” said Andrew Sugars, Executive Director at Servest. “Greg’s arrival will enhance a more innovative, customer-centric and insight led approach. The experience that he brings to the team will no doubt be a contributing factor in our continued success.” Scott commented: “The opportunity presented to me by Servest was so compelling that I decided to make the jump. I’m excited about working with the teams to further develop how Servest goes to market and to introduce change that will help the growth and success of this organisation.” www.servest.co.uk