The Department for Social Development’s (DSD) Review of the Role and Regulation of the Private Rented Sector (PRS) will close on 5 February. So, the charity Electrical Safety First is urging interested stakeholders to respond, if they haven’t already done so. From 2014 to 2015, over two-thirds (67%) of accidental fires in Northern Ireland were linked to electricity, with some of the worst cases of landlord neglect relating to poor electrical safety. Northern Ireland’s PRS has expanded rapidly and now accounts for over 16% of all housing stock, with the percentage of households in the sector doubling in the last ten years. “We were extremely pleased that the DSD’s review includes questions around the issue of regular electrical safety checks,” explains Phil Buckle, director general of Electrical Safety First. “We believe this safeguard will not only protect private renters, but also their landlords, as it has been conservatively estimated that electricity causes £1 billion worth of damage to property in the UK. “We would urge all key stakeholders to respond to the review and help us ensure the safety of tenants and the protection of landlords’ property.” Electrical Safety First has been working with governments throughout the UK to develop legislation that will protect both landlords and tenants. It has called for mandatory, five yearly safety checks, by a registered electrician, of the electrical installation in all PRS properties – and any electrical appliance supplied with them. The Charity led a coalition of stakeholders to ensure regular electrical checks were included in last year’s Scottish Housing Act and it is hopeful that they will also be introduced in Wales via the new Renting Homes (Wales) Act, which has just received Royal Assent. Current regulations in Northern Ireland simply state that electrics in the PRS must be safe, but do not specify a regular safety review – unlike those governing gas, where an annual gas safety certificate is required.

JWD has partnered with Crystal Direct, a leading UK manufacturer of PVCU windows, doors and conservatories. The partnership provides JWD with access to Crystal’s unique and contracted routes to market, including the buying power of the NMBS, the National Merchant Buying Society, a centralised buying society for Independent Builders, Timber, Hardware, Plumbing and Heating Merchants, with over 1000 members and over 3000 national depots. Crystal is also the approved and contracted supplier to both the National Buying Group LLP and Fortis Merchants Ltd. These buying groups, themselves all members of the NMBS, represent approximately 600 outlets with combined revenues totalling £1.7b, coupling this with Crystal’s direct relationship with the two largest ‘regional’ merchants in the UK, who purchase independently of any buying society, genuinely provides unique access to the entire independent builders merchants sector of the UK   Via a further partner Crystal has NEW direct supply relationships with over 12,100 builders, as a result of Crystal products being embedded within this subscription estimating & specification software,  JWD have already completed several installation projects.   In addition, Crystal has recently been chosen to be the “voice of the merchant sector” – for PVCu products – within the BMBI report, a Builders Merchants Federation initiative, which in its early days is already influencing opinion and decision, aside from the platform and data this position delivers it also provides access -via common BMF membership –  to the national merchants – Travis Perkins, Jewson, Wolseley and Grafton Group, with whom supply (and installation) has already commenced.   Prior to the partnership, Crystal were able to provide the building trade with window, door and conservatory products, but unable to offer a survey or installation service. Thanks to JWD as their preferred partner, Crystal are now able to offer a full survey, supply and install service to all customers.   Through this new partnership, JWD are able to strengthen their position as the leading and preeminent installer of energy efficiency measures and services for trusted partners across all sectors and gain lucrative & potentially exclusive access to Crystal’s diverse routes to market.

Balfour Beatty has been fined £1m after a worker was killed by a crane while repairing a central reservation barrier. A team from Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering set out on 1st October 2012 to install temporary traffic management on a stretch of the A2 near Barham in Kent to repair barriers after a road accident had left them damaged. A truck-mounted loader crane was used in an improvised attempt to remove the footings of a post that had snapped off. There was no method statement. The crane slipped from the concrete footing, and swung back towards the barrier, hitting 37-year-old Larry Newman on the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Limited, of Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London, was fined a total of £1m at Canterbury Crown Court, and ordered to pay £14,977 in costs after pleading guilty to offences under Section 2(1) and Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. After the hearing, HSE inspector Andrew Cousins said: “This was an entirely preventable incident that could have been averted by simply creating and implementing a safe system of work. If a suitably sized excavator had been used to remove the footing mechanically it would have prevented this tragic loss of life completely. “Employers have a responsibility to create safe systems of work for hazardous activities that their workers may be undertaking. The workers should be trained in safe systems of working and adequately supervised. Safety needs to be proactively managed and not just left to chance.” Balfour Beatty has since been working with the Association of Lorry Loader Manufacturers & Importers (ALLMI) on loader crane safety issues. ALLMI represents the entire loader crane sector, including users, and works to promote their safe use.

IJM Construction Ltd is a local family run construction firm with over 20 years of experience in the building industry. We are a relatively young company that offer a wide range of bespoke construction services, from new builds and renovations to extensions and conversions. We are based in Halifax, West Yorkshire at the Tenterfields Business Park.   In June 2015 we moved into a new office with attached storage unit as the company was expanding. We put everything back into the business to build up our store of machines, tools, office equipment etc. and made internal renovations to suit our business needs, however, on Boxing day this all changed.   Everything we had worked so hard for and built up over the years, but in particular the last 6 months was gone! Washed away in the floods. The pure force of the water blasted a 80-foot hole through the wall of the Victorian Mill that has stood for more than 200 years, taking peoples lively hoods with it.   The destruction and devastation it caused to the whole site was un-imaginable as our video shows (see link below).   We were able to enter the building the following day once the river levels dropped and the sight before us was just carnage. The whole of our unit and office had been 5-6 feet under water. Machinery, timber, desks, shelving, everything, had swirled around to be left in a wet contaminated heap.   It is devastating seeing your business reduced to just the contents of a skip! We work so hard, not only to give our customers satisfaction on completion of their job but also to look after the lads who work hard for us. These guys are what makes IJM Construction the business it is, they rely on us to pay their wages and keep the work coming. It is this and the huge amount of support from family, friends even strangers that gives us the motivation to carry on and start again.   So what next for IJM? At present we have no office or unit and need to begin to re-build our stock and business equipment to get our business back up and running. Although without the equipment there is not much we can do, our lads are down on site helping out where they can and doing odd jobs for customers.   Despite the floods that have devastated the area on Boxing Day, we are now fighting back! Over 100 businesses have joined forces in ‪#‎CalderdaleRising – a crowdfunding campaign organised by Business for Calderdale. If you could share the news of this fantastically positive step, that would be fantastic. http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/calderdalerising   We will be back! #CalderdaleRising will help us do that. Our enthusiasm, experience and love of the job was not washed away – IJM Construction will not be beaten! https://www.facebook.com/andy.brown.1612/videos/vb.1212588884/10208854128129815/?type=3      

An Aberdeenshire painting and decorating firm has celebrated 132 years of combined service from seven of its employees who have shown commitment and enthusiasm over the years.   R Davidson Painters & Decorators, based in Banchory, Aberdeenshire, has awarded the long service staff, who have each worked for the company for at least 15 years, for their dedication and loyalty to the business.   Robert Bain, one of the long service awardees, has trumped the service time, having been with the company for 28 years. During this time, Mr Bain has witnessed various changes and successes within the business, including its move to larger premises to support staff growth, as well as its sizeable intake of apprentices over the years and how they have grown with the business.   Mr Bain said: “The past 28 years has flown in for me as I love my job and thoroughly enjoy working with everyone at the firm. R Davidson has gone from strength to strength throughout the years and I have been lucky enough to have not experienced any downturns or struggles in the company. I am grateful for the opportunities I have been given and I’m sure there are still a good few years left in me.”   Painter & decorator Austin Crawford shortly follows Robert Bain with 20 years under his belt. Barrie Gammack, Graham Burnett and Phil Clark have 17 years, and Ian Anderson and Stewart Morrison both have 15 years. Each dedicated worker was presented with a gift at the firm’s ceremony at the end of last year.   Managing director and owner of R Davidson Painters & Decorators, Trevor Mutch, said: “It really is an honour to have so many long service employees within the firm. This highlights not only their loyalty and dedication, but also the firm’s devotion to its staff. We have always had low staff turnover here and I believe this has helped substantially with the continued growth of the company. We have a strong secure management structure in place combined with highly skilled tradesmen, which enables us to carry out all our projects to the best of our ability and with a happy client at the end. I can’t thank these seven men enough for their help and hard work over the years.”   With a current headcount of 100, the decorating firm, which specialises in delivering bespoke painting, decorating and ames taping services for the private domestic and commercial markets, has a range of major commercial clients in the North-east and has worked on some of Aberdeen’s most prestigious developments, including the renovation of the city’s Marischal College.   For more information about R Davidson Painters & Decorators, please visit www.rdbanchory.co.uk, or call 01330 824877.

GUS Robinson Developments Ltd is celebrating its 40th birthday with some early contract wins for 2016. Deals worth in excess of £13m have already been secured for 2016/17, and Managing Director Steve Bell says the firm is well positioned going into the final quarter of this current financial year. Now into its fifth decade, Gus Robinson Developments Ltd has been boosted by a streamlining of the business which has seen a strong focus on housebuilding over the last two years. Mr Bell added: “We have concentrated a great deal on housebuilding, and that is the key reason behind the positivity in the most recent set of results. “We are currently working on the new Centre for Independent Living in partnership with Hartlepool Borough Council, as well as major refurbishment work within Middleton Grange Shopping Centre and a number of good quality housing projects across the North East. “They underline our capabilities working with local authorities and other public sector clients, as we strive to expand our order book by developing new relationships with both public and private partners. “The backbone of our strong contracts in housebuilding has enabled us to broaden our horizons and be more profitable, and by shifting the focus we have strengthened the business across the board. The aim is to capitalise on our broad experience within all sectors.” Ongoing projects currently being worked on throughout the region by Gus Robinson Developments Ltd with Prince Bishop Homes, ISOS Housing Development, North Star Housing and Thirteen Group have seen continued growth over the last two years and leave the business well positioned going into the next financial year. He continued: “We have guaranteed contracts in the order book which suggest that by the end of March 2017 we could be approaching a turnover in excess of £20m. “The latest figures are slightly up on what we anticipated, everything is extremely positive and the mood is buoyant.” The success of the business over the last calendar year was reflected in the fact it was shortlisted for the fourth consecutive year by ‘Construction Excellence in the North East’ in their SME of the Year category, and reaccredited with a Big Tick in the ‘Business In The Community’ Responsible Business Awards. It also won the national Business in the Community Award 2015 at the British Chamber of Commerce Awards held in London; additionally Chairman Daniel Robinson was named as the Institute of Directors’ UK SME Director of the Year.