Snorkel, the global manufacturer of aerial work platforms, is pleased to announce that effective 1st September 2015, all new Snorkel boom lifts with platform heights of 40-feet (12.1m) and above, will be fitted with Snorkel Guard™ as standard. Unveiled at The Rental Show 2015, Snorkel Guard™ is the company’s secondary guarding solution. Designed in-house by Snorkel’s engineering team, the simple, mechanical system features a spring-loaded rail that sits above the upper control panel which cuts out machine operations when compressed, for example, in the case of the operator being involuntarily pushed against the controls. The operator can override Snorkel Guard™ using a switch in the platform, in the event that the system is activated in error. Additionally, when Snorkel Guard™ is activated, the lift can be operated from the lower control panel. Snorkel Guard™ has undergone extensive field-testing and has already received high praise from a major global contractor, who favors the simplicity of Snorkel’s design over other more complex systems on the market. Matthew Elvin, Snorkel CEO, said “Snorkel Guard™ is a robust and simple design which does not add any complexity to the lift, yet offers an additional level of protection for the operator. Operator safety is paramount, which is why we have rolled out the system as a standard feature globally, as well as offering it as a retrofit solution.” All new-build Snorkel boom lifts with platform heights of 40-feet (12.1m) and above will be fitted with Snorkel Guard™ as standard from 1st September 2015. In addition, the Snorkel Guard™ system can be easily retrofitted to most Snorkel booms in the field. Available globally, the retrofit kit can be ordered via Snorkel Customer Services or official Snorkel distributors. For regional contact details, visit www.snorkellifts.com.

The British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) acknowledges that cuts in government departmental spending are necessary to bring public finances back into surplus by 2019/20. What is of concern, however, is that the progress made to date by the landscaping and horticulture industry with Defra and the DCLG could be compromised as a result of the agreed 30 per cent cuts. BALI and other industry bodies are working in a collaborative manner with government departments through the All Party Parliamentary Gardening and Horticulture Group (APPGHG) on a number of key issues affecting our industry, including the chronic skills shortage, the implementation of the National Living Wage, and local authority contracts. Making savings in genuine back office areas is a positive step, assuming that valuable contacts made by the industry within these departments are not lost. This would mean that we struggle to obtain the level of support and recognition we need from government to ensure that landscaping and horticulture is kept at the top of the green infrastructure agenda. It is unclear from the Chancellor’s speech where precisely major cuts to spending will be made and how this will affect us. BALI hopes that his mention of focusing on ‘green jobs’ to grow the economy includes not only ‘green technologies’ but also the landscaping and horticulture industry, which does so much to deliver a sustainable and ‘green’ environment.

Family owned Heming Group, which has been trading for nearly 50 years from its Cotswolds base, has announced an expansion drive with a move into plumbing services and the creation of new jobs. The company in Willersey, near Broadway, has launched a domestic plumbing division in Major Building Services, one of four companies in the group. As well as Major Building Services, Heming Group comprises Heming Civil Engineering and Construction Contractors, Ford Electrical and Heming Agricultural and Plant Engineers. Heming Group, which has over 40 employees, has diversified into plumbing in response to a surge in demand for the service from new and existing clients. The company is also creating five new jobs for a plumber, project manager, administration assistant, estimator and air conditioning and refrigeration engineer. Peter Heming, Managing Director of Heming Group, which operates throughout the Midlands and Cotswolds, said: “We have a really hardworking and dedicated team and by recruiting new staff and adding our new domestic plumbing service we are building even firmer foundations for the future. “One of the trades we get asked about most is plumbing.  A lot of our customers will already know that for many years we have been responding to emergency situations involving private and mains water supplies. We are delighted to introduce plumbing services as another string to our bow.” www.heming-services.co.uk  

Leicester-based Jackpad has completed a series of prestigious contracts, including foundations for office units at Severn Trent Water’s Netheridge plant and at Willmott Dixon’s latest student flat building project  in Brighton. The company’s portable foundations are suitable for single, two and treble storey modular buildings and are growing in popularity due to their excellent environmental credentials.  Exhibiting at the Offsite Construction Show last month, Jackpad was delighted with the response from new potential customers.  Managing Director Kris Cartwright said: “We know how well the Jackpad system performs in practice, it’s just a case of ensuring that key customers know about us.  We’re finding that some projects that otherwise would not get past the feasibility stage discover that Jackpad is the solution that makes the difference. A recently completed project for Costain at Severn Trent’s Netheridge Treatment Works is a good example of where the Jackpad system made an otherwise difficult project quite straightforward.   Lloyd Maddon of Costain Natural Resources Division said: “We found the Jackpad system a really safe and efficient alternative to the traditional option of installing concrete pads to support temporary cabins/office units.  The system was easy to install, flexible and offered flexibility to the installation process.  It also mitigated the health and safety hazards (manual handling/Coshh) associated with the alternative concrete solution.  I would not hesitate to recommend it.” Willmott Dixon chose Jackpad for a block of flats in Brighton where it required site offices to be in place for a 52 week period.  “This comment from Kevin Moon, Senior Build Manager of Willmott Dixon Housing Limited (London and Southern Counties) outlines how operational improvements have been demonstrated: “Just to confirm that I was very pleased with the Jackpad installation all carried out in under one working day.  Before becoming aware of the Jackpad system we had planned a concrete slab solution to place the cabins on.  This has saved a large amount of work to install the slab and remove it when we leave site, and also our Environmental KPI’s will reflect a far more environmentally friendly solution.  Thanks for a job well done.” For more information about Jackpad visit www.jackpad.co.uk

‘Most Considerate Company 2015’ awarded to:  A-one+ Area 12; Devon Medical Turnkey Solutions; T. A. D. Builders; and Yarlington Property Management.      The Considerate Constructors Scheme – the national scheme established by the construction industry to improve its image – has awarded the top accolade of ‘Most Considerate Company 2015’ to four companies at the National Company Awards 2015. Award winners faced stiff competition with only the highest performing companies receiving an award this year; 20 Gold, 29 Silver and 46 Bronze Awards were presented. From the Gold Award winners, a shortlist was produced of the very highest performers and four companies received the top accolade of Most Considerate Company while seven other companies that were considered for this award were presented with the title of Most Considerate Company Runner-up. The awards recognise companies that have registered with the Scheme and have demonstrated exceptional and ongoing commitment to considerate construction and an appreciation of the impact of their work on the community, the environment and their workforce. For the first time ‘value bands’ were introduced to enable companies to be assessed based on their turnover; >£10m; £3.5m-£10m; £250k-£3.5m; <£250k. A-one+ Area 12 (>£10m), Devon Medical Turnkey Solutions (<£250k), T. A. D. Builders (£3.5m-£10m), and Yarlington Property Management (£250k-£3.5m) each received this ‘best of the best’ Most Considerate Company 2015 Award, for their outstanding achievements in exceeding the requirements of the Scheme’s Code of Considerate Practice. A-one+ Area 12 provide construction services to Highways England across East Midlands, Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire and the North East. The company are trailblazers in safety, and were praised by the Scheme for their award-wining ‘No Strikes Safety Training Initiative’ to prevent HGV collisions with motorway maintenance vehicles, which has been replicated throughout the construction and road haulage industries. Clevedon-based Devon Medical Turnkey Solutions specialises in the construction and refurbishment of vital medical imaging facilities. The Scheme was particularly impressed with the professionalism and commitment to best practice, with systems and procedures more typically associated with the larger enterprise. T.A.D. Builders Ltd, based in Carmarthenshire, specialises in construction and maintenance contracts for local authorities and housing associations. The Scheme was particularly pleased with their level of community involvement, including meals-on-wheels to local residents and in hosting charity dinners – the proceeds from which have been used to build a new mill and a maternity ward in Uganda. From its base in Yeovil, Somerset, Yarlington Property Management provides a repair and management service for a leading housing provider. The Scheme praised the company’s truly people-orientated approach which is firmly committed to serving its community and workforce – an exceptional example of construction at its most considerate. Considerate Constructors Scheme Chief Executive Edward Hardy commented: “The Scheme is delighted to recognise the great achievements that the 2015 National Company Award winners have made. Over 600 companies register with the Scheme every year and this year’s competition to win an award was tougher than ever – with companies increasing their standards and performance to the next level. With such high demand for construction activity across the UK, it’s paramount that the industry works collaboratively and continues to raise standards.” Click here to find out each of the winners: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Runner-Up to the Most Considerate Company Award. Go to Twitter @CCScheme #ccsawards and the Scheme’s LinkedIn company page to see more from the awards ceremonies.  

A workshop at the Open Urban Day on 14th October – part of the 13th European Week of Regions and Cities, held from 12th-15th October in Brussels – discussed and promoted the benefits of incorporating green infrastructure in city planning. The workshop, entitled ‘Green Infrastructure – revitalizes cities and boosts sustainable territorial development’, was attended by over one hundred practitioners, experts and city representatives from across Europe, together with EU parliamentarians and EC commissioners. Neil Huck, Technical Director of the British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI), spoke on behalf of the European Landscape Contractors Association (ELCA) in his role as ELCA Vice President. He used his knowledge and experience of the UK’s approach to incorporating green infrastructure in urban planning to inform and illustrate his presentation. Addressing delegates at the KBC conference centre in the regenerated former industrial Canal Area of Brussels, Neil Huck explained that ELCA represents some 80,000 small and medium sized businesses operating in the landscape gardening sector across Europe. The sector currently generates an annual turnover of Euros 30 billion. ELCA has 23 European national associations as members, including BALI (representing the UK), and a further five partner associations from outside of Europe. It works tirelessly to ensure that EU legislation affecting the natural environment in which its member companies in the landscape gardening sector operate, is well thought through, practical and can be readily implemented. Continuing with the theme of the workshop, Neil Huck said that despite UN predictions that urban populations are likely to increase by 75 per cent by 2050, urban green spaces remain a relatively low priority for political decision makers. He argued that ‘green cities’ can only be considered truly ‘green’ if, in addition to incorporating ‘green’ technologies such as solar cells and electric cars, they offer a high percentage of accessible green space in the form of parks, sports grounds, playgrounds and leisure facilities to mitigate the effects of CO2 emissions and climate change. These green spaces will also benefit the health and wellbeing of those people living and working in cities and encourage flora and fauna to establish and thrive. As cities become more densely populated and green spaces are lost to the built environment, CO2 emissions are causing extreme weather events. Long, hot, dry periods of weather negatively affect those people who work and live in cities and they drain global energy resources. Heavy rainfall, storms and, in some parts of Europe, hurricanes, cause urban flooding. This can present a danger to life and damage urban economies. Neil Huck argued that investment in the construction, development and maintenance of quality urban green spaces will pay dividends by reducing particulate pollution, combating the urban heat island effect, reducing damage caused by flooding, improving climatic conditions in buildings, and improving air quality. With the case argued for incorporating green infrastructure in cities, Neil Huck asked politicians, when they are considering sustainable job creation and the ‘green economy’, to include the many landscape gardening businesses across Europe that create and maintain urban green spaces. An investment of Euro 1 billion in green infrastructure would, he argued, deliver 13,000-15,000 landscape gardening jobs and this should be considered alongside the contribution of businesses delivering low carbon technologies. Neil Huck then cited the European Commission’s recent midterm revision of its biodiversity strategy, which indicated that more work needs to be done to reach its 2020 targets. He said that ELCA strongly supported the strategy and that increasing the amount of green space in cities would make a major contribution to helping the Commission reach those targets. He also expressed ELCA’s commitment to contribute to European policy making by communicating the benefits of green infrastructure to decision makers at a European and national level at every opportunity. Through its ‘Green City’ initiative, established in 2002, ELCA has been instrumental in demonstrating how living conditions in cities can be improved by the inclusion of more public and private green space. Individual countries have subsequently adopted the initiative under their own titles. In bringing his presentation to a close, Neil Huck invited countries not currently signed up to the ‘Green City’ initiative to join and strengthen the cause for more green spaces in cities across Europe and the world.

NASC Member Interserve Industrial Services Ltd have received the prestigious ‘Sword of Honour’ from the British Safety Council – for the second time – for safe working practices in the industrial services sector. Interserve was one of 61 organisations worldwide recently achieving the coveted accolade “for demonstrating excellence in the management of health and safety risks at work.” In order to compete for the ‘Sword of Honour’ an organisation first has to achieve the maximum five stars in the British Safety Council’s health and safety management audit scheme (in the period August 2014 – July 2015). In addition, they have to demonstrate to an independent panel of experts that they are “excellent in their health and safety management” throughout the entire business. Guy Bruce,Managing Directorfor Interserve Infrastructure and Industrial said: “Health and safety is our number one priority at Interserve and we drive continuous improvement through dedicated campaigns to change attitudes towards safety. This however has to be underpinned by strong and robust safety management systems. “To receive the prestigious ‘Sword of Honour’ award for the second year in a row shows that this approach is at the heart of our business. It is testament to the dedication of our teams, as well as to our continued commitment to enhancing our safety culture across Interserve.” Mike Robinson, Chief Executive of the British Safety Council, said: “Our warmest congratulations to 61 of our member organisations who have been awarded the ‘Sword of Honour.’ These awards recognise and celebrate the excellence of the winning organisations and their employees in managing health, safety and environmental risks. “All of the Sword and Globe winning organisations share a commitment and resolve to achieving the highest standards of health, safety and/or environmental management. We are delighted that they are partners in helping achieve our vision that no one should be injured or made ill at work.” Robin James, NASC Managing Director added: “Prestigious awards like this perfectly promote and demonstrate how the NASC’s high safety standards and constantly evolving safety and technical guidance are incorporated into our members’ businesses and daily operations – helping to make a potentially hazardous working environment as safe as possible. Well done to Interserve for this fine double ‘Sword of Honour’ achievement.” For details about becoming an NASC member and to find out more about SG4;15, TG20:13 and the NASC – the UK scaffolding industry trade body – please visit www.nasc.org.uk or email: enquiries@nasc.org.uk. And for more details on CISRS training, including a list of current providers, please visit: www.cisrs.org.uk

The Considerate Constructors Scheme – the national scheme established by the construction industry to improve its image – is getting ready to reveal the UK’s top performing registered companies of 2015. The Scheme, which registers around 600 companies every year, will be hosting the National Company Awards on 5th and 6th November, at the prestigious Plaisterers’ Hall in London. Only the very highest performing registered companies are considered for the awards. Simon Carr, Chair of the National Federation of Builders, and Peter Hansford, Government Chief Construction Advisor will be announcing whether each winning company has received a Bronze, Silver or Gold Award for their achievements. There will also be Runner-up Awards and winners for the ‘best of the best’ ‘Most Considerate Company’ Awards. Due to the popularity of companies registering with the Scheme, “value bands” have been introduced to enable companies to be assessed based on their turnover. Considerate Constructors Scheme Chief Executive Edward Hardy commented: “Every year, registered companies raise the bar to improve the image of construction even further. This year, we have seen the introduction of a large number of new innovative initiatives by companies – striving for even better performance throughout the industry. The National Company Awards are an essential part of recognising these outstanding achievements.” Companies registered with the Scheme voluntarily agree to abide by its Code of Considerate Practice. Any company of any size can register, including trade contractors and those who work within the supply chain. Companies with a turnover of more than £3.5m and managing sites with a duration of over six weeks need to register separately under the Scheme’s Site Registration. Follow the awards on Twitter at @CCScheme #ccsawards