Hampshire-based R Collard Ltd has taken delivery of the first demolition specified Volvo EC750E to be sold in Great Britain. Managing director Robert Collard said that the choice of Volvo was mainly down to its availability for the start of the contract, but it has worked out well. “We were
Nottingham Trent University has unveiled their completed multi-million-pound science facility. The Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Center, or ISTeC, is facility that is located at the University’s Clifton campus and will offer state-of-the-art facilities for undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as other research scientists. The new two-storey building has been
The development of new and sustainable energy types which are increasingly being focused on as the availability of fossil fuels diminishes rapidly. Beele Engineering wants to make sure that they continue to play a vital role as a part of these markets. In the wind energy market, the company’s products
The groundworks and civil engineering company, M. Lambe Construction have announced that they will be strengthening their apprenticeship scheme. This improvement will be made with an investment by the company in Premier Training Centre. This training centre has been created in collaboration with Thoughts of Others, who is a respected
The groundworks and civil engineering company, M. Lambe Construction have announced that they will be strengthening their apprenticeship scheme. This improvement will be made with an investment by the company in Premier Training Centre. This training centre has been created in collaboration with Thoughts of Others, who is a respected
The Co-founder of SkyCiv, the structural design software provider, Sam Carigliano has been looking into the ways that Software as a Service, or SaaS, can be used to offer more. At the moment, although some people may not be familiar with the term SaaS, the software is used often. The
R G Carter, the region’s leading construction company has announced that they have opened their brand new engineering facility. The site is located in Attleborough and is the result of £14 million investment from the company. The creation of this new engineering facility will bring together its ground investigation, design,
Manchester City Council has announced that they have secured a grant for £2.87 million from the Government. The funding has been given to the council as a part of the Government’s national Heat Network Project, for work to be carried out on the Manchester Civic Quarter Heat Network. Manchester is
Newtecnic, the British based international building engineering firm has announced that they have been appointed by the main contractor, BACS Consortium in order to oversee the construction stage of the advanced facade envelope planned for the King Abdullah Financial District Metro hub located in Saudi Arabia. It is great news
Freeware is commonly used by a wide range of people in a professional and personal capacity. However, structural engineers are more often found to be distrusting of free structural engineering software. With a range of freeware options available, is it time to start trusting this solution? The computing world has
Hampshire-based R Collard Ltd has taken delivery of the first demolition specified Volvo EC750E to be sold in Great Britain. Managing director Robert Collard said that the choice of Volvo was mainly down to its availability for the start of the contract, but it has worked out well. “We were impressed with the specification and build quality of the EC750E when we went to Rotterdam to inspect the machine at Volvo’s European machine receiving centre,” he said. “And watching it go to work on its first day on site, I’m equally impressed with the machine’s performance and very satisfied with our purchasing decision.” Collard’s new machine is the prime demolition tool on a project in west London, dismantling four-storey buildings and multi-storey car parks on a 20-acre site. The machine has been specified with 7.7-metre boom, a 3.55-metre dipper arm and a Hills hydraulic hitch for fitting of a 4m³ heavy duty bucket and a range of demolition tools including a 7.5-tonne Verachtert shear. In order to operate a range of hydraulically powered attachments, the EC750E has been equipped with both hammer/shear lines and an X3 rotation circuit. The machine can be programmed with pre-set flows and pressures for the different attachments being used. The 7.5-tonne shear operates at 800 litres per minute and a working pressure of 350bar.
Nottingham Trent University has unveiled their completed multi-million-pound science facility. The Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Center, or ISTeC, is facility that is located at the University’s Clifton campus and will offer state-of-the-art facilities for undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as other research scientists. The new two-storey building has been designed to feature laboratories to be used for bioscience as well as computer science, mathematics, physics, chemistry, robotics, sport science and engineering. The newly built facility also has a specialist robot arena that can be used for the research of humanoid and other robots as well as testing suites for exercise, food and nutrition. The M&E consultancy company, Couch Perry Wilkes has been acting as the lead designer of this project while also working as the mechanical and electrical engineering design consultants. Maber architects was appointed to design the building. The Science and Technology Centre constructed at Nottingham Trent University has been constructed in order to help students improve their practical skills while also helping to improve their knowledge of the workplace while working to bring together STEM subjects, that can lead to collaboration and learning in these different disciplines encouraged. Nottingham Trent University have received £5 million in funding towards the costs of this building project from the Higher Education Funding Council for England. This funding has been granted in recognition of the importance of teaching and learning with in STEM subjects. These new facilities are an important development for the University’s school of Science and Technology as it will supply state of the art facilities to help with project based learning in order to help to excite and challenge students in order to better prepare them for jobs in science and technology. The newly constructed building has been officially opened by Dame Judith Hackitt DBE, the former chair of the UK Health and Safety Executive. Dame Judith is also the current chair of the Engineering Employers Federation.
The development of new and sustainable energy types which are increasingly being focused on as the availability of fossil fuels diminishes rapidly. Beele Engineering wants to make sure that they continue to play a vital role as a part of these markets. In the wind energy market, the company’s products have a variety of applications such as in offshore wind farms. The nuclear industry has also expressed an interest in the products and services on offer by Beele Engineering. A delegation of engineers from the TVO and Fortum nuclear power plants located in Finland and Tractebel in Belgium recently visited the Dutch engineering company in order to explore this avenue. The development of a successful nuclear workshop is a precursor to the creation of workshops and core sessions that are expected to be held in Sealing Valley, a location that is currently under construction. The Centre of Excellence being created will include space for knowledge transfer, research, development, testing, education and training all in one location in a campus style environment. One of the most recent workshops focused on applying the systems that have been developed by Beele Engineering to be used specifically in the nuclear industry. All of the tests that have been specified for these new services have been successfully carried out. Beele Engineering is already involved in the nuclear industry, and has been for a number of years. In 2009, the company managed to provide the Finnish-based nuclear power operator, Teollisuuden Voima Oyj with fire-resistant and watertight transit systems. The Aalten-based engineering business delivered products that were not only fire-resistant, but also resistant to gas and smoke and watertight. The safety features of the solution offered by Beele Engineering will help to prevent accidents such as the Fukushima plant in 2011. Beele Engineering also works for the improved safety of power plants around the world. The company delivers training and certifying for installers as well as refresher courses. The training takes place with the support of an independent institute like KIWA Nederland.
The groundworks and civil engineering company, M. Lambe Construction have announced that they will be strengthening their apprenticeship scheme. This improvement will be made with an investment by the company in Premier Training Centre. This training centre has been created in collaboration with Thoughts of Others, who is a respected provider of care and education services located in Birmingham. The training centre will allow for the specialist to develop their own bespoke training and apprenticeship programmes in order to offer young job seekers the practical experience that would be necessary and the skills required to pursue a full-time career in the construction industry. The Director of M. Lambe Construction, Michael Lambe said last year, The Department for Education estimated that around 9,000 people who are aged between 16-24 living in the West Midlands were not considered to be in any form of education, employment or training. Therefore it is vital for a wide range of successful businesses like M. Lambe Construction to provide opportunities to the younger generation with the opportunities to pursue a full-time career. The Birmingham-based business currently employs 32 apprentices and trainees that are working across the company, in various stages of education and development. 15 of these apprentices have joined the company in the last 12 months. The Apprentices at M. Lambe Construction offers ‘on the job training’ with an experienced mentor complimented by the practical theory in the classroom. Through this additional investment, the company has the opportunity to really develop a high quality programme that will be able to add value to their education while also being fully prepared to work on one of the groundworks and civil engineering center’s construction sites. Premier Training College is a vocational college and a Birmingham Adult Education Service subcontractor which has been set up in order to offer learners full time education and apprenticeship courses. It is seen as vital that more work is put into encouraging younger people to take a career in construction.
The groundworks and civil engineering company, M. Lambe Construction have announced that they will be strengthening their apprenticeship scheme. This improvement will be made with an investment by the company in Premier Training Centre. This training centre has been created in collaboration with Thoughts of Others, who is a respected provider of care and education services located in Birmingham. The training centre will allow for the specialist to develop their own bespoke training and apprenticeship programmes in order to offer young job seekers the practical experience that would be necessary and the skills required to pursue a full-time career in the construction industry. The Director of M. Lambe Construction, Michael Lambe said last year, The Department for Education estimated that around 9,000 people who are aged between 16-24 living in the West Midlands were not considered to be in any form of education, employment or training. Therefore it is vital for a wide range of successful businesses like M. Lambe Construction to provide opportunities to the younger generation with the opportunities to pursue a full-time career. The Birmingham-based business currently employs 32 apprentices and trainees that are working across the company, in various stages of education and development. 15 of these apprentices have joined the company in the last 12 months. The Apprentices at M. Lambe Construction offers ‘on the job training’ with an experienced mentor complimented by the practical theory in the classroom. Through this additional investment, the company has the opportunity to really develop a high quality programme that will be able to add value to their education while also being fully prepared to work on one of the groundworks and civil engineering center’s construction sites. Premier Training College is a vocational college and a Birmingham Adult Education Service subcontractor which has been set up in order to offer learners full time education and apprenticeship courses. It is seen as vital that more work is put into encouraging younger people to take a career in construction.
The Co-founder of SkyCiv, the structural design software provider, Sam Carigliano has been looking into the ways that Software as a Service, or SaaS, can be used to offer more. At the moment, although some people may not be familiar with the term SaaS, the software is used often. The concept offers a lot of benefits for the users including ongoing technical support. Since the global recession, which took place almost a decade ago now, there has been a significant change in the way that people purchase and consume products. For example, in the housing market the rising cost of houses has led to a significant increase in the amount of properties being rented. According to recent analysis that has come from the Pew Research Center there are currently more houses being rented in the US now than at any point since at least 1965. Renting is not a new concept but there has been a discernable shift to renting, lending and sharing goods instead of buying them. The shift to sharing products and services as opposed to owning them is now reflected in the software that is being used at the moment. The development and viability of cloud computing is a prime example of SaaS, where users pay subscription fees to use a program or a platform. This means that high quality software to individuals that would previously been unable to afford it. SkyCiv has been exploring a range of possible developments of SaaS for structural engineers. As a part of this the company’s entire suite of structural design and analysis software is cloud based. This allows the company’s specialists to view user projects and provide a more extensive troubleshooting and software problems. The cloud based operations also allow for more of a consultative support to be offered as well. With the development of the sharing economy and SaaS, it is vital that all users seek to make the most of their chosen subscriptions. For structural engineers the value of software comes from the professional consultation of specially trained experts available as well.
R G Carter, the region’s leading construction company has announced that they have opened their brand new engineering facility. The site is located in Attleborough and is the result of £14 million investment from the company. The creation of this new engineering facility will bring together its ground investigation, design, piling and civil engineering teams onto one site. R G Carter hope that the creation of this new site, and the combination of a wide range of different offerings under one roof will help to provide an enhanced service for both current and potential new clients. The progress has been seen as an exciting time for the construction company and will help them to bring their engineering companies together, while also having the opportunity to make the most of purpose-built facilities which will help employees to work more closely together in order to improve our services to R G Carter’s clients. The new laboratory is UKAS accredited and is known for being one of the best equipped facilities in East Anglia. The new site will offer the company a great foundation for them to develop their soil and materials testing capabilities. The creation of this new facility will help to provide the local community with extra jobs and will also look to engage with local schools by offering tours of their new site. This newly built site is an exceptional facility and home for the company and it is thought that the move to a much larger site with all the equipment available that they require, will allow R G Carter to deliver their best results and work more efficiently with each other. At the official opening ceremony of the new Attleborough facility there were demonstrations to showcase the equipment installed on site. The demonstrations included the 3D printing capabilities as well as ground investigation drilling, foundation pile auguring, plant maintenance and welding.
Manchester City Council has announced that they have secured a grant for £2.87 million from the Government. The funding has been given to the council as a part of the Government’s national Heat Network Project, for work to be carried out on the Manchester Civic Quarter Heat Network. Manchester is one of only nine local authorities that have managed to secure funding for these projects. The funding success that has recently been announced means that the city council will now be able to progress with the Civic Quarter Heat Project that is working to make changes and see significant carbon reductions over the course of the next three decades. Following the success of the grant application the council is expected to meet the remainder of the cost for the programme of investment. The Manchester Civic Quarter Heat Network project aims to become cost-neutral over the course of the scheme, with the possibility of revenue being created from this project that can be invested into more low-carbon, renewable initiatives. The scheme has been designed in order to offer the potential for expansion. As the network grows and customers involved with this scheme become connected there will be a higher level of capacity installed and the benefits of the programme can increase. Vital Energi is known for being one of the country’s best known providers of sustainable and renewable energy schemes. The company has been appointed as the preferred bidder in order to deliver the scheme, which will include the construction of a low-carbon energy centre and 2km district heating network. This network will include a number of well-known Manchester buildings including Manchester Town Hall and its extension, Manchester Central Convention Centre, the Central Library, Manchester Art Gallery, Bridgewater Hall and Heron House. Manchester City Council has announced that they are fully focused on improving air quality and environmental quality in order to improve the attractiveness of the city.
Newtecnic, the British based international building engineering firm has announced that they have been appointed by the main contractor, BACS Consortium in order to oversee the construction stage of the advanced facade envelope planned for the King Abdullah Financial District Metro hub located in Saudi Arabia. It is great news that a British building engineering firm has been selected to work on a prominent international project such as this one. The Metro hub in the King Abdullah Financial District, or KAFD has been designed by Zaha Hadid and includes an intricate facade that is intended to illustrate the patterns generated by desert winds. The facade of the building was design engineered by Newtecnic, the British company, in order to reduce the solar gain of the building as well as producing air currents that can be utilised to cool the building. Newtecnic’s building research team has had to develop new algorithms in order to achieve the desired performance level from the facade envelope. The KAFD has been planned in order to create the capacity to manage Riyadh’s expected 50% growth over the course of the next few years. The KAFD is a part of the new citywide transport system that has been planned and includes 6 metro lines as well as 85 different stations, and more than 100 miles of track. It is thought that work on this project will be completed in 2018. The facade was complex to design engineer. This complexity was created from the continuity of the KAFD’s self-supporting, 200-meter-long, high performance concrete composite walls and roof used on the building. New adjustable building components have been created in order to build this structure as well as fixing methods that needed to be invented and tested by technic specifically for this project. Newtecnic tested these components in partnership with the Engineering Department of Cambridge University.
Freeware is commonly used by a wide range of people in a professional and personal capacity. However, structural engineers are more often found to be distrusting of free structural engineering software. With a range of freeware options available, is it time to start trusting this solution? The computing world has a wide range of myths associated with it. Since the 1990s one of the most common claims that have been made is that the Mac and Linux systems are considered to be immune to malware and viruses; a complete myth that is very obviously not true, but based on the notion that these systems are more challenging for virus developers in the 1990s. Similar to this, there have been a range of misconceptions circulated about freeware that have historically dissuaded structural engineers from putting complete trust in the software when using it for their projects. This doubt and suspicion has remained even with the increase of free and open-source programs that have been made available by trusted developers and suppliers over the course of the past few years. One example of widely integrated freeware is Dropbox, used by a wide audience in order to place and store important documents in the cloud. Many Structural engineers also use this freeware service and this creates a contradiction for a range of businesses in this industry. Misconceptions around freeware is that the free structural analysis and design software lacks the quality assurance of paid for equivalents and that there will be a slower rate of roll out updates for new design regulations. However, these feelings to the outdated notion that freeware is developed by a single person as opposed to trained specialists, reputable companies and start-ups. With computing misconceptions still lingering from a misunderstanding of a historical situation, it is vital that Structural engineering companies understand and discover that freeware offering the same level of quality assurances and support as purchased software, and with the abundance of freeware available, now is a great time for engineers to trust professionally.
