The doom and gloom decrying that not enough companies within the field of construction has been lifted by the latest findings of a survey conducted by Tata Steel back in 2016, which reveals that of the firms that replied and accepted the survey, more than 80 per cent of them
Konstructa Hire, the construction site accommodation specialist and member of the Portakabin Group, has announced a £1.4 million investment programme to expand three of its hire centres. Established in 2006, Konstructa Hire is celebrating its 10th anniversary. The business has one of the newest construction hire fleets in the UK
The York Handmade Brick Company has completed its role in the building of a brand-new building for Highgate Junior School in North London. York Handmade, based at Alne, near Easingwold, supplied 150,000 bricks for Highgate Junior School in North London. The contract was worth £225,000. David Armitage, chairman of York
Leading insulation and interior building products distributor CCF is working closely with Celotex in partnership with local construction firm, Colmore Tang to help renovate the home of three year old cancer patient, Emily Cassidy, in the West Midlands. Emily’s house was in a dire state of disrepair and needed desperate
Leading procurement organisation, Scape Group is upping the value of its national construction framework from £5.5bn to a whopping £7bn, a boost which will see the body’s framework become the country’s most valuable procurement framework. The rise has been planned for a while; notice was published by Scape in the
Job Worth Doing, one of the UK’s leading energy efficient installers, have been awarded the highly coveted Which? Trusted Trader accreditation. The Which? Trusted Trader accreditation is a stamp of success for reputable traders and having passed their rigorous and highly selective assessment process, this reflects and reinforces Job Worth
BoSS is the leading access tower brand in the United Kingdom, providing comprehensive and versatile tower systems to domestic, commercial and industrial projects across the country. Whilst the majority of towers are straightforward builds up to 8m externally or 12m internally, therefore covered by product standard EN1004:2004, the team at
Specialist environmental contractor, McAuliffe, has strengthened its on-site dust control facilities with the purchase of a Generac DF7500 MPT Dustfighter dust suppression unit. The order was placed by managing director, John McAuliffe, with Generac’s dealer in dust suppression products, ACE Plant. McAuliffe has made the safe control of airborne contaminates
Buildbase has donated a range of timber from beautiful birch plywood to sturdy timber joists, providing a key feature for “A New House for London” designed by Arup, Carl Turner Architects and The Building Centre. As part of the London Design Festival 2015, a prefabricated, portable home has been constructed
The doom and gloom decrying that not enough companies within the field of construction has been lifted by the latest findings of a survey conducted by Tata Steel back in 2016, which reveals that of the firms that replied and accepted the survey, more than 80 per cent of them certified that they either were or would commit themselves to greater contributions to the ethics of sustainability. The tests and results gathered by Tata Steel over the course of a few months were completed by all manner and form of members in the building industry. This varied from planners and architects to development experts, who were required to respond to such subjects surrounding sustainable plans as diverse as ways of investing and educating businesses. As Barry Rust of Tata Steel intimates, the subject of a sustainable business is the hot topic and the primary objectives and goals of numerous building enterprises. Tata Steel itself has the good fortune and insight of being able to create materials that are approved by BES 6001 standards, but not every building company has the foresight to be this conscientious. Yet even those companies tested that did not yet have an appropriate action plan for a sustainable future still indicated in the survey that they would consider introducing sustainability into their plans. Other leaders in the building industry such as Rory Bergin of HTA Design LLP and John Hutton of BAM Nuttall both emphasized the need for concerns about sustainability to be consistently raised so that other issues such as those of eye and noise pollution could be explored and rectified as well. Much needs to be done to also ensure that the buildings maintain the levels of sustainability that they were initially built on, and a great deal of this clearly involves the use of all aspects of education to ensure that building contractors as well as clients are knowledgeable of the ways in which sustainability for all can progress further into the 21st Century.
Konstructa Hire, the construction site accommodation specialist and member of the Portakabin Group, has announced a £1.4 million investment programme to expand three of its hire centres. Established in 2006, Konstructa Hire is celebrating its 10th anniversary. The business has one of the newest construction hire fleets in the UK and has expanded from one to 10 hire centres in the last decade – from Glasgow in Scotland down to Hampshire in the south. It is now investing in three of its hire centres to increase capacity and meet the rising demand for its site accommodation buildings available for hire: The hire centre in Cobham is relocating to Borden in Hampshire which will treble capacity and increase production space from a single to a multi-bay area The Dunstable hire centre is moving to Aylesbury to double capacity The hire centre in Warrington is being expanded by an additional acre and benefiting from more workshop space for site accommodation maintenance. Plans are also in place to expand two further hire centres for the business in 2017. David Griffiths, Director and General Manager of Konstructa Hire, said, “We started the business from scratch 10 years ago to supply site accommodation of unrivalled quality to the construction industry, supported by outstanding service levels from our experienced teams based at our hire centre network across the UK.” “In that time, we have increased market share year-on-year and have continued to invest in the development of a range of building types and options which are specifically designed to meet the needs of the construction industry.” “We have increased our hire fleet by a third in the last three years and continue to add to our product range to meet demand from the UK’s leading national and regional building contractors and housebuilders.” “This latest investment in three of our hire centres will significantly increase our fleet storage space and production facilities to further improve lead times and customer service locally. We have ambitious plans to grow the business and our continued investment in our hire centre network is central to that.” Achievements in the 10 years since the Konstructa Hire business was launched by the Portakabin Group have included: A high level of repeat business – more than 75 per cent The development and launch of Konstructa Modular – multi-storey accommodation which features five new patents for advanced site safety to avoid working at height The launch of the UK’s first energy-saving site office building to have A-rated energy performance. The Konstructa fleet of eco site buildings is now larger than its standard range of buildings, illustrating how more contractors are looking to minimise energy consumption on construction sites The only site accommodation business to offer a pioneering Customer Charter and a week’s free hire if a project is not delivered on time Innovative new additions to the range of options have been developed since the launch of Konstructa Hire to meet the site requirements of building contractors and for ease of procurement, including boot washing units and smoking shelters Accreditation from safecontractor for the business’ commitment to achieving health and safety excellence. The range of construction buildings available from Konstructa Hire now includes single and multi-storey site accommodation; anti-vandal buildings for additional security; fire-rated buildings; and low energy site buildings. All the building types can be suited together to meet any construction site requirement – offices; canteens and mess rooms; toilets; shower, changing and drying rooms, and storage units. Konstructa Hire can also supply all furniture, staircases, and effluent tanks and the site accommodation can be branded to reflect a contractor’s corporate image.
The York Handmade Brick Company has completed its role in the building of a brand-new building for Highgate Junior School in North London. York Handmade, based at Alne, near Easingwold, supplied 150,000 bricks for Highgate Junior School in North London. The contract was worth £225,000. David Armitage, chairman of York Handmade, explained: “This was an absolutely fascinating commission, not least because the new Junior School building had to reflect its historic architectural context as well as being a first-class environment for learning. “The brand new 4,320 sq m building is for 350 pupils aged seven to 11 years. Features include teaching spaces and a main school hall to replace an old library and teaching block, which were demolished as part of the project. “The project also included extensive refurbishment and re-roofing works to Highgate Junior School’s Ingleholme Building, one of only a few remaining 19th century ‘villa’ houses in Highgate. Mr Armitage continued: “Whilst we will never forget our Yorkshire roots, and we continue to work extensively in the county, this commission underlines our growing presence in the capital. Recent London projects include the Shard, London Bridge Place, Highbury Stadium and Carmelite House on the Victoria Embankment.” Bob Hayes of architects Architype, which designed the new Junior School, commented: “The brickwork and stone were selected as the main cladding materials to reflect Highgate’s historic context. The York Handmade bricks give a wonderful texture and softness to the brickwork. “The same brick and stone specification has been used internally, in the common areas and the classrooms, both for their robust and tactile qualities and to create a cohesive theme through the external and internal elevational treatment. “York Handmade were able to manufacture 150,000 bricks and specials within the agreed timescales and within the agreed budget. The finished building reflects the quality of the bricks and the bricklaying and achieves the qualities that the challenging design and specification required.”
Leading insulation and interior building products distributor CCF is working closely with Celotex in partnership with local construction firm, Colmore Tang to help renovate the home of three year old cancer patient, Emily Cassidy, in the West Midlands. Emily’s house was in a dire state of disrepair and needed desperate attention in order to transform it into a safe and comfortable home for her whole family. As the interior structure of the building was in need of a complete makeover, CCF was approached by Colmore Tang to help jointly coordinate the efforts of all involved, in an attempt to upgrade the property. The scheme was initiated by Georgie Moseley, the founder of local charity, Help Harry Help Others. After a visit to Emily’s home, Georgie put a call out on Facebook to help her carry out the renovation work since the house had been left in a bad state by previous contractors, with wires hanging from the ceilings and a new-build extension that was deemed unsafe. Nick Whittaker, Framework Development Manager at CCF, commented: “We are always happy to get involved with such worthwhile causes like this one. Georgie Moseley has done a fantastic job in spearheading the renovation project and it’s been great to see local businesses working together to create such an impressive end result. We wish Emily a very speedy recovery.” The initiative received an overwhelming response from 40 firms, which meant that the work could be carried out while Emily and her family travelled to America, where she received life-saving proton beam therapy. CCF is one of the UK’s leading distributors of interior building products to the construction industry, supplying ceilings, dry lining, flooring, insulation, partitioning and fire protection materials. Our service and support, combined with a nationwide branch network and extensive fleet of vehicles ensure that the customer gets the materials they require, where and when they need them.
Leading procurement organisation, Scape Group is upping the value of its national construction framework from £5.5bn to a whopping £7bn, a boost which will see the body’s framework become the country’s most valuable procurement framework. The rise has been planned for a while; notice was published by Scape in the Official Journal of the European Community (OJEU) Scape. The organisation said that it has increased the value of its main procurement framework following feedback from clients, gathered during the many market consultation sessions it has held and continues to hold. Scape went on to say that the £1.5bn boost is indicative of growing demand amongst clients for effective, efficient project delivery, programme certainty and financial security. The framework is divided into five, according to geographical region and nature of works. It appears below: A greater number of lead contractors are expected to be awarded the new framework – unlike Scape’s previous procurement framework which was overwhelming dominated by big name contractor, Willmott Dixon. Bidding contractors will have the opportunity to bag up to two of the three regional lots or one of either Major Works UK or Principal Works (UK) thus providing them access to a greater variety of suppliers and service providers within the framework. As always, just one managing contractor take the helm, supported by a broad and all-encompassing local supply chain. Mark Robinson, Chief Executive of Scape Group, is hopeful about the potential of the new £7bn framework and firmly believes that it will match the changing expectations of contractors and clients alike. From public consultations, Mark also suggested that the increased value would enable public sector bodies, in particular, to continue regeneration works and meet demand for housing in a high quality, cost-effective and on time way. Mark Robinson added that the public’s recent decision to leave the EU would not affect the introduction of the new procurement framework and that “it is very much business as usual” for Scape. Successful bidders for the new framework are expected to be announced early next year. By May 2017, it is predicted to have fully fazed out the National Major Works framework that Scape currently offers.
Job Worth Doing, one of the UK’s leading energy efficient installers, have been awarded the highly coveted Which? Trusted Trader accreditation. The Which? Trusted Trader accreditation is a stamp of success for reputable traders and having passed their rigorous and highly selective assessment process, this reflects and reinforces Job Worth Doing’s reputation for providing reputable, energy efficient installation services to both the retail and commercial marketplace.
BoSS is the leading access tower brand in the United Kingdom, providing comprehensive and versatile tower systems to domestic, commercial and industrial projects across the country. Whilst the majority of towers are straightforward builds up to 8m externally or 12m internally, therefore covered by product standard EN1004:2004, the team at BoSS identified an opportunity to use the systems to replace the traditional tube and fitting scaffolds used on bigger projects, using EN1004 components but outside the scope of that standard. This led to the formation of BoSS TASKFORCE, the expert BoSS Hire & Assembly network of carefully selected supply and erect access tower hire companies. With founding members including Flow Access, STS & Tower Hire Services and Hi Point, this nationwide network of hire and assembly providers is capable of delivering more complex BoSS tower builds – known as prefabricated tower scaffold and covered by the new BS1139-6. For each project, an individual design with structural calculations and method statement is prepared, before the complex structures are assembled by operatives with the appropriate competence from the BoSS TASKFORCE network. This includes scheme designs for linked, large deck and cantilever structures and site specific designs. Case Study – A Shade Greener & Hi Point Scaffolding Hi Point, a Boss Taskforce member, is an independent specialist scaffolding contractor, operating throughout Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. According to MD, Chris Blantern, “the use of aluminium tower systems has grown, especially for light duty access. Boss is one of the best and most diverse access tower systems on the market and being a Boss Taskforce member means that we can offer our customers a bespoke and often more efficient service” The boom in renewable energy has seen great success for Hi Point’s customer, A Shade Greener, the market leaders in the free solar industry, with more than 50,000 installs in the UK. This rapidly growing business needed to work with partners they could rely on to deliver professional, innovative and efficient solutions to the vast array of different tower requirements that come with completing hundreds of home installations every week. Jason Carlton, BoSS Commercial &Product Manager at BoSS explains: “BoSS TASKFORCE members have access to our full technical resources – including custom drawings, user instructions and a structural analysis data sheet confirming technical calculations, load factors and all information required under the ‘2005 Working at Height Regulations’” “Working in partnership with HiPoint Scaffolding, we were able to focus on a safe, cost effective, modular construction solution for A Shade Greener that combines speed of assembly with minimal impact on working environment.” By using BoSS towers and the BoSS Taskforce’s expertise, HiPoint are able to erect towers that meet the required safety criteria at more than double the amount of houses each day, compared to traditional scaffolding. The towers are quicker to put up and easier to inspect, meaning that more than 400 properties each week are now having solar panels installed by the team. They also benefit each homeowner by taking up less room around the outside of each house and reducing the impact on valuable driveway space or parking access.
Specialist environmental contractor, McAuliffe, has strengthened its on-site dust control facilities with the purchase of a Generac DF7500 MPT Dustfighter dust suppression unit. The order was placed by managing director, John McAuliffe, with Generac’s dealer in dust suppression products, ACE Plant. McAuliffe has made the safe control of airborne contaminates a priority on all its sites where this type of pollution is evident and the DF7500 MPT is a significant component in reducing the risks of dust inhalation. The DF7500 MPT Dustfighter is a self-contained dust suppression unit, producing a fine mist of water through a series of high-pressure jets. The mist is propelled onto the site by a powerful fan, covering a wide area in just a few moments, rendering the area free from unhealthy and hazardous material. The unit is entirely self-contained, with an on board generating set and water tank, which alleviates the need for any additional or ancillary equipment – the DF7500 MPT Dustfighter arrives on site ready for instant operation. The DF7500 MPT is already in use on McAuliffe sites, protecting the health of construction workers, the general public and adjacent properties. Dust (in particular, silica dust from cement) is harmful to human health and McAuliffe is committed to using all practical measures to minimise it. The Dustfighter will also be used in conjunction with the recycling of aggregates, where crushers and screeners are operated. This supplements the existing suppression equipment on crushers. McAuliffe was particularly impressed with the portability and mobility of the DF7500 MPT – it can be swiftly moved on site to target specific risk areas depending on dust source, wind direction and location of sensitive receptors. It will also be used as part of remote asbestos cement removal. Commenting on this purchase, McAuliffe said: “There is no other product on the market which can match the full functionality and robustness of the product and it is now an essential part of McAuliffe’s environmental management on site.” DF7500 MPT Dustfighter is part of a range of dust suppression products manufactured by Milton Keynes based, Generac Mobile Products. Generac Mobile Products UK Limited is the new name for Tower Light (UK) Limited, a leading manufacturer of environmentally sustainable commercial lighting systems and dust suppression products. This new identity is to reflect its recent acquisition by the US Company, Generac Holdings Inc. The company supplies a range of environmentally biased equipment to the UK construction, events and utility markets. Milton Keynes based, ACE Plant, is the main Generac dealer in dust suppression products. They have been established for over 40 years and remain an independently owned company, offering a wide range of dust suppression and bunded fuel storage equipment for hire and sale in many specialist market sectors. These include; mineral extraction, waste management, demolition, events, civil engineering, airports, and general construction. The McAuliffe business is based in Wolverhampton and was founded in August 1970. In the mid-80s the company ventured into the reclamation and remediation of brownfield sites, working on a former landfill site in Solihull and the early Land Rover works in Birmingham. Four decades on and McAuliffe has become firmly established as one of the most dependable, proficient and fairly-priced names in the industry. It continues to be a family led firm, being managed by the second generation of McAuliffes.
Buildbase has donated a range of timber from beautiful birch plywood to sturdy timber joists, providing a key feature for “A New House for London” designed by Arup, Carl Turner Architects and The Building Centre. As part of the London Design Festival 2015, a prefabricated, portable home has been constructed to illustrate a fresh approach to the housing shortage. Built from two specially adapted shipping containers, the new prototype challenges land-use thinking; presenting a model for how under-utilised brownfield sites could be used to locate prefabricated, adaptable spaces, suitable for modern urban living. The cost of this new home is just 10% of the average London property. Buildbase worked with its supplier network, including BSW, Metsa Wood, L&G and Altripan, to meet a tight building schedule and donate a wide range of timber for use throughout the project, from studwork and roofing to cladding and interiors. Inside “A New House for London” birch plywood was incorporated to give a stunning effect throughout with use in kitchen and bathroom units, beds and tables. Outside landscaping called on softwood materials with decking supplied as well as timber for a vegetable patch, tool storage box and planters. Softwood was also used in the cladding along with Western Red Cedar slats. The timber donated was guaranteed sustainable with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification. It was supplied to meet the nearest specification to reduce time and workload on-site. Neil Woods, Category Director for Timber at Buildbase said: “Timber is a perfect material for affordable housing. Timber cladding is much more cost effective compared with alternative materials such as glass, metal or plastic. It’s also easily available and can be used throughout a build. In fact, the more you build with it, the more you capture embodied carbon within a building’s structure. The effect carbon has on our environment is hugely important and using timber can significantly reduce your building’s carbon footprint. With high thermal properties, timber is energy-efficient too, so the cost-savings continue once the house becomes a home.” Taylor Steel at Carl Turner Architects said: “A New House For London required a wide range of timber products for internal fit-out and cladding. We turned to Buildbase to supply everything from basic timber studwork to sheets of beautiful birch plywood. The main issue for us was sourcing timber of our exact specification, but we were able to work with Buildbase to overcome these initial concerns. We are particularly delighted with the outcome of the birch plywood interiors.” A New House for London is located outside The Building Centre and is supported by an exhibition that explains the innovations and demonstrates an alternative approach to development for the use of the shipping containers as a house. It is open to the public until Saturday 17th October 2015. http://www.buildingcentre.co.uk/anewhouse
