Construction-related companies across Scotland are being hit by a double whammy of rising costs and late payment, according to an influential new business survey which tracks quarterly activity and trends. On the issue of payment, respondents to the survey confirmed that just under half of all payments from public sector bodies were made within 30 days. But by contrast, only 30% of payments from commercial clients were made within 30 days with the rest taking up to 89 days to settle their accounts. The survey was carried out on behalf of the Electrical Contractors Association, the Building Engineering Services Association, Scottish electrical trade body SELECT and the Scottish and Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers’ Federation. It also showed that the costs faced by companies shot up in the second quarter of the year, reflecting ongoing political uncertainty and wider international commodity ramifications. More than 70% of respondents said that material costs were higher than at the start of the year whilst 29.51% said that the cost of being tendered to had risen. Other Scottish Government initiatives to improve payment were having little overall impact with just over 10% of respondents saying that their organisations’ projects used Project Bank Accounts (PBAs). Darrell Matthews, who took over as Managing Director of SELECT earlier this year, said: “The construction sector is currently in a good place in Scotland, but this masks some bad practice in the industry, as this survey highlights. “Whilst it’s good to see some public sector clients’ efforts on fair payment policy heading in the right direction, it is vital to ensure that SMEs, the lifeblood of the Scottish economy, are paid on time. “It is also a tribute to the resilience of both small and large employers that they are generally more optimistic about future work despite rising costs and recurring late payment issues. “The Scottish Government could do more to assist SMEs by enforcing their own powers under the Procurement Act to make sure payments are made on time right down the contractual chain. Changes to the levels at which PBAs are introduced would also help in speeding up payment”. SELECT’s 1250 member companies account for around 90% of all electrical installation work carried out in Scotland. They have a collective turnover of around £1 billion. The organisation helps to shape the market environment by representing the industry to all levels of government and helps influence legislation to create industry conditions which enable member firms to provide a quality service and maintain profitability. For more information please contact Alan Wilson, Head of Membership and Communications at SELECT, the Electrical Contractors’ Association of Scotland, The Walled Garden, Bush Estate, Midlothian, EH26 0SB. T:  0131 445 5577. E: admin@select.org.uk. W: www.select.org.uk Twitter: http://twitter.com/updates_select

SELECT, the campaigning body for the electro-technical trade in Scotland, has been updating its members on key points from the newly launched 18th Edition of the IET Wiring Regulations. SELECT’s Technical Standards Adviser, Bob Cairney, prepared the guide which is available in an on-line format to assist members to understand the changes contained in these important regulations. The guide will also feature in the next issue of SELECT’s CableTalk magazine. Bob said: “BS: 7671:2018 (The 18th Edition of the IET Wiring Regulations) contains a number of significant changes which reflect industry best practice. “We have recently been out on the road to highlight the changes during our recent very successful Scotland-wide Toolbox Talks. These were held a few weeks ago and the presentations were well received by the members who attended”. A central theme of the regulations concerns improvements to the level of safety provided in new electrical installations and in particular with regard to fire safety. The 18th Edition introduces new devices called arc fault detection devices (AFDD) and these, where installed can provide an additional level of electrical safety from faults which other protective devices cannot detect specifically arcing faults. These are expected to be widely adopted by the industry. There is also new guidance on types of RCD and arrangement of devices to achieve selectivity between protective devices. Also of interest is informative guidance on energy efficiency. Darrell Mathews, Managing Director of SELECT, said: “These regulations incorporate the latest in technological developments across our sector and, while they do not come into force until 1 January 2019, we want SELECT members, as ever, to be in pole position.”

The AGM of SELECT, the campaigning trade body for the electrotechnical industry in Scotland, has reported another year of successful awareness raising, outreach and training initiatives. Kevin Griffin was re-elected as President of SELECT and Kenny Duncan was re-elected as Vice President at the meeting and Technical Update, which was held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Edinburgh in Inverkeithing, Fife. Moreover, the AGM also welcomed Darrell Matthews as the organisation’s new managing director and wished outgoing MD Newell McGuiness, who has served for 29 years, every happiness in his retirement. The technical main topic over the course of the year had been working on the 18th edition of BS 7671, on which many hundreds of hours had been spent to ensure amendments would be practical and would meet international standards. “For the third successive year, SELECT delivered awareness training to all local authority verifiers.  This year we travelled to eight locations around Scotland delivering updates on BS 7671 and BS 5839. These events are an important part of maintaining our relationship with local authority building standards staff, which helps us represent members’ interests around the Certification of Construction Scheme,” said Mr Griffin. A strong year was also recorded at SELECT’s Toolbox Talks, where 12 events in 2017 had a record number of attendees. More than 650 members had come to hear about updates to the Scottish Building Standards and Surge Protective devices, a presentation which now features on YouTube. Training played another important role with a 5% increase in demand for SELECT training courses. Over the year SELECT trained 2871 delegates (2044 delegates from member businesses and the rest from non-member organisations) across 267 different courses. SELECT’s 1250 member companies account for around 90% of all electrical installation work carried out in Scotland. They have a collective turnover of around £1 billion and provide employment for 15,000 people.

Boulting Ltd, Warrington-based engineering solutions provider, has promoted human resources (HR) manager, Michelle Stott, to the position of HR director. With over 20 years HR experience, Stott will take up the role to reinforce the organisation’s commitment to its staff across the country. “Boulting Ltd is committed to its employees,” said Josh Groake, deputy managing director at Boulting. “By promoting Michelle into the role of HR director, she will lead a dedicated human resources team that will work to support and guide our staff across the UK and beyond. Michelle will provide a wealth of knowledge and experience to our directorial board and some of the ideas and plans she has moving forward will continue to set Boulting apart as a dedicated and valuable employer.” Michelle joined Boulting Ltd in 2013 as HR and resourcing manager, supporting the organisation with employee relations and ongoing recruitment requirements. She is Charted Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) qualified and also holds numerous employee management accreditations, including Myers & Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and 16 personality factors (16pf). “In the five years that I have worked for Boulting, I have always been impressed with the future prospects of not only the company, but the organisation’s employee skills set too,” said Michelle Stott. “As HR director I will look to reaffirm the company’s people management processes as well as solidify new schemes, such as a formal mentorship programme and increased school liaison work.” “Government studies report that the engineering sector is facing a skills crisis like never before,” she continued. “The industry needs around 186,000 skilled recruits each year, until 2024, to help bridge the gap. At Boulting we understand the need to develop our current staff as well as consider new ways to tackle the skills gap and improve diversity across the engineering sector as a whole.” “Our dedication to our employees continuous p95rofessional development (CPD) and our ongoing apprenticeship scheme is just the starting point of our investment in engineering careers and the evolving industry in which we work,” Stott concluded.

A Scottish Government consultation paper on Landlord Registration has received a response from SELECT, the campaigning body for the electrotechnical trade in Scotland. The association has called for more stringent controls over the vital electrical inspection and testing performed by private landlords prior to registration. “Private landlord registration has been mandatory since 2004 and a robust application process is critical to keep the people of Scotland safe in privately rented accommodation,” said Darrell Matthews, Managing Director of SELECT. “Our members operate to the highest standards of electrical installation and testing and firmly believe that the government should hold private landlords to the same exacting standards.” The consultation proposes to expand the “prescribed information” that landlords have to provide when letting a property. The proposal, as worded in the consultation, is that landlords provide information that “a property meets the specific requirements relating to gas, electrical, and carbon monoxide safety.” SELECT’s response is that landlords should be required to submit written evidence that they have has electrical inspection and testing undertaken and that fire, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are fitted and operational. “The current Prescribed Information makes no requirement on the landlord to declare the safety of the property being rented, so any change to this is a welcome improvement,” said Darrell Matthews. “We believe that this is an excellent opportunity for the Scottish Government to put the safety of renters foremost, and ensure that properties being rented by private landlords have electrical installations of the highest standard.” SELECT, Scotland’s largest trade association, has over 1250 member companies who collective turnover is around £1 billion and provide employment for 15,000 people. Its member companies also account for over 90% of all electrical installation work carried out in Scotland.

“ECA Industry Awards recognise key achievements of the highest talent in the electrotechnical and engineering services, providing a great opportunity to showcase some exceptional work.” That was the Electrical Contractors’ Association’s message to entrants for its 2018 awards. Winner of the £5m-£20 million turnover category was W Portsmouth & Co Ltd, the London and Bedford-based company that is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. The Awards, held this year on Friday 8th June at the London Hilton Bankside Hotel, recognise ECA member companies who have demonstrated the highest standards in their respective categories over the previous 12 months. W Portsmouth’s Managing Director Dave Norsworthy said that after 60 years, it was about time to show that taking a long-term perspective on business paid dividends. “We were asked what was our ‘star quality’ – what it was that set us apart from the competition”, he said. “Our answer was ‘being authentic to our vision’. That is what has sustained us: from our first registration as a company in 1958, to where we are today. Our vision is quite simple: always to maintain good relationships with our customers and suppliers – and deliver what we say we will deliver, when we say and to the highest quality.” Just being in business for years was not in itself a guarantee of success, though, he added. “We constantly explore new markets and evolve our methods of working; seeking sustained year-on-year growth, but with security and stability. We choose our clients with care; and we care for our workforce too, to ensure they have continuity and security of employment.” This approach has brought continued contract success, said Dave. Client contracts cited in evidence ranged from MBDA, a world-leader in missile systems and a customer for over 50 years; to University College London – a customer for over 30 years; and the NHS, the biggest project of which was Chase Farm Hospital, designed to be “the newest, most digitally-advanced hospital in the NHS”. Commercial Director Adam Harlow hailed this project as an example of how “Innovation has been key to our success”, referring to: W Portsmouth & Co.’s intimate involvement in designing the largest Barn Theatre in the UK its installation of the first Laminar Flow operating light of its kind in the UK the first full-installation in any UK hospital of the award-winning ASCOM MYCO Nurse-Call System: providing mobile handsets to all staff for full patient monitoring. ECA Group London Regional Manager Malcolm Conby praised W Portsmouth’s achievement, saying: “They have an impressive range of loyal customers, an enviable health & safety record and an outstanding record of longevity; but are right up-to-the-minute in their working methods and techniques – and they place collaborative working at the heart of their approach to business. Their success in this year’s award is a very well-deserved tribute.” The attached picture shows the delighted team receiving their award.