It’s no denying that political and financial leaders have been searching for ways to strengthen the economy, and we’re not surprised to see that a recent venture in the Highlands is soon to make headlines internationally. Locations within north west Scotland possessed many dry docks that were used during the
Today, Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) proudly celebrates ten years since the formation of the independent global practice. RLB was launched in 2007, in response to growing globalisation and increased customer requirements. Since then, the firm has gone from strength to strength with now some 3,600 employees in 120 offices across
Sheffield based contractor and developer, JF Finnegan, has been awarded the coveted silver accreditation against the Investors in People Standard, demonstrating the company’s commitment to high performance through good people management. JF Finnegan employs more than 50 people and has been delivering high quality construction projects throughout the UK since
Two major projects in the Humber region have been shortlisted at the 30th British Construction Industry Awards 2017. Green Port Hull and Immingham Renewable Fuel Terminal have both been shortlisted in the Major Civil Engineering Project of the Year (over £50m) category at the British Construction Industry Awards, which recognises
Dr Kerry Mashford, Chief Executive of the Milton Keynes-based National Energy Foundation, has been awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, for services to the Energy Industry. The National Energy Foundation has been at the forefront of improving the use of energy in buildings for more than 25 years.
The South West Construction Summit was hailed as a great success. The attendee profile at the South West Construction Summit included some highly influential professionals, creating a rare opportunity to connect with the hardest to reach decision makers within the South West built environment. The Summit took the form of
The Director of Actavo Building Solutions, Matthew Goff, has been exploring the quality of modular construction. This modern construction technique has now quite commonplace for both public and private developments. It could be that the recognition of the benefits for this method of construction by governing bodies could be the
GRAPHISOFTⓇ is known for being a globally leading business in the provision of Building Information Modeling solutions. Building Information Modeling, or BIM, solutions are provided by the business to their architect clients around the world. It has been announced recently that GRAPHISOFTⓇ has started the ARCHICADⓇ 21 rollout operation. This
Cundall has appointed Tim Stidwill as a new Structural Engineering Partner. The international and multidisciplinary engineering company has made the appointment in order to improve and expand their structural engineering branding across the Midlands. Tim Stidwill will be based in Cundall’s Birmingham office, ideally situated to aid Tim with his
Yorkshire Housing, the largest social housing provider in Yorkshire, will be attending a panel discussion for the Housing 2017 conference. The Director of Development and New Business for Yorkshire Housing, Andy Gamble will be joining the panel at the 2017 conference. The Housing conference will take place over three years
It’s no denying that political and financial leaders have been searching for ways to strengthen the economy, and we’re not surprised to see that a recent venture in the Highlands is soon to make headlines internationally. Locations within north west Scotland possessed many dry docks that were used during the 1970s and 1980s, unfortunately, the majority of these mammoth structures eventually fell into disuse. This is about to change thanks to an investment by Kishorn Port Limited. A recent financial injection of £500,000 is set to revitalise this defunct station and to provide jobs to more than 200 workers. The Size of the Development Project It is difficult to overestimate the size of these dry docks. At a diameter of 160 metres, they are one of the largest in Europe and the largest that was ever built to accommodate the needs of the North Sea oil and gas sector. One of the reasons why developers surmised that they would be perfectly suited to house a wind farm. Known as the Kincardine Offshore Windfarm, it will be able to generate an impressive 50 megawatts of energy when fully operational. This is the equivalent of powering 56,000 houses. Why Scotland? Aside from helping Scotland meet its medium-to long-term carbon emission targets, one of the main reasons why this project is considered economically viable arises from the geographic location of Scotland and the Highlands, where offshore winds represent as much as 25 per cent of the total wind power capacity of the European Union. Developers claim that more than 110 jobs will be created during the renovation and upgrading processes before the farm becomes active. Christopher Snelgrove, founder of HIJOBS commented “Additional employment opportunities will likewise occur as a result of ongoing activities and many of these roles will be provided to skilled laborers. The Changing Face of the Scottish Construction Sector With the economic slowdown associated with less of a reliance upon traditional fossil fuels, Scotland saw many of its previous jobs evaporate during the 1990s and the early 2000s. However, this is all now changing due to an increased recognition of the importance of renewable energy sources. This has always been extremely relevant for the production of wind energy and one of the main stumbling blocks was the capability to create infrastructure that could be able to support such offshore technologies. Developers seem to have struck a balance in regards to these current dry docks, as they enable a truly massive wind farm to be constructed within a protected environment before it is floated out to sea. From a fiscal standpoint, this makes a great deal of sense. Much less money will be required during the initial stages of fabrication and the entire project should take much less time than would normally be required. A Reflection of the Energy Industry as a Whole These latest developments are another illustration of how the UK is placing a greater amount of importance upon the provision and utilisation of renewable energy sources. This is quite logical, for the energy sector has been encountering some rough waters in recent times. Michael Hewson, senior analyst at CMC Markets, commented “the energy sector has already taken a hit in recent weeks given talk of price freezes, business renationalisation and greater regulation, from both main political parties.” A paradigm shift into renewable energy production could help to create increased stability and more importantly, it will be able to contribute to the overall health of the Scottish construction sector. Image credit – Decom North Sea
Today, Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) proudly celebrates ten years since the formation of the independent global practice. RLB was launched in 2007, in response to growing globalisation and increased customer requirements. Since then, the firm has gone from strength to strength with now some 3,600 employees in 120 offices across the world, working with prestigious clients such as London Olympics 2012, Sydney Opera House and the HSBC Headquarters Building in Hong Kong. Ann Bentley, Global Chair of RLB commented, ‘It is my great honour and pleasure to congratulate and thank all who have contributed to the success of RLB over the last ten years. Our thanks are extended to the many customers and partners who have continued to work with us on projects, adding to an extensive list of achievements across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and Oceania. ‘Since the formation of our global practice, RLB has enjoyed close working relationships with many in the local and international property and construction industry. The nature of our business means that our futures are interdependent and accomplishments in each of RLB’s 120 offices reflect success for us all. ‘At RLB, we are committed to creating value for our customers through our four core services – cost management and quantity surveying, project and programme management, building surveying and health & safety, and advisory services.’ Following two centuries of progression and growth, three major companies with common values – Rider Hunt, Levett & Bailey and Bucknall Austin – joined together to form the Rider Levett Bucknall global practice on 23 June 2007. In the following decade, the global practice expanded its worldwide portfolio into Africa with seven offices, established a new business in Malaysia and Myanmar, opened new offices in China, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, the Philippines, and further consolidated new business across the Middle East and Caribbean. Through the collaborative efforts of the global practice and the skills and passion of its people, RLB has enjoyed remarkable growth and achievements in the past ten years. RLB continues to build on global knowledge and local expertise as an independent leader in the industry, helping to shape the future of the built environment. Key sectors of specialisation include education, energy, healthcare, hotels and leisure, infrastructure, mixed use, offices, public and civic, residential, retail and sport. As the firm brings new projects to life, it will continue to contribute to the future direction of major cities across the globe over the next decade. RLB has released a book to commemorate its tenth anniversary in 2017, ‘Confidence Today Inspires Tomorrow; Celebrating a Decade of Achievement’. https://10years.rlb.com/
Sheffield based contractor and developer, JF Finnegan, has been awarded the coveted silver accreditation against the Investors in People Standard, demonstrating the company’s commitment to high performance through good people management. JF Finnegan employs more than 50 people and has been delivering high quality construction projects throughout the UK since 1945. The company’s success lies in its ability to offer clients a turnkey solution – from conception to completion – across major projects including distribution, industrial and manufacturing facilities. Investors in People is the international standard for people management, defining what it takes to lead, support and manage people effectively to achieve sustainable results. Underpinning the Standard is the Investors in People framework, reflecting the latest workplace trends, essential skills and effective structures required to outperform in any industry. Investors in People enables organisations to benchmark against the best in the business on an international scale. Paul Devoy, Head of Investors in People, said: “We’d like to congratulate JF Finnegan. Investors in People accreditation is the sign of a great employer, an outperforming place to work and a clear commitment to success. JF Finnegan should be extremely proud of its achievement.” Steve Burrows, Managing Director of Investors in People, North of England said: “This is a fantastic achievement for JF Finnegan and I would like to congratulate all of the team. We believe that your people make the difference and by investing in them you are looking to create sustainable success. IIP is designed to help organisations and their people to realise potential, providing a simple road map for excellence. With their Silver accreditation success, JF Finnegan is certainly working to realise their people potential.” Commenting on the award, John Diggins, Financial Director, JF Finnegan said: “Following the recent assessment I am delighted to report that we have retained our Investors in People accreditation. One of the targets set by the board for this financial year was to improve our performance rating from “Developed” to “Established”, this was achieved and so we have been awarded the prestigious Investors in People Silver standard. The company only started the IIP journey 3 years ago so to secure a Silver is a fantastic achievement and only the top 5% percentile of organisations assessed will obtain this level of accreditation”. JF Finnegan was first accredited with IIP in 2014.
Two major projects in the Humber region have been shortlisted at the 30th British Construction Industry Awards 2017. Green Port Hull and Immingham Renewable Fuel Terminal have both been shortlisted in the Major Civil Engineering Project of the Year (over £50m) category at the British Construction Industry Awards, which recognises and rewards excellence in project delivery, design, construction and delivering outcomes for society. National construction firm GRAHAM has been recognised for its work at Green Port Hull; a joint venture with Lagan Construction, and the Immingham Renewable Fuel Terminal, for ABP. GRAHAM Lagan Construction JV performed the design and construction of the works at Green Port Hull for the end user Siemens’ off shore wind turbine manufacturing facilities. The scheme included infilling one third of Hull’s Alexandra Dock with 780,000 m3 of material and reclaiming 7.5 ha of the river to create a new 650m quay wall, which can accommodate three offshore wind installation vessels. Immingham Renewable Fuels Terminal was a £130 million project involving the design and construction of a facility for importing, storing and onward transfer of renewable fuels (wood pellets) at the Port of Immingham. Judges will visit both sites and carry out rigorous interviews as part of the selection process. The results will be announced at a Gala Awards Dinner, held at Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London, on Wednesday 11th October 2017. Ian Schofield, Group Head of Asset Management from ABP, said: “We are delighted to hear that GRAHAM has been shortlisted by the British Construction Industry for the design and delivery of two major projects for ABP. The company¹s work on the Immingham Renewable Fuel Terminal, and its joint venture with Lagan at Green Port Hull. Both projects are now significantly contributing to ABPs key strategic objective of Keeping Britain Trading, and we wish our partners from both companies the very best of luck at the awards ceremony in October.” Leo Martin, Executive Director at GRAHAM, said: “We’re really pleased to be shortlisted at the BCI Awards, which is a prestigious and highly recognised awards ceremony. To be shortlisted twice is a credit to our planning, design and project teams, which on both of these projects have demonstrated professionalism, collaboration and a dedication to completing the work to the highest standards. “ABP is one of our key clients which we have an excellent relationship with, and so to be shortlisted for two projects with them is fantastic. We have enjoyed working with them on several schemes and look forward to further collaborations in future. “Both of the shortlisted projects have been high-profile civil engineering schemes which will play a key role in generation of renewable energy. We are incredibly proud to have been shortlisted for these awards and we look forward to the judges’ visit and awards ceremony in October.” GRAHAM is one of the most experienced and trusted names in project investment and management, civil engineering, construction and asset management in the UK and Ireland. Its civil engineering division has been involved in some of the most prestigious projects undertaken in the regions within which it operates, including the Tennison Road Bridge Replacement for Network Rail, the A138 Chelmer Viaduct for Highways England, the iconic Samuel Beckett Bridge in Dublin (which was ‘Highly Commended’ at the 2011 BCI Awards) and the M1/M2/Westlink upgrades in Belfast.
Dr Kerry Mashford, Chief Executive of the Milton Keynes-based National Energy Foundation, has been awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, for services to the Energy Industry. The National Energy Foundation has been at the forefront of improving the use of energy in buildings for more than 25 years. Since her appointment as its Chief Executive in December, 2012, Kerry Mashford has helped pioneer the Foundation’s work advising and delivering more comfortable energy-efficient homes and workplaces, including wining a number of national awards. Kerry has increasingly focused her work on bringing together the forces of engineering, technical and business innovation to address the challenges associated with developing a more sustainable future. She believes that we must change the way we generate, distribute and use energy as quickly as possible, and that addressing the demand side of the energy equation is equally as important as generation in making the transition to a low-carbon, low-energy future. It’s estimated that buildings account for around 40% of the EU’s total energy consumption and 43% of the UK’s total carbon dioxide emissions. These figures could be easily and dramatically reduced by improving the energy performance of existing buildings and making sure new buildings are built to the standards of energy performance that are fit for a sustainable future. This requires a focus on high quality retrofit and refurbishment, an Assured Performance Process for new buildings and a widespread improvement in energy literacy. Kerry’s work with her colleagues at the National Energy Foundation aims to inspire action, advance knowledge and deliver practical projects to lead the way. After hearing the news of her award, Kerry Mashford commented: “I am both delighted and humbled to receive this honour as my individual efforts seem tiny in comparison with the challenges that face us all in creating a more sustainable future. I hope that it will help raise awareness of the important work the National Energy Foundation does to help improve the energy performance of new and existing buildings, and enable more communities and organisations to benefit from working with us. “This award also recognises the hard work and dedication of everyone at the National Energy Foundation. I’d like to pay tribute to their tireless support, and the guidance and encouragement of our Trustees, President and Patron.” Andrew Pakes, Chair of the National Energy Foundation, congratulated Kerry on her award, saying: “This is a great honour for Kerry and a tribute to her leadership on greener, more energy-efficient homes and workplaces. Better buildings, smarter homes and tackling the legacy of fuel poverty and poor energy efficiency have always been at the heart of the National Energy Foundation. With Kerry’s leadership the team has really been driving this message home nationally and through delivering innovative solutions and partnerships at all levels.” In December, 2015, Kerry’s achievements in improving the use of energy in buildings were recognised with the Environment category award at the inaugural Women Leaders MK Awards, and in December last year, she was recognised by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers for her contribution towards engineering a sustainable future by being the first recipient of a new award. Kerry’s passion for energy efficiency and excellent building design extends into her personal life. Over the years, she and her husband have commissioned three bespoke homes of their own, combining practical design, innovative materials and intelligent building controls to significantly reduce and better manage energy usage. Kerry holds a first degree in mechanical engineering, masters qualifications in Interdisciplinary Design of the Built Environment from the University of Cambridge and in Applied Mechanics from Cranfield University, and a doctorate in Design Theory and Methodology from Brunel University. Kerry is also a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Institution of Engineering Technology and of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.
The South West Construction Summit was hailed as a great success. The attendee profile at the South West Construction Summit included some highly influential professionals, creating a rare opportunity to connect with the hardest to reach decision makers within the South West built environment. The Summit took the form of a combined Conference and Exhibition with significant opportunity for networking. The Summit brings together key contributors of the regional construction industry and its supply chain to support and underpin the progress already being made. The event explores opportunities, major projects, client commitments and procurement best practice, including; skills, image, sustainability and productivity in construction. The South West Construction Summit opened with introductions from Andrew Carpenter & Emma Osmundsen from event hosts Constructing Excellence South West. This was swiftly followed by: Mike Borkowski – Southern Construction Framework: “The Skills Gap and whether it is just someone else’s problem.” Leif Tarry – CITB: “CITB Projected Skills need and construction as a career of choice.” Rachel Bell – Stride Treglown and Chairman of Women in Property: “Image of Construction and Gender Diversity” Shortly after a Q&A, Refreshments and networking opportunities. Nathan Waller – Natwest Bank: “Development finance and the early collaboration between funders and property developers, optimising supply chain relationships.” John Boughton – Willmott Dixon: “Achieving Value through Efficiencies.” Dominic Thasarathar – Autodesk: “Constructing the Future: Possibilities, probabilities and opportunities.” Shortly after a Q&A, Lunch and networking opportunities. Emma Osmundsen – Exeter Council: “Delivering Sustainable Energy Efficient public buildings.” David Sutton – EDF Energy: “A Case Study on Hinkley Point” Cllr Paul Smith – Bristol City Council: “How to tackle Bristol’s Housing Crisis” Andrew Carpenter then returned back to the stage with a summary of the day. All the speakers raised some very valuable points in their discussions which made the attendees extremely engaged and involved when it got to the Q&A. It was a very busy day for the South West construction sector as the summit was swiftly followed that evening by the South West Built Environment Awards 2017 at the same venue.
The Director of Actavo Building Solutions, Matthew Goff, has been exploring the quality of modular construction. This modern construction technique has now quite commonplace for both public and private developments. It could be that the recognition of the benefits for this method of construction by governing bodies could be the reason for its increased use. Offsite construction becoming more widely used in order to save time during construction projects, and modular construction methods being preferred in developments that need to be completed quickly. Actavo also use this construction technique. Recently the Building solutions business used modular construction for a £750 million NHS modular framework. Actavo also adopted this construction technique on the Hampshire County Council Southern Modular Building Framework. A main benefit to using these construction methods over typical bricks and mortar building is that the manufacturing process has more control involved. In more traditional builds, establishing a consistent level of control over the projects is hard for construction teams to achieve. The production line that is involved in off site construction means that are more quality control systems used throughout the process. Actavo is accredited with the ISO 9001:2008. This certification makes sure that the the business operates under a strict standard of quality management in order to make sure that there is an high level of management and resources. These accreditations combined with the extra control given by constructing in a workshop should them mean that the quality of the end project is higher than a building that has been created by traditional building methods. Final inspections of the building components are carried out after individual part quality check and are all complete before the materials then get taken to site in order to be installed. When the materials reach the site, the assembly of the modular building takes place again in a controlled but simple system. If this assembly process were to be reflected in traditional building methods, it would require continuous surveillance.
GRAPHISOFTⓇ is known for being a globally leading business in the provision of Building Information Modeling solutions. Building Information Modeling, or BIM, solutions are provided by the business to their architect clients around the world. It has been announced recently that GRAPHISOFTⓇ has started the ARCHICADⓇ 21 rollout operation. This process will see ARCHICADⓇ 21 made available on a global scale. The newest version of ARCHICAD includes a Stair Tool, which is a feature that has been long awaited by users of the previous versions. This new Stair Tool has been developed from GRAPHISOFT’s new Predictive Design™. This new design process in patent-pending and has allowed the business to create a tool that can offer the user a wide range of important improvements for the functioning of the equipment. GRAPHISOFTⓇ first started the BIM movement in 1984 when they produced the first ARCHICADⓇ. This was the first BIM software that had been created for architects. Since this date GRAPHISOFT has consistently led the way with a range of different innovative BIM solutions. One of these is the BIMcloudⓇ which was created to be the first real time BIM collaboration space in the world. GRAPHISOFTⓇ intend on making BIM common practice for the design and construction of buildings. The new version of ARCHICADⓇ 21 comes with a new Stair Tool which means that architects that use the software will be able to use the program in order to design stairs and railings. This is thought to be the most complicated tasks undertaken in architecture. The software’s new tool allows users to choose or design the best stair designs for the building. The new Stair Tool also has a Railing Tool which can add railing systems to designs as well as allowing the creation of designs that can be connected to stair designs, slabs, walls roofs or meshes.
Cundall has appointed Tim Stidwill as a new Structural Engineering Partner. The international and multidisciplinary engineering company has made the appointment in order to improve and expand their structural engineering branding across the Midlands. Tim Stidwill will be based in Cundall’s Birmingham office, ideally situated to aid Tim with his new responsibilities at Cundall. Cundall has offices in 11 countries around the world and works to offer a range of different engineering services. In the Midlands, where Tim Stidwill will be operating, the business’ building engineering team has become unrivalled. Tim will be able to develop Cundall’s structural engineering sector so that it can reach the same prominence across the Midlands. Tim has a reputation for being a strong structural engineer that is talented and focused. Tim will be a good asset to the Cundall team and will be valuable as they look to develop their structural engineering sector. Tim has moved to join Cundall from Ramboll. In his previous role, Tim was the Director in the Birmingham office and managed the delivery of a number of high-profile projects throughout the Midlands as well as projects that took place across the UK and in Europe. Tim has experience successfully completing complex projects such as the Paradise Development which took place in Birmingham City Centre, Energy from Waste facilities created in London and Gloucester and the New North Zealand Hospital in Denmark. His engineering designs have also proved vital on a number of different projects in the midlands such as the Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and a number of projects taken place at the Universities of Birmingham, Birmingham City, Warwick and Leicester. Tim is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Civil Engineers and the Institute of Structural Engineers. The new Structural Engineering Partner also focuses on BIM tools and sustainable design in his work. His ability to provide technically excellent projects that are efficient and sustainable will be a big selling point Tim brings to Cundall’s Midlands team.
Yorkshire Housing, the largest social housing provider in Yorkshire, will be attending a panel discussion for the Housing 2017 conference. The Director of Development and New Business for Yorkshire Housing, Andy Gamble will be joining the panel at the 2017 conference. The Housing conference will take place over three years and is expected to attract more than 1,500 delegates. It has also been estimated that the event will be visited by around 8,000 people. The Housing 2017 conference will take place between the 27th and the 29th June at Manchester Central. Other notable people who will be joining Andy Gamble as a part of the panel is the chief operating officer of Willmott Partnership Charlie Scherer and the executive director of regeneration for the Accord Group, Alan Yates. At the Manchester event the panel will join together and discuss the role that is played by Housing Associations when it comes to alleviating the pressures on the construction sector due to skills shortages. Yorkshire Housing has been able to provide 18,000 affordable and social rent homes in the county and has plans to increase this number by building 3,000 more homes by 2020. The Housing Association offers a range of care and support services too across the Yorkshire region. By being such a prominent provider of affordable homes in the North of England, the Association is quite heavily invested in the ways that the skills shortage in the construction industry can be alleviated in order to help with the construction on more new homes. Andy Gamble of Yorkshire Housing has suggested that the deficit of people with construction skills in the industry. As the lack of skilled workers in the sector means the ability to construct more houses in order to meet demand becomes inhibited. The panel focusing on addressing the skills crisis takes place on the 28th June between 3:30pm and 4:30pm.
