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The Government’s vision for the north as an economic powerhouse will not be fully realised without significant improvements in connectivity, according to the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE).

In its response to the National Infrastructure Commission consultation on connecting northern cities, ICE’s Northern Powerhouse Panel welcomed the drive to boost growth in the north, the progress on devolution, and the growing success of individual northern cities. But it said the north would struggle to compete internationally as single economic zone without faster, more frequent transport services between cities and within cities, and better connections to outer city areas where universities, science parks and manufacturing bases are located.

The panel backed a mix of small scale investments and more transformational transport projects to address the north’s

connectivity weaknesses, but warned against progressing individual projects in isolation. It urged the government to adopt a “whole network” approach, where investment is based on a comprehensive, integrated strategy.

It also suggested that the government review the appraisal methods used to determine whether a transport project delivers value for money, to capture the real economic impact on a region.

Richard Threlfall, Chair of the ICE panel and Head of Infrastructure at KPMG, said: “The benefits of integrated connectivity are far reaching – it facilitates the fast and easy exchange of people, goods, knowledge, skills and services, and enables access to health services, education and leisure. It creates thriving economic hubs, or powerhouses, that can compete internationally.

“The growth opportunity for the north of England is huge, but it will simply not fully prosper as one economy without significant improvements in connectivity. There is much to be done – spend on new transport infrastructure in the north has lagged behind London and average spend across the UK regions for decades. But it’s not just about investment; we need to think differently about how and where investment is allocated, we need to adopt a more strategic approach which considers the entire network and delivers maximum benefit.

“We would also like to see a host of system improvements driven forward - such as an integrated ticketing system for the north, simpler fare structures and integrated timetables. Relatively quick and low cost improvements like this will enable the north to look, feel and operate as a single economic powerhouse.”

Connectivity key to realising vision for the north

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London is the most expensive city in Europe and the second most expensive city worldwide in which to build, according to the latest International Construction Costs Index published by Arcadis, the leading global Design & Consultancy firm for natural and built assets. The index, which analyses the relative costs of construction across 44 major cities, has revealed a crucial imbalance in London’s expensive construction market. Strong demand from domestic and international investors is driving growth in bidding opportunities, whilst a combination of limited bidding resource and opportunism by contractors has driven up prices of construction in London. The cost differentials are significant; the cost for international five star hotels, for example, are 20% higher in London than in Paris, and 50% higher than in Dubai. Unpredictable patterns of high inflation affecting the cost of labour and profit margins have made accurate prediction of construction prices very difficult, and are also threatening the

Construction costs in London exceed all other European cities

viability of commercial and public sector building projects such as offices and residential developments. Yet despite rapidly growing costs, Arcadis’s report highlights that the London market remains attractive to international investors, with the strength of the US dollar in particular putting US investors in a positive position. But with prime areas of the city no longer as profitable to build in, demand is rippling outwards to sub-prime areas in London, as well as other cities across the UK, where the potential for long-term development value is greater. Simon Light, Arcadis UK Client Development Director, commented: “The global cities in this year’s index are crucial engines of growth, reliant on the investment and stability that construction can bring to deliver a sustainable economic future. The macroeconomic view is encouraging, with the recovering Eurozone set to generate steady growth for the EU construction industry over the next three years. “In London, the synchronised recovery

is losing momentum. With inflated construction costs and high land values threatening the viability of commercial and residential development, workloads look to be losing steam even before the capital’s infrastructure boom really takes flight. Delayed investment decisions are reducing actual workload and we are seeing early signs of a return to reason in procurement. There is now much more focus on agreeing prices prior to starting on site, ensuring no loss of value should current construction volumes be maintained. We expect to see the rate of inflation fall to 4-5% in London for 2016 and for a real opportunity to ‘reset the dial’ on projects coming forward in 2016 and 2017.” Across the globe, financial hubs New York and Hong Kong join London as the costliest locations for construction in the world, with cost premiums in these cities ranging from 40% to 60% in comparison with other European counterparts. Middle Eastern commercial centres meanwhile, remain around the mid-point of the rankings, with the likes of Doha (12th) and Dubai (19th) continuing to benefit from low-cost labour and energy.

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Leading British businesses, engineers and experts will come together in a new national innovation centre in Wales focused on compound semiconductors, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has announced, bringing vital investment and jobs to the area.

On a visit to Cardiff University, Mr Osborne announced further plans to put science and innovation at the heart of economic growth with the creation of a new ‘Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult’, funded by £10M per year of government investment up to 2020.

The new catapult will be based in Wales, with the specific location and founding members to be confirmed in due course.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne said: “Backing cutting edge science and innovation is at the heart of our long term plan to support Welsh people at every stage of their lives. That is why I am today announcing £50M of new funding for a national semiconductor innovation centre, to bring together leading scientists and businesses to one hub in Wales.”

Universities and Science Minister, Jo Johnson said: “This new Compound Semiconductor Catapult recognises Wales’ reputation as a leader in advanced electronics. Bringing together academics and businesses to develop new technologies will support areas of our daily lives from the next generation 5G mobile network to

improving scanning at airport security.

“Our investment in this technology will help UK businesses exploit a global market estimated to be worth up to £125Bn by 2020, creating jobs and cementing the UK’s position as the best place in Europe to innovate.”

The news follows the Chancellor’s commitment in the spending review to increase funding for Catapults as a key part of economic growth in Britain.

Catapult centres were launched in 2011, bringing together business with researchers with the aim of helping start-ups bring ideas to market that might otherwise struggle because of a lack of funding, expertise or facilities.

There are nine other Catapults up and running in the UK with total public and private investment exceeding £1.6Bn over their first five years of operation.

Additional capital facilities are being delivered over the next two to three years in response to strategic investment by the government.

The catapult will be subject to relevant approval.

During the visit, the Chancellor also reaffirmed the UK government’s commitment to a City Deal for Cardiff. In his speech, he signalled his ambition to see the deal signed by the time of the budget in March.

McLaughlin & Harvey has completed the £5M state-of-the-art Chandos Tennis Club in Barnet, London. The new tennis club includes four outdoor synthetic grass courts, one junior court and four covered tennis courts with a bespoke canopy roof. The PVC fabric roof covering allows the space to be naturally ventilated, boosting the energy efficiency of the building, while also offering protection from the weather all year long.

The leisure specialist contractor also delivered a clubhouse with lounge, cafe, gymnasium, meeting room and changing facilities. The clubhouse was built with a steel frame, timber cladding and completed with a high-specification finish. The new facility also has 26 secure cycle racks and 41 car parking spaces for members.

Built to be as environmentally friendly as possible, the clubhouse roof is equipped with thermal panels to provide hot water for the whole facility, while photovoltaic panels generate electricity. Water harvesting tanks were also installed to collect rainwater for flushing the toilets.

McLaughlin & Harvey was appointed Main Contractor for the new tennis club in November 2014 and has completed the project on time and on budget. The new facility was built to replace the previous tennis club situated a couple of miles from the new site.David Bernstein, Chairman at Chandos Tennis Club, said: “The club was founded about 80 years ago, based at the same site in Hampstead. Our previously facility was very good but this is a real step up in terms of quality and will make a great difference to the members. The Contractor has done a fantastic job, we’re most impressed, and the process has been as trouble-free as you could possible hope for.”

Game, set and match for Chandos Tennis Club

Chancellor pledges £50M for ground-breaking innovation centre in Wales

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A new £20M entrance has opened at Leeds railway station in the UK. Mott MacDonald provided the detailed design for the entrance, which improves access to the developing South Bank area of the city.

Leeds is one of the busiest rail stations outside of London, with 100,000 travellers using it on a daily basis. It is estimated that the scheme will benefit approximately 20,000 users of the station daily, reducing commuting times by five minutes a journey which results in an overall saving of up to 50 minutes a week.

The scheme is largely constructed over-spanning the River Aire, with piled river pier foundations supporting a structural

platform accessed via two bridges from the river’s banks, as well as accessible ramps located within the existing viaduct arches. The deck supports stairs, lifts and escalators which raise passengers by 12m to a newly extended upper concourse, straddling three electrified railway lines. Mott MacDonald reduced cost, time and maintenance needs in the delivery of the entrance by using building information modelling to optimise the complex architectural geometry and to communicate key details to the construction and maintenance teams via walkthroughs and animations. Costs were also minimised by using offsite construction techniques.

Ian Besford, Mott MacDonald’s Project Director, said: “This was a challenging project that required construction close to residential properties, around a heritage structure, over a live railway and in a river. Now open to the public, the new entrance will satisfy increasing demand for pedestrian access from the south of the station, support economic regeneration and also act as a new landmark for the area.”

The project was jointly promoted by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Network Rail, with funding also secured from Leeds City Council and the Department for Transport.

Leeds station southernentrance opens to the public

The Mayor and Transport for London (TfL) have announced that work to dramatically transform and improve Bank Tube station after the plans were given the go-ahead by Government.

The £563M upgrade will increase the busy station’s capacity by 40%, improving accessibility and reducing interchange times when it is completed in 2021. Now approved, the station becomes the latest in a series of major upgrades taking place across the capital.

Bank is the third busiest station on the Tube network and is used by over 52 million passengers per year, with demand having risen by 50% over the last ten years. Improving the station is critical to keep London working and growing, and is a key step in TfL’s future plan to increase frequency on the Northern line.

This vital interchange – at the heart of the city of London – will be modernised to include:

• A new railway tunnel and platform for the Northern line that will reduce interchange times and create more space for passengers. • Step-free access to the Northern line and DLR platforms. • More direct routes, with two new moving walkways. • Three new lifts and 12 new escalators. • A new station entrance in Cannon Street.

The station will remain open to customers

Major upgrade of Bank Tube station gets the green light

throughout the work. TfL will ensure the majority of construction work takes place below ground to minimise construction impact on the historically significant site, which is bordered by 31 listed buildings.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson MP, said: “Bank is a vital interchange for passengers and it is crucial that the station is able to keep up with the increasing demand placed on it. These exciting plans will completely transform the station, making it more accessible and much easier for everyone to use. It’s great news for the tens of thousands who use the station every day that these plans have been approved, and is another major step in our work to transform the network and support our growing capital.”

Nick Brown, Managing Director of London Underground, said: “Improving Bank station is at the heart of our multi-billion pound investment programme to improve and expand the Tube. This critical and ambitious station upgrade will create a new southbound Northern

line railway tunnel and platform to vastly reduce interchange times. A new station entrance on Cannon Street will also be constructed alongside a range of other major improvements to create more direct routes, improving accessibility for the millions of Tube customers who use Bank station each year.”

The redevelopment will complement current work to create a new entrance to the Waterloo & City line. Just metres away from Walbrook Square, the new entrance will offer two new lifts, four new escalators and a new ticket hall when it opens in late 2017.

With a growing population, expected to reach ten million by 2030 - an extra Tube train full of people every three days, redevelopment work to increase capacity at London’s key stations and make them step-free is underway at a number of stations, including Tottenham Court Road, Victoria and Bond Street. Crossrail will deliver ten per cent additional capacity to London’s rail network.

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Lendlease and LCR have announced the forward sale of 265,000sq ft of commercial space to Legal & General at The International Quarter - the £2.3Bn development at Stratford, which, at a total of four million square feet, is one of the largest new commercial developments in London.

The Transport for London (TfL) building - which is in the early stages of construction - will sit at the gateway to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and will house 3,000 TfL employees from autumn 2017. In acquiring the building, Legal & General will make staged payments over the course of the development period up to a total consideration of circa £245M. Lendlease and LCR will continue to manage the delivery of the building through the Stratford City Business District Ltd joint venture.

Confidence continues to grow in The International Quarter. In addition to the agreements for lease and forward sale of the TfL building, the

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has also committed to 425,000sq ft of space to move its headquarters and 3,800 employees to Stratford in 2018. Lendlease and LCR are also in advanced discussions with a number of other major commercial tenants about moving to the development.

Dan Labbad, Chief Executive Officer, International Operations at Lendlease, said: “Lendlease is creating some of the best places around the world. The International Quarter will add to this legacy, providing some of the most agile, healthy and flexible workplaces in Europe. Today’s announcement illustrates the confidence the investment market has in this approach and the opportunity presented by The International Quarter, London’s fourth major business district. This is a fantastic example of how the Olympic legacy continues to bring lasting prosperity and employment opportunities to East London.”

David Joy, Chief Executive of LCR, said:

“Today’s announcement unlocks further value from The International Quarter, a major new employment hub in East London. Our partnership with Lendlease will bring 25,000 new jobs to the area by 2025, continuing the transformation of Stratford into one of London’s most vital and vibrant communities.”

Gordon Aitchison, Director of Investment and Development at Legal & General Property, added: “A significant new growth area for London, it is anticipated that Stratford will benefit from the creation of more than 40,000 new jobs and 11,000 new homes in the coming years. Stratford is already one of the busiest transport hubs in the capital and the property forms the first exciting phase of Lendlease and LCR’s International Quarter development which will eventually provide 4m square feet of office accommodation.”

JLL represented Lendlease and LCR, and Cushman & Wakefield represented Legal & General.

Momentum grows at The International Quarter following Legal & General investment

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Prime Minister David Cameron announced a package of more than £40M to rebuild and improve flood defences in the aftermath of Storm Eva.And he pledged the government would support charities helping those caught up in the recent deluge by matching every pound of the first £2M raised.

The cash takes investment in recovery from Storm Eva and Storm Desmond to nearly £200M.

The package is now set to be extended with grants to reimburse fire and rescue authorities that have incurred excessive costs protecting flooded communities.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: “I have seen at first-hand the devastation caused by flooding. And that’s why this work to repair

and improve flood defences is so vital.

“We are already spending £280M over the next six years to protect thousands of houses from flooding in Yorkshire as part of our £2.3Bn investment to protect 300,000 houses across the country.

“But now more than £40M will be spent to fix those defences overwhelmed by the record rainfall we’ve seen in recent weeks and to make them more resilient to further bad weather.”

The Prime Minister announced £10M of the new funding package would be reserved to improve the Foss Barrier protecting York, which was overwhelmed at the height of Storm Eva.

The other £30M will be spent repairing

defences on the Wharfe, Calder, Aire, Ouse and Derwent. It will include repairs to pumping and barriers and clearing blockages in rivers.

Further detailed work will be conducted along all rivers affected by Storm Eva – and it is very likely the overall bill will top £40M once the full damage is identified.

The announcement of matched funding for charities follows a similar pledge made to community foundations in Cumbria and Lancashire in the aftermath of Storm Desmond.

Applications for areas affected by Storm Eva can be made by any registered charities that are currently running a fundraising appeal for flood relief to benefit affected areas.

Prime Minister announces more than £40M for flood defences

University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) has appointed Kier Group Plc to deliver the initial phase of its new £300M Swansea Waterfront Innovation Quarter in the city’s SA1 area.

The £26M contract to oversee the Design and Build of the first phase of UWTSD’s new waterfront development should also see the creation of 25 local jobs and 250 apprenticeships as Kier has collaborated with the university in its mission to ensure the community benefits from the scheme.

Kier will be responsible for managing the detailed and technical design of the university’s new buildings as well as handling the entire construction process. Phase I of the Swansea Waterfront Innovation Quarter will comprise the Faculty of Architecture, Computing and Engineering as well as a new library building, with an approximate area of 12,200sq m

together with external public spaces.

Kier will work closely with the university to begin construction on Phase I in autumn 2016 to ensure the site is operational for the start of the academic year in 2018.

Jason Taylor, Kier Construction Operations Director for South Wales comments: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with University of Wales Trinity Saint David. Early involvement helps us to develop a true understanding of the university’s aspirations and challenges. Using these learnings combined with our previous experience in delivering education projects, and together with our ‘partnering’ consultants, we will provide options which will maximise the opportunity and deliver a facility that staff and students are excited to attend.”

Professor Medwin Hughes, DL, Vice-Chancellor of UWTSD, said: “Appointing

a design and construction delivery partner for the Swansea Waterfront Innovation Quarter brings us a step closer to realising our ambitious plans for both the university and the city region following the approval of our plans by the city and county of Swansea in November.

“We have been impressed by Kier’s proven track record and extensive experience in the education sector and we look forward to establishing a strong working partnership with them as well as with the other partner organisations involved in this major development for the region.”

As Main Contractor on the project, Kier will be responsible for setting up a collaborative working approach with all other contractors, including Stride Treglown who continue to be involved in the design process. As a result, Kier will be based in SA1 for the duration of the build.

Swansea Waterfront Innovation Quarter a step closer

The Royal Borough has agreed funding for stage two of the Maidenhead Waterways project – which will see the York Stream completed and available for leisure use by walkers, cyclists and small craft users.

Of the £3M agreed, £0.7M will go towards final works on stage one and £2.3M towards stage two.

Once completed, the flow that is temporarily diverted down Moor Cut will be returned, allowing the York Stream channel to start to re-establish. During this stage a number of planned environmental improvements will be implemented, including the addition of bat and bird boxes and kingfisher perches, to encourage the wildlife to return to this key section of the waterway.

Stage two of the project will also include the construction of a weir, fish pass and boat rollers at the confluence of York Stream and Moor Cut.

The weir is essential, as it will lift and hold water levels throughout the town centre at their final level, allowing York Stream to fill

to its full height and depth and as a result new channel edges to be completed. This will enable small craft to use this first one kilometre long section of the waterway.

It is envisaged that the flow can be returned to York Stream and the water levels raised by December 2017.The overall aim of the Maidenhead Waterways project is to:

• Restore and enlarge the neglected channels that still run through the town centre. • Create a two kilometre long navigable waterway ‘ring’ comprising York Stream, Moor Cut and the weir. • Build a lock for larger craft once the Bray Cut has also been cleared to allow boats to reach the town centre from the Thames by Bray Marina.

Stage two will complete the York Stream arm, which can then function independently, although the full circuit will not be available until the Moor Cut and Bray Cut have also been restored.

Cllr Philip Love, Principal Member for Maidenhead Regeneration, said: “The

waterways project is an essential part of the overall vision for Maidenhead’s regeneration, as it passes through several of our opportunity areas and will act as a catalyst for the town.

“It will be an extremely important feature as it will create a waterside setting and culture for all our present and future developments. This has proved to be very successful in other towns.

“Eating, drinking, shopping and living alongside this waterway will bring extra life and vitality to our town centre, and confirm that Maidenhead is actually becoming a great place to live and work.”

Royal Borough agrees£3M for next Waterways stage

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An in-house ground breaking ceremony has been in held in Sheffield to celebrate work commencing on a £65M pound landmark development in the city.

A party of key investors flew in from China for the traditional Chinese style ground breaking ceremony where sand surrounding a plinth was turned over with the help of special shovels.

Construction is now underway on New Era Square - a 20-storey mixed leisure, commercial and residential development which will transform an area between London Road and Bramall Lane, close to the city centre.

New Era Development (UK) Ltd, the Sheffield-based Company behind the plans, is creating a cosmopolitan, international, multi-cultural focal point.The scheme has been designed by Sheffield-based Architect Hadfield Cawkwell Davidson. Building works are being led by Derbyshire-based Bowmer and Kirkland.

Work is now underway to prepare the

foundations for the development, which is to include retail units, food and drink outlets on the ground floor, leading out to an open air square for events. The existing KH oriental supermarket established 40 years ago will be redesigned and upgraded to the new large supermarket premises and will offer new range of products from all over the world.

On the first floor there will be office space for professional service businesses, an exhibition hall and a Sheffield City Region China Business Incubator chaired by Richard Caborn to enhance enterprise and trade links between China and the UK.

From the third floor there will be approximately 700 student accommodation units, predominately 30sq m studio rooms, plus micro-flats and student cluster flats.

The project is set to create few hundreds new jobs once construction has been completed.Speaking at the event, Jerry Cheung, Managing Director at New Era Development (UK) Ltd, said: “This is an exciting day for everyone at New

Era and we are thrilled to see work commencing on the project. We have been working incredibly hard behind the scenes for many years to see our vision come to life, so it is fantastic to celebrate by inviting our investors from China for this special occasion.

“New Era Square is a landmark development for Sheffield, the region and the UK. It represents substantial investment for the city and is set to create a cosmopolitan, urban destination, including the new public square, to bring people from across the whole community together.

“We are very much looking forward to developing opportunities for businesses through our Sheffield City Region China Business Incubator, which has the potential to offer significant inward investment. This will offer a fantastic opportunity for any business looking to break into the Chinese market and vice-versa for businesses based in China seeking a UK market entry through Sheffield.”

Work starts on Sheffield landmark property development

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Leading UK recycling and renewable energy company Viridor has welcomed members from the South London Waste Partnership and Lagan Construction Group to mark the start of construction of its Energy Recovery Facility at Beddington, South London.

The £205M facility will transform 300,000 tonnes of non-recycled waste each year from Croydon, Kingston, Merton and Sutton into 26 MW of electricity – enough to power around 50,000 homes. A leading driver for the development is the Partnership’s aspiration to increase recycling, divert all of the remaining waste from going to landfill and recover energy from what remains. Construction of the Beddington energy recovery facility has significantly enhanced this vision. The facility will also have the capacity to export heat from the process to the local area and will be developed to support the Sutton Decentralised Energy Network.

The energy recovery facility is being built on a corner of the existing waste management hub which currently includes recycling transfer capabilities and an existing landfill site which will enter its accelerated wind down and aftercare programme as a result of the construction project.

Alan Cumming, Capital Projects Director for Viridor said: “It is fantastic that we are making such progress on the Beddington Energy Recovery Facility project. It will secure a sustainable waste management solution for the South London Waste Partnership over the next 25 years. The project will benefit the local community too; supporting over 400 jobs during the construction phase and deliver robust local spending.”

Gavin McKevitt, Operations Director for UK & Ireland Civil Engineering, Lagan Construction Group, said: “Lagan Construction Group is delighted to

have secured this significant Energy Recovery Facility at Beddington. We have a fully committed team to ensure the contract is delivered with the highest safety standards, within programme and offering a value for money solution.”

Cllr Terry Paton, Vice Chair of the South London Waste Partnership, said: “Today is a milestone in the creation of an Energy Recovery Facility which will save the public a significant amount of money and reduce methane and CO2 emissions. When the ERF is up and running in 2018, CO2 emissions will reduce by 128,000 tonnes each year and it will not create the methane gas that comes from the landfill. Through benefits such as avoiding expensive landfill taxes, Croydon, Kingston, Merton and Sutton will also save £200M over 25 years - that’s money that can be used protect frontline services at a time when our council budgets are being severely cut.”

Work commences at Beddington Energy Recovery Facility

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New research from AXA Insurance bucks the ‘cowboy builder’ stereotype, but finds tradesmen and women are under-rated by their customers and suffer from unfavourable typecasting. Despite acknowledging positive personal experiences, 60% of people surveyed said it’s fair to label tradespeople as ‘cowboys’ or ‘rogue traders’, and 20% said they’re afraid of being ‘ripped off’ when they need work done. Yet the survey findings paint a different picture, and show the UK’s tradesmen and women to be reliable, skilled, helpful and even kind.

While horror stories are rife in the newspapers and on TV, most people say they’re happy with work done in their homes, and almost three quarters have longstanding relationships with one or more trusted tradesmen or women they’d recommend to others. In fact, far from uncovering a gang of rogue traders who leave work botched and incomplete, AXA’s research reveals that 82% of the UK’s builders, painters,

plumbers, joiners and electricians regularly go above and beyond the call of duty, completing small extra tasks at no charge and completing small acts of kindness for their customers.

Darrell Sansom, Managing Director at AXA Business Insurance said: “Day in and day out we know tradesmen go above and beyond for their customers – but bad news travels fast and one rogue operator can cause a lot of reputational damage to everyone else. “Of course we know that across all walks of life, not every person is as honourable as the next, and we know that no matter how skilled and professional you are, mistakes can happen. But if you are one of the good guys doing a good job, and feel you’re suffering from a negative stereotype, there are things you can stop and start doing to build trust in your business. “Our survey showed that not answering the phone or cancelling appointments at short notice damages customer goodwill, while a lack of available references or documentation raises concerns - so

make sure you have your house in order when it comes to these things. “At the same time, we found that taking care of tiny jobs at no extra cost generates a lot of loyalty, and removing outdoor shoes and cleaning up a spot of mess shows professionalism and care.

“Customers want to work with businesses that are clear about the cost and scope of the job from the start, and a mistake free website or leaflet showing recommendations, pictures of past work, trade body membership and contact details will also attract and put them at ease.”

AXA’s survey found the most important characteristics the public look for when choosing a tradesman are price, recommendation, proper insurance and good manners. The study also found that builders and joiners have the most loyal customers, with a third of relationships lasting a solid ten years or more, while plumbers and electricians are most likely to benefit from word of mouth references.

Under-rated tradesmen buck the ‘cowboy’ stereotype

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UK Government Rail Minister Claire Perry and Scottish Government Transport Minister Derek Mackay joined Network Rail Managing Director for Scotland, Phil Verster, at Lamington today to see the ongoing operation to repair a vital viaduct on the West Coast Mainline.

Engineers are currently working around-the-clock to stabilise the structure after one of its stone piers was badly weakened by floodwater damage caused by Storm Frank.

Over 1,500 tonnes of stone have been used to create a temporary dam across part of the River Clyde to allow engineers to access the base of the pier, where large sections of the original stone foundations have been washed away.

Engineers will pump around 150 tonnes of quick-setting concrete into the void to recreate the pier base before beginning additional work to strengthen the structure and realign and repair the railway track above.

The recovery works are currently progressing to plan and engineers are

continuing to target February for the reopening of the line for passengers.

Phil Verster, Network Rail Managing Director for Scotland, said: “Our engineers are working hard in very challenging conditions to stabilise and strengthen the structure.

“The West Coast Mainline is a vitally important transport link for passengers and freight and we are committed to completing these works and reopening the line for customers as quickly as we can.”

UK Government Rail Minister Claire Perry said: “The storms and extreme weather conditions in recent weeks have resulted in great challenges for the transport system across the UK. We are working closely with Network Rail and the train operators to make sure that the considerable damage to the viaduct is repaired as soon as possible so that the line can be reopened, and we thank them for their hard work.

I am determined that the safety of passengers and workers must always be

our priority while this work is ongoing.”Scottish Government Transport Minister Derek Mackay said: “The record amount of rainfall that we have witnessed over recent weeks has resulted in significant damage to transport infrastructure around Scotland, including the West Coast and Highland main lines.

“I recognise the inconvenience that these works are causing to passengers, however, the safety of Scotland’s railways is of paramount concern and the severity of the damage to the viaduct meant that engineers were left with no option but to suspend all services that use it. I can assure the public that Network Rail are doing all they can to get the rail service operational again under difficult conditions.”

At the same time, it has been confirmed that work to upgrade the East Coast Mainline between Newcastle and Darlington will go ahead with Network Rail and the Train Operating Companies working together to help passengers make cross border journeys.

Ministers review West Coast Mainline recovery works

Catering Projects, sales and service for all

Catering Equipment

Catering Partnership Ltd, Staveley Mill YardStaveley, Kendal LA8 9LR

01772 331999 • www.cateringpartnership.co.uk

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SMALL BACKPACK. FULL-BODY HARNESS. TOTAL CONTROL.

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Registrations for new cars in 2015 have exceeded 2.6M units for the first time.

The new car market has sealed four years of consecutive growth, with a total of 2.63M vehicles registered after a 6.3% rise in demand, exceeding expectations.The market has seen an increase every month bar one, for the last 46 months, with December seeing 180,077 new cars registered.

Overall, the market rose 6.3% in 2015 to 2,633,503 units – exceeding forecast and outperforming the last record year in 2003 when 2,579,050 new cars left the UK’s showrooms. This marks the fourth time that the market has topped 2.5M in a full year.Stronger consumer confidence,

special deals and cheap finance have pushed up the figures. Low interest rates and the strengthening of Sterling against the Euro has made importing cars from countries such as Germany and France more affordable.

For the seventh year running, the Ford Fiesta was the bestselling car, with 85% of Ford showrooms offering finance plans known as PCP’s. This popular option is credited for boosting vehicle sales.

Gains were reported across all fuel types, with petrol and diesel registrations up 8.4% and 3% respectively with equal market shares. Alternatively fuelled vehicle (AFV) demand, meanwhile, grew 40.3%, securing the biggest ever market share of 2.8% for a year. Plug-

in hybrids experienced phenomenal growth, with volumes more than doubling, while pure electric vehicles saw an uplift of around 50%.

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said “Buyers took advantage of attractive finance deals and low inflation to secure some of the most innovative, high tech and fuel efficient vehicles ever produced. The past four years have seen a remarkable period of sustained growth, and the outlook remains positive with every reason to expect the market to hold broadly steady in 2016.”

The UK’s fleet sector also saw growth, boosting demand by 11.8%, reaching an all-time high of 1.3M units. The private sector was also up by 2.5%.

Record Year for UK new car registrations in 2015

Diesel prices reach lowest in seven years as four supermarkets cut the cost of diesel to below £1 a litre.

Four of the UK’s supermarkets have dropped their pump prices, with Morrisons, Asda and Tesco charging 99.7p per litre and Sainsbury’ charging 99.9p. This makes diesel the lowest price for seven years.

Morrisons was the first to drop the price of fuel, followed by Asda who reduced their price by 3p. Tesco then matched the prices for fuel, followed by Sainsbury’s who said it would also be offering New Year savings.

Petrol also fell below £1 a litre over the Christmas period, which led to retailers being criticised for not passing on cheaper wholesale costs to diesel drivers.

The RAC have announced that Saudi Arabia confirmed its commitment to oil production, which could see an oversupply, keeping fuel prices under £1 for the early part of the year, with the prediction that prices may fall by another 10p.

A spokesman for the RAC said: “Diesel drivers will clearly welcome this move by the big supermarkets, although it would be fair to say it is overdue.

“We hope that other supermarkets and the cheaper fuel retailers will follow suit and do the right thing for motorists. This should reduce the average price of diesel for motorists everywhere who will benefit from the low price of crude oil.”

In comparison to the highpoint reached in 2012, Diesel drivers filling up at

big supermarkets will be paying £20 less to fill up a 50 litre fuel tank.

Average fuel prices remain higher, according to PetrolPrices.com, at 102.69p for petrol and 105.99p for diesel.

Freight Transport Association (FTA) deputy chief executive James Hookham said: “We need to see the wider fuel market become more responsive to ever lower oil prices. Today’s announcement by leading supermarkets is good news for commercial vehicle operators.”

The FTA have campaigned for the reduction of fuel prices, also backing FairFuelUK, a campaign that has been brought forward by the logistics industry. Since it was formed in 2011, it has helped to secure a better deal for hauliers and motorists.

Diesel pump prices cut to less than £1 a litre

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Enterprise Ireland’s Strategy to 2016 talks of Irish enterprise becoming a powerhouse of economic growth and creating jobs. Can you tell us about the successes of the previous strategy and how this new strategy will build upon them?

Exporting and export led recovery has been a key policy of the existing government as a way of improving the standard of living in Ireland. I suppose as an island off an island, historically it hasn’t always been easy to trade with Europe for logistical reasons as much as anything else so we’ve always had a strong policy for export development, creating employment at home and ultimately improving the quality of life within Ireland. So that’s the core of what we’re about.

In 2015 we are forecast to increase exports by €2Bn and that has led to an increase in employment of around 21,000 jobs in Enterprise Ireland client companies, which gives you some idea of the success we have achieved.

We are a trade agency but we are also an investment agency. In terms of what we do, we are getting better at identifying the projects and the organisations that

Europe’s best educated workforces.

So there are a number of incentives to encourage individuals, entrepreneurs both from Ireland and internationally to build their brands and businesses in Ireland and that, again, is a key policy.Enterprise Ireland are keen for women to fulfil their business potential could you tell us a bit about this?

This is an initiative that really began in 2014. Enterprise Ireland looked at the profile of entrepreneurs that were receiving investment from Enterprise Ireland and remarkably, very few women were coming through that channel. We looked to address that and last year alone there were 67 female led companies who received investment from Enterprise Ireland.

The skills shortage is prevalent across the construction industry. What role is Enterprise Ireland playing in helping to overcome this?

The key areas of skill shortages exist at both ends of the spectrum in terms of the practical trades and a big area of concern is also the digital skill set. That is certainly an area that Enterprise Ireland have been

will make best use of our capital and our time. We’re also getting better at targeting those areas within organisations that will have the biggest impact.

So that’s the strategy going into 2016: working ever smarter and ever harder onto the areas that give us the best return from our investments in people in organisations, in research and in capability building. That’s something we are looking to continue into 2016 and a key element of our current strategy.

The aim to make Ireland the best small country in the world to start a business in is an ambitious one. Could you talk about how Enterprise Ireland will seek to deliver this?

We have a number of initiatives for international entrepreneurs to come to Ireland and for Irish people to set up organisations and businesses. A significant majority of the 21,000 jobs created last year were in small start up enterprises. What we as an organisation and what Ireland is promoting is access to capital, strong links to Third Level research and commercialisation. It’s about offering mentoring with key individuals with key skills and access to one of

Enterprise Ireland:2016 Developing strategyUK Construction Media talk to John Hunt from Enterprise Ireland to discuss its strategy for 2016, its ambitions to turn Ireland into an economic powerhouse and his thoughts on the future of BIM.

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supporting in terms of research and funding in our own programmes and also through an innovation voucher scheme for Third Level Institutions. There are nine higher education institutes within Ireland who have developed a digital or BIM element to their higher education awards.

Anecdotally, as the BIM designers in engineering, surveying and architecture are coming through these programmes; the employers are there ready to fight over the skill set. It’s a real success story in many respects of how the Third Level institutes are responding to the needs of industry and how the industry is competing for the skills of these graduates coming through the programmes being delivered throughout Ireland.

Do you think there’s an appetite with Ireland to follow the UK government’s lead in mandating BIM Level 2?

If you look at the industry response in Enterprise Ireland’s BIM survey last year, the view was split with some seeing positives and some negatives, but what I think is accepted is that given the scale of the transition ahead of us, the change will need to be client led whether that be government or private sector.

I think one of the interesting things that maybe isn’t always known about Ireland is the significant commercial influence of the United States. A study was commissioned by the American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland last year and it showed that Ireland was the number one destination in the world for US foreign investment with $277Bn invested since 1990.

With the US companies and their requirements for advanced facilities, the likes of Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook, Ebay and the pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer and Merck have each recognised the necessity for increased precision and the importance of better data. In terms of digital design, I suppose that’s when BIM first came to Ireland, around 2010 and as a US client requirement.

A lot of the upskilling and investment has come as a direct client requirement and that’s manifesting itself in lots of people who once they’ve worked digitally are reluctant to go back to traditional methods. They can see the discrepancies and the potential for not working as accurately and that has encouraged an ‘industry up’ approach to informing clients about the best way forward in terms of traditional or digital process for design and delivery. So absolutely it’s got to be client led for digital to become mainstream and go beyond tipping point.

Are we any closer to the Irish government mandating BIM?

It’s still in the main a small proportion of workload and of employee roles within companies and the transition to the majority of projects is going to be the real challenge for the industry over the next few years. We’ve got enough evidence to show it works but can we then take it to the next level where it becomes the default way in which we set up a project and how we design and deliver it?

I’ve no doubt we will all be doing BIM on the majority of projects by 2025 but what that adoption curve looks like between now and then will be crucial. If it’s incremental, then we’re probably not doing it right but there is a real opportunity to get this to tipping point in the next two or three years.

With the BIM Level 2 mandate approaching in April, what can Enterprise Ireland offer companies in the UK?

Enterprise Ireland’s success is very dependent on our ability to identify the right companies with the right skillsets, management team, and the right planning to succeed in international markets. We see digital design, construction, operation and the processes and technologies associated with that as an enormous area of opportunity.

We are working with organisations specifically in the design and delivery of engineering services – industrial engineering, data centres, power centres, powers stations, pharmaceutical plants, hi-tech manufacturing sites – where the only way to work it is to front load your designs and take your problems away from site. An approach that leverages the power of BIM.

There are some Irish companies doing great projects across the world and as we come into 2016 with the UK looking for partners and supply chains to deliver to BIM Level 2, Enterprise Ireland’s London office can offer a single point of contact if you’re looking to identify skills and capability in a particular area. Enterprise Ireland have a strong portfolio of organisations that would be delighted to talk and to assist the UK on its journey to BIM Level 2 adoption and beyond.

From Enterprise Ireland’s standpoint, we see the skillsets that have been developed through projects in Ireland as extremely marketable internationally. We have offices in 32 countries; we are working in industrial engineering, design and delivery and see BIM as being enormously attractive to these markets and a real differentiator in markets that have been traditionally difficult to differentiate in.

We are interested in Irish companies developing that capability and taking it internationally and developing their international footprints further through these skillsets and processes. Enterprise Ireland is keen to support this development and we are doing that in a number of ways. We have developed our own capability programmes but in terms of getting some further public sector buy-in, Enterprise Ireland are one of a small number of lead organisations that are really helping with promotion of public sector adoption.

That began with our appointment of CITA, the Construction IT Alliance, as our research partners in 2015 who will be reporting to and delivering research and information to a new stakeholder group in Ireland. This is a national BIM steering committee and delivery group that will be looking at the most appropriate route for a wider implementation of BIM within Ireland. That will involve the continuing discussion around a mandate but also the intelligent and appropriate area of the application of a mandate. So rather than effecting a mandate across the public sector, it will debate whether a mandate across different departments may have the biggest impact, where the benefits can be best felt and where the negative impacts of a mandate could be managed more successfully.

So there will be the formation of the National BIM Steering Committee in 2016, Enterprise Ireland and CITA will be on that group, and will be recruiting key members and a Chair to deliver a strategy that can be implemented from 2017.

Historically, there always seems to initially be resistance to new methods and technology before they become accepted as the norm. Is reaching that point of no return key for BIM?

I think that’s absolutely crucial in our current thinking – the tipping point, the point of no return. A lot of the companies I talk to are doing a bit of BIM on a few projects but the majority is traditional construction. They say: “We are doing BIM, we like it and it’s good but we still have to work quite hard at it to make it work”.

We’re not quite at the point yet where we couldn’t just fall back to doing traditional.

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Companies in many sectors – particularly construction, infrastructure operation, energy and telecoms – interact with a large number of third parties, including their customers, partners, suppliers and commercial agents. A company may have an economic relationship with thousands of third parties each year and potential relationships with more than three times those selected in the same period.

In some sectors – particularly construction – companies can critically depend on third parties. It is not unusual for over 90% of any given contract value to be passed on to these third parties. Some of the types of risk and potential impact that these third parties can bring include:

If the third party has financial issues during the relationship, it can lead to delays in the work and overall contract delivery.If a third party behaves in an overly contractual or argumentative manner, it can lead to delivery delays, additional costs and often the need to dedicate more company resources to manage the third party.If a third party is involved in corruption cases (either real or alleged), legal liability may extend to the company and have reputational impact.We predict that this situation will continue to increase in the coming years. For instance, major construction and infrastructure development companies are increasingly expanding their footprints into countries far from their “home markets”. Major infrastructure development in the coming years will be carried out in emerging markets with potential for higher rates of return and lower levels of national debt. The third parties in these emerging markets tend to be less well known and could bring new risks. A number of countries where large infrastructure construction and

investment are expected are highlighted in the following international rankings and lists of transparency indexes for their high levels of corruption.

At the same time, national legislation covering corruption has tightened significantly – one example is the UK Bribery Act 2010, which has an international scope that applies to all companies with UK operations. Overall, regulatory trends increasingly make companies responsible for corruption and bribery carried out by their partners and third parties, with the related penalties and sanctions increasing and having transnational impact. For instance, sanctions include the loss of the company’s ability to undertake contracts in the legislation’s country of origin and the criminalisation of its executives.

However, companies can take steps to mitigate, manage and even create value from this situation. In particular, companies are increasingly using detection and prevention approaches to detect, avoid and manage risk. There are three major benefits to this approach:

First of all, it allows early identification of potential economic risks. These include financial weakness from a partner or a payment default by a customer, technical issues such as conflicts or delays in recent projects, and compliance issues such as convictions or recent cases of corruption.Companies that perform and keep records of their third parties can mitigate their liability if cases of corruption arise afterwards.It allows cost optimisation, particularly during the business development phases. The ability to detect counterparty risks in advance implies better allocation of resources and better business decisions.In our experience all major international

construction companies and developers of significant infrastructure projects carry out assessments of their third parties, or at least of some of them. However, this is usually conducted in an unstructured way, without standard procedures, leading to time and cost inefficiencies. To ensure effective and efficient assessments requires the design and implementation of a comprehensive third-party due diligence system.

Based on our experience, we have identified the following key success factors for successfully implementing a detection and prevention system:

• Holistic perspective: all major risk compliance. • Risk orientation: Focusing analyses only on higher-risk situations. • Proportionality: The dedication of resources and depth of the analysis must be adequate. • Independence and objectivity: The information included in the financial and technical assessments must be provided independently and objectively. • Leverage all available sources of information when assessing third parties. • Aimed for decision-making: The due diligence analysis of the third party is not intended to “veto” its selection, but should help to decide which third party to select. • Willingness to anticipate: The earlier the assessment is carried out, the earlier the company will make a decision about the third party, and it will avoid incurring unnecessary costs associated with a potential third party relationship that is too risky. • Easy assessment criteria: Criteria have to be easy to apply so that risk level is not a factor subject to interpretation.

Detection and prevention of risk from third parties

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For many people, January is the most common time of the year to pursue new goals. As the years go on, this yearly goal-setting becomes routine; even though you have new goals you’re passionate about pursuing each year, your faith in your ability to accomplish them or your awareness about why you’re setting goals in the first place may diminish.

This January, we here at Cheetah Learning encourage you to take a new approach to goal-setting this year. Before you jot down a list of “New Year’s Resolutions,” take some time to reflect on what goals are really worth pursuing based on how you want to see yourself and what will help you increase your happiness. What goals make you feel enthusiastically engaged and present in your pursuit of them? What projects bring you deep happiness, contentment, or even bliss?

If your pursuit of your goals is not making you feel enthusiastically engaged and present, AND bringing you a deep sense of contentment, you may not be pursuing the goals best aligned with your true purpose. Instead, you might be diverting your energy toward one of the following:

Mismatched Goals. These are the goals that are a poor match for both your talents and your interests. These are goals that are challenging for you to achieve - but not in a good way. Rather than making you feel inspired

and engaged, these goals require you to perform tasks that you dread and which do not feel particularly rewarding. Often, the tasks required to achieve this goal will be things you have never done before and are not knowledgeable about.

Distractions from your Goals. These are secondary goals that are “all over the place” that distract you from achieving the goals that really matter. These are goals that you may feel really excited about doing in theory, but when you sit down to do them, your enthusiasm quickly fades. You may also find yourself pursuing a goal that brings you happiness, but which is so familiar and easy for you that you no longer need to be fully engaged in its pursuit. All of these types of goals need to be recognised for what they are: distractions from your pursuit of the transcendent goals that will bring you lasting fulfilment aligned with your purpose.

“Station of Life” Goals. These are the goals based on what you think you need to be doing based on “norms” for where you are in your life. As you transition from your 20s to your 30s, for example, you may feel the need to set goals for buying a home, getting married, and starting a family. Now, there’s nothing inherently wrong with these goals. Too often, though, the reason we set these goals is based more on what we think “society” expects of us than the kind of life we truly want to live.

Transcendent Goals. Rather than settling for “station of life” goals, push yourself to identify goals that align with how you want to see yourself and with your true purpose. These are goals that both align well with your interests and talents, AND push you to expand your current abilities at times. Some of the tasks required to accomplish this goal will be easy for you, while others will be challenging - the key is to have a balance between these types of tasks. These goals may or may not align with what others expect of you - and it’s just fine if they don’t. What matters is that these are goals that bring your existence into alignment with who YOU want to be and with your highest good.

To learn more about moving from setting “station of life” goals to identifying the “transcendent” goals that will bring you into alignment with your true purpose, contact Cheetah Learning on 888-659-2013 or email info@cheetahlearning.com

By Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP®, PMI-ACP, Chief Cheetahand Founder of Cheetah Learning

New Year’s Resolutions: Are your new Goals the right goals for you?

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In March 2015, an undercover BBC investigation uncovered evidence of security licences being fraudulently obtained in the UK. One month on, James Kelly Chief Executive of the British Security Industry Association – the trade body representing the UK’s private security industry– discusses the importance of choosing a reputable training provider.

The BBC investigation discovered that two colleges in London were willing to help students cheat security exams, either by giving students the answers, sitting the exam on their behalf or fast-tracking them through the required 140 hours of training. Secretly filmed footage showed the college director offering to fast track a student to a close protection qualification without any training for a fee of £1,200. Worryingly, students who have fraudulently obtained Security Industry Authority (SIA) licences could now be working in front-line security roles.

The SIA – the regulatory body for the private security industry - states that it is essential that individuals working in the private security industry undergo a structured training programme that results in a recognised qualification. Without a recognised qualification, an SIA licence would not be issued and therefore the applicant could not legally undertake licensable activities. What to look for in a Security Training Provider.

It is vitally important that security qualifications are obtained through a reputable training provider to ensure that they are awarded legitimately. There are additional business benefits in procuring the services of a good training provider, such as ensuring that staff are fully prepared for the challenges they may face in their role, and to give them the necessary skills and expertise to deliver the best possible customer service.

A good training provider will be an accredited training centre audited by a UKAS or Ofqual awarding body and have a variety of different courses for different disciplines which are offered at a range of levels. Training should be delivered by professionally qualified tutors – that is, they have a qualification in education and training as approved by the SIA – with ‘real world’ experience. Reputable training providers will also have professional learning environments with modern teaching aids and a comprehensive suite of industry specific equipment on which to learn.

Endorsement from a leading industry body such as the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) also shows a provider’s commitment to delivering a professional, quality service. Leading industry bodies will require members to meet strict quality criteria before they are formally recognised as members. Providers endorsed by industry bodies will usually have had to provide evidence of a quality management system such as ISO 9001:2008 and will have been vetted to ensure that they are financially sound, have adequate insurance, are soundly managed and conduct their business in a professional manner. Therefore, a provider who has recognised endorsements is best placed to ensure that security personnel are trained to the highest quality standards throughout each stage of their career.

The BSIA has had a dedicated section of membership for companies specialising in the provision of security training since 2012. The Training Providers Section is committed to working with fellow training providers, colleges, security companies, trade organisations and the Government to drive standards, increase professionalism and ultimately improve the standard of training offered in the security industry. As such, the section was compelled to speak out

against training malpractice in light of the BBC’s investigation and totally endorsed the stance adopted by the BBC. The section is committed to sustaining high standards in performance and training in the security industry and has developed its own rigorous code of conduct. The section has also developed guides to help educate end users about the procurement of security training services and how to identify a reputable training provider. Members of the BSIA’s Training Providers Section have expertise across all areas of the industry and can provide courses in subjects such as CCTV, door supervision, alarms and access control, control room operations and leadership and management. Their specialist knowledge enables them to deliver training in a wide range of challenging situations and trainers often possess higher levels of teaching qualification than their non-member counterparts. Sourcing a reputable training providerChoosing a training provider with the appropriate qualifications and experience to deliver high quality training courses can be challenging for any company looking to improve its employees’ knowledge and skills. Doing some basic research into any prospective provider can reassure end users that they are of good repute. A good training provider will possess all of the qualities discussed in this article and you can normally find evidence of this on the company’s website in the first instance. If you have any doubts, ask to visit the company’s premises to have a look around - the best training providers will proudly show off their facilities. Reputable training providers can be sourced through an industry body such as the BSIA, to find out more information about the BSIA’s Training Providers Section or to find your nearest reputable training provider, visit: www.bsia.co.uk/sections/training-providers

Choosing a Security Training Provider –picking the best from the rest.

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Sites Continue to Benefit from Wireless CCTV

More and more sites are benefiting from the use of the OnGarde CCTV tower, in fact 2015 saw a 140% growth in the number of sites using this CCTV tower to protect their assets and reduce security costs.

One of the factors in driving this increase in usage was undoubtedly the launch of the OnGarde Duo in the last quarter of 2015. The OnGarde Duo allows users to choose the power and lighting option which best meets their site needs.

Customers can choose Infrared lighting if there is no power available during the night or at weekends or they are operating sites in areas where light pollution could be a problem. Alternatively they can benefit from the systems original LED lighting which acts as a deterrent and can reduce the need for additional light sources on site.

The benefit of the new duo has already built on the formidable features of the original tower which include:

• Verified alarms using smart Video Contents Analytics software, so no false alarms • Highly visible 3m tall deterrent • On alarm verification a live audio warning is sent to the site to warn the intruder that they are being monitored and recorded and that the authorities have been called. • Rapid installation in around one hour

The effectiveness of the OnGarde tower was once again proven over the busy Christmas period. With many sites closed for the festive period there is an increased opportunity for theft and vandalism but OnGarde are pleased to report that for the fourth consecutive year they recorded zero theft and vandalism on sites which it monitors during this key period.

Unfortunately, during the festive period there was a good deal of coverage in the news about the devastating floods which hit many parts of the country, this included some areas where the OnGarde tower was deployed, this included a site in Leeds. As you can see from the photo the flooding on the site was bad with the base of the OnGarde tower actually underwater, despite this the tower continued to work and even detected and highlight a plank of wood floating by which was obviously verified as being no threat so no audio warning was given.

For more information about the OnGarde CCTV Rapid Deployment Tower and the NEW OnGarde Duo visitongardecctv.com

Putting together quotes takes a lot of effort. That’s why it is particularly irritating when you lose a job after composing a difficult quote. Benjamin Dyer of Powered Now provides tips on how to keep this danger to a minimum.

I am a bit self-centred. That is, I see the world from my point of view. Funnily enough, so does everyone else, and that explains one of the problems of running a business.

Suppose I complete and send off a quotation, having worked hard on calculating volumes of materials required, then pulling together pricing and estimating the labour required. From my point of view I expect it to be opened immediately by the bright-eyed and enthusiastic recipient, who can’t wait to get back to me to book in the job.

Unfortunately, life’s not like that.

Although one of the single biggest complaints of homeowners dealing with the UK construction industry is that they can’t get quotes out of them, it unfortunately doesn’t mean they will necessarily read them when they are received!

Delivery of the quote

The first and most obvious point is to make sure that the quote has been received by your prospect. A great way to do this is use an alternative method to tell the prospect that it’s been sent. That’s why in the app from my company, we have the ability to send a quote by email but at the same time text the customer that it’s on its way. This is in addition to being able to print the quote out.

After all, the worst possible outcome is thatyou do lots of work on the quote, and it ends up in a spam folder while the

homeowner (or contractor) is eagerlyreading your rival’s proposal while wonderingwhy you didn’t bother responding.

Follow up

You also need to note in your diary when your quote went out and make a note of when to follow up. Pre-arrange your follow up with the customer if possible, but otherwise do it anyway. It’s best if you have a reason to call eg. “I haven’t heard for a week, I just wanted to check the quote had got through and that everything was clear. Do you have any questions?” or “I had provisionally booked the team in for next Monday because you said there was a rush, I’m afraid I need a decision today else I won’t be able to stick to that timetable”.

Matthew Stevenson of fast growing The Landscape Company puts it this way “I always follow up with a text message to make sure they have received the emailed quote, and to ask them to feel free to get back with any questions”.

Lose gracefully

Inevitably, you won’t always win your bids. When this happens, speak to the prospect and thank them for the opportunity and wish them the best with their choice. That way if things go wrong or even if they go okay and they need another job, they will come to you. They may even recommend you to others.

If on the other hand you are rude you will probably find the prospects trashing your reputation, and they may even do it online where it could cause quite a bit of damage. Once you’ve done this you should ask the question: “It would really help if you could tell me the main reason why I didn’t win this one as that helps me to improve for the future”.

Matty Stevenson again: “If I get an email back with bad news saying I haven’t got the job, I always respond saying thank you for the opportunity and thanks for responding and wishing them all the best. I also tell them that if they want anything in the future, to not hesitate to get in touch“.

One common problem is that the prospect decides not to go ahead straight away. Although they will promise to come back to you, this rarely happens. So make sure you drop them an email every few months asking if they are thinking about going ahead. Otherwise it will be out-of-site means out-of-mind.

Improve over time

You should keep a record of all leads including where they came from and what the result was. This helps you to understand which sources are working and hence where to focus sales and marketing efforts.

Don’t lose when you could win -Producing decent quotes is a lot of work. The most frustrating thing is having committed this work, to then lose the business when you might have won. Hopefully some of the pointers in this article can help.

How to win business after you’ve sent the quoteBenjamin Dyer, CEO of Powered Now, the business administration mobile App for building and construction, gives his views on how to win business.

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You may (or may not!) be interested to know that I received a few new business books over the festive period, so I’ve been doing a spot of reading.

I’ve just finished the million-copy best seller by Rolf Dobelli entitled ‘The Art of Thinking Clearly’ and I’d like to share with you details of just one of the chapters that really struck a chord.

‘Don’t Take News Anchors Seriously’ – Chauffeur Knowledge is the title of chapter 16 of the book. In it, Dobelli outlines the two types of knowledge that we are exposed to on a daily basis.

The first is ‘real knowledge’ and “can be seen in people who have committed a large amount of time and effort in understanding a topic”.

The second is what Dobelli refers to as ‘chauffeur knowledge’ after eloquently outlining how Nobel Prize winner, Max Planck, reportedly took up his chauffeur’s offer to deliver a lecture on quantum mechanics during a tour across Germany in 1918. The chauffeur in question had listened to Planck’s speech so many times he felt he knew if off by heart.

So, one night in Munich, Planck donned his chauffeur’s cap and took a seat in the front row and listened to his driver give a long lecture to a distinguished audience. After finishing the speech, a physics professor asked a question and the chauffeur recoiled and responded: “Never would I have thought that someone from such an advanced city as Munich would ask such a simple question! My chauffeur will answer it.”

‘Chauffeur knowledge’ is the second

type of knowledge that essentially comes from people who have learned to put on a show. The knowledge isn’t their own, they reel it off as though they were reading from a script; just like Planck’s chauffeur.

This brings me nicely to the premise of this article: don’t believe all you see, hear or read in the media. It goes without saying that most of us are familiar with being wary about what the mainstream press writes and reports. I also think, rightly or wrongly, we should exercise the same caution with construction media.

Dare I use the ‘P’ word at this stage? How do we differentiate between ‘real knowledge’ and ‘chauffeur knowledge’ especially when it comes to articles on major projects, how things are improving in our sector and all the new houses the Government is building? What’s true and what isn’t?

What about Build UK’s widely publicised (by key trade and national press) claim that it will provide, “for the first time, a single voice for the whole of the contracting supply chain” and the idea that it is “ideally positioned to promote collaboration and provide industry-wide solutions for the benefit of everyone”?

Both statements are extremely hard to swallow because how can 67 separate businesses and associations with such diverse interests speak with one single voice? It’s impossible.

Could it be that such pronouncements are based on ‘chauffeur knowledge’. Time will tell, and you can make your own mind up.

And what about the Government and

politicians of all denominations? Possibly the worst ‘chauffeurs’ of them all. None of them can ever give a straight answer and every single Government scheme devised to tackle Fair Payment in our industry has been wholly ineffective. Is it because they simply have ‘chauffeur knowledge’ of the issues? Or is it that they simply don’t care?

The lack of training and apprentices, dithering around with the CITB, the withdrawal of funding for the Growth Accelerator Scheme and the abuse of the supply chain by cash-strapped Main Contractors in the form of late or non-payment and spurious contra-charges continues to result in good, experienced, ‘real knowledge’ Specialist Contractors going to the wall.

Maybe we need to challenge the so-called key influencers and certain journalists, because we might find that they are only ‘chauffeurs’ after all…

When the vast majority of UK businesses employ very few people, why is there not more genuine support and ‘real knowledge’ of those firms that are the very backbone of the industry? To the best of my knowledge, both sides have work to do to tackle this but until the propaganda – there I said it – ceases, or we learn to ignore it, the shape and health of our industry will only worsen.

Barry Ashmore is MD and co-founder of StreetwiseSubbie.com which provides business solutions for Specialist Contractors throughout the UK.

To the best of my knowledge

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In September of last year, the Government announced headline-grabbing, but ultimately ambitious, plans to build a million new homes in England by 2020. The National Housing Federation revealed the extent of the housing crisis, suggesting that only half of the required new homes are currently being built.

With an estimated 245,000 new homes necessitated every year, the current model is leading to many families struggling to afford a permanent home – especially first time buyers. This has led to speculation that adopting the German model of increased reliance upon pre-fabricated homes could help the Government achieve their 2020 target, and help redress England’s housing crisis.

The quicker build time and lower construction costs of developing and installing pre-fabricated homes can help house the families currently crying out for new family homes.

The Government are currently working on a number of schemes to encourage first time buyers to take their first steps onto the property ladder. Initiatives such as lower deposits programmes and the Help-to-Buy ISAs are intended to make buying a property more affordable – however a shortage of available homes

could prove to be a stumbling block.

Government schemes and grants could increase demand for homes, but if the supply does not grow in tandem, it could effectively lead to developers continuing to hike up house prices – leaving even more first time buyers without the opportunity to invest.

The German construction industry is perhaps better suited to an influx of first time buyers thanks to their advanced adoption of pre-fabricated homes. Often considered to be a leader in innovating comfortable, attractive and efficient pre-fabricated houses; the technology and number of dedicated factories are far greater in Germany than the UK.

Throughout the country, firms have set up to create robust, stylish, safe and warm pre-fabricated homes which can be used to house the growing German population.

This gap between German and UK pre-fab construction industries is perhaps best exemplified in the Channel 4 show, Grand Designs, wherein presenter Kevin McCloud always seems to be jetting off to Germany when the episode features a pre-fabricated house. This demonstrates an insufficient supply of pre-fabricated housing currently available in the UK.

Joerg Bauer is Chief of Bauer Holzbausysteme, a small family-run business specialising in building pre-fabricated homes on a site close to the borders of Austria and Switzerland. He explains how increasing demand for pre-fab homes is affecting his business: “We are about to introduce a double-shift at our plant in Neukirch, open a bigger factory building in nearby Lindau and increase our staff from 40 currently to 60.”

An effective increase in the number of homes in England will undoubtedly have additional knock-on effects for the construction industry – with greater need for increased infrastructure and support.

Paul Manchester, Director of Manchester Safety Services, suggests: “With an increasing population, there will be additional need for improved infrastructure around towns and satellite settlements in which new home owners will reside. With hundreds of miles of roadworks on UK roads, there is already the need to improve the nation’s roads and this will only intensify as the population grows.”

But the first step for accommodating a rapidly growing population is ensuring that everyone has a roof over their head.

Are Pre-Fabricated homes the answer to the Million Homes Conundrum?

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In April 2014 the Government launched its Construction Supply Chain Payment Charter. A central plank of the Charter was the abolition of retentions by 2025. Now the Government has announced that it will start a review of the practice of retentions. The review will deal with current practice and its impact on all parties involved, before suggesting alternatives to the practice of retentions.

Everyone in the construction industry, whether they be clients, main contractors or sub-contractors, are acutely aware of retentions and the need for them (or some alternative) but they are very divisive and cause many conflicts in the industry.

Take, as an example, an amended JCT 2011 Design and Build Contract. Retentions are (predominantly) dealt with by clause 4.16 and 4.18. The retention percentage is 3% unless (which is usual) the contract is amended to say 5%.

Pursuant to clause 4.16 (and I paraphrase) the retention that is deducted from each interim payment under clause 4.7.2.1 is to be held by the employer as a fiduciary trustee. If the main contractor so requests, then the retention money must be placed into a separate bank account and held by the employer on trust.

If all runs smoothly then half the retention is released back to the contractor on practical completion and the other half is released back on the making good of defects. For me here is the nub

of the issue. I have never, in over 20 years of working in the construction industry, seen these clauses (and their predecessors) un-amended.

The simple reason for this is that the employer wants to use the retention to help their own cash flow and to feel they have some stick with which to beat the contractor. So the employer holds retention and then in turn the main contractor holds retention against his sub-contractors.

Debate has raged for years about the pros and cons of retention. Employers like it as it will force the main contractor to come back and finish any outstanding or defective work. On the other hand, the main contractor sees a retention as unfairly withholding money for the work they have carried out and this money could be used to aid their cash flow.

Further, in the event of a main contractor insolvency (and let’s be honest) the employer gets a windfall and generally keeps the retention. The knock on effect of a main contractor insolvency tends to be massive, leaving a trail of destruction with many sub-contractors “high and dry” when it comes to getting their own retentions back.

The consultancy firm appointed by the Government to come up with alternatives to retentions have their “hands full”. It will be incredibly difficult to find a universally acceptable solution. Retention provisions are embedded in the construction industry,

they are familiar to all (and begrudgingly accepted?) and they are a contractual provision in ever major contract.

I have mentioned trust accounts above (from the un-amended JCT contract) - I have never seen one. There is the possibility of the main contractor and sub-contractor providing a retention bond. These should be an on demand bond to the value of the retention held. The retention is then released back to the contractor. The beneficiary can call on the bond should the contractor not complete his work, or if he does not come back to rectify defects.

A solution? Perhaps, but having worked for a main contractor for years we would always offer a retention bond to an employer so we would get our retention back to help our cash flow. However, we never allowed a sub-contractor to provide a retention bond because we used the sub contractor’s retention to aid our own cash flow.

For me retentions will always remain in some form or other in the industry, but perhaps we should revert to an un-amended form of main contract and sub-contract. Then at least contractors would know their money is safe, even though they cannot access it.

Laurance Sheppard, Senior Associate, Thomas Eggar (recently merged with Irwin Mitchell LLP).

The end of retentions?Don’t hold your breath

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The £410M nationwide project to go live through the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme is now two thirds complete, with two years remaining.

The Digital Scotland rollout consists of two projects, one of which covers the Highlands and Islands area, led by Highlands and Islands Enterprise. The other project covers the rest of Scotland, and is led by the Scottish government.

The engineering milestone was passed as a new fibre cabinet was built in Gretna Green.

More than 2,200 new fibre street cabinets have been built, with the most northern serving 80 homes in Bod of Gremista, Shetland and the most southern covering 250 premises in Isle of Whithorn, Dumfries and Galloway.

BT have invested £126M in the two projects which are being delivered on the ground by engineers from its local network business, Openreach. In excess of 500KM of cable has

been laid by Openreach engineers.

Infrastructure Secretary Keith Brown said: “Today’s milestone is fantastic news for the 500,000 households and businesses across Scotland which would simply not have seen the benefits of high speed, high quality digital connectivity without the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme. It is among the most ambitious broadband infrastructure projects ever undertaken.”

One in four premises has already connected to the high-speed network, with Gretna Green one of the last to go live in the historic village.

Over 850,000 people visit Gretna Green each year, with 1,500 couples who visit to get married in the Famous Blacksmiths Shop.

Lynda Denton, Head of Sales & Marketing at Gretna Green Ltd, said: “WiFi being available is important, it provides our newlyweds and visitors, who come from all over the world, with the ability to share

their photos and videos. It’s a wonderful way for Gretna Green love to be shared with friends and family back home.”

In total, more than 1.9 million Scottish premises can now get connected to high-speed broadband, with a variety of choice in cost and services. Availability of fibre broadband for homes and businesses in the Highlands and Islands has grown by over 55% since 2014.

Brendan Dick, BT Scotland Director, said: “We’re proud to be at the heart of digital life in Scotland and look forward to bringing high-speed services to some of our most remote communities in 2016.”

Other funding partners include the UK Government through Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), local authorities and the European Regional Development Fund.

More than 500,000 Scottish homes and businesses can now connect to high-speed digital network.

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If you are ever required to give evidence in court you will be given the option either to swear an oath or to give an affirmation that your statement and evidence will be truthful. Here are the two options.

Oath: I swear by Almighty God that the evidence I shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Affirmation: I do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm that the evidence I shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Insurance companies do not require an applicant to swear that its proposal form will be completely accurate and truthful but in reality they might as well. Let’s be quite clear about this, there can be very unpleasant consequences for any person or company that fails to complete an application form as accurately and truthfully as possible or fails to give a material disclosure to an insurer which might in turn affect the premium quoted.

To demonstrate the point I am trying to make, take the recent judgement of the Court handed down in Brit UW Ltd v F&B Trenchless Solutions Ltd [2015] EWHC 2237.

F&B was appointed to install a micro-tunnel under a railway track in 2013. On 27 August of that year, a freight train derailed on land passing over the site in question. Subsequent investigations proved that the derailment had been caused by dips in the ground which in turn had been created by F&B’s tunnelling operations. Not surprisingly F&B faced actions from many third parties affected by the derailment. F&B notified its insurer, Brit, expecting it to provide the necessary indemnities and insurance cover and to settle the resulting claims. There was, however, to be a problem.

Contracts of Insurance - a failure todisclose - Unpleasant Consequences?

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F&B had only contracted with Brit for insurance cover after the tunnel had been built and crucially F&B neglected to advise Brit that the tunnel was adjacent to a live railway line and that there had been previous evidence of earth settlement in the vicinity of the site.

Upon receiving notification of F&B’s claim and investigating the background, Brit refused to provide F&B with the indemnity and advised that the policy cover was void. Brit then applied to the Court for a declaration that its decision to treat the contract of insurance as void was valid. It appears that the Court had no difficulty in finding that Brit was so entitled.

The Court also decided that F&B had failed to disclose the existence of significant earth settlement and voids under the road at the site prior to entering into the Policy. In the Court’s view this information would have influenced the judgement of a prudent insurer in fixing an appropriate premium or may have inclined a prudent insurer to decline cover.

The Court found that F&B’s broker was guilty of misrepresentation by pledging that F&B had not, nor would

it be undertaking tunnelling operations near to a live railway when it knew the situation to be quite different. This was clearly a material misrepresentation which would have influenced Brit in deciding whether or not to offer cover and on what terms.

Finally, the Court concluded that F&B should have voluntarily disclosed that it had and continued to undertake tunnelling operations near a live railway to its insurers as this was a material fact which should have been disclosed.

In summary, Brit was fully entitled to void the insurance cover as a result of these findings.

This case serves as a stark warning to all involved in procuring contracts of insurance. It is not for the applicant to decide what facts are relevant or not to an insurer. If in doubt, don’t leave it out, tell all and leave the insurer to decide if it wishes to offer terms and on what basis. Maybe before completing the proposal form you should even consider swearing an oath or affirmation just to remind yourself how important this all is.

Finally, it would be remiss of me not to mention that a new statute - The Insurance Act

2015 - comes into effect from August 2016. Under this new legislation it will be far harder for insurance companies to void cover unless they can show that a material non-disclosure by a policy holder was deliberate or reckless. Even then, unless the insurer can convince a Court that it would have declined cover as opposed to simply charging a higher premium, then the insurer will not be permitted to void the policy cover.

Peter Vinden is a practising Arbitrator, Adjudicator, Mediator and Expert. He is Managing Director of The Vinden Partnership and can becontacted by email atpvinden@vinden.co.uk.

For similar articles please visit www.vinden.co.uk

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This case serves as a stark warning to all involved inprocuring contracts of insurance. It is not for the applicant

to decide what facts are relevant or not to an insurer. Ifin doubt, don’t leave it out, tell all and leave the insurerto decide if it wishes to offer terms and on what basis.

ERP and Financial Contract Management Software

• Better control of costs for on-budget completion

• Effective tracking of valuations, applications and retentions

• Real-time visibility and advanced, easy reporting

• Ensures compliance with HMRC legislation

• Easy integration with 3rd parties

House Building Software

• Deal with every stage of the process; from site acquisition and land-bank development to build, sales and customer care

• Enhance customer engagement with integrated sales and marketing tools

• Precise reporting on margins and cash flow to avoid cost over-runs

• Accurate cost comparisons

Estimating, Cost Planning and Post-Contract

• Streamline pre- and post-contract processes

• Create fast, accurate and consistent tenders

• Take off from drawings using 2D, 3D and BIM Measure

• Intuitive to understand and easy to use

8 considerations when reviewing your construction management software

From scalability to the ability to integrate with existing solutions, when the time comes to change your software you’ll need to consider the options both the software and its provider can offer. Read this checklist to see if your software and provider are the right fit for your future needs…

1. Is your construction software developed using modern, scalable technology?

If your business is growing, you will want to invest in a software that will grow with you and stand the test of time. Look for a provider whose software is built on robust, flexible widely-used platforms such as Sage and Microsoft, providing you with choice and longevity.

2. Will your construction software grow with your business?

Every business aspires to grow, but a limitation on the number of licenses available for your construction software won’t help your business smoothly evolve. It’s important to have a truly scalable construction software platform in place that will support your company’s growth.

3. Is your construction software contract reasonable?

Sometimes long term contracts with your software provider are a good thing – but what if your software is no longer being enhanced? Construction companies need to ensure that their software will be constantly developed to fit their needs and with a contract that suits.

4. Does your construction software integrate with 3rd party solutions?

Collaboration is key in construction project management. Adopting construction software that is built on modern technology and enables quick and easy integration with other systems will ensure success and completion of your projects.

5. Does your software include powerful, easy to use reporting as standard?

To avoid cost over runs, you need construction-specific software that provides advanced reporting on margins and cash flow, and to enable complex reports to be created and run across your business functions for full visibility of a project.

6. Does your construction software make your life easy?

Construction firms are realising the importance of streamlining their processes. Finding a software that allows construction workers and managers to have access to the right tools and information to help deliver projects on time and on budget will save you time and money.

7. Are your software upgrades providing value for your money?

Many businesses are paying expensive renewal fees against limited software updates. Construction firms need to ensure they’re with a provider that has a product development roadmap in place, and that their solutions are continually developed.

8. Can new users easily adopt your construction software without extensive training?

Finding new or temporary staff that can get to grips with familiar and intuitive platforms, such as Microsoft or Sage based software, is easier than training new people to use complex software. With intuitive and easy-to-use construction software, you can bring new staff up to speed quickly and inexpensively.

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Effective brands tell a clear story to a well-defined audience, and property projects are no different. Developers will typically design their marketing and sales strategies around the needs of their target customer base, developing tailored materials, communications and marketing campaigns to appeal directly to these groups.

However, what do you do when the audience is split very clearly in two? This is the challenge facing many developers, especially housing providers that market properties on the same site to both affordable and private audiences.

In reality, this issue is not as big a problem as many might think. Philosophy worked with leading housing provider Catalyst to create branding and marketing for its mixed tenure flagship Portobello Square development, and this work is testament to the fact that a clear focus on building a strong brand identity based on firm values can appeal to and even bring together very different audience groups.

This approach certainly worked: apart from the initial launch campaign and recent activity to promote the new townhouses, no advertising at all was needed or used throughout the four-year first phase of the project.

Joining forces

There’s no denying that private sale and affordable housing are worlds apart. From the way sales and rentals are handled to the requirements and priorities of the customer base in each sector. Indeed, the affordable rental aspect of such projects is often seen as the ‘poor relation’, resulting in communications which lack creativity, sophistication, and excitement.

In turn, shared ownership properties are almost always included in the affordable bracket alongside affordable rentals when it comes to marketing, branding and language, but actually, in terms of the target audience – young professionals who aspire to own property but cannot afford to without assistance – it makes much more sense to treat to this group in the same way as the private sales audience. Let’s not forget that current London prices mean that for most London boroughs, the cut off for joining a shared ownership scheme is a household income of £71,000.

With such marked differences in audiences, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the best marketing approach would be to develop two distinct strategies, each homing in on the very distinct needs of each group. However, Catalyst turned this concept on its head for the Portobello Square branding and marketing.

A famously diverse and inclusive neighbourhood which is home to the legendary street market, various celebrity residents and of course the renowned Carnival this corner of London has long been known for its community feel, with inhabitants of all backgrounds and means living happily alongside each other.

Philosophy devised a strategy for the branding of the project and the resulting communications activity which reflected this sense of unity and togetherness. By creating one name, one communication plan and one visual identity, it established a consistent brand that avoided dividing the two groups but instead presented a unifying message that was distributed across all target audiences. In addition, the community engagement activity ensured that affordable tenants, the private development audience and the wider local community were actively involved with the project, giving them the chance to contribute ideas and have their say.

Karen Lee-Brindle, Head of Sales and Marketing at Catalyst, says: “We’re really proud of the bold approach we took with marketing this project. It not only allowed us to present a united proposition to all of our audiences, but it also strengthened our brand, bringing a consistency and depth to the marketing collateral that would not have been possible had the campaign been split across tenures.”

Going ‘tenure blind’

This example gives weight to the argument that the property sector is ready for a change in how it markets new developments. The ‘tenure blind’ approach is a refreshing step for developers who want to maximise the impact and return on investment of their marketing activity, allowing them to reach wider audiences and have a cleaner, more consistent brand identity that in turn becomes more memorable and long-lasting.

Once the step has been taken to develop a joint marketing strategy, it’s vital that time and care is taken to create an identity and messages that support all audiences. There’s no merit in having a united brand that only caters for one target group, and ignores the needs of the other. Similarly, avoid the trap of opting for style over substance. Research, planning and attention to detail are all vital in ensuring that the brand is a true reflection of not only the project itself but also the community and people it’s trying to target.

It’s also crucial to carry the chosen design and identity across as many channels and touchpoints as possible, especially when you are targeting two very different audience groups. Don’t stop at marketing collateral either: think about every available medium you can use to communicate your message, from the fit-out of the marketing suite to the site hoardings. The more you can get your branding out there, remembered and talked about, the better.

Reaping the rewards

Get it right and this approach can be very effective: after the official launch of Philosophy’s work for Catalyst on Portobello Square demand was so high that advertising was put on hold in order for the sales team to cope with the levels of interest. Sales targets were reached far earlier than originally estimated.

The consistent brand design and the core messaging that was carried throughout the marketing activity ensured that all audiences, regardless of whether they were affordable tenants, existing residents, sales targets or local community stakeholders, had a crystal clear understanding of the project and its vision, and were able to add their own contributions to its progress.

Knocking down walls: how to successfully market a mixed tenure property developmentBy Natasha Anslow, Director at Philosophy Design

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Ten Steps to BIMBIM – Building Information Modelling – is a co-ordinated set of processes, supported by technology, that add value by creating, managing and sharing the properties of an asset throughout its lifecycle. BIM incorporates data – physical, commercial, environmental, and operational – on every element of a development’s design.

1. Better outcomes through collaboration All project partners – different design disciplines, the customer, contractor, specialists and suppliers – use a single, shared 3D model, cultivating collaborative working relationships. This ensures everyone is focused on achieving best value, from project inception to eventual decommissioning. 2. Enhanced performance BIM makes possible swift and accurate comparison of different design options, enabling development of more efficient, cost-effective and sustainable solutions. 3. Optimised solutions Through deployment of new generative modelling technologies, solutions can be cost-effectively optimised against agreed parameters.

4. Greater predictability Projects can be visualised at an early stage, giving owners and operators a clear idea of design intent and allowing them to modify the design to achieve the outcomes they want. In advance of construction, BIM also enables the project team to ‘build’ the project in a virtual environment, rehearsing complex procedures, optimising temporary works designs and planning procurement of materials, equipment and manpower. 5. Faster project delivery Time savings,

up to 50%, can be achieved by agreeing the design concept early in project development to eliminate late stage design changes; using standard design elements when practicable; resolving complex construction details before the project goes on site; avoiding clashes; taking advantage of intelligence and automation within the model to check design integrity and estimate quantities; producing fabrication and construction drawings from the model; and using data to control construction equipment.

6. Reduced safety risk Crowd behaviour and fire modelling capability enable designs to be optimised for public safety. Asset managers can use the 3D model to enhance operational safety. Contractors can minimise construction risks by reviewing complex details or procedures before going on site.

7. Fits first time Integrating multidisciplinary design inputs using a single 3D model allows interface issues to be identified and resolved in advance of construction, eliminating the cost and time impacts of redesign. The model also enables new and existing assets to be integrated seamlessly.

8. Reduced waste Exact quantity take-offs mean that materials are not over-ordered. Precise programme scheduling enables just-in-time delivery of materials and equipment, reducing potential for damage. Use of BIM for automated fabrication of equipment and components enables more efficient materials handling and waste recovery.

9. Whole life asset management BIM models contain product information that assists with commissioning, operation and maintenance activities – for example sequences for start-up and shut-down, interactive 3D diagrams showing how to take apart and reassemble equipment items and specifications allowing replacement parts to be ordered.

10. Continual improvement Members of the project team can feed back information about the performance of processes and items of equipment, driving improvements on subsequent projects.

For more information about how Quadra can help you prepare and continue your BIM Journey, please get in touch: www.quadrasol.co.uk

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Ultimate Finance, which provides funding to SMEs, is keen to raise awareness among construction companies that outstanding billing, be it ‘Uncertified Applications for Payment’ or invoices are one of their most valuable assets to help them avoid cash flow difficulties.The campaign is on the back of research from the Asset Based Finance Association (ABFA) which has revealed that SMEs in the construction industry are second only to the manufacturing sector, in having the most unpaid outstanding billing. Construction companies are currently owed £7Bn in outstanding billings, which represents 16% of annual turnover in the sector. However when it comes to payment times, construction companies are treated the worst, having to wait an average of 107 days before their billing is settled.

Tim Wilkinson, Sales Director of Ultimate Construction Finance, believes the sector is lagging behind other industries when it comes to treating their outstanding billing as an asset with which to leverage funding.“With banks still reluctant to lend and companies taking longer to pay, businesses across all sectors are increasingly turning to receivables finance,” he said. “Opinions have changed about using this type of facility, as companies realise that they can have the money owed to them within as little as 24 hours, rather than having to wait for months before they get paid.“We understand that companies don’t want to upset their customers by putting too much pressure on them to pay but, at

the same time, it is grossly unfair to have to wait so long as goods and employees have to be paid for in the meantime, which puts a huge strain on the cash flow. It has even caused some companies to go bust!

“As a business Ultimate Finance has increased its live clients by 55% and increased the money we are lending out against assets, such as ‘Uncertified Applications for Payment’ and invoices, by 52% over the last 12 months, demonstrating the growth in popularity for this kind of lending.

“However many companies within the construction sector are still unaware that outstanding billings gathering dust in a file can be used for the day to day cash requirements of the business. In addition, freeing up the money can also be used to enhance the trading relationships with key suppliers where contract wins, or pending new contracts, may require increased credit lines or initial cash payments to obtain materials and labour resources that are crucial for the successful mobilisation of the contract.

“Looking to the future, there has been much commentary in the media about skills shortages in the construction sector which could result in wage rises of around six percent, which is three times the national average wage increase.

“Add to that the increase in the cost of materials and you can see why building in London and other conurbations has risen dramatically. According to recent research, the capital is the most expensive city for building in Europe and the second most expensive city worldwide.

“All these issues directly affect the cash position of construction businesses across the UK. Therefore a review of the working capital position along with a review of the potential value to be released in outstanding billing may well provide an additional edge to help to continue to drive the construction sector forward.

“It may therefore be a worthwhile exercise to calculate how much you are owed in outstanding ‘Uncertified Applications For Payment’ as well as invoices and then consider how the company could benefit if they were all paid now.”

Ultimate Finance has offices across the UK and further information is available at:www.ultimatefinance.co.uk/cashflow-solutions/construction-finance

Construction companies need to cash in on their assets according to research

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One-in-three contractors to set up a pension this year

All construction companies will have to provide workers with a workplace pension scheme by law over the next couple of years. The biggest contractors have already done so, and there remains over 100,000 construction companies to do so in 2016, and a further 200,000 in 2017. This is called automatic enrolment.

When your business must have done this by (called a ‘staging date’) depends on your PAYE reference number and date of incorporation. You will receive a letter from the Pensions Regulator 12 months before your staging date, confirming your staging date, requesting a nominated contact person and outlining your duties and responsibilities. Prepare for the changes early. You will need to ensure that your nominated contact is fully aware and capable of fulfilling all their duties. There is no one set way to comply with automatic enrolment responsibilities, so it will ultimately be a case of finding the right approach that fits your business.

Unique challenges exist for the construction industry that you will need to factor into your design decisions; including classification of workers (versus sub-contractors), keeping your cost base down to keep your contract prices competitive (whilst attracting talent), handling high levels of new recruits to deliver your pipeline of infrastructure work, high staff turnover in transient workforces, and low-to-moderate earning

groups of workers with different rates and pay cycles within one company. You need to make sure you make the right decisions when it comes to payroll compliance.

For example:

• Relief at source arrangements will ensure lowest paid workers (less than £10,600) receive tax relief • Postponement from worker start date for up to three months for assessment and enrolment – keeps short-term contract costs down • Differentiate terms for multiple groupings/ categories of workers – avoiding multiple Employer Pension Charges.

If you don’t already offer workers a ‘qualifying’ (can be used for automatic enrolment) workplace pension scheme, you must make the necessary arrangements well before your business’s staging date. The scheme you currently offer will need to be checked to ensure it is qualifying, if not it will need to be altered.

Who do we automatically enrol?

You will need to know your workers from your sub-contractors. You must assess (subject to postponement) and enrol into the scheme all workers who: • Are aged between 22 and the State Pension Age

• Earn at least £10,000 a year/ £833 a month/ £192 a week • Work in the UK

You must make an employer’s contribution to the pension scheme for those workers.

What about my other workers?

Any worker who falls outside the eligible age band (aged 16 to 21, for example, or state pension age to 75) or earns less than the threshold, may opt in to the workplace pension with a minimum contribution payable from you.

However, you don’t have to contribute to the pension scheme if the worker earns less than £5,824 a year (£486 a month, £448 per 4 weeks, £112 a week).When workers are enroled into your pension scheme, you must:

• Pay at least the minimum contributions to the pension scheme on time • Allow workers to leave the pension scheme (called ‘opting out’) if they ask - and refund money they have paid in if they opt out within month one • Allow opt-outs to rejoin the scheme at least once a year • Re-enrol opt-outs back into the scheme once every three years if they are still eligible for automatic enrolment.

A leading authority and industry commentator, Steve Conley was the UK’s most senior pensions professional in retail banking for over a decade working as head of investments for high street banks including HSBC, RBS, Natwest and Santander. He was instrumental in bringing some of the most successful investment opportunities to the UK markets and his ideas have been paramount to the development of governmental strategy.

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You can’t pressure workers to opt out of the scheme, or discriminate against workers or potential recruits who wish to join a scheme.

How much will you have to contribute?

There will be a minimum contribution of eight per cent of qualifying earnings (between £5,824 and £42,385 per annum), of which the employer must pay a minimum of three per cent. Minimum contribution levels will be phased in between staging date and April 2019. The minimum rate of employer contributions increase from one per cent to two per cent of banded earnings from April 2018, and to three per cent from April 2019.

What do I tell my workers?

When you automatically enrol workers into a workplace pension scheme, you must write to them. In the letter, you must tell them:

• The date they’ve been added to the scheme • The type of scheme and who runs it • How much you will contribute and how much they will have to pay

• How they can leave the scheme.

Guidance for nominated contacts

Automatic enrolment regulations introduced wide ranging changes that put new duties on employers. Ensure your nominated contact has access to the skills, knowledge and experience to carry out these duties.

As with many projects coming off the drawing board, there remains an important role for expert advice and now is the time to identify the skills that will be needed and to source your supplier. Many compliance issues may not be understood or considered by generalists. This is an area where it would be logical for automatic enrolment specialists to provide third-party, expert knowledge and resources to ensure compliance

and meet your commercial objectives.

Independent review, reporting and support can be sourced from an automatic enrolment specialist for a few hundred pounds that should provide you assurance that robust compliance is in place.

Specialist automatic enrolment firm Workplace Pensions Direct will help you to navigate the new legislation at prices you can afford; making it work for you and keeping your teams focused on delivering successful construction projects. To help you understand your new pension duties, and get your business and staff ready for the changes, contact Workplace Pensions Direct.

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In January, Prime Minister, David Cameron, announced that the Government will directly commission small to medium sized housebuilders to build 30,000 affordable homes on underused brownfield sites. Here, Andrew Carpenter, Chief Executive of the Structural Timber Association (STA), discusses this Government initiative and argues that timber frame housing can provide a timely, cost effective and sustainable solution to help solve the housing crisis.

The Government’s move to commission the construction of 30,000 new homes marks a positive start to 2016 for the housebuilding industry. By actively promoting the use of SME contractors, the Government has shown a clear will to reach its 2020 target of building one million new homes whilst diversifying the housebuilding sector.

Currently, the eight largest housebuilders in the UK provide 50% of new homes. As this policy is aimed at smaller housebuilders and developers, it will inevitably stimulate competition, opening up opportunities within the sector. Previously, the cost and difficulty in obtaining planning permission provided the main barrier to entry for these smaller contractors.

In fact, the legislative and bureaucratic logjam created by delays in planning permission applications is a huge frustration within the housing industry and has severely stymied the rate of growth of new builds. The Government has bypassed this impediment by identifying sites that already hold planning permission.

Cutting through this red tape will buoy smaller housebuilders as potentially more entrants will be attracted to the SME housebuilder market. Consequently, their position and accumulative autonomy within the housing sector will be bolstered and ultimately there will be an increased capacity to build homes at a faster rate.

Although this news is positive, the housing sector must capitalise on the momentum created by this announcement by positioning itself to build quality homes in a cost effective and time efficient manner. As such, timber frame is the ideal choice of material

for projects. These skill and supply shortages not only increase the financial burden on housing projects but at this moment when speed of construction is of the essence, they create unwelcome and unnecessary delays.

Timber not only enables specifiers to choose a material that is precision engineered and cost effective but also sustainable. Structural timber’s low heat conductivity, low embodied carbon, high structural strength, airtight construction and traceable supply chain make it an ideal choice for housebuilders with sustainability in mind.

With consideration to all these benefits associated with timber frame homes, it is the STA’s belief that an increase in the use of timber frame within the house-building sector would provide a solution to the perennial housing shortage crisis.

David Cameron’s announcement to directly commission the construction of thousands of homes is welcome news for SME housebuilders and the construction industry in general. However, whilst the priority is on the cost and speed of delivery, the issue of quality must not be overlooked. The construction industry and the Government must make a commitment to building more affordable homes, better, as to leave a social legacy beyond its 2020 mandate and accordingly, the choice of timber frame housing is the first step to achieving this.

for UK SME housebuilders today.

Timber frame’s inherent strength, durability, sustainability, availability and relatively low cost give it a competitive advantage over other methods of construction. Structural timber, manufactured offsite, is monitored at every stage of its production and is not reliant on a multitude of other trades and determinants. Frames are constructed in a controlled and precise manner using the latest industry innovations and technology such as breathable membranes with thermal, acoustic, and fire protection inbuilt into the timber’s design.

Furthermore, a factory-based environment ensures safer working conditions for employees. Offsite timber construction doesn’t carry the same height risks as construction carried out onsite and is not weather reliant. This is a huge benefit given our changeable climate. Using offsite construction methods, strong winds, heavy rain and below freezing conditions has no effect on workers which leads to safer, better quality, more efficient and quicker production.

Moreover, an increase in offsite construction, as offered by timber frame, will improve the construction industry’s image among young people, helping to alleviate the chronic skills shortage within the sector. The government report, Construction 2025, outlined how the construction industry’s poor image was having a “detrimental effect on companies’ abilities to recruit and retain the best talent”. A more professional setting, away form the elements, will help convince prospective apprentices and graduates that their skills are best served within the construction industry.

Additionally, there are various cost benefits associated with building timber frame housing. Timber is a readily available material that can easily meet industry demands. Supplies of brick and block have recently suffered shortages and when a material is in short supply, a premium is placed on its price. There is also an alarming shortfall in the numbers of skilled bricklayers within the UK construction sector, with a recent Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) survey revealing 60% of respondents have difficulty in finding bricklayers

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Held in London on 21st January 2016, the inaugural Construction Health Summit brought together key players industry-wide to address an astonishing statistic; that death as a result of occupational disease is a 100 times more likely in the construction industry than accidental death.

The Summit has been organised by the ‘Health in Construction Leadership Group’ - a recently established collaboration between numerous high profile client

those fatalities represent just one per cent of the total annual occupational death toll of some 13,000. The remaining 99% is thought to be the result of work-related lung disease and cancer, attributed to exposure to chemicals and dust while at work.

In the construction industry alone, there were 35 fatal injuries to UK construction workers throughout 2014/15, yet in the same period there were 3,500 deaths from occupational cancer and many more

and contractor organisations, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), professional bodies, trade associations and unions. Their collective objective is to unite the construction industry in eradicating ill health and disease caused by exposure to health hazards, with a view to ensuring construction is the leading industry for occupational health and disease prevention.

While there were 142 fatal workplace accidents in the UK between 2014/15,

Inaugural Construction Health Summit addresses industry shortcomings

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from other diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Construction workers have a high riskof developing diseases from a variety of differing sources. Many construction processes emit dusts, fumes, vapours or gases into the air and these, if not properly controlled, can be the cause of significant breathing problems and lung diseases such as COPD. Chronic bronchitis and emphysema are two common types of COPD.

due to work-related ill health, yet with an unprecedented number of major projects in the pipeline, the demand for skilled construction workers is greater than ever. A healthy and productive workforce is therefore essential to meeting this demand – a consideration that construction leaders are very keen to impress upon the industry. Maintaining a healthy workforce is in everyone’s best interest.

Effecting real and lasting change is never an easy proposition however. The Construction Health Summit seeks to emulate the cultural shift experienced in the industry some 15 years ago, during the 2001 Construction Health and Safety Summit. That landmark Summit helped kick-start a dramatic reduction in on-site injuries and fatalities – an outcome that industry chiefs are eager to replicate for occupational health and disease prevention.

Heather Bryant, Health and Safety Director of Balfour Beatty concluded: “The next step forward is to treat health like it is safety.

“That means planning in health at the preconstruction stage, making sure we have got the right expertise to support us, including occupational health hygienists, and nominating a senior representative at board level to improve health and wellbeing within the workforce.

“The time has come for the industry as a whole to take major steps like binning the broom.”

The Construction Health Summit culminated in the signing of a pledge to improve occupational health throughout the industry. In total, 150 authorities signed the declaration - among them CEO’s from Skanska, Mace and Crossrail. This milestone achievement is a clear call to action, but will the construction industry heed the call? Only time will tell.

The sector also has the largest burden of occupational cancer, accounting for over 40% of occupational cancer deaths and registrations in the UK. The most common cause of these is asbestos (70%) followed by silica (17%), in addition to working as a painter or with diesel engine exhaust fumes (6-7% each).

In response, the Summit explored the various causes of ill health including breathing and lung problems brought about by exposure to dust and diesel emissions, dermatitis caused by hazardous substances, the long-term effects of noise and vibration, as well as back injuries and upper limb disorders.

Research indicates that the vast majority of occupational ill health is preventable. Industry process and standard practice has now come under scrutiny as part of the Health in Construction Leadership Group’s pledge to better ensure long, healthy and productive working lives throughout the supply chain.

The Summit also brought together key business leaders, with Judith Hackitt CBE (Chair of HSE), Andrew Wolstenholme (CEO of Crossrail and Co-Chair of the Construction Leadership Council), and Sir Malcolm Grant (Chairman of NHS England) all contributing to the discussion.

Leo Quinn, Chief Executive of Balfour Beatty, said: “When 100 times more UK construction workers die from occupational disease than from accidents, it’s vital that the industry looks at what more can be done in order to improve health as well as safety.”

Chair of the HSE, Judith Hackitt CBE, added: “The number of on-site related fatalities has fallen by two-thirds in the past ten years due to a concerted and joined up effort by the construction industry. We can have a similar impact on the health of the workforce with an equally determined effort by the industry and its supporting organisations.”

From a purely commercial perspective, the impact of occupational disease is clear. Each year, the construction industry loses 1.2 million working days

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The benefits of using BIM to plan life safety systems

In recent years, BIM (Building Information Modelling) has become one of the biggest buzzwords in the construction industry. The Government has recognised that BIM is both cost effective and efficient, and in 2016, it will become a requirement that all public sector procurement projects are delivered within a BIM Level 2 framework.

The NBS National BIM Library has been, and continues to be, an essential resource for any construction professional, especially as the BIM Level 2 deadline approaches. While many large-scale construction projects are already making the most of BIM, it’s time to encourage the use of BIM across every sector of the built environment.

When we think about healthcare, we think about safety, care, and diagnostics – characteristics that are all well matched to the benefits and processes of BIM. In a sector built on the use of electronic records, such as patient information, pharmacy stock and treatment paths, you could say that the healthcare environment is already using a collaborative data framework to improve efficiency and maintain top level safety standards for its industry.

It seems only fitting then, that healthcare providers like hospitals, doctors surgeries and pharmacies, be treated much like patients themselves – if a doctor would not offer a treatment proven to be ineffective, why would an architect design a building using techniques recognised as unfit for purpose? Or why would a contractor use a building material with a documented history for being unreliable in certain environments?

This begs the question – how can we use BIM in the healthcare sector to keep patient care and safety a priority, while staying practical and keeping costs down?

Design in digital

For a life safety system to work effectively, it needs to be tried and tested.

Using product information, thermal performance data and fire resistance information, building designers can create an accurate BIM model that depicts exactly how a fire might move through a building. This model helps inform the decisions on which products to use and where to use them in order to produce an efficient fire detection or emergency lighting network that minimises risk to building users. Having an awareness of what products are needed helps limit over-ordering; since installers would know exactly how many devices they need for the project, saving both time and money. BIM enables the sharing of data between all stakeholders in the project and in turn provides ‘clash detection’ – highlighting instances where one system install could negatively affect another. This consequently saves costs and wastage.

Start to finish

It isn’t just building design where BIM can be beneficial. A BIM model will prove its worth for a lifetime as it can gather data from building components and put it together against external factors to provide comprehensive aftercare plans and maintenance proposals. From construction to demolition, the life cycle of a building can be monitored, maintained and improved to keep the healthcare environment working to the highest standards of care and safety at all times. Long term, there is a huge cost saving implication here, because facilities managers know exactly when to check, repair and replace life safety systems.

Keep in line

Hospitals and other healthcare environments present designers and contractors with a number of challenges, one of which is legislation. As part of the recently updated Construction, Design and Management regulations (CDM), which covers the actual construction of a project, reducing and controlling any risks to the health and safety of construction workers on site is a requirement. Using BIM modelling helps

to foresee any potential hazards, and as such actively manages this risk. Using BIM modelling can also help installers plan systems more effectively, to ensure they are complaint with legislation such as the BS 5266 British Standard for Emergency Lighting products, and the ISO/TC 92 for Fire Safety.

Space savvy

One of the most hotly debated topics in the healthcare sector is access to care, specifically how many people can be treated at any one time. Whether a hospital is at full or half capacity, emergency lighting systems and life safety solutions need to be positioned effectively. To figure out how best to do this, designers can use BIM models to cross check coverage requirements with Lux level specifications, making sure evacuation routes are appropriately lit, and compliant with legislation.

London’s University College Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) recently became the first UK hospital to use BIM to create a comprehensive life safety system, and refurbishment works supported by a BIM modelling framework are currently underway. It is hoped that other hospitals and trusts will follow the UCLH’s lead, as the use of BIM increases across all sectors of the construction industry.

Whether healthcare or otherwise, if the industry is to move forward, and meet targets, it’s essential that any construction project should be equipped with an effective life safety solution that is safe, compliant and cost effective.

The adoption of BIM for central government funded construction projects will soon become a necessity rather than an option. In light of this, Tony Obadipe, London Sales Manager for Hochiki Europe discusses BIM in the healthcare sector, how it can be used and the benefits it brings.

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