NetWorks Issue 9 'Christmas 2020'

PEOPLE WHO KNOW PEOPLE THAT HELP PEOPLE

www.bita.ie • Edition 9 • 2020

THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR

PICKING ON PLASTIC

THE BITA RECOGNITION AWARDS

Dreaming of a zero waste christmas

Tackling plastic pollution with the Global Forum

Highlighting some of our incredible members

PEOPLE WHO KNOW PEOPLE THAT HELP PEOPLE

Helping you build a successful business Evans Mockler are a long established and dynamic firm of Chartered Certified Accountants and Registered Auditors.

We specialise in both the construction industry and the property sector.

We are business and tax advisors and recognise that our clients require more than just annual compliance.

We understand the many challenges that businesses face, particularly within the construction industry. We work closely with our clients to ensure that they overcome these challenges and achieve their goals.

Kindly contact us on 020 8449 9632 if you would like to discuss our range of services and to find out how Evans Mockler can help you build your business.

TEAM

Editor: Diane Birch, BITA Executive Director Sub Editor: Laura Watkins

Features Editor: John Reynolds BITA Contributors: Tina Coy, CSC Partners, Jon Manning, Arthur Ellis, John Fitzgerald, ISO Spaces, Geraldine O’Neill, I Am Here Design and Production E jules@stimula.co.uk Online version: issuu.com

Sales, Events and Marketing T +44 (0) 7587 035740 E laura@bita.ie

Published by BITA Ltd HEAD OFFICE: The Hive Enterprise Centre, The Old Central Library, Victoria Avenue, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, SS2 6EX www.bita.ie T +44 (0)1702 417132 E laura@bita.ie

©

BITA Ltd. All rights reserved

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WELCOME

his year has offered us at BITA, an opportunity to review our membership offer, and our operations, policies and processes. We believe that our values remain unchanged; passion, integrity and delivery, as they encompass how we operate, and what it means to be a part of our community.

We also examined closely where our passions lie and why we exist, so reviewing our outdated mission statement to reflect this and guide our future was an important strategic review. I feel the updated statement in one short sentence sums up how we work and what we do.

“At BITA we ‘help more people, and influence further, as a collective.’

This simple and concise statement encapsulates all what we want to achieve for our members, and for us as an organisation. First and foremost is that we want to help people.

Investing in a new website that would provide support throughout the supply chain is important to us and our stakeholders. Without face-to-face events, we are working hard to provide opportunities online and through our CRM and website, to match suppliers to buyers and vice versa. Our new Procurement Hub is a testament to this aim.

Influencing further is central to what we want to do. We have spent years working with the UK and Irish Embassies, and building relationships with other governments, trading bodies and lobbying groups, and we feel that it is time that we work harder to make sure that the voices of our members are heard. If you know of an issue in your industry that isn’t being addressed, or acknowledged, please let us know so that we can put the challenges to our key stakeholders and influencers.

Finally, our mission ends with our collective. I have mentioned the BITA community in this publication many times, and it isn’t just a word to me. The time I have spent building BITA, and the emotion and honesty I have invested in relationships with our members, have been laid bare this year. I have spent many hours talking to members, listening to their stories, and had people to phone and check in on me. I cannot emphasise this enough, BITA is a collective, a community, and we are growing stronger all the time.

I am looking forward to a more positive 2021 and seeing you all at our events, but hope in the meantime, that you can enjoy Christmas and New Year despite the restrictions to keep us safe.

Terms and conditions NetWorks is published by BITA Ltd. Its entire content is protected by copyright 2020 and all its rights reserved.

Reproduction without prior permission is forbidden. Every care has been taken in compiling the content of the magazine, but the publisher assumes no responsibility in the effect arising therefrom. Readers are advised to seek professional advice before acting on any information which is contained in the magazine. Neither BITA Ltd or NetWorks accept any liability for views expressed, pictures used or claims used by advertisers.

PAUL WHITNELL @BITAIntl

President

@BITAIntl @BITA @BITA_Intl

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www.ballymoregroup.com www.bita.ie

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CONTENTS 12

PEOPLE WHO KNOW PEOPLE THAT HELP PEOPLE

www.bita.ie

23

30

7

A Message from Ambassador Barnett

8

How do you Learn?

9

Moving into 5th

11

A Trio of Banana Skins

12

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

14

A BITA Expansion

15

Tempting Training

16

A City for All

17

The Importance of Good Site Records

18

Sean Fallon Interview

21

Returning to Work

22

Procuring the Future

13

In with the New

24

Launching Leeds

25

What Goes into Building the new Website?

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PEOPLE WHO KNOW PEOPLE THAT HELP PEOPLE # 9 I December 2020 I the Christmas 2020 issue

RECOGNITION

AWARD BRITISH AND IRISH TRADING ALLIANCE

34

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS

45

29

Getting Hazardous

30

Sharing Christmas

32

Looking Forward

33

Portable Modular Housing

34

The BITA Recognition Awards

38

Health Under Construction

40

HGV at the Gates

42

Brexit Advice for SMEs

44

Fulfilling our Duties

45

Picking on Plastic

46

Valuing our Community

47

Business Agility

48

Support and Compassion like no Other

50

The Stira Story

48

24 hour nationwide delivery on our top 350 52 products UR O H

OR

GET

EH IRE

ELIV ONE W

RE

R A GU D

RY

D E E T N A E

4

Order via the App or online at speedyservices.com/capital-commitment

K EE

F

COMMUNITY

A MESSAGE FROM AMBASSADOR

BARNETT FORMER UK AMBASSADOR TO IRELAND

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‘‘

uring my tenure as British Ambassador to Ireland I have been delighted to support you as BITA with your expansion and evolution as a key organisation promoting UK Ireland trade. I have experienced the palpable energy from the BITA network focused on pragmatic solutions to making business better and helping its members do more trade. I have witnessed your network grow in Cork and across Ireland as well as your establishment of multiple chapters in the UK including the North West of England where I was received most warmly by the network on a previous visit.

I have always found BITA on the front foot when it comes to partnership.

I recall speaking at a vibrant seminar that you organised shortly after I arrived on how we can mutually support our burgeoning fintech industries in 2017 with a healthy mix of businesses, politicians

across a wide range of sectors. BITA can undoubtedly see the bigger picture and as part of our joint construction mission you helpfully reached out to your wider network and friends in Trafford, Manchester, a very special place for me as the home of my beloved Man United football team.

One of my fondest times in Ireland during my tenure has been visiting The National Ploughing Championships, which

of course has enabled me to make many new friends and associates from across rural Ireland. I was delighted that BITA signed up as a partner with the Embassy for our inaugural UK Ireland Agritech Hub at The Ploughing 2019. BITA’s willingness to collaborate with us in new areas, and whatever the challenge. This was evident again recently when BITA stepped up to the plate in supporting Ireland and the UK identify suppliers of critical medical supplies to help us all in the initial stages of the pandemic response when the unprecedented scale and severity of the crisis unfolded.

I wish to thank Paul Whitnell in particular for his leadership and commitment to growing trade and giving life to your motto of “People who know People”. I have enjoyed working with Paul, Enda, Justin, Richard, Sarah, Aidan and Aine and other BITA colleagues over the years and want to thank BITA for bringing businesses together, for uniting around the possible and for demonstrating my belief that business will search out the opportunity in every situation. I wish you all well in your future ventures where I and am confident you will continue to play an important role in the bilateral relationship - building trade across all sectors.

BITA would like to thank Robin Barnett for his incredible and consistent support and involvement in our organisation.

It is only with the excellent support we have received that we have managed

to grow so much as an organisation in the last few years and are able to help encourage trade and business growth.

We wish him the best for a relaxing and enjoyable retirement!

and strategists all united in building clusters. And my Embassy trade team have engaged in several initiatives with BITA including a major construction summit in Manchester 2018 covering over 100 businesses seeking business deals, our trade missions to the UK on cyber security and agritech and in our broader alliance building work between companies

I HAVE ALWAYS FOUND BITA ON THE FRONT

FOOT WHEN IT COMES TO PARTNERSHIP.

www.bita.ie

7

EDUCATION

HOW DO YOU LEARN?

Knowing your child’s individual learning style is key Arnold Kaloki, BrightTeach

Learning Styles As we get ready for the new school year to start up again, we want to help equip you to help you and your child to get the most out of this year of their education! And we believe that can start with knowing your child’s learning style, so that teachers and parents alike can support and IF YOU THINK YOUR encourage children in ways unique to them. Keep CHILD MIGHT BE reading to discover the main learning styles.

A VISUAL LEARNER,

THERE ARE SOME Auditory Auditory learners do best when they can listen GREAT WAYS TO HELP to what is being taught, as well as being able THEM FOCUS AND to engage in discussions to process ideas and ACHIEVE THEIR BEST! information. Reading books and looking at diagrams might be a struggle if they haven’t got someone alongside them to explain and process with.

Auditory learners thrive on absorbing information, and being able to discuss it. Engage your child by asking them to explain what they’re doing in class, and allow them time to tell you. To help them process information, try allowing them to talk through it, and record what they’re saying, then write it down. If they You can see more about BrightTeach struggle to focus on homework at home, try playing some music online: www.brightteach.com (classical is often a good study genre) and see if that helps them keep focused. them to visualise the numbers. If they struggle to focus at home, it may help to find them a space where they can be alone, or even Kinesthetic/Tactile see if it helps to set books or folders up around their work space, Kinesthetic learners want to move! They learn best by so that they wont be distracted by what other people are doing. experiencing and doing. These learners thrive by having real objects in front of them to ground the theoretical information.

Literary Unfortunately, many standard practices in education are not built The great thing about literary learners is that they are naturally for kinesthetic/tactile learners. wired to absorb information in the way that schools often If you’ve got a kinesthetic/tactile learner – try to get them present it, through reading and writing. Literary learners eat up moving! If they’re learning about a book, or a poem, get them to the written word, so thrive on school work that requires research act it out so that they are in the story. When doing maths, you can and written reports. use beads or even ripped up bits of paper to move around when Even though most school systems do operate in a way working through equations. When some work needs to be written that caters to literary learners already, there are still ways to or read, it may even help to give them a spinny chair or exercise best support them in their learning. Just because a child learns ball to sit on, this way they can move about – it may seem best through reading, doesn’t mean they will be a fast reader, distracting for you, but may be just what they need to focus. so making sure that your child has time to absorb information is very important. Your literary learner may struggle to process Visual information verbally, but give them a pen and paper and they Visual learners love to observe things. They absorb information may be able to get their thoughts out and make sense of best through seeing it illustrated or presented in an interesting things more easily. way. These learners benefit from examples they can watch, and videos that engage them. Visual learners may be the doodlers What type of learner are you? of the class, and may excel in presenting information in an There is no wrong type of learner. The way your child is wired is interesting and creative way. wonderful and unique, and is what may contribute to their greatest If you think your child might be a visual learner, there are strengths! We hope that knowing what kind of learner your some great ways to help them focus and achieve their best! When child is will help you to support them in their future educational learning a story, let them draw it out – or if they’re working with endeavours, and to eliminate challenges they may have faced. certain maths like fractions, maybe drawing a pie chart could help 8

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Laura Watkins

SECTION

5th MOVING INTO FANS, CARS AND VIDEO GAMES

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ithout the spectators and roar of the fans, racing and sport in general has been a different ballgame this year. However due to the nature of racing, drivers and fans were lucky that it didn’t suffer as many interruptions as other sports.

Away from the hustle and bustle of the standard race day, cheered on by his small team from the track and thousands of ardent fans from their sofas, Michael Crees has certainly had a year to remember.

A long-term member of BITA, we have been following Michael ever since he started racing in the Ginetta GT4 Supercup four years ago. Vince Caldicott from PCS saw a champion in Michael when he decided to sponsor him, and we at BITA have been hooked on his exciting journey ever since!

Having switched to BTCC Racing or 2020 to drive a Honda Civic Type R, Crees would match his personal best result of ninth and was a regular points scorer, securing the Jack Sears Trophy for this season.

As a newcomer to the sport, Michael feels like he’s only just getting started.

“I feel like I have another 10 years in racing,” he says; “and my ultimate dream would be to finish as a champion driver and to work as a TV pundit.” In the shortterm, he’s just eager for the fans to be able to return; “It’s all about the fans!” he says enthusiastically.

The highlight of the year for Michael has been winning the Jack Sears Championship and hoisting the trophy, a true manifestation of all the hard work, commitment and natural talent that has gone into his racing career so far.

“Winning the Championship was always

on my radar, but I had to dig deep to pull it off.” says Michael.

Of course, this kind of dedication means lots of weekends training and racing, however he has the full support of his family, and of one family member in particular. His son Hugo has already started karting and definitely has a natural knack. “It’s difficult as you don’t want to influence them too much and want them to take their own path, but if he decides to stay with it, he’ll definitely be one to keep an eye on!”

It’s not just his family and fans that are rallying around this gifted driver; Michael has been lucky to secure sponsorship from a number of prestigious companies,

IT WAS SCARY SEEING RORY AND BOBBY SUFFERING BIG CRASHES, IT WAS SUCH A RELIEF TO SEE THEM BOTH OKAY. including many BITA members. PCS, Geberit, DDS Demolition and Merlyn all support him with his championship bid.

“They are unbelievably important as I simply can’t do it without them! I love that they also get the enjoyment out of the racing and hospitality and are able to be part of the pinnacle of British motorsport.”

For anyone that follows the sport, they will know that there was a lot of excitement in the 2020 season, and none more satisfying for Michael than the race at Thruxton when he was in 7th place.

Racing at up to 100mph trying to overtake

a three-time champion in from of him, whilst defending his position against a four-time champion behind him, was a new career high and true indication that he was on the right track to success.

Following a bad smash last year where Michael was a passenger for a practice drive, it would be expected that he would be slightly hesitant this year following his recovery. “It’s something that you are aware of, but not something you can allow to take over. You can have an accident trying to be ‘safe’, and ultimately you just need to trust your car, trust your team, and of course yourself and your ability.” Says Michael. “There were a few moments this year, but nothing major.

It was scary seeing Rory [Butcher] and Bobby [Thompson] suffering some very big crashes, it was such a relief to see them both okay.”

In the not-too-distant future, Michael would like to step up to a manufacture team like BMW or Honda, becoming a paid driver. For someone with a career as stratospheric as Michael’s, this is eminently possible. In the more immediate future, he may become even more of a household name.

“It’s exciting that, providing I start on the grid in 2021, I will become part of history next year” says Michael. “A BTCC Racing game, the first, will be launched next year on PS5 and X-Box, and it will be a very surreal experience to be able to play as myself on a computer game!”

This practice will come in handy, as Michael plans to do even better next year, with a goal to reach No 1. on the podium. www.bita.ie

9

2021 UPCOMING CHANGES BUSINESSES NEED TO WATCH OUT FOR Dermot O’Grady, Chief Executive at Ardent Tide

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here are many important issues that seem to have been buried under the relentless coverage of COVID. Many of these will have a far-reaching impact on the construction industry and beyond, and desperately need addressing.

Apart from COVID, I see several upcoming changes that will affect the business world over the next 12 months. Of course, COVID has had a significant effect on our business. But as with any client-centric organisation, what we are really concerned with is what affects our clients’ businesses. There are three areas in particular that I believe will particularly impact our clients’ businesses in the next 12 months and in the years to follow.

1. Brexit: It has not gone away! It will impact businesses in many ways but two related big issues for employers will be Recruitment and Right to Work (RTW). It has already reduced the level of freely available talent from the EU and will make recruitment more expensive and administratively cumbersome. Businesses need to be prepared for this as the transition period ends on the 31st December this year.

We have been helping our clients get ready and provided assistance on how the rules affect their business and the types of documentation required from next year.

2. Domestic Reverse Charge (DRC): This is a VAT change which will significantly affect most businesses in the construction industry. It was delayed last year because the industry was not ready for such an upheaval and further delayed due to COVID but is currently scheduled to be introduced from the 1st March 2021. It is a significant VAT change for construction.

For many subcontractors it will mean that they no longer receive the VAT on their sales invoices so it will have a large negative effect on cashflow.

Apart from the cashflow, they will also need to have in place the correct knowledge and systems to deal with this change.

BUSINESS

A TRIO OF BANANA SKINS (NOT INCLUDING COVID)

3. IR35: This is a tax change affecting ‘large’ businesses that engage professionals and others who provide their services through a limited company. This was introduced to the Public Sector in 2017 and we have helped clients affected by the legislation to deal with these significant changes. The rules have been modified and expanded in anticipation of being rolled out to the Private Sector. Like DRC its introduction has been postponed due to COVID. It is now scheduled to be introduced on the 1st April 2021. It is already affecting a number of sectors as many businesses have already made changes in anticipation for its introduction. Again, we expect more activity and preparation from businesses as we approach the deadline for its introduction.

With much of the current news cycle being taken up with COVID information and reports of social unrest, we are concerned that some of these points may be missed. However, it is vitally important that people are aware of the rules and regulations surrounding these areas, and how they will impact business.

There is still plenty of time to prepare for these changes but if you have not set this in motion now is the time to revisit it. We can help but your Accountant can too.

Ardent Tide are a leading CIS & IR35 compliance, audit and payment company specialising in the Construction Industry.

AS WITH ANY CLIENT-CENTRIC ORGANISATION, WHAT WE ARE REALLY CONCERNED WITH IS WHAT AFFECTS OUR CLIENTS’ BUSINESSES. www.bita.ie

11

SECTION

THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR… 12

…BUT NOT FOR THE ENVIRONMENT! NETWORKS

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H

olly, wreaths, trees and boughs – much of what we associate with Christmas is green, however there are a number of practices that are decidedly not.

Up and down the land after the prompt unwrapping of presents, there will be bags and bags of accumulated rubbish collected by harried parents picking up after excited children. Although many people believe that Christmas wrapping paper is recyclable (it is paper after all), sadly much of it is doomed for a slow decay in the local landfill. In fact, we generate over 25% more waste than usual over the holiday season.

We don’t want to ruin Christmas, and certainly don’t advocate a day of frugal festivities, however a few changes to tradition here and there can see the environmental impact of the day greatly reduced and surely make you feel good about your contribution to the environment!

Laura Watkins

#BEPLASTICAWARE

and 74 million mince pies disposed of: all contributing to 7 million tonnes of food waste .

Consider how many guests you will have, and what their dietary needs are.

Shop well While we’re talking about food, consider buying your produce from local shops. Your local butcher, greengrocer and fishmonger will use less (or no) plastic, you can purchase exactly what you need, and use reusable bags for your veggies.

Reduce the cards Every year in the UK there are one billion Christmas cards sold. Something to consider when getting cards for the whole office!

By considering the above, you’ll be sure to reduce your environmental impact this year – and continue to have a very merry Christmas while doing so!

So, for a greener Christmas all around, we have provided some helpful tips: Know what belongs in the recycling If too many non-recyclable items end up in the recycling, it will often cause the lot to go to landfill. Margins on recycling centres are extremely tight, and if it becomes uneconomical to sort, to landfill it goes. Make sure that you check what is and isn’t recyclable before you sort it.

Not all paper is created equal Wrapping paper that is shiny or has glitter, is mostly not recyclable. Sadly, neither are the bows and ribbons, unless otherwise stated. Luckily, there are increasing options for pretty, recyclable options for wrapping presents, just make sure you check for the recycle symbol before buying!

Don’t forget the tape!

We regret to inform you that traditional Sellotape isn’t recyclable, so you should remove it from your wrapping paper before it goes in the pink sack.

There are recyclable alternatives.

Get out the china Soiled disposable cups, plates and napkins are not recyclable, so where possible, use your china.

WE GENERATE OVER 25% MORE LANDFILL WASTE THAN USUAL OVER THE HOLIDAY SEASON.

Think ahead When choosing what gifts to give, try and embrace items that are either very long lasting, or made of sustainable materials (or both!).

Reduce the food!

Every year in the UK alone, there are approximately 2 million turkeys, 5 million Christmas puddings www.bita.ie

13

COMMUNITY

A BITA EXPANSION COMING TO A PLACE NEAR YOU

I

n September, BITA opened their newest chapter in Leeds (see page 24), however they won’t be our newest chapter for long!

We have been growing consistently over the last few years, and we not only have chapters across the UK and Ireland, we have a relationship with Causeway Exchange, covering Scotland and Northern Ireland, INUSA that operates across 27 states in the US, and the German Irish Embassy that has a global presence. In addition, we now have members and collaborators in Australia and Poland. We

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NETWORKS

want our members to capitalise on what these relationships offer, so if you want to know more, please contact head office!

This growth looks set to continue, as over the last few months, we have been contacted by more businesses wanting to talk about opening additional BITA chapters.

We are thrilled to announce that we will, in 2021, be launching new chapters in Brighton, Maidstone, Wales and Galway.

These chapters will mean we have a wider reach across the British Isles and will be able to offer a ‘home chapter’ that is more convenient to many of our members.

It will also mean that we’ll be able to reach more businesses and increase our membership – providing more opportunities for everyone.

These additional chapters mean that we will be busier than ever in 2021, hosting a wide range of exciting events across the UK and Ireland. All events and updates will be posted on our website, make sure you are up to date, so you don’t miss out! If you would like to get involved in being a board member, or want to discuss founding an additional chapter, please contact Paul Whitnell.

BUSINESS

TEMPTING TRAINING WORKING WITH HIUP AND OLIVE GROUP FOR ADDED VALUE

BUSINESSES CAN TRAIN AND DEVELOP STAFF BY DELIVERING LEARNING EXPERIENCES THAT ARE RELEVANT, ENGAGING AND REWARDING.

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ollowing on from consultation from members, BITA has been busy updating the organisation across the board and adding value to our members.

The new website offers an excellent platform for members to reach a new audience, and our new global forum and executive meetings expand the scope and reach of the organisation.

During meetings with sponsors and members, one reoccurring theme kept arising – the need for training. In light of this, to coincide with the launch of the new website BITA also launched a training hub, which can be accessed through the website.

This is run in conjunction with HiUp, using the training providers Olive Group.

These excellent companies combine the latest technology with the best educators to offer courses in a wide variety of topics. HiUp is a free app for people to download where they can upload their details and qualifications to be matched with relevant jobs. Using the app, candidates can then take accredited courses to improve skills and enhance their CV and earning power. With Olive’s powerful, easy to use, integrated set of learning applications; businesses can induct, train, and develop staff by delivering learning experiences that are relevant, engaging and rewarding.

The training courses are offered in five broad categories: Office, Health & Wellness, Construction, Leadership & Strategy and Covid.

In both online Face to Face and Video format, there are courses on everything from project and time management, to effective listening. In Construction you will find HS1, ROSPA certified courses along with resources for your Tool Box Talks and Inductions.

If any of our expert members, or training providers would like to run their own course through this platform, we invite you to send details to laura@bita.ie. If we think we have the right audience for your course, we will be very happy to add it to the platform!

A course that we are particularly excited about is the BITA Sales Diploma, which is being run by renowned sales trainer, Gilly Thompson. With her 30 years’ experience working for blue chip organisations, including IBM, Marks and Spencer and Durex, she will be imparting her knowledge on effective sales techniques and keeping clients.

Another company we are working with is Harley West, who is hosting live marketing workshops and training on successfully growing your business, gaining the attention of customers and product evaluation to name a few.

BITA is proud to be offering this wide range of quality courses and training to our members.

Ranging from video content to live, interactive classes, and starting at just £30, this excellent platform offers an accessible, affordable, and most importantly an effective way to engage your workforce and ensure their CPD and safety at work.

www.bita.ie

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Tina Coy

COMMUNITY

IT’S GREAT TO SEE THAT OUR STREETS ARE BEING REIMAGINED AND GETTING PEOPLE BACK INTO THE CITY.

A CITY FOR ALL INNOVATION BREEDING SUCCESS Necessity is the mother of invention. In Cork, we have become creative during the pandemic, over the past number of months we have on-street dining zones serving up award winning food and we have diners enjoy this new experience.

Cork has always punched above its weight on high quality dining, so many of its establishments would struggle to comply with the protocols around Covid-19, so during the summer a number of key businesses came together to trial the city’s first eat-on-the street dining experience, with diners flocking to Princes street to dine al-fresco.

City Hall got on board and has supported and is encouraging food businesses to unite and devise a “coherent and comprehensive” eat-on-the-street proposal for their area and engage with City Hall.

It’s great to see that our streets are being reimagined and getting people back into the city, important with the fall off of the high street retail brands and Covid-19 restrictions.

The lovely thing about our wonderful city centre is its uniqueness. So many streets do different things, each have a different character and we have many artisan shops and food

LIVERPOOL FC COMES TO CORK! In these challenging times it’s great to see a vote of confidence in our city centre with Liverpool FC opening up a pop-up store on Patricks Street. A great attraction which will bring people into the city centre.

Let’s hope it is very successful and we may see a permanent presence in Patrick Street.

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businesses. Indeed, a new streetscape is being developed for MacCurtain Street which will enhance the area and will be very well received.

You only have to go to Kinsale in Co. Cork, the food capital of Ireland, to see how they have reinvented themselves with the support of Cork County Council. Their support has helped enliven the restaurants, hotels, and bars in Ireland’s gourmet capital.

Cork has the same vibrant spirit as our capital Dublin, but we wrap it up in a welcoming small-city vibe. Keep an eye on us, we are a great city to live and work in. There is nothing like it!

CORK CITY – 2020-21 SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT PLANS We are looking ahead in to the next few years and realising one of our Eco visions with investment of millions of euro in pedestrian, cycle and green infrastructure for Cork city in 2020 and 2021.

We are now seeing the start of a new phase of investment in active and sustainable transport in the city and these are practical measures that will make existing infrastructure. This will support our population in walking and cycling in urban areas is the urban environment and air quality.

Its hearting to see that €4m has already been approved for investment in works to be completed by the end of November this year as part of the stimulus package announced by the new government. A further €42m has been applied for by Cork City Council for 2021, which will be assessed by the government.

The City Council are looking at projects which will include improved lighting, footpath, and cycle facilities across the city, including in the new towns and suburbs that have come into the city since the boundary change. Specific schemes applied for include the widening of pathways on the Blarney to Waterloo walkway, a new off-street cycle track connecting residential areas in the Glen, and a cycleway connecting UCC and healthcare workers in CUH. Works at South Douglas Road to enable pedestrian and cycle access to the Tramore Valley Park are also expected to be included.

David Daly, co-Founder of HD Construction Solutions Ltd, on the importance of good record-keeping

THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD SITE RECORDS The case of Premier Engineering -v-MW High Tech (2020) provides a timely reminder of how important good record keeping is.

The facts MW Hi Tech Projects UK Ltd (“MW”) were contracted on a large energy project in Hull worth £150m. In 2017, it employed Premier Engineering (Lincoln) Ltd (“Premier”), essentially to supply labour and supervision for multiple trades under the direction of MW. MW retained responsibility for design and programming whilst Premier provided basic materials related to each trade.

Premier was not employed under a typical subcontract where it was contracted to execute a defined scope of works, for an agreed price and which was to be completed within a defined period; its role was largely limited to that of a labour supply contractor with supervision. As the judge said, this meant that MW were “… to identify and control the work that the men supplied by Premier were required to carry out.” [para 7] By 2018, Premier substantially increased its labour at the instruction of MW – the EPC contract included for substantial penalties for delay but by this time, MW “…had a failing project on its hands” [para 3]. Essentially, the parties fell out over the value of the labour supplied

by Premier, primarily during 2018, with an amount of £1.3m disputed.

The fundamental difference centred on the applicability of timesheet records and turnstile data collection. The typical process

for Premier’s timesheets was that each week it would submit to MW its labour hours comprising hours worked, together with operative travel and incentive hours.

A MW representative would review and approve, and these approved timesheets would then form the basis of Premier’s invoicing. To support its timesheets, Premier provided signing in sheets, later superseded by a biometric system. One of the main areas of dispute related to MW’s use of turnstile data to verify the timesheets. With agreement from MW, Premier then installed a biometric system in April 2018 which was used to verify its timesheets from that point on [para 41].

Findings As there was no defined scope of works, contract price or completion date, it was held that MW essentially directed Premier’s labour [para 9].

Signed timesheets were essential evidence to substantiating Premier’s hours with the judge stating: “…The purpose of signature is obvious and is to vouch for the accuracy of the timesheets…” [para 13].

The judge also found that MW’s argument that it signed off timesheets without properly verifying them was unacceptable: “The purpose of having timesheets signed off by the employer’s representative on site is clear: it is to signify knowing agreement and to prevent disputes later. Signed timesheets are therefore the primary (and should be the best) evidence for the parties and the Court.” [para 23] The time for challenging invoices was at or around the time they were submitted

when the relevant MW staff were on site, not after: “…the invoices were submitted when Premier had current knowledge of the reasons why each sub-invoice was submitted...MW’s contemporaneous assessment of the invoices was carried out by people with current knowledge of Premier’s work on the Project and what their requirements for plant and materials would be or had been. That was, therefore, the time when issues could and should have been raised...” [para 254] Practical tips 1. Ideally employ subcontractors on a defined subcontract, with an agreed price, a defined duration and scope of works etc. Failure to do so could mean you assuming responsibility for your subcontractor’s works; 2. Where applicable, agree the method of verifying hours worked in advance of starting works, whether that is through hard copy timesheets with signatures, turnstile records or biometric data; 3. If using timesheets and you disagree with the hours stated on them, do not sign them, or expressly limit your approval to the hours that you do agree with; 4. Similarly, signing timesheets but adding ‘RPO’ to it (record purposes only) is unlikely to be reliable evidence that you disagreed with the hours. Think about the literal meaning of the words ‘record purposes only’; and 5. Challenge invoices at the time of submission – do not rely on the Court to do this for you substantially after the fact as the Court (or adjudicator) is likely to find it a disproportionate use of its time.

Premier Engineering (Lincoln) Limited -v- MW High Tech Projects UK Limited [2020] EWHC 2484 (TCC): https://bit.ly/2Wj4jtQ Disclaimer: this content is provided free of charge for information purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied on as such. No responsibility for the accuracy and/or correctness of the information and commentary set out in the article, or for any consequences of relying on it, is assumed or accepted by HD Construction Solutions Ltd.

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SECTION COMMUNITY

SEAN FALLON INTERVIEW AUGUST 2020

AN INTERVIEW WITH CAUSEWAY’S TREASURER AND CELTIC FC FOUNDATION’S MAJOR DONORS MANAGER, SEAN FALLON ON HIS CAREER JOURNEY IN FINANCE, TO RETURNING TO HIS ROOTS WITH CELTIC FC FOUNDATION

S

ean Fallon has had a long career in banking and finance and has been involved with Causeway: Scotland Ireland Business Exchange, since it launched at Edinburgh Castle in 2016. Born and bred in Glasgow, like many from the City, Sean is of Irish heritage, with a father who was born in Sligo and immigrated to Glasgow in 1950, through his career as a professional footballer with Celtic FC. Established in 1887, Celtic FC was formed for the purpose of alleviating poverty among the immigrant community of Glasgow’s East End, and is today a world-renowned Scottish football club, with strong Irish roots. For Sean, growing up in Glasgow with an Irish father who had played for and was Assistant Manager at Celtic FC, the Club became a strong part of his childhood, as Sean reflects: “My father played for Celtic throughout the 1950s, scoring the winning goal in the 1954 Scottish Cup Final and playing in the League Cup Final in 1957, when Celtic beat Rangers 7-1. I started to attend matches when I was just five-years-of-age and spent a lot of time at Celtic Park. You could say that I was born into Celtic Football Club!”

Although they may share the same name, Sean’s career took a very different path to his father’s, and Sean went down the financial sector route, achieving a 30 year banking career

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Sponsored by www.ballymoregroup.com www.xxxxxxxxxxxx

in various senior roles with Allied Irish Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland. It was in his role as Senior Manager with the AIB Business Centre in Edinburgh that he became involved with the other founders of the Causeway and helped organise its launch at Edinburgh Castle in 2016.

Looking back on the early days of the Causeway network and the key role the network has today in linking Irish-Scottish businesses, Sean expounds: “I was involved with Causeway from the beginning. I have always enjoyed networking and the aim of Causeway is fantastic.

When I help deliver on our objectives – helping Irish or Scottish businesses to expand and prosper – it is extremely satisfying.

Being Causeway’s Treasurer and a member of the legal board, provides me with the opportunity to give a bit back.

“Since the beginning, Causeway has been about sharing ideas and collaborating and I have found the network provides a great opportunity to learn from other professionals and business people. The learnings may reinforce that you are doing the right things, however, it may lead you to consider and implement adjustments to maximise your business. It also provides a platform to share contacts from the public and private sectors.

“What I enjoy in being part of the Causeway network, is hearing about the successes and challenges of being in business.

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I get a real kick out of being able to provide help, advice and support – Causeway provides the perfect forum for that.”

In 2019, after a long established career in banking, Sean chose to take the leap and embark on a career change and join the charitable arm of the Club, Celtic FC Foundation, where he is currently Major Donors Manager. Commenting Sean says: “Unfortunately, I didn’t possess the skills to be a professional footballer, but I always wanted to be involved with the Club in some way, so when the role of Major Donors Manager at Celtic FC Foundation became available, I was delighted to be given the opportunity and I have loved every minute of working at Celtic Park and being part of Celtic FC Foundation.

“I am responsible for legacy giving, seeking investment for the projects we deliver, and our regular giving initiative, the Founders Club, which right now is very much a priority for us.

The commercial experience gained in banking, combined with a strong network and a cultural understanding of the Club, led me to believe that I could make an impact and deliver for the Foundation and the communities it supports.”

Since Celtic FC was first founded, it established a commitment to overcoming barriers and achieving change, with the Celtic FC Foundation’s core goal to help the most vulnerable and marginalised groups in society and assist to with the alleviation of poverty on our own doorstep and beyond.

Celtic Foundation’s most recent initiative is their Football for Good Fund, which has been born out of the Covid-19 crisis. Thus far, the Fund has committed a total in the region of £700,000.

Commenting on this, Sean says: “Through this Fund, we are committed to helping those most likely to be affected by the crisis, including low-income families; socially-isolated individuals; the elderly; the unemployed; the homeless; refugees; as well as frontline NHS staff. In terms of geography, the Fund has been allocated to support projects primarily in Scotland and Ireland, and even as far as New York.”

So that the charitable arm of Celtic can continue to deliver initiatives such as the Football for Good Fund and help those most in need in the communities they serve, they have made raising awareness and enhancing the profile of their Founders Club a priority.

The Founders Club is a regular giving initiative that brings together a community of Celtic supporters who share the values of the Club’s Founding Fathers and are invested in building the future of the Club’s charitable arm. Members demonstrate a commitment to the development of the Foundation by donating a minimum of £125 each month, and, in doing so ensure their roots are always at the heart of what they do.

“Increasing the membership numbers of our Founders Club is a priority for myself and the Foundation - strong Founders numbers will ensure the ethos of why the Celtic FC was formed in the first place, will remain as strong as ever. I very much welcome the support of anyone in our extended Causeway network or beyond and I would encourage anyone who is interested in becoming a member of the Founders Club, to get in touch with me so I can explain what is involved and how you can become part of Celtic’s story.”

If you are interested in finding out more about supporting the Founders Club and becoming a member, please get in touch with Sean and he will explain what is involved and how you can make a difference.

Email: SFallon@celticfc.co.uk - Telephone: 07824 838004 www.bita.ie

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KERRY LONDON HAS 30 YEARS’ EXPERIENCE IN CONSTRUCTION INSURANCE. From civil engineering, demolition and tunnelling through to house building, refurbishment and property maintenance.

Kerry London was established in 1986 by Joe Kelliher to provide the construction sector with specialist insurance and personal service. Today, his core values of honesty, integrity and professionalism remain at the heart of the business.

We are known in the market as construction experts who can develop innovative insurances from the best-known insurers in the market, as well as Lloyd’s underwriters. It’s one of the reasons our customers stay with us for the long-term.

Complete reassurance. Total support

Call 020 7623 4957 Email info@kerrylondon.co.uk Visit kerrylondon.co.uk 20

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Registered Office: John Stow House, 18 Bevis Marks, London EC3A 7JB. Registered No. 2006558. Kerry London is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

WELLBEING

DIFFICULT SITUATIONS CAN SET OFF A DOMINO EFFECT ULTIMATELY RESULTING A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON OUR BEHAVIOUR QUITE QUICKLY may cause change for the good, however negative changes can have a deleterious effect on the mental health of us and our colleagues.

The best way to illustrate this is by looking at the banana and the doughnut. A banana will provide us with energy throughout the day, doesn’t have a lot of fat and has a lot of nutrients that are good for us. Eating one a day might not necessarily be something that we get excited about, but it would be good for us. This is what happens when we keep active, socialise (even digitally) or learn new skills.

A doughnut will give us a sugar rush, making us immediately feel great, but if we’re not careful and eat too many, we may start to see and feel the negative benefits. This is what happens when we watch too much TV, eat unhealthily, or don’t move much.

It’s easy to replace our healthy banana behaviours with a doughnut. When we are stressed, we crave a high-carb, high-fat or high-sugar treat. It’s called comfort food for a reason! If we are on the metaphorical treadmill at work, we often justify skipping our healthy lunchtime walk or trip to the gym under the premise that ‘I can’t possibly leave my desk’.

Jon Manning

W

hy might people be anxious about coming back into the office and how can you build this into your return to work strategy?

One of the main things we get asked by corporate clients is ‘can you help us identify the signs of mental health issues?’ The answer is ‘Yes, however, that person is already going to be unwell’.

Difficult situations can set off a domino effect, ultimately resulting in an impact on our behaviour, and unfortunately bad behaviour can become embedded quite quickly leading to long term issues. Instead of reacting when we identify unwellness, in ourselves or others, we need to live and work in a way that actively fights against negative coping strategies.

How our mental health is impacted by an event can be determined largely by how our behaviours are impacted. Positive behavioural changes

As with all things, doughnuts included, it’s a balance. If we have strong enough banana behaviours then we can have a doughnut once in a while without it having much of an effect on us. If we aren’t strong enough then one day turns to two, turns into ten, and all of a sudden we forget that we ever used to go for a lunchtime walk at all.

What happens to these behaviours when people work from home?

Well, simply, they go for that walk at lunch instead of powering through. They can wash up after themselves without needing to ‘leave it to soak’. They make a healthy meal because they are not commuting home past ‘place well-known food chain here’. They have more autonomy to manage their time. Conversely, they may be feeling isolated. They may skip the gym as it’s not on the way to the office, and they might be disconnected from their work and colleagues.

When bringing our teams back, we need to understand how their lives have changed over the last few months.

What positive things have they stopped doing, what unhelpful things have they seen creeping in?

If our colleagues have

THE MENTAL HEALTH IMPACTS OF RETURNING TO WORK Talking to Arthur Ellis about mental health

seen positive changes, they may become unenthusiastic about returning to work, and even resentful. If they have been struggling at home, they will be more enthusiastic! We recommend talking to your teams to understand what their journey has been during lockdown so you can anticipate any issues.

By understanding our teams positive but vulnerable behaviours, we can: - be less reactive and more proactive - recognise the positive behaviours dropping off before negatives creep in - consistently work towards mental health and well-being improvement - mitigate risks - recognise trends and shape company-wide initiatives/benefits

Arthur Ellis have developed an IMPROVE Programme to strategically improve organisational mental health and well-being. Our initial Insight Meetings are free and might help steer you in the right direction.

If you think we can help. Please head over to www.arthurellismhs.com or email info@arthurellismhs.com www.bita.ie

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BUSINESS

PROCURING THE

FUTURE THE NEXT PHASE

of BITA

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ITA is excited to announce our Procurement Hub, a powerful new opportunity for our members to grow their networks and find new clients, suppliers and collaborators.

When launching BITA we intended to provide connectivity and business for our members, as well as a friendly community.

We have achieved this, but we are always seeking to improve and provide greater value.

Growing the Community In response to consultations with our members, supporters and sponsors, we have created the BITA Procurement Hub, a new platform to help reach new clients and suppliers and fulfil specific needs.

This has formed part of a greater strategy within BITA that was put into action this year. Our CRM system, Training Hub, new website and now the procurement hub, are all designed to work together perfectly, with the ambition to grow businesses, generate leads, and expand our community.

With this goal in mind, we have been asking members to complete online forms. These questions enable us to know more about your business and what you

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offer, as well as what you are looking for with introductions. We know that our members represent a broad cross-section of industry in the UK and Ireland today, from sole traders working in competitive markets, to multi-nationals working in highly specialised industries, but by sharing this information we will be able to connect you with opportunity at the right level, and help you access that opportunity yourselves.

If you haven’t already completed this form, you can find it online here.

Targeted Introductions The Procurement Hub on the new BITA website is now up and running. If you go into your members area, you will see that you can browse available listings, and post your

own. When you post a job, it will be picked up by our members or the BITA team, who will then work through our CRM system, populated with the information each business has provided on their membership form, to match the right members with the right work.

This is why it is so important to not only complete the form, but to make sure it is as comprehensively filled out as possible.

We are running online interactive seminars to show members how to use the system, and publishing videos on our YouTube channel. If you need help, we’ll be happy to assist you.

The Procurement Hub is the next stage of this mission and has the potential to provide organisations with a supply chain that will deliver savings, retain quality and fulfil skill requirements.

We are the People who Know People that Help People, and this is the next phase of BITA, with our new mission to ‘Help more people and influence further, as a collective’. We hope that you are as excited about this new development as we are.

GOOD TO KNOW! The notices in the Procurement Hub are either an opportunity or a service, and you can browse by industry, or category. When you click into the listing, there will be instructions on how to contact the advertiser. If you have an opportunity or service you would like to list and are struggling, laura@bita.ie will be happy to help!

Sponsored by www.ballymoregroup.com

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A

part from quickly reviewing and increasing our on-line activity for the first lockdown, we asked our members and stakeholders what was important and a concern for them. Resoundingly the response indicated that Supply Chain support was high on the agenda. So, for the last 9 months we have not only reviewed our mission, values and goals, but we have also

something that is rich with excellent content that will benefit everyone.

Our resources pages have insightful and helpful information about law, finance and much more from experts, free for our members. Our training hub hosts courses that have been specifically requested by members; ROSPA certified courses, leadership courses, wellbeing modules, and even a BITA Sales Diploma. All high-

IN WITH THE NEW New Platforms,

NEW BITA! Diane Birch, Executive Director BITA, talks about the new BITA platforms

looked strategically at what we want to accomplish over the next 3-5 years with this particular challenge in mind.

If there is one good thing that can be said about the impact of lockdown on businesses, it is that it has provided an opportunity for leaders to refocus on what their goals are, and to redefine and clarify their organisational values and mission.

An organisations mission statement is something I talk about a lot with my clients and BITA Members. Establishing and providing clarity around the reason you exist, not only assists with your marketing messages but also helps with decision making and engaging your teams so that everyone is pulling in the same direction. The refined BITA mission is “We help more people and influence further; as a collective”.

We’ve been having lots of conversations with members, sponsors and supporters since lockdown, asking what they want from BITA, how we can help, and what they need to survive and thrive. Using their views, the Executive created a strategy for BITA that would really elevate what we were doing as an organisation.

It is through the lens of this feedback that we created the website. We planned to have a new website for a long time, however with input from our members and with the help of our sponsors Revive Digital Media, we have been able to build

SHARING EDUCATION AND EXPERTISE IS A CORNERSTONE OF BITA. quality training for you and your staff, from as little as £30 a course!

Sharing this education and expertise is a cornerstone of what BITA is built on. It is something that many in our community were asking for, and one of the fundamentals that we wanted to emphasise with our new platform.

Taking advice from our members and working with them collaboratively has also meant we have launched our

Procurement Hub. This is the result of long, hard hours, and something that, again, will have a really and visible benefit for our members. The procurement hub offers our community a platform to offer jobs and services, and source that labour and expertise from within BITA. Building on the spirit of collaboration with our members, we have also teamed up with excellent companies ‘Wake up with Zest’ and the Yoga Factory’ to provide you with even more added value for membership.

Wake up with Zest is a wellbeing hub focusing on improving sleep, healthy eating, getting fit and being resilient.

They offer courses and more to assist you on your journey, and every member receives a free subscription as part of their membership. The Yoga Factory understand the importance of movement and understanding your body better. They

want to champion improved health through the power of yoga, and your BITA membership now includes a free month to online, live yoga classes for up to 25 people (employees or family!), as well as a 10% discount on services afterwards. You can see more about both organisations on page 46.

Education, business growth, expertise, support, wellbeing and more. We have spoken to our members, we have listened, and we have acted. We hope you are as pleased with the new BITA as we are!

The website is offering so much, that we are offering live and pre-recorded tutorials on how it works! To join a tutorial please check the events page, and to watch a video, please go to the resources section.

www.bita.ie

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LAUNCHING

LEEDS Tariq Hussain, Chair of the new Leeds Chapter of BITA

I

was introduced to Paul and Diane in August 2020, and after hearing so many good things about BITA, I was keen to hear more about the organisation. After meeting the BITA team and talking to members, I decided that I would definitely like to get involved, and a short time later we were launching the chapter.

We held the launch event at the Ascensor offices in September where we welcomed Paul Whitnell and around 15 guests for a socially distanced launch evening, where we spoke about what BITA could offer, and met some existing members and local businesses.

The MD of Ascensor, Andrew Firth, was delighted to join me on the BITA Leeds board as our Marketing Expert; he is

R&D Tax Specialists.

Helping your business unlock your inspired tax incentives.

Speak to Sean to maxamise your R&D Tax Credits

sean.cavanagh@inspiredtaxincentives.com

T: 028 8673 8293

www.inspiredtaxincentives.com

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joined on the board by my vice-chair Sean Doyle, the General Manager of Thermac, our Treasurer, Stephen Hinchcliffe of BPR Heaton Chartered Accountants, Ches Moulton, the Stress Master, Chris Allen of Blacks Solicitors, David Williams of PSK Chartered Surveyors and Nicola Norris of Ambiance Bain.

Myself, I am a lawyer with Petherbridge Bassra, and I have represented clients for 27 years, resulting in a lot of contacts across the business world. I think that BITA is a fantastic opportunity to help connect like-minded people that enjoy doing business – something I look forward to doing as soon as possible.

BITA’s brand of networking and relationship building is something that our local businesses want more of, and I’m excited to get started properly with a full rota of events in 2021. In the meantime, I wish you all a wonderful Christmas and new year!

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WHAT GOES INTO BUILDING THE NEW BITA WEBSITE? “Insights from a Digital Marketing Agency about the process of building a new site – and the Do’s and Don’ts you wish you’d known about earlier.”

mind-map type affair. This is because websites should always be constructed in a hierarchy – with the home page at the top, the next-most-important pages on the 2nd level, and sub-pages at levels 3, 4, 5, etc.

This approach suits both human users, and the ‘spiders’ – the search engines such as Google that ‘crawl’ the Internet. Both people and robots expect websites to be organised sensibly – with items at the top of the hierarchy being more visual, ‘signposts’, and summaries. You don’t

B

ack at the end of last year, we started having discussions with BITA about a new website.

The existing site was good, but starting to feel a little old – and due to their rapid expansion, BITA were fast outgrowing it. Excited at the prospect, we met with Diane and Laura to discuss their plans for the website, and around our 7th-floor-board-room-table, overlooking Southend, we frantically scribbled notes.

Many coffees later, lots of crossed out scribblings, and more sticky notes than you could imagine, the wheels of the creative engine that is ‘Revive Digital’ began to turn.

Why? We were asked to write an article about the process, and my immediate reaction was, “Why would anyone care?” But it occurred to me that we take for granted much of what goes into even a normal website – let alone a behemoth site like BITA. And so, this article is about what we do – the things you should look out for, the mistakes many people make, when to ‘plug the marketing in’, and how to make a new website a success from the outset.

I hope you find it useful!

You have to Really Understand When any client approaches us, the first thing we have to do is get to know them and their goals. A website is frequently the first contact an organisation has with a new client or customer – and for us to make that a success, we have to know what our client’s clients care about.

Sometimes that’s not helped by the fact, many companies don’t really know what their customers want either. A good example is a mortgage broker. What do they sell? Mortgages? What do their customers want? Mortgages?

No. They want a new house. What does a double-glazing company sell?

Windows. What does the customer want?

Security, peace-and-quiet, and a nicelooking house.

So, our first job is to understand, and make sure that the marketing messages used on a website actually appeal to the customer. In the case of BITA, we found that people really value BITA’s ability to connect people together – matching supply, demand and opportunities – and making the whole thing feel natural. We attended a number of events, and asked people what they liked about BITA, and why they joined. We took the time to understand, and really ‘get’ what BITA was about.

(or shouldn’t) put your entire life-story, raison d’etre, or product catalogue on your home page.

Our rule of thumb is that the further down the hierarchy you go, the more detail you can include and less images you need.

The Grand Plan Our next stage of the process is the planning. We know what the organisation is about, what they are trying to achieve, what the website is going to be used for, and how it all fits together. We plan websites using a spider-diagram – a 25

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It should also be said that you can’t assume your users will enter your website via the home-page – they frequently don’t.

Google will send a user directly to a page 3 or 4 levels into your website – so it’s also important to have a clear menu and navigation system. Google recommends using a bread-crumb (à la Hansel and Gretel), which clearly shows someone where they are, and how they can retrace their way up to the home page.

For example, “Home / Services / Carpet Cleaning / Prices”. Not that BITA offer carpet cleaning, but you get the idea.

Sometimes companies skip over the site-mapping stage, and jump directly into the design. This is a mistake.

The planning might feel boring, but it pays dividends later when otherwise you’d be jamming pages into the wrong sections, or wondering how it’s all going to fit together.

Something else we usually do at this stage is the ‘keyword research’.

When we are naming pages, we want to make sure they are called things that people actually search in Google. This was less important for BITA as they’re not a traditional product/service-based organisation – but it’s worth mentioning as part of the process.

We are frequently approached by companies who have just had a website built and want to do marketing – but marketing really should be done as part of the site build, not ‘plugged in’ afterwards.

We use tools such as SEMRush, AHrefs, Google Ads, AnswerThePublic, just to name a few – many of these offer free versions you can use yourself to see what people are actually typing into Google when looking for your product or service.

The Grand Design We always create an accurate ‘flat’ graphic design of a website. This is a step missed out by some web design companies, but like the planning stage above, it helps us get it right first time. It’s a lot easier to fix a design when it’s in Photoshop than once it’s made it into code.

First, the home-page is designed. We usually just show the ‘desktop’ version of the design – to be viewed on the largest PC or Mac screen. This is simply because it’s the largest design, and will contain the most information. When we come to build, we build at 5 different sizes (large screen, small screen, tablet, large phone, small phone). Web design these days is just as much like choreography than design – knowing where elements are going to fit in at different device sizes.

Once the home-page design is agreed, we move onto design all of the sub-

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pages. This is another extensive task, but means we’ve thought about every page, its function, and what we want the user to do when they are on it. On a site like BITA, we’ll typically create between 4050 graphical page layouts before we’ve written a single line of code.

At this stage, we’ll often wire up a prototype of the website – using the flat graphics, but creating clickable buttons to navigate the site, as if it were actually real. This lets our clients get a feel of how the website is going to work, before the graphics are signed off and we go onto the build.

Build it and They Will Come!

Our build process begins once designs are signed-off. This entails writing lots of code – HTML, CSS, JS, and lots of other acronyms. If you imagine it’s just like the Matrix, then you’d be exactly right, just without the super-powers and slowmotion gun-fights. You may see gibberish on the screen, but we see layouts and tables, videos and graphical sliders.

At Revive, we hand-code every page of a website – this isn’t entirely normal, but it means that we know where every single pixel is going to land. Because we don’t fill a site up with plugged-inwidgets, we also know the hackers aren’t going to get in through some loop-hole we don’t know about. Just because you’re not paranoid, doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you. By hand-coding each line in the website, we’re protecting our client’s sites, their data, and giving peace of mind, leaving the hackers to attack the easier pickings.

We build databases. With BITA, there’s a huge amount of data that drives the

website, and it doesn’t just happen.

There’s little I can write to make this sound interesting or engaging to the nondata-geek – but suffice to say, we’re a little OCD around the data and how it all fits together, which means our websites work just like they should. Rather sadly, at this point of the article, I’m laughing in my head at database jokes I could write that 99% of the population won’t get, which I guess isn’t normal, but there you are. We geek so you don’t have to.

Review Constantly During the build process, we met weekly with the BITA team – and as much of this was during Covid-19-related-lock-down, we did this over Zoom video calls. This meant we could check what we were building met expectations and that there were no nasty surprises.

I’ve heard horror stories of webcompanies disappearing for 6 weeks and returning with a finished product – only to be told they’d got it completely wrong. By constantly reviewing, we prevent this nightmare scenario from ever occurring!

The only down-side of the weekly Zoom video calls was being told by Diane that my home office was messy (which it is); I’ve since learnt to push the mess just outside the view of the camera…

Content Is King When building a site like BITA, the written content has to be planned and written alongside the structural build itself.

Fortunately for us, BITA has some talented, gifted writers that lessen the load on us, and can produce beautifully written, flowing content, with all the relevant

keywords required for Google. [Note to Editor: I’m a creep :-)].

This isn’t always the case, and our content team will engage with our clients, interviewing them, taking notes, researching subjects, and then producing pages of content that are a combination of marketing-copy and keyword-rich-editorial.

It’s important to make sure large blocks of text on a web-page are split up by sub-headings - people are lazy online and don’t like to read large blocks of text.

In magazines, it’s slightly different, or at least, we hope so!

It’s also important to make sure the content on a page is detailed enough that Google and other search engines can understand what the page is actually about. I don’t believe in keyword stuffing – the practise of un-naturally jamming Google key-terms into a sentence – but I do believe you can write in a way that Google ‘gets it’.

An example might be, change “We offer an unparalleled service to all of our clients”, to, “We offer an unparalleled commercial plumbing service to our construction clients across Essex and Kent.” You get the idea.

Plug in the Tracking Tools As a minimum, your new website should have Google Analytics so you can see how it’s being used. This is free, so there is no excuse for not having it. We normally add a few extras as well to do things like movement analysis, heat-mapping and A/B testing. This allows us to make a site like BITA’s work really well – and once people are using it, we can fine-tune it to work even better.

When building a site like BITA, the written content has to be planned and written alongside the structural build itself

www.bita.ie

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TEST. TEST AGAIN. LIKE WE DID LAST SUMMER. COME ON LET’S TEST AGAIN. LIKE WE DID LAST YEAR… Much like a new-build car rolling off the conveyer, once we’ve finished building, we test, extensively.

What do we test? We check the website works in different website browsers (that’s Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc.). We check it fits properly in all standard device sizes, and everything in-between. We check all the buttons work, all the forms submit, the menus don’t break, and the graphics aren’t too big. We check the keywords have been included, the text isn’t missing, the pages load quickly, the oil is clean and the tyre pressure is good. We like to test everything so that we know when it goes live, it’s got the best chance of doing well.

Part of this pre-launch stage also includes listing every page on the old site, and matching it to the corresponding page on the new one. It’s heart-breaking when a website is launched and loses some fantastic links because no-one bothered to redirect them.

3-2-1, Lift-off!

The technical process of launching a website is pretty boring. It involves words like DNS, hosting, servers, FTP, etc. I can feel you nodding and glazing over even as you read this right now!

Boring it may be, but it’s nevertheless important to launch properly. Good news, however - there’s some important nontechnical stuff to do as well!

Looking Back…

The process of a new website build shouldn’t end with the launch. A few days in, a week in, a month in, we will review to see how many people are visiting, how it’s ranking in Google, and how well it’s engaging people. Looking back to see what’s happened lets you plan to move forward, in a cycle of continuous improvement.

• Make sure you’re actually live before you tell everyone! Sometimes it can take a few minutes for the whole Internet to see the new version of your website – so wait until it’s made it to Australia before launching the radio campaign.

In Summary: • Do: Plan lots. Design everything first.

Build properly. Review constantly. Test extensively. Drink Champagne.

• Don’t: Take short-cuts. Write vague content. Have a messy office on Zoom calls.

• Write your social media posts in advance. Have a launch plan that includes screenshots, well-written social media posts across multiple channels and ideally a paid-boosting budget to get the message out there.

• Write a launch e-mail. There’s no point having a new website if you don’t shout about it!

• Crack open the champagne. You’ve worked hard. We’ve worked hard. Enjoy.

Phil Thomas, Director of Revive Digital

Revive are a full-service digital marketing agency based in Southend, Essex. Their team of 20 experts help their clients create beautiful websites, brands, designs and videos – and run successful marketing campaigns using SEO, paid search, social media, and other such wizardry.

DEALING WITH HAZARDOUS WASTE

ADVERTORIAL

7 Top Tips

These tips should help you ensure you are dealing with your hazardous waste compliantly, that you aren’t putting yourself, your employees or anyone else at risk; and that you aren’t wasting money: 1. Understand what you are dealing with Always refer to the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) and Control of Substances Hazardous to Health risk assessment (CoSHH sheet) to understand whether a substance or product is hazardous and how it must be handled, stored, transported and disposed of.

GETTING HAZARDOUS IS YOUR WASTE PUTTING YOU AT RISK?

D

ealing with hazardous waste can be confusing – there’s a multitude of legislation; it’s overseen by many different regulators; it not only includes gases, liquids and solids but often the containers they come in; and you can’t necessarily tell whether something is hazardous just by looking at it.

It may be tempting to just take a chance and throw something in the general waste or recycling but as well as having a legal obligation to deal with your hazardous waste responsibly, its material that has been deemed harmful to human health and/ or the environment – it’s just not worth the risk. Besides, if your non-hazardous waste is found to contain hazardous material, the complete contaminated load may require transportation and disposal as hazardous waste which will cost you significantly more than treating it as non-hazardous.

WHAT ARE HAZARDOUS WASTES? Hazardous wastes are gases, liquids or solids with properties or characteristics that present potential threats to human health and/or the environment including explosivity, oxidisation, flammability, corrosivity, irritability and toxicity. These properties and characteristics are found in a wide range of substances and chemicals including paint, fuels and adhesives as well as products such as batteries, electrical equipment and gas canisters. For guidance on hazardous wastes classification in Great Britain, refer to the Environment Agency’s technical guidance WM3.

2. Train your staff regularly Your team need to know what hazardous wastes could be on your site and how to deal with them safely and compliantly.

Employees need regular training and reminders, such as posters, in areas of your site where they may be dealing with, or come across, hazardous wastes.

3. Use the right container Hazardous waste needs to be stored in separate, secure, durable, weather and corrosion resistant, UN-approved containers. After using a container to store hazardous waste, that container may need to be decontaminated with a neutralisation solution before being re-used, depending on what hazardous waste it has contained.

4. Signpost clearly Ensure all your waste containers have clear labels as to what can and can’t go in them so that the right waste goes in the right container. Ideally your hazardous waste container will stand out clearly from other waste containers – a good and easy way to ensure this is to have a totally different coloured container.

5. Audit staff, wastes and contractors The only way to find out whether hazardous waste is being dealt with properly is to regularly audit. This not only means checking staff understanding but also looking at what’s in your hazardous waste container and what’s in your other waste containers. Waste pro-ducers have a Duty of Care until waste is disposed of so you also need to audit your waste contractor.

6. Take ownership of what happens on your site You may not deal with hazardous waste on your site but others may – for example if you subcontract cleaning services or decorating, if you are building or renovating. You may require subcontractors, as part of their contracts, to take away the waste generated during their activities – but you still need to securely keep SDS and CoSHH sheets in case there is a health and safety incident.

7. Choose the right supplier, Choose Powerday The right waste contractor will support you with all the above whilst ensuring your waste is transported by ADR trained drivers. They will ensure you have the correct paperwork and that your hazardous waste is disposed of correctly.

Note: The above guidance applies to hazardous waste in the United Kingdom. Legislation may differ in Northern Ireland and Ireland – please refer to local regulators for information. www.bita.ie

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Paul Whitnell

SHARING CHRISTMAS FAMILY CHRISTMASES IN CORK

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e hope that you carefully read your Christmas edition of NetWorks last year, and diligently created your own Christmas Pudding from scratch on stir-up Sunday!

If you did you will be in for a treat, and we hope that anyone who has attempted the Watkins recipe enjoys it.

Christmas and food are inexorably entwined for most of us. Celebrations need good, rich, indulgent food, and whether you are celebrating the birth

of Jesus, the gathering of family, or the end of the year, Christmas is certainly an important celebration.

We all have traditions associated with the time of year, often passed down through families. As a Cork-born lad, I, like many of my compatriots, were used to large family celebrations. Dining tables heaving with excellent and carefully prepared foods, rickety chairs that were gathered from sheds and attics, loud conversations, and louder laughter.

Every year I waited with anticipation and curiosity to see if I would be deemed old enough to end up at the ‘adult’ table. I regretfully remember that I was a good deal older than I thought necessary before I was granted that honour!

My mammy was an excellent cook and baker, and she had the family recipe book. As a result, the heavy responsibility of creating the Whitnell family Christmas cakes fell to her each year. Uncles and aunts, cousins and more would all want

I HAVE VIVID MEMORIES OF MAMMY IN THE KITCHEN, DANCING AROUND WITH HER BIG WOODEN SPOON AND HUGE CREAM MIXING BOWL.

COMMUNITY

flow of gas to the cooker, and therefore interrupt the cake causing them to collapse completely!

Of course, none of us wanted to be responsible for the terrible calamity of a collapsed cake, especially a Christmas cake, as we would incur the (assumed) terrible wrath of the affected family member that went cake-less for the big day. Although loud noises bought about by excited children would be sure to interrupt the gas supply, mammy assured us that there was no such risk with music.

Specifically, her music.

I remember her dancing around the kitchen beating the cake batter to songs from the radio, including her favourite from Marianne Faithful with ‘Dreaming my Dreams’.

Mammy

This week of calm, while she was making cakes destined for Whitnell residences all over Cork, stuck with me.

I asked her recently about it and she laughed; whoever could believe something as solid as a Christmas fruit cake could collapse!

She has been kind enough to send me the recipe, which you can see (wherever it ends on the page – left/below etc). I hope you have fun baking it and most importantly eating it. Should you wish to send me one, please feel free!

She assures me that a gas cooker is not integral to the production of a perfect cake, however if you want an excuse to bask in silence for a while, feel free to tell your children the same thing she told us. I can almost guarantee tiptoeing.

‘

their cake in time for the big day, and every year my wonderful mammy obliged.

I have vivid memories of her in the kitchen, what felt like all day, with her big wooden spoon and huge cream mixing bowl, knocking up batch after batch of Christmas cake for the oven. I latterly found out that she may have had another very good reason for holding the recipe close to her chest. For a week before Christmas, when she was up early and the oven was working overtime, the whole household was all under the spell of silence.

Mammy had told me, my brothers, and sisters, that the cakes were incredibly fragile, and they must be allowed to cook without interruption. Any sudden or loud noises would be sure to interrupt the

s ll e n t i h W CHRISTMAS CAKE

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ lb Plain Flour 1 lb Butter 1 lb Brown Sugar 1 lb Sultanas ¼ lb Peel 1 Lemon (Juice) ¼ lb Ground Almonds ¼ lb Glace Cherries 1 Teaspoon Nutmeg 1 Teaspoon Mixed Spice 10 Eggs 2 Tablespoons Treacle 1 (or 2) Glass whiskey or ½ Sherry and ½ Whiskey 1 lb Currants

Mammy Whitnell

INSTRUCTIONS Soak the fruit in booze overnight.

Cream together the flour and sugar and eggs one at a time, and slowly add the flour. Add the mixed spice, nutmeg, peel and almonds.

Strain the soaked fruit (keep the boozy fruit juice!) and stir it into the cake batter, and finally add the lemon juice and the reserved boozy fruit juice.

Line a 11” cake tin with brown paper and cook in your gas oven at regulo 1 (140˚C) for 6 hours.

Remove from the oven, leave to cool, save in a tupperware and enjoy!

www.bita.ie

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COMMUNITY

LOOKING

FORWARD Tony Goodman, Chair of the Manchester Chapter

T

he Manchester Chapter of BITA was founded in late 2019, and after only a few networking evenings we were planning our first networking lunch event for April 2020. Sadly this, like so many other plans had to be postponed.

We have used the time wisely to grow the chapter and establish our board. Members of the Manchester board have been hosting popular fortnightly networking events for our members, and we are regularly seeing in excess of 20 attendees from businesses across Greater Manchester. We are fortunate to have

developed a loyal following for these Friday afternoon events and are attracting a number of great guests.

We were very excited to host the first ever whisky tasting in BITA – online!

At the end of November, members from across the UK and Ireland joined us and our friends from Great Drams to sample some excellent small batch whisky. Luckily, they were only small drams, so it was an evening to be remembered!

After steering the Manchester Chapter for more than a year, our first Chairperson Christiane Hutchinson stepped back to focus more on her rapidly growing

Loft Conversions | New Builds & Extensions Kitchen Fitting | Flooring | Framework 32

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businesses. She is still offering her expertise and guidance as a board member, and we wish her every success with her business Biramis Management Partners.

I am the new chair, Tony Goodman, and I have been involved in exporting across a wide range of industries for more than 30 years. I am delighted to be taking on the position of chair for 2021 and look forward to welcoming businesses from far and wide to networking events in our wonderful city.

We are looking forward to a very prosperous 2021 and wish you all the best this festive season!

T: 07478935047 E: info@duncanscarpentry.com

T

them. Mandating additional energy efficient social and low he statistics are alarming. About 4,700 people sleep rent homes in specific new developments. Controlled rents to in the streets every single night across the UK and prevent landlords pricing tenants out of the market. Making new Ireland, a figure that has doubled since 2010, with homes more accessible to those who have mobility challenges. many more people ‘hidden and homeless’. 320,000 Developers incentivised to partner with Housing Associations to people in total are homeless in the UK according build affordable social or emergency housing for rent. Embracing to the housing charity Shelter with another new methods of manufacture to build housing to a very high 9,000 people homeless in Ireland. 2.5 million people across our standard faster, affordably, and in a communities are unable to afford more sustainable manner. their rent or mortgage.

Today, modern methods Yet despite advocacy groups, of construction like offsite and charities, and newspaper headlines modular construction mean that imploring the government to provide long and short-term solutions additional housing supply to address can readily be delivered to meet the situation, the stark reality is that the demand for emergency or there is still a glaring lack of supply affordable social housing. Housing of new affordable housing every year that is manufactured off-site across this country. in factory conditions provides Historically, the traditional brick skilled jobs, delivers homes more and mortar approach to housebuilding quickly compared to traditional has perennially fallen short of construction methods, and has the delivering the right level of affordable added benefit of vastly reduced housing to solve the problem. construction site traffic in local Inclement weather, developers areas potentially making noisy focused on delivering shareholder building sites a thing of the past. profits with more expensive One really good example of this properties, and local push back to modern approach is the award“social or emergency housing in my winning company ISO Spaces, neighbourhood” are often quoted as THERE ARE MANY SOLUTIONS TO who are UK based and also proud reasons why the problem persists.

HOMELESSNESS – PROVIDED THERE BITA members. They produce fully Traditional builders will continue portable modular housing that can running their businesses the way IS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR be scaled up or down and relocated they know how because it has WILLINGNESS TO EMBRACE THEM. whenever required. ISO Spaces is worked commercially. For most large a company with a genuine social housebuilders, sales have been strong purpose that actively partners with Local Authorities, Housing for a long time, profits are good, and future order books look Associations, and Councils to provide affordable housing that pretty healthy. Yet with a housing shortfall still looming, more and addresses real social and emergency housing needs. The ultramore construction sector innovators are asking “how do we solve portable nature of the ISO Spaces solution means that projects can these social problems so that everyone wins?” be built on sites that are not suitable or accessible for traditional Of course, there are solutions, and lots of them – provided build methods. When there is a clear and present need to tackle a there is public and private sector willingness to embrace local housing challenge, ISO Spaces has time and again delivered quality housing that is affordable, portable, and fully certified.

Is ISO Spaces and other innovative manufacturers like them, part of the solution to the UK and Ireland’s social and emergency housing problem? Absolutely yes, and local governments are taking note.

PORTABLE MODULAR HOUSING: Part of the solution to the emergency housing, homelessness, and social housing crises?

John Fitzgerald

BUSINESS

COMMUNITY

THE BITA RECOGNITION AWARDS We were unable to run our regular awards

SUCCESSFUL ADAPTATION This award is for organisations that have successfully pivoted their business operations or strategy in response to crisis.

OUR FINALISTS: Portman Scott Recruitment Agency Our London Chair Bridie Cunningham pivoted quickly in response to lockdown and the new office rules, with a change of her product offering to give organisations the opportunity to access talent that they might not normally be able to access. This offering included interim executives and management assistance at a reduction of the normal fee.

ceremony this year but we still wanted to acknowledge members that have been working incredibly hard and long to help support their communities, each other, staff, and us at BITA. The Executive and Non-Executive Board members were asked to anonymously vote on a shortlist of finalists for four categories; BITA Supporter, Contribution to Community, Successful Adaptation in a Crisis, and Inspirational Leadership.

President Paul Whitnell commented on the process “It was an incredibly hard decision as we appreciate the expertise, hard work and contribution of all our members, but we also feel that giving recognition where it is deserved is important; particularly in these hard times�

Sunday Business Post Our Dublin board member Sarah Murphy made a rapid online/digital strategy turnaround in response to the changing market demands.

Tutum Workplace Tutum Workplace is a new business founded by our Isle of Man chair, Brendon Kenny. It aims to be a turnkey solution to a safer workplace by using effective Covid-19 testing and technology.

V-Site Pass Our Isle of Man board member Mike Dodd opened a new business called Match Fit Pass, to offer security, AI and tracing software, to permit venue entry and record attendance at a match or event, ensuring the health and safety of those attending.

Go Green Office Solutions Our Liverpool member Go Green Office Solutions was up for a second award due to their deft pivoting from offering office furniture and fit outs, to investing in property development and PPE.

WINNER RECOGNITION

AWARD BRITISH AND IRISH TRADING ALLIANCE

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BrightTeach This Brighton based business, and member of the London chapter, pivoted incredibly quickly from offering home-based tutoring services to their local clientele, to running purely online face to face tutoring for struggling students across the UK.

COMMUNITY

BITA SUPPORTER This award is for companies or individuals that really ‘get’ BITA and make sure that they are involved with and contribute to the organisation – giving as good as they are receiving!

They are the ‘People who know people that help people’.

OUR FINALISTS: Jim Forshaw, HJL Business Services Jim is on the Liverpool chapter board, where he has served since the chapter was founded. He is a powerful advocate of BITA and among other things has been a staunch supporter of our online events.

Tariq Hussain, Petherbridge Bassra Tariq is the chair of our newest chapter in Leeds and has already hosted (Covid secure) events for our new members in the area. He has immediately become a BITA champion, an advocate of our values and has been excellent at introducing new members and creating connections between businesses in a new chapter and during a crisis!

Jim Forshaw

Tariq Hussain

James Maguire, Crannull James has been a member of BITA for years, and has been a staunch supporter, attending events, making introductions, and fully embodying the values of the organisation. He is also on the BITA Global Forum where he is supporting our #beplasticaware initiative.

Will Polston, Make it Happen Will has been involved with BITA and BITAx for the past three years, attending events as both guest and keynote speaker. He has also generously donated his time by running wellbeing events online and contributing to our magazine. He is the most recent member of the BITAx board.

James Maguire

Will Polston

Ryan Dignam, Bridge Group Ryan has been the chairman of BITAx for the past two years and has been responsible for steering them to their position today. He regularly attends BITA events and works with our members to generate work and opportunity.

WINNER Paul Edmonds, Kornerstone and Partners Paul Edmonds has been supporting BITA for the past two years. He acts as an advisor to the board of BITAx, he supports the Non-Executive directors, he is active in the Global Forum, provides coaching to Executive Directors and Operations Manager, as well as assisting with the opening of our newly formed chapter in Brighton.

Ryan Dignam

Paul Edmonds

www.bita.ie

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THE BITA RECOGNITION AWARDS

COMMUNITY

CONTRIBUTION TO THE COMMUNITY This award is for companies that have a true community spirit and show this in the way they support their locals and keep community at the heart of what they do. We give our thanks to all the members that give of their time and resources to support their communities and these nominations are just a tip of the community spirited mountain in our wonderful organisation!

OUR FINALISTS: Nationwide Management Services Our Liverpool based members, Nationwide Management Services, took the time to deliver PPE supplies, as well as much-needed treats like donuts and cakes, to local NHS workers.

Danny Sullivan Group Our gold sponsors partnered with the charity City Hearts - Bright Future, to help victims of Modern Slavery, and have also been working with the National Brain Appeal and other charities to donate Christmas gifts to those in need.

Go Green Office Solutions This Liverpool member was offering free office furniture and chairs for stay-at-home workers across the UK, as well as PPE supplied to the NHS. O’Leary Life Our Cork member, O’Leary Life, have raised €4,500 by taking part in the Lockdown Challenge – walking, running or cycling over 7,500km in the first four weeks of lockdown. This money was donated to the Cork University Hospital for new cancer testing equipment.

RAP Interiors Our London based members Rap Interiors offered dividers free of charge and provided free kitchen equipment to NHS nurses in London. They are also working to raise cheer in care homes this Christmas with their participation in #Care4Christmas.

Traffic Management London Our London member Traffic Management London has been working with a local school to help raise money and awareness for their home school dinners plan to help disadvantaged students.

Michael Barratt MBE Organised the delivering of meals on bikes to isolated people in London, as well as working on themes of sustainability, road safety, and accessing PPE for those working in the community.

WINNER Powerday #PoweringtheNHS was an initiative of Powerday and the London Irish centre that saw them fund and deliver over 50,000 meals to overworked NHS workers at 17 hospitals across London and the Thames Valley from March to June this year.

RECOGNITION

AWARD BRITISH AND IRISH TRADING ALLIANCE

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COMMUNITY

INSPIRATIONAL LEADERSHIP The inspirational leadership award offered very stiff competition for our finalists, and there have been so many incredible business leaders in the past 12 months. These are the people who were prepared to change the way they did things, to engage with staff differently, and to ensure that their business sailed safely through choppy waters. This award is for business leaders that provided true inspiration and innovation in 2020.

OUR FINALISTS: James Connell, Oliver Connell Being a family business can come with its own issues but with solid values and a belief that your team are your most valuable asset, a business’s foundations are kept strong.

The Oliver Connell team have been steadfast throughout the pandemic in their approach and delivery of their projects which is a tribute to James’ leadership.

Jacqueline O’Donovan, O’Donovan Waste Disposal Our newest Patron, Jacqueline O’Donovan decided to use the lockdown to invest heavily in staff personal development, and to lead by example. She has acted with great care and consideration.

James Connell

Jacqueline O’Donovan

Joe Kelliher, Kerry London When Joe Kelliher established Kerry London his aim was to be recognised and respected as the insurance broker that delivers. Today, Joe continues to build strong and enduring relationships; an approach that has helped to make Kerry London one of the most successful, independently owned insurance brokers.

Joe Kelliher

Sarah McCartney

Sarah McCartney, SLMC Consulting Our Liverpool chapter chair has been working incredibly hard throughout 2020, providing support to local businesses, her local church and charities, and of course to BITA members and BITA Head Office. Her leadership of the Liverpool Chapter has been inspirational.

Eddie McGillycuddy, Glencar Construction A testament to great leadership is when your teams pull out all the stops to support a project ahead of its deadline through hard work and determination. This is exactly what happened with Glancar’s contract to complete the Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre (VMIC) at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus. VMIC, will now provide the UK’s first strategic vaccine with advanced manufacturing capability and also provide national emergency response for future pandemics. We are sure that BITA and the nation are grateful for the team’s support on this project!

WINNER

Eddie McGillycuddy

www.bita.ie

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Geraldine O’Neill

HEALTH UNDER CONSTRUCTION 60% OF CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES CONSIDER THE MENTAL HEALTH OF EMPLOYEES A KEY ISSUE

I

t’s ok not to feel ok; and it’s absolutely ok to ask for help’ says I Am Here, a global change agent in mental health and wellbeing.

As the construction sector braces itself for rapid change, 60% of companies highlight that the mental health of their employees is the key issue of these times.

A further 68% believe the industry has a significant issue of staff under reporting mental health issues in the workplace.

This is all according to a report by Construction Federation Ireland entitled ‘Mental Health in the Workplace’.

While workplace safety has always been important, I Am Here, a global mental health and wellbeing leader, is supporting employers and their teams prioritise mental health. This is being achieved at scale by changing beliefs and behaviours in the workplace. I Am Here has been adopted by Ireland’s largest construction company, John Sisk & Son and GFG Alliance. Sisk is a recent winner of prestigious Mental Health and Wellbeing award, ‘The KeepWell Mark’ from IBEC, Ireland’s largest and most influential business organisation.

“The construction sector is experiencing significant challenges right now with ongoing uncertainty and unprecedented new requirements combining to have a profound impact’, says Carole Ann Clarke, Chief Experience Officer, I Am Here. ‘There is an absolute need for resilience to move forward.

Having a robust mental health and wellbeing strategy is demonstrated to act as a unique differentiator by business leaders in today’s environment of rapid change. Yet, according to the Construction Federation Ireland study, only 24% of employers report having a

formal policy in place to manage mental health. With I Am Here, employers can help their teams build the resilience skills needed to thrive in very different and complex environments. In addition, the programme is proven to deliver meaningful business impact including increased productivity, reduced absenteeism and increased utilisation of helps and supports.”

How I Am Here Works: I Am Here delivers the message that it’s ok not to feel ok; and it’s absolutely ok to ask for help. I Am Here provides people in the workplace with the courage, confidence and skills to be able to reach out to someone who may need help and signpost them to the helps and supports they may need.

I Am Here is delivered online and was created by a global leader in eLearning solutions, Pulselearning. The delivery format is perfect for construction and is supportive of remote and onsite set-ups.

It can be delivered in multiple formats and across multiple devices. The first course for Tribe Members is 30 minutes in duration. If someone wants to stand up within the Tribe and become an I Am Here Ambassador, they can complete another 2 hour course. I Am Here also provides expert help and support for its clients across the six wellbeing pillars of emotional, physical, spiritual, social, financial and work and career.

The first 3 months of the I Am Here programme is free.

To find out more, email: info@iamheretribe.com 38

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The end result is a compassionately connected team within a workplace, who then spread the I Am Here message to their families, friends and the wider community. I Am Here remains a committed ally throughout the process for the company.

‘Sisk is one of our key partners here in Ireland’, says Carole Ann Clarke, Chief Experience Officer, of I Am Here. ‘A record number of their team in Ireland and the UK have completed the learning and many have raised their hands to take on the role of Tribe Members and Ambassadors. Not only is Sisk changing beliefs about mental health, but they are also changing perceptions in the sector too. Sisk is rooted in the belief that the mental health and wellbeing of their team is a priority for their business.

Team members who have become Tribe members for the programme, tell us they are happier and more fulfilled in their working lives.”

I Am Here is about creating a culture in which it’s ok to ask for help. This unique, evidence-based and award winning programme leads to an open and honest environment. As the construction sector takes on diverse challenges, companies who bring clear vision and are consistent in how they communicate and care about their team, will win the battle for change.

ONLY 24% OF EMPLOYERS REPORT HAVING A FORMAL POLICY IN PLACE TO MANAGE MENTAL HEALTH.

TAKING UP RESIDENCE AS PART OF BITA Residence Liverpool are delighted to be joining BITA as part of our long-term vision for conducting future business in the city of Liverpool.

Whilst Residence (Liverpool) Limited is a newly formed company in October 2019, our expertise has been long established.

Our experience in property management has been acquired over many years under our sister company Beech Properties, which was established in 2004 by Gordon Cuthbert.

But we are not a company who manages from a distance. Rather, we are very close, and we demonstrate this by only looking after properties in the Liverpool City Region. In addition, we only provide local contractors and tradesmen to deliver their services into the blocks.

Having many apartments under our management we consistently found apartment blocks, that had poorly maintained communal areas, and dissatisfied Leaseholders.

All too often these blocks were not legally complaint under the fire and safety regulations, thereby putting the residents’ lives at risk.

We found very quickly over a elatively short period of time we took on more and more buildings and brought them back to the condition and effective management the leaseholders and residents rightly deserve.

The more of these buildings we visited, the more we wanted to achieve a different kind of block management.

A service that was not just cost effective for the leaseholders, but also respective of the needs of the residents, giving them a home, they would be proud to call home.

Being based in Liverpool, we are lucky to be in a city with a great cultural history

and many iconic buildings and stunning architecture, steeped in history.

Many of these properties have now been converted into apartment living, but in doing so these buildings very much need to be preserved and maintained to ensure they survive for generations to come.

It is this passion for our city that drives the team at Residence to provide a unique management service and a fresh approach to shake up the typical methods of property management.

Rather than merely providing a new service, through Beech Properties, we chose to introduce a brand-new company, with his own identity and values with the sole focus of offering first-class property management that is superior yet refreshingly different to any alternative within the region.

Residence is embodied by the desire to provide a service that is reliable, professional and personal with 24/7 access to its team. Their intention is to take care of not only the buildings themselves, but also the investments of any freeholders and Leaseholders involved with property projects.

Every building is unique, along with the residents who live there, and so each new property who comes under our management receives a personalised service and schedule created for the needs of the property. This involves everything from cleaning through to insuring the building, and all the safety regulations required under law.

At Residence we inspect properties under our management every week, which ensures nothing escapes our attention.

We offer additional services, such having energy consultants check the energy efficiency of all the properties,

to ensure we take all necessary steps to reduce the carbon footprint for the buildings.

Whilst the legal technicalities and complexities of block management and rules regarding freehold and leasehold can be confusing for lots of people, at Residence we strive to inform and help leaseholders understand their options, and are more than happy to help them achieve control of the building they live in.

At Residence we love nothing more than helping leaseholders take back control of their home, it’s very much about teamwork and together we can improve the standard of block management in Liverpool.

We also have considerable experience working with property developers, freeholders, architects, construction managers and investors. Whether it is a project at the very start of the build process or a development that has stalled and gone into receivership, there are many areas that we can assist.

So, as you can see, we are very excited about the work we deliver and the clients that we can help. And by joining BITA, we will be opening new doors (since we’re very good at doing that!) nd thus able to grow even further as we head into 2021 and beyond.

Find out everything you need to know about Residence Liverpool by visiting their website at www.residenceliverpool.co.uk

ADVERTORIAL

SECTION

COMMUNITY

HGV AT THE GATES How successful management of Logistics wins awards

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e were thrilled to hear that the longtime members and supports of BITA, Noel Byrne and Eamonn McGurk, were acknowledged at the Local Government Chronicle Awards this year.

They lead the firm Arriva Digital, which was recognised in the Digital Impact category, for their work on Croydon council’s Origin to Destination app.

We featured their amazing work in this publication back in December 2019, when we heard from Noel and discussed what he felt was the future of logistics.

The Origin to Destination (or O2D) app is now mandatory for all construction firms making deliveries across the

Croydon Growth Zone, having proved a successful tool allowing firms to manage deliveries in real-time while supporting the borough’s environmental ideals.

Arriva Digital combines Mr Byrne and Mr McGurk’s 30 years of experience in the construction industry with tech expertise from co-founder Dan Pinnell.

Their most recent award, which was presented late last month, at an event hosted by Radio 4’s Justin Webb, built on an earlier win at the International Future Fleet Awards in January.

Mr Byrne said; “I met Eamonn at a BITA event a few years ago, and we have ended up working on this passion project.

Other BITA members have provided invaluable support over years, like Michael

JJ Rhatigan

residential units, including studios, one and two-bedroom apartments and first-class facilities such as private roof gardens and 24-hour concierge in the up-and-coming Bedfordshire town. The ceremony was attended by Tom Neylon, Regional Director of JJ Rhatigan, Santhosh Gowda, Chairman of Strawberry Star Group, and Rachel Hopkins, MP for Luton South. The first phase of the development is on track to be complete in Q4 2021.

A recent topping out ceremony marked major progress at the first phase of Lu2on, the multiple award-winning £280 million mixed-use development in Luton, one of the top commuter towns of the UK capital.

Located on the site of the former Vauxhall Motors factory, where some of Britain’s most iconic and best-loved cars were once built, Lu2on will provide over 877

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Lung cancer is still here The coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating impact across the worldwide.

However, there are fears we are yet to see the true extent of the crisis.

During the peak of the pandemic, cancer referrals declines up to 84%. People

Sponsored by www.ballymoregroup.com

Barratt MBE of TfL & Vince Dignam of the City of London. Through collaborating with them on various projects I became aware of the importance of reducing vehicles movements and the subsequent benefits to vulnerable road users.”

He added: “We identified a problem with congestion at our busy construction projects gates.

“Trucks being turned away at project gates puts more pressure on the driver who has no choice but to circle, adds risk to cyclists and pedestrians and results in pumping out further tonnes of Co2 into our already toxic city air.

“Every day we turn away around 20 per cent of trucks, which circle for an average of 10 miles before they return to site or abandon their delivery altogether.”

O2D provides a solution to this problem by increasing supply chain communication. It makes the process more transparent and efficient, facilitates the free movement of vehicles and keeps construction times scales on track. The app reduces stoppages and the build-up of trucks and vans on-site, as well as the number of repeat journeys and delays. It does this by diverting the vehicles before they reach the site and hold them in holding bays, to be called in once the site is ready. It’s air traffic control for road freight.

Mr Byrne added: “Arriva Digital will continue to work with the construction industry and local authorities to develop much-needed technology and bespoke apps. Our aim is to help make our industry and city safer, greener and cleaner.”

followed the government’s “stay at home” messages and avoided visiting their doctor, even if they felt unwell.

It is already estimated that there will be up to 1372 additional deaths from lung cancer alone due to the pandemic. However, Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation fears this could be the tip of iceberg for what is already the UK’s biggest cancer killer, with still only 59% expected referrals currently being made.

This has prompted Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation to launch its new awareness campaign, Still Here. Paula Chadwick is its chief executive: “Whilst all cancers have felt the devastation of the pandemic, lung cancer faces an additional obstacle given one of its most common symptoms – a persistent cough - is overtly linked to covid.

COMMUNITY

REFLECTIONS FROM THE INSIDE

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he last 7 months in the eye of the Coronavirus storm has laid bare many things; some we didn’t want to know (how quickly hair can grow without a cut) and some we did (how relatively easy it is to run a business remotely). One of the areas that has had little focus, but has had an incredible journey, is Payroll. Making sure people are paid correctly and on time is the highest priority for both employers and employees. Below is an honest account from the Payroll Manager at Peopletime which possibly says it all.

“Furlough, flexi furlough, job retention bonus scheme, job support scheme...…. all terms we had not come across before in our payroll world. On a daily basis we waited for guidance updates, spending our evenings pouring over them ready to put them in to action, to prepare factsheets and reassure clients early the next morning. There have been long days, late nights, frustration and uncertainty on what was happening around us while we had our heads buried

For the last five months, people with a cough have been told to ‘stay at home’.

Whilst this was an important message, it is essential people now feel able to go to their doctor if the cough persists, or if they have common lung cancer symptoms, such as breathlessness, unexplained tiredness, coughing up blood or weight loss. People need to remember lung cancer is still here and so is the NHS, so if you are experiencing any symptoms, contact your GP.” It is vital people understand and recognise the many different symptoms

in formulas and spreadsheets. We also had to learn to work as a team away from the little office routine we had built up over the years. I had cakes and dinners dropped off by friends, and I would often doze my way through the evening family zoom quiz. I remember halfway through lockdown someone saying to me “I don’t know how you are all doing this in payroll” and my response was “we are getting through it because we care”. Not just about the job at hand, but we care about our clients and what they are going through, and what their employees are going through. It was that one task we could take off their shoulders, because I am sure they had a million and one other things to deal with.

I love a learning curve, but this was a tough one! The word “unprecedented” was used many times. It hasn’t been easy for anyone, but I am incredibly proud of the payroll team we have! They stepped up every day, regardless of what was going on for them personally, and we got the job done (and sometimes we were still smiling at the end of the day).

of lung cancer and contact their GP if they have any concerns.

For more information, visit roycastle.org/stillhere

DSA Golf As admirably demonstrated at the BITA/ Geberit golf day at Foxhills in September, there is no better place to do business than on the course. Although the DSA team didn’t feature on the podium, we had the opportunity to meet plenty of

But I am also proud of the company I work for. Our HR team, the IT team, marketing, the “bosses”! Everyone stepped up to support us, all hands-on deck, no task too little. Not just for our payroll team, but for our clients because they care.” Payroll Manager, Peopletime – Amy Dennis Peopletime offer a wide range of HR, Payroll and Health & Safety services to help SMEs in both the UK and Republic of Ireland run their business legally and efficiently. To find out more visit their websites at www.peopletime.co.uk or www.peopletime.ie or follow them on social media.

potential clients from across a wide range of industries. For us it was a given that all involved in the day had an interest in golf and were able to introduce our services in a friendly, no-pressure environment.

DSA Golf supply events such as this with branded golf balls, team-wear, goodybags umbrellas and the like. We are in fact the 6th largest supplier of corporate branded Titleist goods in the UK and in 2019 sold over 6,000 dozen logo printed Titleist balls. 2020 has of course been a different story with many events cancelled or postponed. Recetly though, I met with Jason Keigher (originally from Meath) who is the CCO at Bridgestone Golf. His view was that, so many private individuals have taken up golf during the lock down that there will certainly be a sizeable increase in corporate and society events in 2021. If you’re organising one of them – keep your business in the BITA family and pay us at visit at www.dsagolf.co.uk

www.bita.ie

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BREXIT

ADVICE

FOR SMES CHANGE IS COMING AND PREPARATION IS KEY “FAILING TO PLAN IS PLANNING TO FAIL” – WHAT DOES BREXIT MEAN FOR YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS?

Linda Harvey, EFM Associate Finance Director: Business Recovery and Turnaround Specialist Supporting Manufacturers and SME’s through challenging times 42

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ere at EFM, our team of Finance Directors and Business Advisors often hear SME owners saying; “Brexit doesn’t affect my business... or does it?” From our experience working with vast number of SMEs, one thing we know is whatever shape Brexit takes, it will have an impact on your business regardless small or big – you need to prepare for what is coming and take the necessary steps now. Failing to plan now ahead of January 2021 is planning to fail!

What will be the impact for businesses who trade with Europe?

Currently, 100% of UK-EU trade is tarifffree. As a member of the customs union, UK exporters comply with EU rules that are standardised across the trading bloc.

This enables imports and exports to cross borders freely. Should the UK leave without a deal, the majority of exports will face EU tariffs and customs checks – as the UK will be subject to ‘third country’ trading status. This could cause significant shipping delays that affect your goods delivery time, hence think about what “promises” you make to your customers – don’t promise something you cannot deliver! Your cost of product may increase and VAT may be less easy to recover or cost more in certain countries, impacting margins unless you review prices. In addition, there will be changes in how you account for VAT post Brexit and this may vary with different customers (consumers or business), distance selling rules and local EU country VAT registration requirements.

Commodity codes – don’t get this wrong!

After 31st of December, if you want to continue trading cross-border with the EU, then check you know your commodity codes. If applied incorrectly you will end up paying wrong duties! Make sure your finance person in charge is aware of it and factor it into your cost base and the financial forecast should there be any additional costs.

Understanding certificate of origin

There are 3 elements that are considered when establishing the right duty rate that must be paid on goods and these are; which country they are being imported to, what type of goods they are and where they have originated from. The last one www.bita.ie might not be as straightforward since there are 2 additional things to consider here; are the goods wholly obtained or produced in a single country? Are your goods made of materials from more than one country?

This second option is more complex as there are additional criteria to consider too.

Compliance

It is expected that industry specific safety or compliance certification previously under EU umbrella might no longer be valid, this can prove to be time and cost consuming to re-certify locally. The UK has developed its own UK Conformity Assessed mark which may be required, as well as, or instead of the CE mark (e.g. goods bound for Northern Ireland still need the CE mark). Getting

Forecast cash flow and Funding Options

PLANNING IS KEY; BREXIT MIGHT LEAD TO PAYMENTS BEING DELAYED.

Currency fluctuations and credit risk post-Brexit are just one of the many factors that might affect how much cash is coming in and out of your business.

Creating a number of cash flow forecasts based on different scenarios and fixing currency rates will help you identify and manage cash vulnerabilities over the coming weeks and months.

Furthermore, make sure everyone in your business understands the metrics that keeps you cash positive – i.e. booked hours, units shipped, value of the orders in and get the whole team invested in making that happen! Additional points to consider are whether cashflow challenges stop you building up stock and whether duty and VAT deferment can be obtained to ease cashflow. All of this needs considering in the context of existing loans, deferred payments and cash headroom.

Every business needs to ensure they have a healthy cash flow and enough working capital to cover day-to-day costs.

The disruption caused by Brexit might lead to delayed payment by customers and more costly, slower delivery of goods.

Funding options like invoice finance can help you to cover cash flow gaps.

Talk to customers and suppliers

Businesses are changing their plans due to Brexit and this could have an impact on your business – whether they’re a key customer or a supplier. Get in touch and find out what their plans are.

See if you can align your planning to alleviate disruption and don’t get caught out by them switching their business unexpectedly – perhaps look at localised customers as you may have become more competitive on cost and lead time versus EU & ROW competitors? In addition, if the deal with your suppliers/partners is no longer appealing then perhaps it’s the right time to think about other partners who are on the same boat with you and unite strengths? It’s better to plan this sooner rather than later.

What should I do next?

From construction to manufacturing nd product based businesses, every SME faces specific challenges because the devil is in the detail and to prepare for it speak to professionals who will go through this journey with you and make sure your business don’t suffer despite the challenges ahead.

documentation accurate will ensure smoother transfer of goods across Europe.

As well as product compliance there are increased compliance issues around hiring EU nationals and sharing data under data protection rules – it is likely that many contracts will need reviewing and updating.

HOW CAN EFM

Supply chain

1. If your business needs a foothold in an EU country to avoid unnecessary

Take a look at your supply chain and evaluate the interlinked costs and dependencies. Short term, regardless of the EU-UK agreement, important to most businesses is certainty of supply which you can have some degree of control over by sourcing products within the UK or building some stock pile ahead of 2021.

Longer terms, regardless of Brexit this might be an opportunity – for you to improve efficiencies and make savings as

ADVERTORIAL

well as assessing any potential risks. For example, will border disruption push back lead times for a key supplier? Or will a UK supplier to you experience issues because their supply chain is overseas?

Furthermore, is the Covid impact going to add further challenges as parts of the world continue to open up and lock down at different times and in different depths?

SUPPORT MY BUSINESS? There are two things we can do to help you, because we know how to do it well

Brexit hurdle, then we can help! Our network of finance specialists reaches from the UK into the EU, specifically Ireland. The EFM Ireland team has already helped some UK companies set up in Ireland.

2. If your business finances keep you awake at night and you don’t know where to start, then EFM can help. We support SMEs in preparation of business plans and budget, managing cashflow and working capital requirements, managing growth to maintain financial stability, business reorganisation and restructuring.

But most of all, we understand that top of the tree is a lonely place and business owners need a sounding board when making difficult decisions.

For more information around how EFM can either signpost or directly support your business with preparing for Brexit please get in touch with linda.harvey@efm-network.com or call 01582 516300

efm.uk.com www.bita.ie

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FULFILLING

OUR DUTIES Áine Collins CPA, IOD, Founder of Blueprint Consulting and Chair of the Dublin Chapter

A

s an accountant and business consultant, 2020 has been a difficult, yet interesting year. I specialise in bringing financial effectiveness and developing business strategy for SME’s and working as a non-executive director to businesses. The last 9 months has seen us focussing more on successfully pivoting, creative design, and staff engagement.

The businesses that have fared best are those that had strong and transparent leadership in place, a flexible outlook on how to achieve it, and a clear focus on what they wanted to achieve. It has been nothing short of miraculous to see what people have been able to accomplish in

PROUD TO SUPPORT

such a short time, reframing products, and services, operating with less budgets, and championing creative innovation in all areas of business process, people engagement and agile leadership has become the new buzz word of 2020.

Dublin has struggled, as most cities have across the globe during this pandemic, thankfully rates have fallen in recent weeks, and businesses have continued even though many are struggling. This has been helped by 83% of Dubliners and Irish people who prioritise buying local, either in person or online. This is something to be proud of. In a year when the first, second, and third-quarter revenue

BRUNEL BUILDING, LONDON PEOPLE WHO KNOW PEOPLE THAT HELP PEOPLE

OUR 2025 MISSION: to become the recognised leader for innovation and excellence in the construction industry. www.laingorourke.com 44

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of Amazon jumped 26%, 40%, and 37% year over year, and Jeff Bezos’ personal wealth has risen by $70 million, it is truly heartening to see so many Irish people deliberately deciding to support local enterprises and we hope this will continue.

We are looking forward to returning to a what will be a new normal in Q2 and Q3 of 2021, when we will be welcoming back our overseas visitors to exciting and busy networking and training events.

In the meantime, it’s important that we fulfil our patriotic duty over Christmas and keep watching Netflix, perhaps with some cocoa and a mince pie or two and continue to buy local.

BITA

was proud in October to announce the launch of #Beplasticaware, an initiative of the recently established Global Forum, to increase awareness of the impact of plastic pollution. This will be a longterm focus dedicated to galvanising BITA members and communities through charitable action and organisational dedication to plastic reduction across the world.

Bakelite was the first plastic to be created in 1907, however the real plastic revolution was in in the 1950’s when plastic production was ramped up after

It is because of this, and the passion of our members, that BITA chose to launch the new #Beplasticaware campaign by supporting International Coastal Clean Up day on 19th September 2020, during which representatives from BITA took part in beach clean-ups across the British Isles. BITA President Paul Whitnell says; “We all like to walk on a clean beach, however there is so much plastic either being washed out to sea or washing up on shores that we need to take action to clean up the mess.”

Plans for 2021 will be even bigger, and we are working with Waterhaul who have

Man and Internationally, to coincide with this event, so if you would like to get involved and be kept up to date with initiatives, please sign up for the #Beplasticaware initiative at https://bita. ie/chapters/global-forum/news/takeaction-with-beplasticaware.html Leading the charge is Isle of Man Chapter Chair, Brendon Kenny.

Commenting on his involvement, Brendon said “Plastic pollution in our oceans now affects us all. We are proud to support the Beach Buddies initiative as part of our #Beplasticaware activity plan. We’ll start at the beaches and work our way in!”.

Laura Watkins

#BEPLASTICAWARE

PICKING ON

PLASTIC Taking Action with #Beplasticaware – new developments in consumption of oil and gas by-products. Initially hailed as the new wonder material, plastic production soared, being considered a cheap, durable, and efficient material for a variety of purposes. Sadly, the inherent durability is now causing the issues that are coming to light.

Plastic is essential to many processes; however, we invite all our members – whether running a business, or just purchasing produce at the supermarket – to consider their choices and investigate other options that may be available. To practice ‘conscious purchasing’.

Not only should we be concerned about the damage being wrought on our natural world, we also need to consider the damage we are doing to ourselves by consuming food contaminated by micro-plastics. Earlier this year scientists announced that they were now able to detect micro-plastics in humans and had found them in all tissue samples they had studied.

WE’LL BE RUNNING EVENTS TO SUPPORT

Although the issues have been highlighted in recent years, we continue to see increasing amounts of primary plastic production – across a multitude of industries.

• Packaging has the top spot,

INTERNATIONAL COASTAL

producing 146 million tonnes in 2015

CLEAN-UP DAY 2021 ON 18TH SEPTEMBER.

• The construction industry

developed a litter picker with all plastic components created from recycled ocean plastic. Waterhaul developed the idea whilst conducting beach cleans along the Cornish coastline. They decided to inspire the volunteers and clean-up experts by constructing clean-up equipment from the materials they were intercepting, rather than adding to the plastic problem.

BITA is excited to be able to offer these litter pickers in our online shop, ready for you to purchase and take action on International Coastal Clean-Up Day 2021 on 18th September!

We will be planning events across the UK, Ireland, Isle of

comes in second, producing 65 million tonnes

• Textiles were third with 59 million tonnes produced i

• Plastic can take up to 1,000 years to decompose

• Plastic coffee pods take 500 years, and release methane gas as they do – contributing to global warming

• Mismanaged waste leads to micro-plastics in oceans as plastics slowly degrade i

https://bit.ly/2Wgi2lb

For more information: www.beachbuddies.net; www.changingstreams.org; www.oceanconservancy.org

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PRESS THE RESET BUTTON

THIS CHRISTMAS! TAKE THE TIME OUT TO RECHARGE 2020 for most of us has been quite stressful, whether it’s managing our businesses, our health, our families, or our kid’s schooling. Then not to mention cancelled holidays and missed family occasions or meet ups with friends. So, over this Christmas period it’s important to take a ‘chill pill’ and relax, so that you can hit the ground running in 2021.

KEEP ON MOVING Exercising for 4-5 times a week boosts you mentally. If you’re feeling low, exercise is nature’s best medicine. Whether it’s a walk or a run, a workout, a yoga session, dancing, an online class – you choose. But do move!

GET YOUR ZEDS

VALUING OUR COMMUNITY WAKE UP WITH ZEST! BITA is working with Wake up with Zest to provide our members with access to wellbeing programs. Zest knows that happy employees lead to successful businesses, so not only does this platform offer you and your staff the tools you need to destress and sleep better, it also offers a ‘workplace wellbeing’ area to help improve focus and productivity in the office. You should have had emails from them to set up your account and start your wellness journey!

Rachel from Wake up with Zest has been kind enough to send us some advice for managing stress throughout this busy time of year:

The Zest Wellbeing Hub has lots of resources for you to access to help you look after your mental and physical wellbeing.

Login here www.zestwellbeinghub.com If you’ve lost your login, then email us at hello@wakeupwithzest.com 46

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Sponsored by www.ballymoregroup.com

If 2020 has left you on your knees with exhaustion, then the Christmas break is a good time to make sure you get enough sleep. It’s very easy to get your sleep routine out of whack over the Christmas period and feel more tired going into the New Year than you did before the holidays. So, try and make sure you’re going to bed and getting up at more or less at the same time – yes it sounds dull and boring, but this is a great time to look after you, and sleep is so important to your health.

ENJOY FESTIVE TREATS IN MODERATION With our Christmas Day indulgences clocking up on average a massive 6500 calories, you can see how easy it is to put on a shed load of weight over the holidays. We all love our festive treats but be mindful that overdoing sugar and alcohol plays havoc with your immune system, which is something you really want to preserve at the moment.

PLAN HEALTHIER HABITS FOR 2021 Between Christmas and New Year is a great time to think about what goals you want to set for your health in 2021. What are you going to stop doing, continue doing and start doing? Set out a monthly plan, be realistic and be accountable.

COMMUNITY

GET STRETCHING Practicing yoga is possible for almost everyone, no matter their fitness, gender, beliefs, or flexibility. Regular practice can help with relaxation, fitness, strength and more; no wonder it is recommended by the NHS as a safe and effective way to exercise, and potentially even as a way to manage high blood pressure, depression and lower back pain.

These are just some of the reasons we at the Yoga Factory are so passionate about helping everyone access this amazing resource. To this end, we have teamed up with BITA to make an incredible offer to all members; one month of free, live online yoga classes for up to 25 employees! As a bonus, we are offering 10% off all classes once your trial has ended.

Give your employees the gift of yoga this Christmas – for free!

YOGA FACTORY Top

Tips

If you’re struggling over the Christmas period, we offer a simple practice that can be used every day, no matter how you’re feeling or wherever you are.

Three times a day; morning, before lunch and in the evening, we invite you to ‘STOP’:

- Stop what you are doing and sit down - Place your hands on your thighs - Close your eyes or fix your gaze on a fixed point - Pierce your lips and rest your tongue on the back of your top teeth

- Breath in and out of both nostrils - Spread the nostrils wide on the inhale - Slow down and synchronise your inhale & exhale (3 seconds in & 3 seconds out would be good) And stay here for 3-5 minutes....

Get in touch with the Yoga Factory today to arrange your free trial: hello@yoga-factory.co.uk 01702 861882

BUSINESS AGILITY Paul Edmonds of Kornerstone and Partners discusses LSR

I

recently stumbled across an articlei that discussed a Living Systematic Review (LSR).

LSR is an emerging approach to the frequent updating of information and measurement. When I first read this I initially fell in love with the phrase, as I have long struggled to correctly articulate that common problem of how businesses lose their ability to stay in touch, agile and proactive.

The pandemic has highlighted the many businesses that relied so heavily on having a long-term plan and then working backwards; that they had almost lost the skill of “thinking on their feet” or even “flying by the seat of their pants”.

The businesses that have survived the last 9 months are the ones that quickly re-set the clocks, ripped up the rule book and tried something new.

The term Living Systematic Review is very fitting for the current climate. I was sharing this article with a CEO of a large main contractor and he summarised by saying “better decisions, more often”, which I couldn’t put better myself. There is a quote in the Bible that says, “A lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path”. The meaning behind this is that the light will shine out into the unclear and shadowed areas in front of us, not the whole road as far as we can see, but enough to keep stepping forward.

This approach is required now more than ever.

LSR means that you hold firm to your goals but plan lightly, that you invite feedback and contributions, and remain agile enough change direction, shape or even focus if the path changes.

LSR doesn’t have to be difficult for larger companies, I have seen some incredible agility in some international companies and some awful stubbornness in the smallest of SMEs. Those businesses who are coming out of this pandemic in a strong place are flexible, have strong management, hunger for wisdom and knowledge, and an insist that anything can and will be changed.

i

https://bit.ly/3gOrmpJ

www.bita.ie

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A YEAR OF SUPPORT AND COMPASSION LIKE NO OTHER THE LONDON IRISH CENTRE GOES THE EXTRA MILE DURING TIMES OF CRISIS

www.bita.ie

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COMMUNITY

‘A YEAR LIKE NO OTHER.’ This is something we have heard many times in 2020, but for the London Irish Centre, we need to change this oft-mentioned phrase to truly reflect our year. 2020 for the LIC (London Irish Centre) has been ‘A year of support and compassion, like no other’.

We have been impressed by the outpouring of warmth, creativity, time, and financial support shown by our Friends, volunteers, donors, staff, and community. In true Irish spirit, we came together during to offer a warm greeting for the isolated, and now during the Christmas season, to find ways of bringing people together safely at the same time as working with people who are so lonely.

We are so grateful for all the support we have received.

The spirit of the LIC shines through in our latest video

“I worked as a nurse all my life and I still found myself alone by mid-March and very worried. I related to the centre and between March and June the only people I saw and who helped me were the staff and volunteers from the London Irish Centre. They fed me three hot meals a week, sent me a lovely parcel of food, books and magazines on a Friday and called me most days to have the chat. It never felt like charity. It all came from a place of care. Without that, I do not know what I would have done. It could happen to anyone.” Margaret In 2020, the LIC made a tremendous impact on our community The numbers speak for themselves. We delivered over 5,000 hot meals and 2,000 food parcels to those who were shielding across London. Our volunteer drivers were often the only visitors for many people over 3 months.

Our volunteer befrienders made over 3,000 check-in calls to clients providing friendly regular contact. We helped over 200 people through our wellbeing advice helpline taking the strain off the NHS. We set up over

WE WORKED WITH OVER 1,300 CLIENTS WHO WERE IN DESPERATE NEED OF SUPPORT TO HELP WARD OFF FOOD POVERTY AND INDEBTEDNESS.

70 telephone befriending pairs who speak on the phone several times a week and who have rich links across the generations and made new friendships.

Despite not being able to see one another, the LIC also held some fantastic fundraising events during the early months of the pandemic. Our online London Irish Charity Night hosted by our Patron Dermot O’Leary raised over £100,000 and brought joy to so many.

250,000 people participated in our digital SOLAS Season cultural programme to help people feel connected at a time of great isolation. We are immensely proud of these virtual events.

Moreover, our busy Advice Team won £363,596 in essential benefits for clients who are disabled and at risk of poor mental and physical health. Those who we helped claim benefits were on average £72 a week better off. We worked with over 1,300 clients who were in desperate need of support to help ward off food poverty and indebtedness.

With Christmas upon us the need for help is rapidly increasing once again. As many Irish people, particularly the older generation, live alone across London, this Christmas will be especially difficult as loneliness and isolation sweeps the city. Our services are needed more than ever and our teams have risen to the challenge to provide warmth and kindness safely to all in need.

Covid-safe Christmas activities for all have been planned and we look forward to celebrating the holidays together. Activities range from Irish musicians going from door to door to wreath-making, Christmas coffee mornings, lunches on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day; befriending support and access to our digital Wellbeing month which brings a host of storytelling; Irish choir and musicians and access to mindfulness and yoga.

We depend on the financial support of individuals and businesses to make all this happen. If you were planning to attend one of our events, or have a Christmas party budget that you want to put to worthy causes, we would appreciate you choosing the London Irish Centre as your charity to support this Christmas.

Full information and donation options can be found here: https://bit.ly/3afNND4 We look forward to continuing to bring smiles, support, and warmth to the Irish community and making 2021 a year of resilience, like no other.

www.bita.ie

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his phrase was coined on the back of Stira’s appearance on Irelands much loved weekly TV show “The Late Late Show”. Back in 1990, the whole country (bar one or two) sat down each Friday night to watch the late Gay Byrne (RIP) broadcast his weekly show to the nation. That’s when Stira got its big moment in the spotlight and the boost it needed to become the household name Stira is today.

For some reason the Irish public seem to relate to the Stira story. They have an affiliation with it. It seems to raise warm nostalgic memories, something Stira are so appreciative of. And there is huge pride when customers take delight in saying to us “you’ll be delira with your Stira”, or “As seen on the Late Late show”.

This also has something to do with the Stira brand. Over time, the Stira brand has come to represent quality. Something achieved by consistently providing strong robust loft ladder systems, along with quick, neat and tidy

THE

STIRA STORY

“YOU’LL BE DELIRA WITH YOUR STIRA!” installations. The Stira brand is so strong in Ireland that every loft ladder is now referred to as a “Stira”, in the same way that most vacuum cleaners are referred to as a “Hoover” in the UK. It’s a great achievement and something that we at Stira are very humbled and flattered by.

The Stira story It all started with Michael Burke, an entrepreneur living in Dunmore, a small rural town in Co. Galway, Ireland. He came up with the idea to start making and installing quality loft ladder systems (or folding attic stairs systems as they are also known as).

Stira was founded in 1983 and remains a family business today with the late Michael Burkes’ daughter Kate and son Michael now at the helm. Stira is a strong local employer, with

the majority of employees having worked with Stira for over 20 years!

Stira went on to grow through the 90’s, employing over 40 people at one stage, before “right sizing” following the downturn in 2008.

As Stira grows into the new normal they are much busier than expected, and maintain a steady growth trajectory. The message of their quality loft ladder systems is reaching beyond Irish shores and the appeal of their Quality Irish Craftmanship is having the desired positive impact in the UK market.

Where are they now Stira seem to be in a good place. Developers and contractors understand the cost savings and extra value associated with investing in quality products and services, therefor Stira are starting to win big contracts with developers such as Cairn Homes plc.

There is also an increase in loft ladder fitters enquiring about becoming Stira fitting agents, from their customers requesting a Stira system to be installed, or the fitter wanting to include a quality loft ladder system in their range of offerings.

Stiras aspirations for the future Stira are looking to grow in the construction sector in both the Irish and UK markets. Their intention is to create strong supply, or supply and fit, relationships with UK and Irish developers and contractors.

There is also great opportunity for quality tradesmen or carpenters who wish to run their own small successful business by partnering with Stira with our Fitting agencies.

And the future is exciting too. With change being a constant, innovation is key and Stira plan to release an Eco trapdoor system and a Fully Automatic loft ladder system in 2021.

Stira continues to produce some of the safest and strongest loft ladder systems available on the market today, and with 130,000 quality loft ladder systems under their belt, their ambitious growth aspirations mean Stira can be very excited about the future.

Want to know more about Stira?

Contact our fellow BITA member Paddy Tamplin who is over Business Development, Sales and Marketing at Stira.

Email: paddy@stria.ie - Telephone: ++353 87 6205615 - Visit: www.stira.com 50

NETWORKS

Sponsored by www.ballymoregroup.com

T

he SOS Group have been supporting offshore wind farm

we gain in depth knowledge of each Client and their individual

projects since 2005 and have steadily built up excellent

processes to allow a bespoke proactive approach thus giving both

working relationships with some of the largest offshore

the Client and the consultants the highest level of service.

wind farm developers in the world.

With a number of bases, SOS are ideally located to support

As a team we are responsible for upholding the SOS Group philosophy with our mission to maintain a strong, honest, and

projects across the globe with extensive experience in supplying

trustworthy relationship that prioritises Client requirements and

roles ranging from; Mechanical and Electrical Turbine Technicians,

ensures all contractors supplied are competent, qualified and

Site Support staff, Electrical Installation, Geotechnical and

HSE aware.

Environmental Engineers, Project and Site Management, Procurement and Senior Authorised Persons up to 400kV. We have adapted and developed the services we provide to

OUR LATEST NEWS The SOS Group are proud to announce that we have recently

meet our clients’ project needs and maintained the loyalty and

gained the opportunity to utilise our expertise supplying to

commitment of our work force supplying to some of the largest

another leading organisation within the Renewable Energy Sector.

industry projects including; Hornsea 1-4, London Array, Racebank,

Situated off the East coast of Ireland, The Arklow Bank project

Beatrice, Walney, Borkum Riffgrund and more.

gives us another valuable addition to our ever-increasing wind

We pride ourselves on our excellent communication with our on and offshore consultants and with our accompanying site

farm portfolio and yet another chance to showcase our proven and most importantly, successful business methods.

visits, our Renewable Energy Specialists have established beneficial rapports with both our Client Managers and our consultants, so to

CONTACT US

ensure continuity between the Construction and Operational &

For further information on any of the projects mentioned or

Maintenance (O&M) phases of the wind farm cycle.

for an insight into how our Renewable Energy Division can

Our focus has always been to develop our technical knowledge in this ever-changing environment. Upon engagement, we ensure

support you, either as a Client or as an individual seeking career progression, please contact the SOS Team today.

Part of

www.sosgroup.uk For more information please contact the team Tel: 01277 849289 Email: recruitment@sosgroup.uk