Construction Manager October 2015

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VISIT M BS.CO CIOBJO E THE R WHE ATES ANDID BEST C HE BEST FIND T ES ROL

Agenda

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‘CIOB is a beacon for knowledge’

Commissioner of New York construction department explains skills tie-up with CIOB. CBCs relaunched CIOB revamps its chartered schemes for business.

Live CPDs at Inspiring conference Three sessions at CIOB event.

New CIOB Junior vice president York Minster’s Rebecca Thompson will publicise the heritage sector.

Plus Chris Blythe thinks it’s time we investigated a new business model.

Feedback Letters, comments and readers’ views on whether construction would benefit from more union visibility.

Comment KPIs chart a tough journey out of recession, says Tom Crane.

Features 18

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Cover Story Making waves

With UK construction under pressure an influx of overseas big names looks set to make its presence felt in the UK. Three of a kind?

A trio of CIOB members talk about their unconventional journeys to institute membership.

Technical Skanska’s new concept in offsite manufacturing is set to fly far beyond its Slough birthplace.

CPD: Understanding BS 8102 A robust approach to waterproofing substructures can prevent many post-tenancy building problems.

What do people look for in a job?

Arcadis looks behind the survey figures to find out what industry job seekers want from an employer.

Project of the month Energy-from-Waste Facility, Ipswich, Suffolk.

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Construction professional

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Keeping your nerve

Jason Farnell offers strategy tips to get what you want when closing out legacy projects.

BIM bytes Assad Maqbool on how BIM is being further integrated into overall asset management strategies.

Getting tough on crime Part Q brings physical security standards into the Building Regulations for the first time.

A united Europe?

Are the EU’s new tendering rules succeeding in making bidding for contracts easier for SMEs?

+ Contact

52-63 All the latest news and reports from CIOB members and branches

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CM’s website has a new CPD portal, for modules from the magazine and additional study topics.

Register at www.construction-manager.co.uk/cpd/ CONSTRUCTION MANAGER | OCTOBER 2015 | 3

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News

‘CIOB is a beacon for knowledge’ New York’s head of construction and design department explains skills tie-up with Institute The commissioner of New York City’s Department of Design and Construction, responsible for new building and infrastructure projects across a £6bn project portfolio, has been telling Construction Manager why he has turned to the CIOB to help build the skills capacity of the organisation’s 1,200 staff.

Last month, the NYC DDD and the CIOB entered into a Memorandum of Understanding, under which NYC DDC staff will be offered individual advice and training options that will allow them to seek chartered status. Employees will also gain access to the CIOB’s CPD resources and staff and be offered qualification workshops on topics such as project management, sustainability, and planning.

NYC DDC commissioner Dr Feniosky Peña-Mora FCIOB explained: “We are better when we learn from others and build on others’ knowledge. I saw the level of professionalism in our agency, the great engineers and architects and administrators. But I feel that we have to be careful not to be myopic in our view of where knowledge resides, where it is created, is developed, and be more open to ways we can learn from others.

“I began immediately to support the availability and exposure of that knowledge to our employees. We first started with the American counterpart to the CIOB, the Construction Management Association of America, entering an agreement with them that

“I felt there was a lot of learning happening throughout the world that we could bring to our approach” Dr Feniosky Peña-Mora, NYC DDD commissioner

allows their knowledge to be accessed by our employees.

“In the first day of that agreement over 350 of our employees became members of that association and started accessing its knowledge modules. It showed the desire was strong among our employees to increase their knowledge base.

“So I thought, okay, our people have good knowledge about New York, and now we’ve made knowledge across the US available, but I still felt there was a lot of learning happening throughout the world that we could bring to our approach.

So the CIOB became the beacon for knowledge of what is happening in construction around the world.”

Peña-Mora was asked to be the DDC commissioner by mayor Bill De Blasio, who assumed office in January 2014.

A Dominican-born engineer, his academic career has included serving as Dean of Columbia University’s Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science and also as the Associate Provost of the University of Illinois at Urbana– Champaign.

The NYC DDC builds and renovates structures across the public sector estate, including libraries, fire stations, police precincts, courthouses and “senior centres”. It is also responsible for sidewalks, sewage system and water mains.

It currently has a construction project portfolio in various phases worth approximately $10bn, and procures

between $1.5bn and $2bn in new construction services each year.

Projects include the Police Academy in College Point, Queens; the Ocean Breeze Athletic Center, a regeneration project in areas impacted by Hurricane Sandy; and the transformation of Times Square into a pedestrian plaza. According to its website, it has also built more than 42,000 wheelchair accessible ramps, and upgraded 10,000 fire hydrants.

The DDC is also supporting De Blasio’s “One City” initiative, which aims to make New York City better able to handle population growth, more sustainable, more equitable, and safer.

The MoU is the first of its kind for the CIOB outside of the UK and the plan is that in the future NYC DDC assessors will be trained to deliver the CIOB’s Professional Review assessment. By establishing this strategic alliance, it also hopes that construction management careers will achieve greater recognition in the North American construction market.

Bridget Bartlett, deputy chief executive at the CIOB, said: “The department plays a vital role in delivering quality services that ensures one of the world’s most challenging cities keeps pace with the needs of its citizens. New York is a demanding environment and with its long history for iconic construction projects there is a need for skilled professionals to maintain that ambition well into the future.”

From left: Department of Design and Construction is responsible for the PATH Family Center; Glen Oaks Library, Queens; and the Fire Department of New York

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News

CIOB moves to raise awareness of chartered schemes for business Revised assessment criteria and revamped logo aim to boost take-up by 10% The CIOB is relaunching its Chartered Building Company and Chartered Building Consultancy schemes on 1 October, making the assessment criteria more robust, but also raising the scheme’s profile with a new marketing campaign.

Just under 600 businesses, from SMEs to international concerns, have joined the scheme since its inception, and the CIOB hopes that the relaunch will boost membership by at least 10%.

Under the revised criteria, new applicants and existing members will need to have been trading for a minimum of two years, and commit to becoming a CIOB training partner.

Health and safety, quality management, environmental, equal opportunities and corporate social responsibility policies must all be in place, and references from clients and supply chain partners must also be submitted.

Applications will be assessed by a new Member Admission Panel, made up of CIOB members and headed by Local Authority Building Control chief executive Paul Everall.

The MAP will also conduct audits on members. Businesses currently within the CBC scheme have until 1 October 2016 to comply with the more rigorous criteria.

Rob Hooker MCIOB, co-founder of Poole contractor and CBC Greendale, chaired a group of major contractors, employers, sole traders and clients that helped redraft the rules.

He told Construction Manager: “It needed a refresh, and we wanted to improve the scheme’s robustness – to create something tangible the rest of the industry can look up to.

“Membership numbers have been fairly constant for the past three years. So I’m hopeful we’ll improve on that 10% target.

I think there’s a bright future for CIOB CBCs – it certainly helped our business, especially when we were smaller, to link ourselves in with such a great institute.”

The CBC logo has also been revamped to make the CIOB’s own logo more

“I think there’s a bright future for CIOB CBCs – it certainly helped our business to link ourselves in with such a great institute” Rob Hooker, Greendale

prominent, and members will be given guidance on branding and merchandising displaying the new look.

Hooker commented: “Unless you know the firm was regulated, you might not have linked the two – but now you’ll be linking yourself straight into the CIOB. Being a CBC is like the manifestation of professionalsim – architects and clients can recognise it as a badge of professionalism.”

Chris Blythe, CIOB chief executive, said: “CBC members can feel proud of what they have achieved. They are setting new standards of professionalism in construction businesses across the UK and beyond. That recognition is in no small part having a positive impact on construction’s overall image and reputation. Against a backdrop where the general public too often hear about the worst in class rather than the best.

“Our members share the same ambitions as we do – to create the very best industry we can delivering exceptional projects and providing careers that are both fulfilling and rewarding. These new rules make sure CBCs remain at the cutting edge of today’s industry.”

The CIOB is offering support to any current CBC scheme members who may need it as they transition to the new rules.

Aecom lands London trio Newly-formed Aecom Construction Services has revealed that it has secured preferred bidder status as construction manager on three London commercial projects, just six months after it entered the market.

The new business, headed by former Bovis Lend Lease project manager John Hilton MCIOB, aims to capitalise on Aecom’s breadth of technical and design expertise to produce better engineered buildings. Hilton says it will aim to “spend more time on the design to take out 10% of the construction costs”.

“There are still ‘two cultures’ within the organisation, but we are working towards bringing the construction and design mindsets together,” said Hilton.

The newcomer says that clients experiencing low capacity and skills shortages in the market are welcoming its arrival. It aims to take on contracts valued up to £100m, although it’s understood that the schemes it is in line for are all valued substantially below that threshold.

But Richard Whitehead, managing director of client-side programme management at Aecom, is aware of the challenges ahead.

“Skills shortages are a key issue – it doesn’t take long to get through the best team to the B and C teams. We’re well resourced at the moment, but that will be one of our challenges as we grow. In planning and scheduling, for instance, a lot of people are selfemployed, so we’re building a sustainable in-house team.”

For more on ACS, see feature, p18

The London School of Economics (LSE) has appointed Mace as design-and-build contractor to deliver its new Centre Buildings Redevelopment (CBR).

Set to be completed by November 2018, the £123m project is in the heart of the School’s Aldwych campus and features inter-connected 13-storey and six-storey towers.

A central feature of the Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners-designed scheme is the creation of a new central plaza, enhancing public and academic space.

Construction is expected to start in July 2016.

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CIOB News

Inspiring CPDs go live at CIOB conference Leadership and waste management among the topics to be covered by team of experts

The CIOB is hosting a half-day of live Continuing Professional Development events as part of this year’s International Inspiring Construction conference on 24 November at London’s QEII Conference Centre. Delegates will have the opportunity to attend a trio of CPD sessions as well as accessing the conference’s morning session.

The Mastering Construction CPD programme offers the chance to interact with thought leaders on issues ranging from waste, leadership and recruitment to project control, while the conference offers a range of perspectives on the global market. These include the challenges of working in the Middle East, and how China

“Inspiring Construction offers a range of perspectives on the global market ”

is partnering with UK companies as it expands investment in Europe.

The first of three CPD sessions, led by Edward Goodwyn, partner at Pinsent Masons’ employment group, will be dedicated to leadership and recruitment.

Goodwyn, who has years of experience of reducing employment risk during mergers and acquisitions, PFI contracts and company restructuring, will explain how a successful HR strategy is key to project delivery.

With a focus on profitability and waste minimisation, the second CPD will offer perspectives on how waste can be minimised throughout the lifecycle of a building and the game-changing effects of new technology.

The seminar will be jointly led by four construction experts: Charlie Law, founder and managing director of Sustainable Construction Solutions is a specialist on the circular economy; Peter Kelly, regional sustainability manager for ISG also chairs Build UK’s waste working group; Roger Flanagan, past CIOB president and professor of construction management at the University of Reading and Lewis Wenman, group BIM manager for J Murphy & Sons.

The final CPD session, entitled “Time management, scheduling and excellence in construction project management” will be run by David Woolven, principal teaching fellow at UCL and expert in project strategy, management, assurance and control.

Peter Clyde, an associate in Balfour Beatty’s services division, will join the session to lend his expertise as an experienced construction litigator.

Mastering Construction offers the chance to raise the performance both of yourself and your team. Tickets are priced at £49 for CIOB members, and if you book three places on the CPD event, one member of staff will attend the full International Inspiring Construction conference completely free.

Book your place by visiting www.ciob.org/inspire

CIOB supports RIBA report on client relationships The CIOB is lending its support to the RIBA’s Client & Architect initiative and the accompanying report, Client & Architect: Developing the essential relationship, which look to enhance the relationship between architects and clients and point the way to developing greater collaboration.

The 44-page report is the result of a twoyear project led by outgoing RIBA president Stephen Hodder.

The initiative involved one-to-one interviews and roundtable discussions with hundreds of clients from many sectors, including contractors, local authorities, healthcare, education and heritage clients, and was also supported by Morgan Sindall and developer Argent.

The CIOB was invited by the RIBA to take part in its client liaison group. This group gathered

evidence from different sectors and regions, with the aim of identifying the tools that architects need to improve their service to clients.

The report concludes that the architecture profession must adapt to prosper, while architects should be willing to take on the role of “spiritual leaders” who see the project through to completion.

Chris Blythe, chief executive of the CIOB, said: “Relationships are critical to the construction industry, which can so easily be riven by conflicts.

CIOB members, as construction managers working for contractors, increasingly find themselves cast as clients for architects. Strong relationships are key. They separate good teams from poor and, so often, the best projects from the also-rans.

He added: “As fellow professionals, our members recognise and respect the value architects bring.

They recognise too that in the uncertain, complex, often fraught environment of a building project conflicts arise and compromise is necessary. Tribal and narrow commercial interests can easily trump good judgement and problem solving. All professionals must guard against this.”

Later this month the CIOB will publish its own report highlighting the value of professionals within the built environment and the professional bodies that represent them. The report is set to be launched at the Conservative and Labour party conferences.

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CIOB News

Chris Blythe When margins are this low, it’s a sign we need a new approach

Minster’s Thompson becomes CIOB junior vice president

Heritage specialist plans to throw spotlight on sector‘s opportunities The CIOB has recently appointed Rebecca Thompson FCIOB, a former chair of its Leeds and West Yorkshire Region, as junior vice president of the institute. Thompson will become president in June 2017, succeeding senior vice president Paul Nash FCIOB who will be president in 2016/17.

Thompson is the acting chapter steward of York Minster, one of the largest gothic cathedrals in northern Europe, and intends to use her experience at the cathedral to focus attention on the heritage sector, apprentices and attracting more women into the industry during her presidency.

Speaking to Construction Manager, she said: “As the CIOB have chosen someone in this field to be the president, I might as well shout from the rooftops about the heritage sector.

“There is a place for every kind of construction in the CIOB, but I want to place heritage and the awareness of the roles in heritage at the top of the agenda.

Everyone I meet is interested in my job. I carry an iPad on me at all times and show anyone who is interested the work we are doing to restore the cathedral.”

Before being appointed as acting chapter steward, the cathedral’s equivalent of a chief executive, Thompson spent six years as superintendent of works at the Minster, where she was in charge of all the people who care for the cathedral’s fabric. Prior to this, she had

“I want to place heritage and the awareness of the roles in heritage at the top of the agenda” Rebecca Thompson, junior vice president, CIOB

roles at modular construction specialist Yorkon and EC Harris.

She believes that being temporarily responsible for the cathedral’s estate, which includes a library, two schools and 35 residential and commercial properties – with shops, cafés, restaurants, galleries and a guest house – will be the perfect preparation for the role of CIOB president.

She explained: “The timing is incredibly fortuitous as I have the opportunity for 15 months to focus on the leadership and governance of the whole business. I’ll be getting great additional experience leading the teams in collections, interpretation, learning, finance and of course building works. It sets me in good stead for the role at the CIOB.” As only the second female president, Thompson plans to encourage women into construction. She said: “The CIOB wants a diversity of people as leaders as we want a diverse membership. We need to get more young women into construction and I hope that by sharing my enthusiasm and demonstrating the opportunities available we can attract more women.”

She also believes her enthusiasm for the sector can encourage apprenticeships.

“Apprentices are the future of the industry,” she said. Under her leadership, York Minster has operated a large programme of apprenticeships – with seven apprentices out of the 44 staff in its stoneyard.

In her role as acting chapter steward, Thompson gives Prince Andrew a tour of York Minster

During the recession everyone was looking forward to the inevitable time when it would be over and things became that bit easier. The truth is the absolute reverse for contracting. The death toll of companies has been pretty high and the number of majors posting eye-watering losses is worrying.

One troublesome project in a portfolio is tolerable, but when the whole portfolio is riven with problems it suggests something fundamentally amiss with the way we do business.

Bidding low to win projects with the expectation that variation will bring the profit back seems to have failed. Any mileage made has been swallowed up by increases in supplier prices. Clients too are becoming better at ensuring they don’t go down the variations route.

In that case the contractor is in big trouble with no escape route.

But it would be wrong to attribute blame to the contractor. Clients and advisers being prepared to entertain such nonsense are as much to blame.

While everyone wants a good deal, the industry needs a reasonable return to enable it to serve its customer better.

Margins of 1 or 2% are hopeless. There is no chance of investing for the future.

No chance of improving productivity.

And no chance of a stable workforce.

While some contractors have housebuilding arms to cushion these issues, this misses the point entirely.

Contracting needs to be profitable itself, not cross-subsidised by housing.

Try telling a housebuyer that 20% of the price they are paying is subsidising an underpriced project elsewhere.

There is nothing like providing value for money, yet the scenario does not deliver this. As volumes go up, housing quality is dropping to pre-recession levels.

Balfour Beatty has committed to an extensive business training programme for its staff, which may go some way to solve its problems. But it does raise a question about the ability levels in the industry. Sometimes it might be as simple as just saying “no” to a project.

Listed companies certainly have a harder time saying “no”. Management’s push for turnover growth at what seems like any price has consequences throughout the organisation.

Overall, it is a depressing picture.

Is our industry capable of pulling off a different business model? Over the years we have had the Latham and Egan Reports, the Movement for Innovation, the Wolstenholme Report and the imposition of BIM – but nothing seems to have changed much. I’m optimistic but others might think there is more chance of finding life on Mars.

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Views

Embrace technology to keep the sharks at bay THE INDUSTRY HAS BEEN talking about some of its endemic issues for so long that eyes almost glaze over whenever someone mentions “skills shortages” or “payment problems” or “improving the image of the industry”. After all, if these problems have been with us in one shape or form for at least two decades and they haven’t caused any sites to grind to a screaching halt, maybe we should just learn to live with them?

But it’s only now, when these issues are combining to shrink the industry’s capacity to take on new projects in a time of rising demand, that they’re starting to look less like conference break-out topics and more like the underlying causes of serious weaknesses in the business model at the heart of the UK industry.

Looking at the string of contractors posting poor results and minimal margins – from Balfour Beatty to Laing O’Rourke; Vinci to Sir Robert McAlpine; ISG to Morgan Sindall – it’s hard to escape the conclusion that the structure of the industry, reliant on stretched supply chains and self-employed labour, increased their risk profile and shrank their profits. And that those same structural issues contributed to the poor reputation that in turn contributed to recruitment shortfalls: the industry is an inter-linked system of cause and effect.

So the challenge now – and the new word on everyone’s lips – is productivity.

That typically means investing more in new technologies and engineered solutions that allow contractors to achieve greater output per head. And it

could also promote a shift to more direct employment and better working conditions. According to Glenigan, there are some suggestions that contractors searching for productivity gains are starting to hire and train more in-house staff to reduce their reliance on specialist subcontractors – although the shift is more anecdotal than statistical right now.

The drive to technologise and industrialise construction is already happening, of course, with Skanska a keen proponent (with pilot projects in 3D printing and “digital tag and track”.) The contractor’s experiments with "flying factories" covered in this issue demonstrate another way forward (and incidentally, also hinge on greater direct employment).

There is general agreement that greater adoption of "smart" solutions has to be part of the industry’s future, although Laing O’Rourke's experience (it made a £57.5m loss linked to its Design for Manufacture and Assembly approach on three major projects) will give many pause for thought. But the assumption has to be that they suffered from being out of sync with the rest of the industry and client expectations – and those factors will soon change.

Because, if the industry can’t evolve better systems and processes, more able to meet the needs of clients in a more technolgised future – think robots, think driverless cars – then it’s a fair bet that there are plenty of circling sharks scenting their opportunities.

Elaine Knutt, editor

More Construction Manager online and on Twitter Our twice-weekly newsletters give you breaking news, and online-only content, including more coverage of skills shortages and the carbon agenda, and fresh perspectives on the week’s news. Sign up at www.construction-manager. co.uk. For news from CM and other sources as it happens, join our 8,000+ Twitter followers @CMnewsandviews.

Feedback

Will drones account for delays?

John, via website Whilst I understand the importance of monitoring progress against programme and achieving contract completion on the target date, how does the software deal with utility delays, client decision delays? (Drones scan $448m California site to monitor worker productivity, BIM+, 26 August).

Also what tool/software is used to determine the contract period at the outset? Too many projects set out with an unrealistic contract period, overspecified and under-funded.

John B, via website What consideration has been given to monitoring quality? If operations have to be repeated because quality is compromised, this will also have an impact on programme.

While a good programme is helpful, it cannot deal with the unknown and would therefore either have to be modified or site operations would need to be adjusted to fit the programme. It is a live management tool as indeed the use of drones can be but the information collated needs to be accurately interpreted and managed appropriately, not forgetting that building is all about relationships and people.

Jose Scalabrino MCIOB Arial survey is essential to directly monitor not only productivity but also to promote overall site security and safety and thus loss which would otherwise occur! Indeed any on or offsite factors which do or potentially may delay the progress of the job can be detected in time to take remedial action. In this way any snags are eliminated before they can escalate.

BIM can change the way we think Stuart Davidson, via website I agree with Alex's vision and I think we will see a wholesale change in the way buildings are procured over the next decade (Interview: Carillion's Alex Lubbock, BIM+, 9 September).

We have a layer of overheads and profit added to supply chain products and

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Vox pop Following UCATT 's Living Wage deal for Battersea Phases 2 and 3, would more union visibility benefit construction?

Stuart Green MCIOB Head of school of construction management and engineering, University of Reading We need to improve the performance of the construction sector – not only in terms of satisfying its clients – but also in terms of improving onsite employment conditions.

The construction improvement agenda too often ignores the needs and aspirations of the workforce. In this respect increased visibility of the unions would be a good thing.

The rhetoric of “collaborative working” continues to sit uneasily with the legacy of illegal blacklisting, false self-employment and the ongoing exploitation of vulnerable migrant workers by gangmasters. What we don’t need, of course, is a return to the divisive industrial relations climate of the 1970s.

Chrissi McCarthy MCIOB Managing director, Constructing Equality I agree with the Living Wage in principle, however, like any initiative the impact will depend on how it is implemented. If it is not thought through, making contractors pay a Living Wage could in fact end up making things worse for the most vulnerable.

Contractors and subcontractors may decide to push more people from their businesses and hire self-employed people to avoid having to pay the Living Wage.

Then they will be able to say “100% of our employees earn the Living Wage”, but they only have a skeleton staff.

They will have to be very careful not to make things worse, and that whatever they do is not just for PR. Possibly a

better way to tackle wages would be the industry coming together collaboratively identifying the problems and trying to make progress towards solving them.

Paul Bogle Head of policy and research, National Federation of Builders The unions have made positive contributions to the construction industry in a number of areas: raising awareness of health and safety issues as well as working with employers to negotiate collective pay agreements are just two examples.

Rather than looking at union visibility, we need to focus on effectiveness because there will be a large number of companies for which union membership is unlikely.

Between 1997 and 2014, the number of companies with five or fewer employees in construction grew from 149,650 to 188,203 and continues to rise. By focusing on activities such as collective bargaining, which touches even those outside membership, unions can benefit the industry.

Phase 2 of the Battersea Power Station scheme, designed by Wilkinson Eyre and due to be delivered by Skanska

Dr Neil Cutland

Mark Wakeford Joint managing director, Stepnell On the frontline of construction we are not overly worried about the rise of unions, as the structures we have in place for agreeing wages have worked for many years and unions have contributed significantly to industry improvements in health and safety.

Like many small and medium-sized contractors we use the Construction Industry Joint Council (CIJC) Working Rule Agreement to set base rates and these are agreed through collective bargaining between unions and employers.

Where we may see pressure to meet the

services, often via main contracting, where no, or little, value is added to those products in the process. We must drive value into delivery of products and services and flush out the charges that do not.

The government introduced green taxes, and it seems to me they are not investing those taxes in R&D. If they did we would have more manufacturing in this country, providing much-needed jobs.

More UK innovation please

Dutch point the way to heating

Mark Winters, via website Why does it take a Taiwanese company to develop it? (Terracotta roofing PVs launched at BRE demo house, online, 8 Sep).

Andy Ford, via website We need to look more closely at the Dutch district approach to heating and cooling buildings which is to cool by collecting and storing summer heat in the ground then

Living Wage is on the peripheral support staff, but this is not too concerning as they make up a relatively small percentage of the workforce and, if implemented, will be a pan-industry initiative.

My only concern is that there may be a knock-on effect if staff see lower wages increase. There may be a pressure to increase the standard industry rates to maintain the current differentials.

“Contractors may decide to push more people from their businesses and hire selfemployed people" Chrissi McCarthy Constructing Equality

Contact us Do you have an opinion on any of this month’s articles? Email: constructionmanager@atom publishing.co.uk

Director, Cutland Consulting Essentially, anything that can improve employment security and the knock-on issues such as health and safety has to be a good thing. The wider the debate the better, and I think unions have a role to play in that debate.

Internal industry bodies also have a role to play and are doing good work, but when you consult on any project you should involve all stakeholders. The unions are stakeholders, so they should be included.

As for finances, it’s almost inconceivable that in a civilised country people should not be paid a "living wage". I run a small business and can certainly understand the issue of costs related to salaries, but you nevertheless have to make a decision to pay people a reasonable wage. It seems bizarre to me that a company wouldn't do that.

extracting the stored heat in winter to heat the buildings (New homes more affected by overheating, online, 11 Sep).

This technology has been implemented in the UK at Westway Beacons social housing and Wandsworth Riverside in London and at the K2 building at London South Bank University.

Correction: In our profile of CIOB president Chris Chivers in the previous issue (Are you ready for the top table, September), we said that Chivers' wife was called Liz when her name is Mary. Apologies to Chris and Mary.

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Comment Tom Crane

Uneven surface on the road to recovery The latest set of Construction Industry Key Performance Indicators show a snapshot of an industry that despite the recent upturn is still struggling against tough economic conditions, says Glenigan’s Tom Crane

AS THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY looks towards strengthening market activity over the next few years, the latest set of Key Performance Indicators – compiled

by Glenigan with support from the CITB and the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills – provides a valuable assessment of how the industry has been responding to the recent upturn as it has begun to emerge from recession.

The indicators highlight the challenges that the industry now faces if it is to seize emerging opportunities. Overall, the KPIs point to an industry working hard to meet rising workloads while maintaining recent levels of performance and client satisfaction.

Unfortunately in a number of areas the industry’s KPIs have declined. The latest set of indicators is based upon projects that were completed during 2014, a period of resurging construction output volumes and expansion in the development pipeline. However, many of the projects reaching completion started on site in earlier years, often based on contracts which were negotiated during the depths of the downturn.

Pressures on capacity The rapid upturn in activity during 2014 put pressure on capacity, manifesting itself in rising material and labour costs and extended delivery times. Evidence from this year’s KPIs suggests that construction firms have managed to keep control of costs, but that delays to schedule have worsened.

Project costs were on budget or better for 69% of projects – on a par with the 2013/14 result and maintaining performance at a survey record high.

In contrast, projects only came in on

time or better 40% of the time – markedly below an average of 45% since 2003 and one of the worst levels of performance recorded by the survey.

The impact of accelerated industry growth is most evident in the workforce indicators. Staff turnover was up to 5.3%, the highest level since 2008, and staff loss was down to 6.3%, from 9.1% when this KPI was first measured in 2012.

The previous survey showed the construction workforce contracting as departing staff went unreplaced; this has reversed sharply in the latest data.

However, the rise in hiring has not been accompanied by an increase in workforce diversity. The proportion of women and people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds, as well as those aged under 24, has fallen in the latest results.

Falling client satisfaction The latest indicators suggest that the challenging economic environment continues to undermine the industry’s efforts to deliver an improved product and service to clients. Clients’ satisfaction overall has now fallen for the last three consecutive surveys, and ratings of service and value for money received have both declined during the past year.

Clients‘ rating of their consultancy teams

“The KPIs suggest that the challenging economic environment continues to undermine the industry’s efforts to deliver an improved product and service“

was unchanged this year, and remains below previous peaks.

Contractors’ overall satisfaction with clients and the consultancy team has also fallen, despite high levels of satisfaction with payment and information provision.

Looking ahead, the industry now has a more stable foundation to build upon.

Industry profitability has risen to 2.8%, from 2.1% in the previous survey. After falling for four consecutive surveys, this uptick suggests that construction firms’ margins have moved past their nadir. Nevertheless profitability remains far below a peak of 9.9% recorded in 2009 and a quarter of respondents reported losses during the year surveyed, illustrating the continued impact of the downturn and the threat from loss-making contracts negotiated during the downturn.

Challenges of recovery The construction industry is looking to a progressive growth in workload over the next few years. However, the anticipated recovery presents fresh challenges: growing and upskilling the workforce, delivering improved productivity and containing costs are going to be priorities.

As the industry responds to these demands, the Key Performance Indicators will continue to provide construction firms with the benchmark against which they can appraise their own performance and help identify where they can secure future improvements that will help to safeguard their competitive position and win work.

Tom Crane is an economist at Glenigan.

16 | OCTOBER 2015 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

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22/09/2015 09:56

Feature Overseas arrivals

TROUBLED WATERS AHEAD With capacity under pressure and Tier 1 contractors showing signs of vulnerability, overseas competitors are scenting opportunity, writes Elaine Knutt A BULGING PIPELINE of future infrastructure

projects; a chronic housing shortage; commercial sector clients flexing the pent-up demand after the downturn years... and a string of Top 20 contractors reporting continued losses, margins at sub-2% levels, cash reserves decreasing, insolvencies continuing, skills shortages biting. Eighteen months after the end of the recession, just at the point when it ought to be happily building sandcastles, the industry’s confidence is pretty shaky.

But, viewed from across the sea, the very conditions described above look distinctly appealing. We’ve already seen a recent wave of contracts awarded to names that previously never been seen on a UK tender list (see box, p20). Now, with signs that the business model operated by many Tier 1 contractors is failing and leaving them vulnerable to acquisition – and also suggestions that some clients are delaying or shelving projects due to a capacity crunch – will more overseas

contractors move in to snap up a slice of the UK’s predicted output growth?

Certainly, Construction Manager found no shortage of construction experts arguing that a greater share of UK construction output could soon end up in the hands of overseas-headquartered firms, whether that’s by contract wins, corporate acquisitions, joint ventures and alliances, or entry into the UK via co-financing of infrastructure projects.

By value, 64% of the UK’s £411bn

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Feature Overseas arrivals

ILLUSTRATION: STUART MCREATH

infrastructure pipeline is due to be privately financed – creating an invitation for asset rich or state-sponsored contractors to enter the UK market.

One person qualified to judge is Richard Threlfall, head of infrastructure, building and construction at KPMG, who says he’s “inundated” with approaches from Chinese businesses. “It’s exactly as you would expect - we’re seeing a huge amount of interest from overseas contractors. It’s been bubbling under the surface for a few years, but I’d be surprised if we didn’t see a significant player move into foreign ownership in the next year. A number of UK contractors are in poor shape, while the Far East and China see a significant pipeline of work with programmes like HS2.”

Graham Robinson, director of Global Construction Perspectives and global business consultant at Pinsent Masons, takes a longer-term perspective, but

also sees a shift coming. “In 10 years’ time, in 2025, the UK sector will be more international, and more concentrated on bigger companies – you’ll need size to tackle some of these infrastructure projects. Below the top four in the market I think some of the smaller ones will be attractive [to overseas players]. And if I had to name a handful of countries, it would be China, Korea, Spain, Italy, France and Germany.”

As Robinson says, large balance sheets will be needed to take on some of the infrastructure projects coming on-stream - such as HS2 and Crossrail 2 – and here we’ve already seen the increasing role of foreign bidders (see box, p22).

“The trend we’re already seeing will continue – with overseas players responding to the challenge. Also, we have a lot of major programmes arriving at the same time, which accentuates the skills issue,” says Murray Rowden, chairman of Constructing Excellence and head of infrastructure at Turner & Townsend.

Rowden believes that some UK contractors are “sticking not twisting” on risky infrastructure bids – thanks to full order books from lower-risk frameworks and long-term relationships.

“So either clients will have to accept a limited number of bidders, or we’ll see bidders change shape, with relationships striking up between global ownership organisations – the owners can create a route to market.”

He’s referring to the increasing dominance of overseas owners in the UK’s utility and transport sectors. For instance, Spain’s Ferrovial owns Heathrow Airport, France’s EDF is dominant in the energy sector, Thames Water is held by investors from Australia, Abu Dhabi and China.

Of course, weak results, lack of capacity and a bulging pipeline don’t necessarily predict a wave of overseas arrivals: the industry and economy could simply accept lower output, clients could accept the need to pay more, or contractors gradually become more productive by adopting more technologically driven solutions.

And consultant Jason Farnell tends to the view that many struggling with

“I would be surprised if I didn’t see a significant player move into foreign ownership in the next year” Richard Threlfall, KPMG “legacy” issues are still adjusting their strategies. “Until you’ve got a steady boardroom, planning future strategy is very difficult. Last year we had the changes, this year the consolidation, and next year working out a plan.”

But even if that’s the interpretation you lean towards, there’s still an increasing sense that the industry’s long-term structural problems – of skills, payment, productivity – have all come home to roost at the same time, highlighting vulnerabilities that others could exploit.

Meanwhile, growth forecasts that should be a cause for celebration – the Construction Products Association is forecasting total growth of 21.7% between 2015 and 2019, giving the UK an annual growth rate roughly twice that of France or Germany - are instead raising awkward questions about capacity.

Hand-to-mouth margins If Top 20 names in UK contracting are at risk of losing market share to overseas competitors it’s because their business model is coming under unprecedented pressure. The recession’s hand-to-mouth margins have persisted, because higher bid prices at the front end have been eaten up by construction cost inflation.

In recent results announcements, construction margins were revealed to be 1.1% at Interserve, 1.2% at Galliford Try and 0.3% at Morgan Sindall. The average, return on sales in 2014/15, according to a Glenigan/BIS analysis of data filed at Companies House is 2.8% – compared to an astonishing 9.9% in 2009.

But since then, the opportunity to make money by managing clients’ cash has been much reduced. “The industry traditionally survived on low margins by having substantial cash, but at the moment main contractors are suffering from low margins AND low cash, and > CONSTRUCTION MANAGER | OCTOBER 2015 | 19

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Feature Overseas arrivals

“To get back to pre-recession levels of workload, there are no more workers to be found.

So the ceiling is still ahead” Tom Crane, Glenigan

> that’s not just because of the position in the economic cycle,” says KPMG’s Threlfall. “Clients are getting smarter, so the opportunities to make a killing on a project are reducing, and framework agreements are stripping the scope of profit potential.”

But main contractors are still taking on considerable price and programme risks while their ability to offset these has reduced. “The downside [of main contracting] hasn’t gone away – they’re still carrying considerable risks. The upside/downside balance has changed, and project bank accounts are piling on the further pressure,” adds Threlfall.

Then there’s “skills shortages”, a problem foreseeable even as around 10% of the industry’s workforce exited during the recession, but only now making itself felt. According to the recent Glenigan/ BIS report, the industry has in fact made better use of its smaller workforce since the recession: productivity in terms of net output per head has climbed from £45,000 in 2007 to £61,300. However, these productivity gains are slowing.

As Glenigan economist Tom Crane explains: “Construction companies found a way of hanging on to their best staff – so the workforce became more productive.

But to get back to pre-recession levels of workload, there are no more [workers] to be found. So the ceiling is still ahead of us.” This means that realising the output growth forecast by the CPA either requires an influx of new workers (possibly from the EU) or a major leap in productivity – which would require new ideas and new investment in the contracting sector.

As University of Westminster construction department reader Stephen Gruneberg says, skills shortages are arguably a consequence of market failure in the contracting model: training and investment in skills is low because of fragmentation and reliance on specialist subcontractor SMEs that don’t train and can’t afford higher wages. “Poor margins lead to skill shortages and low productivity – if labour is cheap, you don’t buy expensive equipment, so it discourages investment.”

And the effect of skills shortages is just as likely in the management or client teams as at site delivery level.

“Everyone in the industry will say they are struggling and there’s a lot of poaching

They’re speaking our language Overseas names are a familiar sight on UK infrastructure projects High Speed 2 According to New Civil Engineer, the line-up of bidders for HS2 features a high number of European names, many of them relatively unfamiliar. Spain’s FCC Construcción, Dragados and Acciona as well as France’s Eiffage are joining the more familiar French firms Vinci and Bouygues in the hunt for £9bn of design and build work on phase one of the £43bn scheme.

Spanish giant Dragados is understood to be teaming up with its German sister firm Hochtief – both are part of Spain’s Grupo ACS - while FCC Construcción is teaming up with Murphy and Laing O’Rourke.

UK newcomer Acciona is still understood to be forming its team while Bouygues, still relatively new to infrastructure work in the UK, has formed the Align joint venture with Sir Robert McAlpine and VolkerWessels.

Eiffage, which built the Millau Viaduct, has teamed up with Carillion in an extension to an agreement struck in 2009 for the two firms to collaborate on new nuclear in the UK. Costain is expected to bid with Swedishheadquartered Skanska.

Project promoter HS2 Ltd revealed earlier this year that the £43bn project was attracting companies that had never worked on UK infrastructure before.

“It is the type of competition we were looking for,” HS2 Ltd commercial director Beth West told NCE in February. “There are some new entrants to the UK market, which is good as they bring experience from overseas.”

Aiport City Manchester Carillion has formed a joint venture with the Beijing Construction and Engineering Group (BCEG) to deliver the £650m Manchester Airport City development. BCEG’s deputy

going on, which is unhelpful,” comments Richard Threlfall. “But it’s indicative of not having a direct employment model and not looking after staff – you can’t expect them to stay loyal. Network Rail is suffering with a high number of posts unfilled, so you see how debilitating the lack of skilled labour can be.”

Overall, main contractors’ resourcing difficulties, lack of appetite for risk and increasing selectivity on projects could

general manager Ma Tieshan is a CIOB fellow who has hailed the project as a “symbolic shift of entering the European market”.

He has also outlined BCEG’s plans to take on more “high end” projects in developed countries and to learn from working alongside Carillion. BCEG also has a 20% stake in the office, hotel, manufacturing and logistics scheme as an investor.

Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), a subsidiary of the state-owned China Communications Construction Company, was named preferred bidder for the £300m contract to carry out the marine works for the proposed £1bn Swansea Bay tidal lagoon. It will be responsible for the construction of the 10km sea wall as part of the tidal power station planned in Swansea bay. According to Tidal Lagoon Power, the delivery of the project “will kick-start a programme of Chinese investment into UK infrastructure”.

Thames Tideway Tunnel London’s £4.2bn super-sewer project is to be delivered by three consortiums including foreign partners: the £746m central contract has been awarded to a joint venture between Spanish-owned Ferrovial Agroman UK and Laing O’Rourke Construction, while the £605m eastern contract went to a joint venture of Costain, Vinci Construction Grands Projets and Bachy Soletanche.

But the full list of bidders illustrates the project’s global appeal. These included a Spanish-Korean Dragados and Samsung joint venture; a Swedish/German/French tie-up in Skanska-Bilfinger-Razel Bec; a Hochtief and Murphy JV, and a bid from Bouygues Travaux Publics.

be leading to a capacity crunch: figures from Barbour ABI suggested that the value of projects being put on hold is rising, especially in London and the south east, while the ONS also recorded a 12% drop in commercial orders in Quarter 2 2015, challenging the growth trajectory that has been forecast. At the same time, construction price inflation is rampant.

At Arcadis, head of strategic research and insight Simon Rawlinson explains >

20 | OCTOBER 2015 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

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Feature Overseas arrivals

“The next step on from JVs is the formation of longer-term alliances which might lead to merger or acquisition” Graham Robinson, Global Construction Perspectives

> what could be going on: “There’s what I call a virtual constraint – companies don’t have the resources to bid on projects, so rather than do the full detailed design work, you put in a larger price. The overall consequence is it takes longer to convert projects – they get to the second stage of two-stage bids and then drag on. It slows things down, because projects aren’t viable.”

But if contractors are pricing ever higher to keep one step ahead of inflation, while also having to dig deeper to pay for staff to resource the project, some projects could become impossible to deliver within clients’ budgets. In that scenario, clients will search for alternative solutions – including overseas.

That’s the analysis of Murray Rowden of Constructing Excellence and Turner & Townsend. “The price point for a built solution is moving into the territory of being unaffordable: in other words, there’s affordability versus what the market can provide. So clients will take the lead and search out organisations that have better processes and can drive investment in productivity,” he argues.

Limited takeover options So what exactly could next year bring in terms of overseas arrivals? Robinson points out out that there are very few quoted UK contractors in the first place, limiting options even for hostile takeovers, while it’s even harder to make a privately held contractor – such as Sir Robert McAlpine, Wates or Willmott Dixon – an offer they can’t refuse. So he sees joint ventures with established UK players as the most likely route to market for overseas corporates – continuing a trend that’s already becoming established.

“I wouldn’t discount [acquisitions] happening – there are bigger international contractors out there looking to access the UK growth. But JVs are a way of bringing additional skills on board: to form a JV, you need to bring skills, knowhow and technology – or additional balance sheet strength to spread the risk. We’ve already seen a lot of JVs form around projects such as Crossrail, HS2 and Hinkley Point C. The next step on from that is the formation of longer-term alliances – which might lead to merger or acquisition.”

At KPMG, however, Threlfall doesn’t share this analysis. “JVs are lower risk, and an easier short-term strategy,” he acknowledges. “But these [Chinese] companies have the money to acquire outright, which puts them in a stronger long-term position. I think an acquisition is likely that one of our main contractors will be acquired in the course of 2016.“ Of course, no one can predict a volatile future with any accuracy. For instance, the forecasts of Germany’s output growth were made before the recent influx of up to 1 million refugees, a factor likely to upwardly revise growth projections – and make it less likely that German contractors might look overseas.

But in UK boardrooms, it looks as if many directors who ought to be enjoying a period of growth, investment and stability will instead be looking over their shoulders. Of course, any overseas deal or alliance is likely to bring benefits to both parties. But after struggling through the recession, and improving performance on so many fronts, it’s hardly an achievement if the profits from the UK’s construction output increasingly flow to the exchequers of other countries. CM

Aecom starts to build If mainstream construction suppliers are experiencing a capacity and resourcing crunch, then that creates opportunities for all kinds of newcomers to the market – such as Aecom Construction Services. A construction management operation to complement the firm’s existing client-side programme management team, it was set up just 12 months ago, and is now preferred bidder in two-stage negotiations on three London commercial schemes.

Richard Whitehead, managing director of programme management and major projects (above), and John Hilton MCIOB, head of construction services (below), explain that ACS in effect brings Aecom’s US Tishman brand and capability to the UK, although Aecom has built an entirely home-grown team. Hilton and other colleagues are alumni of Bovis Lend Lease, bringing their knowledge of the local supply chain and market to the new business.

But ACS knows it has to do things differently to operate in a world of rising costs and declining skills – such as achieving above-market margins through better technical solutions.

“Our value proposition is the depth of our technical expertise – we call it technical-led delivery,” explains Whitehead. “We’re an integrated construction businesses, we can do design, pre-construction and construction all in-house. It gets projects to site quicker, with better thinking and better constructability.

If we need to solve a problem, we can easily get half a day’s advice [from a technical expert elsewhere in Aecom] to solve a problem.”

Hilton also says that it’s trying to build relationships with a group of smaller specialist sub-contractors, after finding that its direct competitors in the market had in many cases exhausted the capacity of the go-to names in Tier 2.

Whitehead, speaking from a client-side perspective, sees both the challenges and opportunities of today’s market. “The industry seems to have reached capacity, tender returns are higher, and schemes are becoming less affordable. At the front end, we’re struggling to get bid lists together, and jobs are becoming expensive.

“But there are also opportunities – clients will increasingly try and find someone who can do it differently.

Projects will be value engineered, and reappraised, so contractors need to put more thinking into it. So it’s creating an opportunity for us in building a construction management business.”

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Feature Meet the members

MEET THE

MEMBERS What links a keytar-playing BIM pioneer, a go-it-alone consultant and the driven director of a family firm?

Construction Manager talks to three members of the CIOB. Photographs by George Archer

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Feature Meet the members

Neil Thompson on the steps of UCL, where he is studying for a master’s in construction economics and management

Neil Thompson MCIOB Head of digital research Balfour Beatty

MEET NEIL THOMPSON MCIOB, UK head of

digital research and innovation at Balfour Beatty and chair of the CIC BIM 2050 Group, who has packed a diverse career covering digital project management, BIM consultancy, environmental services and an education in mechanical engineering and rocket science into his 29 years.

Thompson aptly characterises himself as someone who doesn’t fit the mould, a trait he has played to his advantage to differentiate himself in his career.

“My tendency to move between roles is partly the result of my ambition, and partly the result of being exposed to some very forward-thinking people and technology at such a young age.”

Thompson’s career in construction began when he left college a year before his A-levels to take on a role as a Revit technician at a local architect, tapping into his basic knowledge of computer programming and website design. “I always had a natural interest in seeing how things work, and the built environment, so I decided to take the job,” says Thompson. “I had no idea at the time I was working with a completely cutting-edge piece of technology.”

The move proved critical to his career, as it brought the experiences of his next job, as a temporary works designer

at Harsco, chronically reliant on 2D techniques, into sharp relief. “I thought: this is crazy – we should be using computers to speed up these processes to allow humans to spend more time on all the creative stuff. Every role I have taken on since has been about identifying ways construction can do things better whilst rubbing up against a culture that is frequently resistant to change,” he says.

Thompson went back into education in 2007 to complete his A-levels and study for a degree in mechanical engineering, with a focus on aviation and rocket science. But shortly afterwards he switched back to construction, studying building services engineering at London South Bank University, while working part time for Laing O’Rourke.

That year, Thompson met his future wife, with whom he is now expecting his first child. They live in Southend-on-Sea, where he spends his spare time making music, both digitally and acoustically. He has played lead guitar, synth and “keytar” – a lightweight keyboard strapped around the neck and shoulders – in both indie rock and electro bands, including Aristocrats and The Vanity Clause, and has recorded two EPs and an album.

Thompson’s next career step was to set up his own BIM consultancy, precociously early in 2009. He believes True Building Information Modelling was one of the first businesses of its kind in the UK. “I was lucky to be ahead of the curve and picked up quite a bit of work as a result,” he says.

One client, BDP, invited him to join fulltime as an environmental engineer. Later, when delivering a speech as part of the CIBSE Young Engineers Network in 2012, Thompson caught the attention of Balfour Beatty, which approached him to devise a strategy to integrate BIM through the business. “It was an opportunity I couldn’t refuse – something I didn’t think I’d ever get the opportunity to do,” he says.

In his current role, as head of digital research and innovation at Balfour, a key focus is project managing a £250,000 Innovate UK-funded scheme to deliver a new form of tendering app, in collaboration with technology startup 3D Repo and the Finishes and Interiors Sector (FIS). The software being developed will address the problems of digital information overload, caused when supply chain contractors are asked

to price jobs based on vast amounts of project information rather than the specific package they are interested in.

“Information density has gone beyond the point of human management,” says Thompson. “We are looking at how we can use an e-commerce platform, in conjunction with a 3D model, to upload and categorise data and only send out relevant information to the relevant people. It should make things a lot easier for the Tier 1 contractor and for tendering firms.”

Thompson became a chartered member of the CIOB earlier this year and is working towards chartership at the Institution of Engineering and Technology. He says the CIOB’s interdisciplinary approach provides access to a far greater pool of expertise than any other institution, while MCIOB status itself demonstrates his ability to tie people and processes together.

“Engineers don’t always make very good managers, so the qualification helps me articulate that ability. As construction becomes more globalised, being MCIOB opens up new employment prospects abroad,” he adds.

“Every role I have taken on is about identifying ways that construction can do things better” Neil Thompson, Balfour Beatty In addition to a demanding workload, Thompson somehow finds time to study for a master’s in construction economics and management at UCL and chair the CIC BIM 2050 Group, an interdisciplinary group of young professionals working to support BIM adoption in the UK. So, given his far-reaching experience with BIM, what is the biggest challenge facing the industry today? “It is frustrating that construction has created a separate role for BIM staff, the mystical BIM Superman,” he says. “Detaching BIM from the ordinary day jobs of people in construction is disruptive and creates a barrier to people wanting to join the sector. For example, an individual might question whether they want to become a construction manager when they could become a BIM guy. This should be about digitising what we do, not quitting our jobs to go and do some BIM,” he concludes. > Stephen Cousins CONSTRUCTION MANAGER | OCTOBER 2015 | 25

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Feature Meet the members

Dayle Bayliss MCIOB Owner

Dayle Bayliss Associates DAYLE BAYLISS, 34, runs a construction

consultancy for our times. The construction management firm is run with minimal overheads from the spare room of Bayliss’s house in a Suffolk village, communicating with clients and colleagues via online apps such as Dropbox. But despite being a cloudbased micro business, it offers clients a full range of services, from design to project management to building surveying.

That’s because Bayliss has had the kind of fluid construction career that is becoming more typical for younger professionals. Her skills come from two years of an abandoned architecture degree – she went to a girls’ school where “construction meant architecture” – a stint working for local authority building control, a degree in building surveying and RICS chartership. After moving to a construction practice, she added construction management to her skills, becoming a member of the CIOB. But redundancy in 2011 brought a rethink. “I thought, I’ve got all the qualifications and now’s the time to go it alone,” she says. “The ambition to set up on

my own wasn’t something I was conscious of earlier, but when you look back at my CV there’s quite a number of jobs, and the type of person I am meant I was probably always going to do it at some stage.”

The firm’s current projects include contract administration on a Grade II listed house and project management and design for a listed hotel in Norfolk. But the one she’s most proud of is a pro bono project called @TheRec in Stowmarket, where her firm has advised on converting two shipping containers into a community café and toilets (pictured). She is now embarking on the second phase, converting a redundant toilet block into a “cycle café”, run by local young people learning skills in entrepreneurship.

It’s an appropriate project for Bayliss, as she reports feeling under-prepared for setting up in business, finding limited support for startups in general and construction startups in particular. How do you use social media as a marketing tool?

Or estimate a fee bid in a competitive tender against larger firms? “There was no guidance out there at all! In the past you had fee scales, but you just have to do an estimate of what you think your time will be and gut instinct, and between the two come up with a price.”

“One of the things about having my own business is it allows me to do the things I have a passion about” Dayle Bayliss, Dayle Bayliss Associates

While Bayliss has certainly cracked that particular challenge – she credits a detailed time-management software package – it prompted her to become involved in Menta, the enterprise agency for Suffolk, sitting on the skills board and construction sector group and helping it run a portfolio of “incubator” business units.

“The whole skills and enterprise arena I find fascinating,” she says. “And one of the things about having my own business is it allows me to do the things I have a passion about, and if I want to get involved in other work I’m able to do that – or if we want to do a charitable project we can.”

Flexibility also suits Bayliss’s second-incommand, her sister Johanna, 28 (below), who joined while still completing a degree in construction management, and finds a less-structured working day lets her indulge her passion for riding.

What have her experiences been as a woman running a construction business?

“You do get comments, but usually it’s more of a benefit – I have a USP that people remember,” she says. “On site, you tend to get judged on your ability to do the job. But comments can come from other professionals – on a project where I was reporting to stakeholders, a barrister made a comment about there being a female surveyor on the project, without realising I was in the room! He should have known it didn’t have anything to do with my capabilities.“ Bayliss is currently concentrating on an MBA, and then plans to review how the business can be taken forward. But she won’t be pursuing growth for the sake of it. “We want to keep doing the stuff we find interesting, working with good clients – and enjoying it. The moment we stop enjoying it, there’s a problem.” > Elaine Knutt

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Feature Meet the members

“I think if you have an opportunity to get more qualified, then you should just do it” Marcus Leverton, Leverton UK

Marcus Leverton FCIOB Director

Leverton UK LEAVING SCHOOL WITH GCSES in sports, pottery and maths, it’s fair to say that Marcus Leverton wouldn’t have predicted that he would one day become the youngest ever fellow of the CIOB at the age of 35 in 2012. The achievement tasted doubly sweet when his father Tony – the two are both directors of Chesterfield-based contractor Leverton UK – also applied and became a fellow on the same day.

Having two FCIOBs in one family business is something Leverton is rightly proud of. “It shows we’ve hit the highest level of competence [in managerial, technical and leadership ability] and we have proved it. We push ourselves and always want to over-impress our clients.”

In fact, Leverton can take credit for encouraging his father on the path to chartership, by first converting his long track record in construction through running the family firm that has an annual turnover of £2m. “My father had 35 years of experience but hadn’t become chartered, as he wasn’t aware of it. He had to prove that he had the right depth of knowledge in his field, then he became an M,” he says.

But because Leverton is as focused on encouraging others to reach their

potential as he is himself, it wasn’t long before being a member was not enough for either of them. “A lot of people get the M and just stop, as at that point you are technically qualified. I think that if you have an opportunity to get more qualified, then you should just do it,” he says.

That maxim is certainly one he takes seriously: he also squeezed in a master’s in project management in 2005, and in his continual drive for improvement, completing a PhD is next on the agenda.

Now, as committee member of the East Midlands region, he takes a serious interest in Novus, as he believes in spreading the word that chartered membership can differentiate you and your business. “I try to express to students the value of membership,” he says. ”I tell them there are a lot of people that can do what they do, so you need to get a professional qualification to give you a competitive advantage.”

Leverton UK specialises in high-end commercial refurbishment for banks and building societies. Leverton joined straight from school and has since worked closely with his father, a relationship he sums up quickly, saying: “The positives massively outweigh the negatives.”

Although he always appreciated the hands-on aspect of onsite work for the firm, Leverton quickly realised that he saw

Like father, like son: Marcus and Tony Leverton became FCIOBs on the same day

his future in the processes and planning aspects of construction. “I was enjoying the practical side, but it wasn’t fulfilling me,” he says. “I liked the look of the office as I was more interested in the design side and how to make a project happen.”

So he returned to education at 20 to take a construction management degree at Sheffield Hallam University: “I was shocked at first at how tough it was. I really had to knuckle down to get the work done. But if you are interested in something and have a purpose, that means you are engaged.”

Drawing on his experience in school, where construction wasn’t put forward as a serious career option, Leverton takes a hands-on approach to promoting the industry to the younger generation. Each year, the firm takes on school students for work experience and he’s proud to report that one was recently accepted on to the architecture course at Sheffield Hallam.

Leverton’s project management skills have also been put into action in his fundraising efforts for the Sick Children’s Trust. Each year, with his wife, he organises a black tie ball to raise money for the charity, which provides a “home away from home” for parents of children hospitalised with serious conditions.

“When my son was 18 months old he was very ill, with a succession of viral infections followed by a bowel perforation.

He was in intensive care for two weeks and we used their facilities,” he says. “I said then that if he pulled through I’d do something to help, so now I put all my spare time into raising funds.”

“I probably put in 400 hours a year, but I find it intensely rewarding,” he says.

It’s clearly something that he has been extremely successful at. This year’s event sold out in two days and raised £25,000, enough money to fund the 26-bed facility at his local hospital for a month. CM www.sickchildrenstrust.org Tom Ravenscroft

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Construction Professional

Keeping one move ahead of the game How best to close out ‘legacy’ projects? As Balfour Beatty hires a crack team to advise its staff on negotiation, Jason Farnell offers some strategic tips CONSTRUCTION HEADLINES are littered with reports of profit warnings and difficult trading conditions for main contractors, which are dealing with historic projects won in lean times while trying to secure market share of more profitable current opportunities. The industry has come to accept certain projects as being “legacy”, a term intended simultaneously to communicate euphemistically a poor out-turn margin and an absence of responsibility or accountability.

As we all know, the construction and property industry is risk-laden, highly regulated and reliant on contracts; in this environment the importance of effective negotiating skills cannot be overemphasised if businesses are to manage their commercial performances well.

First, why negotiate? As a general rule of thumb I would say it is usually because one or both of the parties either wants or needs to: to avoid a dispute, to save time and money, to keep control of the outcome, or to avoid embarrassment. If there is no imperative for negotiation it is unlikely a settlement will be achieved.

Each type of contracting organisation

will be characterised by its different needs and operational requirements, and these must be appreciated if the best outcomes are to be achieved. For one, the earliest resolution of an issue is key – “time is money!” – while for another the auditability of the outcome or best value for money may be what matters. Understanding what is important to the other side is a major step forward in being able to speak his or her language and reach an agreement.

What do smart negotiators do? They understand the landscape in which they are negotiating – the timescales, what is important for them and for the other side.

Preparation is everything.

Where a party might be concerned about setting precedents, preparedness to enter into non-disclosure or confidentiality agreements might be a signal to the other side that you are trustworthy, helping to create a climate for negotiations.

When negotiations have commenced, it is important to understand the respective position of the individuals with whom they are carried out within their business, and to be alive to any sensitivities of accountability, vested interests and

What do I need to know about Insights from behavioural science have shown that recruitment processes are often heavily skewed by a number of “unconscious biases”, according to a report from the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development, A Head for Hiring: The Behavioural Science of Recruitment argues that those with hiring responsibilities should consider these insights to overlook their first instincts about a person and instead gain a more rounded and accurate picture of a candidate’s suitability for the job.

Initial perceptions of whether a person will be a good fit can be determined by a

“Know when to walk away but don’t make a gesture that you are not prepared to carry through”

personal agendas – always with the awareness that these might change during the course of negotiations.

Here there is a role to be played by intermediaries and advisers, who may lack the authority to negotiate to a conclusion but provide a useful function in defining areas of difference and agreement, and providing a conduit for communication.

In many cases, it’s worthwhile testing your position by asking a neutral third party inside or outside the company to review whether negotiations are likely to have any prospect of success, and whether there are any potential areas of overlap or shared interests in the parameters of the settlement. It is pointless to waste time negotiating where the gulf is just too

Avoiding unconscious recruitment bias

number of visual, cultural, demographic and situational factors which have no real impact on performance. For example: l Both male and female managers tend to favour men over women in hiring decisions l Evidence suggests that we hire “mini-mes” – people like ourselves in terms of hobbies, experiences and dress/presentation at interview l The time taken to make a recruitment decision often increases for the first few candidates, but can drop as early as the fourth, at which point confirmation bias or “selective hearing” can come into play

l Open-ended interviews can lead to different participants being asked different questions to unconsciously reaffirm initial impressions l Identical CVs seem to get more call-backs when the applicant is typically deemed to have a “white” name rather than one associated with an ethnic minority group.

Jonny Gifford, research adviser at the CIPD, comments: “ We like to think we can spot talent, but insights from behavioural science show that our decision-making is actually highly prone to sloppy thinking and bias. Even highly trained assessors make systematically

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s

ALAMY

BIM bytes: New code of practice reinforces FM integration

wide, in which case it is better to cut out difficult or intractable elements and think of another way of resolving them – quite often these major stumbling blocks are less insurmountable when progress has been made on other elements, reducing the overall scale of the differences.

The subject of “how to negotiate” has probably spawned more books than there are stars in the night sky, but there are some universal truths that can be distilled. For me these are: ● Never back the other party into a corner leaving no alternative than to settle or fight; ● Make timescales sensible, recognising the decision-making process within the other party’s business/organisation; ● Single-outcome negotiations are

different decisions depending on the time of day and their cognitive load or brain-strain at that point in time.”

The report makes a number of recommendations to ensure consistent and effective hiring practices. Before job interviews, companies should test the wording of job adverts, to see how this affects who applies, and group and anonymise CVs when reviewing them.

During interviews, the hiring manager should spread assessments and decisions across days but keep other conditions – the interview room itself, the questions and even the

always the least attractive and the most likely to flounder – construct settlement proposals as a basket of components with concessions for all parties; ● For closing meetings the fewer attendees the better; ● Don’t be afraid of silence – often the unravelling of a potential settlement is nervous talking and filling the voids with concessions that need not have been made; ● Know when to walk away, but don’t make a gesture that you are not prepared to carry through, as this will undermine your position; ● Know what a good deal looks like for you and know when you have got the best that is available; ● And, of course, preparation is everything.

Another factor to bear in mind is that parties often neglect the provisions of the contract when there is a possibility of a negotiated resolution, seeing it as the panacea for all their issues. This is never a good strategy. The prudent contracting party will ensure that it continues to operate the mechanisms of the contract, providing notices as required and carrying on as if the negotiation dialogue were not taking place – effectively twin-tracking the contractual and negotiation routes.

In conclusion, know your own position and what you want; understand the other party, their business, their constraints and their drivers, and recognise what the best alternative to a negotiated settlement might be. It isn’t an easy option, it is just a different one.

Jason Farnell FRICS is a director of Commercial Risk Management.

refreshments – similar. Experiments have shown that interviewers experiencing physical warmth by holding a warm drink prior to assessing someone were more likely to judge them to be generous and caring.

Managers should pre-commit to a set of interview questions that are directly related to performance and structured to focus on the job in hand. After interviews they should stick to what the scores indicate, and consider Including colleagues who weren’t involved to help make a more objective, final decision.

Read the research report at cipd.co.uk.

BS8536-1:2015 Briefing for Design and Construction: Code of practice for facilities management was published in July and available from August.

As well as updating the 2010 standard to take into account operational requirements from the design and construction phase through to “soft landing”, this new standard aligns with the information requirements in PAS1192 and BS1192 and assumes the use of Level 2 BIM. The BS document states that the aims in updating are to “complement and strengthen briefing practices and procedures” by promoting early involvement of the operator or FM team, and extending the commitment of the design and construction team to ensure operational implications have been properly incorporated.

The BS acts as a useful signpost to the FM angle of BIM. It also gives a clear steer as to the requirements that should be set out in the design and construction contracts and the asset management contracts that deal with their interaction.

As an example, as part of the aim to ensure that the project should take into account the operational requirements of the end user, the BS requires that a plan of work is produced to coordinate the deliverables of all contributors and the decisions required at each work stage.

For the first time, the BS specifically cites the NBS toolkit (https://toolkit.thenbs. com) as a means of developing an appropriate digital plan.

Equally, the BS generally

requires that the employer’s information requirements (EIRs) set out the information to be delivered, and the standards and processes to be adopted by the design and construction team.

As one would expect in the context of BIM, the BS cites the need for a common data environment (CDE) and the need to define a means and format for information exchange (and mentions COBie as an option).

And, interestingly, the BS states that “creation and management of a projectspecific building information model in particular should be seen in the wider context of the owner’s information management system”.

It sounds like a straightforward point, but one which should not be underestimated in the procurement of individual projects. There is a simplicity in the notion of early involvement of the end operators in the forward planning for a construction project. Rather than looking narrowly at the project, the requirements must reflect the overall practice and infrastructure of the client.

The importance of the revisions to the BS is the focus on the greater overall value that might be achieved by an integrated view of construction and operation.

That includes integration with an overall asset management strategy.

Assad Maqbool is a partner at Trowers & Hamlins specialising in projects and construction.

BIM best practice Read new case studies from around the country demonstrating BIM best practice from Balfour Beatty, BAM, Galliford Try, Kier, Costain and many more. Go to the awardwinning BIM+ website: www.bimplus.co.uk

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Construction Professional

The practicalities of breaking in Part Q The new security guidance promises clarity, but specifiers must remain alert, cautions Jon Cole DOMESTIC BURGLARY COSTS THE NATION more

than £2.9bn each year. This carries a heavy social cost, with research pointing to a disproportionate effect on the most vulnerable in communities. With the introduction of the new Approved Document Q on security, the industry now has improved guidelines on how it can best protect new developments.

The new document, which will come into effect on 1 October 2015 and applies to projects submitting plans after that date, marks the inclusion of physical security standards in the Building Regulations for the first time, clearly underlining the government’s intent to cut domestic crime by ensuring that every new home is secure.

The arrival of Part Q signals the Department for Communities & Local Government’s (DCLG) intentions, announced earlier this year, to separate building control requirements from the broad planning goals established by initiatives such as the National Policy Planning Framework. Its development been also closely informed by the 2012 Housing Standards Review, which called for closer integration of the various building codes, standards, rules, and guidance as a means of cutting the costs and simplifying housebuilding regulation.

Approved Document Q applies to all new homes, including those resulting from a change in use of existing buildings into homes. Specifically, the new regulations lay down minimum guidelines on attack resistance for doors, windows and rooflights as the most common points for intruder entry.

For entrance doors,the key requirement is a secure doorset proven to resist physical attack, or a bespoke doorset incorporating construction features that are proven to reduce crime.

Letter plates should not exceed a maximum size and the main entry doors must offer a means to see callers. Frames should be mechanically fixed to the structure of the building and lightweight wall systems adjacent to doors should incorporate a resilient surface layer.

Other accessible points of entry, such as accessible windows and rooflights, should also be compliant with proven security standards and be securely fixed to the structure of the building.

The devil is in the detail Approved Document Q sets the minimum test standards that must be met. Yet it falls short of providing the detailed information needed to ensure the correct products are specified for a particular application, which can require additional elements relating to its use or an understanding of possible conflicting Building Regulations such as Part B. Approved Document Q calls for products to be manufactured to a sufficiently robust design that has been tested to acceptable security standards, such as PAS 24, STS 202 and LPS 1175.

However, this relies on the product being installed under precisely the configurations present during testing. In the case of doors and windows, modifying the specification of any one aspect – the locks, handles or even the fixings – could compromise the product’s security.

The complexities of specifying a doorset for use as a communal entrance in a block of flats, for example, extend beyond the security standards – and there are numerous considerations for security.

It is imperative that the doorset has been

assessed for fitness for its purpose – for instance the use and abuse that is likely to arise with a communal entrance for multiple dwellings.

“Modifying the specification of the door’s locks, handles or fixings could compromise security”

Building in certainty From this point of view Part Q leaves much room for uncertainty and confusion when specifying security measures.

To ensure effective crime prevention, Secured by Design (SBD) recommends the use of products that are not just tested but independently certificated by thirdparty certification bodies.

Certification involves initial and ongoing audit testing of the product, together with audits of the production facility.

This ensures products are consistently manufactured to the required standard and will continue to meet this in use.

SBD attributes the decreases in burglary rates and other crimes in SBD-approved developments to this requirement.

Approved Document Q is also welcome as a catalyst for further change in simplifying the compliance process.

SBD’s National Building Approval (NBA) scheme ensures compliance by agreeing all aspects of physical security within buildings of a given type before any development or refurbishment is planned or built. A tiered awards scheme provides alternative pathways to achieve Part Q compliance.

The NBA certificate is accepted by local authority building officers and approved inspectors – discharging regulatory requirements, as well as obligations placed upon developers by third parties to gain required approvals.

The introduction of Approved Document Q is an important step towards higher standards of product security.

But it is important that specifiers are not distracted from the larger picture – providing protection for individuals – and that guidance is sought in not just interpreting but realising the spirit of the new legislation.

Jon Cole is national operations manager of police initiative Secured by Design.

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Construction Professional

SMEs make their bid for the big time The new EU tendering rules support smaller firms – but handle with care, says Mike Rumbelow THAT SINKING FEELING that I suspect has struck more than a few smaller contractors on opening a public sector tender form has just about been consigned to history. Thanks to the new European Union procurement rules, bidding for contracts has become much less daunting for SMEs. However, there are still a few creases that need ironing out if we want to get the best out of the new, streamlined approach to tendering.

More than half a year since the Public Contract Regulations 2015 came into force on 26 February, we are starting to see how they will work in practice. Overall, the tender process has been simplified well.

It is less time-consuming for contractors, requiring them to provide less detailed information – and they no longer need the considerable resources to weave together an expansive, polished presentation.

The encouragement that the new rules provide for clients to subdivide contracts is equally welcome. They must now demonstrate their reasons for not doing so, which encourages them to break up chunks of work, so that a contract of, say, £10m will be made into a series of smaller, individual jobs to bid for.

Another positive change is that the rule that a contractor cannot take on a job that would represent more than a quarter of its turnover has been scrapped. Now, contractors can bid for deals worth up

to 50% of their turnover. All these steps open up public sector work to smaller contractors, finally addressing a problem that SMEs have faced for a long time.

I also believe that the new stipulation that the full tender document be written, finalised and available to potential bidders before the contract is advertised is sound. It does create extra pressure on us procurement advisers – we are now expected to produce the tender document as fast as possible in order to get the advert out there. However, the approach ensures that the client cannot, after advertising the job, stray from the original brief, which brings more clarity for bidders and reduces the risk of bidders going through the prequalification process but then withdrawing after seeing the full tender. In addition, the tender period has been reduced from 40 to 30 days, which goes some way to countering the extra pressure on the procurement team.

Now for a few words of warning.

Under the new regulations, by October 2018 all tender communications are to be 100% electronic, which means bidders must use each government body’s online portal. This is a laudable principle but the problem is that while some electronic portals are very userfriendly and effective, others are frankly baffling. Again, SMEs are less likely to have the time and experience needed

Changes in the EU requirements will make tendering less time-consuming

“Being able to bid for a job of up to half your turnover is a vital way for a thriving smaller contractor to grow”

to navigate around the more unwieldy portals. I believe that there will be a move to more standardised portals in time. But if we are serious about supporting smaller contractors to win work, this shift can’t come soon enough.

In addition, being able to bid for a job of up to half your turnover is a vital way for a thriving smaller contractor to grow and, in the ideal scenario, the contract will not represent such a large slice of the firm’s business for long, as it swiftly goes on to win multiple larger deals. However, if that does not turn out to be the case, the contractor is left dangerously dependent on a single contract.

In short, the new 50% rule is something of a blunt instrument, and so it should be handled with care. It is therefore up to clients and those advising them to ensure that such proportionally large deals are only awarded to firms that show every sign of growing rapidly to accommodate the contract more comfortably.

A final cause for some concern is that the new regulations stipulate that, as long as prior notice is given, the contracting body can reduce the tender period to 10 days. I have yet to see clients using this new mechanism but I fear that there could be situations where, because a programme has fallen behind, the 10-day period is seen as a quick fix.

My worry is that the quality of tenders prepared in such a short time would be poor to the point of the tender being meaningless. While there may be exceptional circumstances where this condensed time frame is appropriate or unavoidable, it is important that the new rules are not seen as “normalising” 10-day tender periods.

All in all, these are welcome changes that will make a real difference for SMEs trying to win public sector work. However, clients and their advisers will have to use their own judgment to ensure that the new regime works to best effect.

Mike Rumbelow is a partner at property and construction consultancy Ridge & Partners.

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22/09/2015 15:50

Technical Offsite manufacturing

HAS SKANSKA SEEN THE FUTURE OF OFFSITE

IN SLOUGH?

Offsite has long been heralded as a better all-round solution, but contractors still struggle to profit from it.

Tom Ravenscroft reports on a new approach that taps in to greater efficiencies WITH MY HEAD FULL OF SCENES from sci-fi films – automated robots buzzing around a neonlit levitating manufacturing plant – I set off to Skanska’s latest “modern flying factory”.

Arriving at an anonymous trading estate in Slough in the rain, reality soon caught up with me. But although not the futuristic vision I was expecting, what I did find in this atypical warehouse was an innovation that could dramatically increase the use of offsite manufacturing in construction.

What sets apart the modern flying factory from existing permanent offsite facilities is that, in Skanska’s concept, manufacturing takes place in a temporary facility, rented for the duration of the offsite programme. Once the last prefabricated component has been

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Technical Offsite manufacturing

To set up its first modern flying factory Skanska has taken out a 12-month lease on a 400 sq m industrial unit on the Perth Trading Estate in Slough. Both the modules being created in this factory and the methodology used to organise the programme of manufacture have become much more advanced. At ModCell’s first flying factory 30 relatively simple timber and straw structural panels were constructed, while Skanska is fabricating 540 extremely complex utility cupboards.

These steel-frame units, typically around 2.4 m tall and 1.7 m wide, house the majority of the MEP components of an individual flat – including the ventilation and heating units, electrical distribution boards and washing machine fittings.

The pre-wired and pre-tested cupboards, complete with internal finishes, are then shrink-wrapped and transported down the A4 to Battersea. Here, as part of Skanska’s delivery of the M&E works for Carillion, they are being incorporated into the Circus West apartment blocks on the first phase of the power station redevelopment. >

“The biggest barrier at the moment is that offsite manufacture is tied to a fixed location, with all the associated costs” Mark Wray, Innovate UK

SKANSKA

shipped to site, the factory will close its doors, and Skanska will be ready to “fly” to the next location without carrying the ongoing costs of a permanent facility.

The pilot project in Slough, which will fabricate fully serviced “utility cupboards” for flats in Phase1 at Battersea Power Station, has been supported by a £750,000 grant from Innovate UK. Mark Wray, Innovate UK’s lead technologist of low impact building, said: “We believe that offsite manufacturing has a significant role to play in making the construction industry more efficient, but making it more affordable is crucial to increasing uptake.

The biggest barrier at the moment is that offsite manufacture is established in a building, tied to a fixed location, with all the associated costs.”

The theoretical benefits of offsite pre-assembly and prefabrication have been well accepted by the industry, with reductions in time on site, improved quality and reduced total costs well documented.

However, large-scale offsite manufacture still remains a rarity on UK construction projects – and where it has been implemented, the results have often been disappointing (see box, p42). Asking why this remains the case set Skanska on the journey towards the modern flying factory.

It realised that three major barriers remain for widespread adoption of offsite manufacturing: the large amount of initial capital investment required; the high transport costs associated with delivery; and the financial instability of offsite manufacturers. Both Skanska and Innovate UK believe the temporary nature of the modern flying factory, along with the flexibility it affords, offers the solution to all three of these problems.

The term “flying factory” was coined by straw-bale and offsite fabrication specialist ModCell, which is also a partner on this research project, to describe the near-site temporary manufacturing plants it previously established at farms to construct laminated timber and straw-bale panels for housing projects in rural locations. But in Slough, ModCell’s initial concept has been adapted for a much more complex prefabrication process.

Sam Stacey, head of innovation at Skanska UK, explains: “ModCell informed the concept. We saw what they were doing and thought we could make it much more high-tech.”

By taking a temporary lease on a unit in the Perth Trading Estate in Slough (main picture) to establish its modern flying factory (above) Skanska can carry out high-tech prefabrication work (above) in a protected environment CONSTRUCTION MANAGER | OCTOBER 2015 | 39

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“Typically at Skanska we outsource all trades, but in this case we are directly employing” Sam Stacey, Skanska UK

SKANSKA

Carpenter Adam King (below) works in the warehouse to complete the utility cupboards (above right) which are then transported to the flats in Battersea

> Creating these modular services units in a controlled environment has dramatically reduced the number of trades needed on site, and increased the efficiency of installing the apartments’ MEP systems.

Adam King (pictured), a carpenter working in the warehouse, is so enthusiastic about the flying factory I began to have suspicions that he was planted by the Skanska media team.

Asked whether he preferred to work on site or in the factory, King was emphatic.

“There’s no comparison to working on site.

It’s dry, more comfortable and when I go home I can just put my tools down, and know they will be here in the morning. On site it takes a lot, lot longer. If you imagine tramping around each flat, finding fixtures and tools, you get the idea. Here everything is right where I need it.”

Like any manufacturing process, the repetitive nature of the tasks performed is perfect for continuous improvement.

Through a process of evaluation and adjustments, combined with digital modelling of the spaces, the production process has been refined to further increase the benefits of working offsite.

King sounds empowered by the whole process. “We’ve got it to the point where it all runs seamlessly now,” he says. “One guy works on a unit, and when he’s done he moves on down the line and the next person comes in. Here we are all aiming for the same target. It’s the closest I’ve ever worked with sparkies – usually we are fighting for space, but here there is enough room for everyone.”

SKANSKA

Technical Offsite manufacturing

The target for the project was to combine the benefits of offsite with virtual-reality-enabled supply chain management and process improvement, to achieve a 28% reduction in cost compared to typical manufacture, and 30% shorter programmes, providing a higher-quality and more predictable build cost.

According to Stacey, this has been achieved: the factory is now creating 16 cupboards a week. Installing this amount of MEP onsite would take at least two weeks, meaning that Skanska expects to see a saving of 50% in labour costs along with an increase in speed of delivery by 50%. Quality has also been increased, with early reports indicating a reduction of firstround process defects by more than 50%.

Although these savings are impressive, it is the flexibility in location and programme with low start-up costs that a flying factory offers that Innovate UK believes holds the key to increasing the use of offsite. Wray explains: “At present the high level of capital investment needed to establish an offsite manufacturing facility means that it is not feasible unless you have a large funding mechanism. These prohibitive set-up and operating costs are why we don’t see offsite more in the mainstream, and this [the modern flying factory] goes some way towards solving this problem.”

As well as lower start-up costs, the temporary factory is more financially stable as there is no possibility of down time or under-utilisation of space. In Slough the factory occupies an unused warehouse, and although the monthly rent is higher on a short-term let, the contract will only run for the length of the build.

Having overhead costs directly linked to an individual project dramatically increases financial viability.

“At the moment there is a perceived risk in using offsite manufacturing,” says Stacey. “The primary issue if you go down the offsite route is the lack of financial stability. A project is reliant on the delivery of offsite manufacturers but fluctuating workloads means they are at greater financial risk, with these companies seeming to go bankrupt more regularly than other suppliers. Anecdotally I hear this a lot from project delivery teams.”

In the future Skanska envisions the temporary factory concept being adopted by third-party offsite manufacturing specialists, however, in Slough it has not only taken financial responsibility for the premises but is directly employing the electricians, carpenters and plumbers working in the factory. This is something that Stacey believes the industry may see more of. >

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Technical Offsite manufacturing

SKANSKA

involved in the establishment of the Offsite Management School, funded by the UK Commission for Employment & Skills. The school aims to educate the supply chain on what is needed to develop offsite capabilities.

“The challenge we face is getting people to adopt,” says Stacey. “There will always be people who want to do things the old way, so we have to make it as easy and as integrated as possible. Then we can really demonstrate the benefits and why they should change their behaviours.”

Although the next deployment of the modern flying factory has not been secured, Stacey is confident that the

concept will become a integral part of Skanska’s offering. “This has been a big step up and we are already in discussions with project teams internally at Skanska to make an even larger step change,” he says.

Wray at Innovate UK shares his confidence in the concept, saying: “Based on the feedback we have received, this is a viable solution that will be well received by the industry. This is not just for the big players like Skanska and Laing O’Rourke, but also SMEs. We believe the lower start-up costs offered by flying factories will appeal to smaller players.” And if that’s the case, the future of offsite really would take off. CM

Offsite costs give Laing a headache More than any other contractor, Laing O’Rourke has been driving the offsite manufacturing agenda in construction.

It has invested heavily in its offsite facilities in Steetley, Nottinghamshire, and can now deliver an extensive range of modular solutions, from columns, beams and sleepers to smart walls and building systems. The “kit of parts” construction system called Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA), has been deployed on prominent projects including RSHP’s Leadenhall Building (the Cheesegrater) and Cancer Centre at Guy’s Hospital and the £450m Francis Crick Institute (pictured).

Although offsite promises savings in time and cost, Laing O’Rourke’s early investment has seen the company run into financial difficulties. According to its 2014/2015 results, the company’s Europe Hub made a £57.5m pre-tax loss, which it attributed to reliance on DfMA on three loss-making UK projects.

In its annual report, group finance director Stewart Mcintyre said: “Exceptional operating costs of £61.2m were recognised in the year, which relate to three first-generation DfMA UK construction contracts which were adversely impacted by input cost inflation and delays in delivery using new construction methods.”

These projects were tendered during the price-driven recession market, and impacted by the rising cost of labour,

MATT BROWN

“This is not just for the big players like Skanska and Laing O’Rourke, but also SMEs” Mark Wray, Innovate UK

> “Typically at Skanska we outsource all trades, but in this case we are directly employing,” he says. “In the future we may take a bit more in-house. In order to be competent working with new technologies we will need to develop these skills in-house. Then we can consider how to export them.” He continues: ”One major benefit that has emerged as the project has progressed is that we have absolute visibility and control.”

Perhaps the most obvious advantage of the flying factory model is the ability to locate the manufacturing process in the optimum location. ModCell’s factories are often set up near the building site, on a farm where the straw is produced. This dramatically reduces the transport costs.

Although Slough is just over 20 miles from Battersea, high prices and low availability of space in central London meant positioning the factory closer to the site would have been financially unviable.

An optimal location for a modern flying factory will be based on a balance of logistics, where raw materials are coming from and where the components are needed, combined with availability of space, local workforce and rental values.

The culmination of this research project will be the creation of a guidance “toolkit” alongside a decision-making matrix that will allow Skanska to best assess the suitability of a project for offsite manufacture, which elements of a project can be produced offsite, where this can be done and how much space is required.

Along with developing the technologies and a toolkit, Stacey is aware that attitudes need to change. The company is

materials and subcontractors. But it seems that shortened build programme combined with taking the supply chain in-house seems to have impacted DfMA projects more than others.

In the report, Europe Hub managing director Paul Sheffield, said: “The issue [of increased costs] was further compounded by the accelerated deployment of our DfMA approach which placed additional strain on our project delivery resources and critical path activities due to the shorter build programmes, as we brought new products and processes to market.”

Despite these losses Laing O’Rourke remains committed to offsite, stating: “The next generation of DfMA-led projects is showing early signs of success.” It will be building a new Advanced Manufacturing Facility (AMF) dedicated to modular housing and earlier this year was awarded £22m towards the £105m cost of this.

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Continuing Professional Development Implementing BS 8102 • Substructure waterproofing is especially challenging in urban areas • Systems should be designed to prevent water ingress through the structure’s life • Different types of protection can be combined to reduce risk

Substructure waterproofing Successful strategies for preventing water ingress below ground require a clear understanding of BS 8102 , says Greg Austin Underground spaces can only be fully protected from water damage by preventing water ingress entirely, so the structural and foundation waterproofing system is crucial. Specifying the right material solutions early in the design stage is important; it is difficult and costly to address leakages later. Technical challenges can arise from soil conditions, water tables, groundwater conditions and environmental changes, improperly cured concrete, inadequately designed foundations or poor workmanship.

CPD

WATER INGRESS is the primary cause of building failure so developing a robust and strategic approach to structural waterproofing is vitally important for the longevity of any building. With many posttenancy problems attributable to moisture damage, the consequences of failure are numerous: dispute costs, legal fees, damage liability, loss of rent, business disruption and operational delays.

Substructure waterproofing is particularly challenging, especially as below-ground structures are increasingly used as habitable spaces – often in urban areas where there is a shortage of buildable land. But if the designer or contractor doesn’t have a complete understanding of BS 8102, the British Standards Institute Code of Practice for Protection of Below Ground Structures Against Water from the Ground, the client could be left with a basement that is code compliant but not fit for its planned use.

According to Reducing the Risk of Leaking Substructure, a clients’ guide produced by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE): “If the construction is below the water table, the groundwater is under pressure and will flow through the path of least resistance.” Simply put, water will pass through any cracks in the substructure into the basement.

A further complication is that the substructure cannot be constructed in one piece and construction joints can act as water paths. So the waterproofing system needs to be designed and installed to ensure the basement remains dry throughout its lifetime, but continues to comply with Building Regulations through any potential changes of use.

Complying with BS 8102 To ensure the highest standards are met, below-ground waterproofing solutions must adhere to BS 8102, which covers the use of waterproofing barrier materials applied to the structure, structurally integral watertight construction and drained cavity construction. It provides recommendations and guidance on methods of preventing or dealing with the entry of water into a below-ground structure.

The standard applies to all structures which extend below ground level and those on sloping sites, and covers the

Preprufe Plus features improved overlap bonding and faster installation

evaluation of groundwater conditions, risk assessment and options for drainage outside the structure.

A waterproofing strategy from design stage allows for a more successful and cost-effective conclusion. To develop a robust design for protecting a structure against groundwater, BS 8102 requires the following factors be assessed: l All risks from external environment, water, gas and contaminants l Adoption of a waterproofing strategy

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Continuing Professional Development Implementing BS 8102

Built on talent, technology and trust, Grace is a leading global supplier of catalysts; engineered and packaging materials; and specialty construction chemicals and building materials.

The company’s three industry-leading business segments – Grace Catalysts Technologies, Grace Materials Technologies and Grace Construction Products — provide innovative products, technologies, and services that improve the products and processes of our customer partners in over 155 countries around the world.

Specifying the right material solutions early in the design stage is important; it is difficult and costly to do something about water leakages later

capable of achieving the client’s required internal environment ● Early inclusion of a waterproofing specialist ● Clear understanding of client requirements and expectations ● The selection of a suitable primary waterproofing system as part of robust design.

A waterproofing design specialist can, in theory, be anybody who is able to provide expertise in structural

waterproofing. The specialist should: ● Be suitably experienced ● Be capable of devising solutions that accommodate various project constraints and needs ● Provide the design team with information and guidance that assists with and influences the design, installation and future maintenance of the waterproofed structure The specialist will need to classify the water table. It is classified as “high” – and

therefore a serious risk – if it is “perched” or is permanently above the underside of the base slab. Where the water table fluctuates, the classification is “variable”, and only if the water table or a perched water table is permanently below the underside of the base slab is it classified as “low”.

Evaluating risk BS 8102 places great emphasis on a site evaluation which includes the completion of a desk study: ● to assess the geology and hydrogeology, including soil permeabilities, flood risk, radon, methane and other ground gases and contaminants (eg chlorides and acids) ● to assess the topography of the surrounding ground in relation to the below ground structure ● to establish the likely highest level of the water table and the potential for the occurrence of a perched water table ● to identify any missing ground and groundwater information, which should then be obtained by undertaking a site investigation in accordance with BS 5930 Code of Practice for site investigations and BS EN 1997 – Geotechnical design In section 5.1.2 it states that the risk assessment should also consider long-term water pressures, the effects of surface water infiltration, any use of external drainage, the effects of climate change, burst water main sewers and the effects of drainage on existing neighbouring structures.

During the lifetime of any structure, some degree of groundwater pressure is likely against the waterproofing system.

Where cracks or joints can provide > CONSTRUCTION MANAGER | OCTOBER 2015 | 45

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Continuing Professional Development Implementing BS 8102

A waterproof solution

> potential water paths, water ingress can occur. For water resistance, if no detailed geological/hydrological assessment is available, or there are inconclusive soil investigations and drainage measures, the waterproofing strategy is designed on the basis of water to the full height of the retained ground.

Grace Construction Products’ waterproofing products have been designed to ensure that the structure is enveloped with a continuous layer of protection as simply as possible, with the minimum number of ancillary products.

Installation risk is minimised by using a single-layer application that relies less on human skills, saving time and supervision cost when compared with traditional low-value systems.

To address the issue of water leaking and migrating between a waterproof membrane and the concrete structure it is being installed to protect, Grace developed Preprufe - a composite membrane with a synthetic adhesive that permanently bonds with poured concrete. The membrane is a composite sheet that consists of three layers: a robust high-density polyethylene (HDPE) backing; a malleable, pressure-sensitive adhesive layer; and a patented weather and dirt-resistant microporous top layer

Understanding client requirements As well as ground conditions and other external influences, the waterproofing strategy must take into account the requirements of the client. For example, does the client understand the difference between “wet”, “damp” and “dry”? Have the costs associated with achieving a “dry” basement been properly considered? What are the consequences of failure and has the future use of the building been discussed?

BS 8102 details the three grades of protection available: Grade 1: Basic utility (wet) – some seepage and damp patches allowed Grade 2: Better utility (damp) – no water penetration but water vapour allowed Grade 3: Habitable (dry) – totally dry environment.

To achieve these levels of watertightness, BS 8102 provides an outline of the three different waterproofing methods. These are: Type A - a physical barrier system typically using a membrane or cementitious render system Type B - integral structural protection including using admixtures to provide a watertight barrier Type C - cavity drain protection which uses preformed cavity formers that

collect and dispose of water that enters the structure.

BS 8102 states that consideration should be given to the use of combined protection (ie Type A and Type B, Type A and Type C, or Type B and Type C) where in a single system: ● the assessed risks are deemed to be high; ● the consequences of failure to achieve the required internal environment are too high; or ● additional vapour checks are necessary for a system where unacceptable water vapour transmission can occur.

Structures with Type B protection are designed to be water resistant, however, additional waterproofing systems may be applied internally or externally to control water vapour movement where appropriate. An in-situ “liner” wall designed to provide Type B protection can be cast inside an embedded retaining wall to provide combined protection. In

Use of a Preprufe membrane can prevent erosion of reinforcing steel

Compatibility of different protection types should be assessed and preferably single-sourced to minimise the risks

that provides a surface suitable for foot traffic. The membrane can be left exposed for a minimum of six weeks without protection to allow plenty of time for following trades and concrete pouring.

Incorporating advanced bonding technology, it provides an impermeable barrier through which water cannot pass.

Liquid concrete aggressively adheres to Preprufe, forming a unique seal and preventing water migration between the waterproofing and structure – substantially the reducing risk of leaks.

Unlike other membrane systems, the Preprufe waterproofing membrane does not rely solely on mechanical bonding of fibres or on variable hydration processes and can withstand a 70 m head of water at laps to make it truly waterproof. The membrane remains sealed to the structure, regardless of the ground settling, and is lightweight, flexible and versatile.

It can be applied on wet substrates or in extreme heat and is immediately ready without protective layers to receive rebar installation, proving a faster and simpler application than many other waterproof membranes. Due to its simplicity and unique ziplaps, Preprufe is considered by many contractors to be the fastest pre-applied membrane to install.

some cases, a fully bonded barrier can be provided between the two elements.

Although structures with Type C protection are designed to control and manage seepage into a structure, where this is unacceptably high the water resistance of the structure should be improved prior to the installation of the Type C protection, by the application of either Type A or Type B protection.

The compatibility of the different protection types should be assessed and preferably single-sourced in order to minimise the risks – with a fully bonded, adhesively sealed membrane a crucial component in the waterproofing strategy.

Material matters While each waterproofing system has its own advantages and suitability, the complexity of many construction projects or when the assessed risks are deemed too high has meant that specifiers >

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Continuing Professional Development Implementing BS 8102

a considerable distance from the actual source, which makes leak detection challenging and remediation expensive.

When using a membrane, either alone or as part of a combination of systems, it is vital to use a fully bonded waterproofing barrier that prevents water migration and ensures continuity with the above ground damp proof course/building envelope. It is also advisable to avoid penetrations and prevent the incorporation of movement joints unless unavoidable. Get the waterproofing specification right and water migration can be prevented with one relatively simple application.

A proven track record

As Europe’s largest construction project, Crossrail is transforming rail transport in London by increasing capacity by 10%, supporting regeneration and cutting journey times.

The Crossrail Liverpool Street C502 site incorporates Liverpool Street station, Moorgate station and an area known as Blomfield box (above), and spans more than 0.4 km in one of the busiest parts of the UK capital.

As one of the main stations serving the City of London, it required a reliable waterproofing solution to prevent water ingress around the base slab.

Situated 30 m below ground, waterproofing of the dense steel reinforcement within the base slab and the complicated detail at the intersection between the cast slab and the sprayed

concrete lining was a crucial consideration.

With both gas and waterproofing protection required in sections of the project, Preprufe proved the perfect system for engineers Mott MacDonald and Arup, and main contractor Laing O’Rourke.

Following onsite training in the application of Grace waterproofing products, approximately 4,000 sq m of Preprufe 300R/160R waterproofing membranes, 1,500 sq m of Preprufe 800PA damp proof and waterproof membrane, and 250 sq m of Silcor liquid waterproofing was installed to provide exceptional protection to the tunnel shafts, piled walls, base slabs and roof.

Construction of the Crossrail line began in May 2009. Grace waterproofing products have been used on all projects to date.

> are increasingly adopting an approach which incorporates a combination of these systems. The use of combined protection systems ultimately reduces risk.

Typical Type A solutions include cementitious coatings, bonded sheet membranes and pre-applied bonded membranes. However, once a membrane is breached, the whole concrete foundation will be vulnerable to the presence of migrating groundwater. This can also lead to corrosion of the reinforcing steel if chlorides are present in the groundwater.

When a leak becomes visible, it is often

Once a membrane has been breached, the whole concrete foundation will be vulnerable to the presence of migrating groundwater

Effective installation Workmanship is a major factor in obtaining good quality and durable structures and the need for concreting and membrane installation to be supervised by qualified and experienced personnel is of primary importance.

Many membrane systems can work well in test conditions but can be complex to install under site conditions with a wide range of ancillary products necessary to complete the details which mean hidden costs, longer installation time and the risk of mistakes.

To be truly effective, a concrete and waterproofing solution requires not only a good concrete design and mix, permanent and fully bonded waterproofing membrane system but protection for joints and connections where the majority of leaks occur. To substantially reduce the risk of leaks and preserve structural integrity a combined protection approach incorporating a high quality fully bonded Type A waterproofing system such as Preprufe will combat the harmful effects of water migration and prevent concrete deterioration before it can begin.

A well thought-out and carefully considered waterproofing strategy that adopts a simple approach, involves the waterproofing specialist and considers buildability will succeed if implemented correctly. So the waterproofing team must consider the consequences of failure and the additional costs this will bring, before making a very simple waterproofing decision – get it right now or pay for it later. CM Greg Austin is global marketing manager - waterproofing at Grace.

CPD online.

Your new home for learning.

The CIOB has a dedicated CPD portal on the Construction Manager website, featuring CPD modules from the magazine, as well as study topics from a wide range of industry experts. To complete the questionnaire below, and access the free CPD content, go to: www.constructionmanager.co.uk/cpd

CPD test paper Substructure waterproofing

1. Which of these can cause technical challenges when waterproofing underground? ● Soil conditions ● Water tables ● Improperly cured concrete ● All of the above 2. How is a water table classified if it is perched or permanently above the underside of the base slab? ● High ● Variable ● Low ● None of the above 3. Under BS 8102 which grade of protection allows water vapour but no water penetration? ● Grade 1 ● Grade 2 ● Grade 3 ● All of the above 4. Which waterproofing method uses preformed cavity formers? ● Type A ● Type B ● Type C ● All of the above 5. What are typical Type A solutions? ● Cementitious coatings ● Bonded sheet membranes ● Pre-applied bonded membranes ● All of the above

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*Singapore Sports Hub is a mixed-use development project centred around a 55,000 seat stadium

JUST ANOTHER DAY AT THE * OFFICE

Welcome to the world of Arcadis If you’re looking for a career above and beyond the average ‘9 to 5’, then join Arcadis – the world’s leading natural and built asset design and consultancy firm. We offer the opportunity to be a part of some of the biggest and most important projects around the world, shaping environments and improving quality of life.

Arcadis. Where your story begins.

For more info: arcadis.com/en/united-kingdom/careers Email: careers@arcadis.com

Arcadis, the global brand whose UK presence unites the previous EC Harris and Hyder names, is currently seeking roles across all of our core disciplines: • Cost Management • Environmental Science • Architecture • Programme & Project Management

• Contract Solutions • Engineering • Business Advisory • Master Planning

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WHAT DO PEOPLE REALLY LOOK FOR IN A JOB? A new survey conducted by leading design and consultancy firm Arcadis, in partnership with Construction Manager, has highlighted that the motivations driving job seekers in the construction industry are increasingly diverse and complicated. Head of UK resourcing Bill Maynard discusses the findings

THIS YEAR’S BUOYANT job market is allowing

individuals to really think about the kind of role they want. The recovery offers an array of opportunities for those in the construction industry, and as indicated in an article in Construction Manager in May, there is new stability in the construction market and this is prompting candidates to consider their options. In fact, 2015 has seen the biggest rise in construction vacancies for four years.

The Institute of Leadership and Management reports that 37% of workers plan to leave their job during 2015. This is a significant increase from the 19% who planned to move in 2014, and the 13% in 2013. Recruitment consultants are reporting increased salaries throughout construction. But what are candidates really looking for in a new role today?

A recent survey by Construction Manager in partnership with Arcadis, the the leading global built and natural design and consultancy firm whose UK presence unites the previous EC Harris and Hyder names, has shed some surprising light on the motivations and concerns driving today’s job seeker. Are job seekers today looking for the next 9–5 job, or do other benefits of a new employer come into play?

Today, working patterns are changing and we are spending more and more time at work. In a world where we are

increasingly defined by our careers, working for a company that is able to articulate clear strategic objectives and business goals is something that is taking on ever greater significance. Well over half of respondents agreed that it was “essential” that the company they worked for has its own clear vision and values; against just under 5% who stated that this was “not important” at all. Just under half of respondents said it was very important that their own personal vision and values are aligned to the company they work for. This is certainly something that our experience at Arcadis backs up.

The top three benefits when seeking a new role From London Bridge to the Burj Khalifa, the big-name projects make the headlines.

Yet surprisingly, the opportunity to work with a consultancy specifically known for its work on some of the most famous buildings in the world was not one of the top motivations for those seeking a new career role. Instead, when looking at the benefits most important for respondents looking for a new employer, the clear winner in the survey was work/life balance and flexible working: 40% rated a flexible working environment as the most important benefit of a new employer.

While the reward package came in second

50 | OCTOBER 2015 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

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22/09/2015 10:29

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Open-plan working is essential for a modern business that wants to maximise effectiveness and employee satisfaction, a fact long recognised at Arcadis. From facilities for group working to quiet spaces for more focused work, the backbone of a successful modern office environment is built around adaptable use of space

place, it’s perhaps surprising that this didn’t place higher. Third place was personal and professional development, underlining how seriously you take career progression and the ability to maximise opportunities for progress in your chosen field.

What does this mean for employers?

It would appear that employers in the industry need to be aware that salary is not the number one priority for most professionals these days. When asked to rate factors in order of importance in attracting you to a new employer in the future, salary again was not in the first position (See chart “What are essential factors for attracting you to a new employer in the future?”). It was rated secondary to having a supportive, professional working environment.

Surprising? Not when compared with issues which would discourage you from seeking a new role. Here, salary came out on top, with lack of career progression in second place. Lack of challenging roles was in third position (see chart: “Which of these issues would discourage you from seeking a new role?”). As long as professionals are supported in their career progression, given a challenging, diverse role and flexibility, salary is further down the list in order of importance.

Strikingly, nearly 70% of readers would relocate for the right job too. This would indicate that the motivations behind this are more to do with work/life balance than previously thought.

Corporate social responsibility By far the highest proportion of respondents (94%) agreed that the corporate social responsibility shown by a future employer is important to them.

As a global firm, Arcadis is committed to using combined capabilities to work with companies to maximise the social, environmental and economic value of natural and built assets throughout the asset’s lifecycle. As a leader in sustainable societies (economic, social and environmental) their objective is to improve the quality of life wherever the

project anywhere in the world.

Responding to the needs of our community is something Arcadis takes very seriously. In fact, we support UN-Habitat, the UN organisation working towards a better urban future, by sharing our knowledge and expertise in a global partnership. The goal of the initiative is to improve the quality of life in rapidly growing cities around the world, and calling it “Shelter” emphasises that efforts are both practical and helpful.

The Shelter team has been working with the University of Leuven, Belgium, to focus on support for the badly damaged historic town of Bungamati, near Kathmandu city in Nepal, to redevelop the city and prepare for sustainable urban

“Whilst salary is important, employees will also be seeking a good work-life balance and opportunities for personal development” Liz Peace CBE

What is the most important benefit to you in a new employer?

■ International opportunities ■ Work life balance/flexible working ■ Stock/share options ■ Benefits/reward package ■ Project scope ■ Personal & professional development programme

■ Social life

What are essential factors for attracting you to a new employer in the future?

A supportive, professional 47.02% working environment Salary 43.19% Aquiring more knowledge and insight Working for an organisation with a strong reputation in my field A diverse range of job opportunities within one firm Working with a company that delivers sustainable outcomes for clients Being able to influence business decisions and policy Working on all stages of the asset lifestyle Work on big name projects Opportunity to travel

39.60% 20.46% 20.46% 18.87% 16.61% 14.52% 9.60% 8.00%

Which of these issues would discourage you from seeking a new role?

Low salaries in market Lack of career progression Lack of of challenging, interesting roles Uncertainty in the industry Economic climate Lack of opportunities in market

57.77% 52.03% 45.95% 42.57% 35.14% 30.74%

Under-qualified 19.26% Over-qualified 12.84% Lack of opportunities to work on international projects 9.46% Competition for 6.42% positions

growth with affordable housing. “The Shelter missions are a great example of bringing together our expertise to benefit those in need,” says Jamie Trybus, consultant at Arcadis in the UK. Knowledge and insight Looking again at the factors attracting you to a future employer, another key issue is acquiring more knowledge and insight, which 39.6% of respondents indicated was an essential factor.

As a firm that places great value on knowledge and the sharing of knowledge, Arcadis is well equipped technically, with a good understanding of the business environment in which companies operate today. Having now come together as a single brand identity combining EC Harris and Hyder Consulting, Arcadis is able to offer a whole range of services and with it a more diverse range of job opportunities.

As Alan Brookes, chief executive officer of Arcadis in the UK, says: “The combination of EC Harris’s consulting expertise with Hyder’s design and engineering capability has cemented our capability as Arcadis to offer integrated solutions that encompass the whole project lifecycle.”

It is clear that when attracting people to an organisation, we must not only think about the fiscal reward but also the softer benefits such as professional development, working on the best projects, and making the world a better place. Commenting on the survey, Liz Peace CBE, an adviser on property, politics and the built environment, says: “For the future, potential employees are going to be looking at a range of attributes in their employer and whilst salary is important they will also be seeking a good worklife balance and the opportunities for personal and professional development.”

No longer is a company purely chosen for the salary they pay and the work they do. This research has shown that an organisation’s clearly stated vision and values rate as an essential part in the decision-making process when changing jobs. Out of the more typical benefits offered by organisations, the research has shown that work/life balance rates higher than anything else, with the reward package second, closely followed by professional development and project scope. CM www.arcadis.com CONSTRUCTION MANAGER | OCTOBER 2015 | 51

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Contact Contact THE CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF BUILDING MEMBERS’ NEWSLETTER ISSUE 136 OCTOBER 2015

IN THIS ISSUE

53-56 ON THE RADAR

All the latest news and developments from the CIOB at HQ and in your area including landmark New York deal and Novus party plans

57 COMMENT

John Edwards on the importance of quality in construction management

58-59 GLOBAL STUDENT CHALLENGE An educator offers tips on winning this tough competition

60 IN GOOD COMPANY

Unearthing and restoring a medieval masterpiece in a town centre car park

61 ONE TO WATCH

Richard Smith, SDC Builders

62 MEMBER BENEFITS

Exclusive member offers.

63 DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

All the key events in your region

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18/09/2015 10:04

ON THE RADAR

Contact | Oct 15

international

CIOB takes chartered status to New York in first-of-a-kind deal

>

The CIOB and the New York City Department of Design and Construction (NYC DDC) have joined forces to increase the number of Chartered Construction Managers in New York.

The partnership sets in motion a strong strategic alliance with the North American construction market which is forecast to grow by 40% over the next 10 years. “The Department plays a vital role in delivering quality services that ensures one of the world’s most challenging cities keeps pace with the needs of its citizens. New York is a demanding environment and with its long history for iconic construction projects there is a need for skilled professionals to maintain that ambition well into the future,” said Bridget Bartlett, deputy chief executive at the CIOB. She added: “This agreement is the first of its kind for the CIOB outside of the UK. In the future NYC DDC assessors will be trained to deliver our Professional Review, traditionally a prerequisite for anyone applying to become fully chartered. Our work with NYC DDC will help their employees make the most of their talent, raise the profile of Chartered Construction Managers across the Atlantic, and promote the value and impact construction management has on society and the economy.”

The CIOB will outline training programmes for NYC DDC employees, and tailor its careers advice and recommendations to suit the requirements of each individual wishing to obtain Chartered status.

Employees will also gain access to the CIOB Continuing Professional Development knowledge base. Through this portfolio, staff will also have access to qualification workshops on topics such as project management, sustainability, and planning.

Commissioner Feniosky Peña-Mora FCIOB at the

Construction professionals in the Big Apple can now aim for Chartered Membership status

NYC Department of Design and Construction said; “Here at DDC, we want to encourage and support every member of our staff to reach their full potential through training and development. Our partnership with CIOB is an important step to helping us achieve this goal and promoting overall growth for our agency.”

NYC DDC is responsible for the design, build and

refurbishment of many of the City’s public assets, including parks, courthouses, fire stations, libraries and police precincts. With their assets valued at close to $10bn, New York itself is forecast to spend over $100bn on construction over the next three years.

By establishing this strategic alliance, construction management careers will achieve greater recognition in the North American construction market.

membership

TAILOR MAKE YOUR INFORMATION FROM CIOB Are you getting the right information from the CIOB? Make the most of your membership: take two minutes to update your communications preferences to make sure you receive news and

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events relevant to you.

If you have moved or changed any of your details recently, don’t forget to tell us. You can update your details online. Simply log in to the ‘members’ area’ of www.ciob.org.uk

Alternatively, call the Membership Customer Services team on +44 (0) 1344 630706 for further help. If you would rather post your details to the membership team, please send them to:

The Chartered Institute of Building 1 Arlington Square Downshire Way Bracknell Berkshire RG12 1WA

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18/09/2015 10:05

ON THE RADAR Contact | Oct 15

international

news in brief

Mace signs unique training partnership in Africa

Mace employees in Africa can now work towards CIOB membership

>

Mace has formed a training partnership with the CIOB Africa, a first for the continent.

The partnership effectively extends the institute’s leading training platform to Mace employees based on the African continent, allowing access to internationally-recognised practices and certification in construction excellence. Any individual who undertakes the training will become a recognised chartered member of the CIOB. Craig Morrison, operations manager, subSaharan Africa for Mace said: “As we already have an existing partnership with

the CIOB in the UK, we felt it was important to provide our employees in Africa with an opportunity to become members of the body.”

“Our training partnership with the CIOB offers bespoke membership to our staff at any level, whether it’s a young professional or an individual that has years of experience but no formal qualification. Through the CIOB training partnership, for example, they follow a path to attain their membership with the help of an assigned mentor.”

“The CIOB gives our staff that level of training which also strengthens our continued professional development (CPD) practices, whether that is

knowledge sharing sessions, site tours or formal training.”

Liezl Botha, regional manager of the CIOB Africa said: “Our partnership with Mace is a major step towards creating crucial awareness in South Africa and the rest of the continent around our training platform and internationally-recognised membership. We are opening doors to companies and individuals to compete in the international construction marketplace; a crucial differentiator.”

Ten Mace employees have already embarked on the CIOB training process which includes students to highly experienced individuals, all endeavouring to obtain membership of the CIOB.

HAVE YOU BECOME MCIOB OR FCIOB IN 2015?

Would you like to join us at the Recognition of Your Achievement Day, where you could receive your certificate from Peter Jacobs, CIOB Past President?

Families and friends are welcome too so join us in celebrating your achievement.

The event takes place on 23 November at The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in Westminster, London.

For more information and booking, contact Wendy Hewlett on 01344 630 700 or email: whewlett@ ciob.org.uk >

Book

now for the CIOB’s International Inspiring Construction event in November in London. See more at ciorb. org.uk

novus

CIOB News

PARTY IN MANCHESTER: EVERYONE WELCOME

54

Rain Bar will host Novus party

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Novus in the north west is celebrating its sixth anniversary in Manchester in November.

All members and students are invited to celebrate the success of North West Novus .

The evening will

start with a welcome speech from the North West Branch chair, Dave Clarke MCIOB, followed by the introduction of the Novus committee and an inspirational speaker.

Food and refreshments will be served with the

opportunity to network with other construction professionals.

The evening will finish with a prize being presented to the team with the highest number of correct answers to a building quiz.

The event takes place at the Rain Bar, 80 Great Bridgwater Street in Manchester on 12 November from 6-9pm.

To book this event please contact Barbara on bbrown@ ciob.org.uk

18/09/2015 10:22

HAVE WE GOT YOUR CONTACT DETAILS CORRECT?

• If you have moved or changed any of your details recently, don’t forget to tell

us. You can update your details online – simply log in to “members area” of the website www.ciob.org. Or email us at memenquiry@ciob.org.uk or call our membership customer services team on +44 (0) 1344 630706 for further help.

If you would rather post your details send them to: The Chartered Institute of Building, 1 Arlington Square, Downshire Way, Bracknell RG12 1WA, UK

awards

obituary

Housing excellence recognised at Scottish award ceremonies

>

Earlier this summer, the Scottish branch of the CIOB announced the winners of its 2015 Good Building Awards, selected from those projects listed on the Saltire Society’s 2015 Housing Design Awards shortlist. For 2015 this was split into two separate categories: major projects (multiple unit developments) and smaller projects (single unit/alternation/ renovations project).

Winner of the Major Project Award is phase 1A of the Laurieston Transformational Regeneration Area. The first in a comprehensive redevelopment of the Laurieston area, the 201 unit mixed housing development is both environmentally and socially sustainable and helps to create a powerful sense of place in anticipation of the planned future development phases. This development also took home the Landscape in Housing award, introduced as part of the Saltire Housing Design Awards this year. The £24m housing development of 201 homes – built by Urban Union for New Gorbals Housing Association – marks the completion of the first milestone in the £100m regeneration of the area which is one of eight Glasgow City Council priority Transformational Regeneration Areas (TRAs).

The CIOB Good Building Smaller Project Award was given to Alterations, Renovations and Extensions winner, The Mill in Kilbucho, Peebles.

The renovation of an existing ruined steading into

Laurieston redevelopment project

an open-plan new family home, the aim with this development was to maintain as much of the character and building mass from the original structure as possible.

The Laurieston project also scooped the coveted title of 2015 Saltire Housing Design award at the Saltire Innovation In Housing Awards. It shared the title with The Polnoon development in Eaglesham in Glasgow. The Society announced winners in five categories.

Other winners included the Refurbished House at BRE innovation Park in Motherwell; West Pilton Cresecent – a housing development in Edinburgh; a residential refurb – 1 Rosefield Avenue Lane Portobello; and Murphy House Hart Street, a contemporary new build within the World Heritage Site of New Town.

DR ANDREW TOWNSEND BA (HONS) PHD FRSA MCIOB MCIFA MIEMA CENV EURBE 1961-2015 As an archaeologist by trade, Andrew – as a member of the CIOB – used his expertise to cross boundaries between sectors, gaining the respect and friendship of many people.

Andrew joined the CIOB in 2007 and contributed to a staggering number of initiatives. His dedication and expert knowledge in the field of archaeology meant he was amongst the very first of a select group of expert members to be called CIOB Ambassadors.

Andrew’s archaeological knowledge saw him author papers for journals and articles for magazines; provide

input to pieces of research, content for training programmes, and advice on how to create a more sustainable construction industry.

He chaired the assessment panel of Chartered Environmentalists, and was a Professional Review Assessor.

In only eight years as a member of the CIOB, Andrew contributed his free time and expertise enormously. It is certainly no exaggeration to say that his efforts have helped improve the knowledge and skills of hundreds of his peers; this is something CIOB will always be grateful for.

Dr Andrew Townsend

cbc news

Greendale’s board of directors celebrates silver anniversary

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CIOB CBC Greendale Construction Limited has celebrated 25 years in business.

The Dorset firm has grown from a band of just two, when founding directors Rob Hooker and Chris Kane started the company back in 1990, to become an award-winning

Chartered Building Company with a wide portfolio spanning all sectors of construction.

Greendale’s board of directors – Rob Hooker, Chris Kane, Maria Seabright and Andy Musselwhite – welcomed guests to its celebratory event held at the company’s

newly-refurbished offices at Old Generator House, Branksome.

Guests included past and present clients, suppliers, business associates, friends and family, who have all supported Greendale’s growth and been part of the Company’s journey to success over the past 25 years.

CIOB News

GREENDALE CONSTRUCTION CELEBRATE 25 YEARS OF SUCCESS IN BUSINESS

55

18/09/2015 10:22

ON THE RADAR

“More needs to be done to reverse the number of apprentices that drop-out before completion of their training. We also need a genuine commitment to help the industry overcome issues relating to its image.”

Eddie Tuttle on government apprenticeship plans

Contact | Oct 15

events

ciob benevolent fund

Golf days in Hertfordshire and Scotland prove no handicap to fun

CAN WE HELP YOU? The CIOB Benevolent Fund is a service for members and their families offering advice regarding employment, illhealth, housing and financial matters, and the Fund has been able to provide financial assistance exceeding £1/2m.

In November 2015, every member will receive an information ‘flyer’ about the Fund.

Golf fun at Novus Scotland (left) and Hertfordshire Centre (right)

>

CIOB members were teeing off and networking this summer in two separate events. Novus Scotland held its summer networking event in August with the support of Contract Scotland.

Held at the The Golf Lounge in Glasgow, which has six virtual golf screens, teams were randomly picked on the night and prizes were awarded to those nearest the pin and those with the longest drive.

“It was great to see so many new faces from various specialisms including law, surveying, planning and construction management,” said Zeshan Afzal, chair of CIOB Novus Scotland.

“These events confirm the benefits of being part of CIOB Novus due to the wide audience.”

The Hertfordshie Centre also held a golf day in the summer with 18 members and guests

enjoying friendly competition at Little Hay Golf Club.

Ten players scored over 30 points and two players tied on 41 points deciding the winner of the Bernard Heaphy OBE trophy.

A delighted Mark Doherty from Marlow Builders Ltd finished third scoring an impressive 37 points off a 12 handicap. Last year’s champion Russell Day was runner up this time, on count back to his guest Raymond Gonzalez who is a client of Sir Robert McAlpine as head of programme management at Essential Living.

Marlow Builders’ Shaun Berry and Richard Smith of SDC skilfully won the nearest the pin prizes.

Finally Mark, Shaun, Alan Tuffnell and Craig McLellan won the team prize.

Event organiser Alister Heaphy FCIOB also welcomed new players Phillip Allen, Ian Boast, Colin Newall, David Brown and Declan O’Connor.

HOW WE CAN HELP : • Advise and support members facing difficulties at work • Advise on health and welfare, accidents and injuries • Offer guidance on personal debts • Offer financial assistance if facing hardship or ill-health • Offer grants to help with short-term, skillsbased training • Offer home visits for members with mobility or other difficulties

HOW WE HAVE HELPED

• A member

recovering from illness and unable to work, received regular grant support until he was well enough to

resume employment • A young member needed to take on a short-term training event to improve his employment prospects.

The Fund provided a grant to meet the cost.

• Pressure at work and family difficulties caused a member to lose his job. Being desperately short of money, this member received a monthly grant to enable him to manage until he was able to secure employment.

• An elderly, widowed member resident overseas has continuing financial hardship. The Fund maintains regular contact with this member and provides periodic grant assistance.

Apply for financial assistance online at www.ciob.org.uk/ about/ciobbenevolentfund Or contact: Frank MacDonald 01344-630780 email: fmacdonald@ ciob.org.uk All enquiries are treated in strictest confidence

south west

CIOB News

CORNWALL CELEBRATES GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY

56

Cornish members at the event

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The CIOB Cornwall Centre enjoyed a 50th anniversary event recently.

The event was held at Cornwall College, Trevenson Restaurant, Camborne, the the location of the inaugural

meeting of the Cornwall Centre in April 1965.

At the event an engraved glass plaque was presented to centre vice chairman Peter Whalley MBE who was accepting it on behalf of his father, Stan Whalley

FCIOB, the centre’s first vice chairman.

The “George Scriven Award” 2015 – which recognises outstanding personal achievement by a construction trades student – was presented to Matthew O’Connor who

also received a £100 voucher.

The event was sponsored by Evolution Ltd (building contractor), Nova Construction (building contractor) and CWC Electrical (electrical contractors).

18/09/2015 10:22

COMMENT John Edwards

Quality counts John Edwards on the importance of raising quality standards in construction

“ The process of quality management starts with determining the areas of work which carry most risk of failure and the likelihood of only being detected years later” the client and even representatives of those that may be funding projects or providing grants for them.

This joined up approach is described in BS 7913 and is the subject of a seminar I will be giving on 22 October with the lead author of BS 7913 – construction lawyer Jeremy Williams of Capital Law. This will look at processes and practicalities and in the context of different types of work involving new construction and work to existing buildings and different forms of contract including the JCT and NEC.

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The seminar is an introduction to one day workshops on the same subject organised by the Environment Study Centre taking place in London on 24 February, Cardiff on 17 March and in Leeds on 19 April. The workshop takes on some elements of the CIOB’s Level 3 Diploma in Site Supervisory Studies. It is aimed to provide individuals with the knowledge and confidence to properly manage quality and ultimately how to detect and challenge poor workmanship.

Foward thinking The process of quality management starts with the architect/contract administrator/ project supervisor determining the areas of work which carry most risk in terms of impact due to failure and the likelihood of only being detected months or years later.

This is a risk management approach to quality that puts time and resources into particular priority areas. Work specifications are drafted so that it facilitates optimum opportunities to monitor work. One simple example is the specification of different coloured primers, undercoats and top coats of paint. Contractors need to develop a quality management works execution plan which needs to evidence that quality is being managed through monitoring and testing in the priority areas.

This must be agreed by the architect/ contract administrator/project supervisor who interacts with the process and can carry out his own checks and tests as appropriate. Those representing external

funders and grant providers do not therefore solely have to rely upon the fact that payment has been certified as an indication that work has been properly undertaken, but can see documented evidence.

Look closer The survey and inspection of buildings of all ages identifies where many of the problems lie and it is this evidence that should help to identify the priority areas. Re-pointing masonry joints, external decoration and the fixing of lead flashings into masonry are some of the problem areas. Another is the retrofitting market where many problems of poor workmanship concerning cavity wall insulation, internal and external wall insulation are currently making headlines.

Visual inspections carried out on completion of work can in many instances determine whether work has been undertaken properly, but there are many occasions where the analysis needs to go much deeper.

•

>

For more details on the seminar visit http://events.ciob.org/events/ 2015/10/managing-qualityapproval-work-legal-managementand-practical-perspectives

For more information on the workshops visit https://environment studycentre.org/courses/constructionmanagement/quality-controlmonitoring-and-supervising-work/

Opinion

M

anaging quality is essential if we are to be assured that specifications are being complied with and that clients are getting what they paid for. Unfortunately, clients will very often not find out about faults until many years later due to poor quality control.

Quality control shouldn’t be just about bringing back the clerk of works, it should be about putting in place processes and practices that joins up the responsibilities of all those involved. This will range from the works supervisor to the architect/ contract administrator/project supervisor,

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18/09/2015 10:22

GLOBAL STUDENT CHALLENGE

Mark Phillipson offers an educator’s perspective on what it takes to win the CIOB Global Student Challenge

Generation next: showcasing tomorrow’s talent

CIOB News

>

58

The CIOB Global Student Challenge is a unique competition. It offers students a chance to learn skills that help them stand out from the crowd, as well as putting them in a competitive environment against students from other cultures and different parts of the globe. The experience is transformational.

The teams emerge from the Challenge highly motivated to succeed, with new business insights, a heightened awareness of strategy, discipline in decision making, understanding the value of teamwork and with raised career aspirations.

The challenge consists of two phases of competition with each team represented by four students taking on the mantle of company directors. The students make strategic decisions over the running of construction companies using the MERIT simulation software. The first phase is a qualification competition where teams compete against the computer to grow their company. At the end of qualification the top six institutions are invited to send their best team to compete in the final stages, this year held in Hong Kong. The finals are far more challenging in terms of time pressures, intensity and competition. During the course of the two days of final competition the students are put under pressure and need to make disciplined

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decisions to ensure continued growth of their company. Inevitably the best laid plans don’t always work and the students have to work to achieve best value for their company in a hostile and pressurized environment.

business concepts. All teams who I have tutored have enthusiastically engaged and increased their knowledge far beyond what would have been anticipated by spending an equivalent time in a traditional classroom environment.

A WINNING TEAM

THRIVING IN THE FINALS

A team has to engage fully with the MERIT simulation and, for the best teams, this is based on a strong desire to be competitive. To take on the Global Student Challenge students really need to learn their individual directorship roles, and how they relate to their colleagues. My advice to any team is that they should understand their own duties and shadow the duties of a colleague; this means that they develop wider appreciation of the MERIT simulation and they can effectively QA the decisions of colleagues. Mistakes inevitably happen in decision-making. If a colleague picks this up through QA then you will escape the worst, but where mistakes get through to the simulation it is absolutely imperative that the team learns the lesson and safeguards against any repetition.

As an educator, the real value of MERIT emerges from the combination of the competition and directorship role-play, and that value is in the form of deep learning and appreciation of key

All the teams getting to the final have already proven that they are outstanding and should be very proud of being in the top six. However, there are some important differences in the game in the final stages and teams need to think about how they will deal with these.

Firstly, teams have approximately 60 minutes to make a set of decisions for each three-month block of company trading. This massively condenses the time available from the one week decision period that teams had during the qualification stage. A well-designed spreadsheet can make a big difference to quick decision-making, but can be problematic if team members lose sight of the bigger strategic picture and are just processing numbers.

There is little time for big strategic thinking in the hour allocated, so teams need to have thought about an overall strategy for dealing with the finals beforehand. In the case of Glasgow Caledonian’s

18/09/2015 12:50

Pictured: Team Saltire from Glasgow Caledonian University, winners of this year’s Global Student Challenge. The team collect their prize from Professor Ghassan Aouad (below).

quite correctly airing potential concerns about their respective terms of reference.

• Willing to learn from both successes and adapt quickly in the face of problems.

THE MERIT SIMULATION

I would say there are three paths that teams can take in qualification: high flyers (whose members are potential candidates for future directorship), cautiously efficient teams, and finally the teams that don’t ever get on top of all aspects. Looking at my full experience of teams from GCU participating, I believe the first phase of competition stratifies the teams into these three categories, and the finalists come from the top of the high flyer stream.

The Global Student Challenge provides an excellent opportunity for students to simulate being a director of a company in a competitive environment. Students become highly motivated to learn, gaining business insight and perhaps opening future possible career aspirations. Selfishly for me, it has been an absolute pleasure to see students flourish. Watching students transform into building professionals is one of the unique aspects of job satisfaction that I enjoy as an academic. All of the students I met in the finals were outstanding and clearly amongst them were highly driven individuals who have a significant future contribution to make to our industry. I really do believe that some future industry leaders may be among them.

The MERIT simulation comes with a very thorough tutorial which details all aspects, key concepts and performance indicators contained in the simulation. Running to well over 500 pages it is daunting and inevitably leads to exasperation.

A student’s engagement with the tutorial is an excellent indicator of character and determination to succeed. Students that quickly grapple with the tutorial will rapidly begin to understand concepts and learn about how they need to go about running the company from their directorship perspective.

Students that prevaricate about engaging with the tutorial rarely catch up with the rest.

Knowledge is key to the success of a team, as a tutor I cannot simply tell the students, they need to work it out for themselves, the good students do this. So a good team needs to consist of members who are: • Good communicators • Disciplined and analytical thinkers • Motivated to succeed

“Watching students transform into building professionals is one of the unique aspects of job satisfaction. I believe that some future industry leaders may be among them.” pp58-59FINAL.indd 59

Mark Phillipson is a Research Fellow at Glasgow Caledonian University.

Global student Challenge

winning team in 2015 (Saltire), the team had a meeting on the day before the finals started where they agreed a clear set of goals for the first 24 hours of the competition. This was agreed unanimously and was based on controlling their destiny rather than reacting to other teams.

Day one went well for Saltire, but a careless mistake occurred in the construction decisions which meant that one job ran late (when it should have been on time), which led to a finely-tuned financial situation turning sour. Hard decisions had to be made over the future of the company and I can divulge that at least two of Saltire went to bed on the mid-point of the final in Hong Kong re-reading the 500+ pages of the supporting tutorial guides again as there was a healthy debate about the strategic way forward and what would give them the best outcome. Strategy for day two was not resolved fully until 15 minutes before submission of the first turn of the second day when time was called on this debate. I was struck by the fact that not only did the students care passionately about achieving the best outcome collectively, but they were behaving extremely professionally under extreme pressure and were

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INGOODCOMPANY herefordshire county council speller metcalfe

Phoenix from a flame How Speller Metcalfe revealed a medieval gem in Ledbury from a pebble-dashed ruin in a car park

I

f you had visited the small Herefordshire market town of Ledbury back in early 2013, it is unlikely that you would have remembered the Master’s House as it stood abandoned and dilapidated in the middle of St. Katherine’s car park, following its closure as a doctor’s surgery in 2002.

But behind the grubby pebbledash exterior there stood an exceptional building hiding an incredible medieval structure.

In a £3.2m scheme with client Herefordshire Council, main contractor Speller Metcalfe was contracted to restore the Master’s House back to its former glory by delivering a historic and highly detailed restoration of the Grade II listed building under the West Midlands Contractor Framework.

Collaboration and trust between the different parties involved was imperative as the building had not been fully opened up during the pricing stage. The building contractor and client were subsequently agreeing costs and facing challenges as they arose.

Preparing for the restoration

Case study

The original Master’s House structure follows an H-shaped plan typical of the period, built around the internal oak timber frame, which despite many less than sympathetic extensions and alterations over the years, was still considered the heart of the building. Because of the building complexity and widely-varying nature of historical extensions, the project team had to undertake extensive research pre-construction. The project team was given a rare opportunity to work on a public sector build which put historical accuracy above bottom line.

Examples of their research included a

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petrographic survey to ascertain the original quarry stone location of Shrewsbury that had been sourced in the 19th century alongside detailed chemical analysis to achieve an exact render match dating back to the 1700s.Dendrochronology was also used to date the original timbers, with French oak used to replace the original English Oak - now a protected species.

By uncovering all of these elements, the team found evidence of techniques used from the 15th century right through to the 20th century.

FACT FILE

• Client Herefordshire County Council • Contractor Speller Metcalfe • Architect Butler Hegarty • PQS Sawyer & Fisher • Duration 3 years • Project value

£3.2m

further preserve the timber for an additional 500 years. The project team decided to preserve the natural sag of the roof, to help maintain the authenticity of the building, as well as improve the insulation of the building by inserting hempcrete casettes underneath the original roof line.

Within the timber frame restoration, the site team used a method that could replicate the techniques used in the medieval period whilst removing evidence of modern cutting machinery, further allowing for this balance of historical charm with functionality.

• Procurement route

Restoration process The highly detailed restoration was delivered across two phases. The first phase of the project, which completed in April 2012, included the refurbishment of the 19th century building section. The second phase which was completed two years later incorporated the timber frame restoration and building fit out. 19th century traditional masonry repairs and stonework, alongside door and window restoration was key to reclaiming the historical context of the building.

Wherever possible any historic features have been retained; exposing original panels, reclaiming brickwork from the removal of building areas, re-using timbers, restoring the original bread oven and restoration of wattle and daub panels. Panels beyond repair were re-wetted, broken down and recycled as 500 year old materials into the new panelling using local Ledbury mud.

However even accurate historical restorations have to meet current building regulations. An example was the use of hempcrete, an innovative insulation product and alternative to traditional insulation which enables the building to breathe and

West Midlands Contractor Framework

Community involvement The level of community buy-in to the project was exceptional with the entire project team playing a key role in working with the local residents and businesses, earning the project a Silver Considerate Constructors Award in 2013.

Alongside community engagement, the project has provided opportunities for trades to develop and learn new skills, with one of the carpentry apprentices proving his dedication to high standards of repair by forging his own crafted bespoke, centuryspecific tools such as a framing slick and lignum vitae beaters. He was consequently shortlisted as a finalist in the 2014 English Heritage Angel Awards ‘Best Craftsmanship Trainee’ category.

The result is a historically-accurate, quality finish and one-of-a-kind building for Ledbury, housing a new library, council offices, function room facilities and the John Masefield archive.

Post-completion In spite of the amount of work uncovered during construction, the logistical challenges faced and the busy site location, the project

“One carpentry apprentice proved his dedication to high standards by forging his own crafted bespoke, century-specific tools” 18/09/2015 16:49

ONETOWATCH Richard Smith

Assistant quantity surveyor, SDC Builders Ltd and treasurer of the CIOB Bedford Centre

»

Painstaking restoration of the Grade II listed Masters House in Ledbury earned main contractor Speller Metcalfe a Heritage Award at West Midlands construction awards in July

was completed within programme and to an award-winning standard. Speller Metcalfe picked up the ‘Heritage’ award at the Celebrating Construction West Midlands Awards in July 2015 for the Master’s House.

Reflecting on the project’s success, Steve Speller, joint managing director of Speller Metcalfe felt the project team’s unanimous approach to the construction process played a part in the success of the project. “It has been a liberating experience working with a client that has put so much emphasis on workmanship and historical accuracy,” he says.

Speller adds: “Considering quality has been a priority for all of the parties involved, it is unsurprising that we have finished with a building as spectacular as the Master’s House.”

•

Smith has a degree in Architectural Engineering and Design Management from Loughborough University and a Diploma in Industrial Studies.

At University he was awarded a first for his final year research project studying the use of smart home technologies in the domestic environment.

He also received the undergraduate CIOB Innovation and Research highly commended award for 2015 for the project.

He joined SDC in 2011.

Q How did you feel about winning the research award?

Extremely honoured.

Loughborough awarded me a first class honours degree for my research but to also obtain recognition at the CIOB International Innovation & Research Awards brings a whole new perspective to my hard work and achievements.

Q What are your career ambitions?

I am currently focusing on commercial aspects of the industry and working with clients in the Cambridge region. My short term aim is to continue my professional development and focus on understanding all aspects involved in the management of successful construction projects. Additionally, I would like to further my professional

CIOB membership status and expand my personal ventures into property development.

Q If you hadn’t chosen construction management what other career path would you follow?

I have always taken an interest in the car industry from a young age and have attended many motorsports and company events at Nissan. Following my time at college, I was given the opportunity to work at SDC for my first work placement and that’s where I developed an interest within the construction industry. Their support, training and guidance has been invaluable.

Q What has been your most embarrassing work moment?

On completion of my last project, I was loading my car with various files that I had accumulated over the year. Whilst picking up the last box I ripped my trousers from front to back in front of the whole site team! Not one of my best moments.

Q What do you do outside of work?

I am keen on health and fitness and I focus on Olympic-style weightlifting. I also enjoy playing golf with my work colleagues and friends during the summer months. In addition, I am a committee member and help to organise and run events for the CIOB Bedfordshire centre.

>

For more information visit http://ledburymastershouse. blogspot.co.uk

pp60-61FINAL.indd 61

CIOB MEMBERS

> Connect with Richard at LinkedIn.com

•

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MEMBER BENEFITS FULL CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP OF CIOB brings with it many benefits, not least the descriptors Chartered Construction Manager or Chartered Builder, the right to vote or to become a trustee. Being a member or fellow also gives you exclusive access to discounts and special deals on products and services that could enhance your professional development, help your business or boost your earning power. Products and services currently on offer from our special partners are listed below...

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There was a successful round of Masterclasses this spring, including those in Birmingham and Belfast. The events concentrated on delay, disruption, contracts and the latest developments in the

construction industry. Each concluded with a panel discussion and Q&A sessions.

This October and November the events go global again, with events in Singapore, S. Korea,

Qatar and London. CIOB members are entitled to a discount. If you’ve not already downloaded it, contact Stuart Wilks for your free paper on assessing disruption in construction projects.

If you’ve not yet attended the leading educational event from the CIOB and Hill International, ensure you secure your place today – visit www.hillintluk.com or email stuartwilks@hillintl.com for more details.

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Willis Group works with specialist insurers to offer members unique business insurance packages that are competitively priced. As an added bonus, products purchased through Willis Group’s CIOB Insurance Services directly support the work of the Institute across the UK. Go to www.ciobinsuranceservices.com for more details

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CIOB and VESOURCE Car Leasing Tel: 0845 052 5268 www.vesource.co.uk/ciob.asp

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NAL

OB’s ries

EAST OF ENGLAND

Visit to Kingspan Passivhaus 7 October, 6pm, Potton Show Centre, St. Neots Contact: mrix@ciob.org.uk Your Chance to Have your Say – Feedback to CIC – Greater 7 October, 6.30pm, University Centre Peterborough Contact: mrix@ciob.org.uk Constructing Basements – An Engineer’s Perspective 15 October, 7pm, ARU, Chelmsford Contact: coh@ciob.org.uk Supper Evening “Boughton House” 16 October, 7pm, The Bell Inn, Stilton Contact: mrix@ciob.org.uk CDM Regulations Awareness 2015 20 October, 7pm, Mercure Hatfield Oak Hotel Contact: coh@ciob.org.uk Haunted Westminster Walk & Networking with Novus 21 October, 7pm, Westminster Tube Contact: coh@ciob.org.uk London Luton Airport Expansion 21 October, 6.15pm, Luton Airport Contact: coh@ciob.org.uk CDM Regulations Awareness 2015 7 October, 6.30pm, University Centre Peterborough Contact: mrix@ciob.org.uk Design Programme Management 27 October, 6pm, Edge Consult, Claydon Contact: mrix@ciob.org.uk

EAST MIDLANDS

Legal Contracts and Updates from the Courts 8 October, 6pm Contact: jnewton@ciob. org.uk Stress: Can you Spot it and How Do You Manage It? 17th November, 6pm Contact: jnewton@ciob. org.uk

IRELAND

Eastern Centre Committee Meeting 13 October, Dublin, mcoleman@ciob.org.uk

LONDON

Stations as Street: A Vision for Expanding London Overground Stations 8 October, 6pm, Union Jack Club, London, SE1 8UJ Cost: £8 Members, £12 Non-Members, Free to CIOB Student Members Contact: chierlehy@ciob. org.uk

Passivhaus – Low Cost High Performance Buildings that Work 12 October, 6pm, Union Jack Club, Sandell Street, London, SE1 8UJ Cost: £8 Members, £12 Non-Members, Free to CIOB Student Members Contact: chierlehy@ciob. org.uk ISO14001 Revision 14 October, 6pm, Union Jack Club, Sandell Street, London, SE1 8UJ Cost: £8 Members, £12 Non-Members, Free to CIOB Student Members Contact: chierlehy@ciob. org.uk Haunted Westminster Walk & Networking With Novus 21 October, 6pm, Westminster Tube Station Exit 4 Cost: £10 Contact: chierlehy@ciob. org.uk Carbon in Construction 22 October, 6pm, Union Jack Club, London, SE1 8UJ Cost: £8 Members, £12 Non-Members, Free to CIOB Student Members Contact: chierlehy@ciob. org.uk Achieving De-Aeration with the Oxypod 2 November, 6pm, Union Jack Club, London, SE1 8UJ Cost: £8 Members, £12 Non-Members, Free to CIOB Student Members Contact: chierlehy@ciob. org.uk

SCOTLAND

Edinburgh PR Workshop 7 October, 9am, Cost: £90 +vat Contact: lmckay@ciob. org.uk Community Heating Site Visit 20 October, 5.45pm, Muirhouse Office, Stow, Scottish Borders TD1 2QL Contact: iver@ecofitter. co.uk

SOUTH EAST

Meet the CIOB 8 October, 6pm, JHB Building, Oxford Brookes University Contact: joparker@ciob. org.uk Breakfast meeting: CPD Regulations Update 13 October, 7.30am Botleigh Grange Hotel, Hedge End, Southampton Contact: phazell@ciob. org.uk Are you ahead with the CDM 2015 Regulations?

13 October, 6pm, Guildford College, Stoke Park, Guildford Contact: phazell@ciob. org.uk Networking Evening at Museum of Berkshire Aviation 14 October, 6pm, Museum of Berkshire Aviation, Reading Contact: phazell@ciob. org.uk Claiming Time and Associated Costs 15 October, 6.30pm, NORTH EAST Cottesmore Golf Club, Legal Update: Payment and Buchan Hill, Pease Pottage Adjudication Contact: blawrence@ciob.

22nd October, 8am, Watson org.uk Burton, 1 St James’ Gate, Novus: Bombs Away!

Newcastle upon Tyne Raising Awareness of Contact: nsilcock@ciob.

Unexploded Ordnance org.uk 20 October, 6pm, Novotel, Southampton NORTH WEST Contact: phazell@ciob.

Fifty Shades of External org.uk Wall Insulation Alsecco Future Planning and Policy 20 October, North Lakes Processes Hotel, Penrith 21 October, 7pm, Holiday Contact: bbrown@ciob.

Inn Central, Ashford org.uk Contact: blawrence@ciob.

Fracking Debate org.uk 22 October, Village St Site Visit: University of David’s, Ewloe Kent Templeman Library Contact: kpercival@ciob.

29 October, 2pm, org.uk University of Kent Legal Update Contact: blawrence@ciob.

22 October, Palace Hotel, org.uk Douglas Contact: kpercival@ciob. org.uk

find out more about events in your area go to www.ciob.org.uk/regions or > To look out for your electronic news and event updates from your CIOB branch or CIOB centre. To receive information from the CIOB visit www.ciob.org.uk and log on to the members’ area to input/update your details and preferences.

pp62-63FINAL.indd 63

SOUTH WEST

Building Regulations update 6 October, 6.30pm, The Cheltenham Chase Contact: jward@ciob.org.uk Mediation or Adjudication 20 October, 6.30pm, UWE Contact: jward@ciob.org.uk Accoya Wood 21 October, 6.30pm, The Cloisters, Salisbury Contact: jward@ciob.org.uk CDM & Consumer Protection 22 October, 6pm,The Assembly Room, Hall for Cornwall, Truro Contact: eflavell@ciob. org.uk

WALES

Fracking Debate 22 October, Village St David’s, Ewloe Contact: kpercival@ciob. org.uk Legal Update: Payment & Adjudication 22 October, 8am, Watson Burton offices, Newcastle upon Tyne Contact: nsilcock@ciob. org.uk

WEST MIDLANDS

BIM Legal 14 October, 6pm Worcester Contact: jwebb@ciob.org.uk Contract Dispute Case Studies 15 October, 6pm, Birmingham Contact: gfloyd@ciob.org. uk HS2 and the Region 21 October, 6pm, Wolverhampton Contact: jwebb@ciob.org.uk Coventry University Science & Health Building Site Visit 22 October, 6pm, Coventry Contact: gfloyd@ciob.org. uk

YORKSHIRE

Health & Safety Breakfast Briefing Event 7 October, 8am, Sheffield Hallam University Contact: fevans@ciob.org. uk Celebrating Construction in South Yorkshire Awards 9 October, Cutlers’ Hall, Sheffield Contact: nickysenior@ littlespark.co.uk Wall Ties CPD 14 October, Venue TBC Contact: fevans@ciob.org. uk

If you have a smartphone, iPhone or tablet, why not search your apps for a free downloadable QR reader and scan our details.

Contacts General Main CIOB telephone number +44 (0)1344 630700 Chief Executive Chris Blythe 01344 630701 Member Services Head of Member & Business Development 01344 630852 Change of Address 01344 630789/630731 Direct Debit Enquiries 01344 630831 Membership Certificates 01344 630720 Membership Enquiries/ Progression 01344 630706 Subs Enquiries (Members) 01344 630831 Training Partnerships 01344 630726 Certificate Ceremonies 01344 630785 SMTS Enquiries 01344 630742 Experienced Practitioner Assessed Programme (EPA) 01344 630887 Experienced Practitioner Assessed Report Route (EPAR) 01344 630887 Benevolent Fund 01344 630780 Professional Development 01344 630716 Library Enquiries 01344 630873/737 Head of Education 01344 630822 Adjudication and Dispute Resolution 01344 630732 Scholarship and Research 01344 630776 Chartered Building Company/ Consultancy Scheme Chartered Building Scheme Manager 01344 630746 Administrator 01344 630743

Publications Magazine subscriptions (non-members) 01344 630811 Construction Research and Innovation (CRI) 01344 630735 Construction Manager 020 7490 5636 Contact 07704 336835 Policy and External Relations Deputy Chief Executive 01344 630702 Press Office 01344 630766 Web Site Enquiries 01344 630738 CIOB International General Enquiries +44 (0) 1344 630791 CIOB Africa + 27 11 234 7877 CIOB Australasia +61 (2) 9816 4700 CIOB China East +86 21 2211 1556 CIOB China North +86 10 6528 1070 CIOB China West/South +86 23 3670 6360 CIOB Hong Kong +852 2543 6369 CIOB Malaysia +852 (603) 2284 5754 CIOB Middle East +971 (0) 4457 9107 CIOB Singapore +65 6334 4116 The views expressed in Contact are not necessarily those of the editor or the CIOB. The editor reserves the right to edit any article submitted for publishing.

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CIOB Diary Dates

b.asp

DATESFORYOURDIARY

OCTOBER TO NOVEMBER 2015

The Chartered Institute of Building

The Chartered Institute of Building is at the heart of a management career in construction.

Our focus is on those entering and already in a management career in construction. By delivering qualifications and certifications that meet the needs of a changing industry. We work with members, employers, academia and governments across the globe to drive forward the science, practice and importance of management in construction.

OUR VISION: Built environment professionals making a difference OUR MISSION: To contribute to a modern, progressive and responsible construction industry, meeting the economic, environmental and social challenges of a global society OUR VALUES: • Creating extraordinary people through professional learning and continuing professional development.

• Promoting the built environment as central to quality of life for everyone, everywhere.

• Achieving a sustainable future worldwide.

• Being socially responsible and advocating exemplary ethical practice, behaviour, integrity and transparency.

• Pursuing excellence in worldwide management practice and technological innovation rooted in evidence based research.

• To be the inclusive valued Institute of choice for built environment professionals.

We have over 47,000 members around the world and are considered to be the international voice of the building professional, representing an unequalled body of knowledge concerning the management of the total building process.

00

22/09/2015 15:29

Recruitment TO ADVERTISE YOUR POSITIONS ON THESE PAGES, CONTACT TOM PEARDON ON T: +44 (0)20 7490 5595 E: tom@atompublishing.co.uk

Unique opportunity for construction managers and architectural CAD technologists Salary: Negotiable/Dependant on experience Job Type: Permanent: Full time / part time Job Description: Key positions to be filled in a team that will be responsible for the overall management of the design and construction work on an on-going Project, including New-Build, Redevelopment, Retrofit and Refurbishment in Residential and Leisure/Tourism Sectors. The Senior Roles to be suited for those looking to make a difference with the experience they have gained, where family quality of life and job security into the long-term are important criteria. The Project is located in a beautiful part of the UK. Relocation could be involved, accommodation on-site potentially available.

CIOBjobs is handling applications for these roles.

For a full list of requirements for each role and to apply please visit: http://www.ciobjobs.com/employerjobs/798829/Direct-Recruiter-managed-by-CIOB-Jobs

Classified

Quantity take-off and preparation of bill of quantities Validation of existing bill of quantities Accurate work to RICS standards Highly competitive rates Work completed within contractors tender period Transmit your dwgs to drop box, prompt electronic service • SMM7 (Standard Method of Measurement • POMI (Principle of Measurement for International) • CESMM3 (Civil Engineering Standard Method of Measurement) • NRM 1 & 2 (New Rules of Measurement) • QSMM (Qatar Standard Method of Measurement) Mr Owen McDevitt FCIOB,FBEng. Mr Ramesh Upadhyay BE Civil, MRICS Website: www.mthproject.com Mobile: (UK) +44 7869619021

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Specifiers’ pages TO SHOWCASE YOUR PRODUCTS ON THESE PAGES, CONTACT TOM PEARDON ON

T: +44 (0)20 7490 5595 E: tom@atompublishing.co.uk UNIQUE DESTINATION BURGER BAR OPENS - MADE FROM 100% UPCYCLED SHIPPING CONTAINERS

Mobile Mini, a leading provider of storage containers and portable accommodation, is helping to drive the trend in containers being used as premises, as a new diner opens in London this month, made entirely from three of Mobile Mini’s storage containers.

Burger Bear is based at the new ‘Magic Roundabout’ development in the middle of Old Street roundabout in Shoreditch and specialises in gourmet burgers and music. It’s another example of business-savvy entrepreneurs who are turning away from expensive retail rentals, opting for cost effective shipping containers to get their dream businesses off the ground, by converting containers rather than take on expensive leaseholds or incur high building costs. In Burger Bear’s case, a stand out destination diner, that has been customised to owner Tom Reaney’s unique design specifications.

Tom Reaney, owner of Burger Bear, who raised £36,000 through a Kickstarter campaign to get his venture off the ground, commented: “I love the look of the containers and they are very robust, cheaper and just a lot more fun for our customers. I’ve always liked to do things differently on the London streetfood scene, and Burger Bear will mix food and music in quite a unique way – a chance for people to ‘let loose’ in our container diner.”

FAST CURING COLD LIQUID SYSTEMS PROVIDE BLITZ WATERPROOFING SOLUTION Morris Blitz Court is a residential housing estate located in Hackney that has recently undergone an extensive amount of refurbishment works as part of the Decent Homes Programme. Included within the approved scheme was the refurbishment of all of the building’s balconies and walkways, as well as the transformation of the 1,000m2 concrete podium deck located above the car park into an aesthetically pleasing social space.

Prior to any work commencing on site, Hackney Council hosted regular consultation meetings with all Morris Blitz residents where plans were presented and discussed. Upon receiving approval for the proposed refurbishment works the building was surveyed by flat roofing specialists Bauder to investigate the options available for improving the aesthetics and functionality of the podium deck, and to determine what course of action needed to be taken to ensure the building was watertight. The client’s main priority for the podium deck was for it to be totally free draining so that there was no standing water, which had previously caused problems. Various waterproofing system options were explored, however it was decided that Bauder’s cold liquid applied systems would be the most suitable solution given all the requirements. www.bauder.co.uk

A guide to converting storage containers and further information on Mobile Mini and its range of storage containers can be found at www.mobilemini.co.uk LEVOLUX HELPS SUFFOLK GO GREEN A new ‘Energy from Waste’ facility in Great Blakenham, Suffolk has been blended into the Suffolk landscape, thanks to an eye-catching screening solution from Levolux. 500mm wide aerofoil-shaped louvres have been applied across each of the building’s four elevations. Louvres are fixed at varying angles, giving the impression of moving cloud formations.

T 020 8863 9111 E info@levolux.com W www.levolux.com

IT’S ESSENTIAL WIENERBERGER TO LAUNCH WIDEST RANGE OF READILY AVAILABLE SPECIAL SHAPED BRICKS In the latest drive to offer customers market leading products and services Wienerberger, the leading supplier of wall, roof and landscaping innovations, is set to introduce its ‘Essential’ range of special shaped bricks. The Essential range will offer the widest selection of readily available special shaped bricks in the UK with over 50 profiles included, covering the most popular British standard specials, which will be available in the Staffordshire Smooth Blue and the Staffordshire Smooth Red. The majority of these profiles will also be available in the Warnham Red Stock taking the total number of specials available in the Essential range to almost 150.

For further information please visit www.wienerberger.co.uk/ CONSTRUCTION MANAGER | OCTOBER 2015 | 65

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LAGAN CONSTRUCTION and French engineering company CNIM have completed this £185m energy-from-waste facility in Great Blakenham, near Ipswich in Suffolk.

Designed by architect Grimshaw, the 9,900 sq m facility has been built as part of Suez Environment’s (formerly SITA UK) 25year, £1bn private finance initiative (PFI) waste management contract with Suffolk County Council.

The combined heat and power (CHP) plant was completed on time and within budget after 1.6 million hours worked over nearly four years of construction.

Inside the facility two burners, with the capacity to burn up to 269,000 tonnes of residual waste a year, heat water into steam which drives the single turbine to generate 23MW of electricity. 3MW a year will be used to power the plant with the remainder, enough electricity for 30,000 homes, fed into the National Grid.

To reduce costs the building’s overall volume is kept to a minimum, with its form taken directly from the internal process taking place within. The building is wrapped in a dual-layer cladding system with a semi-translucent inner skin that diffuses light and softens its appearance.

A bespoke louvre system on the exterior

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Editor Elaine Knutt Deputy editor Tom Ravenscroft Online production editor Lucien Howlett

Advertising manager Dave Smith Key account manager Tom Peardon Credit control Eva Rugeley Managing director Stephen Quirke

Art editor Heather Rugeley

JIM STEPHENSON

Project of the month Energy-from-Waste Facility, Ipswich, Suffolk

Top: The facility will burn up to 269,000 tonnes of waste a year and generate 23MW of electricity Above: A dual-layer cladding system encloses the machinery within the building Above right: A bespoke louvre system alters the appearance of the building depending on the angle and time of day

alters the building’s appearance depending on angle of view and time of day.

Along with the CHP plant, the building contains management and maintenance offices as well as a visitor centre that provides information about the plant and tours of the facility.

Considerate specification, and integration into the landscape, has allowed the building to achieve a BREEAM “excellent” rating, making it one of the greenest industrial buildings in the country.

Along with suppling power to the grid the plant has the capability to provide

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heat to nearby businesses. A £30m tomato-growing centre that will cover 50 acres and has the capacity to grow around 7,000 tonnes of tomatoes a year, is awaiting planning permission.

Paul Leighton, plant manager from Suez, said: “The Suffolk energyfrom-waste facility shows that an industrial building can complement its surroundings through innovative and sensitive design.”

Watch a time lapse video of the building’s construction online at construction-manager.co.uk/on-site. CM

Construction Manager Published for the Chartered Institute of Building by Atom Publishing Clerkenwell House 45/47 Clerkenwell Green London EC1R 0EB Tel: +44 (0)20 7490 5595 Fax: +44 (0)20 7490 4957 firstname@atompublishing.co.uk

Construction Manager is published monthly

by Atom Publishing. The contents of this magazine are copyright. Reproduction in part or in full is forbidden without permission of the editor. The opinions expressed by writers of signed articles (even with pseudonyms) and letters appearing in the magazine are those of their respective authors, and neither the CIOB, Atom Publishing nor Construction Manager is responsible for these opinions or statements.

The editor will give careful consideration to material submitted – articles, photographs, drawings and so on – but does not undertake responsibility for damage or their safe return.

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66 | OCTOBER 2015 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

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NEWS • PEOPLE • PROJECTS • TECHNOLOGY • MANAGEMENT • EDUCATION • CPD • JOBS

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17/08/2015 10:45

INTERNATIONAL OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS 2016

IOAA

Do you know someone outstanding in construction?

Entries close: 14 December 2015 You don’t have to be a CIOB member to be nominated.

The IOAA are looking to find the hidden heroes within construction disciplines for 2016.

An IOAA nomination raises the profile of both the individual and the company, gaining wider recognition within the industry.

The awards will be presented at the prestigious CIOB Annual Conference which is attended by senior level directors and executives throughout the industry. The CIOB is looking to globally recognise individuals who have made a change for the better within the construction industry.

Enter now: ioaa.ciob.org