Construction Manager February 2020

CONSTRUCTION MANAGER | FEBRUARY 2020 | WWW.CONSTRUCTIONMANAGERMAGAZINE.COM

FEBRUARY 2020 For members of the CIOB

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WANDSWORTH RECLADDING

CLAD TIDINGS

ONE LOCAL AUTHORITY’S RECLADDING CHALLENGE

3D MODELS FOR FIRE SAFETY | GRAHAM CEO PROFILE | PRECAST CONCRETE HOUSING 01.CMFeb20.Cover.indd 1

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CONTENTS

constructionmanagermagazine.com

02/20

Contents News 04 News in pictures 06 Historic photos from John Laing 08 Data: Industry malaise to recede 10 CDBB on digital opportunities 11 Heathrow’s data strategy 12 Do stiffer fines mean safer sites?

Sentencing guidelines four years on 14 Graham Group’s Michael Graham

Profile of the executive chairman Opinion 16 Kevin O’Connor on apprenticeships 17 Caroline Gumble looks to 2020 18 Gareth Poole on learning to learn 20 Feedback: Readers’ views

Technical 22 Tackling combustible cladding

Recladding Wandsworth’s towers 28 3D modelling for fire safety

Clarion uses tech to manage assets 34 Futurebuild 2020

Climate challenges and innovation

36 40 42

Concrete Three precast housing concepts Putting precast to the fire test Six projects in pictures

BIM & Digital 44 Gilbert-Ash’s Mayhew Theatre

Scanning complex steel geometry

Legal 46 2025 Future Homes Standard

The implications for construction

Community 48 Institute’s social media shake-up 49 CIOB offers mental health service 50 Belfast and London graduations 51 Book for conservation conference 54 Diary dates 55 Meet a member 56 Leeds Beckett’s new sports build 57 Webinar on digital upskilling

Training & Recruitment 58 Infrastructure at Hinkley Point C

Teamwork in the nuclear industry

44

22

14

28

Switchboard: +44 (0)20 7490 5595 Editor: Will Mann, 020 3865 1032 will.m@atompublishing.co.uk Associate editor: Neil Gerrard, 020 3865 1031 neil@atompublishing.co.uk Production editor: Sarah Cutforth Art editor: Heather Rugeley Community editor: Nicky Roger Advertising manager: Dave Smith 020 3865 1029 Key account manager: Tom Peardon 020 3865 1030 Credit control: Eva Rugeley Managing director: Stephen Quirke Circulation: Net average 30,999 Audit period: July 2018 to June 2019 Subscriptions: To subscribe or for enquiries, please contact: Subscription team: Tel: 01293 312160 Or go online at: http://construction manager. imbmsubscriptions.com

Or write to us at the address below: Construction Manager Published for the Chartered Institute of Building by Atom Media Partners, 3 Waterhouse Square, 138 Holborn, London EC1N 2SW Tel: +44 (0)20 7490 5595

Construction Manager is published monthly by Atom Media Partners.

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 Media Partners 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. Printed by Walstead Group.

All rights in the magazine, including copyright, content and design, are owned by CIOB and/or Atom Media Partners. ISSN 1360 3566

firstname@atompublishing.co.uk Editorial advisory board Mark Beard FCIOB, Ann Bentley, Peter Caplehorn, Ian Eggers, Harvey Francis, Professor Jacqui Glass FCIOB, Shelagh Grant, Paul Morrell, James Pellatt, Richard Saxon, Phil Wade

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News

The Art of Building winners revealed Two photographers – one amateur and one professional – have each won £1,500 in cash after they took the top prizes in the Chartered Institute of Building’s (CIOB) The Art of Building competition. Fish by Pedro Luis Ajuriaguerra Saiz from Spain was the winner with his image of the L'Hemisfèric building, which is part of Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences. Alexandr Bormotin from Russia won the Public Choice category, taking around 30% of more than 1,000 votes for his photo, Metrostation.

British AI experts develop construction ’DogBot’ British researchers are developing a canine automaton, ‘DogBot’, to assist with tasks around construction sites. React Robotics’ quadruped robotic ‘helper’ uses machine learning for locomotion, perception and proprioception (awareness of position and movement of the body). Its makers claim it will be able to undertake tasks such as 3D scanning and real-time sensor data acquisition.

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News story for CM? Email neil@atompublishing.co.uk

The National Access & Scaffolding Confederation (NASC) has set aside £30,000 to train mental health first aiders.

The pot was set up as part of the NASC’s Head for Heights campaign, which focuses on employee wellbeing in the workplace. l CIOB sets up anti-anxiety service, p49.

Hinkley Point’s ‘Big Carl’ makes its first big lift

News in quotes “It’s clear that the checks and balances… didn’t work” Auditor general for Scotland Caroline Gardner says her organisation is still waiting for answers about technical failings on the delayed £150m ‘Sick Kids’ hospital in Edinburgh.

‘Big Carl’, the world’s largest crane, has successfully completed its first major lifting operation after it lifted a 170 tonne prefabricated part into place at Hinkley Point C nuclear power station. Engineers worked through the night using the 250m-tall crane to lift part of the reactor’s steel containment liner into place in late December 2019. The liner section was welded and prefabricated under cover in factory conditions on site to improve quality and lower risk to the schedule.

Graham in Christmas bridge installation Workers from Graham Group took advantage of rail shutdowns to install a pedestrian and cycle bridge at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on Christmas Day. The 66m-long, 7.2m-wide Carpenters Land bridge, weighing 350 tonnes, crosses Network Rail and DLR lines to link East Bank, the new £1.1bn culture and education district on the Olympic Park, with the new International Quarter London business district.

Ramboll wins 10-year framework for British Antarctic Survey Engineering and design consultancy Ramboll has won a further 10-year framework to carry out modernisation projects on research stations and infrastructure for British Antarctic Survey (BAS). The contract is valued at between £40m and £50m. As technical advisor, Ramboll will provide project management and structural, geotechnical and MEP engineering, as well as consultancy on buildings, energy, sustainability, fire and renewable energy.

“A nationwide systemic problem” How an independent report commissioned

by Persimmon after quality complaints described the lack of cavity barriers or their incorrect installation in homes. The report found a lack of group build policy increased the risk of defects.

“I have a lot of respect for the company” Richard Goodwin, managing director and founder of Goodwin Construction, and a former employee of collapsed contractor Bardsley, explains his decision to hire 12 former Bardsley staff.

ALAN ROPER

“Unnecessarily high” How Labour peer Lord Berkeley described the specification of the £88bn HS2 project as he released his own dissenting report, having stepped down from his role as deputy of Douglas Oakervee’s independent review of the project.

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Workmen straightening the steel reinforcement rods within the thermal shield during the construction of Berkeley Nuclear Power Station A Laing stonemason working on the restoration of the east window at Carlisle Cathedral, chiselling stonework prior to bonding a new piece of stone to the existing fabric

1957

1983

A huge archive of previously unseen images charting the work of John Laing over the last century have been released. The publication of the images is part of a project between Historic England and the John Laing Charitable Trust, called Breaking New Ground. It explores the history of constructing modern Britain through the John Laing Photographic Collection.

The entire project involves digitising 10,000 images from the John Laing Photographic Collection, which will be available to the public through the Historic England website (see readers’ comments on the photos on page 20).

A man and boy looking through the viewing window for the construction of Coventry Cathedral Two Laing workers at the Carlisle Civic Centre construction site, showing I Blackett (left), a new member of the team, with Harry Varah, foreman bricklayer

1955

1962

PHOTOGRAPHS ©HISTORIC ENGLAND ARCHIVE/JOHN LAING PHOTOGRAPHIC COLLECTION

JOHN LAING RELEASES HISTORIC CONSTRUCTION PHOTOS

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making the transition to a

ZERO CARBON WORLD Join 27,000 industry influencers and shapers with the power to change the future of the built environment.

ACT NOW Get your ticket using code MP11 and be part of the industry’s catalyst for change

www.futurebuild.co.uk

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The date by which Wates Group has pledged to cut its carbon emissions and waste from construction sites to zero under a new environmental policy.

2025

New work drives improved construction output

Data

Construction output improved at the end of 2019, thanks largely to an increase in new work, the latest government figures have revealed. Output rose by 1.1% in the three months to November 2019 compared with the previous three months, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. That was driven mostly by a 1.6% increase in new work, with a smaller 0.2% rise in repair and maintenance. There was growth in all sectors apart from private housing, which fell by 0.4%. Construction output increased by 1.9% in November month on month as new work ticked up by 2.4% and repair and maintenance grew by 0.9%. The 1.9% rise was the largest monthly increase since January 2019, when output increased by 2.4%.

Construction ‘malaise’ to recede in 2020 There are signs that the state of the construction sector could improve over the coming months, despite another sharp reduction in construction activity in December. That’s according to the IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction Total Activity Index, which surveys construction buyers. It stood at 44.4 during the month, down from 45.3 in November, where 50.0 indicates no change. The survey attributed the December fall to political uncertainty and subdued client demand. But Tim Moore, economics associate director at IHS Markit, suggested that 2020 could prove brighter, with the downturn in order books “much less severe” than was seen in August 2019.

Total Activity Index seasonally adjusted >50=growth since previous month

Quarterly and monthly all work index, chained volume measure, seasonally adjusted, Great Britain, November 2014 to November 2019 Monthly index

Quarterly index

Index 2016 = 100

115

110

105 70 65 60 55

100

50 45 40

95

35 30

2018

2016

2012

2014

2010

2008

2004

2006

2002

2000

25

SOURCE: IHS MARKIT/CIPS

90 2015 MAR

2015 NOV

2016 JUL

2017 MAR

2017 NOV

2018 JUL

2019 MAR

2019 NOV

SOURCE: OFFICE FOR NATIONAL STATISTICS – CONSTRUCTION OUTPUT AND EMPLOYMENT

News in numbers

£1.35bn

The total cost increase across three infrastructure projects on the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) nuclear-regulated sites. The MoD was accused by the National Audit Office (NAO) of “poor management” after the projects were also significantly delayed.

£3.2bn

The size of Galliford Try’s order book as a standalone construction business following the £1.1bn sale of its Linden Homes and partnerships and regeneration arms to Bovis Homes, according to its latest trading update.

128

The number of Clugston staff made redundant after it collapsed in December grappling with “complex” energy from waste (EfW) jobs. CNIM has bought five EfW contracts, saving 67 jobs. Another 15 were saved after three FM contracts were sold.

£603m

The sum of money that the National Audit Office (NAO) has calculated the investors and insurers of two private finance initiative hospitals have lost after they stalled when Carillion collapsed. Public sector cost increases were limited to 3%.

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We make space in your day 09:00

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by managing your hotel bookings

Email tryus@roomex.com or go to www.roomex.com/CM to find out more.

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constructionmanagermagazine.com DIGITISING CONSTRUCTION NEXT STEPS TOWARDS A DIGITAL BUILT BRITAIN FEBRUARY 2020

2020

HOW THE INDUSTRY IS EMBRACING DIGITAL CHANGE INNOVATIONS AND STRATEGIES FOR THE NEXT DECADE

01.CDBB.cover final.indd 1

‘Look beyond BIM’ at wider digital opportunities, says CDBB CENTRE’S 2020-21 PROGRAMME FOLLOWS INDUSTRY FEEDBACK THROUGH CIOB ROUND TABLE SERIES

UK construction can build on the success of the BIM programme and become a global leader in information management for the built environment and digital twins.

That’s the message from the Centre for Digital Built Britain (CDBB) as it launches a series of initiatives, after using a round table programme, organised with the CIOB, to gather industry feedback.

“All participants wanted the benefits of digital construction demonstrated more clearly and shared across industry, and at boardroom and executive level, there is a need for greater digital understanding and buy-in,” said Terry Stocks and Fiona Moore, information management consultants for UK Implementation at the CDBB. “There were also regular calls for clients to ‘set the pace’ of delivery. It was felt a standardised, templated approach to data deliverables on projects would help clients engage with and benefit from BIM.” These issues are addressed by the centre’s 2020-21 UK work plan, in partnership with the Construction Innovation Hub, which include: l Demonstrating the benefit of information management, including creation of a library of implementation and benefit case studies. CDBB has also partnered with the UK BIM Alliance to evaluate existing tools that assess BIM maturity.

16/01/2020 09:40

Digitising Construction 2020 Centre for Digital Built Britain supplement inside this issue of CM

l Public Sector ISO Transition Working Group, which will support the transition to the ISO 19650 standards for BIM in government departments. l Home Nations Working Group, to ensure consistency of UK BIM strategy and implementation in accordance with ISO 19650, BS/PAS 1192 and BS 8536 across the UK. l Local Authority Special Interest Group, to help support councils’ digital decision making and planning. l Digital Framework Task Group, to guide the National Digital Twin Programme and development of an information management framework for the built environment. l BIM Interoperability Expert Group, to understand and document current industry knowledge of BIM interoperability. l Digital Twin Hub, a collaborative learning community where those who own and are working on digital twins can come together to learn and share.

CDBB is also working with BSI and the UK BIM Alliance to set out the UK BIM Framework, a consistent approach for implementing BIM in the UK using the framework for managing information provided by the ISO 19650 series.

The centre works with government, industry and academia to develop, support and promote use of digital technology in the built environment. *Further details inside the CDBB supplement, Digitising Construction, with this issue of CM.

Government confirms backing for ‘exciting’ digital strategy The new UK government remains committed to its digital construction strategy, which will be an “essential” part of its 2050 net zero carbon target.

Fergus Harradence, deputy director for construction at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, said: “The objective of the UK government is to ensure that

the UK remains a world leader in the development and application of digital technologies to the built environment.

“The potential benefits of digitisation are clear, and include more efficient transport systems, more energy-efficient buildings, lower waste and carbon emissions, and most importantly homes and other buildings

that are safe and promote wellbeing for the people who live and work in them.”

Harradence pointed to steps taken since 2011 to achieve these objectives, including the BIM mandate of 2016 for all new public buildings and infrastructure, investment in the Centre for Digital Built Britain, and the recent establishment of the Digital Framework

Task Force, to deliver the National Infrastructure Commission’s vision for a National Digital Twin.

“The digitisation of the built environment is one of the most exciting opportunities ahead of the UK, and is essential to enabling the UK to achieve its net zero carbon target by 2050,” Harradence said.

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HEATHROW AIRPORTS LIMITED

#DCS2020

Heathrow may pay suppliers for data rather than assets AIRPORT OPERATOR SEES DATA STRATEGY AS KEY TO EXPANSION PLAN Heathrow is putting digital tech and data centre stage on its multi-billionpound expansion programme – and that may include paying suppliers when they hand over accurate data, as opposed to completed assets.

“Data is as important – or more important – than our physical assets,” said the airport’s digital director Jon Kerbey, interviewed for the Centre for Digital Built Britain (CDBB) Digitising Construction report this month.

“But there is a big issue with data quality. So we will be looking at a different commercial model. We have to incentivise data quality and assess it rigorously.

Phil Wilbraham, Heathrow’s expansion programme director, has said we may only pay for data, not physical assets.

That should change how suppliers think.”

A common information model will be at the heart of the Heathrow expansion

Kerbey, who will speak at the Digital Construction Summit on 3 June (see box), said a common information model will be at the heart of the Heathrow expansion, created by the supply chain. “Our responsibility is to set standards, which includes exchange information requirements (EIRs), data specifications, and a common data environment (CDE),” he explained.

“We need interoperability between all the different data that will come to us, whether it’s a point cloud survey or data from an IoT sensor.

“We need to get the right information from our suppliers at the right quality, and that comes back to how good we are at asking for it.”

As well as defining its EIRs, Heathrow is “fairly advanced” with its asset information requirements (AIRs) and organisation information requirements (OIRs), Kerbey added. “The work being done now to define and design our new control centre, which will be where we monitor construction operations for the airport expansion, will essentially define our OIRs by really understanding the decisions we need to make and when.”

Heathrow is one of several leading construction clients prioritising data as part of their digital strategies.

Transport for London BIM manager Mathew Brett is working with the CDBB’s public sector ISO 19650 transition group, to achieve a unified approach to information management. “Our big challenge as a client with a long-term interest in our assets is getting the handover information from suppliers and passing that into the operational part of the business,” he said.

Meanwhile, housing group Clarion is using 3D models to help with fire safety and asset management (see p28-32). Fire safety projects director Dan Hollas said suppliers will be expected to provide data “in the format we want”, describing it as potentially “transformative”.

Top clients line up for Digital Construction Summit 2020 The industry’s biggest clients will discuss their digital strategies at this year’s Digital Construction Summit.

Landsec head of design innovation and property solutions Neil Pennell will explain why digital is an enabler for the developer’s new ‘kit of parts’ office construction concept, which it has developed with Bryden Wood.

Dan Hollas, fire safety projects director at the UK’s biggest housing association, Clarion, will explain how digital models and data are central to fire safety and asset management, following the Grenfell tragedy and Dame Judith Hackitt’s call for a ‘golden thread’ of building information.

Heathrow digital director Jon Kerbey will explain the role of digital and data in the airport’s third runway project. Other digital perspectives will come from Javed Edahtally, BIM programme lead at Public Health England and Roy Evans, client solutions lead at the Government Property Agency (Cabinet Office).

The Digital Construction Summit takes place on 3 June 2020 at the America Square Conference Centre in the City of London.

This key annual event for digital decision-makers in the built environment sector will bring together government, clients, contractors, architects, consultants and suppliers, who will assess construction’s digital progress, and examine the policies, trends and innovations that will shape the industry over the coming years.

Further information and tickets: www.digitalconstructionsummit.uk Sponsorship: dave@atompublishing.co.uk General enquiries: eva@atompublishing.co.uk 3 June 2020 America Square Conference Centre, 17 Crosswall, London EC3N 2LB

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HAVE INCREASED FINES MADE CONSTRUCTION SAFER? FOUR YEARS ON FROM THE INTRODUCTION OF STIFFER SENTENCES FOR SAFETY OFFENCES, WHAT IMPACT HAS THERE BEEN ON CONSTRUCTION SITE SAFETY? CM INVESTIGATES

The new sentencing guidelines for safety failings, introduced in February 2016, had an almost immediate impact – in financial terms at least.

Fines – based on a company’s last three years of annual turnover – shot up. Financial penalties for health and safety offences could range from £50

to £10m, and up to £20m for corporate manslaughter, with the option to go even higher for very large organisations.

Suddenly, big-name companies like Balfour Beatty and Kier were being hit with seven-figure penalties following serious accidents (see box). By 2018/19, the average fine per conviction almost

The 10 biggest fines in the construction industry Since 2016 big-name companies have been hit with seven-figure penalties

doubled to £107,000, up from £57,735 in 2015/16. In construction, fines for health and safety offences hit £15.7m in 2018/19 – the most recent year for which figures are available.

But are the guidelines making a difference to industry safety practices, beyond forcing prosecuted companies to fork out more cash?

“The new sentencing guidelines set out to ensure that it wasn’t ‘cheaper to offend than to take appropriate precautions’,” says Ian McKinnon, managing director of safety compliance adviser CHAS. “While prioritising health and safety is a moral obligation for any organisation, it also now makes good business sense.”

Chris Newton, head of the national crime and regulatory team at law firm Keoghs, believes the prospect of stiffer fines has led to a more “robust” approach to health and safety.

“We are seeing proactive action to minimise harm, including greater e n ga ge m e n t a t a s e n i o r l e v e l , documenting good safety practices,

MAY 2016

DECEMBER 2016

DECEMBER 2017

SEPTEMBER 2018

A £2.6m fine was imposed on Balfour Beatty after an employee was killed in April 2010 when a trench collapsed on him.

Kier MG was one of three contractors fined a total of £2m in December after Vincent Talbot suffered serious injuries after a trench collapsed on him in March 2012.

A worker was killed in May 2014 during a highway repair job in Suffolk. Kier Integrated Services faced a £1.8m fine. Subcontractor Sean Hegarty was also fined £75,000 for its role in the accident.

Costain and Galliford Try Building were fined £1.4m each after a worker had to have three toes amputated when his foot became stuck in a machine at a water-treatment works in Cheshire in 2015.

£2.6m

£2m

£1.8m

£1.4m

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The view from the CM reader panel What the industry thinks of the changes in safety sentencing

“We are seeing proactive action to minimise harm, including greater engagement at a senior level and documenting good safety practices” Chris Newton, Keoghs

learning from and implementing the results of audits, responding to and learning from near misses and assessing immediate areas for improvement.”

Fewer people died in construction in 2018/19 than in any other 12-month period on record, which may suggest that the new approach is working.

However, there has also been a general downward trend in the number of cases the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has bought to courts in England, Scotland and Wales, from 682 in 2015/16, to 394 in 2018/19.

Newton questions whether it is down to improved safety. “The HSE is currently looking into the reasons – one of which may be their reduced budget (down about 30% over the last 10 years) or a 25% fall in the number of inspectors since 2010,” he says.

“Another reason could be the Fee for Intervention scheme where organisations pay a fee if the HSE determine that they are in material breach of health and safety legislation.

It may be the time taken to administer

this new charging regime has left less time for other enforcement action.”

There is criticism that basing fines on turnover can be a blunt instrument.

“Some large turnover organisations feel that an approach based so firmly on turnover can increase their regulatory burden and their health and safety investment,” says Newton.

In any case, companies already face plenty of costs following safety failings.

“The impact of reputational damage can be significant, resulting in a loss of business and deterring investment,” says McKinnon. “Extra uninsured costs include the cost of incident investigation, business disruption, legal costs and project delays.”

To effect a seismic shift in safety culture, some in the industry believe prosecutors need to look further up the supply chain.

“There have been hardly any big fines handed out to major construction clients,” a technical director at one consultant told CM. “Until that starts happening, we won’t see much difference in safety on site.” ●

Since the introduction of the new guidelines, there has been a noticeable change in behaviour from the top down.

With the threat of corporate manslaughter being taken seriously at board level, signing a safety policy and then commuting responsibility down the ladder is now recognised as simply unacceptable.

Board directors have begun to realise they may end up in prison through their actions or inaction, leaving their company large fines to pay.

Barry Talbot, head of planning, McGee Group I am an advocate of legislation to reduce bad practice – it means that the implications of defaulting are clear to allcomers.

It is critical all project team members are aware of their professional responsibility particular to health and safety.

There is a collective role to play, providing adequate education, training, and PPE, notwithstanding the future use of the asset in occupation.

Christine Gausden RD, lecturer construction management, University of Salford

Health and safety in every industry is correctly acknowledged to be of paramount importance, and so the continuation of dispensing just penalties and sentencing with regular reviews is vital. In addition to keeping the fines in place, companies need to take full responsibility by submitting to the public detailed information covering the incident, and follow up with lessons learned.

But, as well as naming and shaming, we should give credit where it is due: shine the spotlight on the businesses with excellent health and safety history and reputation.

Sue Hanford, principal project manager, Surrey County Council From my position in the architectural world, it is clear that the myth that “designers cause more than 50% of accidents” has now been exposed as total nonsense. Designers have been wrongly castigated by non-designing health and safety practitioners and others who have been coerced by contractors to implicate designers into their own health and safety prosecutions.

Paul Bussey, technical design: CDM/fire/access lead, Allford Hall Monaghan Morris

OCTOBER 2017

OCTOBER 2016

SEPTEMBER 2018

NOVEMBER 2018

APRIL 2018

AUGUST 2019

Laing O’Rourke subsidiary Explore Manufacturing was fined £1.3m after an employee was killed on a job. Select Plant Hire, another Laing O’Rourke subsidiary was fined £1.2m in relation to the case in June 2017.

Tarmac Trading faced a £1.3m fine as one of two contractors responsible after a 69-year-old died and another man was seriously injured during major resurfacing work in separate incidents in 2012.

Willmott Partnership Homes was fined £1.25m after a number of gas installations at a block of flats in Wolverton, Milton Keynes, were found to be at risk.

The firm built the flats several years earlier.

Southern Gas Networks was fined £1.2m after one worker suffered severe burns and another incurred cuts and bruises when a gas main was ruptured by Cliffe Contractors during construction in May 2016.

RK Civil Engineers and RK Heating Systems were fined £1m each after David Beresford was fatally crushed by a large heating pipe at a renewable-energy plant in December 2015.

Clancy Docwra was fined £1m over the death of site operative Kevin Campbell, who was crushed by an excavator in March 2014.

£1.3m

£1.3m

£1.25m

£1.2m

£1m

£1m

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Interview

‘OUR GOAL IS TO DELIVER LASTING IMPACT FOR CLIENTS’

Employees at 150-year-old construction business Graham Group aren’t shirkers.

Michael Graham, executive chairman of the privately owned firm, which operates from 23 regional offices in the UK and Ireland, is proud of the fact that absence at the company is 400% lower than the UK national average.

“We believe that if we look after the people who look after our business, we will continue to grow,” he says of the company, which has established a major UK presence having only expanded to the country from Ireland in 1985. “It [the low rate of absence] is a great indication of the team’s happiness and means our jobs flow with greater continuity to the benefit of all our clients.”

PHOTOGRAPHS BY PRESS EYE/DARREN KIDD

EMPLOYEE TRAINING, WELLBEING, TECHNOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT – INGREDIENTS GRAHAM GROUP’S EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN MICHAEL GRAHAM HOPES WILL GIVE HIS FIRM THE EDGE AS THE PRIVATE CONTRACTOR ENTERS A NEW DECADE. CM REPORTS

Investing in people Graham Group takes the way it treats its people seriously. It is an Investors in People (IIP) platinum-accredited business – the highest accolade that can be achieved against the IIP standard – and has recently added the IIP health and wellbeing award, making it the first company to achieve both simultaneously.

That investment in personnel is being directed through new channels, as the construction industry starts to embrace digital technology and other innovations. “We have supported the use of digital to streamline workflows and processes for years and we invest heavily in equipping our leadership and management teams with the skills to meet the demands and expectations

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400% of a modern, diverse and changing workforce,” says Graham.

“Without embracing a forwardthinking approach, the industry will struggle to attract the staff it needs to meet its future commitments.”

Digital skills Graham Group moved early to improve its digital skillsets and claims to have been the first contractor to hold two BSI kitemarks for BIM. With digital construction headed up by Melanie Dawson, the company delivers bespoke training to its 2,200 employees and also works with clients, design teams and wider stakeholders to ensure they are up to speed with the technologies it is using.

“We understand that changing traditional mindsets can be challenging.

We champion digital technology from the top of the business and our team can see the benefits of this approach when it comes to advising clients on delivering projects as effectively as possible,” says Graham.

Keeping clients happy is of course one of the overriding considerations when it comes to the priorities the firm sets for upskilling its workers. “Ultimately, our goal is to deliver lasting impact for clients through the work we do,” says Graham. “We have built our reputation on quality and technical competency, and our strategy is to supplement the theory-based knowledge of our graduates and new recruits with a practical understanding of construction from those of us with longer industry experience.”

Sustainable goals Meanwhile, the contractor is alert to the growing drive to make the industry more environmentally friendly. Recently it launched a revised corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy to align with the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

The SDG are a blueprint to achieve a more

Michael Graham CV l 1984-85: Site

engineer, French Kier Construction

l 1986-87:

Planning engineer, Taylor Woodrow

l 1987-89:

Consultant, Johnson Jackson Jeff

l 1989-93:

Pre-construction manager, Graham Construction

l 1993-97:

Director, Graham

l 1997-2007:

Group managing director, Graham

l 2007-present:

Group executive chairman, Graham Group

sustainable future and in following the goals Graham Group has committed to ambitious targets, covering everything from CO2 emissions and water reduction, through to social value.

One way in which it hopes to fulfil its obligations under the revised strategy is by greater use of modular construction.

Graham explains: “Approximately 70% of our building portfolio now incorporates some component of offsite manufacturing or standardised designs and, as the offsite manufacturing market matures, we want to increase these levels, optimise prefabrication techniques and promote repeat design where functionality and aesthetics allow it.”

Broadening diversity But it isn’t just within technology and training where the firm hopes to follow a progressive agenda. Graham also wants to make the business more welcoming and inclusive to boost diversity. The firm uses “gender decoders” to ensure it doesn’t use gender-biased language when advertising jobs, but Graham admits that while positive steps have been made, it needs to do more to address imbalances in both gender and ethnicity.

The company has devised a strategy called Fairness, Inclusion and Respect (FIR) to bring about change. It engages with groups like Women into Science and Engineering (WISE), which encourages females to pursue science, technology, engineering and maths-related (STEM) courses in school or college and has a team of STEM ambassadors working with minority groups and offering work experience opportunities.

The firm can already point to changes: “Over the course of 2018, we saw marked improvement with a 133% increase in women on our management development programmes, a 17% increase in women promoted to senior roles, a 12% increase in women entering the Graham Academy, as well as a 33% increase in our

Absence at the company is 400% lower than the UK national average

Michael Graham on… …quality “We have developed a structured and practical approach to quality compliance that supports our delivery teams to get work right first time. We are active members of professional bodies and initiatives such as Project 13 and we support all of our people to strive for professional recognition such as MCIOB.” …employee wellbeing “We’re big believers in creating positive wellbeing by coaching and supporting our people to be physically and mentally well. To support this, we have our Connect development programme and Graham Academy. Connect is designed to help people take control and shape their career path.”

benchmark score for the WISE 10-step plan over the last two years.”

As far as Graham’s own advice for new recruits is concerned, he urges them to soak up knowledge from senior colleagues.

“Practical, hands-on experience, combined with the theory-based learning from college or university will make you a real asset for any company,” he advises.

And he hopes to practise what he preaches, describing his management style as inclusive and collaborative. “For me, it’s a priority to work in a respectful environment, which is why I am such an advocate of FIR and wellbeing,” he says. “I’ve been involved in construction for over 30 years and I am still inspired and motivated by the people, clients and communities we serve to this day.” ●

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21/01/2020 10:04

OPINION

constructionmanagermagazine.com

Opinion Kevin O'Connor Durkan

How can we stop apprentices leaving construction?

AHEAD OF NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP WEEK, KEVIN O’CONNOR ASKS WHY SO MANY APPRENTICES DO NOT COMPLETE THEIR TRAINING – AND WHAT THE INDUSTRY CAN DO TO RETAIN THEM

Durkan apprentice Chidi Nnebe went on to win Young Builder of Year 2016

Despite overall numbers falling in recent years, the construction industry is holding firm in the number of apprentices it recruits. According to new government figures, in 2018/19, 23,000 apprentices started work in the construction and planning sectors, the fifth highest of any sector. Our annual intake hasn’t dropped since 2011/12.

These figures are unsurprising, as we benefit from apprenticeships more than most. Many senior construction managers started out this way, and it remains a well-established and popular path. Moreover, it gives us an opportunity to make a real difference to the lives of disadvantaged residents in the areas we work in – allowing us to provide jobs within the community, even for those with little or no experience.

W h i l e w e ’ re s e e i n g t h e u p ta k e o f apprenticeships remain steady in our sector, not all other sectors are having the same success. It therefore comes as no surprise the theme for National Apprenticeship Week (3-7 February) is ‘Look Beyond’ – calling on young people to look beyond traditional routes into employment and challenge the preconceptions around apprenticeships.

This year’s theme has a particularly pertinent meaning. We need to think long term and address our declining apprenticeship retention rates. The Skills Commission says more than 30% of people who start apprenticeships do not complete them.

While our sector has no problem attracting apprentices, we are struggling to retain them.

So, how can we change this? The answer is: ‘Look Beyond’. Rather than watching apprentices succeed or fail in their first role, we should think about where in the industry they will thrive.

We know apprentices don’t often have a career path planned out – they don’t know where they will be best suited or what they will enjoy until they start. Some may well go on to build careers in the same field they train in, but for those who don’t, it’s our role to help guide and advise them into areas they may be better suited.

This is more important than ever with the growth of digitalisation in the industry set to

“All our apprentices have a dedicated mentor to oversee their progression, to provide guidance and support, and work with them to find a job best suited to them” transform traditional roles. It requires new ways of thinking and working, and today’s digital native apprentices are crucial to unlocking its potential.

The key to retention lies in communication.

Ongoing dialogue between mentors, site managers, college tutors and of course, with the apprentices themselves means issues are identified and progress is tracked. It might seem obvious, but patience is also vital. It’s easy to forget that this is often their first experience of the working world and with all new things, it can take time to settle in.

At Durkan we understand this and that’s why all our apprentices have a dedicated mentor to oversee their progression, to provide guidance and support, and work with them to find a job best suited to them.

Positive steps are also being taken in education. The new study programme available to fund 16- or 18-year-old apprentices to degree or master’s level has the potential to offer wide-ranging opportunities. So by 22, an apprentice could have a degree as well as years of onsite experience. It’s early days, but this programme could be the most positive change in construction apprenticeships in the last 15 years.

Apprentices are looking for a chance to learn, to try interesting roles and importantly, carve out a challenging and rewarding career. The diversity of opportunity the construction sector offers means we can provide that. Helping our apprentices follow the path they are most suited to is key to unlocking retention rates and addressing our industry targets. ● Kevin O’Connor is head of social responsibility and inclusion at Durkan.

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OPINION

constructionmanagermagazine.com

Caroline Gumble CIOB

Seeing CIOB through the lens of our members THROUGH THE EXPERIENCES AND LEARNING OF OUR MEMBERSHIP, THE INSTITUTE CAN PLAY A ROLE IN BRINGING COMMUNITIES TOGETHER

From left: Amy Gough, Caroline Gumble, Charles Hay, Michael Yam (former CIOB trustee) and Andrew Sill

The new decade is already off to a flying start. Many of you will know from my social media that the CIOB’s director of membership Amy Gough and I travelled to Malaysia in December. We were fortunate to spend time with members, supporters and industry experts, visit Universiti Teknologi MARA, one of our accredited universities, and meet

the British Commissioner for Malaysia, His Excellency Charles Hay MVO, and Andrew Sill, chair of the British Malaysian Chamber of Commerce.

My reflections following the trip are a deep respect for the commitment, passion and insight of the CIOB community and stakeholders who really engaged with us on our strategy for the region.

As CEO, it was important for me to see through the lens of our international membership, to understand the many lessons there are to learn and the opportunities.

The lessons and experiences within our membership that can be shared need a platform – I believe the CIOB can play a role in bringing communities together, so those conversations take place and learning is shared.

The New Year is a good time to reflect not just on what I learned last year about our community but on how we implement many of the things that have been talked about and flagged as priorities. To that end, I’m pleased to say that among the many things we have planned for this year are: l Spreading the word about the new service we now offer via our Benevolent Fund. The CIOB’s Benevolent Fund has teamed up with Anxiety UK to deliver a specialised programme of support for members and their families to help those living with anxiety and stress (see p49). This service is open to all our members, across the world. l The Construction Manager of the Year Awards (CMYA) are now open for entry and will be until 20 March. We have reviewed the structure of CMYA and I’m excited about the changes we’re putting in place to open up this year’s competition. There’s more information on the CMYA website: cmya.co.uk. l We’ll be launching our report, The Real Face of Construction, setting out how much our industry is worth to the UK economy.

We’ll use this research to make the case to policymakers and parliamentarians and ensure that construction remains high on the political agenda.

I want to thank all the members and stakeholders who have helped CIOB – and continue to help – by, for example, raising the profile of our work or giving us feedback.

These things we work together to create will serve our sector and support those who support all of us by creating the built environment around us. ● Caroline Gumble is CEO of the CIOB.

CIOB revamps social media strategy The CIOB is to create presences on LinkedIn for all of its local operations and step away from local Twitter and Facebook accounts, following an in-depth review of its social media presence.

The study found that members view Facebook as a personal

channel, Twitter for broadcasting news, and LinkedIn as a channel for engaging professionals about their work.

CIOB’s associate director marketing and digital Kate MacBeth said: “This part of the research is backed up by our data which also

shows very low growth in Facebook and Twitter and poor levels of engagement, despite the effort.”

Explaining the strategy to create local LinkedIn accounts and move away from Twitter and Facebook, she said: “That will do two things, firstly it will place our

effort in the most effective channel and secondly it will reduce our landscape to make it more obvious to new followers how they can connect with us. We will still have the main CIOB Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram accounts.”

Further information, p48.

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21/01/2020 12:22

OPINION

constructionmanagermagazine.com

Gareth Poole Turner & Townsend

Past projects hold key to future success THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY NEEDS TO LEARN FROM EXPERIENCE IF IT IS TO IMPROVE DELIVERY, SAYS GARETH POOLE

Learning from our mistakes is one of the earliest things we are taught – yet taking lessons in continuous improvement remains one of the biggest challenges for the construction sector.

Turner & Townsend’s recent survey into procurement approaches across the sector found that just under half of key client programmes across the industry do not consistently measure performance. Perhaps more striking, over half do not take action to review procurement processes to reflect lessons learned from past projects.

Why does this issue feel so difficult for construction? Undertaking programme reviews to understand the areas of success, and those for improvement, enhances performance and keeps a handle on costs.

This brings clear benefits for the whole supply chain that aren’t being realised.

Lessons can be learned across a project life cycle

“Incentivisation is critical to driving performance and innovation of suppliers, ensuring programme success and maximising cash flow to the benefit of all project partners” While the issue isn’t new, fresh solutions are being brought to the table.

Our survey was aligned with the key pillars of Project 13, an initiative from the Infrastructure Client Group, a collaboration between government and industry. The project is designed to help UK construction move from a transactional to an enterprise approach – and boost productivity. It focuses on capable

owners, governance, organisation, integration and digital transformation.

At the heart of Project 13 is a new approach to performance measurement whereby project teams embed a system to provide information that continuously measures ‘as delivered’ and ‘as operated’ performance against customer outcomes. Underpinning evaluation in this way provides a huge opportunity to improve productivity – monitoring lessons learned across a project life cycle, so that revised practices can be used in future procurements, especially those identified as high risk.

Central to this approach is the implementation of digital technologies, but much of the industry is failing to adopt new tools. Close to half of the clients we surveyed did not have an efficient data system in place. By contrast, risk management – one of the six commercial principles of Project 13 – appears better understood across the industry. Risks the owner or investor are accountable for cannot simply be transferred to the supply chain, while all parties need to be incentivised to mitigate potential pitfalls. This will go some way to ensuring cost efficiencies and improving delivery.

It’s also encouraging to see a shift in attitudes towards cross-industry collaboration, building open and honest relationships within the supply chain. This needs to underpin all activity if we are to see advancements industry-wide.

Where we are seeing shortcomings, however, is in the failure of clients in the sector to operate commercial incentive models that increase supply chain efficiency. Such incentivisation is critical to driving performance and innovation of suppliers, ultimately ensuring programme success and maximising cash flow to the benefit of all project partners.

Successful procurement is rooted in consistent measures of performance, embracing and implementation of technologies, effective risk management and supply chain collaboration. Our industry is advancing in many areas, but if we are to boost performance there needs to be greater support and take-up of Project 13 procurement tools. ● Gareth Poole is director of contract services at Turner & Townsend.

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21/01/2020 13:03

OPINION

constructionmanagermagazine.com

Three modular housing concepts featuring precast concrete, p36

THEFeedback FACE OF INTELLIGENT BUILDING

A selection of readers’ comments about HS2’s Old Oak news and issues in the industry from Common hub in west London www.constructionmanagermagazine.com DERWENT LONDON’S WHITE COLLAR FACTORY shortages only make the Adam Dowling CM 13/01 CM 17/12 NEAR EAST LONDON IS risk of defects greater.

Could it be that Lord John Laing photo archive Persimmon FOR THE 21ST PerhapsAN theOFFICE remuneration Berkeley does not quality report CENTURY. KENNYthe chief benefit (see page 6) committees of large AS JAMES understand construction companiesTHE THREEREPORTS, of HS2, as I did not until Sean Morgan Denis Barry need to reward their senior it was explained to me ELEMENT CURTAIN WALLING Brilliant. There are other Persimmon has and always staff moreIS forKEY customer recently?

TO DELIVERING THE companies out there that will be driven by profit. satisfaction/quality and Lord Berkeley says LATEST ENVIRONMENTAL ought to consider a similar Its main stakeholders less for profit. economists increasingly idea. We don’t want to lose are shareholders. It PRINCIPLES. agree that far greater has rewarded directors handsomely on turnover and I’m sure that will continue.

If Persimmon is serious about quality it will employ more qualified staff on site to support the site manager and improve overall quality.

David Kearney Credit to Persimmon for commissioning an independent report (albeit, I’m sure, after some customer pressure).

How many other volume housebuilders have similar build quality issues? A good many I would suggest, and some of these hide behind a ‘PR screen’ instead of confronting the truth.

The construction industry, in all its guises, continues to suffer from poor quality control and numerous attempts to improve have yet to bear fruit. Sadly, skills

Paul Jacobs

Our clerk of works inspects their plots for housing associations. We’ve been telling them these issues for years!

CM 06/01 Lord Berkeley slams HS2 cost Roger Ward The suggested number of passengers travelling on HS2 travel based on the number of trains per hour is very unlikely to be achieved.

If that number of people need to travel, then British business is very inefficient and not using modern communications.

The budget for HS2 would be better spent on improving the present network.

economic growth and increases in productivity would be achieved by public investment in rail, road and bus services that increase the ‘travel to work’ areas of our major cities in the Midlands and the north than by any new major north-tosouth high-speed intercity services.

But that is exactly what HS2 does. It takes the fast trains off the existing lines and frees them up for a huge increase in slow/stopping services, which are the ‘travel to work’ services that Lord Berkeley refers to.

information like this. Maybe CIOB could set up something on their website. I could see this becoming something really big.

Colin Emsley A great idea. Nostalgic.

I did not work on those projects but it brought to mind Easiform housing at St Budeaux, Plymouth, Portishead power station (I still have a framed picture of the turbine hall), and later copper mines in Northern Rhodesia and also various civils jobs in South Africa.

All fondly remembered work and colleagues.

Chris Purves Many individuals will also have worthwhile contributions from the pre-digital era.

Denis Lawler These photos are fantastic, especially the one with the young boy and the man. The boy and the man viewing Coventry Cathedral – we think we are so clever installing viewing panels in the hoarding – so credit to John Laing site management to have this vision.

CM 17/12 Combustibles ban on blinds and shutters quashed Rosemary Slater The UK is way behind the rest of Europe in the use of external blinds/shutters to reduce overheating and provide security. As our summers heat up, we will need to overcome our design prejudices and use them as standard.

Glad to see that the Ministry for Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is considering the issue although I am sure that metal blinds are a non-combustible option anyway.

Provide your own feedback on latest industry issues by posting comments online at www.constructionmanagermagazine.com or by emailing the editor at construction-manager@atompublishing.co.uk

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TECHNICAL

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Technical

CLAD TIDINGS AFTER THE GRENFELL TRAGEDY OF 2017, LOCAL AUTHORITIES HAVE FACED A HUGE HEADACHE DEALING WITH COMBUSTIBLE CLADDING ON RESIDENTIAL BLOCKS. WILL MANN HEARS WANDSWORTH COUNCIL’S STORY

Looking upwards at sections of the completed facade

PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHRISTOPHER WOODS

Sudbury House stands just five miles from Grenfell Tower. On the morning of 14 June 2017, the plume of smoke from Grenfell was clearly visible from the 25-storey residential tower, which dates from 1971, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. As the details of the Grenfell blaze began to emerge, the council thought it may have a problem.

“Sudbury House was renovated in 2004 and used the same ACM [aluminium composite material] cladding as Grenfell,” explains James Owen, building control manager for Wandsworth.

“We met up the day after the fire to discuss what to do. Within a week, we were cutting off sections of the cladding panel to send away for tests as required by government; we were fairly sure what they would show.”

Wandsworth did not hang about. The council quickly implemented emergency fire safety works on Sudbury House and Castlemaine, the only other highrise block in the borough with ACM cladding, and then convened a meeting to decide how to execute remedial works. That was the start of a technically challenging and complicated process.

Two-and-a-half years later, Wandsworth is close to completing the recladding of the two residential towers, with many lessons along the way for the wider construction industry.

As expected, the test results on Sudbury and Castlemaine, received in late June 2017, confirmed that the cladding was ACM. By then, the council’s direct labour organisation (DLO) had boarded up windows with fire-rated MDF, 22 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER FEBRUARY 2020

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TECHNICAL

constructionmanagermagazine.com

36

Technical story for CM? Email will.m@atompublishing.co.uk

“The problem was we had no idea what was behind the cladding. We were working with old drawings from 2004, which were only a sample, not the whole building”

content to support our plan to replace the cladding with tenants in situ.

“The tenants were also supportive – because there was a fire warden on every floor straight away, the alarms had been installed and they could see the cladding coming off, they felt something was being done and weren’t clamouring to be moved out.”

remove the automatic opening vents (AOVs) to communal areas and begun stripping the cladding. Fire wardens were brought in to patrol the towers 24 hours a day and wireless fire alarms fitted in all flats linked to the common areas.

Meanwhile, representatives from Wandsworth, its DLO, building control, plus architect and surveying practice BPG met to discuss next steps.

“Initially, we looked at whether we could simply pop the cladding off and replace it,” explains Chris Bula, director with BPG. “But that was impossible.

So within weeks, we had reached the conclusion that we would need to reconstruct the facade. Wandsworth’s team were positive towards this approach so we started work on the designs.”

Building control were involved from the start. “We had to input into the specification process to ensure all the assumptions were correct,” adds Owen.

“We did not want a design submitted that we then had to question.”

“We were trying to anticipate what would come out of the Hackitt inquiry,” says Bula. “The advice from LABC was that everything had to be non-combustible, A2-rated materials.”

Meanwhile, the towers were under intense scrutiny from the London Fire Brigade. “They initially wanted us to vacate both blocks,” says Owen. “But because of the measures we’d taken – the fire wardens, installation of linked fire alarms, evacuation strategies, stripping the cladding, our remediation plans – the fire brigade were eventually

Temporary works The recladding contract was awarded to the Wandsworth DLO on a negotiated basis in October 2017, meaning the local authority was acting as both principal contractor and client. The contract has been administrated using the JCT intermediate form (2011).

“It was unusual to take this approach, but it was necessary because of the complexity of the works and the speed required,” says Paul Russell, site manager on the project for Wandsworth’s DLO. Stripping the cladding was far from straightforward though. Sudbury House stands above the Southside Shopping Centre, on a busy gyratory. The DLO used cherry pickers for access up to the 10th floors on two elevations, working from July to November 2017, but scaffolding would be required to reach other areas.

Access to Sudbury House is restricted on the north side by the ramp to the Southside car park. To maintain service access to the shopping centre, a bridge structure was constructed to support the scaffolding above and to provide additional working space.

This heavy-duty H-shaped steel structure was designed by scaffolding contractor Tone and installed by temporary works specialist Mabey, with third-party checks by Wentworth House Engineers. It is anchored by four 3m-square, 36 tonne, concrete foundation pads, cast in situ at ground level, and four vertical steel column sections 11m high. These support two 30m-long trusses and one 21m-long truss, which

Chris Bula, BPG

The steel bridge structure is anchored by four 3m-square concrete foundation pads, each weighing 36 tonnes

in turn support the scaffolding at the north end of the block.

To erect this structure, a three-lane closure of the A3 was agreed for four nights with Transport for London. This was completed by the end of January 2018. The scaffolding erection by Tone ran through the winter, topping out in May, with two scaffold lifts per floor. The scaffolding is tied into the floor slabs.

The scaffolding is supported by a complex bridging structure

Project team Client: Wandsworth Council Architect/ surveyor: BPG Structural engineer: Crouch Waterfall Sudbury House Contractor: Wandsworth DLO Cladding: W Kenny Scaffolding: Tone Temporary works: Mabey Castlemaine Contractor: Durkan

The strip As the scaffolding erection progressed, the strip ran concurrently on completed floors. “The ACM cladding panels measured 2.4m x 1.2m and were heavy and cumbersome to take off,” explains Russell. “These were fixed on to ‘T-rails’, which were also removed, along with the insulation.

“Large sections of the original Crittall windows, which we hadn’t been expecting to find, had to be physically unbolted, which was an extra task during the stripping process.”

As the strip progressed, BPG surveyed the building in conjunction with the specialist contractors. “The problem was we had no idea what

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TECHNICAL

constructionmanagermagazine.com

Left: The facade’s fire-stopping design uses Hilti intumescent sealant within the void in the SFS structure Middle: The scaffolding is tied into the tower’s floor slabs Below: The cladding brackets design had to take account of irregularity in the concrete structure

“The recladding in 2004 had disguised this, straightening out the cladding with extra washers on the brackets, to effectively ‘square the building’,” explains Bula. “So our final designs, while not bespoke from floor to floor, are flexible enough to cover every eventuality. The brackets vary in size, to take account of the irregularity in the concrete structure, but when the cladding is complete, the building will be rectangular on plan.”

“Large sections of the original Crittall windows, which we hadn’t been expecting to find, had to be unbolted, which was an extra task” Paul Russell, Wandsworth Council DLO

was behind the cladding,” says Bula.

“We were working with old drawings from 2004, which were only a sample, not the whole building.”

It turned out that the structure was twisted slightly, the concrete floor slabs jutting out and back in, with irregularities of up to 40mm. The walls and column centres were also slightly irregular.

New facade Specialist contractor W Kenny was appointed to complete the strip and install the facade, although the complications meant installation would not begin until October 2018 on the new cladding.

This comprises: a steel-framing system (SFS) supporting structure; curtain wall screens, windows and doors; Alucobond A2 rainscreen cassette panels and Rockwool mineral wool insulation; firestopping and ventilated cavity barriers within the rainscreen; and finally fire-rated drywall and MDF window cills on the inside of the breeze block walls.

“The Alucobond panel, an aluminium composite panel with a mineral-filled core, was the only product we could find at that point of time that was fullytested by BS8414 and recognised as non-combustible,” says Owen.

Sudbury House has a compartmental fire design, but the floor slabs do not extend far enough to work as fire stops.

So a fire stopping design supported by L-shaped steel brackets, fixed along the edge of floor slabs, had to be added.

Castlemaine Durkan appointed for recladding The challenges on the other tower, Castlemaine, were similar to Sudbury though less logistically complex.

A 22-storey, 67m-tall residential block with 118 flats, it was originally built in 1964. The tower was renovated at the same time as Sudbury House, using the same ACM cladding.

Unlike the DLO arrangement on Sudbury, at Castlemaine Durkan was selected from five contractors who tendered.

The intermediate form of JCT 2011 was used, with no contractor’s design portion.

Durkan’s contract included stripping the ACM cladding.

Access was not as complex as at Sudbury with traditional scaffolding and a hoist used.

A notable difference in Castlemaine’s facade construction, compared to Sudbury House, was the absence of external walls behind the existing cladding.

This meant that once the

ACM panel system was stripped, the flats would be completely exposed, giving a whole different set of challenges.

“We had to put in temporary 80mm-thick insulated screens modified with windows for light and ventilation,” explains John Lewcock, Durkan’s contract manager. “These had to be installed inside the occupied flats before the strip could proceed. There were some void flats which allowed us to run a couple of pilots.”

Another key difference was the structural floor slab position. “At Castlemaine it was possible to erect the new SFS frame and inner cladding between floor slabs,” says Bula. “Fire stopping was therefore between this face and the back of the rain-screen cladding panels, although there has had to be cutting and adjustment to take up the irregularities.”

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TECHNICAL

constructionmanagermagazine.com

Lessons learnt A lengthy and complicated process

“We are keeping an as-built record of every detail, on every floor, and any irregularities. All drawings will be stored electronically” James Owen, Wandsworth Council

The brackets support the SFS, with the space between studs infilled with four layers of Hilti fire-stop board bedded and coated in Hilti intumescent sealant to create a continuous band of fire-stopping around each level. The Hilti material provides 90 minutes of fire resistance and this solution was developed with the product manufacturer on site.

“It required an extra week of work per floor to install the sealant and it adds an extra 22 tonnes of weight on the building,” says Russell.

Quality control Robust quality control procedures have been developed on both Sudbury House and Castlemaine, using electronic recording methods, including photographs.

Each element is signed off by all project team members before the next is added, to ensure everyone is content with what has been installed. Floor levels, internally and externally, are only signed off as complete with agreement from all parties.

This multi-party inspection process is open, transparent and rigorous, relying on everyone to agree that everything is in order before proceeding.

Owen notes that Wandsworth’s approach is in line with the ‘gateway’ system since recommended by Dame Judith Hackitt, where all parties responsible for a building’s safety must be in agreement before a project moves on to next stage. “We developed our systems well in advance of the report coming out; we didn’t know they would

The cladding replacement work is nearing completion

be called gateways but that’s effectively what we’ve used here,” he says.

The asset register created from the renovations will also largely follow Hackitt’s recommendation for a “golden thread” of as-built information about all buildings.

“Previously, the information about our buildings was sparse, just typical details,” says Owen. “From the 2004 renovation, we had just 10 drawings of what was intended – but crucially not what was built, as there was no Building Regulations requirement. Here, we are keeping an as-built record of every detail, on every floor, and any irregularities.

All drawings will be stored electronically on the building’s operations and maintenance and health and safety files, and on building control’s database.”

Owen hopes the lessons from Wandsworth can be used by other social housing landlords, though he notes that the close involvement of building control may not be possible again.

“The Hackitt recommendations say that building control would have a conflict of interest giving advice to the project team,” he explains. ●

Sudbury House and Castlemaine were the only two high-rise blocks in Wandsworth found to have combustible cladding.

The recladding work on Castlemaine is expected to finish in April 2020, with Sudbury completing a month later.

Both projects have taken much longer than originally planned and as a result the costs have risen.

The project team were reluctant to divulge the sums involved, but said the extra costs can be split roughly 50:50 between variations through detailed design development and the extra timerelated expenditure.

“With hindsight, delays and cost overruns were inevitable,” says Bula. “You don’t know what you will find when you pull off the cladding.

Once you have reached this point designs have to be fully reviewed to fit what has been found. This is an exacting process as every dimension has to be right – glazing to windows, windows for openings, cladding panels to match distances between openings and nothing can go into manufacture until everything is 100% agreed.

“The initial tenders for both towers came back much higher than anticipated but reflect the market view of the risks that may come with recladding. There were understandable political pressures at the time and many were fearful of what the various reviews may bring about. We have demonstrated that such works are possible and deliverable so long as everyone involved works towards the same objective.”

Bula adds: “Post Grenfell everyone knew they had a very real and serious responsibility to deliver.

“The prime objective was to make the two tower blocks safe for all the residents prior to, during and at ultimate completion of the recladding projects, while they remained in their homes. This has been achieved with the combined effort of designers, main and specialist contractors, council and building control staff and, not least of all, the residents themselves.”

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CLARION CALL: USING DIGITAL MODELS TO HELP FIRE SAFETY THE UK’S BIGGEST HOUSING ASSOCIATION IS USING 3D MODELLING TO PLAN ITS ASSET MANAGEMENT AND CREATE FIRE SAFETY CASE REVIEWS. WILL MANN REPORTS

Point cloud survey of Clarion’s 22-storey Clare House in Bow, east London

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Aerial view of the Bekesbourne Tower

“Our 3D modelling approach meets the requirement of the Hackitt Review to have a ‘golden thread of information’ for each high-rise residential block” Dan Hollas, Clarion

The Grenfell tragedy of 2017 left landlords around the UK grappling with fire safety and how to manage their built assets.

For Clarion Housing, the country’s largest housing association with 125,000 properties nationwide, this issue is on a bigger scale than for most. In the wake of Grenfell, the association decided that 3D modelling was an effective way to capture asset information about its housing stock and create the fire safety case reviews required by the Hackitt report.

Clarion recently completed its first safety case review, for a Kent tower block, starting with a laser scan and then building a 3D model and database of asset information.

“Our 3D modelling approach meets the requirement of the Hackitt Review to have a ‘golden thread of information’ for each high-rise residential block, and allows our team to tag significant asset data,” explains Dan Hollas, fire safety projects director at Clarion.

The housing association has carried out a considerable amount of fire safety remediation work since Grenfell (see box, p32). But Hollas and his 22-strong team with responsibility for fire safety

Top right: Clarion’s Bekesbourne Tower seen in ActivePlan, with fire doors selected Right: 3D model section of the Bekesbourne Tower

at Clarion have been thinking beyond upgrades to individual buildings.

“The social housing sector tends to wait for central guidance, but we like to be more proactive,” says Hollas.

“Dame Judith Hackitt’s interim report in December 2017 gave us a good steer on where things were going. Our biggest interest was the digital record and how this could shape our approach to asset management.”

The test case was the 1960s-built Bekesbourne Tower, a 12-storey concrete frame block in Orpington, Kent.

“There was limited information about its original design and construction or subsequent upgrade work,” says Martin Grossmith, fire

safety surveyor at Clarion. “Data collection and management have never been great in social housing.

So with Bekesbourne, we felt we had the perfect chance to demonstrate how to do it properly.”

Initially, Clarion obtained a quote of £12,000 to create measured drawings for the whole tower. “These were just 2D drawings that we felt would have limited future use regarding building safety and asset management, and would likely be stuck in a file and never looked at,” says Matthew Lewis, senior technical manager at Clarion.

“Then we went to Digital Construction Week in October 2018. We spotted a Leica laser scanner and thought it could do a much better job.”

The Leica BLK360 scanner, which costs around £18,000, was hired by Clarion from survey specialist SCCS for £800 a week. “It takes laser measurements and photogrammetry at the same time, creating a point cloud which is accurate to 1mm over 60m,” explains Hollas.

With no previous experience, Clarion scanned Bekesbourne in just four days.

“We work with PRP Architects, who are specialists in social housing, and when

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we showed the results to them they were amazed,” says Grossmith. “Our 3D modelling knowledge was limited, so PRP helped us turn the point cloud into a model of Bekesbourne in Revit, through Autodesk ReCap.” Clarion’s plan was to use this as the basis for the tower’s safety case review, and ultimately to monitor asset condition, plan repairs, find replacement parts – essentially the future investment strategy for the building. The issue now was finding the software solution that would make this a reality.

“You can load all the asset information into Revit but it’s not very efficient,” explains Lewis. “Instead, we have a database behind the model.

So, for example, with Revit we would

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have to tag all doors individually. With the database, you only have to tag the doors once and the information can be copied across automatically.”

The database has been created by consultant ActivePlan. Though still a work in progress, the combined model and database allows a user to view highresolution photographs of the whole tower and zoom in on tagged assets to find out key information.

“You can click on taps and kitchen units and find out who manufactured them,” Lewis explains. “Click on a fire door, and it will tell you the specification.

We’ve never had that level of granular detail about our assets.”

The model can also track irregularities. “Bekesbourne had a warm air system taken out so there is a void there,” says Hollas. “That was picked up by the scan, giving us an understanding of the network of redundant ducting and the possible risks.”

Not everything has been modelled yet. “To create floor plans, we only need to look at one of the four flats per floor,” says Hollas. “But tenants make alterations in their flats, which we can

“You can click on kitchen units and find out who manufactured them. Click on a fire door, and it will tell you the specification.

We’ve never had that level of granular detail” Matthew Lewis, Clarion

Top: The Bekesbourne Tower was scanned using the Leica scanner Left: The Bekesbourne information was loaded into a 3D Revit model

only see when they’re voids. So we need a process for getting access and finding out if, for instance, they’ve made any changes that may make a fire risk.

As well as the asset data, the 3D model offers fly-throughs of communal areas and escape routes, to help building management and to provide information for residents.

Clarion plans to implement this digital modelling on all its 70 high-rise residential buildings in the immediate term – it recently scanned Clare House in east London (p28) – and eventually on all its 125,000 flats and houses. Every model will be ‘live’, updated with any building alterations, and these will inform the safety case reviews for each property.

“We’ve started this journey with ActivePlan but we’re looking at the wider market to see what else is available,” says Hollas. “We have seen it being done in Scandinavia, where they have laser-scanned all their tower blocks and created digital records, in a way that meets our needs.”

The question for Clarion is – what level of detail should the model and database run to?

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Clarion identified 185 buildings over six storeys with fire safety risks

“It’s a grey area which wasn’t spelled out in the Hackitt report,” Hollas says.

“We know a fire safety case review will be required for all buildings. But Bekesbourne’s model, when complete, will run to hundreds of thousands of components. Repeating that across our entire portfolio is a huge amount of work.

“Obviously fire safety equipment, and anything related to fire safety, will have to have a very tight specification. With something like kitchen units, perhaps we only need detail about the sizes. But this is a decision still to be made.”

This is also an important consideration for Clarion’s development work, as well as its existing stock. “The development side is focusing on collating as much information as possible through BIM, but when we meet in the middle, we need to be sure what they’re doing fits into our asset management system,” says Hollas.

Clarion spends over £100m a year on repairs and maintenance and all contractors will have to provide digital information “in the format we want”, says Hollas.

“But we will work in partnership with them,” he adds. “Tying down data requirements is the hard bit; there needs to be an industry standard. We got quite excited about the photos in the model at first. But then we saw the potential of the data. That can be transformative.”

Hollas says Clarion’s work on the digital models has been time-consuming but the financial investment has been minimal. “It’s the salary of our team, plus hire of the scanning equipment, which totals about £10,000,” he says. “Clarion is committed to any investment we want to make, which might include buying a scanner, or we may outsource that to a contractor.”

Next steps for the association are trialling software and then building up its models, asset data and safety case reviews through 2020. ●

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Clarion’s fire safety remediation works A multi-million-pound programme addressing buildings at risk

“Data collection and management have never been great in social housing.

So with Bekesbourne we felt we had the perfect chance to demonstrate how to do it properly”

Martin Grossmith, Clarion

While Grenfell has been a wake-up call for the whole housing sector, Clarion had already identified fire safety as a significant safety risk it in some of its stock.

“Clarion was formed from a merger between Affinity Sutton and Circle Housing in 2016, and shortly after we identified about £12.5m-worth of fire safety work that was required, which was approved the April before Grenfell,” says Hollas.

After Grenfell, fire safety assumed even greater priority. “We identified 185 buildings over six storeys with fire safety risks,” explains Hollas. “We got a fire safety programme up and running by September, with specifications ready for 24 buildings above 10 storeys. This meant a further £6m-worth of work, including fire stopping, AFDs [automatic fire detection systems] and fire doors.

We then repeated this for buildings with six to nine storeys.”

The association has its own rigorous fire safety protocols which often go above industry standards.

“We have only used timber doors inside, not composite, since 2016,” says Steve Kallagher, senior fire safety programme manager at Clarion. “Doors also have to be tested on both sides, and primary tested.

Fire stopping is checked by third parties.”

Between June and March 2018, the housing

Clarion’s Messenger Court before ACM remediation association spent another £12m on fire safety work. It has since spent another £20m, including cladding remediation, though only one Clarion tower was found to have the ACM (aluminium composite material) used on Grenfell: Messenger Court in Bermondsey, south London, though it is technically just under the government’s 18m threshold at 17.95m tall.

“The Messenger remediation work was carried out by Lawtech, a cladding specialist – we prefer not to use tier 1s for this type of specialism,” says Hollas.

The work cost around £900,000 and took around a year, completing in August 2019. The cladding was replaced with panels which have an A2-s1 d0-rated rainscreen with mineral fibre insulation.

“When we took the ACM cladding off, we found a lot of the cavity

barriers had not been fixed in the right place,” says Hollas. “It was a slow process which we learnt a lot from.

“Talking to the wider social housing industry, wherever cladding has been taken off, there has been a 100% failure rate.”

Combustible ACM panels have also been found on other buildings, including the Bekesbourne Tower in Orpington, where they were fitted during a 1995 windows replacement.

“These works included spandrel panels spanning the party walls,” explains Hollas. “We found out these were ACM panels with a polystyrene core.

We also found voids behind the panels, of 60mm-70mm, with no stopping at all. When we removed them, you could see through to the flat next door.” These were replaced by Lawtech using rope access.

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FUTUREBUILD 2020: BE THE CATALYST FOR CHANGE THIS YEAR’S FUTUREBUILD, TAKING PLACE ON 3-5 MARCH IN EXCEL LONDON, AIMS TO INSPIRE THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY TO COME TOGETHER TO BE THE CATALYST FOR THE CHANGES NEEDED TO TACKLE THE CLIMATE CHANGE CHALLENGE Recent climate change demonstrations and government declarations make one thing clear: we must all come together to take action against the climate change challenges we are facing. Put simply, without collaboration, we will fail.

Against this backdrop, Futurebuild 2020 (3–5 March, ExCeL London) will inspire visitors to join fellow industry leaders and innovators to be the

catalyst for change that is so urgently needed to help deliver a more sustainable built environment.

Setting the agenda Futurebuild’s highly regarded conference programme is returning for 2020, bigger and better than ever before.

Following a three-day progression, the Arena will host a number of sessions

Conference and Keynote Stage sessions will debate issues affecting the built environment

focusing on the solving the current climate and ecological crisis. These will be led by politicians, academics and industry shapers.

Unmissable sessions for visitors include: ‘The future is regenerative’ chaired by Peter Murray, chair of New London Architecture (3 March). It will explore how design and construction needs a circular rethink. On day two (4 March) London mayoral candidate Rory Stewart will sit on a panel looking at ‘Carbon neutral cities of the future’ and examine the pathway to healthier, more resilient cities.

Also of interest will be a session on day one (3 March) where the UK climate policy will be scrutinised during the session titled ‘Who’s in charge of the climate crisis?’. Led

by Aldersgate Group chair Joan Walley, this session will explore the fundamental transformation that is needed to alleviate the climate crisis and will invite input from the audience.

While discussions on the Conference Stage will focus on the biggest issues facing the built environment at a macro level, six Keynote Stages located across the event will look at the specific

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challenges impacting buildings, offsite, energy, interiors, resourceful materials and critical infrastructure.

This programme of solution-driven sessions will share the latest thinking and research, to educate, inform and inspire visitors to make a positive change. Each day, the six stages will host a focused keynote presentation by a recognised expert in their field.

Of particular interest to visitors will be the Buildings section, which is expanding for 2020 to include two new showcase areas; the Whole House Retrofit Zone and the Digital Impact Zone. Here, visitors will have the chance to discuss the various refurb and retrofit solutions, both current and in development, as well as the latest developments in digital construction.

Interiors at Futurebuild 2020 will be a leading destination for those seeking inspiration across all areas of commercial and domestic interiors.

Buyers and high-level decision makers involved in student accommodation, housebuilding, commercial fitout, social housing and the public sector will have access to solutions covering healthy buildings, kitchens, bathrooms, surfaces and flooring.

Beyond the stages Around each Keynote Stage will be an exhibition of innovative brands, offering solutions to the challenges discussed in the companion knowledge programme. It will feature some of the largest headline brands in the sector, alongside SMEs and startup organisations, creating a dedicated platform to connect these companies with forward-thinking specifiers and buyers.

Brands and organisations that are leading the charge when it comes to innovation will be recognised through a dedicated Innovation Trail.

A guided route will take visitors on

a journey through the event and enable them to learn more about the latest thinking from Futurebuild’s Innovation Partners, including ACO Technologies, Smart Systems, The Hadley Group and Internorm.

The game changers are back Championing innovation is the central purpose of Futurebuild and the 2020 event will see the return of the Big Innovation Pitch. Hosted across the event, in conjunction with BRE as technical partner, the competition will be the industry’s largest call-out for innovation to date and will identify and celebrate novel new approaches to tackle of the biggest challenges facing us all.

Entrants will present their groundbreaking ideas on each of the six Keynote Stages on day one, before shortlisted entries go head-to-head in the Arena on day two. A panel of renowned judges will determine the overall winning idea, which will be incorporated into BRE Academy Training and showcased in the BRE Innovation Park.

“Innovation to us is more than just futuristic concepts, it’s about sharing the latest thinking and ideas, processes and solutions, products and materials” Martin Hurn, Futurebuild

ZED Factory showcased its eco-friendly Zero Bills Home at Futurebuild 2019

M a r t i n H u r n , e ve n t d i re c to r of Futurebuild, comments: “The responsibility for tackling the climate emergency lies in all of our hands and we must collaborate in order to find solutions to secure our future.

Futurebuild 2020 provides the perfect platform for forward-thinking decision makers across the built environment to come together and play a key part in driving positive change.

“We understand that taking time out of work to attend events can be a challenge, which is why we will make sure that visitors can really get involved across a number of levels, from the world-class knowledge programme in the Arena and on the Keynote Stages, to the showcase of the latest innovations across the exhibition.

“Innovation to us is more than just futuristic concepts, it’s about sharing the latest thinking and ideas, processes and solutions, products and materials.

All of these things coming together under one roof at Futurebuild 2020 will inspire people to do things differently and create real change.”

Through product showcases, inspirational talks and collaborative seminars, Futurebuild 2020 will make innovation a tangible asset for visitors to assess, develop and implement to drive the industry towards one that is fit for purpose and for the future. ● For information about Futurebuild 2020, the home of innovation, visit www.futurebuild.co.uk.

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Concrete

THE HOUSES THAT PRECAST BUILT WITH GATHERING MOMENTUM BEHIND OFFSITE CONSTRUCTION, PRECAST CONCRETE SPECIALISTS ARE NOW DELIVERING COMPLETE HOUSING CONCEPTS. CM LOOKS AT THREE OF THE SYSTEMS

With a government drive for increased offsite manufacturing and standardised components, together with greater use of digital technology, it is only natural that the precast concrete sector should start offering complete housing systems.

Precast has long been regarded as an effective way of moving construction processes off site and into the factory, particularly for accommodation schemes with high repeatability, such as hotels, student blocks and build-torent apartments.

However, it has rarely been used for low rise residential housing, until recently. New housing concepts have been launched by three precast specialists: Cornish Concrete Products,

Creagh Concrete and Sterling Services, with its Hexxhome – a sophisticated system where digital technology is centre stage.

HexxHome uses prefabricated panels made from high-strength concrete.

These are based on hexagonal forms, which allows multiple configurations to be generated, resulting in the creation of many different building layouts, from studio flats to five-bed houses.

The precast components and housing designs are modelled in 3D using AutoCAD, which generates a virtual reality (VR) visualisation allowing designers, constructors and customers to ‘walk though’ an individual property or even a whole street of them.

A range of HexxHome designs (above and top right) can be viewed via VR visualisation

“We see potential for HexxHome in the affordable housing sector as it is a robust, high-performance building with strong whole-life credentials,” says Chris Bell, Sterling Services managing director. “We have a small scheme of four flats which has gone into planning with South Hams Council in Devon.”

He also expects interest from the self and custom build market. Sterling has built a HexxHome show house on the Graven Hill Village self and custom build development in Oxfordshire.

Conceived in 2014 and patented in 2017, the system allows construction professionals or self-builders to design a home from standardised components without having to worry about the

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structural engineering, explains Phil Bent, HexxHome business manager.

“The pre-engineered slabs can fit together to create almost any shape of building,” he says. “We have an LABC/ Premier Guarantee warranty for up to three storeys, but the structural capacity is there for multiple storeys. The slab edges have sloping rather than 90-degree angles so when the wall panels are tied together, there are no lateral forces and they act as a composite I-beam.

“The ground floor slabs sit on piles or strip foundations; piling is the preference as that saves on additional concrete beams in the substructure. The layout is normally identical on all floors to carry loads down through the structure.”

The panels use common mixes and reinforcement as Sterling Services eventually wants to license the component parts to other manufacturers.

“We include fairly standard architectural mixes which we use in the Sterling Services factory in Taunton,” says Bent. “GGBS or PFA cement substitute can be used but it is extremely important that we build to British and Eurocode standards.”

‘Slimcrete’ creates smart private residence Cornish Concrete’s house constructed from precast components apart from roof

“We see potential for HexxHome in the affordable housing sector as it is a robust highperformance building with strong whole-life credentials”

Chris Bell, Sterling Services

Pre-engineered high-strength concrete panels fitted on site at the custom-build development

Cornish Concrete Products (CCP) provided all structural components except the roof for a two-storey private residence near Falmouth in Cornwall (pictured) and erected them in just two days.

The four-bedroom detached property has been built with crosswall construction, using a system CCP calls ‘Slimcrete’. Managing director Kevin Bate, who is also the client for the house, says two significant technical innovations are key on the project.

One is the mineral fibre reinforcement used in the concrete, which offers greater tensile strengths than traditional polypropylene or steel fibres, as well as being non-corroding.

“Because of the strength of the fibres, thinner panels are possible, which is important in the residential market,” says Bate. “Also, our manufacturer provides us with performance data for the fibres – which few fibre suppliers are able to do – and we are able to incorporate that data into our engineering calculations.”

The other innovation is CCP’s Thermomass connector system – the ties which hold the sandwich panels together and ensure they are thermally efficient, with no ‘cold bridging’ between the layers. Non-metallic, the composite ties have a conductivity value of 0.3W/m2K to enhance the insulation performance.

“We have used the system for commercial projects but not in residential,” Bate explains. “We now want to push the product in the residential sector and, as we were able to self-design this house, it’s a useful prototype for us.”

The house was built from 40 bespoke units, cast at CCP’s factory just up the road at Bissoe. It comprises a 100mm reinforced structural skin, with 150mm insulation – to achieve a 0.15W/m²K U value – and a 50mm reinforced external skin. Internally, there are 150mm deep hollow core floor sections, 100mm reinforced internal partitions, while the stairs are also precast. The largest panel, a wall section, measured 7.5m by 3.1m and weighed 7.5 tonnes.

The precast components include isolated columns and beams to provide structural support for ‘flying end’ walls, explains Bate.“The external wall sections rely on the adjoining panels for support, so where they neighbour fully glazed areas, we installed columns and beams. We also used columns and beams at the entrance of the property, where the first-floor level projects beyond the ground floor, to create a nice architectural feature.”

Battens and boards were fitted to the inside panel faces to create a 25mm service zone on the outside walls, and the suspended ceiling includes a 150mm zone.

“This provides flexibility for the services installation,” he says. “We could have cast in service channels, but as the project is a prototype, we wanted to keep it simple.”

External wall finishes are flat concrete with a 2mm thick Parex acrylic render. The only non-precast structural element is the cross-gable roof. “As the house has a pitched roof, timber was the only option,” explains preconstruction director David Moses. “Concrete doesn’t lend itself to pitched roofs because of its weight.

However, he explains that the company has developed a design for a mono-pitch roof, which it is currently load testing.

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£1,650 Once the monolithic shell is constructed, insulation is fitted to the slabs followed by a batten void for the varying services and finally plasterboard.

The wall panel dimensions, typically 2.9m high by 2.6m wide, have been designed to minimise cutting of insulation, plasterboard and skirting boards.

“The idea is to keep it simple, so that it is straightforward for a self-builder as well as an industry professional,” says Bent. “A three-bed home can be assembled using a mobile crane and can be watertight in as little as two to three weeks.”

The wall panels can be faced in brick slips or various concrete finishes, which typically takes place in the factory, while timber facades can be attached on site using cast-in sockets. The roofs are flat, structural slabs, with a BBA-approved synthetic roofing membrane; this can be used to support solar panels or be used as an amenity space. “The style of our offering is more contemporary than traditional,” Bent adds.

The concrete construction, along with the roofing membrane and mastic joint sealants, means exceptional airtightness and strong thermal performance with U-values of just 0.12 W/m2K. “The building fabric is at Passivhaus standard and the acoustic insulation is also fantastic,” says Bent. “Use of dry joints also makes it easy to rearrange the building layout – for example, if a family wanted to extend their home.”

The turnkey cost of a HexxHome starts from £1,650 per sq m and the various design options can be visualised by prospective clients using Sterling’s VR system.

Sterling Services plans to continue refining its digital approach, by partnering with suppliers who also work in BIM. “Companies like Velux and Polyroof will provide us with BIM products which we can drop straight into our model,” says Bent. ●

The turnkey cost of a HexxHome starts from £1,650 per sq m

Creagh develops fast-track house system Structural elements of private home in Antrim erected in eight days

“A three-bed home can be assembled using a mobile crane and can be watertight in as little as two to three weeks” Phil Bent, HexxHome

The two-storey home was constructed using 35 precast panels Creagh Concrete has its own fasttrack precast system for housing – and recently used the concept for the first time to manufacture, deliver and construct a two-storey private home in just eight days.

The residential property in Dunloy, County Antrim, has an area of 418 sq m, and was constructed using 35 precast panels and 40 hollow core slabs.

Creagh acted as principal contractor, with all manufacturing taking place in its factory in Toome.

On the ground level, Creagh used suspended Spantherm flooring, a pre-insulated precast concrete flooring system designed for the residential sector. The composite slab combines structural concrete and expanded polystyrene insulation to provide a fully insulated ground floor.

This was installed in six hours and then grouted and sealed.

For the upper levels, Creagh installed 200mm-deep prestressed hollowcore concrete floors. The floors’ loading capabilities carried the block walls on the upper floors, which allowed the use of attic trusses.

The floors offer strong sound insulation, act as a thermal store,

and provide enhanced fire containment, designed with a fire rating of 90 minutes to two hours.

The house includes three flights of precast stairs, manufactured from bespoke moulds, with two landings, formed from prestressed units, which were installed with the first floor.

The external walls use composite concrete panels, comprising 150mm structural leaf, 150mm of insulation and 80mm external leaf – which eliminated the need for a traditional cavity wall system.

The building services had been incorporated at an early stage of the design, so the wall sections arrived on site with the M&E ‘first fix’ contained within the panels, using 22.5mm thick galvanised conduits.

Windows were also fitted into the panels offsite.

The 150mm single-skin internal walls were coated with white emulsion paint at the factory, ready for decoration after installation.

The remainder of the house was completed in six months. The precast structure provides inherent thermal mass and high passive ratings, helping the home achieve a 0.14 U-value and EPC ‘A’ rating.

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Fire safety has become one of construction’s hottest topics in recent years, chiefly due to the tragic events at the Grenfell Tower in June 2017, but also because of other subsequent blazes, including at the University of Bolton before Christmas and at an apartment block in Worcester Park, London, in September.

The masonry sector has always had strong fire safety credentials.

Concrete has an undefined melting point, since it disintegrates into its base constituents at around 1,000°C and possesses a low thermal conductivity (approximately 2W/m-K, upper limit at 20°C, EN 1992-1-2).

However, precast concrete firm FP McCann wanted up-to-date evidence that would give more confidence to clients and end users.

With this in mind, the Northern Ireland firm approached Ulster University’s Fire Safety Engineering Research & Testing centre (FireSERT) to organise tests on its insulated precast sandwich panels. The UKAS-accredited FireSERT is one of the largest fire safety centres in Europe and one of only two in the UK which runs the BS 8414 facade test.

The tests were backed by the European Union’s Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS), with FP McCann as a local sponsor. They were conducted inside a f ire test compartment comprising a steel-framed structure and hollowcore precast slabs.

The insulated sandwich panels comprised an outer layer of precast

constructionmanagermagazine.com

PUTTING PRECAST TO THE FIRE TEST WITH FIRE SAFETY COMING UNDER CLOSER SCRUTINY, PRECAST FIRM FP MCCANN RAN TESTS ON ITS INSULATED SANDWICH PANELS AT ULSTER UNIVERSITY’S SPECIALIST FACILITY. PROFESSOR ALI NADJAI AND DR NAVEED ALAM EXPLAIN THE RESULTS

From top: Installation of the insulated sandwich panels at the test facility; The fire test; Dr Naveed Alam from Ulster University surveys the impact on the precast panels

“The insulated precast sandwich panels were exposed to three fire tests. Timber was used as the fuel. During the fire tests, temperatures in excess of 1,000°C were recorded in the compartment”

concrete, a central layer of polyisocyanurate (PIR) insulation and a structural internal layer of concrete with a powerfloated plain grey concrete finish. The external concrete layer is connected and supported by the internal concrete layer using proprietary ties which have low thermal conductivity.

Two insulated sandwich panels were installed along the full length of one side of the test compartment. Detailed instrumentation – thermocouples – monitored the temperatures in the wall panels’ inner and outer concrete layers, plus the insulation layer, and inside the test compartment.

The insulated precast sandwich panels were exposed to three fire tests.

Timber was used as the fuel.

During the fire tests, temperatures in excess of 1,000°C were recorded in the compartment. Despite being exposed to multiple fire scenarios, the insulated precast sandwich panels contained the fire while maintaining their structural integrity. There was spalling on the exposed surface of concrete, but this was relatively small and required limited remedial work to restore the precast panels back to full functionality.

The PIR insulation core of the sandwich panels remained encased within the layers of the precast concrete.

The outer concrete layers, due to their low thermal conductivity, protected the PIR insulation core from direct exposure to heat and flames. As a result, the PIR insulation core remained unharmed.

The tests by FP McCann and FireSERT at Ulster University have demonstrated that the insulated sandwich panels provide a scientifically fire-rated precast construction solution. ● Professor Ali Nadjai is director of the Fire Safety Engineering Research Technology Centre (FireSERT) at Ulster University and Dr Naveed Alam is a research associate in Structural Fire Engineering at Ulster University.

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www.digitalconstructionsummit.uk #DCS2020

THE KEY ANNUAL EVENT FOR DIGITAL DECISION-MAKERS IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT SECTOR

This year's Digital Construction Summit will bring together government, clients, constructors, architects and consultants to assess construction’s digital progress, and examine the policies, trends and innovations that will shape the industry over the coming years.

The day will include presentations from industry-leading digital professionals, panel discussions, break-out sessions, plus exhibitor stands in the networking area showcasing cutting-edge technology.

Delegate bookings: Eva Rugeley, 020 7490 5595 eva@atompublishing.co.uk Sponsorship: Dave Smith, 07703 532605, dave@atompublishing.co.uk

BIM+

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Speaker highlights: Neil Pennell, head of design innovation, Landsec Jon Kerbey, digital director, Heathrow Airport Roy Evans, client solutions lead, Government Property Agency (Cabinet Office) Dan Hollas, fire safety projects director, Clarion Housing Group Javed Edahtally, BIM programme lead, Public Health England David Philp, global BIM/IM consultancy director, Aecom James Daniel, head of digital engineering, infrastructure services, Skanska Simon Tranter, Blockchain lead, Willmott Dixon

Programme highlights: l The Government view: Next steps on construction’s digital journey l Client digital strategies: What designers and builders must do differently l Tier 1 contractors: How digital tech is changing the business model l MMC and Platform DfMA: BIM, data and automation l Hackitt’s ‘golden thread’: The digital approach to managing asset information l Demonstrable digital benefits: BIM projects which delivered exceptional outcomes l Software solutions: Standardisation and interoperability challenges l AI, robotics and automation: New machines for the digital age

BIM+ 3 June 2020 | America Square Conference Centre, 1 America Square, 17 Crosswall, London EC3N 2LB

21/01/2020 14:59

CONCRETE

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IN PICTURES: SIX INNOVATIVE CONCRETE PROJECTS CM TAKES A LOOK AT SIX UNUSUAL AND CHALLENGING USES OF CONCRETE ON CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS, INCLUDING APPLICATIONS OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AND COMPLEX TEMPORARY WORKS SCHEMES

Peri powers Rolls-Royce testbed Peri was appointed by concrete contractor Northfield on Rolls-Royce’s new testbed facility in Derby to supply formwork and access services. The shell is being built with concrete, featuring walls up to 20m in height and 1.7m thick, to meet strict acoustic requirements. Two walls of different thicknesses – a 1m outer wall and a 1.7m inner wall, with a 2.5m gap in between – form the facade.

Construction of the new testbed facility started in 2018 and is expected to be commissioned in 2020.

Skanska’s novel V-shaped pier strengthening Skanska used novel techniques to strengthen six of the eight piers on the 155m-long Nene Bridge in Peterborough.

The work included using hundreds of steel bars to wrap each of the piers, creating complex reinforced concrete jackets that supplement the unique geometry of the structure. As two of the piers requiring strengthening were positioned in the River Nene, a temporary coffer dam was built to provide access below the water level. 3D-printed models of the construction stages were created to aid the project team’s understanding.

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CONCRETE

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The world’s biggest 3D-printed building Construction firm Apis Cor has completed the world’s biggest 3D-printed building in Dubai. The two-storey, 9.5m-tall administrative building, was 3D printed on site. The structure was built up layer by layer, across an area of 640 sq m, using 3D-printing material made from gypsum, cement and geopolymer.

Formwork for the columns was also 3D printed, then manually filled with rebar and concrete, while the foundations, roof, windows and insulation were traditionally constructed.

BAM uses AI to predict concrete strength BAM Nuttall has used the world’s first artificial intelligence (AI) concrete strength prediction engine on its £480m project at London City Airport. The system, developed with concrete monitoring specialist Converge, takes advantage of Converge’s concrete performance data set. Within hours of concrete being poured, Converge claims it can predict the time a critical strength will be reached with an accuracy of +/- 5%, by applying machine learning techniques.

Huge concrete repair job on M5 viaduct Concrete Repairs Limited (CRL) recently completed major refurbishment works on the M5 Oldbury Viaduct in the West Midlands. The repairs included the concrete decks, deck ends and cross-head beams on the 1960s structure. CRL’s work involved hydro-demolition, continuity testing, installation of sacrificial anodes and then reinstatement with a pre-bagged flowable micro-concrete. CRL was appointed alongside VolkerLaser by the principal contractor on the £100m scheme, a joint venture between BAM, Morgan Sindall and VolkerFitzpatrick.

Low-carbon concrete on major road job

ABSOLUTE PHOTOGRAPHY

Low-carbon concrete is to be trialled on the £1.5bn A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement project.

Mick George Concrete has dedicated a 100-tonne silo at its Cambridgeshirebased batching plant to sustainable cement Cemfree. It will supply up to 500 cu m of Cemfree on applications including kerb backing, drainage, mass fill and signage, saving an estimated 500 tonnes of carbon. Produced by materials company DB Group, Cemfree claims to reduce embodied carbon savings by up to 80% when used to replace ordinary cement.

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21/01/2020 15:44

BIM & DIGITAL

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BIM & Digital “The addition of the Leica BLK360 scanner helped our team to face down the challenges this project presented. The scanner has made an immediate impact on the business” Paul McGeachy, Gilbert-Ash

DIGITAL THEATRE OF DREAMS GILBERT-ASH INVESTED IN NEW SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE TO HELP WITH THE COMPLEX DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW THEATRE IN THE FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE COURTYARD The Mayhew Theatre is a teaching and presentation space newly built in the courtyard of the Grade 1-listed Foreign and Commonwealth Office building in London.

The building is named after Lady Cicely Mayhew, who was recruited to Bletchley Park from university to decode messages for naval intelligence during World War II, and uses cutting-

edge technology to enable seminars to be delivered to staff through virtual sessions from anywhere in the world.

The glass, steel and wood building has a complex design, including a freestanding hyperbolic paraboloid roof structure, surrounded by a bespoke glazed oval walling system. A further challenge was the site’s constrained location. The steel superstructure had

Above: 3D model of the unusual hyperbolic paraboloid roof structure

to be lifted by crane into the courtyard, which is 90m away from the road, and with only 5m of clearance on either side.

These considerations affected the logistics planning of contractor Gilbert-Ash. “We decided to bring in state-of-the-art technology to help plan the design and construction,” explains Paul McGeachy, design manager. “This included point clouds for object-oriented modelling and 3D laser imaging.

“Using digital technology helped reduce risk, costs and programme for both Gilbert-Ash and our client.

“With the ability to have a representation of the physical building in BIM, we were able to optimise the construction and operation process.

We could easily identify potential clashes between the different disciplines and hold workshops with subcontractors to develop methods for changes to the design.

“BIM and its benefits were a deciding factor for Gilbert-Ash to invest in additional hardware, software and training for our personnel.”

As early as the investigative works stage, Gilbert-Ash adopted digital methods for in-depth research, including investing in a Leica BLK360 3D scanner, with an integrated spherical imaging system and thermography panorama sensor system.

The theatre structure would sit on a steel grillage that would span from existing column heads located within the post-tensioned slab at terrace level, with 24/7 operational environmental and MEP plants below on two levels.

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21/01/2020 15:48

BIM & DIGITAL

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Digital story for CM or BIMplus?

Email denise.chevin@atompublishing.co.uk

“Using a combination of point cloud surveying, ground penetrating radar and a Hilti Transpointer, our team was able to accurately pinpoint the location of existing structural columns and basement levels via non-intrusive methods,” says McGeachy.

“During the investigative works, we were able to accurately validate the terrace dimensions and constraints as well as determine the post-tensioned slab thickness and location of reinforcement.

The early investigations proved crucial, he adds, as they led to design alterations before site mobilisation. “We needed to be flexible and adapt our works based on the data from the technology.”

Hyperbolic paraboloid The steel structural frame consisted of the cantilevered hyperbolic paraboloid top ring beam and zinc roof, and a non-true oval base ring beam that would bear the load from the glazed walls, elliptic paraboloid cedar slat ceiling and MEP equipment.

“Due to the long lead-in times, approximately 16 weeks from design approval to manufacture for these critical path items, it was essential that the design was fully co-ordinated at an early stage,” says McGeachy.

“By developing the Revit model and dimensioned AutoCAD drawings, the steel subcontractor was able to use Tekla Structures software to design the steel structure, the framing and connections.

“This was exported to an Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) file that would then be imported to a Navisworks file, allowing the exchange of fully co-ordinated design information and procurement authorisation.”

Gilbert-Ash identified that it would be essential to monitor the deflection of the top ring beam during the fabrication and construction phases.

“At tender stage, the client’s design team issued a design philosophy

Digital methods enabled accurate calculation of the complex intersections between glass and steel

The 3D point cloud data gave accurate readings of the structure’s geometry

document detailing the loading capacities of each structural member under their dead, live and environmental loads,” says McGeachy. “This was provided by a nodal analysis model. In all three states the dimensions between the top and base ring beam differ, having a direct impact on the dimension of the glazed walls.

“We knew it would be essential to take accurate and dense measurements of 3D data points via point cloud scans during the next phases.

“The cantilevered hyperbolic paraboloid top ring beam undergoes theoretical movement under different load cases. Due to production and manufacturing timescales, the glazed walls were designed and fabricated based on the theoretical movements.”

The first step in validating the dimensions was to perform a mock erection of the steel structure off site and capture the measurements along the top ring beam, to ensure that the glazed walls would fit and meet the deflection requirements.

“Everything had to be meticulously thought out off site using digital construction methods,” says McGeachy.

“We pre-erected the theatre to

The modular theatre had to be craned into the courtyard

determine the size of the glass before it was manufactured and sent to site.”

The 3D point cloud data was able to give accurate readings of the complex geometry. “This could not be captured accurately in any other way due to the tolerances which had been allowed within the design of the project,” says McGeachy.

“Our team was able to view captured point cloud information with existing 3D Revit and Tekla Structures models using Navisworks software,” he adds. “During this phase, the team was also able to accurately validate the fabrication of the steelwork with the proposed design and record any differences, which could be addressed before erecting again on site.”

Craned into position The framework was dismantled for delivery then craned into the quadrangle for reassembly into its modular components. “Once each module was craned over and into position in the courtyard, the structure and terrace were scanned to validate location and accuracy before full-strength butt welds were carried out and temporary props removed,” says McGeachy.

“After the props were taken away, the top ring beam was pre-loaded to live load conditions and a further point cloud scan was captured.”

Using BIM proved an outstanding success, the design manager feels.

“The addition of the Leica BLK360 helped our team to face down the challenges this project presented,” McGeachy says. “The scanner has made an immediate impact on the business.

“BIM has transformed the way we complete our projects, especially with the coordination of subcontractors – design challenges can be identified earlier and the client can get a better sense of what they’re getting earlier on in the project. This led to an extremely positive relationship with the client and a strong supply chain.” ●

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LEGAL

constructionmanagermagazine.com

Legal Chris Paul Trowers & Hamlins

Future Homes Standard: new decade, new challenges HOW WILL THE HOUSING MARKET RESPOND TO THE GOVERNMENT’S LATEST BUILDING REGULATIONS CONSULTATION? CHRIS PAUL EXAMINES THE IMPLICATIONS

Infrared thermovision image showing lack of thermal insulation on a residential building

“There is an expectation that homes built to the Future Homes Standard to be introduced in 2025 will have 75%-80% less carbon emissions than homes built to current standards”

In October 2019, the government launched a consultation on proposed changes to Part L (Conservation of Fuel and Power) and Part F (Ventilation) of the Building Regulations for new dwellings. The changes provide an important first step towards the Future Homes Standard, which is due to be introduced in 2025.

These changes help to implement the UK’s Net Zero 2050 target, which became legally binding in June last year. The government is not expected to consult on the full Future Homes Standard until 2024, but there is an expectation that homes built to that standard will have 75%-80% less carbon emissions than homes built to current standards. That requires very high fabric standards and low carbon heating systems. Get ready for a future involving heat pumps, triple glazing and low heat loss designs.

In the meantime, the market needs to get moving in the right direction. As flagged in the consultation, homes being built now and in the next 5-10 years will still exist in 2050.

The proposed uplift in standards seeks to make homes more energy efficient, and to future-proof them for low-carbon heating sources. It also provides clear policy direction, giving time to develop new technology and help supply chains to manage the transition to the 2025 Future Homes Standard.

The consultation proposes a number of changes to the current Part L standards (see box). These changes have cost implications and it remains to be seen whether these projected costs are realistic, and what impact it will have on land values and the viability of new-build schemes – particularly outside the south east.

If the government goes ahead with its preferred Option 2, a 31% reduction in carbon emissions, then the reliance on low-carbon heating will mean that new homes have a lower fabric standard than under Option 1. Such homes are likely to require retrofit measures to meet the Net Zero standards during their lifetime, which will need to be considered by purchasers.

The consultation runs until 7 February 2020.

Expect the full response to be published by mid-2020, with the new regulations in force by the end of the year. ● Chris Paul is a partner with Trowers & Hamlins.

Proposed changes to Part L Changing the energy performance target The government acknowledges that CO2 emissions are not a direct measure of energy efficiency and become less important when new dwellings rely on electricity, for example, heat pumps. The proposal is that primary energy will become the main performance metric, but with CO2 emissions retained as a secondary metric. To avoid the risk of developers selecting direct electric heating (with expensive running costs), a householder affordability standard is proposed. This may link to the Energy Efficiency Rating calculated as part of the EPC. Uplifting energy efficiency standards The consultation identifies two options for the CO₂ and primary energy targets: l Option 1 (‘Future Homes Fabric’) proposes a 20% reduction in carbon emissions compared to the current standard. This will be delivered by very high fabric standards, such as triple glazing, which aligns with the fabric requirements anticipated for the 2025 Future Homes Standard. The government has calculated that this would add £2,557 to the build cost of a typical home. l Option 2 (‘Fabric plus technology’) proposes a 31% reduction in carbon emissions compared to the current standard. This will be delivered by encouraging the use of low-carbon heating or renewable energy but with lower fabric standards than option 1. The additional build cost is calculated as £4,847 per home.

Transitional arrangements At present, when a developer submits a building notice or full plans application, the Building Regulations standards in place at the time of the application are locked in. That is a concern where Building Regulations change over the life of a phased development. Under the proposed changes, transitional arrangements will only apply to individual buildings where work has actually started within a reasonable period (to be defined). That could mean differing standards applying to subsequent phases, with associated build cost implications.

Consistency The Planning and Energy Act 2008 (as amended) currently allows planning authorities to require energy efficiency standards for new homes that exceed the requirements of the Building Regulations. While this has allowed some planning authorities to push more ambitious targets, a consistent approach may be helpful for developers.

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16/03/2018 10:35

CIOB COMMUNITY

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CIOB Community Communications

CIOB reveals plans to improve social media engagement RESEARCH PROMPTS INITIATIVE TO STREAMLINE SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITY

The CIOB is carrying out wide-ranging changes to its social media policy and presence. The move follows a call from delegates at the Members’ Forum in Edinburgh last year for the institute to review its presence in social media to improve engagement and empower more members to get involved.

The CIOB tasked a brand strategy and communications agency to undertake a full, impartial analysis of CIOB social media. The research entailed a deep dive into all the data captured over the years, telephone interviews with many members and colleagues, and compared the CIOB experience against other professional bodies’ social channels and general best practice.

Kate Macbeth, associate director, marketing and digital, said: “The challenge for most organisations is in striking the right balance in our channels between generating content and managing what goes on so that we create a valuable experience for users.

We know we can’t be in every social media channel all the time. Our review has sought to show us where we would

“The challenge for most organisations is in striking the right balance in our channels between generating content and managing what goes on” Kate Macbeth, CIOB

Site visit

Members’ chance to tour Brighton hospital build site SEE ROYAL SUSSEX STAGE 1 WORK WITH LAING O’ROURKE

be most effective to spend our time and effort, and where members and other professionals expect to find us.

She added: “An issue for us has been in the sheer size of the CIOB landscape.

We currently have around 50 official CIOB social media channels and almost another 50 non-official channels set up by well-meaning members. Because it is a crowded space it makes it unclear for new potential followers to know which account to engage with.

“There is simply too much choice, and with such a broad landscape it becomes difficult to manage effectively with the time we all have. Not only that but there are varying levels of quality of content which has a negative effect and potentially damaging to our brand.”

The CIOB is now investigating how it will deliver on the recommendations.

Its plan will include the creation of a LinkedIn presence for local hubs and migrating from, then removing, local CIOB Twitter and Facebook accounts over the next few months.

“It removes the need for members to create ‘CIOB groups’ in LinkedIn

and instead empowers them to use their own profiles to get involved in the conversations we create,” said Macbeth. ● Read Kate Macbeth’s blog with the full details of this new initiative at www.ciob.org/blog/ changes-ciob-social-media.

The Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton is undergoing a £485m, nine-year programme to replace the buildings on the front of the main hospital site.

The three-stage programme – called the ‘3Ts Redevelopment’ to reflect the hospital’s role in teaching, trauma and tertiary care – will be complete by 2024.

CIOB members can take advantage of a site visit with lead contractor Laing

O’Rourke to see the work underway as part of Stage 1, which began in 2016 and should be complete by winter 2020.

The Stage 1 Building (left) will replace the wards and departments of the Barry Building, which opened 20 years before Florence Nightingale started nursing and is England’s oldest inpatient ward block.

The visit is on 5 February. Details from Briony Milton at bmilton@ciob.org.uk.

Members want LinkedIn to be the main social channel: four out of five use it daily n 51% LinkedIn n 10% Facebook n 14% Instagram

n 22% Twitter n 3% Other

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CIOB COMMUNITY

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Story for Community? Email Nicky Roger nicky@atompublishing.co.uk

Wellbeing

New CIOB service offers mental health support to members INSITUTE PARTNERS WITH CHARITY TO DELIVER HELP WITH ANXIETY ISSUES The CIOB’s Benevolent Fund is teaming up with Anxiety UK to offer members a new service. The CIOB’s partnership with the award-winning charity will deliver specialised support to CIOB members living with anxiety, stress or anxiety-based depression.

This is an entirely new service for CIOB members and a very positive development for the Benevolent Fund.

Throughout its history, the fund has provided advice focused on financial assistance. CIOB members will now be able to access additional services, focused on an individual’s need for wellbeing and mental health support.

This is available free at the point of use, as costs of the Anxiety UK service will be met by the Benevolent Fund.

Anxiety UK, formed in 1970, works to support those living with anxiety disorders, stress and anxiety-based depression. It provides information and support via a range of services. These include psychological therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), counselling and clinical hypnotherapy, delivered via its national network of approved therapists.

Email, text and instant messaging support is also available, along with helpline services and information resources, including Anxious Times, the charity’s quarterly magazine.

The plan to deliver a service supporting CIOB members will see Anxiety UK provide person-centred, holistic wellbeing assessments, leading to a personalised treatment plan which can include accessing the charity’s psychological therapy services.

Caroline Gumble, CEO of the CIOB, and a Benevolent Fund trustee, said: “The fund’s trustees have welcomed the opportunity to reach out and offer members this important new service.

Talking about mental health and wellbeing is sometimes seen as taboo and is, in fact, a big issue in the construction sector. I am so pleased that we’re able to provide this additional support. As CEO of the CIOB, I’m also happy to confirm that we’re offering it to all our staff.”

To be eligible to apply for the new service, an applicant will simply need to be, or at some point have been, a CIOB member. Eligibility also extends to the dependant family of the member. The service is available to CIOB members worldwide. Referral to Anxiety UK will be the same for all applicants, regardless of where they are based.

Take-up of the service will be monitored and members will be encouraged to provide feedback to help the CIOB ensure that consistent and useful support is being delivered and that member needs are being met. ● To access the Anxiety UK service for CIOB members, please contact: +44 (0)1344 630877. This dedicated UK number will lead enquirers to a member of the CIOB Team, who will in turn facilitate referral to Anxiety UK. For service users with specific access needs, practitioners delivering CBT and counselling can also be reached via telephone and webcam.

Site visit

SHEFFIELD HUB GOES FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH Following recent CIOB hub applications, Sheffield Hub committee is delighted to be up to a full contingent of six members – from across the industry, academia and local authorities.

From only three members last year, the committee and its co-opted members worked hard to build the profile of the hub and CIOB in the Sheffield area, and is excited to continue this work.

John Caudwell will take over from Andrew Nortcliffe as chair and David Pearce will continue his place on the committee.

They are delighted to welcome Tim Jones and Chris Jones, who are now full committee members after a year as co-opted members in 2019, and new members Paul Caunce and Vaughan Minshull.

The hub will work to strengthen relationships with local colleges and universities, as well as continuing to provide high quality CPD and work with the industry in the region.

Kick off your visit to Leicester City training centre MCLAREN PREVIEWS ITS STATE-OF-THE-ART SPORTS FACILITIES McLaren will host a site visit at Leicester City Football Club’s new training centre, on Wednesday 1 April.

The centre, which is to complete in June, is set to become one of the most modern, state-of-the-art training facilities in Europe.

The 75ha campus, in Charnwood, Leicestershire, includes 12 full-size outdoor football pitches, eight smaller pitches, five training grids and two goalkeeper training areas.

Facilities include a 30-bedroom hotel, a hydrotherapy pool, rehabilitation facilities and dining areas for the club’s academy and first team, as well as offices and a media centre.

Next to the main training centre is a full-size indoor artificial pitch, which acts as a hub for the club’s first team training regime, providing yearround training and integration with performance-monitoring technology.

The complex also includes a Sports Turf Academy, to offer full training to the next generation of ground staff and landscape architects.

If you would like to visit these groundbreaking facilities before the project is completed, please book now as numbers are limited.

This event is free to all members and non-members of the CIOB. Contact Georgina Floyd at gfloyd@ciob.org.uk.

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CIOB COMMUNITY

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Ceremonies

Successful CIOB graduations in Belfast and London INSTITUTE WELCOMES NEW FELLOWS AND MEMBERS AT GRADUATION CEREMONIES

CPD

Expert advice on SME success CONSULTANT PETER SEARLE LED CPD EVENT The CIOB’s Dorking and Maidstone Hubs held a CPD in December to offer members an expert insight into how to be a successful small business.

The number of small and mediumsized enterprises in UK construction is now breaking the one million mark and accounts for about a fifth of all UK SMEs. The event, titled Achieving the Three Stages of Small Business Success, was

presented by Peter Searle (pictured), an independent consultant, who spent 34 years with Kier, rising to construction director before becoming a consultant.

Searle is vice-chair of the CIOB Professional Review Members Panel and a judge for the Construction Manager of the Year Awards.

During the session, he covered: l Setting up – becoming a viable business that can survive, broadening your sales base and covering the cash demands of the start-up phase; l Scaling up – when to expand, or keep the firm stable and profitable, how to grow and finance that growth; and l Selling up – developing an exit strategy, succession planning or selling/ merging at a profit.

The event presented attendees with a great networking opportunity.

CIOB graduation ceremonies took place in Belfast City Hall on Saturday, 23 November 2019 and in London on 29 November.

At Clothworkers’ Hall in London the CIOB fellows and members listed on the right received their honours.

At Belfast one CIOB fellow and 45 members were joined by Peter McReynolds, deputy lord mayor, as well as Rebecca Thompson FCIOB, past president of the CIOB, Caroline Gumble, chief executive of the CIOB, and Ivan McCarthy FCIOB, trustee of the CIOB. The Belfast Hub committee was on hand, with Gary Blair FCIOB, chair of the Belfast Hub, leading the ceremony.

In her speech, Thompson said: “The CIOB is here to change the industry, make it more diverse and inclusive to enable the most competent leaders to succeed… Hopefully, you want to be a part of the change.

“Today is only the start of your journey. Today you have a choice; you can do your how and what, or you can challenge ‘why’ and get involved in your local committee, become a trustee, or even president.”

The CIOB would like to thank Belfast City Council for the use of Belfast City Hall and wish to congratulate the new fellows and members for their great achievement. ●

Above left: London graduates receive their awards. Below: The Belfast ceremony

New fellows Mark Ayto James Biggs Adrian Gunn John Roberts Mark Whittaker New MCIOB Howard Adams Omar Al Durra Mark Barratt Sam Carter Kiran Cheema Jesmond Chetcuti Gavin Coleman Robert Curry Darren Dawson Richard De Gruchy Oliver Dodd Darren Dunphy Richard Fereday Chris Ferguson Steven Gaulder Steve Greep Martin Hancock William Harrison Petre Istoc Shane James Sheika Johnston Rachael Keeble Dariusz Kunies Kevin Lawson Steve Luck Mohammad Mahbub Jose Mattos Ewan McDonald Michaled McGowan Neil McKean James McNab Jason Morgan Gareth Morgan Marian Neata John O’Sullivan Andrew Owusu-Agyakwa Andy Pennock James Perry John Pomfret Matthew Potter David Priestman Michael Quainoo Terry Reynolds Mohamed Ryas Aled Robers Bryn Shelley Geroge John Stones Costel Strachinaru Sophie Tomlin Gary Vaughan Andrei Vieru Adam Warner Simon Weetch Stephanie Wheatley Kim Wiper

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CIOB COMMUNITY

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Landscape Institute

Member award recognises role played by landscape ANTHONY MCGUIGAN ON WINNING TEAM Heritage

Book now for annual CIOB conservation conference INSTITUTE AND ENGLISH HERITAGE TACKLE SKILLS SHORTAGE IN THE SECTOR

The CIOB’s annual conservation conference – Future Skills for Traditional Buildings – will take place on 28 April at Church House in Westminster.

The loss of traditional craft skills has reached critical levels, owing to retirement from an ageing workforce, insufficient apprenticeships and a ‘framework’ which is not fit for purpose.

This is set against a background where for the next 10 years an unprecedented number of large projects are planned where these skills will be essential – both within the UK and Europe. Just think of the Palace of Westminster and Notre Dame Cathedral to start with.

The conference will explore how to balance a shortage of traditional skills with the need to move to modern methods of working. Is there a digital solution?

Through this event we will explore questions such as: l How can we balance the shortage of traditional skills with the need to move to modern methods of working? l Are apprenticeships fit for purpose to meet today’s requirements in the heritage /conservation sector? l Digital solutions for traditional skills l What makes the heritage sector an attractive career choice for young people? l What are the career options in this sector? Where are the skills shortages?

The event is in partnership with English Heritage and the platinum sponsor is Sir Robert McAlpine Special Projects. ● For cost details and to register visit https://crowd.in/gfedef.

Anthony McGuigan (second from right) receives his award Construction manager and chartered member Anthony McGuigan, a director with The Paul Hogarth Company, received the highest accolade available to landscape architects at the Landscape Institute’s recent 90th anniversary awards in London.

The company’s What’s Growing on the Greenway project received both the President’s Award as well as the Award for Communications and Presentation.

The work demonstrated the role which the landscape can play in improving health and wellbeing, promoting sustainability and encouraging biodiversity.

What’s Growing On The Greenway was commended for developing a conversation between landscape architects and the community of East Belfast about the environment of the Connswater Community Greenway.

The Greenway itself is a new linear park which follows the course of the Connswater, Knock and Loop Rivers and connects East Belfast with over 12km of foot and cycle paths.

It creates an accessible parkland for leisure and community events and is a place for everyone to get a little closer to nature.

Adam White, president of the Landscape Institute said the project “takes a capital

investment project to the next level”.

He added: “Anthony and Darren [McKinstry] from The Paul Hogarth Company came up with a truly innovative way to continue community engagement and foster further ownership once their project was opened to the public.”

What’s Growing On The Greenway has taken The Paul Hogarth Company, its client East Side Greenways and the community on a shared journey starting at the point where most projects end.

It used a number of communications techniques from social media to photo exhibitions and talks sustaining a meaningful conversation with local people over two years.

The process explored, tested and provided experiential learning for both the designers and the community about the connections between people, place and nature within this revitalised urban landscape.

The community’s feedback, views and photographs were collated into the blog and then a book to immortalise the developing link between local people and the nature that they encounter.

Daniel Cook, the Landscape Institute’s CEO, said: “What’s Growing On The Greenway epitomises our commitment to people, place and nature, and is a fantastic and worthy winner.”

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Event

Book your place for this year’s Belfast dinner SPORTS FIGURES TO ENTERTAIN CIOB HUB CIOB Belfast is hosting its 2020 annual dinner on Friday 27 March 2020 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Shaw’s Bridge, Belfast.

The dinner remains the premier social networking opportunity in the Belfast construction industry calendar, with over 250 attendees enjoying an entertaining evening, fabulous food, wine and company.

In a new venue for 2020, the event will welcome back the popular UTV Live sports editor and presenter Adrian Logan (Logie), pictured above, who will act as compere for the evening.

Lively entertainment will include a live interview with after-dinner speakers Wilma Erskine – the former secretary manager of Royal Portrush Golf Club and driving force behind the Irish Open – and Chris Henry, former Irish rugby union player.

The chosen charity for the dinner is the Air Ambulance Northern Ireland, in honour of Philip Corr, the vice-chair of the CIOB hub committee, who sadly passed away in 2019.

To find out more about ticket prices, head online or contact: jfitzsimmons@ciob.org.uk.

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Events

Diary dates HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CIOB CALENDAR FOR THE COMING MONTH. FOR MORE EVENTS VISIT CIOB.ORG Leeds Building Society HQ site visit 11 February, 5.30-6.30pm Leeds Graham invites you to visit its complete refurbishment of Leeds Building Society’s new headquarters at Sovereign House in Leeds. The works comprise the strip-out of the 11,100 sq m building over five floors, back to shell and core, and the complete refit of all M&E elements, internal refit and external curtain wall replacement.

Contact: cseymour@ciob.org.uk Site Vision 12 February, 6-8.30pm, Brampton, Cambs An event displaying engineering survey technology including, drone footage libraries, laser scanning and remote connected 3d Machine Control connectivity.

Speakers include senior project managers Mike Evans and Chris Bayliss.

Contact: ycollis@ciob.org.uk Ecology In Construction 27 February, 6-8.15pm An overview of ecological survey and assessment requirements for development, including recent updates in regulations and industry guidance. The presentation is by Richard Green Ecology Ltd. Richard Green has over 26 years of experience, having previously worked as a principal ecologist for a large multi-functional consultancy and as a conservation officer for the Environment Agency.

Contact: Nbreakspear@ciob.org.uk

Charity

Maidstone Hub raises funds for local hospice Maidstone Hub vice-chair Oma Megbele and chair Peter Smith present the cheque to Ellenor hospice staff

HUB COMMITTEE PRESENT ELLENOR WITH NEARLY £2,000

IR35 - Could this be the End of Limited Companies in the Construction Industry?

3 March, 6.30-8.30pm Leyland, Lancashire From April 2020 IR35 is set to change and it could see the closure of thousands of personal service companies.

This seminar will be of interest to individuals who operate through the limited company mechanism, as well as to recruitment agencies and end clients.

During the seminar you will learn in greater detail what the rules actually are and the basis of how HMRC will enforce them. The seminar will explore current risk, both legal and financial, and look at how each party can work to prepare for April 2020. Booking is essential.

Contact: Katrina Percival 07827 803809 Modular precast concrete hotel site visit, Bridgwater, Somerset 3 March, 8-10.15am Midas and FP McCann have invited CIOB members to their precast concrete frame IBIS hotel in Bridgwater. Visitors can see the modular panels being craned into position.

Breakfast baps, refreshments and PPE check will take place from 7.45am, with a presentation from 8.30am. The site visit is at 9.15am, with a Q&A session at 10am. Full PPE is mandatory – hi-vis jackets, steel-capped safety boots, hat, gloves and glasses.

Contact: Nbreakspear@ciob.org.uk Members’ Forum 22-26 June 2020, Sydney, Australia Each year, the CIOB brings together leading construction professionals from its membership, along with key stakeholders, for a global Members’ Forum – providing a platform to discuss matters of importance for CIOB and the sector globally. This year we are holding Members’ Forum in Sydney.

Details of the venues and programme will be published on https://membersforum. ciob.org once fully confirmed.

The Maidstone Hub chair and vice-chair, Peter Smith and Oma Megbele, together with the hub MSEC Beverley Lawrence, visited Ellenor to present the proceeds from the raffle held at the Maidstone Construction Professionals’ Dinner in September.

Linda Trew, director of income generation at Ellenor, provided

BRIGHT FUTURES STUDENT CHALLENGE 2020 UNDERWAY Students from the London and Southern region are being invited to sign up for the 2020 Bright Futures Student Challenge.

Teams of two to four will compete in heats taking place on 12 February in London, Maidstone and Southampton.

Prizes and trophies are on offer for the winners of each heat, with the overall winners going forward to the 2020 final in London in March.

For more details contact: Brooke Grange (London) bgrange@ciob.org.uk; Beverley Lawrence (Maidstone) blawrence@ ciob.org.uk; or Caroline Benjamin (Southampton) cbenjamin@ ciob.org.uk.

a tour of the facilities at the hospice in Kent.

Ellenor is fundraising for an extensive refurbishment programme and extension costing £7m. This will enable it to offer a wider range of services and support more patients and their families.

For further information see https://ellenor.org.

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“No matter what type of project you are a part of, you are making a tangible difference to lives in your local area” Gemma Writer, Turner & Townsend

Building Schools for the Future Scheme in Derby. I was offered a trainee position – I stepped onto site and never left.

Gemma Writer MCIOB

Meet a member GEMMA WRITER, SENIOR COST MANAGER INFRASTRUCTURE AT TURNER & TOWNSEND

Tell us a little about your career to date? Why did you choose construction?

From my early teens I always had an interest in the built environment.

I loved visiting new cities and admiring the combination of both new and old architecture. I perceived the construction industry to consist of solely builders and architects; I knew no better as none of my family and friends were working in the sector to tell me otherwise.

I trialled work experience when I was 16 in a local architect’s office, which I absolutely loved, and it reinforced my interest. I started to research jobs in the sector and stumbled across quantity surveying which played to my strengths.

I pleaded with my school to let me try work experience in the QS role on a

You’re so enthusiastic about the industry: tell us about how you’re promoting it to young people Being part of the industry is extremely rewarding. From building the skyline consisting of office blocks, hotels and landmarks to providing public services such as hospitals and schools, to constructing infrastructure transport networks for future generations, no matter what type of project you are a part of, you are making a tangible difference to lives in your local area.

I am so thankful for my experience to date. I feel the industry has given me so much opportunity – from supporting me to gain two degrees (a BSc in Quantity Surveying and an MSc in Construction Law and Dispute Resolution) while on the job, to building my confidence with different stakeholders, and providing options to learn about and experience projects in a whole host of sectors. Every day is a school day in this industry!

The industry has a huge part to play in promoting careers, especially taking into account the skills gap the industry is experiencing. I host careers presentations in schools on behalf of the CIOB, and help students with their CVs and interview skills.

I use my annual corporate responsibility day to represent the industry at the Big Bang Fair which celebrates careers in STEM subjects –

62,000 young people attended the event last year. I have also taken up a progression mentoring role with the Prince’s Trust to support young adults into the workplace, education, training or volunteering.

If you hadn’t picked this industry what else would you have done?

I would have been a surgeon! I spent one summer shadowing a family friend who was a senior anaesthetist at a local hospital. I had the fantastic opportunity of putting on Crocs and scrubs and witnessing meniscus and ACL reconstruction surgery first hand.

I still love anything medical, from books on the subject to watching 24hrs in A&E. What changes would you like to see in the industry?

Aside from a greater industry-led focus on closing the skills gap, I am intrigued by the modular and volumetric offsite construction sector. I would love to see this sector grow and continue to gain momentum, especially on larger scale projects.

How do you spend your spare time?

I like to get out in the fresh air for long walks involving pub stops and good food. I enjoy travel and I love variety, spending my free time doing anything wacky and interesting: recent activities include hovercrafting and alpaca walking. I have also been known to happily gallop around wearing an inflatable unicorn costume! ●

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“Regular communication was vital, ensuring that our works did not affect the daily routine of campus life” Sam Dibaj, Galliford Try

Me and my project

Sporting success SAM DIBAJ AT GALLIFORD TRY SHARES HIS EXPERIENCE OF A RECENT INNOVATIVE UNIVERSITY SPORT PROJECT

I joined Galliford Try nearly two years ago, drawn by the attraction of working on such a high-profile and prestigious build for Leeds Beckett University and the city of Leeds.

In my role as construction manager, I oversee the operations side of the project as well as managing the client and stakeholder expectations as they continue to operate an educational institution which sees approximately 5,000 staff, students and visitors a day.

Managing the logistics at the heart of a university campus is comparable to that of a city-centre project and needed to be treated similarly.

Regular communication was vital with stakeholders throughout the university, ensuring that our works did not affect the daily routine of campus life.

Like many projects, one of the challenges we encountered were the existing services in the area. I worked closely with the university, bringing together people from many departments and areas to help identify ownership and proposals moving forward. Most of this work was carried

Top: Carnegie Teaching and Research Building has a 60m sprint track on the roof Above: Galliford Try’s Sam Dibaj Below right: The rooftop running track projects over the building facade

out prior to the project commencing and not in contract. However, it helped build up an early relationship of trust with the university which continues two years on – this I felt was crucial to the success of the project.

To strengthen this relationship, I have hosted Open Doors events and many site visits for staff and alumni from the university. This has given them an insight into the daily routine of site life with the aim of changing their perception of the construction industry.

Students from local schools and colleges have also visited the project providing the opportunity to consider pursuing a career in construction, which is key to tackling the longstanding training and skills issues we have.

Leeds Beckett University has a long list of successful alumni and the Carnegie Teaching and Research (CTaR) Building will play a key role in the community, creating graduates who shape the future of sport in the region.

The project is the result of a symbiotic relationship between designers and

stakeholders, providing a contemporary addition to the historic campus, while reflecting the style of the existing buildings in mirrored architectural features. These features are enhanced by the choice of materials such as the acid-etched anodised aluminium panels – patterned with a design based on human muscles.

As the new centre for the Carnegie School of Sport, the CTaR building will be home to a wealth of outstanding facilities, including dedicated research laboratories, hyperbaric chambers, a health and wellbeing studio, a covered rooftop 60m sprint track for performance training and analysis, and a rooftop walking track and terrace.

Locating the indoor running track on the roof of the building provides both accessibility and flow to the building and an interesting architectural feature.

In addition, we are constructing an environmental chamber which can mimic different altitudes and environments, ranging from Mount Everest to the Sahara Desert to a tropical rainforest. This is a unique feature: there is no other comparable facility in the country. The technology is simple but with many unknowns.

I am proud to be working on such a fantastic project, one which will be directly attributable to future athletes and the development of research in academic field. ● Sam Dibaj is a construction manager with Galliford Try.

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Partnership Webinar to offer inspiration and top tips on digital upskilling REGISTER NOW FOR A DIGITAL SKILLS WEBINAR FEATURING INNOVATION FROM SISK

The CIOB and Autodesk is hosting a webinar this month on digital skills.

Digital Construction: How to Upskill your Team is the third webinar in the Digital Construction series from the CIOB and Autodesk.

This webinar aims to support companies in upskilling their workforce to help them on their digital journey. It will feature panel discussions and use real-life case studies. A key contributor will be SISK discussing the digital innovation it employed on its awardwinning project in Wembley.

SISK won the medium-size construction project category at the Autodesk AEC Excellence Awards at the end of 2019 for its residential projects E03 Canada Court and E05 Quebec at Wembley Park.

T h e A E C E x c e l l e n c e Aw a r d s honour the best projects and people that are embracing technology to reimagine the processes of design and construction.

With E03 and E05, a pair of buildto-rent developments, SISK developed ‘Digital Smart Containers’ as an innovative mapping solution that links project data to smart containers in Autodesk BIM 360 using QR codes.

This creates a single source of information where the 3D model is at the core of all site activities, and improves collaboration by removing traditional silos.

Through the use of drone inspections, SISK was able to eliminate the need for scaffolding, reducing deliveries and time on site. By creating

a 4D simulation, monitoring health and safety issues was more efficient, with no major injuries recorded throughout the project.

SISK managed to avoid £90,000 worth of concrete reworks through enhanced clash detection processes, and made a time saving of 35% on their QA process by introducing an innovative site management solution.

Delivering such innovations enabled SISK to erect the concrete structure for both buildings eight weeks prior to the deadline and complete the first block 25 days early.

The success of the project was driven through the firm’s Digital Project Delivery (DPD) approach: a training matrix enabling staff to become more efficient and use the time gained to focus more on innovation.

“DPD is a As well as the SISK project, the vehicle to webinar will discuss the skills needed transform whole to achieve a balanced training plan project delivery to understand digital tools, data and functions technical knowledge, along with through developing softer skills, a flexible digitisation” Shervin Deh Bozorgi, mindset and problem-solving. It will also explore what training is available DPD Lead UK, SISK available and learn best practice from companies such as SISK who have led in upskilling their workforce. ● The one-hour webinar Upskill your Teams for Digital Construction takes place on Wednesday 12 February at 12pm GMT (London).

Register at: https://events.ciob. org/upskilldigital

SISK will speak at the webinar about its use of digital innovation that secured the firm an excellence award for its work at Wembley Park (above and left)

View all winners of the AEC Excellence Awards at https:// adsknews.autodesk.com/ news/aec-excellence-awardswinners-2019 For more information on the AEC awards and entries for 2020 visit www.aecexcellence.com CONSTRUCTION MANAGER FEBRUARY 2020 | 57

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Fit for work

Training & Recruitment Job spotlight Nick Horner Area delivery lead for project wide infrastructure, EDF

NUCLEAR FAMILY NICK HORNER ON HOW HE MANAGES HIS JOB AT HINKLEY POINT C

What does your job involve? Is there a typical day?

Hinkley Point C has many construction interfaces and work streams within the curtilage of the site which require construction management.

My typical day involves managing the delivery of all scope of works outside of the Nuclear Island, Conventional Island and Heat Sink Areas.

These include the construction of the roads and networks, the delivery of the construction electrical systems and the development and construction of the IT&T networks.

We have completed some major milestones this year, two of which are a 500m jetty to enable the reduction of transportation to bring aggregate to site, which will benefit the local communities, and the major transport hub known as the North Plaza, which will enable people to be brought by bus into the centre of site and onto their workplace quickly. At present we have thousands of people that need to be transported to site – this facility will help drive efficiency into the project.

A nuclear power station isn’t run of the mill.

Do you need special skills/knowledge?

Construction of the first nuclear facility in a generation spans over a number of years but four main phases exist on the journey. Each

demands diverse skill sets and disciplines. The four main phases are enabling, civils, mechanical and electrical, and finally commissioning.

Many of the phases see new team members arrive and some leave as the project progresses – this is natural progression due to requiring a wide-ranging knowledge base associated to each phase. You will play an important part on the journey to completing the best project being undertaken in the UK at present.

Key skills required to work in the nuclear industry, and here on site, are a good knowledge of working within a regulatory environment, having experience associated with multidisciplined mega projects – which I have gained over the years in the industry. Communication skills are important, with a collaborative attitude, and that you put safety and quality first and foremost in everything you do.

What are the most challenging and rewarding aspects of your job?

Coordinating the many interfaces between the multiple work fronts is the most challenging aspect of my role. Coordination ensures that each contractor can deliver against their milestone dates and that they are not affected by work undertaken by the other contractors.

Efficiency of moving large numbers of people around site in the quickest time is imperative to delivering this project. The construction of the road network allows that efficiency to be realised, but by doing so we impact a number of work fronts. It’s a challenge maintaining access to the various platforms but the teams do a fantastic job working with the contractors to reduce and minimise this impact.

The most rewarding aspect of my job is the team I am privileged to manage, who are a true set of professionals and safeguard our excellent safety, quality and environmental standards. ●

Hundreds of the best jobs in construction.

Recruitment news and insight. www.constructionmanagerjobs.co.uk

Iain McIlwee introduces the new FIS collaborative Fit-out Futures programme FIS – the representative body for the UK’s £10bn finishes and interiors sector – has relaunched its flagship Fit-out Futures programme. This now targets a more consistent and effective approach to attracting new starters to the sector.

Changes to the programme enable FIS to extend its successful BuildBack project, which has over the past 18 months given induction training and employment opportunities to over 800 individuals who were previously long-term unemployed. Key target demographics are young people not in education, employment or training, the unemployed and ex-military service leavers. We are also interested in people retraining in construction.

There are two key elements to this work: a structured assessment and induction programme for finding and embedding new starters and a clear work-experience framework that supports employers in finding and managing work trials, connecting employers with college learners. The programme is also looking at addressing diversity across the key target groups.

Fit-out Futures is built on the principle that if we start people right we will reduce what is now a quite horrific waste of time and resources invested in training. In interrogating where people start and how they flow through our industry, there are clear areas of waste.

The fact that, while we recognise we have a skills shortage, almost 70% of students currently studying a construction-related course in college will never work in the industry is mind-blowing. If we don’t induct people effectively we end up wasting time and money training people who have no future in our sector.

Through Fit-out-Futures we are also interrogating what attracts and turns people off when it comes to the way we introduce them to the sector. We want to understand where we get it wrong, so we want to do it better.

FIS is now calling for employers, trainers and assessors to get involved. Collaboration and partnership are at the heart of the FIS strategy. FIS is well placed and open to developing key relationships across main contractors, housebuilders, local authorities and agencies.

In delivering Fit-out Futures Version 2, FIS will be making it as easy as possible for employers to take on new entrants and for new entrants to get skilled and employed.

Iain McIlwee is CEO of FIS. For more information visit www.thefis.org/skills-hub/ fit-out-futures or email: skills@thefis.org.

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BIM Product of the Year ARCHICAD 23 delivers a quantum leap in BIM performance by speeding up everyday design and editing processes and ensures uninterrupted workflows for the most frequently used tasks. With brand-new tools to increase modelling accuracy, enable fast editing and streamline error-free, interdisciplinary design coordination.

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To see the new ARCHICAD 23 contact GRAPHISOFT at graphisoft.com or call 01895 527590.

ARCHICAD 22 delivers design tool improvements and also introduces enhanced design workflow processes. These represent significant performance improvements as well as productivity enhancements to its core design processes as well as to multidisciplinary collaborative workflows.

For further information on ARCHICAD 22 contact GRAPHISOFT at graphisoft.com or call 01895 527590.

Irina Viner-Usmanova Rhythmic Gymnastics Center in the Luzhniki Complex, Moscow, Russia - CPU PRIDE www.prideproject.pro

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*Gross Payload = Gross vehicle mass, less kerb mass. GVM = Gross vehicle mass. The total permissible all-up weight of a rigid vehicle – i.e with body, payload, ancillaries, fuel, oil, water, driver and crew. Kerb mass = the weight of the complete vehicle and all equipment including fuel and water but without payload, driver or any crew. All kerb masses quoted are subject to manufacturing tolerances and are for models with minimum equipment unless stated otherwise. Higher specification models will have greater kerb masses and, therefore, lower payloads due to the increased amount of standard equipment.

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