Construction & Civil Engineering issue 134 December 2016

www.ccemagazine.com

ISSUE 134 DECEMBER

safety Solitary

Protecting lone workers is a serious consideration with major human implications and companies must take the time to think the process through See page 12

Healthy staff

Research shows that it pays to invest in greener offices

Future office

State-of-the- art office project completed for Microsoft in Munich

Building approved

Permission given for new structure in International Quarter London

Chairman Andrew Schofield

12 Cover story

contents

Editor Libbie Hammond

libbie@schofieldpublishing.co.uk Art Editor Gerard Roadley-Battin Production Manager Fleur Daniels

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Staff Writers Jo Cooper Andrew Dann Josh Younespour Operations Director Philip Monument Research Manager Laura Thompson Editorial Researchers Mark Cowles Alasdair Gamble Jeff Goldenberg Natalie Griffiths Tarjinder Kaur D’Silva

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Sales Director Joe Woolsgrove Sales Tim Eakins William Ramanauskas Darren Jolliffe Jonas Junca Dave King Mark Cawston Rob Wagner Theresa McDonald Mauro Berini

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@cce_magazine

Š 2016 Schofield Publishing Ltd

2 Case study A new air conditioning system is promising a range of benefits for a high street location

6 News

Production/ Office Manager Tracy Chynoweth

Schofield Publishing Cringleford Business Centre, 10 Intwood Road, Cringleford, Norwich, NR4 6AU, U.K. Tel: +44 (0)1603 274130 www.ccemagazine.com

FEATURES

Updates and information from the construction and civil engineering market

8 Training company profiles 20 London Stock Exchange Group 22 AM Griffiths 26 Dubai Parks and Resorts 39 AB2000 43 Springfield Mobile Ltd 46 Actavo 48 Malthus 50 Stirnimann 52 CESAS Civil Engineering 54 Betonbau 56 Vrijenban 59 ITA AITES

There is currently a shortage in skilled plant operators that the industry needs to address

12 Lone workers Protecting lone workers is a serious consideration with major human implications

16 Technology Construction firms of all sizes need to realise the value of investment in plant technology, so the industry can move forward

18 IT It is impossible to build a successful property without looking at what future trends will dominate the market

Please note: The opinions expressed by contributors and advertisers within this publication do not necessarily coincide with those of the editor and publisher. Every reasonable effort is made to ensure that the information published is accurate, and correct at time of writing, but no legal responsibility for loss occasioned by the use of such information can be accepted by the publisher. All rights reserved. The contents of the magazine are strictly copyright, the property of Schofield Publishing, and may not be copied, stored in a retrieval system, or reproduced without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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case study

Cool

system

A new air conditioning system is promising a range of benefits for a high street location, including unobtrusive design, quieter operation and easier maintenance

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D

aikin’s new integrated air conditioning system is set to revolutionise the aesthetics of many commercial buildings in high streets throughout London and the UK. For the first time Daikin’s VRV IV i-Series was installed by M&E contractor, Synecore, at Leon Restaurant in Fenchurch Street, London.

Air conditioning systems most commonly require an outside space - either an alleyway or rooftop - to accommodate the bulky condenser unit, but Daikin has been clever. It has created a unique system that is entirely installed indoors, with only simple grilles visible from the outside, which can be discretely disguised within the existing architecture, or by using signage.

The first application of this all-new patented system was by Synecore for its long-

standing client, healthy fast food restaurant chain, Leon. Synecore has provided HVAC design and installation for Leon sites for several years, with the majority of the projects taking place across London, where outside space is at a premium.

Through using the all-new Daikin VRV IV i-Series, the new Leon site in Fenchurch Street was able to open sooner, thanks to the system’s unobtrusive design and low operating sound.

Not only is the new Daikin

integrated system quiet and more aesthetically pleasing, it is also quicker and more cost effective to install, as the unit is split into two elements – the heat exchanger and compressor.

The heat exchanger is integrated within the ceiling, with an outside vent. It’s V-shaped heat exchanger and high performance fan combination offers higher air flow and static pressure, thus resulting in higher efficiencies compared to a standard outdoor units installed indoors. The

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case study

A he

compressor element is compact and can be installed within an office, storage room, kitchen or technical area.

“To be able to install such a discrete and highly efficient air conditioning system will hugely benefit many high street retailers across the UK, but particularly in London, where sourcing outside space for a condenser can be

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challenging,” explains Synecore’s HVAC Manager, Gary Piper.

“Daikin’s strapline for this product is ‘Keep looking, you’ll never find me’, which is entirely appropriate. At Leon Fenchurch Street, you will not visibly see any sign of the air conditioning system on the exterior of the building, as it is concealed by a glass canopy.

“Inside, the units could have

been disguised fully, however, Leon prefer the industrial exposed look of the pipework and utilities.

For Daikin this is a fantastic opportunity to show how the units look when installed, as you can see the neat heat exchanger units positioned above the front door and in the kitchen area.”

Being installed inside, and within two parts, means the

amount of pipe work is lessened; there is no requirement for a crane for rooftop installation, or costly sound insulation.

The Daikin VRV IV i-Series can connect up to ten indoor air conditioning units (cassettes, concealed ceiling, wall mounted, floor standing indoor units or Air Curtains). Synecore connected two 5 HP i-VRV systems – one

to serve the restaurant area and one in the kitchen. The compressor was neatly installed in a cupboard under the stairs, completely out of sight.

The client too was delighted with the installation. Lob Tang, Head of Property for Leon Restaurants, said: “In all our developments we look to include innovative and space-saving

solutions where possible. So, when Synecore approached us with the latest integrated HVAC technology by Daikin, there seemed no reason not to try it in our new Fenchurch Street branch.

“With an unobtrusive external plant, the site was up and running far quicker than expected. This is great for companies like Leon, which have a rigorous development schedule. I firmly believe it could be the ideal HVAC solution for many restaurants and retailers in the future, particularly in urban areas.”

Not only is this system much more aesthetically pleasing and practical for retail developments, but it also simple to install and provides fantastic overall efficiency to keep those energy bills down. As for maintenance, every element is easy to access and the time taken will be no different to a conventional air conditioning system.

“It was an honour to be the first M&E contractor to install the all-new Daikin VRV IV i-Series.

There is no doubt, that I would recommend this system to clients looking for a space saving solution for their property’s air conditioning and heating in the future,” concluded Piper. www.synecore.co.uk

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news

Retrofitting approach

£10.6 million contract Interserve has been awarded a £10.6 million contract by Alumno Developments Ltd to design and build two new student accommodation buildings in Leamington Spa. Located beside the Grand Union Canal and close to the University of Warwick, the two four-storey buildings will include 187 high quality bedrooms for students, including a mix of en-suite, standard and studio rooms, some of which will be wheelchair accessible. The development will feature a contemporary central reception area, which will provide secure access for students as well as shared common rooms and amenity spaces.

Interserve has also been contracted to make improvements to the canal-side environment and create a new green park area along the towpath, which can be enjoyed by both students and the local community.

Alumno and Interserve are also working closely with Anthony Frost, the son of local artist Terry Frost RA to install public artwork along the towpath that will celebrate Frost’s life and achievements and will encourage activity from residents and visitors along this section of the canal.

Next stage of development Lendlease and LCR, the joint venture partners in International Quarter London, have announced they have secured planning approval from the LLDC’s planning committee to begin construction on a new building at Stratford.

The building is a 600,000 sq ft structure that will offer accommodation for more than 7000 employees, which can be ready for tenant handover from the end of 2019.

The building will make up the largest of three new buildings being designed for International Quarter London, totalling 1.2m sq ft of Grade A office space. The construction of the new building will incorporate a series of external areas and a flexible interior design to accommodate multiple occupants across a range of sectors.

Ben O’Rourke, Lendlease’s Managing Director of International Quarter London, said: “This building reflects International Quarter London’s focus on creating a pioneering workplace for progressive businesses, and the flexible design will allow it to be occupied by single or multiple tenants, and includes a number of technological innovations which are firsts in the UK on this scale. For example, it will feature an intelligent closed-cavity façade which tracks the sun with dynamic shading and a supply of 100 per cent fresh air throughout the building.”

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A new and targeted approach is needed to retrofit selective parts of the UK’s housing stock to allow it to contribute to a cost effective decarbonisation strategy, according to a report published by the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI).

‘Housing Retrofits – A New Start’ written by the ETI’s Chief Engineer Andrew Haslett looks at the role of housing retrofitting when seeking to tackle the 20 per cent of emissions that comes from heating the UK’s 28 million homes.

The ETI report follows the completion of a second project in the area of housing retrofits. The first project identified two new retrofitting approaches with significant potential to reduce wasted time and materials, reduce costs and improve quality through industrialising the planning and execution of housing retrofits.

The second project set out to test this more industrialised approach on five typical UK dwellings (terrace, semi-detached, detached) built from pre1919 to post 1980, to identify what might be deliverable in practice. Retrofits were successfully completed on four of the houses, with gas usage reduced by 30-50 per cent at costs ranging from £32,000 to £77,000.

The results from the project team show how supply chain investment and learning might reduce the cost range to £17,000 to £31,000. www.eti.co.uk/insights/ housing-retrofits-a-newstart

In brief Healthy staff

Awards success Developer Crest Nicholson is once again celebrating a Sunday Times British Homes Awards win after its Bath Riverside villas scooped ‘Best House Design’.

The announcement came at a ceremony held on Friday 14th October at The London Marriot Hotel in Grosvenor Square.

Designed by award-winning architect Alison Brooks, Bath Riverside is totally unique and gives residents direct access to the River Avon, which runs alongside the development.

The design, while modern, pays tribute to Bath’s classic Georgian past and has proved as popular among buyers as it has judges. It is the second time in two years the developer has won the award, as last year it was given to their

Oakgrove Village development in Milton Keynes.

The development plays a prominent role in the regeneration of the Riverside area and takes pride of place on ‘the western corridor’, a former industrial site left derelict for more than 25 years.

Speaking of the award success, Mary Timlin, Sales and Marketing director at Crest Nicholson, said: “We are delighted that Bath Riverside has been recognised at The Sunday Times British Homes awards - this year’s win is a fantastic achievement for the Bath Riverside team.

“We’ve seen a phenomenal amount of interest in Bath Riverside, which is testament to the quality of these outstanding developments.”

Fancy façade A £30 million Feethams leisure scheme in Darlington has been completed using 2100m2 of SureClad ceramic granite ventilated façade from Shackerley.

Designed by Darlington-based Niven Architects, the town centre scheme includes an 80-bedroom Premier Inn hotel, a nine-screen Vue Cinema and a mix of restaurants and bars.

“We selected Shackerley’s SureClad ventilated façade system in contrasting colours and finishes for the Premier Inn, and a combination of render and SureClad ceramic granite façade for the Vue Cinema,” comments Director of Niven Architects, Peter Hodges. “This offered a cost-effective solution whilst achieving a modern quality feel that fitted with our design aspirations.”

The cladding system was fully-prefabricated by Shackerley at its manufacturing site in Lancashire and installed on site by specialist contractor, Speedclad. To meet Premier Inn’s demanding thermal and acoustic requirements the building envelope specification for the hotel also included high performance insulation, which was installed on external walls in the cavity behind the SureClad façade.

Employers, building owners, designers and developers throughout the world are showing that it pays to invest in greener offices that keep their occupants healthy and happy, a report from the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) reveals.

The report highlights the global momentum behind healthy and green office design and operation, and showcases over 15 buildings that are leading the way.

Office of the future Turner & Townsend has completed a major office project for Microsoft in Munich as part of the tech giant’s European strategy to create state-of-the-art workplaces for its employees.

The new offices will act as Microsoft’s headquarters in Germany and are based on Microsoft’s vision of creating an ‘Office of the Future’. With unassigned workspaces, multiple breakout areas and informal meeting rooms and outside terraces, it showcases the company’s values.

Urban energy Cities have more power to secure their own cleaner energy supply than they realise a new study by Arup, released at the 23rd World Energy Congress, shows. The Arup Innovating Urban Energy perspective paper provides insight for the World Energy Council Scenarios Report and shows that new technologies, innovative financing mechanisms and political changes are opening up opportunities for cities to secure their own energy.

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TRAINING

Strong

foundations

An investigation into future workforce strategies is required for the UK construction industry, not just to realise order book opportunities, but to win against fierce competition with a shrinking labour pool.

By Jarrod Mollison

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s the UK continues on its roller coaster trajectory in the short-term, most commentators agree that its long-term global future is secure, with ‘Construction 2025’ predicting growth of more than 70 per cent in the next decade1. With ten per cent of all jobs in the UK falling under the construction banner2, it is imperative that all parts of the industry work together to remain compliant and drive innovation to ensure a vibrant sector for employment opportunities.

Finding the right people with the right skills Jarrod Mollison is Business Solutions Director at Datum RPO

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Whether labour is subcontracted or directly engaged, contract success boils down to getting the right person at the right time, at any level of the supply chain.

Even with advanced technology, a job is only ever as good as the people who work on it. Each

new hire is a cumulative cost; so when a hire goes wrong – due to mismatched skill sets or a poor screening process – further costs are incurred. According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the average cost of recruiting the wrong person is £8,200, rising to £12,000 for senior managers or directors. When multiple hires go wrong, the incremental costs can be severely detrimental to the business and the project.

There is a well-documented shortage of skilled workers across a range of construction roles, however at present there is a particular shortage in skilled plant operators. The key to this issue is apprenticeships – encouraging people from a young age to take up a career in construction.

Apprenticeships are on the rise, with a 30 per cent increase of companies taking on apprentices in 2014 according to the CITB3.

Despite this welcome increase,

When it comes to ‘hiring the right person for the job’, more and more organisations are becoming rigorous with their recruitment processes, including extra stages of interviews, written assessments and character profiling. With more graduates and applicants than ever before, recruitment is becoming fiercer for employers and candidates alike.

Handling the shortage of skills

much more needs to be done.

Gillian Econopouly, Head of Research at CITB, advises that with 200,000 jobs to be created in construction over the next couple of years, “many more firms need to take on apprentices so that our industry can deliver all of the exciting projects in the pipeline”4.

With the permanent recruits in short supply and with a lengthy lead-time, most companies rely heavily on a temporary workforce to plug gaps. Whilst using recruitment agencies to source temporary workers can be a short-term fix for the problem, it can also create its own challenges, namely: Potential legal risks When engaging agency workers, the agencies are responsible for checking that workers have the right to work in the UK, however, in our experience, we have found that 32 per cent of agencies fail to follow the correct procedures leaving their clients exposed.

Many agency workers, particularly within the construction sector, have been engaged by umbrella payroll companies who help to maximise take home pay through travel and subsistence allowances.

Legislation that came into force in April 2016 has removed the ability for umbrella payroll companies to make deductions for travel and subsistence where the worker is deemed to be under supervision, direction and control (SDC) which captures most agency workers.

Our recent findings have identified that these schemes are still being used, hence putting the end client at potential liability for any unpaid taxes.

Lack of cost control When using agency labour it is easy for costs to spiral out of control, without fixed pay rates or margins in place there is a lack of visibility of how charge rates are

made up and often this can lead to overcharging.

Lack of management information and high processing costs Often the cost associated to agency labour is unknown until the invoices are presented. And when the invoices do arrive, they are often an individual invoice per worker leading to high processing costs and time consuming processes to check for accuracy.

One solution to this problem is to implement a Vendor Neutral Management company to manage the agencies on your behalf.

What is Vendor Neutral Management?

You may already know about two of the main solutions for managing temporary and contract agency labour in the market – namely Preferred Supplier Lists (PSLs) and Master Vendor Agreements. Whilst both of these traditional methods have their pros and cons, Vendor Neutral Management is the ‘have-yourcake-and-eat-it’ solution, offering businesses the best parts of the two traditional solutions without any of the negatives.

A Vendor Neutral recruitment option takes total responsibility for the management of your temporary workforce. Much like a PSL, it uses a list of approved suppliers to source candidates, but because it is all controlled via a central management system, all jobs are released to your chosen agencies at the same time. The result? A fair and level playing field, where friendly competition is encouraged to ensure that each of your suppliers is working hard for you, all the time.

Not only that, but because it is all managed by one neutral vendor, you can reap all the benefits of having a variety of suppliers but deal with just one point of contact with one consolidated invoice. You don’t even have to change your suppliers – your Vendor Neutral supplier will take care of that for you, managing and auditing your

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TRAINING

existing suppliers to ensure they are delivering you the results you need.

What are the benefits?

A Vendor Neutral recruitment solution is perfect for organisations that have a large temporary or contract workforce requirement. From standardised terms and conditions to legislation and compliance and even management of your brand, there are a huge number of benefits to reap from switching to a Vendor Neutral model. Here are a few of the biggest ones: 1. Only deal with one point of contact One of the biggest benefits of a Vendor Neutral solution is that you get all the benefits of a broad supply base whilst removing the challenge of dealing with multiple suppliers and all their different agreements. With Vendor Neutral Management, a panel of agencies will be formed utilising your existing suppliers, taking into account factors such as financial stability, geographic capabilities and legal compliance, so you have the most suitable suppliers working for you. Not only that, but supplier communication – including review meetings – is taken care of, so all the fiddly admin work is done for you.

2. There’s standardised terms and conditions You will have just one set of standardised terms and conditions as well as a standardised recruitment process. This not only means that you can be confident that all of your supplying agencies are working to the same standard, all of the time, but it also means that you can keep control of your brand and the way it is portrayed to potential candidates.

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3. Fair and visible margins for complete control Another benefit of Vendor Neutral Management is the completely fair and clearly visible margins, so you can remain in total control of what is going on with each and every one of your suppliers. Not only that, but at the same time you can also benefit from direct cost savings of between six and 12 per cent thanks to standardising pay rates and margins.

4. Just one consolidated invoice With a Vendor Neutral recruitment solution, you’ll have to deal with just one consolidated invoice rather than getting buried under a pile of invoices every month.

So not only will you save a great deal of time on administration, but there’s also no need to manually check timesheets and invoices from all of your suppliers – that will all be taken care of for you.

5. Keep up to date with legislation and compliance One of the biggest benefits of a Vendor Neutral solution is that you can use technology to store and track legal compliance information, such as Rights to Work, DBS checks and health and safety training, to ensure your workforce is legally compliant. In addition, as part of the service your agencies will also be audited every six months to ensure they remain up to date and these important issues so you can have total confidence and complete peace of mind at all times.

6. Increased brand management Because all of your suppliers will have a standard process of engagement, you can also ensure that they are portraying your brand correctly to all of your existing and potential candidates so that they have a thorough engagement experience, meaning

that they will view your business in a consistent and positive light.

7. Management information and reporting Vendor Neutral Management puts you in the driving seat so you can see what is going on across your entire recruitment process, all of the time. With realtime KPI reporting and complete visibility across all areas of process and spend, you can remain in complete control.

1 https://www.gov.uk/government/ uploads/system/uploads/attachment_ data/file/210099/bis-13-955construction-2025-industrial-strategy. pdf 2 Global Construction 2025 https:// www.gov.uk/government/uploads/ system/uploads/attachment_data/ file/210099/bis-13-955-construction2025-industrial-strategy.pdf 3 http://www.worldcement.com/ europe-cis/09032015/CITB-survey-onapprenticeships-in-UK-constructionsector-481/ 4 http://www.worldcement.com/ europe-cis/09032015/CITB-survey-onapprenticeships-in-UK-constructionsector-481/

Jarrod Mollison is Business Solutions Director at Datum RPO, a leading Recruitment Process Outsourcing company. As experts in the field Datum RPO can tailor its solution including reduced administration, legislative compliance, increased retention, cost savings, management information, consolidated invoicing, improved supplier engagement and the ability to challenge the ineffective use of temporary and contract labour.

For more information, please see

www.datumrpo.com

LONE WORKERS

safety Solitary

Klaus Allison explains why businesses looking to safeguard lone workers should focus less on alarms and audit trails, and more on the processes and procedures to ensure workers get the timely help they need when faced with an SOS

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t 2.16pm, Harry suffered a cardiac arrest whilst working alone at a wind farm in a remote part of Western Scotland.

The tilt and motion sensors on his lone worker device detected that he was unconscious and automatically alerted an Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) in Northern England. They set about escalating a response. At 4.45pm,

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Below Klaus Allison

after a series of unsuccessful attempts to contact nearby coworkers for help, one of Harry’s colleagues finally came to his assistance. The time of death was recorded as 3.47pm.

Harry’s story is both hypothetical and extreme. But as the UK’s lone worker population climbs towards seven million, the scenario is much more than a work of fiction. It’s an accident waiting to happen. The

inherent dangers of working alone mean that an employee SOS is a perennial possibility.

What’s more, the risks are not just confined to those working in harsh or hazardous environments; lone worker roles occupy diverse settings from utilities, manufacturing, distilleries and chemical plants, to construction sites, consumer maintenance and healthcare and social workers. It’s a broad church, but employers

must do more than pray that their workers are safe.

UK employers are fully aware of their responsibilities to protect the health and safety of all lone workers. Whilst there is currently no specific legislation that relates to lone working, the 2007 introduction of the Corporate Manslaughter Act has cranked the regulatory temperature up a notch and focused management attention beyond the basic duty

of care. For business owners, the maximum penalty for an avoidable fatality is imprisonment, whilst fines of up to ten per cent of turnover are equally impactful. Moreover, the human and reputational implications are incalculable. So what are companies doing to ensure their lone workers don’t meet the same fate as hypothetical Harry?

Many companies have strengthened lone worker

security with the deployment of an ARC. And why not? ARCs are regarded as an effective means of activating an emergency response and, in tandem with intuitive lone worker devices, can mobilise appropriate support when an incident has taken place. Furthermore, their use can demonstrate an employer’s commitment to lone worker safety and provide a robust audit trail of activity to help prove regulatory compliance. It certainly ticks a box. But is it enough? And should lone worker safety be a tick-box exercise to satisfy the regulators?

These are rhetorical questions.

ARCs are undoubtedly effective when a lone employee is under the threat of abuse or attack from another person – operators can listen in to determine the emergency response and take appropriate action following clear and accredited processes.

However, in the event of a serious accident or injury, the approach can have major limitations.

When lone workers are unable to respond, ARC operators are hamstrung. Without sufficient detail, they cannot alert emergency services and must instead follow a pre-defined process of telephoning nominated individuals in a list-wise fashion.

If the first person on the list fails to answer, they move directly to number two – and so on until someone responds. This can prove a lengthy process, but in a timecritical situation, every second counts. The most likely response will often come from office-based workers who are themselves some distance from the incident – further compromising the ability to expedite escalation.

In fact geographical location can often be another limiting factor in the approach. There are frequent examples of lone workers expressing anxiety that their safety is in the hands of a call centre some 200 miles away.

It’s a salient point that goes to the heart of the challenge:

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LONE WORKERS

when seeking to protect lone workers, the key thing to focus on is not the alarm – it’s ‘the help’.

Fundamentally, how can you get help quickly and effectively to a lone worker in jeopardy?

The most logical assistance in an emergency situation will come from individuals in the near vicinity – particularly fellow lone workers who are familiar with the terrain, the circumstances or the challenges of their profession. It’s a simple notion: colleagues who are commonly exposed to the same risks and have a real-world understanding of the potential pitfalls will have a high motivation

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to run to help a co-worker. The trick is to alert them.

With a wide range of lone worker devices available in the market, designing an effective rapid response process that alerts and mobilises nearby workers is relatively straightforward.

But implementation depends on companies rethinking their processes and procedures and leveraging technologies that reflect the specific challenges of their lone workers’ environments.

To progress, health and safety executives should consider reviewing their current means of protecting lone workers – and

take an holistic and inclusive approach to developing a more robust system. The most effective strategies have emerged where operations managers and health and safety execs have engaged in open dialogue with lone workers to understand their real-world requirements, and designed systems that align with their needs. What are the everyday challenges? Where are the risks, and how safe would managers feel if they were faced with similar risks supported by their existing communications systems? These are human considerations and they require similarly human

Protecting the lone workforce is not about ticking a box – it’s about preventing your employees being carried out in one

engagement to arrive at the right solution.

Furthermore, best practice commonly relies on the involvement of a trusted telecoms partner that can help companies identify options, define processes and implement solutions. The best partners will have expertise in the design of lone worker strategies, an understanding of environmental risks and knowledge of the evolving marketplace for lone worker solutions. Moreover, they will provide independent advice to help organisations design agile communications approaches that

respond to the changing lone worker landscape.

As the lone worker population continues to grow and the regulatory scrutiny of corporate health and safety measures increases, companies must renew their efforts to ensure lone workers are adequately protected.

Through independent advice and thorough environmental analysis, organisations can best develop a customised approach that is fit for purpose.

Certainly, a sole reliance on ARCs could leave organisations and individuals exposed to unnecessary risk. The approach

can indeed provide auditable information that documents activity and proves to the regulators that a company ‘cares’ about its lone workers. It certainly ticks a box. But does it truly protect the workforce? At the worst extreme, systems that fail to escalate a timely response do little more than record the time of death. What’s best: ticking a box, or preventing your employees from being carried out in one?

Protecting lone workers is a serious consideration with major human implications. Companies must take the time to think the process through. Fundamentally, it’s only by focusing on ‘the help’ rather than ‘the alarm’ that businesses can implement systems that genuinely safeguard isolated workers, wherever they are. And with lone workers currently totalling 22 per cent of the UK employment market, it’s not just about protecting remote workers in harsh environments – it relates to every Tom, Dick and hypothetical Harry.

ANT Telecom is an automated communications specialist, that enables organisations to better protect their employees and business through state-of-the-art integrated communication systems for lone worker safety, asset tracking and productivity monitoring, all designed to help reduce downtime and increase profitability of their business.

For more information, please see

www.anttele.com

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TECHNOLOGY

potential Plant

John McAuliffe highlights the importance of new technology to the construction sector and encourages companies to invest in new solutions

T

he recent announcement of plans to invest £5 billion in schemes to boost housebuilding couldn’t have come at a better time. With proposed measures including an accelerated construction scheme and the selling off of brownfield public land, this is music to the ears of construction professionals.

Brownfield land is fundamental to addressing the UK’s housing crisis due to its proximity to urban areas and the opportunity to avoid building on greenfield sites.

Planning reforms over the last two years have lifted red tape within the planning application process, and newly proposed investment will further improve the efficiency with which new homes are approved and built.

The primary concern regarding the use of brownfield land for developers is its legacy contamination issues. Developers should approach a remediation

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contractor from the outset, as early involvement ensures that time efficiencies are made and value-engineering opportunities are taken. Understanding the end use of the land, and associated risks, allows a specialist to formulate a tailor-made approach, avoiding unnecessary processes, which may incur additional costs

with no supplementary benefits.

In order for construction teams to carry out thorough, cost-effective remediation of brownfield land, procurement of cutting edge plant and machinery is vital. The industry is making steps towards embracing increasingly sophisticated technology, but more must be

done to convince smaller firms of its value and long-term benefits.

The creation of intelligent machinery relies on a combination of advanced software and hardware, allowing efficient collection of raw data. This data guides maintenance and refurbishment over a site’s life cycle for maintenance and refurbishment. Nowadays, BIM is important at each stage of a project, from design conception to decommissioning. Not only does BIM involve the creation of detailed site models, but it also promotes efficient collaboration between on-site and remote teams. This behaviour allows the secure transfer of data and limits loss due to human error.

Some companies are reticent to progress with BIM technologies due to high initial capital costs.

Despite this, it’s important that firms consider the value that such an investment can bring.

Fewer individuals required onsite, as well as less time spent on inefficient data transfer, allows cost savings to be passed onto clients. This means that businesses can remain competitively priced in an aggressive industry.

McAuliffe’s in-house surveying and engineering departments design and deliver bulk earthworks and remediation solutions using 3D GPS systems built into plant. The team was recently commissioned to provide ground improvement and remediation services on the site of the former BICC cable factory at Prescot Business Park in Warrington. Machines were fitted with cutting edge 3D GPS software, allowing operators to access design models and work to high levels of accuracy without the need for continual on-site engineering support. Models created were then passed on to subsequent contractors for the

design and build of follow-on packages of work. This technology added real value and time savings, providing as-built information and real-time feedback on levels, locations and site features.

Health and safety is a priority on all construction projects and advances in on-site technology are helping improve standards across the board. Manufacturer Komatsu has pioneered the latest hardware, incorporating hydraulic systems with no external wires or poles.

Machines are then able to translate on-board data to operate under hydraulic control through GPS and mobile sim card technologies.

This allows the accurate identification of contaminants and execution of earthworks specifications without the need for engineers on-site, a significant health and safety benefit.

In addition to BIM and more tightly incorporated hardware, the advent of emission control on engines has promoted advancements in engine technology and fuel efficiency.

This includes hybrid technology, which has been developed and rolled out by Komatsu and other manufacturers. Plant hybrid technology is based on primitive systems in cars, using batteries to provide power on less demanding activities such as rotation on an excavator. Significant savings are made on the cost of fuel, but there is still a lot of work

to be done in developing more sophisticated technology.

In the next few years, the construction industry will focus on technology that reduces the number of individuals required on-site. Fewer workers cuts costs and improves health and safety standards, something which can be achieved by rolling out more automated machinery. The first step will be improving the degree of control within hydraulics of machinery, allowing enhanced automation of rotation and travel of plant. Driverless equipment is currently deployed on large quarry projects in Australia, and it is hoped that similar technology can be downsized to smaller projects in the UK. The sooner that construction firms of all sizes realise the value of investment in plant technology, the faster the industry can move towards improving cost efficiencies and health and safety standards across the board.

John McAuliffe is managing director at McAuliffe Group. McAuliffe is one of the UK’s leading environmental contracting specialists, delivering innovative cost reduction solutions at the land acquisition and build out stages in the transformation of brownfield land. Its services include; soil and groundwater remediation, demolition, bulk earthworks and haulage.

For more information, please see www.mcauliffegroup.co.uk

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IT

Future proof

Buildings have to be made ready for the rise of technology. By William Newton

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cross every industry, technology is transforming the way we work.

From small businesses using Cloud based software, to companies running their entire business from e-commerce platforms, to organisations simply sending internal emails, traditional business operations have been digitally transformed with more efficient and innovative ways of working.

With this ever more crucial role for technology, dependence on connectivity grows. And that means that when the internet goes down, even the most basic business functions are jeopardised.

The gravity of having no internet access should not be underestimated. The story of a persevering group in a New York co-working space shows

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our changing priorities. This group continued to work through persistent outages in their plumbing and air conditioning. Yet when a construction worker cut through the building’s sole fibre optic cable, they abandoned the office until it was fixed.

The result of this growing reliance is that it has never been more important for organisations to find office space with fast, resilient internet. Nor has it been more important for developers to ensure that they are providing the necessary infrastructure to achieve this.

Building in better connectivity Many developers have long invested in the needs of their current and future tenants by building great connectivity infrastructure. However, there has been a lot of uncertainty about

which investments will make a marked improvement on the lived experience of the tenant.

This is no simple task. For new developments, the challenge is deciding how ambitious to be with the building’s infrastructure.

Refurbishing a building creates a different challenge: how to invest in the connectivity infrastructure of an old or protected building that wasn’t built for today’s networks. And of top of both of these challenges is the question of how to communicate all the benefits to potential tenants.

Greater clarity for developers around industry standards has never been more important.

That’s why we introduced the Wired Certification programme; to supply a trusted, independent mark. This provides transparency into a property’s digital infrastructure and its capacity to meet business’s technology needs.

Making the right investments In order to make the right investments it is important to understand the primary digital connectivity concerns of tenants: resilience, speed of install, and price.

Much of this starts with infrastructure. Multiple diverse communications intakes, secure and appropriately sized comms rooms, and stacked vertical risers that transcend the entire height of the building are all crucial to this. One great example of a well-designed space is The Colmore Building in Birmingham, which installed three separate communications intakes alongside three fully diverse risers, providing the possibility of full redundancy to businesses.

For new developments, it’s also important to consider wireless connectivity. Radio Frequency surveys can give a good indication of the need for a Distributed Antennae System or a small cell solution.

A further vital feature beyond the physical infrastructure is the building’s readiness from a legal perspective. The Standard Wayleave Toolkit developed by the City of London, with consultation from developers and Internet Service Providers (ISPs), provides a uniform starting point for otherwise onerous wayleave negotiations.

This can reduce the speed of install greatly, preventing the unenviable situation of whole companies working from 3G dongles for the first few months in a new office.

Similarly, engaging early with ISPs to understand if they would be willing to serve a building if they received an order can save time for tenants down the line. Utility site assessments can give a good idea of which carriers are nearby.

Future proofing developments

Left The Colmore Building

It is impossible to build a successful property without looking at what future trends will dominate the market and ensuring that your building meets it. Very much on the horizon are Smart Buildings, all of which will require systems platforms to serve as their central nervous systems.

These will need high speed and resilient internet connectivity.

Looking to industry benchmarks will help developers meet the necessary technology demands and to keep pace with the industry as it evolves.

Energy Performance Certificates have already demonstrated the ability to drive change by increasing awareness about energy efficiency. We hope Wired Certification will similarly support developers in making the right digital investments.

From start-ups trying to move fast and break things to established companies managing global operations, all companies are tech companies now. For developers trying to get serious about tenants needs, connectivity has never been more important.

William Newton is EMEA Director at WiredScore the preeminent international platform that rates and provides transparency on the infrastructure, connectivity and technological capacity of office buildings. First developed in New York in 2013 by leaders in real estate, technology and telecommunications, WiredScore launched in the UK last year with an endorsement from the Mayor of London to stimulate conversation around and provide a trusted benchmark for commercial property connectivity.

For more information, please see

www.wiredscore.co.uk

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profile: London Stock Exchange Group

Taking

stock

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) is a world leading financial infrastructure company, built on foundations that stretch back for centuries

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racing its roots to 1698, when John Castaing began listing stock and commodity prices at Jonathan’s coffee house in the City, London Stock Exchange evolved throughout the 18th century. In 1801, it began inviting members to join on a formal subscription basis. Today, London Stock Exchange is the world’s most international exchange, as nearly 2500 companies from more than 90 countries are quoted across its markets, with a combined value of £4.4 trillion.

As Marcus Stuttard, Head of UK Primary Markets and Head of

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Above Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP

AIM at LSEG began by explaining, London Stock Exchange’s markets include the Main Market – London’s flagship venue for equity, debt and exchange traded products, offering businesses access to Europe’s most liquid pool of capital – and AIM – the world’s leading market for small and growing companies. He gave more details about AIM: “Since its launch in 1995 AIM has helped more than 3650 companies raise nearly £100 billion,” he said.

“AIM is a tremendous success story for Britain, supporting the re-balancing of the economy away from debt towards equity and boosting access to vital growth finance for thousands of ambitious businesses. Equity

funding enables companies to concentrate on innovation, growth and job creation, rather than having to prioritise serving a loan.”

Marcus continued: “In June 1995, the market was launched with just ten companies and an aggregate value of £82 million.

More than 20 years later, AIM is now the world’s most successful and established market for growth companies. Our statistics show that in 2005, the average AIM company had a valuation of £17 million at admission and raised £5 million at IPO. This year, the average new AIM company is worth more than £95 million and raised over £30 million - these significant increases reflect AIM’s international profile and the deep pool of capital available to companies joining the market.”

He added: “When looking at AIM I think it is also important to take into account the impact the market and the companies quoted on it have on the real economy. Figures for the latest year available show companies who raised capital on AIM, instead of borrowing from banks, created 731,000 jobs, paid £2.3 billion in

tax and contributed £25 billion alone to UK GDP.” While AIM and the Main Market are obviously hugely significant operations, they are not LSEG’s only sources of business. It also operates a broad range of international equity, bond and derivatives markets, including Borsa Italiana; MTS, Europe’s leading fixed income market; and Turquoise, a pan-European equities MTF. It also offers post trade and risk management services, an extensive range of real-time and reference data products, and indexing and analytic solutions. LSEG is also a leading developer of high performance trading platforms and capital markets software, plus it also organises a range of events, as well as undertaking research projects and creating reports, which are part of LSEG’s broader support for high growth companies including the business support programme, ELITE. Examples of two such reports produced by LSEG have the aim of celebrating the fastestgrowing and most dynamic small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The first edition of 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain was launched in 2013, and identifies inspiring companies, as well as demonstrating the continued strength of British business and the thriving entrepreneurial spirit taking hold across the country.

1000 Companies to Inspire Europe was launched in 2016 – Marcus explained that this report is designed to shine a light on European growth companies and the role they can play in driving economic growth in Europe. “If properly supported, we believe these companies will create highquality jobs and economic growth.

Across the Euro area, SMEs are responsible for two-thirds of jobs and 60 per cent of value added to the business economy,” he stated.

When creating these reports, LSEG ensures that the

requirements that companies have to achieve really set them apart in the market: “For the UK report companies must be active and registered in the UK, with revenues between £6m£250m. Positive revenue growth must have been recorded in three of the last four years but most importantly, for companies

Above Xavier Rolet, CEO, London Stock Exchange Group

to be included they must have outperformed their sector peers.

The result is a showcase of UK businesses that is richer and more varied than, we believe, in any other report of its type.

“We effectively replicated this exercise for our European edition but changed the parameters for inclusion – companies must have revenues between €20m and €300m and must outperform country peers rather than sector peers. The long-list is split among the EU 28 countries according to every country’s contribution to the EU GDP.” Thanks to LSEG’s dedicated research and stringent methodologies, each report examines in detail the opportunities and challenges facing SMEs and looks at the sectors and trends that will shape the future of the UK/ European economies. Adding some details from the UK report, Marcus said: “Without doubt,

many of these companies find identifying and accessing the right form of long-term financing a challenge. More than half of Britain’s smaller companies resort to credit cards to fund their business, with just three per cent of entrepreneurs in the UK making use of equity finance. At London Stock Exchange Group we constantly see the benefits companies experience from using equity finance and are committed to supporting them throughout their growth journey. That’s why we publish our 1000 companies report and run our ELITE business support and mentoring programme for private high growth companies that want help to prepare for future investment.”

For those SME’s looking for finance options, they can gain confidence from AIM’s longevity and proven success – the market celebrated two decades in operation in 2015, and the track record and the proven resilience of the AIM community provides LSEG with the best evidence for success that it could wish for. “Whilst most international growth markets have stagnated or disappeared over the years, AIM has prospered, and has continued to evolve through the business cycles,” agreed Marcus. “Our goal for the future is to support companies by providing access to investors that can provide genuinely long-term capital to support companies long-term development plans. We want more of the UK’s exciting manufacturers to become global leaders in their fields and are confident that the capital, credibility and profile that AIM can provide can help them accelerate their growth.”

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) www.lseg.com/resources/1000companies-inspire Services: World leading financial infrastructure company 21

profile: AM Griffiths

Bold

developments Having grown significantly from its humble beginnings, Arthur M. Griffiths & Son Ltd (AMG) has become one of the Midlands foremost providers of construction solutions

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stablished in 1899 under the name of its founder, Arthur M. Griffiths began operations as a tradesman builder based in a small workshop in Church Lane, Wolverhampton. Over time, the family company grew into one of the most respected construction companies in the Midlands and was responsible for the development of many major landmarks and estates throughout the region.

As the years went on, Arthur M. Griffiths & Son Ltd maintained its strong roots and the work ethic of its founder as well as his ambition for success; this led to further growth and relocations to sites that were more suited to the company’s capabilities and also offered opportunities for continued growth. In 1997, Alan Griffiths the current MD at the time made the decision to appoint a board of Directors from outside of the family to ensure the ongoing success of the company beyond his retirement. In April 2015 the board of directors completed a management buyout

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of the company from the Griffiths family, with Maurice Walsh and Richard Green taking on the roles of Chairman and Managing Director respectively.

Current Managing Director Richard Green took time to speak to us and explained. “The Griffiths family was involved in AM Griffiths (AMG) right up until April 2015 when we undertook the management buyout. As part of the buyout, we began a five-year plan two years earlier in 2013 when the company was turning over approximately £9 million a year. The delivery of

this five-year plan has resulted in our turnover reaching £30 million in the last three years; profits have also increased five times over in that period demonstrating the profitable growth strategy.

This increased profitability includes the investment in the business required to cater for our expansion plans and also includes the management buyout costs.

If these were stripped out our profitability looks even better. We are progressing ahead of plan and have a forward order book that has increased by circa £10 million on this time last year.”

ADVANCE IT GROUP Advance IT Group has created an innovative Non-Conformance Notification system, part of its TeamWorkSmart product, to transform the way site tidiness is monitored, reported and managed at workplaces.

The stand-alone mobile-based App and web-based management system was initially designed for the construction industry and is proving a huge hit with businesses in that field, including one of the Midlands’ top construction companies, AM Griffiths. Since its inception, the system has been developed to suit workplaces from every industry.

Using the system is simple. Workers select a new form, take a photo of the incident and complete the drop down boxes. The system’s Red and Yellow card scheme allows priorities to be set and automatically creates deadlines. The form is automatically logged on the back office system and emailed to relevant parties.

The process of logging, reporting, evidencing and notifying a NCN takes less than two minutes from start to completion, giving a full audit trail.

Options are available for SMS notifications, whilst all outstanding and pending NCNs can be viewed on a handset with reminders automatically sent once deadlines have passed. The web-based back office system allows unlimited access anywhere at any time, featuring an admin area, a dashboard and a comprehensive reporting suite.

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profile: AM Griffiths

Key to this growth is the company’s focus on providing a quality product at a competitive price and gaining contracts and repeat customers in all sectors.

This ensures there is no reliance on any particular sector during market turbulence.

“We aren’t reliant on any sector by more than 20 per cent of our turnover. This means that if one sector is going through a challenging time, we have our risk spread out evenly across the other sectors. Core areas for us are industrial, commercial, healthcare, residential and education in both the public and private sectors; the risk is spread across our client base also with no single client accounting for more than 20 per cent of our turnover. Furthermore, approximately 80 per cent of our work is repeat business; we simply try to turn our new business from any current year into repeat business for the following year.

With the quality of work we provide and the commitment to high standards we have set throughout

the company, nine times out of ten we always get a second job from a client,” Green says.

As it strives to maintain AMG’s reputation as a leading contractor within the West Midlands region, the board remains loyal to the company’s ethos of hard work, dedication and entrepreneurship as well as a commitment to excellence.

“AMG didn’t appear overnight

and won’t disappear tomorrow,” says Green. “We stand by the company’s philosophy and strap line: ‘To be the benchmark for which all others aspire to be’ and we are all proud of the company’s long-term history, core values and constant commitment to delivering the best possible service. To us it is important to treat a £250,000 job the same as a £10 million job; each requires the same level of attention regardless of the value. We have also maintained the company’s family ethos; all of our employees know that it is important to treat each customer with respect. We have mixed these family values with innovation and a forward thinking approach to business, it isn’t rocket science. If you use new technology, new methods and integrate these strengths with core values and hard work, your company will be a success,” he adds.

To further strengthen operations by use of innovation, Green comments that the company in conjunction with its IT partner recently launched its own smart phone app to deal with on-site Quality Assurance and Health & Safety issues in real time: “The four key essentials of a successful project are health & safety, quality, on-time delivery and house keeping. We are the only contractors to have developed a smart phone app that enables our guys to go around sites and take

photos and give information on issues that are then transmitted via email and text to the supply chain. Timescales and rectification periods are provided based on the severity of the non-conformity.

H&S issues require an immediate response where certain quality issues can have a seven day response time. Until the site manager confirms the issue has been dealt with; all of these email and text notifications are repeated daily. All the notifications are also sent to me so I have a comprehensive understanding of what is going on at each of our sites every day. This allows me to spot any trends that are developing within the business.”

While the company is making strong progress in reaching the financial target set within its five-year plan, Green says AMG is already looking at a more longterm goal. “The construction industry has been very good to both myself and my partners, which is why we feel a moral obligation to invest in the future of this industry on a local basis; by taking on new trainees we are not only cementing the future of AMG and ensuring we continue to prosper, but are also providing jobs to the local community. We took four trainees on in September 2016 and aim to repeat this every 12 months. It is important that we keep moving forwards,” he concludes.

After an hour talking with Green you are left in no doubt that the passion, desire and innovation mixed with the appetite for hard work and old fashioned family values of the company will mean Arthur M. Griffiths & Son Ltd is certainly a company to watch in the future and something to inspire post Brexit.

AM Griffiths www.amgriffiths.co.uk Services: Construction solutions 25

profile: Dubai Parks and Resorts

A wild

ride By opening the first phase of Dubai Parks and Resorts on October 31st 2016, the region’s largest integrated entertainment destination, LEGOLAND® Dubai and Riverland™ Dubai are now open for the general public to enjoy

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olding the crown as the largest multithemed leisure and entertainment destination in the Middle East, Dubai’s new £3 billion mega theme park destination is comprised of three separate

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theme parks, one waterpark, a retail and dining destination and a Polynesian themed family hotel.

As the owner of Dubai Parks and Resorts, DXB Entertainments PJSC, a Dubai headquartered leisure and entertainment company that was originally

listed on the DFM as Dubai Parks and Resorts PJSC, aims to become the leading provider of leisure and entertainment offerings and services for its customers by spreading fun and excitement through the region via unforgettable family experiences.

At the forefront of the booming leisure and entertainment industry in the Middle East, DXB Entertainments seeks to redefine the sector with its integrated portfolio of engaging family attractions and hospitality services. Spearheading the

growth in Dubai’s entertainment industry, DXB Entertainments is introducing world-class standards when it comes to safety and entertainment, sourcing the best global talent while also providing the local workforce with skills that will further enable them to excel

as the boom continues. Further complementing these standards, the company is bringing smart integrated technology, digital customer service solutions and state-of-the-art connectivity to its destinations in the region. On top of this, DXB Entertainments

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profile: Dubai Parks and Resorts

has significantly invested in cutting edge ride and virtual reality technology within Dubai Parks and Resorts to provide guests with an immersive, ultramodern experience.

Once completed, the three theme parks and waterpark within Dubai Parks and Resorts will be MOTIONGATE™ Dubai, a Hollywood movie inspired theme park concept; LEGOLAND® Dubai, the first LEGOLAND theme park to be established in the Middle East, and Bollywood Parks™ Dubai, a groundbreaking, first-of-its-kind family theme park that merges showcase rides and attractions that are based on an

authentic Bollywood experience.

Moreover, Dubai Parks and Resorts will also house the LEGOLAND® Water Park, the first water park in the region to cater to families with children ages from 2to 12.

The entire destination is connected by Riverland™ Dubai – a uniquely themed retail and dining destination at the heart of Dubai Parks and Resorts, and guests can stay at the Lapita™ Hotel, a Polynesian themed family hotel part of the Marriott Autograph Collection.

“When we began this project three years ago there was nothing but desert in this location, so the lifecycle of such a project is very short for the size of it. When I look at what we have accomplished it is incredible in the time frame we had,” begins Matthew Priddy, Chief Technical Officer at DXB Entertainments, the owner of

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HILL INTERNATIONAL

A pioneer in the industry

Hill International is the global leader in managing construction risk

Hill International was established in Marlton, New Jersey in 1976. It was founded on the premise that many construction claims could be avoided, mitigated or resolved utilising the unquestionable integrity and exceptional skills of qualified professionals. With great success in the area of proactive dispute resolution came the realisation that Hill International could also become a proactive solver of problems before they arise. This transformed Hill International into one of the top project and construction management companies in the world, having successfully managed some of the largest and the most complex construction projects.

Hill International is proud to be a publicly traded company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. It is one of the largest construction consulting firms in the world providing project management and construction claims services to public and private clients worldwide. During its more than three decades in business, it has helped some of the largest owners in the world complete their projects on-time, within budget and with the highest quality possible. Today, Hill International employs more than 4500 employees in 100 offices around the world.

Human resource is the company’s greatest asset. It hires the best people from all corners of the world, and together, they understand the client’s needs and objectives and then take ownership of each and every project that they are involved in. No matter how large or small the company’s role is in a project, its mission is to exceed its client’s expectations in every possible way. Hill International’s professionals include architects, engineers, project and construction specialists, scheduling and cost experts, attorneys, management consultants and support personnel, many of whom enjoy international reputations in their fields of expertise.

Hill International’s project teams are formed on a project-by-project basis bringing the most appropriate skills and expertise to the assigned task. As a concerted team, Hill International presents staff with a wealth of experience that is unmatched in the construction industry. Hill International offers a full spectrum of project management and construction claims services to assist clients in implementing major investment programs successfully, from pre-design through to completion.

The combined resources of Hill International’s staff allows the business to provide the professional consulting services necessary to successfully manage all aspects of capital projects, from inception through close-out and occupancy to major private and public sector clients.

profile: Dubai Parks and Resorts

Dubai Parks and Resorts. “Building a theme park or even an attraction is akin to building a hospital or a new refinery, you have highly integrated facilities and rides that include a tremendous amount of technology; this includes control systems, projection systems, audio systems, hydraulic systems, animatronic figures and pneumatics, all of which are computer controlled on highly integrated programs. The role of the facility is to be the mother, supplying these services by inputting the data of the rides and shows and ensuring all electronic equipment and systems are in place to control these operations.

However, the key challenge we face is co-ordination, whether this is between contractors and architects; to overcome this the first thing we did was focus on formation issues so there would be no extensions of times or requests for contractors from

I remember the first day that children ran into LEGOLAND® Dubai, when one child stopped and shouted ‘Oh my God!’ That is the response we are looking for

architects and so on. This is a common occurrence in this line of business so the focus for us as project managers is managing the contract well, while coordinating with contractors and sub-contractors in support of our schedule of sequence and so on.

You can’t buy co-ordination, so we are here to ensure it occurs.”

The first LEGO-themed amusement park in the Middle East, LEGOLAND® Dubai opened to the general public on October 31st 2016. Designed for families with children between the ages of 2 - 12, the amusement park boasts more than 40 interactive rides, shows, attractions, building experiences and a vast amount of Lego model structures.

“LEGOLAND is quite possibly the biggest exhibit of its kind that exists,” says Matthew. “However, the main element of LEGOLAND® Dubai is Mini Land, where we have architectural icons from around the world that have been made at scale completely out of LEGO bricks. Typically, these exhibits would be in an openair environment where you walk through these buildings, but our LEGO mini land is under a 90 metre diameter dome due to the dust of the desert here. It has been a huge hit since it opened; I remember the first day that children ran into LEGOLAND® Dubai, when one child stopped and shouted ‘Oh my God!’ That is the response we are looking for.”

He continues: “To develop LEGOLAND® Dubai we came up with a staggering threepart strategy to ensure that we brought a compelling guest experience to people the moment they get to the tollbooth and park their car. It is really about

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profile: Dubai Parks and Resorts

the design, which draws people to the theme park, then the compelling experience that results in people wanting to come back with friends or family; we then want them to stay longer when they are here to get the most out of their experience, and to do that it is not just about delivering great rides and looking at films, but the attention to detail to reflect the brand. Our operations did a heck of a job in accomplishing that; they were outstanding. We of course expected the same level of quality during the creation of the Bollywood experience; it is ultimately a matter of focusing time on each system to provide a great guest experience to everyone.

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“Making this huge accomplishment possible is our vast amount of partners; we have up to 50 contractors, which includes big international contractors, local contractors, design partners, local architects and engineering recorders and consultants. All of these guys deserve credit.”

Next to open its doors was Bollywood Parks™ Dubai; opening in November 17th, 2016, the theme park offers an authentic Bollywood experience where guests will experience a vibrant celebration of Mumbai’s famous film industry. Attractions include live performances, themed restaurants and cinematic rides

that are spread across five zones: Bollywood Boulevard, Mumbai Chowk, Rustic Ravine, Royal Plaza and Bollywood Film Studios.

The theme park is also home to the stunning 85-seater Rajmahal Theatre that is host to Broadwaystyle, Bollywood-themed musicals several times a week.

“Bollywood Parks™ Dubai is based on the Bollywood film industry, which means colour, texture, Mumbai, dance and a little drama. To deliver the best possible experience, we have developed several attractions with a light system that is paired with high-end visual media in different format configurations,” says Matthew. “There are a few

Boasting 12 rides and multimedia content completed

by DreamWorks animators themselves, DreamWorks land is truly a mini theme park within a theme park groundbreaking developments that haven’t been done before and we look forward to seeing them for the first time. Also, within the theme park is the Rajmahal Theatre, which is a beautiful mix between a mosque and the Taj Mahal; the building has more interior finish and stage machinery than any Broadway theatre you would find in the West End. “Each Broadway show is approximately two hours long and includes 150 people; every stage machinery trick you can imagine is used, such as performers flying over the audience and around the stage, people interacting in the air, pits, turn cables and LED scenery that is changeable between

scenes. The experience is colorful and rich, the acting and costumes are terrific, as is the music and dancing; it is wonderful.”

Following hot on the heels of LEGOLAND® Dubai and Bollywood Parks™ Dubai with the opening of its gates in December 2016 is MOTIONGATE™ Dubai, the largest Hollywood movie inspired theme park concept in the Middle East. Made up of three of the most successful motion picture studios in Hollywood, DreamWorks Animation, Sony Pictures Studios and Lionsgate, the theme park will have five roller coasters, 3,170 seats for all rides and attractions in the park, 1000 seats at the

MOTIONGATE theatre and 15 live entertainment offerings. One such rollercoaster, The Hunger Gamesinspired Capitol Bullet Train, will reach heights of 32 metres.

Themed areas within the 45,000 square metre indoor DreamWorks space include the Madagascar area, which has brightly painted carousels in place and two rollercoasters; one of which includes flywheel technology that will increase speed in mere seconds up to 95 kilometers per hour. Also within DreamWorks land is Kung Fu Panda land and Shrek; the latter of which has the longest ride of the park, lasting more than seven minutes. In How to Train Your Dragon land, there are some of the most anticipated rollercoasters as well as a suspended ride to please thrill seekers. Boasting 12 rides and multimedia content completed

by DreamWorks animators themselves, DreamWorks land is truly a mini theme park within a theme park.

“MOTIONGATE™ is much like traditional Hollywood movie theme parks you see around the world, with the difference being we are the first theme park to have Lionsgate land. The

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profile: Dubai Parks and Resorts

Orascom Construction Orascom Construction Limited is a leading global engineering and construction contractor active in the Middle East, North Africa, the United States and the Pacific Rim. The Group also develops and invests in infrastructure opportunities, owns 50 per cent of BESIX Group and holds a construction materials and property management portfolio. The Group is dual listed on NASDAQ Dubai and the Egyptian Exchange under the symbols OC and ORAS. A Six Construct-Orascom Construction joint venture delivered LEGOLAND Dubai in only 28 months, allowing the highly anticipated opening to visitors. The JV was responsible for the construction of more than 53 buildings in the park as well as the finishing touches and amenities. In addition, the Six Construct-Orascom JV successfully completed two other landmark projects in Dubai, namely City Walk Dubai ‘Green Plant’ and ‘Hub Zero’, both already opened to the public. main attractions are based on major films such as The Hunger Games, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, the Green Hornet, the Smurfs, Hotel Transylvania and Elderworld. All of these attractions have traditional background set ups with a programmable vehicle and effects; for example,

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Ghostbusters is a shooting game so the concept is a training ground for new ghostbusters to shoot ghosts and put them in a container to gain scores. There is also a Zombieland attraction that is based on the film starring Woody Harrelson; this attraction involves entering a building and going from room to room where you see zombies coming in on live CCTV; it is like theatre.

When it comes to DreamWorks, How to Train Your Dragon is the most complex ride to create technically, and that comes from someone with 26 years in the business, but it will be immensely rewarding once it is completed,” highlights Matthew.

Connecting the entire destination is Riverland™ Dubai, a uniquely themed free to enter retail and dining destination,

which, after its opening on October 31st 2016, now takes customers on a journey back through time through its four zones: a neon-lit Boardwalk inspired by 1950’s American, an Indian gate that provides guests with the opportunity to savor the sights, sounds and aromas of Asia; a Medieval French Village and a setting that is inspired by 19th Century Europe in the Peninsula.

Discussing the details that went into creating the Medieval French Village, Matthew notes: “This area is a walk through times from Medieval to a few hundred years ago in the style of French architecture. To gain authenticity to this area, we went to a small village in the South of France and looked at the textures and colours, from there our people did a fabulous job in directing and

designing the area for our skilled plaster craftsmen to create.”

For those seeking to extend their stay, Dubai Parks and Resorts has developed the Lapita Hotel Dubai, a Polynesianthemed family resort that is part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection. Conveniently located for families seeking easy access to theme parks, guests of Lapita Hotel Dubai also benefit from a complimentary Q-Fast pass.

Opening December 2016, the Polynesian-themed resort hotel offers a unique gateway into endless fun and enjoyment in a location that has an intriguing tribal theme throughout. With its incredible attention to detail, high quality décor and focus on delivering much more than an experience to guests, the Lapita Hotel Dubai delivers an

unforgettable experience.

Features of the hotel include a Spa and Health Club, a range of exceptional quality restaurants, and a rooftop bar; small children and older children alike can also be entertained with a number of themed activities in the Luna and Nova Kids and

Teens club. In more detail, dining options at the hotel include ARI, a pool restaurant and bar, PALAMA, a lobby lounge; HIKINA, a restaurant offering Asian cuisine, KALEA, an allday dining restaurant and LANI, the rooftop lounge.

However, for those seeking

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profile: Dubai Parks and Resorts

further options, Famous Daves, a steakhouse committed to great BBQ food, is 0.1 miles away, as is Tortilla, a restaurant serving California-style burritos and tacos. Also within the same close proximity is Galitos, which creates traditional chicken dishes, Katsuya, a Japanese diner and Jamba Juice, which offers great tasting smoothies and freshly squeeze juices. For guests seeking further dining experiences, 800 Degrees Pizza, the Irish Village, Starbucks and Shake Shack are all nearby, alongside dining

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experiences such as Olive Garden, Shrimpy, Super Chix, Al Mashowa Emirati Sea Food and Fuzziwig’s Candy Factory.

“It is all about extending the length of the stay and delivering an enjoyable experience,” highlights Matthew. “For example, LEGOLAND® Dubai opens around 10am so families can go spend time in this theme park, the children will get tired out and go back to the hotel for some food and a rest. Bollywood Parks™ begins a little later in the day, so families could go experience

the park, have dinner in a nice restaurant and then go watch a Bollywood show.”

Aware of the diverse requirements of customers within the theme park, Dubai Parks and Resorts announced its impressive line-up of high profile partnerships in November 2016. Corporate partners include renowned brands Dubai First, Etisalat, Mastercard, Pepsi and McDonald’s; these organisations will hold exclusive partnerships for the next five years. Supporting the vision of Dubai Parks and Resorts to

grow the family leisure industry and transform the landscape of the leisure and entertainment industry in the Middle East, these organisations will all play an integral role in the smooth running of the theme park.

For example, Dubai Parks and Resorts and Dubai First have announced the launch of a co-branded Mastercard credit card that will offer card members rewards, benefits and services during their stay at the destination. The cards will be available in World and Platinum

From a marketing standpoint, history tells us that a new attraction results in a boost in interest and a rise in attendance. There is still a lot of property here to fill and we are ready to evolve

variants, with the Dubai First – Dubai Parks Amazing Card offering exclusive savings on admission tickets, food and drinks and merchandise; members will also benefit from valet parking and Q-fast at the park to further ensure a superior experience.

Mastercard, meanwhile, is the official payment solution partner

Parks and Resorts project due for completion, DXB Entertainments, the owner of the destination, will now be focusing on the development of phase two, which involves the development and opening of Six Flags Dubai, the destinations’ fourth theme park and the region’s first Six Flags theme

for Dubai Parks and Resorts, with the partnership offering benefits to all customers spending on Mastercard within the theme park.

Within Dubai Parks and Resorts, PepsiCo is the official beverage partner and is to offer the full range of Pepsi-Cola products; the partnership also gives PepsiCo rights to serve cold drinks throughout the parks and restaurants that are managed by the parks. Also teaming up with Dubai Parks and Resorts is McDonald’s UAE, which operates as the official quick service restaurant; the flagship restaurant is located in the Riverland French Village.

With phase one of the Dubai

park. With this new theme park due to open in2019, DXB Entertainments will be managing its time between this project and enhancing its existing theme parks, as Matthew concludes: “From a marketing standpoint, history tells us that a new attraction results in a boost in interest and a rise in attendance.

There is still a lot of property here to fill and we are ready to evolve.”

DXB Entertainments/ Dubai Parks and Resorts www.dxbentertainments.com Services: Owns the Dubai Parks and Resorts destination 37

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profile: AB2000

The ideal

partner Offering customers everything from a midi excavator or 200 tonne mobile crane to a 60 tonne tracked crusher, AB2000 Ltd’s vast range of machinery and services has cemented its role as the ideal partner for hiring construction plant and equipment

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stablished in 1995

by Adam Bruce, AB2000 was originally created to provide the Scottish construction industry with a comprehensive heavy plant hire service. Since its early days, the company has grown beyond recognition, thanks to continued investment in new plant as well as a number of strategic acquisitions.

Moving to a purpose built depot in Cambuslang, near Glasgow, the

company benefited from more capacity to not only grow and develop its fleet but also enhance the fleet support and services it provides. Today, alongside its headquarters, AB2000 has depots in Nairn and Aberdeen, which enables it to offer more efficient services to the North of Scotland.

Elaborating on the company’s operations is Jim Houstoun, CEO of AB2000: “We operate five trading divisions: core construction plant and equipment, including test weights and equipment moving; mobile crane hire, railway, Northern, including our trading divisions Ellon Plant Hire Limited, Phoenix Weights and Phoenix Marine; we have also recently added a new mobile concrete pump hire division this year. Turnover, profit and

operating margins have grown steadily since 2013 as a result of expansion and investment in the plant and equipment available for hire. In 2014 AB2000 was awarded Scottish Business Insider’s fastest growing SME award, ranked in 2015 as the second most successful SME in Scotland and number six in their 2016 survey.”

Despite the significant growth that AB2000 has enjoyed, particularly over recent years, the company remains familyowned and run and maintains its commitment to delivering a personalised service to customers in the many sectors that it operates in. Services include plant hire (operated and selfdrive), crane hire and contract lifts (CPA), rail plant hire and services; machinery movement and installation services; test weight hire and proof load testing services, and heavy haulage.

Striving to deliver a complete plant hire service, the company’s sales team and hire desk team are the one-stop-shop base for each customer’s hire needs.

Proud of the accuracy and speed of service that it provides

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profile: AB2000

Liebherr Liebherr supplies AB2000 Ltd with a wide range of machines across most of the company’s five trading sectors. This helps AB2000 Ltd to maintain its market position as a premier equipment supplier to the construction market in Scotland and across the UK as a whole.

The two companies have maintained an excellent working relationship over many years with the ongoing family ownership of Liebherr and AB2000 Ltd putting core family values at the heart of both businesses. From a relationship between customer and supplier, a successful partnership has evolved that will continue far into the future.

customers, AB2000 goes the extra mile to satisfy each customer’s demands every time. One way the company has ensured this level of accuracy and efficiency is maintained is through splitting the organisation into five trading segments: core construction plant and equipment, mobile crane hire, railway, machinery movement and mobile concrete pump hire.

Recently added to the business segments within AB2000, the mobile concrete pump hire division has a range of pumps and booms, with experienced operators available for hire

throughout Scotland and the North of England. Equipment includes various boom lengths of Schwing/Putzmeister pumps; these mobile pumps allow customers to deliver concrete directly saving money, time and labour. Pumps are supplied with highly competent operators to ensure accurate, efficient

and flexible concrete delivery solutions, no matter how big or small the job may be. Since its establishment in September 2016, the division is developing positively and is actively seeking out new customers and further business.

Discussing the activities of other divisions, Jim comments: “The core plant hire division has more than 350 items of operated and non-operated plant for hire from 1.5 tonne mini excavators to heavy equipment dozers, tracked excavators up to 55 tonnes, wheeled excavators; articulated dump trucks, soil stabilisation equipment, rollers, 180 degree machines, road brushes, telehandlers and rotators.

This division supplies plant and equipment to customers including civil engineering contractors, public authorities, ports, builders and energy companies for use on construction projects; these include motorways, house building, windfarms, earthworks, ground stabilisation and electricity substations.”

The core plant hire division is also on Scottish Water’s framework agreement for supplying plant in each of the geographical areas that it has depots; this has recently been extended for a further five years and involves long-term hire of forklift trucks and access platforms. To ensure optimum operations, all of AB2000’s plant operators have CPCS accreditation for the equipment they operate; many of which also have quarry passports and PTS railway accreditation.

Jim continues: “The crane division hires out 14 mobile cranes from 35 tonnes to 200 tonnes

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profile: AB2000

(plus ballast); this also includes a test weight subdivision with more than 250 tonnes of certified metal test weights from 0.25 tonnes to 7.0 tonnes and test weight cradles from 30 tonnes to 100 tonnes.”

The division also undertakes contracts for lifting, rigging and machinery movement, services provided by appointed persons, lift supervisors and qualified riggers. “Major customers within this division include Synergy Lifting, MacTaggart & Meikle, JKR Contractors, Thomas Menzies and Timber Frameworks.

“Meanwhile, the railway division supplies RRV’s (road/rail vehicles – excavators), MEWPs (mobile elevated work platforms) and has a wide range of railway trailers and specialised equipment and attachments used on railways.

Clients of this division include Network Rail, Babcock Rail, BAM Nuttall and QTS. Finally, the Northern division supplies all of the equipment owned by the company from our depots at Nairn and Aberdeen. Customers

include AWPR, Glassgreen, William Donald and D&E McKay.” With AB2000’s turnover increasing from £13 million in 2013 to more than £27 million in 2016 and the company achieving marks of up to 100 per cent at recent Achilles UDBV and Link Up audits for both core and railway plants, the future looks certain to involve further growth. The company recently invested in five new Leibherr cranes, costing up to £1.2 million each, six new

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company should repeat the rate of growth achieved since 2013 over the next 12 months.

However, in our present form, we are capable of further increasing turnover, profit margins and profits in the period to 2018. Our strategic vision is to maintain turnover and profits at current levels while recruiting and training management to continue taking the business forward in future,” concludes Jim.

Pump Parts Ltd Pump Parts Ltd has been supplying formwork, concrete pumping, piling and screeding customers for over 20 years. With extensive experience in the construction sector, Pump Parts Ltd has a reputation for high quality products and excellent customer service. Based in the UK and with a modern, efficient factory it specialises in the manufacture and supply of steel pipeline, pipeline brackets, flexible rubber hoses and accessories for concrete pumping.

The company looks forward to supporting AB2000 Ltd in its new venture.

Leibherr RRVs and a range of predator trailers; additionally it has acquired MEWPS, Leibherr, Bell, CAT, JCB, SANY, Kobelco, Volvo and Hyundai excavators and a range of other construction plant & equipment.

“It is not intended that the

AB2000 Ltd www.ab2000.co.uk Services: Specialists in construction, plant, rail/road machinery, crushing and screening equipment and the supply of mobile cranes throughout Scotland and the UK

profile: Springfield Mobile

Mobility and

innovation

Incorporating more than 40 years of industry experience, Springfield Mobile Ltd is a leading manufacturer of bespoke modular buildings and portable accommodation

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ounded in 1973, Springfield Mobile is a family-owned business that was established by its current CEO, Ken Britner and today operates over 40,000 square feet of manufacturing space. Coming from a working class background in Wigan, Ken began his career working within the caravan industry where he learned his trade at a grass roots level as an apprentice on the shop floor. Driven by his strong entrepreneurial sprit, Ken decided with a work colleague to make the bold move of starting a new caravan business. During the following years the company grew into a highly successful business

producing a wide variety of furnished caravans, many of which can still be seen on the road to this day.

As the business continued to grow, Springfield became aware of the growing market for portable buildings and subsequently changed its focus to the manufacture of portable accommodation. During the following years Springfield Mobile has continued to develop a wide range of bespoke mobile buildings to meet every imaginable need.

This success resulted in the need for a greater production capacity and in 2008 the company moved to its current 40,000 sq.ft production site in St Helens. With this new production facility Springfield also took the opportunity to extend and develop its range of portable buildings, moving into two and three storey multi-span units with a wide range of external and internal finishes. Today, after more than four decades in operation, Springfield Mobile continues as a

family run business with Ken’s wife Carole and their daughter Lyndsey both becoming involved in the running of the company. Lyndsey Duggan was recently appointed as Managing Director of Springfield Mobile and has taken on the day-to-day responsibility of the business.

Lyndsey has spent all her working years in Springfield Mobile and understands the company inside and out. Drawing on the example set by the business since its foundation and several years of industry experience, she has continued to grow the company while retaining its family-led and personal approach to business ethics and customer service. “While I took over as MD around six years ago, I have actually been with the business for around 20 years in total. We are a family company and are more passionate about the business as a result. We also have several long-serving members of the team, including staff who have been with the

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profile: Springfield Mobile

company for 40 years, which makes the business very personal to them. Springfield Mobile is a relatively small business that employs around 30 members of staff, which is a strength for us as it allows us to be highly flexible,” elaborates Lyndsey. “One thing that we do always stress is that while members of our enquiry team sell the product, they also manage the project and take part in preparing the grounds and leasing with contractors. Once a project is done it is the same sales person who hands the building over at the end, which means that the client has one point of contact throughout. We are very bespoke in what we do and are not regimented in terms of design.

Everything is built to order, so we will sit down with the customer, look at the planned layout and aesthetics of the building, which means that we can provide a highly unique product.”

By leveraging its strengths in terms of both its flexibility and proven industry experience, Springfield Mobile has continued to enjoy great success in recent years. During October 2016 for example, the company completed its largest ever order worth over £750,000 to design, build and install modular classrooms at Newham 6th Form College (NewVIc) in London. Twelve classrooms and washroom facilities were installed as a twostorey block for the college during

term time allowing NewVIc to cater for increasing numbers of students in the area, which had created considerable pressure on the available college resources.

The building will also provide vital facilities for the college as it redevelops some of its classrooms as part of a five-year project. The project itself was completed in just six weeks from laying the foundations to handing over the finished building ready for teaching. “This has been a landmark project for us since it shows we can compete and win major contracts anywhere in the UK,” Lyndsey says. “We are becoming recognised as an important supplier across the educational sector and that’s down to careful control over manufacturing and attention to detail in project management.”

Further to its success in continuing to deliver large bespoke mobile buildings, Springfield Mobile was also awarded the ‘Best Portable Building Firm - UK’ in the 2016

sustainable building awards from the prestigious Build construction magazine. These annual awards are dedicated to uncovering and rewarding the very best in technical innovation, design and service from across the global construction and property industries. Commenting on the award, Lyndsey said: “I’m delighted in the decision reached

by Build’s judging panel for both the hard work and product innovation over recent years that we’ve put in to be successful. Our industry has come on in leaps and bounds over the years and it’s so rewarding to see our sustainable credentials gain this recognition.

Modular buildings offer a faster and far less intensive solution than traditional builds without any compromise in quality or functionality.”

During the past five years Springfield Mobile has grown by as much as 140 per cent in terms of its turnover. This has largely been in the company’s sales market, which accounts for around 90 per cent of the business, however Springfield also provides mobile buildings on a hire basis to clients including Manchester City Council and it is the hire market that offers the company the greatest opportunity for growth in the future. “We had an ambition to achieve a turnover of around £6 million, which it is looking like we will do by the end of this financial year,” Lyndsey concludes. “I think the next 12 months will be focused on maintaining exactly where we are presently, while also focusing on the hire fleet and trying to expand that side of the business as this only accounts for around ten per cent of our business and offers great potential for growth.”

Springfield Mobile Ltd www.spring-field.co.uk Services: Modular buildings and portable accommodation 45

profile: Actavo

Award-winning

safety

Actavo has many years of experience in providing a diverse range of services to customers across the UK and abroad.

It does so with a customer and safety focus, while always looking to future opportunities

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aving undergone a comprehensive rebranding of the company in 2015, Actavo is, today, a leading international engineering solutions company.

The company’s extensive range of services span three divisions – Actavo | Industrial; Actavo | Structural; and Actavo | Network & In-Home.

Actavo | Industrial Solutions is a leading supplier of multi-discipline industrial solutions that include access solutions, insulation, asbestos removal, power transmission and distribution services, protective coatings, passive fire protection and rope access. These services are provided to a range of industries including the petro-chemical, power generation, nuclear power, offshore, civil engineering and building sectors. The Actavo | Industrial team is based in the UK, Ireland and Kazakhstan, and has the vast knowledge and technical expertise required to support clients such as Ineos, Magnox Limited, Centrica, Babcock International, Pfizer, National Grid

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and SSE, among many others.

Actavo | Structural Division comprises Hire & Sales, Building and Events solutions, and, like Actavo | Industrial Solutions, has an established and continually growing presence across the UK, Ireland and internationally.

Actavo | Hire & Sales provides a wide range of specialised building equipment such as scaffolding, light access, temporary roofing and fencing, for hire and sale online and through a 35-branch network across the UK and Ireland. Actavo | Buildings designs and manufactures quality buildings using innovative construction techniques to reduce overall construction programmes and time onsite without compromising on design or quality. This team manages projects from initial planning, design and manufacture through to completion, with particular expertise in the healthcare, education, corporate, rail and defence sectors. Actavo | Events provides premier event services such as staging, crowdcontrol solutions, bespoke structures, grandstand seating,

drape systems and temporary structures. The Events team provide a turnkey service – from design and project management through to full installation – on a wide range of events, including Glastonbury and British Summer Time (England); T In The Park (Scotland); Primavera (Spain); Dublin’s St Patrick’s Day Festival (Ireland) and Web Summit 2016 (Portugal).

Actavo’s wide range of services is continually improved to better serve its customers, an example of this being Actavo Direct (www.actavodirect.com), an online ordering facility. This service offers its customers convenience, increased efficiency, and a saving in terms of time and money. Most recently, Actavo Direct has introduced 48-hour delivery, recognising the importance of prompt service in the high-pressure sectors in which customers are working.

Actavo’s technological prowess is further evidenced by its recently signed five-year partnership with ScottishPower to install 780,000 smart meters to homes across Glasgow, Edinburgh and Fife.

This contract, which represents the majority of the Government’s smart metering programme for Scotland, has seen Actavo | Network & In-Home Division create 230 jobs in Glasgow.

Actavo’s growth is largely attributable to its customerfocused, performance-driven approach to all parts of its business. According to Chris Foulkes, CEO of Actavo | Industrial Division: “Our growth has been delivered from both new project wins, new maintenance contracts and through the growth of our existing contracts, where we have seen a continuing trend for our clients and understanding their targets, needs and issues. Only when we have really listened and understood these do we make a proposal – not simply offering a standard ‘one size fits

all’ response, but with a view to taking on board a client’s perspective and issues, and delivering answers that truly meet their needs.”

Commenting on Actavo’s customer-centric ethos, CEO of Actavo | Structural Division, Roger Hastie, added: “Firstly, we strive to stay close to our customers and continually look to learn from them as to how we can provide the best service. Secondly, we are always looking at ways of diversifying as a business – new products, new services, new branches, and new methods of trading, and new targets.

Last, but by no means least, our entire approach across Actavo is characterised by a culture of safety – safety has been, and will always be, our number one priority.”

The company’s focus on safety has been exemplified by a record of 12 consecutive Royal Society of Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) Gold awards, culminating in the RoSPA President’s award.

Highlighting the significance of this award, Chris Foulkes said: “The receipt of RoSPA’s President’s award demonstrates Actavo’s continued commitment to sustaining the highest possible levels of safety at all times.” Roger Hastie elaborated further: “Keeping our team and the public safe will always be our top priority. As part of our commitment to deliver world-class services, all our team members receive meticulous health and safety training – both theoretical and practical. Our entire company is focused on zero harm.”

Actavo’s industry awards, projects and continued growth (including an increase in its international workforce of over 2000 in the last 16 months) all demonstrate the winning spirit that the company strives to instill in everything it does. Looking to future plans and expectations, Chris Foulkes believes that: “Nuclear new builds, marine works, power transmission and

maintenance and outage work in the oil and gas sector will be the staples of our business over the next three to five years, with overseas growth a certainty.

We plan to continue to grow at a rate that significantly outperforms the market. Continuous improvement – through the use of technology that supports our business – will be a key feature in delivering this growth, as well as investment in our people and a strong focus on diversity.”

Concluding, Roger Hastie says: “In November 2016, the Actavo brand turned one year old. So, in terms of our new corporate identity, the journey has really only begun, in many ways. Over the next 12 months, we will continue to generate domestic and international recognition

of Actavo, and its strength and depth of services and expertise we can provide. The company has traded strongly in 2016, and we are confident that 2017 will represent another year of successful development across all our businesses. We are focused on building excellence and capability in our senior management team, while helping our clients by bringing innovative technology solutions that drive operational efficiency and quality.”

Actavo www.actavo.com Services: Main services range from network, in-home and industrial solutions to hire and sales, building and event services

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profile: Malthus

Next top

module

Through know-how, ability and a strong business model, international corporation Malthus’ name has become synonymous with high quality, cost-effective modular buildings

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eadquartered in Forus in Sandnes, Malthus AS and its two subsidiaries in Canada and the UK create modular solutions that not only meet each customer’s needs but also are also durable, functional and user-friendly. A solid, international contractor and trade business, Malthus is known for delivering modular building solutions through the use of local project management, local service, local building management and local service personnel to its diverse customer base. Modular buildings available to customers include offices, the Malthus camp hotel, workforce accommodation, temporary buildings, commercial kitchens and staff restaurants and hotels.

Committed to its values, ‘Teamwork’ and ‘Quality’, Malthus focuses on initiative, knowledge, creativity, innovation and a positive attitude throughout the organisation as employees work together towards a common goal, centered on ‘Customer Focus’. This ethos has proven fruitful for Malthus, with the company seeing steady increases in turnover year-on-year. Today the company mainly operates in three business sectors: oil and

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gas, mining and construction, with major organisations between each segment choosing Malthus for its excellent product quality, commitment to health and safety and the financial benefits of modular construction.

Commenting on the rise of Malthus in the construction sector is Arild Ollestad, Chief Executive Officer of Malthus AS: “Since our inception in 1973 we have evolved into a provider of temporary and permanent modular buildings and expanded our operations over the years into both Canada and the UK. In Canada we are based on the East Coast, where we have worked on several projects, including the delivery of a 1100 accommodation camp for a mining company. Meanwhile, in the UK we have developed an 850 person accommodation camp in the Shetlands for Petrofac and Total. This is a great camp and a strong example of our capabilities; it is here that we also set up an office/workshop facility that was used to provide offices in the construction area.”

Announced in February 2011, the project for Petrofac was executed on the Shetland Islands as part of the Total Lagan Tormore Development Project. For Malthus, the scope of work included the

complete turnkey delivery of the project, from utilities, the building and installation of the modular camp with all facilities in place such as the kitchen, diner, gym and shops. Valued at £28 million, the project was undertaken during January to October 2011 and had a original lease period of three years; designed to a high standard, the camp offered energy saving solutions and a modern design. The camp is still in operation and provides high quality accommodation for demanding customers.

Providing a home away from home to those working on longterm projects, Malthus Camp offers a shortcut for temporary dwellings, canteens and offices that are created from modular construction. Key to delivering customers a home away from home, Malthus focuses on comfort and well being during the construction of a camp; this is tailored to the size of the project, the needs of the users and the proximity to work. Aware that studies indicate productivity is connected to a content workforce, Malthus installs modern comfort amenities in a social and pleasant environment that has facilities such as a canteen, shared TV lounge and other options; these

could include an administrative office, sports hall, fitness room, internet care or a pub. Aside from social areas, Malthus also supplies clients with required facilities; these include service buildings such as a bank, doctors and dental surgery. Each person on site, meanwhile, receives a furnished bedroom, complete with a bed, desk, wardrobe, chair and private washroom.

Proud to adapt to customer demands, Malthus uses its flexibility to meet local conditions and preferences while also completing the project in a timely and efficient manner. Satisfied customers include Aker Solutions, Forsvarsbygg, Norsk Hydro, Statoil ASA, Total and NCC Construction AS. Discussing another notable project, Arild states: “We also undertook providing Shell with

Norway’s largest construction site village for the Ormen Lange project, which provides gas to the UK market.”

Covering a total area of 60,000 square metres, the Ormen Lange project included 2992 rooms at hotel standards as well as temporary offices, changing rooms, service buildings, welfare buildings, a sports hall and a canteen. Additional requirements include temporary buildings for offices, lounges, dining rooms and WCs inside the works area.

Officially opened in December 2004, three weeks in advance of the occupancy deadline, the construction-site village was set up with a total of 50 separate residential rigs over two stories; each of these rigs had 44 residential units.

Having gained a strong

reputation for meeting the stringent requirements of blue chip organisations in the oil & gas, mining and construction industries in Norway, the UK and Canada, Malthus will seek opportunities to further strengthen its international presence as a specialist in modular buildings. “With our ability to serve demanding customers, our good HSEQ statistics and focus on quality, we will continue to provide the best solutions to our existing customers while also broadening our business into new geographical areas,” Arild concludes.

Malthus AS www.malthus.com Services: Modular buildings

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profile: Stirnimann

Solid

partnerships

Stirnimann offers crane hire, sales and service on a wide range of cranes and related equipment

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elebrating 100 years in operation in 2015, Stirnimann is active throughout Switzerland, serving a diverse range of customers from its three sites in the country; the company also opened a relatively new office in Austria in 2013. With customers ranging from small, family-operated companies to major big-name construction companies in Switzerland, Stirnimann has developed its services over the years to ensure each customer receives a high quality, personalised, fullservice package.

Speaking to Construction & Civil Engineering magazine in April 2015, CEO of Stirnimann Fritz Oschwald commented: “With our dedicated staff, we offer a full-service package of the highest quality that is tailored precisely to our customers’ needs. Whether sales, rentals or service – as a general agent for leading global brands we are a strong and competent partner for our customers,” he added, continuing: “We foster long-term relationships with internationally well-known

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construction equipment manufacturers such as Grove (since 1969) and Potain (since 1986), both part of the Manitowoc Group, as well as JLG (since 2004). Today we are a leading provider for construction cranes in Switzerland.

“Potain offers a range of more than 60 different models of tower cranes from ten tonne-meters up to 3600 tonne-meters. The Grove line of mobile telescopic cranes ranges in capacity from eight tonnes to 450 tonnes (8.5 USt – 550 USt), with patented technologies like the MEGATRAK suspension system, the TWINLOCK boom pinning system and the MEGAFORM boom design – all to keep Grove cranes at the top of the market. When it comes to lifting platforms we offer a wide variety of scissor lifts, boom lifts, telehandlers and telescopic work platforms together with JLG and other partners.”

The range of products available from Stirnimann is extremely wide – its rental fleet comprises 400 units, to give some idea of scale. Fritz gave some more details on what

the company can offer: “With our technically competent and well-trained personnel as well as a modern infrastructure, we can provide a comprehensive and fast service. We live our slogan ‘Power at your service’ by offering a full-service to our customers including: after-sales, erection, crane inspections, maintenance, equipment revisions, repair work and so on.”

Explaining further on how the company lives by its slogan, ‘Power at your service’, Fritz speaks with CCE once again: “We are a small company with a focus on being close to the customer; from the start of a project, our sales people develop a close rapport with customers and develop a solid relationship that is based on human aspects. This is important to us as we believe in delivering a first-class service, in which service quality, partnerships and close co-operation with the customer is imperative. At the end of each business transaction is a human; this is something we respect.”

Since previously being featured in CCE in April 2015, the company celebrated 100 years in operation as Stirnimann with an open house event the same month. Inviting approximately 400 guests, including customers, suppliers, staff and those in politics to its premises in Olten, the company celebrated in style while providing demonstrations of products such

as the new 250 tonne GMK530L All Terrain crane.

Meanwhile, in other areas of the business, developments have remained positive for Stirnimann, with steady growth in the buying, renting and service segments of the business; a trend that is likely connected to the company’s strong reputation as an innovative and proven partner for the construction and transport industry as well as the public sector. Indeed, as the general representative of leading world brands, the company also offers a comprehensive service package and superior turnkey service to ensure the highest level of customer satisfaction.

Complementing this commitment to service is the company’s investment in new products, as Fritz notes: “We

added new tower crane models to our fleet; the CCS models, the 189, 319 and 389. We have also expanded our self-erecting cranes with recent additions.”

He continues: “In addition to these investments, we are in the preparing to invest in the French office we have in the Frenchspeaking part of Switzerland; this expansion in operations will include a new workshop and stockyard and will provide benefits such as enhanced operational flow so we can then avoid transport costs between the headquarters in Olten and the French office.”

Having enjoyed a financially positive year in 2015, Stirnimann anticipates similar results in both 2016 and into the future as the construction industry continues to flourish in Switzerland.

Looking ahead at the challenges and opportunities that face Stirnimann, Fritz concludes: “Over the next 12 months we will seek to further develop our company in Austria; during this time we will also be keeping a close eye on the situation in Europe in terms of the Swiss currency, Euro and Brexit.

This will be an important question over the coming years, how will Switzerland handle this difficult situation? Besides this challenge, for us at Stirnimann it is a matter of being true to the business that has been shaped over the last 100 years; we will try to find continued success in this business by sticking to our roots.”

Stirnimann www.stirnimann.ch Services: Crane hire, sales and service

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profile: CESAS Civil Engineering

Concrete

support

With over 15 years of industry experience, CESAS Civil Engineering is a trusted sub-contractor primarily specialising in reinforced concrete structures and industrial process and control buildings

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perating from its base in Newtownabbey, County Antrim, CESAS Civil Engineering is a Northern Irish business specialising in the construction of reinforced concrete structures across several industry sectors. Frank Begley incorporated the company during 1999 with Ray Doherty joining the business the following year, while today both Frank and Ray continue to run the business as Co-Directors and manoeuvre CESAS into new markets. The company was founded to provide concrete structures for the water and wastewater sectors, where CESAS developed its experience in constructing industrial buildings and over the following years it has grown in experience and specialisation to work with leading energy companies and contractors.

“We work as a subcontractor, primarily for large civil engineering contractors to which we provide specialised projects comprised of reinforced concrete structures and industrial buildings.

These industrial buildings include pumping stations and control

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Above Sub-station at Harestanes Wind Farm, Dumfries

buildings for water projects, as well as substations for power projects such as wind farms.

We also provide warehousing solutions and other industrial buildings as required,” elaborates Director, Ray Doherty. “During our history we have diversified in the type of work that we do, for many years we were involved exclusively in the development of water and sewage treatment plants and all of the concrete structures associated with that sector. Following this we began building motorway bridges and road bridges over rivers, while we started working in wind farms during 2009. We have had a steady client base in this sector during the subsequent years and have constructed wind turbine foundations and control buildings on over 20 wind farms.”

Throughout its history, CESAS has worked as a sub-contractor for a number of leading construction companies to provide infrastructure solutions for Scottish Water Solutions, which has itself handed over more than £1 billion worth of infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects from the Quality and Standards (Q&S) II Programme to Scottish Water. Between June 2011 and

April 2012 for example, CESAS worked alongside Farrans Construction Ltd. to develop new structures for the upgrade of existing infrastructure at the Eaglesham Sewage Works in a project valued at £250,000. New structures constructed across the sewage works included a deep concrete ring grit chamber and washwater chamber with associated shoring temporary works; new concrete inlet channels with associated live connections to existing flow; new hardstandings for booster kiosks; and extensive new ducting systems throughout the site for M&E control. Furthermore, the company also set up overpumping of live flows during the inlet reconstruction and constructed a new concrete access road and hardstanding, as well as reinstatement of grassed areas and paths.

Additionally, during March 2011 CESAS also worked with Farrans Construction at the Carron Valley Water Works in the construction of a new structural steel framed water pumping station building with metal roof and wall cladding.

This project was completed in March 2012 and valued at £276,000. It included all building finishes such as masonry work, concrete process pits and floors, metal doors and access ramps; new ducts and duct pits to the new pumping station; deep excavation and laying 120m of 350mm diameter ductile iron pipes for suction inlet; deep connection to 700mm water supply main; process pipework in and out of the pumping station with associated non-return valve chamber and meter chamber and all site finishes including paths, kiosk plinths and drainage. CESAS also operated on a separate site as part of the same project to undertake new DI 350mm and 250mm water main laying with associated ducts and duct pits and two new deep manholes

for flow meter and pressure valves. Excavation in rock and disposal of material, as well as reinstatement on site was also carried out by CESAS. As the company has diversified into new areas in recent years, CESAS has carried out projects in the ferry, highways and off shore wind segments. “During 2012 we were involved in the Isle of Skye ferry terminal for the Raasay ferry, sailing to the Island of Raasay.

This was a relatively small project, which was undertaken for the main contractor, McLaughlin and Harvey. During the terminal upgrade we provided a relatively simple single storey building for storage,” Ray explains. “We are also very proud to have recently completed our largest project in the offshore wind farm market in 2016. This was undertaken at the 96-turbine Kilgallioch wind farm in South West Scotland for the main contractor, Farrans Construction on behalf of Scottish Power Renewables. During the project we were involved in the construction of the foundations

for each of the turbines as well as a wind farm control building.

Next year we certainly hope to be involved in more wind farm projects as statistically speaking, we have built 355 wind farm foundations to date over the last six years with 16 control building sub-stations.”

With its growing portfolio of completed projects, CESAS provides its clients with a trusted solution in concrete civil engineering solutions. Over the coming years the company will seek to further leverage its

expert capabilities to grow to represent a primary contractor for clients operating within the civil engineering sector. “We have a real depth and breadth of experience running through the company in the development of concrete structures. This represents our main asset, especially when working with new contractors and one-off developments, where we can offer clients the ability to undertake projects on a turnkey basis.

This means that we can build control buildings and substations away from the main project

and undertake the construction entirely, so we source the materials and project manage ourselves before handing over the completed building to the client,” Ray concludes. “While we will continue to work as a subcontractor for the foreseeable future and have several projects lined up for 2017 and beyond, we also have an ambition to work directly with clients within the next three to five years. This will involve continuing to complete turnkey projects and winning the third party accreditations required to operate as a full contractor.”

CESAS Civil Engineering www.cesas.net Services: Specialist in reinforced concrete structures

Top Aikengall Wind Farm, East Lothian Bottom Equestrian Access Bridge, Harestanes Wind Farm, Dumfries

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profile: Betonbau

A modular

market With more than half a century of operating experience, Betonbau GmbH & Co. KG is a trusted manufacturer of prefabricated concrete infrastructure and technical buildings

B

etonbau was founded in 1963 and is based in the town of Waghäusel, located within the Rhine valley in the south-western state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company was established as a manufacturer of prefabricated concrete modules and has since evolved into a supplier of complete systems, which are comprised of concrete infrastructure, technical buildings and electrical equipment.

Betonbau today operates from four plants throughout Germany in addition to a further facility in the Czech Republic employing circa 750 members of staff across its production and administration activities, with an annual turnover of around €120 million.

During the past five decades Betonbau has grown into a business that is able to work with a variety of applications and clients across several industry sectors. As the company’s presence has expanded so too has its product portfolio, enabling Betonbau to establish

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a proven reputation as a leading turnkey system provider. “The main products that we supply are monolithically built modules that are used in a multitude of industrial applications including both electrical and renewable energy, gas, telecommunication, railway and infrastructure. These modules are also suitable for integration into the design of larger buildings and structures.

They can additionally be combined with our concrete plate elements. Furthermore we produce components such as ventilation panels, doors and pressure relief systems that are typically produced in aluminium,” explains Betonbau Managing Director, Volker Ernst.

“Our customers include power producers, grid operators, railway tenders, industrial and public customers, telecommunications and operators wind power, biogas and photovoltaic plants as well as prime contractors within the construction industry,” he continues. “For example, we have delivered thousands of our industrial stations to the biogas, photovoltaics and wind energy sectors. The market of renewable energy has continued to grow over the last ten years and is today one of our mainstays and is therefore of great importance to the company.”

Within the photovoltaic sector, an example of the solutions provided by Betonbau can be found in the development of operational buildings combining three specific parts for the Pocking solar plant in Germany, with an output of around 1,233 MW. These operational buildings for photovoltaic technology consisted of a transfer room, inverter room and emergency power plant room and were erected on a site of over 20 hectares leased from local farmers together with approximately 220 solar trackers. Since its completion the solar plant has

been supplying the mains network and more than 800 households with electricity. There has been a numerous amount of projects like this executed by Betonbau over the past years. While serving the biogas sector organic waste is converted into biogas, using both landfill and/or methane gas in a biogas plant that provides a gas motor with an energy source.

The energy generated in the form of power and heat can then be used in part in the plant itself and also supplied to the public supply network. Within this application the positive characteristics of concrete structures enable their use as an aggregate housing, particularly with regard to the high level of sound insulation, compressive strength and long service life.

In addition to serving clients within the energy market, Betonbau has also established a proven reputation in providing solutions to the rail industry where it provides units for power supply, distribution and signalling applications. Completed projects within the rail industry include the provision of a standard power inverter for Deutsche Bahn (DB). To accommodate the power supply of its 16.7 Hz track network from the 50 Hz three-phase system, DB requires a power supply at many points across its network. These network couplings can be modularly and economically constructed according to the feed-in requirements at different points on the network, meaning that different design stages can be technically and optically uniformly designed. After the production of the required concrete elements, the room cells can be equipped with the necessary electronic and technical equipment at the same Betonbau factory. The foundations and the enclosure of the large transformers, some of which are necessary for soundproofing reasons, are largely prefabricated

in the concrete factory and finally installed on the construction site.

Across the company, Betonbau manages the highest levels of quality control supported by more than 50 years of industry experience. This has enabled the business to develop a proven track record with a broad base of industry players and will be vital in enabling the company to enjoy positive growth over the coming years. “We possess a very wellfounded application know-how, therefore we are able to provide our customers with customised solutions that include planning, technical installation in our plant, logistics and transportation, assembly and commissioning.

Our long years of practical experience result in a design that is able to adjust to the various circumstances, climatic zones

or building areas the customer needs to use our products in. It is our company’s goal to grow at a double-digit rate and we see the market potential primarily in the sectors of renewable energy, electromobility and energy storage systems. In addition to that we are expanding our export activities,” Volker concludes.

“The market is subject to certain fluctuations, influenced by the political environment and due to the agreed climate protection goals that apply worldwide.

However, growth is inevitable and therefore we see this as a growing market. During the next 12 months we will concentrate on adapting the company to the new markets, while our vision for the next three to five years is focused on market and product development as well as the extension of our product portfolio. We are always interested in expanding our network and are looking for new partners to extend our business activities.

New business models as well as new areas of application for our existing product portfolio are also always of interest to us.”

Betonbau GmbH & Co. KG www.betonbau-international.com Services: Prefabricated concrete infrastructure and technical buildings

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profile: Vrijenban

In

demand Benefiting from long-term expertise in customised precast concrete solutions, Vrijenban has further strengthened its capabilities by acquiring BAM’s Dutch facility in Zuidbroek for the production of bigger precast concrete elements

F

ounded in 1911, Betonfabriek Vrijenban was originally focused on prefabricated concrete for utilisation in the construction of greenhouses.

However, over the last decade the company has diversified its operations and taken on more complex and larger contracts within the infrastructure sector.

Since 2011, this has also included work for the German market as increasing numbers of sectors recognise the benefits of using prefabricated concrete.

Operating four specialised plants for prefabricated concrete elements Vrijenban today stands out in a competitive market thanks to its focus on customised precast elements that are made to order for major design and construction

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projects as well as smaller scaled orders. Able to produce a varied range of work, from artworks to elements for infrastructure projects for the government, the company merges these capabilities with its own transportation service that ensures material is delivered to sites, as Theo van Baal, General Manager at Vrijenban, comments: “We have our own transport for the Delft area and we also transport our own cement; a large amount of transport is hired from companies with whom we have long-term relationships, creating the optimal conditions for co-operation.”

Able to deliver specially formed elements in any environmental class, the company produces prefabricated concrete groundwork, road and hydraulic engineering (GWW), rail, road and civil works from its factory in Delft. It is here that the company supplies products to a range of customers on a national scale in the Netherlands, including

municipalities, provinces, architects and contractors; the company is also experienced in extensive export projects.

“Vrijenban has wide activities in the infrastructure sector, however, we are also active in the agribusiness; our trade name in this business segment is Den Boer beton and operations take place in our production facilities in Nieuw Lekkerland.

Committed to creating tailor made solutions for our customers, we proceed where others stop.

Recent challenging projects for us include work for Van Oord in Guernsey, where the challenge wasn’t to make a concrete sleeve, but to create it in the short time we had for production. We are able to make products for a variety of applications which is why we have won upcoming projects such as work on the sound barriers in Heerlen Area and the Klaprozenbrug project in Amsterdam,” says Theo van Baal.

The Klaprozenbrug project includes the construction of a new road and two new bridges to ensure easy access and strong public transport connections to Zaanstad, Amsterdam. While the new Klaprozenweg is due for completion in 2017, the new bridge is anticipated to take more time and is anticipated to open in 2018.

“This is a notable project for us, as the bridge in Amsterdam is the shape of a Viking ship,” comments Theo van Baal. “Our capabilities in delivering custom solutions has enabled us to gain a core following of major national operating contractors; these customers include Heijmans, KWS, Van Gelder and BAM. In addition to these clients, we also have contractors operating in the offshore sector, such as Van Oord and Boskalis, that are major clients.”

Another notable project for the company involved the coastal reinforcement and redevelopment of the Scheveningen Boulevard, which included the production of

more than 6500 retaining walls and steps in a short time frame.

Completed in time for contractors Van den Biggelaar en Liebrecht, Vrijenban faced the additional challenge of meeting the aesthetic requirements expressed by Spanish architect Manuel de Sola-Morales.

Other projects for the company include the design and manufacture of custom concrete seats for public areas, concrete elements, steps, tree and flowerpots, footings, T-beam and sleepers, poufs and squares and paving slabs. In addition to the manufacture of these items, Vrijenban has long-term experience in delivering run-on slabs, hanging wall elements; edge elements, concrete beams, wells and gutters, underground waste containers, rail infrastructure and kerbs to its diverse customer base.

Complementing the company’s long-term experience in delivering custom concrete solutions is its expert staff who also have the right skills to walk customers through both the design and implementation phases of a project. Employees are characterised by their ‘can do’ attitude, creativity and constructive approach throughout design and construction project; services include optimum quality design and a personalised look, further benefits include the integration of the company’s implementation expertise. Further cementing the company’s ability to meet complex demands are the key values that are entrenched within Vrijenban’s ethos; employees are to be adventurous, enterprising, hands-on, decisive and inventive. “Ultimately, we are quick and flexible and easy to communicate with when it comes to your customised concrete requirements; there is nobody nicer than us,” says Theo van Baal with a smile.

Not a company to rest on its laurels, Vrijenban made the strategic decision to further

strengthen its operations with the acquisition of BAM’s concrete facility in Zuidbroek in January 2016. “Vrijenban was previously able to produce elements up to 10,000 kg in Delft, however, with this new plant in Zuidbroek we can now make elements up to 50,000 kg. This development has immediately made us a bigger player in the market and a partner for larger projects for major clients,” says Theo van Baal.

“Our first year after the renewed startup of Zuidbroek has been very successful so far,

with some long-term experience from BAM personnel and a lot of new inspiration brought by our people, Zuidbroek has undergone a huge transformation. As such, 2017 is going to be an exciting and challenging year for us,” he concludes.

Vrijenban, flexible in concrete www.vrijenban.nl Services: Customised precast concrete solutions, retaining walls and concrete mortars

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3

SANDVIK As demand for measurement-while-drilling data in tunneling has grown, Sandvik has developed geoSURE – the real-time rock mass analysis and visualisation system for drill-and-blast tunneling process optimisation. The system helps Sandvik underground rig users improve safety, productivity and quality through data utilisation.

The innovative Sandvik geoSURE system seamlessly collects and analyses data and delivers high-precision rock mass information in a convenient, fast and cost-efficient way, providing a detailed view inside the drilled rock. Sandvik geoSURE detects rock properties corresponding to geological analyses and supplements other data. The system automatically produces information on rock strength and fracturing, and detects water in fractures. Analysis results are available immediately and are highly accurate, since all information from the drill rig is used. Fractures, for example, are identified much more accurately on a millimeter-level resolution than using conventional systems.

The results can be examined in an office or remotely in real time during drilling with the system’s easy-to-use visualisation features, which range from single-hole measurement graphs to 3D data views along a full tunnel line. Sandvik geoSURE is fully integrated to the Sandvik iSURE tunnel management software, in which the analysed data and all other collected data can be viewed according to a user’s unique needs. The visualisation features include isocurves and surfaces to highlight areas of interest, and cross-sections to study rock mass behaviour.

Sandvik geoSURE acts as an important tool for the assessment of rock reinforcement or injection requirements. Once the online data produced by each drilled hole is analysed and further visualised using Sandvik iSURE, a view inside the rock may then be used to support the formation of bolting and injection plans as well as backing up the charging and blasting procedures.

The easy-to-use system minimises effort and saves cost and time, as decisions to optimise excavation and rock support actions can be made on-the-fly using the immediately available data. Unnecessary work, such as exploratory, probe or injection drilling, can be avoided when rock mass is determined to be in good condition.

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profile: ITA AITES

ground

Breaking new

Since its foundation in 1974, the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (ITA) has encouraged the economic, environmental and social benefits of utilising underground space and provided support to the tunnelling industry across the globe

F

ormed through the initiative of 19 nations in 1974, the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (ITA) has considerably developed over the last four decades to provide a platform for its 73 Member Nations, allowing them to work together in a way that promote advances in the planning, design, construction, maintenance and safety of tunnels and underground space.

Any independent nation, many through the medium of a national organisation, can become an ITA member nation, while corporations and individuals can participate in association activities by becoming an affiliate member.

So far ITA has gathered 300 corporate or individual affiliate members, some of which are prime sponsors or supporters.

Focused on its goal of sharing knowledge so newcomers to the tunnelling industry can benefit, ITA has notably large associations in areas such as the

UK, Italy and China, the latter of which is where a vast amount of tunnelling development is taking place, as Professor Tarcisio Celestino comments: “Although the tunnelling industry is undergoing something of a revival, it is impossible not to mention the number of projects that are currently taking place in China. In fact, when I was in China last month I went to Jinan, a city of six million people that is in the process of constructing a metro system which many of us were not aware of; the number of systems being constructed in China as a whole, as well as the number of high speed railway tunnels, is remarkable.

“To put it into perspective, in 2008 China put into operation the first high speed rail line in advance of Olympic games; eight years on China has reached 19,000 kilometres of high speed rail lines.

More than half of the total length is built underground and further work is continuing to take place on high speed systems. Elsewhere in the world, another notable project is the launch of the

construction of the tunnel across the Andes between Argentina and Chile. According to our assessments at ITA, the tunnelling industry is undergoing a rate of increase of six to seven per cent per year; this is particularly significant considering global market turbulence. Despite this, the tunnelling industry is growing.”

Since previously being featured in Construction & Civil Engineering magazine in April 2015, ITA has been in the process of developing a new strategy plan for the next three years in response to the growth within the tunnelling industry. Moreover, the organisation has been focused on maintaining its vision of constructing tunnels, on time, to budget and with no casualties in the face of private investors, with little experience of the tunnelling industry, entering the arena.

“Traditional clients of companies within the tunnelling industry would be subway companies or highway departments that belong to the government; these clients would have decades of experience of the industry and

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profile: ITA AITES

would understand the importance of a thorough investigation should a new line be constructed. This isn’t necessarily the case when we meet with private investor who comes from the financial sector and has no idea about investigations or good designs or good engineers and instead seeks out the cheapest prices, which in turn may not lead to the best result,” says Tarcisio.

“This development in the industry is certainly something we have to pay attention to as we focus on showing the world and investors that following proper contractual procedures and work to the best of our expertise on projects when it comes to issues such as investigations and engineering, that tunnelling is a reliable and predictable option,” he adds.

Complementing this vision is the commitment to innovation within the tunnelling industry, a development that has progressed significantly over recent years in both the mechanised tunnelling projects and conventional tunnelling projects. “When you look at conventional tunnelling, the crew will be using electronics and

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digital information at the face of the tunnel to assess the resistance and how this varies in the depths of the hole being drilled; this information is then used for the blast but also aids in the quality of the blast and decreasing vibrations, to improve the final geometry and into the optimisation when it comes to getting a higher advance rate of the whole process,” highlights Tarcisio.

Following the ITA Tunnelling Awards in November 2016, further innovations are anticipated to enter the tunnelling industry as the most groundbreaking achievements and innovations in underground infrastructure worldwide now have an audience.

“People who have an idea say

they have more incentive to develop it and submit it to the awards as the awards ceremony offers an incentive to go above and beyond to deliver high quality, innovations at a faster pace. The number of people attending the ITA Tunnelling Awards has grown 80 per cent from 2015 to 2016 and we anticipate further growth in the future,” says Tarcisio.

“We were very satisfied with these awards and the developments within the tunnelling industry as we continue with our goal of proving tunnels can be predictable and reliable as long as we follow adequate contractual practices. As the world continues to focus on their carbon footprint and high speed rail becomes an increasingly viable option against planes, the number of tunnels is certain to increase; that is certainly the way the world will go,” he concludes.

ITA AITES www.ita-aites.org/en Services: Supports and encourages the tunnelling industry and promotes the use of underground space

Editor Libbie Hammond libbie@schofieldpublishing.co.uk Sales Team

+44 (0) 1603 274130 Schofield Publishing 10 Cringleford Business Centre Intwood Road Cringleford Norwich NR4 6AU

www.ccemagazine.com