ISG Adds Link To Growing Portfolio Of Client Framework

ISG continues to highlight its credentials within the social housing sector, following confirmation of its inclusion in the Link Group Main Contractor Framework.

Over the next four years, Link will unveil a series of affordable housing developments, encompassing an estimated 600 new build or refurbished homes, ranging in size, type and tenure incorporating mainstream and amenity housing in locations across Scotland.

The framework procurement route was preferred for the delivery of these important developments as this methodology promotes collaborative working, drives efficiencies across the supply chain and encourages sustainable construction solutions. Best practice will be shared amongst framework partners and there is a key drive towards creating employment and training opportunities within local communities.

ISG’s Andy Mallice, managing director – Scotland, commented: “ISG’s inclusion in this influential framework further enhances our growing reputation within this burgeoning sector and provides the business with forward visibility in our order book over the next four years.”

In Scotland, ISG is involved in a number of key social housing projects, including the major £45 million regeneration scheme at Mill O’Mains in Dundee for Home Scotland, and the refurbishment of 13 multi-storey blocks located throughout Glasgow, on behalf of GHA. In addition, ISG is also part of the Home Scotland Framework agreement, which represents a £40 million investment over four years.

Across the UK, the strength and depth of ISG’s experience within the social housing sector is illustrated by the contractor’s involvement in numerous partnering frameworks with leading providers including Genesis Housing Group, Bedfordshire Pilgrims Housing Association, Network Housing Group, Sanctuary Hereward, Swan Housing Association and Flagship Housing Group.

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Victoria Park renovations completed

London’s historic Victoria Park has been restored to its former splendor following the completion of a £12 million, 16 month renovation project.

The project, funded by Tower Hamlets Council and The Heritage Lottery Fund was carried out by family-owned construction, civil engineering and property services firm Osborne, which involved full renovation of the park’s facilities and grounds.

Work on the park included the construction of two large play areas with play equipment, water play features, and a Wheels Park for skateboarding and bikes as well as restoration on the Old English Garden and other landscaping work.

Additional work included restoring the listed Burdett Coutts Fountain; the Rustic Shelter; the Bandstand; and all entrances and gates and Bonner Bridge. Many of the Bonner Bridge balustrades had to be replaced, and were cast from the original panels. More than one third of the materials and labour for this project came from within a 10 mile radius of the site.

The park remained open throughout the renovation work, so the site team worked around staff, residents and the local wildlife, scheduling work around nesting season for the birds and working with English Heritage to obtain approvals for refurbishing listed structures.

Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman, said: “The refurbishment was a once in a life-time opportunity to bring a much loved park up to date and the multi million pound transformation will ensure the park continues to provide excellent facilities for years to come.

I am proud of the investment which has been made as it really is the jewel in the crown for the borough.”

Tommy Chambers, Managing Director of Osborne’s Civil Engineering team, said: “The whole community have joined us in refurbishing this magnificent park, with residents getting involved in planting, and some local school children painting murals to go on our hoardings while the work was taking place. With the park remaining open throughout the renovation works, we made communication with residents and staff a key priority, so they knew what was going on and why. This park has been a key feature of the local landscape and in the lives of its residents since 1845, and these renovations have been designed to improve the experience for visitors while complimenting the park’s Victorian heritage.”

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Tensartech saves time and materials for Mansfield hospital car parking construction

A new car parking area for 77 cars at Mansfield Community Hospital has been constructed with savings in time, cost savings in materials and has made a reduced environmental impact, by using Tensartech Earth Retaining structure technology.

“Using the Tensartech solution saved more than 50% in materials and time costs over the conventional reinforced concrete, buttressed retaining wall structure originally proposed,” commented Vince Hackett, Director of groundwork contractors North Midland Construction. “Additionally, the site is very constrained and creating formwork and pouring concrete would have been extremely difficult in such a tight space. The Tensartech solution has minimal plant requirements.”

The car park project is part of an ongoing redevelopment and upgrade of Mansfield Community Hospital, and is included in the £320 million Modernisation of Acute Services in Central Nottinghamshire project for Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Nottinghamshire County Teaching Primary Care Trust At Mansfield Community Hospital, the work includes the refurbishment of the ward accommodation and construction of a new outpatients and administration facilities and will be completed in 2009.

The new car park is being constructed on the sloping area in front of the new Pavilion Building by creating a level site, bounded at one end by an ellipsoid retaining wall with a maximum height of 4 metres. The Tensartech retaining structure comprises compacted site won fill material which is stabilised by layers of Tensar uniaxial geogrid fixed to TW1 modular concrete blocks using a unique polymer connector.

The TW1 blocks are dry laid by hand, so eliminating time for curing mortar. For this project, the client wanted a natural stone facing so, to accommodate this, stainless steel ties were incorporated to secure the finished cladding of a locally quarried stone. This enabled full loadbearing capacity for completing the car park to be achieved immediately, without waiting for an in-situ concrete wall to gain structural strength, thus saving contract time. As well as local stone facings, the wall is capped with granite copings and incorporates feature lighting and stainless steel handrails.

“The Tensartech solution saved a significant amount of time on the project,” added Matt Barnes, Project Engineering Manager for Skanska. “In particular expensive and time consuming temporary works like curved formworks and support structures and saved on this material. It represents an excellent sustainable solution for retaining structures.”

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Helmsman gives Barbour ABI a ‘thumbs up’ from a happy customer!

Barbour ABI is proud to be working with changing room solution specialists Helmsman to provide targeted business opportunities.

If you’re looking for lockers, cubicles and seating then Helmsman is the brand for you. They manufacture, supply and install lockers, cubicles and bench seating primarily for leisure centres, schools and workplaces.

Having 250 years of trading under their belts, Helmsman is experienced and skilled at delivering high quality products to their ever expanding customer base. Owned by Sperrin Metal Products, Helmsman’s operation spans beyond nationwide, as they have a network of distributors across Europe and the Middle East.

Helmsman only joined us last year, but they’re fully benefiting from the excellent service Barbour ABI provides, Sarah Gibson, Marketing Manager from Helmsman says: “We used to use a competitor for leads previously, but the main reason we switched was because Barbour ABI’s Evolution system offers functionality for diarised calls.”

“We have four telesales staff using the data at any given time and to reduce duplicate calls we used to have to download data and import in a spreadsheet which was time consuming and frustrating.”

“After trialling ABI we could clearly see who was calling who, set profiles for different users so all stages of a construction project was covered i.e. pre-tenders (making sure we are specified), contacting all bidders and contract awarded projects. A big part of the telesales role is to ensure we are specified and if not specified ensure that we are given the opportunity to provide a quotation to contractors.”

“The site is very intuitive and once you have the initial training you are pretty much up and running. The Barbour ABI team is very friendly and always responds to suggestions for improvements to the site. If in the very rare chance that information is out of date, ABI do perform research calls on demand and update me within 24 hours.”

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Çetin (Çetin & Lower Çetin Dams) Hydropower Plant Civil Works Including Hydraulic Steelworks and Auxiliary Powerhouse Systems

Project covers civil works including hydromechanical steelworks and auxiliary powerhouse systems of two dams namely Çetin and Lower Çetin to be positioned on the Botan Creek of Dicle River between Pervari and Şirvan of Siirt Province.

Çetin is a asphalt core rockfill dam with 145m crest elevation from riverbed, 500m crest length and 8.5million cu.m of rockfill volume; while Lower Çetin is a concrete gravity dam with 45m crest elevation from riverbed, 100m crest length and 400,000 cu.m of concerete volume. The total installed capacity of Çetin Dam is 401MW with a power production of 1,100 GWh; while Lower Çetin Dam has 116 MW total capacity and power production of 300 GWh. The Project will be constructed by a joint venture with the leadership of Yüksel.

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Baysh Dam

Baysh dam is located in the Baysh Valley, 113 km far from the city of Jizan in Saudi Arabia. It is constructed for flood control and irrigation of farmland. Baysh is a concrete gravity type dam having a 340 m long crest which is 120 m high from the foundation level. The total reservoir capacity of the dam is 192 million m3.
Client Saudi Arabia Water and Electricity Ministry

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Cirrus Research assists companies to conform to environmental noise standards

Relevant to all companies, the ISO 14001:2004 standard is designed to address the delicate balance between maintaining profitability and reducing environmental impact and sets out a framework of essential elements to put an effective Environmental Management System (EMS) in place. This ensures that businesses can identify aspects that impact on the environment and understand those environmental laws that are relevant to their situation.

Cirrus Research has been awarded ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) 14001: 2004. As an expert in the creation and production of noise measurement and monitoring instruments, Cirrus applied for the certification as part of its business strategy addressing the growing environmental market that its experts are now providing noise measurement advice too.

By being ISO 14001:2004 certified Cirrus has proven the companies dedication to:
- identify and control the environmental impact of its activities, products or services,
- improve its environmental performance continually,
- implement a systematic approach to setting environmental objectives and targets, to achieving these and to demonstrating that they have been achieved.

Formed in 1970, Cirrus uses the latest scientific and technological developments to produce noise measurement equipment to accurately measure noise and its impact and has a wide range of products that can be used in a variety of applications.

James Tingay, Group Marketing Manager, Cirrus Research Ltd comments: “We are pleased to have been awarded the ISO 14001:2004 which confirms that we operate a suitable EMS in the design, manufacture, supply, service and re-calibration of our specialist instrumentation to a worldwide market. Our equipment assist other companies conform to environmental noise standards and by being ISO 14001:2004 compliant, they can be sure that the products they are using come from a environmentally aware manufacturer.”

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Celtic Rock Services Extends Drilling Fleet with McDrill Mc80B from Skelair International

Devon-based Celtic Rock Services has added a McDrill Mc80B with rotary head to its fleet after hiring the machine from Skelair International for a mini-piling project on the A399 at Shutscombe Wood near Brayford in North Devon. Skelair, who offers ground engineering and drilling equipment solutions, gave Celtic Rock the option to purchase the rental Mc80B after the company put the rig through its paces and found it to be a reliable, robust and well performing machine that fully meets the needs of today’s projects.

Having previously supplied Celtic Rock with other machines in its portfolio, including Klemm and Marini, Skelair International provided the McDrill Mc80B to specifically meet mini-piling requirements. The addition of the McDrill Mc80B brings the total number of machines operated by Celtic Rock to eight, creating a flexible and mobile fleet that will allow the company to respond to projects more efficiently.

The McDrill Mc80B is a powerful yet compact machine, making it ideal for sites where maneuverability with performance is key. Alwyn Thomas, Managing Director, Celtic Rock Services, and comments: “We were already in the market for a new machine as we needed greater flexibility with responding to changing client demands. We have always found Skelair to be knowledgeable when it comes to which machines will best fit our requirements and the McDrill was no exception.

“It is a powerful and sturdy machine and as the first time we have invested in McDrill, was an excellent bonus to be able to hire it for a specific job – before committing to purchase.”

In addition to the sale of market-leading drilling machines, Skelair offers a comprehensive rental service, which can lead to the option to purchase. This customer-centric approach gives customers flexibility according to business need as well as the benefit of trialing a new machine.

John Mayo, Managing Director, Skelair International, concludes: “It is still tough out there for our customers, with many wanting to invest in new equipment but unable to justify the capital expenditure. By giving them the best of everything – with the option to hire, purchase a new rig or choose an ex-rental – we can pretty much always find a solution to meet their needs. However, as we look towards the rest of the year and beyond, we definitely see the rental side as being the largest area for growth.”

Skelair represents a number of other market-leading drilling manufacturers for the UK and Ireland, including EMCI, Klemm, TEI, Obermann, Marini and Wassara.

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OLDHAM COLLEGE APPOINTS CONSTRUCTION PARTNER FOR REDEVELOPMENT

Oldham College has appointed Laing O’Rourke as its construction partner to take forward its redevelopment plans which include repair and refurbishment of the current 1960’s built campus across the town and elements of new-build.

Laing O’Rourke’s appointed design team, led by Aedas, will create a masterplan on behalf of the College to address provision across the campus in Oldham for short, medium and long term works.

The design and build contract was procured through the North West Construction Hub following a six week mini competition, which in addition to the benefits of efficiency, cost, quality and early contractor involvement also provides a number of economic benefits for the College and for Oldham.

Laing O’Rourke’s bid was selected because of its commitment to work with the College to provide new apprenticeships, the alignment of the curriculum with industry, work with the local supply chain and support of community related activities. The company also provided some innovative approaches to the College’s capital expenditure programme thus making the best use of the multi-million funds available for the redevelopment.

Shelagh McNerney, Oldham College’s director of capital programmes and regeneration at Oldham College, says, “The College needs repairs and improvement and with challenging economic and investment conditions, it is essential that we are efficient with every penny as well as visionary about what we can achieve to make the learning environment more inspiring for Oldham’s young people.”

Alun Francis, principal and chief executive of Oldham College, says, “This is a very important point in the redevelopment of the College. Having secured funding for the first phase, we now have a partner on side that shares our vision of what we can achieve within the town. This is not just about bricks and mortar. Oldham needs an ambitious College committed to supporting economic growth, jobs and skills in the broadest sense. We are constantly improving and widening the curriculum to meet the needs of learners and employers, and we need to create an environment for students and staff that supports this.

“Equally important is that we want the capital programme itself to bring jobs and business locally, and our partner will help us achieve this.”

The team from Laing O’Rourke will be based on site at Oldham College for the duration of the project.

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Student accommodation block on Carmelite Street, York, and Jarratt Hall, University of Birmingham Contract Secured by Miller Construction

Two student residencies contracts, a student accommodation block on Carmelite Street, York, and Jarratt Hall, University of Birmingham have been secured by Miller Construction.

The leading contractor will deliver a £12 million 258-bed student accommodation block on behalf of S.Harrison Developments for York St John University, and a multi-million 120-bed extension to Jarratt Hall for the University of Birmingham.

Chris Webster, Chief Executive, Miller Construction, said: “These contracts are in line with our strategy to focus our efforts on our core markets. We are continuing to focus on programmes of work with repeat clients, in addition to increasing our client base. We have delivered a number of successful student accommodation projects over the last three years, further reinforcing our skills and expertise in this market.

“The student accommodation on Carmelite Street, York, marks our fourth project for S.Harrison Developments, with whom we have built a strong and positive working relationship with. We are delighted to be working with them again and look forward to strengthening the partnership we already have in place, as we deliver the new student residencies for St John University.

“The University of Birmingham is a new client for us and we are looking forward to developing a long-term, strategic relationship with them.”

Works on York St John University student accommodation, located on a derelict site in Carmelite Street, York, adjacent to the city’s Hungate development, commenced earlier this month and are due to complete in June 2013. The new accommodation will be car-free, with students living within easy walking distance of all the city’s amenities.

Anticipated to achieve a BREEAM ‘Very Good’ rating, the student accommodation block is the third project Miller Construction has undertaken within the boundaries of York’s City Walls – the other two being City of York Council’s new Headquarters and the Hampton by Hilton Hotel at Toft Green.

The project at Jarratt Hall comprises an extension to the existing student accommodation and part new build. Due for completion in September 2013, the Jarratt Hall building is expected to achieve a BREEAM ‘Very Good’ rating.

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HRS biometric workforce management system MSite underpinning 2 of the 3 largest UK construction projects

The biggest names in the construction industry gathered at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London on Tuesday 10th July for the highly anticipated Construction News Awards 2012. The evening, hosted by BBC Broadcaster Clare Balding announced the three largest construction projects of the year; two of which are managed by HRS’ workforce management system MSite.

HRS in partnership with Lend Lease was also in good company nominated within the ‘Best Use of Technology’ award category up against the likes of Balfour Beatty, Costain and BAM Nuttall. It is amongst these big construction industry names that advancements in technology are particularly important as the ever present challenge of managing multiple projects is addressed.

Neil Norman, Human Recognition Systems CEO commented “Our involvement in two of the year’s biggest construction projects is a significant achievement and demonstrates the robust capabilities of MSite in large scale enterprise management of workforce and site access control. “

The largest construction site in Europe, the Olympic Park, presented this challenge to Human Recognition Systems requiring identity and high security management across a vast continuously changing landscape. HRS met this requirement providing a solution that integrates numerous streams of data controlling access through hand and iris recognition utilising a secure smart card.

Neil added “We have seen a steady shift within the construction industry over recent years towards enterprise level biometric workforce management systems. This enables sites across the country to be managed centrally with the ability to report across all projects at the touch of a button. MSite has proven to add significant value through this real time operational information.”

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Pay-as-you-go vehicle tracking accounts for 50 per cent of Quartix's overall sales

Quartix reports that more than 50 per cent of its overall sales are now derived from its high-specification pay-as-you-go vehicle tracking product.

The company attributes the product’s success to fleet managers’ nervousness over the future viability of some competitor companies and a reluctance to enter into long-term, binding contracts at a time of uncertainty.

Andy Kirk, sales and marketing director, said: “The recession has seen the collapse of, or problems at, many telematics companies, including most recently Minorplanet. Therefore, the thought of entering into a long-term contract tends to make fleet operators extremely cautious – and rightly so.

“For this reason many are turning to Quartix. As a financially strong, long-established supplier we are able to provide the very latest telematics features and benefits through the flexibility of Quartix Pay As You Go. This rental model guarantees the right to opt out at any time after the first three months plus the opportunity to add or remove tracking units as and when necessary.

“Not surprisingly, pay-as-you-go has become extremely popular with large organisations, such as Canute Haulage Group PLC, as well as small and medium-size enterprises.”

Quartix became the UK’s first major telematics provider to introduce pay-as-you-go in April last year, adding it to its lease-finance and outright purchase options. Since then it has become the UK’s first tracking company to supply PAYG with Google Maps and the first to offer a unique on-screen ‘dashboard,’ which gives at-a-glance, real-time information about a fleet’s performance.

Earlier this year innovative icons that change colour to display vehicles’ speed were added.

Mr Kirk said: “As a top-level service Quartix Pay As You Go has proved to be just the right product at just the right time, attracting strong demand from all sectors.”

The Quartix system provides users with a fast, efficient, ‘point-and-click’ source of real-time information, together with tailored e-mail reports. The highly-flexible service has scope to meet the needs of large corporations and owner-managed businesses alike.

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FB Chain strengthens conveyor chain sales team

Leading industrial chain manufacturer and supplier FB Chain Ltd has strengthened its external conveyor chain sales team with the appointment of John Wilson to the position of product manager.

John has an HNC General Engineering qualification and has been working with mechanical products - in particular gear boxes and motors - for several years.

Based in Lincolnshire, in his new role John will be responsible for visiting FB Chain’s clients in the energy, biomass, recycling and food processing markets and suggesting design modifications and custom combinations of materials, manufacturing processes, coatings and lubricants to ensure optimum performance of a company’s chain conveyor systems.

“John has a wealth of experience in many aspects of mechanical engineering and we are very pleased to welcome him on board. He will play a pivotal role in helping FB Chain to sustain its growth across the broad market sectors in which we operate,” said Peter Church, managing director of FB Chain Ltd.

In the last financial year FB Chain reported a 70 per cent increase in UK sales of its conveyor chains, sprockets and associated products.

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Pupils hear latest on £18m academy scheme

Latest details on plans for a new £18.9m academy to be built by Kier in Greenford have been unveiled at a special display for two groups of local primary school children.

The Year Six pupils, from Horsenden and Oldfield Primary Schools, were the first prospective students to be given a presentation about the new free school in Oldfield Lane North, Greenford, which is set to be built by Kier Construction's Maple Cross office for the Twyford Church of England Academies Trust, which also runs the Twyford Church of England High School in Acton.

During their visit to Twyford High School, the primary pupils were told the official name for the new free school - and why it was chosen.

The William Perkin Church of England High School will commemorate a local chemist and entrepreneur who discovered how to produce purple cloth dye - a breakthrough in Victorian times, when the colour was highly desired for symbolising high status.

Born in 1838, William Perkin had set up a dye-producing factory in Oldfield Lane, Greenford, by the time he was 20. Located near the proposed school site, the area has remained a focus of chemical research and production almost to the present day: the new school campus will be built on the site of the former Glaxo Sports Ground, providing 5.4 hectares of space.

Alice Hudson, executive head teacher at Twyford High, and her deputy, Keir Smith, who will be associate head of Perkin High, said the choice reflected Twyford's specialism in science and the values it shared with William Perkin, fostering inquisitiveness, enterprise and philanthropy.

As the local association with purple will be reflected in the colour of the new school uniform, pupils were invited to try on purple blazers and to sketch out some preliminary design ideas for a school badge and tie.

The Twyford Church of England Academies Trust has selected Kier as preferred bidder for the new school, which will have places for 1,200 11 to 16-year-olds, plus a sixth form with places for 250 students and a centre for children with special educatiOnal needs. Under current proposals, the local community will also be able to use the school’s facilities, including five sports pitches, floodlit hard playing surfaces, indoor sports hall and activity studio.

The Kier project team has formally submitted a planning application to the London Borough of Ealing. Construction is expected to begin in October 2012, with the main building being ready for the first intake of pupils in September 2013. Internal fit-out works will continue until April 2014.

Senior architect John Southall, of Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, appointed by Kier for the design and build project, outlined key features of the main building, including bright and airy top-floor art studios, spacious classrooms, creative technology rooms, and modern science labs with fully glazed frontages looking into the heart of the school, enabling as many students as possible to watch experiments as they take place.

The four-storey structure features a triangular footprint encompassing a large open area extending its full height, flooded with top-down natural light and skirted by balconies looking onto a large library and a central performance space with seating for 500. Externally, polished stainless steel and textured brickwork will be prime features of the building fabric.

The primary school parties, together with invited pupils from Twyford High, closely examined a scale model of the new William Perkin High and keenly discussed the concept with the organisers.

Executive head Alice Hudson said the proposals had already received strong community support and she was delighted to see the children so engaged with the new project. "This event brought it alive for them. Certain features, especially, caught their imagination, such as the open-view science labs and extensive outdoor spaces."

Keir Smith commented: "It's marvellous to be able to create a brand new school like this from scratch, giving us all a unique opportunity to put our educational experience into practice."

Representing Kier, senior project manager Joe Murphy said: "As the team chosen to deliver this keenly anticipated major education project, we have found it invaluable to be so closely engaged with the school and local community at every stage."

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Masternaut web-based satellite tracking for Tarmac fleet of aggregate vehicles

Tarmac has signed a major contract with Masternaut Three X for a specifically developed web-based satellite-tracking solution for its fleet of aggregate vehicles. Masternaut will be implemented throughout Tarmac’s Aggregates Products Division, which provides sand, gravel, rock, asphalt and ready-mixed concrete to the building and road construction industries nationwide.

Tarmac will initially implement Masternaut’s satellite tracking and mobile solutions across 1350 vehicles owned by contracted and regular hauliers over the next 3 months. It is anticipated that more of the aggregates fleet will be equipped with the service by the end of 2008.

Tarmac will use Masternaut to track vehicle movements in real time enabling the company to boost customer service and operational productivity and efficiency. Using Masternaut reporting, the company will be able to monitor and obtain specific information about each vehicle as well as being able to answer customer queries about their aggregate orders by accessing real-time information provided by the tracking solution.

“Delivering on time, every time is a critical objective for aggregates suppliers. Customers need to know that their orders have been dispatched and when they will arrive on site. Likewise Tarmac does not want its vehicles arriving on site and waiting excessive periods before tipping asphalt or ready mixed concrete. The solution we have developed with Tarmac provides precise real-time information that will benefit both the Aggregates Products division and its customers,” says Mark Leavy, Corporate Accounts Director, Masternaut Three X.

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RonaDeck Resin Bound Surfacing - ends an uphill struggle in Whitstable

Resin Solutions Ltd, (Kent) was approached by the skipper of a fishing trawler in Whitstable who was having problems with his macadam driveway.

The drive was on a fairly steep slope and this combined with the lack of slip resistance provided by the macadam meant that vehicles could not get off the drive in icy conditions. As the driveway owner needed to be able to get to work in all weathers he needed to find a surface that would provide sufficient grip for vehicles to pass at sub zero temperatures. Another problem encountered was that the macadam was becoming uneven in places and
breaking away from the surface, causing stones to get trodden into the house.

Resin Solutions Ltd discussed various surfacing options with the client and a decision was made to use RonaDeck Resin Bound Surfacing. It was chosen for its long life expectancy and because it could be used to level off minor surface irregularities in the macadam.

The clients wanted the driveway to incorporate a clearly defined pedestrian area as they had young grandchildren. Resin Solutions Ltd discussed various aggregate combinations that would provide a contrast and advised that a 1m wide border should be included at the perimeter to provide a pedestrian walkway.

The Midnight aggregate blend was selected for the vehicle areas and Terracotta was chosen for the walkway; a steel trim was installed by Resin Solutions Ltd to provide a well defined separation between the walkway and the drive. The work on the 237 square metres of driveway including all preparation was completed within two days. “The client is ‘over the moon’ with his new drive and people have shown a lot of interest in the new surface. He is especially pleased that even with winter’s snow and ice he had no problem getting out of the drive.”

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Lakesmere International lands multi-million dollar airport contract

The international division of UK based roofing and cladding specialist Lakesmere has secured its largest new contract to date following the team’s appointment to complete work as part of the ambitious redevelopment of King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Lakesmere will design some 300,000m2 of Kalzip aluminium roofing covering the airport’s new passenger terminal building, railway station, air traffic control centre, and the main rescue and fire fighting station. Work will commence on the 18-month build programme towards the end of 2012. The extensive design, engineering and detailing work is currently underway and is being resourced from Lakesmere’s UK head office in Winchester. The specialist contractor is working closely with local partner SBG (the Saudi Binladen Group), the largest construction organisation in the country, for client GACA, the General Authority of Civil Aviation of Saudi Arabia.

As well as providing a major boost to Lakesmere International’s order book, the new multi-million dollar contract win will also help to create employment opportunities in both Jeddah and the UK. With all site work being completed by local teams, Lakesmere is currently recruiting new staff to its Winchester office to help resource the complex design, engineering and planning work that is required.

Commenting on the new contract win Lakesmere’s Managing Director Mark Davey said: “We are delighted to have been appointed to join the project team at King Abdulaziz International Airport and to continue to strengthen our position as one of the leading building envelope specialists serving the global market. Our expansion into the international aviation sector perfectly complements the work we are currently undertaking in the UK and in particular, the several contracts that we have been awarded in the transport sector including Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 2 building and various projects for Network Rail such as Farringdon and Reading rail stations. These are exciting times for Lakesmere, both home and abroad, and we are well placed to continue to meet these new challenges head on.”

The new multi-million dollar roofing contract at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport is the latest prestigious order to be secured by Lakesmere International in the aviation and infrastructure sector. The new win follows the company’s earlier appointments to complete a roofing package at a new airport in Salalah, Oman, various roofing works on several new ancillary buildings at Muscat Airport and a roofing contract for a new Civilian Aviation Centre and Air Traffic Control centre in Oman.

Lakesmere International has gone from strength to strength following its 2009 launch in Abu Dhabi with further offices now established in Riyadh and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia in addition to premises in Muscat, Oman. In 2011, Lakesmere International appointed a dedicated General Manager to further develop business in this growing market.

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Contractor Philip James closes with 23 job losses

Situl Raithatha of Springfields Business Recovery & Insolvency has been appointed Liquidator of Philip James Ltd.

The Company a Leicester based building contractor was incorporated in 1970 but the business was established in 1946. The business employed 23 staff and carried out a wide range of building and maintenance work on a national basis.

David Lowe, Managing Director of Philip James Ltd said “The business has suffered due to the general downturn in the building and construction sector and like many other contractors it has found it very difficult to secure economically viable contracts. We have done our best to keep the business going since the downturn but despite our best efforts we have not been able to keep it afloat. We are really disappointed and personally it is a sad day for me having worked for the business for over 45 years.”

Situl Raithatha, Liquidator commented "due to the difficult trading conditions the Company has experienced severe cash flow difficulties and in the absence of sufficient funding has been forced to close down and make all the staff redundant. Our strategy is now to maximise realisations from the Company’s assets for the benefit of the creditors.”

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Project for Proctor & Gamble completed by SDH Building Services Limited

Commercial building services company, SDH Building Services Limited, is pleased to have finished a project for international conglomerate Proctor & Gamble.

The company, based in Bolton, Lancashire, has spent eight weeks replacing a fire damper control system at Proctor & Gamble’s premises at Brooklands in Surrey.

Steve Hunt, Managing Director, said: “The work means that in the event of a fire, any smoke is stopped from passing through corridors and allows employees to leave the building more easily and safely.

“It was a very technically demanding project which involved lots of liaison with Proctor & Gamble’s other contractors and facilities management team.

“It was also a ‘live’ project, meaning that we have to work round employees in offices which tested our logistical and organisational skills too. Despite this challenge, there was not a single complaint from staff during the work.”

He added: “We are delighted to have been chosen to carry out this project by such a high profile company.”

SDH Building Services Limited provides a wide range of building services in commercial buildings such as supermarkets, offices, hotels, restaurants, factories, schools and care homes - nationwide.

Its services include commercial heating, plumbing, electrical and air conditioning both on a sub-contract or a direct-to-the-client basis.

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Engineers Provided with Construction Specs for Dashboards by Engineers with Construction Specs for Dashboards

Provider of the award-winning Energy Efficiency Education Dashboard®, QA Graphics, can now provide standard dashboard specification details and prepare custom bid specs for construction projects that require an interactive display to educate occupants about sustainable building features. This greatly simplifies the dashboard specification process.
The Energy Efficiency Education Dashboard is an interactive application used to educate about sustainable building practices and create environmental awareness. The solution can include a variety of educational features like demonstrations of sustainable building systems, building performance feedback and comparisons of resources saved into everyday relatable values, interactive quizzes, environmental tips and more.

This product is commonly included under the HVAC category of construction bids when projects require a solution to educate occupants or the public about a building’s green features. The interactive application is customizable to meet all of a building’s display needs and can be deployed anywhere – via building touchscreens or kiosks, on the web and on mobile devices. In addition, there are no recurring fees or contracts for the building owner.
To help simplify the bid specification process, QA Graphics has prepared a standard set of dashboard specification details that may be modified. The standard specs include hardware (32” touchscreen unless specified), software and programming allowing the building owner to share education about their building’s sustainable features. QA Graphics can also prepare custom specifications that include software, programming, and a variety of integrated touchscreen and walk-up kiosk options. QA Graphics offers quick turnarounds when writing bid specifications, typically providing details within 24 hours.

In addition to providing the industry-leading Energy Efficiency Education Dashboard, QA Graphics provides comprehensive design services for the building automation industry including BAS graphics, HVAC 3D development, symbol library development and floor plan development services. The company also provides creative design services including interactive content, mobile application development, 3D design and animation and other multimedia solutions.

About QA Graphics:QA Graphics is an Iowa-based creative design company specializing in interactive applications, 3D design and animation, mobile app development and other multimedia. The company is also a leader in the building automation and green building industries, providing HVAC graphic development services and energy dashboards to help organizations educate occupants about sustainable buildings.

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