Inviron has completed a £9 million m&e installation at the Inland Revenue and Department of Work & Pensions (DWP) in Newcastle.

erlin Power Management has ensured that London’s Tower Bridge had a continuous electricity supply during the refurbishment of its static standby generator. The London Corporation rented a 200 kVA road tow generator from the firm during the refurbishment, providing standby power to all essential services for the bridge’s exhibition, corporate hospitality suites and bridge lifts. The unit was supplied in an acoustic canopy to minimise noise. As Tower Bridge operates 24/7 maintaining power was essential, hence it has mains power, a smaller secondary supply, plus a standby generator.

Increasingly sophisticated security measures are being taken in the effort to prevent crime. Contractors rarely give priority to the protection of that equipment, as Adrian Walker explains.

Lighting controls are a very effective way of achieving energy and cost saving for clients. EMC looks at how it should be done.

Will radical plans to overhaul the vocational training structure fall victim to political point scoring? Tony Thomas argues the need for the proposed changes.

Should letters of intent be a thing of the past? Roger Knowles debates the benefits and pitfalls of this contentious area.

In the first of a new series on contract management, Martin Wade looks at what it means to be a subcontractor.

ECA president Tony Morgan lauds regulatory and certification initiatives but stresses the need for further collaboration across the building services industry.

It seems that all Part P competent persons schemes were not created equal. The Government has been forced to act over complaints that some scheme operators are “fast-tracking” contractors onto their registers before the necessary on-site assessments of their work have been carried out (page 7).

The Office of the Deputy Minister can ill afford more controversy over the introduction of electrical safety into the Building Regulations. As it is, few reputable contractors are in favour of the way the new Part P has been handled; even fewer will be happy to know that such scant checks are being carried out on those electrical firms that have never previously bothered with industry regulation.

How I applaud Alan Crisp’s letter drawing attention to the anomalies created by the new Part P (‘Regulation hell’, EMC, Feb 2005, p5).

Having started in 1960 as an indentured apprentice, I worked my way through the ranks to become branch director of a national m&e contractor.

I am writing in reference to Part P certification. How is it that while I have been employed by the same company, A Pank & Son, for the last 27 years, progressing from an apprentice to electrician, approved electrician and now electrical foreman, I can no longer change my own fuse board?

I have two Electrotechnical Certification Scheme cards; Gold and Silver JIB cards; I have completed an apprenticeship; I’m a JIB approved electrician; I have passed the City & Guilds 2391 qualification for inspection and testing; and I have been industry assessed as an electrical site manager.

It is good to see EMC reporting on efforts to aid the tsunami victims (p7, Feb), but I can’t help notice that the ENA is preparing plans to ‘respond to any request to deploy resources’. Shouldn’t it be getting together with aid organisers and actively seeking out ways of contributing to the relief effort?

A new scheme aimed at reducing asbestos-related incidents in the workplace has been launched. The Asbestos Aware Contractors Scheme (AACS) is a training, education and information initiative designed to help non-licensed contractors work safely and within the law.

Courses are offered to both management and operatives to help them get an appreciation of what they are dealing with. Head of the AACS Stewart Powell says: “The amount of asbestos contamination occurring on site in Britain is alarming. Either through ignorance or carelessness, operatives are putting drills through walls, ripping out cabling and dismantling ceilings where asbestos is present and unleashing serious consequences. Exposure and contamination can have major health, legal and financial ramifications.”

Thefts from building sites are costing the construction industry over £800 million a year, with £70 million of plant theft. These figures released by insurance firm Allianz Cornhill are set to rise as the predicted slowdown in work for the industry takes hold.

The Heating and Ventilating Contractors’ Association has threatened to withdraw from its seat on the council of CORGI over the issue of registration of work on gas appliances.

Minister promises to monitor new regulations for cost-effectiveness.

Contractors whose processes for bidding for work have stayed in the past are wasting time and resources on work that they stand no chance of winning. This is the view of training and consultancy specialist Marketing Works and the University of Reading. The team’s report concludes that efficient and effective bid management is the single most important critical success factor needed to win in the bidding process.

The survey focused on the cost of bidding and bids won in the construction industry. Results revealed:

Angus Fraser has resigned from Hagemeyer UK, the group behind electrical wholesaling firms Newey & Eyre and WF Electrical, by mutual agreement.

Telemecanique is helping a Teesside renewable energy provider save on their electricity bill with drive control.

When electrical contractor Murley Solutions was charged with transforming the interior of a six-bedroomed, cubist styled detached house in London’s leafy Hampstead, the firm turned to Hamilton Litestat.

Southern Electric Contracting has completed a £140 000 electrical installation at Wellington College, Berkshire.

During the school’s holidays the firm’s Slough office rewired the electrical distribution system, power circuits and complete lighting installation in the dining room, which included six glass chandeliers.

Liverpool’s Cavern Quarter shines brightly, following a glowing facelift by Hills Electrical & Mechanical and FaberMaunsell.

Accusations fly over Part P competence scheme providers fast-tracking contractors onto register.

Mowlem has announced an expected pre-tax loss of £7.5 million for 2004, following revelations of “historical accounting issues” in the m&e division Mowlem Technical Services.

Three of the UK’s largest trade unions are to begin merger talks. Amicus, the TGWU and the GMB have between them 2.6 million members.

The closing date for entries into the Building Services Awards 2005 is looming. Have you sent in your submission? If not, please get it to us by 11 March 2005.

The 2005 series of Electrical Roadshows will get off to a flying start at Sandown Park in March. Entry and parking are free, so don’t miss your chance to meet top suppliers from the electrical market and find out about the latest developments in m&e contracting. We highlight what’s on show.

Proposals of ‘equal and approved’ luminaires can be a minefield for the lighting specifier. David Dimeloe, Derek Rogers and David Burton explain the issues and discuss the procedures that can be adopted.

With Mary Poppins due to fly into London’s Prince Edward Theatre, a fast track refurbishment project has brought services up to date and a new look to the art deco venue.

Leading doctors have predicted a steep increase in the number of electricians likely to suffer from mesothelioma, a cancer largely associated with asbestos exposure, as Brigitte Chandler explains.

Many firms still shy away from taking on apprentices, blaming costs and red tape. What is really involved? Alison Luke finds out from JTL and T Clarke.

Heathrow’s Terminal Five, Britain’s biggest construction site, has been hit by an industrial relations dispute following demands by m&e operatives over the travelling time taken to get to the west London site.