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September 2003 |
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That's entertainment
With more guests, more winners and Jaws too, the Building Services 2003 Awards was not to be missed.
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Reach for the Summit
The end is in sight for the team charged with the task of ensuring that SummitSkills is granted a licence as the industry's Sector Skills Council.
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Training set for reform
SummitSkills’ chief executive Keith Marshall has hailed planned government training reforms as “a huge step forward”, as outlined directives look set to benefit the building services engineering sector.Reforms within the Skills Strategy White Paper include: - free training to qualify workers to Level 2;
- the age cap in the Modern Apprentice scheme being lifted to allow people of 25+ to train;
- support for Level 3 training to enhance technician and higher craft skills.
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LEDs on the floor
LEDs have been put to use in the Netherlands to recreate seventies disco fever while producing the energy savings expected in the 21st Century.
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ABB reaches the Northern limits
ABB has started work on a £9 million contract for Northern Electrics’ distribution business, NEDL.
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Lighter learning
Fagerhult Lighting has modernised the lighting in the science laboratories and library at the Salvatorian College for Boys in Harrow. The work formed part of a local education authority preservation scheme. In the laboratories, the new scheme had to adapt to existing lighting points and a mono-pitch roof. Fagerhult offered tandem-length Zora T5 pendant luminaires to reduce fixing centres. In the library, the main need was to provide general lighting above the desks and shelves without creating glare on computer workstations. Pendant and surface-mounted versions of the Combifive luminaire were installed above the shelves and in the workstations respectively.
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United supplier
Schneider Electric has won a contract as the sole supplier of variable speed drives to United Utilities.
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A diamond job
The ten storey Mid-City Place in High Holborn, London has been installed with Diamond Series fan coil units by Quartz. This fast-track development was completed in 18 months to a budget of £46 million. The Quartz units were specified by m&e contractor Axima Building Services. A Cat A lighting control system designed by Simmtronic has also been installed.
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Intelligence at a local level
Gavin Stoppel explains how new hardware will allow moulded-case circuit-breakers to communicate over fieldbus networks.
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Fatal statistics
First for some good news. Construction sites got safer again in the year from April 2002 to March 2003. For the third year in a row, construction-related deaths dropped, albeit to a still unacceptably high figure of 71. This is a dramatic improvement on the dark days of 2000-2001 when 105 lives were lost in the industry (page 7).Cynics might say that the drop is only because workloads are not as high as a few years ago. Not so: the rate of fatal injuries per worker is down to four per 100 000 workers, the second lowest rate on record.
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Safety check
Regarding the Building Services Awards 2003 supplement, I would like to make the following observation. The irony of the work in progress pictures associated with Balfour Kilpatrick's Health and Safety Initiative of the Year Award (page 31) does not escape me.In the first picture the operative has his sleeves rolled up. I think that I am quite correct in saying that this is a breach of PPE regulations. Meanwhile, the second picture shows an operative carrying out wiring above a ceiling in what can only be described as a suicidal manner. The operative is leaning outwards at a dangerous angle and holding onto the ceiling grid, from a pair of steps which, quite frankly, he should not be on in the first place.
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Death tax
While I have great feeling for any accidental death, I fail to see in many cases why anyone other than the operative involved is responsible for the accident. I feel very sorry for the companies and clients on which fines and penalties are imposed as, when an accident happens, it is they who lose time and money sorting it out.
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Back to school
Graduate unemployment is on the increase, with over 6% of engineering graduates still out of work six months after leaving university. This suggests to me that our education system is seriously flawed.Furthermore, due to the abstract nature of their degrees, many graduates lack direction. They leave university with qualifications but not knowing what career path to follow. This problem must be addressed, not only in universities but also in schools.
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Going underground
A mix of electricity and glass has given the Dorchester's subterranean restaurant a new lease of life
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Are you in control?
Digital lighting control has yet to reach the mass commercial market. It is time the lighting industry offered users what they want, argues Colin Legg.
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Principle practice
Chris Ottaway continues the series on the principles of management standard ISO 9001: 2000, outlining further ways it can benefit you.
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BAA backs agreement at Terminal 5
BAA could be one of the first clients to sign up to the newly drawn up M&E Major Projects Agreement at its £3.7 billion Terminal 5 construction programme at Heathrow Airport.
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Counterfeit tool dealer guilty on five counts
Gareth Owen of Southall, Middlesex has been found guilty of selling fake drills in Clydach Vale in Wales. He has been charged with offences under the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 as well as trademark infringement.Owen was arrested on suspicion of selling stolen goods which, when inspected, were found to be fakes. He has been found guilty of selling counterfeit power tools that are unsafe to use. The faulty manufacture of the tools was such that live electrical parts could easily come into contact with the operator. Owen was fined £1300 plus £500 towards prosecution costs and the 22 drills and accessories found were ordered forfeit.
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SLI back from the brink
SLI Inc, owner of Concord:marlin and Sylvania Lighting, has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the USA. A restructuring programme that sees the departure of chair and CEO Frank Ward transfers the business into the hands of a parent company to be known as SLI International Holdings.
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Keep it in the family
Do you pay dividends to family members from your firm's profits? The tax office could soon change this practice.
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W&L Installations man wins Edmundson Award
Robert Druce of W&L Installations has won the 2003 ECA Edmundson Award. The accolade was announced at the 29th Apprentice of the Year celebration luncheon.
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Mobile phone use while driving banned
The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced that driving while using a handheld mobile phone will become an offence from 1 December 2003.
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JTL to continue paying college fees
Training provider JTL has announced that its apprenticeship funding package is to continue for another year, from 1 August 2003 – 31 July 2004.
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Presidential VIEW
It has been a summer of progress for the electrical contracting industry.
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JTL rewards top apprentices
The best newly qualified young electricians from England and Wales have been presented with prizes at the JTL Award Winners ceremony, held at the House of Lords.
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T Clarke on the spend…
T Clarke continues to grow rapidly with the addition of two more business to its company portfolio. AG Aylward Electrical & Mechanical and AG Aylward EMS (Maintenance and Minor Works) have been acquired for around £3.4 million.
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… and Farebrother follows suit
Farebrother has aquired the mechanical and electrical contracting division of Liverpool-based building services company R L Martindale. The sale, for an undisclosed six-figure sum, sees the formation of new company Martindale Farebrother and secures all 40 jobs within Martindale’s contracting division.Farebrother deputy managing director, John Johnson, said: “The skills and experience within Martindale are a good fit with our core business and give us a base in one of the fastest growing regions in the north-west. This acquisition, coupled with our new office in Milton Keynes, will secure the long term future for employees.”
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Part P to come into force in 2004
The Government has announced that the addition of electrical safety to the Building Regulations could come into force as soon as spring 2004. The industry is now developing competence certification schemes.
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Retention campaign battles on
The SEC Group's campaign to abolish retentions in public sector contracts by 2007 came under attack at a recent Trade and Industry Select Committee evidence session.
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Cable pulls
Category 6 cabling has brought its own problems to contractors: how do you ensure that this more sensitive product is not damaged during installation? Mark Harrison proposes a solution.
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Broadening education
Putting broadband in schools is one way the Government wants to develop IT skills. Andrew Emmerson uncovers a pioneer institution that's teaching others the potential of advanced networking.
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Challenges ahead
CIBSE president Terry Wyatt argues that today’s building services engineers must adapt if they are to survive the challenges posed by globalisation and climate change.
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Preparing for take-off
The predicted rise in air travellers has prompted Airbus to increase the size of its next generation of aeroplanes. The resulting double-decker design has led to one of the UK's largest factories being built in Wales.
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Construction deaths set to rise?
The rate of fatal injuries in the construction industry in 2002-03 was the second lowest recorded, with 71 deaths, but the trend for this year is already showing a rise – 27 deaths being reported since April.
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Small talk
Small firms minister Nigel Griffiths was also handed the construction portfolio in Tony Blair's June reshuffle. Will his wide-ranging remit result in joined-up government? In an exclusive interview with EMC, Griffiths talks to Simon Bartley.
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