Scaffolding design company Independent Design House (IDH), is branching out into Housing Design with a “one-stop-shop” division.
The engineering design consultancy based in the UK, Middle East, and Poland, is following a prosperous 2021 with the launch of the new division: IDH Housing Design.
The firm which is based in the UK, Middle East, and Poland is offering, an end-to-end consultancy for all housing design requirements.
It will be led by newly appointed associate director, Martin Czerniuk, a volume housing design expert based in their new IDH Northampton office.
Czerniuk brings a wealth of residential expertise to the role, with a 35-year career in volume home building, having worked for major housebuilders including Taylor Wimpey and Bovis.
The business says IDH Housing Design will be a multi-disciplinary offering, starting with pre-construction, and covering the entire process. Services include providing site layout design for land viability; through formal planning; technical; procurement and production enabling stages to final sales, working with volume housebuilders and developers.
The move comes at a time when demand for houses has hit an all-time high, according to January 2022 figures from Rightmove.
Ian Fernandes-Johnson, managing director of IDH, comments: “No one can deny the last two years have been challenging in construction, but we’ve started the year positively and are incredibly excited to launch IDH Housing Design.“We’ve been increasingly involved in permanent works and, having supported on residential projects in 2021, this is a natural next step. The team are ready to support Martin as he builds the division, and we will fully benefit from his in-depth knowledge of volume housing design. With further expansion on the cards, 2022 has started well.”
Czerniuk adds; “I am so pleased to join Independent Design House and head up IDH Housing Design from my Northampton office. With considerable resources and my own experience with key housebuilding companies of some 35 years, we’ve got a great base to build from and are already discussing our first projects.“IDH’s established and expanding multi-disciplinary consultancy is already a market leader in structural and civil engineering design and we aim to become the one-stop-shop consultancy for all housing design.”
One of the UK’s leading integrated brickwork, scaffolding and stone sub-contractors, Lee Marley Brickwork has opened its new London HQ.
The new headquarters located in Notting Hill, London will operate as the ideal professional space for visiting clients, suppliers, training environment for graduates, and as a head office for key staff.
The 3500 square foot premises offer a modern, personable environment with ample space for visiting clients and suppliers to meet with their team and where any problems can be dealt with quickly and efficiently, face to face.
With offices already in Reading, Edinburgh, Leeds, and Nottingham, the business continues to grow nationally and over the last five years has tripled in size.
Director Lee Marley said: “With much of the company’s business based in London and the Southeast, Notting Hill is an ideal location not just for managers and graduates, but also for visiting customers and suppliers. We’ve created a professional base and the response from clients so far has been glowing. I am also proud that we are an accredited Investors in People business and firmly believe in the ethos of putting our staff first. I want all of our workforce to believe in a future with Lee Marley and the opening of our new graduate hub is a part of that investment in our team.”
Michael Tame MRICS, Commercial Director at Lee Marley Brickwork added: “As we see natural growth within our business operation it was important to us to create an environment that allows our employees to achieve their full potential. A key passion of ours is our Graduate and Apprenticeship Schemes which promote young talent. The opening of our Notting Hill office will promote a friendly hub for our graduates to base themselves from. The office provides collaborative workspaces, offices and a large boardroom with state-of-the-art conference and presentation software, ideal for online and in-person training. Our clients are key to the strength of our business, and it is our intention to use this new workspace to invite our clients to and display some of our work, of which we are extremely proud of. We are excited to enter 2022 in such a fortunate position.”
Actavo has successfully secured its first build contract with rural broadband provider Gigaclear.
Gigaclear is currently building one of the UK’s largest full-fibre networks that include connecting 7,000 premises to Gigaclear’s Fibre-To-The-Premises (FTTP) network in the Buckingham region.
In December 2021, the team completed a turnkey Survey and Design on a hybrid physical infrastructure access (PIA) solution in Buckingham, including cabinet deployment.
The first premises will be ready for service in March 2022, and full completion is scheduled for early 2023.
This is part of the overall five-year contract that Actavo secured with Gigaclear in 2021 as its primary provider of network builds across the South Central region of England.
As part of the contract, Actavo Network & In-Home Division will create a workforce of over 100 across its supply chain, including Network Designers, Engineers and Management, to provide a full-fibre network build across residential and commercial properties.
Mo Saleh, Head of Telecoms, Actavo Network & In-Home Solutions UK said: “This is a significant milestone award for Actavo. We are delighted to partner with Gigaclear as its Primary provider of network builds in this region, and we look forward to bringing ultrafast broadband to the people and businesses of the South Central region of England over the coming months. Securing this contract is a testament to the quality of work and reliable service provided by our team.”
Gigaclear plans to expand its network coverage from its traditional rural heartland into the UK’s market towns bringing ultrafast broadband to underserved areas and cement its place as the fourth largest network in the UK.
Gigaclear was founded in 2010 to provide full fibre connectivity to some of the most underserved communities in the country, where existing internet speeds can be as slow as 1Mbps. Over the last ten years it has connected communities across 22 different counties to its network.
Actavo has significant experience in the UK, United States, the Caribbean and throughout Ireland in the delivery of fibre network builds.
The company’s experience includes the National Broadband Plan, Virgin Fibre Network UK, network builds in Ireland for SIRO and Virgin Media and the delivery of the Digicel fibre network across the Caribbean.
Actavo Network & In-Home Solutions delivers a co-branded solution with all vehicles, Service Engineer uniforms, identification cards and documentation carrying both the Actavo and Gigaclear brands
The refurbishment of two bridges over the M5 in the “Golden Valleys” area of Gloucestershire gave TR Scaffolding of Bristol and UKSSH the perfect opportunity to demonstrate how Haki Systems deliver the gold standard when it comes to suspended scaffolding.
Faced with the challenge of enabling demolition work to be carried out over a live motorway, TR Scaffolding’s MD Stuart Salmon knew the perfect solution – and also knew the perfect partner – to help them deliver on time and on budget.
Together TR Scaffolding and UKSSH delivered a truly innovative approach, providing a sealed working scaffold into the bridge using only Haki Universal, Hakitec 750 beams and roofing materials which enabled hydro demolition activities to be carried out during the day over a live motorway – thus saving considerable time and money for TR Scaffolding’s client.
A few hundred years ago Stroud’s wool industry created so much wealth that the five valleys that fed the town with water for its mills became known as the Golden Valleys.
Nowadays motorists on the M5 that cuts through the area are more concerned with avoiding traffic disruption than the origin of place names – so when Highways England needed to undertake essential repairs on two bridges over the motorway the primary requirement was to scaffold them and undertake the hydro demolition work with the minimum impact on the motorway.
Stuart explains his choice of Haki and UKSSH: “We find that Haki Universal is the only scaffold system which allows the flexibility of using scaffold boards or proprietary decking. The other ingredient that added to the success of the project was the level of collaboration between TR Scaffolding and UKSSH.
The companies worked together before the possession to undertake trial erections both at TR Scaffolding’s depot and onsite at Golden Valley to ensure that the actual build would go as smoothly as possible and the companies also liaised closely to ensure that deliveries to site would optimise possession times.”
Haki 750 Beams and Haki Systems are unbeatable for suspended scaffold: The large (3.05m x 3.05m) grid both means fewer suspension points and contributes to Haki Systems requiring up to 50% fewer components compared to other systems. This in turn means a 50% weight saving – significantly reducing the loads into the bridge, while the Haki erection method provides full collective measures for fast and safe installation.
While the Cotswolds may be renowned for their rich history and natural beauty, anyone who knows their scaffolding and saw TR Scaffoldings handiwork above the M5 will appreciate that, in its own way, even suspended scaffold can hit the gold standard.
CISRS has approved the first Overseas Scaffolding Training Scheme (OSTS) centre in Russia.
SIMIAN International working in collaboration with Prostaff LLC, part of the Polati Group, a Russian scaffolding supplier and contracting company, have opened the training facility in the Moscow suburb of Mytishchi.
A successful accreditation audit last week has allowed the centre to now offer CISRS OSTS training.
Polati Training Centre has been running their own scaffolding training programme for some time, and originally opened their centre in 2017. They also deliver other associated courses such as Rope Access, confined space and rescue training.
They were, however, very keen to gain third party approval with CISRS as they see it as the leading international training standard for tube and fitting scaffolding.
Initially, the Centre will offer CISRS Level 1 and 2 Training for Scaffolders in Tube and fitting, Basic Scaffold Inspection and Supervisory programmes.
The centre is looking to build upon their CISRS portfolio going forward, possibly incorporating Soyuz a ring-type system which they use and supply, plus other scaffolding systems.
Dave Mosley, CISRS Managing Director, said: “The centre is fitted out to the highest specifications, with brand new materials, tools and PPE. There are several classrooms but one is particularly impressive as it houses both an independent and a hanging scaffold actually within the classroom.”
SIMIAN International Managing Director Ian Fyall added: “We are delighted to be partnering Prostaff in this venture and moving both SIMIAN and CISRS’ footprint into another part in the world. We are looking forward to training and assessing their instructors and giving advice and guidance going forward.“It’s been 12 months in the making due to Covid but we eventually got there”BabyScaff – a miniature modelling system
The centre also makes use of a miniature modelling system called BabyScaff, which is an exact replica of the ring-type scaffold system and is used to explain assembly, loadings and stability of scaffolds.
Training Centre CEO Evgenii Guseinov said: “We are extremely pleased to be working with SIMIAN International and very proud to have opened the first CISRS centre in Russia. We have been delivering our own successful training programme for several years, however, gaining third party approval from CISRS which is recognised as the international standard for Tube and fitting scaffolding training, is another step forward and will set us apart from our competitors.”
Polati are a very large Scaffolding Supplier and Contracting company with around 3,000+ scaffolders in Russia and surrounding countries. In 2017 they worked on the Lakhta Tower project in St Petersburg, at 448m it was the largest building in Europe which involved around 250 Scaffolders using over 700 tonnes of Layher Allround Scaffolding in extreme weather conditions.
They have several depots across Russia and are looking to open additional CISRS OSTS approved facilities in the near future, including one in Kazakhstan.
Work at height safety training and temporary safety systems company, G&M Safety Netting Ltd/G&M Safe Deck have re-branded.
The Cheshire based firm is also celebrating its 20th year in business. Established in 2001-2 by founders Geoffrey Irlam and Managing Director Mark Pickles. The G&M Group is still trading as G&M Safety Netting Ltd / G&M Safe Deck and continues to be a family-run business today.
They deliver quality safety training and safety-enhancing products to the UK construction sector’s main contractors nationwide.
Based at Middlewich in Cheshire – where there is now a state-of-the-art training facility in place offering a wide range of FASET and other courses to riggers, deckers and managers alike.
The firm has grown to now have operational centres in the Midlands and South West, serving the construction, house-building, timber-frame and other sectors country-wide.
The decision to re-brand to G&M Group has come as the business is set to launch a series of innovative new products in their 20th anniversary year, which will boost their existing offerings of G&M Safe Deck, G&M safety netting, stair towers, edge protection, rope access and other leading work at height safety products.
G&M Group Managing Director, Mark Pickles said: “The launch of the G&M Group brand is a fantastic way to celebrate two busy, successful decades of trade within the construction sector. We are so lucky to have kept some of original team members – including Sean Barber – and to have such a great team of people in the office training centre and on-site installing. WE are a great team offering the best products, training and customer service. “And with three new safety-enhancing, time and money-saving products about to launch in 2022, the future looks bright for the G&M Group and our many valued customers. Here’s to the next 20 years!”
48.3 Scaffold Design Limited, a part of the Richter group companies, has opened its latest office in Glasgow, Scotland.
The expansion into Scotland marks the next exciting step for the group business which has enjoyed considerable success and growth throughout 2021.
Schemes such as the £4m Great North Rail Project replacing a key piece of transport infrastructure, the continued relationship with the East West Rail Alliance, large scale project works on HS2, Hinkley Point C, and numerous re-cladding projects, have all benefited from the companies’ experience and expertise.
The group, comprising of 48.3, R W Clarke Limited and Preene Groundwater Consulting have come together over the course of the last three years, with the aim of becoming the UK’s leading temporary works design consultancy and provider of technical services to Civil Engineering and Building contractors.
Roger Tice CEng FICE, Richter Group Managing Director said: “Glasgow and the surrounding areas have many talented people and there is a wealth of competent clients, both existing and new who Richter wish to be aligned with. Following recent successful contracts in this location, now is the time expand our geographical presence and the introduction of the new Glasgow office fulfils our business plans. It is great to see this move happen now.”
Ben Beaumont CEng MICE, Richter Group Director added: “With the opening of this Scottish office, we are looking to establish new engineering teams to work with all of our engineering design offices and to champion the success of this new region. Our group businesses are coming together to become one ‘symbiotic’ service offering. We have engineering design roles for all grades and we look forward to hearing from those wanting to join our forward thinking company and to build upon our recent years successes.”
Campaigners are set to stage protests at four Actavo sites across England, Scotland and Ireland to demand that Actavo pays scaffolders the rate for the job.
As previously reported over 50 scaffolders employed by Actavo at British Steel in Scunthorpe are continuing a long-running dispute over pay. The workers are being paid up to 15 per cent below the agreed rate for the job under the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry (NAECI).
The scaffolders will begin continuous strike action this Wednesday (26 January 2022). Supporters of the Scunthorpe scaffolders in their pay dispute are planning to stage protests at key Actavo locations around the country.
14,000 supporters have signed Unite’s petition calling on Actavo’s boss to respect national agreements and pay his company’s scaffolders the agreed rate for the job.
Unite is calling on both British Steel and Actavo to enter into tripartite negotiations with Unite.
Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham said: “Supporters across the UK and Ireland are sending a clear message. Pay the Scunthorpe scaffolders the rate for the job.“British Steel and Actavo need to understand that Unite is standing firm. We will fight tooth and nail to stop the race to the bottom. British Steel and Actavo can’t go on ignoring the issue forever.”
Unite regional officer Richard Bedford said: “We call on both British Steel and Actavo to join Unite in tripartite discussions. It’s time for all parties to get around the negotiating table so the scaffolders can get back to work.”
BLC Construction Supplies is offering its customers ReActivair – a special coating that eats pollution that can be used for a wide range of scaffold sheeting applications.
ReActivair, the pollution-eating speciality coating is made from naturally occurring materials that improves air quality by using energy from natural sunlight to break down harmful pollutants and odour molecules in the air.
When sunlight hits the ReActivair coating, it prompts a series of reactions taking humidity and oxygen from the air turning them into cleaning agents that scrub the air of volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) and Nitrious oxides (NOx), also known as smog.
Bristol-based BLC Construction Supplies say It can be used on a wide range of sheeting applications like Building wraps, Scaffold sheeting, Netting and Rail and Roadside billboards.
Results from tests at Sheffield University show 1m2 of coated material can take out approx 2g of NOx per day. As an example, just 1 roll of 2m x 45m scaffold sheeting (c.90m2) coated completely with ReactivAir, will potentially remove the pollution created by 250 cars, every week.
Band of Builders (BoB) has unveiled ambitious plans to complete a record-breaking 12 projects in 2022 for fellow tradespeople and their families facing hardship.
The registered charity – which completes practical projects to help members of the UK construction industry who are battling illness or injury – is set to double the amount of projects it completed last year and is busy mobilising its members ready for projects as far afield as Plymouth, South Shields and its first one in Northern Ireland.
BoB has also been working closely with its partners and supporters – which include some major names within the construction industry, including DEWALT, Jewson, Tarmac, Gibbs & Dandy, V12 Footwear, Talasey, Resideo and Haemmerlin – to start to arrange the ring-fencing of materials for each project.
Gavin Crane, the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the fast-growing charity, which was formed in 2016 and has already completed more than 20 projects, said that BoB is gearing up to meet the challenge of completing a project per month.
“Requests for support have hit an all-time high from tradespeople right across the spectrum of the UK construction industry, and we are taking BoB to the next level to help as many people as we can this year,” said Gavin.
“None of this would be possible without the generosity and commitment of our members and other tradespeople who volunteer their skills and time for free to be part of the BoB community, delivering projects that are life-changers for the recipients.“Projects this year range from complete home renovations – like the one we completed at the end of last year for Cher Little, a mum of two and partner of plasterer Mark; she was left relying on a wheelchair after having her legs amputated due to contracting meningococcal septicaemia, a rare and often fatal bloodstream infection – through to landscaping projects for housebound former tradespeople so they can enjoy their gardens.”
Projects in the pipeline for this year include ones for:
A 51-year-old father of four in Hertfordshire who fell 20 ft from scaffolding after having a seizure and has since been diagnosed with a brain tumour
A 40-year-old man from Walsall who suffered spinal cord damage after a heart operation went wrong and left him permanently disabled
A 63-year-old former brickie from Northern Ireland who suffers from progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) – a breakdown of his immune system
An electrician from Loughborough whose 5-year-old son has cerebral palsy and cannot sit up unaided
The wife of a plasterer from South Shields who has ovarian cancer, which is spreading
A 55-year-old father of two who was a building surveyor before he suffered a hypoxic brain injury caused by lack of oxygen due to a heart attack, currently in neuro rehab
Ahead of each project, the BoB team assesses the requirements of the project – such as the trade materials required – and then engages with merchants and its membership base for support.
Gavin added: “We have amazing backing from the industry, but every little bit helps, so if anyone wants to help in any way, we always welcome support – whether it’s financial, materials or anything else. Anyone who wants to get involved can email [email protected] for more information.”
The projects won’t be the sole focus of BoB’s activities in 2022, as the charity will also continue with vital initiatives such as the Big Brew. This will take place again this October and encourage tradespeople to come together and talk over a cuppa in a bid to remove the taboo around mental health in the sector – at a time when the suicide rate of UK construction workers is estimated to be as high as two people every day.
Peter Cape, Big Brew lead at BoB, said: “Our first Big Brew – which was sponsored by Resideo – proved to be a real lifeline for people right across the construction industry and showed us that there is so much more to do on this. We see the struggles of our colleagues within our community on a regular basis and see peer-to-peer support as vital to addressing this crisis.”
Registrations are open for the next Big Brew at https://www.bandofbuilders.org/get-involved/the-big-brew/
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Michael Tame MRICS, Commercial Director at Lee Marley Brickwork added: “As we see natural growth within our business operation it was important to us to create an environment that allows our employees to achieve their full potential. A key passion of ours is our Graduate and Apprenticeship Schemes which promote young talent.
The opening of our Notting Hill office will promote a friendly hub for our graduates to base themselves from. The office provides collaborative workspaces, offices and a large boardroom with state-of-the-art conference and presentation software, ideal for online and in-person training.
Our clients are key to the strength of our business, and it is our intention to use this new workspace to invite our clients to and display some of our work, of which we are extremely proud of. We are excited to enter 2022 in such a fortunate position.”
Michael Tame MRICS, Commercial Director at Lee Marley Brickwork added: “As we see natural growth within our business operation it was important to us to create an environment that allows our employees to achieve their full potential. A key passion of ours is our Graduate and Apprenticeship Schemes which promote young talent.
The opening of our Notting Hill office will promote a friendly hub for our graduates to base themselves from. The office provides collaborative workspaces, offices and a large boardroom with state-of-the-art conference and presentation software, ideal for online and in-person training.
Our clients are key to the strength of our business, and it is our intention to use this new workspace to invite our clients to and display some of our work, of which we are extremely proud of. We are excited to enter 2022 in such a fortunate position.”
Dave Mosley, CISRS Managing Director, said: “The centre is fitted out to the highest specifications, with brand new materials, tools and PPE. There are several classrooms but one is particularly impressive as it houses both an independent and a hanging scaffold actually within the classroom.”
SIMIAN International Managing Director Ian Fyall added: “We are delighted to be partnering Prostaff in this venture and moving both SIMIAN and CISRS’ footprint into another part in the world. We are looking forward to training and assessing their instructors and giving advice and guidance going forward.
“It’s been 12 months in the making due to Covid but we eventually got there”
Dave Mosley, CISRS Managing Director, said: “The centre is fitted out to the highest specifications, with brand new materials, tools and PPE. There are several classrooms but one is particularly impressive as it houses both an independent and a hanging scaffold actually within the classroom.”
SIMIAN International Managing Director Ian Fyall added: “We are delighted to be partnering Prostaff in this venture and moving both SIMIAN and CISRS’ footprint into another part in the world. We are looking forward to training and assessing their instructors and giving advice and guidance going forward.
“It’s been 12 months in the making due to Covid but we eventually got there”
G&M Group Managing Director, Mark Pickles said: “The launch of the G&M Group brand is a fantastic way to celebrate two busy, successful decades of trade within the construction sector.
We are so lucky to have kept some of original team members – including Sean Barber – and to have such a great team of people in the office training centre and on-site installing. WE are a great team offering the best products, training and customer service.
“And with three new safety-enhancing, time and money-saving products about to launch in 2022, the future looks bright for the G&M Group and our many valued customers. Here’s to the next 20 years!” 
G&M Group Managing Director, Mark Pickles said: “The launch of the G&M Group brand is a fantastic way to celebrate two busy, successful decades of trade within the construction sector.
We are so lucky to have kept some of original team members – including Sean Barber – and to have such a great team of people in the office training centre and on-site installing. WE are a great team offering the best products, training and customer service.
“And with three new safety-enhancing, time and money-saving products about to launch in 2022, the future looks bright for the G&M Group and our many valued customers. Here’s to the next 20 years!” 
