A blossoming partnership between Leach’s and Beerenberg has ensured increased tool safety for offshore scaffolders.
Oil & Gas Industrial services firm Beerenberg and Leach’s have partnered to create and deliver an all-new high-spec scaffolder’s tool kit, with all tools uniquely tethered to prevent drops from height.
The specialist kit has now been delivered to almost 300 offshore oil and gas scaffolders, with plans for further distribution in the future.
Choosing quality tools for the kit was of utmost importance. Each new tool kit consists of:
A heavy-duty leather belt with tool holders
Nipping pliers
Podger ratchet
Double-ended open spanner
Magnetic level
Stainless steel tape measure
Leach’s say each tool is tethered to protect other workers on site with ultra-strong tool safety ropes and swivel locking carabinas. Beerenberg also required detailed labelling to ensure ultimate safety during use, including the fall from height distance when tethered, the safe working load of each tool, and the serial number.
Overcoming the safety challenge
This specification proved a real challenge. Beerenberg had intricate needs to improve the safety of scaffolders, and approached a vast range of suppliers. However, it was soon clear that many would struggle to adapt in the face of these detailed needs.
Adrian Tennant, Global Sales Manager at Leach’s, said: “I believe we stood out as our approach to product supply is different. We are solutions-orientated, meaning our aim first and foremost is to solve a customer’s problem. Not only does this help us form strong, longstanding relationships, but it also helps us evolve our services for businesses ever-evolving needs.”
Raymond Teigland, Technical Responsible Scaffolding at Beerenberg added: “This project has been a real success. Leach’s solution-orientated team helped us solve a complex challenge that other suppliers simply couldn’t. We’re thrilled with the results.”
Modular scaffolding giants Layher have developed a new hybrid advanced guardrail system that combines the versatility of its leading Allround System with the speed of its STAR system.
Without tools and without any additional work steps the two-part Allround Guardrail System (ARGS) allows a single person to safely create advancing side protection simply and efficiently.
The system can be used for both the outer and inner sides of the scaffolding and around corners. External scaffolds like stair towers can also be erected with ARGS without any problem.
“Utilising the ARGS 2m lightweight standards, with integrated rosette and the ARGS Guardrails, available in all the usual Layher bay lengths, users can create façade scaffolding using Allround Scaffolding with two-part advancing side protection,” says Layher UK Managing Director, Sean Pike.
The ARGS standards have two innovative quick releasing and highly visible locking levers that secure the additional guardrails into position. Once positioned the post is elevated by hand from the lower lift and swung upwards into position onto the next following standard. Thus, creating an advanced guardrail for the next lift.
Like Layher’s Allround lightweight ARGS is of course made of its high tensile steel to take higher loads yet lighter which Layher is renowned for globally. According to the world’s largest system scaffolding manufacturer, the ARGS 2m standards have the same load-bearing capacity as normal 2m Allround standards.
The ARGS standardsSean added: “Bracing components, such as Allround Ledgers, or diagonals, as well as U-transoms can be fitted in the normal way, due to the ARGS standard having rosettes that will line up at the decked level.This of course allows the system to maintain the expected versatility of the Allround system, and so the functionality, flexibility, safety and build speed is maintained throughout.”
This new bold innovation from Layher has already gained much attention in Europe after ARGS won a MAT D’OR award after a short release in France.
The Allround Guardrail System is available now nationwide across all Layher UK depots.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak yesterday unveiled the government’s latest budget in a bid to steer the country out of lockdown and onto a road to recovery.
Rishi revealed that the government will be pumping an additional £65 billion into the economy to aid recovery.
Many were happy to hear that the furlough scheme will be extended until September with no change of any terms. However, after July, employers will be asked to make a 10% contribution, which will then rise to 20% in August and September.
Self-employed income support will also be extended until September, with 600,000 more being eligible for government help as the grants become more accessible.
Rishi announced that Corporation tax will rise to 25% but the increase has been delayed until April 2023 to allow businesses time to recover from the covid-19 pandemic.
However, firms making a profit of £50,000 or less will continue to pay the current 19% rate, while rates for businesses with profits more than this figure will be tapered.
Those who make annual profits of £250,000 or more will pay the full 25% rate when it is introduced.
Another highlight of the budget statement saw Rishi announce beginning in April 2021, a new super-deduction will cut companies’ tax bill by 25p for every pound they invest in new equipment, meaning they can reduce their taxable profits by 130% of the cost.
Read the full budget statement here
Industry Reaction
This morning we spoke to some leaders and members of the scaffolding and access industry on yesterday’s budget statement.
Des Moore“Overall I think it was a good Budget delivered by the Chancellor given what are obviously exceptional times,” said Des Moore, TRAD Group CEO.“Taxes, in general, had to rise but the 95% Mortgages available to everyone, not just first-time buyers will give confidence and a real boost to the housebuilding industry. The introduction of Freeport’s nationally again will lead to real opportunities for investors which again can only be good news for the Construction Industry. In general, overall, the initiatives do seem to confirm the governments is sincere in its leveling up agenda and their previous statement that we are going to Build Build Build our way out of the recession caused primarily by COVID,” he added.
Helen GaworHelen Gawor, Business Strategy Director at GKR Scaffolding Ltd gave her reaction: “The increase in Corporation Tax from 2023 to 25% for the 30% of businesses with higher profits is no surprise. Businesses will need to be prepared for this unphased increase which will hopefully be introduced at a time of greater stability in the construction market.Optimistically, however, the message in this year’s budget is clearly an investment for economic growth. The tax breaks for investment, further support for funding of apprenticeships and traineeships, and the backing of regeneration projects will benefit our businesses and the construction industry in general.”Matthew CousinsMatthew Cousins, Director of Apex Scaffolding (Exeter) Ltd and NASC Contracts Committee Chair said:“All in all, the budget was not as doom and gloom as many people feared, and on the face of it appears to support construction business and industry to survive to the end of the pandemic, come out fighting and help to grow the industry to where it was before COVID-19. There is a slight bit of trepidation that the problems and borrowing are all being kicked down the road a bit, but hopefully things will have improved sufficiently by then that the sector will be robust enough to take it.”CITB Policy Director Steve Radley said: “With the recovery from the crisis in sight, this welcome investment in infrastructure, traineeships and the new flexible apprenticeships, similar to our own shared apprenticeships scheme, will help support thousands of people into the construction industry just as employers are looking to hire them. Many employers reluctantly opted out of taking on an apprentice last autumn and extending the incentive to employ them is the right support at the right time.“Extending traineeships will build stronger links with Further Education and build a bridge into apprenticeships and jobs for many young people. Our work with FE and employers on construction traineeships has demonstrated that both groups are committed to making this work.“Government should build on this by quickly delivering on its pledge to help Apprenticeship Levy payers transfer their unspent funds to where they are needed, giving many smaller firms the firepower to drive the acceleration in apprenticeships to deliver the jobs-led growth the PM has promised.”
System scaffolding manufacturer HAKI has acquired Vertemax a UK-based global workzone safety company.
HAKI headquartered in Sweden has announced the purchase of all business shares in Vertemax the UK firm that designs and manufactures workzone safety products and provides access solutions around the world.
“We have been in contact with Vertemax for a long time and it is very satisfying that we have been able to reach an agreement under the current circumstances,” said Thomas Schüller, Haki’s CEO.
Vertemax has a strong product portfolio says HAKI, that fits well into the global trends in the form of stricter legislation on occupational safety and meets the increased demand for fall protection and protective screens.
The company was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Aylesham, United Kingdom. It has around 35 employees, with a development facility in nearby Canterbury and sales offices in Toronto, Canada and Bratislava, Slovakia.
Vertemax designs, develops and markets workzone safety products and access solutions. Its largest market is here in the UK, with London being the main focus for new construction projects.
In recent years, Vertemax has seen strong growth in Canada and their sales office in Bratislava was recently opened to cover the Eastern European market.
The firm has seen its sales increase to approximately £15million in 2020.
Gary Taylor founder and CEO of Vertemax said: “We look forward to becoming a part of the Midway Holding group of companies. We see this as a strategically important step for us to be able to create more value for our customers. With our consolidated capabilities and resources, we are convinced that we will generate a stronger platform for future growth.”
Thomas Schüller added: “We see excellent opportunities for synergies between Vertemax and HAKI, including developing our common markets together and jointly utilizing our logistical capabilities.”“In the long-term, the acquisition creates opportunities for us to participate in consolidating a fragmented niche market.”
The acquisition also strengthens the opportunities for organic growth by being able to offer Vertemax’s products to HAKI’s customers in Scandinavia, and HAKI’s products to Vertemax’s customers in the U.K. And in Eastern Europe, by marketing our offerings.
Group aims to raise £75k across the year, starting with a ‘50k for 50 Years’ campaign in March.
TRAD Group (‘TRAD’), one of the UK’s leading scaffolding and access companies, has announced that it will be supporting three national charities during 2021, as part of its 50th-anniversary celebrations.
The Royal British Legion, MIND and the Multiple Sclerosis Society have been chosen by TRAD’s staff members across the UK, and the group has committed to raising at least £75,000 over the year, which will be equally split between the charities.
TRAD’s first big fundraising campaign was launched recently. The ‘50k for 50 Years’ campaign is encouraging staff members to complete a 50-kilometre challenge during March – they can do it in any way that works for them – walking, swimming, cycling, running – and over the whole month.
TRAD’s target for this campaign is £15,000, and it has set up a dedicated account for supporters and sponsors to pay into.
The Royal British Legion helps members of the Royal Navy, the Army, the Royal Air Force, veterans and their families. It is best-known for its annual poppy appeal, but offers day-to-day support to serving and veteran armed forces personnel and is active in campaigning for their care and rights. You can learn more here: https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/
MIND supports better mental health. It is a nationwide charity that offers a wide range of information and support to those with mental health issues and the people who care for them, and is an active campaigner for a better understanding of mental health and greater support for it. Find out more at: https://www.mind.org.uk/
The Multiple Sclerosis Society supports people with Multiple Sclerosis, a condition that affects the brain and the spinal cord, resulting in a wide range of symptoms.
More than 130,000 people in the UK have MS. The charity runs a helpline and offers a wide range of support for everything from managing finances to supporting carers. Their website is: https://www.mssociety.org.uk/“We have already raised just under £10,000 for our anniversary appeal,” said Paige Matthews, CFO at TRAD Group, and part of the employee group managing the fundraising for 2021.
“Six thousand of that has been donated directly by TRAD, and the rest has been raised through company events including a pyjama day and a Christmas raffle. That’s a great start, and we’re now encouraging staff members to step up to this challenge in March to help us make significant inroads into our target for the year.”
TRAD has a range of other plans for its year of fundraising, including individual challenges and internal challenges between its six depots around the UK.
You can help support all these charities by donating to TRAD’s appeal at https://paypal.me/pools/campaign/115558736507729847.
Last year, to help businesses who were suffering with cashflow difficulties due to Covid-19, the Government announced that they would defer VAT payments for 12 months.
Now, nearly 12 months later, businesses that did defer their VAT payments need to start planning, as these payments will be due by 31st March 2021. However, businesses don’t need to worry about being hit with one massive VAT bill. They are able to spread the payments over the year by paying it in 11 interest-free instalments.
If you want to pay by instalments, you need to meet the following criteria:
Have deferred VAT to pay
Be up to date with VAT returns
Opt-in before 1 March 2021 (this is not currently open, but will be soon!)
Pay the first instalment before the end of March 2021
Be able to pay the deferred VAT by direct debit
It is worth remembering to register for VAT at the appropriate time.
AIMS MD Henry EjdelbaumAIMS MD Henry Ejdelbaum said of the changes “Clearly these are welcomed changes to ease financial pressure, especially on businesses which have been forced to close for yet another lockdown. However, the requirements are specific and need to be followed properly for businesses to qualify – it’s easy for businesses to get it wrong without meaning to.”
Businesses must opt into the instalment plan to participate and will be able to do so until 21 June 2021. Clearly, as the instalment payments start from 19 March, the sooner that a business opts in the smaller each instalment payment will be: i.e. spread over 11 months if you opt-in immediately but only 8 months if you don’t opt-in until June. Each business will need to think about what works best for them.
Additionally, an online service opened on 23 February 2021 and closes on 21 June 2021.
Some more positive news – Many businesses probably have applied for a Bounce Back Loan (BBL). For those that did, there is now a six-month delay for repayments, and loans are now able to be extended from six to ten years to reduce monthly repayments by nearly 50% – Payments can be tailored to individual circumstances.
Henry Ejdelbaum is MD of AIMS Accountants for Business, who have 200 local accountants based all across the UK and specialise in helping small business owners with their tax affairs.
Scaffolding training establishments have now been given the green light to reopen following the national lockdown restrictions imposed in January.
Around half of the CISRS registered scaffolding training centres across the UK have been temporarily closed due to the national lockdown.
But thanks to the recent Government’s roadmap out of lockdown announcement those centres that had to close are preparing to reopen on 8th March.
As previously reported the lockdown closures had caused a number of issues for many scaffolders renewing cards and booking CPD courses due to the lack of capacity.
We reached out to SIMIAN the UK’s largest privately-owned scaffolding training provider to get their reaction to the reopening news.
Dave Randles Operations Director at SIMIAN said: “We’re delighted to get the green light for the reopening of our training centres. From the outset of the pandemic, we have resolved to follow Government guidance and although it was disappointing that we had to close our doors again back in January, we were happy to play our part in getting the UK on top of the pandemic.We have constantly updated our COVID Security measures over the past 12 months, and will continue to do so moving forward. In the short term, we are currently exploring options for lateral flow testing at our centres and we expect this to be implemented in all locations within the next four weeks or so.
Backlog
Closing our doors temporarily has created a backlog of displaced learners and we are working hard to get them back on track. Demand for future training is high, and we recommend that anyone considering scaffolding training in the future, books early to avoid disappointment.Our customers have been incredibly patient over the past 12 months and we would like to thank them for that, and we’d also like to thank our Apprenticeship employers for keeping their Apprentices engaged and in learning.”
Lyndon SGB has appointed respected and well-known Brand Energy Director,Derek Heaney in the role of National Accounts Director.
Heaney joins Lyndon SGB having made his name with BrandSafway.
Heaney will work on both new and existing Lyndon SGB clients and brings a wealth of access industry experience, with a proven track record inthe scaffolding industryand large-scale developments across the globe.
As the ex-Managing Director of Brand Energy International in India and Egypt, Heaney joins Lyndon SGB having made his name with BrandSafway. He raised the profile of the company and strengthening its position as the region’s top scaffolding and access provider.
Speaking of his new role, Heaney said “I am joining Lyndon SGB at really busy time, but I am thrilled by the massive potential to go further. Lyndon SGB has a tremendous foundation. Our plan is to ensure Lyndon SGB is the scaffolding contractor of choice for major infrastructural and industrial projects, nationwide.
Our ability to offer all types of scaffolding while being supported by mast climbers and our market leading hoist provider, Taylor’s Hoists, means we can provide clients with a unique integrated ‘total access’ service.”
Managing Director Stuart Robinson has said: “Getting someone of Derek’s vast access sector experience on board just as we come out of the pandemic, is perfect for our mission to expand nationwide and support the extensive recovery and growth in the UK construction sector.
His know how, vast contacts book and well-known enthusiasm will be just what we need to serve our top clients’ premier projects in industry, infrastructure, and commercial construction – supporting the country’s economic bounceback.”
BrandSafway purchased Lyndon Scaffolding and Taylor’s Hoists inJanuary 2019combining the businesses with SGB to create a truly national access provider, Lyndon SGB.
Lee Marley Brickwork has just announced a new Scottish scaffolding division in Glasgow.
The scaffolding and brickwork contractor LMB has appointed Billy Dolan as Operations Manager of their new Scottish scaffolding division based in Glasgow. It’s the next step in the company’s national expansion plan.
Billy brings over 30 years of experience in the construction industry in a management position, he has worked for a spectrum of multi-national, national and local businesses over his career.
Billy said: “I am delighted to join the Lee Marley team in Scotland and to work alongside Michael Carr. We are extremely excited that we can now offer our clients a full package service of scaffolding and brickwork, as well as being flexible to offer them as standalone services.”
Michael Carr, Commercial Manager – Scotland comments: “Billy is a great addition to our team in Scotland. In the five years that we have been operational in Scotland it has been an ambition of mine to offer a masonry and scaffold solution that mirrors our set-up south of the border. Billy’s wealth of experience in this sector allows us to offer our customers the same high standard from a scaffold perspective that we have become known for through our masonry side of the Scottish business.”
Billy is excited to be part of the company’s continued expansion plans and with the investment that LMB have put into the Scottish market, he has high hopes for the future. As of next month, LMB will be working on several projects in Scotland that cover new build housing and social housing.
The team are delighted to announce they will be working on a scaffold and brick package for Morrisons on their Winchburgh schools project.
In Scotland, Lee Marley Brickwork Ltd are working on many brickwork projects including a number of projects in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
LMB Joint Managing Director Dan Clarkson added: “Having worked closely with Bill over a number of years it is great to have him join our team in Glasgow. His technical and safety knowledge is second to none and his appointment allows us to replicate the combined brickwork and scaffolding offering that has proved so successful in London and the South East. It will also allow us to offer scaffold only services to a wider range of clients on new-build, refurb and maintenance projects across the Central Belt”
The company has set up group-wide Project Units to help drive its approach to a range of business issues.
TRAD Group (‘TRAD’), one of the UK’s leading scaffolding and access companies, has announced a new safety initiative for 2021.
The initiative was driven by internal committees set up to tackle key business issues, the company said.
COVID permitting, the Group is set to begin a roadshow around the country, visiting all its depots and offices to deliver engaging content on safety and wellbeing.
The initiative, called the Personal Engagement Programme – or PEP talks – is focused not just on industry-led health and safety issues, but also on general wellbeing and mental health, something that has been a focus for CEO Des Moore for some time.
“One in four of us suffers from a mental health issue,” he comments. “That means that, on any given construction site or office, there are likely to be several people who may be struggling and not know where to turn. That’s why it’s important that employers support their people not just with their personal health and safety, but with their ongoing wellbeing, and that’s a vital part of our new approach.”
The initiative is the result of TRAD’s new Project Unit approach, which involves representatives from all areas across the business. These teams come together to review existing initiatives and improves the way that the business works both internally and with other site workers, customers, suppliers and the general public.
“We already have a fantastic range of health and safety programmes in place,” says Steve Kearney (Group Safety and Quality Assurance Director). “The Project Unit has picked the best and most successful parts of these programmes and enhanced them with a wider approach. We’ll be re-inducting staff, which is a big project, but is important to ensure that everyone is on board and understands the protections and support in place across the company.”“Alongside positive communications and support from managers and supervisors, so that they are leading by example, there will be monthly visits to the depots, sites and the team to ensure that the staff’s health, safety & wellbeing is much higher than just a satisfactory level.”
The company says it wants to engage fully with its staff, and for the staff to be open and recognise they can talk, whether it be something personal, or whether it be about the business in general and ways to potentially improve the way things are currently done.
“We believe in reward and recognition,” adds Des Moore, “so will be instituting quarterly awards and prizes for people who demonstrate a great attitude to safety and wellbeing, and who put themselves out to be a beacon for best practice. Our aim is to make things better for our people and in turn for our sites, our customers and everyone coming into contact with our work and our people.”
