Altrad bags £350m contract from EDF

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Altrad bags £350m contract from EDF

Altrad Services has been awarded a £350m contract to supply maintenance services for eight EDF nuclear sites across the UK.

Altrad has been chosen as the maintenance partner for a £350m contract by EDF to carry out a range of works on the existing fleet of eight nuclear power stations in the UK for the next nine years.

The company has said around 500 people employed will support the contract.

The services will include scaffolding access, insulation, coatings, tanks and building facades and comes under Altrad Services’ maintenance business.

Paudie Somers, CEO Altrad Services UK, Ireland and Nordics said: “This material contract is testament to the relationship Altrad and EDF have fostered over 30 years spent working together.

“As the largest provider of industrial services in the UK, I’m pleased we will continue to help EDF power the UK with an ever-increasingly innovative suite of services designed to take our industry into the digital age. This contract also ensures long-term revenue for the UK Services business.”

New Zealand scaffold fall leads to $230K fine

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New Zealand scaffold fall leads to $230K fine

A construction company and scaffolding firm will have to pay a combined $230,000 as part of a settlement agreement with New Zealand’s Health & Safety Board WorkSafe.

The substantial fine comes after an on-site incident in 2018 which resulted in injuries to a painting contractor who fell 3.5 meters from scaffolding. Main contractor Stevenson and Williams and Bramwell Scaffolding are set to pay a combined $230,000 with $40,000 going to the victim. An investigation found that during work on a 15 three-storey residential apartments, lead contractor Stevenson and Williams contracted Bramwell Scaffolding to supply and erect scaffolding and roof edge protection.

The painting contractor was applying primer to various balcony decks and during the work leaned on a handrail which gave way, resulting in the fall and various injuries.

The contractor wasn’t able to work for four weeks as a result of the injuries.

Subsequent investigation determined that the certified scaffolder on-site had left the site for personal reasons and that scaffolding erection had been left to a labourer.

No qualified inspection had been done following that work.

Stevenson and Williams managing director Rob Cunningham told the Otago Daily Times the company had been ”devastated” by the incident and the injury.

He said he had immediately visited the site to determine what had gone wrong and had also seen the worker.

‘‘He is back at work now and we are just happy that it didn’t turn out any worse.

”We are absolutely committed to taking all the steps necessary, putting the necessary systems and process in place to make sure it doesn’t happen again,”

Cunningham said the company had long prided itself on its attention to safety and systems.

”This is a low point for us and we fully intend to learn from the unfortunate circumstance around it.”

Cunningham said while there had obviously been a problem with the scaffolding in this instance, Bramwell remained as a preferred contractor and was definitely one of the ”best in the business”.

Alimak President and CEO to step down

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Alimak President and CEO to step down

The President and CEO of the Alimak Group has announced he will step down this year.

Tormod Gunleiksrud informed the Alimak Group’s Board of Directors that he wished to leave his position as President and CEO during 2020. The Swedish company which manufactures and provides vertical access solutions including scaffold hoists has said it has begun the campaign to find his successor. Gunleiksrud has been President and CEO of Alimak Group since 2012.

Labour Peer introduces legislation to deal with late payments

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Labour Peer introduces legislation to deal with late payments

Lobbying lord is launching a private members bill today in the House of Lords in a bid to toughen-up late-paying businesses.

Today (Tuesday 21 January 2020) Labour peer Lord Mendelsohn is introducing a Private Members Bill to the House of Lords, in an effort to tackle late payments and to strengthen the powers of the Small Business Commissioner.

Almost a quarter of insolvencies (23%) are caused by late payment issues. Even for those companies that manage to absorb late payment, the loss of income can stop small businesses from investing and growing, it can also damage productivity and generally has a very negative impact – including on many business owner’s mental health.

Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) has fought a long campaign to tackle this problem by making three major changes. These are:

  • that the Prompt Payment Code should be made compulsory for companies with more than 250 staff
  • that payment terms should be halved from a maximum of 60 days to a maximum of 30 days
  • that a clear, simple financial penalty regime for persistent late payers should be introduced and enforced by the Small Business Commissioner

YouGov polling published by AAT last year showed that almost three quarters (73%) of MPs backed the three AAT recommendations.

Building on the AAT proposals, today Labour Peer Lord Mendelsohn introduces a Private Members Bill to the House of Lords. This Bill promises to introduce a statutory 30-day limit for payment of all invoices, backed up by giving the Small Business Commissioner powers to impose large fines on the worst, persistent offenders.

Lord Mendelsohn’s Bill will also ban the most predatory payment practices like prompt payment discounts, where purchasers demand discounts for prompt payment of invoices; charges for onboarding and staying on supplier lists.

Lord Mendelsohn said: “Late payment is crippling small businesses while the UK economy is crying out for investment. By failing to tackle late payment we are starving our small businesses of the capacity to act. The recent huge escalation in outstanding payments shows that decades of promoting ‘culture change’ has only made things worse. This Bill will tackle the issue once and for all with a package of measures that is operable, impactful and measurable.”

Lighthouse charity sees huge increase in demand for help

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Lighthouse charity sees huge increase in demand for help

The Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity has provided £1.13M of charitable services in 2019 and seen a 56% increase in demand for its 24/7 helpline, it has revealed.

The charity saw a rise in the number of construction families needing its wellbeing and financial support in 2019 rising to 2616, with a total of £703,641 of charitable giving to support them.  Mental health continues to feature heavily within the charity and as a founder member of the industry’s ‘Building Mental Health’ programme, the charity has been at the forefront of driving momentum to ensure a better mental health culture within the industry. To support this, £411,962 has been spent on the charity’s Education and Training programme with a project managed on behalf of the CITB training 300 Mental Health First Aid Instructors, who in turn have trained over 3,000 Mental Health First Aiders to provide ‘boots on the ground’ support for our construction workforce. Just over £21,000 has been invested in innovation, specifically on the Construction Industry Helpline App which provides vital information, advice and guidance on a variety of wellbeing issues. In response to industry demand, the app is also being developed to meet the needs of companies with major sites and joint venture projects who want to provide additional site-specific real-time information such as details on health and safety briefings and site inductions.  lighthouse construction industry charity results Bill Hill, CEO of the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity said, “We are working tirelessly to ensure that our construction workers and their families have access to the help they need, Our helpline cards have now been distributed to almost 600,000 of our workforce and our app has been downloaded over 20,000 times.  “We will continue to deliver pro-active interventions to ensure that situations do not reach a life critical stage and our mission is to ensure that no worker feels alone in a crisis. To support our helpline, we have recently introduced professional caseworkers who ensure that applicants receive all the possible support available to them, both from us and other organisations. This means that the charity is spending less per case whilst delivering a more holistic and higher quality service.” The charity has also recently extended its mental health training to offer an increased variety of construction focussed mental health training, including our ‘lunch and learn’ mental health sessions. To access the helpline’s team of experts, call the Construction Industry Helpline on 0345 605 1956 or visit www.constructionindustryhelpline.com All of the information regarding the charity’s helpline services, mental health training, Company Supporters programme and Physical challenges can be found on their website at www.lighthouseclub.org 

Scaffold firm boss wins top business award

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Scaffold firm boss wins top business award

The boss of two Milton Keynes based scaffolding firms has been awarded the SME National Business Award for Mentoring.

Matt Bowler, MD of MK Scaffolding Specialists and Vantage Event Structures was awarded the Gold Award at Wembley, in recognition for his work with young people and ex-offenders.
Matt Bowler, MD of Milton Keynes based MK Scaffolding Specialists and Vantage Event Structures wins SME National Business Award
Matt Bowler, MD of MK Scaffolding Specialists and Vantage Event Structures
Tessa Ojo, CEO of the Diana Award Charity, which sponsored the Mentor Award said Matt had “fully focused on training and giving people a hand up. This is real active mentoring and is highly commended.” Matt created a work scheme for inmates of HMP Spring Hill in 2011, giving those involved a chance to reskill as scaffolders working at his firm in Old Wolverton. Andrew Sibley now a rigger for international film studios, commended Matt for his support “because of Matt I work in films now and I go all over the world with my work. Whilst in Spring Hill he got me on the scaffolding qualification programme. If it hadn’t been for Matt I would probably have gone back into crime.” The SME National Mentor Award also recognised Matt’s work with young people and the opportunities he has given school leavers via his companies’ Apprentice Scheme, run in partnership with the National Construction College. Corey Robertson joined the scheme aged 17 and is now finishing his scaffolding qualification. Corey admits “I was on the wrong path before and I’m in a much better place now, scaffolding keeps you busy and keeps you fit, it’s been really good for me.”  Matt has been open about his own life story and how turning away from gangs and violence and channeling his efforts into something productive has enabled him to turn his life around. “It gives me a lot of satisfaction to help kids who are in the same position I was in and in construction there are so many opportunities to diversify into an area that suits you, Matt said. “When I started as a scaffolder if someone had told me I’d be building and designing structures for London Fashion Week and commentary boxes for premiere league football clubs, I wouldn’t have believed them.”  In 2019, Matt’s company Vantage Event Structures won the Design & Creativity Award at the MKBAA2019 for various projects including Scaffolding artworks for Burberry fashion house and a giant Rubik’s Cube for phone company Huawei on the Southbank. Matt was also recognised for his contribution to national and international business by winning Entrepreneur of the Year at the Milton Keynes Business Achievement Awards 2019.

NASC launches £30K mental health first aid training fund

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NASC launches £30K mental health first aid training fund

The National Access and Scaffolding Confederation (NASC) has set up a £30,000 funding pot dedicated to mental health first aid training.

The new fund gives its members the ability to claim up to £125 towards the cost of a mental health first aid course. The funding pot was created in conjunction with the trade body’s Head for Heights campaign that was set up in 2018. The campaign focused on breaking down the stigma surrounding mental health and promoting the importance of focusing on employee wellbeing in the workplace. It’s recent activity included the creation of SG38:19, free NASC guidance on mental health and wellbeing. “The £30,000 funding pot will help pay for nearly 250 NASC member employees to complete a mental health first aid course,” Lynn Way, NASC president said. “This will go a long way to improving awareness and understanding of mental health and wellbeing issues in the workplace and enable NASC members to better support their employees if and when they need to. “The Head for Heights campaign has been incredibly well-received by NASC members, who are as keen to do more to support anyone in the industry who’s dealing with a mental health challenge. There’s much more to come from us on this front in the year ahead.” The NASC has said, there are currently four mental health first aid training courses covered by the £30,000 funding pot. These are offered by MHFA England, St John Ambulance, 3B Training and the British Safety Council.  The creation of the fund comes just a month after the trade body launched a £150,000 fund dedicated to training and upskilling former servicemen. 

Storm Brendan brings down tower block scaffolding

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Storm Brendan brings down tower block scaffolding

A number of cars have been damaged and roads closed after a large scaffold fell from a tower block in Orpington, London.

High winds brought in by Storm Brendan ripped down the reported 10 lift scaffold at around 8:30pm last night (January 14). Emergency services attended the scene but no injuries have been reported. The fallen scaffold was left lying over the tower’s car park and an adjacent road, blocking it off to traffic. A dramatic video was posted online showing the aftermath of the scaffold collapse. The scaffolding had been erected for the purpose of repairing the balconies on the southeast London tower block. Although not confirmed News Shopper has reported that the scaffold was tied into the fabric of the tower block. However, it would seem these ties failed. Residents living in the tower block also told Journalists that weekly inspections had been carried out on the structure.

Sheffield’s £500m plans to improve buildings & council housing

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Sheffield’s £500m plans to improve buildings & council housing

Sheffield City Council has laid out plans to spend £500m on building and improving council housing over the next five years.

The spending plan has been laid out in the council’s housing revenue account (HRA) business plan for 2020/2021, according to The Construction Index. In 2019 Sheffield City Council committed to providing 1,600 new council homes by 2023/24 and this year this is being extended by an additional 1,500, taking the total to 3,100 new council homes over the next 10 years. The biggest investment in the plan is in the form of improving the city’s existing council house stock. This includes updating kitchens, bathrooms, windows, doors, roofs and improving communal areas. Councillor Paul Wood, cabinet member for neighbourhoods and community safety at Sheffield City Council, said: “We have ambitious plans to provide housing that gives people options, meets the demand and varying needs of our residents, and creates thriving communities. “The truth is there isn’t sufficient affordable housing in the city, we don’t have enough options available within our council housing stock and we need to maintain the quality of tenants’ existing homes. “We are tackling all of these issues head on, investing millions of pounds to make sure people in Sheffield have suitable, well maintained homes that they can afford and be proud of. “As well as all of these benefits to our housing offer, this level of investment over the next few years will also create hundreds of employment and apprenticeship opportunities for local people, providing essential jobs and up-skilling our future tradespeople.”

Specialist printer’s ultra-realistic Somerset House scaffold wrap

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Specialist printer’s ultra-realistic Somerset House scaffold wrap

Somerset House in London has been covered in an ultra-realistic scaffold wrap.

The iconic Neoclassical façade of Somerset House is instantly recognizable overlooking the Southside of the Thames. And while the building is currently undergoing some restoration work, you may not have noticed thanks to the ultra-realistic scaffold wrap that covers the construction work beneath. The man behind this impressive faux façade says it’s been one of his most challenging jobs to date, involving countless hours of photo-editing, printing and installation by skilled professionals. “This type of wrap is called a trompe L’oeil building wraps and they are somewhat of a specialised craft,” explains Project Print Management (PPM) owner and creator, Justin Murray. “The process begins with a team of engineers and designers collecting accurate measurements and photos of the building façade, which are then carefully edited to create the perfect realistic perspective, colour and scale. A framework is then built over the building scaffolding that will hold the printed wrap exactly in place to create the optical illusion during the construction work. Our team then coordinates a skilled specialist rope access team to install the enormous print on the frame.”

Scaffold Wrap is digitally printed for Somerset House

The scaffold wrap was digitally printed on 5-meter-wide format printer using UV ink technology onto Verseidag mesh PVC banner material, which can let the wind pass through. These types of facade building wraps are often used when historical buildings are undergoing refurbishment or maintenance work. scaffold wrap at somerset house Since these buildings are often visited by tourists, it’s important they maintain their characteristic visual aesthetic, so the scaffold wraps cover up any unsightly scaffolding, making it almost invisible. Somerset House is one such grade 1 listed building, open to the public and regularly hosting exhibitions and events throughout the year from ice-skating in the winter to the Film4 summer screenings, where the courtyard is transformed into a stunning open-air cinema, housing London’s largest open-air screen. “Most of our work is on period buildings, and it’s always challenging to get our print to visually represent the actual building. This is the ‘art’ of the process – making it look like nothing’s there,” says Murray. scaffolding covered in a digitally printed wrap He founded PPM in 2011 after leaving the print company he had started at age 19 and run for 18 years, deciding to become a specialist large-format creative print coordinator.

10 Years of Creatives Talents for Justin

Almost 10 years on and Justin is still enjoying using his business experience and creative talents for a range of exciting large format printing challenges, including his specialty of trompe L’oeil building wraps. “Lots of companies handle quite complex large-format print jobs, but not many do the kind of thing we specialise in at PPM,” enthuses Murray, who has created building wraps for clients including; The Monument to the Great Fire of London, Everton Football Club Stadium and the BNP Paribas building.
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