Yorkshire scaffolders set to start work on £61m Sheffield City Centre flats complex
Burflex Scaffolding is poised to start work on a 17 storey £61m flats complex in Sheffield’s City Centre.
The East Yorkshire based company has been awarded the substantial contract and are set to provide a full scaffolding package starting in July.
Leading construction firm Watkin Jones awarded the scaffolders the contract. Watkin Jones has entrusted Burflex on a number of other projects in Sheffield and Leicester. The Welsh construction business is tasked with building the large redevelopment project located on Rockingham Street in Sheffield’s City Centre.
The development comprises of five blocks, up to 17 storeys with 794 beds for mainly student accommodation. Additionally, 106 beds will be for up-market flats aimed at young professionals.
The new blocks will be built on the old Grunwergs site, former home to houseware and catering products supplier Grunwerg.
ScaffMag understands that Burflex will be providing and erecting over 12,000m of scaffolding, 234 loading bay lifts and using 336m of beams. The project will also be wrapped and sheeted using 7,500m2 of monoflex.
Teams of Burflex scaffolders are set to start erecting from 1st July 2020 with the dismantling phase concluding by the end of May 2021.
Gareth Kay, Burflex Cost & Estimating Manager said: “We are delighted to have been awarded this prestigious contract in Sheffield City Centre, this is another significant win for the business to complement our other ongoing contracts within the Burflex Projects Division. This win and other recent wins further demonstrate our proven capability at delivering these large and complex major construction projects.
Our relationship with Watkin Jones has really flourished over the last 3 years due to our safe approach and can-do attitude. We have enjoyed repeat business following the completion of 3 other sites in Sheffield and we are also currently working on a site a similar size to Grunwergs in Leicester where the scaffold erection is currently nearing completion.”
“Since opening our Leeds office and Depot last year we have continued to grow and deliver within this sector and we are certainly looking forward to targeting and achieving further growth.
It is also worth noting that as part of the Grunwergs contract Burflex are tasked to employ local labour from Sheffield, as such we are actively recruiting in the area.”
CITB cuts Levy bills to help support sector’s skills-based recovery
CITB has today announced its plan to help employers recover from the impact of Coronavirus, including a substantial reduction in Levy bills.
The CITB has published its Skills Stability Plan 2020-21 which protects apprenticeships and provides direct funding to employers to adopt new ways of working needed in the wake of Covid-19. The training board have announced that employers will continue to have a payment holiday on the Levy until September and then up to a full year to pay the 2020/21 levy. They also say it will propose a 50% discount on the 2021/22 Levy rate. This means employers will pay 18 months’ Levy out of 24, making an overall saving of 25% across two years. For example, An employer with an average annual levy bill of £1,200 would normally pay £2,400 over 2020-22. Instead, they will pay nothing from April to August this year and then take advantage of spreading the costs – £100 per month up to February 2022, paying £1,800 overall. The changes will see CITB’s forecast Levy income drop by £166m across two financial years, it said. However, despite this large drop in income, the CITB stressed that its Skills Stability Plan will protect apprenticeships, direct funding to employers and the Grants Scheme. CITB has also confirmed it is also cutting costs and using its reserves to support employers’ skills needs. CITB Chief Executive Sarah Beale said: “This represents a radical plan of action that balances the need for a reduction in the Levy at this time, alongside vital investment in the skills needed by employers now and in the future. “It is the result of hundreds of conversations with employers across the length and breadth of Britain and I’m confident it meets the sector’s immediate needs. We are committed to making the Levy work hard to protect apprenticeships and support hard-pressed employers as they equip themselves for the challenges and opportunities ahead.” CITB will now seek the views of industry employers and federations about the development of a new strategic plan, covering 2021-23, with the plan expected to be published in September. Sarah Beale added: “We have spoken to employers and federations and most have suggested that they want us to focus full-time on helping the industry meet the challenges posed by Covid. We have confirmed with the Department for Education that we will not run the usual Consensus process and instead we will speak to employers and industry groups to seek their views on our plans for next year. “We will continue to be responsive and collaborative, working closely with the sector and Government to return the industry to growth. We will listen to industry and respond to its priorities and give every employer the confidence that we wish to understand and learn from their concerns and ambitions.” Mark Reynolds, Mace Group Chief Executive and Skills Workstream Lead at the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), said: “Our industry has come together to develop an effective plan to come back from the effects of Covid-19, as detailed in the CLC’s Roadmap to Recovery document. CITB’s Skills Stability Plan builds on this work and clearly outlines how they will play their part in delivering the skills we need. We very much support efforts made by the CITB to substantially reduce the Levy. It is right that Consensus is delayed so we can work together to make sure that our recovery, still in its early stages, is as strong as possible.” Read the full announcement hereLeading Fall Protection Firm Buys Safety & Access
Kee Safety a leading global supplier of fall protection and work at height solutions has acquired scaffolding and access training provider Safety and Access Ltd.
Kee Safety Ltd which specialises in the global supply of bespoke fall protection systems and equipment for working at height has signed a deal to take full ownership of the CISRS approved training provider.
The buyout, for an undisclosed sum, will see Kee Safety have overall control of Safety & Access’s operations here in the UK.
However, Rick Statham, Safety & Access Joint Managing Director stressed: “There will be no changes at all, It’s business as usual here in the UK and with our network of international partners”
“I am delighted with the acquisition as the deal will secure the future of the business and its staff. It will also place us in the perfect position for further expansion. We have been in discussion with Kee Safety Ltd since 2019, they are a great fit for the Safety & Access brand.”
Safety & Access have confirmed to ScaffMag that both existing Directors Rick Statham and Ray Johnson will remain in their positions and their staff structure will remain the same.
It’s is one of the UK’s leading scaffolding and access training and H&S consultancy providers offering a wide range of professional support services to a broad range of industry sectors for almost 30 years.
They have purpose-built training venues in Nottingham, Humberside and London. The business also provides training overseas in the Middle East, Far East and beyond.
Scaffolding firm fined £5K after scaffolder fell eight-meters
A scaffolding company has been fined £5000 after one of its workers fell from an eight-meter-high scaffold.
JR Scaffolding Services has claimed responsibility in court after a cantilever scaffold collapsed leaving a scaffolder with serious injuries in September 2016.
The 47-year-old scaffolder sustained a collapsed lung, a ruptured spleen, and multiple rib and shoulder fractures. His spleen was also removed as a result of the incident.
The Paisley based company pleaded guilty on Tuesday at Glasgow Sheriff Court to failing to make suitable and sufficient risk assessments. The firm also admitted failing to provide a safe system of work to be followed by employees. And it failed to ensure the tower scaffold was attached to the building
The court heard there were not enough anchors to secure the scaffold to the building in Glasgow’s Alexandra Parade and instead used a friction tie.
It was also found the scaffolding structure was erected in the wrong place at the property.
According to reports, JR Scaffolding Services Managing Director instructed a cantilever to be built onto the existing scaffold rather than dismantling the entire structure.
Prosecutor Selina Brown told the court that the cantilever was attached to the existing scaffold with rope. The scaffolder pulled the cantilever up as parts were given to him by his workmates.
He was then asked to put boards on the structure while his colleague attached them to the rope.
Miss Brown said: “As he was carrying out this task, he felt the cantilever and tower begin to move.
“The cantilever then collapsed along with the top of the tower scaffold and he fell eight meters to the ground, sustaining multiple injuries.”
The scaffolder was rushed to Glasgow Royal Infirmary for treatment and was discharged two weeks later. It’s understood he made a full recovery but requires to take antibiotics every day to fight off infection for the rest of his life.
Investigation
An investigation found that due to a lack of anchors and a ballast to support the scaffolding, it was unable to support the weight of the cantilever. The court was told, “The incident could have been avoided if the task was properly planned, the existing scaffold was correctly positioned and securely attached to the tenement.” Defence counsel, Susan Duff, said: “This offence occurred in a particular set of circumstances which didn’t reflect the company’s attitude to safety and employees.” Sheriff Andrew Cubie reduced the fine from £10,000 to £5000 due to the current pandemic. He said: “The direct consequences of these failures responded to the scaffolding collapsing and the scaffolder sustained serious injuries. “I accept from the material before me that the failures were not the company’s normal practices and standards. A number of factors appear to have transpired which caused the accident on that day.”New 10-year deal for Altrex and Pop Up
Pop Up Products and Altrex have confirmed the signing of a new 10-year deal in the UK.
Since the partnership came into existence in 2009, both companies have been able to celebrate many successes together, such as developing the world’s first one-person erect tower range and delivering more than 700,000 tower components in the UK market. In the new 10-year agreement, they have agreed the sales and distribution of mobile access towers, ladders, stepladders and associated access products in the UK and Ireland. The pair have also agreed a Worldwide Intellectual Property (IP) partnership. “We have worked with Altrex since 2009, to find a partner like Altrex and to work with such a dedicated and professional team is fantastic. Our goals and values are completely aligned, this is demonstrated through our success in developing products, developing new markets and above all serving our customers, we are as one!” Nigel Woodger (Pop Up Products Limited, CEO) said. “On behalf of Pop Up Products, I thank Altrex for the last 11 years and now look forward to the next 10 years of our special partnership” Eugène Derksen (Altrex BV, CEO) added: “The partnership with Pop Up Products Limited is unique, reliable and one of its kind due to the joint competencies and creativity where the beliefs of both organisations come together. The distinctive combination that is created enables the customers as well as the end-users to have access to “the best solutions” when it comes to sustainability, ergonomics, user-friendliness and last but not least, safety,” “I also trust that our companies continue to work together for the next 10 years, like in the past 11 years and that this remains to feel ‘natural’, because the relationship has arisen from mutual added value which results in strengthening each other. Fortunately I still recognize this every day!”Animation provides safety advice for workers returning to site
The Construction Industry Coronavirus Forum (CICV) has produced a short animation which aims to put workers in the picture about a safe return to work.
The 90-second film produced by Scotland’s CICV Forum outlines key health and safety steps that all staff should take during the return to work. Entitled Working Together, the 90-second animation illustrates the positive day-to-day measures that workers in the construction industry can take to protect themselves, their colleagues and the wider community. Its release follows the success of a previous Forum animation, In It Together, which outlined procedures for emergency domestic work and was adapted by a host of other UK and European organisations for their own use. Its release follows the success of a previous Forum animation, In It Together, which outlined procedures for emergency domestic work and was adapted by a host of other UK and European organisations for their own use. Rebecca Crosland, Health and Safety Advisor at Forum member the Building Engineering Services Association, said: “The restart has the potential to be an unsettling time for everybody concerned, with people unsure about exactly what they should do. “This latest animation lays down in simple terms, with bright and cheerful graphics, the common sense ways in which everyone can contribute to a safe working environment and help keep the virus at bay.” In line with Scottish Government and Construction Scotland advice, which is underpinned in an earlier Forum guidance document, the animation advises that employees should:- Travel to work alone, if possible.
- Observe physical distancing at all times.
- Wear a proper face covering if required.
- Wash their hands properly and often.
- Regularly clean frequently touched tools, objects and surfaces.
- Bringing their own prepared food and drink.
- Staying on-site or using their vehicle during breaks.
- Always coughing into their sleeve or elbow if they don’t have a tissue.
- Staying at home and following Government guidance if they have Covid-19 symptoms.
- Reading their company’s Covid-19 policy and risk assessment.
South-West scaffolding firm relocates to new depot
A leading south-west scaffolding company has relocated to a larger depot to enable more growth.
Pro Scaffolding (South West) Ltd has moved to Avon Riverside Industrial Estate in Avonmouth. Established in 2010 Pro Scaffolding covers Bristol, the South West and Wales. According to reports the business has signed a ten-year lease on the 7,401 sq ft Unit 5 warehouse at Avon Riverside. The firm is currently working towards it’s NASC accredition and was previously based at Aldwick Court Farm in Redhill, Bristol. Property consultantancy company Knight Frank oversaw the property transaction who represented the owners of the unit London & Cambridge Properties. Rhys Jones of Knight Frank’s Industrial & Logistics division in Bristol, said: “Avon Riverside is a highly-favoured Industrial Estate, close to the entrance to Bristol Port, and adjacent to the J18 motorway junction, with direct access to the M5/M49 and to The Portway arterial route into Bristol city centre.” Dan Sullivan, chief executive of Pro-Scaffolding, added: “Trading from our new main depot in Avonmouth enables us to provide a very fast and efficient service to Bristol, Weston Super Mare and all surrounding areas.”PASMA guidance aims to protect scaffold tower users from coronavirus
New guidance from PASMA is helping managers and health & safety professionals keep scaffold tower users safe during the coronavirus outbreak, whether they’re off on a training course or using towers in the workplace.
In the new document released free-of-charge to the industry, PASMA offers its advice on the challenges being faced by those responsible for the health and safety of tower users as they plan a return to work. The guidance also covers issues such as how long the virus lasts on aluminium, how rescue plans will be affected, and how workers can avoid passing instruction manuals around. “We recommend ways to assemble a tower while keeping your distance from everyone else, suggesting that the most reliable method could be buying or hiring one-person towers, which are specially designed to be built and dismantled by one individual working alone,” PASMA said. As training starts to resume in some areas, PASMA has also addressed the need for people to be protected from coronavirus during their course. “We’ve taken the opportunity to reassure managers of the protective measures they can expect to be in place during these vital courses, from e-learning to increased hygiene and cleaning. We also explain how PASMA cardholders can get an extension if their qualification is due to expire before it’s safe for them to visit a training centre.” Roger Verallo, PASMA Chairman and Managing Director of Euro Towers, added: “Keeping tower users safe now means protecting them from coronavirus as well as falls and other injuries. Businesses are facing the unprecedented challenge of getting people safely back to work during a pandemic. Scaffold towers are only a small part of what they’ve got to consider, but scaffold towers are what PASMA knows best. We realised we could use our expertise to support all those whose workers will be heading back up towers and need to ensure every safety angle is covered.”Scaffolders provide essential work for NHS during lockdown
