Willmott Dixon lands £19m academy school in Birmingham

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Willmott Dixon lands £19m academy school in Birmingham

Willmott Dixon has added to its extensive track-record of education projects in Birmingham by being awarded the £19m contract to deliver a new three-story secondary academy school in Yardley Wood.

Christ Church, Church of England, Secondary Academy – which is due to open in 2021 – is being built by the Department for Education (DfE) to create a further 1,150 school places in the region.

Designed by architecture firm CPMG Architects, the new school will comprise of a pick-up and drop-off area for pupils, a sports hall, two full-size football pitches and one FA standard 3G pitch.

When complete the school will accommodate 900 pupils and a further 250 students in the sixth form.

Willmott DIxon

The contract extends Willmott Dixon’s track record in Birmingham building places where people can learn life-long skills. Other schemes include University of Birmingham’s School of Engineering and its Teaching and Learning Building as well as projects for Birmingham City University and the creation of the National College of High Speed Rail. The company’s focus on Midlands growth also saw it recently open two Birmingham-based offices in Snowhill for its construction and interior fit-out teams.

Dan Doyle, Operations Director at Willmott Dixon said: “We are pleased to be working with the DfE to create a new contemporary building which will meet the needs of the local community. This new building will enhance the current area, provide state of the art facilities for students and create an outstanding school for Yardley Wood.”

Scaffolder Hailed A Hero After Saving Toddlers Life

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Scaffolder Hailed A Hero After Saving Toddlers Life

A quick-thinking scaffolder has been hailed as a hero after saving the life of a toddler who was choking on a 2p coin.

Plymouth scaffolder Lewis Everson who was erecting scaffolding on a block of flats in the town, ‘sprang into action’ when he heard a mum screaming for help and saw two-year-old Isabelle Hill choking.

Isabelle’s mum, Jordane Hersey had run out of her block of flats screaming after Isabelle had got hold of some loose change and tried to swallow a coin, reports Plymouth Live.

Lewis quickly climbed down from the scaffold, undid his tool belt and took Isabelle into his lap, where he hit her back several times, dislodging the coin. Lewis’ workmate Mathew rang for an ambulance and both waited for paramedics to attend.

Jordane Hersey told local journalists: “We were making cakes in the kitchen and Isabelle got hold of some loose change. She put a coin in her mouth and tried to swallow it. I tried hitting her back and my older child couldn’t find my phone so I started panicking. I went to the door screaming for help.

“Lewis and Matthew were there. Lewis gave her a good hit on the back while Matthew rang for an ambulance. I am so thankful they were there and did what they did. They said they did nothing but I know Lewis was shaken up afterwards. He was very modest.”

“I lost a son at 17 months old six years ago and it brought it all back,” she added.

Scaffolder, Lewis, has said he was ‘shaken’ after the incident but was glad he had completed his first aid training.

He said: “There were a few of us. We heard some screaming and didn’t know where it was coming from. We ran over and saw the baby choking. I grabbed her and put her on my lap and whacked her back hard a couple of times. She was choking on a 2p coin.

“It all happened so quickly. The baby was okay – she just had a big hand-print on her back!”

“I was a bit shaken up. I had to sit in my car afterwards. I just thought it could have been my own son – he’s only a few months older than this baby. I’ve done first aid training and you don’t forget it.” he added.

Lewis’ boss at Drake Scaffolding, Shane Radmore said: “Lewis has done First Aid with us and other companies. He’s a nice lad. Lots of people would have panicked. He has a young child himself so it was probably instinct to help out.”

NASC and SIMIAN join forces to help former soldier

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NASC and SIMIAN join forces to help former soldier

The NASC and SIMIAN have come together to help a former soldier take the next step in his career in the scaffolding industry. 

The two organisations teamed up after scaffolder Liam Gibbons reached out for assistance via the NASC’s Facebook account. 

In his message, he wrote: “I read with interest that the NASC is keen to encourage more ex-Forces personnel to take up positions in the scaffolding industry and had launched a fund to help them with training. Just wondered if there was anything you could do for me?  

“I left the army two years ago, have been struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and am living in a veterans care home. I became a scaffolder, starting at the bottom and have worked my way up from a labourer to a qualified part one scaffolder. 

“My second trainee card is close to expiring so I need to complete the Part 2 scaffolder course as soon as possible. I was wondering if there is any help available towards this next step.”

The NASC has stated, Liam’s appeal struck a chord with the NASC’s new President Lynn Way, who has made greater engagement with the Armed Forces and creating more career opportunities for former military personnel core objectives of her presidency. 

The NASC and Simian have agreed to co-fund Liam’s Part 2 and VQ training. He will now complete his Part 2 training at Simian’s Waltham Forest training centre in January 2020. 

Scaffolder Liam Gibbons

NASC President Lynn Way said in a press release: “I am passionate about helping former Armed Forces servicemen enter the scaffolding industry and then progress through the training stages wherever I can. This is why we decided to help Liam on a strictly one-off basis. 

“We’ll soon be in a position to help many more ex-military personnel achieve the same progress as Liam through the NASC’s dedicated £150,000 training pot. We’re also working hard to further strengthen our ties with the Armed Forces, ensuring that current servicemen are aware of the varied scaffolding industry careers that are available to them – many of which complement their skill sets – and can put their repatriation funding allowance towards scaffolding training.

“We hope to have more news on this front in the coming weeks”

The news comes after when last month, the NASC signed the Armed Forces Covenant, where they made a formal commitment to promote career and training opportunities in the scaffolding industry to ex-military personnel.

Simon Hughes, Managing Director of Simian, added: “Simian are very happy to work with NASC to support Liam’s progress in the sector. We are also fully behind the ex-military initiative and wish NASC the best of luck with this worthy project.”

Through the NASC’s dedicated Armed Forces training pot, it’s members can claim up to £1,000 towards the retraining or upskilling of an ex-forces employee or employees. 

Further information on funding for ex-military personnel for NASC members can be found here: https://nasc.org.uk/information/training/

The NASC has also been developing relationships with various charitable partners linked with the Ministry of Defence, including Buildforce UK, After the Military and the Careers Transition Partnership.

JECS Offshore Secures SeaMade Cable Termination contract

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JECS Offshore Secures SeaMade Cable Termination contract

JECS Offshore Wind Farm Services has bagged a contract to provide support to Hellenic Cables during termination works on the export cables at the SeaMade offshore wind farm in Belgium.

UK-based JECS Offshore Wind Farm will design, supply and erect the scaffolding access platforms required for technicians to prepare and position the cables and carry out the terminations of the cables to the project’s two offshore platforms and connections into Elia’s Modular Offshore Grid (MOG) platform.

JECS is also in charge of reconstructing the cable containment systems on both offshore platforms and the MOG for all cable connections. They recently completed the same scope of work for the Rentel and Northwester 2 offshore wind projects, also both connected to Elia’s MOG.

According to OffshoreWIND.biz, a few days ago, DEME’s cable-laying vessel Living Stone picked up the export cables for SeaMade at Hellenic Cables’ facility in Soussaki, Greece, and began its trip towards Vlissingen, the Netherlands.

SeaMade comprises the 252MW Seastar and the 235MW Mermaid offshore wind projects which will feature 58 Siemens Gamesa 8.0-167 DD turbines installed some 40-50km off the coast of Ostend

The 487MW offshore wind farm will be Belgium’s largest once commissioned in 2020.

For more information on this, do contact us at ScaffMag.

CISRS to offer CPD courses for £50 in December

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CISRS to offer CPD courses for £50 in December

The Construction Industry Scaffolders Record Scheme (CISRS) is running a number of subsidised CPD courses across the UK this December. 

CISRS working in partnership with several of the approved training providers will deliver the 2 Day CPD course for £50 per delegate. CISRS will also waive the usual associated costs of training folders and card application fees for these delegates. 

CISRS has said it is a not for profit organisation and is committed to redistributing funds back into the industry. Success with its CISRS OSTS (Overseas) Scheme has allowed them to fund two programmes of this subsidised training across the UK in 2019.

Scaffolders will benefit from the training

Around 275 Scaffoldering jobs will benefit from this reduced rate training, renewing their CISRS cards through CPD course and keeping up with industry best practice for only £50. 

CISRS is hoping to offer more in the way of subsidised training in 2020. 

The subsidised CPD courses will be held at the following centres this December: 

• AIS (Aberdeen) Tel: 0844 8001810 Email: [email protected] 

• Altrad/Generation (Wakefield) Tel: 0800 5875224 Email: [email protected] 

• LTC Training Services (Cullompton) Tel: 01884 664224 Email: [email protected] 

• NETA (Stockton) Tel: 01642 616936 Email: [email protected] 

• Safety and Access (Nottingham) Tel: 0115 9794523 Email: [email protected] 

• Safety and Access (London) Tel: 0115 9794523 Email: [email protected] 

• Training 2000 (Blackburn) Tel: 01254 54659 Email: [email protected] 

To find out more and take advantage of this offer on CPD Course, please contact the training providers directly. 

Investigation underway after scaffolder’s roof fall

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Investigation underway after scaffolder’s roof fall

The Health and Safety Executive has launched an investigation after a scaffolder fell 30ft from a roof in Morecambe on Monday.

As previously reported the man named Zac Strong who is in his early 20s was working on the roof of the Masonic Hall building on Victoria Street in Morecambe. At around 8.30 am on Monday 25 November he fell 30ft from a scaffold erected around the chimney on the roof.

It is still unknown if the scaffold was being erected or dismantled at the time of the incident.

North West Ambulance Service said Mr Strong suffered serious back and leg injuries and was airlifted to the Royal Preston Hospital.

Morecambe Scaffolder Falls 30ft
Scaffolder Zac Strong fell 30ft in Morecambe. Image Credit: Lancashire Post

ScaffMag has learned from a source close to the family that Mr Strong was now in a stable condition in the hospital. He suffered multiple broken bones that included the legs, pelvis and spine from the fall.

A spokeswoman for the HSE said: “We can confirm HSE is aware of the incident and is investigating.”

Lancaster City Council said it had passed details of the incident on to the HSE, and would assist with further information if required.

World first for AIS Training in Vietnam

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World first for AIS Training in Vietnam

A brand-new, purpose-built training centre in Vietnam has become the world’s first place ready to offer CISRS Level 4 Overseas Scaffolder Training Scheme (OSTS) – the most advanced level scaffolding qualification.

The state-of-the-art centre in Vung Tau City in Southern Vietnam has been built by Black Cat Insulation Technical JSC in partnership with UK training provider, AIS Training to service the training requirements of the lucrative Indo-China oil and gas and construction markets.

This new centre replaces the previous AIS Training / Black Cat training centre, which was launched in 2017, and will help to raise standards for experienced scaffolders across South East Asia and beyond.

It is the latest in a long list of achievements for the Black Cat and AIS Training partnership. Since their joint training centre opened, it has proved overwhelming successful attracting hundreds of delegates from the Indo-China region. CISRS has consistency given excellent feedback on the facilities and the centre recently passed another yearly audit with flying colours.

As well as preparing for the new Level 4 OSTS qualification, the new centre is accredited to deliver OSTS Level 1 and 2, Basic Scaffold Inspection and Advanced Scaffold Inspection and Supervisors courses.

David John Adams, scaffolding manager at AIS Training said: “Our overseas partner, Black Cat, has put an enormous amount of dedication and investment into this outstanding facility.

“We are delighted our centre has become the very first place ready and waiting for approval to deliver the CISRS Level 4 OSTS qualification.  It is a credit to both the region and the people for its dedication and determination to adopt new training standards so quickly. AIS Training and Black Cat have worked very hard over the last few years to bring a world class standard of scaffolding training to the region and this new facility will help to raise the bar further.”

Trevor Donoghue, CISRS accreditation auditor, said: “Black Cat and AIS Training have developed a fantastic facility here in Vietnam which is boosting scaffolding skills across the whole of South East Asia. An immense amount of thought and hard work has gone into creating this new centre and the high-quality facilities are capable of housing Level 3&4 courses. Once the centre moves through the CISRS OSTS progression routes it will be ready to achieve further accreditation.”

To find out more please visit training.aisgroup.co.uk

Brogan Group bags London hotel scaffolding package

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Brogan Group bags London hotel scaffolding package

Brogan Group has secured the scaffolding package for a modular build hotel in Finsbury Park, London.

The International scaffolding and access contractor is set to erect a full perimeter scaffold to the new 192 bed 8-storey Premier Inn Hotel. Positioned at 240 Seven Sisters Road, the scaffold will be erected progressively and sequential with the installation of the prefabricated pods.

Tide Construction the main contractors on site said on its website: “This hotel will make a real impact on the public realm by opening up the building to make the streetscape more hospitable.”

According to Brogan Group, the site is in close proximity on its eastern boundary to a significant railway viaduct, which carries the East Coast Main Line. To overcome the obstacle a vast amount of input was required from its in-house design team.

The project is due for completion in 2020.

brogan group at 240 Seven Sisters Road

OTT names scaffolder Todd Scanlon as UK’s best apprentice

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OTT names scaffolder Todd Scanlon as UK’s best apprentice

On The Tools has a named a scaffolder with Down’s syndrome the country’s top apprentice.

A staggering 4,500 people voted for Todd Scanlon in a recent public vote for the 2019 On The Tools Awards. He had been nominated for the award for overcoming his fear of heights, and for his energy and commitment to learning in his apprenticeship.

The 30-year-old from Swindon was presented with the honor at the On The Tools Awards ceremony held at Edgbaston Cricket Ground. It’s designed to celebrate and recognise both individuals and leading construction brands.

Todd told local media: “I wanted to go into scaffolding because it’s my favourite thing to do. It feels great to win the award. I don’t really know why I won the award, people just voted for me to win.“

According to his employer, Swindon-based Coles Scaffolding Contractors Ltd, Todd has always impressed customers and work colleagues with his professionalism, enthusiasm and politeness.

“He has great determination. He comes in every day and proves people wrong. Winning the award just shows he can do it,” says Martyn Coles MD of Coles Scaffolding Contractors Ltd.

“Having him on the site is great, he’s a good presence, all of the customers like him and he’s very polite.

“When we took him on we didn’t have any worries. I know his capability, but he is still proving to be better than whatever expectations we have. Everything you put in front of him he just does.

“I’m not sure why he won the award, but I think it’s mainly because it is thought people with a disability shouldn’t be in our industry. He’s just shown that you can do it with the right guidance. He’s just a likeable guy.”

Scaffolder seriously injured after 30ft fall in Morecambe

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Scaffolder seriously injured after 30ft fall in Morecambe

A scaffolder has received serious injuries after falling from a roof in Morecambe, Lancashire.

UPDATE: Investigation underway after scaffolder’s roof fall

The man in his early 20’s had been working on the roof of a building in Victoria Street when he fell 30ft at around 8.30 am this morning (Monday, November 25). Local media has named the scaffolder as Zac Strong, from Morecambe.

A spokesperson from North West Ambulance Service said: “Mr Strong suffered serious back and leg injuries and was airlifted to the Royal Preston Hospital for treatment.”

Morecambe Scaffolder fell 30ft
The roof of the building. Image Credit Lancashire Post
Morecambe Scaffolder fell 30ft
Scaffolding around the chimney. Image Credit: Lancashire Post

Images from the scene show scaffolding around the chimney on the roof but It’s not known if the scaffolder was erecting or dismantling the scaffold when the incident happened.

Fallen pieces of scaffold tubes can also be seen on the street where Mr Strong had also fallen.

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