Trad Group CEO becomes the new president of the NASC.
Over 160 NASC members, guests, confederation staff and members of the construction press that included ScaffMag, saw Des Moore become the new president of the NASC. The ceremony took place at a packed AGM held at the impressive Intercontinental London Park Lane Hotel on Friday 24 November 2017.
Des Moore takes the reins of the NASC presidency from the now ex-president Alan Lilley of the Hull based firm Commercial Scaffolding Ltd. In the new presidents welcoming speech Des thanked Alan for his two years of exceptional service, and also noted his contribution to growing the SME membership and mentoring smaller organisations to achieve compliance with the NASC criteria.
During his speech the new president set out his four key objectives he wishes to fulfil within his two year term.
Increase the pre-requisite for NASC membership by main contractors, developers, and national and local government agencies in tender documents.
Des discussed the importance of growing the NASC membership, as this would increase the positive influence which the confederation had over the industry, and assist with promoting and achieving core aims, the most important of which was a safer industry. Under this objective he also added that he intended to run a specific and targeted marketing campaign during his two year term as NASC president with a view to promoting the use of NASC members only for all projects, large and small.
Strike the right balance between the needs of both large and small companies.
Under this objective Des aims to meet the needs of both small and larger member companies, he noted that the voice of smaller companies should be heard and their contribution recognised, but also highlighted the importance of larger members to NASC membership should never be under-estimated.
Des stressed the importance of the NASC to the industry, he said the NASC was a true industry trade body with a rigorous audit process, and high standards for entry and retention of membership. He also aims to encourage and mentor more women into senior positions both in the NASC and across the industry in general.
Create mentoring and training schemes for all categories of staff, old and young. Academically gifted and those not so lucky.
The new president discussed this objective, outlining his own personal journey within the industry and noting that his lack of personal qualifications had not prevented him from progressing to the role of CEO of the TRAD Group of companies. He urged all at the AGM to encourage staff and operatives who had few or no academic qualifications to remain in the industry and pass on their knowledge and experience, and provide mentors to help them progress into support functions and management roles within their companies.
Des stressed the importance of encouraging more young people to enter the industry and represent their companies on NASC committees, noting that greater diversity brought with it new ideas, knowledge and fresh perspectives. This was vitally important given the current CITB re-structuring exercise and the recent decision to outsource all training courses by the latter part of next year.
Encourage and mentor more women into senior positions both in the NASC and across the industry in general.
In conclusion the new president commented on his objective to encourage more women to pursue careers in the scaffolding sector, and particularly to participate on the various NASC standing committees. He noted that at TRAD women had been encouraged and mentored and had gone on to excel in senior positions such as surveying and estimating, supervision and contracts management, and were now represented at board level.
Special Guest
Also speaking at the NASC AGM was special guest, Baroness Karren Brady CBE, the CEO of West Ham Football Club and star of the BBC hit show The Apprentice.
Karren outlined her own journey in the male-dominated world of football, stressing the importance of having a strong work ethic and determination. She discussed the challenges faced by organisations looking to attract skilled young people into their businesses and retain them.
ISL then commenced work to turn the preliminary designs into working drawings. Significant time had already been taken at tender stage to ensure the basic designs could withstand all required loadings, so this was completed quickly with connection points and dimensions detailed to avoid clashes with the permanent works.
The primary scaffolds to be erected on the bridge pylon were formed of cantilevered beams attached to the pylon steelwork using custom manufactured shear tie fixings. Secondary hung access scaffolds counterbalanced by tube kentledge were required at bridge deck level.
The pylon was manufactured by Victor Buyck at their factory in Belgium before being moved to Ghent ready for shipping across the North Sea on a barge. Following liaison with the project team an opportunity was identified to erect temporary supports for the pylon lifting equipment, which would avoid disruption at a later stage upon arrival in Sunderland. ISL duly reacted at short notice to send scaffolders and materials to Ghent in the week prior to the Christmas break.
In the meantime, ISL trial erected a pylon scaffold in their yard. By erecting the scaffold at 90 degrees to its final orientation, with the pylon horizontal and only 2m above the barge deck, work could be carried out quicker and safer than working 90m up the pylon once raised into its final vertical position. This trial proved to be of great benefit when the barge arrived in Sunderland in early 2017, with the scaffolders already used to working sideways.
Following removal of the lifting equipment used to raise the pylon to its vertical position, the final scaffolds including the top 90m level platform were erected in the Spring and Summer of 2017.
Following successful installation of the cables, the scaffolds will be dismantled during the Autumn of 2017, using a range of methods including a crane basket and ultra-high reach MEWP for increased safety, with materials lowered using an electric winch. 
Disaster struck in 1943, during the Second World War, when a member of the public stumbled on the stairs in panic, causing those rushing behind to also stumble and fall. In total, 173 people were crushed to death as a result of many others forcing their way down the stairs to find shelter inside the station. The Stairway to Heaven Memorial is being built to remember the victims of the Bethnal Green tube disaster and is nearing completion.
An innovative approach to construction has resulted in a new and unique revolutionary Lynch scaffolding system. Working in combination with tube and fitting scaffolds, it’s been designed to meet all access requirements, saving valuable time on the whole process.
The announcement was made during the gala awards ceremony at the Derby Velodrome on Thursday 9th November. The Rilmac Group (comprising of Insulation, Asbestos Services, Fabrication and Scaffolding divisions) were also shortlisted to be a finalist in the prestigious Family Business of the Year Award.
Paul Walker, Group Chairman and, second generation family member said, “there is a lot of hard work in putting together applications, creating suitable presentations, and preparing for the challenging interviews. Whilst only a smaller team was responsible for the award entry, it is the effort and dedication of everyone at Rilmac Scaffolding that has been rewarded with the Highly Commended recognition.”
Steve Baxter, Group MD, added. “This is a team endeavor and every employee at Rilmac Scaffolding has played a part in achieving this success. Thank you to everyone for their positive involvement. It is wonderful to see everyone’s hard work recognised in this way.”
“As a Lincolnshire based business it was great to see how many fellow companies from the county had also been shortlisted this year. The event further outlined how successful and buoyant the Family Business community is across the Midlands. Every entry was of a very high standard and there were some fantastic business success stories told.”
The Awards were expertly managed by The Wilson Group and included shortlisted finalists from as far afield as Worcester and Skegness.