North West England: The Future of Construction

North West England’s construction industry has expanded significantly in recent years, with new developments and infrastructure projects sprouting up across the region. The demand for specialised tools and equipment, such as wacker plate hire services, is increasing as construction methods evolve and technology advances. This article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the latest trends and insights in the construction and maintenance sectors, specifically in North West England, as well as to investigate the region’s growing demand for tool hire services.

The Rise of Sustainable Building

Sustainability is no longer merely a buzzword in the construction industry; it has emerged as a critical driver of innovation and growth. The North West region has seen an increase in environmentally friendly construction projects, with contractors and developers increasingly focusing on lowering their environmental footprint. Tool rental companies have begun to offer a variety of energy-efficient and environmentally friendly tools, such as electric wacker plates, battery-operated power tools, and hybrid excavators, in response to this trend.

The Use of Digital Technology

North West England’s construction industry is rapidly adopting digital technologies such as Building Information Modelling (BIM), virtual reality (VR), and drone surveying. Companies can use these technologies to improve project management, streamline communication, and cut costs. To improve the customer experience and optimise operations, tool hire companies have begun to incorporate digital solutions into their services, such as online booking systems and real-time equipment tracking.

A Focus on Safety and Compliance

The importance of safety and regulatory compliance has never been greater than with the increasing complexity of construction projects. To ensure that construction sites maintain high safety standards, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has implemented stringent regulations. Tool rental companies play an important role in this context by providing well-maintained, safe, and compliant equipment. Wacker plate hire services, for example, ensure that compaction equipment is up to date with the latest safety features and guidelines, lowering the risk of accidents and ensuring compliance with HSE regulations.

Modular Construction’s Expansion

Modular construction, which involves the offsite assembly of building components, has grown in popularity in North West England as a result of its cost and time savings. Tool rental companies have responded to this trend by providing a variety of modular construction-specific equipment, such as portable gantry cranes, vacuum lifters, and specialised scaffolding solutions.

The Value of Skilled Labor

The North West England construction industry is facing a growing skills shortage, making it critical for businesses to invest in training and development. Tool rental companies can help bridge this gap by providing comprehensive training programmes on how to use their equipment safely and effectively. A wacker plate hire service, for example, may include operator training and certification, ensuring that workers have the skills needed to operate compaction equipment safely and efficiently.

Brexit’s After Effects

The United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union has increased supply chain scrutiny and a focus on local sourcing. As a result, there is an increasing demand for tool hire services based in the UK that can provide quick and dependable access to a diverse range of construction equipment. This trend has benefited wacker plate hire companies located near project sites in particular, as they can provide quick and convenient access to essential compaction equipment, reducing delays and downtime.

Sustainability, technological advancements, safety concerns, and evolving construction methods are driving significant transformation in the construction and maintenance sectors in North West England. To remain competitive, tool hire companies, particularly those providing specialised services such as wacker plate hire, must adapt to these changes and continuously improve their offerings. By offering a diverse selection of high-quality, safe, and environmentally friendly equipment.

Source: Business Manchester

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Upskill, or risk getting left behind

The rapidly rising prominence of robotics in the construction space means that businesses need to upskill, or risk getting left behind

Construction is going through a huge shift at the moment, as digital innovation in the sector is driving its direction more and more. Robotics is one of the areas of particular interest, as it enables construction companies to implement lean practices, increase efficiency, and reduce waste as they build.

How robotics plays a role in construction

One of the now most prominent examples of robotisation in the construction industry are Robotics Total Stations (RTS) — a semi-autonomous measurement tool that surveyors can use to coordinate distance, measure angles and process data. When the tool has been set up, it can put out a warning when measurement thresholds are met and alleviate the need for a two-person team to gather data. This tool, first introduced by Geodimeter in the early 1990s, is just one example of how robotics has revolutionised the age-old construction industry.

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Other more recent examples of highly successful integrations of robotics in construction include the deployment of quadruped robots, like Boston Dynamics’ ‘Spot, the robot, and the use of pre-programmed robotic layout solutions. From being worth $2,450.7m in 2019, the construction robotics market is estimated to grow to  $7,880.3m by 2027.

As robotics become increasingly prevalent in this sector a shift is required, moving construction away from being a trade skills-based industry and towards one where a combination of trade and technical skills are needed.

The need for skill proficiency

As construction robotics becomes more widely used, workers are needed who can manage high-level technical activities and understand the limitations of robotic tools.

The skills increasingly required of construction workers will be the operation and maintenance of robots and the capability to optimise work processes, acknowledging the robot systems’ capabilities and limitations, and identifying any discrepancies that could affect safety and performance. Some workers will also need to be familiar with Building Information Modelling (BIM) solutions and datasets that are used to guide the robots and provide situational intelligence. Most importantly, workers will need to be flexible and able to adapt their roles to new technologies.

Developing and training employees

Upskilling employees to work with construction robots is not necessarily an arduous task, as not all robots are complex. It can start with instruction in the basic robot-operational skills, such as teaching robots to start and stop, and being able to charge and guide them. From there, employees can learn to maintain the robots, and to map and optimise their work taking into consideration site conditions, production rate, operating time and load sizing, before moving on to the more complex aspects of construction robotics.

Once one worker has safely built their skills, they can pass these skills onto the rest of the team, keeping training costs to a minimum. Upon arrival at a site, the most intuitive skills can be taught immediately through demonstration and, with more long-term training requirements, employers can help new and existing employees operate robotics systems safely and adeptly, by implementing in-house training programmes and self-study options.

External training and certification are required for operating some construction machinery and a similar requirement will be required to operate some advanced robotic machines. Employers will be able to leverage AI-based simulation tools to develop competences in high-fidelity scenarios. For instance, when more complicated robotics tools, such as autonomous compactors, excavators and dozers enter the market, certification may be required and simulation training can help employees become used to operating this kind of machinery.

Simulation tools are an exceptionally versatile training method and can be used to teach workers a vast range of skills from robotics in bricklaying to 3D printing and surveillance. In a simulated environment, workers can test cognition, localisation, perception and sensor combinations in real-world scenarios. As employees become increasingly competent with the tools, the simulation systems can be adjusted to replicate conditions that are more hazardous and difficult to navigate. With this approach, workers can safely and efficiently gain experience in steering through complex and dangerous scenarios such as weather conditions, co-ordinating mixed and complex robot fleets, and planning and optimising site conditions.

Adapting with the industry

Construction robotics is a field that’s innovating and evolving fast. Upskilling employees enables construction companies to develop a more competent workforce that is at the forefront of the industry and encourages organisations to remain resilient to change, adapting to new industry developments so the company can grow alongside the sector as a whole. Moreover, companies can use the construction industry’s technological transformation to their advantage to attract the top tech talent required for a digital future.

As the world shifts towards the digital, the construction sector remains no exception. For construction companies today, the only option is to start looking at digital transformation and upskilling options now or risk getting left in the dusk.

By Aviad Almagor,  vice-president, technology innovation at industrial technology company Trimble.

Source: Information Age

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Loans Made Available for Offsite and Modular Construction

Atelier has launched a lending framework to finance residential property developments built with offsite and modular construction techniques, in a bid to address the funding challenges SME developers face with these schemes.

Loans ranging from £5m to £40m, at up to 70% LTGDV, will be made available to SME developers and intermediaries.

The move aims to address the challenges that smaller enterprises face in financing these projects.

The launch comes after the lender completed an industry-wide consultation with the modular and offsite manufacturing community, including real estate professionals and trade bodies such as the National House Building Council (NHBC) and Buildoffsite Property Assurance Scheme (BOPAS).

The business has also created a simple guide for SME developers and intermediaries, providing lending and eligibility criteria where offsite and modular technology is used.

The framework will run alongside the company’s Carbonlite Challenge — the sustainable finance pilot it created to incentivise developers to build greener homes.

Chris Gardner, joint CEO at Atelier (pictured above), commented:

“Everyone agrees offsite construction technology has the potential to transform residential property development.

“But it’s time for that potential to be turned into reality, and that’s why we are determined to help developers build more homes this way.

“We’ve collaborated across the construction industry, incorporating the expertise of more than 30 leaders in offsite technology to give developers, intermediaries and contractors a clear and practical guide to the opportunities and challenges that these new ways of building offer.

“Above all, we’re working to be the lender of choice for developers who decide offsite is right for them.”

 

Chris Hall, innovation services manager at NHBC, added:

“The potential benefits of offsite construction are clear — consistent build quality, reduced costs and time on site, and strong sustainability credentials.

“More developers are considering these modern methods of construction, and that’s why Atelier’s lending framework is so timely.”

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Construction Failing to Recruit Young Talent

‘A staggering 98% of young women said they wouldn’t choose a career in construction’

The construction industry has been suffering from a skills shortage for some time.

This was worsened by the impact of Brexit, which saw the number of people from Europe working in the sector shrink significantly. A lack of awareness of opportunities amongst young people and those that advise them has also hindered construction businesses’ efforts to recruit the young talent needed to fill the skills gap.

Recent research from economic modeller Lightcast estimated that the industry will need to fill a staggering 250,000 job vacancies between 2022-2027. If these vacancies are not filled, the construction sector is unlikely to be able to reach its full potential. So, what is going on?

Construction work is failing to appeal to younger people

At City & Guilds, the recent “Youth Misspent” research found that only 6% of 18-24-year-olds identified the construction sector as somewhere they would like to work. A staggering 98% of young women said they wouldn’t choose a career in construction.

The main reasons respondents gave were that they lacked the right skills (34%), that they were dissuaded by manual work (35%), and that they felt they lacked the right knowledge about the careers available within the construction sector (28%).

The findings reveal a systemic issue with supplying the construction talent pipeline, particularly from young people. But all is not lost – here are three steps that industry could take to address the challenge and fill the critical skills shortages.

1. Engage with young people via the skills system to provide better opportunities and progression

Apprenticeships, skills bootcamps and T-levels are three initiatives already on offer for employers to help recruit and train young talent, but they are underused. More employers need to invest their time and resources in engaging with these programmes to help foster a new generation of skilled workers.

Closer collaboration between employers, government and learning providers will help to ensure that qualifications and training programmes are refined to meet the needs of the construction sector and provide a long-term solution to skills shortages.

2. Provide more work experience, paid internships or training opportunities, and work with education providers to raise awareness of careers on offer

Work experience is often a core part of the Year 11 curriculum. Approaching schools to offer week-long work experience placements within a construction company will increase accessibility and encourage young people to consider what a career in construction would be like. Additionally, T-levels require substantial work placements that are essential to the course, but many colleges report difficulty in finding enough businesses willing and able to offer them.

These experiences can span the wealth of roles in construction that young people are unlikely to know even exist, from manufacturing to marketing. What they imagine a career is like is often different to its day-to-day reality and experiencing a role first-hand can demystify ideas about the sector and spark an unexpected interest.

By engaging with local schools, colleges and learning centres, employers in the construction sector can influence young people to consider such careers early on in their education. Research has shown that many young people will have made firm decisions about their future from early secondary school age, so it’s essential that employers engage with schools early on to ensure that young people can make informed decisions about their future.

3. Make it easier for young people, especially the most disadvantaged, to access jobs and progress in their careers

Young people without work experience are likely to be unfamiliar with job application processes and can find them intimidating. They may even avoid applying for roles that they are a good fit for, as they might feel they don’t meet the criteria because of that lack of experience.

By widening the application process to focus on attitude and aptitude, young people will feel more empowered to apply for roles and become more comfortable with the idea of learning on the job. This way, they can focus on what personality traits make them a good fit, rather than the construction-specific skills that they cannot be expected to have at such an early stage in life.

Prioritising a good attitude and an appetite for learning in the recruitment process will foster a better view of the construction industry as a place of lifelong learning and promote a healthier workforce that is more accessible for young people.

Employers should also consider where and how roles are advertised, exploring new opportunities to reach underrepresented groups through different kinds of media and engaging directly with those communities. By making it clear that opportunities are open to all through the language used in job adverts, people from underrepresented groups can be encouraged to consider roles they might otherwise dismiss.

Source: The Institute of Mechanical Engineers

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THE RISKS OF THE DIGITAL AGE

Digital processes are transforming construction and introducing new risk considerations. The question is, how should these risks be handled?

As the digital age gains momentum, technology is at the forefront of CEOs’ minds. Indeed, Marsh’s Head of Climate & Sustainability Strategy, Amy Barnes, recently wrote about The risks and rewards of frontier technology.

In 2016, the Farmer Review warned the UK construction industry it would have to “modernise or die”. The 80-page report, written by industry veteran Mark Farmer and commissioned by the UK Government, noted that research and development within the industry was almost non-existent, productivity was low, and cost inflation high. This situation was mirrored in many countries around the world.

In order to modernise and move into the 21st century, the industry has accelerated its uptake of new technologies, including robotics, machine learning and automated planning decisions through digital design. Onsite, hard-hat sensors and driverless vehicles are coming into use, while digital aids such as artificial intelligence (AI), and building information modelling (BIM) are used throughout the duration of a project.

Top tech risks for construction companies

The adoption of new technology can create a wealth of opportunities for construction companies, including improvements in management, information, speed, accuracy, accountability, costs and reduced risk, but it can also bring new risk.

Cyber Risk

New technology often has a cyber element and one of the biggest risks is cyber breaches. It’s estimated that cybercrime costs the UK industry £27 billion a year. Construction output in the UK is more than £110 billion per annum and contributes 7% of GDP, making it a very attractive, wealthy industry to target. As relatively new adoptees to sophisticated technology, construction companies risk leaving themselves at the mercy of a wide range of players, from nefarious state actors intent on disruption or wishing to steal information, to hackers who want to profit by the placement of ransomware and siegeware. Understanding vulnerabilities and installing and maintaining cyber risk protection is imperative.

 

New technologies being considered by construction companies

 BIM

Projects procured by the UK Government now require the use of BIM, which offers a central point of building reference in a 3D digital model. BIM software creates a collaborative design and build process that visualises the physical and functional aspects of a building. BIM enables real-time collaboration on a single platform, and is important to contractors of large projects, for both a visual and quantitative model of the build. It is also useful for materials ordering and scheduling. Taking BIM a step further is the digital twin, which creates a digital replica of a finished, functional building.

How to deal with construction technology risks

For companies looking to adopt new technology, risk management is key. Contractors, owners, and developers should work with trusted advisers to ensure all adequate protocols have been adopted in order to identify, analyse, evaluate, and address cyber security threats. This could include outside organisations that are commissioned to discover weaknesses in cyber security systems. These companies engage in activities such as penetration testing designed to find vulnerabilities in a system before an attacker does. It simulates real-world attacks so companies can identify and fix weaknesses before they’re exploited.

Companies also need to speak to their construction broker to review how it will affect risk allocation and insurance, and ensure the risks are covered under their construction insurance policies.

How to gain optimum insurance terms

The construction insurance market has gone through a transition, moving from a market that experienced stable or declining pricing for over a decade, to one in which prices have been rising — though there has been some moderation from 2021. Underwriters will continue to scrutinise each project in detail as the market remains challenging, seeking detailed risk information for in-depth review.

This is why it is important to engage early with a broker who has expertise in both construction and in wider specialties, including cyber risks, and has the capabilities to respond to the challenging economic and business risks faced by contractors, developers, and owners. With their specific technical and market knowledge, and close relationships with underwriters, experienced brokers are able to expertly navigate periods of tightening insurance markets. Early engagement will ensure the contractual structure reflects the optimal insurance programme design and enable sufficient time to negotiate terms.

 

Source: Marsh

 

 

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PV Training Needed as Solar Demand Surges

Don’t delay: Leading solar manufacturer urges installers to take up PV training as demand surges

 

A leading solar photovoltaics (PV) and energy storage solutions manufacturer is calling on both non-PV installers and existing solar contractors to invest in training, with interest in solar predicted to soar as a result of the as the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) increase.

Although the current EPG has been announced to stay at £2,500 for a further three months before increasing to £3,000 in July, solar is already seeing unprecedented levels of interest from homeowners and landlords. One energy firm, Good Energy, found that solar installations doubled to over 130,000 in 2022.

Now, GoodWe is urging tradespeople to start skilling up in solar today to take meet this growing demand and is launching a series of training sessions to help tradespeople add PV to their services.

The free-to-attend training sessions are part of the company’s GoodWe PLUS+ Installer Programme. Hosted online by a GoodWe technical specialist, the series is run in three separate parts, and is designed to help installers from design and installation, through to commissioning and aftermarket servicing. The programme consists of the following modules:

 

  1. Portfolio and Application – 9th May 2023.
  2. Commissioning and Monitoring – 11th May 2023
  3. Troubleshooting and Service – 16th May 2023

 

Eugene Lucarelli, Marketing Manager for GoodWe UK, said:

“Over the past year, we have seen the solar industry skyrocket. Rising energy prices have pushed people to look at futureproofing their energy supply and protect themselves from volatile, expensive grid costs.

“It represents a great opportunity for tradespeople like electricians and roofers, who may already have a slight connection with solar, to really step into the industry and add PV to their portfolio. We’re here to enable this through our easy-to-access training seminars in May, hosted by one of our leading technical representatives.

“The webinars themselves help break down everything an installer would need to know about solar solutions. It’s also a great refresher course for existing solar installers, and by going through the training sessions, you can become an accredited GoodWe PLUS+ installer and unlock other benefits from us too, including additional warranty on our residential inverters.”

 

As well as training installers on the core elements of a solar system solution – inverters and batteries – delegates can also learn about complementary products, such as EV chargers. These products are becoming increasingly popular and are a requisite for certain new builds under Part S of the Building Regulations – Infrastructure for the charging of electric vehicles.

Accredited GoodWe PLUS+ installers will benefit from an extended ten-year warranty on GoodWe’s range of string inverters for residential applications. Once training has been completed, all installers need to do is register for an installer code for GoodWe’s monitoring solution, SEMS, install an inverter and then connect the inverter to SEMS.

 

For more about the GoodWe PLUS+ programme and to sign up to the training, please visit https://emea.goodwe.com/goodwe-plus-customer-program

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Radical Rethink needed to meet New Homes Target

Radical rethink needed if Britain ever to meet annual 300,000 new homes target – construction workforce is simply too small

Modular homes can deliver factory-built houses with 50% fewer workers from a different pool of employees – and are 40% more productive than traditional builds

 

  • No Government can come close to its 300,000 new homes a year target by 2025 or even by 2030 without dramatic change in way we build houses
  • Just 11,000 construction apprentices completed courses last year – most do not enter housebuilding industry
  • 137,000 new workers would be needed into the industry to deliver Government target of 300,000 new homes a year by 2030
  • That would mean 17,000 new recruits each year – triple the number at present
  • Construction industry collectively needs to recruit 950,000 new employees by 2030 to deliver on Government’s current demands – net zero retrofitting, remediating unsafe cladding and new homes target
  • Modular can be the solution with government’s backing to help it scale up
  • 50,000 open construction vacancies equate to loss of £2.6 billion in construction output last year

Britain does not have the labour force to meet the Government’s target of building 300,000 homes a year by 2025. Cumbersome planning regulations and lack of money coming to the sector are often blamed for this lack of supply. Even if radical improvement to planning rules were put in place and traditional housebuilding had all the cash ministers could throw at it, the sector could still build no more homes as they don’t have the specialist workforce to make them.”

The traditional housebuilding sector needs to recruit 137,000 more workers just to hit the new homes 300,000 target by 2030 – this means 17,000 new recruits every year, triple the present rate. The current training system saw just 11,000 construction apprenticeships completed last year.

But that isn’t the end of the shortage story. Some 360,000 construction workers due to retire by 2030 must be replaced along with a further 24,000 to complete essential Government initiatives like remediating unsafe cladding on high rise buildings across the country. The wider construction industry’s labour force also needs to find a way to retrofit homes to meet the government’s net zero targets, which will require 220,000 new workers by 2030. This labour shortage equated to a loss of around £2.6bn of output in construction in 2022 and £263m of lost housebuilding output.

Collectively, the whole construction industry faces an impossible goal of needing to recruit over 950,000 workers by 2030 to meet all of these demands from government.

Modular homes can be a mainstay of the solution

  • Factory-made houses target a different pool of workers with the skills to work in precision manufacturing. The skills needed are easy to learn on the job with in-house training, and efficient assembly line processes mean modular house builders use 50% fewer workers to construct the same number of homes. This builds additionality in supply and modular is also 40% more productive than traditional housebuilding.

 

  • Just 10-20% of modular staff are from sought-after construction trades, with up to 65% in manufacturing roles.

 

  • Modular’s in-house training model means modular manufacturers can tap into a diverse labour pool of career changers, people coming out of economic inactivity or less-qualified workers who are keen to learn new skills. Jobs are secure full-time permanent contracts, delivering work security which does not exist within the traditional construction sector.

To scale up – modular needs government to:

  1. Remove the accidental double government levy charge on modular manufacturers by exempting them from the scope of the CITB levy.
  2. Build supply chain capacity by repurposing the £10m allocated for the MMC Taskforce and use it to support a match-funded supply chain transformation programme based on those government has successfully delivered in aerospace, offshore wind, and nuclear.
  3. Solve the housing crisis faster by dedicating 40% of the affordable housing programme to modern methods of construction.

 

Steve Cole, Director Make UK Modular said:

 

“To address the issue of labour shortages which is now at critical point, Government must help modular to grow at speed and take advantage of the fact modular can build homes quickly but also homes which are efficient to heat and run.

 

“The changes we are asking for on the levy, reallocating the money for the MMC Taskforce and dedicating a substantial chunk of the affordable homes programme to modular would not cost any extra money. But they would help drive way faster growth in the sector and mean modular factories could operate at maximum productivity to deliver the homes Britain so desperately needs.”

Read the full report here Who will be the builders? Modular’s role in solving the housing labour crisis | Make UK

 

About Make UK Modular

Make UK Modular is the voice of the modular housing sector. We exist to help modular housing scale up, provide expert advice about the sector’s needs, foster collaboration to overcome political issues, and work with members to grow their businesses.

The UK needs more homes, and fast. It needs homes which are green to build. It needs homes which use less energy. It needs homes to be great quality and good value. And it needs new people to build them. It needs homes: greener, better, faster. It needs Modular.

Make UK Modular | Make UK

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New report highlights how home building ban could be lifted

River pollution crisis; New report highlights how home building ban could be lifted

Calls to prevent SME builders suffering for water company and farming failures

 

With pressure growing on water companies and farmers to address high nutrient levels in rivers, a new Lichfields report published by the Home Builders Federation (HBF) identifies solutions to Natural England’s disproportionate ban on building new homes.

Ineffective action taken to address the nutrients issue has resulted in a quarter of local authority areas in England now having a moratorium on the construction of new homes, leaving over 120,000 homes on hold.

As this week’s episode of BBC’s Countryfile demonstrated, agricultural run-off and the failure of water companies to upgrade infrastructure to cope with the growing population resulting in the dumping of raw sewage into rivers, are the root causes of the nutrients issue. The contribution of all housing stock is estimated to be less than 5%, so adding 120,000 homes to England’s stock of 25 million dwellings would lead to a negligible increase.

Despite this, Natural England’s solution has been to use a little-known EU rule to ban the construction of desperately needed new homes on the basis that a single new property could increase the amount of waste water generated.

Natural England’s disproportionate ruling fails to address the heart of the issue and account for the increased water-efficiency of modern new builds compared with older housing stock.

The report published by HBF identifies improvements to Natural England’s nutrient calculator so it more accurately reflects the impact of new residential development, therefore releasing some homes currently blocked from being built.

According to Natural England’s calculator, the land-take requirements associated with achieving nutrient neutrality through nature-based solutions is considerable. The report’s recommendations would allow for some housebuilding to resume. It would also reduce the amount of farmland that would otherwise need to be taken out of food-production to make way for nature-based solutions.

The report’s publication coincides with the UN Water Conference. It identifies two important areas for change:

 

  1. Adjusting Natural England’s calculator to reflect the net additional population that will result from the delivery of new housing – rather than a continued focus on the gross population of the new dwellings – based on an application of the net additional average household size; and

 

  1. assessing the number of dwellings that are to be delivered before 2030 rather than a requirement to mitigate a development in its entirety, regardless of when the houses will be delivered. This would enable larger schemes with longer build-out timetables to benefit from the planned statutory improvements to wastewater treatment works which it is hoped will take effect in 2030.

 

Natural England’s current ban on home building is having an increasingly detrimental social impact, deepening the housing crisis we face. With the home building industry being a major employer and driver of economic activity, the ban is also damaging local economies and posing a major threat to many businesses, especially SME builders.

While the most sensible solution would be to lift the unnecessary moratorium immediately and focus on tackling the major polluters, so long as the government insists on nutrient neutrality it must explore short-term solutions to alleviate the burden and release some of the homes delayed.

As part of this year’s Budget, government announced a requirement for water companies to upgrade their infrastructure by 2030. While HBF welcomes this measure, it fails to address the urgency of the issue and provides no immediate relief to the risk that many small house building companies will go out of business well before the measure takes effect in 2030.

 

Stewart Baseley, Executive Chairman of the HBF said;

“It is widely accepted that the ban on new housing is disproportionate and unnecessary and does nothing to tackle the main causes of the nutrients issue. The new report identifies more balanced and speedier solutions that would help to alleviate this socially and economically damaging ban.”

 

If the recommended improvements are made, it will become more feasible for some medium and larger sized housing developments to achieve nutrient neutrality before 2030 when the Government’s proposed measure to improve the performance of wastewater treatment works is hoped to come into effect.

However, government will still need to consider a package of measures to assist SMEs who have neither the cash reserves to procure nature-based solutions nor will benefit from the Government’s proposed improvements to wastewater treatment works or Natural England’s nutrient mitigation scheme.

The proposals in the report were raised at a roundtable HBF convened with government and Natural England in February. The industry is now calling on the government to support the proposed amendments.

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Equinix uncovers first-of-its-kind rooftop urban farm atop Parisian data centre

 

Reid Brewin Architects (RBA) has announced the completion of a ground-breaking project that uses waste energy from data centres to power a rooftop ‘urban farm’ on the outskirts of Paris.

RBA’s design for the Equinix PA10 data centre, located in Saint Denis, is the first of its kind in France. Central to the client’s sustainability commitment was the desire to reuse waste heat from the data centre, and to create a usable area that would promote health and wellbeing. 

The project comprises a 430m2 greenhouse surrounded by a further 570m2 of green space, with the rooftop structures powered using a heat recovery system with heat exchangers linked to the data centre’s water cooling system.

Each greenhouse is fitted with sensors to monitor humidity as well as internal and external temperatures – which can trigger heaters in cooler weather. Together with sunshades, automated irrigation, and ventilation systems, they deliver a controlled climate year-round within the greenhouses. 

The development means seasonal fruit and vegetables can be cultivated using a hydroponic system, in a bid to maximise space efficiency and minimise water usage, while the gardens are planted with vegetation chosen specifically to maximise the amount of rainwater consumption, while supporting the local insects and wildlife, with the installation of insect hotels.

All rooftop garden space is wheelchair accessible, and provides natural shade, cooling, and relaxation areas. Visitors and staff are invited to share the food grown on site, and to make the most of the dedicated seating and catering areas.

“It is of increasing importance that we increase our actions and mitigate the environmental impact of an increasingly digital world,” explained John Hutchinson, director at RBA.

“We’re extremely proud to support our clients with this shared goal, and PA10 heralds the start of an exciting new era, enabling us to apply learnings from this project across other projects. Sustainability and safeguarding the environment are at the heart of everything we do, and this opportunity has already inspired further initiatives across our client base.”

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On a Mission to Promote Modular

As the industry looks to address the gender imbalance, Jackie Maginnis was certainly ahead of her time not only as a high-profile woman in construction but also in promoting the benefits of advanced building technologies. With a long and illustrious career, more recently in the modular and portable building industry, for over 50 years she has been involved in construction related businesses.

Starting her working life at SGB (Scaffolding Great Britain) in the Plant Hire Division, later transferring to SGB Rovacabin (the hire division now part of Wernick Group), Jackie held various positions from Northern Regional Manager to National Operations Manager and everything in between. It was her work involving the product design and development of modular buildings that caught the attention of the Modular and Portable Building Association (MPBA) and in 2005 she was invited to join and take up the position of Chief Executive – a role she still holds today.

With a mission to develop a wider understanding of what can be achieved using volumetric modular construction, Jackie gives credit to the public sector.

“As an early adopter of modern methods of construction (MMC), councils and local authorities were using volumetric modular technology across all sectors in the 70’s and 80’s particularly to cope with a rapid increase in the need for education buildings as a result of the post war baby boom. This was very much the development ground for MMC – backed by thinking way ahead of its time.”

“We cannot yet claim to be ‘mainstream’, but we have seen a dramatic uptake in volumetric modular technology which is now considered as category one in the MMC Frameworks,” said Jackie. “The support for government projects, particularly in healthcare and education, has come from lobbying over the years from the MPBA and our members, to get specification and procurement changes in place. In the wake of more backing from Westminster, we have witnessed an increase in investment and modular construction frameworks across all public sector projects.”

Jackie states that as the industry association, the MPBA has a mission to educate and dispel misconceptions and highlights an example.

“A few years ago, there was a mistaken belief that a volumetric approach stifles design capabilities. But then new architects came to the fore that not only embraced modern methods of construction but proved without doubt the design potential of modular technology.”

Jackie agrees that we have since moved on and most understand the predictability, productivity, quality and safety gains achieved in volumetric manufactured buildings. But when asked if she had any frustrations, Jackie said:

“As ever ‘the devil is in the detail’ and there is still an element of confusion particularly in some areas of government and wider trade bodies which is naturally causing some disconcert within the MPBA fraternity.

“This is predominately driven by a lack of understanding of the different requirements between the modular commercial and residential sectors. Policy is being dictated by the perceived growth in residential markets and then applied to the mature commercial sector – the pitfalls surrounding this approach are obvious. Then there are the global markets, particularly in the US and EU where construction methods are totally different and we cannot apply the same protocols as the UK, which is a world leader in not only volumetric modular technology but building standards.

“The term ‘modern methods of construction’ was reintroduced in 2019 by Communities and Local Government following a specific commitment made in the 2017 white paper fix our broken housing. The MMC Framework that followed as a result was specifically written for large scale housing projects but has been continually implemented across the wider non-domestic sectors where modular construction techniques have matured over several years. There are significant differences in the supply chain, design factors, risk profiles and significantly, terminology used. The MPBA has released a Non-domestic Guide to Modern Methods of Construction Categories to raise awareness.”

“Modular construction quite rightly has to conform to Building Regulations, so for example, combustible materials have been banned for use on the external walls of new buildings of at least 18 metres containing one or more dwellings since 2018. To our dismay a brochure promoting a trade body in the building safety arena, has an image of a timber module being craned onto about the tenth storey. Clearly not a UK development, but this lack of attention to detail, particularly by those who are involved in setting the standards, is disappointing to say the least.”

After all these years in the industry, Jackie is still totally committed and fiercely passionate about representing the MPBA and its members. But when asked ‘what’s next’ Jackie said: “We need to ensure policy decisions are evidence based for the good of not only the modular industry and the wider construction sector but most importantly to ensure the best outcomes for building owners and occupiers. There is still much work to be done, so I intend to continue on my mission to promote modular for some time to come!”

MPBA
The MPBA plays a key role in the connecting of sectors in the modular and portable building industry. The association collaborates with specialist technical advisors to enhance innovation in the design and manufacture of volumetric modular buildings. These can be designed and manufactured from timber or steel in any size and shape to meet individual client needs while ensuring full compliance with building regulations.

To discover how volumetric modular technology can benefit construction projects visit: www.mpba.biz

 

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