Newbuild centre to provide out-patient care and treatment for epilepsy

The Scottish Epilepsy Centre has put out a tender for design and construction of a new facility in Glasgow.

The £5m contract involves the building of a 22,800ft2, 12 bed, in-patient and out-patient facility specialising in care and treatment of epilepsy.

Works are expected to commence in November 2011 and must be completed within a 12 month period.

The site was originally occupied by Elderpark Primary School and is located in the Govan district of the city.

Requests to participate have to be received by 8 July at 12.00.

Article source: http://www.building.co.uk/news/breaking-news/glasgow-medical-facility-releases-£5m-design-and-build-contract/5019376.article

Consultant spends $280m on Georgia-based business

Global consultancy Amec has acquired US engineering and environmental services company Mactec.

LSE-listed Amec, which has a turnover of almost £3bn, bought US$411m turnover Mactec for US$280m.

Amec announced that a small Mactec subsidiary, Mactec Development Corporation, will be run as a standalone entity, with its existing management, until final regulatory approval is obtained from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. This is expected in due course.

Mactec is based in Georgia and focuses on engineering, design, environmental and construction work.

It works across the industrial, commercial, transport and energy sectors.

Article source: http://www.building.co.uk/news/breaking-news/amec-buys-us-support-services-firm-mactec-for-$280m/5019375.article

Proposal is the first increase offered in three years

Unions representing more than half a million construction workers have turned down a pay rise offer of 1.25%.

The proposed package is the first increase offered since 2008 under the Construction Industry Joint Council agreement.

Unite national officer for construction, John Allott said: “Unite, along with Ucatt and the GMB, have rejected this offer as it is inadequate given the soaring cost of living and the fact that our members have not had a pay rise for three years.

“We are seeking a further improvement in the offer.

“However, we welcome the employers’ commitment to this national agreement where building workers are employed directly in preference to self-employed and agency workers. This gives greater security of employment to our members.”

George Guy, acting general secretary of Ucatt, said: “Construction workers have borne the brunt of the downturn in the industry.

“It is simply unacceptable that employers are trying to postpone a pay rise until 2012. The employers now need to return with an improved and realistic offer.”

Article source: http://www.building.co.uk/news/construction-workers-reject-125-pay-rise/5019408.article

Paul Morrell confirms move that will allow public clients to compare project costs across departments

The government will set up a central database of cost benchmarks to stamp out “unjustified” cost variations between different departments’ schemes, as part of a radical overhaul of public procurement.

Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude (pictured) said: “These savings are significant and long overdue. The commitment to reduce the cost of construction by 20% is no small thing, but it will help the government and construction.”

The move was confirmed by Paul Morrell, chief construction adviser, who will lead a government-wide push to cut the cost of public construction by 20% by 2016.

The “data resource” will set cost benchmarks for all public buildings such as hospitals and schools and will allow public clients to read costs across different departments, comparing equivalent schemes such as single-living military accommodation with student residences.

Morrell confirmed that the government has begun compiling cost data – which will include cost benchmarks for consultancy services – from departments and external bodies including the RICS.

In an interview with Building, Morrell added that the government’s new strategy would enable it to strengthen its purchasing power to improve construction across the board.
Other details to emerge from the construction strategy, launched this week, include:

• The introduction of new forms of procurement designed to encourage the integration of the supply chain and make less use of lump sum tendering on price. This will include setting benchmarks for a job within a contractor framework, with the recourse to direct tendering if none of the framework contractors meets the price
• The much-trailed roll-out of building information modelling to all public projects by 2016
• A target, set in August, to extend the use of project bank accounts. Morrell said he was personally in favour of their extension, to combat the problem of contractors holding on to cash, and to “take the banking out of construction”
• Measures to help the supply chain including greater use of integrated project insurance and fair payment provisions.

Morrell also confirmed standardisation would play a role in the reform agenda: “There’s a halfway house between full standardisation and none at all. It’s about calming down the variations and fluctuations between projects.”

Contractors to run buildings in trial scheme

Morrell wants contractors to think harder about how their buildings will operate in practice, and so from summer 2012 some trial projects will be run by the constructors for three to five years. “Post-handover defects are a regular feature of construction projects,” states the report, which adds that buildings rarely function as they are supposed to, particularly in terms of energy efficiency.

It does not appear that contractors will have to take over the full blown facilities management of the buildings in question, as in much maligned PFI schemes, but simply cover defects. “All this is doing is taking the defects liability period and extending it to five years,” says Simon Price, a director at Gleeds Advisory. Yet whether this will include tasks like repainting school corridors is as yet unclear. Price believes that, as contractors factor in the extra risk they are being asked to take on, prices will rise slightly, but in the medium term they will be forced to mitigate them through better building and costs should decrease.

Paul Morrell to chair new construction board

The reform push marks a beefing up of Paul Morrell’s role as government construction adviser, as he takes control of oversight of all government procurement.

He will chair a newly established government construction board mandated with pushing the reform agenda across the government.

The board will co-ordinate projects across the public sector and will publish a rolling two-year-forward programme of infrastructure and construction projects on a quarterly basis where public funding has been agreed.

The board will also oversee the implementation of the Infrastructure Cost Implementation Plan and the government’s responses to the James Review and McNulty Review.

Article source: http://www.building.co.uk/news/government-to-set-cost-benchmarks-for-public-work/5019146.article

Directors relocated as consultant focuses on Australia, New Zealand and US for growth

Davis Langdon’s global chief executive has announced a series of high level director moves to focus the business on North America, Australia and New Zealand, following its merger with the £3.5bn US firm Aecom last August.

Jeremy Horner revealed four senior directors will be relocated overseas as part of “strategic moves around introducing a sector excellence at director level, to focus on growth markets”. Davis Langdon will also focus on new sectors, including mining, and oil and gas in central Africa.

Two other directors have made lateral moves to take on roles under the Aecom business.

Horner said: “These director level moves overseas are the start of an ongoing process of moving staff around to where the biggest opportunities are at the moment.”

He added that a number of new growth areas had been opened up to Davis Langdon since merging with Aecom and that it would be crucial for the company to take advantage of this: “We’re in a much better position – now we’re part of Aecom – to work all over the world. For example, Davis Langdon has historically been very underweight in North America and now there is a huge opportunity to put some more people out there in that market.”

Horner confirmed expansion into Africa could result in more staff moves on a project-by-project basis.

In the last quarter, five directors and nine associates have left the firm. Departures have included Richard Taylor, Simon Rawlinson and Mark Lacey, who all moved to EC Harris.

Michael Thirkettle, chief executive of consultant McBains Cooper, said it felt like the growth was being directed by Aecom. “It’s the obvious thing when you are overmanned in the UK. I don’t think they would have had the financial clout to do it [without Aecom],” he said.

Read Building’s full interview with Jeremy Horner

http://www.building.co.uk/comment/interviews/jeremy-horner-we-will-stay-true-to-our-values/5018788.article

Article source: http://www.building.co.uk/news/davis-langdon-in-global-rethink-after-aecom-merger/5019166.article

New orders fall 23% druing the first quarter

New construction orders crashed at their fastest rate for 24 years, according to figures released by the Office of National Statistics.

New orders recorded their biggest fall since 1987 during the first quarter of the year, with a 23% drop on the previous three months and an 18% decline on the same period last year.

Infrastructure orders fared even worse, recording a 48% drop over the quarter.

The ONS figures will raise further questions about the accuracy of the government’s data, with other surveys showing a more positive picture.

Alasdair Reisner director of external affairs at the Civil Engineering Contractors Association, said: “The ONS figures show that the orders needed to drive growth are drying up, putting the industry at real risk of further decline.”

Article source: http://www.building.co.uk/news/new-orders-crash-at-fastest-rate-for-24-years/5019326.article

Saint-Gobain Group’s Industrial Mortars Division carries out four international acquisitions

Since the beginning of the year, the Saint-Gobain Group’s Industrial Mortars Division has carried out four international acquisitions, which in total represent EUR60 million in annual revenues.

In Brazil, in early April Saint-Gobain Weber acquired the entire capital of Anchortec, a company that enjoys strong synergies with Weber Quartzolit, which is the leading industrial mortars company with 19 plants and over 1,300 employees spread throughout the country.

Anchortec is a major player in the market for additives used by the construction industry and one of the leading companies in the floor coating market, with average revenue growth of 15% per year. The company has 140 employees and operates a plant in Mogi das Cruzes, in the Sao Paulo region. Up to now, Anchortec sold its products mainly to installers in the Brazil’s southern states. It will now have access to Weber’s entire national distribution network, allowing the Industrial Mortars Division to consolidate its position in the Brazilian market. Anchortec’s 2010 revenues amounted to EUR20 million.

The Industrial Mortars subsidiary Saint-Gobain Weber has signed an agreement for the acquisition of a 51% interest in the capital of Indonesia-based PT. Cipta Mortar Utama. The deal should be closed in June, once the administrative formalities have been completed.

PT. Cipta Mortar Utama is Indonesia’s leading industrial mortars company, with a product range that includes tile adhesives and grouting, masonry mortar, wall and floor rendering and technical mortars. Through its subsidiary, PT. Prima Rezeki Pertiwi, it also manufactures and sells lightweight blocks which in Indonesia represent a downstream activity from industrial mortars.

In 2010, the company reported consolidated revenues of IDR 330 billion (approximately EUR28 million), with some 210 employees.

The acquisition gives the Construction Products Sector, through its Industrial Mortars Division, a solid foothold in a country with a fast-growing economy and a very promising future.

Two other companies have also been acquired this year, Promix in Turkey and Edicace in Italy, contributing additional revenues of some EUR10 million.

With these four transactions, the Saint-Gobain Group – through the Industrial Mortars Division – is continuing to expand in emerging markets and consolidating its presence in Europe.

| Print version | Email to a friend | View related articles

Related categories:

 Concrete Production, Transport and Finishing 

 Construction companies 

Article source: http://www.constructionnewsportal.com/Construction_article7649.html

ISG secures commercial office fit out contract at MediaCityUK site

ISG is nearing completion on a fast-track project for Peel Media Ltd. The contractor secured a contract for commercial office fit out work at the 36-acre MediaCityUK site in Salford Quays, across six floors of the new 18-storey Blue Tower and has recently picked up a further order to fit out an additional two floors in the building.

The first phase has seen ISG complete a Cat A fit out from the second to seventh floors of the Blue Tower, work which includes the installation of raised access floors, suspended ceilings and new mechanical and electrical services throughout the high specification open plan office accommodation. The most recent contract is a phased fast-track fit out of floors 17 and 18, which will be subdivided to create smaller office units for a range of creative and media organisations.

Jim Parker, ISG’s regional managing director, commented: “The first phase of the MediaCityUK development is attracting high levels of interest from regional, national and international digital and creative businesses. These organisations are looking to commercially benefit from close proximity to institutions including the BBC, ITV and The University of Salford. With great demand for high quality commercial office accommodation at MediaCityUK, our fast-track fit out solutions are tailored to the end user’s specific requirements and timescales.”

| Print version | Email to a friend | View related articles

Related categories:

 Construction contracts 

Article source: http://www.constructionnewsportal.com/Construction_article7643.html

Largest artificial floating island in the world opens in Seoul

The Floating Island under construction on the Hangang (Han River) in Korea is the largest artificial floating island in the world and the first equipped with an aquatic convention center. The Floating Island comprised of three artificial islets is currently being constructed on the river around Banpo Hangang Park in Seoul. It is scheduled for completion in September this year.

The Island that makes up the sprawling 20,382 square-meter has been developed under three key themes of exhibition and convention, culture, and aquatic-leisure. The KRW 96.4 billion (approx. USD 88 million) project was invested entirely with private funds.

Islet 1, the biggest of the three islets, is three stories high and measures 10,845 square meters. It includes a 700-seat convention hall. Islet 2, a three-story structure measuring 5,373 square meters, puts a focus on developing facilities for cultural events. Islet 3, two stories high, takes up a 4,164 square-meter area and is devoted to various aquatic leisure sports activities like yachting.

Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) expects this center to play a pivotal role in advancing its tourism and convention sectors. The total number of seats for exhibitions and conventions reaches 1,400 uniting all three of the islets.

The Floating Island is equipped with a safety system to prevent damage from inclement weather conditions. 28 three-ply weather-resistant mooring chains secure the Floating Island, ensuring it stays in position and afloat in the event of a flood or other dire weather condition.

The sewage treatment plant will be managed according to strict environmental standards. In addition, solar energy panels measuring 54 square meters and generating 6 kilowatts per house of energy each day have been built on the first-story roof of Islet 1.

SMG added that it will improve public accessibility to the Island by launching a weekend bus and expanding bus lines.

“We hope that Floating Island will contribute to raising the brand value of Seoul as one of the city’s key landmarks,” said Gyoung Gee Liu, Assistant Mayor for Hangang Project Headquarters.

| Print version | Email to a friend | View related articles

Related categories:

 Heavy Construction and Civil engineering 

 Landscaping 

Article source: http://www.constructionnewsportal.com/Construction_article7651.html

Home energy efficiency drive will cover renewable generation as well as insulation

Homeowners could be able to borrow money to pay for solar panels and other forms of renewable generation under the government’s Green Deal initiative, the department for energy and climate change has announced.

In a document released today outlining measures the deal covers, ground and air source heat pumps, solar thermal, solar PV, biomass boilers and micro-CHP (combined heat and power) are all listed.

The announcement is significant because it was previously unclear whether the Green Deal would apply to the technologies, which in some difficult-to-insulate homes may be the only way to cut carbon emissions significantly.

The move is another boost for the Green Deal after it was announced on 26 May that the government’s new Green Investment Bank would be able to lend the scheme money.

Solar panels will only be covered if they meet the Green Deal’s ‘golden rule’ that the cost of the installation will be recouped over a certain amount of time through lower energy bills, probably 25 years.

In addition, climate change minister Greg Barker also unveiled:

• Plans to set up a new Green Deal Code to protect customers
• Plans to set up a new Green Deal advice line for consumers
• The formal appointment of the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) that will accredit Green Deal installers and assessors

Philip Sellwood, chief executive of the Energy Saving Trust, said that the government had to make it clear to consumers how green home schemes worked and which were on offer:

“Greg Barker talks about the importance of trust in the Green Deal – and we couldn’t agree more. Since Feed-in Tariffs [subsidies for solar power] were introduced in April last year, we’ve seen an increase in calls to our advice centres from concerned householders who are interested in green technologies, but faced with a raft of offers they are unsure about how to make sure they’re getting the best deal to help them reduce their energy bill.”

“Green Deal is an even more ambitious and wide-reaching scheme, so stepping in now to ensure people know what they’re getting into from the start is essential,” he said.

Follow Building on Twitter

Follow @davidmbuilding 

Article source: http://www.building.co.uk/news/green-deal-to-cover-solar-panels/5019183.article