Major Update For PAS 91

PAS 91, the standard question set for construction industry prequalification, has just had a major overhaul. The updated document, which is already used for public sector and other procurement enquiries, aims to cut out unnecessary prequalification paperwork.  According to ECA director of business Paul Reeve, who helped produce the new version, “The updated PAS 91 is likely to be a real help to any buyer who wants to know about the general capabilities of their suppliers, based on a set of ‘good practice’ industry questions. “The new version reflects the requirements of CDM 2015, which should also help to reduce the time and effort that suppliers have to put in to show their basic health and safety capabilities.” PAS 91 was launched by BSI in 2011, as a draft industry standard for construction. Since then, PAS 91 has been seen increasingly as the route to simplifying ‘desktop’ supplier assessments, notably of health and safety capability but also other essential areas. With the re-issuing of PAS 91, Safety Schemes in Procurement (SSIP), the umbrella scheme for many of the leading health and safety assessment bodies, will cross-recognise the updated health and safety questions, in order to reduce wasteful assessment activity.  PAS 91:2013+A1:2017 is available online for free.

Sprinter Crowned Van Of The Year At Commercial Fleet Awards

The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter has been crowned Van of the Year at the Commercial Fleet Awards, held on November 30 at the Hilton Metropole, Birmingham. The Commercial Fleet Awards are judged by a panel of industry experts, including van operators themselves, who use these vehicles in their daily work. “The win for Sprinter is a good indication of fleet opinion – it is beloved by many companies operating in a multitude of industry sectors," comment the judges. "The judges rated the Sprinter highly within its category and it continues to be a very strong contender, despite being due for replacement next year. Sprinter remains for many industries the vehicle of choice for fleet.” Steve Bridge, managing director, Mercedes-Benz Vans UK Ltd, adds, “For Sprinter to receive the highest honours in its final full year of production is testament to the service this vehicle dutifully carries out for thousands of owners and operators, who consistently trust in us and our vehicles to keep their businesses moving. I am proud to oversee our business in the UK and am thankful for the ongoing support and commitment that our customers continue to make in our products, services, and people.”

Veolia Delivers Carbon Savings To University Of East Anglia

Global resource management group, Veolia, through its subsidiary Veolia CHP UK Limited, is helping the University of East Anglia (UEA) to reduce carbon emissions through a new 10-year combined heat and power contract. This will provide low carbon electricity and heat to the University of East Anglia and see two of the latest generation of Veolia combined heat and power (CHP) units installed to deliver secure energy supplies.  The 4MWe CHP installation will help the university reduce campus carbon emissions by 35% by 2020, against a 1990 baseline and support their ‘Sustainable Ways’ vision where the efficient use of resources and self-generated energy support low carbon goals. Designed to produce around 30GWh of electricity a year and maximise heat efficiency, the CHP will cut annual carbon emissions by a further 4,000 tonnes. The system is based around two of the latest generation of Veolia 2MWe units which will deliver low carbon heat and electricity to the 320-acre campus through the district heating and cooling network and electrical infrastructure. This maintains the energy supply for the buildings that support the academic and research activities for over 18,800 students and staff. This is the final part of a three-year project to update energy facilities at UEA. Along with new, more energy efficient boilers and pumps, Thermal Stores have been installed to capture excess heat from the CHPs and use it later in the day when needed. These tanks hold 200,000 litres of water, an efficient way to store the excess heat generated by the CHP engines. The CHP installation phase of the project was completed in October 2017 and will be supported by a 10-year contract using Veolia’s CHP helpdesk to provide lifetime monitoring. Optimised maintenance will be provided by the company’s nationwide field service teams. Commenting on the new contract, Gavin Graveson, Veolia’s chief operating officer, public and commercial, Veolia UK says, “Our combined heat and power units are already supporting the sustainable goals of over 60 campuses in the UK and reducing their carbon emissions by over 40,000 tonnes each year. By deploying this new generation of units that include the latest industry innovations, we will be able to help the campus to increase energy efficiency.” Richard Bettle from UEA adds, “These latest CHP engines replaced the original engines installed in 1999 and, along with a third existing CHP engine, will allow us to generate over 80% of electricity on site, reducing costs and CO2 emissions.” Veolia currently have around 30MWe of CHP capacity that provides energy on over 60 university campuses, supporting their education and research facilities, and housing more than 200,000 students.

Screwfix Partners With Yeovil College

Trade retailer Screwfix has partnered with Yeovil College to launch a pilot course covering core construction skills for year 10 and 11 pupils. The course aims to educate young people about a successful future in the trade before leaving school. The Screwfix Construction Trade Academy course has been launched at a time when there is a widely reported construction skills gap and is believed to be the first of its kind in the UK. The 16 students studying the course will learn the foundations of bricklaying, plumbing, carpentry and electrical contracting. The Screwfix Construction Trade Academy course is City & Guilds qualified and will see the students gain valuable skills, as well as adding to their GCSEs and help towards gaining an apprenticeship after leaving school. The retailer has also invested in a new purpose-built site at the college. Work has started on the new ‘Screwfix Trade Skills Centre’ which will see the students benefit from a dedicated space, specifically designed to meet the needs of the future tradespeople training there.  The centre will open in December and features two state-of-the-art work training areas, which have been designed to enable Yeovil College to meet the needs of its local and regional industries. With each training area having the capacity to train up to 20 students/apprentices at any one time, the students will attend the college for half day weekly sessions to give them a taster of life in the trades.  Graham Smith, marketing director at Screwfix, comments, “Our trade customers tell us how busy they are but that they also struggle to recruit skilled labourers and don’t always find it easy to hire apprentices. The skills shortage facing the construction trades is widely talked about, therefore the partnership with Yeovil College is one of the ways we’re supporting tradespeople and playing a small part in protecting the future skills supply in construction, while demonstrating how interesting and rewarding a career in the trade can be."  John Evans, principal at Yeovil College, adds, “It’s great to have the support of Screwfix for our new construction skills course and purpose-built skills centre. It is important we train young people in the area to ensure there is no local skills gap, and this centre will go some way towards this. We believe the new students will learn the foundations for a career in the construction trade and we hope they find the opportunity rewarding.”

Plan Ahead For 2019 ULEZ Charge, Warns Enterprise Flex-E-Rent

Electricians working in Central London are being warned to check if their vans are liable for the new T-Charge – and to prepare now for the upcoming Ultra Low-Emission Zone (ULEZ) coming into effect on 8 April 2019. The warning comes from commercial vehicle rental specialist Enterprise Flex-E-Rent. It advises that these charges could cost businesses hundreds, even thousands, of pounds if they own older vehicles and drive them into the capital. Introduced last month, the T-Charge applies to all vehicles entering the Congestion Charge zone and means an extra £10 a day for vans that don’t meet the Euro IV emissions standard. This is most likely to hit anyone driving vans registered before 2006. The ULEZ, which comes into force in eighteen months’ time, is even stricter and means an extra £12.50 daily charge for businesses with diesel vans that don’t meet the Euro VI standard. Many vans registered before 2015 will not be Euro VI-compliant. Given that the average van on UK roads is more than seven years old, the ULEZ charge could affect hundreds of thousands of British van drivers. Danny Glynn, managing director of Enterprise Flex-E-Rent, comments, “Vans are essential for keeping the building and electrical industries mobile, especially in the South East. However, many businesses working in London need to check now if their vehicles are Euro IV-compliant, or else they’ll get hit by the T-Charge with every trip into the Congestion Charge zone. “The ULEZ is even more likely to affect those businesses because it requires much newer vehicles with the Euro VI standard. “Upgrading to a new van can be an expensive additional outlay if you purchase the vehicle outright. However, flexible rental can make this a much more manageable transition, as the costs can be spread over a number of years. Cost-effective options such as short-term rental and leasing ensure drivers are in modern vehicles that meet all the necessary emissions rules. Plus, they can be adjusted to meet the requirements of the business, including external branding, and are regularly maintained.”

LIA And BSI Announce Lighting Certification

The Lighting Industry Association (LIA) and the BSI Group (British Standards Institution) have announced the intention to bring the lighting industry a new product verification scheme that will carry the BSI Kitemark. This builds on the agreement, announced in July, which allows customers of both organisations to benefit from mutual expertise and specialisms, thus providing a joined up approach in offering services to the industry. The scheme will give the industry a third party verification scheme, which includes product performance as well as safety. The certification will ensure not just the safety of the product but also the manufacturer's performance claims. As part of the new joined-up approach, the testing and auditing of products can be performed at the LIA’s laboratory in Telford. The combined approach in bringing this scheme to market aims to be fundamental in the future development of the lighting industry, helping it to face new challenges in terms of quality, safety and providing trusted market assurance.

Thorn Lighting Illuminates Old Post Office

Luminaires from Thorn Lighting has played an important role in the refurbishment of one of Newcastle’s best loved historic buildings, The Old Post Office. The project involved upgrading the 3,350m2 headquarters for NBS, which spearheaded the multimillion-pound refurbishment and regeneration of the Grade II-listed building and has been housed there for a number of years. Thorn’s Planor suspended, Planor wall, Glacier LED and Chalice LED luminaires have been used throughout the project to provide a well-connected home for the modern occupier. The Old Post Office, which dates back to the 1870s and was at the heart of the 19th century development of the city, has undergone a £5.8 million refurbishment and redevelopment. The architects for the redevelopment project were JDDK Architects with the lighting design created by Armstrong Rhead Limited in conjunction with interior designers Ward Robinson. The redevelopment has created a state-of-the-art building with transformed office space and meeting rooms with extensive facilities for staff, including a gym within the building. Thorn’s Planor suspended edge-lit LEDs were selected as there was very limited ceiling void in the reception area, which made it impossible for recessed lighting to be installed. These fittings replaced a combination of metal halide high bay luminaires and Cat-3 louvred modular luminaires, all with conventional inefficient control gear that was neither energy efficient or cost effective, providing poor light quality. Planor wall has also been integrated into the lighting design to provide LED accent lighting with a co-ordinated aesthetic. Its side reflectors and downlight window give asymmetric forward pointing uplight. Thorn’s Voyager series emergency exit signs were also installed to provide discreet, high performance, LED emergency lighting. Following its makeover, The Old Post Office won the Best Refurbished and Recycled Workplace at The Northern Awards Dinner of the BCO awards, which recognise the highest quality developments and sets the standard for excellence in the regional and national office sector.

ACI Finds More Unsafe Cable For Sale In UK

Dangerous flexible cord cable that could cause injury or death has been found on sale in the UK following random market place sampling by the Approved Cables Initiative (ACI). The cables, manufactured by Italian company Triveneta Cavi, failed the British and European Standards flex test, exposing copper conductors. The ACI is warning that the exposed strands of copper conductor could come into contact with the user and makes them extremely dangerous. The 3 core 1.5 sq.mm cords could potentially be fitted to vacuum cleaners, electric drills and extension leads, all of which are exposed to constant flexing during their everyday use, says the ACI. The ACI believes that the exposed copper conductor strands which penetrated the PVC insulation and sheathing during the test could cause serious electric shock or even death if they come into contact with a user. Tests of cable samples were commissioned by the ACI and carried out by three independent sources. All showed similar results. Other non-conforming results were also noted but the exposed copper conductors were deemed to be, by far, the most dangerous failing of the tested cable. All cable samples failed flex tests under BS EN 50525-2-11 2014. The ACI has contacted Triveneta Cavi to advise of the serious nature of the failures and to request a voluntary withdrawal of the affected product from the market place. It is understood that Triveneta Cavi is investigating the matter. The UK’s Regulatory Authority has also been contacted to report the matter under the Low Voltage Directive. This discovery has led the ACI to raise the question of authorities’ ability to conduct effective market surveillance and the organisation is calling for improvements that will help in the detection of further substandard cable product and force their withdrawal from the market. Since 2010, the ACI has lobbied and campaigned for effective legislation to be introduced to address the serious issue of substandard electric cable entering the UK market. It believes that voluntary co-operation is not enough and that all electric cables should be independently third-party approved before they can be placed on the market, sold and installed in the UK. According to the ACI, the samples of Triveneta flexibles cords which were tested were marked with the manufacturer’s identification ‘La Triveneta Cavi’ and carried a 2016 manufacturing date. They were also marked with the IEMMEQU <HAR> approval mark. The flexible cords, which have so far been tested (and subsequently failed), were orange and white in colour – however the particular colour of these cords would not cause these failures, therefore all colours should be treated with great caution, says the ACI. For further advice on this issue and other substandard cable can be found on the ACI website.

First JIB Preferred Training Providers Announced

Birmingham Electrical Training, DCET Training (part of the Focus Training Group) and JTL are the first organisations to be accredited under the new JIB Preferred Training Provider scheme, which endorses providers who achieve the highest standards of training across the electrotechnical industry. DCET and Birmingham Electrical Training, based in the South West and West Midlands respectively, are the leading private training providers in their regions, whilst JTL – the largest training provider in the industry – recruits apprentices across England and Wales. Each apprentice who trains with these providers becomes a JIB Registered Apprentice, giving them access to benefits from the JIB including ECS cards at every stage of their training, employment support, funding and other discounts. Steve Brawley, chief executive of the JIB, comments, “The JIB has introduced the Preferred Training Provider scheme to promote those providers who achieve the highest standards. It is heartening that both national and regional providers have each been able to reach the very demanding benchmarks we have set. I would encourage other organisations who wish to qualify as a JIB Preferred Provider to look at the criteria and submit their applications.” To find out more about becoming a Preferred Provider, visit the JIB website.

NICEIC and ELECSA Produce Consumer Law Booklet For Electrical Contractors

NICEIC and ELECSA have produced a free publication for electrical contractors designed to keep them on the right side of consumer law. The booklet Consumer Law for Electrical Contractors was developed in partnership with the Dispute Resolution Ombudsman (DRO). It provides contractors with clear and straightforward guidance in relation to their obligations under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Judith Turner, senior ombudsman at DRO, authored the booklet. She says, “When any tradesperson offers to provide a professional service to a customer, they are automatically entering into a contract that is covered by the Consumer Rights act 2015. “It is important contractors are aware of their own responsibilities if they want to avoid any unwanted disputes with customers.” Copies of the booklet can be found on the NICEIC and ELECSA customer portal.