RECENT NEWS

A ‘snap poll’ of Carillion engineering sub-contractors shows that many companies ‘are facing huge financial losses’ from the collapse of the construction giant, according to new data obtained by the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) and the electrotechnical and engineering services trade body, ECA.

The two associations say Carillion owes around £75 million to around 80 engineering services firms, but claim that ‘the overall losses are likely to be far higher, given there are thousands of businesses operating in the industry’, with the engineering services sector the largest part of the construction industry by value.

BRE and the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) have released ‘a new, improved briefing paper’ that outlines how projects may achieve both a certified BREEAM rating and WELL Certification.

The updated document, ‘Assessing Health and Wellbeing in Buildings - Alignment between BREEAM and the WELL Building Standard’, was developed as part of a commitment to continuous improvement by IWBI and BRE using industry feedback from professionals working to achieve joint certification of BREEAM and the WELL Building Standard (WELL).

The liquidation of construction giant, Carillion, could lead to 'potentially catastrophic losses for thousands of SMEs', say the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) and the electrotechnical and engineering services trade body, ECA.

The two organisations explain: “According to its latest set of accounts, Carillion was holding over £800 m in retentions payments owed to sub-contractors. There is growing alarm that much of this money will be lost, leaving many more firms at risk of financial collapse.”

Carillion, the a leading international integrated support services business, which employs around 43,000 people, is one of the UK’s largest construction businesses, and operates in the UK, Canada, and Middle East, with annual revenues of over £5bn, has filed for compulsory liquidation.

According to a Financial Times news story, ‘Carillion collapses into liquidation’, published on 15 January, the move followed the failure of the Group’s talks with lenders over the previous weekend.

Forbo Flooring Systems will ‘very shortly’ announce an update to its ‘ever-popular’ vinyl safety flooring collection, ‘Step’.

Bostik has been selected by commercial flooring contractor, Pinnacle Flooring, to supply a range of sub-floor preparation products to the new £22 million Stratford Hospital development.

Polyflor says it has become the only flooring manufacturer to achieve an ‘Excellent’ rating for BES 6001 certification, a standard for the Responsible Sourcing of Construction Products as certified by the BRE.

Proposed parliamentary legislation designed ‘to dramatically reform the controversial practice of payment retentions in the construction industry’ was formally unveiled at a House of Commons briefing today, 8 January.

The Bill, being introduced under the ‘Ten Minute Rule’ by Peter Aldous MP, will have its first reading in parliament on 9 January, and has attracted cross-party support with the full permitted complement of 12 ‘sponsoring’ MPs, including Sir Henry Bellingham (Conservative); Barry Sheerman (Labour), Caroline Lucas (Green Party), and Alan Brown (SNP).

Portakabin has been officially recognised by BSI (the British Standards Institution) for its capability to work to Building Information Modelling Level 2 as a tier 1 designer/contractor in accordance with PAS1192-2.

ModuleCo Healthcare (MCH) has recently won a contract for the hire of a fully compliant single UCV modular theatre at Bedford Hospital.

Bespoke off-site modular construction specialist, Elite Systems, which was last year named on the NHS SBS Modular Buildings Framework, has announced two senior promotions, as it prepares to expand further in the coming months.

When Cardiff’s Velindre Cancer Centre needed new office accommodation to consolidate its administration staff in one location, allowing it to expand its patient care areas, staff contacted Wernick Buildings, which manufactured a suitable modular building off site in its factory in just six weeks.

Offsite Solutions has been awarded the contract to supply bathroom pods for the new £69 million East Lothian Community Hospital.

Nearly a quarter (22%) of large consultancy and engineering firms say they will consider moving jobs out of the UK if Brexit makes it more difficult to move staff around Europe, an Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) member survey – which revealed that Brexit is ‘casting a shadow over the UK construction industry’ – suggests.

The Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust has bought seven pedestrianoperated electric tugs from electric tug specialist, MasterMover, to improve porter efficiency and reduce manual handling.

The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has launched a scheme ‘to help ventilation hygiene specialists demonstrate their competence, quality, and standards’.

Businesses have yet to get to grips with the Apprenticeship Levy – a gathering of HR and operational professionals in the utilities and construction sector at an Industry Skills Forum co-organised by Develop Training (DTL) and Mentor Training Solutions – concluded.

The new Energy Centre at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital reduced the Trust’s overall spending on energy bills by over £230,000 in its first full month in operation compared with the same month the previous year.

Essentia Trading, the business wholly owned by Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust which offers consultancy in areas ranging from strategic estate development to healthcare planning, has been selected for the London Procurement Partnership’s (LPP’s) Framework for Professional Services, which enables NHS organisations to use their collective buying power to purchase goods and services.

After a full competitive procurement exercise, the Fulham Road Collaborative (FRC) has awarded a new five-year contract, worth over £100 m, to its existing provider, ISS Facility Services – Healthcare.