M&E services specialist nets £5m contract on major mixed-use regeneration scheme

Stuart McPherson

Incoming CIBSE president Stuart MacPherson made an appeal for net carbon standards and an ambitious programme to refurbish existing buildings in his inaugural address this week.  Delivering his speech via video, he called for targeted investment in low carbon solutions to drive recovery from the devastation of the Coronavirus pandemic.

CSA, Conference, Mark Todd

After careful consideration, and in light of recent recommendations from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Public Heath England around the risks of Coronavirus, the Commissioning Management Association CSA) Management Committee has made the difficult decision to postpone the CSA’s 'Making Buildings Work' Conference, scheduled for March 31st at The Crystal, London.

ECA, BESA, SELECT, SNIPEF, late payments, retentions, Rob Driscoll

The latest quarterly sector-wide Building Engineering Business Survey, sponsored by Scolmore, shows that payment conditions in the industry remain poor, with the majority of public sector work being paid for after more than 30 days

BCIA, Terry Sharp

The Building Controls Industry Association (BCIA) has appointed Terry Sharp as its new president. He takes over from Jon Belfield who has held the role for the past two years.

BESA, Helen Yeulet, training, David Frise

The training arm of the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has appointed Helen Yeulet as its new director following the departure of Tony Howard.

CABE, Gavin Dunn, Chartered Engineering, Engineering Council

The Chartered Association of Building Engineers (CABE) has received approval to become a licensed member of the Engineering Council. This paves the way for CABE members to be formally eligible for Chartered Engineering status.

Sadiq Khan, London, heating, decarbonising heating

The Mayor of London has launched a £3.6m programme to improve energy efficiency in social housing across the capital, including replacing heating systems.

Swegon, Waterloo, Hannu Saasamoinen, Russell Shenton

Indoor environment specialist Swegon has acquired the well-known grilles and difussers manufacturer Waterloo Air Products.

IR36, HMRC, tax, Andrew Eldred

On 17th March, chief Treasury secretary Steve Barclay announced that introduction of the proposed IR35 tax reforms would be delayed until 6th April 2021.

Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, The Budget, CCL, Covid-19, Coronavirus

The March 2020 Budget was delivered against the backdrop of the global outbreak of COVID-19. Its main thrust therefore was to support UK business through uncertainty and instability.

retentions, Aldous, Aldous Bill, Alan Brown, Nadhim Zahawi

MPs and the Specialist Engineering Contractors Group (SEC Group) are trying to ensure that proposed changes to retentions legislation is not overlooked during a time of national crisis.

COVID-19

The team here at MBS hopes that you are well and finding a way to continue your work in these challenging times.

CSA, Commissioning Specialists Association, CSA, conference, Making Buildings Work, The Crystal

The first CSA conference takes place on 31st March at The Crystal in London.

decarbonisation, electrification, carbon, BNEF

Greater electrification of building services will be central to global decarbonisation efforts.

IAQ, domestic, ventilation, housing, local authorities

Health experts call for LAs to gain more powers and funding to address poor indoor air quality.

R32, air conditioning, chillers, fan coil units, FCUs, GWP

The lower GWP refrigerant R32 will command 80% of the total splits market

 immigration policy, government, Priti Patel, ECA, Andrew Eldred

The ECA says that an end to easy employment of foreign workers is an opportunity to train a UK workforce.

building regulations, Housing, Robert Jenrick

Housing Minister Robert Jenrick is considering creating a fast-track planning process for “beautiful buildings and spaces”. He said well-designed, high quality homes and tree-lined streets should be the “norm not the exception” following the publication of the final report from The Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission.

Hackitt Review, Hywel Davies, CIBSE Patrons, Dame Judith Hackitt

The author of the post-Grenfell review of building safety believes the industry lacks the necessary “leadership and drive to bring about change”.

 REFCOM, refrigeration, Brexit, registration

An agreement between the EU and the UK to continue the mutual recognition of professional certification should put minds at ease throughout the refrigeration and air conditioning industry, according to the UK’s primary F Gas register REFCOM.

Coronavirus, IAQ, indoor air quality, BESA, wellbeing, ventilation

An urgent review of building ventilation strategies should be carried out to help tackle the spread of the coronavirus.

 Part L, Building Regulations, LETI, architects, energy efficiency

Proposed changes to building regulations will make buildings less energy efficient, according to groups of engineers and architects.

BPMA, pumps, CE Marking, CE, Training, UK CA Mark, Brexit

The British Pump Manufacturers Association (BPMA) is again promoting its training course on the importance of CE Marking for pumps. The Association says that non-compliant pumping equipment remains a major problem in the UK market, where CE marking is compulsory.

Premier Inn, London, Rockwell, Westferry, Docklands

Property developer Rockwell has today begun construction on a mixed-use scheme at 82 West India Dock Road which will include London’s largest and tallest Premier Inn hotel, alongside new homes, adjacent to Westferry DLR station. The £151m project will rejuvenate the formerly derelict Westferry site.

Europump, EcoDesign Directive, extended product approach, EPA, pumps, energy

As part of the EU Commission’s ongoing revision to the Eco-Design Directive, pump manufacturers across Europe want to implement the extended product approach (EPA) for water pumps. This is in contrast to the EU, which appears to want to stay with the ‘narrow’ approach for water pumps adopted in 2009.

 Toyota, smart cities, smart building, Japan

Toyota has revealed plans to build a prototype “city” of the future on a 175-acre site at the base of Mount Fuji in Japan. Announced at CES 2020, the global consumer technology show in Las Vegas, the Woven City will be a fully connected ecosystem, powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

Wates, Wates Group, John Dunne, David Allen, net zero, construction

The Wates Group, one of the UK’s leading privately-owned construction, development and property services companies, has today committed to eliminating waste and carbon from its operations by 2025.

Memoori, smart buildings,

Smart buildings research specialist Memoori’s latest market report shows continued massive global investment in smart buildings during 2019.

decarbonisation, heating, renewables, Sustainable Energy Association, Lesley Rudd, net zero

The Sustainable Energy Association (SEA) has published a paper today demonstrating how regulation could put heating on the path to reach net-zero by 2050.

electrical safety, electrical, ECA, Electrical Safety First, Mike Smith, Martyn Allen, PRS, private rented sector, tenants, landlords

Government has introduced the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (PRS) which will coming into force from 1st April 2020.

CEST, HMRC, off-payroll, PSC, taxation

The government has launched a review into the introduction of changes to ‘off-payroll’ working rules which are to start in April 2020. There is no indication of a delay, rather the aim is to ensure ‘smooth implementation’ of the reforms.

NICE, NG149, indoor air quality, homes, domestic ventilation, British Heart Foundation, pollution

In January, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published guidance arguing that poor air quality in dwellings is an ‘imminent risk’ to people’s health.

ECA, BESA, late payments, SMEs

Small business owners and their employees are facing reduced or late salary payments because of late payment practises from buyers, according to a survey from the ECA and BESA.

REFCOM, Graeme Fox, refrigerants, BESA, F Gas, training, competence

Speaking to MBStv at November’s BESA Conference head of REFCOM Graeme Fox warned that training and competence are crucial factors in the successful move away from domestic fossil-fuel heating systems.

 survey, growth, Scolmore, Brexit

The latest sector-wide Building Engineering Business Survey shows that sector growth remained steady in the third quarter of 2019.

CSA, CSA Conference, commissioning

The Commissioning Specialists Association (CSA) has gained sponsorship from two of the largest organisations in commissioning for its Conference in March.

CIBSE, digital engineering, Society of Digital Engineering

CIBSE has announced the winners of the Society of Digital Engineering Awards 2019 with BuroHappold Engineering winning three out of eight categories and the best of the Best award.

 ECA, ECA Awards

The ECA has announced that nominations for the 2020 ECA awards are now open. The awards aim to recognise top performing businesses and individuals across the electrotechnical and engineering industry.

Heat Pump Association, HPA, net zero, Graham Wright

A new report by the Heat Pump Association has identified an undeveloped installer base and consumer acceptability as the main problems for heat pumps going forward.

 SEC Group, contractors, Rudi Klein, late payments, payment issues, retentions

The SEC Group is driving a campaign to introduce new legislation on late payments. The Group has said that it will contact all political parties on 13th December to seek support for a change in the law.

 EMEX, Redesdale, SECR, carbon reporting

Lord Rupert Redesdale, chief executive of the Energy Managers Association, warned of an “environmental catastrophe” at the 2019 EMEX event.

CCC, zero carbon, CIBSE,

Baroness Brown, deputy chair of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has warned that action needs to be taken towards reaching net zero and that there are “significant risks” if the UK fails to act.

OFTEC, heat pumps, oil heating, oil-heated homes, rural, Paul Rose

Following the launch of its report Industrial Strategy for decarbonising oil heated homes, OFTEC has criticised the government and industry focus on shifting oil-heated homes towards heat pumps.

Election, Boris Johnson, manifesto

The Conservative Party won the December 12th 2019 General Election with 364 seats in the House of Commons, and Boris Johnson remains UK Prime Minister. The result gave the Conservatives a comfortable majority in Parliament and the power to continue the process of taking the UK out of the European Union.

Wakefield Research, HVAC

A new report showing the latest trends for HVAC has been published by Wakefield Research.

ECA, BESA, Wellbeing, mental health, David Frise, Paul Reeve

A survey has found that 90% of business owners across construction suffer mental health issues due to payment and other business pressures.

CIBSE, CIBSE Building Performance Awards 2019

CIBSE has announced its shortlist for the 2020 Building Performance Awards which aim to recognise and reward engineering excellence.

JS Wright, Wimbledon, Stadia Three

Building services J S Wright is to help start the residential phase of a £4 million regeneration scheme in Wimbledon.

Cushman & Wakefield, co-working, offices

A survey from commercial property services firm Cushman & Wakefield shows that the popularity of co-working office space continues to grow, with greater use predicted over the next five years.




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‘Red tape scrapping is welcome – but more policy changes are needed’

The CEO of heat pump manufacturer Aira UK has said the government’s new proposals to scrap planning red tape for the installation of heat pumps in the UK will be a big breakthrough for the industry and consumers – but more policy changes are needed.

New procurement rules for NHS suppliers

New procurement rules mean NHS suppliers will need to demonstrate their green credentials so the NHS can achieve its target of becoming net zero for directly-controlled emissions by 2040, with an ambition to reach an 80% reduction in its carbon emissions between 2028 to 2032.