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East Midlands Property Alliance Tendering Workshops for SME Contractors
Local authorities are reviewing the way they work together to procure construction services from the sector through an arrangement called East Midlands Property Alliance (EMPA).
In association with EMPA, EMCBE have organised specific training to help contractors correctly respond to the procurement documents.
Due to immense popularity of these events we are now pleased to be able to offer 4 additional dates:
Monday 17 November Now Full
Monday 24 November Now Full
Friday 28 November Now Full
Monday 15 December Now Full
Thursday 18 December
These workshops are designed for smaller organisations with limited or no experience of 2 stage tendering and want to improve their knowledge and opportunity. The types of work EMPA will procure are minor works, extensions to schools, libraries and other civic buildings and specific programmes of work.
The workshops will focus on:
- Introduction to OJEU and the processes involved.
- The aim of the process and how to get involved.
- PQQ – best practice templates and what the client is looking for
- Tender process – submissions, references, interviews and costs.
- Quality questionnaire and how to respond to the client.
- Consortia submissions.
- Evaluation criteria and maximising your marks.
Download a registration form here.
For more information on the Regional Procurement for Construction (EMPA) initiative and how you can get involved follow the read more link:
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Constructing Excellence - National Awards Dinner 2008 (Black tie)
“This Thursday evening (13th November 2008) sees the National Constructing Excellence Awards being presented at Lord’s Cricket Ground. For those of you who took part in the Regional Awards, you hopefully recognise I played a part in the judging process. Arising from that experience I was privileged to be invited to play a part in the judging of the National Awards. There were 10 judges in all, assigned to three categories each but with access to submissions across all the categories.
The process was interesting insofar as those who scored the best, had provided tailor made submissions for the awards’ categories. Apart from completing the submission form succinctly, other relevant evidence had been included in the form of testimonials from other members of the project (including the client), photographs and footage of the project, press cuttings and other forms of external recognition. It was obvious in some instances that a substantial amount of hard work and effort had been put into the submissions. Some were clearly head and shoulders above the rest.
Judges can only decide on the evidence provided, so, if there are any lessons to be learnt for next year I can only suggest the following:
- Read the category criteria carefully,
- Prepare well in advance, do not leave it until the last minute,
- Research any material you may have and include only that which is relevant, do not pad out with irrelevant material it makes it more difficult to find the good stuff,
- Include as many members of the project team as possible to share the load (this is particularly important for the Integration and Collaborative Working category), and finally but perhaps the most important
- Treat the submission in a similar way that you would respond to an invitation to tender.”
Wayne Lord
Chairman
CIC East Midlands
Shortlist of National Entries
East Midlands Regional Awards Photographs can be viewed here
Here is a full list of the East Midlands Regional Winners |
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CBI’s newly formed Construction Council
The Major Contractors' Group (MCG) and the National Contractors' Federation (NCF) will cease to exist from June 2009, and have been replaced by the 'CBI Construction Council', which consists of 24 'top bosses' from all sectors of Construction. The Construction Confederation (CC) is also winding down.
The CBI’s newly formed Construction Council will meet for the first time this month. The sector plays a major role in the UK economy, with more than 250,000 firms contributing around nine per cent of GDP and employing some 2.1 million people in a wide variety of roles.
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Nottingham Regeneration
Despite the current downturn the most recent developments in Nottingham to transform the city's train station into a fully integrated transport hub have been revealed.
The new hub has been commissioned by a partnership that includes the city and count councils, Network Rail, East Midlands Trains, GNP and East Midlands Development Agency.
The area surrounding the station, which has become run down over the years, the new proposals will improve the links to The Meadows, to the £200 million canal quarter and to the £400 million new Broadmarsh Centre. The station will become ‘The Hub’ for all these new developments, as well as for the expanding tram network.
As part of the plans to redevelop the existing Edwardian building, space will be created for shops, cafes and places for visitors to wait. The new facilities will include automatic ticket barriers and improved train information. As well as renovating the existing platforms. To the south of the existing station a new ‘southern concourse’ is planned to provide direct access to the main concourse, the booking hall and the rain and NET platforms, as well as the new multi-storey car park.
As well as providing better connectivity for other forms of transport, for example the location of new bus stops, and a taxi rank as well as drop off and pick up points, it is anticipated the transformation will also encourage further investment in the area.
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emda Signs Steetley Contract
emda has signed a contract with the UK's largest privately owned construction firm, Laing O'Rourke, which will see a contribution of £4.65m made towards the company's multi-million pound remediation programme at the Steetley site.
Located off the A619 between Whitwell and Worksop, the site is 85 hectares and falls across the Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire border, passing by the site you may see areas of green space and some evidence of industrial use, but apart from one remaining business which occupies a small part of the site, the location is derelict and dangerous. It was formerly the Baker Refractory Works, Armstrong Quarry and Steetley Colliery as well as home to several smaller industrial operations.
The funds are being invested to support a regeneration scheme which, will see an extensive remediation programme begin in preparation for redevelopment by Laing O'Rourke of a number of manufacturing facilities, bringing with it approximately 270 new jobs.
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Loughborough Regeneration
On Saturday, November 1 and 8 residents were invited to view plans for the major Eastern Gateway project and give their opinion on the proposals during two special consultations from 10am to 3pm at a public exhibition caravan in Glebe Street, next to Sidings Park.
A formal application is due to be submitted for the multi-million pound Eastern Gateway project at the end of November.
The plans include the new link road from Meadow Lane to Nottingham Road and new housing to the rear of Burder Street. Officers from Charnwood Borough Council, Leicestershire County Council plus representatives from the Nottingham Community Housing Association and developers William Davis were on hand to answer residents' questions. Franklin Ellis Architects, who have designed the new housing included in the application, and Scott Wilson, who have designed the road, were also available.
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Lincolnshire Regeneration
Lincoln’s brand new £7.1m Innovation Centre project received its topping out by Councillor Darren Grice, leader of the city of Lincoln Council.
Due for completion in December, the building is being delivered by the City Council with financial support from Lincolnshire County Council, Objective 2 European RDF, Lincolnshire Enterprise and emda.
The 3,300sqm centre will provide offices and workshops for new and existing businesses in the innovation sector, providing on-site support to maximise commercial growth opportunities, to meet market needs and to build for the future in a global economy.
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Government u-turn on eco-town plans
The government has 'retreated' on many of its original eco-town aspirations following the publication of its draft Planning Policy Statement (PPS).
That is the view of the chair of the Eco-towns Delivery Consortium and president of the Association of Consultant Architects Brian Waters.
The government has made an about-turn on its plans to utilise the New Towns Act and use the eco-towns to speed up its delivery of new housing, according to Waters.
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EPIC Invests in Wind Power
The EPIC Centre is one of the first buildings in the UK that has been specially constructed with the environment very much in mind. The building, the headquarters of the EPIC Project, showcases the new environmental technologies that lessen the emission of greenhouse gases and help to reduce global warming.
The construction of the building has used recycled materials wherever possible, while any rainwater that falls on it will be retained and reused in the general day-to-day running. It will also enjoy a “living” green roof, which will help to reduce its carbon emissions, while energy will be produced via solar and wind power.
The centre has recently invested in two helical wind turbines, the first of their type to be erected in the country.
Designed to operate close to buildings, helical wind turbines work without vibration or noticeable sound. They are constructed from carbon fibres and at more than 15 metres in height make for an eye catching feature to the main entrance of the centre.
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Property Face2Face Set for Launch
Property Face2Face, a new property focussed networking group for Nottingham property professionals will be launched at the East Midlands Property and Business Show on 4th November.
The idea of the group is to meet up and share ideas and opinions with like minded people in this unpredictable market that we are currently in.
Aimed at architects, commercial and residential agents, surveyors, developers, planners, engineers, solicitors and recruitment consultants, the group has chosen an easy, central location to meet – Tonic bar and restaurant in the heart of the city, an award winning venue that provides all the facilities necessary to host their events.
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Collaborative Innovation in Higher Education
Universities United is testing an interdisciplinary approach to innovation in the universities sector. It focuses on developing innovations for social impact, with the aim of embedding social responsibility into the activities of higher education institutions.
They are particularly interested in testing and analysing how different disciplines can assist each other in the innovation process.
An interdisciplinary team, from science, technology, arts and design sectors, will develop ideas and products in selected areas, with a view to finding solutions to social problems.
This will be achieved by holding six facilitated collaborative workshops, where ideas will be generated and fine-tuned. Outside the workshops, the project team will develop these ideas into commercial concepts.
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Knowledge Transfer Partnership
November sees the completion of EMCBE / Scape Knowledge Transfer Collaboration (KTC), which provided a platform for drawing on expertise from across industry, academia and government.
KTC’s are a cost-effective way of ‘buying-in’ university expertise into a company through government funding of up to 60% of approved project costs. They allow companies to directly access University expertise, knowledge, technology and skills during the development of a business idea or service. There are many reasons why companies choose to use KTC’s such as:
- increasing profitability.
- reducing costs
- improving operational systems
- improving manufacturing process
- improving product design
- improving quality
- finding new markets
- increasing sales
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What is TED?
TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) is the online version of the 'Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union', dedicated to European public procurement.
How can I benefit from TED?
TED provides free access to business opportunities. It is updated five times a week with approximately 1500 public procurement notices from the European Union, the European Economic Area and beyond.
You can browse, search and sort procurement notices by country, region, business sector and more.
Information about every procurement document is published in the 23 official EU languages. All notices from the European Union's institutions are published in full in these languages.
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Opportunities with Fusion
With growing investment in fusion research programmes, there are many business opportunities for UK companies. Explore the UKAEA Fusion and Industry site to discover how your company can win business in this exciting and challenging market.
FUSION power offers the potential of an almost limitless source of energy for future generations but it also presents some formidable scientific and engineering challenges. It is called 'fusion' because it is based on fusing light nuclei such as hydrogen isotopes to release energy. The process is similar to that which powers the sun and other stars. Effective energy-producing fusions require that gas from a combination of isotopes of hydrogen - deuterium and tritium - is heated to very high temperatures (100 million degrees centigrade) and confined for at least one second. One way to achieve these conditions is to use magnetic confinement. The most promising configuration at present is the tokamak, a Russian word for a torus-shaped magnetic chamber.
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Increasing the use of Hydraulically Bound Mixtures in Construction
HBMs (hydraulically bound mixtures) have been used for over 50 years, mainly within the pavements and foundations of major roads. However, the potential applications for the use of HBMs in construction is much wider for example:
- piling platforms;
- liners;
- flood defences and erosion protection;
- earthworks; and
- in trench reinstatement
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Revalue Technologies
E-Kerbs:
The effective replacement for concrete kerbstones traditionally used by the construction and civil engineering industries.
Why?
- Cost competitive
- Virtually unbreakable
- Massive 65% saving in weight
- Operator friendly -safe and easily cut
- Superior physical and environmental performance
- Ongoing macro-scale supply of waste
- Visual end use for all to see
- Fully recyclable
- 3 to 4 times service life
- More than 99% reduction in carbon emissions
Having been extensively field-tested during the past 2 years by one of the major construction groups in the U.K. plans are now in hand to roll out use nationally as soon as the product is commercially available.
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CompeteFor
Latest Opportunities
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Sustainability ‘Speak’
Insulating Existing Building Stock (non-domestic)
- Major drain on energy resources.
- Existing building stock far outweighs the amount of new build.
- Refurbishment forms a major part of the construction market.
- Central government departments alone spend 50% more per annum on large scale refurbishment projects (£1.35billion in 2005/6) than on new construction projects.
- Making existing building envelopes more thermally efficient can greatly reduce the amount of energy needed to run both heating and air conditioning.
- The potential and capacity for energy savings are reflected in the requirements of the Refurbishment Sections of the Building Regulations.
- All the main types of refurbishment are covered:
- Extensions;
- Material change of use;
- Material alterations;
- Consequential improvements;
- Provision or extension of a controlled service or fitting;
- Replacement or renovation of a thermal element
- With the exception of “the provision or extension of a controlled service or fitting” all refurbishment types require an improvement to the building fabric.
- The building owner has to meet the fabric standards for the refurbishment works in accordance with the new Regulations, or else show that it is not economically or practically feasible to do so.
- The ‘fabric standards’ expected are made very clear.
- Replacing elements such as ‘single-skin’ or poorly insulated roofs and/or walls can lead to dramatic reductions in energy consumption (as much as 90% in certain instances), providing a clear payback in investment terms.
- Peripheral benefits are, of course, a more comfortable, aesthetic, durable and sustainable environment.
- There is the potential to reduce costs of elements such as fiscal energy taxation, as well as a substantial contribution in terms of reduced CO2 emissions.
- This is particularly important in light of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, which requires existing buildings to be assessed and given an EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) indicating their level of thermal efficiency, as a prerequisite for either selling or letting.
Courtesy of Peter Drew - EPIC
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Adapting Older Homes for a Sustainable Future
The i-House, designed to be a learning tool, features cutting-edge technology to put energy efficiency at the top of its’ agenda.
Black Country housing group (BCHG), together with health sector champion Medilink and ergonomics specialist Ergonova, together with support from Advantage West Midlands and West Bromwich building society have transformed a derelict house into a home of the future.
The £146,000 i-House helps older and disabled people maintain independence and dignity and feel safe, confident and secure in their home whilst minimising their fuel bills.
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Green Heating System Demonstrated
Larkfleet, based in Bourne, near Peterborough, has designed and built 29 new homes at The Drift, Harlaxton for Muir Group, with some of the funding for the homes being provided by the government's Housing Corporation.
The development comprises a range of two and three bedroom houses and bungalows, reserved exclusively for local people with a direct connection to the village. Some of the homes are being made available for low-cost renting and some are being offered for 'shared ownership', allowing a family to buy part of the home and rent the rest from the housing association as a way of 'getting a foot on the housing ladder'.
The homes are all fitted with air source heat pumps - a heating system which operates like a refrigerator running in reverse, taking heat from the surrounding air to heat the home, designed to provide low cost and environmentally-friendly heating and hot water, in this way even on cold winter days when the outside air temperature is low.
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Bluebell Dairy Receives RDPE Grant
Bluebell Dairy in Spondon, Derbyshire has received just over £144,000 of Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) grant funding to help in the conversion of existing farm buildings into a purpose built ice cream parlour, tea room and farm shop.
The new venture will enable the farm to diversify its current business activities and to improve its competitiveness, by manufacturing and selling luxury ice cream, made with milk produced at the farm.
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Sod Cutting for Nottingham High School
Representatives involved in the construction of a new state-of-the-art sixth form centre at Nottingham High School recently held a sod cutting ceremony on site as ground clearing works were completed and steelwork installation began.
The sixth form centre and senior school dining hall at Nottingham High School has been designed by Nottingham architects Maber Associates and is being built by G F Tomlinson Building Ltd. Kevin Fear, Nottingham High School headmaster, Simon Middlecote of Maber Associates and Bob West of G F Tomlinson gathered on site to mark the occasion.
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NOTTS CONSTRUCTION FORUM (NCF) NEWS ITEMS
The NCF has recently appointed two new Directors. Simon Meadows, Chair of CAGE North Notts. and Alan Crich, Chair of CAGE Greater Nottingham, have agreed to join the Board of NCF.
The forum expressed their delighted at welcoming Simon and Alan to the Board saying their experience and associations in the industry will help enormously in the task of helping local businesses and getting construction thinking in the County “more joined up”.
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