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Constructing Excellence East Midlands Regional Awards
The former North of England correspondent for the BBC, Kevin Bocquet was the ‘master of ceremonies’ for this prestigious event celebrating the 2007/8 achievements of the Region’s construction sector at the inaugural Constructing Excellence East Midlands Regional Awards which took place on Tuesday 14th October at the Nottingham Conference Centre.
Launched by EMCBE (The East Midlands Centre for Constructing the Built Environment) and our sponsors earlier this year, the awards were created to showcase excellence and to reward achievement from organisations and project teams that have achieved regional acclaim.
The winners were revealed before a capacity audience of 400, including local dignitaries, and representatives from across the built environment who all came together to applaud the winners of the 10 categories culminating with the ‘Client of the Year Award’.
Plaudits have been numerous including
Hi Terry, just a note to say well done again for putting on such a professional and enjoyable event on Tuesday evening.
All at CWC enjoyed the night….we look forward to next year!!!
Thank you very much for the invite for last night's event, it was an excellent evening and very enjoyable. I thought the venue, food, awards ceremony and entertainment was first class and went very well indeed especially as it was the first of its kind.
One thought perhaps to be considered for future events would be a very brief synopsis of the winning project at the time of the award being presented. I know it may increase the duration of the ceremony but it could add some
substance and background knowledge to the scheme for the attendees.
Stephen B Joyce, Senior Associate for Gardiner & Theobald LLP
There was a surprise additional award made on the night, Jason Stanley, a student at Derby College, was awarded the Gold Medal for a bricklaying student in the UK’s National Skill Build Competition. Jason stands every chance of representing the UK in the World Skills Competition in Calgary, Alberta in 2009. Derby College and the East Midlands are very proud of Jason’s achievements thus far, and Steve Logan, Vice Principal of Derby College, took this opportunity to present Jason with a special award and to congratulate him before the gathered guests.
Here is a full list of the winners:
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Constructing Excellence - National Awards Dinner 2008 (Black tie)
We are delighted to be able to announce the second annual Constructing Excellence National awards dinner showcasing excellence and rewarding achievement throughout the industry. The venue will be Lords Cricket Ground Pavilion St John's Wood London NW8 8QN, and will take place on Thursday, 13 November 2008 from 7pm – late.
Throughout this year Constructing Excellence have been holding Regional Awards. This finale event will congratulate the overall winners.
 The evening will be hosted by Brian Blessed, and promises to entertain!
The son of a South Yorkshire coal miner, Brian Blessed was born in 1936 in Mexborough and grew up in the mining village of Goldthorpe. He trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School before beginning a distinguished and varied career, which has encompassed all media. Brian is now one of this country's best known and most highly respected actors.
For information on how to attend email: helpdesk@constructingexcellence.org.uk or log onto the Constructing Excellence web site at : http://www.constructingexcellence.org.uk |
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Stephenson College Sustainable Energy Centre
Centre of Vocational Excellence for the Construction sector. State of the art facilities that offer the latest new technologies available in modern building services. This centre is a first in the country and the only college to offer all of these facilities under one roof.
Current Courses Available (All at competitive prices)
- BPEC Solar Domestic Hot Water Heating
- Introduction to Solar Domestic Hot Water Heating systems
- BPEC Rainwater Harvesting
- BPEC Underfloor Heating
- BPEC Ground Source Heat Pump
- BPEC Biomass
- BPEC Renewable Awareness
Current clients include Ferroli and Worcester Bosch. Centrally located for M!, M42, and East Midlands Airport
For more information contact Sally or Mel on 01530 278626
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KPI MasterClass feedback
If you were unable to attend the EMCBE Midlands KPI Materclass, on the 2nd October, there are still opportunities to take part in other regional events, follow the links below and ensure you don’t miss out:
KPI Masterclass - Birmingham - 5 November
For more details, click here.
KPI Masterclass - London - 12 November
For more details, click here.
- Learn the principles of using KPIs to benchmark and improve performance.
- Learn the 7-step process of implementing KPIs using the UK Construction Industry KPIs and with the help of practical examples.
- Discover how the new KPIzone website helps you select and manage your KPI data.
- Hear how organisations have implemented performance measurement successfully and the benefits they gained.
- Receive a £50 discount of the full subscription price for KPIzone.
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India – Green & Intelligent Buildings
Seminar Mission to Chennai and Hyderabad
India’s infrastructure sector is going through an unprecedented boom phase with an estimated £37bn worth of investment per year. This investment includes an increased appetite and interest in green and intelligent buildings. Many local developers are interested in green design, but lack critical experience. The construction industry is worth over £28 billion and the market potential for green building products alone is estimated to be around £1.8 billion. Working with the CII (India Green Buildings Council) and CREDAI (Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India), UKTI is taking a seminar mission to Chennai and Hyderabad to showcase UK capabilities in this growing and influential sector. Chennai, capital of Tamil Nadu is the major infrastructure base in Southern India, and has the largest concentration of green buildings in India. Hyderabad, like many Indian cities, has undergone a transformation in recent years and is now the green building capital of India.
In addition to seminars the programme will include 6 site visits, group meetings, and an official reception hosted by the British Deputy High Commission.
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The Sustainable Construction iNet
The University of Northampton received over 70 entries for a proposed sustainable iHUB building in Daventry, following an architecture design competition..
The iHUB will be a major construction showcase in design and sustainability for the Daventry area.
Supported by the Building Research Establishment and the Royal Institute of British Architects, the two-stage design competition was part of a region wide initiative by the East Midlands Development Agency (emda) to stimulate innovation in key business sectors. The iHUB will form the operational headquarters for the East Midlands sustainable construction innovation network (iNet). This will in turn strengthen the construction sector through promoting and enabling innovative technologies and practices.
The building will be the result of a collaboration between The University of Northampton, the West Northamptonshire Development Corporation (WNDC) and Daventry District Council to build a top class information hub and office accommodation.
The winning design for the £8 million project was announced in June and subject to approval, the iHUB is targeted for completion by the end of 2009. The venue will feature a conference room for 200 people, exhibition spaces, ‘lettable’ innovation units, meeting rooms, reception and networking space and supporting facilities. It will also be held up as a leading example of energy-efficiency and sustainable building in its own right.
iHUB is part of a wider project initiated by emda, to create a series of Innovation Networks (iNETs) – designed to share good practice across the East Midlands Region and to improve productivity and business development in the region. The iNets are being created in the sectors of health, food, transport equipment and sustainable construction.
The University of Northampton won the contract from emda to lead a wide ranging consortium of universities, professional bodies and research associations delivering the sustainable construction activity. Working together with Daventry District Council, they identified the potential site in the town for the iHUB building.
Sustainable Construction iNet Events
Innovation in Sustainable Construction
Innovation in Sustainable Construction
Sustainable Construction i-Net Events
Sustainable Construction i-Net Events
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2nd NHTG Annual Conference of the Regional Heritage Skills Action Groups
Alnwick Castle, Northumberland – Home of the Duke of Northumberland and location for Hogwarts in the recent Harry Potter movies.
11th November 2008, 9:30am- 4:00pm
After the publication of Building Craft Skills: Assessing the Need, Meeting the Challenge in 2005, the National Heritage Training Group has actively supported the development of regional heritage skills action groups in each of the nine English regions, to expand and develop opportunities for training and education in traditional building skills and conservation by using regional expertise to direct resources. On 11th November 2008 the Regional groups Conference will be held at Alnwick Castle, Northumberland.
This is an opportunity for the groups to come together and share best practice, with each providing a short presentation on the development of their group, highlighting approach, successes, problems, obstacles etc, to share ideas, assess commonalties and regional differences and to plan for 2009.
It is anticipated that up to six people from each regional group will attend and ideally the delegation will comprise a balance of funders, heritage bodies, contractors/employers and training providers, so that encouragement can be given to coordinate appropriate representation within each group network and also to nominate a speaker for a 10 minute presentation on your group’s progress. Places are limited and will be provided on a first come first served basis.
A meal prior to the conference on the eve of the 10th November will be provided in the Sanctuary Restaurant within the castle to get participants in the networking mood. This year delegates will have to fund and book their own overnight accommodation, a list of hotels within ten minutes walk of the Castle ranging between £60.00 and £85.00 for B&B can be provided.
If you would like to attend the conference, please reply at your earliest convenience by emailing the NHTG administrator Karen Smith (karen.smith@cskills.org) by 31st October 2008 with your name and all contact details, including the region you represent. Please also indicate any dietary and accessibility requirements. Alternatively please phone Karen Smith on 01509 283162.
For more details please call Seamus Hanna on 07799 470701 or Mark Hinsley 07767 618863. Once acknowledgement of your attendance has been received further details will be sent. |
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Low Impact Buildings Innovation Platform, Technology Strategy Board
The next competition to be run by this innovation platform will be on Design and Decision Tools.
The competition will open in March 2009, as part of the planning activity invitations are being sent out for attendance at a half day workshop to review and input to the priorities for research funding in design and decision tools, organised by the Modern Built Environment Knowledge Transfer Network (MBE KTN) on the 29th October in Birmingham. Further details and registration are online
Since launching in May 2008 competitions have been run on Components and Materials needed for low impact buildings. The full proposals for this competition have been received and are currently being assessed. A programme of activities scheduled over the next three years will soon be published to enable planning ahead for the funding interventions to berun.
For more information contact : Fionnuala Costello B.Eng, M.Sc, PhD, Lead Technologist, Innovation Platform for Low Impact Buildings, Technology Strategy Board. Tel: 01793 442780 Mob: 07824 599788 |
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The East Midlands Merit Awards - The EMMAs
Institution of Civil Engineers East Midlands Region
The Region’s Principal Award for exemplar Civil Engineering Projects
The ICE East Midlands Merit Award is a celebration of outstanding civil engineering achievement in the region and elsewhere.
Make sure the excellence and imaginative approach to civil engineering practice, demonstrated by your staff and partners, is recognised and celebrated by entering the Region’s most prestigious award.
This year there are four categories to submit entries to:
1. Small Project Award (< £500,000)
2. Studies and Research
3. Large Project Award (> £500,000)
4. Projects designed within the East Midlands and constructed outside the region (Any value)
Your nomination could be for an innovative commissioned project, excellent design work, bestpractice in project management, pioneering construction techniques or leading-edge research.
Among the factors the judges will be looking for are:
• Design
• Construction
• Research and development
The Award ceremony will take place at a Gala Dinner on 24 April 2009. To register your intention to enter the award contact Susannah Cherry no later than 19 December 2008. The Award entry should reach the ICE Regional Office no later than noon 30 January 2009.
For further information contact: Susannah Cherry t +44 (0)115 923 3807 e Susannah.cherry@ice.org.uk
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Sustainable Urban Land Management Conference
13-15 May 2009, Saint-Ettienne FRANCE
The 3rd International Conference on Managing Urban Land is being organised by CABERNET and the Etablissement public foncier de l’Ouest Rhône Alpes (EPORA) in Saint-Etienne, France.
EPORA is a public land management authority, created in 1998 heading brownsite regeneration work in liaison with the local authorities and planners of the Rhône-Alpes region, namely Saint-Etienne.
CABERNET, Europe’s sustainable brownfield regeneration network, aims to share good practice and the develop crossdisciplinary shared understanding essential to cost effective, socially desirable and environmentally benevolent regeneration.
Call for papers
Short abstracts (200 words) or suggestions for special sessions should be are requested by 31 October 2008. The programme committee is particularly interested in case studies representing best practices that are transferable to other regions and countries. Short papers/ extended abstracts will be published.
Further information
Please email paul@lqm.co.uk or visit www.cabernet.org.uk to download the Proceedings of Cabernet 2007 |
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Sustainability ‘Speak’
Water Resources
- The amount of water in the world is finite.
- World population is growing fast, and the use of water is growing even faster.
- A third of the world’s population lives in water-stressed countries now, and by 2025 this is expected to rise to two-thirds (with the world’s population predicted to reach 8.9 billion by 2050).
- The UN recommends that people need a minimum of 50 litres (11 gallons) of water per day for drinking, washing, cooking and sanitation.
- The ‘average European’ uses between 250 and 350 litres per day (55 and 79 gallons), and the ‘average American’ 600 litres per day (132 gallons). World Water Council.
- Theoretically, there is more than enough water available in total in the world to meet everyone’s basic (minimum) needs, provided it is used efficiently.
- Pollution seriously reduces the quantity of useable water available, and – through waterborne diseases – causes the deaths of more than 5 million people each year.
- 70% of the water used currently worldwide is used for agriculture (14% in the UK).
- Water is an essential resources for successful economic development to generate funds to tackle water problems in poor countries, and so it’s a vicious circle or an unsustainable situation.
- In reality, the UK has become the 6th largest net importer of water in the world, with every consumer indirectly responsible for the use of 1000s of litres each day – so called ‘virtual water’ used in the production of imported food, textiles and other goods.
- Average household water use for washing, drinking and sanitation in the UK is approximately 150 litres (33 gallons) a person daily, but we consume about 30 times as much in ‘virtual water’ i.e. 4,645 litres (1022 gallons) a day per person.
- Only 38% of the UK’s total water use, including ‘virtual water’, comes from its own resources with the rest coming from the water system of other countries – some of which are already facing serious water shortages but have to keep exporting.
- The WWF has introduced the concept of the ‘water footprint’ and is working with some of the UK’s major companies (and particularly supermarkets) to encourage them to evaluate their ‘water footprints’ and to promote sustainable water use where water is scarce.
- In the UK we have, as part of our physical assets of water infrastructure, 1,000 reservoirs, over 2,500 water treatment works, 9,000 sewage treatment works and more than 700,000 kilometres of water mains and sewers.
- Direct leakage from the physical infrastructure is estimated to be 145 litres (32 gallons) per property per day, or 3,609 million litres per day (enough for 72 million people’s daily minimum needs, according to the UN).
- Through repairs and renewals, the UK’s 23 water companies are managing to reduce overall leakage by about 1%, or 40million litres (8.8 million gallons), each year.
- The UK’s water industry generated approximately 5 million tonnes of greenhouse gases through the supply and treatment parts of the ‘supply-use-treatment’ cycle, about 0.8% of the UK’s total greenhouse gas production in 2006/7.
- The use of domestic hot water generates some 35 million tonnes of greenhouse gases each year, i.e. approximately 7 times that for the overall ‘supply-use-treatment’ cycle.
One of the ‘Construction Commitments’ (Strategic Forum) is to reduce water usage in the manufacturing and construction phase by 20% compared to 2008 usage. (Strategy for Sustainable Construction).
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Business Rates Relief
Small businesses are being encouraged by Business Link to apply for rates relief as a large amount of business rate relief is unclaimed under the Small Business Rate Relief Scheme. Businesses have until 30th September 2010 to apply for relief covering the three years 2007/08, 2008/09, 2009/10. More information on the small business rate relief scheme can be found here. Ratepayers should contact their local authority for details of how to apply. |
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Grant for Regeneration
East Midlands Development Agency (emda) has made a contribution of over £4million to a regeneration project on contaminated land at the former Steetley Colliery Site, which is set to bring 270 new jobs to the area. Construction firm Laing O'Rourke plans to develop the site as a new manufacturing facility.
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