Pupils get back to nature
Year 2 pupils from Shobnall Primary School have been getting back to nature with a morning spent building bird boxes at Burton College.
The children, who are all aged 6 or 7 years old, took part in the initiative based in the Lichfield Street Campus’ Wood Trades Workshop, as part of a competition for East Staffordshire Borough Council’s Gardening Olympics; a project supporting local schools that encourages children and young people to grow their own vegetables, eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly and to look after wildlife and the environment.
Talking about the activity Programme Area Manager, Wood Occupations & Painting & Decorating Ian Vanes-Jones said: “The College’s Construction Crafts team always relishes the chance to work with local school children. It is a great opportunity to give the children an insight into the world of Construction whilst also allowing them to have some educational fun and be involved in an activity, which helps them to think about green issues and introduces them in a practical way to nature. Today we are all very aware of the importance of sustainability and involving children in the construction of bird boxes highlights this and encourages them to have a greater awareness of their environment and its wildlife.”
Left to right: Emma Beresford, Niya Lovatt and Maisy Vanes-Jones.
Burton College’s range of Construction courses introduce students to the knowledge, understanding, personal and practical skills that underpin professions in the field of architecture, surveying, construction, civil engineering, building services engineering, planning and property. In addition to full time courses there are also a number of part time courses available. To find out more call Burton College on 01283 494400 or visit
www.burton-college.ac.uk
Experts working across the field of disabled and older people have called for a national overall coherent plan to develop fully integrated systems and services which meet their needs.
‘Smart living plan for disabled and older people'
Such an urgent need was expressed by speakers addressing some 80 delegates at a seminar held at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills [BIS], London, on June 15, and organised by the charity PhoneAbility in collaboration with BIS.
The plea for an overall plan was supported by Mr Peter Bonfield, Chief Executive of BRE (Building Research Establishment), in opening the seminar. “By 2050 half of us will be of pensionable age in the United Kingdom”, he said. “The homes and communities we build and retrofit today have to meet the needs of our future population. Our industry must begin to address the 'smart living' agenda and embrace the technologies that will keep us all living independently for longer in our own communities”.
www.phoneability.org.uk
Bbi signs three year framework agreement with market leader Balfour Beatty Workplace
Office interiors specialist Beacons Business Interiors (Bbi) has secured a place on Balfour Beatty Workplace’s framework agreement that could potentially be worth up to £6 million a year.
After careful vetting, Bbi has been selected by Balfour Beatty Workplace to be part of a strategic alliance to deliver its client facilities management programme over the next three years.
As part of the framework agreement, Bbi is already working alongside Balfour Beatty Workplace on refurbishment contracts for its major blue chip clients. These projects involve most elements of internal construction including ceilings,
partitioning, floor and wall coverings, lighting, mechanical installations and providing office and restaurant furniture. Balfour Beatty Workplace is a market leader in facilities management services to both private and public sector customers. The business has a workforce of over 10,000 with revenues of over £500 million declared for 2009.
Bbi has previously worked with Balfour Beatty Workplace for a number of years on various ad-hoc projects throughout England, Scotland and Wales, including the refurbishment of Balfour Beatty’s own offices.
Andy Graham, group chairman for Bbi, said: “This is fantastic news for Bbi and it is great to be able to expand on our existing relationship with Balfour Beatty Workplace. Since joining the framework we have already won over £1million worth of projects and this looks set to continue. “We already provide facilities support services to a number of blue chip clients such as The Lloyds Banking Group, Zurich, SunGard and Computershare and it will be great to add Balfour Beatty Workplace to our list of regular clients.
“Our network of offices across the UK combined with our specialist teams, including our dedicated in-house health and
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safety and mechanical and electrical divisions, mean that we can offer Balfour Beatty Workplace a variety of support services under one roof and a UK-wide service.”
Iain Taylor, Purchasing Manager for Balfour Beatty Workplace, said: “It is great to have an established company like Bbi as part of our strategic alliance framework. “We are aiming to reduce our number of sub-contractors to improve efficiencies and companies like Bbi, which can offer us a one-stop-shop for all our servicing needs, dovetail very well into our own self- delivery model.
“Health and safety is also an important factor for Balfour Beatty Workplace. We are currently working to achieve Zero Harm by 2012, to ensure the long-term health of our employees. Bbi’s proven track record in this area and the fact that, through its Compliance Department, all its site managers are IOSH qualified, takes us another step closer to this.”
The announcement of the signing of the framework agreement with Balfour Beatty Workplace follows a record £4 million worth of contract wins for BBI over the past eight weeks.
For more information, visit
www.bbi-uk.com or call 01874 623089.
Building & Facilities Management – July 2010
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