Give Your Home a New Look for the New Decade with Architect in the House

With the noughties safely behind

us, it’s time to begin looking ahead to the new decade. And what better way to start than by transforming your home with some expert advice from an architect. Architect in the House is the hugely successful fundraising initiative run annually by the housing charity Shelter and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). Each year architects nationwide give up their time for free to offer hour-long consultations to members of the public in return for a £40 suggested donation to Shelter. Now in its 14th year, Architect in

the House has raised over £1 million for Shelter’s work with homeless and badly housed families, including over £100,000 in 2009 alone.

The scheme is a fantastic

opportunity for homeowners to discuss changes to their home with a RIBA chartered architect. Whether it’s knocking down an interior wall or adding a new floor or extension, a consultation with an architect is the first step to making your dream home a reality. The scheme officially launches on Monday 19 April 2010, but

those who can’t wait until then can pre-register now at www.architectinthehouse.org.uk. Participants will be matched with architects in early July and consultations can take place any time up to the end of November. George Clarke, architect and

presenter of Channel 4’s Home Show and forthcoming series Restoration Man, said, “Architects play a key role in any successful home improvement venture, ensuring your project is well designed and thought through. Only an architect can give you the big picture, offering insights in to the latest trends in property design and advising on everything from finding builders to choosing fixtures and fittings. Architect in the House is a unique opportunity to take advantage of this expertise while raising money for Shelter.

I’d

urge anyone who is looking to make more of their property to register with the scheme.”

Avoiding the Drop – The BSIF Appeals for Safer Practices when Working at Height

Falls from height still cause the most serious of incidents resulting in a quarter of all major injuries and are still the most common kind of workplace accident causing fatality, with provisional figures showing that 58 people died from a fall from height at work in 2007/081

. The British Safety

Industry Federation (BSIF) is committed to raising awareness of height safety therefore saving lives of people who, by the nature of their work, put themselves at risk. David Hall, Chairman for the BSIF comments, “The BSIF would like to see the incidents of injuries caused by working at height significantly reduced. Many lives are lost due to negligence, often due to ignorance and a lack of training. It is these areas we need to address and ensure everyone working at height can access important safety advice.” A number of challenges facing the safety industry have been, or are being resolved, including legislative and guidance documents brought into being. However, there are still several areas which need to be addressed in relation to work at

height in order to ensure the safety of workers. These include the range and complexity of available safety equipment which causes confusion in the selection and deployment of suitable equipment; safety equipment misuse; no means to test the competency of an individual; and, most importantly, a lack of a single recognised training or accreditation for people working at height.

The BSIF reflects the concerns of its members about these issues and would like to see more realistic safety equipment testing so EN standards can be easily related to real life situations, along with a nationally accepted accreditation scheme for those working at height. The BSIF is the only trade body to provide a public service role within the health and safety industry. Acting as a valuable information source funded directly by the industry, the BSIF provides direction in all health and safety matters, including work at height, to both its members and non-members. 1 HSE statistics

GB Appointed to Work as Sub-Contractor on £1.2 billion Accommodation Project for Soldiers

GB Building Solutions has been

appointed as a sub-contractor to Aspire Defence on Project Allenby/Connaught and will deliver complete new build and refurbished accommodation for UK based soldiers and those returning from operations. Aspire Defence, a joint venture

between Carillion and KBR, is delivering Project Allenby/Connaught, the largest infrastructure PFI ever let by the Ministry of Defence. The quality of life for over 18,700 soldiers, 20 % of the British Army, is improving thanks to the provision of modern, high quality, fully serviced and purpose built living and working

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accommodation across the garrisons of Aldershot and Salisbury Plain. The Project is already significantly improving the lives of soldiers, at what is a crucial time for many, with more than 4,100 soldiers having already moved into their own single en-suite living accommodation. The new and refurbished buildings include Junior Ranks Single Living Accommodation (JRSLA) blocks, eight-man houses, dining facilities, mess halls, offices, stores, workshops and something else that returning heroes will welcome – sports and leisure facilities. The construction started in 2006

and will last for eight years running alongside a 35 year facilities management contract. The current £480 million phase is for the next five years running until 2015. GB has been placed in the ‘premier league’ sub-contractor category, where the average contract size will be circa £3 million. Ten tenders are expected to be released in this category between now and the end of the year. The Project is delivering, on

average, two new or refurbished buildings a week and a key criterion for sub-contractors is delivering each contract on time and to budget, something in which

GB Building Solutions has an exemplary record. Aspire Defence will then maintain each building for the duration of the 35 years. Martin Smout, chairman and

chief executive of GB Building Solutions says, “This is a project which will make a significant difference to the lives of almost 19,000 soldiers based in Aldershot and Salisbury Plain. “For GB Building Solutions it is

likely to mean £50 million of new business over the next five years, as a direct result of our solutions led approach of working in partnership with our clients to deliver each project on time and to budget.” Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24