NEWS & APPOINTMENTS
overcome skyrocketing demand on UK building industry
With pressure for major construction projects growing across the UK, a new report is encouraging mechanical services contractors, specifiers and developers to accelerate the uptake and deployment of offsite construction techniques, particularly when it comes to building services. The UK is currently falling short of its annual target to build 300,000 new homes in England, while 90% of student accommodation rooms for the 2023/24 academic year had already been sold by April 2023. With a 17% increase in hotel construction projects also reported over 2024, pressure is on the construction sector to build faster as confidence in city centre building continues to rise. REHAU’s new report, Offsite Trends in Building Services explores how modern methods of construction (MMC) can help tackle this issue. Underlining a skills shortage of 937,000 construction industry vacancies by 2032, it looks specifically at how to implement mechanical service installation into offsite projects to make builds easier and faster. Steve Richmond, head of marketing and technical, REHAU Building Solutions, said: “Building at pace within tight footprints and using traditional methods is undoubtedly difficult, necessitating new approaches such as MMC. This new report details what is possible and how different offsite methods suit specific projects and help provide simpler, faster and high-quality builds for contractors, all within a factory-controlled environment.” With high-rise construction increasingly necessary in high-density urban areas, REHAU’s guide highlights how the company can help with the challenge of building at height in smaller spaces. At the same time, it uncovers obstacles that contractors, specifiers and developers must overcome when using offsite construction methods to ensure quality work. The guide includes information on key components that can be assembled at the factory and transported and assembled onsite for a high-quality build. This includes modular shafts, pre-wall constructions, bathroom pods and polymer risers, as well as relatively new technologies such as thermally activated building structures (TABS), which can provide both heating and cooling. “There have already been many exciting innovations across the globe to further
improve offsite construction methods that we have included within this new guide,” Steve concludes. “Like all fields, MMC is continually developing, and the hope is that through this whitepaper, readers can find out more about these innovative methods and solutions, and best put MMC techniques into practice to meet market demand.” To download REHAU’s report, ‘Offsite Trends for Building Services’ go to
https://www.rehau.com/uk-en/specifiers/building-technology-specifiers/offsite-construction
Training partnership set to unlock retrofit career opportunities
A new retrofit training academy hub has been established in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire to meet the growing demand for retrofitters, grow career opportunities for residents, and upskill contractor workforces in the counties. Created to unlock Net Zero careers, the training partnership between The Retrofit Academy and the Net Zero Skills Hub at Abingdon & Witney College has set up The Retrofit Academy Oxon and Bucks.
The announcement comes as over £1.8bn from the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) and Homes Upgrade Grant (HUG) funding has increased the demand of number of retrofit professionals across the country. Students across the counties now have access to the UK’s best quality retrofit courses created and licensed by The Retrofit Academy, the driving force in retrofit knowledge and skills. Providing residents and organisations across Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire with the means to take up the growing number of retrofit job roles, the sector-specific qualifications range from levels 2 to 5 under the PAS 2035 British Standard for retrofit and include: • • • •
Level 2 AIM Qualifications Level 2 Award in Understanding Domestic Retrofit Level 3 AIM Qualifications Award in Domestic Retrofit Advice Level 4 AIM Qualifications Award in Domestic Retrofit Assessment
Level 5 AIM Qualifications Diploma in Retrofit Coordination and Risk Management
The nationally recognised qualifications from The Retrofit Academy join a raft of high- quality Net Zero courses being offered at Abingdon & Witney College that allow students to build a rewarding and fulfilling career. Aiming to address the skills shortages in several trades across the industry, courses provide students with highly sought after green qualifications, including air source heat pump training, solar thermal, photo voltaic and electric vehicle maintenance and repair.
David Pierpoint, chief executive at The Retrofit Academy said: “The launch of TRA Oxon and Bucks in partnership with Abingdon and Witney College further strengthens our mission to extend the capacity for delivering retrofit at scale in the South East. Learners training at our newest hub will get the best quality training courses available in the UK and graduate with the ability to support delivery of high-quality, large-scale retrofit programmes.
4 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER JANUARY 2024 Offsite construction set to Appointments
A-Gas has appointed new commercial director
A-Gas UK has appointed John Phipps as its new commercial director for the UK.
John is a qualified engineer and an IMechE
chartered engineer with a senior management background in the chemical processing, oil and gas; automotive and aerospace industries. He was recently awarded an executive MBA in sustainability and energy transition with distinction.
John said: “I am delighted to be taking on this position at A-Gas. My main goal is to drive the business forward as we continue to deliver on our purpose to protect and enhance the environment by managing effectively the lifecycle of refrigerants to build a sustainable future.”
BDR Thermea Group appoints new chief
Baxi’s Parent company BDR Thermea Group has announced the appointment of Tjarko Bouman as its new chief executive. Bouman will join BDR Thermea Group from 1 February 2024 as successor to Bertrand Schmitt, who is stepping down, as announced earlier. Tjarko is currently chief executive of NTS Group, a global company which develops, produces, assembles and tests complex (opto) mechatronic systems and mechanical modules for high-tech OEMs in semiconductor, analytical and healthcare markets. During his tenure, he has rolled out a refined new global strategy, which resulted in record years for turnover and profitability in 2021 and 2022, and a place in the global top 3 of the semiconductor and analytical market niche in which NTS Group is active. Prior to NTS, Tjarko spent nine years at Vanderlande Industries working as managing
director responsible for the operating company delivering automated material handling solutions in Europe (excluding DACH) and Asia Pacific to main markets of the food retail, e-commerce, fashion and parcel industries. Before that, he was responsible for global services development at Vanderlande including the spare parts business, global services desk and services expertise centre. Marc de Jong, Chair of the BDR Thermea Supervisory Board, says: “Tjarko brings to his
new role as BDR Thermea CEO more than 20 years’ experience in business development, operations and supply chain, both in consulting and management, and a track record of combining innovation and growth with a clear customer focus. Tjarko is skilled in business transformation, as well as having digital skills in developing customer value-propositions.” Tjarko said: “I’m looking forward to joining BDR Thermea Group, building on Bertrand’s legacy, bringing my own experience and skills to the company, and cooperating with the teams across the globe as BDR Thermea moves forward to further strengthen its position in the energy transition.”
Polypipe Building Services appointment heralds expansion of project design support
Polypipe Building Services has announced that Simon Russell has joined as UK regional director, supporting customers across central and southern areas of the country.
He brings with him a wealth of established contacts among MEP consultants thanks to a building services career of over 35 years and will focus on offering an enhanced level of support in the design of drainage and water supply systems for commercial projects. Simon observed: “I will be working closely with designers, contractors, and clients to ensure our product knowledge and expertise is fully available at every step of their commercial projects. From concept to construction to handover, as a manufacturer we are ideally placed to provide detailed advice on important topics such as the environmental footprint of systems as well as how selecting the right product can help to enhance performance and durability.”
Key to this will be a series of training days and roadshows to be held in the new year. Aimed at engineers, these sessions will provide an opportunity to discuss the important role of plastic drainage and water supply systems in modern building design. Polypipe Building Services will also highlight what it is doing to ensure engineers are able to easily get all relevant performance data to make the right specification, including on the increasingly important topic of embodied carbon.
Read the latest at:
www.bsee.co.uk
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