BSEE
ver two-thirds (69%) of British consumers believe the government could be doing more to increase energy efficiency in the home, according to a new study by Schneider Electric. However, only 9% of consumers are aware of ongoing government initiatives, suggesting there is room for greater sustainable home improvements. The study of 2,000 UK consumers highlights a shift in attitudes towards the goal of achieving net zero home emissions, with the majority of people (55%) now motivated to reach this goal within their lifetime. Despite
O I
t is easy for an Annual Review to focus on the many problems 2020 brought to the electrical contracting industry. The Joint Industry Board (JIB) releases its 2020 Annual Review by recapping its key announcements and achievements from last year.
The speed and spread of Coronavirus made 2020 one of the most difficult years in living memory. The JIB responded quickly, handling over 2,000 telephone calls and opening a Coronavirus Hub on the JIB website, which received almost 9,000 visitors. It also sent out newsletters to keep members up to date with developments and hosted a series of webinars which attracted more than 1,000 attendees. The JIB website has continued to be a vital source of information for JIB members, with more than 89,000 downloads of the JIB Handbook and over 4,500 visitors to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme webpage. Since 1968, when its disputes resolutions facility was set up, JIB has played a crucial role resolving industrial disputes. In 2020 JIB resolved over 100 disputes by way of pre-claim conciliation. The year saw several key appointments. Sylvia Cashman and Sir Brendan Barber joined the JIB National Board as Public Interest Members. Phil Wilbraham was appointed as the new Chair of the Electrotechnical Certification Scheme (ECS) Steering Committee.
growing motivation, nearly a third (29%) view such a timeline as unattainable and, with 32% of respondents not feeling guilt over energy assumption, it is apparent that many people do not equate climate action with personal responsibility.
However, sustainability is clearly becoming a more widespread concern - when asked which features and characteristics they regard as the most important when improving a home, energy efficiency was cited most, with 89% regarding it as important. This was followed closely by comfort (87%) and design (75%). What this suggests is that, although consumers are eager to implement energy
NEWS & QUOTES TwoîThirds of Consumers Want Greater Government Intervention to Meet Net Zero Targets
efficient changes and have a growing concern for reducing their household contribution to carbon emissions, many think the onus is on the government to actually regulate and implement change.
This is further demonstrated by the fact that 59% of individuals believe it is the government’s duty to set regulations on energy use. However, when asked about UK green home initiatives, such as the Green Homes Grant, 61% of respondents were not aware of them or had no plans to use them. This suggests that, although there are schemes in place to empower consumers, they are largely going unused.
JIB releases its 2020 Annual Review
The Annual Review highlights some impressive level of support from the ECS as well. In 2020 more than 250 companies signed up to ECS Check, a new online system from the ECS that allows clients, contractors and others to verify the ECS card status of electrotechnical workers, and there are now 175,000 ECS cards registered in the UK. On average, 1,400 ECS applications were received on a weekly basis, with the majority being turned around within two weeks.
Jay Parmar, Chief Executive of the JIB, said: “Despite 2020 being a hugely challenging year, the JIB endeavoured to adopt a ‘business as usual’ approach wherever possible, meaning we were able to achieve some significant industry breakthroughs at the same time as doing our best to help our members and their workforce through a very difficult time.
“The JIB has also strengthened its plans to ensure it attracts the talent and promotes the skills to deliver the UK’s ambitious green economic recovery, supported through the JIB’s Business Plan, which aims to build on the longer-term strategic priorities of raising employment standards, achieving significant business growth and creating a safer built environment.” To read the JIB Annual Review in full visit:
https://www.jib.org.uk/documents/publications/174-jib- annual-review-2020-2-1mb.pdf
Quote, unquote IHS MARKIT / CIPS findings
‘
Commenting on the latest IHS MARKIT / CIPS findings for the construction sector, Fraser Johns, finance director at Beard, said: “The rapid growth month-on- month which we had seen in the second half of 2020, was never going to last into this year. “The slight downturn in January puts that seven-month run into context, it was all about getting back to pre-pandemic levels. “Given the uncertainties around the trade deal post- Brexit and the inevitable delays at the ports as the new ways of working were established, this downturn could have been much more marked.
“The downturn in commercial projects is of most concern. It’s not something we’ve seen at Beard just yet, but given the current climate would anticipate it’s possible further down the line. The huge strain on the economy as the country continues to battle coronavirus is clearly being felt in the commercial sector more widely. “Looking ahead we would hope that as confidence re- builds in line with the roll out of the Covid-19 vaccine, the Chancellor delivers a plan in his budget on March 3, to protect the economy on the same scale.”
’ BigChange Mobile Tech Boosts Providor’s Smart Meter Business E
nergy metering company Providor has transformed its business with the latest mobile technology to become one of the UK’s primary smart
metering companies. With the roll-out of a mobile resource management system from Leeds-based BigChange, Providor has replaced a number of systems and eliminated paperwork with the fully digital real-time works and management solution.
Providor, part of the Sureserve Group, has been working in the field of gas metering since 1998 and has completed well over a million successful installations across the country. With 250 mobile engineers the company installs, maintains and repairs metering systems in domestic and commercial properties for UK energy suppliers including Scottish Power, Octopus, EDF Energy, and E Gas and Electricity. In moving into smart metering, Providor needed to prepare for increased data capture and digital reporting to meet the stringent performance requirements of the energy majors. Realising that their existing systems were not up to the job to meet their ambitious business expansion plans, the company reviewed the top solutions on offer.
The cloud-based solution provides a single platform CRM, Job Scheduling, Mobile App, Vehicle Tracking and Online Portal and this was a key factor in their choice according to Harris. “Probably the biggest appeal was that with BigChange we could bring everything together; a single system from order to invoice as a complete end-to-end business system.”
Smart meters are electronic devices that replace traditional meters recording gas or electricity use, connected wirelessly to utility companies for more accurate monitoring. Providor’s engineers complete over 1200 jobs a day using JobWatch, the BigChange mobile app, and there are over 100 other users of the system in customer services and operations, located at the company’s call centre in Elland and head office in Newmarket.
“BigChange stood out from the rest with particularly good job scheduling and an excellent mobile app with digital job cards
6 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER MARCH 2021
that would clearly do everything we needed well into the future,” said Luke Harris, Information Systems Manager, Providor.
Running on engineers’ rugged devices, JobWatch eliminates paper reports and provides automated workflows to ensure correct procedures are followed. The electronic job cards ensure the correct data is collected and supported by photographs to provide evidence of work done. A customer portal meanwhile allows customers to access contracts and key information such as meter readings and photographs from each job.
Read the latest at:
www.bsee.co.uk
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 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46
