feature Futureproof manufacturing – Glass
RAISING A GLASS TO THE FUTURE
Glass is in high demand, but will hopes be smashed by skills shortages?
Look at any modern city skyline and it will be full of glass towers. But there are problems on the horizon for future construction projects when it comes to sourcing supplies and skills.
A recent example of the amount of glass used in construction is The Shard. The towering “vertical city” next to London Bridge station is covered by 11,000 glass panels, with a total surface area of 56,000 square meters, enough glass to cover the pitch at Wembley Stadium about eight times.
However without access to manufacturers, and highly skilled construction workers, the built environment would look very different, and there are concerns that the home- grown UK glass sector is under threat.
A TUC project has been working with Unite members across the building
supply chain with the aim of future- proofing UK industries and ensuring the materials vital to construction continue to be produced in the UK.
The ‘Futureproof Manufacturing’ project has been working with high energy producers such as brick and cement and, importantly, glass.
It’s not just new buildings that need glass, but the material is vital in the race to retrofit homes and buildings across the country, making them more energy efficient and cheaper to heat.
John Storey is a project officer with the TUC’sWorker-led Transition initiative. He said, “Millions of homes across the country are haemorrhaging heat thanks to outdated, inefficient windows. Single- glazed panes, rotting frames, poor seals – you name it.
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“A particularly hard- hit sector is private rental, with old windows contributing to black mould and health problems, as well as leaving homes more vulnerable to break-ins.”
Up to 18 per cent of the heat in old houses is lost through their windows, so installing modern, energy-efficient ones can result in huge savings to energy bills, and have health benefits for residents.
There is also the jobs boost across the sector that a drive to install energy efficient glazing can bring.
John explained, “Britain has a proud glass manufacturing industry, with major sites in Merseyside and Yorkshire. But in recent years, the sector has been under pressure from rising energy costs and
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