FIS Skills’ #iBuiltThis2017 competition ran on social media during September to attract young people and promote the construction industry as a career choice. The winners were announced last month at UK Construction Week. Read on to find out which ‘build’ caught the judges’ eye.
Architect and host of Channel 4’s Amazing Spaces George Clarke joined FIS and sponsors on stage at UK Construction Week to announce the three age category winners of #iBuiltThis2017 along with a special Judges’ Award for Excellence. Well done to everyone who took the time to showcase their ‘build’ and congratulations to the finalists and winners.
LEGOLAND Contest – Sponsored by Building Heroes
Age Group: 13 and under
Winner: Kendrick Long for his project – New Three Little Pigs
iPhone 8 Contest – Sponsored by Home Builders Federation (HBF)
Age Group: 14 to 18
Winner: Emily Ash for her project – Wall and Cavity Synoptic Testing
St Pancras Renaissance Hotel Contest – Sponsored by Silver Trowel
Age Group: 19 and over
Winner: Carwyn Jones for his project – The Dragon’s Eye
Judges Awards for Excellence – Sponsored by Nevill Long
Winner: Frankie Bicker for the Royal Academy of Arts restoration project for Artisan Plaster
FIND OUT MORE
www.thefis.org/skills-hub/i-built-this
Main image caption: George Clarke (l) and Colin Teagle (r) of category sponsor Silver Trowel presenting the 19 and over award to Carwyn Jones for his project, The Dragon’s Eye
Sektor, the interiors solutions brand exclusive to CCF, has introduced new mineral, metal and lighting products to its ceilings range.
The range has grown Sektor’s acoustic offering with two new fleece-lined mineral tiles in either Class A (Pearltone Alpha) or Class C (Pearltone) sound absorption rating. This complements the existing Sektor Sahara, Spintone and Puretone mineral tiles to cater for projects that require heightened sound attenuation and absorption performance qualities.
Three new Sektor Forte metal tiles – suited to sleek city and premium commercial spaces – have also been added as clip-in, lay-in and perforated options.
Two new Sektor Lumos LED lighting panels, in a warm (4,000k) or cool white (6,000k) effect, complete the extended offering. This slimline lighting range is new to Sektor and fits seamlessly into suspended ceilings.
www.sektorinteriors.com
Starke Arvid has unveiled a new plasterboard Telehandler Lifting Frame so that on-site workers can avoid awkward lifting and working positions, while simultaneously optimising onsite workflow.
The telehandler lifting frame enables wall board to be transported and lifted lengthways directly into a building. This is an effective solution where space or access is tight and especially useful for sites without hosts hand cranes. It eliminates having to manhandle each board into a building.
www.starkearvid.co.uk
The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has responded to the construction industry and government’s calls for reform, following the publication of the Government’s ITB Review. CITB has set out a six-point plan for reform throughout 2018. It includes a commitment to be more accountable, representative and responsive to industry’s needs.
The Industrial Training Board (ITB) Review led by Paul Morrell stated that the effectiveness of ITBs must be judged by whether firms can recruit, retain and develop people with the skills and knowledge they need.
The review has said that ITBs should adopt open decision making and a focus on delivery only where there is market failure. It also indicated that the CITB Board should include people with direct experience of small business.
CITB has committed to becoming a streamlined organisation focusing on the areas where it is best placed to make a difference in the areas of careers, standards and qualifications, and training and development. Governance will become more transparent and there will be increased representation of smaller firms in CITB’s governance and much greater engagement with key decision-makers in the industry
It will also look at introducing an effective, sustainable business model and deliver better value for levy payers. It will also work more closely with the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) on skills needed to deliver the sector deal
Restructuring of the CITB Council and National Committees will start early in 2018.
James Wates, Chairman of CITB and Wates Group, said: “A massive programme of change is in store at CITB, to reform the organisation into the efficient, accountable, transparent body the industry needs to help build a better Britain.”
CITB has set out its Agenda for Change, six key outcomes that it will deliver over the next 12 months. The objectives are: be accountable; be representative; be relevant; be responsive; be innovative; and be influential.
Sarah Beale, Chief Executive of CITB, says: “We’ve heard the calls for change loud and clear so now, we look ahead to some tough but vital decisions to become the ‘levy in, skills out’ organisation that our industry needs. I appreciate the backing of government and of industry as we start on the journey of transforming CITB.”
Tradeline, the range of professional drywall solutions exclusive to CCF, has developed a new range of jointing cement and compounds to help the trade achieve a seamless finish on projects.
Launched last month, the range suits a variety of specification requirements and includes a convenient Ready Mixed Joint Cement, suitable for full taping and jointing, and an air-drying Joint Cement, ideal for the completion of large areas of plasterboard tapered joints.
These are in addition to a new Joint Filler, designed for bedding tapes and filling plasterboard joints, and an innovative lightweight Quick Fill jointing compound. Both products have a 90-minute setting time, making them ideal for projects that require same-day completion.
www.tradelinedrywall.com
Simon Lewis, a partner in the Construction and Engineering Team at Bond Dickinson, turns his attention to technology and some recent predictions.
Like it or not, the future seems to be rushing upon us with an ever-increasing speed. It is difficult enough to keep up with everything that has to be done on a daily basis, but every now and then it is useful to look around and see what is coming up. In that regard, the recently published report by Balfour Beatty, Innovation 2050: A Digital Future for the Infrastructure Industry, offers some interesting insights into the way the industry is heading. While some of the report is, as you might expect, an advertisement for what Balfour Beatty is doing, it also usefully draws together various strands of technological development which are undoubtedly going to have an effect on everyone.
What, then, can we expect next?
The Balfour Beatty report contains a number of predictions for 2050. As is so often the case with things that look to the future, I suspect that some of these will not actually have taken place by then but that there will be other developments which will be far more advanced than we would dare to predict now. Here are some of the highlights:
- The shape of the industry will change significantly, with new business models, products and services.
- New jobs and industries will be created – and some will disappear, especially low- or zero-skill roles and those relying on repetition of tasks.
- Thinking only about design and construction will become an outdated concept as infrastructure becomes multi-functional.
- Construction will get faster, using 3D and 4D printing, and self-transforming objects which self-assemble.
Skills and agility
Inevitably, as technology continues to accelerate and affect the industry directly, the sector will need a more agile workforce with new skills. Among all this talk of ‘digital natives’ (defined as someone born or brought up during the age of digital technology) and the IT-savvy, technologically aware workforce, there lurks a spectre of what is often euphemistically referred to as ‘jobless growth’: companies increasing their profits without increasing the workforce. Further, while new jobs and new industries will be created, some will disappear. Humans are likely to be replaced in repetitive, unskilled jobs by robots and artificial intelligence (AI), and certain aspects of traditional industries such as manufacturing are likely to decline as new industries emerge. It is predicted that 65 per cent of children at school today will work in jobs that do not yet exist. There may be a greater need for more specialisation, particularly in skills that require technological input and understanding. Flexibility and desire to upskill regularly will become vital attributes in the jobs market.
This report also considers that the use of 3D and 4D printing will result in a significant increase in the speed and ease with which the construction process can take place. If (like me) you had no idea what 4D printing is, apparently it refers to self-transforming objects which alter their shape in response to a stimulus, such as a change in heat, sound or moisture. This could lead to the creation of smart objects that could react to changing environmental conditions. I am having trouble imagining what they might look like but no doubt somebody will show me sooner or later.
It is suggested that all surfaces will become potential interface points with computers, devices and networked technology. This will be part of new materials technologies bringing about changes in the way the built environment looks. Certain technologies already enable flooring to harness the energy of vehicles or people moving on surfaces and this is likely to become mainstream. In other words, infrastructure will end up fulfilling more than one purpose. The materials used in the construction process are likely to become far more flexible in their use and increasingly, via the Internet of Things (IoT), able to communicate with each other and with their owners via the use of self-healing and self-maintaining technologies.
Considering the challenges
Are there any challenges posed by these new developments? Obviously, there are. There will be a massive increase in energy consumption given the colossal amounts of data which will need to be processed. This means that infrastructure design will need to take account of climate projections and impacts, the use of renewable energy will need to increase significantly and new ways of storing data will have to be developed. At the same time, processing and using the data in real time will get more difficult simply because there will be so much of it.
The inevitable debates around privacy versus the benefits of data are bound to become far more acute and, of course, cyber security will become even more important. We are already aware of the effects of hacking and cyber-attack. Earlier this year, the ‘WannaCry’ ransomware attack hit 150 countries – the worst attack ever on critical infrastructure. Regular assaults of this sort are likely to become the norm as new ways are found to exploit cyber weapons which target old, weak and under-protected software systems. Sadly, the NHS will continue to be a major target for this reason.
For the construction industry, this will pose a particular challenge. Large projects increasingly rely upon supply chains and contractors from a number of different countries collaborating on the collating and sharing of large amounts of data. Internet-connected solutions and remotely accessible systems such as BIM open up the risk of cyber-attack. At particular risk are Building Management Systems on which many hospitals, government buildings, banks, research facilities and prisons are increasingly reliant. Cyber security as an aspect of everyday construction work will become increasingly prevalent.
What does this mean for the finishes and interiors sector? It is, of course, difficult to say with any precision, but ultimately, this is not a question of choice about whether we accept what is happening or not: it is going to happen anyway and the issue becomes how it is approached and what strategies are used to deal with it and profit from it. The key seems to be flexibility and a willingness to embrace technology rather than seeing it as something that is going to be a bad thing. Given its inevitability, the issue is how you cope, not whether or not you embrace technology at all.
SAS International has introduced SAS 900 Polynode, the UK’s first adjustable nodal suspended ceiling. The system’s multi-faceted polyhedral surfaces are formed by simply adjusting the height of the suspension points.
Conceived to meet the increasing international demand for complex ceiling surfaces, Polynode delivers standout feature installations. Simple equilateral triangle tiles create a near infinite variety of polyhedral ceiling forms. However, while the system is drawn as standard with triangular tiles, any number of simple polygonal shapes can be manufactured. The patent-pending nodal system also has the flexibility to be used on ceiling-to-wall transitions.
Integrating lighting and other services, Polynode offers full hinge-down void access and up to class A acoustic absorption. The ceiling is available in the full range of PPC RAL colours as standard, with special-effect finishes and bespoke perforations also offered.
www.sasintgroup.com
Traditional plastering techniques still dominate the market; however, there is a slow but growing trend to adopt spray-applied finishing which claims to offer advantages around waste, speed, efficiency and quality. Adrian JG Marsh reports.
“We’re not chasing traditional plastering contracts now and we’re focusing on contracts where plaster can be machine applied,” said Marvin Nash at north-west-based CLM.
“We’ve seen increasing use of spray-applied plaster on contracts across the North. There is less waste, the quality is as good as you can get and productivity is high. With such a skills shortage, it’s the only way to tackle large-volume contracts.”
Paul Bagley at PWB Drylining said: “We work towards the higher end of the market. We’re traditional plasterers but we’ve noticed a push to airless spray plaster. It seems to be stronger in the North.
“In London and the South, there’s no shortage of work and we’ve seen main contractors placing more packages under one single contract, so we’ve picked up work that involves screeding, drylining and plastering. A few years ago, this type of work would often be broken up into separate contracts.
“There’s a massive shortage of apprentices. In our experience, young people just don’t seem to want to get their hands dirty these days,” added Mr Bagley.
David Hill at Knauf agrees. He commented: “Fewer people are coming into the sector, meaning fewer people are being trained as plasterers. The workforce is getting older and there is the unknown with Brexit.
“In the UK, powdered plaster still dominates and we estimate spray represents only five percent of the market. However, we see opportunities for significant growth in the use of spray plaster and there is growing demand – it’s very popular with off-site construction.
“Painters and decorators also love spray plaster. Because the finish is white, you can often drop one coat from a decorators’ package,” Mr Hill concluded.
John Harford at Astra Property Services UK, a specialist fit-out contractor, said: “We recently completed the refurbishment of the Ibis near Gatwick Airport and the plastering element of the works was firmly on the project’s critical path. With more than 9,000m² of walls and ceilings in total, spray plaster was the ideal solution.”
Expanding on the benefits of spray plaster, particularly with pre-fabrication, Knauf’s Clive Reeves added: “We’ve been working with off-site construction in the residential sector. Spray plasters are attractive because they’re suited to factory conditions: there’s less waste and the product quality is strong enough to withstand damage as modules are transported to site.
“One scheme with Swan Housing has seen high levels of productivity. Each module includes mechanical and electrical services, taped plasterboard and then spray-applied plaster in two coats. It’s a production line that’s constantly moving and the factory is producing eight pods every day. It’s also in use on private developments with Crest Nicholson on a project near London Bridge.
“The productivity benefits of spray-applied plaster are there when there is a lot of regular and repetitive plasterwork required. We’ve found that for every 27 minutes of work, contractors are getting an extra 100m² of productivity. There is also better water management and less waste.”
So, why is there not a lot more use of spray plaster?
According to Mr Reeves: “There’s an element of fear in changing from traditional to new methods of working. Go to mainland Europe and it’s commonplace. The market is more geared to spray plaster and the volumes are there and methods are established.”
In Germany, commentators suggest that more than half of contracts use spray plaster finishing. It’s also strong in Scandinavia, the Benelux countries and France.
Alexa Leclerc from Beissier concurs, highlighting: “Our spray plaster products are used widely [in France]. The housing market is bigger than the non-residential sector with specialist plasterers carrying out work and also painting and decorating contractors doing plastering work.
“We’re also starting to see a trend towards direct contracts where main contractors want the same products used across their contracts, so they are buying direct and issuing the materials to their subcontractors for them to apply.”
Tackling the challenges of workload with easier forms of installation is a route to boost productivity when faced with a skills shortage. The world is a different place today and hard-line traditionalists may need to accept that a faster technique that brings the necessary quality will grow in importance and can’t be ignored.
PHOTOGRAPH: Beissier’s Bagar Airliss G spray plaster helped Astra Property Services, a specialist fit-out contractor, to refurbish a 141-bedroom Ibis hotel near Gatwick Airport, 25 per cent faster than the client initially requested.
Use of sheathing boards as part of a through-wall construction with timber or steel frame systems (SFS) is not a new concept. Most will be confident in the competent installation of sheathing boards in these applications, but given the wide range available across the market, John Taylor, technical director at Euroform Products, explains why the installation method for this external finish needs careful attention.
Regardless of which external wall finish is used, there is an ever more demanding requirement for sheathing materials to be not only quicker to install, but also capable of contributing towards securing other elements within the facade system.
The challenge where a brick facade is concerned is that not all sheathing boards have pull-out capability while remaining workable. Those that do provide adequate pull-out performance are able to act as a potential contributor to securing back
any thermal insulation.
Importantly, sheathing materials better suited to SFS are medium density to help install speed. It is this density which enables the product to be ‘scored and snapped’ as opposed to using sawing equipment on-site.
While these types of sheathing boards provide practical on-site benefits, when using with SFS, particular attention must be paid to the expansion gaps required and the fixing types used.
It sounds like common sense, but few realise that fixing types specified are not just ‘recommended’; the sheathing board will have been systematically tested for factors, e.g. loading and fire performance, using the specified fixing type. Any deviation from fixing type or profile of fixing methodology means the installation does not comply with the specification tested – and performance cannot be guaranteed.
Unlike facades, where the carrier rail and SFS will generally take the load of the cladding tiles or panels, with brick, the sheathing board plays a more integral role in the performance of the overall wall build-up.
It is therefore essential that installation guidelines are followed – with attention to fixing type, profile, expansion between board joints and edge fixing distances.
The trend of using SFS with brick is not expected to decline anytime soon, which makes it a real opportunity for contractors. So, if you’re bricking it… make sure you’re fixing it right.
John Taylor
Technical director
Euroform Products
www.euroform.co.uk
A floor is a floor, isn’t it? FIS technical director Joe Cilia talks to four diverse suppliers of raised and access floors in our sector to explore the answer to the question.
One of today’s often-specified commercial floors – raised access floors – were first conceived in the 1960s for distributing services to equipment rooms, housing very large mainframe computers. Back then, IBM and the BBC were among the pioneers of raised access floors, which sometimes were no more than sheets of board fixed to battens. Nowadays, raised access floors have evolved to include service ducts for simple cable management, power, fibre optics, voice, data, and heating ventilation and air conditioning.
The height of the under-floor void created is dependent upon the available slab-to-slab dimension and volume, and the type of low-level services. This can be anything typically from 50mm to 1200mm finished floor height.
Chipboard panels with a steel casing are the floors often seen as part of a Cat A fit-out and provide standard office grade performance levels. The steel provides a robust finish which can be used to take finishes using products with a magnetic backing such as timber. Loose-lay finishes can also be installed without the need for adhesives, with some using magnetic backing to tiles, or
low-tack adhesives.
Phil Holmes, marketing manager at Kingspan Access Floors, said: “Kingspan offers steel-encapsulated panels with High Density Chipboard cores; however, there are products on the market with different cores such as MDF, calcium sulphate and cementitious cores.”
With floors, a decision has to be made very early on as to which method of specifying you wish to use, based on the requirements of your project and to what standard you require.
A floor system’s performance can be measured in seven ways: load bearing (measured in Kilonewtons Kn); void depth and access; water resistance; fire performance; acoustic performance; thermal performance; and suitability for floor coverings.
Lindner Interiors’ business development manager, Andrew Hudson, explained: “With many architects and developers wanting to move away from wet screeds within buildings, they are now considering calcium sulphate systems. The Lindner FLOOR and more system comprises modular panels that are manufactured from almost 100 per cent recycled materials and are supplied with pre-formed tongue and groove joints to the panel edges.”
Floor loads from 2.5Kn up to 20Kn can be achieved using a single panel process. These can provide a solid platform and ideal base for the laying of hard floor finishes, such as natural stone, porcelain and timber.
Some floors are designed to deal with load, water resistance and sound performance but are not necessarily accessible. These are known as raised floors, with some manufactured from a by-product from coal fired power stations forming panels that can be bonded directly to sub floors or supported by steel pedestals. These systems provide several benefits to the main contractor and client, namely systems can be lighter than screeds, depending on depth of floor; quicker to install, as there are no drying times; and some systems can be supplied with water-repellent mixes, or enhanced acoustic properties, along with load-bearing capabilities of up to 20Kn.
Where Building Regulations ask that floors in fire-fighting lobbies are non-combustible, calcium sulphate systems can meet this performance criteria. There are systems that are impervious to water to ensure the floor will be stable, even under water deployed from sprinkler pipes. There are also systems that can be manufactured with preformed grooves to accommodate underfloor heating pipes.
The increase in high rise domestic construction has seen many uses for raised floors and flooring systems where it is important that they meet current Building Regulations, including Approved Document E (AD E) where sound transference from a floor to the dwelling below must be addressed. This includes impact and airborne sound transference.
Steve Knight, Knauf’s business development director, said: “Manufacturers have come up with a number of ways to isolate the raised floor from the structural floor, and a sharp eye on the installation process is key to ensuring the dwelling will pass any site tests carried out under AD E.”
One of the more unusual floors is made from recycled Polypropylene (plastic bottles). Keith Littler, national sales manager at Netfloor Systems UK Ltd, commented: “These panels are delivered with a moulded pedestal in place. Reducing the depth to 60mm makes them ideal where height and weight are an issue, such as with off-site and modular construction.
“The benefit of a no-fix system means they are being used in some historic buildings, such as old mill buildings which are being refurbished for commercial use but where glues and adhesives are banned.”
All the manufacturers are environmentally conscious and have takeback or recyclable schemes for products at end of life.
Like with all products, there is a variety of options even within a manufacturer’s range, so use the expertise available to ensure right product in the right place.
FIND OUT MORE
Joe Cilia
FIS technical director
joecilia@thefis.org
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