Category: Constructing Excellence (page 1 of 3)

FREE WEBINAR: Managing Payment and Insolvency Risks – Practical Advice for Construction Companies

Thursday 6th May 2021
10:00 to 11:00

Constructing Excellence Yorkshire and Humber are delighted to be partnering with Gosschalks Solicitors to bring you this very important and topical webinar on managing payment and insolvency risks.

Even before the impact of Covid-19, construction companies were exposed to significant risk from both upstream and downstream insolvencies. In the current climate prudent companies need to take all necessary steps to protect their position on payment and minimise their exposure in the event of a client or a sub-contractor/supplier going bust.

In order to help navigate the current economic climate, Gosschalks construction and insolvency teams will present an online seminar to consider the legal, contractual and practical steps which can be taken to protect against insolvency and payment risks.

The topics covered will include discussions on areas such as pay-when-paid clauses, payment cycles, retention of title issues and effective notices.”

Presenters for this seminar will be (pictured L-R), Matthew Fletcher, Abigail Milner, Sam Thompson, Steve Dillon and Will Buckenham.

BOOKING

Click here to register for your FREE place

This event will be run on Microsoft Teams and a link to join the event will be sent to you a few days before the webinar. You do not need to have Teams to be able to watch, you can log on as a guest.

International Women’s Week Panel Discussion: Apprenticeship Pathways and Promoting Diversity

12th February 2020 / Liz Schofield / 0 Comments

Tuesday 10th March 2020

10:00 to 11:30 (registration from 09:30)

Gosschalks Solicitors, Hull | Queens Gardens, Hull, East Yorkshire, HU1 3DZ

For International Women’s Week 2020, Constructing Excellence Yorkshire and Humber have partnered with Efficiency North to bring you a discussion on how apprenticeship pathways are helping to close the diversity gap in construction. This particular debate will focus primarily on gender diversity however attendees are encouraged to come along and air their views on related topics.

ABOUT

We are delighted to have secured several apprenticeship students to talk about their particular journey into construction, including challenges faced, why they have chosen their careers, current experiences and their hopes and ambitions for the future.

We will also have an engineering company represented on the panel who will talk about the issue of diversity and apprenticeships from an employer’s perspective.

THE FORMAT

Each panel member will talk for around 5-10 minutes from their perspective including experiences, their particular journey, thoughts on diversity e.t.c. This will be followed by an open discussion and Q and A with the audience – so please do come armed with questions!

THE PANEL

Amelia Johnson-Lynch, Construction Management Apprentice, Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing

Daniel Roche, Roche Civil Engineering (Employer Perspective)

Anne Benson, Gas Supervisor, Mears

Tilly Priestley, Trade Apprentice, Mears

Emma Luckman, Degree Apprenticeship Student, Leeds Beckett University

CHAIR

Abigail Milner, Associate, Gosschalks Solicitors

TIMINGS

09:30 – registration and refreshments

10:00 to 11:30 – Intro, Discussion, Q and A

11:30 – close & networking until 12:00

BOOKING

Book my FREE ticket for Apprenticeship Pathways & Diversity Event in Hull

Many thanks to Gosschalks for their support;

Kirkstall Forge Development Update Event with CEG

3rd October 2019 / Liz Schofield / 0 Comments

On 18^th September we partnered with developers, CEG, to deliver an update on progress at Kirkstall Forge, a £400 million, 57 acre mixed-use scheme that will eventually provide over 1000 homes and 400,000sq ft of high quality office, leisure and retail space.

Located on a former engineering site with an industrial heritage going back to the 12^th Century, Kirkstall Forge is one of the most ambitious projects currently underway in northern England aiming to create not just physical spaces but an entire sustainable community with almost 10,000 people living and working on site within the next decade. CEG have already overseen £40million works in the area including flood defence works, decontamination of the site, infrastructure, office space and the first new railway station in West Yorkshire for decades, connecting the site to Leeds City Station in minutes.

We had two speakers at the event; Paul Richardson, Investment Manager at CEG and Gareth Chambers from Pierre Angulaire who provided overall project management services for the scheme. Gareth has been involved in the Kirkstall Forge project for over 10 years and his passion and ambitions for the area were plain to see. It is clear that there has been an emphasis on creating a community from the start with employees based at Number One Kirkstall Forge, the first commercial space in the scheme, benefitting from planned social activities, fitness initiatives such as yoga and running sessions, modern and light spaces to work and cycle schemes to name a few.

As well as creating a sustainable community, the scheme also creates jobs, training and apprenticeship opportunities throughout the build processes through their Forging Futures Campus programme in partnership with I Consult Yorkshire, Leeds College of Building, EN:Able Futures and Leeds City Council. The programme provides vocational training, site visits and work experience for local people, students and young people not in education, employment or training and has recently welcomed the first 11 recruits to a two year apprenticeship programme. More about the Forging Futures programme here.

As well as outlining challenges and successes to date, our speakers also gave an overview of developments yet to come including 2 Kirkstall Forge office block, a school, leisure facilities and prototype houses that the design team will live in temporarily to roadtest – a great idea! The presenters did make an interesting point about the need to balance the ambitions of the scheme with the need to attract businesses and residents to the area in the early stages; for instance allowing the first houses to have space for cars weighed up against the drive towards active and more sustainable travel options. However, as Gareth pointed out, these things are a step change and it is clear from the employees at Number One Kirkstall Forge, that they are already seeing positive changes in their working patterns and work life balance as a result.

CEG kindly provided us with some links to the videos that were shown at the event, please see below

What is it like to work at Number One? https://vimeo.com/354004658
Forging Futures Campus https://vimeo.com/343166924

We would like to thank Laura Kenny and Aisling Ramshaw from CEG for all their help in organising the event and we look forward to returning for another visit soon!

Planning and Building for our future environment: Constructing Excellence Yorkshire and Humber breakfast event

3rd October 2019 / Liz Schofield / 0 Comments

There is growing concern regarding climate change and the effects of adversely inclement weather resulting in severe flooding and the rise in sea levels. Constructing Excellence Yorkshire & Humber are pleased to showcase two award winning projects in our region that will improve the environment & protect residents homes including a flood defence protection scheme and a coastal erosion scheme.

Join us at our next breakfast event where we will hear from our CEYH Civil Engineering Project of the Year winners talking about ‘The Foss Barrier’ project in York. We will also hear from our Innovation category winners talking about the ‘Runswick Bay Coastal Defence Scheme’ in North Yorkshire.

The Foss Barrier: Road to Recovery, JBA Bentley and the Environment Agency

In December 2015, the most severe floods in a generation hit the city of York. As water levels rose to the highest recorded on the River Foss, they entered the main control building at the Foss Barrier, which forms an important part of the city’s flood defences, rendering the facility inoperable. The Foss Barrier and pumping station were built in the 1980s in response to severe flooding five years previous. In flood conditions, a mechanical gate can be closed to stop rising waters in the River Ouse from backing up into the River Foss, preventing flooding to a large part of the city. When the barrier is down, the facility relies on eight pumps to transfer flow (up to 30m3/s prior to the refurbishment works) from the River Foss around the barrier into the River Ouse.

After significant involvement in the initial emergency flood response, JBA Bentley were engaged to deliver the high-profile upgrade to the site, with the key objective being to enhance the resilience and capacity of the site, whilst critically ensuring the pump station remained operational throughout.

Working in challenging conditions on a constrained site – with extremely tight timescales – clever civil engineering and an innovative approach to temporary works has been pivotal to the success of the scheme. Although some elements of work are still outstanding, the pumping station is now fully operational from the new building and provides enhanced flood protection and peace of mind to the residents of York.

“Judges acknowledged the collaborative working approach and commitment in delivering a technically challenging scheme in a very public and sensitive environment. The innovative use of modular components to reduce the amount of temporary works was key in delivering the scheme to keep the people of York safe and makes this a very worthy winner”

Runswick Bay Coastal Defence Scheme, Esh Construction

The historic seawall at Runswick Bay had reached the end of its serviceable life with a failure predicted within the next 10 years. The coastal defence scheme involved concrete repairs to the toe prior to the placement of 9,500 tonnes of high-density rock armour to form a new revetment totalling 250m length. This combats the effects of degradation to the toe of the seawall by preventing undermining and scouring while combating the effects of sea level rise and increased storminess predicted as a result of climate change. Ecological enhancement also factored highly in the scheme and represented leading-edge coastal engineering practice.

This innovative award-winning coastal defence scheme involved collaboration between ecologists, engineers and coastal managers and will give 100 years of improved protection to homes and businesses and safeguard the village’s main income stream of tourism.

“Judges were impressed by the scale of this scheme, its longevity and attention to detail. The innovation shown in the project has been independently verified and showcases a great collaboration between engineers and ecologists. The knowledge will be shared within the industry and the team should be rightly proud of a really forward thinking engineering solution”

Event Details

Thursday 7th November 2019

08:30 to 10:00 (registration & networking breakfast from 08:00)

Addleshaw Goddard LLP, 3 Sovereign Square, Sovereign Street, Leeds, LS1 4ER

CLICK HERE TO BOOK

International Women’s Week – Industry Skills Panel Discussion

15th February 2019 / Liz Schofield / 0 Comments

Thursday 7th March 2019

12:00 to 13:30 (registration from 11:30)

Shulmans Solictors, 10 Wellington Pl, Leeds LS1 4AP

For International Women’s Week 2019, Constructing Excellence Yorkshire and Humber are delighted to be bringing you a lunchtime discussion on the highly topical issue of future skills for the industry lead by a panel of senior sector professionals.

Topics covered will include (but not limited to) sub-sector specific future requirements, the skills shortage and how companies/organisations can attract, recruit and support new talent, mentoring, retention and diversity, digital and technical skills and new models of education (i.e. degree apprenticeships).

THE FORMAT

Each panel member will talk for around 5-10 minutes on skills from their perspective, followed by an open discussion and Q and A – so come with questions!

THE PANEL

Caroline Fattorini, Director of Building Consultancy, Bowman Riley

Angela Barnicle, Chief Officer, Asset Management & Regeneration, Leeds City Council

Nahim Ruhi-Khan, Head of Responsive Repairs, Voids, Disrepair and Corporate Property Management Services, Leeds City Council

Lisa Molloy, Commercial Director, Southbay Civil Engineering Ltd

Josie Rothera, Course Director, MSc Civil Engineering, School of Built Environment and Engineering, Leeds Beckett University and Company Director at Steer Support and Mentoring CIC

CHAIR

Sarah Wilson, Partner, Head of Construction, Shulmans LLP

TIMINGS

11:30 – registration and refreshments

12:00 to 13:30 – Intro, Discussion, Q and A

13:30 – close & networking until 14:00

BOOKING

Click here to book

With thanks to Shulmans for supporting our event.

Wood for Good – Timber construction to be showcased in month long Sheffield festival

21st January 2019 / Liz Schofield / 0 Comments

WoodFest comes to Sheffield throughout February with a focus on health and wellbeing; low carbon; circular economy; building performance; offsite construction; and modular design.

The month-long event will feature wood in design and construction in Sheffield and Yorkshire and the programme includes an exciting line-up of events, seminars, exhibitions and challenges celebrating the versatility and sustainability of building with wood, organised by the UK timber industry’s campaign, Wood for Good.

Christiane Lellig, Wood for Good campaign director, said:

“WoodFest Sheffield promises to offer a fantastic opportunity to bring all those involved with the built environment to explore what can be achieved when we work together. Each event is a chance to learn and share about the use of timber in architecture, particularly around health and wellbeing and offsite construction. It provides a platform to discover what’s happening in the region and to be inspired by timber design.”

Constructing Excellence Yorkshire and Humber and Leeds Beckett University are pleased to support this event along with several other high profile partners including Arnold Laver; Sheffield University; Paul Testa Architecture; PEFC UK and TRADA.

PROGRAMME

Small Project / Big Challenge

WoodFest kicks off on 7 February with Small Project / Big Challenge, an evening seminar with sustainability-focused Sheffield architects Paul Testa Architecture and Jon Carr Structural Design along with Sheffield University. They will discuss design and structural challenges with examples including the multi-award-winning Hen House.

48-hour Student Challenge

On 8 and 9 February TRADA will run its annual student challenge at Sheffield University for students of engineering, architecture, architectural technology, quantity surveying and landscape architecture. Judged by high profile engineers, architects and quantity surveyors, multi-disciplinary teams will compete in an intense 48-hour challenge to design an exemplary student accommodation predominantly from timber.

Healthy Buildings

On 21 February, health and wellbeing are top of the agenda at an evening event with Edward Murphy from Ollio Consult, and further experts. The talks and panel discussion are followed by a networking and drinks reception at Kollider.

Modern joinery production – factory tour

A tour of timber door, window and stair manufacturer JELD-WEN’s production facilities will take place at 10am on 28 February. This will offer the chance to see first-hand how timber doors are made in the company’s Sheffield factory, from the timber arriving on-site through to the finished product leaving for distribution. The tour will include a presentation followed by a drinks reception for all attendees.

Sustainable procurement

Managing forests in a sustainable way is vital to protect these important ecosystems, reduce the impact of climate change and to preserve plant and animal species for the future. On 28 February, the PEFC (the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) will deliver a lunchtime CPD to explain how to procure sustainable timber and timber from sustainably managed forests.

More CPDs, site visits and behind-the-scenes tours

Further events include window-specialist Bereco hosting a CPD session on noise and health in the build environment at their Sheffield showroom. There will be a behind-the-scenes tour with Sheffield timber merchant Arnold Laver including a networking lunch, followed by an afternoon CPD. Visitors will have the opportunity to see their production facilities including roof truss manufacturing and its treatment plant.

Striking examples of great architecture and design, such as the Hunt House – featured in The Modern Timber House in the UK book, will offer visits focussed on sustainability and wellbeing within the Sheffield region. Modern timber design can be explored more centrally in an exhibition at The Arts Tower and a further evening event on offsite construction and modular design.

Keep checking the WoodFest Sheffield web page to book your place, find out more details, confirm dates and see further added events.

Partners include: Arnold Laver; Bereco; Constructing Excellence Yorkshire & Humber; Halliday Clark Architects; IstructE Yorkshire; JELD-WEN; Paul Testa Architecture; PEFC UK; Sheffield University and TRADA.

Book your place for any of the WoodFest Sheffield events here.

Constructing Excellence Yorkshire and Humber Awards 2019

11th December 2018 / Liz Schofield / 0 Comments

ARE YOU READY TO STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD?

Constructing Excellence Yorkshire and Humber (CEYH) are delighted to announce the return of our annual awards spectacular! Organised by the School of Built Environment and Engineering at Leeds Beckett University, the CEYH awards focus attention on some of the most important issues in the construction sector. They recognise the very best companies, collaborations and projects sharing best practice and inspiring others to adopt new and better ways of working that deliver outstanding results.

All types of organisations enter our awards each year; private and public sector, micro, SME and large contractors, designers, consultants, clients and suppliers – in fact anyone and everyone that is part of construction’s extended family.

From all those entrants our judges select the very best projects, schemes and teams to go forward to represent the Yorkshire and Humber region at the national Constructing Excellence Awards in November.

KEY DATES

Launch Event: Thursday 24th January 2019
Closing Date: Thursday 18th April 2019
Shortlist Announced: Monday 20th May 2019
Gala Awards Dinner: Thursday 11th July 2019 (Leeds)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THIS YEAR’S ENTRY & SPONSORSHIP BROCHURE

or visit the dedicated CEYH Awards page for the latest @ http://ckegroup.org/cexcellenceyh/ceyh-awards-2019/

ENTRY FORMS

Please ensure you have downloaded and read the 2019 Entry/Sponsorship brochure (in particular the Entry Guidelines section) as these will help you to understand what is required in terms of an entry.

Building Project of the Year 2019

Civils Project of the Year 2019

Client of the Year 2019

Digital Construction 2019

Health, Safety and Wellbeing 2019

Innovation 2019

Integration & Collaborative Working 2019

Offsite Award 2019

People Development 2019

Preservation & Rejuvenation 2019

SME of the Year 2019

Sustainability 2019

Value 2019

Best of the Best: the judges will award out of all the individual category winners, the submission they feel best represents excellence in construction making reference to the new mission statement; “Positively disrupting the industry delivery processes to transform performance.”

HEADLINE SPONSOR

Many thanks to Galliford Try for being our headline sponsor again for the 2019 awards! If you are interested in being one of our category sponsors, please contact us for more info!

Disrupting Construction – an evening of dynamic presentations with drinks, networking and lively discussion

14th September 2018 / Liz Schofield / 0 Comments

Addleshaw Goddard, Sovereign Street, Leeds LS1 4ER

Wednesday 10th October 2018 | 17:30 for registration, 18:00 to 20:00

Drinks and nibbles provided throughout the evening!

It has been a turbulent 12 months in construction with systematic failures at all levels forcing the industry to take a long hard look at how it operates. As a response, Constructing Excellence has launched its new mission statement, “Positively disrupting the industry delivery processes to transform performance”.

Constructing Excellence Yorkshire and Humber are pleased to bring you our first event along this theme, an evening networking event exploring some of the key drivers for change; including offsite, lean, digital and much more!

FORMAT

8-12 quick fire presentations (no more than 5 minutes each) interspersed with networking, discussion and refreshments.

SCHEDULE

1730 Reception/Networking

1800 Welcome and first set of Presentations (5 talks followed by 15 minute Q and A)

1845 20 min, Networking Break

1905 Second set of Presentations (5 talks followed by 15 minute Q and A)

1945 Networking

2000 End

PRESENTATIONS

Currently confirmed to present are as follows;

Andrew Dodsworth, Balfour Beatty Construction Services UK – Andy will present on Process Digitisation at the heart of business transformation, what has been achieved at Balfour Beatty and the underlying principles to make the transformation sustainable. The talk will also cover what process digitisation does for a business and the intelligence that can be derived.

Michael Belcher, Projects Director, TSP Projects Ltd – Mick will share how a change in leadership is required to raise performance of our projects.

Josie Rothera, Leeds Beckett University and Steer Group – Josie will talk about the importance of mentoring in supporting the next generation as they transition from study to the workplace.

Emma Hooper, Digital Information Specialist, Bond Bryan Architects – Insurance Backed Alliancing, such as the Integrated Project Insurance model has the potential to provide a project framework which will allow new ideas to thrive and drive real change in the industry. Emma will give a brief introduction to these collaborative procurement models and how they can improve productivity.

Aaron Penwill, Head of Performance, MSP-Leadership Ltd – Aaron will share a practice of Short Interval Control. The practice involves routines and actions that drive interactions. They will share the human benefits this practice enables and how this connects to project success.

Caroline Key, G4C National Co-Chair – Caroline will present on G4C (Generation for Change) on their new strategy to recruit young professionals to the industry via the #77campaign.

Marc Jordan, Constructing Excellence Director, Balfour Beatty, Construction Services UK – Marc will discuss how a structured Lean Daily Management process can give rise to confidence and collaborative mind-sets. He will draw from experience and share how this concept can be applied to any project and what the many benefits are of doing so.

Rob Wolfe, Managing Director at CHY Consultancy – Rob will present on “CSR is dead?”

Steph Brady, Director, Innovation Fire Engineering – Steph will discuss innovative approaches to creating a culture of work-life balance and the benefits for business.

Professor Mohammed Dulaimi, Leeds Beckett University – Mohammed will talk about the need to accelerate innovation in construction through effective diffusion of new ideas and capability building.

BOOKING

£25 per person*

Click here to book

*FREE to Yorkshire and Humber Constructing Excellence Club members. Please email Carole at yhceclub@gmail.com to secure your place.

Planning for Green Space – A Leeds Planning Network Master Class

6th September 2018 / Liz Schofield / 0 Comments

Thursday 27 September 2018, 17:30 for registration, 18:00 to 20:00

Leeds Beckett City Campus

About

How do we balance the benefits of green space against the demands of development? Green space is vital for health and wellbeing. Do we need new planning tools to protect and enhance our green future?

Planning policy implies a balance between environmental and economic sustainability but is this balance actually being achieved in practice? If not, then what tools does the planning system provide us to redress this balance?

Speakers

Yassamin Sheel

Save Greater Manchester Green Belt

How can we harness public opinion, how do we campaign for green space, what impact can we have through lobbying and protest?

Victoria Bankes Price

Planning Adviser, Woodland Trust

How do we strengthen the case for green space in planning policy?

Andrew Wood and Jackie Copley

Planning Managers, Campaign to Protect Rural England Yorkshire & Lancashire

How far has the balance shifted away from environmental sustainability and what planning tools are available to redress it? Are these sufficient? What more do we need?

Booking

£25 per head or £15 for members of neighbourhood planning groups*

*This event is FREE to members of the Yorkshire and Humber Constructing Excellence Club. Please email yhceclub@gmail.com to secure your place.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK*Redirects to Leeds Beckett University online store

Constructing Excellence Yorkshire and Humber Awards 2018: Presenting our Winners and Highly Commended!

18th July 2018 / Liz Schofield / 0 Comments

Congratulations to all the companies who walked away with accolades at last Thursday’s 2018 Constructing Excellence Yorkshire and Humber Awards (#CEYH2018). Held at the Queen’s Hotel in Leeds, the standard was extremely high once again and there were certainly no easy categories to judge – the calibre of the projects that didn’t win only serving to illustrate the many examples of construction best practice taking place in our region.

The organisers are in the process of contacting all the entrants with comments and feedback about their specific projects but in the meantime please view the full list of winners and highly commended below.

The winners now go on to represent the Yorkshire and Humber region at the National Constructing Excellence Awards in London in Autumn. The CEYH team hope you will join them in wishing all the companies the best of luck and hoping they bring it home for the region!

Further information about this year’s awards and how to get involved in #CEYH2019 can be found at http://ckegroup.org/cexcellenceyh/ceyh-awards-2018/.