CEW Awards 2016 has a new category 'BIM project of the year'. Find out more about it and how to win at the CEW Awards open day taking place on Wednesday 16^th December.

Are you thinking about your entry into the 2016 CEW Awards? You should be preparing now as the awards go live soon and all entries must be completed by the end of February 2016.

But if you are considering showcasing your team, your projects, one of the SMEs you work with or sharing success with a client or partner organisation then why not think about entering our new award category for 2016 'BIM project of the year'.

BIM is now an accepted method of delivering projects of all sizes and an excellent way to work collaboratively and drive best practice and with more and more examples of its use in Wales it deserves its own award category at the CEW Awards. Judges will be looking for projects embracing BIM that point to benefits to end users, suppliers and project teams perhaps with examples of working around tight site situations and assisting with time and cost savings as well as enabling structural innovation. The use of all the elements of BIM and the integration between the client and other team members early in a scheme will be important factors in a winning entry.

But to steer you in the direction of a winning entry and to learn more about the new BIM category you should save the date for our CEW Awards open day in December – this will be held at CEW’s office in Cardiff on 16^th December 9am to 5pm. We will be holding other open days in Swansea and Llandudno early January dates to be advised asap.

For more details and how to reserve your place call the team on 02920 493322 or email CEWales

The Well-being of Future Generations Act will become law in April 2016 and it means developers, property owners, builders and FMs must show evidence that they are embedding sustainable development.

For 44 public bodies, areas of delivery such as facilities and estates management will need to show their contribution to the Goals and Ways of Working detailed in the Act, and summarised on Page 6 and 7 of the Essentials Guide

As implementation of the Act begins, we will also see businesses, third sector and other organisations that apply for contracts and grants to maintain and develop facilities, being asked to provide evidence of how they are embedding sustainable development. 

The event will give you the opportunity to look at how to work towards the Well-being Goals and use the Sustainable Development Principle from the new Well-being of Future Generations Act.  This is the first of a series of free events for Charter signatories and other bodies that will help translate the intent of the Well-being of Future Generations Act into areas of operation and service delivery.

Contributors will include:

St David's Shopping Centre: presenting their innovative work to increase resource efficiency and biodiversity through a new partnership. You can see a short filmed case-study we have made on our VimeoChannel.

The Wales Millennium Stadium: presenting On Resource Efficiency, Health, Sport, Community and Global links.

Down to Earth Project, Gower: presenting on how they are working with hard to reach groups to design and build some of the most innovative and sustainable facilities and in Wales. 

 The aims of the day are to:

 ·        Identify the links between facilities and estates management and the Well-being of Future Generations Act, and the opportunities it offers   

·         Help facilities and estates staff realise their contribution to the Goals and what the Ways of Working mean for their profession

·         Share practical examples of good practice across Wales

·         Help organisations not under the duty of the Act to work more effectively with the public sector ensuring all organisations are aligned and working to the same Goals  

This free event is for signatories of the SD Charter, but is also open to other organisations to attend.  It would be particularly useful for facilities and estates staff in the 44 public bodies.

Booking is via EventBrite.

Modern methods of construction work with good design, great planning and client involvement. At a recent Exemplar event delegates saw the results at the Llandough Adult Mental Health Unit.

Significant investment is required in the NHS in Wales to ensure healthcare in Wales is world class and that means the Welsh construction industry has to not only build and deliver landmark facilities, but complete projects in a manner that are sustainable, create a legacy for local communities and that are fit for purpose.

One such scheme is the £88m new Adult Mental Health Unit within the University Hospital Llandough. The new mental health unit will provide services for Cardiff, bringing together existing adult and specialist services provided at Whitchurch Hospital and the Llanfair Unit under one roof. Delivered on behalf of the Cardiff & Vale Health Board within the Designed for Life Framework and administered by NHS Shared Services the scheme is critical for Cardiff and its surrounding communities, but also a challenge for the integrated team charged with delivering the project.

The modern, purpose built 135-bed inpatient facility, situated opposite the hospital’s existing main entrance, will include a concourse similar to that at the University Hospital of Wales. Its location is at the heart of the campus creating huge issues for the project team who needed to create a world class facility without affecting the operation of a live 21^st century healthcare environment.

That task alone warrants rating the Llandough Adult Mental Health Unit as exemplar, but we want you to learn from some of the project team’s other experiences.

The project aims to overcome the following challenges:

• Guaranteeing effective early contractor engagement
• Site constraints and the focus on minimising vehicle movements to reduce impact upon the surrounding hospital as well cut carbon emissions
• The implementation of BIM Level across the scheme, but with an emphasis on reducing waste by at least 50% with a supplementary goal of ensuring 15% of materials are recycled
• A focus on using modern methods of construction – particularly off-site construction to minimise the impact of the project on local communities, traffic and day-to-day healthcare operations
• Ensuring the overall scheme achieves BREEAM Excellent status
• Applying critical aspects of the Welsh Government construction procurement strategy

One of CEW’s most popular events has been on changes to regulations around sprinklers. Who knew? Do you?

Last week’s workshop in Llandudno on sprinklers advised delegates on how to meet the new regulations from 1 January 2016, when it will be a legal requirement in Wales for all new residential properties to have sprinkler systems installed (it is already a requirement for ‘high risk’ properties such as care homes).

There is little detailed technical awareness in the industry of what this means in terms of design and implementation for developers, designers and consultants both during design and the delivery of the homes on site. This training seminar followed a series of events run this autumn that  recognises the need to the construction industry in Wales to be better equipped to address the imminent legal requirement for sprinklers in all new residential properties. 

A ‘summary sheet’ has been produced to highlight the core issues and steps that developers and design teams need to be aware of. BRE have provided expert support for Welsh Government in their development and implementation of the legislation through in-house experts in the field of sprinklers, and are currently engaged (separately to this) in producing a study of pilot installations of sprinklers being undertaken across Wales.

Improving the performance of Welsh Public Sector Construction Frameworks is something all stakeholders in Welsh construction can benefit from – but do you agree with the findings of CEW’s recent report?

Construction frameworks, when well-managed, can provide the basis for the delivery of ‘best practice’ projects through collaborative working and integrated teams. However, often the opportunities offered by such framework agreements are not fully grasped and imperfect arrangements and practices hamper the project delivery process, leading to inferior outcomes.

CEW has conducted five reviews of construction frameworks over the past four years for a number of public sector clients. The reviews have been a key element in CEW’s support to clients in pursuing improved project delivery. The reports have enabled clients to make short, medium and long term improvements to their current delivery processes, both for the existing framework and any subsequent framework.

This report summarises the five reviews into what are very different framework arrangements in Wales. While there were examples of good practice across these frameworks, this report highlights some common themes which, judging by the five frameworks reviewed, are often lacking. These include: leadership, a particular problem for multi-client frameworks; coordinated management of the portfolio of projects; early integrated teams; framework KPIs to drive continuous improvement; communication and visibility of future work; and the perception of the contractors group as a partner in the delivery process.

Take a look and let us know if you agree with our comments and what else can be done to improve the performance of Welsh Public Sector Construction Frameworks.

A free seminar and networking event hosted by Architype at Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay, 6pm, Tuesday 1st December 2015

Architype invite you to join them for an evening of candid discussion and networking, which will uncover the experience of designing schools to the Passivhaus standard. Come along to explore how Passivhaus can deliver best value for money within the 21st Century Schools Programme. Can it be done? Does it cost more to build? Does it work? What are the actual savings in running costs?

Speakers will share their experience of delivering and monitoring Passivhaus in use, through a range of completed educational projects in both England and Wales.

Running Order

6.00pm - 6.45pm, Reception Drinks

6.45pm - 7.50pm, Seminar

7.50pm - 9.00pm, Networking and Refreshments

Invited Speakers

Carole-Anne Davies / Design Commission for Wales - the need for a new approach

Lee Fordham / Architype - the design and construction of Passivhaus schools

Jerry Thomas / Smith Thomas Consult - the cost of delivering Passivhaus

Chryssa Thoua / Coventry University - results from 2 years of monitoring Passivhaus schools in use

Matthew Morgan / Dawnus Construction - Introduction to the Patrwm 21 Model

Chaired by Jonathan Hines, Managing Director of Architype

Event Details

Tuesday 1st December 2015

6pm-9pm

Preseli Room

Wales Millennium Centre

Bute Place

Cardiff Bay

CF10 5AL

Admission to this event is free, please register for tickets at Eventbrite. For questions, please contact Jessica Taylor