Aberystwyth Fire Station is the latest scheme to highlight the benefits of a collaborative and sustainable approach. WRW Construction has seen its work with the design and client team for the Fire Station become part of Constructing Excellence in Wales’ (CEW) Demonstration Programme as well as Enabling Zero Waste (EZW).

Following the EZW update and Final Peer Review event held last week the Fire Station passed and has been awarded CEW Demonstration status. Congratulations to the whole team behind the project! 

WRW, Lawray Architects and Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service worked with the Enabling Zero Waste (EZW) team to minimise waste during the demolition and new build of Aberystwyth Fire Station. All parties involved in the project from the contractor, client, architect, supply chain and waste management company were all committed to the initiative and successes were achieved as a result of this.

The demolition phase achieved a 91% diversion of waste from landfill achieving Welsh Government’s current target of 70% of all waste, by weight, shall be prepared for reuse, recycled, or recovered by 2015/16. The project success also exceeds Welsh Government targets of 90% waste diverted from landfill by 2019/20. The construction phase achieved 99.6% diversion of waste from landfill. Although diversion rates from landfill are high, 46.6% of waste was recycled with 53% of the waste produced (the majority of which was mixed waste) sent for energy recovery.

Other successes on the project involved undertaking a pre-demolition survey to identify opportunities for reuse and recycling and the setting up of closed loop takeback schemes for waste offcuts. Aberystwyth Fire Station’s interim EZW report can be found here.

EZW is a CEW initiative which provides practical, positive and proactive assistance to construction, demolition and civil engineering projects in Wales. The aim is to establish if, and how, the construction industry can achieve the zero waste targets established in the Welsh Government's waste strategy, Towards Zero Waste. CEW is working in collaboration with the industry as part of the Enabling Zero Waste scheme to provide a detailed insight into the achievability of zero waste at present, along with identifying any associated barriers to achieving the targets, and disseminating best practice, solutions and opportunities. The results will also help to inform the industry about planning to generate less waste, reusing materials and using more recycled content. For further information please visit http://www.cewales.org.uk/current-programme/enabling-zero-waste/ and follow @EZWaste_Wales

Traditional procurement models are changing and smarter procurement must include decisions on smarter payment – here are five things to note from the debate at the CIC conference.

1.Procurement
Tony Burton, deputy chairman of CIC and director at Gardiner & Theobald said the industry needed a shake up and payment methods needed to catch up with how things are built. He said: “We need a seismic cultural shift in practice and behaviour.”

He called for more use of GPS technology, augmented reality and drones for smarter procurement.

2. Digital Communications
More digital content is needed to reach future generations to get the message out there how interesting the construction industry is. In this vein events like Hackathons in construction should be pushed forward to attract new talent and challenge established players to think differently.

3. BIM 
The use of data and BIM will become key for the whole industry, in design and construction. By 2020 annual data production will be 44 times that of 2009. Smart cities and open data will change the way projects are built, said Alistair Kell, director of information and technology at BDP architects.

Data may be used to look at connections between estates. It may also lead to development in other areas such as the use of data in health & safety, wearable technology and wellbeing.

4. Brexit
Former business minister, Lord Digby Jones, believes business will change post-Brexit. The UK is such a huge market that tariffs on trade will not apply but he said he did expect higher administrative costs and delays.

The country as a whole needed to take note of what happened. “There was an entire group of people, amounting to millions who felt left behind, who wanted shake up the government and London-based establishment; if it wasn’t Brexit it would have been something else,” he said.

When it comes to business and international power, we should be focused on Asia he said: “If the Americas ran the 20th century, this is now Asia’s century.”

And Jones said we should continue to welcome immigrants as we’ll always need quality, skilled workers. Brexit had given the construction industry the chance to skill-up and that opportunity should be taken.

5. Skills
Head of construction in the Cabinet Office, Dr David Hancock, said the government was actively trying to upskill in its work in construction, work in a more collaborative manner and across the supply chain. But he acknowledged there was still a huge problem with the sector, as well as a lack of diversity and problems with retaining people in the industry. He mooted the introduction of quotas to boost the number of women.

The Speak Up’ Local Climate Lobby is taking place all through October – will you play your part talking to Government, the community and Assembly Members?

Construction is one of the biggest factors affecting our environment – both the built and the natural environment – and has a huge impact on how we live our lives now and in the future. So, it makes sense to be 100% aware of the issues around climate change and play a part in the debate and lobbying going on. 

Climate change is one of the biggest threats to people, wildlife, and wild places all over the world. 

We need to act now to reduce the risks it poses to us, our communities, and all the things we love. Wales has laws in place to help us do that, but we need politicians to use them properly. Follow the links here and below to learn from Rhys Gruffudd Williams from Stop Climate Chaos Cymru (SCC Cymru), who are organising a Local Climate Lobby throughout October, what’s going on.

This article is from a blog post on the WWF web site and clearly reflects that we all have a role to play in protecting our wildlife and the planet as a whole.

JCT has confirmed it will be issuing its long awaited JCT Design and Build 2016 contract in October.

This is the first major redraft of the contract since 2011, so the JCT has set up a complimentary breakfast seminar to explain all the key changes. 

Details below:
18th October, 8am for an 8.30am start in the Presidents Lounge, Principality Stadium, Cardiff – access via gate 3 on Weston Street

This will be a high level review of the changes which look likely to include: the inclusion of provision for Performance Bonds and Parent Company Guarantees, incorporation of the JCT Public Sector Supplement 2011 relating to Fair Payment, Transparency & BIM, and changes to the works and existing structure insurance provisions.

All BRE digital users are being briefed on important changes to SmartWaste and YellowJacket that every user needs to be aware of – are you up to speed? 

As some of you may already be aware BRE are launching a new SiteSmart brand during October. Their current software tools, SmartWaste and YellowJacket, will be hosted under this new brand which creates a BRE centralised hub that unites a number of construction industry information and resource needs. 

This comes following feedback from users such as yourself indicating a need for a unified hub providing access not only to the software tools, but also relevant information, publications, training and opportunities regarding performance improvement throughout supply chains, sites, projects and programs, and a dedicated support centre. 

What’s different about the new SiteSmart Website? 

There are a number of aspects which will be improved from the current SmartWaste and YellowJacket websites including: 

1. 1. Distinct hubs focused on the areas of health & safety, environmental impacts, process improvement and data
      These will provide focused centres directing you to relevant publications, software and training in these subject areas
   2. A dedicated case study page, with stories and content from your peers in the industry, will help you see the potential of each of our tools and services
   3. Regularly updated blogs will keep you up-to-date with the latest additions to their tools, relevant news items and insider knowledge from their team, customers and industry experts. 

SiteSmart is not static. It is a constantly evolving platform for continuous addition and improvement to tools and services; fulfilling the aim of creating a consolidated information source which enhances performance across all aspects and stages of construction. Just like Google, SiteSmart will always be in Beta. 

What will immediately change and how will it affect me? 

1. SmartWaste and YellowJacket logins will be hosted on the SiteSmart website. The current SmartWaste and YellowJacket public websites will be taken offline; you will still be able to access the respective login pages through the direct URL and your login details will remain the same. 
2. Future communications from their team will be associated with the SiteSmart brand. Following public launch in late October all public communications – including LinkedIn groups, and social media outlets - will also be associated with the SiteSmart brand. 

Users of SmartWaste will experience their first update under the SiteSmart branding in November. This update will occur as normal with the introduction of SiteSmart having no impact on how you experience our software tool updates. 

Want to find out more?

Come along to their first combined YellowJacket and SmartWaste members’ conference on Thursday 10th November, where you will have the opportunity to find out more about SiteSmart first-hand. They will not only be discussing the software products but hosting open discussions on topics such as data/KPI, training and skills and process improvement. There are only 30 spaces left, so book your space now 

If you have any questions regarding SiteSmart, the conference, the SmartWaste update, or any other query please contact the customer support team: 

General enquiries - sitesmart@bre.co.uk , 03330 430 644
SmartWaste Customer Services and Technical Support – smartwaste@bre.co.uk, 01923 664 471
YellowJacket Customer Services and Technical Support – yellowjacket@bre.co.uk, 03330 147 878