No longer is there a need to throw out unused site materials because there is a second life for these surplus construction materials.

A growing network of companies are benefitting from reduced site waste and disposal costs by donating surplus construction materials to the CEW ‘Surplus Centre’ which is based at the HQ of Swansea Care & Repair in the Llansamlet area of the city.

The project is supported by the construction and demolition waste team at CEW and in partnership with Recipro-UK provides a facility which diverts surplus materials (that may otherwise be disposed of at landfill) to charitable organisations and community projects. 

It’s a no-nonsense solution where fit for purpose unused materials are catalogued and uploaded to the Recipro Wales website and supplies are stored for customers to purchase. 

Technical Support Manager, Tony Berry liaises with local construction businesses and arranges the collection of good quality, surplus supplies.  He records weight, carbon savings and landfill diversion statistics of donated items which can then be used by donors as evidence of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for future bids and community benefits data.

Sam Bain from Dawnus Construction Limited is Site Manager at the Burlais Primary School site at Cwmbwrla in Swansea.  A BREEAM excellent two-storey building for 525 mainstream pupils and 75 nursery pupils, the school also has a Special Teaching Facility (STF) for 27 pupils with speech, language and communication difficulties.

Approaching the end of the project, Sam had a variety of materials which were unused and not needed, he made contact with the Surplus Centre and the company donated a selection of rainwater goods for reuse in social and community projects.

Sam commented: “We are keen supporters of the Surplus Centre and Recipro Wales concept, any materials which can be used and prevented from being downcycled are donated which reduces our waste costs and helps local projects: it’s a win-win”.

Community groups, schools, social enterprises and others are able to register to use the service and access donated materials to complete refurbishment projects using unwanted but perfectly usable materials which would have otherwise been disposed of. 

To join this growing network of businesses who are reducing site waste and supporting local communities, see our web pages Reciprocity Wales or make contact directly with the project team Jim Owen on 07913 993280 or email Tony Berry  or call 07825 250963

Pictured below are Tony Berry Technical Support Manager, Care & Repair Swansea receiving a donation of surplus materials from Sam Bains, Site Manager, Dawnus Construction Ltd

Last year’s published forward programme provided visibility to £2.8 bn of local authority capital investment in Wales over four years.

Constructing Excellence in Wales (CEW) produced the ‘No Turning Back’ report in October 2010. The Minister of Finance subsequently endorsed its recommendations and set up the Construction Procurement Strategy Steering Group under Value Wales to take the report forward. The first of the recommendations was to improve the visibility of the forward programme in Wales. In August 2011 the Steering Group requested CEW to research this aspect, particularly with respect to local authority programmes. A first composite ‘all-Wales’ local authority capital programme, indexed by ten sectors, was produced in autumn 2012. This research and pilot project was the subject of a CEW report published in July 2013. A consultation exercise into a number of aspects of this forward programme was conducted last year. The responses from the industry overwhelmingly supported the publication of an annual programme.

This current booklet collates the information which was collected by the WLGA from the authorities in March 2014 and sets out the four year ‘sectoral’ progamme to 2017/18.

Further copies of this booklet, together with previous years’ programmes and the research report are available on the CEW Website

In the near future it is planned for this site to also hold on a sector basis the major local authority projects (£2m+) that are in the Wales Infrastructure Investment Plan (WIIP) pipeline and the UK Government’s construction investment in Wales, the ‘non-devolved’ programme. These three programmes, together with the WIIP itself provide significantly enhanced visibility of the forward programme in Wales.

What  are the opportunities for Welsh construction around the electrification of the railways across Wales?

The South West Wales Best Practice Club hosted a briefing from David Jukes, Electrification Programme Development Director, ABC Electrification giving an insight into the electrification planned for the rail network in the West and Wales. As one of the largest electrification contractors in Europe ABC Electrification are proud to be part of the Network Rail National Electrification Programme, which aims to electrify hundreds of miles of railway across Britain. 

ABC Electrification is dedicated to delivering electrification projects that will help to transform the UK's railways. Founded on collaboration, innovation and agility ABC Electrification prides itself on its ethical delivery principles, ensuring that every project is delivered on time, in full and with zero harm.

Electrification will mean faster, greener, quieter and more reliable journeys for thousands of passengers. In Wales, this involves a significant construction programme to the South Wales Mainline between the Severn Tunnel and Swansea.

To obtain details of David Jukes’ presentation please visit our website.

So, you’ve built the project, delivered it and the end user has moved in – but how do you know the facility works and what is its energy performance?

Post occupancy analysis is something the construction industry used to take for granted. 

We used to build a scheme, deliver it on time and in budget (ideally) and move onto the next project. But that was in the old days. Now, with a focus on whole life costs and energy management there is a tacit understanding that the construction team has a vested interest in the success of the buildings and facilities they deliver. And, if the industry is to continue to improve then it needs to know how those buildings perform after the end user has moved in – not just once the customer has taken possession. 

And crucially, we need to know how the energy performance of the building is functioning and the only way to do that is a thorough assessment after occupancy. 

The post occupancy assessment course running next week on Wednesday, 15th July at The Halliwell Centre, University of Wales Trinity Saint David will provide knowledge and understanding of post-occupancy assessment methodologies for non-domestic buildings. Participants will be able to better recognise ways in which to optimise building energy performance and occupant comfort, with an aim to achieving continual improvements over time. 

Participants will develop their understanding of how energy use and building users relate to one another, addressing questions such as: ‘Is the building meeting the needs of those who use it?’ and, conversely, ‘What effects do the actions of the users have on the energy performance of the building?’ 

The course will explore the potential for achieving good energy performance and occupant satisfaction simultaneously. 

For more information and to register: Elizabeth Doe - Course Tutor

Tel: 029 2087 5947 Email: doeec1@cardiff.ac.uk

The Sustainable Building Envelope Demonstration (SBED) are hosting their final event of the project in conjunction with the launch of the Solcer House on Thursday 16th July 2015. 

The SOLCER project demonstrates the building integrated systems based approach to low carbon. The Solcer house launch will present research and partnerships that have developed associated with optimising a whole building as a low carbon system. This systems based approach – combining renewable energy supply, storage and demand reduction technologies - has been applied in the replicable new build ‘Solcer’ house and 5 retrofits of typical welsh housing stock which will be demonstrated at the event. 

The SBED project aim was to: model, test, prototype and monitor low carbon building systems incorporating transpired solar collectors (TSC) in six ‘buildings in use’ in Convergence Areas of Wales. The event will share the knowledge and experience learnt from the installation and will demonstrate how the TSCs use solar power to heat air before directing it into the building. 

The event is being supported by Specific, BASF, Pilkingtons and Cenin Ltd. 

Programme Agenda:  (The morning session will present the SOLCER project and the afternoon session will present SBED) 

10:15   Arrival & Coffee
10:45   Professor Phil Jones Chair of Architecture Science, Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University: Introduce the Minister
10:50   Edwina Hart, Minister for Economy, Science and Transport
11:00   Professor Phil Jones will give an Overview of the Solcer house project       
11:15   Kevin Bygate: SPECIFIC
11:25   Nick Brown: BASF
11:35   Simone Vooijs: Tata Steel
11:45   Phil Ramsey: NSG Group
12:55   Jo Patterson: Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University
12:05   Professor Phil Jones: LCRI’s future plans
12:10   Refreshments and tours of the house 

The lunch will be followed by presentations and case studies from The Sustainable Building Envelope Demonstration (SBED) project. 

13:15   Huw Jenkins: WSA (Welcome and overview of SBED Project)
13:30   Neil Eccles: Tata Steel (TSC Case Studies)
14:00   Dave Humphreys: BAM Construction Ltd – TSC Installation at B&Q
14:15   Emmanouil Perisoglou/Dylan Dixon: WSA– SBED Monitoring
14:30   Catherine Brown: WSA (Public Perception Survey and Residential Case Studies
14:45   Diana Waldron: WSA (Assistance provided by the SBED Project)
14:50   Q & A Session
15:15   Ends

Your invited to attend this free showcase event on Thursday 16^th July 2015. 

Please click here to register.