Search Results for: industry

August 28, 2013

BIFM pulls out of much publicised facilities management trade association merger

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, News

The British Institute of Facilities Management has announced that it is to withdraw with immediate effect from the merger discussions it had entered into in May with its fellow trade associations, Asset Skills, CSSA and FMA. The decision to pull out was taken at a BIFM board meeting last week. According to a BIFM statement, the plans were not felt to be in the best interests of BIFM members. The decision comes as something of a surprise given that the week before the decision, BIFM was saying that it was delighted with progress, although some commentators including our own Simon Heath had already expressed their reservations about the whole thing.

August 15, 2013

CBI survey gives suppliers chance to have say on UK public sector procurement

by Mark Eltringham • Knowledge, News, Public Sector

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is offering private sector firms the chance to take part in a survey detailing their experience of working with UK public sector. It follows a largely damning 2012 report from the same organisation which found that only 7 per cent of firms believed the public sector procurement function was effective. However the same report did find that around 80 percent of respondents were in favour of the UK Government reform programme and so the latest survey is a chance to see whether recent initiatives such as the recent Public Administration Committee report into procurement failings and the setting up of the Crown Commercial Service have had any impact on private sector confidence in the way the UK public sector goes about its business.

August 14, 2013

Proceed with caution when using social media to recruit new talent

by Sara Bean • Comment, Knowledge, Legal news, Workplace

Time was, not so long ago that a job seeker could choose which aspects of their experience, interests and personality they wanted to reveal on a job application. For the employer this meant wheedling out the right candidates from a pile of written applications, then using the interview process to determine whether the applicant measured up to their requirements. Today, social media not only makes it easier for employers to reach a much wider universe of candidates – it also gives them the opportunity if they choose, to screen potential employees, and this is where legally, ethically and practically, new largely uncharted problems lie. More →

August 7, 2013

Costs of tenders deterring Scottish builders from bidding for public sector work

by Mark Eltringham • Knowledge, News, Property, Public Sector

Construction firms in Scotland are increasingly reluctant to bid for public sector building work because of the spiralling costs of tendering for work, according to a new survey from the Scottish Building Federation. The SBF claims that the cost of tendering for public sector contracts has sky-rocketed in the past five years – and is now equivalent to £94 million each year as firms vie for a share of the £2 billion worth of public sector construction contracts awarded annually in Scotland. The survey claims that the annual cost to construction firms of participating in public procurement is now 4.4 percent of the total value of contracts, with builders reporting an increase of between 20 percent to 50 percent on most projects over the last five years.

August 7, 2013

UK construction and manufacturing buoyant but mixed picture in global property market

by Mark Eltringham • Knowledge, News, Products, Property

There are signs that the UK’s faltering economy is on the road to recovery. Construction activity in the UK jumped sharply in July to hit its highest level in over three years, according to the latest Markit/CIPS survey of purchasing managers. This may have been driven primarily by a surge in house building, but even the recently moribund commercial construction sector saw an increase in activity. However a new report from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors has highlighted that while the UK may have reason to smile, the picture of global commercial property markets is very patchy.

July 30, 2013

Government gets around to tightening energy efficiency standards for buildings

by Sara Bean • Environment, Facilities management, News, Property

The Government has confirmed it’s to strengthen energy efficiency standards for new homes and non-domestic buildings. The toughened up measures announced today in Parliament covering Part L of the Building Regulations will mean a six per cent cut in carbon emissions for new build homes, and a nine per cent cut for non-domestic buildings. According to the government, the small increase in construction costs will be “heavily outweighed” by subsequent energy savings. There have been criticisms however, over the length of time it’s taken for the changes to be announced as a consultation on the proposed changes closed over a year ago. More →

July 29, 2013

Hospitality giant receives second LEED certificate for sustainable HQ

by Sara Bean • Company news, Environment, Furniture, Lighting, News

Wyndham Worldwide, one of the world’s largest hospitality companies, which counts the Travelodge and Ramada chains amongst its brands has received a second silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program for its New Jersey-based headquarters. One of the green initiatives was the introduction of a sustainable purchasing policy that encourages the purchase of ongoing items such as lamps, electronic goods and furniture, to be environmentally friendly, conserve natural resources, minimize waste and reduce toxicity. More →

July 23, 2013

Facilities Show and Facilities Management Association confirm event partnership

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News

The Facilities Management Association (FMA) has signed an exclusive partnership agreement with the organisers of Facilities Show that will see the two organisations collaborate closely for the 2014 event when it moves to London’s ExCeL. The terms of the partnership with organisers UBM Live, will see the FMA continue to play an integral role in the development of the show by once again hosting the FMA Pavilion, a central meeting and networking hub for its members including many of the major TFMs.

July 11, 2013

Green Building Council Awards recognise European environmental leadership

by Sara Bean • Environment, News, Property, Public Sector

The UK Green Building Council is accepting nominations for the first-ever European Regional Leadership Awards, part of the World Green Building Council Leadership Awards 2013, which recognise international best practice in city-level government policy for green building initiatives. The regional awards are for best practice in green building initiatives, projects, and policies that are supporting healthier and more sustainable communities within the European Region. “The awards promote leadership and inspire governments to replicate best practices in green building policy,” said the WorldGBC’s Chief Executive Officer, Jane Henley. “Buildings represent an unrivalled opportunity to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, and cities play an increasingly critical role in seizing this opportunity.”

July 9, 2013

New study to investigate effectiveness of UK carbon reduction policies

by Mark Eltringham • Environment, Facilities management, Knowledge, Legal news, News

Deloitte has been commissioned by the Green Construction Board and the Green Property Alliance to carry out a study into the effectiveness of the UK Government’s policies for carbon reduction as the it seeks to meet its commitment to reduce the country’s carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050. Inevitably buildings, which reportedly are the largest source of CO2 including some 17 percent from non-domestic property, have been targeted to make significant contributions. With the much vaunted Green Deal in the news for all the wrong reasons – either because of its low take-up as well as new fears that it could lead to homes overheating – the survey will gauge how policies aimed specifically at commercial property such as Energy Performance Certificates and the Carbon Reduction Commitment have fared in spite of their own difficult gestations.

July 9, 2013

BIFM partnership with DWP may prove an ill-advised and short-lived union

by Simon Heath • Comment, Facilities management

Rather like someone who collects friends on Facebook and followers on Twitter with the obsessiveness of the avid lepidopterist completist, news reaches us from the British Institute of Facilities Management concerning yet another partnership. Not content with the recently announced merger with Asset Skills, the Facilities Management Association and the Cleaning and Support Services Association, this time it’s the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) that is the object of BIFM’s affections. Not that BIFM are considering moving in to Caxton House and a run for Parliament in 2015 (at least not that we are aware of). But while BIFM are, understandably, trumpeting the signing of this joint agreement, the DWP are not. In fact, if one searches on www.gov.uk using the search terms “BIFM” or “British Institute of Facilities Management” no results are returned.

July 8, 2013

BIFM and DWP announce facilities management partnership agreement

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, News

The British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) is building on its recent track record of building new alliances with the announcement that it has signed a partnership agreement with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The partners claim the new agreement will see the BIFM and DWP working in unison to support future growth in the facilities and workplace management sector. The agreement was signed at the end of last week by Mark Hoban MP, Minister of State for Employment, Gareth Tancred, CEO of BIFM and Martin Brown, Work Services Director for Wales and Employers, Department for Work and Pensions. The joint statement from the BIFM and DWP claims that the partnership agreement will drive ‘a shared agenda on increasing routes into and raising skills and professionalism of all those working in the facilities and workplace management industry’.