Welcome to another New Year from MD Nigel Huish

Welcome to another edition of our e-bulletin - we must all be starting this year with similar trepidation to the last few but through hard work and perseverance we march on. Whilst nobody can sensibly predict the end of the slow times, especially while the Eurozone has still not been sorted out, there are no sustained signs of the “green shoots of recovery” and possibly even signs of the feared double-dip recession, there is movement which I think can give us - if not reason to be optimistic - some positive things to talk about in the construction industry:

The green light for HS2 signals an intention by the government to make long-term investments in major infrastructure. This was fairly quickly followed by the development of the discussion on the need for more airport capacity and the building of “Boris Island” in the Thames Estuary (or will it be the expansion of Gatwick, Stansted or even perhaps Heathrow again?). With transport firmly back on the agenda, and the development of renewable and new nuclear power moving on, perhaps the future (albeit not necessarily the near future) is looking a little bit more rosy than it was this time last year.

On another positive note, the Löfstedt report issued at the end of last year has made some recommendations which could affect the construction industry in a positive way, including a review of the CDM Regulations which should be completed by April this year. The report recommends clearer expression of duties, a reduction of bureaucracy and appropriate guidance for small projects. So let’s wait and see if this lives up to the promise.

In the meantime, may I wish you all a happy and prosperous 2012.

For more information please contact us on 01773 829 988 or email us.

Contaminated Land - the state of play

With the imminent publication of significant changes to the Part 2a Contaminated Land regime, now is a good opportunity to have a review of the State of Play in this field.

UK contaminated land policy, particularly in the field of human health risks has developed over the last twenty years from what the most generous observer would concede was a primitive approach to a much more structured and sophisticated system. However, with the increasing level of scientific input and analysis it is important that we do not lose site of the underlying difficulties in operating a system. The challenges are many and on several levels but overall it is important to remember that scientific answers do not exist to every question. The fundamental research to underpin the models, particularly the derivation of health criteria values (HCVs) may never be carried out as, quite rightly, we do not want to expose test subjects to doses of known toxins.

The milestones in contaminated land human health risk practices over this time have included Part 2a of the EPA; two versions of statutory guidance to support it; the SGV Task Force; the release of several generations of CLEA model and extensive supporting documentation; the "Way Forward" document and associated works and now the awaited new statutory guidance on contaminated land determinations. Much of this work has been of high quality and useful but taken together does not mean we have all the answers to difficult questions.

Pragmatism is and in our view always will be needed to form part of a coherent contaminated land strategy just as it does for many other elements of national policy.

We noted with some concern the commissioning and publication of a report from a Government Agency FERA in 2009 which has been the subject of more recent discussion. Broad conclusions from the document could be taken by some to imply that the UK Government does not consider human health risks from contaminated land to be a significant problem. We are concerned that this must not become the prevailing orthodoxy as the good work of two decades could be undone.

Merebrook continues to provide services to clients in the field of contaminated land management – based in sound principles but always underpinned by common sense and pragmatism.

For more information please contact us on 01773 829 988 or email us.

Merebrook Structural Team design Heathrow T2A Terminal Building

Over the past 12 months, the Merebrook Consulting structural team has developed significantly in the South-East. With a new permanent base in London Bridge and with a number of major projects on the Heathrow Airports £2.1bn capital programme, the team of 13 Engineers and Technicians, led by Associate Director Tony Marsh, are looking forward to a busy 2012.

Supplemented by the Cardiff based structural team, Merebrook Structures has extensive structural engineering experience in all sectors including residential, retail, industrial, transport and power. In addition senior members of the team are also able to provide forensic engineering and expert witness services to Clients alongside their extensive contract management experience.

Merebrook uses the latest in engineering and CAD software and have solid experience in 3D structural analysis integrated with the latest in Building Information Modelling (BIM). With such experienced staff combined with the latest technology the Merebrook structural team have the capability to undertake the most demanding of projects.

For more information please contact us on 01773 829 988 or email us.

Project Profile - Saica Partington

Merebrook has reached the end of its involvement with the Saica Partington site.

Initially Merebrook acted as CDMC for the initial ground works improvements works and then provided on site Project Management resources for elements of the civil engineering construction works and liaison with the main service providers.

The project comprises the construction of a new paper reel manufacturing and distribution plant in Partington near Manchester (UK) with a total value estimated at circa £100M. As you can see from the artist impression of the proposed site the works are extensive.

The site was a former fuel oil storage depot and oil tanker terminal adjacent to and accessed from the Manchester ship canal.

Merebrook was involved in the general demolition, site clearance and remediation works including; breaking out of old foundations, construction of surcharge mounds, cement/lime stabilization of soft ground followed by piling for heavy foundations and ancillary structures.

The main building structure and external works were designed by IDOM (Zaragoza) including: foundations, main structural frame, secondary steelworks, offices and mezzanine areas, plant and machinery foundations, retaining walls water treatment facilities, drainage, pavements and parking areas.

David Spacey of Merebrook was appointed as the Area Construction Manager. He was the engineer responsible for site supervision of Civil’s construction packages and contract administration and coordination. Work on the site preparation and ground improvements began in the autumn of 2009. The main construction of the foundations and buildings commenced in the spring of 2010 and were completed this month.

For more information please contact us on 01773 829 988 or email us.

Lord Young's H&S report

Lord Young‘s report into Health and Safety commissioned by the current Prime Minster was issued last October to a great fanfare within the industry. It was welcomed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the industry alike as a ‘common sense approach’ to health and safety.

For some time health and safety has been used by business and industry as an excuse or to hide behind when implementing new procedures or changing systems. Generally these are changed due to a lack of funding, due to their complexity or an un-willingness to implement a system effectively - so blame it on health and safety. This has spawned a damaging compensation culture.

So the Lord Young‘s report was to hopefully change things for the better, so ten months on what has changed!.

Well for a start there is a new Health and Safety Consultants register which has been set up by the HSE and IOSH (Institute of Occupational Health and Safety), this replaces the IOSH consultants register which has been long criticised for having no measure of competency. The new register is open the health and safety consultants that have reached a level of competency within their appropriate professional body such as IOSH, British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS) and International Institute of Risk and Safety Management (IIRMS). They potential consultants must also demonstrate adequate continuing professional development, abide by their professional body’s code of conduct, provide sensible and proportionate advice, and have professional indemnity insurance or equivalent to cover the nature of their duties.

Michelle Turner of Merebrook, a registered OSHCR consultant, commented that “the register is an improvement of the previous IOSH register but still has some way to go to improve the standing of a health and safety consultant within the eyes of potential clients. There needs to be more publicity to ensure that clients are aware that the register exists and to ensure they choose consultants from the list”.

For more information please contact us on 01773 829 988 or email us.

Reduction in Feed-in-tariffs

In recent months several of the UK’s largest solar energy farms have come on line. The first farm to be completed was Wheal Jane in Truro, Cornwall. On this site the photovoltaic (PV) panels cover an area of nearly 3Ha covering a disused tin ore processing plant next to the old Wheal Jane mine. Almost 6,000 PV panels now provide 1.4 megawatts of power - sufficient to provide 430 local homes with energy. The site was prepared and commissioned ahead of schedule by Solar Century (Principal Contractor) on behalf of Lightsource Renewable Energy (LRE).

The Marston PV site in Lincolnshire was also commissioned in July. Constructed by Oskomera (Netherlands based solar power specialists) and Lark Energy (part of Larkfleet Homes) on behalf of LRE - the site covers almost 12.5 Ha and now produces 4.5 megawatts of power from 16,000 Suntech PV panels. This site was a former farm used only for grazing and will also include wind power when fully completed at which stage it will provide energy for up to 10,000 homes in the area.

The nearby site at Newark in Nottinghamshire has also recently been completed and will produce 4.6 megawatts of power from PV panels. This site has been constructed by the German solar power specialists, Conergy on behalf of LRE.

But the future is not all that bright; from 1st August the Government has reduced the feed-in tariff for solar power farms by 70% - putting future schemes in doubt. For site of less than 50kW to tariff remains unchanged but for sites between 50kW and 150kW there is around a 40% reduction with sites in the range of 150kW to 250kW showing just over a 50% reduction. The greatest reduction in tariffs is that of the larger sites (up to 5MW) showing a 72% reduction.

The feed-in tariffs for smaller sites remain the same, encouraging house owners and small businesses to turn to renewable energies, but large scale ‘business‘ opportunities of PV farms are less profitable.

Mark Bradbury of Merebrook stated ‘’the government change in policy from supporting solar energy by reducing tariffs means that future large scale greenfield PV farms must be less likely to go ahead, however, there will always be potential for companies to offset their own electricity costs by constructing roof top mounted PV panels and this type of development will continue.’’

For more information please contact us on 01773 829 988 or email us.

Merebrook are the gold standard for 2012 Olympics

Merebrook recently acted as independent safety advisors to Foundation Developments Limited (FDL) in the construction of both the Velodrome and BMX Track at the Olympic Park in Stratford London.

For the Velodrome, FDL's works included the construction of the reinforced concrete structure from basement excavations through to the structural supporting columns and slabs for the elliptical timber roof. Their work on the BMX Track included groundworks and drainage works.

Our involvement included twice weekly site safety inspections which involved assessment of both the construction works undertaken and the administration of the Safety Management System. These were assessed to establish compliance with regulation, best practice and FDL's own health and safety policy and standards.

In addition to the above we also assisted in the forward planning of specific tasks on site to ensure method statements and risk assessments were task specific and incorporated the necessary controls to ensure activities could be undertaken without risks to the health and safety of operatives.

Merebrook successfully worked closely with both the safety manager and project team for the client and principal contractor to assist in achieving the goals of the project.

For more information please contact us on 01773 829 988 or email us.