Qube News December 2006

New BS8470 Standard For PHS Datashred Recognises Best Practice In Secure Data Destruction
In recognition of its ongoing commitment to promoting industry best practice, secure destruction specialist PHS Datashred has become one of the first UK shredding companies to achieve the new security shredding standard BS8470.BS8470 is the first British Standard to be introduced for security shredding and was launched in June in response to both industry and customer concerns. In particular, the BSIA (British Security Industry Association), which is the professional trade association for the secure destruction industry, played a leading role in introducing this formally recognised standard and was heavily involved in its development. And, as a founder member of the BSIA, PHS Datashred was influential in ensuring that the standard represented the very highest standards and practices attainable in industry best practice.Anthony Pearlgood, Commercial Director of PHS Datashred and Chair of the BSIA’s Information Destruction Division, welcomed the achievement and took the opportunity to congratulate all those involved in gaining the accreditation: “I am delighted that the commitment of PHS Datashred and all of our staff to maintaining the highest security standards has been formally recognised. Not only is this an achievement for PHS, it is also a major step forward for the industry. Essentially, it means that customers can now make an informed and reliable judgement about the shredding company they use to dispose of their confidential waste.”The new standard covers a range of management processes and security features that shredding companies must comply with including premises security, staff vetting, collection-vehicle specification and shred sizes. This focus on providing a secure transit and disposal loop, alongside the commitment to maintaining a robust and accurate audit trail, means that customers of BS8470 firms can rest assured that their confidential information is will be rendered beyond use and dealt with securely from “cradle to grave”.Enquiries: KellyAnne Ralph, PHS Group plc, tel: 029 2080 9090, email: kellyanneralph@phs.co.uk.

Tyco Electronics Introduces New Enhancements To AMPTRAC Connectivity Management System
Tyco Electronics has introduced a number of enhancements to the AMPTRAC connectivity management system from its AMP NETCONNECT Business Unit, including a new generation of analysers, added features and innovative software.The AMPTRAC connectivity management system consists of port sensors, patch cords, patch panels, I/O cables, link cables, software and analysers, which together turn a network cabling system and its connected devices into an intelligent network. By revolutionising the way in which networks are controlled and documented, such intelligent networks reduce downtime, increase productivity, and improve asset utilisation.The enhanced AMPTRAC system is a result of continued development efforts by Tyco Electronics to provide a state-of-the-art intelligent management system that offers reduced cost, easy implementation, and overall increased functionality.The new AMPTRAC analysers feature major improvements in thermal efficiency: something that is vital in today's high-density and heat-generating data centres where excess heat can be a major contributor to downtime. The power consumption and heat generation of the analysers are at such low levels that no special precautions for heat management and dissipation are necessary.Three Ethernet ports on each analyser operate as a 10/100 switch and support auto-negotiation and auto MDI/MDIx for higher data rates and better integration with the network. The larger 40-character/4-line display, added pushbuttons and full alphanumeric keypad make configuration simple, while built-in fault resilience increases the overall reliability of the system."The new AMPTRAC analysers can be configured as either 'master' or 'slave' and connected with a standard Ethernet connection for simple, cost-effective installation", explains Eddie Boyce, Technical Support Manager, UK & Ireland for Tyco Electronics AMP NETCONNECT Solutions Division: "The addition of DB25 input/output connectors also improves system dependability by providing a more secure connection."The new AMPTRAC analysers are available in 336-port and 168-port versions, and are supplied complete with FREE iTRACS Infrastructure Management (IM) software. The system currently supports up to 195 analysers, or 65,520 ports, with opportunity for future expansion.Tyco Electronics has added several other enhanced features and components.For further information visit www.ampnetconnect.com, www.tycoelectronics.com or please contact: Amaechi Oduah, Marcoms Manager, Tel: +44-208 420 8335, e-mail: amaechi.oduah@tycoelectronics.com

Jacksons Fencing Installing Security With Confidence
Jacksons’ security fencing has just completed a contract to manufacture and supply a secure vehicle compound in Africa. Jacksons won the contract based on its products, experience, manufacturing capabilities and reputation for confidentiality. Jacksons has a strong portfolio of automated and high security metal fencing products which meet the requirements of the most taxing installation. The job entailed providing secure fencing and gates to enclose a large vehicle processing unit. A project survey revealed that the site would require 400m of 2.7m high Securimesh fencing, which would be set on 80x60mm steel RHS posts. To increase the security for the site Jacksons installed 950mm diameter concertina barbed tape. A single leaf pedestrian swing gate and a manual sliding gate were also installed to enable the company to monitor entry and exit to the site. Securimesh fencing was the client’s choice to ensure that integrity at the complex could not be breached. This form of fencing is ideal in areas where high visibility is essential without compromising security. With its record of strength and quality manufacture, Jacksons’ security fencing is often installed in areas that require a high level of defence. Jacksons have worked on a variety of major security related projects around the world, including Government security fencing contracts. The security that a client receives from using Jacksons’ products speaks volumes about the position of trust Jacksons has in the security fencing market. Enquiries: Tammy Jackson, Business Development Executive, H S Jackson & Son (Fencing) Ltd, tel: 01233 750393 or e-mail: tammy.jackson@jacksons-fencing.co.uk

Construction Industry Target Set - Halve Construction Waste By 2012
The Sustainability Forum, together with WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme), are calling on the construction industry to achieve a 50% cut in materials waste going to landfill by the year 2012.Responding to the Strategic Forum for Construction’s decision to focus on waste reduction as a key component of sustainability, the two organisations believe this is a measurable and achievable industry-wide target for reducing material waste in construction. The Forum and WRAP are working jointly on how best to help the industry to achieve this target.The UK construction industry consumes more than 400 million tonnes of materials each year and generates over 100 million tonnes of waste. Around 30 million tonnes each year ends up as construction waste going straight to landfill.Ian Coull, Chair of the Sustainability Forum, said: “In order for the industry to improve its sustainability, we must set targets and goals for reducing waste and improving the use of resources. This goal to halve waste by 2012 is an excellent place to start, and it’s now up to the entire industry supply chain to take action, not only for the environment, but also to deliver cost and efficiency savings.”By adopting best practices in waste management and minimisation, including the target to halve waste, the Sustainability Forum believes major construction projects like the 2012 Olympics and the Thames Gateway regeneration can act as models for the industry.

Robertson FM Has Landed A Prestigious BIFM Excellence Award
The company was recognised in the Best Practice in a PFI/PPP Contract category for its service delivery at Chester-Le-Street Hospital in County Durham.The BIFM awards, hosted by broadcasting journalist Adrienne Lawler, were held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London on October 16. The glittering event is widely regarded as the biggest and most prestigious FM awards event in the UK.The award is the latest chapter in the phenomenal success story of the business that was established just over six years ago.Now operating from 25 sites that span from Invergordon in the Scottish Highlands to Stockton on Tees in the north-east of England, the company will this year post an annual turnover of £7million and now directly employs 250 people.As part of the Aura consortium that includes Robertson Capital Projects, Sir Robert McAlpine and Parsons Brinkerhoff, Robertson FM has also been appointed preferred bidder to provide FM services in the £200million Newcastle Building Schools for the Future project. Speaking after the event, Managing Director, Steve Barron, paid tribute to the dedicated staff who have driven forward his vision for success.He said: “This recognition is a credit to our staff who have been core to the success of Robertson FM.“Any company is only as good as the people who work for them and our staff at Chester le Street have produced superb results under the leadership of Regional Contract Manager Allan Dryden.“We look for people who buy into our values, those who believe in going that extra mile for the client and this award is further evidence that we are continually developing a first-class service delivery. “We plan to build on this award to accelerate our growth plans which will see the company use this successful service model across the UK.”Cap – Robertson FM Managing Director, Steve Barron, Adrienne Lawler, Operations Director Martin Igoe, Regional Contract Manager, Allan Dryden, Sponsor John Davis of FRL and BIFM Chairman, Peter Cordy.For further information please contact Neil McDonald on 01698 787855 or Geraldine Strawbridge on 01698 787857.

Window Cleaners Brought Down To Earth By Reach & Wash
The sight of window cleaners up ladders brandishing buckets and squeegee could soon be a thing of the past thanks to The Reach & Wash System.Hygiene Group, one of the UK’s leading providers of hygiene management services to the food sector, believes this ladder-less method is the answer to risks associated with traditional window cleaning.It is environmentally friendly too, and can be used to reach low-level, difficult-to-access windows.The Reach & Wash system has five advantages:* Health and safety - eliminates working at height risk* Cost – no access equipment hire, quicker therefore cheaper.* Less damage – cuts ladder-damage to sills, gutters and slates.* Quality – most effective window cleaning available, eliminating squeegee marks and lines.* Frames and sills – cleaned thoroughly as well as windows.Hygiene Group managing director Steve Bailey said: “Reach & Wash pushes dirt away aggressively using almost 100% pure water, leaving glass, window frames, cladding and signs clean without the need for chemicals and detergents..“And it signals the beginning of the end for old-school window cleaners who rely on dangerous ladders and expensive hydraulic platforms.”For further information, please contact Chris Reynolds on 01753 820991.

PHS Teacrate To Invest £750,000 To Streamline New Packaging Service
Crate rental specialist PHS Teacrate has announced it is to invest £750,000 in its new packaging service for the removals industry. Orders have been placed with Midland Vehicle Contracts Ltd for a fleet of new Iveco curtain sided vehicles which have been specially adapted to allow rapid loading and unloading of palletised materials. The company is also recruiting additional drivers to operate the new vehicles, which will be deployed across the United Kingdom and provide a nationwide daily delivery service for both commercial and private movers.Further investment has been made in the development of new computer software to enable customers to order on-line through the Teacrate website. The on-line store, with over 150 packaging products in stock, will be available before the end of 2006.Teacrate’s managing director David Wicks said: “We know that the packaging industry is very tough and that only the most efficient companies can win a share of the market. That’s why we’ve invested so heavily in new equipment and people; we’re determined to be the best.” For further information contact the PHS Teacrate sales team on 0800 980 7000 or by email at packaging@teacrate.com.

Paving The Future For Environmentally-Friendly Roads
Researchers at the University of Sheffield are working to develop long lasting road surfaces that would be cheaper to construct and more environmentally friendly. The three-year collaborative project aims to significantly cut energy consumption and construction costs and time, as well as use waste materials in road construction and make tyre recycling more economically attractive.Funded by the European Union’s Framework Programme 6, the project involves nine European partners from six countries and is coordinated by the University of Sheffield. Universities, industrial partners, consumers and the European Tyre Recycling Association will come together to develop, test and validate steel-fibre-reinforced-concrete (SFRC) pavements in order to make road pavements more cost effective and sustainable. The project aims to reduce construction costs in the range of 10-20%, construction time by 15% and energy consumption by up to 40%. It will also work to improving the environmental impact of road pavements with regard to emissions and noise and improving the safety of the road’s surface. As part of the research the roads of new EU member state Cyprus and candidate countries, Romania and Turkey will be targeted – countries with probably the greatest need and potential for new surface infrastructure. One of the expected results of the research is the development of fibre reinforcement obtained from waste tyres. This will have a positive effect on the European tyre recycling industry, which currently does not have a sustainable solution for the use of the steel cord extracted from tyres. Techniques and equipment will also be developed for mixing steel fibres into wet and dry concrete mixes. These will minimise the need for using conventional materials and will therefore reduce construction costs of concrete pavements Professor Kypros Pilakoutas, of the Department of Civil and Structural Engineering at the University of Sheffield and coordinator of the project, said: “Given the rise in energy prices and the need to reduce CO2 emissions drastically, this is a major step forward for the future of road construction, both here in the UK and overseas. It is particularly imperative for countries that are currently developing their surface infrastructures, as this new research will allow these countries to build and maintain roads much more cost effectively and at the benefit of the environment.” Demonstration roads will be constructed in four European countries to validate the results of the three-year project.For more information please visit http://ecolanes.shef.ac.uk

MITIE has recently been appointed as the security partner to The Roman Baths, Bath.
The contract, which commenced on 1 October 2006, will see MITIE managing the provision of manned security and CCTV monitoring, further enhancing the company’s position as a leader in the provision of security services to the museum and galleries sector.The Roman Baths, run by Bath & North East Somerset Council, is one of the world’s best preserved Roman religious spas and is visited by over 800,000 people each year. Its popularity helps to make Bath one of the UK’s most popular holiday destinations.

MoreySmith has been appointed to provide architectural and interior design services for Nokia Design’s new offices in London; Espoo, Finland and Copenhagen, Denmark.
In the UK Nokia Design will be moving from the Southwood Campus in Farnborough, Hampshire to offices in central London. In Finland, Nokia will be moving from Ruoholahti, Helsinki, to the Nokia Head Office building in Espoo, and in Copenhagen MoreySmith will design a new collaborative design studio within the existing Nokia site.

The National Landlords Association (NLA) has been awarded a government contract to operate an insurance-based tenancy deposit protection scheme.
The Housing Act 2004 requires the Government to introduce mandatory tenancy deposit protection. With effect from 6 April 2007 any landlord taking and holding a deposit on an Assured Shorthold Tenancy in England and Wales will by law be required to be a member of such a scheme.The scheme will safeguard tenants’ deposits, ensure that they get part or all of their deposit back at the end of the tenancy if they are entitled to, and offer an alternative way of resolving disputes.

A £6.3 million bid to establish the UK’s first advanced construction technology and training centre in Coventry has been approved by regional development agency Advantage West Midlands.
Building work on the ground breaking ACT-UK National Centre for Advanced Construction Technologies, at the Coventry University Technology Park, in Puma Way, is expected to start in spring 2007. The scheme is to be officially launched in the New Year at an event whose keynote speakers will be Sir John Egan, the former boss of Jaguar, and Sir Michael Latham, whose Government-commissioned reports on improving efficiency, quality and working practices within construction have changed the face of the industry.The centre aims to address skills shortages, improve the quality and quantity of training and sustain a life-long learning culture within the industry.

Relocity win new Amey contract Corporate interiors to IT infrastructure contractor
Relocity Ltd has won a major dilapidations contract with leading support services provider, Amey. The project is for the Forum One building in Fareham, Hampshire and will enable a faster re-let of the property which has become surplus to requirements.The project will require a substantial re-working of the building interior including electrical, air conditioning, lighting and power re-modelling to suit the revised partitioning and ceiling lay-out.

PHS Quarterly FM Survey
A green revolution in British organisations as the health benefits of plants hit home, says PHS Survey.A growing awareness of the health benefits of introducing plants at work is supporting widespread uptake in British organisations, according to the 13th PHS Quarterly Facilities Management Survey, published in October.While the majority of companies use plants to make their premises look better (and more affluent) the Survey, in which 200 UK facilities management professionals were interviewed in July and August this year, showed that nearly a quarter of interviewed FMs knew that plants could also help improve staff health and wellbeing - alleviating some of the headachy, lethargic symptoms of Sick Building Syndrome, for example. A ‘top tips’ section at the back of PHS’s survey report explained that staff working amongst plants tend to be better motivated, more productive and take fewer days off sick than those in offices without plants*. This is because plants are natural ‘air cleaners’, who’s leaves, stems and roots actively remove airborne impurities emanating from photocopiers, computer screens and air conditioning units. They also remove carbon dioxide from the air, which makes us feel drowsy and lacking in concentration, and replace it with oxygen. Overall, plants have a positive psychological effect on us, too, making us feel happier and calmer.PHS’s report stressed that just a few plants positioned here and there would give staff ample opportunity to enjoy the effects of these natural clean air machines.Other key findings of PHS’ survey were as follows:The British love plants at work. Every company interviewed had plants of some sort inside or outside their buildings.Greenery accounts for 3.5% of the facilities budget, but less than 49% of FMs got involved in decision-making, preferring to leave the choice of plants to others including architects during the planning process. Employee opinion counts. 13% of FMs said their plants were installed following pressure from staff.Only half the companies interviewed employ a specialist company to supply and maintain their plants. Of those that do, 41% use the same supplier for their interior and exterior planting, believing that there are benefits in doing so. When choosing plant suppliers, reputation and horticultural expertise influence private sector buyers, while public sector buyers are more interested in price.One in 10 FMs also use their plant contractor for Christmas trees and decor, with most popular reasons including relieving staff of the time and trouble and to get more professional looking displays.Peter Cohen, chief executive of the PHS Group plc, comments, “The PHS Quarterly FM Survey was launched for the benefit of our customers, to reveal interesting and relevant facts for Facilities Managers about their industry and about the practices and opinions of their peers. We hope the results of this survey will both inform and support the business community in reviewing and improving plants provision in the workplace.”Enquiries: KellyAnne Ralph, PHS Group plc, tel: 029 2080 9090, email: kellyanneralph@phs.co.uk.