Your BESA Issue 16

Issue 16

YOUR

FOCUS ON

the impact of coronavirus on our industry

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Inside this issue...

Putting wellbeing first

P04

Site safety must be top priority as work restarts

P08

Maintenance still a legal obligation despite crisis

P12

BESA and Unite set example with wage agreement P16

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BESA chief executive David Frise

Welcome

YOUR BESA - ISSUE 16 In this issue:

David Frise

FUTURE OF BUILDING SERVICES

P04

PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE

P07

HEALTH AND SAFETY

P08

TECHNICAL NEWS

P10

EMPLOYMENT AFFAIRS

P16

MEMBER NEWS

P24

Move fast and break things The industry is getting back to business, but it is definitely not business as usual or even business as we knew it – but that does not mean it is a bad thing, says BESA group chief executive David Frise.

The founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg is credited with coming up with the business mantra: “Move fast and break things” and it also came to define the approach of fellow tech titans Amazon and Google in their early days. However, we are often told those days are now over and corporate bureaucracy and the push for profit has stripped away some of that gung-ho spirit in Silicon Valley.

UK engineering also used to be famous for its willingness to take risks in the interests of technological progress. However, many engineers had their natural enthusiasm drained away by working in construction supply chains where stultifying bureaucracy; an aversion to risk taking; and poor payment practices stifled innovation.

The current COVID-19 crisis has, however, seen some of that fleetfooted approach return and everything is now up for grabs as

we prepare for the ‘new normal’.

There are some wonderful examples on pages 24-26 of this publication where BESA members have stepped up to the plate to deliver projects for the NHS in astonishing timeframes – showing just what is possible if you take off the restraints.

As Priddy’s Andrew Blunsdon puts it on page 25: “It’s amazing what can be done when there is no bureaucracy holding back the engineers.”

BESA has been running daily COVID-19 webinars since the start of the lockdown and these have proved hugely popular (go to: www.theBESA.com/covid19 for all the recordings). We have had a wide array of guest speakers, including a retired Rear-Admiral, who believes that the way those NHS projects came together could provide a blueprint for the future of our reformed industry – in line with the vision laid out by Dame Judith Hackitt (who also appeared on our webinar).

Several of the NHS projects were joint efforts with the military and Bob Tarrant said the secret lay in the detailed planning that precedes every military operation and the ability of commanders to retain the trust of everyone in their team by creating a clear, shared vision.

“Intent is the subtle difference in the way the military does things. They write down on one sheet of paper exactly what they intend to do and why. Everything flows from that and produces a unity of effort,” he told us.

He added that the military was very good at empowering people so they could work independently. This makes delivery teams more agile and quick to respond to new challenges.

“We don’t tell people how to do things – we tell them what to do. The days of just shouting at people are long gone.”

In other words, let the engineers get on with the engineering.

The rest is just noise and waste.

Follow David on Twitter: @outsiderwrecker4

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3

FUTURE OF BUILDING SERVICES

The New Normal – putting wellbeing first Whatever happens in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, wellbeing will play a big part in the ‘new normal’, says Nathan Wood* – chair of the BESA Health & Wellbeing in Buildings group.

There is no point trying to rush back to ‘business as usual’. It will simply not be possible. Instead, we must use this period to pause and reflect on what we need to do differently from now on.

The practicalities will dictate much of what happens next – not least the cash crunch being experienced by many contractors caused by the dramatic drop in workflows; and the productivity challenge caused by social distancing measures that will

limit how many people can be in the same work place at the same time.

However, this means it is a time to consider how to work differently and better.

The emergency NHS facilities built in record time across the country show just what is possible. With the legal and contractual shackles removed, the engineers got on with the job and engineered buildings fully focussed on supporting the health and wellbeing of their users.

They used precision military-style planning to support engineering innovation and delivered an outcome that was both safe and of good quality. The world was watching and the outcome was critical – the engineers were allowed to engineer; and the contractual complexity that holds so many projects back was swept away.

Many BESA members were involved in these projects – see stories on pages 24-26.

We now have a chance to turn that model into a ‘new normal’ for our sector supported by higher standards in competence and compliance. For building engineering services this is also an important opportunity to restate the value we bring to buildings and people.

The main message from the Association’s daily COVID-19 webinars was: ‘If you want essential services, you need building services.’ In other words, what we do has a big impact on society.

One immediate efficiency improvement was the sudden acceleration in the use of digital systems to support engineers working from home and to facilitate remote monitoring of building systems that were hard to access.

This is a ‘game changer’ and no-one should be looking to turn back that clock – onwards and upwards.

There will also be huge opportunities in the ‘green economy’ and the government is already looking at ways to accelerate some of the initiatives it put in place to support its zero carbon agenda. We demonstrated what we always knew that we didn’t need to drive for two hours to go to a meeting. Hardly anyone noticed that the National Grid ran for its longest ever period without burning coal to produce electricity during the crisis – and the lights didn’t go out. Renewables are now preeminent in the power sector.

4

BESA Group Companies:

TRAINING

However, perhaps the biggest change for the building engineering sector will come through the increased focus on the health and wellbeing of building occupants. If anything is going to concentrate minds on making buildings healthier – surely a pandemic will?

One of the biggest social changes brought about by the coronavirus crisis was the amount of people working from home. Many of these people will not return to a central office – or will at least split their time more evenly between home and office from now on.

The office environment is bound to change too. During the crisis, the general advice was to reduce recirculation of air as much as possible and increase air change rates to limit the possibility of infection and reinfection by COVID-19. The emphasis moved from energy efficiency to health and safety.

STRUCTURAL SHIFT Former BESA ventilation hygiene group chair Richard Norman said he was expecting this to become a longterm, structural shift for the ventilation and filtration sectors.

“Perhaps more importantly, I can also see a change towards filters with antibacterial and anti-viral impregnated media, and away from those designed to be energy efficient.”

Greater activity in this area will be part of the evidence employers will use to prove to their staff that they are trying to do the right thing. “Look how much I value your health and wellbeing,” will be the message.

We were already living in a health & safety, increasingly risk averse world and that will only intensify because of the virus. The difference now is that we understand more about the risks to building occupants posed by airborne contaminants – and have more methods for addressing it.

“Energy saving is going to have to If you are an employer who has play second fiddle to ensuring the air encouraged your staff to work inside buildings is ‘moved’ faster than at home, surely you still have it is now – certainly in the immediate responsibility for their health and For example, clean air technologies future anyway,” he said. “This is a wellbeing? How do you know that and strategies will surely become challenge at a time when there is so their home office is suitable – has the new normal for every healthcare much worldwide focus on cutting the right level of natural light; is facility in the UK. Wearing masks and carbon emissions. acoustically and ergonomically washing hands helped appropriate; and is to control the spread, but not polluted with “THE PANDEMIC WILL HAVE A PROFOUND medical professionals airborne bacteria?

INFLUENCE ON THE LAYOUT OF OFFICES. now recognise that is not enough and they are far Recently, BESA has THE CURRENT TREND IS FOR OPEN PLAN more aware of the role been focussing a SPACES WITH PEOPLE GROUPED TOGETHER played by air purification lot on how to turn and sterilisation devices…

IN HIGH DENSITIES – THAT WILL HAVE commercial and and our industry. public buildings TO BE COMPLETELY REVERSED.” into ‘safe havens’ After the crisis eases, there from pollution. We Richard Norman, Former BESA ventilation hygiene group chair will also be a stronger talk about people appetite for testing and spending 90% of for measuring and monitoring – this their time indoors – now it might be “The pandemic will also have a will have a profound impact on the 90% of their time at home. profound influence on the layout work of the building services sector. of offices. The current trend is for The public are now familiar with the This is a big concern in many open plan spaces with people concept of tracking and tracing threats properties, but particularly those grouped together in high densities – and will want to see this done in their with Mechanical Ventilation Heat – that will have to be completely commercial and residential buildings.

Recovery (MVHR) systems. There have reversed, which has implications been many reports of these systems for the design and operation of It is a whole new world with the health creating problems due to installation ventilation and air conditioning and wellbeing of building occupants and maintenance failings. There is systems,” said Mr Norman. now front and centre. going to be a growing clamour for improved standards; expert guidance; He also pointed out that it will no *Nathan Wood is managing director of and evidence of competence to longer be appropriate to turn off Farmwood M&E. make sure the domestic industry can or down ventilation systems at cope – and the lines between the For more information about the BESA night – and in many cases, offices commercial side of the sector and the Health & Wellbeing in Buildings group will start leaving bathroom extract residential will blur. email: ewen.rose@theBESA.com systems running 24/7.

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BESA Group Companies:

TRAINING

PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE

Bringing buildings back to life Building engineers have been playing a vital role in keeping essential services running during the COVID-19 crisis, but our work will be equally crucial as buildings and the economy struggle to restart, says BESA President John Norfolk.

Going into the lockdown was relatively straightforward – getting out of it will be a very different challenge. However, it also presents lots of great opportunities.

BESA has been extremely active throughout the crisis providing a huge amount of information and support to members and the wider industry.

Our daily COVID-19 update webinars hosted by CEO David Frise have been hugely popular and instrumental in keeping business owners up-todate with the latest commercial and technical developments.

The overall message was: ‘If you want essential services, you need building services’.

As we now move into the next phase, the Association’s services and expertise will be pivotal as the industry prepares for a ‘new normal’.

Bringing some buildings back to life could be quite complex as we need to make sure we minimise the threat

of the virus being spread again and look at issues like the build-up of legionella bacteria in dormant water systems. BESA’s new SFG30 guidance, which was made free to members and at a 50% discount to nonmembers during the crisis, could be hugely helpful in this process (see page 12).

The health & safety of our people will also be a big concern as they go back into action on site and in buildings that may hold unknown threats. The joint expert panel created by BESA and the ECA has already provided essential guidance specifically aimed at m&e professionals (see pages 8 and 9).

REVIVAL However, as well as working more safely we must also work differently.

The Minister for Small Business Paul Scully MP was a guest on one of the BESA webinars and made it very clear that the environmental agenda and the changes recommended by the Hackitt Review would be central parts of the economic revival.

He said the government was looking at how to accelerate low carbon initiatives to help drive the economy.

He added that the lockdown period had further heightened people’s fears of living in unsafe housing so the Hackitt changes must come quickly.

Therefore, the construction sector simply cannot just go back to business as usual.

Instead, we must ensure that the unity of spirit and fantastic collaboration witnessed on those emergency NHS hospital projects (see pages

BESA President John Norfolk

24-26) must become our blueprint for a new way of working.

This will also require more flexible commercial and legal thinking too (see pages 20 and 21). So many of our projects get entangled in complex contractual arguments and legal disputes. There was none of that on the NHS projects; just people getting on with their jobs.

We will need everyone to take a flexible risk-sharing approach and use open book tendering so that supply chains can move quickly to rebuild business and get projects up and running. We must avoid getting into disputes – it is all about collaboration.

Not everyone behaved honourably during the crisis, but the words of the Prime Minister might come back to haunt them: “When all this is over, you will be asked what you did to help other businesses and your communities.”

As President of this great Association, I am delighted to say that BESA and its members have been stepping up to the plate and are ready to do so again as part of a big economic revival that will have building engineering at its heart.

7

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Site safety must be top priority as work restarts “THE ONUS IS ON (THE CONTRACTOR) TO DEMONSTRATE TO US THAT THEIR SITES ARE SAFE. MOST OF THE BIGGEST FIRMS RECOGNISE THIS”

Construction sites must continue to focus on the safety of workers as we emerge from the COVID-19 crisis, according to BESA’s health & safety advisor Rebecca Crosland.

Sub-contractors should not feel pressurised into carrying out work during and after the COVID-19 crisis if it cannot be done safely.

Site operating procedures are guidance and not law so employers are perfectly within their rights to withdraw their staff if they do not feel they are being properly protected.

This is not about legislation or rules – this is about people. Employers are not worried about legislation or being sued by clients for delaying projects because they won’t put workers in harm’s way. They are most concerned about keeping their people safe and will not allow them to put their lives at risk – especially if the work is not essential.

Ann Bentley, Construction Leadership Council

In general, contractors should consider whether the work they are being asked to do is absolutely essential or whether it could be carried out differently or delayed until conditions are safer. If they have to work, then they must stick to the Site Operating Procedures (SOPs) provided by the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), which are in line with the recommendations of Public Health England.

Image: Swegon

8

BESA Group Companies:

TRAINING

BESA also supported the call from Unite the union for the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) to resume site safety inspections as soon as possible to help safeguard workers’ safety. As Your BESA went to press, confirmation came through that these inspections were to begin again imminently in line with new government guidance. Inspections were suspended at the start of the coronavirus emergency, but if we

expect construction workers to be on site, then we should also expect their working conditions to be under surveillance.

PROTECTION Some work may be critical to ensure an essential building can continue operating and if that work can only be completed in close proximity to others, then workers must have adequate protection. Ideally, you should be able to complete a job at the safe 2m distance from fellow workers.

Time will tell how practical that will prove to be.

The SOPs give a good framework for safe working, but it has become apparent that specific guidance is required for the M&E sector because of the particular nature of its work.

Therefore, BESA formed a joint COVID-19 Health and Safety Expert Panel with the Electrical Contractors Association (ECA). The members were tasked with producing specific guidance for M&E professionals to help them work safely on site during the current emergency and in the aftermath when it is expected social distancing restrictions will remain in place.

The panel was able to capture a range of expert health and safety knowledge and best practice, to provide practical guidance that should further minimise the risk of COVID-19 being spread among workers as more sites re-open.

The guidance ensures there are consistent measures on all sites irrespective of size and work type, and that the guidance is in line with the government’s recommendations.

The Panel is also providing sectorspecific feedback to the CLC, Build UK and the government to support the use of SOPs. One particular area of concern highlighted by our work is around the use of respiratory protective equipment (RPE). We have, therefore, also provided specific guidance in this area.

Sourcing this crucial piece of safety equipment has also proved a challenge for many sub-contractors, but this is just one area where site managers must take control. They must step up and take responsibility to make sure their sites are safe.

There should also be no ethical dilemma about whether construction workers deserve to use RPE and PPE. People are people, at the end of the day – and if someone is carrying out M&E work to provide or maintain essential services they deserve to be protected.

During one of BESA’s daily update webinars, CLC member Ann Bentley said it was up to main contractors to ensure safety on their sites.

“The onus is on them to demonstrate to us that their sites are safe,” she said. “Most of the biggest firms recognise this, but there is a tier of contractors who don’t get it. They will be in breach of contract if they don’t provide safe working conditions and you can’t force people to work on unsafe sites – that’s illegal.”

SITE SAFETY GUIDANCE Some of the topics covered by the site safety guidance produced by our joint M&E panel includes: • Minimise the frequency and time workers are within 2 metres of each other and minimise the number of workers involved in tasks; • Stagger entry and exit times to reduce congestion; • Look at extended working periods so that fewer workers are on site at the same time; • Break up groups on-site; • Ensure all site staff are provided with gloves hand sanitizer and handwashing stations; • How site staff should use vehicles in a way that maintains social distancing and that they should avoid public transport wherever possible; • Site staff must not wear their site clothes overalls and or boots once they have left the site; • They should clean tools at the end of the day and use antibacterial spray; • Ensure that all PPE is cleaned, stored and maintained as recommended by the manufacturer; • Waste should be bagged and disposed of in the correct way; • Workers should not go home in work clothes or footwear as this could spread the virus; • If using public transport is absolutely necessary, workers are encourage to wear face coverings to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus; • Are there suitable and sufficient first aid facilities on site?

• Are there suitable, sufficient and appropriate levels of supervision if key staff are off sick?

• Regular use of antibacterial wipes.

To view BESA’s full site safety guidance procedures as well as information about the use of face masks go to: www.theBESA.com/covid19.

9

TECHNICAL NEWS

AC and vent systems can help reduce virus spread Ventilation and air conditioning systems have been playing an important role in helping essential services deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, according to head of REFCOM Graeme Fox. There was a lot of misinformation and alarmist pseudo-science published about the potential of ventilation and air conditioning systems to spread the coronavirus around buildings in the early weeks of the crisis. This could have been very damaging if facilities managers in critical buildings had decided the safest course of action was to switch systems off.

However, the technical guidance issued by the various UK and European industry bodies took a consistent line and demonstrated that these systems were not the problem and, in fact, should be seen as a key part of the solution.

The HVAC sector as a whole has continued to perform a crucial role in keeping essential services like hospitals, supermarkets, care homes and schools operating. Our systems and services are going to be more important than ever as the lockdown restrictions are lifted and people start returning to their buildings.

Public Health England quickly established that transmission of the virus was primarily through respiratory droplets generated by coughing and sneezing, and

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BESA Group Companies:

through contact with contaminated surfaces. It did not recommend any special cleaning measures for ventilation and cooling systems.

However, all responsible industry bodies would stress that ongoing cleaning and maintenance is always important – and even more so now.

COMFORT VERSUS CRITICAL REFCOM’s advice is that if the air conditioning can be switched off – because it is providing comfort conditions only rather than a critical service – then it should be turned off temporarily to be on the safe side.

This is because most of the comfort systems used in the UK employ recirculation of the air and only bring a maximum 10% fresh air into the occupied space.

To minimise the chance of the virus remaining airborne in that space, extract systems should be used in conjunction with the full fresh air if possible to ensure a high rate of air changes in the building is achieved.

If systems cannot be switched to full fresh air, then they should be turned off.

However, we could also take an even more proactive approach.

TRAINING

REHVA, the European Federation of HVAC associations, stated that the virus was stable for 24 hours at 37degC, but for only 30 minutes at 56degC. This would suggest that running a system in heating mode where the coil would reach around 48-50degC for an hour should logically reduce the risk of the virus surviving.

In cooling mode, the nature of the evaporation process means that moisture passing across the coil may condense and be removed from the airflow. That might, of course, simply move the problem to another area such as the condensate removal pump or drainage process, but that could be tackled via maintenance – and the virus would not remain suspended in the air stream.

So, far from adding to the problem, properly operated ventilation and air conditioning can play a major role in reducing the potential spread of coronavirus in buildings. The key is following the specific technical advice and not listening to the conspiracy theorists. www.refcom.org.uk

MEMBERS URGED TO RENEW F-GAS REGISTRATIONS EARLY He also confirmed that F-Gas registration renewals would continue during the lockdown period despite the closure of training centres, which was making it difficult for engineers to update their qualifications.

EXPIRING The peak renewal period in the three-year F-Gas cycle is fast approaching and a number of engineers hold expiring CITB J11/12 qualifications, which were issued five years ago. REFCOM is, therefore, encouraging companies to renew their licences early so the qualifications will still be valid.

It has reassured them that they will not be penalised by renewing early as any unused time from the existing registration will be added on to the new one.

“It is important that companies move “IF YOUR F-GAS QUALIFICATIONS quickly on this so they It is still a legal obligation to don’t end up with EXPIRE YOU WILL NOT, LEGALLY, BE continue mandatory checks engineers holding ALLOWED TO CARRY OUT ANY of equipment under the expired registrations,” F-Gas regulations despite said Mr Fox. “If your INSTALLATION, SERVICE, REPAIR, the lockdown restrictions F-Gas qualifications OR MAINTENANCE WORKS ON imposed during the COVID-19 expire you will not, ANY IN-SCOPE EQUIPMENT.” legally, be allowed crisis, according to the UK’s to carry out any main F-Gas register REFCOM. installation, service, refused to allow access to their site Refrigeration and air conditioning repair, or maintenance works on any so long as they kept a record. engineers are also being urged in-scope equipment. It is a criminal to renew any expiring F-Gas offence to do so without valid “Make sure you have your own registrations during the lockdown so REFCOM F-Gas certification. copy of the F-Gas logbook for the they can continue carrying out this equipment in question,” he told “Renewing your REFCOM F-Gas vital work, the organisation said. the daily COVID-19 update webinar Registration now will ensure you hosted by the Building Engineering Head of REFCOM Graeme Fox said maintain your company license to Services Association (BESA) which clients must be reminded of their carry on working while you wait for manages REFCOM. “You should legal obligations to let scheduled the necessary refresher courses to also note that you will attend to the testing and checks go ahead. be available again,” he explained. work as soon as it is possible and However, he said engineers would www.refcom.org.uk safe to do so,” added Mr Fox. not be held accountable if a client

11

SFG20 & SFG30

MAINTENANCE STILL A LEGAL OBLIGATION DESPITE CRISIS Despite many commercial buildings moving into partial shutdown mode during the COVID-19 lockdown, maintenance remains a legal obligation, says Steve Tomkins, head of business development for SFG20.

Building owners are still legally obliged to continue statutory maintenance tasks during the lockdown period despite thousands of people working from home or prevented from travelling. This is because maintenance is part of a building’s overall health and safety strategy.

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) did say it would adopt a “pragmatic and proportionate approach” to enforcement. However, building managers would have to carry out detailed risk assessments if they wanted to use any equipment that

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BESA Group Companies:

could not be maintained in line with statutory requirements. They would have to prove that it could still be operated safely and was needed to maintain an essential service.

This is just one of the many challenges the building maintenance sector has faced during this extraordinary period. It is very hard to maintain building services systems if you can’t access them and a recent BESA poll revealed that 31% of building maintenance firms said more than 75% of sites they were responsible for were closed. A further 23% had more than 50% shut down.

However, as well as meeting their legal obligations, owners, landlords and tenants must still maintain their buildings for security purposes; to achieve statutory compliance; and to protect the fabric and critical systems as well as satisfying any insurance implications. They must also be in a position to reopen quickly and safely when the lockdown restrictions are lifted.

TRAINING

At BESA, we have tried to address these challenges by drawing up a number of special additions to the industry’s maintenance standard SFG20, which we developed and manage.

This includes targeted advice on how to provide maintenance with social distancing restrictions in place and more specific points such as the importance of keeping toilet lids closed during flushing to limit spread of water droplets that might contain the virus.

The advice also covers wider subjects such as the need to bring more outside air into buildings and minimise recirculation by setting ventilation and air conditioning systems to full fresh air mode. If a system cannot be switched out of its recirculation setting then it should be shut off completely to avoid the possibility of recirculating virus-laden droplets into occupied areas.

There is also a major risk that idle operating data to provide evidence cost of mothballing and the total plumbing and heating systems that they have either carried time to deactivate and then to could become breeding grounds out essential maintenance or reactivate a facility, including the for legionella bacteria that could established it is not possible or safe mothballed period, is often more then be released once the buildings to do so at the moment. than 36 months. are reopened. Legionella bacteria Also, in the current multiplies in stagnant circumstances, several water, poorly designed “SFG30 TAKES USERS THROUGH elements of the building plumbing systems and in A STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS FOR may still be needed to water with temperatures support staff working between 20oC and 45oC. MAINTAINING CRITICAL SERVICES from home, such as DURING THIS LOW OCCUPANCY A review of legionella risk server rooms, and this assessment should be brings SFG20’s sister PERIOD READY FOR RAPID AND FULL carried out whenever the standard, the recently REACTIVATION WHEN BUSINESS use of a building changes; updated and relaunched such as the dramatically SFG30 ‘Mothballing and RETURNS TO NORMAL.” reduced occupancy Reactivation’ into play. levels we are seeing now.

SFG30 takes users through a step-byThe assessment should include However, in some cases, the step process for maintaining critical identifying low use water outlets decision has been taken to at least services during this low occupancy and putting a flushing regime in partly ‘mothball’ the building to period ready for rapid and full place. Facilities managers should reduce costs and maintain system reactivation when business returns to also monitor water temperatures. safety. A full closure and shutdown normal. This includes key elements of a building is a long-term action The general advice is, wherever such as keeping water systems safe that would make it difficult to get possible, to keep building services and healthy (in line with the HSE’s the building up and running again operating as normal to avoid any L8 rules for legionella control); both quickly when the crisis recedes. potential for unknown threats that active and passive fire protection may emerge during lockdown.

Any savings would likely not be systems; safe handling of refrigerant FMs should also keep on recording made in the first year due to the gases; electrical and gas service safety checks and ventilation hygiene.

SFG20 - PROUD TO BE SUPPORTING OUR NHS SFG20 has also been playing its part in supporting the NHS. Built in less than two weeks, the emergency Nightingale hospital at the Excel centre in London boasts the largest oxygen system in any hospital in the world. It is part of a network providing ventilators and oxygen to thousands of patients on a daily basis. Maintaining these vital systems is a Herculean task and one which an already stretched NHS service has to get right, which is why they approached the SFG20 team.

SFG20 supplied the HTM aligned maintenance task schedules covering Vacuum Insulated Evaporators (VIEs) to all NHS estate departments completely free of charge. This will ensure that VIE systems across the UK are maintained to the same standards and so removes any need for individual estates to spend time and energy researching the correct maintenance procedures.

It also explains how to maintain security systems, emergency lighting and lifts if they are still in service among many other factors.

SFG20 and SFG30 were made possible by BESA members sharing their many years of specialised building engineering expertise and experience. The crucial information they contain will be more essential than ever to get buildings safely through this critical period.

To help with the current extraordinary circumstances, we decided to support the industry by making SFG30 guidance free of charge to BESA members until further notice and reduced the price for non-members by 50%.

For more information go to: www.sfg20.co.uk

13

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YEARS

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NEW PACI STANDARD CEILING INVERTER+ · Wide air distribution for large rooms · Horizontal air flow reaches max.9.5m. · Fresh air connection available on the unit · Slim design with 235m height fits narrow space · Silent operation · datanavi simple support tool app with remote controller (CZ-RTC5B) · Twin, Triple and Double-twin split options · Easy connection and controlled of external fan or ERV using the connector PAW-FDC on the indoor unit PCB. The external device can be control by the remote control of the Panasonic indoor unit This data refers to specific units in the line-up, see full leaflet for technical details of each model.

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BESA Group Companies:

TRAINING

PUBLIC AFFAIRS

A different political universe

Some things do not age well, says Kurt Hopkins, BESA PR & Public Affairs Executive, like our prediction in the last Your BESA issue that 2020 would be a year of cautious optimism! It feels like a lifetime ago since the news was dominated by the Brexit saga (remember that?).

For the Association and our industry, we would have to dust off some HVCA Council minutes from 1929 or 1940 to find a comparable situation to what we have endured together through the past few months.

Before COVID-19, BESA was making headway on several important issues including encouraging the Scottish Government to support a retentions deposit scheme following its promising consultation; using the expert advice in our new Health & Wellbeing in Buildings Group to call on the government to include stronger measures to target indoor air quality as part of its Environment Bill; and lobbying Treasury ahead of the 2020 budget for greater infrastructure investment, more funding for SME apprenticeships, and reforms to ensure public sector fair payment.

In February, we saw the first parliamentary debate on construction retentions in four years where the government recommitted to reforming the status quo on retentions.

However, we find ourselves in a different political universe after the government locked down the country and Chancellor Rishi Sunak promised to do “whatever it takes” to get us all through this crisis. Ideology was shelved as a Conservative government spent hundreds of billions of pounds keeping the economy on life support, ironically dwarfing the Labour 2019 election spending commitments that it criticised as reckless.

But as Richard Nixon famously once said: “We’re all Keynesians now”.

Understandably, government has been making it up as it goes along and from the start BESA has been active to ensure that policy makers are conscious of our sector’s issues when they make decisions.

We lobbied government and responded to negative media coverage and impressed on them the crucial work our members do maintaining essential infrastructure, especially with the NHS.

Paul Scully

Conversations with high profile guests on the BESA webinar, such as Small Business Minister Paul Scully and Dame Judith Hackitt, have been useful in raising the profile of our sector and providing feedback on the problems our members have faced with various coronavirus support schemes to help influence changes and make them more flexible.

BESA will continue to be a strong (socially distanced) voice for members in the halls of power and will press government for longerterm support for businesses as we navigate the post-pandemic economic turbulence.

Dame Judith Hackitt

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EMPLOYMENT AFFAIRS

BESA and Unite set example with wage agreement In the early stages of the COVID-19 crisis, the BESA Employment Affairs team and Unite the union worked quickly to agree a temporary solution to cover wages paid to operatives in the building engineering sector during the lockdown period.

It was a great example of how different parts of the industry were able to pull together to help each other get through the crisis.

Workers are normally guaranteed 37.5 hours of employment per week under the terms of the HVAC National Agreement, which is cosigned by BESA on behalf of the

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BESA Group Companies:

sector’s employers and Unite, which represents the workforce.

stage of the crisis and the opening up of more sites.

However, the Covid-19 pandemic has led to wholesale closures of sites and dramatically reduced workloads. As a result, the two parties produced a revised temporary agreement in line with the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. This will allow BESA employers, who use the National Agreement, to agree alternative arrangements with their staff to cover this unprecedented period.

“The 37.5 hour guaranteed week remains a cornerstone of the HVAC/ BESA Agreement and this will not change,” said Tim Hopkinson, chief negotiator, HVAC/BESA Operative National Agreement. “However, in the present exceptional and unprecedented period of national emergency both parties recognise the need for clear and decisive action to support the industry and its workforce.”

This position is being regularly reviewed by BESA and Unite with ongoing dialogue to monitor how it is working as we move into the next

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HEALTH AND WELLBEING He added that it was imperative that all parties to the agreement continued to work cohesively “to

protect businesses and the health and wellbeing of our people and their families”.

“We are pleased, therefore, to have worked with Unite to reach a temporary solution that we are confident will help protect the industry and its skilled people in the hope that we are all able to return much stronger when the current national emergency has ended,” said Mr Hopkinson.

to support businesses during this unprecedented period.

“THE NATIONAL AGREEMENT HAS BEEN THE CENTREPIECE OF EMPLOYEE RELATIONS IN THE H&V CONTRACTING SECTOR SINCE 1911 AND THE NEED FOR THIS TO CONTINUE DURING THESE UNPRECEDENTED CIRCUMSTANCES HAS NEVER BEEN MORE CRUCIAL. IT IS IMPORTANT, THEREFORE, THAT WE ALL WORK TOGETHER TO ENSURE THE STABILITY OF BUSINESSES AND THE OPERATIVES THEY EMPLOY.”

Head of employment affairs Paula Samuels has been a regular contributor to the Association’s daily COVID-19 update webinars in a bid to keep members upto-date with the fast changing situation including how the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) was being operated and will continue to support firms even as the lockdown eases.

BESA chief executive One key David Frise, BESA chief executive David Frise aspect said he was of the delighted both parties had been able scheme she highlighted early to work together quickly to clarify the on was that it applies to staff situation for the greater good of the on an employer’s PAYE system industry and its workforce. only – so does not cover selfemployed staff.

“The National Agreement has been the centrepiece of employee relations Under the CJRS, in the H&V contracting sector since employers agree a 1911 and the need for this to continue temporary period of during these unprecedented absence from work circumstances has never been more with employees and crucial,” he said. “It is important, designate them as therefore, that we all work together to “furloughed workers”. ensure the stability of businesses and They then submit the operatives they employ.” information to HMRC online about these As well as supporting employers and employees to claim their workforces in this way, BESA has 80% of been regularly updating its members about the various government schemes designed

their earnings. The scheme will be able to cover these wage costs backdated to 1 March 2020 and was recently extended to the end of October.

The HMRC portal that supports the scheme launched on 20 April and is managed by around 5,000 HMRC staff.

Paula also provided a template letter for employers to use to formalise a furlough arrangement with an employee and supplemented this with step-bystep guidance documents to help employers navigate the scheme and manage the impact on the workforce during the pandemic.

BESA also provided a template letter for workers to use if stopped by the police explaining that they were on their way to carry out important and necessary work in buildings and on site. This helped clarify early confusion around the role of the industry in supporting essential services.

There is also a wide range of resources available to employers to guide them through the current crisis, which can be accessed from BESA’s special COVID-19 website: www. theBESA.com/ covid19.

Paula Samuels, BESA Head of employment affairs

17

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TRAINING

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

NEW FOCUS ON MENTAL HEALTH DURING CRISIS Employers were warned to prepare for a surge in mental health problems during the pandemic.

41% of respondents to a poll of carried out by BESA said their mental health was worse than normal as a result of the Covid-19 restrictions – including 5% who said it was much worse. BESA is concerned long periods of enforced physical isolation could lead to a serious mental health epidemic.

“We need to treat mental health with the same seriousness as physical health,” said Emily Pearson, managing director of the mental health in the workplace organisation Our Minds Work.

She told one of the Association’s daily Covid-19 update webinars that it was important for people working from home, or in more isolation than usual, to remain in regular contact with work colleagues and to closely monitor changes to their mental well-being.

BESA urged employers to maintain regular contact with both working and furloughed staff amidst concern that the latter would simply be left to their own devices for the duration of the crisis. Ms Pearson said companies could access resources via her website (www.ourmindswork.com) to help them put strategies in place.

However, she added that there would be times when only the physical intervention of a colleague, friend “WE NEED TO or family member TREAT MENTAL would be needed to deal with the most HEALTH WITH serious problems.

REASONABLE

THE SAME SERIOUSNESS AS PHYSICAL HEALTH.”

“Employers must be mindful of the impact uncertainty and isolation can have on their staff who will also be worrying about their job security. We are also urging banks to be mindful of the particular pressure on small business owners applying for financial support through the government’s emergency schemes.”

“We must not forget that this condition can kill,” she told webinar attendees. “Action Emily Pearson, needs to be taken MD - Our Minds Work during the lockdown if someone is having significant problems – just as you In response BESA set up a Facebook would if they had broken their leg. support page for furloughed workers “We are all experiencing greater anxiety and we know that there was a steep increase in people reporting mental health worries on the day the Prime Minister announced the lockdown,” said Ms Pearson.

A recent survey by BESA and the ECA found that nine out of 10 small business owners were suffering from stress and other serious mental health conditions.

“Mental health was already a serious problem in our sector before the current Covid-19 crisis,” said BESA chief executive David Frise. “The industry has made major progress on the physical safety of its workforce, but continues to struggle with mental health issues, which are just as important.

in the building services sector. It is offering guidance and support through Facebook Lives, posts and discussions on topics including personal finance, mental health and coping with practical day to day issues.

BESA Director of Training Helen Yeulet, who was on furlough herself, was a regular contributor.

“While BESA represents employers who are going through very tough times right now,” said Ms Yeulet.

“We felt it was important that staff members also had somewhere they could turn to for support. Furlough can be a lonely experience and this support page is a place where people can touch base with colleagues and others across the sector who are going through the same thing.”

Mental Health Awareness Week runs from 18 - 24 May.

19

LEGAL AND COMMERCIAL

CASHFLOW CRUCIAL TO GET FIRMS THROUGH CRISIS Right at the outset of the COVID-19 crisis, BESA called for the government to find as many ways as possible to get cash flowing through supply chains to protect businesses and this remains a top priority, according to director of legal & commercial Debbie Petford.

The government’s efforts to support businesses during the crisis with emergency loans and employment support schemes has been impressive and very well targeted. However, in order to ensure the industry’s supply chains remain robust for the future it is vital that all avenues to get cash flowing are supported.

There were plenty of problems at the outset of the Coronavirus Business

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BESA Group Companies:

Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) as firms across the sector struggled to access the money via their banks. However, the government stepped in to improve the situation and then launched the Bounce Back Loan Scheme to get loans delivered at speed, scale and volume to smaller businesses.

Loans of between £2,000 and £50,000 backed by a 100% government guarantee were made available from 4 May and the money should be available from your lender within 24 hours. There are no fees to pay and no loan repayments required during the first 12 months.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has worked well and was helping to keep more than 7.5 million people employed at the last count. As the economy starts to re-open, it will be important to see how that can be extended to those of greatest need, but from

TRAINING

the building services sector’s point-of-view it has proved a very valuable ‘bridge’ as firms try to work out how to get people back onto sites.

BUSINESS MODEL The crisis was also an opportunity to look at other aspects of our industry’s business model that simply does not work – and BESA joined a chorus of organisations calling for the government to take the opportunity to address some long-standing wrongs.

For example, around £4.5bn is currently being withheld from contractors in the form or retention payments and we backed the request, which was included in a letter from the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) to the Prime Minister, to have that much needed cash released into struggling construction supply chains.

“The current crisis has provided a sharp reminder that cash is king in this industry,” said BESA chief executive David Frise. “Any measures that can get cash flowing more rapidly through supply chains will be crucial to ensure our sector can keep delivering on its promise to support essential services with vital building services.”

re-negotiated to help contractors get through the coming weeks.

There have been “fantastic examples” of clients working hard to support their supply chains with a number keeping up payments even when subcontractors are not working, according to Ms Bentley.

However, there are others who are trying to take advantage of the situation to cut their “WE FEEL GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS own costs.

SHOULD BE SETTING A GOOD EXAMPLE.

Following this appeal, the Crown Commercial Service updated its Procurement Policy Note 2/20 Supplier relief due AFTER ALL, THE AMOUNT OF MONEY HELD to COVID-19 to suggest “My fear is that some ways that public sector sharp operators out IN RETENTIONS IS SEVERAL MAGNITUDES clients could improve SMALLER THAN WHAT THE GOVERNMENT IS there will simply see cash flow through their this as an opportunity SPENDING ON FURLOUGHED WORKERS.” supply chains. It said to re-tender everything the release of retention to save 10%.”

Ann Bentley, Construction Leadership Council money could be considered, but warned Early in the crisis, we that it might expose advised contractors clients to “inappropriate risks”. It did, told one of our daily COVID-19 to review their contracts so supply however, encourage clients to set up update webinars that both public chains could work together to Project Bank Accounts and says they and private sector clients should manage the inevitable delays to should pay suppliers promptly. be ensuring cash was available to projects. We said they should confirm SMEs to help them survive. the correct method for notifying The CLC letter pointed out that delays under their contractual terms. the cash retentions routinely held “We feel government departments against contractors can represent should be setting a good example.

A number entered into deeds of up to 5% of each regular payment.

After all, the amount of money held suspension with their clients where It acknowledged there would be in retentions is several magnitudes both parties agree to suspend their some “strong opinions over this”, smaller than what the government obligations and work out how to but were the government to direct is spending on furloughed workers.” apportion risk. all public sector bodies to release There is no one-size-fits-all remedy all retention monies held “this RECOVERY here, but it is a very sensible would inject cash at all levels of the Ms Bentley also told the webinar approach to talk about risk sharing construction supply chain”. that the Cabinet Office was already with all parties involved. There were working on plans for the economic “The construction industry reports of sub-contractors facing recovery with construction at the also needs clear support and threats of fines and penalties if they forefront. The CLC is lobbying for a recognition from the government didn’t turn up for work. Not everyone quick return of major infrastructure for the essential work that it is has acted honourably during the projects as these will have multiple doing, and the role it is playing crisis, but in most cases the situation knock-on benefits for society and in supporting public services can be resolved through sensible the wider economy. and keeping the economy and reasonable dialogue. functioning,” the letter added.

“Equally, there are lots of smaller For help and advice on any of projects that could get up and Our position was also supported the above please email: running very quickly and these by a member of the Construction legal@thebesa.com will be an important part of the Leadership Council (CLC). wider economic recovery,” she For a wide range of resources and Ann Bentley, global board director of said. However, she cautioned that specific guidance linked to the crisis the consultant Rider Levett Bucknall, many contracts would have to be go to: www.thebesa.com/covid19.

21

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BESA Group Companies:

TRAINING

MEMBERSHIP

New membership director rides in BESA appointed Jason Hemingway as its new membership director in April.

He brings more than 30 years of construction sector experience to the role. He was managing director of the suspended ceiling manufacturer Rockfon for seven years before moving into distribution as national sales director for the interior business of SIG, a European leader in construction material distribution, and finally at Encon Nevill Long.

His focus will be on increasing member numbers and engagement while also developing the extensive benefits already enjoyed by BESA members. He will be responsible for the existing team of regional managers and will report directly to group chief executive David Frise.

“I am delighted to be joining an organisation with such a respected and impressive track record of sector leadership going back more than a century,” said Jason. “I am looking forward to working with the membership team to enhance the support we offer and encourage more firms to join us.

“The bigger we are as a collective, the better we can represent the industry and the more our members benefit.”

ACTIVITIES Jason is keen to ensure members are at the heart of the Association’s activities and he says there is nothing wrong with them asking: “What’s in it [membership] for me?”

“Our members are also our customers and we need to ensure that the products and services we offer add value to their businesses as well as putting them at the heart of developments within the wider industry,” he said. “The role BESA has played in the COVID-19 crisis has proved how well this organisation both supports and represents its members – that really confirmed to me that I had made the right decision to come on board.”

Seeing the “I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO role played by WORKING WITH THE MEMBERSHIP building services in supporting TEAM TO ENHANCE THE SUPPORT NHS hospitals; WE OFFER AND ENCOURAGE supermarkets; and other MORE FIRMS TO JOIN US.” essential services highlighted to him Jason Hemingway, BESA Membership Director the important role this sector plays. completed the 800-mile Paris to “And that is from someone who Brest and back again race in 72 came over from the interior fit-out hours. “It is another great benefit of sector, which saw building services joining BESA that its Penrith office as the ‘dark side’ for putting holes in is located at the edge of one of the their nice finishes!” greatest cycling playgrounds in the David Frise welcomed Jason “to world,” he added. the dark side” and added that it He also likes to support organisations was “excellent news for us as an who work to improve the safety of organisation and for our members that cyclists and pedestrians on the we were able to attract someone with UK’s roads. such broad experience and impressive background to this vital role”.

You can contact Jason directly by emailing: Jason.hemingway@ In his spare time, Jason is a keen theBESA.com long-distance cyclist having recently

23

MEMBER NEWS

of the Excel exhibition centre in London into the 4,000 bed Nightingale Hospital in just 10 days; while 60 Ghurkhas helped to convert Birmingham’s NEC into a similar facility in less than two weeks. Several other NHS projects have been accelerated with Laing O’Rourke completing work on a new super hospital in Wales over a year early.

GUARD OF HONOUR In a wonderful role reversal, it was NHS staff doing the clapping when they formed a guard of honour for the contractors who delivered a 300bed emergency coronavirus hospital in Glasgow in under two weeks.

The 400-strong team overseen by contractors Balfour Beatty, Graham, Kier and Robertson converted the Scottish Events Campus (SEC) into the NHS Louisa Jordan Hospital.

Image: Priddy Engineering Services

BESA members rise to NHS challenge The way the industry responded to the coronavirus crisis should give us all reason for optimism for the future, according to Ewen Rose.

Grenfell fire disaster said the sector had demonstrated it was “capable of massive change at pace” and had been able to dump old practices quickly “without compromising safety or quality”.

The champion of industry reform Dame Judith Hackitt believes our sector should take inspiration from the way it has responded to the COVID-19 emergency. She said it had demonstrated it was capable of making the changes it must to improve building safety and quality.

Dame Judith was the guest presenter on one of BESA’s daily webinars where she urged everyone to emulate the methods used to deliver vital projects for the NHS and other essential services where “collaboration and co-operation replaced fragmentation and adversarial behaviour”.

The chair of the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety commissioned by the government in the wake of the

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BESA Group Companies:

It was collaboration between engineers and military planners that enabled the transformation

TRAINING

Scottish Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said everyone who worked on the £43m project was “an inspiration to us all”.

BESA affiliate member BSS also went the extra mile to support that project. Its Glasgow branch received an urgent order from the hospital team for three pumps on the Thursday before the Easter weekend. These were due on site the following morning (Good Friday), but the holiday weekend meant it was impossible to guarantee delivery via the usual routes.

So, BSS regional sales director Craig Graham contacted the supplier and they arranged to meet halfway between Glasgow and Sunderland to collect the pumps. Craig then delivered to the NHS site first thing on the Friday morning, thus avoiding any delay to this critical install. “Definitely a Good Friday,” according to BSS. Bristol-based Priddy Engineering Services played a key part in the delivery of their home city’s 350-bed NHS Nightingale Hospital, which

was opened by Prince Edward on the University of the West of England Frenchay campus just three weeks after work began.

Priddy managing director Andrew Blunsdon was contacted by main contractor Kier to help out as the speed and size of the project was proving a major challenge.

“I drove straight to the site with a handful of people and started to look at what could be done,” said Andrew.

“At this stage, we had no brief no design and no formal approval to start anything just a desire to deliver a facility in Bristol that would support the NHS in the area.

“We rose to the challenge and provided around 30 electricians and pipefitters to help deliver the services.”

Priddy was heavily involved with the infrastructure including key electrical works and provided a team of site supervisors to help the main contractor manage the whole process.

“We turned an exhibition hall into a critical care bed hospital including full intensive care facilities at the bed head; oxygen vacuum and suction, nurse call, examination lights with full functionality,” recalls Andrew.

“We also delivered power, data, nursing stations, new external medical gasses, refrigerated areas for mortuary, sluice and other support rooms and UPS battery back-up generators.

“It’s amazing what the construction industry can do when there is no bureaucracy,” he adds.

The company’s contracts manager Martyn Stephens said the combined effort was better than anything else he had witnessed during his 35 years in the industry.

“ WE ROSE TO THE CHALLENGE AND PROVIDED AROUND 30 ELECTRICIANS AND PIPEFITTERS TO HELP DELIVER THE SERVICES.” Andrew Blunsdon, Priddy Managing Director

Ductwork, fire damper testing, ventilation and riser cleaning specialists System Hygienics has also been heavily involved in NHS work. In fact, the company now says that a “staggering” 80% of its work is in hospitals – including both the permanent buildings and the new temporary Nightingale units. A 57-strong team has been working around the clock to ensure that the ventilation ducts have been decontaminated and disinfected to help minimise the spread of COVID-19.

GREATER RECOGNITION The company makes the excellent point that ventilation and ductwork cleaning engineers might not meet the public’s definition of key workers, but they deserve greater recognition for the crucial role they are playing in the battle against the virus.

“Hygiene is paramount in hospitals and although the NHS cleaning staff are doing everything they can to ensure the wards and operating theatres are clean – there are some areas which require expert cleaning such as ventilation systems,” the company says.

To disinfect the systems, System Hygienics uses a ‘fogging’ process to disinfect the area using a purogene solution. This ensures that the virus is suppressed so it can’t reproduce inside the ventilation system. Owner and md, Mark Poultney, thanked the engineers who had put themselves at risk to carry out this work.

“The chance to help our NHS and contribute to saving lives has given us a real sense of purpose,” he said. “We feel incredibly humbled to enable the NHS to continue their services and give them the assurance they need. I am so very proud of our team.

It’s a difficult time for all, so the fact they are putting themselves at risk to help others is phenomenal,” he said.

Interserve Construction was the principal contractor on NHS Nightingale Hospital, Birmingham and worked alongside the Ghurkas.

Strategic account director Colin Hamilton said it was “an astonishing achievement” to deliver two million square feet of floor space, 64 miles of electrical cable and have 400 employees working over 86,000 hours – sometimes 16 hours a day.

“I am so pleased to be involved in an important and monumental undertaking, the likes of which I have never seen in my 31 years at Interserve,” says Colin. “The thanks >>

25

MEMBER NEWS

“ FARMWOOD M&E WAS ABLE TO HELP OUT

BY DONATING A RADIC8 CLEAN AIR UNIT TO ROYAL SOUTHANTS HOSPITAL IN SOUTHAMPTON.”

>> we received made me very proud to be part of the delivery team.”

The Duke of Cambridge, who opened the new facility, paid tribute to the teamwork, collaboration and “herculean effort” of everyone involved.

“Those attributes have been the cornerstone of this project,” says Colin.

“Supporting the NHS at a time of national crisis and showing what can be achieved when things really do need to move quickly has been one of the most rewarding and memorable experiences of my career”.

It has not been all about delivering new facilities either. Josh Emerson from affiliate member Swegon shared pictures with BESA of two of the firm’s service technicians attending a critical breakdown at an NHS hospital (Featured on our front cover).

“I know there has been plenty of negative political and social media messaging with regards to the construction industry,” says Mr Emerson. “I am sharing a few

26

BESA Group Companies:

pictures that show building services in a positive light.

The industry is on the frontline, facing Covid-19, and going to great lengths to keep our hospitals operational to support the NHS.” Keeping medical staff safe has been a major pre-occupation and Kent-based Farmwood M&E was able to help out by donating a Radic8 clean air unit to Royal Southants Hospital in Southampton.

According to Dr Geoff Higenbottam, this has been crucial in keeping his specialist clinic operating.

VIRAL LOAD “Thanks to the installation of our clean air tech device, we are reducing the possible viral load in our working space and, in turn, limiting the risk of cross infection in an area where multiple consultants work in close proximity,” said Dr Higenbottam.

“If there was any cross infection of our consultants that would result in an immediate reduction in service provision for our patients.”

Nathan Wood is managing director of Farmwood and chair of the BESA Health & Wellbeing in Buildings group (see pages 4 and 5). He also happens to be Dr Higenbottam’s cousin!

Members have also been finding innovative ways to diversify and put their expertise to wider use. For example, Essex-based Swiftclean saw its business hit hard by the closure of the restaurant sector.

TRAINING

“Our kitchen extract fire risk control cleaning service has virtually ground to a halt, due to the fact that most restaurants are not trading and, therefore, there is no grease/fire risk to be controlled,” said managing director Gary Nicholls.

However, the company has diversified and launched a COVID-19 deep cleaning service to satisfy an acute demand and keep its workforce active. This service is starting to gain real traction with clients.

“We received several enquiries and orders for general ventilation system cleaning in the NHS, particularly where Covid19 wards were being created,” said Gary.

Swiftclean is also addressing growing concern about the risk of legionella bacteria build-up in the water systems of empty or partiallyoccupied commercial buildings.

“The number of people who are now working from home combined with rising ambient temperatures as we move from spring to summer will substantially increase the risk of legionnaires’ disease, which typically has a 12% fatality rate,” said Gary.

“We are contacting customers to recommend reviews of legionella risk assessments and to ensure that water systems in mothballed buildings are disinfected prior to them being re-occupied.

“We are training our furloughed workers, who typically carry out kitchen extract cleaning, in water system disinfection. This is so we are prepared for what we anticipate to be a surge in demand when lock down is lifted,” he added. _________________________________________ BESA also compiled a list of members able to provide essential work to the NHS at short notice.

Visit www.theBESA.com/covid19 for details.

BEST PRACTICE IN VENT HYGIENE Developed for the industry by the industry, the Vent Hygiene Elite Scheme allows businesses to self-certify their specialist hygiene works to the required industry standards.

TR19®, Internal Cleanliness of Ventilation Systems and the new Specification for TR19® Grease, Fire Risk Management of Grease Accumulation within Kitchen Extraction Systems.

THE ROUTE TO COMPLIANCE IS EASIER THAN YOU THINK. SPEAK TO OUR TEAM TO FIND OUT HOW. www.besca.org.uk or call 0800 652 5533

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Babylon Digital 24/7 GP now live!

Members of the Welplan Employee Benefits scheme who are signed up to BUPA can now access the exciting new Digital GP service alongside a range of existing world class healthcare benefits.

Available for both Apple and Android devices, the online GP service lets Welplan Employee Benefits members book a video or voice call with a UK based GP at any time and from any location.

Make short work of seeing a GP •

Voice or video call a GP 24/7.

Appointments are normally available within two hours

•

Ask the Digital GP app to check symptoms and get an instant response 24/7

•

Order prescriptions and collect from a pharmacy of wyour choice

• •

Get a referral to a specialist as part of your health insurance

It’s fast, confidential and convenient To join the Welplan Employee Benefits Scheme and offer your workforce and their families a range of healthcare benefits get in touch with us today.

0800 1958080 contact@welplan.co.uk

simple | flexible | cost effective

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BESA Group Companies:

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WELPLAN

acts fast to support members during pandemic In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, sick pay claims to the Welplan Employee Benefits scheme saw a huge surge, with new claims increasing by over 420% per week in April.

to the tax payer of £6bn* so far, and many small firms are using the job retention scheme to put all their staff on furlough.

“With BESA’s support, we are pleased to have been able to lessen the burden on employers by not charging full benefits contributions for any furloughed workers.”

As the UK adopted drastic measures to stem the spread of the virus, Welplan moved quickly to give advice to employers relating to self-isolation, quarantine, shielding and furloughing, ensuring they had the facts they needed to answer questions from their employees.

“Over the past few weeks we have had some lovely emails and messages from employers and workers that have received payments through the Welplan scheme, thanking the team for the work they do. It is humbling to hear how we have helped people in often very difficult situations, and how the benefit they have received has given them peace of mind to focus on getting better.

It is a vivid reminder of the value that employees place on the benefits their employers choose to provide them with.”

“It’s a challenging time for all of our members” said Helen Baker, Head of Employee Benefits. “We’re in constant communication with BESA Employment Affairs to ensure that we’re supporting our members with clear and up to the minute guidance.”

“I’m very proud of the Welpan team. We’ve made it a priority Helen Baker to maintain the same level of excellent service despite fielding We now know that 6.3 million employees many more enquiries than normal, in the UK have been furloughed at a cost

Welplan Pensions Scheme Closes Following significant changes to the UK’s pension regulations, the pension scheme operated by the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) will close and the Association will instead focus on increasing investment in its long-standing employee benefits business.

New rules announced by the Pensions Regulator has made achieving the coveted ‘Master Trust’ status cost prohibitive for many smaller pension funds, including the one run by BESA’s Welplan subsidiary. Only a small number of the 80 current master trust schemes have been able to meet the new financial restrictions that include holding £5m in reserves.

As a result, the Welplan Board decided it was in the best interests of its pension fund members to withdraw from the market and focus instead on growing its employee benefits scheme, which it has run on behalf of building engineering workers since 1960.

“This was a very difficult decision,” said David Frise, BESA Group chief executive. “We’ve offered pensions since 1988 and have always been committed to offering the best possible value to our employers and their members.

“However, it has become increasingly clear that the master trust regulatory environment is one that favours scale.

There is now no meaningful place for a small, specialist business like ours.”

whilst simultaneously transforming our business model virtually overnight in terms of moving everyone to work from home” said Helen.

In line with the government’s latest announcement that we have passed the peak of COVID-19, Welplan has seen the spike in sick pay claims start to return to normal. The work won’t stop for the team, however, as they seek to continually improve the service offered to employers. The next big development will be the realisation of a significant investment in a new benefits administration system, which will streamline the process and administrative burden for employers.

The Welplan employee benefits scheme, which has been run on behalf of building engineering workers since 1960, provides sickness, accident and death benefits; medical insurance and an employee assistance scheme. *Correct at time article was written on 7 May 2020.

To find out more about employee benefits visit www.welplan.co.uk “It is, therefore, the right move to go back to our roots and focus on growing our long-standing employee benefits business to meet the needs of the building services workforce,” said Mr Kirton.

The Trustee sought a scheme that could help make the transfer as easy as possible and, more importantly, offer value-formoney, and after careful consideration the Trustee Board decided to appoint SMART Pensions as the new provider.

Members also have the option of nominating their own choice of provider.

With an outstanding and highly experienced investment team which delivers a fully diversified pension portfolio for tens of thousands of business in the UK, the Smart Pension Master Trust is a safe pair of hands to take on Welplan’s members.

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BESA BITESIZE UPDATES BESA Member Audits BESA has suspended all site audits for its members until further notice. Member companies due to be audited during this period have been contacted by BESCA and dates have been re-scheduled. www.besca.org.uk

BESA Events Like many industries and businesses, we have had to quickly adapt the way we host meetings and events during the COVID-19 pandemic to comply with Government guidelines.

Skype, Zoom, Go To Webinar, Teams, WhatsApp have all become more prominent in the workplace for BESA staff. Not only for internal use, but also as a means for engaging with members.

SKILLcard update As of 18 May 2020, CITB has re-opened the HS&E testing operations in England through the Pearson Performance Centres only. However, due to social distancing measures, availability may be limited. We therefore continue to ask those responsible for site access to use their discretion towards expired SKILLcards.

Our telephone lines are open and applications can still be made via the online service.

All regional dinners and awards have been postponed this year until further notice.

We are already running hugely successful webinars so watch this space for details of plans being developed to extend this into the future.

We are here to support you.

Call us on 01768 860406 or email skillcard.info@theBESA.com. www.skillcard.org.uk

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Tributes to BESA members ounce the It is with great sadness we ann ers. mb me passing of 2 BESA

Lockdown Learning with BESA Training

Beat the boredom and boost your brain skills with BESA Training’s free lockdown learning CPD webinars. We have hosted sessions from BESA affiliates HASL, Tata Steel, Aspen Pumps, Flamco and Altecnic with a busy schedule coming up for June.

of IDC Tony Wright, Mechanical Director died rs, inee Eng l trica Elec & Mechanical il 2020 Apr 28 y sda Tue of ning eve the on ughts go while at home aged 51. Our tho mum, his larly ticu par ily out to all his fam Louis n dre chil two his and r siste brother, and Annabelle.

Engineering Peter Ward, Director of Staward company r’s Pete . ntly sadly passed away rece BESA a was and 1972 in ated was incorpor are with member for 20 years. Our thoughts ily. his wife Karen and his fam

Register your free place: www.thebesa.com/ covid19/besa-trainings-lockdown-learning/

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BESA Group Companies:

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Delivering Optimised Indoor Air Quality

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