Duncan Brock, Director of Customer Relationships at the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply, said: “Across construction supply chains, delivery times have been under pressure, as materials were in higher demand, while stocks remained in short supply. Lead-times from vendors have now deteriorated in every month for over 7 years. Overall, the sector showed an incremental improvement, but business optimism was on the rise and up from last month’s five-year low. Perhaps the darkest days are behind the sector with fresh impetus on the horizon for the New Year.”
New orders and employment numbers also increased to the greatest extent in five months. However, the improvement in construction growth was largely confined to residential work. The latest survey revealed sustained reductions in commercial building and civil engineering, with the latter now experiencing its longest period of decline since the first half of 2013.
The latest reading of 53.1 was the highest for five months and signalled a solid rate of business activity growth across the construction sector. House building projects were again the primary growth engine for construction activity. Survey respondents suggested that resilient demand and a supportive policy backdrop had driven the robust and accelerated upturn in residential work. Commercial construction was the weakest performing area of activity in November, which continued the trend seen for much of 2017 so far.
Some firms noted that Brexit-related uncertainty and the subdued economic outlook had held back spending among clients. Meanwhile, civil engineering activity fell for the third successive month, which represents the longest phase of decline seen for over four years. That said, the latest drop in work on civil engineering projects was only marginal. Some survey respondents commented on hopes that forthcoming tender opportunities on infrastructure programmes (particularly energy and transport) would help to support workloads.
Construction companies indicated a moderate rebound in new orders in November, with the rate of expansion the fastest for five months. Anecdotal evidence cited a general improvement in client demand after the soft patch this summer. Higher levels of new work helped to support a moderate rise in staff numbers and input buying in November. Lead-times for construction products and materials lengthened sharply, linked to pressure on supplier capacity. However, cost inflation eased to its least marked for 14 months, with some firms reporting signs that exchange-rate driven price rises had started to lose intensity. Business confidence regarding the year-ahead outlook for construction activity remained among the most subdued since mid-2013, which panel members mainly linked to heightened political and economic uncertainty. However, the degree of optimism picked up from October’s 58-month low, helped by a modest recovery in new invitations to tender during the latest survey period.
The HMRC is running free webinars during the first week of December, providing members with advice and support regarding the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS). Whether you’re new to CIS or building on your existing knowledge, the online help will explain how the scheme works and your responsibilities.
CIS for contractors – Monday 4 December, 12 pm to 1 pm
This live webinar covers employment status, verifying subcontractors, deductions and sending your CIS returns online.
CIS for subcontractors – Thursday 7 December, 4 pm to 5 pm
This live webinar will tell you how to register with HMRC, what expenses you can claim, how your deduction rate is worked out and the importance of keeping records.
On Wednesday 29 November, the European court of justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg ruled that workers are entitled to paid leave and can claim compensation if they are not allowed to take their holidays. The ruling follows a long-running legal challenge involving a UK window salesman, who had been paid entirely on commission and his contract described him as self-employed.
The case is one of a series that have gone to the Luxembourg court to establish whether businesses operating in the ‘gig economy’ are depriving employees of benefits to which they should be entitled by reclassifying workers as self-employed. In its judgment on Wednesday morning, the ECJ said: “A worker must be able to carry over and accumulate unexercised rights to paid annual leave when an employer does not put that worker in a position in which he is able to exercise his right to paid annual leave.”
As part of the continued drive to strengthen the network of FIS Approved Training Providers and Further Education Colleges, we are pleased to announce that Silver Trowel Ltd is the latest Approved Training Provider, recently completing its rigorous application process.
Silver Trowel Ltd is a City & Guilds and CITB-approved construction skills training provider based in Fareham, Hampshire which delivers high-quality training and short intensive practical courses in plastering, tiling, bricklaying and drywall systems. Silver Trowel also works with both small building companies and larger building maintenance firms to up-skill their current workforce.
As we have recently secured significant funding from CITB to help support our ‘Fit-Out Futures’ initiative of attracting new entrants and upskilling existing employees within our sector, it is vitally important that FIS has a strong provider and college network throughout England, Scotland and Wales. This allows us to ensure our sector has access to appropriate training facilities, whether that be for college-based training such as apprenticeships, or on-site (OSAT) qualifications.
We have a number of applications currently in progress and further announcements will follow in due course.
Find out how to become an Approved Training Provider here.
The Construction Leadership Council has now updated its guidance on the Industry Card Scheme to take a more common-sense approach. The move follows confusion over non-construction staff like chefs, vending machine installers and pest controllers being refused entry to sites because they were not CSCS card holders.
Item number 2 in the November 2017 document states: ‘Cards will be required by those working predominantly on construction sites undertaking a recognised construction occupation. Cards will not be issued in respect of non-construction related occupations.’
Read more on the Construction Leadership Council website.
Attendees at FIS’s annual conference earlier this month heard harsh messages and urgent calls for action from its four industry guest speakers regarding the Grenfell fire and building regulations, Brexit, skills shortage and mental health in construction.
Geoff Wilkinson, UK Building Regulations expert, opened the morning session with some hard-hitting facts about the Grenfell Tower fire; 87 sets of human remains had been found in the Tower. “That is the state of the UK construction industry,” said Geoff, linking to the Great Fire of London in 1666 when the first building rules were implemented. Delegates were visibly moved, with many sharing their observations on Twitter which were incorporated into the Live Blog.
Next up was Noble Francis, economics director at the Construction Products Association who was downbeat about the construction sector citing Brexit negotiations as bad news for the industry. The UK government labels the sector as low priority within the discussions, even though there are serious skills shortages. Noble reported that activity in commercial offices peaked this year but new orders since the EU Referendum were 19% down in 2016 and 24% down in the first half of 2017.
Tom Barton, executive director of the Get It Right Initiative conducted an interactive session, producing a list of delegates’ views which included poor culture in relation to quality and excessive commercial pressures. “We’ve never got the time to make it right, but we’ve always got the time to put it right” concluded Tom.
Our final speaker, Martin Coyd, head of health and safety at Mace, again touched nerves with the audience when talking about mental health in construction. “Two of our colleagues have killed themselves today,” he said. “If you work in construction, you are 15 times more likely to die from suicide than from an accident.” Anxiety and stress now account for 27 million lost days at work; one in four have a mental health issue in a year, and with as many as 3.6 million people working in the construction industry and supplier side, this is too much to ignore. Change is crucial.
Download the article ‘Get It Right’ as featured in the November 2017 issue of Focus magazine here.
In the November edition of FIS Focus, we hear Change is Coming; read what the experts have to say on the review of building regulations following Grenfell. Mark Farmer says analysis of the construction industry is borne out of a realisation that there are deep-seated systematic problems.
We interview FIS’s new president, Andrew Smith, who took over from Steve Coley at our conference earlier this month. An overview of the event, with key points from Geoff Wilkinson, Noble Francis, Tom Barton and Martin Coyd highlights what is wrong in the industry and ‘How to Get it Right’.
FIS Skills is on a mission to bring about collaborative change to training by connecting employers, colleges and local authorities in overcoming the skills crisis.
October’s winners of the Scottish Awards are featured on pages 29 to 34; a showcase of members’ fantastic projects throughout Scotland.
Download the November edition of FIS Focus via the Publications section of the website.
Andrew Smith, joint managing director, sales and marketing at OWA (UK), took over FIS presidency during our AGM at the conference on 9 November. Andrew has been an active FIS board member for six years, supporting the merger of AIS and FPDC. His priority is to continue the process of developing the organisation by encouraging change and improvement.
The first major event in Andrew’s calendar is the President’s Lunch which takes place on Tuesday 6 February 2018, at Plaisterers’ Hall in London. Here, FIS members can celebrate their employees by nominating them for a President’s Award. Please do support this event by entering the staff that you feel deserve an award – there are four categories: Apprentice of the Year; Outstanding Employee; Future Leader and last, but not least, Lifetime Achievement.
Read the full interview with Andrew Smith in November’s FIS Focus magazine here.
President’s Award nominations and Lunch bookings can be made here.
FIS recently led a roundtable debate, bringing together industry leaders to discuss the problems and solutions needed to improve well-being in office buildings. The event, sponsored by BRE and the International WELL Building Institute, included TV presenter and eco-design expert Oliver Heath who advocates biophilic design.
Attendees shared their ideas on how to make every office fit-out meet the health and well-being needs of its workers; action, not words, was the order of the day. Suggestions were forthcoming, such as encouraging TV broadcasters to produce programmes which look at designing for health rather than focusing on the soft furnishings. Stakeholders need to come together to understand the various requirements of HR and facilities management and how the project manager and designer can address misconceptions with solutions.
The idea of engaging with the media to promote the well-designed office and work environment prompted delegates to speak out on behalf of the office workers. Few make demands of their employers for fear of putting their jobs in jeopardy. However, young people are more health-conscious and will choose their employer based on office surroundings.
Talk turned to the health and well-being of construction workers, not just manual trades, but also the architects, surveyors and project managers who spend a fair amount of time on construction sites.
Well-being is the new ideology and construction is about to face a revolution.
Read the full article from FIS Focus – November 2017 here.
For 10 years, the Urban Renovation Programme in France has spent €20 billion to demolish 120,000 units and to build 100,000, therefore, it is costing €15 billion to lose 20,000 dwellings. At the same time, 2 million people are looking for social housing. So why are they spending money to demolish?
The European Parliament Gypsum Forum was created in 2012 for the promotion of sustainable construction and renovation, with the aim of keeping resources in use for as long as possible. The construction industry is a vital component of growth in Europe where the building stock is significant and demolition is not always the best option. Sustainable renovation will become a key policy issue to address in the years to come for enhancing the sustainability of historic buildings and architectural heritage whilst responding to the needs of an ageing population. The Forum will give a vision and a roadmap for achieving sustainable construction step-by-step throughout the construction supply chain.
The Forum is exploring transformation and renovation to solve the housing crisis; architecture that is holistic, generous and innovative. By providing new life to existing buildings, architects will be in a position to improve the quality of the buildings and their occupants.
The renovation sector, however, needs new and specialised skills. According to the statistic drafted by the European Centre for Professional Training, the construction sector represents just over 6.73% of jobs in Europe. In the field of construction, the new jobs that are to be created mainly concern technician and management positions, focusing on the buildings’ physics and materials. As Gypsum is quite a low-carbon material compared to other materials, it provides opportunity for efficient buildings.
Eurogypsum, the European Plaster and Plasterboard Manufacturers, manages the Forum. An industry which covers the whole lifecycle of products and solutions for construction, Eurogypsum has the expertise to provide a framework for policy discussion on sustainable construction.
Learn more about affordable solutions to overcome the challenges in urban housing by watching the Forum’s video report here.
A summary of last month’s data from the IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction PMI® revealed that construction activity rose slightly in October, but optimism fell to its lowest for almost five years.
Other key findings include:
Marginal upturn in construction output, led by housing activity
Civil engineering and commercial building decline again in October
Confidence regarding 12-month outlook drops to weakest since December 2012
The FIS Conference takes place on Thursday 9 November 2017 from 11 am – 5.30 pm at Hanbury Manor in Hertfordshire.
The annual event is attended by around 100 fit-out sector professionals, including FIS members. The morning session – What’s in store for the Sector – will look at Brexit, the General Election and more recently, the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower, which are all set to have a major impact on our industry. The afternoon session – Get it Right – focuses on how to reduce errors in construction and save you and your clients money. We will debate the causes and impact of errors in our sector and discuss some of the initiatives to help address these, be it in relation to construction, technology and techniques, process and systems, skills, people or other activities.
View the Agenda and Speakers on our events page here.
Click to view and join the conversation on Twitter via the hashtag #FISconference
Follow events from the day in the Live Blog below.
In the November edition of SpecFinish, we look at the outcome of the CITB Training Levy consensus survey which was put to Levy-paying FIS members during September.
In the technical article, Joe Cilia talks to four suppliers of raised and access floors and asks the question ‘A floor is a floor, isn’t it?’
Read more in the November edition of SpecFinish online via the Publications section of the website or the PDF version here.
The Construction Industry Council (CIC) is holding a free evening event on 28 November 2017 focusing on mental health and wellbeing within the industry. Presentations will be given by Building Site to Boardroom, a not-for-profit organisation supporting mental wellbeing in the construction industry and Anna Pinkerton a Psychotherapist, and author of ‘How to Smile Again’.
One in four construction workers has considered taking their own life according to a recent Construction News Survey. A quarter of construction workers are considering leaving the industry within the next 12 months due to poor mental health. Tackling mental health and wellbeing within the industry is paramount in helping address these shocking statistics and creating a happier, more productive workforce.
The event is hosted by PKF Cooper Parry at their new office in Blythe Valley Park, Solihull and they will be sharing details on the design of their new offices which centres around the wellbeing of their employees.
This event is free to attend but places are limited so please register your attendance online by clicking here.
The Modern Slavery Act 2015 became law on 26 March 2015, with a ‘supply chain clause’ being added to the bills to force businesses to make public their efforts to stop the use of slave labour by its suppliers.
Since 29 October 2015, the Transparency in Supply Chain Provisions requires businesses to publish an annual statement if they have an annual turnover above £36 million. The statement must confirm the steps taken to ensure that slavery and human trafficking are not taking place in the business or in any supply chain.
On 21 March 2016, the Home Office held a Transparency in Supply Chains (TISC) event where an independent civil society modern slavery register, the TISC Report, was announced in order to provide a publicly searchable, accessible registry for companies to share their statements.
What are the legal obligations under the act?
The Modern Slavery Act makes it a criminal offence for a person or organisation to engage in any form of ‘modern slavery’ practices. It requires larger organisations (with an aggregate annual turnover not less than £36m) to publish an annual statement detailing the steps they have taken to ensure slavery and human trafficking is not taking place.
The Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement (the SHT statement) must cover the organisation itself – including parts of the business not based in the UK – and also its entire supply chain. The SHT Statement should be approved by the organisation’s board of directors and signed by a director (or equivalent). A link to the SHT statement should be published in a prominent place on the organisation’s website.
On Tuesday 10 October, the winners of the #iBuiltThis2017 competition were announced by Architect and TV Presenter, George Clarke. The Awards were presented during an invitation-only event at the annual industry showcase UK Construction Week at the NEC near Birmingham.
FIS President Steve Coley addressed the audience with an overview of the campaign, thanking the sponsors and partners for supporting the competition. He then handed over to George Clarke, who talked passionately about his involvement with construction and the challenges that we face.
The first award, for the 13 Years and Under category, was sponsored by Building Heroes. Its founder and CEO, Brendan Williams, came onto the stage to accept the award on behalf of the winner, Kendrick Long. Using a mixture of gardening materials, his mum’s chopsticks and Lego bricks, Kendrick created his project ‘New three little pigs’ in a story format.
Sponsored by the Home Builders Federation, the category for 14-18 Years was won by Emily Ash for her project ‘Wall and Cavity Synoptic Testing’. She represents the Brookland College Building Department and also the next generation of bricklayers. Jenny Herdman collected the award on Emily’s behalf.
The category 19 Years and Over was sponsored by Silver Trowel, with representative Colin Teagle coming on stage to present the winner, Carwyn Jones, with his award. Carwyn’s project ‘The Dragon’s Eye’ allows the occupants to enjoy a stunning view of the Welsh landscape.
A Judges’ Award for Excellence was won by Frankie Bicker for his lime and fibrous plastering restoration at the Royal Academy of Arts. As the sponsor of the Award, Lydia Sharples from Nevill Long collected the prize on his behalf.
More #iBuiltThis2017 photos can be found on our Facebook page. If you would like to enter next year’s competition, please email Amanda Scott, Project Manager for FIS Skills: amandascott@thefis.org
FIS will be exhibiting at this year’s London Build which takes place on 25-26 October at London Olympia. FIS chief executive David Frise will be speaking at the training workshop on Wednesday 25 October, his session is titled ‘Time to focus on the building as a product’. Joe Cilia, FIS technical manager, will present the session ‘Standards and why they matter’ on Thursday 26 October.
As an event partner, we have secured a 15% discount for our members who wish to book a stand at the two-day exhibition. Simply follow this link to register your details.
Alternatively, register for your free ticket here to visit the Interior and Fit-Out Zone, Skills and Apprenticeship Hub and Digital Demo Hub. With a variety of Summits to attend including Off-Site and Fire Safety, you are guaranteed an informative day.
Don’t forget to come along to Stand P22 to meet a representative of FIS!
On Friday 6 October 2017, FIS held its second Scottish Awards Lunch at the Principal George Hotel in Edinburgh. Over 100 members and guests attended the event to hear the winners announced. FIS President Steve Coley opened proceedings by raising a toast to the awards, with the compliments of Forza Doors. Guest speaker and compere Bill Copeland provided the entertainment, ensuring a fantastic time was had by all.
In the Interior Fit-Out category, sponsored by CCF, the Silver Award went to Worksmart Contracts Ltd for its project at Ellis Whittam in Glasgow. The Gold Award went to Veitchi Interiors for the Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel, also in Glasgow.
The Suspended Ceilings category was sponsored by Nevill Long, with the Silver Award going Brian Hendry Interiors Ltd for its contract at The Control Room, Hunterston B Power Station in West Kilbride. Gold Award went to D V McColl Ltd for its installation at Ayrshire College, Kilmarnock Campus.
In the Plasterwork category, there was just a Gold Award which went to David Fisher & Sons (Edin) Ltd for Botanic Cottage in Edinburgh.
The partitioning category was sponsored by Ocula Systems and Jason Hemingway presented the Gold Award to Worksmart Contracts Ltd for its project at GHA Kingsway Court in Glasgow.
In the Judges’ Award category, sponsored by Minster, the Silver Award was awarded to Veitchi Interiors Ltd for its project at Haddington Place new student accommodation in Edinburgh. The Gold Award winner was Worksmart Contracts Ltd for its contract at the Gaiety Theatre in Ayr.
The Apprentice of the Year category was sponsored by Komfort Partitioning. Jim Smith announced that Kieran Tarleton of Roskel Contracts was Runner-Up, with the Winner being Jordan McKay of Brian Hendry Interiors.
Our nominated Charity was Hansel and prizes for the Charity Draw were donated by Brian Hendry Interiors, Scotwood Interiors and Veitchi Interiors. Generous attendees helped to raise £1,552 which was presented to Hansel’s fundraising assistant, Claudia.
From all the team here at FIS, we would like to say congratulations to all winners. Visit our Facebook page to see all the photos from the Scottish Awards Lunch and our Storify page for the event’s Tweets.
In the November edition of FIS Focus, we hear Change is Coming; read what the experts have to say on the review of building regulations following Grenfell. Mark Farmer says analysis of the construction industry is borne out of a realisation that there are deep-seated systematic problems.
In the November edition of SpecFinish, we look at the outcome of the CITB Training Levy consensus survey which was put to Levy-paying FIS members during September.
