The Scottish Government is now consulting on retentions and appears to favour a statutory retentions deposit scheme (the link to the consultations is here).  One option is supporting a statutory scheme to ring-fence the monies.  The consultation closes on 25 March 2020.

Regarding the Aldous Bill, which has been calling for a retention in trust policy in England, this Bill lapsed prior to the autumn prorogation of Parliament, but a new and similar Bill is being championed in Parliament by Lord Mendelsohn.

In support of this work SEC Group has worked up a scheme that could be used to ring-fence cash retentions.  SEC has been working as part of a consortium (involving a financial services company, a major insurer, a large tier 1 contractor and a software developer) and has now developed the structure for an IT platform that will support a retentions deposit scheme.  This factsheet provides a simple explanation of how the scheme will operate.  This will help to inform policy and future legislation.

The Construction Leadership Council is still favouring support for the Build UK Retentions Roadmap, which is anticipated to yield zero retentions by 2025.

We would be grateful if you could feed any views on this in to iainmcilwee@thefis.org

For more advice from FIS on retentions, visit the FIS Contractual/Legal Knowledge Hub here

One-day workshop: Low-cost automation for SMEs – 26 February

Digital Construction on a Shoestring is an approach to increasing the digital capabilities of companies in the construction sector by deploying low-cost solutions one at a time.

Featuring interactive discussion and demonstrations, the event will showcase the Shoestring approach, which aims to rapidly accelerate digital use by reducing both the cost and complexity of solutions using off-the-shelf technologies and open source software.

The workshop is aimed at:
• Manufacturing SMEs, trade associations and networks
• Low-cost solution providers
• Regional business councils
• Manufacturing systems research groups

The workshop is being hosted at Cambridge University on 26 February and is free to attend – although places are limited. More information is available here.

NHBC launches Building for tomorrow 2020

FIS has been invited to speak at the NHBC’s event for house-building professionals, Building for Tomorrow.  Now in its 29th year of bringing the latest insight and expertise to the industry, the series of eight regional roadshows are being held at venues across the UK from February to April.

This year’s theme is Managing Milestones, Meeting Expectations and Maximising Future Quality and it will see NHBC bring together a range of important topics in a tailored agenda for each roadshow. Speakers from NHBC and across the industry will share the latest technical and regulatory updates as well as providing insight into best practices.

FIS will discuss the subject of quality and how this can be managed along with clients expectations through a process from; writing a specification, agreeing a quality benchmark at the beginning of the build and inspecting the final work. The presentations will be delivered by FIS Technical Director Joe Cilia and FIS Technical Engagement Manager Nigel Higgins.

The Building for Tomorrow roadshows take place as follows:

• Taunton Rugby Club, Taunton – 25 February 2020
• Doubletree by Hilton Cambridge Belfry, Cambourne – 3 March 2020
• Haydock Park Racecourse, Merseyside – 5 March 2020
• Doubletree by Hilton Westerwood, Cumbernauld – 10 March 2020
• York Racecourse, York – 12 March 2020
• National Motorcycle Museum, Solihull – 17 March 2020
• Hilton, Templepatrick – 1 April 2020
• QEII Conference Centre, London – 23 April 2020

Tickets are £275+VAT per delegate for the London event and £215+VAT for each event outside of London. FIS members are eligible for a three for the price of two offer when using code BFT342. For more details, visit https://shop.nhbc.co.uk/product-category/awards-and-events/building-for-tomorrow/, call 0344 633 1000 or email buildingfortomorrow@nhbc.co.uk

FIS is supporting the CPA response to  the latest MHCLG Fire Safety:  Risk Prioritisation in Existing Buildings.  You can see the full response here.

The Health and Safety and Environmental Manuals are produced using experts from across the industry, who give their time to producing leading sector publications on health and safety, and environmental issues. With the support of Build UK and it’s Trade Association members the Manuals aim to be the first port of call as to what good health and safety and sustainability in construction looks like, and FIS members now get 30% discount off all formats of the Manuals.

The Hardcopy/CDROM manual is updated twice a year, and the online version CIP Knowledge continuously, to ensure it provides the latest policy and best practice. In the latest version, we have:

• Setting Up on Site – a new Section of the Manual has been introduced to identify a number of the issues that need to be considered in order to minimise the environmental impact of the site establishment phase of a project.
• Nuisance – the guidance on the registration and GHG emission limits of Non-Road Mobile Machinery within London is updated together with advice on the recognition of engine type approvals. Guidance on the avoidance of vandalism on sites is included.
• A completely updated Temporary Works section following the release of BS5975:2019 in 2019.
• Updated Piling and Electricity sections
• A new draft drugs and alcohol policy and completely redrafted guidance.
• A new legal register providing a summary of why a particular Act or Regulation is relevant to your business.

Also available free of charge is a bi-monthly environmental newsletter Insights and blogs from leading industry experts in their field.

Hardcopies and CDROM/USB versions can be purchased here and the online version at www.cip-knowledge.com. Free one month no obligation trials are available on the online version you just need to register. To ensure you get your 30% discount please use the Promotional Code BUILDUK.