CIC Cascade

25 March 2004

Contents

1. Transportation NVQ/SVQs are updated
2. CIC Publishes Novation Agreement
3. IStructE seeks Communications and Practice Director
4. The National Construction College helps to rebuild terminal 5
5. CIBSE launches special interest group on combined heat and power
6. CIOB challenges students in national final
7. Events

1. Transportation NVQ/SVQs are updated
The launch of the new revised Transportation NVQ/SVQs are an important development in the field of qualifications for professionals working in transportation infrastructure in the UK.

The new revised qualifications are suitable for transportation practitioners working in transportation planning, road safety engineering and road safety education & training programmes, highway maintenance, network management, traffic management and control, and transportation infrastructure design. The awards has been developed by practising transportation professionals working in both the public and private sectors

Mike Kendrick, Chairman of the Transportation Vocational Group responsible for these awards, said: “The transportation community recognises the importance of an integrated approach to qualifications which will embrace the different disciplines within the sector. These new NVQ/SVQs, with their “core and options” structure, are a major advance that will provide practitioners and employers with the awards and recognition that they need.”

The new standards can be downloaded from the TVG website on
www.transportationvg.org.uk.

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2. CIC publishes Novation Agreement
The Construction Industry Council has published a Novation Agreement: a standard form of agreement for use where the appointment of a consultant is to be novated from an employer to a design and build contractor.

Until now, there has not been a standard form for use in this situation, so this document fills a definite gap in the market.

Frances Paterson, Chair of CIC’s Liability Panel, which produced the Novation Agreement said:
“This Agreement recognises the realities inherent in the situation where the Consultant has been engaged by the Employer to undertake certain services at the beginning of the job, and is then engaged instead by the Design and Build Contractor.”

The Novation Agreement (CIC/NovAgr) is priced at £14.00 (plus postage and packing) and can be ordered by telephoning CIC on 020 7399 7400 or by sending a cheque made payable to the Construction Industry Council to: Publications, CIC, 26 Store Street, London WC1E 7BT. A full list of CIC publications, including the recently published Collateral Warranties, can be found at on our publications page

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3. IStructE seeks Communications and Practice Director
The Institution of Structural Engineers currently has a vacancy for the position of Communications and Practice Director. The successful applicant will be a member of the Senior Management Team, working with the Chief Executive to drive the implementation of the Strategic Plan.

The candidate will:

• be responsible for developing the broad range of communications used by the Institution to all members and other relevant stakeholders
• have overall responsibility for four departments – Courses & Events, Public Relations, Website, Journal
• be responsible for dealing with all matters of professional practice relating to our members
• provide the interface with the Construction Industry Council and other construction industry bodies

The post will be based at IStructE in Belgravia, London. The salary for this post will be in the region of £40,000 to £45,000, plus a generous benefits package.
The closing date for applications is 26 March 2004.

For further information, including job and person specification and details of the full package, please contact Melanie Cowan, Manager, Office and Personnel Services on 020 7201 9107 or cowan@istructe.org.uk

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4. The National Construction College helps to rebuild terminal 5

World renowned apprentice training provider, the National Construction College is playing its part in building the future of Heathrow Airport. Ten apprentices from the College are currently working on the construction of Terminal 5.

The apprentices, who have successfully completed plant training courses at the National Construction College East, are working for civil engineering contractor C A Blackwell (Contracts) Ltd at the site. They are involved in the earthmoving and preparation works for the building of the terminal.

C A Blackwell started work on Terminal 5 earthworks in 2002 with the apprentices being involved from the earliest stages.

Explaining the company’s decision to use National Construction College-trained apprentices on such a high profile project, Niall Fraser, Contracts Manager at C A Blackwell, said: “The resources and fresh talent at the College is recognised by us and everyone in the industry. The National Construction College is very important in filling the training need and we are always impressed with the apprentices who have been trained at the College.”

Ten apprentices are currently working on a site containing a massive six million cubic metres of earthworks. They are operating some of C A Blackwell’s 200 items of earth moving equipment including large articulated dump trucks. Future work for the apprentices will involve deep excavation for rail and underground links.

Earthmoving and infrastructure work at Terminal 5 is due to decrease by the end of year as the building work increases and excavation for the base of the terminal is completed. At this point, the apprentices will travel to other C A Blackwell sites before returning to the site to back-fill the excavated material around the base and foundations of the terminal.

The apprentices are continually learning and benefiting from the on-site experience and are constantly working on a wide variety of equipment. They are closely supervised and the company training coordinator visits regularly so that there is always support and continued learning.

The apprentices were trained at the National Construction College East, based in Bircham Newton in Norfolk. It is the largest training facility of its kind in the world, offering unrivalled plant training facilities and a team of highly experience instructors.

Commenting on the facilities at the National Construction College East Dave Mann, C A Blackwell’s Training Coordinator, said: “We use the National Construction College because of the training and residential facilities it has to offer. Training areas are covered for plant mechanics and the ground condition for plant operations is better than anywhere else.”

The National Construction College is the training division of CITB-ConstructionSkills. In addition to its Bircham Newton site, the National Construction College also has three campuses in Glasgow, Birmingham and Erith in Kent, providing adult and apprentice courses in plant operation and maintenance, roofing, scaffolding and access, construction and floor laying.

For more information about adult training, please contact 08457 336666. For information about apprentice training at the National Construction College, please contact 01485 577669.

For further information, please contact:
Anna Melton or Suzanne Aitken
GBCS PR Ltd
Tel: 0115 950 8399
Email: anna@gbcspr.com or suzanne@gbcspr.com

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5. CIBSE launches special interest group on combined heat and power
The Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) has launches a special interest group on Combined Heat and Power (CHP). The aim is to increase awareness of the potential economic and environmental benefits of CHP and encourage building professionals to consider CHP as a matter of course.

The CIBSE CHP Group will provide an open forum for all building professionals, whether CIBSE members or not. The Group will consider any technology that produces both heat and power. This includes standard approaches using reciprocating engines and gas turbines but will also cover new technologies such as micro turbines, micro-CHP and fuel cells.

An inaugural one-day seminar on CHP in Buildings will be held in London on Thursday 20th May 2004. For more details, contact CIBSE Events Dept on 0208 8675 5211.

The chairman of the Group, Phil Jones of Building Energy Solutions, states that:
"Where applicable, CHP is the single biggest hit we can make on building running costs and CO2 emissions. With fuel prices moving in the right direction for CHP it is an ideal time to raise awareness about the potential options."

Over the coming months the CHP Group will produce a regular electronic newsletter and work with the CIBSE regions to organise site visits and events. The Group has launched a web site at www.cibse.org/chp where key information on CHP will be posted. To join the Group, download an application form from the web site, e-mail jdavid@cibse.org or call Jonathan David (Groups Secretary) on 020 8675 5211. Group membership is free of charge and open to all building professionals whether CIBSE members or not.

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6. CIOB challenges students in national final
The thirteenth national Student Challenge final was held on Friday 19th March, at the Chartered Institute of Building’s (CIOB) international headquarters in Ascot. This year’s challenge theme of sustainability and best practice falls in line with current industry challenges on the commercial reality of sustainability and the technical requirements to reach those objectives.

Each team was tasked with producing a persuasive argument on the benefits of developing a hypothetical sustainable community. This project, illustrated with case studies and examples of best practice, was then presented to a panel of leading sustainability experts for appraisal.
The award for the 2004 Student Challenge title was presented to the Dublin Institute of Technology, with second and third places awarded respectively to the teams from Sunderland and Highbury Colleges.

Student Challenge not only aims to encourage students and young professionals into the industry, but also gives current leading construction experts the opportunity to absorb ideas and solutions from the next generation. This years panel consisted of Dave Hampton ABS Consulting Director, Anthony Turner Director of Carbon Sense, Helen Sargant BRE Senior Consultant and Nigel Finn Operations Director for Be (Built Environment).

To reach the national final the teams had to compete throughout the academic year within a regional university challenge format. The nine teams to reach the final were; Bridgend College, Chelmsford College, Dublin Institute of Technology, Highbury College, Inverness University, Lambeth College, North East Institute of Further & Higher Education (NEI), Sunderland College and the University of Central England.

Nicola Dunn CIOB Marketing Manager said, “This years challenge has seen it mature into a truly national event with it receiving the highest number of applications in its history. Each team produced some amazingly innovative and insightful solutions to the current industry hot topic of sustainability. The panel of experts were greatly encouraged in how the next generation of construction professionals view sustainability and its importance within the industry.”

Commenting on this years challenge Dave Hampton ABS Consulting Director said, “I am by no means certain, that if I personally had entered that I would have been able to beat any of the teams. The standard was very high indeed not ‘just’ for a student competition, but also for a national competition for UK housing needs. I would like to find ways to communicate the nine schemes to the Government for its Sustainable Communities initiatives. They were inspired and had very sound infrastructure and master plans that could be built on commercially.”

7. Events
Visit CIC's events page for updated events news.

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