Fancy a weekend getaway this autumn? To celebrate the arrival of Covers’ ‘Bread & Butter’ catalogue, which lists over 450 daily essential accessories.

The timber and builders merchant is giving one lucky customer the chance to win a B&B getaway of their choice worth £250.

To be in with a chance of winning, simply visit any Covers’ branch and complete an entry form. All completed forms will be entered in a free prize draw.

Entry forms are available from now until Thursday 31st August 2017 and no purchase is necessary.

The winner will be announced at the prize draw on Monday 4th September 2017.

Henry Green, Managing Director at Covers, said: “We are delighted to introduce our Bread & Butter catalogue, which contains hundreds of daily essentials for everyday jobs.

From power tools to paintbrushes, everything listed has been price checked to ensure we offer our customers exceptional value at competitive prices on all our core ranges.”

www.covers.biz

Season to Season Employment – a recruitment company that specialises in seasonal employment is currently looking for skilled carpenters and/or flooring and tiling specialists to work in the French Alps.

The company says successful candidates will enjoy the summer season and pre-winter delights in the French Alps honing their skills in and around luxury chalets.

Those who want to continue into Ski Season work can do so if successful over the initial work period, so this could be a fantastic opportunity to get your foot in the door with some epic winter jobs.

Very competitive salary.

Please send all CV’s to jobs@seasontoseasonemployment.com

A joint venture comprising three companies established to support the Crossrail tunnel construction has been fined a total of more than £1m following three separate incidents on the project, including the death of a worker.

Southwark Crown Court heard Renè Tkáčik died after being crushed by falling wet concrete on 7 March 2014.

Two other men were injured following separate incidents within six days of one another, on 16 and 22 January 2015. All three incidents took place in the tunnels around the Fisher Street area.

The three workers were operating under Bam Ferrovial Kier (BFK), an unincorporated joint venture made up of three companies; BAM Nuttall Limited, Ferrovial Agroman (UK) Limited and Kier Infrastructure and Overseas Ltd.

Renè Tkáčik, 43 from Slovakia, was working on a team enlarging the tunnel by removing rings of the existing pilot tunnel and spraying walls with liquid concrete.During this operation, a section of the roof collapsed, fatally crushing Mr Tkáčik.

On 16 January 2015 Terence ‘Ian’ Hughes was collecting some equipment from inside one of the tunnels when he was struck by a reversing excavator. He suffered severe fractures to his right leg and crush injuries to his left knee and shin.

Six days later worker Alex Vizitiu, who was part of a team tasked with spraying liquid concrete lining, was assisting with the cleaning of the pipes that supply the concrete.

Due to a lack of communication, one of the lines was disconnected and he was hit by pressurised water and concrete debris. He suffered head and hip injuries as well as a broken finger and was hospitalised for six days.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found a failure to provide a safe system of work relating to the operations Renè Tkáčik and Alex Vizitiu were working on.

It was also found there was a failure to properly maintain the excavator which reversed into Ian Hughes.

On all three occasions, the investigation found a failure to properly enforce exclusion zones that would have helped protect workers from foreseeable harm.

Bam Ferrovial Keir, of the corner of Charterhouse Street and Farringdon Road, London has pleaded guilty to three offences.

In relation to the death of Renè Tkáčik, it has admitted to breaching Regulation 10(2) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. It has today been fined £300,000 in relation to this offence.

BFK has pleaded guilty to two separate breaches of Section 22 (1a) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007, relating to the two incidents in January 2015.

The joint venture has been fined a £600,000 for the incident involving Ian Hughes on 16 January, and £165,000 for the incident relating to Alex Vizitiu on 22 January.

The total fine is therefore £1,065,000. The defendant was also ordered to pay costs of £42,337.28.

HSE Head of Operations Annette Hall said: “The omission to implement exclusion zones in a high hazard environment was a consistent failure in this case. Had simple measures such as these been taken, all three incidents could have been prevented, and Renè Tkáčik may not have died.

“We believe every person should be healthy and safe at work. Here, all three workers were taking part in one of the most important and challenging infrastructure projects of the decade.

It was this joint venture’s duty to protect its dedicated and highly-skilled workforce. On these three occasions, BFK failed in its duty, with tragic consequences for Renè Tkáčik and his family.”

www.hse.gov.uk

Covers Timber and Builders Merchant in Gosport will be hosting a free Trade Day on Monday 7th August.

From 7.30am until 1pm, visitors to the branch, which is located on Gunners Way, will have the chance to meet a variety of experts from a range of top suppliers including ACO Drain, Brett Paving, Dale Windows, Icopal, K-Rend, Millboard Decking and Wienerberger.

Visitors to the Trade Day will have the chance to speak to a number of trade specialists, who will answer queries and provide tips, advice, and demonstrations, on everything from new products to the latest industry techniques.

Each visitor will receive a free hot roll and, for those looking to make a purchase, there will be a range of on-the-day exclusive offers and discounts available.

Chris Collard, Depot Manager at Covers Gosport, said:

“Our Trade Day is a great chance for anyone looking to find out more about the latest products on the market, and an opportunity to benefit from specialist knowledge from some of the top suppliers in the trade.”

www.covers.biz

Three companies have been fined a total of more than £1m after workers were exposed to asbestos while refurbishing a school in Waltham Forest.

Southwark Crown Court heard that on 24 July 2012 a worker removed part of a suspended ceiling in one of the ground floor refurbished rooms at St Mary’s school and identified suspect asbestos-containing materials. Asbestos fibres were subsequently found in numerous areas in the school.

The court heard that the London Borough of Waltham Forest had a contract with NPS London Limited to manage development and refurbishment of its estate. At the time of the incident, the Principal Contractor for the work was Mansell Construction Services (aka Balfour Beatty) and the subcontractor was Squibb Group Limited.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that although an asbestos survey was completed, there were multiple caveats and disclaimers which were not appropriately checked.

Balfour Beatty Regional Construction Limited (previously Mansell Construction Services Limited) of Canary Wharf, London was fined £500,000 and ordered to pay costs of £32,364 after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

NPS London Limited, of Business Park Norwich, Norfolk was fined £370,000 and ordered to pay £32,364.84 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Squibb Group Limited, of Stanford Le Hope, Essex was fined £400,000 and ordered to pay costs of £175,000 after being found guilty after a trial of a breach of Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector Sarah Robinson said: “The principal contractor and contractors on site did not review the survey report in detail, and did not take into consideration the multitude of caveats.

“Therefore the work undertaken did not adopt the high standards of control expected for working where there was the potential to expose workers to asbestos.”

The SME construction sector grew in the second quarter of 2017, albeit at a slower rate in most parts of the UK than the first three months of the year, according to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

Key results from the FMB’s State of Trade Survey for Q2 2017, which is the only quarterly assessment of the UK-wide SME construction sector, include:

• Q2 2017 was the 17^th consecutive quarter of positive growth which means that the construction SME sector has been growing for more than four years.
• Almost one in two construction SMEs predict rising workloads in the coming three months, with just 9% predicting a decrease in activity.
• 83% of builders believe that material prices will rise in the next six months.
• 60% of construction SMEs are struggling to hire bricklayers; 57% are struggling to hire carpenters and joiners, and 47% are struggling to hire plumbers.
• Almost two-thirds (62%) of construction SMEs expect salaries and wages to increase in the next six months.

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “Rising material prices and salaries could be starting to dampen growth among construction SMEs.

However, it is encouraging to see that the sector has continued to grow despite the recent snap General Election and the resulting hung Parliament.

The construction SME sector is particularly vulnerable to any dips in consumer confidence that might come from periods of political uncertainty.

It may be that a number of homeowners decided to delay any big spending decisions on new extensions or loft conversions while the election campaign was underway – this would account for the slow-down in growth seen in the second quarter of 2017.”

Berry concluded: “Looking ahead, almost two-thirds of construction firms expect wages and salaries to increase over the next six months and this is in contrast to stagnant wages elsewhere in the economy.

Rising salaries are undoubtedly the result of the escalating construction skills shortage – construction workers know their worth and are demanding higher wages from their employers.

The majority of construction SMEs are struggling to recruit key tradespeople such as bricklayers and carpenters and we’re seeing shortages in other trades, such as plumbers and plasterers, starting to creep up.

With Brexit on the horizon and worrying talk of the so-called ‘Tier 2’ immigration system replacing the free movement of people, the construction industry urges Ministers to bear in mind their strategic house building and infrastructure targets before pulling up the drawbridge on EU migrant workers.”

See more on SMEs with Skill Builder.

The Local Government Association has called on government to launch an “urgent and immediate” review of building regulations in the wake of the Grenfell Tower catastrophe.

Lord Porter, LGA Chairman, said: “Following on from the Grenfell Tower tragedy, we want the Government to begin an urgent and immediate review of building regulations. We cannot wait for the result of the public inquiry or coroner’s report before this review is started. We have to act based on what we know now, while being prepared to revisit the building regulations again in the future if any additional lessons need to be learned.

“There is complexity and confusion in the current system that must be addressed and local government must play a central role in this review from the outset. The review needs to consider how easy it is to use, comply with and understand the building regulations and the associated documents supporting them, particularly those relating to the installation of cladding and insulation on external walls of buildings and how the building control, fire safety and planning regimes interact.

No time to wait

“Councils will do whatever it takes to ensure our residents are all safe in their homes. We have been clear all along that entire cladding panels and the insulation behind them need to be fire tested together as a system, rather than just the core of the panels on their own, and are also pleased these much-needed changes to the testing process will now happen. It is vital that we get this right and this whole-system testing needs to happen as soon as possible.

Lord Porter also urged that testing processes need to be more transparent. He said: “We are concerned that the Building Research Establishment (BRE), carrying out safety tests, does not feel able to release the results of previous cladding system tests, as these are deemed commercially confidential. If the public are going to have faith in this fire safety testing process then everything needs to be out in the open. It is no time for contractors or manufacturers to withhold test results from both councils and the public.

“The industry and BRE needs to waive this confidentiality in the public interest to assist the Government and councils in gathering as complete a picture as possible of what is and is not acceptable in cladding systems. These are exceptional circumstances when not only the safety of thousands of residents, but also the peace of mind of many more, is at stake.”