FM Report 178 - Thursday 3rd August 2006

03 August 2006

The latest FM news directed to your desktop

Barrow Legionnaire's disease case result
Council architect, Gillian Beckingham, has been found not guilty of manslaughter charges brought following the Legionnaire's Disease outbreak at Barrow in Furness in 2002 that resulted in seven deaths. She has, however, been found guilty under s7 Health & Safety at Work Act and fined £15,000. Barrow in Furness Council was fined £125,000 and ordered to pay costs of £90,000.
www.workplacelaw.net

Interserve's acquisition of MacLellan goes ahead
Interserve has completed the acquisition of MacLellan Group in an £118m cash and shares deal. The MacLellan name is to be retained. Both brands will be used to capitalise on Interserve being well known in the public sector, while MacLellan built its reputation primarily in the private sector. Other MacLellan brands such as MacLellan Attlaw Security and ONE Real Estate will also remain. MacLellan's FM operations and Interserve's existing Facilities and Industrial Services businesses now form an enlarged FM business headed by Bruce Melizan, MD of Interserve's Facilities Services division since January this year. He was formerly MD of Interserve Investments.
www.interserveplc.co.uk

Unsustainable property timebomb
New legislation will expose the poor state of Britain's commercial property causing a dramatic fall in the capital value of the UK's investment portfolios, according to research by international architects, Gensler. The report, 'Faulty Towers: Is the British Office Sustainable', reveals that 75% of property developers believe that legislation to grade the energy efficiency of buildings due to come into effect in January 2007 will have a negative impact on the value and transferability of inefficient buildings. Chris Johnson, Managing Principal, Gensler said: "Property fund managers are effectively sitting on an investment timebomb. The introduction of energy performance certificates will shorten the lifespan of commercial buildings constructed before the new regulations, and we expect the capital value of inefficient buildings to fall as a result." The report says that 27% of companies property-related energy consumption could be saved by making offices sustainable, however, businesses are prepared to pay 10% more in rent for efficiently designed and constructed buildings.
www.gensler.com/news...

Revised asbestos regulations approved
The Health and Safety Commission is to recommend approval of revised asbestos regulations and two Codes of Practice following consultation on the draft Control of Asbestos Regulations. These will strengthen overall worker protection by reducing exposure limits and introducing detailed mandatory training for work with asbestos. They will also simplify the regulatory regime and implement revisions to the EU Asbestos Worker Protection Directive. The new Regulations introduce a lower single control limit of 0.1 fibres per cu m of air for work with all types of asbestos and replace three existing sets of Regulations. They also include practical guidelines for the determination of "sporadic and low intensity exposure" as required by the EU Directive.
www.dti.gov.uk/innovation...

WEEE implementation date set for July 2007
The Government launched the final consultation on implementing the 'producer responsibility' aspects of the WEEE Directive last week. The consultation document includes draft regulations, draft guidance and a timetable for full implementation of the Directive in the UK. The consultation will last 12 weeks with the final regulations likely to be published by December 2006. The WEEE proposals will be introduced on July 1, 2007 and include a national distributor Takeback Scheme, obligatory registration for producers through approved compliance schemes, and the setting up of authorised treatment and accredited reprocessing and recycling facilities.
www.dti.gov.uk/innovation...

Fighting back against energy price rises
Energy 2006 at the National Motor Cycle Museum, near the NEC Birmingham from 7-8th September is offering not only four halls of exhibitors focussed on energy saving technologies but also an extensive programme of free seminars and workshops. These include six free 1 hour sessions from the ESTA entitled Fighting back against energy prices, an Energy Information Centre seminar entitled Integrated energy cost control and the Major Energy Users Council's workshops entitled Shock and awe - is your energy battle plan holding together". Details of the full programme can be found on
www.energy2006.co.uk

Calls for papers on FM - UK and Europe
Preparations for both the BIFM Annual Conference in Keble College, Oxford 26-27 March, and the European Facility Management Conference (EFMC) in 26-27 June in Zurich are well underway. Papers are invited from across the FM community for both events. The applications deadline for the EFMC is 5 September and for the BIFM conference by 29 September
www.efmc2007.com www.bifm.org.uk

More workplace futures at Worktech06
The 3rd annual Worktech06 conference at The British Library that focuses on the convergence of workplace technologies and real estate will be featuring author, Charles Handy as a headline speaker. The conference has established a reputation as a key source of valuable and up-to the minute information about innovation and workplace futures. This year it features an exciting line-up of speakers and sessions entitled The Future Worker, Real Estate in the Age of the Internet, Working in the Knowledge Economy and The Challenge of Change. Delegates will receive a free copy of Handy's latest book and a reduced price offer on Space at Work, the new book from Philip Ross and Jeremy Myerson.
www.unwired.eu.com/worktech06.html

Big Turn Off - save your company money
FMs are urged to support the nationwide campaign by npower to encourage UK businesses to turn off all non-essential equipment before the three-day Bank Holiday weekend. Called The Big Switch Off, the campaign highlights the wasted energy resulting in not switching off PCs, copiers and printers when not in use.
www.npower.com/e3

More FM in the finance sector
Alfred McAlpine has announced two FM contracts won in the finance sector. It has extended its fabric maintenance and M&E maintenance and small project work contract with HBOS worth £75m for a further five years, while for another leading bank, it won a £21m three year FM contract across its 500 properties in SE England. Alfred Mcalpine's Interim Results published this week show that its Business Services activities continue grow, up by 33% to £204.3m (2005 : £154.0m), delivering a 19% increase in profit before tax to £10.5m (2005: £8.8m).

www.alfredmcalpineplc.com
Financial close on Northwood PPP
Carillion and its 50:50 JV partners HSBC Infrastructure Fund Management have reached financial close on the PPP project to redevelop, manage and operate the Northwood HQ, home of the Chief of Joint Operations. Worth £880m over 25 years to Carillion, the PPP will provide fully serviced accommodation on the existing site. The support services part of the contract which starts immediately is worth £440m and includes domestic services, estate management, document production, stores, transport and waste disposal.
www.carillionplc.com

Nuclear FM for MacLellan
MacLellan International has been awarded the facilities services contract at the French nuclear energy company Areva's sites in Staffordshire. The £6m contract sees 87 staff transfer under TUPE to MacLellan to provide security, catering, M&E, H&S management, cleaning, waste management, porterage, help desk and special projects for a three year period.
www.maclellan-group.co.uk