The finalists for this year’s SkillBuild competition have been chosen and on 13th-15th November they will be competing to become a national champion in one of four major roofing disciplines. 

This year has seen a significant change to the proceedings and one that will throw a greater spotlight onto the national competition, as for the first time SkillBuild will be part of the Skills Show which is being held at the NEC in Birmingham. The competition is comprised of ten categories of which roofing, managed by National Federation of Roofing Contractors Ltd (NFRC) and in partnership with the Single Ply Roofing Association (SPRA), is one. 

One of the country’s leading authorities on construction law will be speaking at an event chaired by a partner at Oxford law firm Blake Lapthorn later this month. The Hon Mr Justice Ramsey will speak at a joint meeting of the Society of Construction Law and the Thames Valley Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

A graduate of Oriel College, Oxford, Mr Justice Ramsey was appointed as a High Court judge in 2005. In 2007 he was appointed for three years as judge in charge of the Technology and Construction Court, the specialist arm of the High Court for dealing with construction disputes.

He will speak about the latest thinking in construction law and how the courts interpret it, under the heading Statutory Difference: Why an Arbitration Act but no Adjudication Act?

Musicians from the Shaftesbury Town Silver Band can trumpet news of their ensemble even further thanks to a donation of 50 musical scores from The Wessex Group.

The company, based in the North Dorset town, is celebrating its half century this year and each month is giving “50 somethings” to a good cause or charity.

It has provided sheet music for the musicians who play at community engagements and public events throughout the year.

A chartered surveying firm is improving health and safety standards nationwide by introducing a safer way to view complex buildings and structures through 3D modelling, with the launch of its new sister company SEEABLE.

SEEABLE is being launched by Severn Partnership to allow non technical access to complex 3D data on desktops, smartphones and tablets. By liberating 3D data and Building Information Modelling (BIM) from design teams and allowing access to site workers or board directors who cannot operate complex CAD or BIM software, SEEABLE will make important building information visible to a greater number of people.

Reflex Systems, the integrated fire and security systems specialist, has recently completed a major project to upgrade the fire detection systems for one of the UK’s leading hotel groups QMH UK Ltd.

The contract was carried out over a four week period, which involved upgrading the fire detection systems on 18 hotels, including 12 Holiday Inns, three Best Western hotels and three Crowne Plazas, stretching from Plymouth to Glasgow.  Careful co-ordination had to be carried out by Reflex Systems to ensure that the impact of system downtime of the hotel’s systems was kept to a minimum.

The UK Asbestos Training Association (UKATA) is using its position as a sponsor of this year’s ‘Asbestos the Truth 2013’ conference taking place on Wednesday 27 November in Manchester, to drive home the message on the continued dangers of asbestos and the importance of training when it comes to a material that remains the biggest cause of work related deaths in the UK.

UKATA is sponsoring the one day conference at the Hilton Deansgate together with Association member and asbestos awareness training provider Lucion Environmental; with the aim of providing up to date information on asbestos legislation, training, management and awareness.

This year’s ASA Aquatics Conference in Daventry proved a resounding success for leading mechanical and electrical engineering consultancy, Desco, as it led a thought-provoking seminar for industry insiders, on innovative new energy-saving techniques for the leisure sector.

The event, which was attended by hundreds of delegates from the industry, aimed to inspire and engage aquatics clubs for the future, with a forward-thinking and fresh look at best practice in the sector. As part of the conference, Desco Director David Wright, spoke to architects, contractors and key leisure sector insiders, on the latest state-of-the-art technology and new techniques in MEP design which are paving the way for more efficient and effective leisure facilities across the country.

Over a quarter of homes completed by British housebuilders now have homeowner’s feedback reviewed by the builder via a valuable online customer satisfaction report, according to new figures released by NHBC.

Following targeted efforts by the industry to drive up standards, the number of builders using NHBC’s unrivalled customer satisfaction reports has doubled in the space of just one year.

On Friday 11 October, thirteen representatives of The Anderson Group took part in a charity bike ride to raise money for The National Autistic Society, the 2013 beneficiary of The Anderson Foundation.

During the gruelling ride, each of the cyclists would’ve burned off around 8,000 calories each (over 100,000 between them!). The Anderson Group have currently raised in excess of £5,000 for the charity and are looking to increase this with post event team donations from suppliers over the next couple of weeks.

Fareham based Amiri Construction has appointed Simon Powell from Portsmouth as their new Contracts Manager. Simon joins the £17 million turnover company with over 25 years of experience of building and construction, having started as the 3rd generation member of W. S Powell, the Portsmouth builders founded by his grandfather William Powell in 1947.

He worked with William and his father Glyn as an estimator and surveyor before moving on to work for other major construction companies.