Building Briefs – April 21st

CMS Window Systems wins Queen’s Award for Enterprise

Window, door and curtain walling designer, fabricator and installer, CMS Window Systems, has received the highest business accolade by today being announced as a winner of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Sustainable Development 2017.

The Cumbernauld-based company, which has grown from humble beginnings in 2006 to a £32 million turnover business in just over a decade, has been recognised in the Sustainable Development category for its outstanding achievement in ensuring environmental, social and economic sustainable practices underpin every aspect of the business.

CMS is unique in the fenestration market in its approach to sustainability and its ethos of aiming to close-the-loop in everything it does. It provides products and services which help reduce the carbon footprint of homes and buildings, whilst at the same time operating in a resource-efficient way that generates virtually no landfill waste thanks to its extensive in-house recycling facilities.

Coupled with this, the Living Wage employer holds the Investors in People Gold standard and Investors in Young People accreditation and has become renowned for creating regular employment opportunities for local young people through Modern Apprenticeships. The organisation plays an active role in improving the communities in which it operates through a range of charitable donations and practical support for local initiatives.

Glasgow approves funding for next stage of East End Regeneration Route

Glasgow City Council has approved £250,000 funding to move towards the next stage of delivering the third and final phase of the East End Regeneration Route (EERR), which will complete the link between the M74 and the M8/M80.

This final part of the EERR will be a four lane route running through Glasgow’s East End, between Biggar Street at the Parkhead Forge Retail Park and Provan Road at Alexandra Park.

The £250,000 funding will complete design, environmental impact, contract preparation and economic business case works to allow a full and detailed Economic Business Case on the third phase of the EERR to be presented to the council’s executive committee.

A number of milestones have already been met in preparation for work beginning on the delivery of the route, such as the promotion of roads orders, the purchase of land and consent for a Public Local Enquiry granted. Glasgow City Council has been working with Network Rail and Transport Scotland on the proposals.

The earlier phases of the EERR run between the M74 at Polmadie along the Clyde Gateway to the Gallowgate.

Infrastructure deal secures 210 jobs

Engineering firm Bilfinger has secured 210 jobs after winning a deal to carry out maintenance work on key Scottish oil and gas infrastructure for another five years.

Oil giant BP handed Bilfinger’s industrial services unit the contract for providing a range of support services at the Forties pipeline system terminals in Grangemouth and the Sullom Voe terminal in Shetland.

The deal replaces a previous agreement from 2015, according to Bilfinger, whose group headquarters are in Germany.

Jim Clark Museum in Duns races towards funding goal

A fundraising campaign towards a museum celebrating the achievements of two-time Formula One champion Jim Clark is closing in on its target.

The drive was launched this year to raise the final £300,000 towards the project in Duns in the Borders.

A crowdfunding campaign which is coming to a close has raised more than £90,000, with more than £175,000 coming from direct donations and other groups.

The Jim Clark Trust has urged the public to keep contributions coming.

It thanked all the supporters who had already backed the proposals, which will cost £1.6 million in total.

It has secured £1.3m but launched the campaign earlier this year to bridge the funding gap.

It is now within about £35,000 of that goal.

Scottish Borders Council has pledged £620,000 towards the museum with a similar sum coming from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Planning permission has been given, subject to the work starting in the next three years.

It is hoped the development could be completed by 2018 - the 50th anniversary of Clark’s death at Hockenheim in Germany, aged just 32.

Robertson Group helps Clyde Gateway pupils kick-start career in construction

School pupils from the Clyde Gateway area are celebrating their graduation from a course designed to introduce them to the construction industry.

Fifteen budding engineers from Eastbank Academy, St Mungo’s Academy and Trinity High School took part in the ten-week ‘Get Into Engineering’ programme, run in collaboration between Robertson Group, Clyde Gateway, Glasgow Kelvin College and the University of the West of Scotland (UWS).

Designed to provide academic and practical insight into the application of engineering, participating students were assigned project work on live Robertson projects.

As part of the programme, the pupils carried out project work at Robertson Central construction sites, including piling and steelwork activities at Collegelands in Glasgow and an introduction to civil engineering at the Huntershill sports complex in Bishopbriggs.

They also attended training sessions held by Robertson Central, where they received an introduction to mechanical and electrical engineering.

As part of efforts to promote the construction industry and careers it has to offer, Robertson Group provide a variety of different activities and programmes with numerous stakeholder groups, engaging with over 23,500 young people between April 2016 and March 2017.

Floating Wind Farm to create up to 200 jobs at Kishorn

Kishorn Dry Dock will come out of a 23 year long hibernation after an agreement was signed today to use the site during the construction of the world’s largest floating wind farm.

Last used to work on the Skye Bridge in 1994, the dry-dock is one of the largest in Western Europe and will now be used to help build the floating turbines for Kincardine Offshore’s development of eight turbines off the coast of Aberdeen.

The exclusivity agreement between Kishorn Port Ltd and Kincardine Offshore means work will start at the site in August, with the first turbine of the 50MW array expected to be in the water in the second quarter of 2018.

Kishorn Port was historically an oil and gas fabrication yard, used for the casting of the 600,000-tonne Ninian Central platform in the late 1970s. The last time the port’s two 13,000 tonne dock gates were moved was in 1994, when the two concrete foundation caissons for the Skye Bridge were floated out.

The agreement with Kincardine Offshore will see Kishorn Port used for the fabrication of the semi-spar substructure for the 6MW turbines, which will operate 15km off the coast of Kincardineshire.

When in operation, the development will prevent 94,500 tonnes of CO2 entering the atmosphere every year.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has invested £158,932 in the £450,000 costs of upgrading the dry dock in readiness for new contracts.

Once completed, power from Kincardine Offshore will be brought ashore to an Aberdeen operations centre and will connect to the grid at Redmoss sub-station.

Significant roadworks set for A90 at Blackdog

Major traffic management measures are expected to be in place on the A90 near Blackdog over the next month when 12 beams and 44 bridge parapet units will be installed as part of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route/Balmedie to Tipperty (AWPR/B-T) project.

It is anticipated that the beams will be delivered and installed over three weekends: Friday 28 April to Monday 1 May; Friday 5 May to Monday 8 May and Friday 12 May to Monday 15 May.

A fourth weekend from 2 June to 5 June is required to complete the installation of the edge parapet units, after deck works on the two bridges have been carried out.

Six of the beams are 46m in length for the new southern bridge at Blackdog Junction and the other six beams for the new northern bridge are 43m in length. The beams will be welded and assembled in pairs before they are delivered to Blackdog.

Additional traffic management measures, including A90 road closures with diversions and contraflows, are necessary to enhance the safety of road workers and road users.

Brodies construction lawyers go on the run to raise money for cancer care charity

Two lawyers from Scottish law firm Brodies will be clocking up 26.2 miles this weekend in the UK’s most famous marathon to raise money for charity.

Partner Peter Demick and senior solicitor Amy Cornelius are running the London Marathon this Sunday as part of a team for cancer care charity Maggie’s, which offers free practical, emotional and social support to people with cancer and their families and friends.

Peter, who works in Brodies’ insurance & risk team in Edinburgh, and Amy, who is part of the construction team in Glasgow, have worked closely with Maggie’s through Brodies, which has supported the charity for nine years, raising more than £175,000.

To donate, visit Peter and Amy’s JustGiving pages.