Elements Europe Invests in Life Saving Equipment
Elements Europe is delighted to announce that a Defibrillator is now installed at its manufacturing facility in the West Midlands.
A defibrillator is a device that gives a high energy electric shock to the heart through the chest wall to someone who is in cardiac arrest. It is not only an important step in providing CPR but also provides instructions as to when or if the patient needs a shock.
Juliet Powell, Health & Safety Manager commented “With over 300 members of staff at our manufacturing site we have a duty of care, and because of this the decision was made to purchase a Defibrillator.”
Not only will the staff benefit from this, the surrounding area will also, the Defibrillator is being made available to local residents and businesses.
“We have fully trained staff here onsite to use equipment and we have registered with Heart Safe to ensure that everyone in the local community has access to the machine. Heart Safe liaise with the emergency services and offer direction to the closest Defibrillator should the need arise.” added Juliet.
Offsite Construction Highlighted in Letter to Chancellor
The past two years have seen many industry experts championing offsite construction as the UK housing crisis has become a hot topic, prompting reports and recommendations of how this can be fixed. Many have stepped forward to convey their opinion, however, offsite construction is yet to gain significant recognition or backing from the central government.
This week, ahead of the Chancellor’s budget on Wednesday, members of the London Assembly have issued a cross-party letter urging the Chancellor to consider significant funding for the offsite construction industry, so to assist in the UK housing crisis.
The letter covers concerns about the labour shortage in traditional construction methods and highlights the underproductivity of construction overall in the past decade stating “only a cutting-edge digitally led industry that combines both traditional construction and factory based precision manufacturing can support the vast demands we as a nation now require.”
The letter also adds that offsite manufacturing attracts the younger generation minimising reliance on imported skills giving the UK a further opportunity to upskill workers.
Nick Gavron, the London Assembly planning committees chair said “Offsite manufacturing allows for consistent quality, better energy efficiency and more sustainable materials. True innovation is needed in order to speed up the construction of houses which London and the country so desperately need.”
Kevin Arthur, Director at Elements Europe commented “We are delighted that these assembly members are to prompt the Chancellor ahead of this Wednesday’s budget. We stand for everything they detail in the letter and are investing in an ongoing apprenticeship scheme at our manufacturing facility to ensure we are contributing to creating skilled offsite construction workers.”
The other signatories of the letter are Labour Group leader Len Duvall, Conservative Group leader Gareth Bacon, deputy chair of the housing and planning committee Andrew Boff (Conservative), Green Party Group leader Sian Berry and Liberal Democrat London-wide assembly member Caroline Pidgeon.
Reported Highest Value Project
Jefferson Sheard Architects has published its annual 16/17 report which reflects on the past 12 months progression in sectors such as student accommodation and the public sector, as well as highlighting key projects of significance.
A key project featured in the report is The Pickstock Group’s Colchester student accommodation scheme and it is also the highest value project of those listed.
The £36 million Colchester student accommodation scheme developed at King Edwards Quay saw Pickstock Construction and Elements Europe deliver a turnkey solution for the group.
Pickstock Construction acted as principal contractor whilst Elements Europe designed, manufactured, delivered and installed 1049 Room Modules as well as all roof cassettes and stair cores for the scheme offering a complete off-site solution to the two-phased development.
The Pickstock Group work on a number of projects with Jefferson Sheard, specifically student accommodation which they note in the report has almost doubled from last year.
Elements Europe to Speak at the UK Residential Summit
Elements Europe has been invited to be one of the guest speakers at this year’s annual EG UK Residential Summit.
The event, which takes place on the 16th November at Birmingham Town Hall, brings together leading residential experts to debate and analyse how the industry needs to work together to meet ambitious UK residential goals.
Simon Underwood, Managing Director at Elements Europe, will speak at 10:40am alongside other leading residential experts including Pocket Living and Urban Splash.
The panel will discuss modular housing and economies of scale, modern construction methods and if the privatisation of housing associations is working.
“We are pleased to have been invited to speak at the EG UK Residential Summit. Elements Europe has years of experience within the residential sector and I look forward to sharing this at the summit” commented Simon Underwood.
The event will also cover topics including, the housing white paper and ambitions for the UK, increasing the housing supply through SME builders and HS2 opportunities for residential.
For anyone wanting to attend, click here.