Building Briefs – July 16th

• Sidey achieves new ISO 45001:2018 safety certification

The Occupational Health & Safety Management System ISO 45001:2018 has replaced BS OHSAS 18001 2007 and is an internationally recognised standard for excellence in promoting and protecting the physical and mental health wellbeing of workers.

ISO 45001:2018 sets the framework for establishing, implementing and maintaining an occupational health and safety management system, identifying and managing risks and opportunities, as well as a clear and effective path of communication and continual improvement throughout the business.

“We’ve always made the safety of people our top priority,” said Steve Hardy, Sidey’s managing director of sales and marketing. “Achieving this accreditation shows that we’re a proactive company when it comes to Health & Safety and continual improvement. It also ensures compliance with all current worldwide legislation.

“By fostering and adopting a health and safety culture within the workplace, it boosts staff morale and has also been shown to increase productivity. It also shows a positive transparency to our staff and customers that our manufacturing processes are running as safely and efficiently as possible.

“Sidey was one of the first companies in glazing to achieve the previous standard, BS OHSAS 18001, and again we’re one of the first to be ISO 45001:2018 certified, positioning us as a market leader and keeping us at the forefront of the industry.

“We’ve always been heavily committed to having all the latest accreditations as it shows our commitment to attaining and exceeding the highest standards in quality, manufacture and installation of our products.

“It’s important for us to demonstrate our responsibilities & commitment towards safety not only to our staff but also to our customers across the wide range of projects that we are involved in”.

“When someone chooses Sidey, they can be assured of working with the best.”

• Work on Broxburn flood protection scheme to be completed

West Lothian Council has approved the completion of work on the Broxburn Flood Protection Scheme.

The Broxburn Flood Protection Scheme was designed to mitigate the risk of flooding to residential and business properties in the West Burnside and Burnside Village areas of the town from the Brox Burn and Caw Burn, and mitigate the flooding of residential properties in the Nicol Road, Pyothall Court and Galloway Crescent areas from out-of-bank flows from the Liggat Syke.

Plans to construct the final component of the scheme are on track with sufficient funding in place and construction will provide a greater standard of protection than previously envisaged.

In addition to finalising the scheme, the paper recommended that officers are given authorisation to augment existing defences at West Main Street, Broxburn and promote a property-level protection scheme at New Holygate and Parkwood Gardens.

• £1.7m grant to make Argyll and Bute homes more energy efficient

Argyll and Bute Council has been awarded a grant of more than £1.7 million from the Scottish Government’s Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland: Area Based Scheme (HEEPS: ABS).

The grant will help residents make energy efficiency improvements to their properties, including external/internal wall insulation, underfloor insulation, cavity wall insulation and loft insulation.

The programme is available to owner-occupiers and private rented householders living in properties in Council Tax Bands A to C. Council Tax Band D properties are eligible if they have an energy rating of E or below. The programme is also available to island householders who live in properties in Council Tax Band E to H if they have an energy rating of E or below.

The scheme contributes towards the Scottish Government’s target of alleviating fuel poverty and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050.

It also contributes towards the Local Housing Strategy’s aim to improve the overall quality and condition of housing.

• Essential bridge works announced on M74

Transport Scotland has announced a traffic management system to allow for essential bridge works on the M74.

From 8 PM tonight a contraflow will be in operation on the M74 north and southbound between Junction 6 Hamilton/Motherwell and Bothwell Services, with a minimum of two lanes running in each direction.

A ‘Get in Lane, Stay in Lane’ system will be in operation for M74 northbound traffic approaching Junction 5 Raith Junction.

This traffic management is required to allow maintenance and re-waterproofing works to be carried out on Raith Bridge, on approach to Junction 5, Raith.

Significant delays are expected during peak times and road users are advised to avoid the area if possible or use alternative modes of transport.

• Travel and transport projects approved in North Ayrshire

North Ayrshire Council has approved a number of Active Travel and Transport projects following a series of successful funding bids.

A total of eight separate projects are to benefit from more than £2 million in external funding secured since January this year.

£400k of funding from Strathclyde Passenger Transport (SPT) will go towards improving bus travel in North Ayrshire, with plans including improvement of bus stops to create a more attractive environment for passengers, as well as the implementation of a traffic control system to provide bus priority traffic lights in Irvine and Kilwinning, easing bus route congestion.

Over £500k has been also been awarded by SPT to help improve bus infrastructure and interchange facilities as part of the overall Irvine Town Centre Public Realm programme, and £250k from the transport partnership will be spent studying the impact of Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) at the ferry slipways on the Isle of Cumbrae and at Largs and implementing the recommendations.

A further £250k has been secured from SPT, which will go towards making Irvine a more cycle-friendly town, with existing paths being upgraded to an all abilities and multi-user access standard, improving connections to housing, employment and the town centre.

£204k has also been awarded from Paths for All towards a range of activities encouraging active and sustainable travel through the Travel Smart project.

Another £6.3m of funding applications for 14 projects are yet to be decided, with applications for funding for another six projects totalling over £1.5m to be submitted later this year.

• Midlothian kids to go out to play with help from Mactaggart & Mickel Homes

Children’s charity Play Midlothian has developed a new children’s play initiative, Play for All, part-funded by a donation of £1,000 from family housebuilder Mactaggart & Mickel’s Building Communities Fund.

The charity seeks to improve the welfare of children in Midlothian through improving and increasing their opportunity to play, due to all the associated benefits to health, wellbeing and development. In the past year, they have provided services attended by over 1,600 individual children.

The Play for All pilot service launched in January 2019 with the aim of supporting disabled children’s play with their families - opening up opportunities to children aged from 0-13 with a wide range of disabilities.

The new project has already benefitted eight families by helping equip them with ideas and skills for supporting their disabled children to play at home and support them in accessing local parks. Based on pre-identified areas where families need support, the charity aimed to ‘test the water’ with their ideas and involve families in further developing this new service.

Play for All has developed into a highly valued service and has helped parents to find activities that all their children can enjoy together, by sharing ideas and opening up opportunities for engaging with their disabled child. The charity expects the pilot service to have benefited 30 families by October, and ultimately more once it is rolled out further.

Mactaggart & Mickel Homes has a happy history of supporting good causes and the Building Communities Fund was created to continue the company’s ongoing efforts to help organisations and projects which enhance the lives of people within their local communities.