Tag Archive: manufacturing

1. Thurston Group picks up its first RoSPA award

   3rd August 2021 9:56 am Comments Off on Thurston Group picks up its first RoSPA award

   We’re extremely delighted to announce that we’ve picked up our first internationally recognised award; the Silver RoSPA Award, in recognition of our commitment to health and safety practices across our organisation. 

   After going for the award for the first time, we’re delighted to have achieved the Silver Award. The Silver RoSPA Award, organised by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), recognises Thurston’s and our employees’ achievements in health and safety. All of our teams focus on a “Work Safe, Home Safe” initiative, safeguarding themselves, their colleagues, our clients, customers and the communities in which we operate.

   The annual Health and Safety Awards are categorised by different levels of achievement: Merit, Bronze, Silver and Gold, as well as long-term awards that recognise companies for achieving Gold Awards for multiple consecutive years. Organisations receiving a RoSPA Award are recognised as being world leaders in health and safety practices. Every year, nearly 2000 entrants vie to achieve the highest possible accolade in what is the UK’s longest-running health and safety industry awards.

   Matthew Goff, our Managing Director, said, “We’re extremely proud to have received this distinguished award from the RoSPA. These annual awards are among the foremost international accolades that you can receive in the Health and Safety sector. It’s particularly gratifying to have received this recognition for Thurston Group’s long-term track record of excellence in this area, especially given the recent challenges of the pandemic. Safety is our number one value, with all our teams focusing on our “Work Safe, Home Safe” initiative, safeguarding themselves, their colleagues, our clients, customers and the communities in which we operate. These awards are a true recognition of our culture.”

   Gary Ware, our Group Production Director, said, “This RoSPA award once again supports our group’s ongoing strategic plan and commitment to be the partner of choice, and in light of the current pandemic, the investment into our people, the estates and our buildings has us well placed to continue growing as a business. A special mention to our SHEQT Officer, Janet Sanders for the award support, and well done to all involved across all three of our operational sites, along with our construction sites throughout the UK . Keep up the good work!” 

   Want to know more about our organisation? Head over to Our Company.

2. ‘Defining the Need’ – A conclusion and a look ahead to the future

   26th July 2021 9:40 am Comments Off on ‘Defining the Need’ – A conclusion and a look ahead to the future

   ‘Defining the Need’ has demonstrated an objective approach to understanding the needs of the public sector estate. It also highlighted the need to harmonise and digitise demand across new build programmes. This piece is a conclusion of our ‘Defining the Need’ series and provides a look into the future to see how it can provide a long-term solution.

   The results of the cross-departmental pipeline analysis showed that the top three most common spaces were circulation, storage and bathrooms. Constituting around 30% of the entire government’s estate. This shows that there’s a huge opportunity for the government to harmonise pipelines and implement a platform system solution. A standardised, repeatable platform construction system that ultimately meets the needs of multiple departments would provide the public sector with a quicker, better quality building solution.

   This report, combined with the government’s Construction Playbook, would give departments an opportunity to focus on building spaces that improve departments or communities and provide the greatest value.

   A standardised approach to building doesn’t need to compromise on quality or flexibility. At Thurston’s we’re able to provide high quality modular and portable buildings for every sector. Utilising a standardised approach, we’re able to meet individual client requirements and create a bespoke building while reducing delivery speed, improving sustainability and improving quality.

   Based on the data analysed and collected, the Platform team have been able to start developing their platform strategy that meets the needs of the customer. Looking ahead, the Hub’s project team plans to build a Rulebook with defined rules and standards detailing how technologies and components can be integrated. It also plans to build a Value Proposition which will define the characteristics, differentiation, cost-structure and life cycle of the platform and a Kit of Parts. The Kit of Parts will comprise the components of the platform highlighting how it can be varied within certain constraints. Finally the team will also progress with resources to support adoption, called Enablers. 

   A platform construction system solution provides new ways of working that may require changes to the ways that organisations are structured. Not every organisation will be able to implement a platform strategy without making significant changes, which is why the project team will build a set of processes and standards to help. The overall success of a platform system approach will rely on clarity of roles, responsibilities and processes, as well as the kit of parts.

   The processes and standards developed by the Platform Design Programme (PDP) will be made openly available and in 2022, demonstrate how they can be applied in practice. The PDP will use the concept training building and work undertaken at the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry as a showcase to show organisations how they can implement a platform construction system along with the benefits.

   The PDP can also offer opportunities to the wider market. The full report, due to be published in winter, will demonstrate the potential for platform construction systems and how it could potentially be applied to other industries within both the public and private sector. Enabling others to procure, develop and apply platforms to develop better, faster and greener outcomes.

3. ‘Defining the Need’ – What is the Platform Design Programme?

   13th July 2021 1:26 pm Comments Off on ‘Defining the Need’ – What is the Platform Design Programme?

   The Construction Innovation Hub is collaborating with government and industry across four key themes of Value, Manufacturing, Digital and Assurance. The Hubs’ work supports the Construction Leadership Council’s strategy and the Roadmap to Recovery. A core element of the Hub’s programme, the Platform Design Programme (PDP) embodies all of the challenges of building design, while having to work with multiple departments and suppliers, to provide standardisation without compromising on flexibility and performance. 

   Funded through the UKRI’s Transforming Construction Challenge, the Hub aims to create better outcomes for the future by driving the adoption of manufacturing and digital approaches to improve the delivery and performance of infrastructure and create buildings that are fit for the future.

   Applying systems engineering and manufacturing techniques, the team is looking to develop a selection of processes, rules and standards to create a market for buildings made from platform construction systems. 

   Following these new processes, the Hub will develop, prototype and test this open platform construction system to highlight the benefits it will bring to the construction sector. 

   The new system will be implemented at scales across a pan-government pipeline of projects and programmes and look to reduce cost, delivery time and lifetime carbon emissions. It also looks to boost productivity and increase the asset whole-life value and offer an opportunity to integrate active renewable energy systems. It will also be able to be used flexibly to create beautiful, well-designed buildings that are fit for the future. 

   Analysis of initial data, combined with stakeholder interviews with clients and end users has identified a clear opportunity for platform design within the construction sector. There are companies across the UK manufacturing this way but the uptake has been slow across various sectors. Of the £50 billion pipeline analysed, around £35 billion has been identified as being able to be delivered in whole, or in part, through a platform solution. 

   The next part in our series will look at this analysis and its key insights to see why the ‘Defining the Need’ report is recommending a move to platform systems. 

4. The four grand challenges to make the UK fit for the future

   9th July 2021 9:45 am Comments Off on The four grand challenges to make the UK fit for the future

   The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (DBEIS) has written a white paper to set out its long-term plan to boost productivity and earning power of people throughout the UK.  As part of their plan to ‘build a Britain that’s fit for the future’, it has set out four Grand Challenges which aim to put the UK at the forefront of the industries of the future. Ensuring that the country takes full advantage of major global changes, improving people’s lives and the country’s productivity as a whole. 

   The first four Grand Challenges are focused on the main global trends that are set to transform our future. They are:

   • Artificial intelligence (AI) and data
   • Ageing society
   • Clean Growth
   • Future of mobility

   The DBEIS is developing ambitious missions to tackle each of these Grand Challenges. Each mission will focus on a specific issue and will bring government, business and organisations throughout the country together to drive solutions and make a real difference. 

   Wanting to put the UK ahead in the AI and data revolution, an Office for AI has been put together. AI and machine learning are already starting to transform the global economy but it is growing within organisations around the country. In healthcare specifically, it is already helping doctors diagnose medical conditions more effectively and assisting in communications. The hope is that embedding AI across the UK will create good quality jobs and drive economic growth. The main mission is to use data, AI and innovation to transform the prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of chronic diseases by 2030. 

   Meeting the needs of our ageing society has been in focus for some time. The DBEIS hopes to harness innovation to help accelerate this mission and create an economy which works for everyone, regardless of age. It wants to ensure that people can enjoy at least five extra healthy years of life by 2035, while narrowing the gap between the richest and the poorest. It’s not just in the UK, but globally. We are living longer and this creates more need and demand for services like housing, education and healthcare. We need to help build homes that are fit for the future. Where people can grow as a family while helping our older generations lead independent lives. This will ultimately help them continue to contribute to society. 

   The shift to clean growth has also been a focus for some time but goalposts are so far in the future that there’s a worry it will be too late. The move to cleaner economic growth through more efficient use of resources and low carbon technology, is one of the most important missions. The DBEIS wants to halve the energy use of new buildings by 2030 and establish the world’s first net-zero carbon industrial cluster by 2040. With at least one low-carbon cluster by 2030.

   The final Grand Challenge; the future of mobility, aims to ensure the UK is a world leader in shaping the future of mobility. It also links to clean growth, with the main mission aiming to put the UK at the forefront of the design and manufacturing of zero-emission vehicles. With all new cars and vans effectively zero emission by 2040. This mission is all about looking for the ways we can improve customer experience, drive efficiency and get people travelling around much more freely, without impacting negatively on the environment. 

   All of these challenges require innovation, not just from the Government itself. But from businesses around the country. Moving to more sustainable methods of working and building is an important first step. Construction specifically accounts for nearly half of the UK’s total carbon emissions. This is where the country could make a significant difference but it requires more people to move to modern methods of construction. 

   You can find out more about the missions and grand challenges on the government website.