To find out more and apply for this opportunity please go to National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) web site.

When on the NAS web site search for jobs in Oxfordshire to find this opportunity.

The Apprentice will develop and learn excellent standards in workmanship, good organisational skills, forward planning so that they can:

+   Undertake installations & maintenance work in connection with the building services in client’s premises.

+   Carry out a combination of planned and reactive maintenance to maintain all building services systems in good working order, specifically in terms of reliability, performance, energy efficiency and user needs.

+   Supervise contractors and manage the day-to-day maintenance of the buildings, including organisation and repair, to provide innovative solutions.

Applications will only be accepted through the NAS web site.

Closing Date: Wednesday 7 March

ErgoPlus Facilities are pleased to announce that we have been awarded a new service contract with the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST). We look forward to working with the FM Team at NEST.

We are currently looking to recruit a qualified electrician in the Reading area to work on installation, refurbishment and maintenance projects. For further details about this post please email us via our contacts page.

Ergo Plus Facilities are pleased to announce that Mani Hussain has joined the team as our Associate Health & Safety Consultant.  Mani brings our clients a wealth of experience and expertise in his field. Mani is Managing Director & Senior Consultant of Bestsafe Ltd  and is a qualified and experienced Senior Health & Safety Practitioner who successfully designed and implemented safety management systems and initiated change in many companies, hospitals and local government authorities. An established safety consultant and highly effective trainer using own and third-party presentational material including IOSH and CITB.

Mani graduated from the University of Surrey, he worked at the UK Atomic Energy Nuclear Plant in Sellafield, British Steel (then Corus & now Tata) and was head of safety department at a major construction company. He established the consultancy firm Bestsafe Ltd in 1997 where he is a Senior Health & Safety Consultant for a number of clients in the retail, construction, manufacturing, warehousing and offices related industries. Services offered vary considerably and include, assessments, audits/inspections, training, documentation’s, compliance of clients with the various legislation, lecturing, acting as the competent person for organisation, expert witness, investigations, CDM Co-ordinator etc

This has been a major redevelopment project within the Government’s Building Schools for the Future:One-School Pathfinder Scheme. In late November 2006 it was agreed by West Berkshire Council to invest central Government funds in a multi million pound project to rebuild St Bartholomew’s School in Newbury. The project has created a new school within the community which meets students’ needs for the 21st Century.

I am looking forward to leading the Sustainability Hub at this years conference and introducing a great range of speakers. If you are at the conference this week please come and find me.

All the best

Gordon

The following article can be found at the FMJ web site.

When I first cut my teeth in the facilities management sector over 25 years ago, we operated in a very different landscape. Although energy use became a focus in the 90s, there was little or no reference to climate change as a driver for efficiency and we had to wait for the new millennium before environmental issues really hit the radar.

These days, however, climate change is on everybody's lips and green is the new black. You only have to open the latest stationery catalogues to see the selling power of sustainability and as we move forward it is likely that official environmental standards will be established to offer guidance; but what does environmental spend really mean to a facilities manager, and how does one negotiate the claims and requirements of suppliers and clients?

In the broadest sense, operating an environmentally friendly policy impacts directly on an organisation's longevity: clients – especially public bodies – are demanding evidence of carbon reduction; Fairtrade towns specify the use of Fairtrade goods in public sector premises, and consumers lobby for cleaner, greener products. Any business that can prove a commitment to sustainable procurement and carbon reduction will not only act as a standard bearer for the sector as a whole, but will also benefit from increased long term profitability, and from the knowledge that it is helping to secure a more ethical, robust future.

The last 10 years have seen the introduction of a whole tranche of environmental legislation introduced through EU regulations and transposed into law by the UK government. For facilities managers the key issues are waste disposal and the impact of energy use. This includes the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive, hazardous waste regulations, and the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme. In addition, FMs need to take purchasing habits into consideration; methods of procurement and the environmental soundness of products – from toilet tissue through to furniture – also impact significantly on the carbon footprint of an organisation.

Procurement is often the most visible aspect of an environmental policy. For example, staff are able to see Fairtrade goods on the shelves or, where they are missing, will lobby for their inclusion. When assessing the sustainability of a product, a range of factors can be taken into account, from the quantities of water and non-renewable resources used in manufacture, through to the use of recycled materials, potential for end of life recycling, or treatment of workers and producers in developing countries. Similarly, a green supplier should be able to demonstrate the management of supply chains and be actively working to reduce the use of non-renewable carbon fuels, passenger and freight transport, and packaging throughout its buildings, services or product lines.

However, assessing the environmental credentials of goods and products is not as straightforward as it may seem. As the need for environmental accountability increases, so do the number of green claims and it often takes only a small scratch to find little substance behind the surface. To navigate this potential minefield, it is worth bearing in mind that any claims made on packaging or in advertising material should be specific: if a claim sounds vague, then it probably does not stand up to rigorous scrutiny. Equally, exaggerated language, exceptional claims, or wording that implies a product has been endorsed by another organisation with no evidence to back it up, should be treated with suspicion.

In many cases, green claims offer genuine information on how the product was made or the best way to dispose of it. Toilet tissue describing itself as '100% recycled paper' is self explanatory, but many green claims can be misleading or confusing. Phrases like 'environmentally friendly', for example, are meaningless without clarification. If in doubt, opt for products demonstrating accreditation to a green label such as the UK Fuel Economy label or Fairtrade. A product aligned with a genuine label like these will typically have been assessed independently to prove that it meets certain standards before it is allowed to display the organisation's symbol.

In order to introduce regulation into the myriad of green claims covering every type of product from paints to cutlery; and vegetables to wood products, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has developed a Green Claims Code. The code is designed to advise businesses on how to make clear green claims and states that where businesses make self-declared environmental claims, they should be meaningful, and consistent with the following existing standards: ISO:14021, the British Code of Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing, and European Commission Guidelines for making and assessing environmental claims. If you are unsure of the accuracy of a particular claim, you can always ask the company involved whether it adheres to the Defra code.

For large or high profile projects, it is valuable to ask a supplier to provide environmental data within pre-qualification questionnaires (PQQ). Until around five years ago, environmental sections within PQQs were relatively rare, and contractors found it difficult to understand why the information was necessary. In those days, I worked as a client FM for a large NGO which needed to do the right thing and to safeguard its reputation, but today as a contractor, this type of information is becoming much more standard. The decision to issue a PQQ will depend on a range of factors, but in my experience should be based on value and risk. Generally, it would be uneconomic for a contract of low value, but safeguarding the client's reputation must take priority. Typically, an environmental PQQ would ask for information such as confirmation of supply chains; accreditation to an environmental management system (EMAS) such as ISO:14001; evidence of commitment to environmental concerns through the employment of an environmental manager; or engagement with government-funded advice bodies such as the Carbon Trust or Envirowise.

Once a contractor has been engaged, it is important to monitor performance and confirm that these standards are maintained by undertaking periodic audits. Many organisations take an active role in this themselves, and those committed to continuous improvement of ethical performance within supply chains, the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (SEDEX) may be a useful tool. SEDEX connects businesses with their suppliers in order to share data on ethical performance and boasts many household names such as Marks and Spencer, John Lewis and the Royal Mail among its members.

At ground level, companies can also take advantage of free government advice on procurement by downloading the Guide to Green Procurement (GG921), which uses 'traffic light' style toolkits to identify areas that need closer examination, and also highlights specific themes at work such as premises, fixtures and fittings, utilities and consumables,

In addition to outlining the benefits of implementing a green policy, the guidance includes a seven-step plan, advising that the key to success lies in: assessing current procurement requirements; obtaining support from management and stakeholders; identifying legislative requirements; appointing a champion for green procurement; integrating green procurement into environmental policy; assessing the whole life-cycle cost; and providing a pre-qualification questionnaire.

If you still feel in need of advice, a wide range of organisations such as Envirowise or the Energy Saving Trust are on hand to sort the wheat from the chaff and steer your organisation in the right direction. Implementing an environmental procurement and energy policy may be a daunting prospect but as business greens up, it will become second nature.

The right purchasing decisions can go a long way to saving energy and materials, will help to reduce waste and pollution, and also set a good example, encouraging sustainable patterns of behaviour both in the workplace and in the home. In this way, by working to the principles of the '4Rs' – Reduce, Reuse, Repair and Recycle – facilities managers can make a genuine contribution to the profile of their profession, minimise environmental impacts, and also reap the associated economic benefits. In other words, a genuine win, win situation.

CAFOD’s Quentin Padgett  recently gave Cathy Hayward of FM World a tour of Romero House in Lambeth, a five-storey, 33,000 sq ft building, was built on an old car park site owned by nearby St George’s Cathedral. The article Cathy wrote following her visit can be seen on the FM World web site together with a video tour of Romero House.

CAFOD: A GREENER WAY OF OFFICE LIFE
Romero House is heated and cooled by highly efficient energy pumps connected to eight boreholes dug 125m into the earth. The atrium and office windows maximise daylight, reducing the need for artificial lighting (which takes advantage of movement sensors in certain areas), while roller blinds and the external louvres control glare and shield the building.
A natural green sedum roof increases biodiversity by encouraging plants and insects to make it their home, and rainwater collected from the roof is used for toilet flushing. Aerated taps and low water-use fittings mean less water is used overall.

The roof-mounted solar panels generate 3,500kWh per year, saving the equivalent of two tonnes of C02. A solar hot water heater provides all hot water. It is double glazed throughout with self-cleaning glass. The concrete’s thermal mass stores energy from the ground source system at night to offset the heating or cooling loads the next day.

Ergo Plus Facilities are pleased to announce their acquisition of Lambourn Electrical. Lambourn Electrical is a well established M&E contractor offering installation and maintenance services to a range of clients in the Thames Valley / M4 corridor. This addition to Ergo Plus Facilities Ltd provides an even greater depth of knowledge and service capability to what we can offer our clients.

Ergo Plus Facilities are pleased to announce their new contract to work in partnership with ISS to provide Facilities services to Oxfam GB for their 85,00o sq.ft. head office in Oxford.

ISS UK is one of the country's largest commercial providers of Facility Services, covering the whole of the United Kingdom

Oxfam is a global movement of people working with others to overcome poverty and suffering

On Thursday 15 Sept 2010 the BIFM Sustainability SIG held its AGM at CAFOD's new HQ in London. Following the appointment of committee members the group was given an overview of the design and construction of the BREEAM excellent offices by the Architects Black's.  This was followed by a fascinating tour of the building which incorporated rainwater harvesting, a green roof, ground water cooling and comfortable meeting chairs made out of gaming consoles. The evening concluded in the rooftop pavilion with a canapé reception, sponsored by Ergo Plus Facilities, as the sun set over the London roofscape.

of The British Institute of Facilities Management as Special Interest Group Representative. Gordon has been appointed as a Non-executive director of the institute for a period of two years.

http://www.bifm.org.uk/bifm/groups/committees/9064/committee

ErgoPlus are pleased to announce that we have been appointed as FM services providers to CAFOD in their new HQ building in London. CAFOD’s move to Romero House, a BEEAM excellent building, is the fulfilment of construction and relocation project that Gordon Ludlow (our MD) has been involved in from its inception.

CAFOD is the official Catholic aid agency for England and Wales. In more than 40 countries across the world, we bring hope, compassion and solidarity to poor communities, standing side by side with them to end poverty and injustice.

On Wednesday 24th March the Directors of Ergo Plus Facilities were pleased to welcome friends and colleagues to a party to celebrate the launch of their new venture.

Around 50 guests had an entertaining evening, cruising along the Thames on the MV Golden Salamander. Where they enjoyed seeing the sights of London from a different angle while being wined and dined to the sound of a three piece jazz band.