IMA Architects (IMA) has unveiled a successful test prototype of a new technology that will create an exact digital replica of a building. Known as ‘The Digital Twin’, the technology will help companies gain more data about a building’s performance in real time, helping them to save money by monitoring and reducing a building’s energy use.
The company has transformed two former shipping containers at its head office in Blaby, Leicestershire into the ‘IMA Digital Pods’. The two structures are now a staff gym and a coffee bar – but with a difference. The pods have been equipped with a wide range of sensors to create a ‘Digital Twin’. Believed to be the first of its kind in the UK, IMA’s ‘Digital Twin’ prototype has been designed – and successfully tested – to accurately represent a physical space within a virtual model. In this instance, the staff gym and coffee area are replicated exactly, digitally. Linked to Building Information Modelling (BIM), sensors in the physical building feed data back to the virtual model, showing how even the slightest change could impact performance in the real world. This grants the building owner or manager access to real-time data with an in-depth analysis of a building’s performance. This is significant as it means that simulations can also be run in the virtual space, allowing users to gain information on important metrics such as energy consumption to carbon emissions, informing decisions that are made in the real world. The IMA Digital Pods use Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to collect real-time data from the relevant spaces and feed it back “through a cloud platform” into a 3D model that has accurate information about the pods’ structure and assets installed within. This data is then analysed and visualised virtually within the Digital Model and can be stored in the cloud for further analysis. Commands can also be sent from the Digital Model to activate or deactivate devices in the Pods as well as monitoring performance. Anthony Day, Managing Director of IMA Architects, says: “The creation of the IMA Digital Pods has enabled us to develop our knowledge within this emerging area. We are putting the theory into practice so that we can implement this technology on our client projects. “We believe that the successful use of BIM and the ‘Digital Twin’ is the future of building design, and having more buildings with this level of information and intelligence will play a huge part in helping the UK meet its Net Zero targets, reducing costs for businesses along the way. “Amongst other things, it has the potential to lower construction costs by 33%, increase delivery speed by 50%, and lower emissions by 50%, the latter of which is incredibly important as the Government continues to set out plans to decarbonise all sectors of the UK economy. And with increasing energy costs, the Digital Twin will be an incredibly valuable cost-saving tool, leading the way to a better, greener, future.” IMA unveiled the Digital Pods at a launch event with staff and clients at its Blaby HQ on Friday 2 December 2022.Construction gets underway on 51,000 sq ft speculative unit at Mercia Park
A new 51,000 sq ft speculative unit is being constructed at IM Properties’ Mercia Park scheme, junction 11, M42, completing Q3, 2023.
Targeting a rich seam of logistics providers and manufacturers in NW Leicestershire, Mercia 51 sits alongside some of the Midlands leading businesses including Jaguar Land Rover and DSV.
The state-of-the-art logistics destination has sustainability at its core. IM Properties has worked in partnership with the main contractor, Winvic Construction Ltd, to achieve Net Zero in Construction on the site overall, including the buildings recently constructed for Jaguar Land Rover.
Mercia 51 will also be Net Zero Ready and target BREEAM Excellent, an EPC A rating and as part of its sustainable transport strategy have 10 active EV charging spaces, with passive infrastructure for another 40 and storage for up to 12 cycles.
Harry Goodman, development director for IM Properties, said creating future-proofed, high specification warehousing was no longer just about the construction but the environment in which it sits.
“Business is becoming more accountable for its commitment towards a sustainable future and the logistics sector is more focussed than ever on transparency around its operations.
“This is driven not only by societal shifts but by businesses, their customers and supply chain who have their own targets and ambitions.
“Mercia Park represents our line in the sand, as the first of our large-scale development schemes to achieve Net Zero in Construction. Mercia 51 raises the bar further to also be Net Zero Ready. This means the building is optimised so the occupier can achieve Net Zero in Operation.”
Goodman added: “Mercia 51 is being created to a level of specification which sits within our Sustainable Future’s framework and aligns with the Green Building Councils (UKGBC)’s recommendations.
“Mercia Park has already contributed to many local grassroots projects through a £350,000 community fund and our contractor, Winvic Construction Ltd, has partnered with us to promote employment and skills, creating an onsite training centre and a Sustainability and Innovation Hub.”
People and employee wellbeing are also part of IM Properties commitment on the scheme. Mercia 51 will sit amidst 12 hectares of woodland and 4k of amenity paths within Mercia Park, giving future occupiers access to green outdoor areas, cycle paths and footways.
Goodman continues: “Mercia 51 offers the full package to modern occupiers. The strength of the location and its connectivity is reflected by the businesses already in operation on the scheme.
“The added layer of sustainability and social responsibility creates a narrative around Mercia Park which is equally attractive for occupiers to buy into.
“We’ve come to see that this no longer as an aspiration but a priority for future viability if we are all to remain relevant in today’s world.”
Gedling Borough Council secures £2.9m to invest in local communities
Gedling Borough Council has secured funding to improve the borough using an allocation of £2.9 million through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund over the next three years.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is the successor to the European Structural Fund and Gedling Borough Council will receive £368,000 in the first year followed by £696,000 in year two and a final instalment of £1.8 million in year three.
The council’s bid included a detailed investment plan that showed how it will spend the money in order to meet the government’s funding criteria and what the benefits to the local community will be. The fund identifies three local priorities; communities and place, support for local businesses and people and skills.
The council will be looking at a range of ideas to spend the money including improving town centres, green spaces, encouraging visitors and improving community engagement programmes. Projects in the first year include plans to refurbish Lambley Lane sports pavilion, expand CCTV in crime hotspots in areas including Calverton, provide community grants to local charities and groups and the council will also use the funding to install new Changing Places public toilets at King George V Playing Fields in Arnold Town Centre.
As part of the submission, the council consulted with local community groups, businesses and partners to establish what they think the money should be used for. The consultation results were included in the plan and helped shape some of the key priorities for the fund. The bid was also formally backed by Nottinghamshire County Council.
Deputy leader of Gedling Borough Council, councillor Michael Payne, said: “This is good news for Gedling. We are very pleased to have secured this much needed funding to help support our local communities across Gedling Borough.
“We put together a robust investment plan and worked with local communities to help identify the best places for this funding to be used. As the funding is over three years, we have a limited allocation in the first year but we will start work on improving sports and recreation in key areas of the borough, specifically a refurbishment of the sports pavilion on Lambley Lane in Gedling and the installation of a new Changing Places toilet in King George V Park in Arnold.
“We now look forward to the Government approving our £50 million Levelling Up Fund bid to further improve our local community.”
Cabinet member for growth and regeneration, councillor Jenny Hollingsworth said: “This money will be used to support communities all across the borough including areas in Gedling, Calverton and Mapperley.
“I am very pleased that the Lambley Lane sports pavilion in Gedling will be one of the first places to benefit from this funding. The refurbished pavilion will ensure grassroots sports are back in the area and help improve the health and wellbeing of local residents and families.”
Green jobs in the East Midlands double in the last 12 months
The second edition of PwC’s Green Jobs Barometer has found that the number of green jobs advertised in the East Midlands has almost doubled in the last year, providing encouragement that the economy is becoming greener.
There were 20,432 green opportunities advertised in the region in 2022, compared to just 8,752 in 2021. Green jobs accounted for 2.17%% of total overall roles in the region in 2022, compared to just 1% in 2021, with an absolute increase of almost 134%.
The Green Jobs Barometer, which first launched in November 2021, tracks movements in green job creation, job loss, carbon intensity of employment, and worker sentiment across regions and sectors.
In the year to June 2022, every region of the UK saw green jobs accounting for a greater share of the job market, and the number of green jobs at least double in absolute terms.
Green jobs are growing around four times the rate of the overall UK employment market, with 2.2% of all new jobs classed as green. However more than one-third of these roles are now based in London and the South East, with a dominance of professional and scientific roles.
Matthew Hammond, PwC UK Midlands Regional Market Leader & Birmingham Senior Partner, said: “The East Midlands has seen a surge in green jobs in the last 12 months and it is encouraging to see the region becoming greener.
“When we launched the green jobs barometer in November 2021, green jobs in the East Midlands accounted for just over 1% of total opportunities. This has now more than doubled, illustrating how the region is developing to become greener and more sustainable.
“That said, London and the South East continue to dominate with more green professional and scientific roles. Employers in the East Midlands have an opportunity to innovate and consider how their operations can become greener, particularly in the manufacturing sector that represents a high proportion of the East Midlands economy.
“Embracing new, greener technologies and investing in skills will provide benefits for business operations and more employment opportunities in the region, as well as making a difference to the environment.”
Nottingham heritage consultancy merges with planning, design and development consultancy
Nottingham-based heritage consultancy Locus is merging with Midlands, London and South West-based planning, design and development consultancy Marrons – adding a new service line to its portfolio.
Taking on the Marrons brand, the team of four have more than 40 years’ combined experience in planning with all aspects of the historic environment.
Joining Marrons is heritage partner Adam Partington, principal heritage planner Tom Street, senior heritage planner Robert Templar and assistant heritage planner Brixie Payne.
Leading the team, Adam Partington has more than 18 years’ experience gained in private practice and local authority. Working closely with local authorities, developers, private individuals and charities, Adam is a skilled mediator and has significant experience in taking strategic, creative and commercial approaches to planning with heritage assets.
With more than 14 years’ experience, Tom Street previously worked as a local authority conservation officer and has an in-depth understanding of architectural history, historic building maintenance, heritage legislation and grant-funded schemes. A member of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC), Tom is an advocate for environmental sustainability and heritage-led regeneration.
Robert Templar has more than 12 years’ experience working in the archaeological sector, including seven years in consultancy. Robert evaluates the archaeological potential of development sites and supports the role it can have in place shaping.
Brixie Payne supports the team in preparing detailed heritage statements, archival research and assisting with site analysis, having previously studied at both Durham University and the University of Leicester’s School of Museum Studies. She also took a lead role in a national eLearning programme for Historic England due to be launched early 2023.
Adam said: “Our historic environment plays an important role in shaping distinctive places. Taking positive development-led approaches to planning with heritage assets is key to reconciling agendas of growth and conservation effectively.
“We are really excited to be joining our colleagues at Marrons. The merger will augment the design and planning service already offered by Marrons, to create a multi-disciplinary team that offers our clients a truly integrated service when planning with heritage assets.”
Newark & Sherwood District Council allocated £3.28m to support communities and accelerate economic growth
Newark and Sherwood District Council has successfully secured £3.28 million from the government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) to diversify communities and town centres, enhance local skills, improve infrastructure and help to accelerate economic growth across the district.
The funding comes from the government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) which is part of the government’s Levelling Up agenda, providing £2.6 billion of new funding for local authorities to apply for and invest in their districts and boroughs by March 2025. Earlier this year, Newark and Sherwood District Council engaged with key partners to submit an Investment Plan for the district to receive an allocation from the fund of £3.28 million to spend over the next three years.
The District Council’s Investment Plan identified a range of projects and activities that could benefit from the funding in-line with the three priorities set out by central government: supporting communities and place, local businesses and people and skills. The delivery will run in synergy to Newark Towns Fund projects and those outlined as part of the Levelling Up initiatives.
UKSPF will create the opportunity for investment in a number of selected projects and programmes, enabling those that are existing to grow and diversify as well as the delivery of a range of new and innovating activities. Organisations will be able to apply for funding in the coming weeks to support the delivery of district projects between April 2023 – March 2025 that align to the UKSPF aims and objectives and support localised challenges and opportunities.
Councillor David Lloyd, leader of Newark and Sherwood District Council, said: “I am absolutely delighted that we have been successful in securing £3.28 million of funding through UK Shared Prosperity Fund. This funding will go a long way in accelerating growth in our area through several projects that will support local businesses and communities within the district.
“We’ve been incredibly successful recently in securing substantial pots of funding to enhance our district through a series of transformative projects, however they have often been area specific i.e., Newark Towns Fund. This exciting new opportunity however benefits the wider district, residents and business.”
The Investment Plan was submitted to government earlier this year and endorsed by Newark and Sherwood Place Board.
East Midlands manufacturers see tough year ahead
Manufacturers in the East Midlands are looking at a tough twelve months ahead with the sector likely to contract in the face of a deteriorating economic outlook at home and abroad according to a survey published today by Make UK and business advisory firm BDO.
The forecast was made in the Make UK/BDO Q4 Manufacturing Outlook survey which shows manufacturing contracting by -3.2% in 2023. This comes on the back of a forecast -4.4% contraction this year, although Make UK stressed the number for this year is relative to a very strong 2021 which reflected the pandemic bounceback.
However, given Make UK has consistently been revising down its forecasts for manufacturing growth in 2022 throughout this year from 3% in March to 1.7% in July, 0.6% in September and now, a contraction of -4.4% (1), it highlights the extent to which conditions for the sector have weakened significantly, especially in the final quarter of the year.
In the last quarter, output in the East Midlands held up in line with the national picture at a balance of +12%, although total orders in the last quarter dropped substantially to a balance of -12%, which is likely to feed through into depressed output in the future. Despite this recruitment intentions remain strong in the East Midlands given labour shortages and the scramble to attract and retain talent.
As well as downgrading its forecasts for manufacturing Make UK is forecasting GDP growth of +4.4% this year but, a contraction next year of -0.9%.
In response, Make UK warned of the danger of policymakers sleepwalking into an acceptance of little or no growth as a normal economic scenario. It re-iterated its call for Government to develop a wide-ranging industrial strategy with a long-term vision at national and regional level.
Furthermore, while the Chancellor took some welcome measures in the Autumn Statement to help ease the short-term pressures on business, Make UK said more measures will be needed if economic prospects continue to weaken. These should include:
- Alleviating labour shortages with temporary easements to the migration system and ensure manufacturers have the funds to train and retrain employees by expanding the tax exemption for work related training into a wider Training Investment Allowance.
- Tackling the increased cost to business by extending business rates reliefs for retail hospitality and leisure to manufacturing
- Spurring on much needed immediate investment by allowing first year allowances
- Re-thinking recent decisions on the R&D tax relief for small businesses to ensure manufacturers are not deterred from investing in critical innovations
Charlotte Horobin, region director for Make UK in the Midlands, said: “There is simply no sugar-coating the outlook for next year and possibly beyond. Even for a sector as resilient as manufacturing these are remarkably challenging times which are testing even the best and most successful of companies to the limit.
“As a result, while the Chancellor has already brought in some welcome measures to help ease the cost pressure on companies in the short term, it may not be too long before we see him having to bring more firepower to ease cost pressures.
“However, the bigger issue is that the UK risks sleepwalking into an acceptance that little or no growth is the norm. Government needs to work with industry as a matter of urgency to deliver a long-term industrial strategy that has growth at national and regional levels at its heart.”
Jon Gilpin, head of Manufacturing at BDO in the Midlands, said: “The new government recently put forward welcome measures to assist the sector in the short term. However, the government needs to provide a plan on how they intend to support the sector in the long term. Businesses need to be able to plan their future with confidence that the government will support them.
“Without adequate government assistance, businesses will be inclined to hold onto their funds to keep the doors of their business open, rather than investing in technologies and capabilities which will make them competitive in the longer-term. For instance, manufacturers may delay investing in automation technology and green initiatives, thus impacting the future competitiveness of the sector.”
SME Flotec to upgrade entire fleet of trains for Northern
As the second largest train operator in the UK, it is of upmost importance that Northern maintains its fleet of trains to the very highest of standards.
Northern plays a vital role in the north of England by connecting tens of thousands of people to work, leisure, education and more every day.
The Northern engineering team were aware that much could be done to improve the efficiency and reliability to its fleet of legacy diesel trains and approached potential suppliers to develop an appropriate engineering solution.
Loughborough-based Flotec was successful in its proposal and through a rigorous tender process, has recently been awarded a multi-million-pound contract to modify the complete fleet of Northern 15x class trains.
This substantial investment highlights the Northern commitment to offering a best-in-class service to the passengers who rely on its network.
The award win is also a major commercial success story for SME Flotec.
The modification focuses on the engine cooling system, primarily the fitment of the award winning, reverse pitch fan and electronic fan control, solely distributed in the UK by Flotec and developed to maintain the efficiency of the radiators by periodically reversing the air flow through the radiator to remove contaminants collected during its cooling cycle. This becomes a particular problem during the spring pollen season on many Northern routes.
The fleet modification also consists of a complete hose replacement with the introduction of the Bluestripe EPDM coolant hose and PowerGrip clamp solution. This product has proven to eliminate premature coolant hose failures, which creates many traffic RTI’s during regular service.
All hydrostatic hoses are to be replaced with the new Railtec market leading hose and MegaCrimp couplings, which will also eliminate Hydro leaks and premature failures during service.
A 4-year trial with Northern and several successful fleet installations, with other operators, provided the confidence for the Northern reliability team to commit to this product and the benefits it will bring to the existing DMU fleet.
The fleet upgrades will be completed before the end of 2023 and will support Northern in reducing downtime, increasing vehicle efficiency, and delivering environmental benefits.
To find out more about Flotec’s latest rail innovations, call the team on +44 (0) 1509 230 100 or email rail@floteconline.com
Alternatively, head to www.flotecindustrial.co.uk/rail
2023 Business Predictions: James Pinchbeck, partner, Streets Chartered Accountants
It’s that time of year, when Business Link Magazine invites the region’s business leaders to offer up their predictions for the year ahead.
It has become something of a tradition, given that we’ve been doing this now for over 30 years.
Here we speak to James Pinchbeck, partner at Streets Chartered Accountants.
Looking to the new year ahead often comes with a mix of excitement and in trepidation as to what the next 12 months might have in store. Perhaps though in doing so it is useful to reflect on what one predicted for the last 12 months. Therein lies the rub, all too often and not least in a Vuca world (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) the predictions we have at the beginning of a period of time invariably don’t always turn out to be exactly as we thought. The one thing we have seen in recent years is there is little in the way of certainty.
This aside, looking ahead to 2023, there is a real sense that the challenges around staffing and skills shortages will play an ever-important role on business performance and sadly customer experience and satisfaction. It is not unreasonable to think we will face further industrial action within the public sector, but also, we should be prepared for further workforce challenges within the private sector. This may be around not just pay, but also working arrangements along with mental health and wellbeing.
In the belief that with adversity comes opportunity, we should more optimistically see greater heightened levels of innovation and enterprise. Certainly, as we all get to grips with the cost-of-living crisis we are likely to see the launch of new products and services that are born out of the problems and challenges we face. We should also expect to see much more in the news of start up and scale up businesses engaged in realising the potential of technology to improve productivity and people’s lives, whether this is using artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, the internet of things, or the metaverse.
As we continue to reflect on the pandemic and growing concerns about the impact of climate change, 2023 should see a greater appreciation of and focus on ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) by not just corporate enterprises but also more and more businesses.
Finally, 2023 is the Chinese zodiac year of the rabbit or to be precise the water rabbit. The sign of the Rabbit is a symbol of longevity, peace, and prosperity in Chinese culture. 2023 is predicted to be a year of hope. People born in a year of the Rabbit are called “Rabbits” and are believed to be vigilant, witty, quick-minded, and ingenious. Certainly such characteristics would be a real attribute for the year ahead.
East Midlands businesses ramp up video marketing in 2022
Glowfrog has a ThreeBestRated® award, recognising it as one of the very best video production services across Derby, Nottingham and the Midlands.
