Fresh ideas needed for HA's

Recent meetings with housing association clients have brought into focus the need for innovation and creative thinking if they are to maintain current service levels. In addition to the £450 million coalition ministers have already slashed from the Homes and Communities Agency budget, providers face further cuts of between 25 and 40 per cent following the autumn spending review. In January, landlords will suffer a planned 2.5 per cent VAT hike. If associations are to maintain any sort of meaningful development programme, they will have to develop partnerships with developers and contractors that add real value. Early contractor involvement must surely be the starting point, combined with some clever funding products. There's also the issue of how HA's will deliver their sustainability agendas - like housing need, this is something that's not going to go away. One thing appears certain - the housing providers of 2020 will be completely different animals than they are today

New MD announced

Our new MD was announced earlier this month. Jason Papprill will be taking over the reins from Dave Watson, who retired earlier this year. Jason starts in September

It's not about building!

I keep telling people that it's not about building any more. That's not just a defence mechanism for my own lack of technical knowledge, despite many years in the industry! Being able to build these days is a given. As the recession bites the onus is on builders and consultants to add value to their customers and potential customers, and network harder. If you've something worthwhile to offer networking can become a pleasurable experience. It's finding out that something worthwhile that's the problem.

Hull Girls reach national finals!

The Girls U12 Kingston Upon Hull Hockey Team sponsored by Hobson & Porter, made the Yazoo National Mini Finals this weekend and finished 6th in the country, narrowly missing out in the top 4 playoffs on goal difference by only 1 goal, only losing 1 game. Abigail Smee was announced Player of the Tournament. Pictured with the team is H&P site manager Mark Smee

H&P selected for Doncaster refurbs

Doncaster Council has appointed Hobson and Porter Ltd to carry out the refurbishment works in the six streets scheme. This includes Childers, Palmer, Cooper, North and South Streets as well as St Andrews Terrace.

The work is due to start on 4 May 2010, and will involve replacing over 180 windows and 165 front doors. The outer appearance of the homes will also be improved by brick washing. Residents can expect colour and style samples for the new doors to be available next week so that those receiving them can pick one.

A schedule of work is currently being created by the contractor so that each resident receives as much notice as possible of the intended dates when work will be carried out to their home. This is to minimise any inconvenience.

Director of Development Peter Dale said: "This is an important milestone in the project which is changing the face of the six streets area of Doncaster. "We would urge residents to respond as soon as possible as that will help with the ordering of materials to complete the works."

Local Employment Charter

Just returned from the Guildhall where I collected an award from Alan Johnson on behalf of Hobson & Porter to recognise our commitment to local employment. It was a great networking event and gave me the opportunity to talk to all the great and good of Hull, but it did make me think "what have we really done to deserve this recognition?".

Employing and developing a local workforce (myself excepted, as I live in sheffield?) makes good business sense, but the pledge that we made should be supported by hard evidence if it to have real impact. That's why we have committed to work with organisations such as Construction Works to ensure that we are held to account.

Commitment to local employment can be proactively encouraged through pledges and charters, but will only be delivered when it forms part of an integrated procurement strategy. Local authorities and regeneration projects can achieve this by structuring tender bids and PQQ's to favour suppliers that can demonstrate a local and sustainable supply chain. This should include not only local economic benefit in terms of training and respending, but also the carbon efficiencies that are associated with buying local.

Let's hope that when the billions of pounds that are spent nationwide over the coming years to retrofit the housing stock are handed out, that this work is delivered by local companies, and that the procurement process actively encourages this outcome.

Gearing up for training

Fresh from our success at being appointed to the Yorbuild construction framework, we are now embarking on our first projects, a series of affordable housing schemes for East Riding Council. The client's funding from the Homes annd Communities Agency is conditional on them delivering a load of training and apprenticeship targets. This includes apprenticeships, NVQ's and work experience. We also have to show that we are hitting their targets on the number of operatives on site carrrying CSCS cards, and passing health and safety touch screen tests. All the East Riding contractors working on Yorbuild (including Halls, Quibells, Houltons and H&P) will be expecting our subcontractors to help us to deliver these targets. It won't be easy, but it's the way the wind is blowing, so we need to get on top of how we manage it as soon as possible. The BSF schools programme for Hull has similar targets, with over 500 apprenticeships planned, so in a few years we will no doubt all be experts, and probably over-qualified!

We go top of Monster Munch Trophy!!!

H&P has gone top of the Monster Munch Trophy for the first time after a string of impressive results against teams including Wyke College and Neville Tuckers. Our team includes the following players who are rumoured to be Rafa targets: James McGee(GK) Chris Thompson(DEF) Steve Swallow(DEF) James Thompson(DEF) Louis Bradley(MID) Paul Swallow(MID) Mark Swallow(MID) Mark Kelsey(MID) Gary Allen(FWD) But no doubt Rafa would play them all out of position. Steve claims to have run the length of the pitch to score a cracking goal in a recent game, though we've only got his word for that. Other scorers have included Mark, Paul and Gary

Halving Waste to Landfill

We commit to playing our part in halving the amount of construction, demolition and excavation waste going to landfill by 2012. We will work to adopt and implement standards for good practice in reducing waste, recycling more, and increasing the use of recycled and recovered materials We've just made our commitment, and will let you know how we get on,. By the end of 2009 we will have a full year's data, and we are working with Stuart Wells at Transwaste to help us deliver against our commitment

Winning work in the public sector

Thanks to Ven Management for inviting us to speak alongside Provesta at todays event at Bridlington Spa. We gave a presentation on our experience of winning public sector contracts, and Tony Carroll of Provesta ran through some of the activities we have undertaken together to drive continuous improvement within our business and align ourselves with customers' changing needs. Lee Parkinson gave an overview of the Yorbuild framework, and East Riding Council and VEN Management outlined the opportunities available through involvement in the framework and the Target initiative, which is aimed at promoting construction opportunities for SME's in the region. Lee Parkinson took the opportunity to sound a warning to successful Yorbuild contractors. There will be ongoing checks to hold contractors to account for the promises made in their submissions - so now's the chance for everyone to actually drive down the glossy marketing blurb through their business and demonstrate real progress on the ground.

Find H&P on Flickr & Scribd

I've posted a load of our project photographs onto Flickr, the photo sharing social media site. To view our photo collections go to www.flickr.com/photos/hobsonandporter/collections. You can also find all our customer testimonials on Scribd

Be2camp@WorkingBuildings2009

Martin Brown of Fairsnape will be showcasing some of the recent work that H&P have been carrying out using Web2.0 applications at the Be2camp event in London. The Be2camp unconference event in London is running over two days at London's Olympia exhibition halls on 7-8 October 2009. This unconference is being held in parallel with the UBM's three WorkingBuildings shows:

• Energy Solutions Expo
• M&E: The Building Services Event
• Total Workplace Management: the FM & Estates Event

Over the last few months H&P has been working with Fairsnape and Provesta to develop and roll out a number of Web2.0 and social media applications. These are all aimed at enabling effective communication and collaboration between H&P, its staff, customers and supply chain.

Praise from on high

Another unsolicited letter of thanks received, this time from John Stone, the deputy head at Archbishop Holgate's School in York where we have just finished the new £3.6m Learning Centre. Our site manager Louis Bradley has received 10 out of 10 for customer satisfaction on his last three schools projects, and it looks like he's heading for another good score. He's going to be difficult to live with! Only joking Louis - congratulations to to Mark Goodwin, Andy Roberts and yourself for another top quality piece of work.

Decent Homes PH4 confirmed

Just returned from Selby, where we were holding an open day to allow tenants to select their kitchen styles and find out about the works that will be taking place over the next few months. We'll be working on around 130 properties. It was good to hear such great feedback from tenants and the council on the works we have completed. Of around 60 satisfaction surveys returned so far, we've got a 100% record, will all tenants saying they were either "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with our performance.

Tender prices drop sharply in Q1

The latest Tender Price Index from the Building Cost Information Service shows that the price of new construction work fell by 4.9 per cent in the first quarter of this year. New orders fell 19 per cent in the first quarter of the year, and were 38 per cent lower than the same period a year earlier. Materials costs rose 4 per cent between January and March, compared with 7.7 percent in the previous quarter, and wage rates remained constant at 4.9 per cent. The BCIS expects tenders will fall another 6.1 percent over the coming year, with a slight rise expected by 2011 of 0.5 percent.

Blogs, Twitter, social networking: your new business tools

Our efforts to increase collaboration through the use of social media has been picked up by Construction Magazine, and is featured in the current issue http://tr.im/rdR2

Online Inductions

Just returned from a meeting with Technophobia in Sheffield, discussing our ideas for delivering online inductions and toolbox talks. Watch this space!

Top marks for the Lifeline Centre

The client survey results are now in for the new Lifeline Centre at Driffield. East Riding Council’s project manager awarded us the maximum 10 score for Product, Service, and Overall satisfaction. Well done to all the team!

 

 

Northern Dioceses

We've just received the framework documents for the Northern Dioceses framework. This will involve schools projects, and with a bit of luck we should see some of these coming through in the Autumn. The six Dioceses involved are Carlisle, Blackburn, Manchester, Chester, Liverpool and York. The intent will be for the School Governors under each Diocese to call upon the Main Contractors for individual projects to submit a best value proposition via a mini-competition with the successful appointment being on the basis of the criteria contained within the enquiry. The framework is worth arounf £40m in total

Woobius collaboration hub

Thanks to Martin at Fairsnape for letting us know about Woobius, the online collaboartion hub designed for architects and engineers that provides a simple way of file sharing. If anyone out there has looked at it or used it let us know

J Z Flowers update

Work is progressing well on the J Z Flowers site at North Cave . This picture of Dave and Pete on site was taken last week. You can see the site on your left as you approach the North Cave turn off heading west on the M62

Risk

I keep reading prequal after prequal that asks how we are going to manage or eliminate risk. As a long time gambler i've always seen risk as an opportunity, essentially a good thing. Someone please send me a prequal with this question: "how do you incentivise your staff to take risks or find ways of doing things better? Maybe we could adopt a "big stick" approach to innovation!

Wyke College site blog goes live

The Hobson & Porter site blog for the Wyke College redevelopment in Hull is now online. You can find it at http://hobsonandporter-wyke.blogspot.com and maybe you can even add yourself as a follower.

We’ll be posting up dates and information about the work and keeping you up to date with progress as the building progresses.

Hallgate Primary school

Just received photos of the new Hallgate Junior School in Cottingham. Another 10 out of 10 for Overall Satisfaction. Well done to all the team at H&P

Green Vision Leeds

Just back from a full day of presentations on sustainable construction at Green Vision in Leeds. Not many simple solutions or quick wins to report but came away with a number of useful information resources and websites to follow. Will try to attend "retrofit for the future" on Thursday

Low Carbon Innovation Bulletin

This is a weekly bulletin I signed up to a few months ago that does a good job of pulling together organisations and case studies relating to lowering carbon emissions

Collaborative Programming

It turns out that our site manager at Wyke College, Mark Kelsey, updates his programme every day with MS Project. All we need to do now is find an effective way of him sharing this information. Printing to PDF is a waste of time, a blog update would be better. I'll get a copy of Project and get his programme and test out the interchangeabilitywith GanttProject. I'm sure the project team, college, students and parents would like to have access to real time updates and programme.

Label cloud

I'm playing with a few ideas for label clouds in the betablog. Ignore anything that looks half baked.

Google Calender Sync

As demonstrated earlier. This will sync your Outlook calendar with your Google a/c Calendar.

You can set permissions for different people depending on whether you want them to see the actual entry or just a 'busy' marker for that slot.

The five minute website - an example of free tools

Here is an example of a website put together in under five minute using free tools. It isn't glamorous or sophisticated and there isn't a gram of Flash to be seen. In minutes a page can be posted for general consumption.

This raises an interesting and very understandable corporate concern - control.

There is a genuine concern that if tools are available to anyone who wants them then who is controlling what they are saying and doing? Who can stop somebody saying horrid things and posting embarrassing photographs from the Christmas party? The free five minute website give you the answer - nobody. By logical extension anyone can do anything and if they are motivated enough they will do it anyway in under five minutes.

We must to remind ourselves that we are using the web to make things better, not to stop people griping when we make things worse.

unsheffield

I'll probably be attending some of this event. I hear that the geek will inherit the earth.

Open source project management; a brief response (because I had switched off new post comments ;)

Andrew, you've raised some really important questions about what people actually get out of the tools that they are using and MS Project is a good case in point. Bloatware is a term that is used too often in my opinion because it of uses on the tools rather than the output. But it crystallises the issue nicely. I have no idea how H&P implement and use MS Project but it is a good case in point to discuss the topic of collaboration in general.

MSP is HUGE and EXPENSIVE to implement and train up for. I've used it on and off since the 90's and despite persevering I now find that I can't justify the energy that it absorbs. The future for now does seem to be applications that integrate simply into (browser) platforms like Internet Explorer, Chrome and to a lesser degree FireFox. MS and Google seem to have applications in their sights in the way that Apple App's have revolutionised handheld computing.

There is an important question to be asked with every so called solution; Why are we doing this?

So you need to ask why you are using MS Project, and I'd suggest that it being a de-facto standard isn't a good enough answer to prevent you looking at other solutions.If a single member of the project team doesn't use it as fully as everyone else then its strength fails at the weakest link.

A paper and pencil diary and task system might be the answer if a project/ construction/ design/ cost manager is the only person using it. If the MSP gannt charts never really leaves his desk for any constructive purpose then you are probably wasting time and money, making you less efficient than if you ditched it today. It might be more productive (and much cheaper) to buy a few dozen copies of Dave Allen's Getting Things Done.

That's not to say that you should throw the baby out with the bathwater but project information is no use if it isn't of some use to more than one person. Shared and open use of the tools encourages collaboration with the information. Collaboration encourages the best solutions. The best solutions encourage excellence and usually profit! We all like profit. :)

Open source project management tools the way forward?

We've just spent a load of cash retraining contracts managers on the use of MS Project. Every time we do a quality based tender submission we get asked to show how we develop and update programmes. But how many contractors actually update all their programmes on a regular basis? The problem with MS project seems to be that you need the software to open it, so how can it be used in a truly collaborative way. After all, collaborative programming and integrated teams are supposed to be the holy grail of continuous improvement (if they're not then tell me what is so I can put it in my next bid). Open source gizmos that interface with MS Project and other applications are being developed, and these must be the way forward. The main criticisms seem to be that they have less functions than MS Project, but my Toyota has lots of functions and i don't use any of them. Shouldn't the main point here be not how flashy your programme is (or could be), but who's actually using it as a useful project management tool. I'd be interested to hear about any contractors currently using open source tools, and on what size of projects.

Economic Impact Assessment Tool

I'm about to attempt an economic impact assessment for a school site we have just finished in Beverley. The idea is that we work out how money going into the project was spent and respent, so producing a multiplied economic benefit. I'm starting by finding out who we employed and where thay worke / live, including subcontractors, and also do some analysis of materials to find out where they were purchased, or even manufactured. This is my first attempt so will probably end in disaster. If i get any good stuff out of it it may be useful to Esteem to show the "Hullness" of its Building Schools for the Future bid

Browne Smith Baker's Carbon Challenge scheme

We've started talking to one of our customers, Pickering & Ferens Homes about developing a standard house type specification. I think this is a great opportunity for us to find out how much a zero carbon Code Level 6 home will cost. I went to a presentation  by local architects Browne smith Baker a few weeks ago and was surprised at how cost efficiently they delivered it - would be interesting to know if anyone has achieved similar results on smaller schemes

Google in construction

Just been talking to Martin at Fairsnape who told me about this story - it looks like they are putting all their drawings on Google docs and saving plenty

Subbies need to get green

A new survey revealed 95 per cent of large construction firms will give preference to subcontractors who can prove their green credentials. 

Imagine this is a news release or tender invitation

This post was typed up on Wednesday and posted automatically on Thursday by the blog at 8:00 am

J Z Flowers

We're looking at ways to measure carbon at our J Z Flowers site at North Cave. Starting with a proposal to use LED lighting. We've commissioned a feasibility study and will let you know the results in due course

Collaborative Information Exchange, Blogging, Twittering

Collaborative Information Exchange

Using a number of online tools we can structure a collaborative information exchange system that integrates simply with your existing tools.

At the most simple level we can quickly host documents online and with some clever tricks we can create questionnaires and surveys that automatically integrate into a spreadsheet. In short it saves huge amounts of time and allows information gathering and distribution to become a creative process. For example, a monthly sub-contractors satisfaction survey can be created and distributed in around fifteen minutes. The responders can complete the survey online using a PC, mobile phone or even an iPod. The results are automatically collated into an Excel compatible spreadsheet allowing H&P to use the data rather than spend hours collecting it. A sample questionnaire for a weekly site safety response has been created will be sent to you shortly. We are able to produce, distribute and report if an anonymised service is required.

Using a few more online tools documents such as specifications, tenders, policies, site rules or anything else that is document based can be posted online for access by anyone or selected user groups. Once again it is quick, easy and cheap.


Blogs

A blog is no more than a very clever pinboard, but its uses and effects should far outweigh its simplicity. There are a few options when it comes to the choice of blog platform but for simplicity, speed and efficiency Blogger by Google wins hands down unless you want to commit to an ongoing technical exercise. Our purpose here is to create a user friendly system that will create a competition beating tool and web profile for H&P, not a constant bill for web design. There are risks of hosting with a 3rd party but Google is unlikely to do anything to upset its customer and making a content backup takes no time at all. Blogger is also the most widely recognised platform and being Google owned it performs well at getting the H&P blogs on computer screens.

Remember, content is king. Your blogs will share information with anyone that has the web address so they encourage transparency, honesty and responsibility. They also provide lots of tiny footprints all over the Internet that will build into a detailed record of how great H&P is.

We can give permissions for multiple bloggers to any particular blog, and comments can be moderated actively or passively. We can also integrate an image solution for photographs. One really neat trick is that a post can be created and posted automatically at a later date which is handy for press releases or tenders. One final tool is that a post can be emailed from anywhere without needing to log on to the Internet.

I'd suggest a 4 line approach to capturing the corporate blogosphere for Hobson & Porter:

1. The first line will be the main corporate blog:

• This is where the news and general day to day stuff will be blogged. It will be the primary resource for information about H&P and what they are up to.
• The marketing department will be the primary blogger but contributions from other staff members would be great.
• Public comments allow first hand feedback on topics.
• It is a 24 hour resource for anybody - customers, media, authorities, the public - to instantly see your timeline.

2. Next we have the site specific blogs:

• Each building site will have its own new blog and the site manager or marketing department will be able to update the goings on.
• In the early days you will be able to post tender notices.
• Once on site it will become a great resource for communicating with contractors en-masse. Imagine it as a notice board in the site cabin where you can tell them about site safety, neighbour respect, upcoming contracts, site opening times, tool box talks, etc.
• You might even find the neighbours posting comments here because it is a great place to tell them (and your contractors) about next week's road closure. Don't be surprised if they have an opinion!

3. One of the most useful will be a supply chain collaboration blog:

• Here is where your suppliers, contractors, merchants, past present and future can get in touch.
• H&P can encourage feedback and you can discuss policies, payments and all the nitty gritty that it is useful for everyone to see.
• New sub-contract packages can be announced here and questions for estimators (and their responses) can be kept in one place that everyone can see at any time.

4. Finally there are special initiatives. These will be ad-hoc and some of them be more permanent than others. Examples might be:

• Health and safety - monthly safety reports, policy updates, newsflashes, accident reports, safety talks, danger reminders, reprints of useful articles, contractor reports. Everybody can see what is happening, nobody can say that they didn't know and everybody is empowered to contribute to site safety.
• The Christmas Party. Everybody will want to check out the arrangements and see what a great time everybody had. It will sneakily get everyone used to checking and maybe even contributing.

Twitter

Twitter is really simple, really effective and takes no time out of your day.

In just 140 characters you can tell your followers your message. It isn't sophisticated, it isn't cultured but it does leave your company footprint all over the Internet with bite sized messages. It is still a bit of a curates egg but the trend for microblogging is set to grow massively and we will see it penetrating deep into everyday life. The first celebrity proposal via Twitter can't be far away. Anybody can become a follower and anybody will.

Combining the blogs with twittering the Internet and real world profile will grow faster than H&P's website alone could ever hope to achieve.


Hobson & Porter's main blog test can be found at www.hobsonandporter.blogspot.com and the H&P twitter is here http://twitter.com/hobsonandporter.

Tony Carroll. 27.5.09
tony@provesta.co.uk

Hobson and Porter of Hull

Welcome to the Hobson & Porter blog.

This is where you can keep in touch with what is happening at Hull's leading contractor. We would love to hear what you have to say so please leave your comments.

As a blog is chronological this is actually the most recent post.

Web Integration & Collaboration - Some structure makes a useful resource

I've written up an introduction and brief for the blogosphere and how H&P can take advantage of tools that are easy to use and cheap to implement.

I'll add you to the file share but I'll post the document to this blog.

News: Gateway stories

When Leon Jameson and his partner Rachael Thompson discovered they were expecting a baby they were desperate to move out of their home in Saltburn Street.

Over-run with mice and with dampness seeping through the building, they knew it wasn't the best place to bring up a child. Now, Leon and Rachael couldn't be happier after moving to a refurbished home on Alliance Avenue, two weeks after the birth of baby Mason.

Leon said: "We had spent quite a bit of money doing up the house in Saltburn Street but it was still damp and we had mice so, by the end, we wanted to get out".

"Our new house is so much better, with double glazing, central heating and modern fixtures and fittings, so it's made a lot of difference. It's so much better than our last place and it really feels more like home."

Forty two properties throughout Newington and St Andrew's are benefiting from internal refurbishment as part of the scheme being carried out by Places for People. Work includes re-plastering, replacing joists, improving electrics and plumbing, new roofs, new floors, installing central heating and double glazing, new kitchens and bathrooms and re-decoration throughout.

Shaun Mitchell lived with his mother Marjorie in a 'two-up, two-down' on Beech Grove and was keen to remain in the area. He and his mother have now moved into a larger property on De La Pole Avenue which has been refurbished to a much higher standard than their old home. "The most important thing for us was to remain in the area because I've lived here all my life and i didn't want to go too far," Mr Mitchell says.

"We were lucky to get a new house close by and it's much bigger, with double glazing and central heating. We've also got a garden, which we didn't have at our old place, so we're very happy."

News: H&P secures ISO 14001

Hobson & Porter has achieved ISO 14001 accreditation, the internationally recognised standard for reducing impact on the environment.

The company received the certification following a rigorous independent assessment of the company's environmental policy, compliance with legislation, control systems and procedures, and targets for further improving environmental performance. ISO 14001 certification is now a requirement specified by many clients, and one that gives our customers added confidence that we are able to manage environmental risks effectively.

LM3

Anyone done an LM3 economic appraisal of a site - give me your feedback?