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A new software development from Vixensoft is helping property maintenance contractors transform their planned and responsive repairs services and reduce costs.

Avixsys is a work scheduling and mobile solution designed for electrical and gas maintenance providers of all sizes. The solution’s industry-specific functionality sets it apart from other service management products.

Nathan Hawker of AP Chant, West Dorset’s biggest privately-owned plumbing, heating and electrical specialist, comments, “Avixsys has made a real difference to the way we work. It’s helped us modernise and improve our operation and made our entire service more attractive – the web access option in particular has been a major bonus for our clients”.

Avixsys utilises the latest mobile technology to speed communication, doing away with phone calls. The solution displays engineer locations and job progress in real-time, allowing work to be allocated with ultimate efficiency and fuel wastage to be minimised.

Social Housing clients can log jobs directly and receive KPI reports, including No Access and SLA data, while engineers receive full job details, helping to improve first fix rates. On site, electronic forms required for Part P and Part L can be completed on a PDA and instantly returned signed to the office, along with the completed job details.

Functionality can be extended to include e-Van Stocks to automate the restocking of vans; e- Timesheets to record and post on and off site times for payroll and job costing and Remote Purchase Order Requisitions for on-site purchase ordering via PDA.

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The Weatherite Group of Companies has worked together on a major contract to replace the heating/ventilation system at Waitrose, Frimley which is part of the supermarket division of the John Lewis Partnership. Weatherite’s complete solution included new features that have met all the design criteria to improve customer comfort and the working environment of partners.

The contract is part of a national programme of Waitrose store upgrades by the John Lewis Partnership. Weatherite won the contract following a recent Weatherite Building Services contract for the JLP R22 replacement programme and the success of Weatherite Manufacturing in supplying high energy efficient Air Handling Units to Waitrose.

Weatherite designed the system in conjunction with PSH Consulting Ltd, the JLP’s nominated consultant. The work included the supply and installation of two new air handling units made by Weatherite Manufacturing, together with ducting, fan units, wiring and a new control and electrical power panel. In a separate contract, Weatherite also provided and fitted steel support frames for the AHUs.

The project incorporated a number of beneficial design features that are new for JLP and Waitrose. A return air system has been fitted above the dry goods zone to induce air movement across the store, improve comfort conditions and increase the energy efficiency of the operating plant. The existing ceiling void fan heater units were relocated and new temperature sensors installed to give better temperature control across the dry goods zone. Weatherite also replaced entrance door heaters with new high efficiency models to reduce any draughts in the checkout area.

Weatherite also overcame a number of challenges as all the work had to be carried out after store operating hours from 8pm to 6am.

“WEATHERITE GROUP-THE ONE STOP FOR AIR HANDLING EXPERTISE”

Weatherite Manufacturing Ltd is one of the UK’s leading air conditioning and air handling equipment manufacturers.

Weatherite Building Services Ltd has expertise in all aspects of building services including heating, ventilation, boiler house refurbishment, water, control systems and electrics as well as all aspects of commercial air conditioning systems, offering a single source choice to its customers which includes full project management, design, installation and commissioning capabilities.

Weatherite Service & Maintenance Ltd specialise in the service and maintenance of all aspects of heating, ventilation, refrigeration and air conditioning.

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A wide selection of Mapei’s top performance products has been used for the recent refurbishment of the Kingsway Centre. The Colman Partnership were the architects for the project, which is part of the major regeneration of Newport, South Wales and BAM Construction, which has offices in Cardiff, was the main contractor.

Prior to the installation of the floor tiles, Mapei’s Primer G, a water-based synthetic resin primer, was used to treat the surfaces. Ultraplan Maxi, an ultra-fast hardening, water-mixed self-levelling and smoothing compound was used before the installation. This levelling compound is ideal for differences between 3 to 30mm, is suitable for many different surface materials and has an excellent resistance to loads and traffic.

All shapes and sizes of tiles were fixed using Mapei Granirapid, 2-part rapid set flexible adhesive with extraordinary bonding and fast setting properties. Granirapid is especially suited to the installation of stone material, which requires a rapid drying adhesive; it is ideal for areas subject to heavy traffic and those, which need accessing quickly.

The 3-4mm tiles joints were grouted with Mapei Ultracolor Plus 114, Anthracite, a fast setting and drying grout, which is available in 26 colours to meet all requirements. This flexible, mould and water repellent, anti-efflorescence grout, is suitable for heavy duty areas, wet areas, including power showers, timber substrates and underfloor heating. Ultracolor Plus can be used both internally and externally, on walls and floors.

The refurbishment of the centre, involved bonding tiles to an existing terrazzo floor. Tiling contractors, J H Lidstone of Plymouth, installed a variety of materials supplied by Domus Tiles including, DIG15 Satin Finish Porcelain Stone Floor Tiles, DIG16 Satin Finish Porcelain Stone Border Tiles, as well as tiles from the Domus Structurestone Range.

Mapei is the world’s largest manufacturer of adhesives, sealants and chemical products for building. With over 70 years experience, Mapei is a specialist in the production of quality products for the installation of all types of wall and floor coverings, and has a vast range of admixtures and repair products for concrete and building materials.

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The Dorman Smith Modis 25 modular distribution switchboards and associated devices is now available in a new version featuring a 3200 Amps rating. The innovative and cost-effective Modis concept combines an effective and compact switchboard system with a space-saving, high stacking density and provides a complete solution for almost all practical switchboard system applications.

Benefiting from its modular design and construction, Modis switchboard systems are extendable and easily modified, ASTA certified, fully type-tested in accordance with EN60439-1:1999 and include Form 4b Type 2 or Type 6, as standard. Horizontal busbars from 1250A up to 3200A are available as well as a wide range of busbar fault withstand options up to 80kA for 1 second.

The ?pallet to Power Room? slogan is another highlight of the self-assembly Modis switchboard range. Reverse-packed into a series of ?collared boxes? and shipped as a flat-pack kit on a pallet, each switchboard can be quickly and easily assembled with the help of a comprehensive build documentation.

Modis switchboard systems integrate world-class components from Tyco Electronics? product portfolio. These include Dorman Smith circuit breakers and fuse combination units, Crompton Instruments metering instrumentation and Bowthorpe EMP surge suppression units. Third-party equipment, for example capacitors for power factor correction, can also be accommodated.

With a strong emphasis on quality and design, Modis switchboards have found acceptance in numerous prestigious local and global contracts.

Tyco Electronics, the TE logo, Bowthorpe EMP and Dorman Smith are trademarks. Crompton is a trademark of Crompton Parkinson Ltd., and used by Tyco Electronics under licence.

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Every manager knows that you need to be able to measure a resource to manage it effectively and Thermal – Hot or Chilled water Energy is no different. Thermal Energy in the form of hot or chilled water is a major form of energy consumption in building services and the first step in controlling and managing it is to identify what is being used and where!

There is no simpler way than using one of Micronics Portaflow, Clamp-On range of portable Thermal Energy meters with integral loggers, which are acknowledged as the easiest to use in their class. Simple to apply and simple to use, a straightforward question and answer menu provides the facility to collect valuable information with the minimum of fuss or previous knowledge and minimum instruction. And when the energy information has been gathered it can be viewed on the instrument or downloaded for further analysis using industry standard formats.

Time is money and the quick to install, Clamp-On, non-invasive Portaflow with simple menu driven operation provides a valuable return in information for a minimum investment in your valuable time.

Clamp-On Alternative to Expensive In-line meter installations!

And when you’ve completed your initial survey/audit Fixed Clamp-On meters are also a cost-effective solution for ongoing metering – Kings College – London heats its campus sites via a number of boiler houses, generating thermal energy for distribution to individual buildings via LTHW (Low Temperature Hot Water) networks.

A pilot system of meters was initially installed to facilitate their management as Energy Cost Centres and provide information for Building Energy Labelling in line with European Directives. The UF2000HM's are used to meter the individual thermal energy consumption of each building within a cluster being fed from a LTHW Energy Centre or central Boiler House

The new meter installations, which represented circa 10% of the university were initially manually read and have the facility to be automatically read via the university's BEMs system, to provide continuously updated information for Monitoring and Targeting including benchmark comparisons with energy consumption norms for the university sector.

Having considered various measurement alternatives Clamp-On Ultrasonic meters were selected due to the installation and maintenance/service benefits associated with the non-invasive technology including low cost and minimum disruption installation and maintenance. Micronics were selected as the supplier due to a combination of their long-term experience with Ultrasonic Clamp-On technology, competitive pricing and product performance i.e. best value!

This and many similar projects demonstrate the scope for Clamp-On metering technology and the opportunity for replication and contribution to good energy management in similar schemes across the UK should be extensive.

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When JCB Industrial invited its dealers to Bruntingthorpe Airfield, Leicestershire to view updates to its range of JCB Teletruk forklifts, a Thorworld mobile yard ramp was chosen for the live demonstration session.

A JCB spokesperson said: “We particularly wanted to show our Teletruks working on a state-of-the-art ramp in conjunction with either a curtainsider or a container vehicle.”

“There has been a surge in demand for containerisation of recycled materials for export and this is important for our sales effort on Teletruk, particularly, for example, our four-wheel-drive models. The Thorworld mobile ramp complements our activities perfectly.”

JCB Industrial also recently held a further Teletruk demonstration for VIP customers from the transport, logistics, waste recycling and builders' merchant sectors at JCB World Headquarters in Rocester, Staffordshire and this again featured the use of a Thorworld mobile yard ramp.

Thorworld mobile container ramps are ruggedly built, with a steel superstructure and solid beam construction, and are ideal for the fast loading and unloading of vehicle trailers and containers by fork truck – particularly where there is no raised loading dock.

Available as Standard, Deluxe and Super Deluxe (light, medium and heavy duty) models, with 7,000 kg, 10,000 kg, 12,000 kg or 15,000 kg capacities, they can be purchased outright or hired through the company's specialist RentARamp operation with a sale or return option.

Hydraulically operated down to 890mm, the ramps have a serrated open grid deck for positive traction in all weather conditions, are CE marked and fully meet all European safety standards and directives.

Bespoke models can also be supplied to meet individual customer requirements and a comprehensive service and maintenance back-up facility is available to help ensure that the ramps are always kept in top condition.

Thorworld provides a one-stop, single source for a wide range of high quality loading & unloading equipment and loading bay accessories & safety aids, such as: dock shelters & seals, dock levellers, modular loading docks, dock plates & boards, dock & vehicle bumpers, wheel chocks and mobile yard ramps, as well as the Truckloada mobile yardlift and the Dockloada scissor lift platform.

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A Detectomat Radio – Wirefree Fire Alarm system enabled contractors to carry out major refurbishment of a store unit for Primark in the Harpur Centre, Bedford whilst business continued in the remainder of the centre. The shopping centre sprinkler system had to be disconnected during the refurb and as a consequence insurers, Wills Ltd of London, required the use of an automatic fire detection system the whole time the work was being carried out.

Styles & Wood, the contractor ensured that there was no disruption to the work by specifying a Detectomat radio fire alarm system, supplied by Monitor Fire of Chatham. The temporary system was installed quickly and cost effectively providing 24-hour coverage to assist 24/7 manned guarding on the site. Because the dirty and dusty working conditions during the 6-month building project prevented the use of smoke detectors, a system was engineered using only 101 Heat alarms and 2 Call Points with 2 interlinked control panels. And the system was interfaced into the main shopping centre?s fire detection system so that an early warning could be given in the event of an emergency.

The system, consisting of two 6-zone panels and 103 alarm devices, was installed and commissioned in just 4 days! It was in situ for over 30 weeks without faults and had tremendous financial benefits ? including dispensing with a whole shift of the manned security team. And it is expected that enough money will have been saved to pay for the complete installation of the Detectomat radio system.

The client, Douglas Wallace Designers of London, is totally satisfied with the solution to the problem including the advantages that work could proceed quickly, efficiently and above all in the sure and certain knowledge that if there were a problem with fire there would be sufficient warning to minimise the damage. Similarly, the insurer who introduced the idea, the owner and Primark themselves who are the tenant have all benefited from the solution to a potentially disruptive and expensive problem.

The refurbishment project is soon to be completed, the system has been removed and the installer can benefit from reusing selected components for future projects.

This project demonstrates the clear benefits from using radio -wirefree fire alarms to provide temporary fire cover on construction sites and the potential for replication is vast. For further information on the Detectomat Radio Fire Alarm System call Detectomat on 01579 321750, email detectomat@leighandersonassociates.com or visit www.detectomat.com

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Joining Reznor’s well proven V3 gas fired heaters is the new, third generation UESA range of high performance condensing room-sealed unit heaters, designed to further increase fuel efficiency. The new UESA range incorporates advanced burner technology together with a patented aluminium MacroChannel heat exchanger to increase thermal efficiency.

• Achieves 104% efficiency
• Unlike condensing boilers and other condensing heaters the high efficiency is achieved even at full heat output
• Available in 4 sizes with outputs ranging from 35kW to 102kW
• Vibration and noise isolated fan motor
• Sealed control department isolating all electrical components
• 25% lighter than previous condensing models
• Simple installation
• ECA approved
• 2 to 4 year payback (depending on usage)

Payback periods may be further reduced when Enhanced Capital Allowances are taken into account in new installations. This allows qualifying end-users to offset 100% of the capital cost of the units plus associated installation costs against Corporation Tax in the first 12 months of operation.

Specifiers and end-users looking to reduce carbon emissions and combat escalating fuel costs will find that Reznor’s new UESA condensing unit heater is the perfect solution.

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Alan Beech, Director of UK and Irish Operations at Deutz AG is pleased to announce the recruitment of Christopher Payne. He has joined as Engine Sales Team Leader to complete the company's Leadership Team.

Chris has a formal M&E trained background and joined the commercial world through engine manufacturer Kubota, where he rose through the ranks from Area Sales Engineer to Sales & Marketing Manager.

Chris's appointment will strengthen the existing Leadership Team to drive the business forward. Alan commented: “With the combined strength of the team, we now have the structure in place to grow the business, by adding value to the existing reputation that Deutz AG has in the industry for well engineered products.”

As one of the world's leading independent manufacturers of diesel and gas engines, DEUTZ has an overall product range extending from 9kW to 500kW, with models suitable for a wide variety of markets and applications, including the construction, quarrying, mining, materials handling, agricultural, ground care, industrial and airport ground handling equipment sectors.

The company's engines are widely used by many leading OEMs for excavators, wheeled loaders, access platforms, compactors, cranes, crushers, screeners, compressors, lift trucks, tractors, ride-on mowers, chippers, shredders, gensets and other off-highway mobile plant.

Sales, service and product back-up is available through the DEUTZ UK centrally located Cannock, Staffordshire facility; supported by a dedicated nationwide team of factory trained Service Engineers, equipped with a fleet of mobile workshops, together with a network of specialist appointed local distributors.

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