Electrical Contracting News (ECN) August 2016

Thousands of quality products Unbeatable prices Experts in lighting and electrical Free next day delivery on orders over £50 Shop online or visit one of our trade counters www.nationallighting.co.uk 0845 634 1515 08 10 contract news Who is putting what in where. Lighting projects High profile case studies from the lighting sector. VOLUME 36 NO. 08 • AUGUST 2016 20 34 SPECIAL FEATURE: HVAC Competition Win an iPad Air 2. WWW.ELECTRICALCONTRACTINGNEWS.CO.UK LEADING FIRMS RECOGNISED AT ECA ANNUAL AWARDS DADS ENCOURAGED TO Top performing building services and electrical firms received major accolades at the 2016 ECA Gala Dinner and Awards. The event was attended by hundreds of industry leaders and held on 8th July at Celtic Manor in South Wales. The award winners on the night, supported by headline sponsor LEDVANCE, were as follows: • ECA Large Contractor of the Year Award (sponsored by Schneider Electric) Winner: W T Parker Group Services Ltd Highly commended: Imtech Engineering Services Central • ECA Contractor of the Year Award – up to £20m turnover (sponsored by Electrium) Winner: Haydon Mechanical & Electrical Highly commended: Braham Electrical • ECA Contractor of the Year Award – up to £5m turnover (sponsored by Hager) Winner: Amalgamated Ltd Highly commended: DES Electrical Contractors UK Ltd • ECA Contractor of the Year Award – up to £1m turnover (sponsored by Edmundson Electrical) Winner: Power Electrics (Bristol) Ltd Highly commended: Panks Engineers Ltd and Elsym Installations Ltd • Best Client/Contractor Partnership Award (sponsored by ECIC) Winner: DES Electrical Contractors UK Ltd • Innovation in Contracting Award (sponsored by Eaton) Winner: Marshall Land Systems Ltd • Best Health and Safety Initiative Award (sponsored by ABB) Winner: Imtech Engineering Services Central Ltd Highly commended: Darke & Taylor Ltd • Excellence in Training and Development Award (sponsored by JTL) Winner: Quartzelec Ltd Highly commended: Bebbington & Wilson Ltd and N Smith Electrical Ltd ECA CEO Steve Bratt commented, ‘On behalf of the ECA and our partners, congratulations to all eight ECA Annual Award winners, who managed to see off tough competition from dozens of high quality entries. At the same time, everyone involved would also like to acknowledge this year’s commended and other shortlisted candidates.’ A record breaking number of submissions were received for this year’s ECA’s Annual Awards. The entries were then assessed by independent judges including CEDIA’s Wendy Griffiths, and Electrical Industries Charity MD Tessa Ogle. Tangmere Military Aviation Museum now enjoys the benefits of LED with a selection of bespoke, high efficiency luminaires from Dextra Lighting’s wide range of precision engineered products. ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET, INSTALL ECN_U2D_TRACK_53x224.indd 1 01 Cover.indd 1 DISCUSS THEIR TRADE WITH DAUGHTERS Three quarters of male electricians recently surveyed would be happy for their daughters to take up a career in the trade. However, a similar percentage feel old school attitudes towards women would actively discourage females from taking up a trade. The survey of electrical contractors was carried out by NICEIC. Its Jobs for the Girls campaign was set up to encourage more women into the trade and to plug the increasing skills and gender gaps. Emma Clancy, CEO of NICEIC, commented, ‘Dads have an important role to play in shaping the career choices of their daughters – particularly in the trades sector where many children follow in their father’s footsteps. ‘As part of National Women in Engineering Day we would encourage dads to talk about their trade to their daughters – particularly as up to 75 per cent of contractors would be happy to see their daughters become an electrician. Since launching the Jobs for the Girls campaign in 2011 NICEIC is seeing a growing interest in women wanting to take up a trade. However, the numbers are still painfully low. As Emma added, ‘It was interesting to note that many men feel certain attitudes from another era still exist today. ‘That is something we all have a duty to eradicate. I would encourage dads who do come across such attitudes to take a stand and think about how they might feel if it was their daughter working in the industry.’ The survey of over 100 electrical contractors found that 90 per cent of fathers believe that it is their responsibility to advise their daughters on their career choices. However, only one in five dads said their child had received any information from school or careers advice service about trade opportunities. No one offers an underfloor to desk solution that’s easier to fit. We’ve got an unbeatable range of super tough floor boxes and powertrack that’s designed for incredibly quick installation and simple on-site configuration. Our products are independently tested to the latest standards for complete peace of mind. So, choose the UK’s number one in cable management. Call 0844 822 4956 or visit www.marshall-tufflex.com/getsetinstall 03/03/2016 09:44 18/07/2016 10:20