NEWS | DIGEST IN BRIEF Australia gets affordable heating and cooling hub The Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating (AIRAH) has launched an innovation hub for affordable heating and cooling (i-Hub) in conjunction with academic institutions, and supported by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. The three-year project has a budget of $18m, includes cash and in-kind contributions of nearly $12m from the participating institutions, and is designed to help the industry transition to a low carbon future. The objective of i-Hub is to support the industry with knowledge dissemination, skills development and capacity building, said AIRAH chief executive officer Tony Gleeson. By facilitating a collaborative approach to innovation, i-Hub brings together leading universities, researchers, consultants, building owners and equipment manufacturers to create a connected research and development community in Australia. The i-Hub will focus on healthcare, education and datacentre projects. In December, a new heat record was broken in Australia Contractor market grows, but cost and pay worries persist Survey finds one in 10 paid after 60 days despite payment-clause contracts Business growth in the building engineering sector was steady during the third quarter of 2019, despite rises in material and labour costs, a trade association members survey has said. The latest Building Engineering Business Survey, which included data from the ECA, BESA, SELECT and SNIPEF, found that 79% of businesses reported their turnover had increased or stayed the same compared with the previous quarter although late payment continued to undermine confidence. The commercial outlook for the final quarter of the year was broadly similar, although slightly more businesses (25%) thought their turnover would fall. Around 60% of respondents said the cost of materials had continued to rise during the period and the survey showed there would be further short-term price uncertainty in the event of a no deal Brexit, with delays and complications on availability of materials and labour. Late payment remains a major headache for contractors, with nearly six in 10 respondents (59%) saying that up to 10% of their turnover could be tied up in retentions. That figure had risen slightly from the previous survey. For public sector work, 59% are paid later than 30 days, and almost one in 10 is paid after more than 60 days. This is despite around half of public sector clients stating that they put under-30-day payment clauses in their contracts. Whitehall terrified of another Carillion The new government must do everything it can to solve the late payment problems that continue to undermine construction supply chains, according to the chief executive officer of the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA). David Frise told BESAs National Conference that Whitehall was terrified of another Carillion-style collapse and the huge damage that would cause to public sector infrastructure plans. But repeated failures to reform the industrys payment culture meant another major insolvency was very possible. Frise told delegates at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel in London that poor payment behaviour was part of a culture highlighted in the Hackitt Review that led to broken buildings and broken people. The huge burden of debt created by the ongoing abuse of cash retentions is forcing many SMEs out of business and robbing our country of their vital expertise, said Frise. Surveys carried out by BESA and the ECA found that nine out of 10 small business owners were suffering from mental health conditions because of late payment. Half of all owners and managing directors had stopped their own pay and one in 10 admitted to being forced to pay their staff late. MOVERS AND MAKERS Mirko Farnetani joins Hilson Moran Hilson Moran has appointed wholelife carbon expert Mirko Farnetani as a senior sustainabililty consultant. The qualified architect will join the whole-life embodied carbon workstream team, which is currently preparing guidance for the GLA relating to the draft London Plan. Farnetani worked for the BRE Research & Strategic Advisory Group, where he was involved in the Building as Material Banks (BAMB 2020) research project, which aims to enable a circular economy approach at building level. Hoare Lea appoints Vernon Andy Vernon has joined Hoare Lea as director of its healthcare division. He brings more than 30 years of experience to the role and has worked on 750m worth of healthcare schemes, ranging from refurbishment programmes to large-scale PFI, for NHS and private clients. The healthcare group at Hoare Lea is headed up by partners Steve Clifford and Graham Cossons. HDR | Hurley Palmer Flatt appoints two HDR | Hurley Palmer Flatt Group has appointed Giles Korner as head of Smart Buildings, and Matthew Voaden (top) as divisional director of MEP. Korner brings more than 25 years of experience in the IT industry and consultancy sector. Voaden has more than 17 years experience and will be focusing on developing the groups work in the hospitality sector. 10 January 2020 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE Jan20 pp10 News.indd 10 20/12/2019 17:00