Iain Kirtley, FMB South Director, updates on some of the things that have been taking place across the region.
Area Boards meet
During the last couple of months, the region’s Area Boards (Southern Counties and South West) held their second meetings of the year. For the Southern Counties Board, they heard from Emma Whyatt, Director of FMB Insurance Services who, amongst other things, covered some of the insurance services available and how new products are being developed in response to the Building Safety Act. The Board also had a presentation by Tom Thompson from Abor-Cultural Ltd who spoke about the importance of tree management on site and how tree consultants can support builders with things like planning application requirements, assessments and management.
For the South West Area Board, their meeting was kindly hosted by the team at the Construction Skills Innovation Centre (CSIC) at Bridgwater & Taunton College’s Cannington campus. The meeting covered issues around skills, apprenticeships and material prices, with Board members also hearing from Ian Mellor from Epix Systems, a construction project management software company, on the benefits that having similar systems in place can bring to members. Members were also given a tour of CSIC and heard how it supports the training of workers needed for the Hinkley Point C project as well as the wider construction industry.
With the election process for both Area Boards in full swing, look out for your opportunity to vote for who you’d like to represent you regionally.
Area President on Fix Radio
Southern Counties Area President Geoff Anderson had the opportunity to speak with Mark Millar from Fix Radio about project managing self-build projects and the flow of contractors needed. It was a really insightful discussion around the things to consider, from pricing to contracts to whether you should work with friends and family!
You can find the full podcast via this link and Geoff's on from around 16 minutes in.
Site visit showcases the Master Builder difference
I was invited by Ross Pollard from Vision Installs Ltd to visit one of his projects near Exeter which is seeing a full renovation of a family home. The attention to detail is evident throughout the project and further demonstrates the skills and workmanship of Master Builders. The family are still living in the property and the build has been managed to minimise the impact on them as much as possible.
Sharing successes
If you’ve a project across the south region you’d like to showcase, then I’d love to hear about it. Feel free to also tag me in on Instagram.
Authors
Iain Kirtley
With over 20 years’ experience of membership bodies, not for profit organisations and the private sector, Iain joined the FMB in August 2023 from the Chartered Institute of Building where he worked with construction companies of all sizes to support them with training, development and accreditation.
