Philips has announced the removal of all radioactivity and lead from its fluorescent lamp starters. The company is the first manufacturer in the world to offer a ‘green’ starter by eliminating the two most relevant hazardous substances of starters. Although the amount of radio activity existing in starters was minute – less than a 1000th of that used in a standard wrist watch, its total removal demonstrates Philips commitment to sustainability.

With recent acts of terrorism and natural disasters, plans for evacuating buildings should be at the forefront of our minds. Companies and organisations now need to make provisions for everyone to escape, including the mobility impaired.

McQuay UK has launched a new general catalogue containing full details of the international group’s range of air conditioning products and air handling systems.

A new 12-page full colour brochure on fire protection is now available from Cablofil (UK) providing comprehensive details of EZ-Path, the innovative through-wall fire-stop protection system launched this year.

Biddle has linked its latest products to advanced modelling software to solve draught problems at the world’s busiest international airport.

Buro Happold is leading the technical team for the design of the proposed City of Belfast Stadium at Ormeau Park in Belfast. The plans for the new City of Belfast Stadium will bring Northern Ireland's home of Northern Ireland Sport to the Ormeau Park in Belfast. This new stadium will cater for football, Gaelic Athletic Association rugby, greyhound racing, swimming, elite training, community sports, fitness training, sports administration, as well as a range of Olympic sports. It will also be used as a concert venue.

Tyco Thermal Controls has appointed Jeremy King as its new Regional Sales Manager for London and the South East.

Cofathec Heatsave has appointed Ken Hutchinson to the newly created role of National Energy Sales Manager. In his new position, Ken will be responsible for rolling out Cofathec’s new Optimise initiative to new and existing clients, providing the opportunity for building operators to address every area of their energy consumption.

Nu-way is helping Redditch Firefighters become hotter than ever by providing equipment for their special training programme.

Fläkt Woods will be providing fans to ventilate Heathrow’s new Terminal 5 building which will be used to provide general venting solutions, stair pressurisation, roof venting and smoke control at the new terminal.

Balfour Kilpatrick, the multi services and power systems business of Balfour Beatty plc has been awarded seven major new contracts to a total value of approximately £120m.

Gavin Thompson has been appointed as Managing Director of Buro Happold. He takes over responsibility for this key position from Padraic Kelly who had held the post since 1996.

Honeywell has won the maintenance contract to look after the building services for the award-winning Seaham Hall Hotel and Serenity Spa.

Nominations are being sought for a number of industry awards managed by the HVCA.

Several Menvier static inverter units from Cooper Lighting and Security have been installed at Arundel Castle in West Sussex to provide emergency lighting in the event of mains failure.

Watts Industries has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the assets and business of Changsha Valve Works, located in Changsha, China. Changsha Valve Works is a leading manufacturer of large diameter hydraulic actuated butterfly valves for thermo-power and hydro-power plants, water distribution projects and water works projects.

“Design a finish to the town bridge lighting column bases that provides interest and sparkle at street level. Use traditional materials in a contemporary manner. Create a feature that links the historic vernacular of the built form within the town with the flowing nature of the river Avon and the proposed new bridge handrails.”

Service and facilities personnel are reminded that, if they apply for an Engineering Services SKILLcard after 31 January 2006, they may find the conditions they must satisfy significantly tougher than at present.

Fläkt Woods is working on a contract in Malaysia to supply large ventilation fans for an unusual tunnel/water alleviation project, known as SMART.

The Legrand Group has signed an agreement for the acquisition of all of ICM Group’s operations.

Increasing demand for good environmental performance presents a challenge to electrical as well as mechanical contractors. However, companies that develop environmental know-how are likely to turn the challenges into business opportunities says the ECA.

Questions are being raised more and more about the relative merits of materials used for above-ground drainage systems, with a good deal of comment having come from manufacturers of traditional materials such as cast iron.

Since their introduction over 30 years ago, computerised estimating systems have come a long way. David Bell of Estimation explains how estimating systems increase competitive advantage and provide a springboard for a flow of information throughout a contracting business.

The UK fan coil market last year was valued at £29.7 million representing a volume of 64,700 units. (Data from BSRIA market research). This represented a fall of 16 percent from 2003 and is reflecting a continued downward trend in the last few years. This has been a reflection of a number of factors:

It is inconceivable that a car mechanic would fit a car sound system that required the anchorage provided for the seat belt restraint to be compromised or which interfered with the operation of the air bags. The mechanic would be very aware that in the worst case, should there ever be an accident involving the car in question, especially if there were to be injury or death to the occupants, he would automatically be seen to be culpable. At best, when the car comes up for its annual MOT, the effect would be discovered and the owner would fail to be awarded his certificate, a necessary requirement for re-taxing the vehicle. The car would soon be returned to the mechanic in question for the reinstatement of the safety measures or at worst, compensation be demanded.

The world of fire safety management is about to undergo substantial change, with reform impacting significantly on equipment manufacturers, installers and end-users alike. Keith Minster of Morley-IAS Fire Systems, Honeywell looks at the increasing impact of regulation on fire systems in the context of the rest of the business.

Times are changing in the building controls sector. Direct digital control has been prevalent in the sophisticated controllers used in Building Management Systems (BMS) for the last 20 years. Now, advances in electronics design and development are enabling manufacturers to bring the advantages of digital technology to simpler field devices. Terry Sharp, Sales and Marketing Director of Sontay tells us more.

In addition to removing the contaminants from the air that passes through the system to the building occupants and equipment, filters play a significant role in the amount of energy consumed in operating the system. The energy use is based on the resistance of the air passing through the filter, therefore the lower the filter’s resistance, the lower the energy consumption.

It is very likely that most people reading this article have already entered into some form of contract in the last 24 hours. If you have got on a train, parked your car or bought a coffee you have already entered into a contractual relationship with somebody today.