Small Local Building Company

Construction Products Association Low Carbon Domestic Refurbishment Guide - An Introduction and Technical Information to Low Carbon Domestic Refurbishment Provides information on how changes in the cost and lifespan of various improvement measures affect the payback period in both financial and carbon terms. Click here

UWE Built and Natural Environment internet TV service

This exciting new service makes available free-to-watch online videos, including interviews on topics such as: changing procurement strategies, low carbon social housing, corporate social responsibility and much more. See for yourself here

Small and local is beautiful from the sustainable perspective – supporting local business and skills, limiting carbon emissions through transportation, and adding to the quality of life as builders do not have to travel far away from home.

The directors of small and local construction businesses can work regularly with a trusted team of local specialists.

We are working hard to help your business in support of these regional goals.

Here are a number of things you can do to protect and develop your business and stay informed

Sign up to our quarterly-newsletter which will keep you fully informed on changes and opportunities in our industry. We will aim to provide a regular slot for your needs. We will also keep this web-space up-dated with useful information for you.
We appreciate that you have limited time to look at the myriad of legislation and good practice that applies to a small construction business. We have developed 3 straightforward one-day training packages to help you. These packages also assist you to achieve minimum compliance levels. We are working in partnership with Local Authority Building Control inspectors to find the most effective ways of delivering this information.
- Sustainable Construction - this is the green tick for the van in terms of demonstrating to the homeowner that you have an understanding of sustainable building techniques for improving their home. This will become a major growing market and soon clients will look for the Green Tick on the side of your van.
- Health and Safety Awareness – linked to the CHAS scheme (See information on health and safety compliance below)
We have developed a one day Business Skills Course which gives you an introduction to some key business skills including pricing work, deciding on your management approach, such as director partnership, for example. The course is currently run by Bristol City Council and has been adopted by the Federation of Master Builders.

We are also offering courses in lean construction which help you protect your profit levels by increasing your productivity – achieved through cutting out wasteful practices – It can be better to look at your business in this way rather than take on more work, more stress, and more activity in an effort to protect your profit in hard times. This is about using SMART approaches to keep you on top of your business and making a profit.

If you are interested in any of these courses you can register your interest by email - info@buildsw.org.uk

Guidance for Completing a Pre Tender Questionnaire

Follow this link to a guide produced by Bristol City Council

Resource Efficiency

Whatever your core business activity you need to:

reduce your carbon emissions and your waste
reduce energy costs
stay up-to-date with a range of existing and forthcoming legislation
access tools and help – much of it for free
build a company reputation for being sensitive and proactive in addressing carbon and climate change

Go to our Future Foundations Resource Efficiency page

for links to helpful initiatives – some for example offering free services in calculating your carbon footprint (The Carbon Trust ) or the (Defra) Small Business Guide on how to measure and report your greenhouse gas emissions.

Health and Safety Compliance

We highly recommend that a construction company of any size - large or very small - check its health and safety systems procedures and practice against a health and safety compliance scheme.

A number of the larger companies and county councils in the region use the CHAS scheme to ensure smaller companies working for them are up to the mark with health and safety. CHAS has a special category for those with fewer than 5 employees.

The CHAS website www.chas.gov.uk gives straightforward clear information on what you are required to achieve to obtain compliance. If you want review your own performance as a company and your potential need for training then download a form and use it to review on your own knowledge and competence. Remember – there is a special form for those employing 5 or less.

We have developed a one-day low cost course for Health and Safety Awareness which also helps a smaller company prepare for CHAS Health and Safety compliance. To book a place contact info@buildsw.org.uk

Note The CHAS system is not the only scheme out there. However The Safety Schemes in Procurement is now working to achieve mutual recognition arrangements for the various schemes available . See www.ssip.org.uk for further details.

CHAS is a not-for-profit scheme and has a clear straightforward pricing policy.

Health and Safety up-dates and other information

On the Health and Safety Executive website www.hse.gov.uk just look under ‘industries\ construction’ to sign up for a regular e mail up-date on changes and further information – a very helpful way of staying informed. You can also check this website for a whole range of free publications and guidance.

Environment – The Environment Agency website has a set of guidance online for small businesses called NetRegs www.netregs.gov.uk

Business opportunities in the renewable sector -
REGEN South West provide information and training for construction-related businesses wishing to become involved with this agenda www.regensw.co.uk

www.cskills.org

We are the Sector Skills Council and Industry Training Board for the construction industry, working to deliver a safe, professional and fully qualified UK construction workforce.
We work with construction companies to help them improve skills to increase their competitive edge.

Business Link

Businesslink.gov.uk helps your business save time and money by giving you instant access to clear, simple, and trustworthy information.
It is developed in partnership with subject experts within government and relevant business-support organisations to help you comply with regulations and improve your performance.
Whether you're starting up, already running a business, or looking to grow and develop, we can help you:

manage your finances
employ people
find and keep customers
pay the correct tax
comply with environmental legislation
trade internationally
understand regulations in your sector
find events and support near you

What we can do for you

Our Business Start-up Organiser will help you to create and manage a personalised list of tasks to assist you when setting up your business. Or search our Grants and Support Directory to pinpoint potential sources of help.

If you're already up and running, you can file your VAT and PAYE returns from our Do it online area.

The interactive tools can take you step-by-step through activities like how to create a written statement of employment or assess how well your business is currently performing

There are over 600 guides offering practical advice for businesses on all aspects of business.

Local advice and support

You can access local advice and support online, by phone and face-to-face from regional Business Link operators across England

These services are funded by Regional Development Agencies, and supported by government departments, agencies and local authorities.

EMS EASY

EMS EASY is an innovative toolkit that simplifies the implementation of a certifiable environmental management system (ISO14001 or EMAS). It uses a participatory and robust approach, which is manageable by any small or large business, using adult learning techniques and visual communication that are inexpensive to implement. It reduces the time needed to implement and run a certified system. The toolkit has been successfully used by small & medium sized construction firms including Arque, DR Jones, School Building Contractors, Michael Thorne Construction, Bray & Slaughter and much larger companies such as Bradfords in the South West to achieve ISO14001 or EMAS.

For more information see www.globalactionplan.org.uk/emseasy.aspx or call Fiona 01392 383033 or email ems@globalactionplan.org.uk