By Paul Courson, Managing Director of Cablofil UK

It’s impossible to switch on a TV or radio these days without being confronted with an economic gloom that is making the markets jumpy and the commercial marketplace an increasingly challenging place to be. Between soaring unemployment in the USA, Euro zone bail outs and the seemingly endless capacity of emerging markets to undercut western manufacturers, the pressure is on.

Gregg Ringer from Mainline discusses the need to integrate new technologies that can help eradicate problems with poor cable management, leading to more work on future projects as a result.

Overloading one power outlet with several sockets and wires not only poses a fire risk, due to the potential for the outlet to overheat, but can also present a trip hazard if not properly managed. As such, electrical engineers must think carefully about new ways in which this issue can be avoided, benefiting the end user by helping to future proof the building in which work is being carried out.

When it comes to electrical installations, smart technology is currently the phrase on everyone’s lips, but despite the technologically advanced nature of its operation it still relies heavily on wiring devices for control.

Modular wiring systems are growing in popularity among UK electrical contractors, specifiers and end-users, providing significant improvements over hard wired alternatives and reducing onsite installation times by up to 70%. Here, Dave Lewis, Managing Director of Apex Wiring Solutions, explains more about the technology and the benefits provided.

A key design decision in every chilled beam project is whether active or passive beams will best suit the application. There is sometimes a preconception that an active chilled beam is just a passive beam with more bells and whistles. But, as the operating principles of the two are so different, we miss a trick as system designers if we overlook the specific benefits that each can bring depending on the requirements of the project.

Modern healthcare is all about choices, with patients having the legal right to choose which hospital their GP refers them to for specialist treatment. The NHS suggests a number of criteria for comparing hospitals, from the mundane to the critical, for example parking facilities to mortality rates and hospital location to hospital infection rates.

Paul Courson, UK Managing Director of Cablofil, discusses the independent tests carried out to demonstrate the relative cooling and energy efficiency benefits of varying types of cable containment.

The recession has hit commercial property owners and developers hard, with the plethora of ‘To Let' signs adorning office buildings the length and breadth of the country attesting to that fact.

At present the commercial property market is awash with vacant and available premises, meaning developers and owners need to be able to offer something extra in order to grab the attention of would-be tenants.

Developers and refurbishment specialists working within the commercial building sector have their work cut out when it comes to delivering projects to tight deadlines and even tighter budgets.

In west Hertfordshire, a history of financial deficit going back to the early 1990s led to a reported deficit of £26.8m in 2005/6 with a total accumulated deficit at just over £41m. One of the main contributing factors to this deficit was inefficiencies caused by duplicating services across a number of hospital sites. This financial situation and a drive to improve patient services led to a decision to centralise some services onto a single site. Meanwhile, an ambitious NHS rebuilding programme means a new hospital will be completed at Watford General Hospital in 2014/2015.