Internal building noise, particularly from water and waste water drainage systems is an increasing issue, but boxing and insulating pipework is not the most cost-effective answer, says Chris Ricketts, a Product Group Manager at BSS Industrial.

The versatility of thermal imaging has prompted its take-up across virtually all industry sectors but there can be no doubt that building science is one the greatest beneficiaries of this technology. It is the ideal tool for so many diagnostic tasks in the built environment and its scope is considerably enhanced by the availability of dedicated thermal imaging cameras. Hardware and software have been developed in parallel to provide cameras that are optimally suited to building inspection.

As gadgets go, the Super Cam V6 from Super Rod is a good one, but they do say ‘a gadget is for life not just for Christmas’ so as well as being something to impress your friends with, it has to actually work.

Well I’m happy to say that it does do exactly what it says on the tin and after a bit of fun with it in the office I handed it over to a professional for a full workout.

When times are tough, spending money on sprucing up the outside of your building is probably the last thing on your mind, but if you could find a cost effective solution then perhaps it may be a different matter. Alan Lawson from PSJ Fabrications looks at how the exterior of your building can make a statement without blowing the budget.

The first thing that your customers see when they come to your office is the front of the building. It sounds obvious I know, but when was the last time that you actually looked at the front of your building. Put yourself in the shoes of your customer and what do you see – is it a building which you can be proud of or would you rather meet your customers somewhere else?

With occupied space at a premium in commercial buildings, the flat roof is viewed as a viable space for all kinds of building services equipment, from condensers and chillers to pipework and ventilation. Rob Jackson, National Sales Manager for Big Foot Systems, examines the implications of using the roofspace, and highlights the importance of ensuring that rooftop equipment is correctly and safely positioned.

It has been a difficult period for the Building Services sector and like most of the areas within the Construction industry the recession has hit hard. Project funding has been cut along with capital expenditure. This combined with the problems in the general economy has inevitably led to redundancies and job losses and seen a huge talent pool created of people looking for work.

The OECD report highlighting the economic impact of counterfeiting and piracy features a section regarding electrical components and with the report including special mention of its Electric Dragon campaigns, it is important for those in the supply chain - and building services professionals - to play their part and be vigilant.

We've all been there - trying to take accurate measurements while holding both ends of the tape measure at the same time and marking the wall with a pencil that you can't quite manage because you don't have three hands! If that sounds familiar then you are in for a treat with the introduction of the new TLM130i from Stanley, a quick and efficient precision laser tool that makes light work of a host of measurement tasks.

In many operations, within the industrial, construction and commercial sectors, the use of water is often an accepted process cost.  There is scant attention paid to reducing such a significant service cost with fixing leaking taps often being the extent of energy saving in this area.

With water shortages reported recently in Australia, in many of the Mediterranean countries and in a string of other countries across the globe, we are increasingly becoming aware of the fragility of this planet's future and our place within it. We have huge quantities of water on the blue planet, yet only 2% of it fresh water.  We have a growing population, set to hit nine billion by 2042 - that's 2.7 billion more than now - so not an inconsiderable rise in numbers.  Not unreasonably, they will all want drinking water, bathing water, better food and a better quality of life - all of which demand more high quality water.