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Customer Reception 2018

BRE hosted its annual Customer Reception and Round table discussions at Skyloft, in London earlier this year.

Introduction

The evening included a stimulating presentation from our guest presenter, Dr Rob MacDonald from Liverpool John Moore’s University, who spoke on “Achieving Dementia Friendly Environments and Good Mental Well Being for All.” This coincides with the BRE Dementia project in which BRE is building a dementia home demonstrator on the Watford BRE Innovation Park. This will inform the design of future buildings to help people with dementia live independently for longer. The design is based on research involving people with dementia and their carers. The outcome will create a platform to sharing knowledge between the healthcare system and construction industry specifically around improving health, wellness and mental health. For more information on this please click here.

Dr Rob MacDonald presenting at the Customer Reception

HS2 awarded first BREEAM Infrastructure certificate at Customer Reception

HS2 has become the UK’s first infrastructure project to be awarded a BREEAM Infrastructure (pilot) Scheme Certificate for its ambitious sustainability strategy on Phase 1 of the project.

HS2 Environment Director, Peter Miller, said, ‘We are very pleased to receive this BREEAM Infrastructure certificate. Our goal with HS2 is to design and build the most sustainable high-speed railway of its kind in the world, working in partnership with our supply chain and local communities to leave a positive legacy for future infrastructure projects both in the UK and beyond. This certificate is a testament to our sustainability commitments and to the lasting benefits of the HS2 project.”

Chris Broadbent awarding HS2 with the first BREEAM Infrastructure certificate

Round table discussions

The Round tables were a success, which provided insightful feedback from the Property, Construction and Product Manufacturer sectors. Discussions included upcoming industry challenges, products/ services BRE could offer and suggestions to help us improve the way we work with our customers.

The main industry challenges debated were: the effect that BREXIT will have on the UK, how the collapse of Carillion will be affecting a lot of the contractors and supply chain and because of skills shortages – being able to satisfy the demand of high-profile projects.

Many ideas were suggested as to how BRE can help address upcoming challenges. A few of the popular ideas involved: promoting BREEAM community standards and BREEAM New Construction, advice on BIM/Product Manufacturer knowledge through the BRE Academy and how the Circular Economy can be an important and leading role for BRE.

BRE is thriving in a number of its product and service areas – with comments like “BREEAM is pushing the industry to get to another level”, and our “expertise when it comes to research is reliable and robust”. Another attendee said there are “some really good things at the BRE site that people don’t even know about.”

Attendees noted that BRE could “run more events in things like BIM and circular economy” and “do more events outside of Watford.” It was also felt that “more training [is] needed on how to create and use an Environmental Products Declaration.” This information will be taken on board by the relevant teams and actioned over the next year.

Last year’s outcomes and what’s happened since

Feedback from the 2017 Customer Reception was digested and actioned. A year on BRE have reflected back and some ideas have been applied and are taking place.

One delegate suggested “training is needed for Facilities Managers – upskilling needed in some areas to meet the changing requirements of the role.” Another said “practical ‘on the job’ training for architects – giving them more experience on and around sites”. Since this, facilities managers and architectural professionals regularly attend BRE Academy training courses – specifically in: BIM, BREEAM, Fire Door, Fire Risk Assessors.

An event that an attendee said they would find useful was if BRE organised “Lunchtime sessions – either around raising awareness of BRE or offering CPD points”. Taking this on board, BRE ran breakfast briefings on various topics in London, Manchester and Birmingham.

Improving the BRE website was discussed. Since then, BRE is now in the process of completing its new website www.bregroup.com

Thank you

A big thank you to those who attended the Customer Reception Round Table’s discussions, your feedback is essential in order for BRE to continue to succeed and improve.

You can download our infographic summary of the event below here:

For more information click here for our website

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