Clearview National May 2016 - Issue 174 | Page 6

INDUSTRYNEWS Tackle housing crisis with passive housing Leading Irish timber frame manufacture Cygum has said that it is possible to tackle the housing crises in the UK and Ireland by mass-producing high quality timber passive houses on a large scale. »»FOLLOWING THE MOVE by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council to make the passive house standard mandatory in the region, some critics argued that the new requirement would slow down the rate of construction. But Cork-based manufacturer Cygnum told Passive House Plus that new machinery in its Macroom factory allows the company to produce up to 2,000 passive house units alone a year, or 35-40 units a week, allowing for the mass production of high quality, ultra-low energy housing. “Cygnum welcomes Dún Laoghaire Rathdown’s adoption of the passive house standard, and with Dublin City Council considering a similar requirement, we want to make it clear that it is very much possible to deliver passive buildings on a large scale quickly and efficiently,” said Cygnum managing director John Desmond. At this year’s Ecobuild show in London, Cygnum launched its brand new Cygnum Passive brochure, which showcases the company’s ability to deliver the passive house standard with its Cygnum Passive 350 timber frame system, which is certified to meet the standard by the Passive House Institute. JOB FLEXIBILITY ENSURES TRADESMEN ARE THE NATION’S HAPPIEST WORKERS »»OVER 90% OF TRADESPEOPLE ARE happy in their jobs, with the majority putting it down to the flexibility of mobile working, new research has found. The study, which was conducted by IronmongeryDirect, found that 91% of mobile working tradesmen are happy in their jobs, with 50% of these claiming they are very happy. Tradesmen stated that flexible working (61%) and increased productivity (28%) were the biggest benefits of mobile working. In fact, a massive 98% of tradesmen said they were happy with the amount of flexibility their job provides. When asked what they enjoy most about mobile working, the majority (62%) said they liked having flexibility over the hours they work. 42% also took satisfaction in the fact they are trusted to do their job independently. Some tradesmen prefer mobile working over being confined to an office as 23% said 6 » M AY 2016 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M it helps them to work better as there are fewer distractions than in an office environment, and a fifth said it ensures they don’t get caught up in office politics. In fact, 16% said mobile working helps them to work with their team more easily. The study of 500 mobile working tradespeople and 500 non-mobile workers in the UK was undertaken to find out the benefits of mobile working and how technology is impacting on people’s work, and whether it is driving productivity. Wayne Lysaght-Mason, managing director at IronmongeryDirect, said: “As we spend so much of our life working, it’s encouraging to see that so many tradespeople enjoy their job. It seems that mobile working plays a major part of their happiness because it offers numerous benefits, particularly around productivity and flexibility. “Mobile technology is constantly evolving and it’s making it easier and easier for tradespeople to communicate with clients and management and get the job done more efficiently, making the whole process much smoother and less stressful.” www.ironmongerydirect.co.uk/mobile-workers