From the Editor
CHANGING LOCKS – HAPPY 75 TH ISSUE TO US
» AS I SIT DOWN TO WRITE MY monthly magazine introduction , it ’ s 11am , 26⁰C and the sun is shining from a beautiful blue , cloudless sky . A quick glance at my weather app however , forecasts that by the time you sit down to read this , it will be approximately 10 degrees cooler and tipping down with rain ; depending on where you are . My point ? Things change , and that ’ s ok . What is turning out to be a glorious day for me today would not be so enjoyable if it was all the time , plus I ’ d have to water the plants in my ‘ yarden ’ more often , and then I really wouldn ’ t enjoy it .
One of my friends likes to joke that he ‘ doesn ’ t like change ’ quite a lot . Many agree with the sentiment . Change can feel uncomfortable , it makes us wary and nervous . How often do we say the words ‘ same again ’ at the hairdressers , ‘ my usual ’ at the pub or ‘ if it ain ’ t broke , don ’ t fix it ’ as a quip ?
They are all personal life examples , but when put into a professional context it isn ’ t just boring , it can be dangerous to our own business and detrimental to the industry as a whole to always do the same thing . We don ’ t tend to use the word ‘ change ’ when we get a new job , it ’ s a promotion or career move . In design and development , we don ’ t ‘ change ’ products we evolve , improve and innovate . When it comes to services and software , we upgrade and update .
Life would be very dull without change , but industry would be even worse . This issue marks 75 editions of The Locksmith Journal and we ’ ve seen a lot of changes since the first magazine came out . We welcome them and are privileged to be on the ‘ front line ’ when it comes to reporting and recording the evolution of our industry and the people in it .
We need those designers and developers to keep changing the way we think about the materials and methods we use . We need the men and women in business to keep changing their jobs to mix things up and help us all get and stay motivated . We need legislation and regulations to change to keep us safe and secure . And , we need consumers , specifiers , architects and installers to keep working together to make the most of these changes .
The world changed almost beyond recognition last year , and as a whole we adapted to the ‘ new normal ’ and as an industry we changed in ways we never would ’ ve imagined ; almost entirely for the better .
Now , it ’ s 11.30 and I always have a cup of tea and two biscuits for my morning break .
See you for issue 76 , same time , same place .
Gemma , Editor
THE ‘ PINGDEMIC ’ IS WIDENING LABOUR AND MATERIAL SHORTAGES IN THE TRADES
With shop closures and production lines halted by the so-called ‘ pingdemic ’, a bout of wide-scale isolations is pushing waiting times for labour and materials to new record lengths . With the average wait time for private jobs in the trades now exceeding three months , there is genuine concern that the industry cannot keep up with demand .
» CONFIDENCE IS currently sky high ; the latest IHS Markit / CIPS construction PMI exceeded forecasts to jump from 64.2 to 66.3 in June . This was the highest reading since June 1997 and well above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction . While this has fuelled vast job creation , there is a deep concern that demand simply cannot be met while the much of the workforce , who may not have Covid , are being told to isolate .
Furthermore , Brexit has lengthened the supply lines for a number of core supplies from Europe . A significant majority of materials required by UK trade and construction are manufactured or processed in mainland Europe . As the pandemic swept the continent almost all major countries suffered shortages in stock ; now however , manufacturers are refilling the supply chains that are closer to home first , with the UK falling to the back of the queue .
While this should have eased over time and it is encouraging to see a number of efforts to move material production to the UK , the enduring ‘ pingdemic ’ is exacerbating these fears . This has led to further hurt for SMEs in the trades as larger companies have been able to purchase these products at higher prices , to the detriment of their smaller competitors . With fewer sub-contractors to choose from too , the forced isolation of hundreds of thousands of Brits is further compounding the issues faced by SMEs in the trades .
Ben Dyer , CEO of Powered Now , discusses the difficulties that are on the horizon for smaller businesses in the trades :
“ Higher demand for construction and trade services has a real-world trickle down to small and medium trade businesses . However , we are very worried about the implications of stress on the UK supply chain , which is being further compounded by the ‘ pingdemic ’. We want everyone to be safe , and therefore believe the track and trace scheme to be necessary . However , we would echo calls from the CBI requiring the government to have more of a sure-footing on free tests available to businesses , along with mask wearing in certain scenarios .”
www . powerednow . com
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JUL / AUG 2021
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