Month: May 2022

O’Brien win a place on PAGABO Civils and Infrastructure Framework

Following the award of a place on the ‘National Framework for Demolition and Land Remediation’ on the 10 May, the company is delighted to be awarded a place on a second PAGABO framework.  After a rigorous tender exercise we have now won a place on the  ‘PAGABO National Framework for Civils and Infrastructure’.

The PAGABO framework place will provide O’Brien’s clients with the confidence that we have proven high standards of health and safety, commitments to social value, and net zero targets, proven expertise, and financial stability as well as a proven track record of completed projects.

The framework will allow our clients who utilise the PAGABO frameworks to appoint us to carry out works through direct award or invite us for further competition for their projects.

Director Tom O’Brien commented “we are delighted to have secured a place on a second PAGABO framework. We are now able to offer a straightforward procurement route for our clients, whilst giving them the confidence to place orders with us as an approved contractor with a proven track record. We look forward to working in collaboration with clients to deliver schemes through the frameworks.”

Better Procurement

The PAGABO frameworks makes procurement quicker, easier, and more effective. They help public sector organisations across the UK, by providing EU compliant framework agreements, – delivered and backed up by a team of MCIPS qualified procurement professionals with a vast range of experience who support clients throughout the procurement of projects and beyond.

Simpler Procurement

The PAGABO system provides a simplification of the procurement process, which is less onerous, less costly and time consuming, whilst making the processes more transparent, simpler, and faster.

Embedded Social Value

Pagabo aims to embed Social Impact and Social Value through every procurement and guide suppliers of how to deliver more Social Value through their contracts, as well as provide Social Value guidance to suppliers.

https://www.pagabo.co.uk/news/pagabo-reveals-winners-for-l1-56bn-civils-and-infrastructure-framework

https://obriencontractors.co.uk/obrien-win-a-place-on-pagabo-demolition-and-land-preparation-framework/

World Bee Day – Concentrating on the Solitary Bee Species Today

Having done some research on Bees for World Bee Day, I found that there were bees that lived solitary lives, with no hives (I was a poet etc…), so decided to concentrate on the solitary bees for todays awareness day!

We love bees at O’Brien so much we have beehives in our garden at the office for our honeybees!

Over 200 out of 275 bee species in the UK are solitary bees, the rest are bumble bees and we have just one species of honeybee.  That surprised me!

Solitary bees do not produce honey and don’t live in a hive, however they are very important! Female solitary bees are prolific pollinators, carrying out the majority of pollination in Britain, (the males are purely for breeding and then unfortunately, they kick the bucket after completing the task)! They are also quite small in size, with an extremely weak or ineffective sting – even more reason to welcome them into your garden.

Let’s Get Planting for the Bees!

Bluebells, hellebores, forget-me-nots, crocuses, grape hyacinth, mahonia japonica and rhododendrons, hollyhock, snapdragon, aquilegia, aster, delphinium, foxgloves, fuchsia, geraniums, heather and lavender abelia, anemone sylvestris, dahlias, salvias, sedum and  verbena bonariensis, alliums, astrantia, deutzia, erysimum, lavender, pulmonaria. They particularly love blue, yellow and purple flowers! Let’s get planting!

Bee Bombs are Great for the Bees, Throw it and Grow it!

 

Let’s Get Building for the Bees!

Building a bee hotel is one of the ways you can help or using just one Bee Brick in your building project is the other.  We are installing a bee hotel on one of our current projects and will update you on this when the project is completed!

Build a bee hotel and involve the kids!

Bee hotels can be made for pretty much pennies, with most of the materials lying around the average garden or a good rummage in the local woods or park, so a great project to involve the kids in.

Use a plant pot or old tin can and put pieces of cut cane inside, or one full of leaves, an old fence post with drilled holes or use some basic carpentry skills,  or you can buy some luxurious style ones.  Whatever you decide the bees will love you for it!  A couple of links below for simple bee hotels.

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/how-to-make-bee-hotel.html

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2020/04/how-to-build-a-bee-hotel/

https://friendsoftheearth.uk/bees/make-a-bee-house

Use a Beebrick in your construction project

Bee Bricks come in all sorts of colours, with each brick containing cavities in which solitary bees can lay their eggs before sealing the entrance with mud and chewed-up vegetation, which will hatch the next spring with no further involvement from the queen.

O’Brien will be encouraging our clients to include a bee brick in their construction projects, to be used in replacement of a standard brick, adding an ecologically friendly twist to their project .

 

 Some of the Solitary Bee Species

• Carpenter Bees – found in logs and tree stumps
• Masonry (or mason bees) – found in mortar joints or brick walls
• Miner Bees – found in the ground
• Leafcutter bees – nest in soft, rotted wood, thick-stemmed pithy plants
• IVY bee – nest suitable sloping sandy banks
• Flower Bees – nest in the soil, & high-up sites.

 

Following a robust competitive tender exercise, O’Brien are delighted to have been awarded a place on the brand-new £1.1 billion demolition and land preparation framework.

The framework has been developed to provide clients with confidence that the  organisations on the framework are monitored and audited, ensuring that they maintain a high level of safety and provides clients with compliant access to suppliers with expertise, allowing the client to redevelop existing estate stock and develop on brownfield sites.

Director Tom O’Brien commented “we are delighted to announce we have successfully secured a place on the PAGABO Demolition and Land Preparation Works Framework and look forward to working in collaboration with clients to deliver schemes through it”.

https://www.pagabo.co.uk/news/breaking-things-down-pagabos-l1-1bn-demolition-framework-awards-announced

The framework is now live.  If you have schemes that you want to procure via this Framework, please get in contact.

It’s award time again!

Owen Keogh has been awarded our quarterly ‘Outstanding Employee Award’ for the first quarter 2022, for his hard work on our Shire Lodge Cemetery Extension project in Corby.  Owen was presented with an award certificate and will also receive a cheque for £500 in recognition of his hard work.

Project Manager Kevin Brennan said “I would like to nominate Owen due to always working diligently and safely on all tasks asked of him on the Shire Lodge Cemetery Project”.

The project that Owen is working on involves extension of the grass cemetery, construction of internal roads, footpaths, drainage, visitors car park, hard and soft landscaping and an amenity building.

O’Brien values the skills, experience and dedication of our site teams.

In recognition of this, we have for many years run the ‘Employee Outstanding Achievement Award’. The award goes to a member of one of our site teams each quarter to coincide with our quarterly newsletter.

Project Managers nominate the operative that they think has gone above and beyond for the previous quarter and the candidate with the most recommendations wins the award. In recognition of their outstanding contribution, the winner gets a £500 cheque and a certificate in recognition of their hard work.