After several years of focusing on sheer economic survival for many joinery and woodworking firms, this year the British Woodworking Federation (BWF) Members’ Day highlighted the huge potential for growth and increased profitability in the sector.
Among a cluster of key themes that kept emerging from the event, it was particularly interesting to see how sustainability asserted its strength once again. For example, Rupert Oliver’s keynote address on "true sustainability" in the wood sector focused on the benefits of demonstrating and then displaying the superior sustainability of wooden windows, doors, stairs and other such products over the course of the product life cycle.
Similar messages were delivered to BWF member firms throughout the day, including from Charlie Law of BAM Construct and the UK Contractors Group who stressed how contractors were increasingly looking for chain of custody certification, how sustainability was now firmly and irrevocably part of procurement processes, and highlighted new learning resources such as the Supply Chain Sustainability School.
Mr Law also raised interesting ideas around waste minimisation, efficiency and even the possibility of contractors leasing products rather than buying them in future in order to encourage long-term thinking and attention to energy performance and impacts.
Craig White of White Design Associates and Wood for Good gave a specifier’s perspective by talking about the need to keep on innovating even when times look good, and the importance of a dynamic training landscape for firms, including the smallest.
"We can’t just keep assuming it will be OK," he said of skills shortages in the industry. Casey Rutland of Arup Associates picked up on the issue of BIM, urging delegates to get into a "digital frame of mind". BIM has opened the door to different sectors of the construction industry working together and sharing knowledge, which he saw as a first. He warned members to understand where the government was heading with BIM and what it meant for the industry.
As well as attending presentations and a small suppliers’ exhibition, delegates were invited to participate in a range of workshops covering topics as diverse as innovations in glass, the next chapter in CE marking, social media marketing and how to get a better thermal transmittance value for windows.
Members’ Day was also the springboard for the launch of a string of new initiatives for the BWF. The BWF’s Health and Safety Hero campaign, an initiative to create a truly safe working culture for joinery and woodworking firms was launched.
The campaign encourages BWF members to ‘Aim Low’, work towards zero reportable accidents and incidents relating to occupational health, and provides a series of resources to help companies embed the health and safety message from management to the shop floor.
The BWF launched its first Guide to Running a Joinery Business, giving members a robust best practice guide for becoming the industry’s leading companies.
Members’ Day also saw the launch of the 2014 BWF Awards, calling for entries for Technical Excellence, Apprentice and Trainees of the Year and the new Health & Safety Hero award. Members also called for another category, in keeping with the day’s profitability theme, to recognise lean manufacture in their businesses. The lean award opened for entries at the beginning of this month.
Finally, the BWF’s Woodworking Industry Training Forum (WITForum) launched a host of new training initiatives, including its 2014 OSAT programme, which offers bespoke training and qualifications for craft and office workers, plus the introduction of the Heritage Occupations. All lead to a recognised NVQ qualification and come almost fully funded.
Other funded training launched came in the form of marketing, lean, the new MTC (Minimum Technical Competence) Fenestration assessment for window installers and surveyors, and the new BWF mentoring programme.
The day continued with CPA chief economist Noble Francis explaining where the opportunities for the construction industry could lie over the next few years and highlighting threats to the sector, such as the risk of losing skilled labour to other industries. It was stressed that the UK construction economy could not always rely on labour coming from abroad in order to plug the skills gap as demand increased.
The event’s final ‘Question Time-style’ debate addressed industry hot topics such as the new construction industry payment charter and the proposed changes in the apprenticeship system.
The day was hailed as a springboard for growth by delegates and by the BWF, which always puts great store in the opportunity to listen to joinery and woodworking firms and find out what their concerns are, as well as imparting specialist guidance and advice from leading experts within the industry through workshops, master classes and keynote speeches.
