Blog – Page 2 – PBM Wales

Congratulations to Wales on their very tense 1-0 win over Ukraine in Cardiff in the World Cup qualifier and breaking their 64 years wait.

Wales will share Group B with USA, Iran, and England at Novembers World Cup in Qatar.

Also, many congratulations to Nottingham Forest over their 1-0 win over Huddersfield in the Promotion Pay-offs final as witnessed first-hand by our intrepid No 1 Notts Forest fan, Supervisor Chris Bissmire who follows them come rain or shine!

Well done Biz and good luck for next season!!

Let’s see if he’s a man of his word and adds their manager Steve Cooper’s portrait to his tattoo collection!!

May 16 2022

Staff Training Programme 2022

News

April and May have been very busy months for our staff at PBM.

As part of our continual staff development programme and commitments to Health & Safety our staff successfully completed training courses on:

Asbestos awareness
Working at Height
COSHH
Fire Safety Awareness
Noise reduction
Manual Handling
Emergency First Aid at Work

In addition, our Electrical Team have also been receiving training on the 2nd amendment to the 18th Edition of the wiring regulations and on:

Energy Monitoring
Battery Storage installations
EV charging and the opportunities it offers
Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) Coding
Carbon Monoxide Legislation Changes

At PBM we are committed to training & developing all employees to maximise their potential and ensuring that they work in a safe and diligent manner.

Our staff are encouraged to undertake courses to increase their skills and to aid personal development and to keep up to date with legislation.

This will enable them to continue to work safely with care & consideration for our clients.

May 16 2022

RHA Contract success

News

PBM are delighted and proud at our success as an approved contractor awarded under RHA (Rhondda Housing Association) Repair and Maintenance Framework for another 4 years. This reinforces our commitment to working in collaboration with RHA in a partnership which started in 2017.

We are pleased to be appointed to this 4-year framework, which will see us supporting RHA by delivering repairs and maintenance services throughout their portfolio including:

· Reactive repairs and void properties

· Electrical Inspection and associated works

· Decoration

· Kitchens and bathrooms

· Adaptations

Having achieved outstanding results in our tender submission we very much look forward to cementing our relationship and working with the team at RHA, with a focus on enhancing and further improving our performance delivery.

Apr 5 2022

Neath Canal Biodiversity QR code trail

News

We are delighted to have worked in partnership with Tai Tarian and Ty Banc canal enhancement group volunteers.

As part of our commitment to local communities, we have replaced oak mooring posts along a two-and-a-half-mile stretch of the towpath to the Neath canal between Resolven Basin and Cwmgwrach in the upper Neath Valley. Whilst undertaking this work, our staff worked closely with local volunteers and enjoyed the wildlife, beauty and tranquillity of the area which was very different to their usual work environment.

The canal and towpath are already well utilised and enjoyed by visitors. The new posts have been designed to enhance their experience and are dual purpose, namely, to allow boat mooring and also as part of a nature trail with QR code information and rubbing stations for children to learn about the animal and plant life surrounding the canal.

Feb 16 2022

We can fit your EV Charge Point

News

As a NICEIC registered company and using our experienced, qualified, and dedicated electricians we can install home or office electric charging points for electric vehicles (EV) helping to reduce carbon emissions.

Home chargers are the cheapest, most convenient and safest way to charge an Electric Vehicle (EV), which is why it’s the default choice for many electric car owners.

There are two options when charging electric vehicles at home: using a domestic three-pin socket or a dedicated (EV) charge point.

Charging with a domestic socket should be reserved for emergency or occasional use; ok for an infrequent overnight charge when visiting friends/relatives, but not for regular use at home.

Certainly, keeping a standard 3-pin UK plug-compatible charging cable in the boot is sensible, but installing a home charger is the safest and fastest recommended home solution.

A dedicated home or office charge point can communicate with the electric vehicle, making it the safest method of domestic charging. A smart home charger will also allow you to take advantage of cheaper energy tariffs, charging the EV when supply is high, and demand is low.

Please contact us and we can provide you with a personalised quotation.

Dec 15 2021

PBM Christmas 2021

News

Christmas Closure 2021: for our Christmas shutdown this year we will be closing our offices at the end of Wednesday 22nd December and reopening on Monday 4th January to give our staff a well-earned rest following another challenging year.

There will likely be more challenges to be faced during 2022 but please be assured that we will commit to providing our clients with the best quality services that we can.

Emergencies during this period: Please note: we can only provide “emergency out of hours services” to those clients who have made specific pre-booked and confirmed arrangements with us beforehand.

Thank you! Finally, we would like to thank all our clients, customers, supply chain partners and especially our staff for your continued support over the last year and wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year!!

Nov 18 2021

Our new Ford Transit Custom vans are on the road!!

News

With our new eye-catching bronze livery, these vans add a distinctive presence to our vehicle fleet.

After careful consideration and a lot of research we decided that the new Ford Transit Customs were the ideal vehicles for our team.

Reduced emissions with improved safety, economy, comfort, space & reliability were of course at the top of our list, with these vans being the industry leaders.

With our staff spending many hours a day travelling to and from sites we wanted to be able to supply them with a vehicle that was not only practical, but that was also safe and a pleasure for them to drive.

We have received very positive feedback from the teams that have been provided with these vehicles and are confident that we made the right decision.

The vans are used to their full potential, with shelving units fitted in the rear providing our staff sufficient storage space to organise all their tools, provide easy access to their equipment with enough room to transport materials.

Oct 12 2021

Property Building Maintenance (Wales) Ltd celebrates success at the FMB’s 2021 National Master Builder Awards

News

A major redevelopment of a tired and disused office block into much-needed social housing, including adapted living space for disabled residents, has won a South Wales construction firm a top industry award.

Property Building Maintenance (Wales) Ltd picked up the accolade at the Federation of Master Builders’ National Master Builder Awards, which were hosted online on September 24th by TV presenter and all-round building enthusiast Nick Knowles.

The awards recognise building excellence, quality craftsmanship, and exceptional customer service, and are run by the Federation of Master Builders, the largest trade association in the UK construction sector which is this year celebrating its 80th anniversary.

Property Building Maintenance (Wales) Ltd took what on the face of it was a simple project to transform a redundant building for Tai Tarian Housing into high quality housing to meet local needs. However, the manner in which they engaged with the community, especially the local primary school, impressed the judges. Managing working hours, deliveries, noise and dust on site with the school in mind, the Master Builder company even arranged kerbside viewings of the building works to engage the children in the project.

The firm handled several unforeseen changes to the original plans, and substantial repairs, to deliver a brilliant build on schedule and to budget. They also made significant improvements to the energy efficiency of the building, and installed enhanced fire protection.

The project involved the complete renovation of former council offices, converted into six new two-bedroom apartments, two of which are wheelchair accessible with wet-rooms. It was delivered in an area listed high on the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation. One new tenant said, “I’m sure I’m going to be very happy here.”

“The team worked with the community to give them the building that they wanted”, commented the independent judges. Family-run Property Building Maintenance (Wales) Ltd were praised for improving the area while also providing employment.

Reacting to his company’s win, Geoff Griffiths, Director of Property Building Maintenance (Wales) Ltd, said: “In a tough year this is an amazing achievement. Everyone worked so hard, and this is a welcome award to win from the premier trade organisation. We wanted to give something high quality back to the community that they can be proud of; seeing the difference it made is the biggest thing for us.”

Anna Thompson, Head of Engagement at Local Authority Building Control, and a National Judge for this category, said: “The execution [of this project] went above and beyond… Community engagement was exemplary. I'm not surprised the team are proud to be FMB members.”

Mark Lawrence of the Housing Quality Network, and also a National Judge, added: “I would like to say to the winner – fantastic, and well done! It’s not an easy project to go for, and you’re going to be making a massive difference to so many different people’s lives.

Sep 15 2021

PBM have gained ISO 9001 Quality Management and ISO 14001 Environmental Management accreditation for the fourth year running.

News

Property Building Maintenance (Wales) Ltd are very pleased to announce that we have gained ISO:9001 Quality Management & ISO:14001 Environmental Management accreditation for the fourth year running.

The honour is nothing less than recognition of our accomplishments in the most recognised Quality Management System (QMS) in the world. We have always been proud of the excellent service we offer to our customers and now this has been recognised with these awards.

PBM started the process of building a Quality Management System in 2017 by documenting, controlling, and measuring our processes and services.

Assuring our customers and ourselves of quality was one of the reasons why it was important for us to achieve ISO certification. Here at PBM, we believe in offering not only the best building maintenance, refurbishment, and repair services, but also delivered in an environmentally sustainable way.

We worked hard to achieve our certification, which was independently audited and accredited by Lloyds Register and was awarded only when we could prove that we monitor and manage all our operations according to the highest quality & environmental standards.

Getting our accreditation was only the beginning, ever since we have continually reviewed and improved our services to meet our customers’ needs and expectations.

As mentioned, we use the QMS to monitor and to manage all our operations, and one aspect of this is the continual refinement of our offering and the way in which we operate. Other aspects include finding new ways to reach greater heights of consistency in top-level service.

On our side, the benefits include:

Building a business that’s more sustainable
Developing greater resilience
Demonstrating strong governance
Working effectively with all stakeholders, supply chain included
Cost efficiency
Streamlining our operations
Attracting more business
Sustainability and reducing waste to landfill

This all means that PBM grows into the best business it can be and that our customers enjoy greater satisfaction with our work.

Sep 7 2021

Optimised Retrofit Project

News

Property Building Maintenance (Wales) Ltd are pleased to announce that we have been selected by one of our major social housing clients to take part in an innovative pilot project as part of the Welsh Government Optimised Retrofit Project. (ORP)

This is a whole house, pragmatic, approach to decarbonising existing homes. It is far more sophisticated and bespoke than previous schemes because it considers the fabric or materials our homes are made from; the way we heat and store energy in our homes and the way energy is supplied to our homes. Some of the upgrades that are to be trialled through projects like this will include heat pumps, intelligent energy systems and solar panels.

The aim of the project enables us to trial new technology, methodologies, advances, and improvements to a range of tenant’s homes which will achieve better energy efficiency with reduced running costs, improved resident comfort as well as lowered carbon emissions.

We are working closely with our clients, consultants, manufacturers, and suppliers to deliver this pilot, who will monitor its ongoing performance to evaluate the different products used.

By working collaboratively, we are learning from each other and gaining better understanding of the new technologies and cutting edge “green materials” that we can use.

This innovative project will have a positive impact for tenants, our staff who are being up-skilled and trained in how to install these new technologies as well as the environment:

· Ecological breathable insulation products (used internally and externally.)
· Solar PV & battery storage technology
· Electric car charge-point installations
· Air source heat pumps
· Electric heating systems
· Triple glazing systems

Whilst also enabling us to invest in local businesses and technologies as well as meeting ‘Better Homes, Better Wales, Better World and Welsh Government targets.