A thriving power sector is at the heart of any developed economy. In the UK, it supports over 700,000 jobs and contributes £27 billion annually in gross value added¹.

But with climate crisis, geopolitical challenges and ongoing supply chain shocks, the sector faces serious challenges in the coming years. To meet these challenges, it will require massive investment – as well as high levels of innovation across entire organisations.

From strategic thinking to the kinds of vehicle mounted access platforms used onsite, every aspect of the power sector’s operations will have to be optimised. In order to do that, organisations must understand the challenge – and opportunities – that they face.

In this report, we explore four key trends that will define 2022 and beyond.

1. Decarbonisation difficulties

Climate crisis is amongst the most urgent challenges of our time and as a raft of new policies seeks to encourage action, companies in the energy sector will feel the pressure to transition away from reliance on fossil fuels.

The UK government has pledged to achieve a 78% reduction in economy-wide greenhouse-gas emissions by 2035², and whilst the UK has so far boasted the world’s fastest decarbonisation campaign³, 40% of energy still comes from fossil fuels⁴ – meaning serious challenges lay ahead.

It’s not just about replacing fossil fuels

As the economy decarbonises, energy will still be required in huge quantities. In fact, experts project a massive increase in electricity demand – with an overall increase of 2% each year for next the two decades⁵. 

The decarbonisation effort will involve a shift towards things like electric vehicles and electric heat pumps in homes, and while these will enable a radical decrease in emissions, they will also require a far greater quantity of electricity.

This means decarbonisation is not simply a matter of replacing fossil fuels, but finding scalable, reliable, ecologically viable and affordable ways to meet a 56% increase in demand for electricity⁶.

2. Renewable innovation

We should expect renewables to play a significant role in this puzzle. In 2020, the UK’s wind and solar usage hit a historic high – producing 43% of the country’s total electricity. However, in order to scale up to meet demand, these power sources will require both huge investment and significant innovation.

Part of the challenge is building a new type of infrastructure. Slow planning consent and insufficient grid infrastructure, has led many in the power sector to feel increasing frustration that logistical difficulties are keeping them from properly embracing renewables.

Many believe the situation is more severe, and requires a wholesale redesign of the energy market⁷ in order to enable things like distributed energy-source integration, demand-side response and more flexible power services. This will require organisations to coordinate their efforts – with some calling for a whole new industry body to be formed, to oversee the efforts⁸.

Extreme investment is needed

Current estimates suggest it will cost roughly £200 billion to achieve a truly renewable-powered economy – and investment will have to reach £50 billion a year by 2030 to meet current targets and demand projections⁹. 

But innovation should simply be focused on the form of energy or infrastructure. Instead, as McKinsey has compellingly argued, power sector organisations should meet their current challenges as opportunities.

Innovation should be baked into everything organisations do, from supply chain formation to ensuring your fleet vehicles are kept fully compliant  – unlocking huge gains across the entire value chain¹⁰.

3. Cost increases

As the power sector looks to make the shifts we explored above, it must also address ongoing price pressures which threaten to produce serious economic problems. The UK’ energy price cap increased by a record-breaking 54% in April of this year¹¹, and this inflationary pressure shows no signs of abating.

This is the product of a “perfect storm” of factors, leading to global wholesale energy prices to increase. Stored gas levels are much lower than normal, after unexpectedly high usage in the winter. Simultaneously, there has been a decrease in gas impacts from Russia¹².

The result is expected to be an increase of roughly £700 to the average household’s annual energy bill¹³, and with widespread fears of such inflation leading to severe economic turmoil, the power sector will feel pressure to manage supply chain challenges and keep inflation at a manageable level.

Consumers aren’t the only ones feeling the pressure

The result is expected to be an increase of roughly £700 to the average household’s annual While the impact on the cost of living has received the most publicity, individual consumers are far from alone in this. Businesses are also feeling the burn of fuel cost increases, with new legislation causing the price of red diesel to virtually double, and forcing businesses to either adapt their fuel usage or incur four figure increase in their overheads¹⁴.

4. Geopolitical change

In recent years, Western countries have become increasingly reliant on imported energy. In 2020, the European Union’s import dependency rate stood at 57.5% in 2020¹⁵. This creates a profound vulnerability to sudden shifts in price – such as the oil shocks of the 1970s – or geopolitical changes.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has had a dramatic impact on virtually all areas of Western economies, as businesses almost unanimously agreed to cut ties with the aggressor. This now means the power sector faces a more complex challenge in this regard, as the severe risk involved in Europe’s reliance on Russian power has been revealed.

While the UK doesn’t directly rely on Russia in this regard, the global power market will be seriously impacted – and this will have serious consequences for Britain. Gas bills are expected to rise £600 more than otherwise projected, adding further pressure to the price increases explored above¹⁶.

This must lead to widespread change

The overarching trend here is not the short-term impact but the message it sends to the power sector: reliance on international trade is a far greater liability than previously assumed. We should expect to see Western countries taking this hint to become more self-sufficient in the coming years. Many claim that this is the perfect time to make such a transition: the demands of a more ecologically viable power system necessitate a less globalised network.

Global semiconductor chip shortages have already had a disastrous impact for buyers, with prices rising by as much as 20%¹. But the problem is far from resolved.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has now further exacerbated shortages, which has led many manufacturers to close their order books – creating extremely long lead times for new vehicles.

How Russia’s war is worsening shortages

Russia’s attack on Ukraine has led to severe financial sanctions and new supply chain challenges. For semiconductor makers, it has disrupted the production and shipping of two vital manufacturing components. 

The first is Neon gas. Historically, it has been used to feed the lasers that print minute circuitry onto silicon. But around half the world’s semiconductor grade neon gas is produced by two Ukrainian companies and with the current situation, they have both halted operations – creating a sudden global shortage of the gas².

The second is metal palladium – a vital component in the later manufacturing stages of semiconductor chips. Roughly one third of the world’s palladium comes from Russia³, dealing another blow to the supply chain necessary for chips to be produced.

What effect will this have?

The consequences of the situation are already being felt. Within a week of Russia’s invasion, palladium prices hit an all-time high due to disrupted shipments⁴. But this will only be the beginning. 

With supply chains disrupted and prices soaring, new vehicles are already in short supply and lead times are getting longer. As a result, we are seeing extortionate price hikes on used, unreliable vehicles which can be detrimental to businesses.

Contractors are likely feeling pressure to overspend in order to maintain an effective fleet. However, there is another way around the problem.

How Access Hire can help

Access Hire currently offers the UK’s largest fleet of Vehicle Mounted Access Platforms and other specialist vehicles. This means we are able to provide fully maintained Van Mounted and 4×4 Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs) across the entire country – despite the ongoing semiconductor shortages.

Not only that: we are able to offer shorter lead times than other industry players, along with 24/7 support to ensure your vehicles function flawlessly. And if you are planning in advance, we offer long-term leasing – so you can lock in vehicles for future projects.  

So if you would like to reduce lead times and secure brand-new access vehicles, reach out to our sales team today.

Mental health and wellbeing is a serious problem in construction: everybody knows this.

2022 is set to be another big year for infrastructure projects and Access Hire. But with uncertainty around the economy and on-going questions as to the future of the pandemic, it’s vital that contractors make the most efficient use of their budgets. 

Vehicle Mounted Access Platforms are vital for many infrastructure projects, but there are better and worse ways to source, operate and manage your fleet. 

In this article, we explore four ways which may help infrastructure projects get the maximum value out of their Vehicle Mounted Access Platforms in 2022:

1. Modernise your fleet

Many businesses refuse to upgrade their vehicles under the assumption that it will be too costly to enlist a more modern fleet. But in reality, the costs of improving the Vehicle Mounted Access Platforms you use are far less than the costs of relying on a fleet that is no longer fit for purpose.

Ultimately, modern vehicles run more smoothly – reducing the likelihood of disruption and ensuring your team can stay on schedule.

2. Focus on fuel efficiency

It may seem a relatively small factor, but fuel efficiency can have a big impact on both the environmental and financial results of your project. 

Older vehicles tend to require more fuel – as well as more frequent maintenance. This means they produce higher emissions and cost more to run.
Our fleet of Vehicle Mounted Access Platforms are designed to be maximally fuel-efficient. Not only will they save you money and improve your project’s environmental credentials – they are also less hassle to run.

3. Outsource support and maintenance

Vehicle Mounted Access Platforms require regular maintenance, to ensure they run smoothly and do not cause disruption to your project. But there are still more and less efficient ways to go about undertaking this maintenance.

The best option is to source your vehicles from a provider that includes full support and maintenance in their access vehicle hiring agreement. This will ensure that not only is maintenance and support taken care of – it never even has to cross your mind.

 

4. Try leasing your access vehicle

Many businesses assume that there are only two options when sourcing Vehicle Mounted Access Platforms – to buy your own fleet outright or to hire VMAPs.. But there is actually a third option, which offers some of the benefits of both – access vehicle lease.

By leasing, you may be able to improve your fleet in a way that suits your budget better; it may also help you manage your finances more effectively over the course of a project. Ultimately, it could help you extract even greater value from your access vehicles this year.

Looking to modernise your VMAP fleet? Contact our support team today.

Every 22 minutes, someone is seriously injured or dies on the UK’s roads. But the tragedy is not only the volume of accidents – it’s the fact that they are preventable. Road Safety Week seeks to highlight this fact and encourage prevention. At Access Hire, safety is of paramount importance and underpins the way that we work and the service that we provide.

As experts in Vehicle Mounted Access Platforms, we take pride in helping our clients across vital infrastructure contracts maintain a safe and secure on-site environment. Whether you are working directly on roads or just roadside, there are a variety of measures that can be taken to reduce the risk of accidents. 

Here are four steps to ensure road safety when using Access Hire’s Vehicle Mounted Mobile Elevated Work Platforms (MEWPs):

1. Always plan ahead

Safety is all about thinking ahead: what are the ground conditions of the area you are working on? How is your Vehicle Mounted MEWP going to be positioned?

In most instances, a traffic management scheme will be necessary to ensure traffic can flow easily and safely past your site. This will also help ensure you set up your Access Platform more securely.

2. Focus on visibility

High-visibility PPE should be mandatory for all personnel, and vehicles should use flashing beacons and rear chevrons (standard on all of our vehicles). Ultimately, no activity should be undertaken near a road if there is not ample high-quality visibility at all times.

3. Manage or block traffic

Before beginning any project near a road, you should obtain permission to implement traffic management or temporarily close nearby roads if necessary. 

While relatively straightforward to implement, things like temporary traffic lights, signs and cones will dramatically improve the safety of your site. They act as a clear warning sign to oncoming traffic, ultimately reducing the chance of a collision.

4. Implement an Exclusion Zone

It is important to ensure that wherever your Vehicle Mounted Access Platform will be  operating is clear- and that you segregate it from other vehicles. 

Your vehicles should never overhang into traffic; be sure to take into consideration how their position will change when they are fully elevated as well as the rotation of the boom. You should also block off foot traffic, to avoid pedestrians accidentally coming into proximity of your Access Vehicles when they are operating.

How Access Hire Improves Road Safety

Your vehicles should never overhang into traffic; be sure to take into consideration how their position will change when they are fully elevated as well as the rotation of the boom. You should also block off foot traffic, to avoid pedestrians accidentally coming into proximity of your Access Vehicles when they are operating.

Rail Live is one of the most important annual events for the rail industry, bringing together an incredible selection of experts and specialist vendors. This year’s event will take place on June 16-17th at the Quinton Rail Technology Centre in Warwickshire, and we are very excited to say that Access Hire will be in attendance.

Over the years, we have been a trusted partner on numerous major rail projects, providing innovative Vehicle Mounted Access Platforms (VMAPs) and market leading support. So this year, we’re hoping to shine a light on two key topics:

1. Working at Heights 

Working at heights is the single largest cause of workplace fatalities in the UK, and many rail projects require site workers to do just that. Workers might, for example, need to prune trees that are endangering rail lines, and in order to do so they’ll often need to use Vehicle Mounted Access Platforms.

As experts in this area, we want to demonstrate the vital steps that must be taken to ensure workers are safe when working at heights. This includes checking the project’s surroundings, as well as the ground and weather conditions; properly factoring workers’ weight into your safety assessments; and ensuring workers have proper training. 

Finally, Vehicle Mounted Access Platforms require regular, detailed maintenance to ensure they are working at full capacity and can guarantee the health and safety of workers. This brings us onto the other subject we’re hoping to illuminate:

 

2. Reliable Support on Large-Scale projects

Rail projects are often extremely complex, and managing them is a continual challenge. We believe it is the job of specialist equipment providers to ease this burden, by offering trustworthy, reliable support at all times. 

Project managers should be able to feel confident that they will always have easy access to high-quality, reliable equipment backed up by market leading 24/7/365 support from industry experts – which is exactly what we offer at Access Hire and Access Lease.

With over 200 years’ combined experience, we understand how important trust and support is for rail and other key infrastructure projects. We are therefore dedicated to ensuring we offer peerless service and support to every single project we partner with.

We are looking forward to bringing our Vehicle Mounted Access Platform expertise to the event, and learning lots from the many other impressive attendees.

Kelling Group will also be represented at Rail Live by our Sister Company – Welfare Hire.  Find out more about their innovative equipment here.

From planning and coordination, to managing site workers, running an infrastructure project is complex and time consuming. 

At Access Hire, we understand this, which is why we are dedicated to ensuring that hiring Access Platform Vehicles including our specialist Vehicle Mounted Access Platform (VMAPs) is seamless and easy. Making helping your project run smoothly and taking a load off your shoulders. 

How do we make hiring access platform vehicles easy? Through our industry-leading service, which has helped us develop trusting, long-term relationships with numerous clients and become the provider of choice for infrastructure projects across the UK. 

Let’s look at five reasons why our service is so effective:

1. Product knowledge 

Our service starts with genuine product expertise. Throughout our organisation, people are deeply knowledgeable and passionate about Vehicle Mounted Access Platforms – combined, they have over 200 years of industry experience. 

Our partners can trust us to provide the best Vehicle Mounted Access Platforms on the market, as well as confidently fielding their detailed queries about the vehicles’ specifications. The expert advice we are able to provide ultimately saves time and reduces stress for our partners. 

2. 24/7 Support

We provide round-the-clock support, every day of the year. This stems from a belief that our job is not simply to provide high quality access vehicles – it’s to ensure your project runs smoothly at all times. 

Roughly one third of all service calls we receive results in an instant resolution through a conversation with one of our expert engineers, and our dedicated service team responds immediately to all requests. This minimises delays and helps our partners feel confident that they have the support they need. 

3. Fully Inclusive Maintenance

We ensure every piece of equipment we hire out is perfectly maintained. We provide regular inspections and planned maintenance to ensure our Vehicle Mounted Access Platforms are always running at optimal level.  All planned maintenance is proactively booked in for you at your convenience by our service team professionals, meaning minimal disruption to your workload and peace of mind that nothing will get missed.

This means project managers don’t have to concern themselves with technical appraisals – they can simply rest assured that their access vehicles are being looked after by true experts. 

4. Long-term relationships

In their recent look at the UK’s post-pandemic economic recovery, PwC argued that closer relationships with suppliers is key to accelerating infrastructure projects.

Our service is based upon this and we provide just those kinds of relationships, which means partnering with Access Hire is quick, easy, and secure. This ensures your peace of mind when choosing us as your access equipment provider.

Ultimately, we believe great service builds great relationships. By providing consistently reliable and safe products, we develop long-term relationships with our clients that means they never have to settle for second best. 

Projects within key infrastructure industries such as Telecoms and Utilities through to Power and Street Lighting require Vehicle Mounted Access Platforms (VMAPs) to reach heights safely. 

It’s absolutely vital to ensure everybody involved in these projects is safe, and that means following clear safety guidance when using Vehicle Mounted Access Platforms. 

Here are six essential tips to ensure you stay safe when using your access vehicle.

1. Check weather conditions

Weather can create unexpected risks when working from heights – in particular strong winds and heavy rain.  So you should carefully assess the weather conditions before operating Vehicle Mounted Access Platforms. 

2. Check the ground

Uneven, unstable or sloping ground can cause serious problems for vehicle mounted access platforms.  It’s important to carefully inspect the ground before beginning work, and make sure it is totally clear and secure.

3. Assess surroundings

From roads to overhead cables, there are a number of potential hazards to look out for in surrounding areas.  Before operating your access vehicle, ensure that the surrounding space is clear and safe to avoid accidents and distractions.

4. Factor in material weights

If you are installing materials, it’s important to factor the material’s weight into your safety assessments.  In some cases, you may need extra support to transport materials so as not to go over the safe working load of the vehicle.

5. Provide proper training

Operating Vehicle Mounted Access Platforms requires proper training. This should involve learning the safety risks, how to operate the vehicle properly, what safety equipment to wear and how to respond in emergency situations.

6. Daily inspections

Your maintenance schedule provided by Access Hire should be supplemented by daily vehicle inspections from drivers and operators of the vehicle you’ve hired, ensuring a smooth and safe experience and enabling you to carry out your work with confidence.

How Access Hire Helps

At Access Hire, we provide the UK’s largest and youngest fleet of Vehicle Mounted Access Platforms. 

As part of our market-leading service, we provide regular scheduled maintenance on every one of our vehicles, to ensure they are always kept in the best possible working condition.  

We proactively book in your servicing, maintenance and LOLER inspections to ensure the least disruption to your work and providing peace of mind that your vehicle is well maintained and safe to work.

Poor sleep hygiene can have serious consequences for construction workers – from physical and cognitive health to alertness and mood, sleep impacts almost every aspect of our lives. That means poor sleep can lead not just to serious health and safety issues, but increased absenteeism, reduced productivity and bad onsite morale.

World Sleep Awareness Day is all about drawing attention to the importance of sleep for our collective wellbeing. So in this article, we’re going to look at a few key ways construction sites rely on alert, well-rested workers – as well as providing some advice to improve your own sleep.

THREE WAYS SLEEP IMPACTS YOUR SITE

1. Health and safety

Operating vehicle mounted access platforms, like those we provide at Access Hire, requires proper focus. On a busy site or a public road, with co-workers and the general public around you, not being fully alert can result in serious accidents or injury.  

Given that sleep deprivation directly impacts cognitive functioning, proper sleep is therefore essential for any worker who is operating such access vehicles – or any machinery. 
So while sleep deprivation can be difficult to gauge, its impact isn’t: according to The Health and Safety Executive, fatigue is implicated in 20% of all major road accidents, and costs the UK up to £240 million in work accidents.

2. Productivity and morale

Analysis suggests that the UK loses over 200,000 working days and just shy of 2% of annual GDP to poor sleep. This is in part because sleep disrupts individual productivity, impairing cognitive performance and increasing risk of illness. But the problem goes even further when you consider how poor sleep impacts team morale. 

Anybody who’s worked as part of a team knows the subtle ways individual moods impact the overarching ‘team morale’. And recent research has provided proof of this intuition: our moods are contagious. 

When you consider that poor sleep makes individuals less positive and more irritable, it’s not hard to see how a single bad night’s sleep can spread negativity throughout the entire workforce, lowering both morale and productivity.

3. Decision making

A single night’s poor sleep has been found to negatively impact decision making and mental flexibility. Without the alertness and focus proper sleep provides, decisions are slower and produce less successful outcomes.

Given that studies suggest one third of decisions on construction sites are made within an hour, and a further 40% are made on the same day, this has disastrous implications for the quality of site management and strategy.

So given the vital importance of good quality sleep, what can we do to achieve it?

There are various ways you might encourage your workers to sleep better and stay safe when operating their access vehicles – everything from healthier eating to regularity in a daily schedule has been shown to contribute positively to sleep hygiene.

But for more specific advice, we should always defer to the experts. So here are the ten top tips from the World Sleep Society:

10 STEPS FOR HEALTHY SLEEP

1. Fix a bedtime and an awakening time.
2. If you are in the habit of taking a nap, do not exceed 45 minutes of daytime sleep.
3.  Avoid excessive alcohol ingestion 4 hours before bedtime and do not smoke.
4. Avoid caffeine 6 hours before bedtime. This includes coffee, tea and many sodas, as well as chocolate.
5.  Avoid heavy, spicy, or sugary foods 4 hours before bedtime. A light snack before bed is acceptable.
6.  Exercise regularly, but not right before bed.
7. Use comfortable bedding.
8.  Find a comfortable temperature setting for sleeping and keep the room well ventilated.
9. Block out all distracting noise and eliminate as much light as possible.
10.  Reserve the bed for sleep and sex. Don’t use the bed as an office, workroom or recreation room.

Staff welfare has become a real priority for the construction sector, and the introduction of Mobile Welfare Units on site, have been paramount in order to allow staff somewhere to rest and take a break, indoors and away from the bustle of the site. Read more on this in our blog on Five Ways Eco-Friendly Mobile Welfare Units Will Improve Your Construction Site.

Leasing access vehicles can provide a variety of benefits, from increased flexibility to 24/7 support. You get access to market-leading vehicle mounted access platforms, pole erection units and other specialist vehicles, without the painful upfront investment or mounting maintenance costs.

One of the most popular benefits is the control leasing gives businesses and contractors over their finances. By establishing a fixed cost over numerous months, you can plan for the long-term, unlocking far greater financial efficiency. But in order to achieve this, you must plan your budget properly.

Here are six steps you should take when budgeting to lease an access vehicle.

1. Establish your requirements 

Your first step should be to establish your requirements: what kind of vehicles do you need, and how many? How long do you need to lease them for? This should be done in consultation with project management, to ensure you get the timings exactly right and don’t overlook any specific technical needs.

2. Determine your available monthly budget

Next, you need to establish how much you can afford to pay each month for your access vehicles. This should be based on actual cash flow, so that you are certain you will be able to fulfil payment on time each month.

Many businesses find it beneficial to be conservative here: committing all available finances to a lease may cause complications if unexpected costs are flagged elsewhere on the project. So be sure to build in contingency funds.

3. Choose the right products

Choosing the right access vehicle is clearly vital, so take the time to consider the full budgetary implications of the access vehicles you choose.

Ideally, you should choose vehicles that will produce the best overall return on your investment. That is, considering the monthly cost of the product against the total value it will add to your projects.

Market-leading products, for example, may be slightly more costly. But ultimately, they often offer a greater return on investment by vastly improving the productivity and efficiency of jobs.

4. Determine an ideal deposit

When leasing, you can decide what deposit you would like to pay. The higher the deposit, the lower monthly repayments.

This means you have two options: pay more upfront, in order to establish a lower monthly payment for your access vehicle. Or pay a lower deposit, and retain cash flow for other necessary expenses.

Try to choose an amount which gives you the most overall financial efficiency, based on your project’s other budgetary considerations.

5. Account for running costs

Your budget must account not just for leasing the vehicles themselves, but also running them effectively. This means your budget should, for example, also include an estimate of fuel costs and insurance.

With Access Lease, many of your running costs – like maintenance and service – are actually included within the cost of the lease which is one of the key advantages.

6. Plan your taxes

One of the great benefits of leasing access vehicles is the potential for tax write offs. You should consult an accountant to determine whether your prospective lease could be fully deducted from your taxable income, or whether you might be able to claim capital allowances.

This will give you a clearer sense of the overarching financial cost of your lease contract, and help you better plan your long-term finances.

Get in touch with our team to discuss the benefits of leasing access vehicles, such as VMAP’s with our team today.