
THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW
Highlighting best practice
50 | ORBS ELECTRICAL
it involves and generally requires
collaboration with all stakeholders.
Though this can take longer, it usually
results in accurate first-time delivery.
We provide this same attention to
detail to site preliminaries, system
installation, testing, training and
handover. This cycle of ongoing
customer commitment resembles an
unbroken loop which has recently
been incorporated into a new logo
design for our business.
Quality partnerships
Recently, we and our main contractor,
Willmott Dixon, have developed
inception workshops. These are utilised
at the start of a project to provide
absolute clarity on the brief, outlining
a further bedrock for collaboration
throughout the duration of a build.
Prior to our involvement in this process,
inception workshops were the sole
domain of the main contractor.
Quality has always been at the heart
of our organisation. This year, we
decided to formalise matters with
accreditation to the newest version of
ISO 9001. Work is underway to bring
existing systems into line with the
requirements of the standard, which
brings the opportunity to scrutinise
how the business performs in every
area, not just service delivery. The
whole team were consulted about and
are involved in the ISO 9001 journey,
and every member of the ORBS
team is committed to achieving this
accreditation.
Two unique case studies
We have been instrumental in
realising the sustainable aspirations
of the University of Birmingham’s
Green Heart project. Incorporated
within these 12 acres of green space,
there is an LED lighting scheme
with individually controlled fittings,
sustainably sourced timber lighting
columns and an energy-generating
footpath system. Every aspect of the
project has the ability to link to existing
building managementsystems.
Additionally, a design brief for the
Milton Keynes Museum we worked on
required the project to be completely
carbon neutral. We designed and
installed a multi-rooftop solar photo-
voltaic array; this will generate an
estimated 60,000 kilowatt hours of
energy a year – enough energy to
boil 24,000 kettles and make 2.88
million cups of tea. Air-source heat
pumps and LED lighting finished the
expectations of the brief and allowed
us to complete the project.
New working practices
An ability to change and adapt
working practices is a necessity in an
industry where pressures to reduce
energy consumption, make cost
savings, reduce waste and incorporate
new technologies are all increasing.
We have always looked to the future
to inform business decisions, and work
with building information modelling
(BIM) – a 3D modellingprocess
Clive discussing work
with the contract
manager
Success is built
on sustainable
growth, so, in
the short
term, we are
looking to
diversify our
client base
while
maintaining a
commitment
to quality and
customer
service
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