Performance testing
Ratings
Testing conditions
Heating
Air-conditioning systems
Air-conditioning equipment
Cooling
Measurement characteristics
Air conditioners
Efficiency
Heat pumps
Performance
Link: BS ISO 18326:2018 Non-ducted portable air-cooled air conditioners and air-to-air heat pumps having a single exhaust duct. Testing and rating for performance
Source: BSI Standards
Measurement characteristics
Precision
Standard deviation
Pollution
Error detection
Calibration
Statistical methods of analysis
Measurement
Chemical analysis and testing
Link: BS ISO 11843-7:2018 Capability of detection Methodology based on stochastic properties of instrumental noise
Source: BSI Standards
Modulus of rigidity
Shear strength
Strength of materials
Plastics
Cellular materials
Shear testing
Rigidity
Link: BS ISO 1922:2018 Rigid cellular plastics. Determination of shear properties
Source: BSI Standards
Vehicles
Performance evaluation
Test methods
Automation
Performance
Transport
Link: BS ISO 21717:2018 Intelligent transport systems. Partially Automated In-Lane Driving Systems (PADS). Performance requirements and test procedures Partially automated in-lane driving systems (PADS) – Performance requirements and test procedures
Source: BSI Standards
Solid-fuelled devices
Heaters
Efficiency
Space-heating systems
Design
Safety measures
Performance testing
Performance
Heating equipment
Instructions for use
Equipment safety
Emission
Marking
Solid fuel heating
Link: BS EN 16510-1:2018 Residential solid fuel burning appliances General requirements and test methods
Source: BSI Standards
We have heard much about the gender pay gap in recent months. We’ve heard some things about the phenomena that sit behind it: career choices made by young girls; unconscious bias in selection and promotion; the practical challenges and sacrifices made to care for another, and the propensity of women to assume that responsibility; and good old-fashioned discrimination and more.
And we’ve heard a little bit about how to tackle those challenges.
But we’ve heard practically nothing about why it matters.
Why should we be worried about a lack of diversity in our institutions and organisations? What harm is done if we fail to include different perspectives and ideas? This is an issue that has real practical implications beyond the very evident issues of fairness and justice.
When companies include more women they are more likely to enjoy profits above their rivals. Companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 15 percent more likely to enjoy profits above their industry averages. Work by McKinsey estimates that bridging gender gaps in employment could add £150bn to the UK economy by 2025.
Every human endeavour depends upon inclusion.
The fortunes of mankind depend on the talents of womankind.
So it matters to us all that nearly eight out of 10 big UK employers pay men more than they pay women, and only a quarter of FTSE 350 board positions are occupied by women.
Given the challenges facing us in 2018, I don’t think we can wait for gender equality in business leadership until 2043. Or even later.
The World Economic Forum predicts it could take more than two centuries to close the global gender pay gap.
We need women’s ideas, voices, perspectives, empathy, communication skills, talents and leadership applied to those challenges now.
Britain has led the world by being the first country to require all businesses with 250 or more employees to publish their gender pay gaps. And people from all sectors are showing leadership to close that gap, many of them men.
Last night I spoke to business leaders from across the country, at an event at St James’s Palace kindly hosted by The Duke of York, and organised by the government-backed Women’s Business Council.
As part of their Men As Change Agents initiative, men at the very top of business promised to personally champion this agenda, ensuring at least a third of their executive-level leaders are women, to sponsor at least one woman within their organisation, and be a change agent encouraging other businesses to achieve better gender balance in UK business leadership.
These men get it. They understand why this agenda is about an environment in which their partner, daughter, sister, mother can reach their full potential. And they understand that it is also about every sector, community and our nation being fit for purpose, and the best it can be. They understand that it is both right and smart.
Some of our biggest UK companies like Barclays, BT, Deloitte and Sky have already taken action, showing that gender equality is not just a moral imperative, it is good business.
I hope others will join them. We need to change workplace culture and promote shared parental leave – encouraging fathers to take their share, and work so our businesses and services reflect our nation.
It is in all our interests that this is so.
Link: Press release: Fortunes of mankind depend on the talents of womankind
Source: Gov Press Releases
Finance Bill Sub-Committee 2018 first meeting
Link: Finance Bill Sub-Committee re-established
Source: Parliamentary News
Peers debate key purpose and principles of bill
Link: Lords debates Mental Health Units (Use of Force) Bill
Source: Parliamentary News
A charity has been fined after a member of the public lost her leg when she became trapped under a lorry carrying a fairground ride.
Link: Charity fined after injuries to member of the public
Source: Health and Safety
A prestigious 55-year-old trophy has been presented to Environment Agency staff as thanks for their hard work in helping boaters make the most of Anglian waterways this summer.
The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) made the gesture at their Festival of Water at St Neots as the Environment Agency welcomed hundreds of boats and thousands of visitors to the River Great Ouse over the bank holiday weekend.
Since 1963, the Best Working Boat award has been presented to working vessels, and this year it went to two EA boats – the Ouse II Know and Ouseabout.
Irven Forbes, the Environment Agency’s Anglian waterways manager, said:
We’re delighted with this recognition of our teams’ hard work to maintain our waterways for people and wildlife.
This summer, the hot, dry weather presented some challenges like weed growth, fallen trees and lower levels on some of our navigations, so we’re extremely pleased to have made a contribution to a very successful festival.
We’ve had so many great comments from visitors about the Great Ouse and the River Nene – it’s given us a real boost to help people enjoy them while getting closer to nature.
The IWA award recognises the efforts of the team over many months to make sure boaters had smooth sailing on the region’s waterways.
Just days before the event, for example, it was all hands on deck to make sure a broken lock didn’t hamper visitors reaching the festivities.
Hemingford Lock on the River Great Ouse suffered a mechanical failure – the drive shaft had separated, meaning the lock couldn’t be operated even by hand. Getting the lock up and running again as soon as possible became a priority, and the team dropped everything to repair it in under 48 hours.
And over the previous months, EA teams really pushed the boat out to make sure Anglian waterways were in tip-top condition for both local boaters and visitors to enjoy.
This included refurbishing 8 of the region’s busiest locks used by around 7,000 boaters every year, revamping 10 landings, clearing a number of large fallen trees, de-shoaling on the rivers Great Ouse and Nene, and spending an extra £60k on de-silting the tidal Great Ouse at Denver, Salters Lode and the Old Bedford on top of the regular annual de-silting and weed-clearance.
To make it easier for boats to navigate, teams also made half a dozen passes to clear duckweed from the Old West channel – work that must be done carefully in hot summer conditions to avoid having a negative impact on the environment and wildlife.
The work is part of the Environment Agency’s £2.5m investment in the 353 miles of navigable Anglian waterways, protecting them for the future as an important part of the nation’s rich heritage and beauty, and recognising all they contribute to our environment, health and wellbeing and economy.
The festival also saw the IWA, Lincolnshire County Council and the Environment Agency launch a new initiative – the Boston to Peterborough Wetland Corridor, which will see all three organisations working in partnership to progress a wetland corridor from the Black Sluice at Boston to the River Nene near Peterborough.
The proposal would bring a huge boost to Anglian waterways with new recreational access for boaters, cyclists, fishermen and walkers, a significant section of wetland habitat for flora and fauna, and economic opportunities for local communities – especially in connection with the proposed Bedford to Milton Keynes waterway park, a new 16 mile link from the Grand Union Canal in Milton Keynes to the River Great Ouse in Bedford.
You can find more information on Anglian Waterways here.
Link: Press release: Environment Agency bags award at Inland Waterways Association’s Festival of Water
Source: Environment Agency
