Why? Quite simply the Summer months in the commercial window, door and curtain walling world in the UK is when schools, colleges and universities have the least number of persons on site for the longest period each year, so look to have any major refurbishment works carried out during the summer school holidays when there will be the least disruption.
Consequently as such a large number of Hazlemere Commercial’s clients are local authorities, universities, schools and colleges, it means that the pressure is on production wise each year throughout June, July, August and September, and installation wise from mid-July until the beginning of September. The school holidays is also when surveyors, fabricators, Project Managers and commercial window and door installers want to take some of their annual leave, so in order to be able to deliver projects on time, careful pre-planning and programming is needed, procurement wise, production wise and installation wise.
In addition Hazlemere Commercial assist schools and educational establishments in November and early December with their CIF Bid submission due in by mid-December each year, when schools look to secure government funding for new and refurbishment projects, including replacement fenestration projects for windows, curtain walling, roof lanterns and commercial doors. The results of these CIF (Condition Improvement Fund) Bids are announced at the end of March or beginning of April each year. Some then require planning applications submitting, which then does not leave much time for procurement following a successful application and the beginning of the school summer holidays. As CIF Bid funding needs to be spent by the following March, most schools etc look to have the work carried out during the summer school break.
In terms of Hazlemere Commercial’s capacity during the summer, this is usually all allocated and scheduled before the end of May, as the advance programming of works during the summer months is vital to ensure smooth running on site. In the case of special schools, there is no option whatsoever to have works undertaken during school term time, so all projects in such cases have to be 100% completed and snagged prior to the end of the school holidays. When you add into the mix other non-educational clients who wish to utilise the drier summer months for new build projects, there is inevitably a first come, first served situation each year, as Hazlemere Commercial look to sit down early in the lifespan of each project to discuss with each client their requirements and advise them of the importance of giving as many months notice as possible of their wish to proceed, especially if installation (or even part) is required between May and October.
Fortunately Hazlemere have over 30 years experience and expertise in surveying, procuring, fabricating and installing commercial aluminium windows, doors and curtain walling, so one of the very first things that is established is the clients installation date expectations and a discussion to see whether or not these can be sensibly achieved without putting undue and unnecessary strain on the supply chain to allow for any slight delays in obtaining the specified materials. The best advice if clients want installation during any summer comes from Fred Pontin….”Book Early”
