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INNOVATION www.thefis.org 9 FACE OF ADVERSITY One innovation that aims to cut down the amount of staff needed on site and make it easier to work in confined or irregular interior spaces is Howick’s new cold form steel framing machine. The company says the X-Tenda 36000 machine will cut dry wall stud installation times by 50% or more. It manufactures all interior wall or ceiling frame components ready to be pre-assembled, compressed Protecting and adapting different work environments RAP Interiors has pulled together a number of protective screen options for office environments, co-working spaces and public- facing businesses to enable them to conform with government guidelines surrounding COVID-19, and keep staff protected. Director Julie Anderson said: “Where the social distancing guidelines between workers can’t be met, implementing additional hygiene procedures and the use of protective equipment should also be considered. Protective screens are the solution to those in a workplace environment and we have several options catering for all workspace designs to ensure employees feel safe and protected.” Full height screens that can be installed to the front and sides of individual desks can also be used for hot-desking, combined with desk-mounted screens that slot together. As well as folding screens in two different heights which fold back for storage, vinyl push-on screens that slot onto desktops are available without the need for tools or fixings, and desk-mounted screens that can be secured to the work surface with double-sided tape and two white metal supports are all options available for offices. The company also offers a solution for increasing the height of existing desk screens with its Felt Screen Top Extender. For those coming face-to-facewith the public, the company can provide counter screenswith a slot to pass documents through the bottomof the screen, while full height transparent screens can helpmaintain asmuch normality as possible in confined spaces, to enable people to pass each other safety. “Full height screens are great in school and office corridors to promote a one-way traffic flow so a 2mdistance ismaintained to follow the social distancing guidelines,” said Julie. “The full height screens are installed together in a row to create a barrier in the centre of the corridor so people can travel through workplaces and school safely.” www.rapinteriors.co.uk and then quickly extended and adjusted on site for an exact fit, even in irregular interior spaces. Using BIM construction technology, the machine receives information from framing software and produces all the components ready to assemble using precision engineering to ensure doors and windows within the framing remain true. “Rework and wastage are minimalised,” the company states in a recent U-Tube demonstration. “Because the components are compressed telescopically, they are easy to move around on site, and can even fit inside elevators. Being cold-formed steel, they are also lighter.” Once in place, framing can be extended and adjusted for an exact fit, even allowing for inconsistencies in the building. This negates the need for manual tasks like on-site measuring, cutting and snipping. www.howickltd.com Telescopic solution cuts downmanual tasks in drywall installation