Insights
The latest from OFR
Building Magazine lists OFR as one of the UK’s top consultants
OFR Consultants has ranked in Building Magazine’s annual ranking of the top consultants in the UK’s construction sector. The company features in the top 150 practices in the country; the listings also show that OFR is the only specialist fire engineer to appear in the Top 50 Engineers list.
OFR ranked as one of the UK’s best companies to work for
OFR Consultants has been named in a list of the Best Companies to Work for 2022. The company ranked highly in the lists, earning a place in the top 10 Best Consultancies to work for. OFR was also ranked 41st in the UK-wide overall companies category - making it one of the best businesses to work for in the country.
A new concept for high rise safety; creating safer and sustainable buildings with 81% net:gross
The construction industry has a responsibility to make high rise buildings safer and more sustainable... Matt Brook Architects made a proactive move to address this with the design of a core that was safer for residents and firefighters as well as being highly efficient. Working collaboratively with OFR, the core has been developed and validated through testing. Read more about the process here.
Investing in future talent through our OFR Technical Institute
The OFR Technical Institute was introduced in 2020 – giving colleagues high quality, in-house training that helps them deliver great work for our clients. Here, our Technical Director, Dr. Danny Hopkin tells us more.
Mind matters; today and every day
Our Mind Matters team is made up of mental health first aid trained individuals who are passionate about supporting their colleagues and raising awareness of issues such as anxiety and depression. With Mental Health Awareness Week underway, we look at how the team has been helping others throughout the year and the topics they have been exploring during the campaign week.
The daily juggle
At OFR Consultants we protect and promote our people, investing in them to ensure that they can manage their work and home lives effectively. This month, we announced a series of new initiatives for our OFR working parents, with increased maternity and shared parental leave pay. Here, we hear from three parents in our workforce who talk about their approach to juggling the family work-life balance.
Protecting our whole selves!
OFR prioritises colleague wellbeing, and we have a range of initiatives driven by our Mind Matters team who share information and deliver engaging sessions throughout the year. This month, our brilliant colleague Sam Bryant helped us celebrated MHFA Whole Self Day, delivering a talk on how we can bring whole selves into the workplace. Here, she tells us about learning how not to leave an aspect of our personality at the door.
Built by Nature awards €200,000 grant toward development of a Commercial Timber Guidebook
To foster cross-sector industry alignment on solutions to ensure the widespread adoption of large-scale mass timber offices, the Built by Nature Fund has awarded a €200,000 grant to a diverse UK consortium - including OFR Consultants - focused on unlocking the barriers to structural timber through the development of a technical Commercial Timber Guidebook.
Supporting our working parents
Since 2016, we’ve worked hard to establish a flexible and inclusive working culture, working with our colleagues to nurture an environment where productivity is more important than presenteeism. It’s something that’s appealed to the many working parents in our team who this month, have been given even more benefits from OFR. Our head of HR Lucy Kirkup explains.
Waste to Energy: how our team is expanding its portfolio with progressive sustainability-focused projects
Having completed works at the Baldovie Waste to Energy plant at Dundee, we are bringing our expertise to a number of other projects in the UK. Here OFR director Jamie Gibson explains more…
Our work at Smithfield in Birmingham
The 17-hectare Smithfield regeneration scheme in Birmingham is set to transform this historic market site into a people-centred yet sustainable, low-carbon destination. Here, our project director, Stewart Dabin talks about our involvement.
Fire strategies for prisons; our latest projects further diversify our OFR portfolio
Our OFR portfolio spans multiple sectors and multiple countries. From shopping malls in Africa, to a research centre in Antarctica, to Google’s new HQ in London. Recently we’ve expanded that offering again working with the Ministry of Justice on fire strategies as part of a £1bn project that will upgrade four prisons across England.
Showing our support for Forever Manchester
We’re big fans of Forever Manchester, donating to the organisation and supporting its events throughout the year. This week, ten of our colleagues showed their love for the charity, attending a birthday party celebration and sponsoring an award, and here our colleague Helen Buckley tells us more.
Our London team supports Silvertown
eam, but also with ongoing work on some of the city’s most talked about developments. Here, principal fire engineer, Matt Stallwood talks about how we have been involved at East London’s pioneering Silvertown development.
Our work in the arts and culture sector
We've been privileged to be involved in some of the UK’s most ground-breaking projects – but it’s our growth within the arts and cultural sector following previous project successes that has seen our team build on its industry-leading experience. Here, our director Andy Passingham talks about how we are providing the knowledge and skills to ensure that heritage buildings such as galleries and museums can continue to be safe and accessible for the public well into the future.
Seven interesting projects from seven great years!
Our jobs as fire engineers are always interesting, with a broad portfolio that covers everything from the world’s tallest Octagon-shaped tower to a research station in the Antarctic, to… a new music studio for an 80s pop band. Here we look at some of our most unique OFR projects.
Helping deliver the UK’s lowest carbon new build workspace
It’s an exciting time for construction, with innovations that are making the creation of truly sustainable buildings a reality. In Manchester, members of our team are providing fire engineering advice on what is set to be the UK’s lowest carbon new build workspace, Ev0. Our associate director Jamie Gibson explains how we are providing fire engineering support on this pioneering exposed timber development…