Category Archives: News

This week, at JCA we are holding our first internal Employee Assistance Programme Awareness Week to increase the familiarity of our employees with the types of support and assistance available through our EAP, now in its sixth year.

Throughout the week we are sharing valuable information, tips and advice on different areas of support provided by our external EAP provider. The services include help with home and work life, physical and emotional health, wellbeing resources, self-help programmes, webinars and other.

Wellbeing at the core

At JCA, we fully recognise that mental and physical health and wellbeing are equally important and that work can have a potential impact on both.

We have an employee wellbeing policy that sets out and manages our obligations to maintain the mental health and wellbeing of our staff. The policy covers JCA’s commitment to employee health, the responsibilities of managers and others for maintaining psychological health, health promotion initiatives, communicating and training on health issues, the range of support available for the maintenance of mental health, and organisational commitment to handling individual issues.

External employee assistance programme

JCA values the health and wellbeing of all our employees and recognises that balancing everyday life together with the requirements of work and home can create pressure for everyone. We aim to establish a positive health and wellbeing culture that includes awareness, understanding, effective processes and positive behaviour by employees at all levels.

As part of our commitment to health and wellbeing of our staff, we implemented an Employee Assistance Programme in 2016, delivered by an independent external organisation, which provides confidential support and guidance relating to personal issues via telephone and online advice, support and counselling services.

EAP support

Sometimes we may not know what support we might need until something comes up or a life event occurs, and at that time we may just need somewhere to turn to for advice or support.

Every day this week we will be focusing on a different area of support provided by the EAP, including:

• Life advice and support – including legal, financial, family, relationships, technology, internet, bereavement and loss
• Physical health – including health issues, addictions, sleep, exercise, weight loss and others
• Emotional health – including anxiety, panic, depression and stress
• Wellbeing resources – access to programmes, webinars, podcasts and other

Find out more:

• Mental health and wellbeing at JCA
• JCA receives the RoSPA Health at Work Trophy for health and safety practices
• Our culture
• Charity work

We are pleased to announce that Kao Data London One, designed, built and maintained by JCA, was awarded the highly prestigious Stamp of Approval for Management and Operations by the Uptime Institute. 

London One, the first building on the Kao Data Campus, located on the 36-acre Kao Park development in the Harlow Enterprise Zone on the London-Stansted-Cambridge technology corridor has been operational since January 2018.

The Uptime Institute audit, held over two days in July, was based on the criteria set by the Up Time Institute (UTI) focusing on Management & Operations. JCA team provides most of the audited services, including a full facilities management package on site, including all M&E maintenance/reactive works, office & window cleaning, pest control, landscaping, etc

The report evaluated the staffing levels, skill mix, training, and qualifications of the data centre staff, assessed the effectiveness of the maintenance and processes supporting data centre operations, and reviewed the activities and policies that affect the planning and coordination activities for the site.

For more information about the Uptime Institute’s approval, head over to Kao Data’s website. 

Find out more:  

First place for Kao Data Campus in ASHRAE Technology Awards 

Kao Data and JCA shortlisted for ‘Design Team of the Year’ DCD Award 

JCA showcases data centre firsts at DCW18 with Kao Data London One 

The new critical care facility at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital is a major and exciting development that offers patients, patient families and clinicians new state-of-the-art facilities for a critical care environment. JCA was part of the professional team assigned to designing and creating this complex project. 

The expansion and redevelopment of the adult intensive care (ICU) and neonatal intensive care (NICU) facilities was specifically designed to create a patient-focused environment to support optimal healing. These benefits include but are not limited to: 

• Maximising daylight for the patients with extensive views of the city using full-height thermal comfort glazing 
• Large bed spaces with carefully considered ceiling mounted articulated arms and monitoring facilities 

• Glass has replaced curtains to improve noise reduction and privacy 
• Improved relative facilities 
• Additional cot spaces 
• Upgraded burns unit environmental systems 
• Centralised 24 hours critical care engineering systems offering flexible, maintainable systems with minimal maintenance impact in patient areas 

The facilities will provide life-saving care to 1,000 babies each year and enable the treatment of more than 650 additional critically ill patients annually. The project will improve the facilities for 2,000 patients every year.

JCA overcame complex engineering challenges to design a solution to facilitate central engineering upgrades whilst ensuring there is no impact to the usual day to day running of the hospital during the construction works and to provide a phased handover and sectional completion of areas. 

The first two phases of the ICU were opened by April 2020, to be able to treat the increased number of patients being cared for due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Vital engineering design changes were made to the scheme in terms of ventilation and infection control to meet the requirements of hospitalised Covid-19 patients. The final phase of the project was completed in June 2021, handed over to the client and currently in use. 

David Butcher, Director of Estates and Facilities at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Trust, said: “This project was a complex major scheme in a central London hospital that needed architectural and engineering design capability of the highest standard. There were many design and technical challenges to overcome as this involved a phased refurbishment in a live central London hospital. The entire professional and construction team needed to work closely with clinicians to provide a design that can be built in a properly planned and methodical manner with minimal impact to the usual day to day running of the hospital. This critical care project provides a facility that the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital are very proud of.” 

To find out how this project will help saving more lives, head over to Transforming Critical Care at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

To find out more about JCA’s design capabilities, visit our Professional Services page.

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