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M-EC, one of the UK’s leading technical consultants, has invested in new equipment for two disciplines after securing a grant from ERDF to part-fund new software.

M-EC, one of the UK’s leading technical consultants, has invested in new equipment for two disciplines after securing a grant from ERDF to part-fund new software.

Departments, Acoustic Air, and Lighting are the latest to receive investment to bolster and enhance their capabilities and offering to clients.

The cost of this software has been made more accessible after M-EC was accepted to receive a spring grant from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

The software purchased for M-EC’s Lighting department, which is known as Waldrum Tools, Daylight Software for Auto Cad, will now enable the team to offer clients Daylight, Sunlight and Overshadowing Assessments for new and existing developments across the country. Local planning authorities are increasingly requesting this, mainly when a building is over 3-4 storeys tall or where previous commercial or office spaces are being converted for residential use. 

A Daylight, Sunlight and Overshadowing Assessment involves assessing what impact a proposed building will have on current light and, as a result, what shadows will be produced, as this may impact current external amenity areas and gardens. M-EC’s new software will enable an intensive overview, providing 3D models of proposed projects whilst assessing the following: 25 degrees and 45 degrees of adjacent windows, a No Skyline Assessment (NSL), Average daylight factors, annual probable sunlight hours and existing and proposed overshadowing. This is an excellent addition to the lighting team, pushing the ongoing growth of the department further. 

Also receiving investment was M-EC’s Acoustic Air team which has already seen a cash injection this year for overheating software. This offers assessments that support the new Approved Document O building regulation, enacted in June this year for residential properties. However, the new investment has reinforced the team’s noise modelling capabilities by upgrading existing CadnaA software and adding a new server. This enables the team to provide higher resolution modelling than ever before; it speeds processing and efficiency and increases overall capacity by allowing multiple users to work on the software simultaneously. This also provides a better experience as the team can now run through mitigation and design options as examples with the client. The upgrade comes at the perfect time as the team has welcomed new graduate acoustics consultant Elliot Williams.

Alex Bennett, Director at M-EC, comments:

“As a company, we are always investing in our teams to improve our capabilities and client offering. In both our Lighting and Acoustic Air teams, demand from clients is continually growing, and with ever-changing regulations and local authority requirements, the addition of these enhancements will make a real difference internally and to our clients. Both departments are key disciplines that we want to build and grow within M-EC, so receiving the ERDF grant was a positive step toward achieving this. The spring grant helped to part-fund both investments, meaning that we could meet departmental needs simultaneously.” 

To find out more about M-EC’s Lighting and Acoustic Air capabilities or the broader services offered at M-EC, visit: www.m-ec.co.uk


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