Plastic Surgeon Specialist Repair for the Facilities Management Sector

8/6/2019 Plastic Surgeon Specialist Repair for the Facilities Management Sector

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Sector profile article: by Plastic Surgeon specialist repairs for the UK construction industry

Date: June 2011

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Plastic Surgeon specialist repair for the facilities

management sector

Plastic Surgeon provides cosmetic repair and fine finishing for virtually any interior or exterior surface

in the built environment. The cosmetic repairs can be used to restore most surfaces in any type of

building; new or old, big or small, contemporary or traditional.

Plastic Surgeons repairscan be applied to damaged surfaces of practicallyanymaterial, including

glass,stone, brick,metal,ceramic, enamel, wood and ofcourse, plastic, hence the company name.

The damage thatcan be repaired includes:cracks, dents,chips, gouges,splits,staining, discolouring,

and graffiti damage.


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The companycan restore damage to anything from glass faciasand exterior wallcladding panels,to

ceramicsinks, wooden doorsand upvc windows. The listisalmost endless.

Plastic Surgeon directly employs a nationwide team of nearly 100 specially trained finishers

operating from seven regional centres throughout the UK. The finishersrestore damaged items

using highly skilled cosmetic finishing and restoration techniques, including colour theory, colour

mixing and colour matching. With a wide selection of tools and equipment and special finishing

agentssuch astwo-part fillers, polishes, pigmentsand paintsattheir disposal,the finishers rebuild

damaged surface profiles, before sanding, polishing and colouring to match the undamaged areas.

The company doesnt carry out structural repairs. It focuses on surfaces because these are most

vulnerable to damage and everyday wear and tear. From the momenta surface ismanufactured,

fitted, or used,itcan get damaged, either accidentally,through vandalism, or just general wear andtear. This specialist repair service can be widely used in facilities management. By restoring

damaged surfaces,the facilitiesmanager removesthe need to replace them,therefore saving and

extending the life ofthe item.

Plastic Surgeons cosmetic repairs save the hassle of fitting replacement items (if indeed

replacements can be found). Theyalso save time,as items are repaired in-situ, with the average

repair taking just 90 minutes. Plastic Surgeons repairsare verycost-effective. For every 1 spent on

repairs with Plastic Surgeon, customers can save 3 on replacement material costs (excludinglabour).

Repairing rather than replacing is the environmentally-friendly choice as it decreases waste and

therefore the carbon-footprint ofany given project. Plastic Surgeon has, over the lasttwo decades,

saved thousands oftonnes of waste going to landfill by repairing damaged items,thusavoiding the

need to replace them.

Product development

The cosmetic repair service as it exists today is the result ofan MBO in 2008, by the current

Managing Director, Rob Mouser and his Finance Director, Trevor Harreld. Asthe MBO was finalised

the recession hitin the UK house building industryand the new directors realised thatthey had to


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adapttheir productto new marketsin order to survive. The business wascompletely restructured as

the focusshifted from house build repairsto the construction industry.

Over the pastthree yearsit has grown to be the UKslargest provider offine finishing,snagging and

cosmetic repairsto the construction and house building sectors. As part ofthe companys on-going

businessstrategy,the company has expanded into new sectors related to the constructionindustry

and facilitiesmanagement wasa natural extension ofthis. The company has expanded the types of

repair itcan carry outand stretched the skills ofits finishers on an ever increasing range of projects

for facilitiesmanagementcompanies.

As a result of research at its headquarters, Plastic Surgeon continually develops new finishing

techniques to tackle an increasing range ofmaterials that itcan repair. It has recently developed

new glass repair techniquesand trained allits finishersin the new skill. This enables finishersto carryout distortion free repairsto deep scratches, even on curved glasssurfacessuch as balustrades.

It hasalso developed a new stone repair technique wherebya heat gun is used to pre-warmareas

such asa window cill,in temperaturesaslow as -50 C,to overcome frostand allow a repair to set

correctly.

Plastic Surgeon hasalso developed a new formulation of its base repair compound,moving away

from a plaster based product to a modified cementitious system which offers ultra-fast gain ofstrength. This results in yielding better adhesion and most importantly, it can be used in wet

conditions and on wet and damp stones. This effectively means that in the British climate the

weather is now less ofa hindrance than before, which benefitscustomers because deadlinesare

metand not held up bythe weather.

Health and Safetyisa vital part ofPlastic Surgeonscosmetic repair service and the company has put

in place rigoroustraining schemesin order to ensure thatits workforce is fullycompliant with the

latest Health and Safety legislation. Over 90% of its finishers hold the industry standard CSCS

(Construction Related Certification Scheme). It hasachieved accreditation fromallthe major bodies,

including: the NHBC Safemark, SAFEcontractor, SMAS Worksafe contractor, CHAS, Beacon,

Constructionline and the Cast Stone Association. Itisalso working towards ISO:14001.


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Customer satisfaction

Plastic Surgeons cosmetic repair and surface finishing service is becoming ever more popular as

facilitiesmanagers appreciate both the cost-saving and environmental benefits of the companys

Dontskip it, fix it philosophy.

80% ofthe companys businessis from repeatcustomers. Manytestimonialsapplaud the high levels

ofcustomer satisfaction,asthe extracts below demonstrate.

It took the Fine Finisher less than two days to complete the work and everyone, including BAM

Construction and the University is completely happy with the way the doors now look. It has saved

in the region of 4,000 for their replacement, plus the delay there would have been in re-ordering

which could have run to weeks.- Iain McCallum, ONeill Interiors

Until you actually start looking at the situation of having to replace something like an IPS unit

with all the disruption, and then see the ease with which Plastic Surgeon can sort it out, you dont

realize just what a good option repair is over replacement. The site manager was amazed at the

range of items that Plastic Surgeon could put right.- Hayley Gilmour,Project Quantity Surveyor,

BAM Construction

Plastic Surgeon has materials and techniques which are not available to us, and can actually

enable a repair to be carried out where replacement would otherwise be the only option. The

standard of workmanship as well as service is very high.- Phil Wagget, Director, WFC Interiorsand

Refurbishment

In just four months, they have carried out 96 repairs, and repaired rather than replaced 31 items.

We have saved three-quarters of a tonne of environmental waste and our average repair cost has

dropped from 250 to under 30.

Dawn Reynolds, Void Maintenance Manager, New Charter Housing Trust

To ensure consistentstandards ofcustomer care,the company operatesacallcentre in Devon,

where all work requestsare logged and allocated to regionalteams, using bespoke computer

systems designed and operated in-house. The company employs over 100 finishersin 7 regional


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operationsteams based throughoutthe UK. All finisherscarrying out repairsare directly employed

byPlastic Surgeon, not franchised. New finishers undergo rigoroustechnicaland customer service

training at head office, followed by further on-the-job training.

Plastic Surgeons success has been determined by a strong commitment to customer care, staff

training and rigorous quality systems. It has also invested heavily in technology, developing IT

systemsin-house,in order to deliver excellentcustomer service.

Customer case studies

Quartermile Development Repairs to glass panels

The prestigious Quartermile Development is based in the heart of Edinburgh. Providing a new

residentialaddress for Scotlandscapital, the development boastsamix ofluxury conversion and

new build apartments,cafsand shopsin a prime citycentre location.

Gladedale Ventures Ltd was faced with acase of vandalismatthe site,to aseries of 4m x 2.5m plate

glass panels. The damaged glass panels had very bad scratchesacross them, caused by someone

running akey or other sharp objectalong the glass. The deep scratchesspanned acrossthe full width

ofthe glass on several panels.

Gladedale Ventures Ltd called in Plastic Surgeon, who decided that repair wasa viable option. Plastic

Surgeonstraining enables finishersto assess both the glasstype theyare dealing with,the severity

ofthe damage and the bestapproach to dealing with it.

Glass remains a fragile material, and in most instances the finisher will carry out a basic risk

assessment regarding the bestmeans ofaccess;as wellas ofavoiding the risk ofinjuryto othersin

the vicinity,through breakage or other accident.

Plastic Surgeons health and safety policy would preventa finisher ever repairing glass working from

a ladder, while stepladders will only be used at very low level,a few feetabove the ground. In all

other instancesthe operative will erect purpose designed,quickto assemble scaffolding generally


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carried in the vans, or organise other means ofaccess such asacherry picker in consultation with

the client.

To carry out these repairs, the finisher used a variable speed precision grinder,able to rotate at

velocities of up to 10,000 rpm,along with halfa dozen different grades ofabrasive disk. By varying

the rate and roughness ofthe intervention,the finisher wasable to remove the deep scratchesin

the glass. A keyaspect ofthe skillinvolved in this first part ofthe glass repair processisto judge the

size ofthe workareain order to feather out the repair. Thisavoidsthe creation ofa dished effect

or any other visual distortion.

The finisher then used finer and finer diamond pastesapplied with a felt pad on the grinder, until

the reflectance and polish ofthe surface matched the untouched glass on the surrounding areas.

Plastic Surgeons finisher successfully polished out all scratches saving the customer a bill ofthousands of poundsin replacementcosts.

Selfridges, Oxford Street Repairs to footwear display stands

Londons Oxford Street may be the location for some of the worlds most exclusive retail

properties. but for those who run the famousstoresalong itslength,their focusis on Presentation,

Presentation,Presentation which is whyPlastic Surgeon wascalled upon to send in ateam ofits

finishersto repair aseries of displaystands for one ofthe biggest namesin mens footwear.

Four finishers from Plastic Surgeons South-east region were involved in restoring stands for the

footwear brand within a Selfridges Mens Shoes department working from 9-00 pm one evening,

into the early hours ofthe following morning.

Each of the very large stands featured ebony uprights where the black gel coat to the laminate

material had been chipped or scratched; particularlyaround the corners. Then the tops, in an off-

white colour, had suffered splitsand chipsas wellas having aseries ofscrew holes detracting from

their appearance.

In the first instance Plastic Surgeons Area Manager and one of the specialists senior finishers

conducted a trial on one of the display stands in order to demonstrate the way in which the

specialized repair techniques can conceal the damage. With the contractor and Selfridges


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managementsatisfied,the team of four finishers returned acouple of weekslater to carry outthe

work.

The finishers either removed or counter sunkany remaining screwsthen filled all ofthe holesin the

horizontaland verticalsurfaces using Plastic Surgeons proprietarytwo-pack fillers. The repairs were

rubbed down backto the original profile with particular care being needed for the corners using

a graduation ofabrasives. Finallythe affected areas were colour matched and sprayed in using low

pressure airbrushesto avoid setting offthe stores verysensitive smoke alarms.

Hotel chain Repairs to brickwork after rebranding

A contract undertaken for a leading hotelchain involved Plastic Surgeon carrying out brick repairs

and bricktinting on halfa dozen oftheir hotelsaround the countrythat were having new signs fitted

as part ofa rebranding exercise. Removing the originalsigns fromthe external facades had leftscars

and damaged the brick,and the bricks had become stained bymossand bird droppings.

Atthe first hotelto be tackled,Plastic Surgeon hired in along reach cherry picker in order to access

the high level ofthe repair area before operationscould start. The workareaactuallytookthe form

of a tower that stands atop the main buildings flat roof, located some distance back from the

parapet. Thisallowed the vicinityto be closed off without disrupting business for the hotel,and the

finisher to employmore aggressive cleaning techniquesthan might otherwise have been possible.

Where the wall was very badlystained bymossand bird droppings,it was firsttreated with an acid

wash before being pressure jetted to remove materialadhered to the surface. The finisher then

made good the old holesand anychips with the two-packstone filler. Although the latter iscolour

matched using a blend ofaggregates before itisapplied, depending on the size and location ofthe

repair itissometimesalso given a painted finish.

In addition, for those patches where the cleaning processes were notable to restore the masonryto

its originalappearance,Plastic Surgeon employed its renowned brick-tinting system to ensure the

entire elevation had a unified appearance.


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Bett Homes Repairs to damaged stone

Oatlandsisalarge scale residential developmentin Glasgow, with construction programmed to run

for more than five years. Plastic Surgeon wascalled in to lookata four storeyapartmentbuilding

which had already been occupied for 18 months.

Water cascading from blocked guttering had discoloured the reddish reconstituted stone masonry,

and earlier attemptsto rectifythe staining had failed.

Two finishers working from fullscaffolding applied Plastic Surgeons own screed system. This firstly

required all other areassuch as windows,light fittingsand down pipesto be masked off before the

finishers used their skill to apply the material to bring the whole of the stonework to a uniform

finish. Despite adverse weather conditions for several days, Plastic Surgeon completed the work

within deadline and to the satisfaction ofthe apartment buildingsmanagement.

The site agent for Bett Homes, Mr Paul Obyrne,comments: This wassomething we had to get right

for the managementcompany taking care of the apartments,and Plastic Surgeon ofcourse did a

very good job.

HM Belmarsh Prison - working for Interserve,Plastic Surgeon restored Perspex window panesacross

the whole site.

University of Leicester - working for Crittall Windows,Plastic Surgeon carried outspecialist recoating

of over 180 steel windowsto precise factory finish standards.

New Asda store - recoated 70 steel external wallcladding panels which had dentsand scratchesto

the powder coat finish. Exactlymatched the colour specification to ASDAscorporate colours.

The Link 62 Data Centre a 250,000 projectto re-finish wallcladding, requiring multiple finishers

on shift work patterns for 7 daysa week.


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Environmental

According to the widely used waste hierarchy, recycling is only 4th on the list of priorities. The top

priorityisto eliminate waste, by notcreating itin the first place. Plastic Surgeons unique in-house

designed customer facing VisibilITy reporting system helps to eliminate waste, by identifying and

controlling the causes. Byshowing customers which itemsare mostcommonly damaged, which sites

require the most repairsand whyand where the damage is occurring.

Using VisibilITy, Plastic Surgeons customers can carry out cost-analysis which, when cross

referenced with their own materialcosts highlightthe totalsavings. Once the additionallabour costs

involved in replacing a damaged item, along with the inevitable disruption on site, have been

factored in,the choice of repair over replacementcan be easilymade. The companys unique repair

systemsand specialist repair techniques help companiesmeetthe second priorityto reduce waste,

by repairing damaged interior or exterior surfacesin-situ.

Thirdly, the company helps organisations to re-use asmany items as possible with fine finishing

systems that extend lifecycles. By repairing damaged items and reducing waste Plastic Surgeon

helpscompaniesachieve their targets for waste reduction,and provides hard data for reporting on

Corporate Social Responsibility. It shows customers exactly how many tonnes of waste theyhave

saved from landfill on every project,as wellasthe types ofitems repaired,the number of repairs

and cost per repair.

In 2010,Plastic Surgeon saved its customers 1,750 tonnes of waste from landfill, by carrying out

nearly210,000 individual repairsto over 64,000 damaged items.

Waste in the skip is notall plastic Surgeon saves. There are also the resourcesthat wentinto making

each item not to mention the labour and transportat every stage before finally fitting it into the

building. The upstream CO2 footprint ofalmostany product used bythe building industryis pretty

impressive.

Whether it is for the annual Corporate Social Responsibility report, the ISO14001 audit, or just

because efficiencymatters to business, Plastic Surgeon already saves its customers thousands of

tonnes of waste and CO2 emissions,and can provide themwith the datato prove it.


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Photos taken before and after repairs by Plastic Surgeon

Damaged uPVC window

uPVC window after repair


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Stone damaged by removal ofsignage

Stone after repair


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Damaged worktop

Worktop after repair


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Damaged vanity unit

Vanity unitafter repair


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One ofPlastic Surgeons fine finishersat work

Key facts 2010

Top 10 items repaired in 2010

Item Name Items Repaired No. Of individual

Repairs

Internal Door 13,523 44,596

Window 7,42

52

5,183External Door 5,789 18,464

Worktop 5,605 12,772

Facia 4,262 26,622

Cill 3,993 11,700


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Cupboard 3,476 8673

Cupboard Door 2,895 6,243

Bath 2,774 4,654

Stone Cill 2,693 7,779

y Total of 64,938 items repaired by Plastic Surgeon in 2010

y 208,221 individual repairs carried out

y 2010 saved 1,750 tonnes from landfill = 84,000 in landfill tax

y For every 1 spent on repairs with Plastic Surgeon, you save 3 onmaterial replacements (excluding labour costs)

y The construction industry is responsible for 120 million tonnes ofconstruction, demolition and excavation waste every year around

one third of all waste in the UK.*

*http://www.wrap.org.uk/construction/halving_waste_to_landfill/index.html

www.plastic-surgeon.co.uk

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About Plastic Surgeon:

Plastic Surgeon isthe UKsmarketleading expertin fine finishing and repair services,and the only nationwide

provider.Established for over 20 years,the company was one ofthe founders ofthe fine finishing sector, now

employing over 100 staff based at its headquarters in Devon and operating from seven regional centres

throughoutthe UK.


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Plastic Surgeon can restore almost any damaged interior or exterior surface in commercial or residential

buildings. Thanks to specialist training the companys finishers are expert in repairing and fine finishing

practicallyanymaterialincluding;

y Plasticand GRP repairy Wood and veneer repairsy Stone repair, brickwork repairsy Ceramic repairsand enamel restorationy Glass repair and glazing repairsy Metallicand foilcoated item repairsy UPVC repairsand PVC window repairsy Bath repair and shower tray repairs

Construction Industry Sectors:

The companys commitment to a flawless finish means that some of the most respected names in the UK

house building, construction and insurance sectors rely on them to get the job done. The company also

provides specialist fine finishing and cosmetic repair services to many industry sectors including fit-outand

retail,and social housing,as wellas working with individualtradesand homeowners.

Expert Repairs:

The company prides itself on a very high standard of workmanship, providing a fine finish and virtually

undetectable repairsthatsave customersthousands of pounds on expensive replacements.

Sustainable Solutions:

Plastic Surgeon iscommitted to helping achieve sustainable construction and to minimising the impact on the

environment. It prevented nearly60,000 damaged items going to land fill waste lastyear by repairing rather

than replacing them. The company also provides customers with a unique online reporting service which

showsa wealth ofstatisticssuch asthe number ofitems repaired per customer site and the associated landfill

savings.

Contact Details :

Plastic Surgeon Limited

Blue Waters House

Pottery Road

Bovey TraceyDevon

TQ13 9DS

T: 0845 141 0000

F: 0845 143 0000

E: [email protected]

For mediainterviews or comments, please contact our PR agency:

SMPR (Simply Marcomms Limited) Kirstie Colledge 0870 199 4044 Email:[email protected]

Plastic Surgeon Specialist Repair for the Facilities Management Sector

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