How the government plans to improve the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme and regulate energy use, by Hywel Davies
Tag: Building safety
Testing times
A report into product testing and certification raises interesting questions for manufacturers in relation to building safety. Hywel Davies considers how they will need to demonstrate their products conform to standards
Pipe dream or reality: true value engineering
Value engineering at an early stage will ensure the focus is not just on costs, but also on a better design outcome. This was the conclusion of an expert panel discussion sponsored by Geberit. Amanda Birch reports
Fire and façades: key guidance
To ensure the fire safety of building façades, designers should pay special attention to firestopping. CWCT’s David Metcalfe highlights the latest guidance on this key area and rounds up the most recent information on designing fire-safe façades
Dousing fire fear in museums
Museum owners are wary of fire sprinklers in sensitive spaces, but Arup’s Jake Cherniayeff says they should be considered along with gaseous suppression and innovative hybrid mist and nitrogen systems
Guide M update: maintaining healthy environments
Health and wellbeing is at the heart of the updated Guide M: Maintenance engineering and management. Chapter author Colin Goodwin describes the key topics that are addressed, such as lighting, water quality and infection control
Show your workings: complying with the building safety regime
Hywel Davies considers the implications of the new rules relating to competence
Calculated risk: intelligent use of low-voltage electrical design software
Using calculations from electrical distribution software simplifies designs, but should not be taken at face value, says Simon Rae, of Diales Technical. He recommends verifying outputs to minimise the risk of equipment damage, electric shocks and fire
Futurebuild: navigating a path to net zero
The built environment industry gathered at the Futurebuild conference last month in London, to discuss various paths to decarbonisation. Alex Smith and Molly Tooher-Rudd report
Step change: designing stairs for fire safety in high-rise buildings
A government consultation calling for two staircases in high-risk residential buildings of more than 30m has raised questions about how this and the amended BS 9991:2021 will impact fire safety design and developments.
Phil Lattimore reports