News update - February 2008

A brief synopsis of some of the key news items related to technical guidance, construction practice, and new regulations that you might have missed in the press.

'Action needed' on home emissions
European governments and the European Commission are being urged to hasten the development of housing that produces no greenhouse gases. The European Energy Network (ENR), which includes energy advisory bodies across the EU, says better enforcement of green building codes is also needed. Less than a quarter of EU states have introduced certification schemes for houses, as required under EU law. European governments have agreed to boost energy efficiency by 20% by 2020. The ENR report, a snapshot of legislation and other action across member states, is due to be released. For national governments, ENR says, a priority should be to introduce energy performance certificates that give houses an "energy rating", a key requirement of the Energy Performance in Buildings Directive. The report describes lack of progress on this issue as "disappointing".
BBC News Online, 28 January 2008

Architecture schools to combine
Edinburgh’s two architecture schools are to join forces to create a “super-school”. The new Edinburgh School of Architecture, which combines departments from Edinburgh University and the Edinburgh College of Art (ECA), will welcome its first students in October. Both schools have around 300 students each and are located yards from each other.
Building Design Online, 25 January 2008

BoKlok
The first flat-pack home designed for people on low incomes has been unveiled on Tyneside. A two-bedroom show apartment was opened as part of the 93-unit complex near Gateshead International Stadium. The timber-framed BoKlok structures will cost up to £149,995 and will only be available to first-time buyers earning between £15,000 and £35,000. Six homes are nearing completion with the first residents expected to move in by March. The homes will be sold by furniture giant Ikea, with a one-bedroom flat starting at £99,950 and rising to £124,950 for a two-bedroom apartment. Houses will start at £132,500 for two beds, and £149,995 buys a three-bedroom home.
BBC News Online, 30 January 2008

BSF 1
Bid costs are to be slashed for the Building Schools for the Future programme by up to 30% and procurement time cut by two months under new procurement rules to be introduced next month. The new rules are expected to deliver £250m of savings over the 15-year life of the BSF programme. Under the new rules local authorities will use an extended prequalification process to shortlist just two bidders, based on their partnering and design capabilities and track records. The two shortlisted bidders will then work up no more than two detailed designs to RIBA C+ level. At present, local authorities require at least three shortlisted bidders to work up any number of detailed designs. BSF bid costs are running at around £2m per scheme at present.
Contract Journal Online, 5 February 2008

BSF 2
Urgent changes were being recommended to the Building Schools for the Future programme after a review found it could waste up to £250M. Schools minister Jim Knight said in a written statement that 35 schools would be ready next year - 15 fewer than planned.
The Guardian, 6 February 2008

Construction activity
Reported that construction activity has hit a 16-month low in January, reflecting weaker expansion in the commercial property sector. The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply said its purchasing managers’ index for construction fell to 53.9 from 56.0 in December.
The Times, 5 February 2008

Construction fails to use IT
A Construction Excellence focus group, The National Platform for the Built Environment focus group, led by Arup, called on a cross-section of leading industry organisations to help direct a research strategy for increasing the contribution of ICT, as well as automation in the construction industry over a ten to fifteen year period. Chairman of the National Platform for the Built Environment, Keith Clarke said: "Sir John Egan's 'Accelerating Change' report in 2002 identified IT as a cross-cutting issue for the construction industry, and while we have seen great strides in the use of some technologies, take-up of other tools has been hampered by lack of industry input to their efficient development and deployment."
New Civil Engineer Online, 5 February 2008

Green code ‘raises carbon’
Developers are exploiting a loophole in the Code for Sustainable Homes that could lead to thousands of houses emitting more carbon than under the present Building Regulations. According to the Building Regulations, homes heated entirely by electric means have a lower threshold of carbon emissions than homes heated by other means. This has now been incorporated into the Code for Sustainable Homes through the requirement that homes make a certain carbon saving over the Building Regulations to meet levels three and four. This means an electrically heated home can be classified as level three despite the fact that its carbon emissions are greater than required by the basic Building Regulations. A communities department spokesman said it was hoping to resolve the issues at the next meeting of the committee that works on the code.

How the code can increase carbon emissions:

• A home heated by gas central heating has a Building Regulations Target Emissions Rate of 19.89 kg/m²/year
• The same home heated by electric heaters has a Building Regulations Target Emissions Rate of 28.03 kg/m²/year
• Reduction to hit Code for Sustainable Homes level three: 25%
• Therefore an electrically heated home that complies with level three has an emissions rate of 21.02 kg/m²/year, more than a gas central heated home that complies with the present Building Regulations.

Building Online, Issue 3, 2008

Key EPC document released
The Government has released a key document explaining details of the rollout of the Energy Performance Certificates from April this year. The document, called ‘Improving the energy efficiency of our buildings’, was expected to be released at the start of this month but has gone through several draft versions. To download the document visit the CLG website.
Building Online, 28 January 2008

RIBA moots board game as planning aid
The RIBA has launched a new board game to help architects, property owners, communities and local authorities hammer out agreements over development issues. Laid out in a similar way to Monopoly, the Building Futures Game, which will be used as a discussion tool in planning meetings.
QS Week Online, 29th January 2008

Slump in client building enquiries
Client enquiries for all types of building work have fallen to the lowest levels since 2005, according to the Federation of Master Builders. Its State of Trade Survey for the fourth quarter of 2007 found that 40% of builders had reported a drop in enquiries across the UK for both private and public sector commissions. The report also found that it is becoming easier for builders to find subcontractors and recruit employees.
Building Design Online, 25 January 2008

Three materials giants form new 'super group'
Three leading materials groups are joining forces to form a new industry "super association". Representatives of the Quarry Products Association, the British Cement Association and the Concrete Centre are now working on the merger and hope to unveil detailed plans for a new £11m body by the end of this year.
Contract Journal Online, 6 February 2008

The new Tyne Tunnel (TT2), on Tyneside, will be the first new tunnel in the UK to include a sprinkler system for fighting fires. Work begins during the spring on the £260 million, 1.6km tunnel, which will incorporate a 360m immersed tube section; it is set to open in 2011.

Vadera confirmed as construction minister
Baroness Shriti Vadera has been confirmed as the new minister with responsibility for construction. Vadera assumes the responsibility as part of her role of Parliamentary under Secretary of State for Business and Competitiveness at the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR). Her appointment follows the departure of Stephen Timms who takes up a post at the Department for Work and Pensions, following Peter Hain's resignation. Vadera, who is now construction's seventh minister since 2001, has been Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for International Development since June 2007.
Contract Journal Online, 30 January 2008

JCT pushes for more sustainable guidance in contracts
The Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) has launched an industry consultation to ask for comments to the suggestion that building contracts should include stronger sustainability performance provisions. Companies and organisations from all sides of the industry and supply chain are being asked whether additional contractual provisions and guidance would be effective in improving the industry’s sustainability agenda. Peter Hibberd, secretary general of JCT, said: “As over 70% of all building contracts are under a JCT form, we have an opportunity to gain consensus from, and perhaps provide leadership to, the industry to help improve its record on sustainability.” The closing date for responses is 29 February 2008.
JCT Consultation Paper on Sustainability
Building Online, 4 February 2008

Air conditioning regs
January 2009 is the final day for all air conditioning systems with a cooling capacity of 250 kW to have been inspected to comply with the Energy Performance in Buildings Regulations. Air conditioning systems must be inspected by a competent person who is a member of an accredited scheme such as the one operated by the CIBSE. The assessment looks at how efficiently the systems are operating and highlight any routine maintenance problems with units. All other systems must be inspected no later than January 2011.
Building Services Journal Online, 31 January 2008

British Constructional Steelwork Association (BCSA) has recently published ‘Stability of Temporary Bracing’. This Guidance Note (SN21 01/2008) highlights the factors that underpin a safe system of working, the objectives of a method statement and the Engineer’s and the Steelwork Contractor’s responsibilities. To view the Guidance Note, click on the following link http://www.steelconstruction.org/steelconstruction/.

A concrete- testing instrument developed in Leicester is to be trialled in Australia by researchers working to improve the safety of tunnel walls in underground mines. The Controlled Two Point and Vane Test (CTPVT) device aims to help reduce wastage and improve safety in industries such as mining and construction by more accurately predicting how concrete will perform. The CTPVT works by rotating computer-controlled telescopic probes in wet concrete pastes to identify the yield stress of the materials and help predict its performance.
Concrete, February 2008, p.4

Eurocode 6 guidance published
As part of their ongoing programme to ease the transition from British Standards to Eurocode 6, The Concrete Centre and the Modern Masonry Alliance have jointly published a series of three guides entitled How to design masonry structures using Eurocode 6. Further information may be found by visiting http://www.eurocode6.org/.

The Foundation for Water Research has published a guide to water reclamation techniques entitled, “A review of potential benefits and current UK practices”. The guide is intended for those interested in the topic of water reclamation, recycling and reuse for non-potable urban applications. The Guide does not cover in any detail, water reuse for agricultural and industrial purposes.  To view the guide, go to http://www.fwr.org/waterre/frg0006.pdf.

Guidance on changes to Wiring Regulations
The 17th edition of the Wiring Regulations, which comes into effect in July of this year, will introduce changes to BS 7671: 2001 ‘Requirements for Electrical Installations’. Outline guidance on these changes – for installers, specifiers and designers – has been published by the Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA), and is available from the HVCA website.

Recycled aggregates
WRAP has recently published ‘Recycled Aggregates: guidance for clients and specifiers’. To view, click on the following link:- http://www.wrap.org.uk/wrap_corporate/publications/index.html.

Italy
A slight movement in Venice’s first new bridge in 70 years is worrying engineers carrying out the final tests on the controversial structure. The movement glitch is the latest hurdle to hit the bridge, which was installed two years late last summer after last-minute fears the canal banks wouldn’t be able to hold it up properly. Once up and running, the bridge will link Venice’s railway station with Piazzale Roma, a car and bus terminal on the opposite side of the Grand Canal. Designed by acclaimed Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, the bridge will be the fourth over the lagoon city’s Grand Canal. A sleek arc of steel accessed by a flight of glass steps, the bridge will span 94 metres from one bank to the other. The project has been dogged by controversy and delays, with problems ranging from spiralling costs and alarm over the bridge’s weight to protests over lack of access for the disabled.
Italy Magazine Newsletter Online, 21 January 2008

United States of America - 'Smart heating' fits the bill
Smart devices called GridWise that turn down household heating when energy prices peak can not only save consumers money but also ease the load on power grids. The system saved households 10 per cent on electricity bills over the course of a year and reduced peak demand on the energy grid by up to 15 per cent.
New Scientist Online, 23 January 2008

A healing balm
Materials that can repair themselves are under development. Two groups of researchers —one in America and one in Britain—are trying to create composite materials such as reinforced plastics that will mend themselves if they get cracked, in much the same way as an animal’s broken bone will heal. The difference is that these materials will heal in minutes rather than months.
Economist Online, 5 February 2008

Managing occupational health risks in construction
HSE has launched a new web site based tool to help contractors understand and manage occupational health risks more effectively. The tool is called the Construction Occupational Health Management Essentials (COHME for short).
http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/healthrisks/index.htm