BUILDING FABRIC 57
TRACING THE GOLDEN THREAD IN BALCONY DESIGN
Nick Haughton of Sapphire Balconies discusses how the ‘golden thread’ concept can improve data in projects to benefi t the design and delivery of balconies for multi-occupancy apartment buildings.
T
he ‘golden thread’ is a term used for an up-to-date live record of data used on a building project. This concept was clearly identifi ed in the 2018 Hackitt Report following the Grenfell Tower fi re as being particularly important in residential construction. But what does that mean?
The Hackitt Report observed that record keeping is a serious issue in this industry sector and highlighted its slow adoption of traceability and quality assurance techniques which are in widespread use elsewhere and the technology is readily available. The Report identifi ed a clear need within construction to adopt new technologies and develop a culture of transparency and responsibility. A gulf can occur between the design and construction on a building project, and the operations managers who take over the end-product when informa- tion isn’t properly defi ned at the outset because designers, contractors and manufacturers don’t have a specifi c brief as to what’s required of them.
RECORD-KEEPING Taking residential balconies as an example, record-keeping and visibility of information is key, from preparation and brief, concept design, special confi guration, technical design, manufacturing and construction, handover and use. Traceability and control over each element are vitally important to ensure safety is maintained and high quality balconies are achieved. In the past, paper records have typically been used throughout construction, but issues such as human error, missing paperwork and bad weather on site can impact the effectiveness of the records. Traceability is about identifying the critical aspects of each product and who has worked on it and at what stage. If there are any issues, they can be identifi ed and traced precisely at every single stage. This prevents mass recall of products
with its inherent waste of materials, time and money.
Systems like Passport, an app we have developed, bring accountability with each step, capturing photos, names and a running record all aimed at delivering quality and enhancing competency at each step.
DIGITAL TRACEABILITY
Having all records digitised and stored in an accessible format is the way forward to achieve traceability and accountability at all stages of balcony design and produc- tion. Before digital processes, records were written and fi led, never to be looked at again. In an impermanent workforce – as is common in construction – informa- tion can get lost or is not adequately completed, leading to problems such as low-quality products and mass recalls, or worse still, ‘as built’ information not being ‘as-built,’ and the true nature being masked until problems arise. Furthermore, if records are used only for compliance purposes, (eg., regula- tion 38) the industry misses out on the
value of such records. Having everything recorded digitally shows the progress through the job, which means balcony manufacturers can learn from the information as real time data enables any necessary corrections to be made early on. And because the information is in a computer-readable form, it can automatically be tested to make sure what was requested is being provided. We recently introduced a physical check and Go: No, Go signoff where photos are inspected by a second person within the ‘Passport’ process.
BIM AND THE GOLDEN THREAD The golden thread concept can be applied to most products including balcony design in conjunction with BIM to provide quality control with digital traceability. Key information is fed into BIM right at the start of balcony design in the form of a specifi cation tool. Standard data templates for requirements, products used, solutions and procedures can be created and stored for everyone to access. This provides the base of information that
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