VIEWPOINT
TESTING TIMES AS DATA-DRIVEN REGULATION ARRIVES
Matt Thompson, Sales Director at ITP Ltd
THE ARRIVAL OF the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) ushered in a new era of more robust oversight of products and systems in the construction industry. Regulation and enforcement will be much more data-driven. The ready availability of data will, in theory, de-risk the process and ensure that safety standards are met. Digital tools and systems for data storage will provide instant access to information. Transparency of information and certification will be fundamental to the success of this new framework. It will require closer scrutiny of data sources, testing methods and supporting documentation. An ability to identify and understand authentic, reliable data will be an essential requirement for the dutyholders involved in a construction project.
The quality of testing and data within the construction industry is highly variable. Some suppliers and manufacturers will go to the nth degree to demonstrate that their products meet and exceed performance requirements. Others will cut corners, obfuscate and omit.
Façade design is an area of
construction that illustrates the problems caused by this variation. Fire safety compliance for breather membranes is determined by the Euroclass system (with Euroclass B the minimum by law and Euroclass A recommended for best practice) but a product’s classification can be misleading when separated from the context of its durability.
Test results
A Declaration of Performance (DOP) should show the tests results before and after ageing as specified in the harmonised standard BS EN 13859-2, but some manufacturers supply a DOP without the results after ageing. It’s impossible to make an informed decision about membrane specification without that data, particularly in relation to open-jointed cladding and permanently open facades which demand higher levels of UV resistance as well as W1 water tightness to prevent degradation in other areas of performance such as fire safety.
Dutyholders should also be wary of crucial omissions within lab testing methodology. For example, some membrane
manufacturers supply fire test data for their textile, but not for the integrated adhesive materials they supply to fix it to the façade or to make overlaps. It is always worth asking manufacturers about the fire safety credentials of any accessories that they supply as standard with their products. The BSR and the information systems used for evidence-based regulation will reveal these deficiencies in data and testing. This will have implications for all dutyholders directly involved in a project, but builders merchants are also a key part of the supply chain equation and they too should be wary of these pitfalls. Selling products which are exposed as substandard, with superficial testing credentials, will draw the merchant into the orbit of the BSR. As well as compromising building safety, it will have a commercial impact in damaging the merchant’s reputation and their relationship with customers. Thankfully, there are simple safeguards which merchants can apply to ensure they can source and sell stock with confidence. They should always insist that suppliers provide documentation of production and testing
processes. If a supplier is unable to provide certified evidence of independent testing from a recognised testing body, it is likely that the tests were carried out in- house and therefore their findings lack credibility.
Authorised testing bodies can provide guidance on the critical nuances which makes one test authentic and another invalid. Suppliers that can prove rigorous and authentic testing can also be a valuable source of expertise; building working relationships with them in support of projects streamlines the transfer of knowledge from supplier to merchant, enabling the latter to become a technical resource for their own customers.
Companies can no longer claim to work in isolation under the BSR’s new framework of collective responsibility and collaboration. One shortfall can impact the whole system, so data must be readily available and routinely scrutinised throughout the supply chain. As an important part of the supply chain, merchants can have a valuable influence in ensuring that building safety isn’t compromised by shortcuts or misrepresentations in testing. BMJ
Long Rake Spar qp BMJ
Jul24.indd 1 July 2024
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net
28/6/24 18:24 25
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