Building Research Establishment news 2017, BRE Certification, Fire Safety Testing UK
Building Research Establishment News 2017
BRE UK research, advisory, training, testing, certification & standards
22 Nov 2017
BRE Special Interest Group News
New Special Interest Group to enhance security in the built environment
To help drive better security in the built environment, a new Special Interest Group has been launched by building science centre, BRE, in partnership with the Security Institute – the UK’s largest professional membership body for security professionals.
“Rightly so, security is high on everyone’s agenda,” says BRE Associate Director and Special Interest Group co-chair, Gavin Jones, “We want to see more security professionals engaged both in the development of the built environment, and in helping organisations to operate safe and secure premises. The Group will work to increase opportunities for security professionals and raise the profile of the security industry.”
Mark Tucknutt, Security Institute board member and Special Interest Group co-chair commented, ‘Security is increasingly recognised as a discipline in the built environment, and through this group we hope to promote the benefits of thorough, professional consideration of security in the design process. We invite not only security consultants, engineers and managers but all built environment professionals to participate and help us in designing to reduce the risk of crime and terrorism’.
A recent BRE National Security Survey created to help identify priorities for new research, standards development, campaigns, events and training in the area of protective security has shown that people have become more security-conscious. Out of over 200 participants that took the survey, 81% of participants considered security a factor when deciding which property to rent or buy; and over 50% said they may be influenced by security when deciding whether to attend an event, concert or festival.
Aimed at industry experts across all disciplines, including security experts, architects, planners, manufactures, installers and suppliers, the Special Interest Group was officially launched at the ‘Planning Today for a Secure Tomorrow’ event at BRE, Watford on 2 November 2017. The event focussed on the future role of the planning system in creating safe and secure urban environments. It gained the views of both the public and private sector, including key representatives from the Department for Communities and Local Government, the National Counter Terrorism Security Office and the Planning Officers Society.
The first meeting of the Special Interest Group will take place w/c 4 December 2017. All security and built environment professionals are invited to become involved, and can find out more by contacting [email protected]
17 Nov 2017
BRE Global BIM Level 2 Business Systems Certification News
International Well Building Institute and BRE collaborate to advance human health through better buildings
In an environment where partnership is the new leadership, the International WELL Building Institute™ (IWBI™) and BRE used the recent Greenbuild in Boston Nov. 8-10 to demonstrate to the market the value of collaboration.
“Our relationship with BRE is in evidence across several categories,” said IWBI Chairman and CEO Rick Fedrizzi. “We’re proud of the pioneering work we’ve done by developing a crosswalk between the WELL Building Standard™ (WELL™) and BREEAM, simplifying for the market opportunities to use these two leading building standards in tandem to achieve both sustainability and human health goals.
“Additionally, we’ve partnered with BRE to undertake practical performance verification research as we are developing WELL v2,” said Fedrizzi. “Onsite performance verification is a unique hallmark of WELL. When it comes to human health, good intentions and checklists are simply not enough to ensure that a building’s performance is in a position to improve human performance. Our shared commitment to this idea of verified performance is why leadership companies are committing to the high bar that WELL provides.”
A key resource used by BRE in undertaking this performance verification research is the room-sized environmental chamber in which known concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or other indoor air pollutants may be introduced into the space at controlled temperature, humidity and ventilation rates. The chamber, built to the “standard room” specifications prescribed in the European Standard CEN/TS 16516: 2013, was designed, built, and commissioned as part of a recent collaborative European Commission (EC) research project.
Two VOC source chambers are used – one to trial the VOC sources and one through which air is passed to carry the VOCs into the chamber. In the current, research the chamber is used to compare VOC measurement methods and technologies for the determination of ‘TVOC’ (total VOC) in air at given concentrations of selected VOCs.
The current research initiatives being undertaken jointly by BRE and IWBI also involve evaluation of monitors used to measure particulate matter in air, and evaluation of the methods used to measure light levels and to use the data in order to assess circadian lighting.
“We see the value of successive rounds of collaborative research in pushing the envelope when it comes to ensuring that performance verification methodologies are robust and fit for purpose,” said Dr. Andy Dengel, CChem MRSC, Director, BRE Environment. “That’s why we’re excited to showcase this work to WELL practitioners and power users who are contributing to the development of WELL v2.”
“We had tremendous response to BRE’s presentation at the first of our v2 Roundtables, which was held at Greenbuild last week,” said IWBI Chief Product Officer Rachel Gutter. “BRE is a great partner for this work, and we look forward to sharing their methodologies at other v2 Roundtables in the coming months.”
“If we are to drive change for the built environment at all the different scales of design and operation, we need to create strong partnerships with like-minded organizations. In doing so, we can create a supportive environment for the industry to improve the way in which we look at buildings. Such certainty comes from the industry having confidence in an independent approach and standards built on research and science, a belief IWBI and BRE share,” said Martin Townsend, Director of Sustainability at BRE.
31 Oct 2017
Atlas Industries puts BIM on the performance map
Atlas Industries has become the first company to achieve BRE Global BIM Level 2 Business Systems certification in Asia
Headquartered in Vietnam, and operating world-wide, Atlas Industries has recently achieved BIM Level 2 certification to demonstrate their BIM capabilities.
A leading provider of quality documentation and BIM data management to architects and engineers, Atlas has worked on over 250 projects for the top global firms including 25% of the top 100 UK firms, half the top 10 Australian firms, and leading consultancies in the Middle East.
Joe Woolf, Atlas Founder and CEO said, “We are honoured and privileged to have received this accreditation from BRE, and it reinforces our standing as a valued BIM leader, both in the UK and globally.”
“For a company like Atlas, documentation is absolute key to providing valuable solutions that are sufficiently versatile to satisfy relevant BIM Level 2 requirements globally. Achieving certification endorses their high standards and commitment to clients. We are delighted to have Atlas as part of our BIM network”, said Paul Oakley, BRE Group Director for BIM.
Atlas Industries
Atlas is a leading provider of documentation and project delivery services to architectural, engineering and construction professionals. Since 1998 we have delivered quality documentation and data models using all major CAD and BIM platforms, giving our clients more time to manage the design process.
With a presence in the UK, Australasia, Middle East and Asia, we are able to offer our clients reduced project risk and cost with access to more than 300 experienced professionals as required to meet project needs.
www.atlasindustries.com
12 Sep 2017
BRE ECI News
European Construction Institute joins BRE
The European Construction Institute (ECI) has become part of BRE alongside Constructing Excellence with effect from 1 September 2017.
Working with and for its membership, the ECI mission is to drive project execution and delivery best practice across the international engineering construction sector. The move is designed to strengthen and grow the ECI membership and its positive impact on the sector at a time of significant global challenge.
ECI’s core themes are Project delivery; Leadership and people development; Innovation and technology; and Safety, health, environment and quality (SHEQ). The synergies in themes between Constructing Excellence focused on the built environment primarily in the UK and the ECI on engineering construction in the international market together with transferable expertise, experience and resources strengthens both organisations for mutual benefit.
Together, the aim is to enable all parties engaged in international projects in the built environment and engineering construction sectors to collaborate and benefit from collective learning and experience so that the challenges preventing successful project delivery and outcomes can be addressed to enable clients, contractors and the supply network to prosper.
John Fotherby, ECI Executive Board Chair, said “ECI has a strong vision for the engineering construction sector and the merger with BRE provides us with the opportunity to strengthen our influence and deliver superior value for our members around the world. We are all delighted by this development and look forward to sharing knowledge and best practice to benefit the industry.”
Peter Bonfield CEO of BRE said “ECI has always represented a movement for positive change, harnessing the energy and commitment of many hundreds of organisations at a regional and national level across Europe. BRE, ECI and Constructing Excellence are trusted and independent brands who have worked closely together for many years – the synergies are strong. We share the core objective of creating a better project delivery sector for all. We are very pleased about this.”
12 Sep 2017
BRE News – BIM certification for Opus’ New Zealand offices
Opus gains first BRE Global BIM Level 2 certification in New Zealand
Multi-disciplinary infrastructure consultancy Opus becomes the first company to achieve BRE Global BIM Level 2 Business Systems certification for New Zealand offices
Headquartered in New Zealand and operating world wide, Opus is continuing its push to roll out BIM Level 2 certification across its global business. Following the certification of its Cardiff office last year, the company has now been awarded certification for its Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland offices in New Zealand as well as it’s Wrexham and Doncaster UK offices.
“Many congratulations to Opus. Their pragmatic and flexible approach has allowed them to produce a solution that is sufficiently versatile to satisfy relevant BIM Level 2 requirements in both the UK and New Zealand “, said Dan Rossiter, Senior BIM Communicator at BRE. “It was clear from undertaking the audit that the staff’ took real ownership when forming their business systems, showing a process that works for them as well as for Opus”.
“BIM’s forward-looking collaborative processes and methodologies are a tremendous asset to us and our clients”, said Daniel Jurgens, Global BIM Manager at Opus. “Being the first to achieve certification in New Zealand is something we are immensely proud of. It marks a key milestone for our organisation and we hope it will help to drive global uptake by the sector as a whole.”
BRE Global’s BIM Level 2 Business Systems Certification scheme assesses a business in relation to its BIM capability and policy as outlined in PAS 1192-2:2013 and PAS 91. It also considers the capability of the business to meet the requirements of an employer to implement BIM Level 2 on a project. www.bregroup.com
Opus International is a leading multi-disciplinary infrastructure consultancy with global reach and local connections. Our team of over 3,000 engineers, designers, planners, researchers and advisors work with more than 12,000 clients across Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdom. www.opusinternational.co.uk
27 Aug 2017
BRE Global BIM Level 2 Business Systems Certification Award
Severfield successful with BIM Level 2 certification
Severfield, the largest structural steel specialist in the UK, has joined the BIM frontrunners through their recent BRE Global BIM Level 2 Business Systems Certification.
Operating across a wide range of sectors including commercial, industrial, healthcare and education, retail, energy and others, the structures created by award-winning Severfield have been used in iconic buildings and large infrastructure projects such as the 2012 Olympic Stadium, The Shard, Heathrow Airport, Birmingham New Street Station, Wimbledon Centre Court, the Emirates Stadium and the Paris Philharmonic Hall.
Gary Wintersgill, Managing Director Severfield UK said: “We have had BIM Level 2 recognition for a while, but the addition of a formal association provided by leading certification body BRE Global enables us to be PAS 1192-2:2013 and PAS 91 compliant. This puts us at the forefront of our industry and fully compliant with our customers’ requirements.”
Paul Oakley, BRE BIM Director said: “Congratulations to Severfield for their recent certification which marks their continuous improvement on their “safety first” commitments. The certification will enhance their reputation as innovative leaders able to deliver any project, to the highest possible standards in a demanding and ever developing industry.”
BRE Global’s BIM Level 2 Business Systems Certification scheme assesses a business in relation to its BIM capability and policy as outlined in the PAS 1192-2:2013 and PAS 91 standards. It also considers the ability of the business to meet the requirements of an employer to implement BIM on a project.
Severfield
Severfield is the UK’s market-leading structural steel company, the home of world class engineering and design excellence. For decades Severfield has been shaping skylines and delivering the modern built environment.
The largest structural steel business in the UK and one of the biggest in Europe, Severfield operates across four sites providing unrivalled capacity and capability, and also has an expanding operation in India.
Severfield is known for many iconic projects, including the 2012 Olympic Stadium, The Shard, Heathrow Airport, First Direct Arena in Leeds, Birmingham New Street Station, Wimbledon Centre Court, the Emirates Stadium and the Paris Philharmonic Hall. In addition to this Severfield also supply and erect industrial buildings and distribution warehouses.
www.severfield.com
22 Aug 2017
BRE BIM News
BRE and Graitec partnership set to drive BIM uptake
A partnership between BRE and innovation-focused software solution provider Graitec is now providing companies with a smooth, end-to-end process for adopting BIM Level 2 Business Systems Certification. By the two organisations joining forces, companies can benefit from a unified, all-inclusive service that supports them on their BIM journey from gap analysis with a pre assessment service through to advisory, consultancy, software training and support, right through to BIM certification.
“This focused, joined-up approach will make it far more efficient for companies to prepare for BIM Level 2 certification”, explained Paul Oakley, BIM Director at BRE. “It will also mean that Graitec clients can benefit from the BIM Level 2 process knowledge and training services provided by the BRE, but also have the software, consultancy and support services that we cannot offer. This will ensure that the advantages and opportunities that BIM certification delivers can be taken up faster and by a larger audience.”
Steve Houlder, Graitec COO, added: “Our partnership with BRE will allow us to give companies a complete solution to BIM adoption. We are dedicated to help our customers excel and get ahead of their competition and this partnership gives us an additional approach to doing so.”
14 Aug 2017
BRE BIM Level 2 News
BRE Global Awards Jacobs BIM Level 2 Business Systems Certification
The certification enhances Jacobs’ ability to meet demanding public sector project requirements.
BRE Global has awarded Jacobs its Building Information Modelling (BIM) Level 2 Business Systems Certification for BIM projects delivered from Jacobs’ Leeds and Manchester offices. The certification recognises that these offices now have the capability of delivering BIM projects at the Level 2 standard, primarily in infrastructure and transportation.
The certification formally validates Jacobs’ ability to meet even the most demanding public sector project requirements.
“As a multi-faceted organisation with a significant local and global reach, having recognised BIM capability will not only enable Jacobs to ensure forward-looking benefits for their clients, but will also help drive all-important international uptake,” said BRE Group’s Director for BIM Paul Oakley.
“Jacobs is committed to widening BRE Level 2 BIM certification across our transportation capability both in the UK and globally,” said Jacobs Vice President Transportation Vip Gandhi. “We look forward to further incorporating BIM into the way we work and this certification sets the benchmark for our future BIM schemes.”
Jacobs is one of the world’s largest and most diverse providers of full-spectrum technical, professional and construction services for industrial, commercial and government organisations globally. Jacobs delivers major transportation and infrastructure projects around the world, including UK projects like Highways England’s Regional Investment Programme.
About BRE Global
BRE Global’s BIM Level 2 Business Systems Certification scheme assesses a business in relation to its BIM capability and policy as outlined in the PAS 1192-2:2013 and PAS 91 standards. It also considers the ability of the business to meet the requirements of an employer to implement BIM on a project. bregroup.com
United Kingdom, BRE, Bucknalls Lane, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD25 9XX
BRE Global Awards Jacobs BIM Level 2 Business Systems Certification information received 140817
19 Jul 2017
BRE Partnership for Sustainable Construction in Russia
BREEAM In-Use certified Metropolis building in Moscow:
photo courtesy of architects
BRE Partnership for Sustainable Construction in Russia
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Sustainable Architecture
7 + 5 Jul 2017
Biophilic Office Project at BRE, Watford, southeast England
Biophilic Office Project at BRE
Zero-carbon House, BRE site, Watford, southeast England
Design: Sheppard Robson with Arup
Zero-Carbon BRE House
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