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Latest NewsBBA APPOINTS TWO NEW GOVERNING BOARD MEMBERS (21 December 2007)
Two new Board appointments have been announced at the British Board of Agrément, with major materials industry figure Digby Harper appointed Chairman and eminent architect Lynne Sullivan a Director. Digby Harper has had a long involvement with the BBA as a client and a member of its Council and Promotional Advisory Committee while he was with Certificate holder Celotex, where he retired as Chief Executive earlier this year. He has also worked with the Construction Products Association and its forerunner the National Council of Building Material Producers, where he chaired the Environmental Committee, formed coincidentally, by retiring BBA Chairman Tony Jackson. ‘I am delighted to be appointed BBA Chairman. I knew the value of BBA approval from the producers' point of view and I believe my long involvement in the industry going back to my days with ICI and later timber-frame builder Lovell Housing - the first Agrément Certificated timber-frame system, coupled with my interest in environmental matters will be a great help to the organisation as it helps the market to respond to the challenges of sustainability and new regulations’. He has also been President of the Association of Building Component Manufacturers and of the British Rigid Urethane Foam Manufacturers Association. Lynne Sullivan is Director of Sustainability at Broadway Malyan’s London office and currently heading up large mixed-use projects in the Thames Gateway and smaller specialist low-energy design projects in the UK and Continental Europe. She is a regular contributor to the architectural press on sustainability matters and is an invited speaker at many conferences, giving presentations on sustainable design and sustainable communities. Lynne was a finalist in the 2007 Housing Design Awards when she was Project architect for a 1200 homes brownfield development in North Dartford, Kent and was also a finalist in the competition to design London's first Zero Carbon Community in 2006. ‘I am thrilled and honoured to join the BBA's Governing Board. As an architect I have used the BBA's Agrément Certificates as a source of unbiased information on product performance since my student days and I look forward to contributing to the BBA's plans to provide more environmental information on products for architects and others involved in the selection and use of building products’. BBA Chief Executive, Greg Cooper, is equally delighted to have two new Directors on board, ‘the BBA Board has seen some major planned changes in personnel in the past two years and now with the appointment of Digby and Lynne we have the strongest Board the BBA has ever had. It is fitting to pay tribute to Tony Jackson's excellent chairing of the Board since 1996 and he hands over a dynamic team to Digby. We are fortunate to have other key non-executive directors including Michael Ankers, Chief Executive of the Construction Products Association, Imtiaz Farookhi, Chief Executive of the NHBC, Ron Gainsford, Chief Executive of the Institute of Trading Standards, Graham Quinion, Divisional Director of Taylor Wimpey and David Smith, Building Control Consultant and like Lynne Sullivan, a member of the Building Regulations Advisory Committee, complementing the executive team of Martyn Reed, Brian Symington, Alan Thomas and myself, with Ray Casey as Company Secretary. As we face the challenges and opportunities of the future we could scarcely be better equipped to deal with them’.
(21 December 2007)
Do you get as much from a Robust Details Ltd (RDL) listing as you do from an Agrément Certificate?
The answer is ‘no’. The Part E Robust Details (RD) scheme was developed in order to provide housebuilders with a means of meeting Requirement E1 in the Building Regulations (England and Wales), covering resistance to the passage of sound between adjacent new build dwellings, without the need for Pre-Completion Testing – acoustic testing just before handover to the purchaser, with potentially costly implications if there was a fail.
The system has worked well and many providers of acoustic insulation systems have obtained RD listings. It is important to point out though that for most specifiers, purchasers and building owners acoustic insulation products will have other aspects of performance that need to be demonstrated, as well as an assurance that the specification of the product that passed the RD testing will not be changed to incorporate, for example, a cheaper component.
The BBA has worked with RDL to develop its RD Data Verification Scheme, linked to benchmark testing of specific components that may be used as part of an RD separating element. This process involves the BBA checking that the test data obtained by the manufacturer agrees with the requirements set out in the RD Handbook.
However, this is not the same as an Agrément Certificate.
When the BBA looks at acoustic insulation products leading to the award of Agrément Certificates, we take several key things into consideration that are not specifically accounted for by the RD scheme.
Under the Building Regulations, RDL’s role is specifically:
The Agrément Certificate assessment involves consideration of all relevant regulations and standards that apply to the product in question, on the other hand including consideration of standards applicable in Scotland and Northern Ireland as well as England and Wales.
We look at the relationship of the acoustic insulation with other materials with which it is likely to be in contact including, for example, underfloor services, and how it should be fixed and how it will perform under long and short-term loading.
This latter aspect is important in helping us to arrive at a durability statement for the system, not something that you will find in the RD scheme. We also look to see that there is a system of factory production control in operation to ensure continuing production of the correct material. Some manufacturers claim that there are low quality foams being offered as part of floating floor systems and this is something that can happen if there is no third party control at the production source. Similarly, in acoustic battens, the quality of the timber is important and without control the temptation will often be there to substitute cheaper timber for the high-quality material that passed the original test.
Every BBA Certificate holder is liable to surveillance normally twice a year to ensure that the approved specification is still being manufactured and it is a condition of BBA approval that control processes are in place to ensure this is the case, even when our inspector is not on the premises.
There is an old rule when buying – caveat emptor or buyer beware, and it is as true in the acoustic insulation sector as anywhere else.
We say proudly that BBA approved products won’t let you down – who else can insert their initials in place of ours and make the same claim?
CERTIFICATE HOLDER WINS IN DUBAI (21 December 2007)
More than 65 UK construction companies attended the ‘Big 5 Exhibition’ in Dubai, in November, the Middle East’s largest trade fair for the construction industry.
UK Trade & Investment in partnership with the Construction Products Association supported all of the exhibiting UK companies. The ‘Big 5’ is the most important event for contractors, specifiers, architects, engineers and buyers throughout the Middle East and is also seen as the annual meeting place for the worldwide construction industry.
Minister Lord Digby Jones, who met the British companies on the ground said:
‘Booming is an understatement for the development going on all around me in Dubai. With the ninth largest seaport in the world, the area is truly a gateway for the entire region. It is clear why the Middle East’s largest construction trade fair is being held here’.
‘UK firms are construction world leaders with over £5 billion of products and materials exported annually. UK firms also have a magnificent reputation of being able to manufacture products on a one-off basis to meet the needs of the most demanding designer’.
Construction Products Association Chief Executive Michael Ankers, also a BBA Governing Board member welcomed the Minister to the UK pavilion and introduced him to many of the UK exhibitors and their customers. Commenting on the visit he said:
‘We are absolutely delighted that the Minister was able to join us at this prestigious event and to show his personal support for the work that UK companies are doing to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities for product manufacturers and suppliers in this part of the world.’
Whilst in the Middle East, Lord Digby Jones also presented the ‘Construction Products Association’ Innovation Award to the best performing UK Company. This is the first time such an award has been given out and in presenting the award to BBA Certificate holder Corriform the Minister added:
‘Corriform has shown those truly British qualities which make our brand world class. Innovation, creativity and boldness! Well done to the whole team for achieving first class products which have proved to be in demand the world over’.
Mr Ankers said: ‘Corriform won the award for its permanent shuttering system – the most innovative foundation forming system to be introduced to the construction industry in the last fifty years. Their solution increases the speed of construction, reduces cost, and makes for safer installation.
On receiving the Award, Corriform’s Joint Managing Director, Bernard Jones said:
‘We really are proud to have won this Award, coming on a day we secured a major contract for this permanent shuttering system in Abu Dhabi, and so soon after securing contracts in Australia and Russia’.
Bill Winter, the company’s other Joint Managing Director added:
‘I want to pay tribute to the crucial role that the British Board of Agrément has played in the development of the product, as well as all those who have helped secure the protection of the intellectual property rights worldwide’.
Another Certificate holder Liquid Plastics Limited was shortlisted in the CPA’s Awards.
RECENT CERTIFICATE CHANGES.
New Certificates added between 20 November 2007 and 18 December 2007
06/4344 NATURALIGHT ROOFLIGHTS AND UPSTANDS - NaturaLight Systems Ltd
Amendments to Existing Certificates between 09 October 2007 and 19 November 2007
02/3968 FIBREPACK - Sika Ltd
Detail Sheets added between 20 November 2007 and 18 December 2007
None.
Certificate Reinstatements between 20 November 2007 and 18 December 2007
None.
Certificates withdrawn between 20 November 2007 and 18 December 2007
01/3828 HYLAM TPO ROOF WATERPROOFING MEMBRANES - DRC Polymer Products Ltd
Detail Sheet withdrawals between 20 November 2007 and 18 December 2007
None.
Lapsed Certificates between 20 November 2007 and 18 December 2007
None.
Suspended Certificates between 20 November 2007 and 18 December 2007
None.
Detail Sheet Suspensions between 20 November 2007 and 18 December 2007
None.
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