Benefit from having a single passive fire consultant
A tragedy in South Australia highlighted the fact that in the building industry, each specialist area tends to communicate to its own very limited field of participants and not to the broader group of consultants, contractors and other professionals. In this case, the Coroner made comments in relation to the way in which different participants in the building industry communicate or, rather, fail to communicate well.
With sometimes up to 10 sub trades on site during construction, each gathering the required information, as a consequence, you can end up with only half of the penetrations registered and identified, no baseline data, no photographic evidence, disputes over scope, non-compliant works and no certification.
Victoria's building regulator has recommended the director of builder LU Simon and a fire safety engineer face disciplinary action for their part in the construction of the Lacrosse apartments in Melbourne's Docklands, which were built with illegal and flammable cladding. It alleges the building practitioners breached the Building Act and did not complete the work in a competent manner or to a professional standard.
Meanwhile, some 85% of all apartments in NSW contain defects, as established by a federally-funded review undertaken by the University of NSW in 2012, and a group of property owners is facing a bill of almost $500,000 to fix problems with their apartment building, after the VBA issued a building order in response to fire safety concerns. The order was issued after an inspection revealed that the building did not have adequate fire safety measures. The building surveyor who issued the occupancy permit for the building is no longer registered.
COMMON MISTAKES CAUSING EXPENSIVE REWORKS
The standard of passive fire installations has greatly improved in Queensland with the introduction of compulsory licensing through, originally BSA and now QBCC. Disturbingly the training is minimal and we still find way too many buildings with non-compliant passive systems.
THE PASSIVE FIRE CONSULTANT SOLUTION
ADVICE
Integrate into Aconex or similar
Trade post tender reviews
Assist with scope and RFQ
Building certifier pre-approval
Carry out QA inspections
Liaise with fire engineer
Fitout guide prep for passive fire
Proactive and ongoing advice
Point of referral for architects, fire engineer, building certifier, QFES, and site staff
WALLS & CEILINGS AND PENETRATIONS
Coordinate trades to save $
Review all systems selected
Alternative value engineering
Pre-approval for systems
LIaise with manufacturers
Education on site for installers
Obtain test reports
Resolve build-ability issues
Checklists and ITP's for trade
Skilled hands on supervision on site
Site specific install manual and samples
THE BENEFITS
A central location for all passive fire advice for the work of ALL sub-trades
One central penetration register with ALL of the penetrations identified with photos and location
Get what you paid for, and with a full audit and baseline data at the end
Ensure ALL fire rated walls and ceilings are to spec, certified and compliant
Confidence ALL penetrations have been inspected, identified, compliant and certified
Get expert advice and alternative solution from hands on specialists
Ensure there are no issues for the Building certifier or fire services at handover
Save time, money and expensive rework costs
Confidence and peace of mind
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL 1800 PASSIVE AND SPEAK TO A CONSULTANT