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7 Sep 2023 |
News / Press Releases
New white paper shows how better managed building information leads to safer homes and improved building outcomes
Paper highlights how post-Grenfell building regulation puts an emphasis on better building information provision and the increasing value of data with digitalisation, exploring progress made to date and what can be done to accelerate this further.
London – 7th September 2023: Zutec and Createmaster, leaders in construction management software solutions across the building lifecycle, have launched their new building safety, maintenance and information-focused paper: Building Safety in the Digital Age — Embracing Technology for Enhanced Building Information
Published ahead of the next provisions of the Building Safety Act 2022 coming into force in October 2023, it explores how the UK building industry has changed over the past 5 years, and the progress asset owners and building operators have made to manage information and address regulatory requirements. Focusing on the UK residential and rental market and supported by two national sample surveys with non-freehold tenants, the report gets under the skin of current resident attitudes towards building safety, information provision and service quality.
The key findings of the report include a marked improvement in resident access to key building information, but also highlights how poor standards and service still persist, especially addressing maintenance requests, posing potential safety risks.
Building Safety in the Digital Age shows asset owners have made significant strides in terms of quality and consistency of communication. Supporting this view, there was a 22% leap in resident satisfaction with asset owner communication in the 18 months between the two polls. In 2023, almost half those polled had a greater knowledge of crucial documentation, especially fire certificates (44%) and the party responsible for them (90%). This suggests more robust protocols around building information provision to residents within the 18-month period.
However, whilst engagement has improved, and is to be encouraged, converting this to actively addressing arising defects and damage appears a greater challenge. Consistent across both data sets, two thirds do not feel their maintenance requests are promptly resolved, with half reporting unaddressed issues.
This dissatisfaction extends to the quality of maintenance provided. In fact, the report goes on to indicate residents are now three times more likely to live in poorly maintained homes, so it’s little wonder service satisfaction declined 10% over the 18 months between the two polls.
The white paper’s supporting research found that, in 2023, only 2% felt somewhat unsafe in their homes, which is to be welcomed and an improvement on 2021 results when some tenants stated they felt very unsafe. It also outlines how, encouragingly, resident awareness around correct fire procedure has risen, equipping them with a better understanding of how to protect themselves in case of future fire outbreaks. However, it seems fire safety issues persist for a significant minority, some attributable to building occupants (items stored in corridors, fire doors propped open), others to the asset owner (no sprinklers, faulty fire alarms and locked fire escapes), and need to be stamped out.
Whilst Building Safety in the Digital Age does flag a handful of longstanding problems it shows, despite external challenges, asset owners and facilities managers are on the right track towards a better built environment, with maintenance spend increasing year-on-year3. It also highlights that the number of poor-quality and unsafe homes is falling, but asks the question is this happening quickly enough? Especially as nearly half of residents polled still feel at some degree of fire risk in their homes. No doubt, as the report predicts, greater investment in skills, training and digital innovation, coupled with far tighter regulation will help to bring this number down to the zero mark.
As Building Safety in the Digital Age concludes, delivering the utmost safety and highest quality will be non-negotiable in the new regulatory landscape, and to achieve this will require complete, accurate and accessible building information. As the supporting research shows, the foundations have already been laid, with an across-the-board improvement in the availability of building information. It’s time to build on this positive trend. However, if duty holders don’t continuously keep on top of asset information, this could lead to elevated risks in the future, improper management of an asset and the potential to shorten a building’s lifespan. Moreover, decreased efficiency could potentially lead to increased costs and a loss of profitability.
With compliance and best-practice benchmarks, the report hammers home the importance of the digitalisation of data and documentation now, and the best ways to bring this information online in one secure instance.
Summing up, Zutec COO, Emily Hopson-Hill says, “Asset owners should take heart in these findings, using them to accelerate efforts to eliminate any risk in their properties. Whilst there were significant improvements in information provision and communication, maintenance response times remain a frustration for tenants. We need to achieve an environment where residents feel 100% safe and satisfied in their homes and asset owners and facilities managers can make informed decisions quickly by easily accessing the right information when they need to. Digitising property information is one key, easy-to-achieve component, particularly as asset owners work to achieve compliance. As Building Safety in the Digital Age makes clear, with easy-to-access, affordable tools and platforms to achieve complete, up-to-date building data, there can now be no excuse not to invest in this crucial, legal requirement.”
To download a full copy of the Building Safety in the Digital Age white paper, click here.
Paper highlights how post-Grenfell building regulation puts an emphasis on better building information provision and the increasing value of data with digitalisation, exploring progress made to date and what can be done to accelerate this further.
London – 7th September 2023: Zutec and Createmaster, leaders in construction management software solutions across the building lifecycle, have launched their new building safety, maintenance and information-focused paper: Building Safety in the Digital Age — Embracing Technology for Enhanced Building Information
Published ahead of the next provisions of the Building Safety Act 2022 coming into force in October 2023, it explores how the UK building industry has changed over the past 5 years, and the progress asset owners and building operators have made to manage information and address regulatory requirements. Focusing on the UK residential and rental market and supported by two national sample surveys with non-freehold tenants, the report gets under the skin of current resident attitudes towards building safety, information provision and service quality.
The key findings of the report include a marked improvement in resident access to key building information, but also highlights how poor standards and service still persist, especially addressing maintenance requests, posing potential safety risks.
Building Safety in the Digital Age shows asset owners have made significant strides in terms of quality and consistency of communication. Supporting this view, there was a 22% leap in resident satisfaction with asset owner communication in the 18 months between the two polls. In 2023, almost half those polled had a greater knowledge of crucial documentation, especially fire certificates (44%) and the party responsible for them (90%). This suggests more robust protocols around building information provision to residents within the 18-month period.
However, whilst engagement has improved, and is to be encouraged, converting this to actively addressing arising defects and damage appears a greater challenge. Consistent across both data sets, two thirds do not feel their maintenance requests are promptly resolved, with half reporting unaddressed issues.
This dissatisfaction extends to the quality of maintenance provided. In fact, the report goes on to indicate residents are now three times more likely to live in poorly maintained homes, so it’s little wonder service satisfaction declined 10% over the 18 months between the two polls.
The white paper’s supporting research found that, in 2023, only 2% felt somewhat unsafe in their homes, which is to be welcomed and an improvement on 2021 results when some tenants stated they felt very unsafe. It also outlines how, encouragingly, resident awareness around correct fire procedure has risen, equipping them with a better understanding of how to protect themselves in case of future fire outbreaks. However, it seems fire safety issues persist for a significant minority, some attributable to building occupants (items stored in corridors, fire doors propped open), others to the asset owner (no sprinklers, faulty fire alarms and locked fire escapes), and need to be stamped out.
Whilst Building Safety in the Digital Age does flag a handful of longstanding problems it shows, despite external challenges, asset owners and facilities managers are on the right track towards a better built environment, with maintenance spend increasing year-on-year3. It also highlights that the number of poor-quality and unsafe homes is falling, but asks the question is this happening quickly enough? Especially as nearly half of residents polled still feel at some degree of fire risk in their homes. No doubt, as the report predicts, greater investment in skills, training and digital innovation, coupled with far tighter regulation will help to bring this number down to the zero mark.
As Building Safety in the Digital Age concludes, delivering the utmost safety and highest quality will be non-negotiable in the new regulatory landscape, and to achieve this will require complete, accurate and accessible building information. As the supporting research shows, the foundations have already been laid, with an across-the-board improvement in the availability of building information. It’s time to build on this positive trend. However, if duty holders don’t continuously keep on top of asset information, this could lead to elevated risks in the future, improper management of an asset and the potential to shorten a building’s lifespan. Moreover, decreased efficiency could potentially lead to increased costs and a loss of profitability.
With compliance and best-practice benchmarks, the report hammers home the importance of the digitalisation of data and documentation now, and the best ways to bring this information online in one secure instance.
Summing up, Zutec COO, Emily Hopson-Hill says, “Asset owners should take heart in these findings, using them to accelerate efforts to eliminate any risk in their properties. Whilst there were significant improvements in information provision and communication, maintenance response times remain a frustration for tenants. We need to achieve an environment where residents feel 100% safe and satisfied in their homes and asset owners and facilities managers can make informed decisions quickly by easily accessing the right information when they need to. Digitising property information is one key, easy-to-achieve component, particularly as asset owners work to achieve compliance. As Building Safety in the Digital Age makes clear, with easy-to-access, affordable tools and platforms to achieve complete, up-to-date building data, there can now be no excuse not to invest in this crucial, legal requirement.”
To download a full copy of the Building Safety in the Digital Age white paper, click here.
Paper highlights how post-Grenfell building regulation puts an emphasis on better building information provision and the increasing value of data with digitalisation, exploring progress made to date and what can be done to accelerate this further.
London – 7th September 2023: Zutec and Createmaster, leaders in construction management software solutions across the building lifecycle, have launched their new building safety, maintenance and information-focused paper: Building Safety in the Digital Age — Embracing Technology for Enhanced Building Information
Published ahead of the next provisions of the Building Safety Act 2022 coming into force in October 2023, it explores how the UK building industry has changed over the past 5 years, and the progress asset owners and building operators have made to manage information and address regulatory requirements. Focusing on the UK residential and rental market and supported by two national sample surveys with non-freehold tenants, the report gets under the skin of current resident attitudes towards building safety, information provision and service quality.
The key findings of the report include a marked improvement in resident access to key building information, but also highlights how poor standards and service still persist, especially addressing maintenance requests, posing potential safety risks.
Building Safety in the Digital Age shows asset owners have made significant strides in terms of quality and consistency of communication. Supporting this view, there was a 22% leap in resident satisfaction with asset owner communication in the 18 months between the two polls. In 2023, almost half those polled had a greater knowledge of crucial documentation, especially fire certificates (44%) and the party responsible for them (90%). This suggests more robust protocols around building information provision to residents within the 18-month period.
However, whilst engagement has improved, and is to be encouraged, converting this to actively addressing arising defects and damage appears a greater challenge. Consistent across both data sets, two thirds do not feel their maintenance requests are promptly resolved, with half reporting unaddressed issues.
This dissatisfaction extends to the quality of maintenance provided. In fact, the report goes on to indicate residents are now three times more likely to live in poorly maintained homes, so it’s little wonder service satisfaction declined 10% over the 18 months between the two polls.
The white paper’s supporting research found that, in 2023, only 2% felt somewhat unsafe in their homes, which is to be welcomed and an improvement on 2021 results when some tenants stated they felt very unsafe. It also outlines how, encouragingly, resident awareness around correct fire procedure has risen, equipping them with a better understanding of how to protect themselves in case of future fire outbreaks. However, it seems fire safety issues persist for a significant minority, some attributable to building occupants (items stored in corridors, fire doors propped open), others to the asset owner (no sprinklers, faulty fire alarms and locked fire escapes), and need to be stamped out.
Whilst Building Safety in the Digital Age does flag a handful of longstanding problems it shows, despite external challenges, asset owners and facilities managers are on the right track towards a better built environment, with maintenance spend increasing year-on-year3. It also highlights that the number of poor-quality and unsafe homes is falling, but asks the question is this happening quickly enough? Especially as nearly half of residents polled still feel at some degree of fire risk in their homes. No doubt, as the report predicts, greater investment in skills, training and digital innovation, coupled with far tighter regulation will help to bring this number down to the zero mark.
As Building Safety in the Digital Age concludes, delivering the utmost safety and highest quality will be non-negotiable in the new regulatory landscape, and to achieve this will require complete, accurate and accessible building information. As the supporting research shows, the foundations have already been laid, with an across-the-board improvement in the availability of building information. It’s time to build on this positive trend. However, if duty holders don’t continuously keep on top of asset information, this could lead to elevated risks in the future, improper management of an asset and the potential to shorten a building’s lifespan. Moreover, decreased efficiency could potentially lead to increased costs and a loss of profitability.
With compliance and best-practice benchmarks, the report hammers home the importance of the digitalisation of data and documentation now, and the best ways to bring this information online in one secure instance.
Summing up, Zutec COO, Emily Hopson-Hill says, “Asset owners should take heart in these findings, using them to accelerate efforts to eliminate any risk in their properties. Whilst there were significant improvements in information provision and communication, maintenance response times remain a frustration for tenants. We need to achieve an environment where residents feel 100% safe and satisfied in their homes and asset owners and facilities managers can make informed decisions quickly by easily accessing the right information when they need to. Digitising property information is one key, easy-to-achieve component, particularly as asset owners work to achieve compliance. As Building Safety in the Digital Age makes clear, with easy-to-access, affordable tools and platforms to achieve complete, up-to-date building data, there can now be no excuse not to invest in this crucial, legal requirement.”
To download a full copy of the Building Safety in the Digital Age white paper, click here.
Paper highlights how post-Grenfell building regulation puts an emphasis on better building information provision and the increasing value of data with digitalisation, exploring progress made to date and what can be done to accelerate this further.
London – 7th September 2023: Zutec and Createmaster, leaders in construction management software solutions across the building lifecycle, have launched their new building safety, maintenance and information-focused paper: Building Safety in the Digital Age — Embracing Technology for Enhanced Building Information
Published ahead of the next provisions of the Building Safety Act 2022 coming into force in October 2023, it explores how the UK building industry has changed over the past 5 years, and the progress asset owners and building operators have made to manage information and address regulatory requirements. Focusing on the UK residential and rental market and supported by two national sample surveys with non-freehold tenants, the report gets under the skin of current resident attitudes towards building safety, information provision and service quality.
The key findings of the report include a marked improvement in resident access to key building information, but also highlights how poor standards and service still persist, especially addressing maintenance requests, posing potential safety risks.
Building Safety in the Digital Age shows asset owners have made significant strides in terms of quality and consistency of communication. Supporting this view, there was a 22% leap in resident satisfaction with asset owner communication in the 18 months between the two polls. In 2023, almost half those polled had a greater knowledge of crucial documentation, especially fire certificates (44%) and the party responsible for them (90%). This suggests more robust protocols around building information provision to residents within the 18-month period.
However, whilst engagement has improved, and is to be encouraged, converting this to actively addressing arising defects and damage appears a greater challenge. Consistent across both data sets, two thirds do not feel their maintenance requests are promptly resolved, with half reporting unaddressed issues.
This dissatisfaction extends to the quality of maintenance provided. In fact, the report goes on to indicate residents are now three times more likely to live in poorly maintained homes, so it’s little wonder service satisfaction declined 10% over the 18 months between the two polls.
The white paper’s supporting research found that, in 2023, only 2% felt somewhat unsafe in their homes, which is to be welcomed and an improvement on 2021 results when some tenants stated they felt very unsafe. It also outlines how, encouragingly, resident awareness around correct fire procedure has risen, equipping them with a better understanding of how to protect themselves in case of future fire outbreaks. However, it seems fire safety issues persist for a significant minority, some attributable to building occupants (items stored in corridors, fire doors propped open), others to the asset owner (no sprinklers, faulty fire alarms and locked fire escapes), and need to be stamped out.
Whilst Building Safety in the Digital Age does flag a handful of longstanding problems it shows, despite external challenges, asset owners and facilities managers are on the right track towards a better built environment, with maintenance spend increasing year-on-year3. It also highlights that the number of poor-quality and unsafe homes is falling, but asks the question is this happening quickly enough? Especially as nearly half of residents polled still feel at some degree of fire risk in their homes. No doubt, as the report predicts, greater investment in skills, training and digital innovation, coupled with far tighter regulation will help to bring this number down to the zero mark.
As Building Safety in the Digital Age concludes, delivering the utmost safety and highest quality will be non-negotiable in the new regulatory landscape, and to achieve this will require complete, accurate and accessible building information. As the supporting research shows, the foundations have already been laid, with an across-the-board improvement in the availability of building information. It’s time to build on this positive trend. However, if duty holders don’t continuously keep on top of asset information, this could lead to elevated risks in the future, improper management of an asset and the potential to shorten a building’s lifespan. Moreover, decreased efficiency could potentially lead to increased costs and a loss of profitability.
With compliance and best-practice benchmarks, the report hammers home the importance of the digitalisation of data and documentation now, and the best ways to bring this information online in one secure instance.
Summing up, Zutec COO, Emily Hopson-Hill says, “Asset owners should take heart in these findings, using them to accelerate efforts to eliminate any risk in their properties. Whilst there were significant improvements in information provision and communication, maintenance response times remain a frustration for tenants. We need to achieve an environment where residents feel 100% safe and satisfied in their homes and asset owners and facilities managers can make informed decisions quickly by easily accessing the right information when they need to. Digitising property information is one key, easy-to-achieve component, particularly as asset owners work to achieve compliance. As Building Safety in the Digital Age makes clear, with easy-to-access, affordable tools and platforms to achieve complete, up-to-date building data, there can now be no excuse not to invest in this crucial, legal requirement.”
To download a full copy of the Building Safety in the Digital Age white paper, click here.
Paper highlights how post-Grenfell building regulation puts an emphasis on better building information provision and the increasing value of data with digitalisation, exploring progress made to date and what can be done to accelerate this further.
London – 7th September 2023: Zutec and Createmaster, leaders in construction management software solutions across the building lifecycle, have launched their new building safety, maintenance and information-focused paper: Building Safety in the Digital Age — Embracing Technology for Enhanced Building Information
Published ahead of the next provisions of the Building Safety Act 2022 coming into force in October 2023, it explores how the UK building industry has changed over the past 5 years, and the progress asset owners and building operators have made to manage information and address regulatory requirements. Focusing on the UK residential and rental market and supported by two national sample surveys with non-freehold tenants, the report gets under the skin of current resident attitudes towards building safety, information provision and service quality.
The key findings of the report include a marked improvement in resident access to key building information, but also highlights how poor standards and service still persist, especially addressing maintenance requests, posing potential safety risks.
Building Safety in the Digital Age shows asset owners have made significant strides in terms of quality and consistency of communication. Supporting this view, there was a 22% leap in resident satisfaction with asset owner communication in the 18 months between the two polls. In 2023, almost half those polled had a greater knowledge of crucial documentation, especially fire certificates (44%) and the party responsible for them (90%). This suggests more robust protocols around building information provision to residents within the 18-month period.
However, whilst engagement has improved, and is to be encouraged, converting this to actively addressing arising defects and damage appears a greater challenge. Consistent across both data sets, two thirds do not feel their maintenance requests are promptly resolved, with half reporting unaddressed issues.
This dissatisfaction extends to the quality of maintenance provided. In fact, the report goes on to indicate residents are now three times more likely to live in poorly maintained homes, so it’s little wonder service satisfaction declined 10% over the 18 months between the two polls.
The white paper’s supporting research found that, in 2023, only 2% felt somewhat unsafe in their homes, which is to be welcomed and an improvement on 2021 results when some tenants stated they felt very unsafe. It also outlines how, encouragingly, resident awareness around correct fire procedure has risen, equipping them with a better understanding of how to protect themselves in case of future fire outbreaks. However, it seems fire safety issues persist for a significant minority, some attributable to building occupants (items stored in corridors, fire doors propped open), others to the asset owner (no sprinklers, faulty fire alarms and locked fire escapes), and need to be stamped out.
Whilst Building Safety in the Digital Age does flag a handful of longstanding problems it shows, despite external challenges, asset owners and facilities managers are on the right track towards a better built environment, with maintenance spend increasing year-on-year3. It also highlights that the number of poor-quality and unsafe homes is falling, but asks the question is this happening quickly enough? Especially as nearly half of residents polled still feel at some degree of fire risk in their homes. No doubt, as the report predicts, greater investment in skills, training and digital innovation, coupled with far tighter regulation will help to bring this number down to the zero mark.
As Building Safety in the Digital Age concludes, delivering the utmost safety and highest quality will be non-negotiable in the new regulatory landscape, and to achieve this will require complete, accurate and accessible building information. As the supporting research shows, the foundations have already been laid, with an across-the-board improvement in the availability of building information. It’s time to build on this positive trend. However, if duty holders don’t continuously keep on top of asset information, this could lead to elevated risks in the future, improper management of an asset and the potential to shorten a building’s lifespan. Moreover, decreased efficiency could potentially lead to increased costs and a loss of profitability.
With compliance and best-practice benchmarks, the report hammers home the importance of the digitalisation of data and documentation now, and the best ways to bring this information online in one secure instance.
Summing up, Zutec COO, Emily Hopson-Hill says, “Asset owners should take heart in these findings, using them to accelerate efforts to eliminate any risk in their properties. Whilst there were significant improvements in information provision and communication, maintenance response times remain a frustration for tenants. We need to achieve an environment where residents feel 100% safe and satisfied in their homes and asset owners and facilities managers can make informed decisions quickly by easily accessing the right information when they need to. Digitising property information is one key, easy-to-achieve component, particularly as asset owners work to achieve compliance. As Building Safety in the Digital Age makes clear, with easy-to-access, affordable tools and platforms to achieve complete, up-to-date building data, there can now be no excuse not to invest in this crucial, legal requirement.”
To download a full copy of the Building Safety in the Digital Age white paper, click here.
Paper highlights how post-Grenfell building regulation puts an emphasis on better building information provision and the increasing value of data with digitalisation, exploring progress made to date and what can be done to accelerate this further.
London – 7th September 2023: Zutec and Createmaster, leaders in construction management software solutions across the building lifecycle, have launched their new building safety, maintenance and information-focused paper: Building Safety in the Digital Age — Embracing Technology for Enhanced Building Information
Published ahead of the next provisions of the Building Safety Act 2022 coming into force in October 2023, it explores how the UK building industry has changed over the past 5 years, and the progress asset owners and building operators have made to manage information and address regulatory requirements. Focusing on the UK residential and rental market and supported by two national sample surveys with non-freehold tenants, the report gets under the skin of current resident attitudes towards building safety, information provision and service quality.
The key findings of the report include a marked improvement in resident access to key building information, but also highlights how poor standards and service still persist, especially addressing maintenance requests, posing potential safety risks.
Building Safety in the Digital Age shows asset owners have made significant strides in terms of quality and consistency of communication. Supporting this view, there was a 22% leap in resident satisfaction with asset owner communication in the 18 months between the two polls. In 2023, almost half those polled had a greater knowledge of crucial documentation, especially fire certificates (44%) and the party responsible for them (90%). This suggests more robust protocols around building information provision to residents within the 18-month period.
However, whilst engagement has improved, and is to be encouraged, converting this to actively addressing arising defects and damage appears a greater challenge. Consistent across both data sets, two thirds do not feel their maintenance requests are promptly resolved, with half reporting unaddressed issues.
This dissatisfaction extends to the quality of maintenance provided. In fact, the report goes on to indicate residents are now three times more likely to live in poorly maintained homes, so it’s little wonder service satisfaction declined 10% over the 18 months between the two polls.
The white paper’s supporting research found that, in 2023, only 2% felt somewhat unsafe in their homes, which is to be welcomed and an improvement on 2021 results when some tenants stated they felt very unsafe. It also outlines how, encouragingly, resident awareness around correct fire procedure has risen, equipping them with a better understanding of how to protect themselves in case of future fire outbreaks. However, it seems fire safety issues persist for a significant minority, some attributable to building occupants (items stored in corridors, fire doors propped open), others to the asset owner (no sprinklers, faulty fire alarms and locked fire escapes), and need to be stamped out.
Whilst Building Safety in the Digital Age does flag a handful of longstanding problems it shows, despite external challenges, asset owners and facilities managers are on the right track towards a better built environment, with maintenance spend increasing year-on-year3. It also highlights that the number of poor-quality and unsafe homes is falling, but asks the question is this happening quickly enough? Especially as nearly half of residents polled still feel at some degree of fire risk in their homes. No doubt, as the report predicts, greater investment in skills, training and digital innovation, coupled with far tighter regulation will help to bring this number down to the zero mark.
As Building Safety in the Digital Age concludes, delivering the utmost safety and highest quality will be non-negotiable in the new regulatory landscape, and to achieve this will require complete, accurate and accessible building information. As the supporting research shows, the foundations have already been laid, with an across-the-board improvement in the availability of building information. It’s time to build on this positive trend. However, if duty holders don’t continuously keep on top of asset information, this could lead to elevated risks in the future, improper management of an asset and the potential to shorten a building’s lifespan. Moreover, decreased efficiency could potentially lead to increased costs and a loss of profitability.
With compliance and best-practice benchmarks, the report hammers home the importance of the digitalisation of data and documentation now, and the best ways to bring this information online in one secure instance.
Summing up, Zutec COO, Emily Hopson-Hill says, “Asset owners should take heart in these findings, using them to accelerate efforts to eliminate any risk in their properties. Whilst there were significant improvements in information provision and communication, maintenance response times remain a frustration for tenants. We need to achieve an environment where residents feel 100% safe and satisfied in their homes and asset owners and facilities managers can make informed decisions quickly by easily accessing the right information when they need to. Digitising property information is one key, easy-to-achieve component, particularly as asset owners work to achieve compliance. As Building Safety in the Digital Age makes clear, with easy-to-access, affordable tools and platforms to achieve complete, up-to-date building data, there can now be no excuse not to invest in this crucial, legal requirement.”
To download a full copy of the Building Safety in the Digital Age white paper, click here.
One tool to overcome the challenge of capturing, recording, marking-up, tracing back and easily sharing geo-located photographic evidence through the house build stage
London, UK—25th May 2022: From 15th June 2022, housebuilders and developers in England and Wales will be required to provide qualitative photographic evidence that demonstrates that new homes produce 31% less CO2 emissions compared to the current requirements. This is to comply with the uplifted Part L standard (or Approved Document L 2021) of the UK’s Building Regulations, which comes into force to drive further energy efficiencies in new builds. To enable geo-located photos to be captured properly, correctly labelled, centrally stored and traced back to a property before being submitted to the assessor for sign off, Zutec, the leading quality management platform and client CDE for housebuilders and developers, has built a customisable solution available today to help customers stay ahead of the Part L requirement.
“From speaking to our customers, one challenge they have today as Part L 2021 comes into play is having one tool or app that works on site from any device, whether or not there is a WIFI or data connection available, that allows them to take and record geo-located photographic evidence of a new home’s insulation or installation, to demonstrate compliance to Part L 2021,” said Emily Hopson-Hill, Chief Operating Officer at Zutec.
“Working with our customers we have built a solution that can be integrated into a site quality management programme that enables geo-referenced photos to be captured from any device with or without a data connection. Zutec provides the functionality for those photos to be marked up, complemented with supporting documentation, stored centrally within the platform, traced back to a location and property, and easily shared with team members, inspectors or assessors during the build stage via customisable workflows. Once the SAP assessor has reviewed evidence it can be approved or sent back with feedback, so if work is not up to standard it can be remediated before the build completes. This speeds up the process, ahead of the EPC and the BREL report being released and avoids retrofitting new homes, which is timely and costly. A first for the sector, Zutec can be configured quickly to adapt to changing regulations and helps housebuilders take additional steps towards quality assurance, traceability and accountability,” continued Hopson-Hill.
Simple and easy to use, Zutec can be up and running quickly due to its complete configurability, and provides an efficient and effective way to evidence compliance to this and other upcoming building regulations—providing a single source of truth so that housebuilders can demonstrate they are using the most efficient products and materials to build energy-efficient homes. With the more rigorous Future Homes and Future Building Standard coming into force in 2025, which moves towards carbon neutral new homes and requirements to reduce emissions by 75-80%, Zutec provides a digital first step to help housebuilders evidence compliance that can lead to a one stop shop for Quality Management.
To find out more about Zutec’s Part L solution or receive a demo, please reach out to us at contact@zutec.com, and one of our experienced team will be in touch.
Starting of the new year with some exciting news!
We are pleased to confirm the addition of Bond Bryan Digital Limited [BBD] to the BuildData Group, alongside the other group brands: Zutec and Createmaster. Bond Bryan Digital are market leaders in the provision of consultancy and advice related to ISO19650 & BIM structured data.
Headed up by Rob Jackson and Emma Hooper, BBD specialise in offering Information Management, Clash Detection and specialist BIM consultancy services to both Clients and Contractors and have established themselves as a leading-edge consultancy in the rapidly expanding UK Digital Construction space by supporting clients to both define & deliver their information requirements.
The addition of the BBD team extends the BuildData ability to provide full digital data support throughout the building life-cycle to all our customers.
Find out more about Bond Bryan Digital Here : https://www.bondbryandigital.co.uk/
New Civil Engineer’s Future of Rail virtual event took place on Thursday 15th July, exploring the post Covid-19 role of the railway, and assessing innovative opportunities in the sector.
Watched by 200 online attendees, sessions covered critical issues such as climate change, the importance of electrifying UK rail, and the true value of digital twins in asset management.
The impressive line-up of speakers included Mike Smith, Programme Director of Restoring Your Railway at Network Rail; Maria Cliff, Head of Operations at East West Rail; Lawrence Shackman, Head of Rail Projects and Technical Services at Transport Scotland; and our own Tom Boland, Head of Digitisation at Zutec.
Tom shared his knowledge of digital twins during the session entitled: World-leading approach to using digital in infrastructure construction.
As Silver Sponsors of the event, Zutec were delighted to host this 15-minute presentation and Q&A session, in the expert company of Peter Ruff, Head of BIM for SCS Railways on the HS2 project, and Dr Anita Soni, Deputy Head of BIM at SCS Railways and Skanska Infrastructure.
This practical session provided a deep-dive into how SCS – the joint venture between Skanska, Costain and STRABAG – is delivering the 250k southern section of the £106bn HS2 railway, by engaging fully with HS2’s big digital ambitions.
Facilitated by the Zutec BIM platform, SCS and HS2 are together connecting the digital model of the southern section between London and Birmingham, with the quality control and inspection documentation. It’s a ground-breaking digital twin project that will benefit stakeholders, from the engineers and suppliers on site, to end users of the completed railway.
The presentation showed how connecting the engineering data and quality documentation with real-time reporting is benefitting the entire project, culminating in the automated and efficient handover of structured data at completion.
The panel enlightened the audience on how higher quality and more accurate inspection and quality control records can be stored in a digital twin, and passed over to the client to maintain the railway during the operational phase.
It was emphasised that ‘making life easier’ is the core objective of this digital twin strategy. With 5 million quality checklists digitised through the Zutec platform, it has been possible to provide multiple stakeholder groups with one source of the truth. Pre-populated forms save time, site inspections are streamlined and audit trails are reliable and transparent. Overall, there are health and safety, time, cost, data security, environmental and quality benefits, from deploying this digital information flow.
Further insights were provided into how the supply chain is given a helping hand with digital twin technology on a project like this. Suppliers have access to the BIM data lake, for example, as well as real time progress and information tracking. Expectations can be tightly managed and suppliers can plan ahead with ease.
Tom, Peter and Anita also touched on ‘getting people on board’ saying that, to date, the system has been successfully rolled out to 550 staff and 48 subcontractors. This will grow to over 1,500 users and 80 companies on the system in 2022. Training, clear communication of the benefits, and empowering site engineers to become the ‘owners’ of elements of the system have all helped embed the project.
The inspection and test plan sign-off process has been reduced from 21 days to 4, the panel revealed, and there has been a 90% reduction in time spent completing forms. All key milestones were met during Covid, confirming how, with the right technology in place, it’s possible to satisfy the customer, even during a pandemic.
Final thoughts to round off the presentation focused on what has underpinned such achievements, and a simple equation was shared: Strategy + People + Platform = Success. Ongoing improvements continue to be seen, the speakers said, as this vast, ambitious infrastructure project powers towards completion.
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On Monday 5th July, the long-awaited Building Safety Bill was finally published and simultaneously announced in parliament.
The Bill comes nearly 12 months after the draft Bill was published and 4 years after the Grenfell Tower tragedy, which forced the nation to address its wholly inadequate building and fire safety regimes.
The UK’s Housing Secretary, Robert Jenrick said that the Bill will “reassure the vast majority of residents” and provide “essential oversight at every stage of a building’s lifecycle from design, construction, completion to occupation.”
Those working within AECO (architecture, engineering, construction and operation) will already be familiar with many of the details outlined in the draft Bill. However, it is yet to be clarified exactly how many elements of Dame Judith Hackitt’s review and the resulting Building Safety Bill will be practically implemented.
Tom Boland, our Global Head of Digitalisation said: “Building owners and contractors alike are waiting for clarity around the new regulations and their own obligations, and the industry desperately needs this to accelerate the rebuilding of trust with buyers and tenants.”
What is known for sure is that the Bill will have massive implications for those involved in the development, construction and management of multi-occupancy residences which exceed 18m in height or 7 storeys.
These so called HRRBs (High Risk Residential Buildings) have been placed under necessary scrutiny in recent years, with a £5bn fund created as part of the Building Safety Programme to support vital remediation work, including the removal of dangerous cladding.
Despite the existence of the fund, many residents are still facing hefty bills for repairs and renovations. Moreover, there has been a spate of reports about leaseholders in HRRBs who are unable to value, remortgage or sell their properties due to difficulties in obtaining the necessary safety certificates, known as ESW1s.
Perhaps in response to this situation, the publication of the Bill makes it clear that the time scale in which a leaseholder can sue a developer for repairs has more than doubled from 6 years, to 15. This development (made possible through an amendment to the existing Defective Premises Act 1972) is what has been grabbing most of the headlines this week.
However, the implications of the Bill for developers and asset owners go much further:
Gateway one comes into effect from the 1st August 2021. It affects pre-planning and will require developers to include fire statements in their applications, as well as considering things like emergency access and water supplies for firefighting.
The wheels are already in motion for the Building Safety Bill and as more of the new legislation is passed, the responsibilities faced by stakeholders are going to become more and more significant. Asset Lifecycle Information Management, communication and transparency will become more vital to compliance than ever and Tom Boland says digital tools have a key role to play in facilitating those things.
“Now is the time for any companies without a digital plan to put one in place,” he says.
Find out how Zutec can support your organisation with our Asset Lifecyle Information Management systems. Request a Demo.