Modern Building Services

INDUSTRY NEWS MODERN BUILDING SERVICES MARCH 2021 5 BESCA strengthens vent hygiene scheme BESCA has responded to growing demand for improved fire safety in buildings by adding new features to its Ventilation Hygiene Elite (VHE) scheme website. The scheme is based on BESA’s long-established guide to good practice and the most recently released Specification, TR19® Grease, which sets the industry approved standard for ventilation hygiene – an essential way to reduce the risk of fire being spread through kitchen extraction systems. The Association’s certification arm BESCA audits work to ensure standards are maintained and manages a database of post-clean verification reports to give reassurance to clients and their insurers that ventilation systems are being maintained to a high standard. It also ensures that all operatives used by member companies are undertaking recognised training and have reached the right level of competence to meet the TR19® standard. The scheme has now been further enhanced with the introduction of a ‘live’ feature on the VHE website to showwhether firms are registered on the scheme and fully compliant with TR19® or whether their status is under review for any reason. This is designed to ensure the system of ensuring compliance is robust and can give clients the reassurance they need when looking to employ a company with fully up-to-date professional credentials. They will be able to see if a member company is a fully approved member, under review or suspended from the scheme. Some firms may be going through an audit process before becoming approved members or be the subject of an ‘elevated compliance surveillance’ before BESCA confirms their compliance. www.besca.org.uk/ First development to achieve BRE’s new HQM ONE certification The Cardiff Interchange – a new multi-purpose development in the heart of the Welsh capital containing over 300 homes – has become the first building in the UK to achieve Home Quality Mark ONE (HQM ONE) interim certification at design stage. HQM ONE is BRE’s new benchmarking standard for sustainability and quality and it is set to play a crucial role in reducing the carbon footprint of homes – responsible for up to 40% of all UK carbon emissions[1] - and helping the UK to reach its 2050 net zero target. The Cardiff Interchange, owned by Legal & General, is not only the first project anywhere in the world to be certified under HQM ONE at design stage but is also the first development in Wales to gain any HQM certification. Located in Central Square, the new 500,000 sq ft development which neighbours the BBC’s Cardiff office, is set to include a 14-bay bus station and a 12-storey office space alongside the 318 HQM-certified buy-to-rent apartments, once construction is completed at the end of 2022. This final certification is awarded when the dwelling has been independently verified by third-party assessors, using a star rating to assess the development on factors such as how it enables low running maintenance costs, how it supports the health, wellbeing and comfort of occupants, and its overall environmental footprint. New construction industry research to broaden understanding of how the vital CDM 2015 Principal Designer role is working in practice The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) urged the construction industry to get involved in important new research to develop a broader picture of the benefits and challenges of the Principal Designer (PD) role under CDM 2015 by completing an online survey. HSE appointed MPWR&R Ltd (an independent construction safety consultancy) to undertake this important research. Survey questions asked how the PD role is being implemented, to broaden understanding of the benefits of the role as well as the challenges of implementing it. In addition to the industry- wide survey, the research was also seeking the views of key stakeholder organisations via a series of personal interviews and/ or written submissions. They will be analysed in conjunction with the survey results to help draw overall conclusions. Research findings will be published on HSE’s website as a Research Report, freely available to download.