Hardware & Security
EDUCATIONAL PREMISES OUTLINED IN NEW BUILDING SAFETY ACT ‘ HIGHER-RISK ’ CRITERIA
ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions UK & Ireland is highlighting new guidance recently published within the updated Building Safety Act , which has outlined educational establishments in the higher-risk buildings category .
To be classified as higher-risk , buildings must be at least 18 metres in height or at least seven storeys , contain at least two residential units , and meet certain use criteria – with educational usage such as university halls of residence and boarding schools included . Buildings within this category are subject to the requirements of the new higher-risk regime directly overseen by the Building Safety Regulator .
Paul Thompson , BIM Manager for ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions , comments : “ Enabling the ‘ golden thread ’ of information is crucial to the Building Safety Act . Buildings need to be constructed and managed as holistic systems , enabling people to use information to design , construct and operate them safely and effectively .
“ It comes as no surprise that educational buildings have been highlighted as meeting the criteria for higher-risk , and it ’ s critical that those involved in the construction and management of these premises uphold their duty to keep the building ’ s safety and standard under review .
“ This includes facilitating improvement in the competence of industry and building inspectors , and a duty to establish a system for the giving of building safety information .”
Those responsible for higher-risk buildings must be registered and have their building safety regime in place by October 2023 , or face investigation and potential prosecution .
Paul adds : “ Building Information Modelling ( BIM ) is the ideal platform to enable the ‘ golden thread ’ of information and create an effective safety regime . It can create greater transparency and allow building elements such as doorsets to be managed through a single platform - from
specification to installation and ongoing inspection .”
For example , ASSA ABLOY ’ s Openings Studio™ BIM application integrates with design software to create and visualise openings for complete door , frame and hardware schedules and specifications .
This enables seamless extraction of door design intent and all relevant interfaces to assist fabricators to develop complete door requirements that meet building regulations . Product information , performance data and budget information are captured within the BIM design environment .
Through real time , collaborative working , these designs can be validated for compliance , functional performance , and aesthetics plus presented as 3D views that can be fully re-integrated into the overall project design .
With linked internal systems , ASSA ABLOY use this final schedule of information to manufacture the complete doorset solution including the leaf , frame and all specified hardware .
The Openings Studio™ mobile app can also directly access this data for use during the door installation process , ensuring full
validity of the finished product prior to project completion . The app also offers an easy to use ‘ check box ’ system to carry out and capture detailed inspections based on the specific details of each door included in the schedule .
This report validates if a door has remained compliant , or identifies what elements need to be corrected or replaced to return the product to the standard required , providing full traceability and ownership of all changes at all stages .
Paul concludes : “ Openings Studio is a unique collaborative tool for all project stakeholders , helping to minimise costs and streamline the data sharing process throughout the entire project lifecycle – from the initial design , right through to construction , delivery , asset management and beyond .
“ For those managing a higher-risk educational building , this can be used as a tool to create an effective safety regime , which can be managed easily to comply with the Building Safety Act and ensure life safety of the occupants .”
www . assaabloyopeningsolutions . co . uk / specification
60 SEPTEMBER 2023 CLEARVIEW-UK . COM