INDUSTRYNEWS
BUILDING REGULATIONS PART L CHANGES TO BE A
KEY TOPIC AS BFRC FABRICATORS FORUM RETURNS
» BIRMINGHAM CITY FOOTBALL
Club will be the venue for the second outing
of the BFRC Fabricators Forum when it
takes place this year on June 16th, with a
second event, the BFRC’s Annual Simulators
Meeting, taking place the next day, June 17th,
at the same venue.
A wide-reaching programme led by some
of the window and door industry’s leading
experts will include a series of panel debates,
Q&A sessions and networking opportunities,
with new BFRC product launches and
initiatives also to be announced. Revisions to
Part L of the Building Regulations expected
this year are likely to be a key topic and
discussions will be directed towards clarifying
the impact these will have on the UK window
and door sector. Attendance to the BFRC
Fabricators Forum will be limited with free
places allocated on a first come, first serve
basis. With the interest in Part L, demand is
expected to be high.
The BFRC is the UK’s most trusted and
widely used independent ratings system for
verifying the energy performance of windows
and doors, using the well-known rainbow
system to raise standards across the glazing
industry. The first-ever Fabricators Forum in
Reading last year proved a constructive and
valuable meeting for professionals across the
window and door supply chain, and the strong
emphasis on audience participation during the
discussions on key issues vital to the industry
will be repeated at this year’s event.
Lis Clarke, BFRC Operations Director
said: “Following the feedback received off the
back of last year’s event we have organised the
Birmingham programme, which will focus on
intensive discussions with the goal of reaching
conclusions and bringing them to reality
through BFRC and other GGF organisations
on a range of issues.
“To achieve this, we are assembling a panel
of some of the UK’s foremost experts and
respected panellists to lead discussions about
key industry topics and bring valuable insights
into what the next year has in store for our
industry.”
The event is followed by a second day
organised for Certified Simulators, who carry
out fenestration ratings calculations on behalf
of BFRC and its registered members.
Further details will be announced in due
course.
www.bfrc.org
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bfrc-
fabricators-forum-tickets-93948978925
GGF’S RISA OFFERS EXPERT WITNESS
SERVICE FOR DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Disputes concerning the
specification or installation
domestic windows and doors
are disruptive and costly and
increasingly so the longer they
continue, for all parties. In
recognition of the growing
need for services that are able
to resolve such disputes quickly
and decisively RISA, the Glass &
Glazing Federation’s independent
inspection and auditing division,
has launched its Expert Witness
service to provide representation
in the event of such disputes.
As part of the GGF, the UK’s
foremost representative body for
the glass and glazing industry,
RISA is one of the sector’s most
authoritative and respected expert
organisations.
RISA’s RICS accredited experts
focus on residential window
and door installations and can
act as a single joint expert or as
a party appointed expert and
produce high quality reports in
line with the Civil Procedure
Rules for expert witnesses. The
organisation’s main areas of
expertise include:
• Domestic window and door
installations
• Building Regulation
compliance inspections
• Specification disputes
• Operating to British
Standard 8213-4
• Civil Procedure Rules
compliant
RISA is a UKAS-accredited
Type A Inspection Body and
the sole provider of inspection
services for FENSA, the
replacement window and door
16 » M AY 2020 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M
industry’s largest and longest
established Building Regulations
compliance schemes. Services
may be provided for either party
directly involved in a dispute,
act on behalf of legal teams, or
organisations including local
authorities and private and public
sector landlords for example, in
larger disputes.
RISA will provide initial
inspection and reporting that
may in itself prevent escalation
of a dispute, or should the issue
remain unresolved, RISA may
provide expert witness services,
acting as a single joint expert or
as a party appointed expert and
produce a high quality report
in line with the Civil Procedure
Rules for expert witnesses.
RISA Assessor Manager Lee
Galley has already been involved
in the resolution of many such
disputes: “Our expertise and
impartiality are readily accepted
when we have been asked to
adjudicate and disputes are then
quickly resolved, sometimes
ending disagreements that have
gone on for some time. Where
once we would have been asked to
intervene informally, the creation
of the RISA Expert Witness
Service means that potential users
may gain expertise earlier in the
process.”
For more information visit www.
risaltd.co.uk/expertwitness or
email [email protected]