In June, a package of reforms was announced to the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) designed to unblock the delays in approvals for new housing developments, which have so far frustrated the industry’s ability to deliver on the government’s ambitious build targets.
100+ new inspectors and engineers area being recruited by the BSR to increase capacity, and Fast-Track and staged approvals of projects have been introduced as a way to increase the pace of delivery. The onus now is on manufacturers like AluK to provide the kind of valuable support to architects, specifiers and contractors which will maximise their chances of successful submissions.
AluK has acted quickly in response and compiled comprehensive new evidence packs, which give specifiers all the information they need on our systems, including traceability and compliance with the all the vital requirements of the Building Safety Act (BSA).
These are effectively off-the-shelf technical submissions for our glazed facades, which architects and main contractors can add to their BSR applications. If required, they can also use them to competitively tender the project from AluK’s network of authorised commercial installers after approval has been received.
The new packs include full NBS specifications for AluK’s window, door and curtain walling systems, product data sheets and sectional details in .DWG, structural and thermal calculations, full interface details and the mandatory competency statement. They can be are tailored for each individual project, and include all the necessary test data from AluK’s in-house test facility, along with installation guidance.
Jordan Kingman, AluK’s Head of Commercial Projects, said: “Because we have such significant in-house resource in our technical, design and testing teams, we can be as flexible as contractors and their design teams need in terms of pack content and we can provide as much guidance as contractors need on preparing and issuing the tenders to our customers. Working with AluK as a systems house for BSR submissions ensures contractors are not placing all their eggs in one basket and they can still competitively tender to our approved installers once approval has been granted.
“We understand the risks in the submissions process and the kind of support which is most valuable to specifiers and contractors, and we’ve already had very positive feedback from the main contractors we’ve worked with on this latest initiative.
“We will obviously continue to collaborate with architects, contractors, fabricators and installers to ensure our support keeps pace with any changes imposed by the new MHCLG run Super Regulator, including the additional enforcement and accountability which is likely to come from the reclassification of glazing systems in the ‘Designated Standards’ category of the new Construction Product classifications and the introduction of the new digital product passport (DPP scheme).
“Both AluK’s Managing Director Russell Yates and I are MSc qualified in façade engineering so technical knowledge and competence are at the very heart of this business. Customers and specifiers can be assured that the whole of the design, technical and testing scheme are available to support them at any stage in the BSR application process.”
More details on AluK’s commercial support are at: https://www.alukgb.com/commercial
