Zeroignition Canada Inc. News
In the six years since the tragic Grenfell Tower disaster, the construction industry's approach to fire safety has faced rigorous examination, and sparked a series of legislative changes, most notably the enactment of the Building Safety Act and Fire Safety Act of 2022. These measures have substantially raised standards, contributing to a safer overall industry. As we approach the year’s end, assessing the industry's progress and its trajectory becomes a crucial endeavor, especially consi...
The construction sector has faced heightened scrutiny regarding its handling of fire safety in recent years. 2017’s devastating Grenfell Tower fire, served as a catalyst for reform on the testing of construction materials, building design, and construction practices, putting the focus back on occupant safety. In April this year, prominent fire service providers echoed this sentiment. They emphasized the importance of comprehensive system testing over solely examining individual comp...
Requirements of the Fire Safety Act of 2021 go into effect commencing 23 Jan. 2023 in the United Kingdom. First proposed in the wake of the Grenfell tragedy in 2017, the Act addresses facets to strengthen relevant enforcement powers and to hold building owners and managers to account. Annual fire checks “These latest changes are a milestone for fire safety within the built environment,” comments Robert Norton, UK Director of PlanRadar, a software company for the construction and re...
The fifth anniversary of the Grenfell Tower disaster has passed, yet debate surrounding building safety best practice continues. Last year, the UK Government announced steps to further reform the building safety system with what it described as ‘the biggest changes in a generation’ to ensure the safety of residents in their homes. Within these new measures, mandatory sprinkler systems and consistent wayfinding signage were announced in all new high-rise blocks of flats over 11 meter...
The construction industry is undertaking a dramatic U-turn, as sustainable specification comes to the fore, with a growing ambition to build with timber. As such, from 2000 to 2020, global timber consumption has increased by 1.1% per year. While timber is more sustainable than steel or concrete, one of the key barriers is the concern that wood burns. This view is beginning to change as new innovations in improved fire protection for timber mean industry professionals are becoming more willing t...
Following the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement on 23 March, several imminent and future changes were laid out by the UK government. This included VAT scrappage for residential energy-saving measures like heat pumps and solar panels, a 12-month cutting of fuel duty by 5p per liter, and to support the decarbonization of commercial premises, targeted business rate exemptions for eligible plant and machinery used in onsite renewable energy generation and storage....
Fire safety built into the DNA of new affordable homes development in Hove. There’s no doubting the very urgent need to build, and fast. A recent Lords report has revealed that in 2020/21 a mere 194,000 homes were built, which is way off the government's target of 300,000 homes per year. Amid this pressing situation, housebuilders across the country are swamped with projects, many of them working as quickly as possible as they race to get housing completed and new projects started. A resi...
The Government’s urgent bid to ‘build back better’ highlights a real need to boost construction output, and fast. Yet dwindling supplies of key building materials have seriously impacted the construction industry throughout 2021. A rise in material costs The effect of the pandemic and the government’s Brexit deal has caused serious upheaval, resulting in increased costs, demand, and shipping expenses. This has delayed projects and extended build timelines. As demand su...
Digital technology is transforming the way the house-building industry is doing business, from making day-to-day on-site processes more efficient, to helping manage asset information, in order to ensure compliance. The question now is ‘what next?’ To answer this question, some of the sector’s renowned content providers offer their key insights about the main motivators behind the latest innovations. AI, IoT-backed devices PJ Farr, Managing Director of leading construction co...
In my latest article for TheBigRedGuide.com, I gave a detailed explanation of the differences between British and European fire safety standards. To help shed some light on this complex world, our team of fire safety experts concisely defined the Euroclass and UK standards, and explained how they differ. This article will aim to go one step further and demonstrate what architects, specifiers, and other industry professionals should be looking for when they’re selecting materials and prod...
As the demand for UK housing continues to rise, developers and planning authorities are under increasing pressure to deliver the intended UK Government target of 300,000 new homes per year, by the mid-2020s. The need to build as quickly and as cost effectively as possible, unfortunately often leaves little time to invest in developing a thorough understanding of notoriously Byzantine fire safety standards, increasing the risk of serious, potentially fatal, mistakes. firm understanding of fire...
The COVID-19 pandemic has had ramifications for almost every industry, some more than others. With the pandemic stretching well into a second year, the non-medical consequences continue, and many are wondering about which of the required changes might become permanent. As regards the fire sector, we asked our Expert Panel Roundtable: What impact has COVID-19 had on the fire industry?
The Grenfell tragedy has shocked the public and rocked the construction industry. The ongoing inquiry into the 2017 tower block fire has exposed huge flaws in existing practices across architecture, material specification, and building projects. It is also reinforcing the critical importance of fire protection. It took Grenfell, and admittedly the many years that have followed, for the industry to fully reappraise the product selection and testing regimes needed to ensure resident safety in bui...
