In the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire and tragedy, the government finally passed the Building Safety Bill in late April 2022. It affects every building above 18 metres in height (though these criteria are expected to quickly expand in the future) and looks set to be one of biggest shockwaves sent through the construction industry for years. The consequences of non-compliance are real – fire safety certificates will be withheld for non-compliant buildings, making them unusable, and seriously affecting their value.
Among the requirements of this legislation is the need for a “golden thread” of information that owners are responsible for creating – and importantly, maintaining – in order to ensure that “the right people have the right information at the right time to ensure buildings are safe, and building safety risks are managed throughout the building’s lifecycle.” Essentially, every building that the legislation is applicable to needs to be mapped out for the benefit of contractors, owners, emergency services, and more. The question for many developers, building owners, and other stakeholders, will be how on earth do I do that?
That’s the question our latest whitepaper, Rising to the challenge, seeks to answer. It might feel like a massive challenge; it’s certainly one that firms and building owners can’t ignore. Alongside the regulatory aspect, other parties such as insurers are expected to also insist on seeing buildings fully mapped out – that golden thread the Hackitt report talks about – with premiums going up for parties that can’t provide this information instantly.
The good news is that though the challenge is serious and the need urgent, it’s not insurmountable. Our whitepaper is based on the idea that, with the right technology and approach, the Building Safety Bill is an opportunity to build better, reducing waste, inefficiencies and risks and building cleaner, greener buildings. In so doing, owners and developers can reduce costs, seriously reduce their carbon footprint, and of course create buildings that are safer for residents.
Discover how to build a digital twin of your building
Our new whitepaper shows you how a combination of BIM, reality capture, and intelligent mesh modelling software can be used to create accurate digital replica of existing buildings. Once you know how, it’s a very simply yet highly effective method for creating your golden thread of information for your buildings – especially older buildings where original plans have been lost or alterations have been made. In particular, we look at how innovative software can make point cloud data more useful in this endeavour by converting it into intelligent mesh models which are easier to work with and can be segmented to disseminate information to multiple different parties while protecting that central golden thread of truth.
Specifically, key learnings include:
- The importance of capturing and continuing to regularly update a 3D detailed view of all building structures.
- How BIM can provide a complete and cost-effective solution for building creation and maintenance.
- Optimal BIM methodology
- How a ‘digital-twin’ can aid the development of pre-determined attendance plans for rescue services.
- How BIM can enable all to view and collaborate on the ‘golden thread’ of information across the construction and renovation industry.
Ready to learn more?
If you’re currently planning how to bring your buildings into line with the new regulations (or losing sleep about how to do it), this whitepaper could be invaluable in helping formulate your strategy. Download the whitepaper and discover how reality capture can help you keep residents safe from harm, and your organisation safe from non-compliance.
