Part of the BRE Trust

RESILIENCE 16How to improve standards, skills and certification

Graeme A. Hannah, BRE Programme Director, Centre for Resilience

Context

‘Around the world, no other natural hazard has claimed more human lives in past decades, ruined more fertile land, or destroyed more houses than flooding…

…Climate change will simply accelerate an already fast increasing risk.’

David Crichton (2005)

Context

“No other ‘element’ is as destructive to buildings as water. After being saturated and once the floodwater recedes, it is important that the drying process begin immediately. Most of the damaging effects of water, such as rot, rust and spalling can be minimised by reducing both interior and exterior moisture levels.”

National Trust for Historic Buildings (USA, 2006)

“No other ‘element’ is as destructive to buildings as water.

After being saturated and once the floodwater recedes, it is important

that the drying process begin immediately. Most of the

damaging effects of water, such as rot, rust and spalling can be

minimised by reducing both interior and exterior moisture levels.”

National Trust for Historic Buildings (USA, 2006)

Context

Despite the implementation of some products, schemes, the

problem has not got much better recently!

Context National Flood Resilience Review (England), 2016

“Record rainfall and river levels have led to widespread floods severely affecting cities and communities, bringing misery to the lives of thousands and seriously disrupting businesses and livelihoods….

… we need to recognise that there is a non-negligible chance that we will see further events of a similar, or maybe even greater, scale over the next decade.”

Context National Flood Resilience Review (England), 2016

“Although it is clearly right to focus first on ensuring the resilience of the most critical infrastructure assets, the lives of communities can still be heavily impacted by the loss of other infrastructure assets.”

Property Flood Resilience Action Plan

Task Group 4

• Consider lack of consistent standards

• Standards for products and certification related to property (for new build, existing property and materials)

• Skill needs in professionals (such as surveyors, contractors and builders)

Property Flood Resilience Action Plan

Task Group 4

• “Appropriate standards, certification schemes and skills are needed in the property resilience industry to provide reassurance that work has been done correctly and to high standards.”

• Not the first time we have heard this, but sets out an outline plan for the UK… for the first time.

Property Flood Resilience Action Plan

• Smartest (FP7 project): Flood resilience technology (2010 – 2013)

• 6 steps guidance (voluntary)

• Standards for the repair of buildings following flooding (C623) (CIRIA, 2005)

• DCLG Flood resilient construction (2007)

• BS85500 Flood Resilient Construction (2015)

• BRE Digest 523 (1+2): Flood resilient building

• Plus a raft of other research...

Outcomes: Definitions

Task Group 4

Resilience: ‘the ability of assets, networks and systems to anticipate, absorb, adapt and / or rapidly recover from a disruptive event.’

Terms used:• Resistance - Property Level Protection, Dry-Proofing• Resilience - Property Level Resilience, Wet-Proofing

• Consider standardising terminology• May take at least 5 years and more terms may be invented

• Terminology in the construction industry is widely varying, localised and often not taught in school or college

Outcomes: Definitions

Flood Resistance:

• Construction of a building in such a way as to prevent or minimise floodwater entering the building, and

• Use of technologies and low permeability building fabric materials

Flood Resilience:• Measures that can be

incorporated into the building fabric and/or fixtures and fittings that can be installed, to reduce the consequences of flood water

• Use of sacrificial materials for internal or external finishes,

e.g. gypsum plasterboard placed horizontally

• Materials that can resist the effects of flooding

e.g. tiled finishes.

Outcomes: Identifying the challenges

Key findings / challenges:

• People don’t trust in flood resistance / resilience technology enough

• People don’t believe that they are ‘at risk’ or ‘enough at risk’ to take action

• There is not sufficient ‘back up’ to protect consumers (standards, accreditation, certification, skills)

• Move from research to guidance to practice faster – action is required

Outcomes: Identifying the challenges

Key findings / challenges:

• Around 6 million properties are at flood risk and rising each year

• While only 20,000 or so fitted with ‘enough’ flood resilience, as yet

• Great deal of market potential

• However, an uncheckedmarket for flood resilience could do more harm than good to the built environment

Standards: Flood risk assessment

Existing standards:

• BS8533 (2011) - Assessing and managing flood risk in development. Code of practice

• BS8582 (2013) - Code of practice for surface water management for development sites

• No specific standards development needed in this area

Actions / notes:

• Further training required for professionals, particularly those involved in planning flood resilient repair schemes

• Further professional guidance

Standards: Surveyors

Existing standards:

• No current standards

• Defra research (October 2015) identified gap in training and competence

• Range of professional skills –building, flood and water management

Actions / notes:

• Training courses

• Standards development: linked to building regulation need

• Certification: essential for delivery of good practice

Standards: Resistance technology

Existing standards:

• PAS1188-1 (2014) -Flood protection products. Specification. Building aperture products

• FM Global

• BS EN13564-1 (2002) -Anti-flooding devices for buildings. Requirements

• Certification is possible

Actions / notes:

– PAS/BS do not cover all types of products

– Not all products on the market have certification

– Lack of enforcement in specifications

Standards: Resilience technology, products and materials

Existing standards:

• No coverage of flood resilience in current product standards

• No test standards

• No clear method to assess smart technology

• Not enough research addressing the practical and scientific issues

• Currently using scientific and material knowledge to evaluate performance

• Some demonstration projects

• Assess correct form to bring parties together

• Standards development must be linked to certification and preferably building regulation

Standards: Building Regulations / Standards

• Not currently considered, certainly not a requirement

• Was the subject of previously research and consideration, but did not result in change

• Can regulations encourage flood resistant and resistant construction

• Focus on flood risk areas

• Standards for resilient materials to allow development of regulation

• What building regulation model is best suited to this development

Process: Property flood resilient design or repair

• Understanding flood risk

• Planning for flood resilient repair

• Property surveying

• Design and specification of flood resilient repair

• Construction work

• Maintenance and operation

• A number of ‘gaps’ in the process, in terms of knowledge, process, certified products and accredited people (surveyors and installers),

Conclusions and Actions

– Must protect people, and create better, safer places

– Deliver this through combining robust standards, certification and training with Building Regulations

– Must work together

Consumers

Suppliers

Surveyors

Installers

Government

Insurers

Other groups

Thank you – any questions?