THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW
Highlighting best practice
THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW
Highlighting best practice
22 | DOMUS FACADES
With this incredible inherent variance
in our materials and people’s
performance, we felt the support
systems on the market did not offer
the right technical solutions.
For a number of years, our business
model was based on a strong and
stable supply chain across Europe and
Asia. This covered numerous stone
quarries, limited porcelain factories and
fixing system suppliers.
Developing our own support
systems
When I became managing director four
years ago, I laid out a new direction for
the company and its supply chain. To
achieve this, the company turned to
industrial design to generate a range
of new products to form new fixing
systems for the cladding industry. We
had 20 years of design and installation
experience to draw from and so we
began the new product development
process.
Working alongside our internal
industrial designer, who has 20
years’ experience in stone cladding
design, we have created some unique
support systems for our industry.
Byapplying the product development
cycle, we have uniquely considered
ergonomics, guidance without taught
steps and even design psychology,
a definite step beyond that which
is normally associated with a stone
cladding company. The system is
packed with quality assurance details
that simultaneously reduce the
natural issues of human error and
remove a number of steps in the
installation process. In summary, we
have developed a safer and smoother
cladding system.
Our approach to our work in the
cladding industry is different from that
of most companies. As well as our
unique product development tools
such as 3D printers, we employ three
levels of analysis when we design
a cladding package. Firstly, we use
ANSYS software to model component
assemblies and to understand the
physics of load transfer and fatigue.
Secondly, we physically test the
components and connections in
our research and development test
laboratory in Surrey. Finally, we
carry out physical CWCT system
testing of our cladding and support
systems. The sight of an aeroplane
engine simulating storm conditions
on a two-storey wall is always a
stimulatingexperience.
The above can only happen if an
inquisitive nature drives the company
and asks what happens within a
façade. To do something in line with
guidance is not enough. We need to
know why.
We have worked on a variety of
notable projects. For the Grand
Entrance to Harrods, we used our
own fixing system with 20mm opulent
marble over five floors of cladding and
archways. This offered a lightweight
solution for safe handling with the best
technical fixing performance.
Half of Regent’s Crescent was
bombed during the war and rebuilt
Alberta House high-rise,
London Docklands
To do
something in
line with
guidance is
not enough.
We need to
know why
“
“
23DOMUS FACADES |
CONSTRUCTION & ENGINEERING
to lower standards. This has been
knocked down and rebuilt to today’s
standards. An important part of the
external envelope is the stone cladding
package for one of London’s most
historic residential buildings. With
stone cladding units up to 200mm
thick and weighting 600kg each, our
safe installation approach is uniquely
different from our lighter works
atHarrods.
Value engineering has gone
too far
Quality requires time and effort, above
and beyond standard practice. British
Standards and Eurocodes are there
for a good reason but after years of
inspections, you do wonder how often
this incredible wealth of guidance is
being referred to.
We are – and have been for some time
– in a period when value engineering
has gone too far. This has led to
reduced design life, reduced impact
performance, brittle materials failing
due to bad weather details and quick-
fix workmanship.
Beyond this, cheaper labour is bringing
with it lower-quality skills, and the
workers themselves are tired from early
starts and late finishes. A wheel is only
as strong as the weakest spoke and
this lowering of standards is a worrying
development. If our codes of practice
had a grave, they would surely be
turning in it.
Investing in further
development
The more we learn about materials and
what effect they have on each other
in our built environment, the more
we can become true specialists in our
design and delivery to the marketplace.
To achieve this, we have invested
in test equipment and software to
allow us to see what calculations
cannotshow.
Best practice and guidance is great,
but if people are not aware of it, we
cannot expect it to be implemented.
We have decades of research and
development in our standards here in
the UK, so much so that the European
norms for our industry are based on
the British Standards.
Making people aware of the British
Standards and codes of practice should
be a priority. Copies of the Standards
should be free or at least available at
a reduced rate to make them more
accessible to companies and designers.
The cost of failure to material goods
and human health is too great.
When it comes to protecting one’s
PI insurance, using a company that
reduces risk through its understanding
of material and human performance
is an attractive offering. Codes of
practice can sleep well at night in
ourhands.
We are – and
have been for
some time – in
a period when
value
engineering
has gone too
far
“
“
Harrods Grand Entrance
Hall
Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett
Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles
