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Archive News(08 February 2007)
The BBA has launched a new service for building product manufacturers in the stage of product development where prototypes are available but full production is still some way off.
Full BBA approval may be on any serious building product manufacturer's agenda, but this is geared very much at finished products available on the market and to date, there has been no interim stage where a product under development may be assessed and a document that should be of use in the marketing of the new products, published.
This new document is called a Prototype Product Assessment (PPA) and is designed to provide independent information to specifiers, building control personnel and contractors considering the use of the product at some time in the future.
Like conventional BBA approval, the PPA process will consider the critical performance areas relevant to the product. These are likely to include Building Regulations compliance, functional capability, application benefits, and limitations in UK, maintenance and production control.
A key difference to the standard BBA assessment will be the use of Failure Modes Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Failure Modes Effects and Criticality (FMECA). These were developed in the aeronautics and other high-tech industries to assess residual risk arising from very new and prototype products used by these industries. Key FMECA considerations could be probability of failure, its detectability and severity of outcome. Within each of these a judgement is made and a score of 1 to 5 given, (with 1 low and 5 high). Each category score is multiplied with the others and a total score calculated. This enables risk comparisons to be made between the prototype and well-established products familiar to the industry.
The first PPA issued by the BBA is for an anti-flood air brick, known as the Smart Airbrick, marketed by Eco Coverage Technologies. This is a product in the early stages of its life cycle that provides a good solution to a problem in flood-prone areas but has suffered lack of acceptance because no realistic assessment of its performance has been possible to date.
The BBA process investigated the functioning of the Smart Airbrick, checking the leakage risk in different types of flood water, and its performance as an air brick in normal non-flood situations.
The results of this assessment, including the FMEA and FMECA are set out in the PPA for the Smart Airbrick - click here to view the PPA. NEW WEBSITE TAKES BBA INTO 2007 (08 February 2007)
The BBA has unveiled a new-look website as we go into 2007.
The new site has been developed to include clearer text and graphics (a requirement of design and disability legislation); an expanded range of information; and enhanced search facilities, enabling searches of Agrément Certificates and Approved Installers. The search system will be enhanced further in the next few weeks.
As well as links to the many hundreds of Agrément Certificates holding companies’ sites, there are links to regulators (DCLG and DTI) and important organisations in the industry, such as NHBC, Trading Standards Institute and the Government Planning Portal.
The people page has also been extended, with click-throughs to the Technical Sections handling product assessments and Area Business Managers – the first point of contact for manufacturers seeking BBA approval for their products.
To encourage greater awareness of what is behind the BBA logo, the site includes a Frequently Asked Questions section, with links through for further information, if required.
In addition, there is a section on environmental data in Certificates and for those who may be interested in working with us, careers at the BBA should be worth a click.
GOLD MEDAL FOR FORMER BBA CHIEF EXECUTIVE (08 February 2007)
The BBA’s former Chief Executive Peter Hewlett has received the Concrete Society Gold Medal in recognition of his outstanding contribution in the field of concrete.
The award was made during the Society’s Annual Awards dinner at the QE II Conference Centre marking the Society’s 40th anniversary celebrations.
In his professional and voluntary capacities, Peter has:
Currently, Peter is Principal Consultant at the BBA, visiting professor to the Concrete Technology Unit at Dundee University and acts as technical consultant to the John Doyle Group.
The BBA would like to congratulate Peter on his outstanding achievement. RECENT CERTIFICATE CHANGES.
New Certificates added between 04 December 2006 and 05 February 2007
05/4275 CELCON STANDARD BLOCKS ( FOR FLOOR INFILL ) - H+H CELCON LTD
Amendments to Existing Certificates between 04 December 2006 and 05 February 2007
02/3961 WYKAMOL CHEMICAL DAMP-PROOFING SYSTEMS - Wykamol Group
Detail Sheets added between 04 December 2006 and 05 February 2007
01/H055 TUFFGRIP THIN SURFACING SYSTEMS FOR HIGHWAYS - HANSON QUARRY PRODUCTS EUROPE LTD (Detail Sheet 4, Tuffgrip 6mm)
Certificate Reinstatements between 04 December 2006 and 05 February 2007
None.
Certificates withdrawn between 04 December 2006 and 05 February 2007
91/R066 DAVIGULLI II ROAD GULLIES - John Davidson (Pipes) Limited
Detail Sheet withdrawals between 04 December 2006 and 05 February 2007
03/4041 CEMBRIT SLATES - Cembrit CZ a.s., Lidicka 302, 266 38 Beroun 3 CZECH REPUBLIC (Detail Sheet 3 withdrawn)
Lapsed Certificates between 04 December 2006 and 05 February 2007
00/3762 WENDLAND CONSERVATORY ROOF SYSTEM - Tailored Roofing Systems
Suspended Certificates between 04 December 2006 and 05 February 2007
None.
Detail Sheet Suspensions between 04 December 2006 and 05 February 2007
None.
ARCHIVE NEWS |
