Looking back over 15 years of change

In 2010, the construction industry was introduced to RiserSafe – Ambar Kelly’s modular riser flooring solution. Here, the company looks back at how the world has changed in the 15 years that have followed.  

Fifteen years ago saw the introduction of the Building Regulations 2010 in England and Wales. As well as promoting energy efficiency and conservation, the regulations aimed to ensure the health, safety and welfare of people in and around buildings. As well as issues such as ventilation, drainage, structural stability, thermal insulation and accessibility, the regulations also focused on fire safety.  

The most important aspect of the 2010 regulations was the requirement that certain types of building work must be supported by evidence to show they meet the required standards. This documentation would require the inclusion of any calculations undertaken to show compliance, test reports on building materials and products used in the construction, third-party certification, and evidence of any building work designed and constructed in accordance with the plans and specifications submitted as part of the Building Control Application.  

Health & Safety Executive data revealed falls from height accounted for 20 deaths and 3,957 major injuries in the construction industry in 2010, this became a major focus for those in the built environment. With the commonly used scaffolding becoming costly, time-consuming, and unsafe, alternatives were sought. This prompted the introduction of two contrasting products in 2010 – Ambar Kelly’s RiserSafe modular riser flooring system, and GRP grating. RiserSafe was designed with superior riser shaft safety in mind, not only stopping the spread of smoke and flame between floors, but also enhancing fall protection by providing a fully covered steel frame. The key differences between RiserSafe and GRP grating are that Ambar Kelly’s product is non-combustible and factory produced as a module with all M&E holes pre-cut off-site, while GRP grating is combustible, site installed, and has holes cut on-site.  

How has the construction industry changed since?  

A lot has changed since RiserSafe was launched in 2010. The tragic events at Grenfell Tower in 2017 shone a spotlight on fire safety in high-risk buildings (HRB), increasing the importance of using non-combustible materials and highlighting how shafts and cavities can cause the chimney effect, which exacerbated fire in this tragedy. 

Years later, the Building Safety Act was introduced to focus on fire safety and evacuation provisions. The changes to Approved Document B saw references to the national classification for fire resistance, known as BS476 Parts 6 & 7, removed. Consequently, modern construction materials must now be classified in accordance with Euroclass EN13501-1, with performance classes A1 and A2 for non-combustible products and B, C, D, and E for combustible products.  

Another significant change since 2010 has been the substantial improvements in Building Information Modelling (BIM), with main contractors employing BIM managers, and their subcontractors designing in 3D to coordinate the building in the virtual world. These Cloud-based collaboration meetings eliminate potential clashes in the federated model well before a spade is put in the ground. Ambar Kelly has invested heavily in Trimble Tekla bespoke RiserSafe macros, allowing the company to take the Tier 1 and Tier 2 contractor models and use them to factory-produce a RiserSafe modular flooring unit. This is then dropped into the structural frame and cast in, ready to receive M&E services.  

Conversely, GRP grating installation still relies on numerous small contractors offering to fill holes on-site with combustible materials, only for bits of the grating to be cut away on site to allow M&E services to pass through. This can often be in different positions to the ones initially designed, leading to site clashes, project delays, and additional costs.  

In the 15 years since RiserSafe’s launch, the world has faced substantial challenges, with rising interest rates and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis increasing the pressure on contractors to compete for projects and stay in budget. Systems such as RiserSafe are a highly effective way of removing problems and speeding up design and construction processes.  

www.ambar-kelly.com