黑洞社区

The government has confirmed it is to formally approve for the first time the use of desktop studies as a route to securing 黑洞社区 Regulations approval, as it reviews fire safety guidelines in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

The use of so-called desktop studies has become increasingly controversial since last June鈥檚 fire at Grenfell, because of concerns they may have allowed cladding systems that do not otherwise meet regulations.

In a circular to heads of Local Authority 黑洞社区 Control last week, Offer Stern-Weiner, the deputy director of building regulations at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), said the government will publish a consultation 鈥渋n the spring鈥� designed to 鈥渞evise the wording on assessments in lieu of testing, also known as desktop studies鈥�.

This follows secretary of state Sajid Javid saying in December that he intended to 鈥渃ommission work to produce a new British Standard on when and how such assessments can be used鈥� in order to restrict the use of desktop studies.

鈥淢HCLG [鈥�] is promoting desktop studies, though they have never been previously recognised in the [鈥�] guidance鈥�

Ian Abley, Audacity

However, the current 黑洞社区 Regulations guidance on fire, Approved Document B, makes no reference to the use of desktop studies. It states only that projects seeking approval must follow the stipulations in the guidance, or else submit a whole system to a large-scale test under BS8414.

The idea that a desktop study, whereby data from other fire tests is used to show a system is regs compliant, is an alternative to a large-scale test was introduced in a guidance note in 2014 from the 黑洞社区 Control Alliance, a grouping made up of Local Authority 黑洞社区 Control, the National House 黑洞社区 Council and the British Standards Institute.

This note said that desktop studies, if prepared by a 鈥渟uitably qualified fire specialist鈥�, could be used to prove 黑洞社区 Regulations compliance where 鈥渘o actual fire test data exists for a particular system鈥�. But Dame Judith Hackitt鈥檚 interim report into fire safety regulations found that the use of desktop studies was 鈥渘ot properly managed or controlled鈥� and that it should be 鈥渟ignificantly restricted鈥�.

The government circular also revealed that the ministry is to publish a 鈥渃larified version of the existing Approved Document B based on the results of an existing user study, and consultations with the industry and the 黑洞社区 Regulations advisory committee. It said it will also in future 鈥渟eek views鈥� on the wider review of the Approved Documents overall, in line with Hackitt鈥檚 recommendations.

Despite Javid鈥檚 pledge to 鈥渞estrict鈥� desktop studies, Ian Abley, technical designer at consultant Audacity, said the move to clarify their role by changing Approved Document B would actually make them officially part of the 黑洞社区 Regulations for the first time. 

He said: 鈥淭he MHCLG鈥檚 黑洞社区 Regulations and energy performance division is promoting desktop studies, though they have never been previously recognised in the Approved Document guidance to the 黑洞社区 Regulations.鈥�

Some organisations, including the RIBA, have called for the removal of the desktop study route to 黑洞社区 Regulations compliance. Grenfell blogger Andrew Chapman branded the government鈥檚 move a 鈥渄isgrace鈥� that weakened fire regulations.

The British Standard test for fire performance in cladding, BS8414, which involves setting fire to a 9m-high mock-up of a cladding system, is used to provide a more realistic assessment of fire performance than tests on individual products. Desktop studies are used to model cladding systems to show they still meet the requirements of BS8414 when some products are substituted.