Accept no substitute

By Kevin Jones, senior technical officer, GGF

We have all felt the impact of change within our industry over recent times and there will continue to be more as we go forward.

The Building Safety Regulator, Future Homes and Buildings Standards and the rumoured Approved Document Q consultation to name but a few.

Never has it been more important to have absolute confidence in the product you are manufacturing and installing – for many of us that means third party certification. As an industry we embrace this method of proving compliance for many regulations, including Part Q of the Building Regulations.

We have all felt the pressure of cost increases recently and with that comes pressure to ensure the products we supply are as cost effective as possible. With this comes the temptation of product substitution, whereby other products are used in place of those that are covered within the scope of third party certification or product test evidence.

Now more than ever before, products used in the construction industry are under close scrutiny. Companies in the industry must ensure products are fit for purpose, have been tested and are proven to meet the requirements for the intended application.

Recent history shows that failure to provide the right products and associated information can have devastating consequences including serious injury and/or loss of life. It is the responsibility of all of us to ensure that the products we manufacture and install will perform to the required standards and specification.

The substitution of structural and safety critical components can affect the short and long term performance of windows and doorsets. Any changes to these require the careful consideration of trained and competent individuals.

If a material supplier alters a product specification, changes components or component supplier, modifies or decides to substitute components in the system design which are different to those which were tested, your third party certification using the original type test data will no longer be valid and will need to be repeated.

When planning changes to product specifications such as value engineering projects, consideration should be given to retesting and certification and costed accordingly. If in doubt of how changes or modifications can have a critical impact on product safety and performance, it is advisable to seek the guidance of your third party certification provider.

Changes or modifications to materials can affect characteristics such as structural or thermal performance and re-engineering of cross sections of profiles, or substitute reinforcements can affect mechanical strength, security and weather performance.

So I suppose the message I am trying to get across is that, given the amount of change our industry is going through with Building Regulation updates both published and those that are expected soon – along with the introduction of the Building Safety Regulator and the ever increasing scrutiny in which we find ourselves under – even the smallest of changes can have unforeseen consequences that need to be considered and managed, so that the best possible products can continue to be supplied.