Fire safety education and training in architecture: an exploratory study

Studies have shown that building designs contribute greatly to the magnitude of fire in building with severe consequences on safety of life and property. Hence, fire safety is an important consideration in building design which architects seek to fulfil at the early stage of design. Knowledge of fire safety amongst architects can aid the design of safer buildings in terms of fire protection. Fire safety designs are expected to meet the provisions in Approved document B of the UK Building Regulations which specifies basic fire safety requirements. The main objective of this paper is to explore the educational underpinning of architects with respect to designing fire safe buildings. This paper is based on literature review and interviews conducted among architects both in academia and in practice to ascertain the need for fire safety education in architecture, and as a working knowledge for practicing architects. Findings show that architects undergo fire safety education under different modules, but not as a distinct course. Fire safety education provides architects with basic understanding of fire safety principles, and to determine when to consult fire experts. Recommendations include creating a separate course on fire safety and if taught as part of other modules, more time/ depth should be allocated to its contents

An investigation into whether building information modelling (BIM) can assist with construction delay claims

It is probable that a construction project anywhere in the world will encounter some form of delay as a consequence of change. The impact of the delay on the project will vary but it is likely to have a negative financial outcome. Compensation can be requested by an affected party in the form of a claim; however, issues of liability and quantum can be difficult given the ever increasing complexity of construction work involving numerous differing successive parallel tasks with varying levels of interrelated resources. Experts are often employed to analyse delays based on project records and report their findings to a tribunal. This paper identifies the difficulties associated with the retrieval and representation of information for delay claims and recognises technological opportunities to deal with these challenges. The potential to exploit aspects of BIM to support these possibilities are discussed concluding that it can assist through the ease of access to coordinated contemporaneous project information and the use of visualisation through multiple dimensions. In order to support this initiative a detailed review of the literature is undertaken which forms part of an Engineering Doctorate

Creating a project-based learning-loop within the construction phase of healthcare infrastructure projects

Service delivery in the healthcare sector is profoundly affected by the built infrastructure provided to support it. In order for a hospital environment to function optimally, there is a need to investigate how a learning culture can be nurtured within the design, construction and occupancy of healthcare facilities in order that its effect on the healing process of patients can be managed. A large focus of attention within the research conducted by the Health and Care Infrastructure Research and Innovation Centre (HaCIRIC) is centred on learning from buildings in use and post occupancy evaluation (POE). Interestingly, however, there has been little focus on capturing lessons learnt from the construction phase of projects. This could be particularly important to informing the future buildability of healthcare projects. The aim of this research is to examine how lessons learnt arising from the construction phase can be captured and fed back to designers and in some cases the client. This is in order to create a learning culture and help improve the quality of future healthcare facilities/infrastructure. The paper reports on findings of an initial literature review that explores the potential benefits and challenges for embedding such a learning culture in project-based environments. Through this literature synthesis a significant case for improving project-based organisational learning within healthcare infrastructure is provided and recommendations for the need for further empirical investigation are made