Overview
Bowmer and Kirkland is a construction company that was founded in 1923. They carry out construction projects across multiple sectors including accommodation, commercial, distribution, education, frameworks, health, industrial, leisure, retail and sport. The student accommodation which required works was St Marks, which is located in Lincoln, and has over 1,000 rooms which were part of 8 to 12 room cluster flats across 10 blocks and over 9 storeys.
Brief –
This project required Global to provide infrastructure and external works to the accommodation. Global were instructed to complete inspections and fire scrutineering in accordance with the role of ICA, as well as providing full fire safety design support, to ensure that fire and quality issues were not duplicated from previous or similar new builds.
Situation
For 18 months, Global were required to support the fire safety requirements throughout the £94 million scheme. This project required Global to inspect and report on aspects of fire and consultancy, including the passive fire protection, compartmentation and active fire protection.
After carrying out the surveys, the team reported their observations about the passive fire protection and non-compliance with regulations, such as the double riser not being sufficiently sealed and gaps in the back boxes underneath the cavity of the wall.
Solution
Global assisted Bowmer and Kirkland by providing them with full fire safety design support. This was achieved by completing fire design reviews as the building of St Marks progressed at the time, in accordance with The Golden Thread Gateways 1, 2 and 3. We also provided technical support when specifying and resourcing materials to ensure that they are correct and compatible. Through the process, the team provided consultancy so that common fire and quality issues were not duplicated or carried forwards from previous builds. The fire scrutineer worked across 3 gateways on this construction project, which were design, construction and pre-occupation.
Within this report, advice and guidance to bring the building into compliance was detailed, with reference to regulations and what is required for this. For example, the team advised that a rating of FR60 was required for the lift lobby stair door in order to improve the fire resistance. In addition, an observational report was presented to provide an executive summary on the passive fire protection.
The team also performed a desk top analysis and site visits to ensure that the design and builds were compliant and installed correctly. Therefore, all aspects of the fire safety of a project provide records for the operations and maintenance manual in line with Regulation 38.
“As Site Manager for St Marks in Lincoln, I have worked closely with the Fire Scrutineering team at Global. Their support throughout the build has been invaluable and insightful. We have greatly appreciated Global’s input and their assistance has allowed us to build a fully compliant and safe building for occupants to enjoy. The team at Global are always happy to help and have been professional and knowledgeable throughout their contract and I would be happy to work with them on future projects”
Site Manager, Bowmer and Kirkland
Summary
After Global’s collaboration with Bowmer and Kirkland, St Marks met the fire safety requirements which were needed for the accommodation to be compliant and safe for the students living there. This was allowed though the fire scrutineering works which Global’s team completed due to their expertise in the field.
