Services Provided

• Energy Performance Analysis
• Air Quality Assessment
• Ventilation Strategy
• Retrofit Recommendations

Overview

In 2024, Global Building Environments (GBE), a division of Global HSE Group, was commissioned to assess and enhance the energy efficiency, ventilation strategy, and air quality performance at a two-storey hotel originally built in 2000 and renovated in 2016. The building was operating with outdated systems and high running costs, and the last Energy Performance Certificate was issued in 2012.  

Situation

GBE conducted a detailed multi-disciplinary assessment, combining: 

• Thermal Dynamic Modelling using IES VE software 
• SBEM calculations for CO₂ and energy demand 
• On-site air quality surveys 
• Ventilation pressure drop calculations 
• Mechanical and electrical system audits 

Challenges –  

• Outdated Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) issued in 2012 
• Inefficient, damaged, and poorly connected ventilation systems 
• Excessive humidity levels and risk of condensation in bedrooms and corridors 
• High energy usage and rising operational costs 
• Lack of scalable drawings and incomplete existing design documentation 

Three retrofit scenarios were modelled: 

1. Building Envelope Improvements (U-value & airtightness enhancements) 
2. Heat Pump Integration 
3. Solar PV Deployment 

Solution: 

GBE carried out a full assessment, combining thermal dynamic modelling using IES VE, SBEM calculations, air quality surveys, ventilation pressure drop analysis, and detailed mechanical and electrical system audits. The findings highlighted inefficient and damaged ventilation systems, humidity levels of up to 86% in bedrooms and corridors, and incomplete design documentation, all contributing to poor performance and rising energy use. 

To address the issues, the team modelled three retrofit scenarios, which were:  

• Building envelope improvements (U-value and airtightness upgrades)  
• Air-source heat pump integration  
• Solar PV deployment  

The results from this showed clear opportunities for GEB to provide their support on this project. Fabric upgrades alone offered a 34.5% reduction in heating energy demand, with a return on investment of 3.5–4.5 years. Adding heat pump integration increased savings by 40%, with solar PV offsetting an additional 10.5 tonnes of CO₂ annually. In total, the combined measures were projected to cut 65 tonnes of CO₂ per year. 

Ventilation improvements were also a priority. We recommended replacing flexible ductwork with rigid systems, reconnecting underperforming fans, and introducing a centralised MVHR system. These changes would resolve circulation issues, reduce humidity, and improve overall air quality while aligning the building with Part L and F of the Building Regulations, PAS 2035, and the Building Safety Act 2022. 

Results

The outcome was a phased, evidence-based retrofit strategy delivering immediate energy savings, a healthier indoor environment, and long-term resilience. For the client, this meant reduced operational costs, regulatory compliance, and a stronger sustainability profile, supported by data-rich reporting to guide capital planning and investment decisions. 

The results from this project include:  

• 34.5% heating energy reduction through fabric improvements 
• Additional 40% savings from air-source heat pump integration 
• Estimated 65 tonnes CO₂/year saved through combined improvements, and an additional 10.5 tonnes CO₂/year from solar PV offset 
• Recommended replacing flexible ductwork with rigid systems, proposed centralised MVHR system for long-term efficiency and compliance 

• Addressed cold spots, poor circulation, and high humidity (83–86%) in rooms 
• Aligned retrofit proposals with: 
  • Building Regulations Part L & F 
  • PAS 2035 
  • BS EN ISO 14001:2004 
  • Building Safety Act 2022 

Summary

GBE’s multidisciplinary approach combined simulation, site intelligence, and engineering insight in order to deliver a roadmap for measurable improvements to energy performance and air quality.  

Client Value Delivered –  

• A clearly phased, evidence-based retrofit strategy 
• Immediate and long-term cost savings 
• Regulatory compliance and enhanced sustainability profile 
• Healthier indoor environment for guests and staff 
• Data-rich reporting to support capital planning and decision-making 

Support from 9 AM to 5 PM 

Overview

Hyde Housing was founded in 1967, after a high demand for affordable housing in Britain. In the present, Hyde provides over 44,000 homes across London and the Southeast. One of the core principles at Hyde is providing safe homes for residents, which forms an ideal partnership with Global as ‘safety is our whole business.’ From Global’s commitment to both customer service and safety, this ideal collaboration allows us to ensure that Hyde’s homes are safe and compliant.  

Global received this opportunity, as well as the contract with Hyde, through the Pretium Framework. This project is ever developing to ensure that houses are safe and adhere to the regulations for Hyde’s residents. With this project, there is a focus on the future of housing and more opportunities in the pipeline to create safe and compliant homes. 

Situation

Global’s work with Hyde is a large-scale project that requires planning and organisation at each stage to ensure that the works can be delivered efficiently. This process requires effective communication across multiple departments, which Global achieves through the utilisation of documentation systems, such as Bolster. In addition to FRA actions, Global also complete ad hoc actions which can occur outside of the annual FRAs due to changes in build usage, circumstance, or tenancy. 

Solution

Global has formed a structured approach that allows for the continuation of works to be completed to a high standard. All of the FRA actions are reviewed before sending out the survey team to check that we can do the work compliantly, as safety is our core value. The team also costs the works, which is then sent back to Hyde so that they can approve the works before we carry them out.  

Once this has been approved by Hyde, we add the work onto the project management software Monday, and the contracts team books an appointment with the resident. The work Global carries out is joinery for door remedials and door replacements of flat entrances and communal doors. For flat entrance doors, a ‘Golden Thread Approach’ is used so we can access a chain of information that shows traceability of the project from the beginning to the end. At Global, we install our own Ceasefire Doors to Flat Entrances to ensure that the fire door’s lifecycle is documented and that the Ceasefire Doors are tracked. For communal doors, we work with an approved supply chain procuring third party accredited doorsets and assemblies. Global’s dedication to the safety of residents is shown through the focus on making improvements to ensure that homes are compliant.  

After the work is completed, we then quality assess it and log it onto Bolster to then be certified. After this process, the information is then uploaded to RiskHub who then submit the work back, and the action is then closed.  

Results –  

Close out 50-100 FRA actions a month  

Avoid NOD  

Improved fire safety in homes  

Compliance with Regulations  

Steve Taylor, Fire Safety Surveyor at The Hyde Group commented, “It has been a pleasure working with the Global team who consistently close a variety of actions that arise within our fire door and ad hoc workstreams. This work typically involves the replacement of communal fire doors and flat entrance doors, repairs to fire doors such as reducing perimeter and threshold gaps, the installation of intumescent strips and smoke seals, the installation of door closers, as well as various other minor fire doors repairs. 

The team repeatedly demonstrate excellent communication within our weekly progress meetings which are held on Microsoft Teams and always respond to queries and issues that arise in a timely and friendly manner. We strongly appreciate their customer focus, attention to detail and efficiency in scheduling and carrying out these works.” 

Callum Brown, Operations Manager South at Global HSE Group concludes, “Promoting fire safety in the Social Housing sector always brings with it many logistical and data based challenges. Working alongside a conscientious and experience driven provider like Hyde allows us to focus on delivering the best possible service to residents across the board. 

I genuinely believe this partnership has improved the safety and quality of living for many residents in the first year and will continue to do so.” 

Summary

Through Global’s fast expanding portfolio of work completed for Hyde, we will continue to work together to create safe and compliant housing for Hyde’s residents. At Global, we value the experience that our customers receive and are committed to ensuring that our team delivers a high-quality standard of work. With Hyde’s developing investment in housing, there is the aim for a progressing successful partnership between Global and Hyde.  

Support from 9 AM to 5 PM 

Overview

English Heritage is a charity trust set up to care for collections and sites across the nation. The trust was founded in 1983 and is responsible for over 400 sites.  

One of these sites is Osbourne House, which has been owned and managed by English Heritage since 1986. The Victorian house was originally built in 1851 as a summer holiday home for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and currently remains as a popular tourist attraction located on the Isle of Wight, with its original design still preserved to this day.  

Brief –  

Due to the historical value of the estate, there was a requirement for effective fire compartmentation throughout the property. Global needed to improve the original elements of the property by updating the fire protection without damaging the historical elements of the property, within a timeframe of 3 weeks to complete the work.  

Situation

The client required the original aesthetics of the building to remain, yet the fire rating of the building needed to be improved. Concerns were raised with the Fire Officer at English Heritage as in the Durbar Wing, the historical cross-corridors required fire safety measures to be put in place.  

Challenges –  

Working on a historic building presented as a challenge due to needing to protect the heritage of the site whilst also ensuring that it met regulations. For example, because the house was built in the 1850’s, replacing the doors with fire rated doorsets was not an option. Therefore, a proactive approach needed to be used to ensure that damage didn’t occur to any of the paintings, so the Royal Collection was booked in to remove paintings and sculptures near where Global’s work was taking place, they also ensured that areas were clean screened to minimise dust damaging the important objects.  

Solution

Instead of replacing the doors with new doorsets in the Durbar Wing, Global carried out remedial works to the cross-corridor doors, as we value working collaboratively with our clients to create fire safety works that meet their requirements and regulations. We also replaced the existing vision panels on the doors in the building with fire rated glazing and fitted intumescent combination seals to create compartmentation.

To further improve the integrity of the doors, we hardwood glazed panels to the doors and loft lights and added a 3-part envirograph intumescent coating to doors and timber. As well as completing door remedial works, we also replaced the existing fanlights and added fire rated boxing around electrical consumer units.  

Results –  

• Compartmentation created through door remedial works  

• Improved fire rating 

• Fire resistance through passive fire works  

• Compliance with regulations  

Summary

The team were able to complete door remedial works to create compartmentation, and to ensure that the fire rating of the building was improved and met regulations whilst maintaining the Victorian aesthetics of the building.

By prioritising the client’s requirements, the team at Global were able to deliver a high standard of work alongside maintaining exceptional customer service over the course of the project.  

Support from 9 AM to 5 PM 

Overview

IQ Student Accommodation is an accommodation provider that houses over 28,000 students across 67 different sites in the UK. Student experience is the priority at IQ, which is achieved through the quality of the living environment, and a focus on creating a community. One of the sites provided by IQ is Opal Court, which was built in 2003 for students attending university in Leicester.  

Brief –  

Opal Court required compartmentation to works to update the building and ensure it adhered to regulations. With 121 cluster flats and 15 storeys, this was a large project to bring the building into line with the regulations in place.  

Situation

Fire safety works in the building needed to be brought in line with the fire strategy of the building to meet the building regulations. At the beginning of this project, the survey team and consultants collaborated to carry out an intrusive inspection of the building, and we worked with the Building Management team for Opal Court in order to review the existing drawings, which highlighted the requirement for remedial works.  

Solution

Over 50 technicians were deployed on site, and the programming and access arrangements were completed by the contract management team. This was also assisted by the contract support team to keep an efficient schedule. The team carried out a passive fire protection inspection to make observations on the firestopping works in place. In doing so, a lack of compliance was found, such as the corridor walls needed to be constructed to FR30 and the door frames needing to be sealed with a correct fire stop detail. Conducting this survey allowed GTS to recommend the best actions moving forwards, as one of the key suggestions was a fully survey on compartment doors as deficiencies were found across multiple doors, and the quality of the doors were varied and inconsistent.  

The Global team updated the internal FR30, FR60 and FR90 walls, as well as the 120FR floors. In doing so, the compartmentation and fire resistance was brought into compliance. All the work had to be completed to a standard against the manufacturer’s test details, and a third party approved the works under the FIRAS scheme upon completion for passive fire protection works to be certain that the building meets regulations.  

Results –  

• Updated FR30, FR60 and FR90 walls  

• Updated 120FR floors  

• Compliant compartmentation and fire resistance  

Summary

The results of Globa’s remedial works of the passive fire protection works to ensured that Opal Court met building regulations by updating the walls and floors to improve the fire resistance of the accommodation. By using an efficient approach and creating high standard of work, Global has now been appointed as the fire safety contractor across more of IQ’s properties.  

Support from 9 AM to 5 PM 

Overview

This particular PBSA provider has experience in providing accommodation for students across the UK and owns 151 different properties. One of these properties in Southampton, a 17-storey purpose-built student accommodation built in 2008, consists of 148 cluster flats and has a total of 690 occupants. The building underwent a refurbishment in 2018, which resulted in non-compliance with the previous passive fire protection.  

The Brief –  

The client requested a full refurbishment for the passive fire protection to ensure that the building was fully compliant and adhered to regulations. Global Technical Services were instructed to carry out a technical note that related to the arrangement and configuration of the rooms within cluster flats. 

Situation

An intensive summary highlighted the issues with the fire protection and compartmentation, which was from the original construction of the building. Inappropriate fire stopping works in place meant that smoke and fire could potentially pass from one compartment to another, meaning the compartmentation would fail. As well as this, the fire protection on compartment lines needed to be fully compliant by being brought back to the required fire strategy, as the compartment lines did not fully encapsulate the compartment. To achieve this, the dividing sections needed to be separated to achieve compliance through refurbishment.  

Challenges –  

As the building is a purpose-built student accommodation, this was a large project which required our team to delegate time and tasks efficiently to complete all of the works and to meet the client brief.  

Solution

Refurbishments to the accommodation were carried out in June 2018, and Global were then instructed to carry out improvements to the passive fire protection. Global’s team of fire engineers produced a technical note to examine the building’s fire safety through an assessment of how the building met fire safety regulations, such as BS 9991 requirements and Building Regulations Approved Document B. Our team also carried out sample observations on the fire doors and found that there were defects which required remediation works in order to be made compliant. During the survey, several issues were reported within the building which compromised the effectiveness of the passive fire protection in place. For example, the corridor walls were incomplete, meaning that the compartmentation within the building was breached.  

The building was of a high risk, so extra considerations needed to be put in place to ensure the safety for the occupants. In doing so, the compartmentation of the building was brought in line with the standards, which therefore created effective passive fire protective for the building.  

Results –  

• Compliant compartmentation  

• Improved passive fire protection  

Summary

The building underwent a transformative remediation project, as passive fire protection works were carried out in order to ensure that the compartmentation of the building was compliant. Due to Global’s work and commitment to prioritising safety, the refurbishment of the building was compliant in accordance with building regulations, creating a safe space for students to live in. 

Support from 9 AM to 5 PM 

Based in Nottingham, GTS has been a trusted provider of fire risk assessments since our founding. Serving the Nottingham area, our expert team conducts thorough evaluations to identify potential hazards and develop tailored strategies to mitigate risks. With a focus on compliance and safety standards, we provide reliable assessments that safeguard your premises and occupants. Trust us to deliver professional fire risk assessments that prioritise safety and peace of mind for your business or residential property in Nottingham.

GTS can help your business to fully understand the general principles of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. At Global we ensure suitable and sufficient fire risk assessments are carried out and identify any possible hazards and risks. Following this we will make specific and practical recommendations to support you in reaching fire safety and legal compliance.

Global aim to give your organisation peace of mind that your property has a compliant Fire Risk Assessment in place. The Fire Risk Assessment team at Global consists of a dedicated team of individuals, all highly skilled, qualified and competent in conducting FRAs. All our assessors are regularly audited as part of the BAFE SP 205 Scheme to ensure competency.

All of our fire assessments are completed in line with BSI PAS79 standard – a methodology for assessing Fire Risk developed by the British Standards Institution. Our reports are available in both digital and print copy. For multi-site clients, we offer an online portal that allows you to access all your risk assessments, track and manage outstanding actions across your property portfolio.

Matt uses his extensive 24 year background in the Fire Service for the RAF and working with high-profile projects for local authorities heading up our team
conducting extensive Fire Risk Assessments and producing bespoke solutions for our clients’ projects.

FRAs are a vital step in producing a quality fire safety policy in your building. They are essentially a scheduled investigation of your premises and is carried out to identify all fire risks and hazards, considering the existing fire safety measures and controls in place.

The aim is to ensure you have the right fire safety equipment installed in the right places, to protect your employees and your building.

Our expert team can provide a breadth of fire engineering knowledge to any project, spanning the built environment and housing sectors.

Offering bespoke fire engineered solutions that cover all aspects of fire safety, ranging from non-standard construction details to buildings that step away from traditional guidance.