A new code of practice designed to ensure that material efficiency and waste are considered at the earliest stages of projects has gone out to public consultation.
BSI Standard BS 8895-1 is intended for use by design teams wanting to integrate the process of designing for material efficiency into RIBA work stages A and B, as well as embed a material efficiency strategy into the earliest stages of building or refurbishment projects.
It is the first of five standards being developed by BSI to address the issues and processes of material efficiency across all the RIBA Plan of Work stages.
“Early in the design, teams should be considering using materials with high recycled content, designing out waste, planning a recycling strategy, and discussing all of this with the client, which should have a much bigger impact than retrospectively dealing with waste once it has been generated,” said Claire Price, committee manager for construction at BSI. “We’re hoping the standard will be used as a means of tackling waste in a preventative way, which to some extent should help reduce the burden on contractors during later project stages.”
The draft introduces general principles on the case for material efficiency and why it is important, linking through to resources such as WRAP documents and the BIM Overlay to the RIBA Outline Plan of Work. It outlines the various roles and responsibilities related to material efficiency in the design process, and recommends methods to maximise material efficiency.
During RIBA Work Stage A, BS 8895-1 states that the emphasis should be on identifying client aspirations and objectives on material efficiency and drawing up targets based on the initial design and site information. During RIBA Work Stage B, it says clear performance indicators on material efficiency should be identified which, along with the client’s requirements and objectives, should be incorporated into the design brief.
“It basically details the discussions that should be taking place at the very early stages and how those discussions should develop to become included in the completed design brief and project plan,” said Price.
The standard is out for public consultation until 11 January and you can read the draft text and comment on it here: http://drafts.bsigroup.com/Home/Details/47501
