Rules and Regulations in the United Kingdom - Assignment Example

Introduction United Kingdom is facing unanimous growth of buildings and other house structures both in large cities and suburban areas. Due to this alarming rate, the environment is at greater risk of being interfered by human activities such as constructions. To reduce such effect, all construction companies, organizations or individuals must comply with the laws and rules governing the building industry. The constructors therefore must seek permission from relevant bodies before coming up with the any structure. This is one of the measures that will ensure that the structure is well constructed according to laid standards. Abstract In United Kingdom and Europe at large there are rules and regulations governing the construction arena. European commission is one of the agencies that legalize and regulate the standards requirements for any building. Some of the laws discussed include the code for sustainable homes which ensure that the minimum requirements are followed to ensure completeness and efficiency of the building. 1. Description of the various environmental, sustainability and building energy standards/ laws/regulations/codes of practice with which you are required to comply. Existing structures must accomplish certain rules and regulations stipulated by European laws. Large buildings either in urban areas or large cities must adhere to the rule of sustainability. Code for sustainable homes level 3 outlines guidelines that must be followed in order to increase the efficiency of energy in the building. The code clearly outlines the required practices which will help constructors have proper knowledge of energy management and ways to curb carbon emitted in the building as a result conforming to the necessary obligations. All existing structures in UK are required to observe the guideline in order to promote sustainable environment. The code stipulates the following practises; Less carbon emitting buildings (Allan, 2010). It is one of the government goals and objective to encourage green buildings which discharge less carbon to the atmosphere, all existing structures must be zero rated; no carbon emissions. Carbon is a toxic component of air resulting to adverse effects on the environment. Carbon released into the air will increase the atmospheric temperatures thereby bringing the aspect of global warming. It is one of the government measures to regulate and ensure proper mechanisms are followed by all building structures in large cities. The code further recommends the built owners to come up with remedies that should incorporate and employ methods that can reduce such toxic gases in the environment. Buildings with high carbon emission must therefore renovated in order to comply with the standards. The aspect of lighting in the building should be renovated and improved to meet standards. According to this code, energy use should be minimized by employing mechanisms such as appliances with high efficiency performance. The lighting system in the building should be refurbished to have components and materials that have less energy consumption and less. Such devices will reduce heat lost through heating effect thus leading to more efficiency of the system and hence promoting sustainable surroundings (Wingfield, 2010). Moreover, the walls of the building and needs to be improved to an advanced level by using insulated fabrics which reduces energy loss due to heat. Use of such practises will lead to better management of the environment. Furthermore, the code requires that the rooms should be well ventilated with good air conditioners. Compliance to such requirements will lead to a healthy environment thus reducing suffocation effects. Lastly, it is a requirement for buildings to conform to these minimum standards in order to be certified and given a permit. Proper waste disposal. The code seeks built owners to have an appropriate site or location for their waste disposal. The waste should be properly managed such that it doesn’t interfere with the ecosystem in the environment. Pipes that carry away waste should be made of strong and durable materials. Owners must ensure that they have located the best and reliable disposal spots preferable away from city centres. The code requires proper and effective ways of waste treatment before disposal. Likewise, wastes storage sites must be inspected always to ensure that they are in good condition and have no leakages. In case of increment in population, arrangements should be made quickly to cater for future generations. Furthermore, disposal vessels should be placed in a reachable and convenient place in order to be accessible to everyone including the disabled people. Regular inspection of disposal points will create new ways of relocating filled sites or coming up with recycling techniques. This is a primary requirement that all built owners must comply with in order to promote friendly and pleasant atmosphere. The pollution effect is also stipulated in the code. Existing buildings must be free from pollutants that might interfere with the environment in one way or another. Builders must ensure that they comply with the regulation by using biodegradable materials to enhance sustainability. Materials such as poly-ethane which are non-biodegradable are some of the fabrics discouraged and should not be used at all cost. Built owners must also ensure enough availability of water for various uses. The code requires minimum quantity of water to enhance smooth running of the business in the building thus reducing unnecessary tension which might result due to inconveniences caused by less water. Water is a necessary component and thus needed in the pipes to drain away solid wastes, also for drinking and other purposes. The water is also needed for running items in the building such as; ultimate volume of water for washing machine, dishwasher among others. This is a necessary requirement by structure owners to comply with the law to reduce uncertainties that might arise. (b) The new-build development It encompasses the following codes; a. The code of practise. The code was established to protect and safeguard the use of soils by construction companies to ensure effective use of natural resources. The codes highlight proper guidelines and procedures which must be observed by builders in order to enhance sustainability and protection of soil as a natural resource. The code stipulates various policies which should be followed from the onset of construction throughout its stages up to the end. First and foremost, a new structure in a suburban area must observe the Code of Practice governing the use of soils such as; i. Pre-development planning. This code requires that necessary and detailed survey work to be carried out to ascertain the suitability analysis of the soil sample (Trinick, 2010). This is a mandatory requirement before any construction work commences. The soil sample will determine if the structure is ripe to be set up in the planned area or not. This task should be carried out by highly qualified personnel in order to produce more accurate and reliable results. The survey should encompass detailed plan for the best disposal sites with good drainage system. Adhering to such soil measures and protection mechanisms will ensure that the drainage system is well designed to cater for both the current and future generation. Constructors must observe these practises. ii. Soil monitoring techniques is another practise that must be observed and understood by building constructors. They are supposed to have a soil management blueprint showing all the areas to be constructed and developed. It should also show a clear soil profile of top and bottom soil properties including the elasticity. Such plan will guide the builders on routes and methods to apply when they will start the construction work. They should among other things keep the soil within the shortest time period or rather channel to other safest places to keep them in good condition so that it can be reused later for purposes such as treesplanting or gardening. The soil should be well kept in storage sites and according to different soil type and properties. In order to reduce adverse impact on soil attributes, constructors must ensure that the soils are well kept and sealed with impermeable materials. Such materials will protect the soil properties such that its biochemical components are not interfered with. Proper silage will protect soil against spillage from any other chemicals. The directive provided by this code will ensure proper soil management and monitoring techniques are applied in any construction site at all stages thus promoting good soil sustainability. iii. Creation of landscape. The code requires that after the completion of construction work, the soils profile must be checked to confirm that it can still support plant roots. It demands the restructuring of environment by planting new plants in the brownfield to enhance beauty and attractive nature. iv. The waste management. The UK waste legislation and regulation requires the certain practises to be observed. The guideline on waste disposal is well structured and outlined in the code for waste management. The objective of the code is to reduce the amount of waste produced and disposed by builders. The site waste management plan (SWMP) requires constructors to observe the following regulation before and after putting up new buildings. First, the constructors must outline the nature of the wastes they expect to produce throughout the process of the development (Milan, 2013). Constructors are also required to estimate the volume and quantity of waste they presume to produce. Last but not least, they should establish to remedy waste by either using different ways like reuse, recycling and disposal mechanisms. v. Efficiency in energy management. The act stipulates the climate change measure which is mandatory for all structures in UK to reduce greenhouse gases at greater levels. Structures with less carbon emissions should be encouraged therefore; at the onset of any building construction it is good to consider this aspect. Being a requirement in the UK, both domestic and non-domestic houses should design houses by installing devices with less energy consumption with less carbon (code level 3) discharge in order to promote a sustainable environment. Energy efficiency is one of the building standards (Building Regulations 2006) outlines ways and methodology that can be used to reduce the carbon emissions in the building. It states the recommended materials that are good insulators for walls and also glasses for windows. Such requirement will merit home builders because the potential expenses will reduce drastically. 2. Selection of two out of the environmental, sustainability and building energy standards/ laws/regulations/codes of practice discussed above and discuss: (i) Description of the procedures, practices, building assessments, measurements, monitoring, recording, reporting and mitigation actions you will instruct to be taken in order to ensure that these buildings comply. According to regulations outlined by European commission, the existing building in a large city centre is provided with guidelines for building management and monitoring. Basically, the ultimate procedure that should be obeyed by an existing building is the use of standardized materials according to code of practise. Recommended materials should be used in terms of type, nature and quality among others in order to meet the EU standard requirements Standard Assessment Procedure. Ensuring proper channels of waste disposal. According to this code, home owners must have good drainage system for ease of flow of waste materials and good efficient recycling techniques. Use of energy saving techniques to reduce carbon emissions are some of the fundamental and basic procedures. The building assessment should be done to ascertain the present condition and fitness of the structure. The progress of the building is needs to be scrutinized and inspected. Certification is only issued upon declaration that the building is fit and with no technicalities. Building structure can be monitored in terms of public, purpose and technical trait. The control is actually done by responsible bodies such us public organizations, environmental agencies and municipals authorities. The building is monitored by law both at the national and local level through a checklist which is a paper that must be duly filled with utmost good faith based on the current structure form or status. On the technical part, the building should be monitored through physical checks. This requires personnel to visit site of residence periodically to note the changes in the building if any. If the building status shows some compliance with the sustainability regulation then the owner is issued with a permit otherwise for non-compliance structures there will be no certification. This list ascertains the level of safety of the building. This regular check will aid in structure maintenance and other necessary operations. Moreover, continuous assessment and checks can be recorded and reported in journals. The progress of the building can be observed physically and derive conclusive statements about its progress, furthermore, events can be captured by use of cameras. Cameras relay information and keep track intervals of the building and can be used to analyse the building’s progress and store data to be used later for analysis. (ii) Explanation of the justifications for the instructions that discussed above, paying particular attention to the adverse consequences that you seek to avoid to minimise your liabilities in the case of both cases identified. For new built development, the rules and regulation include: i. The site should be well identified and located in the most preferred place. For constructions in suburban areas, the ‘Code of Practice for the Sustainable Use of Soils on Construction Sites’ must be followed to the later. The procedure ought to enable construction to be carried out with proper knowledge of soils to enhance sustainable environment. The soil should be inspected analysed well by professionals and sites for construction surveyed with high precision equipment. The plan must indicate preferable routes for soil disposal after construction. The codes also highlight ways for wastage disposal which should be done in the best and suitable sites. This will emphasizes on promotion of a sustainable environment. ii. The assessment of the structure should be done from the outset to the last stage of the building process. Periodic inspection is done to ascertain the building condition and ensure the guidelines stipulated by the law or regulation is observed. The assessment can be done by certified government practitioner or other environmental agencies which upon successful completion of the structure, the owner is issued with permit. iii. The building under construction is monitored based on the strength of the structure and also based on social aspect. The regulations and laws are some of the measures used to monitor the building. The architects and other specialist are also involved in the building monitoring by ensuring that the required standards were used during construction and fill the required checklist with details of the building. Furthermore, the building monitoring can be done by visual checks to give a clue of whether the building is in good condition or not as a result knowing the deformation rate of the structure. If the structure conforms to the standards then the building can be occupied but if not then a permit will not be issued to the owner. Monitoring helps to achieve building sustainability. iv. The monitoring status of a building can be delivered in terms of reports. This involves writing of comprehensive reports to outline all the details and facts about the building. Reports can be in print form which can be filed and later on given to relevant bodies to check the compliance standards of a building. Alternatively, the building progress can be captured by use of digital cameras. These devices capture the exact information of the building on the ground and the details can be kept for future reference. In fact, for monitoring purposes, the scenes of the building can be captured at different period intervals after which they can be compared and conclusions derived from it. v. The code do also stipulates the standard measurements of a new building such as area coverage, columns, wall thickness for both structured and partitioned , ease of access only to state a few. Also, the buildings are under the jurisdiction to have regular measurements especially for large and tall structures in big cities like London in order to scale down the deformation rate thus ensuring the safety of the occupants. vi. The mitigation measures that should be observed for any building under construction is to ensure that all laws and regulations are adhered to. The building having followed all the required rules, it can be subjected to consistent inspection done by professionals to track changes of the building to curb any hazardous effects that might arise. 3. Explanation for the justifications for the instructions that you gave in question part i., paying particular attention to the adverse consequences that you seek to avoid to minimise your liabilities in the case of both; (i) The existing city centre building, assuming a large building of over 1,000m2 Some of the unavoidable adverse effects that might arise due to failure of observing the laid rules and standards governing building construction are as follows; Environmental effect. As laid down by the code for sustainable homes, buildings in UK which fail to follow such rules and regulations might cause various negative challenges to the environment. First and foremost, it will lead to the effect of global warming. This is as a result of emission of greenhouse gases in the building due to improper construction and use of non-energy saving devices. This will lead to climate change in the long run due to alteration of whether conditions in the atmosphere which in turn will affect the human beings in one way or another. Rainfall pattern might change and some cities might experience extremely high temperatures. The gas is also dangerous to the ozone layer which serves as a protective layer and thus if destroyed can lead to exposure to direct rays from the sun which will cause many illnesses among them skin cancer. Additionally, Buildings which don’t consider having alternative disposal and dumping sites will cause spillage to the surrounding environment. Buildings residing in big cities should be steadfast in terms of decision making to come up with alternative ways of waste disposal. Inadequate and improper waste disposal will affect the ecology of the environment. Disposal containers should be placed in the most convenient places for people to discharge dirt in the right location but in case the owners of the building ignores, the garbage will be discharge in every part of the compound thus resulting to pollution of environment. Untreated waste will seriously affect the ecosystem of the surrounding ecosystem thus proper ways of channelling them after treatment should be used. The building must be monitored and assessed to determine its condition and reported in written document. Likewise, Structures which fail to follow such measure will result to unforeseen disasters and destruction. Buildings tend to change from time to time due to forces which act upon it thus inspection and monitoring measures are very important to tract the building’s move. Failure to follow such practises can put the occupants at greater risks. ii. The new build development Some of the negative impacts in the new built structure might be as follows; The Code of Practice for sustainable use of soils is very clear in its mandatory requirements. However, disregard of such practises by the constructors will result to the building not meeting the required standards. Improper and abandonment of soil tests, lack of survey plan and soil profile will cause incompleteness of the procedural requirements. The building will be vulnerable to various factors and aspects of forces. The building can collapse due to soil weakness to withstand the weight of the structure. Another effect can be because of improper design of drainage systems for both water and waste materials. Seepage and infiltration elements must have been considered during the initial stage to ensure appropriate move or action is put in place. Contrary, failure to adhere to such measures will lead to leakages and discharge of fluids in the environment which will affect the ecological coexistent of organisms. People will also be affected directly due to direct exposure of sewage waste which can cause various illnesses. Unscrupulous construction without proper certification to commence the operation can chance other problems. When the building is still under construction, supervisor must frequent the site to monitor and personally assess the level of standards of the structure. Under successful completion of construction, a building should be assessed by qualified practitioner from the government, public organizations or even environmental agencies to certify if the building has adhere to all the necessary requirements failure to which no certificate can be issued. If such services are not done, buildings will not fulfil the set objective of safety, effective land use and environmental interaction. Uncertified building is an indication that the building didn’t meet the set requirements and if operates, the occupants and other civilians will be at greater risk. Buildings tend to bend or twist due to deformation effect thus failure to inspect and physically check the condition through continuous assessment can cause the building to break. Inefficiency energy will be another adverse effect. Failure to use required and recommended materials for energy, concrete walls and window panes and glasses can increase the emission of carbon in the building. New built in sub urban areas must understand and implement the use of energy saving machines and electric appliances which have higher percentages in terms of efficiencies. Contrary to such measures will lead to release of high carbon components in the environment which can lead to various adverse effects such as climate change. Conclusion As evident from the discussions derived from above, the laws and regulations pertaining the construction industry in order to come up with quality outcome or results. It is recommended to follow the right procedure before sitting up new house in the suburban arena. Compliance to the requirements will result to efficient and effective management of your building. It will reduce exposure to harmful gases such as carbon thus leading to good and healthy environment. The standards stipulate the minimum rules and regulations that an existing structure should observe. Alternatively, for new structures they are supposed to fulfil these standards in order to be granted permission and given a permit. Observing such measures will result environment sustainability and conducive atmosphere for a peaceful co-existence of animals, human beings, plants and even structures. References Bell, M. (2007) Carbon Compliance for Tomorrow’s ,New Homes. London. Zero carbon hub Bassioni, H. (2004) Performance Measurement in Construction. London Journal of Management in Engineering. European Commission press release, ‘The Commission’s new Energy Efficiency Directive’, 22 June 2011; retrieved from: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?refer ence=MEMO/11/440&format=HTML&aged=0&language=en&guiLanguage=en Read More