Grenfell Tower:
Lessons learned in Australia
Kristin Brookfield
Chief Executive Industry Policy
Prepare for your exams
Study with the several resources on Docsity
Earn points to download
Earn points by helping other students or get them with a premium plan
Guidelines and tips
Prepare for your exams
Study with the several resources on Docsity
Earn points to download
Earn points by helping other students or get them with a premium plan
Community
Ask the community
Ask the community for help and clear up your study doubts
University Rankings
Discover the best universities in your country according to Docsity users
Free resources
Our save-the-student-ebooks!
Download our free guides on studying techniques, anxiety management strategies, and thesis advice from Docsity tutors
Identifying Non-Compliant Products: Lessons from Grenfell Tower & Lacrosse Building Fires, Study notes of Construction
This document compares the Grenfell Tower fire in the UK and the Lacrosse building incident in Australia, highlighting the importance of using the right product in the right way and the consequences of non-compliance and non-conforming products. the causes of each incident, the responses from the governments, and the differences between non-compliant and non-conforming products.
What you will learn
- What were the consequences of the Grenfell Tower fire?
- What were the causes of the Grenfell Tower fire?
- What were the consequences of the Lacrosse building incident?
- What is the difference between non-compliant and non-conforming products?
- What were the causes of the Lacrosse building incident?
Typology: Study notes
2021/2022
1 / 18
This page cannot be seen from the preview
Don't miss anything!
Related documents
Partial preview of the text
Download Identifying Non-Compliant Products: Lessons from Grenfell Tower & Lacrosse Building Fires and more Study notes Construction in PDF only on Docsity!
Grenfell Tower:
Lessons learned in Australia
Kristin Brookfield Chief Executive Industry Policy
The Building
- 24 storey residential apartment building
- Public (social) housing
- Constructed in 1974
- 127 flats with approx. 350 residents on the night
The Retrofit
- Renovated in 2016 – £8.7 million
- Façade altered: insulation & aluminum cladding applied to existing concrete panels and windows replaced
What went wrong?
- Single internal fire stair
- No sprinkler system (not required in 1974; mandatory since 2007)
- Poor emergency lighting & smoke alarm system
- Zinc cladding (approved) substituted with PE core aluminum cladding
Meanwhile a few years earlier in
Australia…
The Lacrosse fire
What went wrong?
- 25 November 2014: Fire on balcony (plastic container) spread to external wall which then spread up wall to top level
- PE core ACP wall cladding used on part of wall
- Product substitution (assumed) & incorrectly installed of incorrect product
What went right?
- Fire did not spread into the apartments or adjoining apartments
- Sprinklers worked beyond capacity
- Alarms operated
- Fire stairs were partially blocked
- No lives lost – over 450 people safely evacuated
Victorian Audit findings
- To date no clear reasons for the wrong cladding to have been used - Designer - Building certifier – design stage; construction stage - Builder
- Regardless of the fault, the problem appears to be use of a non-compliant product not a non- conforming product
Non-Complying vs Non-Conforming
Non-Complying Products (People & Process: Lacrosse & Grenfell Tower)
Non-Conforming Products (Products on sale: Infinity Electrical Cable recall) The right product used the wrong way A product that does not meet relevant design standards (Building codes/standards) The wrong product used the wrong way A product that does not do what it is supposed to
Product substitution A product that is a fake or counterfeit copy (IP infringed) A product with fake or incorrect certification documents
National Expert Inquiry
- Assessment of the effectiveness of compliance and enforcement systems for the building and construction industry in Australia
- Compliance systems - the legislated processes in each state to ensure that buildings are designed and constructed to comply with the building code
- Enforcement systems – the legislated processes in each state that allow a regulator to detect and remedy a non-compliance with the building code
- Initial report by end 2018; full report TBC
Changes to the Building Code of Australia
- Commences March 2018
- New Evidence of Suitability requirements (Part A2)
- Upgraded Fire Safety requirements (Part C)
- New definition of non-combustible materials
- New definitions for wall & attachment
- New Handbook to guide interpretation of product certification