Engineers urged to flag safety concerns around climate-busting construction innovations

Engineers and construction workers are being urged to raise safety concerns about innovations rolled out to achieve the UK’s goal of net zero climate emissions.

Structural safety body CROSS UK has established a new “theme page” dedicated to concerns around “climate-motivated innovations or change of approach”.

CROSS allows engineers and construction workers to anonymously share safety concerns in a bid to improve best practice across the industry.

It’s remit covers structural safety, materials and was recently expanded to cover fire safety issues.

CROSS fire engineering consultant Peter Wilkinson said: “We are starting to see an increased number of safety reports related to the climate emergency, so we felt it was our duty to help the industry be aware of these issues.

“CROSS has launched a new Theme Page which draws together content around this topic and allows professionals to read and share fire and structural safety information.”

The description on the Safety of structures in the climate emergency reporting page adds: “In the current climate emergency and the race to achieve zero emissions, we must ensure our structures remain safe as we develop and implement any climate-motivated innovation or change of approach.

“This Theme Page will be used to both collate content around this topic and to allow professionals to share safety issues for others to learn from.

“In 2019, engineering consultancies around the world began to respond to government declarations of a climate emergency by declaring their own Climate and Biodiversity Emergency, which CROSS supports.

“One of the commitments of the organisations signed up to in the declarations is to share knowledge and research on an open source basis.”

In particular, CROSS is looking for engineers to raise safety related information regarding:

• Designing, constructing and managing structures in response to the climate emergency
• Designing with new and emerging materials
• The design and construction of leaner, lower-material structures e.g. through the use of reduced loading, decreased factors of safety, advanced analysis methods etc.
• The impact of climate change on existing structures, including how structures are adapted and managed to combat the effects of climate change
• Designing and constructing new structures to combat the effects of climate change
• The reuse and life extension of existing structures
• The use of off-site manufacture and modern methods of construction (MMC)
• Designing and constructing structures for a longer design life and/or to be more adaptable

To visit the page, click here.

Source https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/engineers-urged-to-flag-safety-concerns-around-climate-busting-construction-innovations-09-07-2021/

Department of Civil Engineering https://www.ibu.edu.ba/department-of-civil-engineering/