Category: Building

Executive summary

The mall investment Limited is an investment company specializing in retailing and the establishment of shopping malls. The company has been in business for a long time and its mission is to lead in the provision of shopping facilities in the whole of United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Al Qir shopping center project is a project for the current year in the Mall investments and is aimed at diversifying their business in fulfillment of the companys growth strategy enshrined in the companys visions. This project will set up a modern medium-size shopping center at the Ras Al Khaimah emirate of UAE thereby increasing the portfolio of products for the Mall Investment limited.

Business Objectives

Al Qirs shopping center project is not only in fulfillment of the growth strategy of the Mall Investment Limited but also responding to the business needs in Al Qir city. The following are the project objectives;

• To tap on the growing commercial opportunities in the city of Al Qir. This will increase Mall investments assets base and profitability.
• To increase the companys profitability. The projected increase in profit is 20%; consequently, this will reduce the risk profile of the company.
• To stir commercial activity by bringing all business entities under one roof hence increasing money in circulation.
• To diversify the companys risks to different emirates (areas) so that in case of any downtime in one emirate, the companys profitability will not be compromised.

Project description

Scope of the project

Al Qir Shopping center project will include the establishment of a big shopping center that will host different business units. The project will therefore facilitate the development of independent business units under one roof. The project will take in establishments of a banking hall, supermarkets, restaurants, supply chain retail stores, boutique, movie theaters, and other service shops. The shopping center will have all the telecommunication facilities, money transfer services, computer technology vendors, and commercial insurance agencies. The availability of all these business entities and service providers in one shopping center will ease trading and hence making it a business hub of Al Qir. The project will end after the construction process has been completed and a new management team will take over (Lock, 455).

Justification of the project

Al Qir Shopping Centre project is a project not just satisfying the business needs of the Mall Investment limited but a whole range of stakeholders and the economy of Ras Al Khaimah. The end-users of different commodities will have an easy task of assessing all their needs in one location. This is because all the vendors are housed under one roof thus making them enjoy a great customer experience while purchasing all their products.

Profitability and the asset base for the Mall investment limited will be on the increase hence achieving their ultimate business motive of increasing stockholders wealth. Establishing business at the Al Qir will be made convenient since all service providers will be available under one roof. This will in turn result in the growth of business surrounding the Shopping center consequently improving the economy of the investment group. The shopping center will therefore stir up economic growth in nearly all sectors since businesses are always interdependent. The high circulation of cash will be high in the region (Heerkens, 61).

Regional diversification will ensure that Mall investments reduce their risks of doing business while expanding their profitability. In cases of low business activity, political instability, and increased business competition in one region, the Malls overall business performance will be maintained by other regions. This will ensure that the shareholders in mall investment will at least have a constant source of income.

The community of Al Qir will also be part of the beneficiaries of the project. The building and final set up of business units will be a great source of employment opportunities for the residents. The community will also have a ready market for their commodities. All these community benefits will always be on the increase leading to the sustainable economic growth of the region.

Roles and Project stakeholders

Project deliverables

This project spans for some time (about a year) and at different levels of establishment, several project outputs will be the needs either for forwards progression authorization or just for the effective management of the project. The Al Qir Shopping Centre project deliverables are as follows:

Needs assessment report

This report is an output after the various stakeholders needs have been collected and analyzed. This will form a basis for the design of the Shopping center hence a very critical deliverable.

Architectural plan

This is the blueprint of the building process. This shows the design specifications of the shopping mall, indicating all the business units to be established and other amenities included in the building.

Licenses and permits

Licensing agencies will be government, city council, and other state regulatory agencies. Licenses and permits are very critical deliverables consequently their requests should be made on a timely basis.

Bill of quantities report

This report will provide tentative engineers costing of the whole building project materials and labor. This will form the basis for budgeting and project implementation planning.

Project budget and implementation plan

This report is done by the building committee of the Board of directors of Mall investment limited who are responsible for the project implementation.

Various assessment reports

At every stage of construction and project progression, various monitoring and evaluation reports are done.

Project completion report

This report is a final report to be presented back to the board of directors of Mall investment limited.

Complete shopping center

This is the ultimate tangible deliverable that the project must produce. It must meet the specifications as presented in the architectural report and also the aspirations of the various stakeholders.

Risk assessment

The project can only be curtailed by risks, consequently, the project manager has to put in place various risk mitigation measures. The project risks have been analyzed in the table below;

Mitigation measures

Risks have been classified according to their chances of occurrence; high, average, and low. The project is vulnerable to risks with average and high chances of occurrence hence necessary control plans have to be put in place. The following mitigation strategies have been instituted by the building committee and the project manager;

• Regarding the risk of experiencing insufficiency of funds, the project management has a miscellaneous budget to cater for unplanned expenses. The management has also contracted with various suppliers of inputs and services hence reducing their susceptibility to price fluctuations.
• The project management team has been having frequent interaction with the stakeholders especially government and other state regulatory agencies hence reducing their chances of being denied licenses and permits
• The susceptibility to delivering poor quality construction has been mitigated by enhancing consistent monitoring of project progress mandated to construction experts.
• The project management is very keen on ensuring that the project is completed within the relevant period.

Project Estimates

Project Activity

The Al Qir shopping center project starts with the activities of assessing various stakeholders needs to the completion of the shopping center. The project management team has proposed the following activities as essential for the ultimate completion and achievement of the project goals;

Stakeholder needs assessment

The Al Qir shopping center building project is a business-oriented project hence the needs of various stakeholders have to be fulfilled. The project needs assessment involves researching various stakeholders interests regarding the project and finally compiling their analyzed report. The stakeholders to be interviewed for the research will include potential customers, clients, government representatives, the city council, and the neighboring community. This report will form the basis for the licensing and architectural design of the shopping center

Preliminary legal compliance

This will include requisition and payment for the license fees to be compliant with various state regulations. Before any construction is undertaken, relevant permits and licenses must be applied and paid for. Other licensing requirements will include; registration of the business licenses and city council building permits. The receipt of these permits and licenses will give value to the building of the shopping center.

Procurement of architectural and engineering services

With the needs assessment report at hand, the project architectural plan should be designed. The building committee and the project manager should advertise for the services of the architect and the civil engineers after they have designed for their terms of reference. From the received applications, candidates meeting the necessary qualifications will be contacted by the project management. The architect will come up with a design blueprint of the shopping center which will be vetted by the building committee. If satisfied, the building committee will forward the design specification to the civil engineer who will make the bill of quantities report. This activity will be very instrumental in the progression of the Al Qir project.

Project costing and planning

The bill of quantities report will form the basis for the Al Qir shopping centers project budgeting as it provides the value of the materials and labor for the construction. The building committee will identify the source of funds for the project. For this project, the funding will be by done by Mall investment limited. The building committee in conjunction with the project manager will make a budget proposal to the Board of directors of the Mall investment for the executive authority. The authorization of the budget and fund allocation of the construction works will be one of the major milestones achieved.

Contracting of building engineers

The construction of the shopping center will begin with the preparation of the terms of reference for the building engineers. The building committee will then advertise for their services on the press and receive the applications for further vetting. The selection of the building engineers will be done by the building committee after which the nominated engineer will sign a contract stipulating the terms of engagement. The building committee will then submit to the engineer the architectural plans, bill of quantities, and the project implementation plan. These documents will facilitate a common understanding of the project by the engineer and the project team.

Purchase of materials

The building engineer will be responsible for the building of the shopping center and hence will be submitting requests of the required materials to the project manager. The project manager will facilitate the procurement process for the same after confirming that the requests tally with the costing in the bill of quantities. The materials will be delivered to the site with the supervision of the project manager and the building engineer. The payment process will be initiated by the project manager after the engineer has confirmed receipt of all necessary materials. The authorization for the same will be done by the building committee.

Hiring of machines

The building engineer will submit a request for the necessary machinery for the construction process and the project manager will facilitate their hiring from competitive vendors. The machines will be delivered to the project site and after the building engineer is satisfied with their working conditions, payment processing will be initiated by the project manager.

Groundbreaking

The groundbreaking ceremony is an advertisement and value addition of the Al Qir shopping center function designed to create awareness of the project to the community and other stakeholders. The function date will be planned jointly with the building engineer, project manager, building committee, and the Mall investment board members. The planning process will include invitations of stakeholders and other arrangement logistical issues. On the actual function date, groundbreaking on the building site will be done and the stakeholders will be enlightened on the opportunities available with the project for their taking.

Foundation excavation and construction

The construction process will begin with the digging and laying of the foundation of the shopping center. At the end of this sectional activity, the civil engineers assessment will be initiated by the project manager. The civil engineers report will be used to assess the quality of work done hence will be submitted to the building committee. If the construction is on the right track, then the report will be in the custody of the project manager.

Wall construction and roofing

Wall construction is a substantial part of the shopping center building project hence requiring many resources and close inspection. The second sub-activity will be the setup and installation of windows and doors. This activity will be concurrent with electrical and telephone network installations. Finally, roofing activity takes place. After all these activities, a civil engineers assessment will be done and the report submitted to the building committee for discussion and action.

Furnishing and partitioning

For effective furnishing to be done, a review of the business needs will be completed and potential clients concepts used. The partitioning and furnishing process will be aimed at creating the necessary ambiance and installation of the indispensable equipment after the completion of the activity necessary assessment report will be done and submitted to the building committee for action.

Project assessment

The whole project assessment report will be done to inform owners of the project on the projects final product. The assessment will be done by a team of experts who have been involved in the construction process. The team will comprise of the architect, civil engineer, and the building expert. The report will indicate the success and challenges of the project. The project manager will also include the variance analysis report in this assessment report. This report will be handed over to the Mall investment board for their analysis and subsequent action.

Project winding up

The project wound up will include the handover of the completion certificates by the engineers to the project management team and the final discharge of the contract where all contractual obligations have been meeting. The project manager will return all the hired machinery and initiate final payments to all service providers.

Resource requirements

The table below indicates the resources that will be necessary for the implementation of the project.

Event analysis & diagram charts

(The full view of the work break down structure is in the MS projects attached)

Resource allocation & risk analysis

Project controls

There is always a tendency of diversion from plans and instructions. This brings in the concept of controls so that the project implementation is as planned. Unless there are deliberate controls put in place, the project implementation team can always detour resulting in the compromise on the project output. The Al Qir is a capital intensive project and the management has put in place the following controls to achieve the project goals;

Project manager

The project manager has been employed to be in charge of the project and constantly update the building committee on the project progress. The project manager is an employee of Mall investment and has a wide experience in the management of similar projects with an impeccable record.

Consistent assessment reporting

The project management has contracted a team of civil engineers for consistent and objective project progress assessment. They prepare their reports as professionals hence provide the project quality assessment rating necessary for quality management.

Quarterly project reporting

The project manager prepares a quarterly report on the general project progress and financials. This report will indicate the projected costs to completion of the project and the actual funds remaining hence proving early signs of insufficiency of funds where that is the case.

Risk management

The project manager in his quarterly report indicates the various risks that have been experienced and the potential risks the projects might face. This will give the building committee an assessment of the risk rating of the project.

Building committee meetings and expertise

The project is managed closely by the building committee constituting the board of directors of Mall investment. The committee members are three, two of them are professional engineers with a wide experience in the construction industry while the other one is a financial expert. The building committee team is very enlightened, with their monthly meetings; they can put the project in check.

Authorizations

These are levels of controls for the Al Qir shopping center project. Without proper authorization, project activities can be nonbinding and illegal consequently necessary confirmation of the legality of activity or report is compulsory. The following authorizations will be in place;

The statement will be approved by:

• The Project Manager
• Building committee
• The Project Sponsor/ owner

Project Changes will be approved by:

• The Building committee.

Project deliverables will be approved by:

• The Project Owner/sponsor.
• The Steering committee.
• The project manager.

Works Cited

Heerkens, Gary. Project Management: 24 Steps to Help You Master Any Project. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2007. PP. 56-94.

Lock, Dennis. Project management. Michigan: Gower Publishing, Ltd., 2007. PP. 453- 511.

Executive summary

Abu Dhabi Queens school project is a project of the Abu Dhabi group of schools which is a private company with a wide range of investments mainly in the education sector. The company deals with international educations systems. There has been the growth of students enrolling in Queen Group of schools from Abu Dhabi and this has led to the company taking these services closer to their clients. Abu Dhabi school project consists of a world-class education facility building.

It will be equipped with modern training equipment and technology offering practical training and wholesome growth to the institutions students. The facility will also contain a wide range of sporting facilities, student quarters, classes, and administration block. The expected student population in the facility will be 1300 and also a staff population of 200.

Business needs

Abu Dhabi project objectives are as follows;

• To increase the companys portfolio of schools globally and thereby serve its clientele effectively. This is in line with the companys vision of offering world-class and global education.
• To meet the growing demands of education services in the United Arab Emirates. This was identified by the growing number of students from Abu Dhabi enrolling in various schools of the Queens group.
• To provide world-class education and education facilities for the wholesome development of the students in Abu Dhabi.

Project description

Scope of the project

The Abu Dhabi Queens School project will start with the acquisition of land and building of state of the art education facility in Abu Dhabi. The facility will have classrooms, theaters, boarding facilities, staff quarters, sporting facilities and an arena, scientific laboratories, administration block, and security facilities. This education facility will be beneficial to the parents of Abu Dhabi who usually take their children to study outside the country since this service will be locally available. The facility will also attract regional students from the neighboring countries thereby influencing the development of other sectors of the economy in Abu Dhabi not forgetting the employment opportunities associated with the project.

Justification of the project

• Availability of world-class education facility for the people of Abu Dhabi thereby reducing expenses spent by students going to international schools.
• Higher education standards for the people of Abu Dhabi will imply better services to the community by the graduates and also general education sector growth in the country.
• The multiplier effect due to the employment creation and enrollment of international students will be a substantial contribution to the countrys economy.

Roles and Project stakeholders

These are critical players in the project implementation that are crucial to project success.

Project deliverables

This includes all the tangible and soft components of the project which must be achieved. For our case, the ultimate deliverable is the Queens School facility. In the course of the project, other deliverables are imperative for the progress of the project. Queenss school project deliverables areas listed below;

• Equipped school building and facilities.
• Architectural plans.
• Ministry of education permits.
• Local authority licensing.
• Assessment reports by Civil and structural engineers.

Risk assessment

Risk management is one area that requires much emphasis in the course of the project. Risks can result in project total failure, late implementation, poor quality service delivery, and suspension of project activities. It is therefore imperative that project risks are managed through a pre-planned mitigation plan. Queenss school project is a very critical project with great sensitivity to risks since it impacts adversely on the project timing.

For the effective mitigation of risks, the project has classified risks into three categories; highly likely, most likely, and Unlikely. Highly likely risks are those whose probability of occurrence is more than 50% hence the project steering committee has to put in place mitigation measures. For the most likely risks, their chances of occurrence are less than 50% but their effects might be substantial hence requiring a proper mitigation plan. For the unlikely risks, no mitigation measures are put in place. Queens School project is vulnerable to several risks and the table below indicates these risks and their vulnerabilities. It also indicates the management of these risks (Verzuh, 125).

Project Estimates

Project Activities

Queens School project deals with the construction of modern schooling facilities in Abu Dhabi. The project has been initiated by the Queens Group of schools as a portfolio diversification measure. The major project activities are listed below, but the sub-activities are succinctly discussed.

Site selection and acquisition

This activity involves the selection of construction sites within Abu Dhabi for construction. The process is to a great extent demanding since the site should have all the necessary amenities and environmentally robust for the construction of a school. It should be in a quiet and highly secure neighborhood. The selection process will involve the identification of various qualifying sites and ranking them in order of preference. The highly ranked sites owner will be sent a letter of offer and if he/she agrees, then the purchase deal will be sealed. Land purchase process legal regulations will be followed with the assistance of a contracted attorney.

Permit and other legal obligations

The construction of an educational institution usually requires a permit from the ministry of education. This permit will be requested from the ministry of education and is expected to be available within a day where all necessary documentations are done.

The Abu Dhabi City council usually has to give licenses for any construction and further give permits for any educational institution to be constructed under their jurisdiction. This means that the two licenses should be requested and paid for before any construction plans are designed.

Selection and oversight of architects and other consultants

Once the licenses are ready, the steering committee should advertise for the services of an architect and other consultants like structural and civil engineers. The steering committee will further vet their proposals and select those with the necessary credentials for the two positions. They hired architect will design the architectural plan of the school and it will be assessed by the steering committees with the help of the civil and structural engineer. Upon satisfaction of the steering committee, the plan will be adopted else they can request for changes to be done on it by the Architect.

The recruited structural engineer will also be engaged to come up with a bill of quantities report that will form the basis of budgeting and costing for the whole construction. The report will be discussed and approved by the steering committee as a working document for the budgeting process.

Budgeting and cost allocation for the building

The steering committee will ultimately source funds for the construction of the Queens School facility. The steering committee will identify the sources of funds and forward their funding proposal. Since most of the funding will be internal, the proposal will be tabled in the board meeting of the Queens groups of schools. The board will authorize and allocate funds for the project. The steering committee can also write to the ministry of education to find out whether they have any grants available for such projects. Where all funding agencies have confirmed their allocations and the steering committee feels that they are satisfactory to run and project with its miscellaneous expenses. Thereafter they can hire a project manager to carry on with the tactical implementation of the project (Kerzner, 234).

Building material acquisition

The project management will organize for the acquisition and delivery to site all the required materials as per the bill of quantities report. The project manager will order the purchase of cement, gravel, construction metals, timber, sand, roofing materials, and building blocks. The steering committee will also oversee the recruitment of the building engineers by the project manager. Further, the committee will ensure that the necessary machinery is hired for use in the project.

Stakeholders meeting

Stakeholders will constitute the Queens group of school management, potential clients, the ministry of education official, a community of Abu Dhabi region, project management team, engineers, City council of Abu Dhabi, and the government representatives of the UAE. This is a pioneering meeting where the Queens Group of schools and project management will update the stakeholders of their project progress.

This is a way of marketing the school before its formal inception and is thus strategic for future business. Queens group of schools and the project management will inform the community of their services and the challenges that they have been facing so far. They will also indicate to the community the assistance that they would require from them like a corporation, water provisions, and labor.

Foundation excavation

The core of the real project inception will begin with foundation excavation. This involves the digging of the foundation tunnels which is a labor-intensive activity. The laid foundation will have to be assessed by the civil and structural engineer and an assurance report issued. The project manager must also ensure safe custody of the report.

Wall construction

When the quality assurance report on the foundations is received, the wall construction process begins. This process is crucial and is under continuous quality assurance monitoring. The civil engineers will give their quality assurance report of the entire wall construction which will then be assessed and filed by the project manager. The progressive construction and payment authorization will only be possible when the quality standards have been adhered to.

Roofing

The roofing engineer will also be involved and will take on the task when the construction process gets there. The roofing design and materials will be done as per the recommendations of the civil and structural engineers. After the whole roofing activity is complete, the necessary quality assurance assessment will be done and reported to the project steering committee. If the committee is satisfied, payment authorizations will be done by the steering committee upon the request of the project manager else necessary adjustments will be done where applicable.

Windows and doors fixing

This activity involves the process of welding windows and doors within the premises of Queens school. This will be followed by the fixation of windows and doors to the construction and later all glasses required will be fixed. For payment authorization to be done, completion and quality of work will be assessed and reported to the steering committee through the project manager.

Furnishing

This is a process that involves furnishing and installations of electrical and communication facilities. The furnishing process will include the wall painting, furniture set up, shelves building, curtains fixing, and finally cleaning. The electrical installations will include wiring, placement bulbs, and tubes and testing of switches. All these activities will undergo an independent assessment by the stakeholders representative and the project manager.

Building assessment reporting

An independent building expert will have to be recruited by the steering committee to give an assurance on the quality of the construction done, safety standards of the construction, value for money report, and that the construction meets the requirements of a schooling facility. The expert will submit its findings through a report that will be discussed both by the project steering committee and board of Queens Group of schools. When satisfied, the board and the steering committee will discharge their contractual obligations by paying the relevant engineers for their work.

Opening and Publicity

This will involve the setting up of the school opening date for public inspection and marketing by the steering committee, hiring of the school administrators and teachers, school advertisement through the press, and setting of the school website. This activity will be done when the students enrollment begins thereby achieving the ultimate goal of construction.

Resource requirements

This project is a very resource-intensive project. The following resources will be necessary for the implementation of the project.

• Project manager
• Four administrative staff
• Building materials
• Construction experts
• License fees

The following table will document the above resources ant there estimated cost

Event analysis & diagram charts

Project controls

These are measures put in place to ensure that the project is implemented to the expected standards and within the required timing. Queens School project has the following project control measures;

• Quarterly steering committee meetings.
• Monthly status report by the project manager through the steering committee.
  • This report deals with the project progress, challenges, risks management, and milestones achieved so far.
• Risk management plan.
  • This is included in the project charter and the project manager is fully in charge of the activity. The monthly reports usually have includes a section of any risk management activities in the month.
• Communication management.
  • The project teams have a specific management protocol that enhances effective communication. All the implementation issues from the contracted service providers have to be communicated to the project manager. The project manager submits all reports and issues to the project steering committee. The steering committee in turn communicates with the Queens group of Schools board members who are the project owners and sponsors.

Authorizations

This sets out the authority levels in the project implementation hierarchy. The authorization protocol will ensure that any changes to the project, project plan, and project deliverables are properly approved and authorized to avoid conflicts and illegal transactions.

The project plan Statement will be approved by:

• The Project Manager.
• The Project Steering committee.
• The Project Sponsor/ owner.

Project Changes will be approved by:

• The Project Owner.

Project deliverables will be approved by:

• The Project Owner/sponsor.
• The Steering committee.
• The Key Stakeholders.

Works Cited

Kerzner, Harold. Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. Texas: John Wiley and Sons, 2009. PP. 234-249.

Verzuh, Eric. The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2008.PP. 123-134.

Three Parts of a Means of Egress

A means of egress is the ability of people to leave a building safely when an emergency occurs. The exit path has to b well maintained in order to ensure that they are not obstacles to individuals during operations. An emergency may include fire and collapsing of a building. A means of egress comprises of three main parts. The parts are the path of travel to an exit, the exit itself, and the exit discharge that is also referred to as the path to a safe assembly point (LeClaire 2005).

1. The path of travel to an exit. It is also referred to as the exit access or the egress path. This is the path used by occupants of the structure to move from their workstations to a safe exit. It includes the space used by residents as a passage to reach the exit point. This may include the offices and corridors. The egress path must have fully illuminated exit signs. These signs should be clearly marked to aid the residents in case of an emergency (Stern, & Newlove, 2004).
2. The exit. This is the exit door, which is found at the farthest end of the path. It is a stipulated requirement that the exit should lead to the public assembly space. The exit door can have interior doors, which expressly head to the lobby or the doorway.
3. The exit discharge. The exit discharge is very important within a building. The space that comes immediately after the exit discharge must be kept clear of any objects that may hinder free accessibility during an emergency.

The design of egress

The design of egress varies from one region to the other, depending on the specific use of the structure, room, or space. There are basic requirements laid down by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) that guide these designs. These standard rules have to be applied when designing the egress.

The NFPA has specified particular standards that must be applied when designing all the doors the egress. Some of these rules are discussed. At all times, no locking hardware for example chains and other locking devices should be used on these doors. These devices can be used to lock the door from inside and this can result in fatalities during an emergency. It should be possible to open all the doors in a single motion. This ensures that there is a quick passage of occupants in emergency moments (Sturtevant, 2005).

The National Fire Protection Association has also specified measurements recommended for the doors. These recommendations are as follows. All doors along with the egress and its corridors must have a minimum width of 71.1 cm. In addition to this, the corridors must be 2.3 m. This is meant to ensure that the doors and corridors can accommodate all sizes of people. This further increases the safety of people.

The total number of occupants to be accommodated within one room is dictated by its size. This could also depend on the usage of the door. On the other hand, rooms without furniture will take seven square feet, largely because they are usually empty. This means they can accommodate more people. It is recommended that egress should be limited to the smallest number of people using the standardized methods of calculation (Brannigan, & Corbett, 2008)

The evolution of fire code history

The National Fire Protection Association was officially formed in 1996. However, the association traces its origin in the 20th century. Several people laid the foundation for this association. Their efforts contributed greatly and their ideas were significant in the formation of the association, its policies, and missions. The rise in technology, which came along with great technological advances, inspired the need for standardized operational requirements.

It began in the late nineteenth century by John Freeman, who developed the idea of water sprinklers. Water was to be used to put out the fire. Freeman improved James Franciss piped water idea of 1842. Later on, Henry Parmelee of Connecticut was given a patent for the sprinklers. This equipment used pressure to sprinkle water. The sprinkles were made of low fusing material.

C. J Woodbury tested the first automatic sprinkler in 1884. This great innovation served as a build-up to the use of sudden immersion in a steam engine. The Grinnell systems and Freemans ideas were instrumental in setting up the NFPA.

The advent of electricity also contributed to the establishment of NFPA. The ideas of Thomas Edison were of great significance as far as the establishment of the organization is concerned. This lamp provided light without depending on the cosmos.

He specified insulation and fusible elements in circuits to enhance protection against overcurrents. He also helped in the establishment of the General Electric Company. This is a leading manufacturing company in modern society.

Five companies formed the National Electrical Code (NEC) in 1897 in the United States and Europe. The organization came up with electrical codes of conduct. These developments had a great effect on the formation of the NFPA. The NFPA borrowed a lot from electric codes, and most of the current ideas date back to 1896, implying that the works of John Freeman are still relied upon. The NFPA was started to help reduce casualties related to fire within commercial and residential buildings. It has had a positive effect on society.

Elements of the Fire code

The fire code is also referred to as the Fire safety rule. Others view it as the Fire Protection code. These sets of rules prescribe the basic rules for fire and other hazard prevention. Fire prevention officers in the respective fire departments in various municipalities apply the rules when dealing with fire incidents. The rules aim at preventing fires, ensuring strict adherence to architectural designs, and availing training equipment to firefighters.

Inspection and maintenance of fire protection equipment is also a role of the fire prevention officers. Other stakeholders in the fire fighting industry include administrative officers who make and enforce the bylaws. Supervision of firefighters and firefighting equipment in all firms fall under the jurisdiction of the organization. The organization also issue licenses to enforce specific safety precautions.

Inspection practices

Fire fighting officials undertake inspection practices using various techniques. For instance, they check whether the fire fighting equipment is easily accessed. They also record the buildings address, location, accessibility, and visibility. Inspecting potential hazardous situations and locating the position of post indicator valves are some of the roles of officers.

Moreover, the officers inspect the condition of sprinklers and connect any loose pipes. The inspection processes are laid down nationally and are adopted by individual municipalities. This is important to ensure that there are similarities in the whole country. This will ensure that costs of maintenance are reduced as the officers in charge of the maintenance can be hired at a national level. They will move from one municipality to another, trying to ensure that the project is operating maximally. The management will also be able to compare the overall cost of the project with that of another project that was initially initiated.

Appeals process of the code enforcement

An administrative board hears the appeals. These hearings are not exposed to the public. A complainant who is required to file an appeal form makes a submission. The board analyses the issues mentioned in the complaint and through discussion, it reaches a conclusion via consensus. The decisions arrived at are communicated to the appellants in an email.

Appeals are only reconsidered in case fresh information is submitted. The Board of Appeals undertakes further hearings in case the appellants are not satisfied with the results of the administrative board. The Board of Appeals consists of qualified individuals who offer expert opinion on the matter. It is commonly referred to as the Big Board.

The board sits on a need basis. Alternatively, it also sits on Wednesday every fortnight. The board is voluntary and therefore there are no charges in the process. Decisions made by this board are binding to the respective appellants (Thomson, 2001). This is because the board members are drawn from professional boards such as the electricity board. The impact of the board has been positive. It has managed to come up with various policies that have improved the efficiency of this body.

References

Brannigan, F. & Corbett, G. (2008). Brannigans building construction for the fire service. Sudbury: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

LeClaire, J. (2005). Construction with print reading advice. New York: Cengage Learning.

Stern, E. & Newlove, L. (2004). Auckland Unplugged coping with Critical Infrastructure Failure. Lanham, MD: Lexington.

Sturtevant, T. (2005). Introduction to Fire Pump Operations. Clifton Park, NY: Thompson Delmar Learning.

Thomson, N. (2001). Fire Hazards in Industry. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Introduction

The major task of quantity surveyors is to provide cost analysis and value management services related to completing projects in the construction and building industry. The currently observed changes in the UK and global construction industry indicate the necessity of changing traditional approaches used by quantity surveyors (Eadie et al. 2015). Today, professionals in the spheres of building and construction are interested in reducing the use of hazardous materials, making their facilities socially and environmentally friendly without reducing potential profits for companies (Chamikara et al. 2018). As a result, clients from the construction and building industry need to receive innovative services to respond to modern tendencies in the sector and contribute to communities development. The purpose of this report is to discuss the role of such concepts as sustainability and Building Information Modelling (BIM) in changing practices used in the building sector of the United Kingdom and globally. Furthermore, in this report, the advanced services that the company can propose to its clients will be discussed in detail concerning the required collaboration and barriers to implementing principles of sustainability and BIM.

Sustainability

The Context for Sustainability in the Building and Construction Sector

In the construction and building industry, modern quantity surveyors are expected to provide efficient services to guarantee following the principle of sustainability. This principle has developed as a result of the publics focus on the necessity to address the needs of the growing population in terms of providing economically effective building solutions without damaging the environment. Three pillars of sustainability are important to be taken into account while discussing this concept in any area: people, economy, and the environment (Towey 2017). Thus, projects are viewed as sustainable only when they are advantageous for a community, beneficial from the economic perspective, and do not affect the environment negatively. In the context of the construction industry, sustainability means planning buildings that are friendly for the environment, acceptable and advantageous for society, and efficient from the economic or financial perspective (Chamikara et al. 2018). Currently, the sustainable construction of facilities is associated with decreasing waste, reusing materials, preventing emissions, and decreasing the consumption of resources, including energy and water.

Services to Achieve Sustainability

To address the idea of sustainability in clients building and construction projects, the quantity surveying department may propose certain improved and additional services. At the current stage, quantity surveyors provide their clients with detailed and accurate calculations of all project costs that are associated with creating different types of buildings (Towey 2017). Thus, the purpose of these services is not only to offer accurate calculations but also to minimize costs for a client without affecting the quality (Xia et al. 2016). Therefore, enhanced services in this context will be the provision of lists of reusable materials to use in the project and the formulation of cost-efficient and customer-oriented strategies to decrease waste and emissions.

Additionally, quantity surveyors may offer their clients calculations on what architects and designers decisions mostly contribute to decreasing the consumption of energy and emissions. From this perspective, enhanced services include the provision of calculations related to environment-related costs: energy and water efficiency, the application of reused and recycled materials, and carbon emission reduction (Chamikara et al. 2018). Furthermore, it is also possible to propose calculations regarding potential social costs connected with creating comfortable workplaces to increase performance and productivity or areas to improve peoples wellbeing (Towey 2017). Detailed cost analysis should also be added to general documents provided by quantity surveyors to demonstrate what profits and expenses are associated with sustainable construction choices.

Services additional to the evaluation of alternatives, the project budget, and the project cost control should be proposed to clients. According to research evidence, they may include the creation of cost models and forecasting for green buildings (Osman et al. 2015). Other similar services to offer are the life cycle assessment for projects and property performance analysis (Ghaffarianhoseini et al. 2017; Peng 2016; Towey 2017). The life cycle assessment allows for determining total costs related to buildings during their lifespan. According to Peng (2016), this assessment is used to predict energy consumption for buildings at different stages of their development to conclude about their efficiency in terms of affecting or polluting the environment. Property performance analysis is used for evaluating buildings according to certain standards and norms and for identifying potential risks for the construction, environment, and community.

Collaboration with Internal Stakeholders

When proposing to clients to follow their advice formulated concerning the principle of sustainability, the specialists of the quantity surveying department are expected to collaborate with project managers, architects, designers, engineers, and analysts. This collaboration is described in the literature as important to guarantee that buildings will be economically advantageous and environmentally friendly, addressing peoples needs at the same time (Chamikara et al. 2018; Wao and Flood 2016). Thus, to achieve this purpose, quantity surveyors collaborate with designers, architects, and engineers to choose the most appropriate solutions to reduce the consumption of resources without decreasing the quality (Towey 2017). Thus, quantity surveyors evaluate proposed designs concerning their appropriateness to address the idea of sustainability to provide clients with the most efficient solution (Wao and Flood 2016). It should be mentioned that they also cooperate with project managers to guide the sustainable construction process according to the proposed cost model.

Barriers to Implementation

The implementation of the principle of sustainability in the building and construction sector of the United Kingdom, as well as the application of new sustainability-oriented services proposed by quantity surveyors, is hindered by certain barriers. The first obstacle to consider is clients perceptions that sustainable construction requires more financial resources and is associated with higher costs in comparison to traditional construction practices (Chamikara et al. 2018). However, in many cases, this perception is not supported by quantity surveyors calculations. The second barrier is that quantity surveyors often lack knowledge and experience that can be required to implement effective strategies and models; they need additional training, as was noted by Xia et al. (2016). Therefore, these two barriers should be overcome to guarantee that quantity surveyors can provide their clients with high-quality and advanced services to promote the principle of sustainability in the building and construction area.

Building Information Modelling

Definition of Building Information Modelling (BIM)

BIM is a specific technology that is used in quantity surveying and construction for visualizing a variety of physical and functional features of a building while applying three-dimensional (3D) images. Currently, 5D modeling is used in the building and construction industry with a focus on adding time- and cost-related information to models, as was stated by Alhasan et al. (2017) and Lu et al. (2016). As a result of preparing 5D simulations with the help of BIM, quantity surveyors can provide their clients with accurate geometric, semantic, and financial information regarding the project in the form of cost analysis. Therefore, today, BIM is actively used in the construction industry because of its role in increasing productivity and quality in terms of project realization.

BIM-Related Services

The quantity surveying department can improve the existing services associated with BIM to increase the quality of provided cost analysis and the accuracy of projected cash flows. The problem is that traditional approaches to using certain software for estimating project expenses can be ineffective because of challenges in integrating the methods of calculating costs and scheduling (Ali et al. 2016; Towey 2017). Thus, the linear programming models used to calculate financing along with scheduling for projects can be ineffective to address all needs of potential clients.

In this context, 5D and 6D BIM are more efficient than the 4D version, and they address clients needs regarding the estimation of costs associated with choosing certain physical characteristics and utilizing selected materials. Thus, the company should focus on providing not only 5D models but also 6D models that include information on a project life cycle during the occupational stage (Towey 2017). According to experts and researchers, the benefits of offering 5D and 6D models for clients are the possibility to visualize construction processes and simulate changes associated with the use of different materials (Ismail et al. 2016). Other advantages also include using animations and virtual tours in designed buildings (Osman et al. 2015; Towey 2017). In the UK, the adoption rate is about 39%, and the reason is that BIM seems to be seen as a lifesaver for the future of the construction sector (Ghaffarianhoseini et al. 2017: 1049). Thus, it is possible to state that BIM contributes to minimizing errors that can be associated with inappropriate designs and improves communication and collaboration between project team members.

Stakeholders Involved in BIM Implementation

To guarantee that clients will receive the most efficient and innovative 5D and 6D models for their projects supported with accurate cost analysis, it is necessary to collaborate with certain internal stakeholders. According to research evidence, it is critical to assign a BIM manager for the project supervision to make sure that a clients requirements will be addressed (Eadie et al. 2015). Thus, BIM implementation in the context of project management requires a person who is responsible for developing and adapting 5D and 6D models.

Other stakeholders to collaborate when providing BIM services include IT specialists, BIM operators, BIM facilitators, and designers. From this perspective, BIM operators, BIM facilitators, and IT specialists are responsible for creating 3D models (Eadie et al. 2015). Furthermore, specialists from the quantity surveying department participate in contributing to making these models 5D and 6D ones while adding time- and cost-related information (Alhasan et al. 2017; Ghaffarianhoseini et al. 2017). Designers cooperate with BIM specialists to add more complex structures to their models and simulations while enhancing the visualization of a building with a focus on representing technical characteristics in detail (Towey 2017). As a result, clients will receive an opportunity to understand how to make their buildings sustainable at the first stages of the project development.

Barriers to Implementing BIM Solutions

Despite the obvious advantages of offering BIM services to clients, the implementation of this technology is associated with certain issues and obstacles. The problem is that not all clients understand how BIM works, and they lack resources and specialists to realise BIM-based projects without additional training (Alhasan et al. 2017; Ismail et al. 2016). The implementation of BIM also often requires changing the approach to using technology by a firm (Osman et al. 2015). In this context, it is often necessary to update clients software and systems to operate BIM files effectively, but these steps usually require additional financing and supervision.

It is important to note that the use of BIM requires a holistic approach. Thus, it can be possible that clients will need to change their technological base to use provided models in their operations, as was noted by Eadie et al. (2015). Thus, additional financial investment can be required, and it can be viewed by clients as a disadvantage (Osman et al. 2015). As a result, they can refuse to use the innovative BIM simulation based on 5D and 6D technologies that are proposed as innovative services by this company. Additionally, cash flow analysis proposed in the context of 5D and 6D models is considered as a new function in BIM that requires further research, testing, analysis (Ismail et al. 2016; Lu et al. 2016). Therefore, the integration of the model with cost analysis and scheduling can be associated with certain technical and financial limitations.

Conclusion

The analysis of the current research available on the topics of sustainability and BIM in the construction and building industry of the United Kingdom has been conducted and discussed in this report. It indicates that the quantity surveying department should provide clients with new advanced services in addition to traditional cost analysis and management services. The reason is that today, construction firms in the UK and globally are interested in improving their practices to guarantee that buildings are sustainable in terms of economic, environmental, and social aspects. Innovative services to contribute to developing sustainable construction practices include green costing, the life cycle assessment, and property performance analysis. Advanced services associated with using BIM in the context of quantity surveying should include the provision of clients with 5D and 6D BIM models to add cost and schedule analysis to traditional 3D versions. However, the implementation of these services can be challenging because of certain barriers.

Therefore, some important recommendations can be applied to overcome identified barriers and challenges. Firstly, the specialists of the quantity surveying department should be provided with additional training regarding sustainability and BIM. Secondly, the company should provide clients with professional training and support regarding the use of new services and procedures in the context of their organizations. Thirdly, clients should be informed regarding a variety of strategies and techniques that are effective to improve the integration of new models into the used systems and reducing financial investment. Therefore, the next steps for the company should include the development of training and education for quantity surveyors and clients to improve their literacy regarding the latest trends in the field of building and construction.

Reference List

Alhasan S, Kumar B and Thanikal J (2017) Effectiveness of implementing 5D functions of building information modeling on professions of quantity surveyinga review, International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology, 8(5), 783-800.

Ali KN, Mustaffa NE, Keat QJ and Enegbuma WI (2016) Building information modelling (BIM) educational framework for quantity surveying students: the Malaysian perspective, Journal of Information Technology in Construction, 21(9), 140-151.

Chamikara PBS, Perera BS and Rodrigo MN (2018) Competencies of the quantity surveyor in performing for sustainable construction, International Journal of Construction Management, 1(1), 1-15.

Eadie R, Browne M, Odeyinka H, McKeown C and McNiff S (2015) A survey of current status of and perceived changes required for BIM adoption in the UK, Built Environment Project and Asset Management, 5(1), 4-21.

Ghaffarianhoseini A, Tookey J, Ghaffarianhoseini A, Naismith N, Azhar S, Efimova O and Raahemifar K (2017) Building information modelling (BIM) uptake: clear benefits, understanding its implementation, risks and challenges, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 75, 1046-1053.

Ismail NAA, Drogemuller R, Beazley S and Owen R (2016) A review of BIM capabilities for quantity surveying practice, MATEC Web of Conferences, 66, 1-42.

Lu Q, Won J and Cheng JC (2016) A financial decision making framework for construction projects based on 5D Building Information Modeling (BIM), International Journal of Project Management, 34(1), 3-21.

Osman J, Mazlina S, Khuzzan, S and Razaksapian A (2015) Building information modelling: proposed adoption model for quantity surveying firms, Proceeding of IC-ITS, 6, 151-165.

Peng C (2016) Calculation of a buildings life cycle carbon emissions based on Ecotect and building information modeling, Journal of Cleaner Production, 112, 453-465.

Towey D (2017) Construction Quantity Surveying: A Practical Guide for the Contractors QS, Oxford: John Wiley & Sons.

Wao JO and Flood I (2016) The role of quantity surveyors in the international construction arena, International Journal of Construction Management, 16(2), 126-137.

Xia B, Rosly N, Wu P, Bridge A and Pienaar J (2016) Improving sustainability literacy of future quantity surveyors, Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, 5(4), 325-339.

Background and Objective

Green is the hot word today. All the efforts to minimize Green House Effect and thus keep the environment green for our generations to come; comes under the term Green today. So, how a lightning solution makes a building green or otherwise? It is related to the energy consumption of the lighting solution. Let us take the example of an incandescent bulb. It consumes electrical energy to give light and the electrical energy it consumes comes from thermal power plants which burn fossil fuels and produce greenhouse gases  CO₂, NO_x, etc.

The conversion of electrical energy to light is never 100%; instead, part of the electrical energy is converted to ultraviolet and infrared radiation as well and these radiations are not useful as far as a lightning solution is concerned. So that part of the electrical energy is literally wasted. Now better is the efficiency of electricity to light conversion, lesser is the electrical energy wasted and lesser is the amount of fossil fuel burnt and greenhouse gases produced to get the same amount of light.

This essentially leads to the fact that a lightning source with greater efficiency is the best lighting solution for a green building. In light of this background, the main question guiding these experiments was to determine the spectral efficiency of different light sources like an incandescent lamp, fluorescent lamp (CFL), and Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) of different colors (Blue, Orange, and Red).

Safety Considerations

The experiment involved required handling electro-optical appliances like different light sources. Therefore, all the precautions related to the handling of electrical appliances were adhered to. As an electrical safety shoe was used, all the electrical points and appliances were handled carefully. To protect the eye from ultraviolet (UV) rays UV protection glasses were used. To ensure the safety of the equipment the spectrometer was used as per the laid down procedures.

Procedures and Tests

In line with the main objective of this experiment spectrum of the five different light sources namely incandescent lamp, fluorescent lamp (CFL), and Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) of different colors (Blue, Orange, and Red) was recorded using Ocean Optics Spectrometer one after another. Distance between the light source and the spectrometer was kept the same for all the different light sources.

Data, Calculations, and Representations

The electromagnetic spectrum of different light sources was recorded. This spectrum is presented in figure 1, below:

It can be seen from this spectrum that the spectrum of the incandescent lamp is very wide, spread over the almost entire optical spectrum, and has a single peak. The fluorescent lamp has many peaks in its spectrum and the majority of the peaks lie in the optical spectrum. Different colored LEDs have peaks in respective wavelength regions like Blue LED near 450 nm, Orange LED near 600 nm and Red LED near 650 nm.

The Energy Spectrum of different light sources is presented in figure 1, below:

This spectrum is also very similar to the spectrum in figure 1 with the difference that the left tail of the curve is raised upwards and the right tail is shifted downwards this is because the energy of each photon is inversely related to its wavelength.

The area under this curve in the optical region (400 nm to 700 nm) when divided by the total area gives the useful efficiency of this light source. These values are presented below in table 1, below.

Table 1: Energy output of different light sources.

From this table, it can be seen that the spectral efficiency of red LED is greatest (~80%) and that of the Incandescent lamp (~ 58%) is the least. This means only 58% of the total output of an Incandescent lamp is useful while this ratio is as high as 80% for Red LED output.

Discussions

From these experiments, it can be claimed that LEDs are the best solution for a Green. The experimental findings support this claim, as efficiency is greatest for LEDs. However, only spectral efficiency is not everything. Others factors are also important. One important factor is the wavelength itself. Though, the human eye can sense the entire optical spectrum (400 nm to 700 nm); its sensitivity is greatest in the mid-range i.e. ~ 550 nm. Therefore, orange LED will be a better solution than Blue and Red LED despite having lesser spectral efficiency. Going by the same argument even the fluorescent lamp is a better solution.

Reflections

From these experiments I could learn the spectrum of different light sources and importance of this spectrum in selecting a suitable light source for a particular application.

What I could not understand is the relationship between the input electrical energy and output electromagnetic energy. I think I need to multiply the power rating of the light source with the time of measurement to calculate the electrical energy input.

As a result of this lab my ideas about selecting a light source has changed. Earlier only price of the light source was important for me, now I have come to appreciate that spectrum of light source is much more important.

I am not able to connect the total electrical energy input to the electromagnetic energy output. So I would like to improve upon this point. Also, I would like to incorporate the sensitivity of eye for different wavelengths to modify the formula of efficiency as that will be more relevant.

Forewords

Fire is one of the catastrophes that pose one of the greatest risks not only to peoples lives but also to property and business premises¹. The fire risk index is also to a great extent compounded by the fact that the fire-causing risk factors are many, diverse, and complicated making the degree of fire risks vulnerability very high². Such causing factors of fire especially in buildings include terrorist attacks, bombs explosion, earthquakes and other natural catastrophes, electricity faults, as well as natural fire accidents in the dwelling units and all of which makes buildings and premises particularly vulnerable³. As a matter of fact, fire in buildings can be accidental or deliberately caused by enemies or terrorists. Irrespective of whether the fire in the building is accidental or deliberate, its immediate repercussions and the aftermath are equal in intensity ranging from deaths out of burns and chocking by smoke, non-fatal injuries as a result of the same and extensive to the total destruction of property either by the fire itself or by the rescue operations at times⁴.

All over the world, cases of fatal fire incidents in buildings, resulting from one of the multi-diverse causes have been reported. For instance, the fire that resulted from the terrorist attack on the world trading center in New York; the United States of America on September 11, 2001, is reported to have had many fatal and non  fatal casualties and extensive devastation of property. This paper, therefore, analyzes the issue of fires in a building while using detailed examples of large  and medium-scale fire and explosion disasters across Europe with a bias to the United Kingdom. In addition, the paper discusses safety engineering issues in relation to fire disasters in the built environment regarding the case studies that form the basis of analysis and give recommendations for improvement and prevention of such disasters for the future.

Fire accident statistics in the United Kingdom

According to a report presented by United Kingdom fire services, 2004 as presented to the office of the prime minister⁵, it was reported that in 2004 alone, the local authority fire and rescue services had virtually reacted to and attended to approximately 0.9 million fires and false alarm incident across the United Kingdom (basically England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland). Irrespective of the fact that this was 18% fewer such cases relative to the previous year (2003) the number of fire incidences were termed as high and a clear indication that the fire incidence ware still widespread irrespective of the countering measures that the local authority fire and rescue service departments had instituted. However, most (in fact three quarters) of the fires cases that the fire and rescue services authority had attended to were outdoor fires with the rest of the cases constituting fire in buildings and dwelling places⁶. According to the report, the number of deaths as a result of fire incidence across the United Kingdom was reported to be five hundred and eight in 2004 representing a slight reduction in the number of such cases in the previous year which were reported to be 593. The report also revealed that most of the fire incidents reported fatalities occurred in buildings and in people living places with the highest number being the aged and elderly (eight years of age and over), particularly in Wales and Scotland. At the same time, the non-fatal casualties of fire-related incidences in the United Kingdom in 2004 were equally high hitting the highs of 14600 in 2004 alone including 398 cases of firefighter casualties as well.

Fire disaster cases in the United Kingdom

England

Kings Cross fire  1987

This is a flash fire that engulfed an old wooden escalator at the Kings Cross underground station on the eighteenth of November 1987 at 7.45 PM⁷. The incident culminated in thirty-one people losing their lives in that catastrophe together with a firefighter a Mr. Colin Townsley while on duty for the Soho Fire Station in central London. In the incident, the two other firefighters who were working with Mr. Colin Townsley and who had initially been trapped on the stations platform specifically at the verge of the fire escalation miraculously survived. According to sources⁸, the fire was initially caused by a used and carelessly disposed of match stick by a reckless smoker irrespective of smoking in the London underground having been revoked following the oxfords circus station fire a few years earlier. Sources, therefore, suspected that the match stick ignited oil and rubbish in a machine room underneath the escalator that used to serve the Picadilly Line.

The cause of the fire was exposed by London Fire Brigade investigators to have resulted from the most likely careless disposal of a lighted match by a lackadaisical smoker (smokers material), by a passenger on exit from the system.⁹.

Following the funnels investigations into the king crossfire incident, new fire precautions particularly in the stations were introduced as part of a measure to preventing such fires in the future. As a result, Fire Precautions (Sub-surface Railway Stations) Regulations 1989 were introduced the latter of which are habitually referred to as the Section 12 Regulations since they were initially enacted under section 12 of the 1971 Fire Precautions Act. Consequently, all wooden escalators on the Underground were replaced and the stations were prompted to install automatic sprinklers and heat detectors in escalators. In addition, the new safety precautions prompted that all the station staff be trained twice a year on fire safety and precautionary measure as well as to greatly improve their emergency services cooperation

Scotland

The Bradford City Stadium fire Tragedy

The Bradford City disaster is a horrific fire tragedy that occurred on Saturday, May 11, 1985, when a flash fire arose at the Valley Parade stadium in Bradford, in Scotland UK. According to sources, the fire incident ensued during the proceedings of a football match between Bradford City and Lincoln City in a third division cup final in brand ford. Sources reported that Branford city fans had degenerated into celebrations upon their win when one of them carelessly disposed of a lit match stick in a plastic cap and led to the inferno after it fell on the papers that had piled from below the stands for many years. Consequently, a huge fire arose from the stands and quickly escalated to the rest of the stadium making it impossible to contain it. Ideally, the nature of the material that had been used in the construction of the stadium led to a quick spread of the fire and hindered the efforts to control the inferno since wood and asbestos were the main material used in its construction. As a result, the stand was completely gutted down into flames resulting in 56 fatalities and well over 100 non-fatal casualties.

The result of the Popplewell Inquiry, the latter of which sought to find out the root of the inferno and make a recommendation on how such disaster could be prevented or mitigated in the future culminated in the establishment of new laws that aimed at enhancing safety in the sporting facilities across the United Kingdom and whose progress in achieving of these objects are rather impressive.

Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland parliament fire: 1995

In January 1995 a fire, caused by an electrical fault, struck the Northern Ireland parliament burning it to ashes. In fact, this inferno goes down in the books of history as one of the most devastating building fire disasters to hit Northern Ireland since it completely razed the Northern Ireland chambers; the latter of which forms the most significant chambers in Northern Ireland political environment. Although no fatalities were reported as a result of the disaster, the complete destruction of chambers by the fire out of the electric fault opened the eyes of the northern Irish fire disasters management institutions as well as fire safety engineers in coming up with effective measures to prevent such disastrous events in the future. As a result, authorities and Northern Ireland related departments seized the tragedy as an opportunity to not only rebuilding the parliament chambers to their original magnificence but as an opportunity to upgrade it to an even better facility with fire safety precautions rooted in the deployment of safety engineering measures in the construction of the new chamber.

Wales

Peckham construction site fire (November 28, 2009)

The North West wale is one of the most recent places to be hit by a built environment fire disaster that put the lives of more than three hundred people in very great danger. The inferno that is reported to have ensured from a construction site in Peckham southeast of London in the wee hours of the morning on the 2nd of November 2009 and quickly spreads to the nearby residential flats threatening the lives of over three hundred residents and calling for the reflex actions of the fire emergency services to evacuate people from the infernal¹⁰. The early morning hour completely destroyed a fleet of mansionettes and a pub. Fortunately, there was no reported fatal casualty in excess of 10 people together with two policemen who were taken to hospital having suffered minor burns injuries, and chocks out of inhaling smoke. According to the local MP Harriet Herman, she described the evacuations of more than 300 residents as a miracle that no death was reported in the early morning inferno. The 310 people that were evacuated from the fire were temporarily accommodated as the firefighters jammed the fire site to help fight the fire and preventing its possible escalation and more devastation. After witnessing the inferno, the North West Wales emergency services provider spokesman said that the incident served as an eye-opener for the departments not only in Wales but in the whole of the United Kingdom to enhance their disaster preparedness, especially in relation to fire incidents. In addition, he indicated that safety engineering measures especially in construction were critical in order to either prevent or mitigate fire in building as the mode of construct, use of highly inflammable materials, and lack of fittings to promptly react to fire emergency to a greater extent increased the buildings vulnerability to devastating fire incidents.

Building safe from fires

Irrespective of the fact that it is near to impossible that the fire in building risks can be fully alleviated, a measure can be put in place to reduce the vulnerability or to effectively react and handle fire disasters, as well as reduce the fire devastating effect. This therefore can be achieved via what¹¹ refers to as creating a safer building in relation to fire risks management. As such, detailed fire risk assessment followed by initial mitigation of fire risk vulnerability via safety materials engineering coupled with beefed-up preparedness to handle fire incidents eventuality forms the fundamentals of building fire risks management of vulnerabilities.

Fire safety engineering

Fire safety engineering measures that buildings engineers and constructors put in place in an attempt to reduce the building fires risks and which ranges to use of anti-fire risk materials in the construction of building to the inclusion of the fire safety features in the architectural designs and fittings of the building¹². These included the use of non-combustible materials in construction such as glass, use of antimissile building materials, well-fitted fire alarms, emergency call lines in building to effectively and within the shortest time possible, fitting buildings with firefighting equipment, fire safety nets, the building of spacious and well-ventilated rooms, flexible and wide exit doors and alternative exit stairs to lifts among other measures.

Following the realization that fire risk indices are high and those fire incidents in building most of which were caused by occupants carelessness and reckless disposal of fire by smokers, authorities in many countries particularly the United Kingdom have reacted by enacting respective registrations to counter the fire risk factors. As such, registrations have been introduced that: 

1. Bans smoking in areas that are termed as highly vulnerable to a fire risk and: 
2. Entrench all aspects of fire safety engineering in relation to building construction materials and other fire safety measures i.e. fire fighting skills by the staff members and users requiring buildings to meet specified standards of fire risk safety and disaster preparedness. For example, the existing fire safety laws in the united kingdom directs that all those responsible for the prevention of fire in buildings and taking actions in events of fire incidents  including the owners, employers, and buildings occupiers-to continuously undertake fire risk evaluation and institute appropriate preventive measures to reduce fire in buildings risk. In addition, the statutes direct that such persons must have an appropriate fire management plan as a central constituent of the required fire safety management. In the UK fire safety in buildings, both residential and business premises are regulated by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the Order)¹³.

In Scotland and wale, fire safety duties and responsibilities on the part of all responsible persons are contained in Part 3 of the Fire Scotland and Wale Act 2005, as amended, and the Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006.

Fire safety engineering recommendations

The paper recommends the following fire safety engineering measures to mitigate the fire risk in building in relation to fire safety.

• The constructors and builders should use certified anti-fire and antimissile materials in buildings constructions that go beyond compliance with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the Order). And other such fire safety regulations are not only in the UK but all over the world to prevent both escalations of fire and movement of smoke the latter of which is equally hazardous to casualties.
• The governments and authorities should embark on training both the public users and staff in all the buildings about fire safety so as to equip them with adequate skills to effectively and efficiently react to fire incidents.
• All buildings should be spacious and be restrained from overcrowding and fitted with both wide exist doors and alternative emergency stairs so as to prevent cases of fire outbreaks and allow ease in escape in cases of fires eventualities.
• Strategic fire fighting departments especially in all the local authorities should be established and fitted with world-class equipment for effective reaction to fire incidents.

Conclusion

The various fire risk factors are responsible for high vulnerability to fire hazards both on the part of human life and property. The major concern on fire in buildings however is the danger that fire incidences pose to human life mainly the fatalities and non-fatal casualties. Example of historical fires in buildings across the United Kingdom includes the king crossfire of 1987 in England, the north highland parliament fire of 1995, Peckham construction site fire of 2009 in Wales and the Bradford City Stadium fire Tragedy of 1991 in Scotland. Ideally, Fire safety engineering forms and regulations governing fire safety measures in a building are the most ideal measures to guard buildings against fire risks and reacting effectively in cases where fire accidents arise and where such are inevitable.

Footnotes

1. Cecile Grant & Patrick J. (1986) Fire safety science: proceedings of the first international symposium: Hemisphere Publishing Cooperation.
2. Peter E. Hodgkinson & Michael Stewa (1991) Coping with catastrophe: a handbook of disaster management: Routledge.
3. Marcelo. M. Hirschler (1992) Fire hazard and fire risk assessment: American society for testing and materials special technical publication.
4. Peter E. Hodgkinson & Michael Stewa (1991) Coping With Catastrophe: A Handbook of Disaster Management: Routledge.
5. Office of the prime minister (2004) Fire statistics in the unite kingdom 2004. Web.
6. Office of the prime minister (2004) Fire statistics in the unite kingdom 2004. Web.
7. Ronald Hewlett (2002) Uk Disasters And Emergency Service Communications: Uk Home Office.
8. Gabby Logan (2003) Day That Will Live With Me Forever, Times Online. Web.
9. Ronald Hewlett (2002) Uk Disasters And Emergency Service Communications: Uk Home Office.
10. Weekly news (2009) Hundreds evacuated after flats fire. Web.
11. Peter E. Hodgkinson & Michael Stewa (1991) Coping With Catastrophe: A Handbook of Disaster Management: Routledge.
12. John A. Purkiss (2007) 2^nd ed: Fire safety engineering: Design of structures, Elsevier ltd.
13. Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (2006) Fire and explosions: Workplace fire safety; London. Web.

The Levittown project does not seem to address the issues outlined in the Building Suburbia connected to social roles and ethnic diversity. Instead, Levittown focuses on efficiency. The author of this project decided that it is possible to apply a principle used in different industries, such as manufacturing, to the process of constructing homes. Hence, mass production became of varied elements of homes became the center, although some differences such as coloring were allowed. Picture 1 shows the process of house construction of Levittown. Additionally, efficiency is displayed in other aspects, such as the shared plumbing system of the kitchen and bathroom.

While the construction process is essential, the issue of social roles in suburban areas arises. In Building Suburbia, the author states the following  if suburban space has somehow resisted ethnic diversity, it has been even less accommodating to the changes in household composition and womens roles (Hayden, 15). Thus, one can argue that the Levittown project addresses the critical problems of Suburbia by providing affordable housing, for only $9,000, which would allow for inclusivity of different social groups.

Some of the social roles that are prescribed into the displayed way of life and reinforced through video are the young people, for whom Levittown was constructed. Levittown was designed for young people, meaning that the standard roles and responsibilities of different community members could be altered here, since due to affordability, different people could purchase a home in this community.

Work Cited

Hayden, Dolores. Building Suburbia. Vintage, 2004.

The story is about the construction of the transcontinental railroad. It talks about the risk -takers who financed the railroad, surveyors, those who protected the constructors, and managers of the construction of the railroad. Mainly, the book discusses the workers especially the Irish and Chinese, who assisted in the construction of the railroad along the United State.

The workers underwent tough life during the building of the railroad. They lived under snow caves, which were not favourable for them. They lost lives in the caves especially during chaotic explosions and due to lack of food. People were prone to death since accidents like fire occurred frequently. As time went, technology was improving day by day and this was encouraging the establishment of railroads (Ambrose 20).

Late at 1850s, trading was extremely difficult. This is because there was no way to carry items. People desired and encouraged the construction of railroads. They laid poor run on tracks which were highly risky to the cars that moved on them. The cars that were present during 1850s got extremely hot during the summer season and cold during winter. They also often caught fire. This made transportation a hard thing to take place.

An engineer discussed the proposal on construction railroads with a politician-Lincoln or influenced the project. They both surveyed the route where to construct the railroads. During the construction, there were civil wars, which made it slow. This is among problems that risked lives of those who built and the engineers. The United States government had two companies-Union Pacific and the Central Pacific.

In conclusion, the construction of railroads had a lot of problems as discussed in the book. Examples of those problems are hunger, adverse weather conditions, poor infrastructure, and death (Ambrose 85).

Adverse weather conditions

These conditions vary from one time to another. It is a problem that interrupted with the construction of the railroads during 1860s, and is also an expected problem in todays constructions. Snow was a serious problem that made construction of railroads terribly hard. Climatical changes especially winter was the worst part of building of railways. This is because when workers dug tunnels, they could find them filled with snow the following day.

Getting rid of it was the hardest task. Today, there are parts of the world that face this problem of snow during the winter season. They receive hails which affect transport seriously. Rain is a weather condition that affects construction of buildings and roads. When it rains during construction, workers are not able to go on with the building.

Construction of roads becomes an ugly scene when it rains. This is because there are furrows dug and they are full of water. The water-filled furrows are extremely risky for human beings especially during the night. This problem affected the workers who helped in construction of railroads and to those involved in construction even in todays world.

Dry conditions are also a problem to constructors. Construction of buildings is the most affected area by sun. When workers leave buildings on construction under ultra hot sun, they end up having cracks which can lead to their break down. The work of re-building leads to excessive spending of money. This is a problem expected to be encountered in todays constructions.

Poor infrastructure

Snow could cause movement exceedingly hard during winter since it covers the ground. During the 1860s, there were poor roads. The workers did not get access to raw materials for railroads construction on time. This could make it even hard for engineers to go on encouraging this project.

This contributed to slow construction of railroads. Sometimes, the surveyors got routes to construct railroads which were extremely difficult to pass through. These places were very hard to take raw materials. Still, constructions taking place nowadays have poor infrastructures, and it is becoming a serious problem in construction. In remote areas, there is an expectation of this problem to face constructions since roads are exceptionally poor.

They end up taking a lot of time to be completed. Also, the constructions end up stopping due to lack of raw materials. This can lead to a decline in the growth of the economy. Poor infrastructures can also lead to lack of development especially in remote areas and the places which encounter snow- caps.

These problems continue facing us even now because of lack of enough money to use technology. They all do not support any growth of the economy. Technology is improving each and every day that passes. The only unfortunate thing about it is that, it is terribly expensive to make use of it.

To avoid these problems in todays world, people should encourage authorities in their states, and countries look for money, and provide for buying transporters like tractors to reach places at different conditions (adverse or favourable). This would help to improve development in todays societies. This will show the difference between todays way of doing things and that of 1860s.

Work Cited

Ambrose, Stephen E. Nothing like it in the world: the men who built the transcontinental railroad, 1863-1869. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000. Print

Introduction

First published in Arabic, Alaa Al-Aswanys 2002 novel The Yacoubian Building revolves around the lives of people in a modern society at Cairo, where greed for wealth, social and political power is presented as the main problem facing the people of Egypt, several years after independence and revolution.

Although the book was published in English two years after its first publication in Arabic, it has become one of the best selling novels in its English series. Alaa Al-Aswany, a physician who once occupied the Yaocubian Building in Cairo, sets his story in The Yaucoubian Building, an actual architectural landmark in Cairo.

Though built for Armenian tycoon Hagop Yacoubian in 1934 to accommodate government ministers, rich businesspersons, European technocrats and visitors, Al-Aswany describes how a community of corrupt, immoral and power-liking individuals has replaced this former class of dignified people (Al-Aswany 23).

Using these people occupying and visiting the building as an example, the author attempts to describe how immorality, corruption and poor political and socioeconomic leadership have affected the entire society of Cairenes and Egypt after the 1952 revolution. The author shows how Hosni Humabaraks regime has instilled corruption and immorality in Cairo to an extent that it is difficult to find a morally straight individual.

Clearly, the authors perception of his society is largely negative, as displayed by his description of necessity as the mother of corruption, sexual immorality and greed for power displayed by the characters.

The Plot: A Brief Summary

Al-Aswanys novel first describes the Yacoubian Building as one of the most magnificent and luxurious building in the city, having survived in its status since 1934. After the 1952 revolution, in which Abdel Nasser replaced King Farouk, most of the occupants in the building flee the country. Military officers, their families and relatives as well as other officials of the new regime occupied the vacant rooms.

On the roof of the Yacoubian, fifty small rooms make each floor. Originally, they were used as storage areas by rich foreigners, but are now occupied by poor people as residential areas or business rooms (Al-Aswany 36).

This makes the roof of the building into a slum, a representation of the entire city. In the lower sections, a number of businesses occupy some larger rooms. Among them is a club, where much of the characters visit for their drinks and immoral sexual acts.

Necessity as the mother of sexual immorality, political evils and corruption

Moral corruption, sexuality and the greed for money and wealth are intertwined. Characters, due to necessity for wealth, are ready to destroy their dignity. Women, for instance, are ready, though unwillingly, to sexually satisfy rich men for money.

Homosexual men, mostly the poor and the young, readily but unwillingly involve themselves in indecent anal sex with older and rich men (Al-Aswany 73). On the other hand, rich men willingly dish out money when pursuing sexual partners.

The authors idea of a corrupt society and regime is based on his analysis and description of the persons occupying the building. In fact, the author uses the house to describe how the regime has moved from a government of technocrats, noble and morally straight people to a government led and supported by immoral, non-visionary and corrupt persons whose main purpose is to gain political and economic power.

The ethically questionable characters and their actions illustrate the moral decline arising from a corrupt political regime in Egypt (Al-Aswany 67). The author introduces the characters do define his themes.

First, the reader is introduced to Hatim as he is walking into Chez Nous, a famous club occupying one of the larger rooms in the lower floor of the Yacoubian building. The reader is surprised to learn that the club is famous for a large number of homosexuals who frequent there. His male lover, Abd Rabbuh, accompanies Hatim.

A well-known editor, Hatim is highly respected in the city, as shown by the silence that is suddenly observed and maintained by the drunken customers (Al- Aswany 37).

The author describes Hatim as a professional and respectable character, although everyone in the building seems to know of his sexual orientation. Hatim is not dating Abd Rabuh alone, but the reader comes to learn that he is actually pursuing rough young men for sex, dishing money to ensure he gets the best man he comes across.

Apart from gay behavior exhibited as a form of immorality in Cairo, Al-Asawny also introduces the reader to the immoral act of men like Zaki Bey, an elderly person who operates an office at the Yacoubian Building, but spends much of his time pursuing women and dope. He is portrayed as a man with all manners of pre-revolutionary Cairo.

Hagg Azzam, a self-made billionaire and a suspected drug dealer, signifies the corrupt class of Egypt that is doing anything possible to corrupt their way to power.

In addition, the reader is introduced to Malak, a shirt maker who occupies a small room in the upper section of Yacoubian Building. However, despite having a humble business, we learn that he has a hidden agenda- he has a secret plan to capture all the apartments downstairs.

Taha, the young son of the buildings door attendant, is presented as a young and too honest person. Taha is too honest to an extent that he cannot fit the police force. He is also a bright and ambitious person. However, the reader learns that apart from being Buhaynas boyfriend, he is actually heterosexual. In addition, he joins Muslim militancy, leaving his girlfriend (Al-Aswany 123).

Women are also not spared when considering the immoral acts of people in Cairo. Buhayna, once Taha leaves the building, is left coning men but smartly without losing her virginity. However, she cannot escape practicing immorality because she needs some money to support her mother and siblings (Al-Aswany 143). In fact, the plight of women in the city is well presented in the novel.

For instance, Souad Gaber is literally sold for marriage to Hagg Azam by her elder brother. The older brother briefly meets Azzam the tycoon, and, without even knowing his intentions, willingly gives away his sister in exchange for a large sum of money. In fact, the author compares the meeting between her brother and Azzam with a business transition in which Souad, the commodity, is offered for sale (Al-Aswany 126).

Conclusion

Al Aswanys characters are clearly used to display how people are in need of money, wealth and better lives. While rich men are chasing the poor people for sexual satisfaction, the poor are ready to destroy their dignity in exchange of money.

Works Cited

Al-Aswany, Alaa. The Yacoubian Building. Cairo: The American University in Cairo, 2002. Print

Introduction

The environment is an important part of every human being. This is because it is what informs the quality of life that one leads. In essence, quality is defined by the environment or the surroundings that one has (Abraham 2006). Thus, maintaining a quality environment is usually on top of the agenda when it comes to establishing the kind of area that one is living in. We live in a society that seeks to ensure that development is achieved in all things.

It is worth noting that most of development projects within the society emanate from the construction which takes place within the society. In this case the buildings which are put up need to meet certain standards which are in line with the expectations of environmental sustainability as well as ensure that the quality of the building is in accordance with the stated regulations. It therefore follows that achieving sustainability is the role of the engineers (Jonker & Jan 2012).

Purpose of the report

The purpose of this report is to establish the main considerations which need to be put in mind when designing buildings. It brings to the fore the importance of engineering which is based on strategy as well as technology based on progress (Jonker & Jan 2012).

Preview of the themes

The main themes in this report evaluate the impact of the engineering projects on the environment.

In addition, this report seeks to evaluate some of the strategies which need to be put in place in order to ensure that the negative impacts of the future engineering projects are mitigated (Abraham 2006). This will be achieved through ensuring that some of the major objectives are realized.

These objectives include working towards ensuring that the maintenance of the options which are available meet a given criteria that is in tandem with the critical threats and objectives, secondly, identifying the critical threats with the intention of avoiding the threats to sustainability and lastly, being in a position of coming up with long term strategies which will work towards safeguarding the interests of the people as well as ensuring that the long term projects are beneficial to all the parties who are available (Wheeler & Beatley 2004). Background: The goals The goal of any society is to ensure that there is both growth and survival.

In order to achieve this, there is need to ensure that the projects and approaches which are put in place are sustainable and progressive. To achieve this goal, institutions and societies work towards creating more value than they consume. This is characterized by being innovative and creative amidst trying and tough times (Jonker & Jan 2012). The goal of the environment is to survive and prosper.

In order to achieve this sustainable environment and ecosystem needs to be put in place. Essentially, this goal can only be achieved if people cannot stop or reduce extracting heavy metals, and establishing buildings and constructions which are depleting the earths very resources (Jonker & Jan 2012).

The degradation which has been taking place in the environment due to inadequate engineering strategies has led to the wasting away of vital aspects of the society. Thus, a framework which is defined by the right strategies needs to be put in place. This is because, without such frameworks, the future of the projects will be put into jeopardy.

Furthermore, if these frameworks are not put in place, the chances of having sustainable projects and buildings in the future will not be guaranteed (Wheeler & Beatley 2004). Time is another important aspect when it comes to sustainable projects and buildings. This is because, projects are established based on time frames in which they will operate.

There is need to establish the positive and the negative effects of a given project within a given time frame (Abraham 2006). This will enable the engineers to be in a better position of establishing what aspects need to be given priority and which need tom be ignored. Consequently, the results which shall be attained will be in line with the objectives which will be worked towards (Wheeler & Beatley 2004).

Scope of the challenge of sustainability

Owing to the nature of the problems which are faced by the engineers, most of them will tend to work based on the opportunities which arise. This poses challenges to the nature of the sustainability of the work which shall be realized. Based on this, the nature of progress depends on the ability to address what has been happening in the past.

For instance, in developed countries, the effects of previous projects should be analyzed in light of the future anticipated projects. Through such ventures, the sustainability and the suitability of the buildings and nay projects will be realized (Jonker & Jan 2012).

Suitability of any project should be evaluated against the information and data which has been collected from other parties. In this case, engineers should work closely in consultation with other immediate stakeholders such as planners in order to be in a better position to provide and generate solutions to the prevailing circumstances.

Through this, effective solutions will be realized with regard to the problems which are prevailing in light of the challenges (Wheeler & Beatley 2004). The role of education One may ask, what role does education play in all these? Essentially, education forms a large portion of the process.

This is because education provides the thinking perspectives which are informed by the philosophy which informs the output or the products of an education system (Wheeler & Beatley 2004). In as much as we may seek to establish much better projects which are sustainable, it is equally worth mentioning the fact that the system of education has not really played sufficient or adequate role in addressing these issues.

Furthermore, the philosophy which was used in the previous society is the same philosophy which is still in use today. Therefore, the chances of having a changed approach to the issues which are affecting the society are almost brought to nil. In the current age, it is therefore important to integrate new versions of approaches with the better teaching and learning approaches.

Furthermore, the engineering curriculum should be able to provide a platform which will or can harmonize the traditional techniques of solving designs as well as the current trends. Through this, engineers will be more receptive when it comes to accepting criticisms of technology regarding the sustainability and suitability of projects within a given scope of time (Jonker & Jan 2012).

Conclusion

In conclusion, sustainability is an issue which needs to be addressed in every circle of development. This is because it informs the approaches which should be taken when working on a project. However, despite the importance of the subject, little has been achieved especially in light of the curriculum which is followed by the engineering students.

Thus, there is need to interrogate the best approaches that are bound to reinvigorate the engineering approaches and enhance creativity which will work towards solving some of the technological problems which are being faced. In this regard, technology will be able to provide solutions which will ensure that the problems which are presently being faced do not recur in the future

Reference

List Abraham, MA 2006, Sustainability science and engineering:defining principles, illustrated edn, Elsevier, New York.

Jonker, G & Jan, H 2012, Engineering for Sustainability:A Practical Guide for Sustainable Design, Elsevier, New York.

Wheeler, SM & Beatley, T 2004, The sustainable urban development reader, Routledge, New York.