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Welcome to the June edition of theNBS.com eNewsletter
In this issue we give you information about cost tracking within NBS Scheduler, Site Waste Management Plans, and an exclusive extract from NBS Shortcuts.
Cost tracking within NBS Scheduler
The electronic tracking of post tender project costs will be available soon for NBS Scheduler users. Software Development Manager Dr Stephen Hamil outlines the benefits.
Feedback from users has led us to make some significant improvements to NBS Scheduler which customers will see this year. The planned improvements include online updates, enhanced publishing, online NBS Plus manufacturers’ information, and integration with NBS Perspective.
But perhaps the most significant enhancement to NBS Scheduler will be the inclusion of cost tracking functionality. This will provide the following key benefits:
- Tender prices can be added electronically for items from a schedule of work
- As work progresses through the construction phase, payment amounts can be entered against each priceable item and the total for each progress payment will be automatically calculated
- Instruction items can be added so that the revised contract sum can be tracked.
Site Waste Management Plans
We have received quite a few enquiries regarding the inclusion of NBS clauses about Site Waste Management Plans (SWMPs). Technical Author Roland Finch explains the latest position.
SWMPs are not new to construction or NBS. What has changed is that they are now mandatory in some cases.
Originally developed as a DTI Voluntary Code of Practice, SWMPs provide a structure for systematic waste management at all stages of a project's delivery. They are already a requirement of the Code for Sustainable Homes, which itself is cited under the Building Regulations, while they are also an integral part of many BREEAM assessments.
Clauses were added to NBS following introduction of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, but it wasn't until April 2008 that the accompanying Regulations came into force (albeit initially only in England), setting out the statutory requirements.
NBS Perspective – have you tried it yet?
In March, we launched NBS Perspective, a new document management system to help you view, organise and share information and project documentation. Hundreds of NBS customers are already reaping the benefits of this fantastic new resource, provided free as part of your existing NBS software subscriptions.
If you haven’t tried it yet, why not take a few minutes to run through the getting started demos included in the Project and Professional editions of the software.
Until you unlock NBS Perspective, you will be viewing the Project edition that has less functionality. However, if you are already an NBS software subscriber, you have been given a Professional edition license free of charge.
If you don’t have an icon for NBS Perspective on your desktop, you need to install the most recent NBS update (2008-1 March).
For assistance with unlocking NBS Perspective, contact the NBS Software Support team on 0845 456 9594. If you are not an NBS software customer and are interested in NBS Perspective, visit www.thenbs.com/nbsPerspective.
How locks work: key facts about how to obtain closure
Whichever crime statistics you choose to believe, the
chances of an average household being burgled are around once every 35-50 years. Not bad odds, but still we try to devise more and more ingenious ways to keep over-hyped intruders out of our houses.
In this exclusive extract from NBS Shortcuts, written by noted industry figure Austin Williams, we show how the humble
door lock has changed.
Watch this: Let there be light!
Recent case law has elevated the significance of rights of light within the modern property market.
The traditional ‘rules’ used by surveyors to determine whether a reduction in light to a property constitutes a right to light injury are no longer accepted by the courts as standard. The result – increased uncertainty – and notably for the developer. In each right of light case, the key issue is whether the injury is serious enough to grant an injunction – to prevent, or remove, an offending structure, or whether damages should be paid instead.
In this programme, from the NBS Learning Channels, we look at the trends set by recent case law and consider what action interested parties should take to protect themselves in potential rights of light cases.
RIBA Bookshops is proud to announce the winners of the RIBA International Book Awards 2008
The winner of the 2008 RIBA Sir Nikolaus Pevsner International Book Award for Architecture is:
Siena: Constructing the Renaissance City
This book is the first to focus on Sienese architectural and urban
history during the 15th and early 16th centuries. Fabrizio Nevola offers
a comprehensive picture of the city, describing in detail how the layout and appearance of Siena changed
between 1400 and 1520, as political and social events triggered a variety of initiatives that transformed the city's urban core.
Enhanced with a beautiful collection of historic and new photographs, the book offers a fresh and engaging account of Siena's unique architectural achievements.
The winner of the 2008 RIBA Sir Robert McAlpine International Book Award for Construction is:
The Architecture of Parking
This is the first comprehensive international survey of one of the most neglected but most important building types of the modern era: the parking garage. An introduction sets out the history and architectural significance of these buildings and their relevance today, and is followed by four main chapters that define the most influential aspects of parking design: elevations and facade; construction and materiality; the use of light; and experimentation.
The book's wide-ranging importance and detailed plans make it an indispensable and inspirational resource for students, professional architects, engineers, urban planners and developers.
The winner of the 2008 RIBA International Book Award for Architectural Practice is:
Carlos Ferrater: Office of Architecture in Barcelona
Another monumentally informative and balletically elegant tome from Manel Padura, whose project of documenting Spanish architecture goes from strength to strength. This work, in English only, features a conversation with Ferrater before documenting his entire career, from 1971 student intervention Instant City, a hippie dream of colourful inflatables, to current drawing board work such as Casa AA, an orthogonal network based on 45 degree angles. This is a total of 63 projects, described in superb detail with plenty of images and plans. Ranging in scale from a downhome guest pavilion on Menorca to town halls, housing estates and the new Barcelona airport, this is the definitive guide to a significant architect.
The winner of the 2008 RIBA International Book Award for Interior Design is:
Moving Rooms: The Trade in Architectural Salvages
This fascinating book documents the break-up, sale and re-use of salvages in Britain and America, where the fashion for so-called
'Period Rooms' became a mainstay of the transatlantic trade. Much appreciated by museum visitors, period rooms have become something of a scholarly embarrassment, as research reveals that many were assembled from a variety of sources. One American embraced the trade as no other - the larger-than-life William Randolph Hearst. Between 1900 and 1935, he purchased tens of thousands of architectural salvages; many of these were incorporated into his houses and castles in New York, California, Long Island, and St Donat's Castle in Wales, but they were a small percentage of the total.
All books listed above are available to order from www.ribabookshops.com, from our mail order department: +44 (0) 207 256 7222 and from our bookshops in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool.
New from RIBA Publishing
Changing Hospital Architecture
What can good design offer that most functionally-distinct of building types, the hospital? Few well-known architects have been involved in their design and even fewer big architectural prizes have been
awarded for them. And yet in almost no other building type are the consequences of getting the design wrong quite so serious.
Richly illustrated in full colour, Changing Hospital Architecture shows what can be achieved by reflecting on the UK's current huge hospital building programme in the light of historical and international experience. Aimed at health policy makers, architects and other construction professionals in the health sector, it points to potential exemplars, presents key issues and occasionally signals caution.
Most popular NBS articles - May
Find out what NBS website visitors are reading. This month, we round up the most popular technical articles from May on www.theNBS.com.
17th Edition Wiring regulations
The IEE/BSI Requirements for electrical installations has been updated as BS 7671:2008 Requirements for electrical installations. IEE wiring regulations. 17th Edition. This creates a new revised edition of the wiring regulations, which will come into effect on 1 July 2008. This article looks briefly at the changes incorporated into the new edition.
New sections have been introduced to align BS 7671:2001 much closer to IEC 60364, which is the basis of the electrical rules for international adoption. Up to July 2008, engineers can use either the 16th or 17th Editions but after 1 July all installations must be designed and installed to BS 7671:2008.
Read more >>
The structure of a schedule of work
The schedule of work is rarely, if ever, used in isolation. It is commonly bound together with contract preliminaries (describing general project requirements and contract terms) and with a specification document describing minimum acceptable product and workmanship standards. This group of documents may then be supported by drawings and itemized lists (also, confusingly, known as schedules), bundled separately or bound in as appendices.
Read more >>
Not just a timber deck
The recent ban on smoking in pubs is likely to cause the owners of pubs, clubs, restaurants and hotels to construct outdoor spaces for smokers to gather. The growth in the construction of timber decks is likely to accelerate to meet this need. Standards set by the Timber Decking Association and the Timber Research and Development Association make the specification of a timber deck a clear and structured process.
Read more >>
The functions of a schedule of work
There is considerable scope for confusion in discussing schedules of work – usually arising from the lack of a generally accepted definition of structure and content, but also from disagreements over terminology, and whether inclusion of quantities within a schedule of work is valid.
Read more >>
CDM Regulations 2007 – What changes have the contract publishers made?
NBS maintains over 80 Preliminaries sets for use with contracts published by a wide variety of bodies. However, the introduction of the CDM Regulations 2007 has meant that amendments are needed to almost all of the contracts.
Read more >>
Recommended websites
This month's recommended websites are all on sustainable development:
Engineering for a Sustainable Future
Engineering for a Sustainable Future is an IET Professional Network for engineers of all disciples with an interest in environmental and social issues. The site includes an online library, a forum, and details of events and training.
SUST.
Developed by The Lighthouse in collaboration with the Architecture Policy Unit at the Scottish Government, Sust. gives free access to a wide variety of information, resources and guidance on sustainability. The site includes links, downloads, and a My Sust.House game to design your own sustainable house.
Sustainable Development Commission
The Sustainable Development Commission is the UK Government's independent advisory body on sustainable development.
UK carbon map
Provided by the Carbon Trust, the map shows how much carbon dioxide (CO2) is emitted across the UK, illustrating carbon dioxide density per square kilometre and with detailed information on the tonnes of CO2 source emissions by various towns and cities throughout the country.
For a comprehensive list of selected sustainable development websites, see the NBS Green Building topic area.
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