Health, safety and wellbeing

How can a city better prepare for, and weather, the affects of floods, heat and droughts? Ashden has some examples of the areas that are doing it right.

This report relates to punching shear assessments of flat slabs used as transfer slabs to support transferred columns (ie columns above the transfer slab that are misaligned with the columns below). The reporter is concerned some design engineers erroneously use the principles of uniformly loaded slabs to assess punching shear.

A reporter conducting a fire risk assessment of a school encountered inadequate firestopping.

The UK building control sector has experienced a tumultuous few years – so how are its professionals feeling? The CABE Building Control Survey sheds some light.

All eyes are on preventing falls, but the role of riser shafts in reducing fires is woefully misunderstood, say Ambar Kelly’s Alex Bardett and Nick Atkinson.

Mike Brodie, Managing Director of Chemstore UK, which provides hazardous storage solutions, offers insight into recent guidance on the safe storage of lithium-ion batteries in the UK.

Fire safety concerns around product specification for building materials as well as internal furnishings are focused on flammability, but what about smoke toxicity? asks Nick Warburton.

MSA Safety suggests things to consider when researching a fire and gas detection system for hazardous environments.

The Association for Project Management (APM) has released the third edition of its Project Risk Analysis and Management Guide.

BAFSA provides an overview of the technology, standards and applications of water-mist fire protection systems.

Fire Engineer Andrea White discusses complexity versus competence in fire safety – and how the gap between them has widened during her time in the industry.

A major housebuilding company has been fined £800,000 following a serious incident in which a 17-year-old apprentice was injured after falling through a collapsed temporary stairwell on a construction site in Weston-super-Mare.

Trigon Fire Safety’s Karl Wallasch discusses the application of fire engineering on a smoke shaft design for a listed building’s hotel refurbishment.

Howarth Timber’s Emily Green has compiled a short guide on the importance of properly specified, fitted and maintained fire doors.

From our homes to our workplaces and everything in between, modern life is filled with goods and products – but, asks Denise Chevin, have fire and rescue service estimations of risk kept pace?

CABE member Kabbe Njie, Principal Engineer Fire & Life Safety Systems at Heathrow Airport, discusses the growing fire risks of lithium-ion batteries in residential buildings.

Enya Zhang, a student at the University of Central Lancashire, has completed IFSM-funded research exploring the impact of coatings on wood combustion

The Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS) has committed to updating its Code of Considerate Practice to include skin protection as a key assessment criterion.

Collaborative reporting for safer structures. Report 1197: Incorrect firestopping by a third-party certificated contractor

Steve McSorley, Director at Perega, discusses the engineering challenges of a crumbling NHS estate – and what contractors may face when bringing these buildings up to date