MINUTES
AUCKLAND BRANCH
TRAINING AND NETWORKING EVENT
Welcome:
Branch Chair Glynn Robertson, opened the meeting, welcoming members, new members, and guests as well as extending a special welcome to the event's sponsor - Potter Interior Systems
Attendance:
Alexander & Co Ltd: Peter Gillingham
Auckland Council: Peter Amies, Timothy Ball, Ronald Bate, Jan-Louis Bezuidenhout, Brian Butchers, Danny Chan, Lesley Chen, Andre Collier, Garry Cruickshank, Richard Fromont, Daniel Harrison, Christina Hibbard, Jock Hyde, Ted Jones, Richard Kaggwa, Winston Lam, Peter Laurenson, Jimmy Li, Dino Llorando, Ian McCormick, Clive Megson, Mark Murray, Steven Noakes, Murray Norris, Tymara Oberdries, Alan Perich, Rafa Rawof, Ryan Stowers, Craig Tibbits, Maha Tobia, Steve Tucket, Graeme Turner, Paul Vernon, Tanu Virdi, Norton Xi, James Zhao, Tian Zhao, Joseph Burdett, Kay Han Khoo, Sudharsan Ravi, Boris Veza, Prateek Gupta, Xantia Funaki Ellip Behara, David Coburn, Martin Perkovic, Brian Slogrove, Andrew Minturn
Consultancy House for Designs and Engineering Ltd: Namir Amso
Holmes Farsight: Hasan Shueb
Inspect Services Ltd: Steve Hull
Monument Consulting Ltd: Alastair Couper
Professional Building Consultants Ltd: Robert Durham, Scott Macbeth, Carrick Wood
Quality House Inspection: Frank Xing
RDT Pacific: Glynn Robertson
Vertex Building Surveyors and Consultants Ltd: Pieter Le Roes
Winstone Wallboards Ltd: Graeme Robertson
Guest: Saba Al-Mansori
Life Member: Maurice Hinton, Grant Brown
Retired Member: Geoff Plimmer, Graeme White
Apologies:
Ian McCormick
Previous Minutes and Matters Arising
The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed as being accurate
General Business:
Craig Tibbits spoke to the members about the generally poor state of technical knowledge in the Industry and referencing media articles about recent Council "road blocks" in place holding up development, that no one appears to understand the Building Act 2004 or NZBC Clause at present on sites at the coalface. He wanted to know what BOINZ was doing about advocating on these matters and fronting up to central government (MBIE). He raised the issue of lack of trained apprentices, designers/architects not having basic training in respect of compliance pathways in Building Code matters, and building officers now being under immense political pressure referencing recent Tauranga City Council experiences and those involving large organisations.
Craig believed someone (BOINZ) needs to reply to these ongoing articles and claims by professional organisations in the private sector, including responding to the new legislative proposals being consulted on by MBIE currently.
Life Members Grant Brown and Maurice Hilton sought leave to address the members on a number of issues they identified as operational concerns. Maurice advised he had requested the Annual Financial statements from National Office prior to the AGM in order to review and prepare any appropriate questions. Unfortunately, he only received them two days prior to the AGM date. He expressed concern over the loss recorded in two successive years. Grant Brown indicated members needed to understand the direction of BOINZ and their strategy.
Grant advised members that Auckland Branch meetings were in large part dependant on industry sponsors advising members in respect of their product. Their sponsorship underpinned the venue cost and food. The commitment was not inconsequential with the cost of meetings circa $2.5k. Grant thought some of the yearly membership fees should be available to support meetings and interesting presenters who may not have otherwise been able to support the cost of paying for the night.
(Note: National Office advises that over recent years it supports one or two meetings financially and assists the branch executive in sourcing guest speakers)
Grant has suggested the membership requires a variation in the food supplied on the night.
(Note: National Office advises all other branches don't have the level of catering supplied to Auckland Branch)
Maurice noted the BOINZ CEO sits on an Australian Steel Standard Board and wasn't sure this was core BOINZ business. He believed Structural Steel was the responsibility of the central regulator and not appropriate for BOINZ to represent NZ on this type of committee. Does BOINZ carry any associated costs i.e. travel, accommodation, time etc. Are there any other Advisory Boards or groups he is also sitting on that members should be aware of? What is the value to BOINZ? Is there any liability? Could this also be a conflict of interest?
- The following points were raised from the floor:
- Should the Board be proactive towards organising and managing events?
- There needs to be more clarity around the importance of the training modules
- It would be appreciated if the members could receive clarity of purpose for the training direction
- There was a comment that members would appreciate a perspective on how the organisation is doing financially
- Branch meeting notifications need to be within three weeks of the event. Guidelines say it should come in 3 weeks to a month before the meeting.
Director Peter Laurenson sought to cover a few of the points discussed but noted there was very limited time in this meeting as Glynn advised we had the presenter waiting. He advised some questions may be better parked aside for more detailed input and discussion at a later date:
- Peter referred to Craig's questions and said the Institute have just made a substantial response to MBIEs proposal for Building System Legislative Reform package. All members were aware of the Institute's response being prepared, but he noted that no-one from the Auckland members present had contributed to the submission.
- Peter encouraged members to provide input into the Institute or their own submissions - This was a way to collectively raise the voice and profile of the Institute. The Institute posts its submissions on the website. Queries can be directed to National Office or through the Discussion Forum in the member MYBOINZ part of the website. Thoughts can be captured and looked at by both the BOINZ Board and its advisory group members.
- The BOINZ Website has wide variety of courses, involving educational support courses and upskill courses. Registration forms can be found on the website.
- In the training space, members are encouraged to be proactive suggesting course needs to National Office. That's how you get what's needed. It has to be a combined effort of the organisation and its members to make a difference. There are several mediums to raise questions with the Institute's National Office.
- In relation to the questions raised by Maurice and Grant about the financial situation - The Institute has had a committed path to education and qualification support to ensure building surveying is recognised as the profession it deserves to be. This comes at a cost, and in this space, it was BOINZ that drove the requirement for specific Building Control Qualifications. It is expensive but no-one else had succeeded in getting the qualifications in place. Even more so the costs are at a time when the sector is stretched, and any voluntary participation is difficult. The last two years financial results have been a planned loss to support the qualification development; however, the Board is working constantly to make this better and has a view on the long-term position for the institute.
- Peter clarified that there was a specific amount of financial reserves which the Institute was not permitted to drop below without Board approval, and we had not dropped below that level - even with the current year budget included.
- This year the Board made the decision to invest in training moving forward, as it had done in the qualification sector. A budget of 50k is to be invested over the general operational investment. We don't get government support for training. Ideally there should be some contribution from building levy for the general training work NFP's do in this area to support the industry. How do we as a sector, document that as a professional body we don't contribute to training? Legitimately we can't.
- Institute branch meetings are your meetings, for you to conduct discussion on sector issues. It is your only collective forum, so use it positively.
- Timing constraints didn't allow more full discussion on the remainder of the points.
Guest Presentation: Jason Twemlow - Potter Interior Systems
- Potter Interior Systems was established in 1966 and has grown with New Zealand's commercial building industry. Potter Interior Systems joined with CSR Limited in 2010 giving them access to the innovation and resources of Australasia's leading building products company.
- Potter Interior Systems is the distribution channel while CSR Limited is the product manufacturer
- Some of the commercial products that Potter Interior Systems offer are aluminium partitions, suspended ceilings and grids, panel insulation, passive protection and acoustics
- Some of the key products in the range are:
- Rondo - Key wall and ceiling framing suppliers
- Tracklok - Seismic bracing systems
- FireShield -Intumescent paint and structural steel coatings. Distributed through Resene
- Bossfire - Multiservice Transit Fyrebox and other passive fire products
- Some issues that Jason runs into are poor installation and workmanship and the Building Code hasn't been adhered to. The FPA Register is the go-to document regarding any issues or problems related to passive fire.
- Try and be more proactive with the feedback forums
Passive Fire is divided into three categories:
- Active - Subjected to components
- Passive - penetration seals, paints, doors etc.
- Fire stopping - prevent the passage of fire and smoke by providing collars etc.
Compartmentalisation is where services pass through separating elements or compartment walls and floors. Passive fire products are designed to resist at the point of service penetration or joint for Air, Fire, Sound and Water Permeability.
- Jason stressed to members that Fire Protection is Legislated in the Building Act and Clauses C1-C6 Protection from Fire. It is not optional, it is mandatory.
- Fire testing
- AS1530.4 is the Test Standard
- AS4072.1 is the Installation Standard
- Inquiries are usually for tricky penetrations
- Acceptable solutions are also a part of the installation and testing
- Jason's Key Recommendations:
- Use a tested product and ensure the products are tested as a system
- Have a competent installer
- Never mix and match
- Ensure your products are Installed to the manufacturer's recommendation
- Ensure load bearing products are assessed/tested in a fire situation
Questions:
Q: Have you thought of registering locations, third part requirements per inspections. Sequencing is the main issue. We need to have some sort of literature.
A: We do have discussions and documents presented to the client prior to their installation
Q: Are there details on your website for different combinations?
A: No, but we will investigate it.
Q: Any ANARP details?
A: None.
Q: Is there a Certificate of Training?
A: Fire Protection Association (FPA) is doing a Training Certificate. Information will be out soon
Q: What is the minimum depth for a seal?
A: 16mm
Q: What is the maintenance requirement for the fire sealant, and how do you maintain these?
A: Not confirmed
Q: Does the installation need to be regulated?
A: Yes, I believe it should
Branch Chair Glynn Robertson thanked the speakers and sponsor for the evening and closed the meeting at 7.20pm.
Next Branch Training and Networking Event:
Wednesday, 17th June
Auckland Branch Secretary
Hasan Shueb
