A Preliminaries/general conditions

Contents

A1 The project generally
A11 Documentation
A12 The site / existing buildings
A2 The contract
A20 The contract / sub contract
A3 Employer's requirements
A30 Tendering / sub-letting / supply
A31 Provision, content and use of documents
A33 Quality standards control
A34 Security / safety / protection
A35 Specific limitations on method / sequence/ timing / use of site
A36 Facilities / temporary work / services
A37 Operation / maintenance of the finished building
A38 Construction and demolition waste management
A4 Contractor's general cost items
A40 Management and staffF
A41 Site accommodation
A42 Services and facilities
A43 Mechanical plant
A44 Contractor's general cost items: temporary works
A5 Work by others or subject to instruction
A51 Nominated sub-contractors
A52 Nominated suppliers
A6 Preliminaries for specialist contracts
A60 Demolition contract preliminaries
A62 Piling contract preliminaries
A63 Landscape contract preliminaries
A7 General specification for work packages
A70 General specification for building fabric work
A71 General specification for building services work
A9 Performance/testing/mock-ups
A90 Performance specification
A95 Air tightness testing

A11 Documentation

CONSIDER:
• Provide as many documents as possible in electronic format so that the recipient decides whether they read them on screen or print them.
• We generate many drawings with vast amounts of blank space and every time we revise them we generate more paper copies.

AVOID:
• Tendering using paper prints of all documents.

RECYCLING:
• Collect, reuse, segregate and recycle all redundant paper and purchase recycled paper.

A12 The site / existing buildings

CONSIDER:
• Reuse existing building, rather than demolish.
• Demolition Protocol will require a statement of intent to reuse materials from existing buildings before demolition of the buildings is permitted.

AVOID:
• Demolishing existing buildings without considering what materials could be reused.

A20 The contract / sub-contract

AVOID:
• Separating demolition contract from building contract if there is a risk of not making use of demolition materials in the construction contract.
• Splitting responsibilities over demolition rubble and reuse as hardcore, resulting in the exporting of materials from site to landfill.

A30 Tendering / sub-letting / supply

CONSIDER:
• Using local companies and local labour.
• Bovis LendLease in conjunction with the local employment office have been very successful at setting up employment offices at their site gates to recruit local people.
• Use of training and skill passports enable quick assessment of skills available to match with skills required
• Training courses in local/regional technical colleges have been geared to the demands of the construction and the buildings in use

A31 Provision, content and use of documents

CONSIDER:
• Provide as many documents as possible in electronic format so the recipient decides whether they read them on screen or print them.
• We generate many drawings with vast amounts of blank space and every time we revise them we generate more paper copies.

AVOID:
• Tendering using paper prints of all documents.

RECYCLING:
• Collect, reuse, segregate and recycle all redundant paper and purchase recycled paper.

A33 Quality standards/control

CONSIDER:
• Provide adequate temporary roads and storage space and hard standing for materials, level/well drained and suitable temperature and humidity conditions (2.9 m tonnes (3.2% of 90 m. tonnes/year) of waste is through damage due to methods of work).
• Provide these before any materials are delivered to site
• Any waste concrete from large pours can be used to make another meter of site access roads

AVOID:

• Collapsed pallet stacks on sloping sites.
• Materials spoiled by change in moisture content or storage humidity and temperature.
• Materials splashed by mud and cement/concrete slurry.

A34 Security / Safety / Protection

CONSIDER:
• Electricity Supply: ensure all sites are required to use a Green Tariff electricity supply throughout the works
• Protect retained trees with fencing at perimeter of canopies, to discourage encroaching on branches, roots and trunks.
• Complete external works as early as possible in contract to allow soft landscape to be completed early (allowing for growing seasons) allowing planting to mature early
• A good psychological barrier to discourage the discarding of building rubble into the site

AVOID:
Security lighting & Hoarding lighting that is on all day in sunlight, add time clock switching
Security lighting & Hoarding lighting that is on if there is nobody on site

A35 Specific limitations on method/sequence/timing/use of site

CONSIDER:
• Lean thinking to get sites working efficiently

AVOID:
• Fast tack projects. They tend to generate much more waste.

A36 Facilities / Temporary work / Services

CONSIDER:
• Kitchen: Waste segregation at the kitchen sink. Minimum 3 bins: under kitchen sink and outside.
- Compostable:Uncooked fruit and vegetables, eggshell, nut husk. No plate scrapings. No animal produce.
• Recycleable: Paper, Cardboard, Polyethylene, Plastic bottles, Aluminium and steel 'tin' cans, Plastic vending cups.
• Waste: Plate scrapings, Animal produce.
• Canteen: Paper, Cardboard, Polyethylene, Plastic bottles, Aluminium and steel 'tin' cans, Plastic vending cups.
• Washrooms: Paper hand towel.
• Site offices: Paper, superseded drawings, Polyethylene, Plastic bottles, Aluminium and steel 'tin' cans, Plastic vending cups.
• Onsite storage of recyclable materials: especially packaging and protection.
• Many bins, colour coded lid and body combinations, segregation for reuse and recycling:
- Lids: lockable type to be selected, for lids with apertures Coloured to match base.
- Aperture: to suit contents.
- Labels indicating contents.
• Bin Store Signs for guidance and educational opportunity.
• Material: 100% recycled HDPE High Density Polyethylene, UV stabilised, Recycleable.
CONSIDER:
• Electricity Supply: ensure all sites are required to use a Green Tariff electricity supply throughout the works, commissioning and testing period and hand over the building to the Employer (Client) with the same Green Tariff electricity supply.

A37 Operation / maintenance of the finished building

CONSIDER:
• Electricity Supply: ensure all sites are required to use a Green Tariff electricity supply throughout the works, commissioning and testing period and hand over the building to the Employer (Client) with the same Green Tariff electricity supply
• Faber Maunsell have been researching the Sustainable Operation and Maintenance of Premises

REUSE:
• Store materials to prevent deterioration
• Permit the use of opened and resealed and unopened tins of paint from the contract to be stored on site for use in snagging
• Permit the use of unopened tins from the contract to be stored on site for use in 6 month defect repairs
• Permit the use of unopened tins from the contract to be stored on site for use by the FM in maintenance of the building in use

A38 Construction and demolition waste management

WASTE MANAGEMENT:
• 30 m tonnes (33% of 90 m. tonnes/year) of waste is offcuts.
• 23.7 m tonnes (33% of 90 m. tonnes/year) of waste is soil including stones and rock and classed as ‘inert’.
• 15 m tonnes (21% of 90 m. tonnes/year) mixed C, D & E waste and soil likely to include non-inert waste.
• 9.4 m tonnes (10.2% of 90 m. tonnes/year) of waste is Temporary works, Site hoardings and Formwork.
• 2.9 m tonnes (3.2% of 90 m. tonnes/year) of waste is through damage due to methods of work.
• 0.9 m tonnes (1% of 90 m. tonnes/year) of waste is generated by poor storage.
• 36-40% of materials delivered to building sites leave in mixed skips.
• 2002 CIRIA / Viridis survey shows 90m tonnes per annum.
• BRE guidance and ASWS/NGS clauses have achieved 50% reduction in recent projects.
• Assign responsibility and make waste an issue for contractor’s meetings.
• Use NGS A38 waste management clauses.

CONSIDER
• The design and size of pallets and objects packaging and packing on pallets
• Pallets: Only use multi-journey pallets
• Do not permit the use of single journey pallets (liable to fail on that journey leading to damage of the materials)
• Use of recycled plastic pallets
• See A38 Waste Hierarchies above

A40 Management and staff

CONSIDER:
• Using local companies and local labour.
• Bovis LendLease in conjunction with the local employment office have been very successful at setting up employment offices at their site gates to recruit local people.
• Use of training and skill passports enable quick assessment of skills available to match with skills required
• Training courses in local/regional technical colleges have been geared to the demands of the construction and the buildings in use.

A41 Site accommodation

CONSIDER:
Electricity Supply: ensure all sites are required to use a Green Tariff electricity supply throughout the works, commissioning and testing period and hand over the building to the Employer (Client) with the same Green Tariff electricity supply (Renewable electricity production).

A42 Services and facilities

CONSIDER:
Electricity Supply: ensure all sites are required to use a Green Tariff electricity supply throughout the works, commissioning and testing period and hand over the building to the Employer (Client) with the same Green Tariff electricity supply (Renewable electricity production).

A43 Mechanical plant

CONSIDER:
Electricity Supply: ensure all sites are required to use a Green Tariff electricity supply throughout the works, commissioning and testing period and hand over the building to the Employer (Client) with the same Green Tariff electricity supply (Renewable electricity production).

A44 Contractor's general cost items: temporary works

CONSIDER:
• 3.8 m tonnes (4.1% of 90 m. tonnes/year) of waste comes from site offices and canteens
• 9.4 m tonnes (10.2% of 90 m. tonnes/year) of waste is temporary works, site hoardings and formwork
• Kitchen: Waste segregation at the kitchen sink. Minimum 3 bins: under kitchen sink and outside.
- Compostable:Uncooked fruit and vegetables, eggshell, nut husk. No plate scrapings. No animal produce.
• Recycleable: Paper, Cardboard, Polyethylene, Plastic bottles, Aluminium and steel 'tin' cans, Plastic vending cups.
• Waste: Plate scrapings, Animal produce.
• Canteen: Paper, Cardboard, Polyethylene, Plastic bottles, Aluminium and steel 'tin' cans, Plastic vending cups.
• Washrooms: Paper hand towel.
• Site offices: Paper, superseded drawings, Polyethylene, Plastic bottles, Aluminium and steel 'tin' cans, Plastic vending cups.
• Onsite storage of recyclable materials: especially packaging and protection.
• Many bins, colour coded lid and body combinations, segregation for reuse and recycling:
- Lids: lockable type to be selected, for lids with apertures Coloured to match base.
- Aperture: to suit contents.
- Labels indicating contents.
• Bin Store Signs for guidance and educational opportunity.
• Material: 100% recycled HDPE High Density Polyethylene, UV stabilised, Recycleable.

A51 Nominated sub-contractors

CONSIDER:
• Using local companies and local labour to reduce transport of people.

A52 Nominated suppliers

CONSIDER:
• Using local companies and local labour to reduce transport of people.

A60 Demolition contract preliminaries

CONSIDER:
• Electricity Supply: ensure all sites are required to use a Green Tariff electricity supply throughout the works, commissioning and testing period and hand over the building to the Employer (Client) with the same Green Tariff electricity supply.

AVOID:
• Separating demolition contract from building contract if there is a risk of not making use of demolition materials in the construction contract.
• Splitting responsibilities over demolition rubble and reuse as hardcore, resulting in the exporting of materials from site to landfill.

A62 Piling contract preliminaries

CONSIDER:
• Use of demolition materials as piling mat to avoid need for importing virgin materials into site.
• Electricity Supply: ensure all sites are required to use a Green Tariff electricity supply throughout the works, commissioning and testing period and hand over the building to the Employer (Client) with the same Green Tariff electricity supply.

A63 Landscape contract preliminaries

CONSIDER:
• Electricity Supply: ensure all sites are required to use a Green Tariff electricity supply throughout the works, commissioning and testing period and hand over the building to the Employer (Client) with the same Green Tariff electricity supply.

A70 General specification for building fabric work

CONSIDER:
• Electricity Supply: ensure all sites are required to use a Green Tariff electricity supply throughout the works, commissioning and testing period and hand over the building to the Employer (Client) with the same Green Tariff electricity supply.

A71 General specification for building services work

CONSIDER:
• Electricity Supply: ensure all sites are required to use a Green Tariff electricity supply throughout the works, commissioning and testing period and hand over the building to the Employer (Client) with the same Green Tariff electricity supply.

A90 Performance specification

CONSIDER:
• Design structure for appropriate life:
-15 year temporary, 30 year short Life, 60 year Normal life, 120 year long life.
- But rationalise the structure and fabric to allow replacement of shorter life elements.
- Design frame and fabric for deconstruction and salvage in future at end of design life.
• Ensure durable structural elements can be reused or recycled.
• Ensure mechanical connections are robust to allow disconnection and reassembly.

A95 Air tightness testing

CONSIDER:
• 10 air changes at 50 Pascal set by Building Regulations L2 is a very leaky building.
• Unusable in windy conditions because of drafts and wind noise.
• Results of 1 air change at 50 Pascal is better but Europeans are used to 0.3 and less.
• What is worrying is that UK construction habits are finding it difficult to achieve 10 air changes.