Safe Buildings Conference

About

The 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes amplified awareness and investigative efforts into the safety and performance of buildings across the nation. With a heightened awareness of how unsafe buildings can affect the safety of people, corrective developments continue to be made to building regulation, law and engineering techniques.

Aiming to strengthen knowledge and provide you with the latest industry updates, Conferenz invites you to the 2nd Annual Safe Buildings Conference. With addresses from the Department of Building and Housing, New Zealand Historic Places Trust, City Councils and more, this two-day event will bring a wide range of topics and speakers relevant to all involved in the building industry.

  • Discuss the impact of regulatory change on the building industry including the LBP scheme and the NBS
  • Examine the cost and lessons learned from some of Christchurch’s oldest buildings
  • Compare the options for re-building, including the use of timber and the best ways to strengthen  facades
  • Review insurance law, and the rights and obligations of owners of unsafe buildings
  • Gain valuable insights into managing the expectations of the community and the role of various stakeholders in ensuring building safety

In this dynamic environment, information is constantly being updated. Don’t miss this opportunity to be brought up to speed with the latest information and to network with others from across the industry.

Also available, you can attend the Safe Buildings and Resilient Businesses Workshop on 2 May 2012. Facilitated by Rosemary Killip at Building Networks Ltd, create a plan of action which you can use in your day-to-day business to make certain that public safety, building compliance and business continuity are not left to luck.

To ensure your entire team is be updated on the latest in making New Zealand’s buildings safe, we are pleased to offer a ‘2 for 1’ special deal on the conference. With our Early-Bird discount of up to $300 for those who register before 5pm 19 March, there really is no excuse to miss this event.

Agenda

Agenda: Day 1

8.30

Registration & Coffee

9.00

Opening remarks from the Chair

Rosemary Killip, Director, Building Networks NZ Ltd

9.10

Building regulation: The impact of change

With building standards and processes currently under review, examine the potential impact on the building industry and how changes may affect building safety.
• Restricted building work and the LBP scheme
• Changing the “new building standard”
• Expected impact of the Building Amendment Bill (No.4)
• Interplay between the Building Act and legislation including the RMA 1991

Peter Thorby, Manager Building Standards Group, Department of Building and Housing

9.50

The cost of unsafe buildings: Cost-analysis of the Christchurch earthquakes

Review the cost of the Christchurch earthquakes on NZ’s economy and the new financial risk for further recovery projects. Consider the role of insurers, the government and the construction industry in ensuring the financial viability of future planning, compensation and re-building projects.

Peter Townsend, Chief Executive, Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce

10.30

Morning break & refreshments

10.50

Christchurch recovery: Where to from here?

Essential to the Christchurch rebuild is a return to the inner city. Major office tenants are now investigating the opportunities and working together to re-establish in the CBD. Investigate the issues and challenges for those who have been most impacted by unsafe buildings.
• Affordability, building costs, and meeting new standards
• What tenants can afford to pay and barriers to entry
• A collaborative and new approach for greater efficiencies

Hamish Doig, Managing Director, Colliers International

11.30

Case study: Christchurch heritage – significance, strengthening and performance

Review NZHPT’s report to the Royal Commission looking at 100 heritage buildings in Christchurch. Consider the history of each building’s earthquake strengthening, building condition and performance during the earthquakes of 2010-11.
• Conservation planning and awareness of earthquake risk
• Earthquake strengthening work from early 1970s
• Recent trends in heritage building safety
• Impact of the Canterbury earthquakes on Christchurch’s heritage buildings

Robert McClean, Senior Heritage Policy Advisor, New Zealand Historic Places Trust

12.15

Lessons from Christchurch’s masonry and poorly reinforced buildings

With reference to buildings in Christchurch, review ways to limit casualties in old masonry and poorly reinforced buildings, while preserving heritage.
• The art of engineering: Assessing and designing irregular buildings and unusual features
• Challenges for re-building and retrofitting: Design, construction, and economic
• Who benefits from historic buildings and who should contribute to their preservation?

Dr Geoff Thomas, School of Architecture, Victoria University of Wellington

1.00

Lunch break

1.50

Wellington’s EPB preparation: Lessons from the past for today

Uncover the lessons Wellington took from its devastating early settlement earthquakes in 1848 and 1855 to become one of the most prepared cities in NZ. With reference to its history, review how Wellington City Council has prepared its buildings for natural hazards today and how current policy is now being implemented giving regard to recent events in Christchurch.

Roger Gurnsey, Manager of Compliance, Wellington City Council

2.30

Managing community expectations in the event of an unsafe building

Benefiting from Council insight, review how the Wellington community has responded to previous cases of unsafe buildings and the expectations placed on Council to resolve them. Learn what action Council took and how it managed the public.
• Clean up, cost and responsibility: Fire damage causing severe disruption to surrounding properties and asbestos spread
• EPBs and building closure: Protecting the public in times of regulatory control or uncertainty including heritage requirements

Richard Toner, Chief Building Officer, Wellington City Council

3.10

Afternoon break & refreshments

3.30

Heavy timber construction: An alternative for multi-storey buildings

Examine the latest techniques and developments of timber usage in buildings. Explore the viability of using heavy timber construction as an alternative for multi-storey commercial buildings and using timber as a safe building material.
• Challenges and advantages of multi-storey timber buildings
• Timber resistance against earthquake and fire damage
• Weighing the cost of timber usage

Michael Newcombe, Structural Engineer, mlb Consulting Engineers

4.10

What’s happening underground? Comparing liquefaction induced settlements in Christchurch

A building site’s geological model is complex and three dimensional. Explore the role of geotechnical engineers and how they make sense of predicted and observed liquefaction-induced settlements in post-earthquake Christchurch.
• Measuring ground accelerations
• The affects of liquefaction on building structures
• Fulfilling a duty of care to the client

Lee Buhagiar, Project Geotechnical Engineer, Coffey Geotechnics

4.50

End of day remarks from the Chair

5.00

Networking drinks

Agenda: Day 2

9.00

Welcome back from the Chair

Rosemary Killip, Director, Building Networks NZ Ltd

9.05

Analysing the options: Retrofit, upgrade, demolish, nothing

Whether as a result of natural or man-made disaster, discover the best option for making your unsafe building safe.
• Cost, time, and impact of different options to deal with immediate and long term issues of unsafe buildings
• Social, economic and environmental considerations of each
• Comparing retrofitting, upgrading, demolition and doing nothing

Dr Geoff Thomas, School of Architecture, Victoria University of Wellington

9.50

Strengthening facades to ensure public safety

Facades have proven to be as much of a risk to people’s safety as structural faults in buildings. With numerous cases of falling facades during recent earthquakes discuss:
• Causes of façade danger and methods of prevention
• Relevant regulations and standards
• Innovative solutions to promote façade design and safety

Philip Hayman, Manager, Helifix NZ Ltd

10.30

Morning break & refreshments

10.50

Insurance law for building owners

Analyse current insurance issues and the relevant law for building owners. Review the roles of parties involved and topics including:
• Different policy types
• Settlement and insurer issues
• Commercial versus residential cover
• Rights around demolition orders

Mark Henderson, Partner, Corcoran French Lawyers

11.35

The impact of earthquakes on leases, landlords and tenants

With Christchurch buildings being adorned with varying stickers, clarify what each one means for the landlord and tenant and the rights and obligations of each party.
• Rights of termination
• Effect on rent and OPEX payments
• Buildings within a cordon
• The new lease environment post EQ

Rachael Robertson, Partner, Corcoran French Lawyers

12.20

Lunch break

1.10

Fire safety and innovation: Escape, access and engineering

Take a look at the science and practice of fire extinction, fire prevention and fire engineering to minimise building damage and ensure occupant safety.
• The latest innovative ideas and materials in fire safety
• Challenges posed by various fire exits and escape routes
• Incorporating escape and access into building design

Derek Robertson, Chief Executive Officer, Holmes Fire

1.50

IQP perspective: Managing and maintaining building safety systems

Discuss the challenges facing NZ’s IQPs in keeping up with providing and maintaining life safety systems in a heightened safety-conscious environment.
• Compliance schedule updates and its impact on the IQP and building owners
• Financial and social benefit of BWOFs
• The Christchurch experience: Building safety systems post-earthquake
• Causes, consequences and trends of defects in buildings

Rosemary Killip, Director, Building Networks NZ Ltd
Terry Kwa, Managing Director, Independent Building Audit Services Ltd

2.30

Afternoon break & refreshments

2.50

The role of building consent staff in building safety

As more importance is placed on building safety at the planning stage, discuss the role of building consent staff in certifying building projects. Discuss the significance of building WOFs, public access to accurate information, and compliance with regulations in an effort to uphold public safety.

Peter Scantlebury, Manager Building, New Plymouth District Council

3.30

The role of the building owner in providing safe buildings

Discuss the responsibilities of the building owner in ensuring the safety of buildings. Review the importance of building safety for the wellbeing of tenants and examine the requirements of compliance schedules and building WOFs.

Steve McCarthy, Environmental Policy & Approvals Manager, Christchurch City Council

4.10

Closing remarks from the Chair and end of conference

Workshop

FULL DAY WORKSHOP

Safe Buildings and Resilient Businesses               

2 May 2012:  9.00am – 4.30pm

Guarantee building compliance and business resilience for your organisation by attending this separately bookable full-day workshop. Create a plan of action that you can use in your day-to-day business to ensure that public safety, building life and business continuity are not left to luck. Build skills in this two-part workshop covering:

1. Building projects: Planning for safer, complying buildings

• Identify building projects which do not require consent: How are they managed? Who should be doing the work and how should the work be recorded?
• Identify projects which require an LBP and what you need to do to engage one
• Explore special requirements for commercial buildings under the Building Act: How to manage these regulations on top of the building consent (Certificates of Public Use and Compliance Schedules)

2. Building Business Resilience Services

Balance business recovery and public safety in this part by learning to develop a basic continuity action plan for your operation. Learn what to do when things turn to custard and how to manage issues including:
• Where is your data?
• Where will you work?
• Who will you rely on?
• Who can make decisions?
• How do you communicate with staff, customers, tenants, and the public?


Sponsors/Partners

Interested in sponsorship?

There are some exclusive opportunities to promote your company, and its products and services, at this leading event. Contact the sponsorship team below to request a prospectus or discuss the options, or view more about event sponsorship.