Building escape and evacuation plans – new international Standard
A new International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Standard will help to ensure that when fire breaks out in a building, occupants trying to evacuate the premises can understand escape plans and signs and orient themselves to the planned escape route.
Safety identification – Escape and evacuation plan signs, ISO 23601:2009, establishes design principles for displayed escape plans.
Escape plans:
- provide information vital to fire safety, escape, evacuation, and rescue of the facility's occupants
- are intended to be displayed as signs in public areas and workplaces
- may also be used by fire, rescue, and medical teams in case of emergency, and by intervention forces in the case of a terrorist attack.
The use of ISO 23601:2009 is expected to reduce risk and to reduce possible confusion in times of emergency, by providing improved training and education.
Summarised from an article in ISO Focus magazine, June 2009.
BRANZ Guideline
BRANZ Guideline – H1 schedule method and partially heated floors
The question that has arisen is how does one treat a floor, for H1 schedule method compliance, where only part of the floor area is heated? Typically, this occurs where heating elements are laid immediately below a tiled floor finish.
Replacement Table 3 in the Acceptable Solution H1/AS1 simply refers to heated floors and does not differentiate between heating that is embedded within a concrete floor slab, installed under the flooring or installed immediately below the tiles. Table 3 sets specific R-value requirements.
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[more]NEW PUBLICATIONS
NZS 3122:2009 Specification for Portland and blended cements (General and special purpose)
Specifies requirements and methods for testing hydraulic cements consisting of Portland cement or of mixtures of Portland cement and one or both of fly ash and ground granulated iron blast-furnace slag. The outcome is to ensure that the end user of the Standard benefits from being up to date with current technology and in line with current industry methods and practices. Supersedes NZS 3122:1995.
→ Buy NZS 3122:2009
NZS 3123:2009 Specification for pozzolan for use with Portland and blended cement
Specifies requirements for pozzolans that may be added to concrete or used to manufacture type GB cement. The NZS 3123:1974 requirements for type PP cement have been replaced by NZS 3122:2009 provisions for blended hydraulic cement containing natural pozzolan. Supersedes NZS 3123:1974.
→ Buy NZS 3123:2009
DRAFT STANDARD FOR COMMENT
Free to download from our website: www.standards.co.nz
DR AS/NZS 4131 CP Polyethylene (PE) compounds for pressure pipes and fittings (Revision of AS/NZS 4131:2003)
Specifies requirements for polyethylene compounds (PE 80 and PE 100) suitable for manufacturing polyethylene pipes and fittings for pressure applications. Public comment on this draft closes on 11 September 2009.
SUPERSEDED STANDARDS
NZS 3122:1995 Specification for Portland and blended cements (General and special purpose)
Superseded by NZS 3122:2009.
NZS 3123:1974 Specification for Portland pozzolan cement (type PP cement)
Superseded by NZS 3123:2009.
STANDARDS IN DEVELOPMENT
Timber framed buildings
Committee: P3604
Project Manager: Mani Taare
Estimated Publication Date: Late 2010, early 2011
Comments: The project is in the draft development stage. The organisational structure for the project is a Leadership Group, P3604 Technical committee and there are five workgroups covering Loadings, Durability, Bracing, Roof framing and Design appearance and clarity. Several meetings have now been conducted with the focus being on having the revised draft ready for public comment by November 2009.
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