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A reputation staking on cast iron
The Green Consultancy (UK) Ltd
is a young business but can draw upon over 40 years of experience in
the design of public health engineering services. Based in Birmingham
and offering a range of consultancy and design services, which include
the design of above and below ground foul and storm water drainage systems,
one of it’s guiding principles is that it’s reputation is
staked on the quality of the materials specified for the job just as
much as the design and configuration of the systems. For that reason
cast iron is the material of choice on a wide range of projects that
the Green Consultancy is commissioned to undertake.
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Rod Green (above) and Mike Howard (below)
outside the Bullring Centre in Birmingham, one of The Green Consultancy’s
prestigious projects where only cast iron would do. |
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The 40
years of experience belong to managing director Rod Green, and
fellow director Mike Howard. Rod began his career with a plumbing
apprenticeship and went on to become a fully qualified public
health engineer, whilst Mike originally started in the civil engineering
field but took a change of tack when he moved into the Building
Services field.
As a rule of thumb, the Green Consultancy
advocates cast iron drainage in any structure that is 3 storeys
or higher, as Rod explains: “ Essentially it is because
cast iron has strength, durability and longevity. Once it’s
in, it’s in. It is reliable and when we have designed a
system in cast iron, we can be sure there will be no comeback
in the future, which is critical when your reputation is at stake.”
Such is the reputation that the Green Consultancy has developed
that it lists a number of prestigious projects in it’s portfolio.
These include the new multi-million pound Bullring Centre in Birmingham,
sub-contracting for WSP Building Services and Emcor Drake &
Scull, and the new GCHQ building in Cheltenham, sub-contracting
for Crown House Engineering. |
The
company has also worked on a number of other prestigious contracts
including prisons in Peterborough and Ashford, and hospitals such
as Russells Hall in Dudley where they worked with Haden Young
overseeing the installation of the above ground drainage installation
and with ARUP assisting with the underground drainage design.
Both agree, “we are always very comfortable
with specifying cast iron because we know that it will last at
least 60 years, which is normally taken to be the life of the
average building. A drainage system should not be regard as a
consumable that will automatically require replacement during
the life of the building, in fact it is as integral a part of
the project as the support structures and should last accordingly”
In retail schemes in particular the Green Consultancy
find the flexibility of cast iron systems a very positive benefit,
Rod explains: “The majority of retail schemes
are built on a speculative basis and design can be very fluid.
Whilst the base build will incorporate a specific number of standard
sized units, the requirements of future tenants will necessitate
a degree of reconfiguration of the systems. As designers, we have
to take account of this when specifying the original system. Cast
iron wins hands down over other materials because of its flexibility,
nothing is more flexible than a cast iron system with mechanical
couplings. These are ideal for any retro-fit such as amending
waste connections to the main stack since all you have to do is
unbolt the coupling, remove the pipework and add the new sections.
This holds a distinct advantage over welded, fused and in some
cases push fit systems”
There are perceptions that cast iron is more expensive than alternative
systems, which the company refutes, drawing attention to independent
work carried out on behalf of the Cast Iron Drainage Development
Authority (CIDDA). Mike adds, “The independent
cost research carried out by EC Harris demonstrated that taken
overall, cast iron is more cost competitive than was previously
believed. We would certainly endorse that view and on the whole
would say that the more storeys involved in a project, the more
cost competitive the material becomes.”
One of the factors contributing to this cost competitiveness is
that cast iron requires fewer ‘add-ons’ than other
systems. It is inherently fire resistant so requires no fire sleeves,
the strength and rigidity of pipework requires fewer fixing brackets
and even in installations where acoustic qualities are paramount,
no additional sound insulation is required. Equally the systems
require minimal maintenance.
As system designers the Green Consultancy express concerns that
some projects are simply too cost driven. Mike says: “We
can find that if a project is QS driven, we are under pressure
constantly to save costs. That can be extremely frustrating because
we should be looking at cost versus value equation. When you are
looking at the whole life cost of a system, the range of benefits
that cast iron offers, both during the installation process and
for it’s working life can be balanced against any initial
cost differential. Cost savings, in many circumstances will only
be short term. If you take the long term view, cost-in use calculations
could well show that a cast iron system is the more economic solution,
especially now that the margins between other systems are so small”
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An area of concern for Rod, particularly
as a time-served plumber himself, is the lack of practical
skills coming through in today’s plumbing industry.
He blames the lack of formal apprenticeships which offer
real hands-on experience which many modern training schemes
appear to lack. “As specifiers, it is a serious concern
to us that there are insufficient people out there with
the necessary basic plumbing skills to properly install
the systems we specify. Our call to both the building industry
and to the system manufacturers would be to ensure that
the colleges are better equipped to train the installers
and designers of the future.” |
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Mike Howard and Rod Green
The Green Consultancy |
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