Building confidence: Standards and innovation at the BOINZ Conference
The recent Building Officials Institute NZ (BOINZ) conference in Te Pae, Christchurch, brought together building officials, regulators, and industry leaders to explore the evolving landscape of building compliance, innovation, and standards in New Zealand.
Delegates discuss matters within the exhibition space
From AI-driven inspection platforms to gender diversity in the sector, the event highlighted progress around shaping the construction sector for the years ahead and gave a good platform for dialogue. Standards New Zealand was there alongside partners from MBIE's building compliance teams.
BOINZ members, as consenting authorities, work with standards on a regular basis and the conference reinforced the value standards play in their work across the sector. Collaborating with the building regulator, Building Performance, was a good opportunity to remind delegates of the 140 standards sponsored for free access to help practitioners do the right thing.
A presentation on earth building standards by Mike Farrell (Ashburton City Council) was well-received, and follows the recent revision of three earth-building standards publish late last year. There was strong interest in other standards, especially the ongoing revision of NZS 3604:2011 Timber framed buildings, NZS 1170.5 Structural design actions - Part 5: Earthquake actions and NZS 4121:2001 Design for access and mobility: Buildings and associated facilities.
Clare Falk, CEO of BRANZ (Building Research Association NZ), as part of an update on BRANZ research, presented on new guidance for warm roof construction, where insulation is placed along the pitched roof rather than directly above the ceiling. This method presents potential for integration into future standards like NZS 4246:2016 Energy efficiency - Installing bulk thermal insulation in residential buildings.
Another positive trend was the increased gender diversity seen across the building sector, with noticeably more women participating in the conference and the industry at large. This reinforces the need for gender diversity on standards development committees to ensure standards consider ergonomic and other gender-based considerations are factored into revisions.
Standards New Zealand works closely with representative organisations across the building and construction sector including Engineering NZ, BOINZ and BRANZ, and the building regulator Building Performance. We will continue to champion for standards used across the sector and encourage updates to standards.