How important is it to specify fixings?

Supports and fixings are a key part of M&E installations, but are all too frequently overlooked at design and specification stage of a project. They are often considered as commodity items where procurement decisions are made solely on price, or worse still, changed on site without any knowledge of the implications.

BESA (Building Engineering Services Association) has produced a best practice ‘Guide to Supports and & Fixings for Building Services’ which urges the industry to adapt their approach to specify fixings and thereby reduce the number of unsafe building services installations.

Installation safety concerns

Will Pitt , Chair of the BESA Technical Committee said, “Supports and fixings are a critically important but often overlooked element of M&E installations in buildings, and getting them wrong can have catastrophic consequences. Recent high-profile failures have highlighted the importance of ensuring these issues are properly considered at design, procurement, installation and testing.”

Pitt also suggested that the industry’s tendency to leave critical decisions to on-site teams undermined the safety of many installations; particularly as they were often working with incomplete information, inadequate tools or training and rarely consulted engineers.

How M&E supports and fixings should be approached

The industry needs to understand the important role that fixings play in the installation, and the consequences of not considering them adequately at each stage of the building process. The approach of using commodity fixings, purchased on the basis of price and considered only at installation stage is fundamentally flawed, and makes it difficult to demonstrate that the supports and fixings have been correctly designed and installed, and are therefore fit for purpose. To specify fixings can help overcome these issues.

How can Walraven help?

Walraven’s philosophy is to develop products and solutions that are high quality, add value (for example are time-saving) and are demonstrably fit for purpose. Therefore we can provide designs for supports that will deliver effective installations as well as add value to the project.

Read our blog ‘Why choose Walraven fixings and supports?’ or to find out more of what we can offer click the link below.