Ilford and world first are possibly not words you’d expect to hear in the same sentence, but that could now change, at least in the construction sector.
The Essex town is the location for the first whole construction project to be given Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification. It’s a development hailed as a breakthrough by everyone involved; contractor, timber suppliers, housing association and certification bodies. And it has, they say, potentially far-reaching implications for the environmental strategy of the building sector and the use of certified wood.
Until now, the FSC has provided third-party validation for the environmental credentials of individual forest products. Westside Apartments on Ilford Wharf, a five-storey, 73-flat timber frame block built by Hollybrook Residential for the Tower Homes Housing Association, takes the process a stage further. The whole structure has been audited as a unit to ensure that at least 50% of the timber-based products used are FSC-certified, with the balance from supplies satisfying the organisation’s “controlled wood“ criteria. Consequently one FSC “Full Project Certification” has been issued covering the main contractor and subcontractors, proving they can provide a paper trail from Ilford to the forest for everything from the white oak veneer on the doors, to the carcassing for the kitchen cabinets.
“This closes the back door in timber certification in construction,” said Fraser Steele, managing director of Glenalmond Timber, which supplied the FSC-certified Ultrajoist beams for the timber frame. “Until now, even where certified timber was supplied to a project, chain of custody has tended to end at the site entrance. Whole project certification involves everyone in the process from forest to contractor. Crucially, this project also removes the excuse some people use to avoid certification, that it means extra cost and delays. The building was delivered to budget and ahead of schedule.”
The seeds of this breakthrough were sown when Hollybrook placed the order for the timber frame for Westside with B and J Group, a fan of Ultrajoist. The company uses the material primarily because of its stability. The timber – Baltic and Nordic softwood – is “super-dried” to 14% moisture content and given preservative and water-repellent treatment to minimise warping and other movement.
But Mr Steele also saw the project as ideal to try the embryonic FSC Project Certification Standard. The latter has been in development for two years in a collaborative effort between FSC UK and FSC Netherlands, their stated aim being to meet “the need for projects to demonstrate their responsible timber purchasing in the real world of construction, where time-frames and complexity make chain of custody certification for each individual company involved impractical”.
“I’d been talking with Beck Woodrow [FSC construction adviser] about project certification and she agreed this would make a good pilot,” said Mr Steele.
Any concerns that Hollybrook might not buy into the idea were soon laid to rest. “Although, my first question to Fraser was ‘what is the FSC?’,” said construction director Andy Suttle. “I’d seen the logo on products in supermarkets, but I didn’t have the whole picture. We went with Fraser to Latvia to see the whole audit trail process and we were just carried along by his enthusiasm.”
The keys to the success of the project, he added, were “involvement and communication”. Everyone bought into the process, although for some it was easier than others. South London Timber, which supplied other construction timber and sheet materials, including the tatajuba used in balcony decking and door frames, already had FSC chain of custody, as did door supplier Ahmarra and M Norris Landscapes which supplied the fencing and planters. But kitchen contractor Offspec and its Irish supplier had to go through the process.
“Initially we thought it might be a difficulty,” said Mr Suttle. “But we took the certification gospel to them and they went for it.”
To ensure that the certified material that arrived at the site was what ended up in the building, Hollybrook had to check it had the right receipt of goods processes in place. “We did periodic audits to make sure we were in compliance,” said Mr Suttle.
The other key player in the project was external auditor BM TRADA Certification (BMTC). “As the first whole project certification, it was significant from our point of view,” said BMTC timber business manager Alasdair McGregor. “It clarifies the role of building contractors in the supply chain and provides the tool for certifying the one-off project, rather than them having to undergo normal five-year chain of custody certification, which would not be relevant for those projects where they’re not using timber. The result is also to take chain of custody title of ownership right through to the client.”
As part of the auditing procedure, Mr McGregor undertook “strategic” site visits timed to coincide with the arrival of the various timber elements. “We verified management controls were in place, materials were being checked on arrival and that personnel doing the supervision were trained.”
The extra materials checks fitted seamlessly with day-to-day construction work. “If everyone knows what’s expected there’s no problem,” said Mr Steele. “If drivers are aware that if the paperwork is wrong, goods stay on the lorry, you get the right paperwork.”
“And the goods would be checked on arrival at site for quality and quantity anyway,” said Mr McGregor. “This was just one more check to do at the same time.”
“The whole process was remarkably painless,” agreed Mr Suttle. “We never thought, ‘here comes the BMTC man to check up on us’!”
Scheduled for completion in March, the building was ready for handover a month earlier and the first residents were in by February 23 when Richard McCarthy from the Department of Communities and Local Government did the honours at the official opening. Greenpeace forest campaigner Ben Ayliffe was also there and said he’d like to see “the rest of the building industry adopting similar strategies”.
Mr Suttle said that Hollybrook would be keen to go down the project certification route on other buildings and Mr Steele maintained that more contractors will be inspired to do the same.
“Having FSC certification gives them a tremendous marketing tool for very little outlay,” he said. “The cost of BMTC’s services for this building, for instance, was only a few thousand pounds which, on an £11m project, is negligible.”
Mr McGregor said that the debut of project certification was also good for certified timber suppliers. “Contractors now have the incentive to buy into and promote certification and that should help increase demand for certified timber.”
He added that a similar project certification scheme was being considered by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification. He also confirmed that Balfour Beatty and Bovis Lend Lease were set to follow Ilford’s world first and had contracted BMTC to take them through FSC’s project process.
This article first appeared in the Spring 2007 edition of TTJ sister Timber Building. Call 020 8269 7833 for details.
