More than ever in the construction and manufacturing materials markets, knowledge and data are power. Of course deals can still hinge on price, but customers and specifiers also need to know that the product is fit for purpose, and today, thanks to rafts of national and EU regulation and new standards, that means so much more than whether it’s technically up to scratch for the application.
When it comes to timber, end users and specifiers may also want to know if what they’re buying complies with the EU Construction Products Regulation, how it fares under latest Building Regs, even, given that government is making it obligatory for all its projects, whether it’s suited for use with Building Information Modelling software. Then there’s environmental performance. Is it certified sustainable and legal and does it satisfy Central Point of Expertise on Timber government procurement guidelines and EU Timber Regulation criteria?
If customers can’t access this and other information and be confident the person they’re buying from is sure of their ground on it, they may go elsewhere, even choose a different material backed by the data they need.
All of which, say those involved, is why development of the UK’s new timber training framework is so key (p5). The outcome of a partnership between a pan-sector working group, the Wood Industry Training Board (WITB), and skills agency Proskills, it’s been a long haul. But the latest WITB meeting, summarising progress to date, underlined that all the hard work is now paying off. Together with its Qualification Reform Group, Proskills and auditing body PriAB, it has developed 12 NVQs and three SVQs for the sector, with more in the pipeline. These are backed by a national network of training providers, with Proskills also advising on grant support.
According to Lisa Williamson, Proskills timber sector development manager, this joined-up training approach will not only result in a more knowledgeable workforce, "which ultimately feeds through to the bottom line". In creating clearer career pathways it will also help attract new blood to the industry.
So far, 200 people have signed up to take the new timber qualifications. But it’s vital now that more businesses put employees forward, otherwise the initiative risks being undermined. Government reviews training support annually, and if qualifications are not sufficiently subscribed (with a timber threshold of 100 people per NVQ per year), it can pull funding. It is, says Ms Williamson, use it or lose it.
This week we also report on two other key initiatives to address the timber knowledge and education deficit, in their case targeting structural engineers, specifiers and the wider market. Edinburgh Napier University launched its scholarship programme to attract more students to its timber engineering MSc course in 2013. Now it has announced that the 12 timber companies and organisations that backed the project, with the aim of bolstering the UK’s timber engineering skills base, have renewed their support, with one more joining them (p7). The next focus for all involved will be to get the students to take up the scholarships.
On April 7, Wood for Good also pushes the on button for its Wood First Plus life cycle analysis online database, a free source of the sort of environmental performance information that is becoming central to construction products specification (p8). It too will require industry buy-in to raise market awareness. So we have three new tools to build market understanding of timber’s capabilities. Now, say the backers of all of them, it’s down to the industry to pick them up and finish the job.
