{"id":684,"date":"2026-01-23T12:23:28","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T12:23:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bim4housing.com\/design\/?page_id=684"},"modified":"2026-01-24T10:17:04","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T10:17:04","slug":"design-working-group-meeting-21-01-2026","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bim4housing.com\/design\/design-working-group-meeting-21-01-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Design Working Group Meeting 21-01-2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pg-684-0\"  class=\"panel-grid\" ><div class=\"panel-grid-core\"><div id=\"pgc-684-0-0\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell \" ><div class=\"panel-widget-style\" style=\"background: url(&quot;false&quot;) !important; background-position: left top !important; background-repeat: repeat !important; background-size: auto !important; background-attachment: scroll !important; padding-bottom: 0px !important; margin-bottom: 0px !important;\" ><div\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tclass=\"so-widget-sow-editor so-widget-sow-editor-base\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t>\n<div class=\"siteorigin-widget-tinymce textwidget\">\n\t<h2><strong>DESIGN WORKING GROUP MEETING 21-01-2026<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h2><strong>One-Page Summary<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>1) Meeting purpose \/ context<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This Design Working Group session focused on <strong>practical delivery of the Golden Thread through better design-stage information<\/strong>, with particular emphasis on <strong>classification, taxonomy, and safety-critical information<\/strong> that must remain usable through handover and into operations. The group explored how the industry can reduce rework, reduce compliance risk, and improve consistency by adopting joined-up standards and repeatable workflows, rather than bespoke approaches on every project.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>2) Key themes discussed<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>A. Golden Thread needs usable, structured information (not \u201cdata dumping\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A core message was that good design and safety work is frequently <strong>lost at handover<\/strong>, because operational teams inherit poorly structured or inconsistent information, and then have to <strong>start again<\/strong>. The meeting reinforced that the Golden Thread must be maintained through <strong>connected information flows<\/strong> (design \u2192 construction \u2192 handover \u2192 FM\/asset management), not treated as a one-off compliance output.<\/p>\n<p><strong>B. Fire stopping \/ compartmentation: modelling, evidence, and repeatability<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A significant part of the discussion was about <strong>fire stopping, builders work penetrations, and compartmentation<\/strong>\u2014and how teams are being forced into heavy manual effort (e.g., coordinated elevations) that may not be the most efficient method if the model can generate <strong>repeatable schedules and rule-based outputs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The group shared practical approaches including:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"list-style: disc;\">\n<li>Using model filtering and clash testing by <strong>fire rating<\/strong> to identify required fire stopping locations<\/li>\n<li>Using <strong>Dynamo routines<\/strong> and Excel lookups to generate model objects and opening sizes<\/li>\n<li>Coordinating against manufacturer\/system rules (e.g., deflection head constraints and spacing rules)<\/li>\n<li>Ensuring cavity\/fire stopping details are <strong>within tested\/certified limits<\/strong> and adjusted where required<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A key takeaway was that design teams are increasingly needing to <strong>model and schedule fire-stopping-related elements<\/strong>, to support traceability and installation tracking later.<\/p>\n<p><strong>C. \u201cRequired fire rating\u201d vs \u201cachieved fire rating\u201d (and over-specification risk)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The meeting highlighted a common problem: elements may be <strong>over-specified<\/strong> due to other performance drivers (e.g., acoustics), which can unintentionally inflate fire requirements and cost. The group discussed the importance of separating:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"list-style: disc;\">\n<li><strong>Fire strategy required rating<\/strong><br \/>\nvs<\/li>\n<li><strong>Partition system achieved rating<\/strong><br \/>\nThis prevents confusion and helps teams avoid unnecessary upgrades (e.g., installing fire doors everywhere when only certain compartments require them).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>D. Classification and the \u201ccommon language\u201d problem<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A major focus was the need for a <strong>common language<\/strong> across design, cost, operations, and compliance. The meeting featured discussion on why a single classification system cannot solve everything, but <strong>joined-up mappings<\/strong> can support different purposes across the lifecycle.<\/p>\n<p>Andrew Green (Atkins \/ NRM author) described the industry effort to align:<\/p>\n<p>Uniclass (design \/ structure \/ filtering)<\/p>\n<ul style=\"list-style: disc;\">\n<li><strong>NRM<\/strong> (measurement and costing)<\/li>\n<li><strong>SFG20<\/strong> (maintenance regimes)<\/li>\n<li><strong>CIBSE LifeCycle \/ \u201cLife in\u201d<\/strong> (renewal and lifecycle planning)<\/li>\n<li>This alignment is intended to reduce fragmentation and allow consistent handover into operations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>E. Real industry pain: \u201cvalidation not verification\u201d and inconsistent IM demands<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>From the chat discussion, participants shared examples where models were rejected due to <strong>tick-box validation<\/strong> (classification present) rather than <strong>verification<\/strong> (classification correct \/ meaningful). There was also frustration that multiple contractors and information managers require the same outputs (e.g., COBie) but each uses <strong>different processes\/tools<\/strong>, creating significant time cost and confusion for design teams.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>3) Practical outcomes \/ agreements<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The meeting reinforced several practical directions:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"list-style: disc;\">\n<li>The Golden Thread requires <strong>structured, auditable, and transferable information<\/strong>, not fragmented deliverables.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Fire stopping \/ compartmentation<\/strong> is a high-value topic for deeper follow-up work, including repeatable modelling + scheduling approaches.<\/li>\n<li>Industry should prioritise <strong>joined-up standards and mappings<\/strong> to reduce reinvention and enable lifecycle outcomes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>4) Actions \/ next steps raised in the meeting<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul style=\"list-style: disc;\">\n<li><strong>Follow-up<\/strong> session proposed for members interested in <strong>fire stopping \/ compartmentation<\/strong> improvements and practical workflows.<\/li>\n<li>Continue sharing learning from <strong>live projects<\/strong> going through gateway processes, including how to avoid assumptions and manage change risk through better evidence capture.<\/li>\n<li>Support development of guidance that helps clients stop asking for the <strong>wrong information<\/strong> and enables suppliers to deliver what is actually operationally useful.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DESIGN WORKING GROUP MEETING 21-01-2026 One-Page Summary 1) Meeting purpose \/ context This Design Working Group session focused on practical delivery of the Golden Thread through better design-stage information, with particular emphasis on classification, taxonomy, and safety-critical information that must remain usable through handover and into operations. The group explored how the industry can reduce&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bim4housing.com\/design\/design-working-group-meeting-21-01-2026\/\" class=\"\"><span>Read More<\/span><i>&#43;<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-684","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Design Working Group Meeting 21-01-2026 - BIM4Housing Design<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bim4housing.com\/design\/design-working-group-meeting-21-01-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Design Working Group Meeting 21-01-2026 - BIM4Housing Design\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"DESIGN WORKING GROUP MEETING 21-01-2026 One-Page Summary 1) Meeting purpose \/ context This Design Working Group session focused on practical delivery of the Golden Thread through better design-stage information, with particular emphasis on classification, taxonomy, and safety-critical information that must remain usable through handover and into operations. 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