Michael James presented “Security versus Means of Escape”at the ABC (Association of Building Compliance) Conference, which was based around achieving compliance and how we might be able to overcome some compliance challenges.
We often don’t appreciate the value of compliance until something goes wrong or we are faced with the challenge of bringing something up to an agreed level of compliance in order to “comply”. It is here we work through the process of dealing with building owners and other key stakeholders, each with their own ideas and interpretations on how to achieve “Compliance”. What is compliance? Is upgrading to new standards improving compliance or just adding cost? Compliance is being constantly challenged, do we have the knowledge to counter-challenge?
Attendees at the ABC 2018 Conference & Exhibition on August 22 and 23 looked at the challenges of compliance that Councils, Compliance Managers and IQPs face in regard to achieving Compliance and how we might be able to overcome some of these compliance challenges.
Michael James presented at this Conference, his address entitled “Security versus Means of Escape”. Michael started by looking at the importance of locks in our lives, businesses and homes. His presentation including looking at regulations and compliance issues, security versus ready egress considerations, and a case study leading to conclusions about lock use in buildings.
Michael observes, “maintaining security versus being able to easily escape are important but often diametrically opposed building requirements. While the Building Code compliance documents give some guidance on how to achieve it, it is not possible to cover all eventualities. My goal in this presentation was to help people think through the issues of security and escape and to be able to decide on the best course of action when the rules do not explicitly state what to do.”
