Page 34 - HW Oct 2022

frame & truss
Modular component certification scheme almost ready
Live since September, BuiltReady is the new voluntary modular component scheme which will allow manufacturers who meet certain requirements to access a streamlined consenting pathway if they can provide certificates covering their design and/or manufacturing processes.
BuiltReady modular components will be deemed to comply with the Building Code and with a certificate issued by a registered manufacturer must be accepted by BCAs as meeting Code requirements when used in accordance with details on the certificate.
MBIE is currently developing guidance and information for certification bodies and manufacturers who may be interested in participating in the scheme and for building consent authorities, and consumers, to provide further detail on the scheme.
MBIE has also published scheme rules, which support the Building Act and relevant regulations with further detailed requirements for the scheme.
BuiltReady will be open for applications from certification bodies in late 2022 and open for applications from manufacturers in 2023.
Full details are available on Building Performance’s website under the shortened URL below.
https://bit.ly/3yQa9qv
including but not exclusively Posi-STRUT, along with stick timber and I-beams as well as trying out steel.
Other frame & truss operators however have been just too flat tack to try new methods.
“When things just got too crazy, a lot of people just pulled the covers down and just said, we’ll park things for now – it’s just too crazy out there – we’ll come back when the weather’s a bit better, so to speak,” adds Peter Carruthers.
Also reflecting just how busy frame & truss has been, Steve White and Pryda were due to roll out the SpeedTruss Truss Installation System across New Zealand last year but confirm that its local roll-out will now be revisited in the coming months, as well as an expansion of the FastFix screw range with some new applications set for launch this spring.
“Screws is where the market is heading,” says Steve. “Straps and nail-on fixings will be replaced by screws.”
Another project which we talked about last year but did not pan out as expected, was PlaceMakers’ plan for a second dedicated plant producing cassette floors.
Although PlaceMakers “had the rug pulled out” from under their feet just before Christmas, the Auckland plant is now set to start up soon, according to Mark Buckenham, with machinery being installed as I write.
WHAT PRICE A RETURN TO “NORMAL”?
With timber supply no longer an obstacle, and plasterboard coming right due to reduced demand, labour remains a key pinch point. What’s the sector outlook?
For the FTMA, Peter Carruthers says: “My synthesis of it all is I think there is a reasonable chance there’ll be a reasonably orderly glide down.
“There will be a few bumps and rough patches, but I think most of the people I speak to are reasonably optimistic.
“The biggest concern is how far will it fall?
“If we drop back to mid-30,000s, I think that would be a pretty good number for a lot of people, including those that have actually installed or have ordered new equipment to make their operations more resilient and less prone to labour shortages.
“Unless you’re outrageously maxed out in terms of borrowing for new equipment that you won’t be able to utilise economically, I think most people are feeling reasonably confident, barring other extraordinary events.”
“Mid-30,000s would be a pretty good number for a lot of people, including those that have actually installed or have ordered new equipment to make their operations more resilient and less prone to labour shortages”
Steve White at Pryda is also predicting “a return to normal work demand,” bringing with it “a little bit of breathing room to allow people to actually start to focus on their businesses again, the things they have learned over the last two years and then how they can implement that into a better system or processes.
“We will see an increase in headspace where people will have the time now to start to look at how they’re doing things or what they’re providing to their customers and if they need to change that up to meet a softening market.”
32 NZHJ | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022
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