New innovations in alternative building materials are now providing the market with more options in lightweight construction that are becoming more accessible and affordable. Lightweight construction materials have the potential to improve the sustainability and affordability of homes, depending on the location and climate they are built-in. This is both at an individual home and on a higher density scale. Lightweight construction materials include timber or lightweight steel framing, structural insulated panels, pre-fabricated products and even polystyrene building products. These materials generally have a lower embodied energy rating than heavyweight materials and may result in lower overall life cycle energy use. Lightweight materials can also respond rapidly to temperature changes and cool rapidly overnight in warmer climates. Materials can be cheaper to produce and transport, particularly to remote locations and they often require less preliminary site works. Different products can also provide the opportunity for increased design flexibility. For example, polystyrene blocks allow you to shape and finish the material in a range of different and innovative ways. Polystyrene also provides excellent insulation and can be used for walls, roofs and under floors. A testament to the rise of alternative building materials is the display home located within the 2017 UDIA Environmental Excellence Award winning estate, Osprey Waters by Mirvac. The home was designed by architect Sid Thoo and has been built with alternative, lightweight building products including structural insulated panels and recycled hardwood panelling. On a larger scale, developer Lendlease recently completed the first engineered timber office building in Australia. The International House Sydney, located in Barangaroo was constructed from cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glue laminated timber (Glulam). According to the developers, CLT has a lower carbon footprint than other building materials, the production process produces zero waste and timbers are sourced from certified sustainably managed forests. It is exciting to see the development of a range of innovative products that are providing an increasing choice to the building and development industry so they can deliver more affordable and sustainable products to the market.Using an Excavator in Sydney, NSW, actually Australia wide does not require any form of licence due to the introduction of the WHS Act 2011. In 2011, the Government introduced the Work Health & Safety Act, superseding existing legislation and making it much easier for workers to responsibly use different kinds of plant equipment. A certification is no longer needed to operate an excavator and many other kinds of equipment formerly covered by the EPC, but that doesn’t mean you can just hop on and start digging. There’s several aspects you’ll need to consider, as both an operator and manager of a jobsite. Management Responsibilities and PCBUIn the eyes of the law, the safe and appropriate use of plant equipment in general falls into the roles of responsibility and competency. The Person conducting a business or undertaking(PCBU) is ultimately responsible for what happens on the job site. For work operations that no longer require a license, they must still adhere to the following guidelines to ensure job sites and workers are safe:
Will construction robots and 3D printing replace construction workers? Only time will tell, but construction robotics and 3D printing have come a long way in a short period of time. We may see more buildings being built with robotics and 3D printing in the near future. They can be cheap to build and take a fraction of the time construction workers need to take. The technology is advancing quickly and is used in the United States, Europe, China, Australia and other countries. As the technology is perfected, prices will come down and we may see construction workers replaced by robots and 3D printing. Some construction workers will still be needed to install windows and doors, but robots may eventually be able to do those jobs, too. It may take 10 to 20 years for construction robots and 3D printing to take over the construction industry, but in the meantime, young workers should consider their priorities. Perhaps they should choose CAD computer courses instead, because input into computers is needed to construct a home or larger building with CAD drawings. We have been building homes for 6000 years using traditional methods, but robotics and 3D printing seem to be the wave of the future. Time will tell, but considering the advances made, it is only a matter of time before construction workers are replaced by robotics and 3D printing. Future generations of construction workers may have to rethink their priorities. While construction robots and 3D printing won't reach all parts of the world, they will eventually take over in large cities and new suburbs. There are a bunch of criteria that must be met before a person can obtain an owner-builder permit. Under the Home Building Act 1989, a person can get an owner-builder permit if:
A person must:
When is an owner-builder permit not required? An owner-builder permit is not required when:
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July 2019
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