海角视频

Material passports are emerging as a key industry tool to deliver successful end-of-life strategies focused on enabling building reuse.

海角视频 is involved in the UKGBC Circular Economy Forum and the Orms working group on material passports, both of which are important avenues for generating discussion on the challenges and opportunities associated with implementing these passports. Although the process of delivering material passports may initially seem daunting, the most important step for every industry player is to simply start somewhere.鈥�鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

In collaboration with the facilities management team at 海角视频, Q Flow, and BW Contractors, the sustainability team at 海角视频 decided to use our new London office fit-out in The Featherstone Building as a materials passport pilot opportunity. The landlord, Derwent London, was fully supportive of these efforts.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Enabling material reuse at end-of-life is often a key objective for developing material passports. Given the high fit-out turnover rates and the typically short life spans of furniture, fixtures and equipment (FFE), passports can also enable better the reuse of materials during their in-use phases and support the optimal repair and maintenance of materials to extend longevity. Input from facilities management was crucial to ensure the passports would be practical during building operations. 

For this pilot project, 海角视频 focused on select high carbon and high value items, such as the timber staircase, fan coil units and lighting, instead of creating passports for every individual item. The information categories for the passports were based on existing industry guidance and tailored with input from facilities management. This prioritisation focused on gathering information for warranties, embodied carbon, and disassembly. A blank Excel database was created and populated with as-built information which is now stored in the internal facilities management system.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

BW used Q Flow鈥檚 scanning technology to match delivered products with those in the passport database, automating the flow of relevant information. This trial provided several valuable  lessons for the team: 

Documentation is decentralised鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Project teams handle various information sources, including material specifications, technical specifications, drawings, in-design BIM models, as-built BIM models, and sub-contractor documentation. Design team members, contractors and sub-contractors have different responsibilities and workflows. Translating information from the theoretical plans to actual installations in a building requires a single thread of truth from design to construction. Without centralised information, inputting as-built data into passports may involve reviewing drawings, examining project submittals, and following up with subcontractors鈥攁 time-consuming process that can significantly delay progress.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

It’s crucial to establish at the outset where information will be centralised and documented. This can start with the BIM model export or a basic material spreadsheet provided that clear expectations are set for where information will be collated.鈥�鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Not all products are easily identifiable鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Construction sites typically receive thousands of materials and products.. These can arrive in various forms: ready-made (e.g. lighting fixtures), requiring assembly (e.g. joinery products that arrive separately and need to be assembled), or as temporary works not intended for the final design (e.g. formwork). It can be challenging to track where specific materials end up in the design and teams may not always know the total number of parts or if they will all arrive simultaneously.鈥疶his complicates the inclusion of assembly and disassembly instructions in the product’s material passport.鈥�鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

One way to address this challenge is by ensuring that naming conventions are consistently aligned.鈥�鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Aligning naming conventions across information databases is crucial

Uniform naming conventions ensure that all parts and materials are easily identifiable and traceable throughout the product lifecycle. This reduces confusion and errors, especially when dealing with complex products with multiple components. It also facilitates easier retrieval of information in the future and allows for interoperability between systems.鈥�鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

When delivery tickets are used to generate material passports, the product name must match those on the schedules. This is not always the case, and such discrepancies can cause confusion.鈥疷niclass codes have been proposed as a method to align naming conventions. If using uniclass codes, it is important that schedules also include this naming. Therefore, it is critical to agree on naming conventions and centralise documentation during the early product stages (Stages 3-4). 

Aligning with BIM

There was general consensus that a post-construction BIM model would be the ideal place to store information as it would provide the exact location of each product. However, several challenges were identified:

Data integration: Using Q Flow did not allow for as-built data to be directly translated into the BIM model. Instead, a manual uploading exercise would have been needed.鈥�鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Document limitations: Revit models are limited in what documentation they can store. Material passports are often stored separately, leading to desynchronization with the Revit model. Manual updates would be needed, which at this point were not a part of the facilities management workflow. Health and safety requirements would also require some of the information stored in passports to be stored on a separate database, duplicating efforts.鈥�鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Health and safety requirements: Some information in material passports must be stored in a separate database for health and safety reasons, resulting in duplicated efforts.  

Having two separate databases may require manual updates whenever changes occur. However, if the same product classification systems are used across these sources, automatic matching may be possible.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Despite these challenges, BIM models could still serve as a final source of truth if these issues are addressed and considered early in the project.鈥�鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Key Takeaway鈥�聽

While gathering all the sources of product data presents its own set of challenges compiling information to support future material recovery is a straightforward concept, and achievable with the right level of data cataloguing. An important aspect to consider when preparing material passports is their future use. Engaging the asset owner, facility manager, and supply chain members early in the process is critical to realising the future value of material recovery.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Contributors: Q Flow, BW Contractors, The Furniture Practice鈥�&苍产蝉辫;