The BBA has launched a range of new services for building product manufacturers to support innovation during the development stage. Whilst full BBA Agrément approval may be on any serious building product manufacturer's agenda this is geared very much at products that are fully developed and site tested. To date there have been no services available to assist the manufacturer during the development process.
A Product Development Analysis (PDA) is now available from the BBA to coincide with the scoping phase of a product development in which the BBA will provide its opinion on the key performance characteristics required from the product, proposed methods of testing such characteristics, building regulations which should be taken into account during development and options open to the manufacturer in future certification. The intention of the PDA is therefore to assist the manufacturer in ensuring that a development is scoped correctly at inception.
A new form of time limited certificate called a Prototype Product Assessment (PPA) will also be available at the product validation stage of a development. This is designed to provide independent information to specifiers, building control personnel, contractors and procurers considering the use of the product as part of the manufacturer’s site-proving program. Like conventional BBA Agrément approval, the PPA process will consider the critical performance areas relevant to the product. These are likely to include Building Regulations compliance, functional capability, application benefits and limitations.
A key element in the production of the PPA will be the use of Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and associated techniques developed in the aeronautics and other high-tech industries to assess residual risk arising from very new and prototype products used by these industries. Key FMEA considerations are probability of failure, its ease of detection and severity of outcome. Within each of these a judgement is made and a score of 1 to 5 given, with 1 low and 5 high. Each category score is multiplied with the others and a total score calculated. This enables risk comparisons to be made between the prototype and well-established products familiar to the industry and set this alongside its benefits.
The first PPA issued by the BBA is for a flood-resisting airbrick, known as the Smart Airbrick, marketed by Eco Coverage Technologies. This is a product at the prototype stage of its life cycle that provides a potential solution to water ingress from unexpected flooding. The results of this assessment, including the FMEA results, are set out in the PPA for the Smart Airbrick, available via the link in the external website section on this page.
BBA Chief Executive Greg Cooper states, ‘These new services have been designed to dovetail with best practice stage-gate management of product development projects and we believe they will provide innovators with a greater range of options when seeking independent certification of their products.’
