ABR-Online Edition One




	News & Events	Sponsors
Dear Building Practitioner Welcome to the inaugural edition of the electronic ABRB. This medium presents a good opportunity for me, as General Manager of the Australian Building Codes Board, to keep you up to date with contemporary issues affecting our industry. Recent upheavals in global financial markets have prompted immediate and substantial responses from governments around the world. The building and construction industry in Australia may not be immune from the impact of such events. The ABCB recognises that getting good regulatory practice in place is doubly important at such times. Our industry will need to adjust to the new economic landscape, particularly in response to any negative fallout. More than ever, reform of the building regulatory regime has become an imperative. It is critical that any inefficiencies in the system do not undermine Government initiatives to stimulate building and construction activity by persisting with policy and administrative settings that impose avoidable compliance and regulatory costs on practitioners and consumers. Against this backdrop, the ABCB has plenty of things on the horizon. We are expecting busy times ahead as we respond to Council of Australian Governments (COAG) directions on climate change and a possible new National Construction Code that could consolidate all on-site regulatory requirements. I encourage you to participate in our National Seminar Series for 2009. The Series kicks off in February and will be held in each capital city. This will be an ideal opportunity to hear about forthcoming changes to the Code in 2009 and beyond and to answer questions you may have about building regulatory matters. For further information on the seminars please log onto our website at www.abcb.gov.au Yours sincerely Ivan Donaldson General Manager	ABCB's International Conference 2009 Contact Location Dates ABCB's National Seminars 2009 Calendar of Events
Articles	Sponsor Showcases
FEATURE - Slips, Trips and Falls in Buildings The Board recently commissioned the Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) to study the incidence of slips, trips and falls and their relationship to the design and construction of buildings... That study is now complete and the findings show the problem is significant. Globally, falls represent the 2nd largest cause of unintentional injuries and deaths after road traffic accidents. In Australia each year there are over 500 fatal falls recorded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and over 110,000 hospital admissions resulting from falls in buildings and these numbers are increasing as the population ages. This compares with 110 deaths and 3,300 injuries in 2006 related to fires... read more Edition Supporter Editorial - Miglas Be smart and seal the weakest point in a building with the best double glazed windows and doors in Australia. Miglas – Green & Efficient!... read more World Trade Centre Collapse A three year investigation led by the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) into the World Trade Centre (WTC) collapse was completed in 2005. The international Code Council (ICC) has now approved 12 recommendations from the final report... read more World Sustainable Building Conference SB08 The World Sustainable Building (SB) Conference series is the peak gathering of the world’s leading technical experts and researchers on sustainability... read more BCA Technical Support - Just a Phone Call Away We have been able to further refine our order processing, provide a new Express Courier distribution service, improve the BCA online product... read more Beyond Imagination - China's Amazing CCTV Building With a total floor space of 473,000 m2...CCTV Building was praised as one of the most visionary design, which pushed the limits of architecture and structural engineering... read more Nickel Sulphate Glass Failures This article reviews some of the recent developments with the heat soaking of toughened glass to minimise the risk of spontaneous breakage of installed toughened glass...read more Discovering your ABCB Website In the future the Online Shop will be changing to a fully integrated 'Shopping Cart' allowing existing subscribers access to their own information and renew their BCA product selection at the click of a button... read more	Solatube Combining Spectralight Infinity Tubing and Raybender 3000 Technology with an insulating dome, the Solatube 750 DS Daylighting System produces four times more light than similar products... read more Conergy Conergy is one of the world's leading companies dedicated solely to renewable energy... read more Solahart Including Solahart water heaters as a standard inclusion in your home can help you meet regulations and benefit your bottom line. And with hot water free from the sun, your new homeowners will enjoy all the great benefits of reduced energy consumption for many years to come... read more RoofRack Launch Raises the Roof Information including launch dates... read more