Author: Various
24 June 2025
Various
Members: £45 + VAT Standard: £70 + VAT
Structural engineers must fully understand their responsibilities as the designer in relation to suppliers, manufacturers, and contractor proposed products. In the UK, these duties have been newly strengthened due to the Building Safety Act. While some products might be quality controlled or assured, others might be “novel” or proprietary. In this dynamic landscape, structural engineers are now tasked with a heightened responsibility for the verification and use of products – particularly those that are non-standard. Engineers must have a comprehensive understanding of not only how the product was tested but also how it will work in their specific project.
Understand responsibilities in verifying Declarations of Performance (DoPs) as a designer
Appreciate the duties of competence for all structural engineers
Review case studies of using tested and non-tested products
Hanna sits on the BSI standards committee B/555 – Construction design, modelling and data exchange and on the steering group for BS 8644:2021 – Digital management of Fire Safety Information for Design, Construction, Handover and Emergency Response. Code of Practice. Hanna also sat on the Advisory Group for BSI Flex 8670 v3.0 Built environment – Overarching framework for competence of individuals – Specification and on the Advisory Group for the upcoming BS 8670.
Beginning his career at the Building Research Establishment (BRE), Hywel spent over 25 years working at the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE), leading on the development of numerous guidance titles. He received an Honorary Fellowship from the Institution in 2023 in recognition of his contribution to CIBSE and to the wider industry. As a leader within the built environment, Hywel currently chairs the BSI committee on Information Management and Data Exchange and is deputy chair of the Construction Industry Council Building Safety Committee. He serves as a member of the Building Advisory Committee of the Building Safety Regulator, having been the last chair of the Building Regulations Advisory Committee before its 2023 dissolution.
Chris O’Regan is a Chartered Structural Engineer who has been working in the field of structural engineering for over 35 years and draws from his experience from developing structures for a large variety of buildings ranging from music halls through to stadia and everything in between. Chris is a member of the Building Safety Advisory Panel, which is a multi-discipline group set up by the Engineering Council as part of its support to the industry wide implementation of the Building Safety Act 2022, which Chris has been actively involved with advising built-environment industry professionals on its impact and how it will affect the method of design of buildings. In addition to the above, Chris is the current Chair of the joint committee of the HRB Competency Register and is listed within it following a peer review of his competence in relation to designing, constructing, and modifying higher risk buildings
Gillian leads the team in the Edinburgh office and has been with Will Rudd since starting as a Project Engineer in 2005. Prior to this, she worked as both a contractor and a consultant all over the UK. She has design and construction experience in all major construction materials and experience in retail, residential, commercial and public buildings, amongst other things. Gillian was appointed as a Director at Will Rudd in 2015 and since then has built up her experience in leading and developing the business culminating in being appointed Managing Director in 2020.
A lunchtime technical talk hosted by the Northern Ireland hub
Mass timber design for structural engineers — from fire performance to structural stability, this comprehensive three-part webinar series explores the engineering of mass timber structures.