Raising the profile

With the construction industry increasingly looking for methods which meet the mantra of "low cost and low carbon" it is small wonder that many are turning to the engineered timber products sector to provide solutions.

The arguments are well rehearsed. Using engineered timber, much of the construction process can be moved to stable, predictable, efficient factory environments, rather than the time-consuming building site conditions, and build-times can be shortened by up to 80%.

Prefabricated units, sections, panels and beams can be completed at the factory and delivered to the site as kits. In this manner, for example, a prefabricated five-storey wooden building can be completed in just 10 weeks - once foundations have been cast - compared with on-site concrete construction which can sometimes take up to a year to complete.

On-site assembly time can be just a few working days, with the rest of the build time taken up with water, sewage and electricity connections, interior and facade finishings.

So a greater number of buildings can be constructed with the same resource investments in labour and equipment, while transport costs can be reduced. Unexpected risks are minimized as sections of many buildings can be delivered as close to finished as possible.

In addition, the fact that timber products sequester carbon during growth phase, require low-energy input during manufacture and act as a carbon store during their productive life, puts them at the forefront of high-performance, low carbon materials. Indeed, engineered timber products can often be used as viable alternatives to higher emission materials such as steel and concrete in many circumstances as high-rise buildings such as Bridport House and Murray Grove (the Stadthaus) in Hackney clearly demonstrate.

Despite these advantages, there is still a long way to go in terms of achieving full market acceptance and awareness of the properties and potential of this sector.

With this in mind, the Timber Trade Federation formed the Engineered Timber Products Forum earlier this year. The Forum has clear aims and objectives to help develop the profile, acceptance, understanding and market share of the sector and includes members from the full spectrum of products, functions and services within the engineered timber sector.

As with many emerging industries, elements of the engineered timber product sector often operate in isolation. As such, guidance, information, support and market communication can be patchy. Furthermore, commercial pressures can restrict the ways in which manufacturers and suppliers can interact. The cumulative effect reduces innovation, collaboration and understanding - vital characteristics when looking to grow or introduce new construction methods.

Sharing resources
To counter such handicaps the Forum operates in an open and pre-competitive fashion to share resources. Acting collectively it can drive the use of engineered products.

Members also benefit from the Forum being open to representation from all professions - suppliers and manufacturers to engineers, contractors and architects. The wide scope helps give a full understanding of the needs involved throughout each stage of a built environment project and to help develop and share information on issues such as carbon footprinting and life cycle assessment.

Work has already begun on identifying barriers to specification of engineered timber products and opportunities for growth within the construction market. The Forum will be consulting a wide range of built environment professionals and the timber supply chain through a series of focus groups. Using this evidence base, along with an accompanying report, members are showing they can join forces to promote the use of engineered timber and ease specification.

The Forum will also soon be delivering the TTF Engineered Timber Seminars - a series of talks for architects, engineers and specifiers that showcase the benefits of engineered timber products and give members the chance to network directly with potential clients.

Since inception, the Forum has enjoyed the support of the industry as a whole, with attendance and debate at the roundtable meetings being healthy and progressive. It has also benefited from facilitation by the TTF, with the team's expertise in the commercial, technical, sustainability, communication and promotional aspects of the sector as well as strong administration and representational support.

This is an exciting time for the engineered timber sector. Through the work of Wood for Good's 'Wood First' campaign, Hackney Borough Council and some other local authorities are considering introducing planning guidance to promote the use of timber in new buildings for its sustainability and practical qualities. We can support that by working together to ensure that all of the demand side queries and requirements can be met, while the supply side solutions can be promoted.

The engineered timber sector is set for major growth in the UK and can act as a vehicle to push the wider benefits of timber to the construction sector. There are benefits for the whole supply chain in this, but we must keep working together to achieve it.