Singapore Structural Steel Society delegation visits CSC

Managing Directors, John Brennan and Sue Sharples, took the group on an extended tour of the facilities in their building. Barrett [who have achieved the BS EN 14001:2009 Environmental Management System accreditation and have been awarded a Gold Standard under the BCSA (British Constructional Steelwork Association) Sustainability Charter], are known for their forward-thinking in the area of sustainable construction.

The delegation returned to CSC's offices for a buffet lunch and a presentation by Neil Hooton from Arup's Leeds Office. As a link to the morning session Neil used structural models derived from CSC's structural engineering software.

Following the presentation the delegates donned 'Hi Viz' jackets and protective hard hats, provided by Arup, for a site visit in Leeds with Arup representatives.

CSC was pleased to welcome a party of Singaporean engineers to their offices in Pudsey. The delegation's focus was on Sustainable Construction - the adoption of materials and products in buildings, which will require less use of natural resources and more use of alternative construction materials like steel and recycled materials. To enhance the understanding of Sustainable Construction, the BCA [Building and Construction Authority] led the party to the UK to visit steel; steel composite construction and fabrication works. The visit served as a platform for the exchange of knowledge on the design and construction of projects, using Sustainable Construction.

As part of the week-long visit to the UK - the delegation had a full agenda for their Friday in Yorkshire. Despite the truly awful weather which was doing its best to dampen proceedings, the group was welcomed to CSC by Chris George - CSC's Business Services Director. Chris spent two years living in Singapore with his family in the mid-1990's when CSC opened their first

overseas offices, and there were one or two familiar faces in the audience as Chris took the delegates through a presentation on the effective use of software for building design models. Alan Rathbone, CSC's Chief Engineer, who is closely involved with the development of Eurocode software within CSC, gave an overview of the current status of Eurocodes. With Singapore committed to adopting the Eurocodes as the replacement for the current British Standard design codes, this created a significant amount of interest and Alan's experience, gained from working within a number of Eurocode bodies in the UK, was of great appeal to the delegates.

After their visit to CSC - the delegates were taken to Barrett Steel Buildings, where Joint