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Windows for Social Housing

Reality bites: confronting our progress and set-backs—An update on the Welsh Timber Windows project

November 23, 2021 by admin


It all sounded so straight forward: Bring some interested joinery businesses together, agree a joint window specification based on the type of windows they currently manufacture to PAS24 standard, define protocols and processes, then get certification. Done.
From the outset, we knew it would be more complex than that, of course. There are the technical aspects, requirements for group assessments, questions of capacity, business terms and agreements and then there are aspects of human interaction, the notion of collaboration and change in an environment defined by competitiveness and relatively low margins. What we didn’t anticipate was Covid and the ensuing run on wooden windows. The high demand has not subsided since it first started in summer 2020 and is forecast to last at least until next spring. This has put our participating joiners under massive pressure and forced us to embrace a stop-and-go approach in our project progress.
Our project set out to support local joinery businesses as well as social housing landlords and developers in Wales by linking up the supply chain and resolving current barriers to adoption of low-carbon high quality timber windows. If local joinery businesses are already at capacity and our project is adding another burden to their work, then we need to challenge our approach.
How could we alter our current approach to suit the needs of existing manufacturers and clients? What could alternatives to our group scheme look like? Should we investigate options to set up a Welsh window manufacturing cooperative with investment from Welsh Government and/or Housing Associations which specifically supplies the social housing sector and integrates a training and employment programme for social housing tenants? Should we look at inward investment and joint ventures with Welsh timber frame manufacturers? How can we tap into the collective intelligence of our network to create a good solution?

A year has passed and still no window?

Our last public update on the project dates from about a year ago, so what happened since then?
Based on feedback from social housing landlords, we had agreed on specifications for a standard casement window fit for the current market, with a high-performance window in line with future demand to be further developed in a second step. The original specification, agreed in November 2020, has marginally changed through the collaboration of three vanguard joinery businesses who have benefited from the SMART Innovation programme support. While businesses are ready to manufacture a prototype for simulation and testing, we are now awaiting the publication of the latest standards – PAS24/2020 – as do our hardware suppliers. These will determine requirements for Secured by Design certification and specifically which hardware we can choose. Unfortunately, this causes another delay in the project.
In the meantime, we’re working with Welsh Government officials to find a suitable solution for group assessment and certification with Secured by Design.

Business matters – who coordinates tenders and contracts

Over the past few months, we had discussions with joinery businesses, housing associations and local authorities to establish how we could best organise the coordination of tenders and contracts between one client – developer/social landlord or their principal contractor – and a number of manufacturers supplying windows to the same project.

Given the three options above, both clients and manufacturers expressed a shared preference for the “neutral vendor”. The consortium model has very few takers among joiners and direct sales is not in the client’s interest where several manufacturers are involved in the windows supply. This is particularly interesting, given that the Neutral Vendor is a concept gleaned from the recruitment sector, and was suggested as an ‘out of the box’ option by a joinery business in our community. We are now working with a small group of manufacturers and clients to explore how the Neutral Vendor model can work in practice. We are considering all aspects including pricing, branding and marketing.

Managing material price and shortages

Another area of shared interest between clients and manufacturers is the potential for procurement efficiencies by establishing a buying group and reflecting such cost efficiencies in the window pricing. The focus of such joint procurement would be on types of material where price points can be achieved. In the current situation of material shortages, long lead times and price hikes, some manufacturers suggested to negotiate orders with price freezes with suppliers of timber, glazing or hardware for the period from bidding to actual purchase.
In this context, some clients requested manufacturers hold stock of any elements that might require replacing over the mid- to long term, such as hinges and handles. The client’s focus on whole-life-costs needs to be considered in procurement approaches and material choices by the window supplier. This prospective look on future costs is a question of quality and trust.

What ensures quality and trust?

Quality assurance is very important for clients and joinery manufacturers alike. This accounts as much for the relationship between the window suppliers and the client as it does for the relationship between the joiners in the group. Manufacturers are crucially aware that in a group scheme their commercial success and reputation ultimately depends on consistent quality of products and services across all businesses. If anyone fails, the impact will be felt by all.
In addition to Secured By Design auditing, joiners suggest making BWF membership a mandatory requirement for all manufacturers of the Welsh timber window. They would demand installers to be FENSA registered and to have proven experience installing timber windows. Guidance on all processes such as transport, storage on site and installation would be specified in writing. The same would apply to maintenance instructions. In the case of damage and defects, each manufacturer would be responsible for sorting issues within their scope for the goods they delivered. To facilitate this, each window would be traceable to the manufacturer.

Whole-Life approach: carbon, cost and maintenance

The whole life approach being championed in the new Welsh Development Quality Requirements (WDQR) introduced in October 2021 has an instant impact on how social housing developers and landlords consider building elements. We believe this is good news for the specification of high-quality timber windows but does increase the information requirements of the client. This includes relevant information on lifespan guaranteed, whole life costs and maintenance cycles, whole life carbon performance and Environmental Product Declarations (EPD).
Our discussions with housing asset managers have raised some concerns. Costs for scaffolding to re-coat upper-floor windows, potential for sagging in certain types of windows as a function of window weight against hinges, ease of cleaning and general need for regular maintenance rank at the top of the list. As part of this we are exploring the benefits of inward opening windows for cleaning, maintenance and repair. These types of windows are standard throughout continental Europe. However, like all building elements windows are part of a system and we need to clarify what else would need to change, e.g. in the way they are installed or positioned within the window reveal, to better accommodate timber windows in Welsh social housing.
While a number of recent housing developments in Wales and across the UK feature inward opening windows, we still encounter frequent concerns that windows won’t open when tenants choose to have blinds installed, that residents can no longer use the inside window sills for ornaments, that these European style windows look out of place in Welsh housing, that water will come in when windows are opened after rainfall etc. We are curious to learn from social housing landlords who have chosen inward opening windows, how they have dealt with these perceived issues in practice. Have outside shutters been installed to offer enhanced security and shading? How have blinds been installed to allow window opening? What were the tenants’ reactions?

Challenging our approach

This all may sound quite exciting, but the hard reality is that we have a project delay of over 12 months. More and more social housing developers ask us where they can get hold of SBD certified timber windows whilst most joinery businesses tell us they are continuously working beyond capacity and there is no end in sight. Clients confirm they struggle to get quotes from Welsh manufacturers.
There are a number of concerns from joiners regarding payment terms and expected turnaround of orders for commercial projects like social housing. Many small businesses pay weekly wages. Payment terms for commercial contracts are 60-90 days. Turnaround is often expected within 6 weeks. Material costs are volatile. This mix threatens smaller businesses’ cash flow. A larger project which appears lucrative on the surface may take a window manufacturer into administration if there are delays or unforeseen costs or it may not be financially feasible from the outset.
For most joinery businesses participation in the project is mostly not driven by commercial consideration but by community interest – it’s a good thing to do. Investment in tooling is driven by the prospect of demand for the ‘new’ windows but joiners are unsure how much demand there will actually be, all while trying to juggle full order books and staff shortages for the last 18 months. At some point they will need to breathe. Innovation and collaboration demand considerable time commitment and head space. Both seem not easily available at present or in the near future.
Our project set out to support local joinery businesses as well as social housing landlords and developers in Wales by linking up the supply chain and resolving current barriers to adoption of low-carbon high quality timber windows. If local joinery businesses are already at capacity and our project is adding another burden to their work, then we need to challenge our approach.
How could we alter our current approach to suit the needs of existing manufacturers and clients? What could we learn from community finance projects to help small businesses with temporary cash flow issues in larger commercial projects?
What could alternatives to our group scheme look like? Should we investigate options to set up a Welsh window manufacturing cooperative with investment from Welsh Government and/or Housing Associations which specifically supplies the social housing sector and integrates a training and employment programme for social housing tenants? Should we look at inward investment and joint ventures with Welsh timber frame manufacturers?
We’re not asking for answers on a postcard. Instead, we invite you to get in touch and share your thoughts and ideas on this matter with us. The only way we can create a good solution is by tapping into the collective intelligence of our network and beyond.
Find more about the Welsh Timber Windows project.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Foundational Economy, Home Grown Homes, Windows, Windows for Social Housing

Making the Foundational Economy happen – with joinery

December 11, 2020 by admin

What if we could agree on a joint specification for a Welsh timber window that meets all requirements for the social housing sector in Wales, in particular Secured by Design certification?  This was our starting point in December 2019. Today we’re in the middle of improving workshop set-ups across various joinery businesses in Wales ready for production and certification of our Welsh window in 2021.

Covid-19 increases demand for joinery

Due to the pandemic, progress on the project has been a little slower than expected. Joinery businesses have been overwhelmed with demand for windows and doors after the first lockdown. For many, this unprecedented spike in demand has created lead-in times of up to 14 weeks. With all hands on deck, we had to adjust our planning to move forward – slow but steady.

Meeting client specifications

What does the client want? What do they specify and what do they buy in the end? To find out which expectations in terms of technical performance and price our Welsh window should meet, over the summer we launched a series of surveys with social housing developers, contractors, and timber frame manufacturers.

Simple does it – with rising expectations

Our survey results indicated that most clients specify and procure a simple casement window for new builds as much as retrofit projects. While specifiers request standard u-values of 1.4-1.6W/m2k for current new builds. The industry expects future developments to require windows that achieve performance criteria equivalent to Passivhaus standard, i.e. <0.8W/m2k.
Based on the comparison of recently procured windows in social housing, including uPVC, aluminium and composite windows, we agreed on specifications for a standard window fit for the current market as well as a high-performance window in line with future demand.

Defining joint protocols and processes

Making the same window to the same specification is one thing, achieving identical protocols and processes to meet group assessment requirements is another. Sharing protocols and processes with each other to agree on a common way forward is proof of the strong commitment the participating Welsh joinery businesses have demonstrated to make the project happen in the midst of the current public health crisis and pressures on manufacturing.

Smart innovation for better output

With support from Welsh Government’s SMART Innovation programme we are now investigating the individual potential to improve manufacturing processes and standardise these across participating joinery businesses. Once this has been accomplished, we will finally move into prototype production and submit specimens for testing.

Group assessment and business solutions

In the meantime, we are still in discussion with Secured by Design to define procedures for group assessment and certification. We are also working to establish options for management of the scheme in the future. These will be discussed and agreed with participating joinery businesses and clients.

Pilot schemes wanted

While we’re still busy covering all bases for future successful window production across many different joinery businesses in Wales, we are already looking for social housing developments to implement the Welsh timber window in spring or early summer 2021. These can be either new build or retrofit projects.
For details contact Christiane Lellig – christiane.lellig@woodknowledgewales.co.uk.
Read the latest updates from the Home-Grown Homes project here – www.woodknowledge.wales/news/home-grown-homes-updates-december-2020.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Windows for Social Housing

Developing a Welsh Wooden Windows Specification for Social Housing

May 18, 2020 by admin

On 5 May 2020 in the midst of a national lockdown with most joinery businesses closed, 15 participants from across the joinery sector kicked off a Welsh Government funded two-year programme to develop a Welsh wooden window specification for social housing with an online workshop.

Welsh joinery industry passionate to act

Activities setting up the project had started when the lockdown was announced. In accordance with recommendations from our network we waited until after Easter to approach joinery businesses to discuss how to take the project forward in the light of the coronavirus crisis. The feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive. Within several hours we received calls and emails from various joinery businesses showing great interest to go ahead with a first meeting whilst we’re all in lockdown. Our kick-off workshop was subsequently scheduled for 5 May 2020.

Images of timber windows made in Wales. Left hand side and middle images of windows being manufactured by Williams Homes Ltd from Accoya acetylated wood. Right hand side a window made from Welsh larch by Custom Precision Joinery.  

Ramping up capacity for future demand

Housing associations across Wales are indicating that they are interested in using more wooden windows in the future. The benefits of wooden windows in social housing are compelling: Improved performance, reduced whole life cost, improved sustainability and higher quality. Over the next few years, 20,000 homes will need to be built in Wales. This is the time push for timber windows as a standard solution for social housing.

From specification to market impact

Over the past 18 months, Woodknowledge Wales has received several requests from social housing developers to help find Welsh window suppliers. Alas, at present wooden windows manufactured in Wales often cannot be specified because they are not third party certified to meet the Secured by Design (Gold) standard – a Development Quality Requirement (DQR) requirement for social housing in Wales.
In practice, most windows are built to standards set out in PAS24 and Part Q of the building regulations and do meet the Gold standard requirements but aren’t third party certified for a variety of reasons, including costs that are too high for the majority of small joinery businesses.
We want to overcome this roadblock by developing a set of standard specifications with agreed technical solutions that will be SBD certified. As part of our kick-off workshop we have discussed a joint approach with joinery businesses in Wales to take this forward through a series of workshops and discussions.
Once the technical specification is agreed, we will develop a solution to broker tenders for windows manufactured to the agreed specification. This will allow small to medium sized joinery businesses to deliver windows for projects that would normally be too large for each of them to manufacture and supply to on their own.
The technical solutions and the brokerage system will be tested in a pilot project. We will take on board lessons learned and deal with teething problems before launching a 12-months CPD (Continuing Professional Development) programme and marketing campaign for wooden windows made in Wales.

Wales is leading the way

Wales is currently leading the way on this agenda. This is the only project developing an agreed standard specification for wooden windows in the UK at present. The project team is in frequent contact with the BWF and further industry bodies across the sector who are supportive of the agenda.

Availability and use of Welsh timber

The priority of the project is to grow the joinery sector in Wales. Hence, our primary focus is on the capacity to deliver timber windows made in Wales. As the supply chain develops further our focus will gravitate more and more towards increasing the use of local timber.
To accommodate for this, it was agreed to develop a standard specification that works with Welsh timber and will be suitable for a maximum number of small and medium sized joinery manufacturers in Wales.

Wooden windows for a low-carbon society

The Welsh timber windows project fits into Woodknowledge Wales’ big ambition to turn Wales into a high-value forest nation – using high-quality timber from our forests for joinery and construction rather than fence posts and garden sleepers.
Welsh Government is highly supportive of the project because it responds to two significant agenda items; to tackle the climate emergency and to support the foundational economy in Wales.
Woodknowledge Wales’ ambition is to make sustainable wooden windows made in Wales a standard in social housing over the course of the next decade. While we are still a long way off from this target, we are working hard to develop the supply chain that can respond to an increased demand in Welsh timber windows from social housing developers as they decarbonise their assets and deliver low-carbon developments.

How to get involved

Joinery manufacturers who are interested in helping define the future of wooden windows in social housing and would like to get involved should contact our project lead, Christiane Lellig (christiane.lellig@woodknowledgewales.co.uk).

Filed Under: News, Uncategorized Tagged With: Home Grown Homes, Windows for Social Housing

Standard window design for social housing a step closer?

January 30, 2020 by admin

Woodknowledge Wales are working on a dedicated timber windows supply chain programme to be delivered together with the industry in 2020-21. Let us know if you would like to be involved! See below for the summary of our December workshop.
On a cold winter’s day, a group of 16 joinery manufacturers, housing associations and suppliers came together in mid Wales to discuss how best to harness the potential for timber windows in Social Housing in Wales. Focussing on viable supply chain solutions for Welsh timber windows participants worked on a selection of ideas, based on results from previous workshops. Strong support was given to options around standardised window designs for new buildings and retrofit. Results from the workshop are still being analysed to inform further steps to advance the most promising solutions with the industry in 2020.

Delegates at wood windows workshop discussing a standard specification for social housing

Housing associations are indicating that they would like to switch from UPVC to wooden windows. Over the next few years, 20,000 new homes will need to be built in Wales. This is a vast potential for the timber windows market. Now it’s time for Welsh windows manufacturers to develop solutions that can respond to this anticipated demand.

Making the case for sustainable timber

The case for wooden windows in social housing is compelling. Improved performance, reduced whole life cost, improved sustainability and higher quality are arguments for increased demand for timber windows by social housing providers. Two main barriers hinder the wider specification of wood windows and hence the development of a Welsh supply chain. Clients fear increased maintenance and hence cost while windows suppliers need to demonstrate compliance with performance standards like Secured by Design. On a practical level, the aim of the workshop was to explore how the industry could jointly overcome these barriers and to develop a pathway for Welsh window manufacturers to supply the social housing sector in the future. On a political level, the workshop was organised to inform recommendations to Welsh Government where interventions are required.

Feedback generated during workshop on manufacturing wood windows for the social housing sector.

Innovation through collaboration

There is an appetite in the industry to develop and advance joint action that will pave the way for timber windows becoming a mainstream solution in the social housing sector in Wales.
Collaboration was clearly identified as the key to success, both across the supply chain as well as between direct competitors. Specification and certification, including clarity on design quality requirements are among the most listed take-away topics from the workshop.
The zero carbon homes agenda and its support by Welsh Government is seen as an opportunity, along with a new client focus on whole-life costing.

Agreed specification and supply chain solutions

From four potential paths to eliminate barriers to market two stand out as the most promising in the views of workshop participants:

  • Developing and manufacturing to an agreed specification which satisfies the needs of a number of different clients, complies with existing standards and meets further requirements, e.g. Secured by Design, to reduce the cost of testing and compliance audits.
  • Developing a supply to market solution from Welsh timber grading to window installation.

The great engagement of industry experts from across joinery manufacturing and social housing is also reflected in the pledges by participants to take action beyond the workshop. There was general support for more lobbying for Welsh graded timber, a Welsh Secured by Design and for making Welsh timber in new housing a first choice. All delegates submitted pledges for personal action; within their network; as a direct result from new contacts at the workshop or with their clients and suppliers.

Taking the agenda forward

Woodknowledge Wales are working on a dedicated timber windows supply chain programme to be delivered together with the industry in 2020-21. Let us know if you would like to be involved!

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Home Grown Homes, Windows for Social Housing

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