SPECIFIERS GUIDE
JOINERY & WOODWORKING
07
SPECIFIERS GUIDE
JOINERY & WOODWORKING
Contents
BWF - Introduction
Code of Conduct
Membership Services
Technical Advice and Guidance
Useful British & European Woodworking Standards
Total Support Services
12
BWF Training & the Industry
14
TWA Scheme
16
BWF-CERTIFIRE Fire Door & Doorset Scheme
18
Specialist Skills & Services
20
County listing of BWF Members
20
Alphabetical listing
69
Calendar
74
BWF Team
75
The British Woodworking Federation
The British Woodworking Federation (BWF) is the leading
representative body for the joinery and woodworking industry.
The BWF currently has over 500 members and accounts for
more than 25% of all joinery and woodworking manufactured
and sold in the UK. The BWFs members are drawn from the
leading manufacturers, distributors and installers of:
Doors
Windows
Conservatories
Staircases
Specifiers Guide 2007
Fitted furniture, including kitchens
Architectural joinery
Shopfitting
Timber frame buildings and engineered timber components
Suppliers of services and components to the joinery
industry
The BWFs primary aim is to position timber as the best
material for its purpose, building on its undoubted technical and
environmental strengths, by pursuing a strategy that is aimed
at doing everything possible to help its members improve their
business performance. BWF members, large, medium and
small, benefit from the pro-active and business-like approach
taken by the BWF to help market their products and services
more effectively.
The BWF has played a pivotal role in the rejuvenation of the UK
joinery and woodworking industry and is proud to say that the
Federation and its members are committed to providing high
quality, sustainable timber products at competitive prices.
Code of Conduct
The aim of the Code of Conduct is:
To set a benchmark standard for the woodworking and
joinery industry and help its members to achieve it.
To promote and encourage standards and quality in the
industry.
To give BWF members confidence in their colleagues.
To ensure that the BWF logo is recognised increasingly as
a mark of quality, so that customers choose BWF members
in preference to non-members.
All members of the BWF commit themselves to complying
with the Code and if a company does not meet the standard,
the BWF will assist them to meet the requirements and achieve
compliance. New members who do not comply on joining are
expected to reach the standard within 12 months of joining.
The Assessment Programme
A Code of this kind is only respected if it incorporates some
form of regular independent verification. All members receive
an inspection and assessment visit once every four years. The
programme of assessment visits is a fundamental element
of the Code of Conduct process. The assessors conduct a
detailed inspection of the company looking for evidence to
demonstrate that they comply with the Code, and offer advice
and assistance through the BWF where they find that the
company does not meet the requirements.
The initial round of inspections (2003-2007) was formulated
on the basis of the information drawn from an individual
self-assessment exercise. This process helped the BWF to
identify the areas where a company needed specific assistance
in achieving the Codes requirements. The BWF has produced
guides on preparing and implementing environmental and
waste management policies, training policies, health and
safety policies and complaints procedures in response to
members needs. Where appropriate, more than one version
of a guide has been produced in order to tailor the advice more
specifically to the smaller member company.
The Mark of a Quality Joinery Company
The Code has now become a living, working reality for BWF
members, something which they value and appreciate being
associated with. The BWF acknowledges that it cannot ever
shy away from telling a member company honestly that it falls
short of the Codes requirements, but if someone does not
comply with any part of the Code, the Federation is committed
to offering its services, expertise and contacts to help them
reach the standard. The Code is not intended to catch people
out or punish them - it aims to set the standards by which
anyone can recognise a quality woodworking business. The
goal is to promote quality and encourage its achievement
rather than passing or failing, sanctions or expulsions.
When you see a company displaying the BWF logo, you
should know you can rely on its products and its service.
If you have any questions regarding the BWF Code of Conduct,
contact the BWF on 0870 458 6939. Further details on the
Code can be found on the BWF website [Link]
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The BWF operates a Code of Conduct for its members, which
sets out the principles of good practice for woodworking and
joinery businesses, and represents the standard to which BWF
members commit themselves to working.
Membership Services
Working to IncreasE Members Sales & Profitability
The British Woodworking Federation strives to provide the best
possible service to its members, and to ensure that service
represents the best value for their subscription fee. We believe
that this is the basis of our success in recruiting and retaining
members, and it drives us on towards achieving our ambition to
be the trade association which every woodworking enterprise
in the UK would want to join.
TECHNICAL ADVICE AND GUIDANCE
The BWF brings together individuals and companies as an
industry to share problems and experiences and find solutions
together.
All BWF members have access to the BWF Technical Helpline,
which offers immediate expert advice. The Federation also
provides a Technical Consultancy Service for more complex
problems, including site inspections, detailed reports and expert
witness statements. To support these technical helplines, BWF
Guides provide authoritative advice on technical issues for
members and their customers.
WIDER BUSINESS ADVICE
The BWF offers an enhanced advice service covering a wide
range of business issues, including:
PROMOTING THE WOODWORKING INDUSTRY
Legal and contractual issues;
The BWF promotes its members, their products and the
woodworking and joinery industry as a whole using a variety
of media:
Health and safety;
The BWF Website offers information about the BWF and
the woodworking industry, and includes searchable
databases of BWF members and their products. The
website is supported by the BWF Specifiers Guide which
is distributed widely to specifiers, architects, builders and
developers, local authorities and consumers.
Taxation;
The BWF provides comprehensive Business and Technical
Advice for members in the form of helplines and
publications, ensuring that members are kept up-to-date
with all the latest information and regulations affecting a
joinery business.
The BWF undertakes an extensive programme of PR,
publicity and advertising in national, local and trade press
to publicise its work and raise customers awareness of
BWF members products and services.
BWF WEBSITE
The BWF website is an invaluable source of advice and
information for customers, clients and specifiers as well
as joinery companies themselves. It provides a platform for
promoting BWF members, their products and the joinery
industry at large to potential customers searching for reputable
and reliable companies.
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With the BWF contact page and quick links to BWF team
details, the Federation invites discussion and encourages
visitors to ask questions, or send in an opinion relating to
anything they see on the site.
CREATING A COMMUNITY OF INTEREST
The BWF offers regular opportunities for Members to rub
shoulders with their competitors and suppliers, whether
formally in Federation Committees, or informally, at the
Annual Dinner or Members Day. The BWF also runs a regular
programme of Regional Meetings and workshops around the
country.
People interested in joining the BWF or one of the schemes,
can review joining information and discover the membership
benefits, including the BWFs Code of Conduct.
It allows visitors to access information and publications
provided by the BWF, which are available online as either
downloadable documents or for purchase using our secure
online ordering system.
Employment and industrial relations advice;
Environmental advice;
Training;
Marketing;
General commercial questions.
The BWF News Updates ensure that members are kept
abreast of the latest developments in legislation and regulation,
product standards, technology and innovation.
The Federation also draws on partnerships with other
organisations to use their expertise to provide specific
products and tools to help members improve the efficiency
and effectiveness of their businesses. In addition to this, the
BWF offers several affinity schemes which enable individual
companies to obtain better deals from selected suppliers
through the collective purchasing power of the membership
as a whole.
ENCOURAGING QUALITY AND STANDARDS
All BWF members are committed to working to a Code of
Conduct, which represents a standard of quality and best
practice for a woodworking business. This Code is assessed
by an external assessment team made up of industry
professionals.
The BWF also operates the TWA (Timber Window
Accreditation) Scheme and the BWF-CERTIFIRE Fire Door and
Doorset Scheme, which each set out to establish a reliable,
independently verified standard of quality, and work towards
continually improving those standards for all members.
The WITForum aims to establish the skills and training needs
of the woodworking and joinery sector and works to fulfil them.
The Timber Training Programme helps to develop a better
understanding of the industrys principal raw material, exploring
the benefits and differences of hardwoods and softwoods, the
effects of coatings and preservatives on the product, as well as
the issue of sustainability.
The BWF participates in research projects which seek to
enhance our knowledge and understanding of technical joinery
issues, so that we can keep our members informed of the
latest developments within the industry.
A VOICE FOR THE INDUSTRY
The BWF represents the views of its members to Government,
the construction industry, the wider public, and increasingly, to
the international community.
The BWF also provides its members with an influential voice
in the development of woodworking and joinery product
standards in Britain and Europe.
The BWF has developed a series of strategic alliances with
other trade associations, which help to raise awareness and
understanding of the woodworking industry amongst their
members and create opportunities for joint promotional or
lobbying efforts.
Technical Advice and Guidance
The BWF offers technical knowledge and expert advice through
the BWF Technical Helpline and consultancy service. The
Technical Consultancy Service answers complex problems
through various methods, including site inspections, detailed
reports and expert witness statements to anyone that requires
more thorough assistance. This is an additional, chargeable
service but is open to both BWF members and non-members.
Please contact the technical team for further assistance.
To support these technical helplines, the Federation produces
various publications including BWF Guides providing
authoritative advice on technical issues and current research
on new concepts and advancements in the industry which are
available for members and their customers.
delegate for the industry and keeping members informed of
latest developments or impending changes within government
and the joinery industry.
Set out below are the various committees and their links to
each other. These committees represent the diverse nature of
the businesses of the membership.
Committees printed in Bold indicate meetings where the BWF
Technical Manager is the Chairman. Committees with shaded
background are timber related.
The senior BSi committee is B/00-/05. This is the consultative
panel which the individual committee chairman and the BWF
representative attends.
The Federation is also a licensed distributor of British
Standards and offers a 25% discount on the BSi non-member
price for BWF members.
PRODUCT STANDARD COMMITTEES
Our technical team act as representatives for BWF members
on various committees, including those which define British
(BSI) or European (CEN) Product Standards, providing a
BSI COMMITTEE
BSI SUB-COMMITTEE
CEN COMMITTEE CEN SUB-COMMITTEE
CB/002 Co-ordination Committee for Timber
B/515 Wood Preservation
CEN/TC38
B/518 Structural Timber
CEN/TC124
B/525 Structural codes
CEN/TC250
B/525/05/04 Timber Frame Walls
B/541 Wood Based Panels
CEN/TC112
B/543 Round and Sawn Timber
CEN/TC175
B/204 Structural design of low rise buildings
CEN/TC175/WG3 + TG2,
TG6, TG7, TG8
B/204/02 Timber Floors and Roofs For Low
Rise Buildings
B/208 Stairs and Walkways
B/209/8 Access for disabled people
B/209/10 Security of Buildings
B/520 Glass and Glazing in Building
CEN/TC325
CEN/TC129
B/520/04 Properties and Glazing Methods
B/538 Doors, Windows, Shutters, Hardware
and Curtain Walling
CEN/TC33
B/538/01 Windows
CEN/TC33/WG1 + TG6
B/538/02 Doors
FSH/022 Fire Resistance Tests
CEN/TC33/WG2 + TG5
CEN/TC127
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FSH/022/01 Instrumentation for Fire
Resistance Tests
FSH/022/05 Test Procedures for Doors
FW/000 Furniture
CEN/TC207
PRI/052 Adhesives
CEN/TC193
STI/028/02 Coating systems for wood
CEN/TC139
Useful British & European Woodworking Standards
This list of British Standards is applicable to BWF members products, but is not exhaustive. Most material standards and test
methods have been omitted. Multi-part standards have been reduced, in the main, to a title with an indication of the number of
parts. In some instances the parts are also numbered and named. British Standards are subject to amendment or replacement.
Please check with the BWF for the latest versions.
KEY
BS
British Standard general series
BS EN
European standards adopted as British standards
BS EN ISO
ISO standards adopted as European standards and implemented in the UK as British Standards
PAS
Publicly Available Specification
Standard
Number
Title
BS 459:1988
Specification for matchboarded wooden door leaves for external use
BS 476
Fire tests on building materials and structures (17 Parts out of 33 Parts Current)
BS 585-1:1989
Wood stairs. Specification for stairs with closed risers for domestic use, including straight and winder
flights and quarter or half landings (Current, obsolescent)
BS 585-2:1985
Specification for performance requirements for domestic stairs constructed of wood-based materials
(Current, obsolescent)
Timber windows. Factory assembled windows of various types. Specification
BS 1186-2:1988
Timber for and workmanship in joinery. Specification for workmanship
BS 1186-3:1990
Timber for and workmanship in joinery. Specification for wood trim and its fixing
BS 1187:1959
Specification for wood blocks for floors
BS 1202-1:2002
Specification for nails. Steel nails
BS 1202-2:1974
Specification for nails. Copper nails
BS 1202-3:1974
Specification for nails. Aluminium nails
BS 1210:1963
Specification for wood screws. (Current, Work In Hand, Obsolescent)
BS 4756:1998
Specification for ready-mixed aluminium priming paints for woodwork
BS 4787-1:1980
Internal and external wood doorsets, door leaves and frames. Specification for dimensional
requirements
BS 4978:1996
Specification for visual strength grading of softwood
BS 5268 [7 Parts]
Structural use of timber (To be replaced by BS EN 1995 Eurocode 5)
BS 5277:1976
Doors. Measurement of defects of general flatness of door leaves
BS 5278:1976
Doors. Measurement of dimensions and of defects of squareness of door leaves (Current, Superseded)
BS 5368 [4 Parts]
Method of testing windows (Withdrawn)
BS 5369:1987
Methods of testing doors; behaviour under humidity variations of door leaves placed in successive
uniform climates (Current, Superseded)
BS 5395 [3 Parts]
Stairs, ladders and walkways
BS 5588 [11 Parts]
Fire precautions in the design, construction and use of buildings (Current)
BS 5756:1997
Specification for visual strength grading of hardwood
BS 6100
Glossary of building and civil engineering terms
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BS 644:2003
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Useful British & European Woodworking Standards
10
BS 6222 [3 Parts]
Domestic kitchen equipment
BS 6262:1982
Code of practice for glazing for buildings (replacement Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7 published in 2005)
BS 6375-1:2004
Performance of windows and doors. Classification for weathertightness and guidance on selection and
specification
BS 6375-2:1987
Performance of windows. Specification for operation and strength characteristics (under revision)
BS 6399-1:1996
Loadings for buildings. Code of practice for dead and imposed loads
BS 6399-2:1997
Loadings for buildings. Code of practice for wind loads
BS 6399-3:1988
Loadings for buildings. Code of practice for imposed roof loads
BS 6446:1997
Specification for manufacture of glued structural components of timber and wood-based panels
BS 7950:1997
Specification for enhanced security performance of windows for domestic applications
BS 7956:2000
Specification for primers for woodwork
BS 8000 [18 Parts]
Workmanship on building sites
BS 8000-5:1990
Code of practice for carpentry, joinery and general fixings
BS 8000-7:1990
Code of practice for glazing
BS 8201:1987
Code of practice for flooring of timber, timber products and wood-based panel products
BS 8213-1:2004
Windows, doors and rooflights. Design for safety in use and during cleaning of windows, including
door-heights windows and roof windows. Code of practice
BS 8213-4:2007
Windows, doors and rooflights. Code of practice for the installation of replacement windows and
doorsets in dwellings
BS 8214:1990
Code of practice for fire door assemblies with non-metallic leaves (under revision)
BS 8220-1:2000
Guidance for security of buildings against crime. Dwellings
BS 8417:2003
Preservation of timber. Recommendations
PAS 23-1:1999
General performance requirements for door assemblies. Single leaf, external door assemblies to
dwellings
PAS 24-1:1999
Enhanced security performance requirements for door assemblies. Single and double leaf, hinged
external door assemblies to dwellings
BS EN 204:2001
Classification of thermoplastic wood adhesives for non-structural applications
BS EN 301:1992
Adhesives, phenolic and aminoplastic, for load-bearing timber structures: classification and performance
requirements
BS EN 335 [3 Parts]
Hazard classes of wood and wood-based products against biological attack
BS EN 336:2003
Structural timber. Sizes, permitted deviations
BS EN 338:2003
Structural timber. Strength classes
BS EN 350 [2 Parts]
Durability of wood and wood-based products. Natural durability of solid wood
BS EN 351 [2 Parts]
Durability of wood and wood-based products. Preservative-treated solid wood
BS EN 385:2001
Finger jointed structural timber. Performance requirements and minimum production requirements
BS EN 386:2001
Glued laminated timber. Performance requirements and minimum production requirements
BS EN 390:1995
Glued laminated timber. Sizes. Permissible deviations
BS EN 408:2003
Timber structures. Structural timber and glued laminated timber. Determination of some physical and
mechanical properties
BS EN 518:1995
Structural timber. Grading. Requirements for visual strength grading standards
BS EN 519:1995
Structural timber. Grading. Requirements for machine strength graded timber and grading machines
BS EN 635 [4 Parts]
Plywood. Classification by surface appearance
BS EN 844 [12 Parts] Round and sawn timber. Terminology
BS EN 927-1:1997
Paints and varnishes. Coating materials and coating systems for exterior wood. Classification and
selection
BS EN 942:2007
Timber in joinery. General classification of timber quality
BS EN 1116:2004
Kitchen Furniture. Co-ordinating sizes for kitchen furniture and kitchen appliances
BS EN 1153:1996
Kitchen furniture. Safety requirements and test methods for built-in and free-standing kitchen cabinets
and work tops
BS EN 1154:1997
Building hardware. Controlled door closing devices. Requirements and test methods
BS EN 1309-1:1997
Round and sawn timber. Method of measurement of dimensions. Sawn timber
BS EN 1310:1997
Round and sawn timber. Method of measurement of features
BS EN 1312:1997
Round and sawn timber. Determination of the batch volume of sawn timber
BS EN 1313-1:1997
Round and sawn timber. Permitted deviations and preferred sizes. Softwood sawn timber
BS EN 1313-2:1999
Round and sawn timber. Permitted deviations and preferred sizes. Hardwood sawn timber
BS EN 1316-1:1997
Hardwood round timber. Qualitative classification. Oak and beech
BS EN 1316-2:1997
Hardwood round timber. Qualitative classification. Poplar
BS EN 1316-3:1998
Hardwood round timber. Qualitative classification. Ash, Maple and Sycamore
BS EN 1530:2000
Door leaves. General and local flatness. Tolerance classes
BS EN 1935: 2002
Building hardware. Single-axis hinges. Requirements and test methods
BS EN 1995-1:2004
Eurocode 5. Design of timber structures (See BS 5268)
BS EN 12209: 2003
Building hardware. Locks and latches. Mechanically operated locks, latches and locking plates.
Requirements and test methods
BS EN 13307-1 2006
Timber blanks and semi-finished profiles for non-structural uses. Requirements
BS EN 14220 2006
Timber and wood-based materials in external windows, external door leaves and external doorframes.
Requirements and specifications
BS EN 14221 2006
Timber and wood-based materials in internal windows, internal door leaves and internal doorframes.
Requirements and specifications
BS EN 14351-1 2006
Windows and doors. Product standard, performance characteristics. Windows and external pedestrian
doorsets without resistance to fire and/or smoke leakage characteristics
BS EN 14915 2006
Solid wood panelling and cladding. Characteristics, evaluation of conformity and marking
BS EN ISO 9000:2005
Quality management systems. Fundamentals and vocabulary
BS EN ISO 9001:2000
Quality management systems. Requirements
BS EN ISO 14001:2004 Environmental management systems. Requirements with guidance for use
BWF members can purchase copies of British Standards (BS) and European Standards (BS EN) via the BWF, at a 25 % discount on
the BSI non-member cost. Contact the BWF on 0870 458 6939 for a faxback form.
Specifiers Guide 2007
11
Total Support Services
The main aim of the BWF is to help its members increase their
sales and profitability through the services that it provides and
the expertise that it offers.
The BWF prides itself on listening to its members and adapting
the services it offers to meet their needs. Having recognised
the difficulties which some joinery companies face in achieving
certification for fire door manufacturing or licensed conversion,
or in gaining Chain of Custody certification for timber through
the manufacturing process, the Federation became aware that
there were other areas where its members could benefit from
its help.
Specifiers Guide 2007
This has led the BWF to launch a range of new services aimed
at assisting members and non-members in developing their
businesses and the products they manufacture. The content
of each package is designed to simplify potentially complex
procedures and provide practical advice and assistance.
12
These services are provided on behalf of the BWF by its
associate members or partners who have years of experience
in working with the industry. In developing them, the BWF has
sought to ensure value for money for its customers through
offering flexible services that can be built to suit your company,
skills and price range.
SERVICES
1. CHAIN OF CUSTODY
The BWF anticipates that the demand for Chain of Custody
certification through the joinery manufacturing process will
increase as a result of the implementation of the Code for
Sustainable Homes and the publication of the revised Green
Guide. The Federation has developed a Group Chain of
Custody Scheme, offering both FSC and PEFC certification,
which is available to companies employing up to a maximum
of 15 people. The BWF will hold the certificate, and companies
following its standardised procedures will obtain subcertificates. The Federation also offers a consultancy service
to companies which do not meet the Groups size criteria to
assist them in achieving Chain of Custody.
2. ISO9001
A quality management system is a requirement for product
certification schemes, such as the BWF-CERTIFIRE Fire Door &
Doorset Scheme, TWA Scheme, Secured By Design and Chain
of Custody, with ISO9001 being the most recognised option.
The BWF has produced a template manual and will provide a
half-days on-site consultancy assistance to help in achieving
the requirements.
3. FIRE DOOR CERTIFICATION
6. HEALTH & SAFETY AUDITS AND TRAINING
This is a one-stop service for potential members that includes
BWF membership, Fire Door Scheme membership, ISO9001
accreditation and certification of a licensed converter through
Bodycote WarringtonFire, the BWFs certification partner for
the BWF-CERTIFIRE Fire Door & Doorset Scheme.
The BWF has developed a service to assist you in completing
your health and safety requirements by providing training on
how to carry out a health and safety audit, or alternatively doing
the audit on your behalf.
4. PRODUCT TESTING
The BWF can help with the testing required to satisfy the
requirements of the TWA Scheme, Window Energy Ratings and
Secured By Design. The following tests are currently available:
BS6375 PART 1
Air & Water Permeability
BS6375 PART 2
Operation & Cyclical Testing
BS7950
Security
PAS023
Air & Water Permeability,
Operation & Cyclical
PAS024
Enhanced Security
7. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ISO14001
ISO14001 is an internationally recognised environmental
management standard, which, once achieved, will give your
company real environmental credibility. As with the ISO9001
service, the BWF has produced a template manual, which will
be offered as part of a package with a copy of the Standard
and a half-days on-site consultancy assessment to get you
started.
If you would like to find out more about the services that the
BWF can provide within the Total Support Services Package,
please contact the team on 0870 458 6939.
5. WINDOW ENERGY RATINGS
The BWF is helping timber fight back as the preferred and most
energy efficient material for windows, by offering a service to
help obtain BFRC window energy ratings. The BWF has built up
a technical understanding of what makes an energy efficient
window to help members maximise their results.
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BWF & Training for the Industry
WITForum
The BWF believes well trained employees are safer, better
skilled, work faster and make fewer mistakes. A fully trained
team is essential for the long-term sustainability, efficiency and
profitability of your business as well as the woodworking and
joinery industry as a whole.
However, in recent years the woodworking industry has
found it difficult to find, develop and retain skilled labour.
This is due to factors such as school leavers being steered
towards university rather than careers in traditional building
crafts, patchy provision of college courses, varying levels of
teaching quality and qualifications which do not always reflect
employers needs.
Specifiers Guide 2007
The impact of these issues has increased since ConstructionSkills
published Blueprint for UK ConstructionSkills 2006 2010
in 2006. The publication highlighted that wood trades is the
occupation that needs the highest level of recruitment to meet
the forecasted demand in the next few years. It predicts that
the industry will need over 11,000 new recruits each year for
the next four years.
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To begin to address these issues the BWF have launched a
new training initiative Woodworking Industry Training (WIT)
Forum. The WITForum gives the industry the opportunity to
resolve its training problems, secure its future skills, promote
woodworking as a career and establish constructive dialogue
with training providers.
THE WITForums INITIAL PROJECTS INCLUDE:
Establishing a definitive list of colleges offering
woodworking training throughout the UK.
Undertaking a training survey to evaluate the training
situation within companies in the woodworking sector.
Piloting an On-Site Assessment & Training initiative in
an area of the UK, which if successful will be rolled out
nationally.
Assisting BWF registered in-scope companies to
maximise the benefits of the CITB levy-grant system.
Maintaining and developing BWF training services.
Membership is open to all companies within the woodworking
industry and the BWF are keen for as many to join as possible.
The stronger the representation from the industry, the greater
our chances of making a real difference to the provision of
training.
One project run by the WITForum is the BWF Timber Training
Programme which helps to develop a better understanding of
the industrys principal raw material, exploring the benefits and
differences of hardwoods and softwoods, the effects of paints
on the product as well as the issue of sustainability.
Timber Training Programme
Time and timber can often be wasted through poor selection,
neglect of defects or misjudgement of the grain pattern.
A greater understanding of timber can result in improved
efficiency and an increase in sales and profitability. The BWF
has developed a series of half-day training modules that provide
a more practical alternative to other courses on the market that
focus on technology and theory. All modules included in the
Programme are CPD accredited.
Module 3 Sustainability
Module 1 Understanding
Hardwoods
Importantly, delegates will also be shown simple methods of
harnessing their existing business data to prove traceability
and potentially to prepare themselves for supply chain
certification.
Softwoods
and
This module, developed with the needs of joinery manufacturers
in mind, covers the principles of sustainable growth, sorting and
timber selection, and how to choose material fit for purpose.
Module 3 focuses on the production, purchasing and use
of sustainable timber. It provides a wider understanding
of the role that responsible timber procurement plays in
environmental protection, how sustainability means more than
just environmental issues, and the ways in which businesses
can organise their own systems to prove the origins of the
timber that they use.
Module 2 Treatments and Coatings
Why treat and coat timber? This module answers that question,
explaining the types of preservative treatments and highlighting
the choice of coatings and application techniques.
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TWA Scheme
Timber has been the natural choice for windows and doors
for centuries. Indeed, there are many excellent examples of
timber windows still in use today which are over 100 years
old.
However, not all windows and doors give such service
irrespective of the material from which they are made.
Unfortunately, it has never been easy to determine if those
being specified and purchased would prove to be of satisfactory
quality.
There was therefore a clear need for a rigorous industrywide arrangement that would provide specifiers, local
authorities, housing associations, builders and consumers with
confidence that the windows they were going to use would be
acceptable.
The BWF developed the TWA (Timber Window Accreditation)
Scheme to:
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Ensure that timber windows provide excellent quality,
performance and durability
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Provide the most rigorous and comprehensive third party
testing of windows and their manufacture
Promote the advantages of fully factory finished and
factory double glazed timber windows
Encourage proper site practices when installing timber
windows
The Scheme has worked towards these objectives and
continually sought to improve on the standards it set itself.
More recently the Scheme has undergone a significant change
in appearance and, more importantly, the approach it takes to
accrediting manufacturers products
BSI KITEMARK
In 2004 the BWF formed a partnership between its TWA
Scheme and the BSI Kitemark Scheme. The Kitemark originated
in 1903 and is the most well-known and respected product
quality mark in the world. Regular UK consumer surveys reveal
that over 80% of the British public recognise the Kitemark as a
symbol of quality and safety.
WHAT THE KITEMARK MEANS FOR TWA SCHEME
WINDOWS
At the heart of this agreement is the requirement that all Scheme
manufacturers will have to gain BSI Kitemark certification for
their factory glazed timber windows. In addition to meeting
the Schemes technical criteria, the Kitemark requires TWA
Scheme Manufacturers to undergo:
Independent and third party auditing of their products.
Compliance with the TWA Scheme quality control
requirements
Stringent operational and weathertightness tests for each
window style
An annual audit test of a random window sample.
Two rigorous factory inspections per year to ensure
compliance with the technical criteria.
This means that factory glazed timber windows manufactured
under the Scheme will carry the prestigious BSI Kitemark
in addition to the tamper-evident TWA Scheme label. You
can now be more confident than ever that TWA Scheme
windows will perform to the highest standards.
HOW IT BENEFITS THE CUSTOMER
Improvements in the design, manufacture and performance
has restored the consumers confidence in timber windows.
Timber is now widely recognised as the most fashionable,
versatile and environmentally friendly choice for the 21st
Century householder. Combining the BWFs TWA Scheme with
the BSI Kitemark sets the seal on this transformation.
ENTRANCE DOORSETS
The TWA Scheme now also accredits entrance doorsets, which
have to comply with the same rigorous technical criteria and
auditing, set by the BWF and developed in conjunction with
BSI.
To offer a guarantee of the quality of production, supply,
installation and use of TWA Scheme entrance doorsets.
Promote the benefits of factory assembled certified
doorsets.
BY SPECIFYING, PURCHASING AND USING TWA SCHEME
WINDOWS & DOORSETS YOU CAN BE CONFIDENT THAT
THEY WILL:
Meet or exceed all relevant Building Regulations, NHBC
and British Standards
Meet consumer needs and aspirations
Be made of 100% CERTIFIED timber
Provide you with the most sustainable choice
Provide you with product warranties
Be traceable through tamper-evident labelling
Contact Details
For more information about the Scheme or Scheme Members
visit the website at [Link]/windows or call the
Scheme Manager on 0870 458 6939
The main aims for the entrance doorset section are:
To define a standard for entrance doorsets which would
ensure that they perform the task expected of them.
Specifiers Guide 2007
17
BWF-CERTIFIRE Fire Door & Doorset
Scheme
What is so important about a fire door?
Most of the time a fire door is just like any other door. But if
fire breaks out, it performs a vital and specific task by burning
at a particular rate to act as a barrier to hold back the spread of
fire. A fire door is precisely designed, engineered and tested in
accordance to British and European Standards to ensure that if
it is ever called upon, it does what it is supposed to do.
The BWF-CERTIFIRE Fire Door & Doorset scheme was
established by the fire door manufacturing industry to:
Specifiers Guide 2007
Establish high standards across the supply chain
18
Guarantee the product through assessing and certificating
the design and production process, testing its performance
and regular audit checks
Offer a clear, simple method of tracing a fire door back
through all stages of manufacture to ensure the quality of
manufacture and maintain the guarantee
Bring together fire door manufacturers, their suppliers,
door convertors, retailers and installers to work in an
alliance across the supply chain
Undertake a vigorous promotional campaign to raise
awareness of the importance of fire doors and
understanding of how they work
BWF Label
The BWF-CERTIFIRE Scheme uses a series of labels to
provide a simple and clear means of traceability through the
production process by giving each door a unique serial number.
The label gives all the essential information about the door at
a glance, without the need for technical expertise or additional
guidance.
The importance of compatibility of fire door
components
A fire door is much more than the door leaf. The door frame,
the hinges, the ironmongery, the glass in any vision panels and
the seals must all be selected to ensure that the door design is
properly fire resistant and all the components must work when
used in combination.
There is an astonishing lack of awareness and understanding of
fire doors and how they work, even amongst those who have
dealt with them for many years. But if the wrong components
are used, the door cannot be relied upon, and so will not work
in a fire.
A fire door is tested as a complete assembly. When the door
passes this test, all the hardware and components in the
assembly have also simultaneously passed. This does not
mean that the fire door will be as reliable if used with another
intumescent seal, for example. The test merely indicates that
the door is reliable only when used in conjunction with that
particular intumescent seal, that particular frame, that particular
vision panel and all the other different components used in the
test. It is wrong to assume that a component is reliable with
any fire door design or configuration.
Approved Fire Door Centres
The BWF launched its Approved Fire Door Centre initiative in
2002. The network has now expanded to 85 members giving a
good coverage of the UK.
Every BWF Approved Fire Door Centre has staff members who
have been trained by the BWF to understand fire doors and
how they work. The centres are also committed to stocking,
selling and recommending BWF-CERTIFIRE Fire Doors and an
appropriate range of compatible CERTIFIRE approved fire door
components
Contact Details
For more information about the Scheme or Scheme Members
visit the website at [Link]/firedoors or call the
Scheme Manager on 0870 458 6939
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