In the wake of the recent earthquakes in Wellington and Canterbury, Standards New Zealand adjusted ASNZS 1170.5 with a focus on improving the performance of non-structural elements, such as suspended-ceilings, to reduce injury, avoid collapsed ceilings hindering rescue efforts and save on costs in the event of an earthquake.

The updated standard lowers the weight threshold for ultimate limit state design (the measure for strength and stability under design loads) to 7.5kg and requires that the total weight of the ceiling system must be considered. Ceilings can no longer be classified as P7 (a classification of seismic resilience which allows for a lower Serviceability Limit State design) just because individual components weigh under 7.5kg. Before the changes, calculating ultimate limit state design was ambiguous and had a huge effect on the resulting seismic design.

The changes affect both new and existing buildings, so all buildings nation-wide must be brought up to the new standard (Ultimate Limit State design) by the end of 2017 which is a huge undertaking.

Joel Savill, National Key Account Manager, Forman Building Systems, says his team have taken an integrated approach to the challenge which means everything above the ceiling, such as HVAC, electrical, plumbing and sprinkler services needs to be considered. “It’s not just about putting in a ceiling, it’s the overall clearance space and how we factor in all the other components as well. We take a holistic approach to ceiling management and are working together with other services and the architect to make sure we align all those things to avoid issues during the construction phase,” he says.

Joel says he likes to think of Forman as being leaders in seismic solutions since the Christchurch earthquakes. His team can offer accredited CPD presentations, provide seismic design calculators and connection with the Engineering team to provide solutions to their customer's needs.