SPECIALIST INSIGHT
What were the key challenges Student Roost experienced before migrating their building information to Zutec , and how did the platform help streamline the management of complex documentation ?
At Student Roost , we had a lack of consistency in how we would store building information . Some of our information was on folders such as internal drives , some was in SharePoint , but in many cases , information was stored in paper folders on shelves . Additionally , and largely where buildings had been acquired , we had limited historical data for some buildings .
This made it very tough for us to have the requisite information for our Building Safety Act requirements , and it became a very heavy
Looking ahead , we are confident that there will be changes in the scope of the Building Safety Act .
labour resource challenge for the team to manage this data , which was across disparate systems and fragmented formats . Instead of being able to easily locate and update documents , plans and information electronically , it was on occasion required that we travel to locations to locate the information . This was an inefficient use of the team ’ s time . It also meant we had limitations on data understanding because information wasn ’ t easily accessible .
How has Zutec ’ s consistent documentation system enabled Student Roost to better manage building safety and compliance , and how does it support ongoing risk assessments ?
Zutec has fundamentally changed how we now store , access and share this information . As all our building information is now in one place and tagged for easy searchability , it is not only easier for our teams to find it , but we can also seamlessly share as built information , capital works and ongoing PPM with our fire risk
Student Roost , managing over 30 high-rise buildings across England , faced challenges meeting the Building Safety Act due to inconsistent , scattered documentation across physical folders , drives and SharePoint . This created inefficiencies , data gaps and compliance risks . In 2023 , they transformed operations by migrating all building information to Zutec , establishing a ‘ golden thread ’ of documentation . Zutec ’ s centralised platform streamlined compliance , improved accessibility , and supported health and safety goals , including ISO45001 certification . Alastair Weston , Director , Health and Safety at Student Roost , shares how Zutec revolutionised their building safety management .
assessors , water risk assessors and building safety case authors . Instead of guesswork and scanning physical folders , our assessors can now go onto Zutec and find the information that they need .
In addition to this , it has also been a huge help in our gap analysis as we reach out to those originally involved in the construction of our properties to ascertain what is missing . Having data in one place means we can understand what data have and may be missing and go to the market and work through what we need to help ensure that we have the right information to help our Building Safety Act applications .
Looking ahead , we are confident that there will be changes in the scope of the Building Safety Act and we are taking steps now with the aid of Zutec to take a robust building compliance approach with all sites , whether they are high rise or low rise , or in other parts of the UK .
What advice would you give to other companies facing similar challenges with documentation management and building safety compliance ?
Start the process as early as you can and do not underestimate the information that you have on your buildings . I didn ’ t appreciate the amount of information that we actually had until I saw it laid out on the Zutec platform . Also , try and get as much of your information into one place ready for transfer , even if it doesn ’ t replicate Zutec or provide the same easy way of obtaining information , but it does make the process of transfer that much easier .
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