What is this BS 7543 about?
BS 7543 gives guidance on durability, design life, and predicted service life of buildings, constructed assets, and their parts. BS 7543 applies to both new and existing buildings. BS 7543 also gives guidance on communicating and recording information on the service and design life of buildings, infrastructure, and their components and/or assets when a detailed brief is being developed.
BS 7543 does not cover aspects of obsolescence and fashion, i.e., when buildings, infrastructure, or assets are replaced or altered either to suit different needs and changing conditions including change of use and mandatory requirements.
NOTE 1: A decision to replace or alter obsolete buildings or their assets might be influenced by a reassessment of their predicted service lives. BS ISO 15686-1:2011, Clause 8 gives further guidance on obsolescence.
NOTE 2: More durability guidance specific to individual sectors is available from bodies such as the Highways Agency and engineering institutions.
Who is this BS 7543 for?
BS 7543 on guide to the durability of buildings and building elements, products and components are useful for:
- Civil engineer
- Construction industry
- clients, designers, contractors, specialists, manufacturers and those responsible for maintenance of the building
- Manufacturer or supplier of building products and components
- Funders, insurers, and those undertaking due diligence assessments for investment purposes
Why should you use this BS 7543?
Maintaining, repairing, and replacing buildings and assets across many sites or projects can provide a wealth of experience(s) on durability.
BS 7543 indented the variability of operating conditions, environment, workmanship, the quality and frequency of maintenance, and the practical problems surrounding the storage, handling, installing, and inspection of materials or components on a construction site.
Overall, BS 7543 sets out values calculation for the predicted service life of a building and its parts can sometimes be no more than an informed estimation (for example, for novel materials or for unusual combinations of specific project circumstances). This will help you to state the facts, assumptions, and references on which the values are based.
What’s changed since the last update?
BS 7543:2015 supersedes BS 7543:2003, which is withdrawn.
This is a full revision of the BS 7543:2015, and introduces the following principal changes:
- Terms and definitions have been updated to reflect the BS ISO 15686 series
- The basis of risk assessment for estimating durability has been revised (see Clause 5)
- The data on climate have been revised to reflect current understanding, in particular in respect of climate change (see Annex A)
- Annex A gives guidance on the way agents can affect service life
- There is also a bibliography updated to reflect the current guidance