Airedale NHS

Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) is a lightweight form of concrete used in roof, floor, cladding and wall construction in the UK, Canada and elsewhere, from the mid-1950s to the mid-1980. While it was preferred for its ease of use during construction, the limited durability of RAAC roofs and other RAAC structures has long been recognised, and the material is now known to only have a functional lifespan of 30 years.. This issue gained greater public attention in recent years, including two roof failures in the UK, and the sudden closure of the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto. 

In the UK, large numbers of public sector facilities are now at risk of closure due to the presence of RAAC in their construction, and in 2023 more than 150 schools were ordered to close, and seven hospitals were identified as needing to be fully rebuilt. 

Airedale General Hospital is one of the worst impacted buildings anywhere, with over 20,000 RAAC planks requiring continuous monitoring and remediation work, all while allowing for the continued uninterrupted operation of a busy regional hospital. Working with BIS Consult, we used the ESRI platform to build a digital inspection workflow, replacing their existing paper based process. The result was over 50% increase in efficiency, allowing for an increase in inspection frequency, along with greatly improved data management and resilience, and a much greater ability to view and analyse risk.

This project was shortlisted for the Collabrative Working Award at the 2024 ESRI UK Annual Conference Customer Success Awards.

For BIS Consult

2023 - ongoing