Developing a Performance Solution - the what, where, who, how, why and when

 Whilst many practitioners may be using this process already, there are new supporting resources from the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) to assist in understanding the process. One of these resources is the ABCB’s Accessible Entrance Case Study, which demonstrates the fundamental activities and outcomes of the Performance Solution process.

Building and construction practitioners working in the disability sector will already be familiar with the provisions of NCC Volume One, Part D3 Access for people with a disability. This resource assists those practitioners even further by walking through the NCC Provision A2.2(4) process using a what, where, who, how, why and when approach.

A combination of Performance and Deemed-to-Satisfy (DTS) Solutions are used as an example to demonstrate the design of an alternative accessible entrance for a retail fitout (to an existing Class 6 building).

The what, where, who, how, why and when approach enables the acceptance criteria to be determined, which is fundamental to ensuring the relevant Performance Requirements are met.

Establishing the acceptance criteria requires teasing apart the technical issue, the intent or purpose of the relevant Performance Requirements and DTS Solutions, and how the proposed design impacts on the occupancy and safe use of the building. This is necessary to pinpoint the technical matters to be addressed. Once the specific technical matters are identified, the design response can reflect the specific issues. This forms part of the performance-based design brief, which is a major component of NCC Provision A2.2(4).

The ABCB has a suite of other resources that may help in developing performance solutions in line with NCC provision A2.2(4). These are available from the resource library.