Drywall specialist Siniat has expanded the practical training it offers to help support the competency drive across the construction industry in line with the Building Safety Act.  

In addition to its drywalling induction and site supervisor courses, the manufacturer has now introduced a series of specialist courses taking a closer look at the installation of drywallling in steelwork encasements using fire rated board systems, as well as specialist training in the installation of shaftwalls, and suspended ceilings.

With a greater industry focus on evidencing competency in the installation of structural and fire-rated systems, Siniat aims to ensure installers have as comprehensive an understanding as possible of the correct and compliant installation of drywall systems – and are able to evidence that to support the golden thread.

Held at Siniat’s dedicated training centre in Bristol, the courses include a thorough explanation of the correct use of different types of plasterboard to ensure optimal performance, including water resistance, fire board and shaft wall systems.

Following an introduction to the properties of the boards and their relevant application, the course takes the form of a guided session, where participants are taken through best practice examples of the use of boards, creating partition walls and suspended ceilings.

The manufacturer also runs two separate courses looking at best practice in taping and jointing – both hand and mechanical.

Following the introduction of the Building Safety Act, drywalling systems now need to be specified precisely at the design stage when used in a high risk building, while the installation needs to be evidenced in line with the golden thread, including demonstrating competency.

Often used as part of a passive fire protection system due to its built-in fire performance, Siniat drywalling also plays a part in ensuring compartmentation, and as such, must be installed in line with the tested detail.

In addition to detailing best practice in the installation of drywalling, Siniat’s training covers common issues that can lead to costly snagging to ensure cost efficient installation at the earlier stages of a construction project.

Simon Watkins, Training Centre Manager at Siniat, said: “Practical training is hands down the best approach to teaching best practice in drywalling installation that is easy to recall. Siniat is committed to providing free of charge training on our drywalling systems to ensure they are installed in a way that supports the optimum performance that has been engineered into our products.

“We are committed to ensuring high technical performance standards through continued innovation, research and testing, and it absolutely makes sense that this is supported by sharing best practice in its installation. 

“Practical training courses with expert support are ideal to develop confidence and to hammer home the message that getting it right the first time really matters. An error in the installation of drywalling can prove a costly error to rectify once a project nears completion, and with gateway 3 approvals there will be increased scrutiny on issues such as this.

“The need to show competence under the Building Safety Act has put an emphasis onto demonstrating proactive skills training that Siniat is happy to support.”

To find out more about Siniat training courses, visit www.siniat.co.uk