Admission and Unit Information - Master of Building Surveying

This unit introduces the Building Code of Australia (BCA) and in particular those aspects relevant to fire safety in building design and construction. The topics covered with reference to the BCA include its general provisions, structure and philosophy. Students are required to understand how to meet the BCA requirements for fire safety. Covered in this unit are performance based versus prescriptive approaches and the regulation of fire safety maintenance. The unit also discusses the relationship between research in the development of building codes and the role played by approval/certifying authorities in compliance assessment.

The unit introduces students to the basic principles of fire behaviour so that they can appreciate fire safety systems and interpret fire safety engineering design concepts. The unit covers the basics of combustion, building fire characteristics, smoke movement and responses of fire safety devices. The unit provides the basis for understanding fire safety engineering and the techniques and tools used in fire safety engineering.

The unit describes the principles used to design fire safety systems for life safety objectives and the processes that need to be followed to complete a fire safety engineering study. The role of other objectives are also introduced. The unit covers the process of fire safety engineering design and assessment including the fire engineering brief, conceptual design, regulatory objectives, verification methods, evaluation of performance of fire protection systems, risk analysis and fire engineering reporting. Basic concepts and descriptions of fire safety engineering tools are also included.

This unit describes the general planning issues relevant to developments in rural and urban areas. The content covers the factors important in determining the allocation and use of land and resources together with the contributions of development to the built and natural environment. Topics include: urban and rural design issues; the impact of the 3 tiers of Government process on development control, and the legal, political and technical issues relevant to impact assessments. Particular attention will be paid to the role of the private sector in developing controls, self regulation and appeal processes. Planning in both the micro and macro environments is examined in the context of sustainability, community resources and its strategic effects on the recycling of existing land and non-renewable natural resources. Hazardous environments such as bush fires, floods, earthquakes and cyclone are also considered.

The aim of this unit is to provide students with an understanding of the factors that contribute to decisions in building design in respect of compliance with building regulations and standards. Topics include soil classification for construction, footing systems, loadings and their evaluation, structural materials and systems, structural behaviour and strength, and failure and rectification.

This unit describes and analyses the technological, social-economical and regulatory factors that influence the building industry. The topics include advances in material technology and construction techniques, considerations of fire safety in meeting the health and amenity objectives of building design. Also included in the discussions are the philosophy and cultural significance of construction management, government administrations and their effect on the building industry, building economics from estimating and quantity surveying to building macro economics. Discussions are also made on development management, inception of reality, the roles and the relationship between building owners and occupiers in the operation and maintenance of buildings.

This unit describes the various types and application of building services and fire safety systems. It introduces appropriate standards for building fire service system design and the methods of applying recommendations of fire engineering assessments with respect to building services and fire safety systems.

This unit is a problem based project unit. Students are expected to conduct self studies under supervision by academic staff. Students will identify research topics in consultation with supervisors, carry out literature survey in the fields of engineering and building construction, define research objectives and scope, establish research methodology and prepare a research plan.