Insights
The latest from OFR
Building Magazine lists OFR as one of the UK’s top consultants
OFR Consultants has ranked in Building Magazine’s annual ranking of the top consultants in the UK’s construction sector. The company features in the top 150 practices in the country; the listings also show that OFR is the only specialist fire engineer to appear in the Top 50 Engineers list.
OFR ranked as one of the UK’s best companies to work for
OFR Consultants has been named in a list of the Best Companies to Work for 2022. The company ranked highly in the lists, earning a place in the top 10 Best Consultancies to work for. OFR was also ranked 41st in the UK-wide overall companies category - making it one of the best businesses to work for in the country.
Investing in people to create safe and sustainable buildings
Competency has always been important in the construction industry and in this new article, our colleague Steven Ferreira – who along with colleagues James Daniels and Ahmed Maani recently completed his Chartership – talks about the importance of professional qualifications, and the mechanisms in place at OFR as we support colleagues through their academic endeavours.
Contributing to a landmark collaborative facility – our work at NMIS
From RIBA Stage 2 through to completion, we have worked on behalf of HLM Architects as part of the team delivering the incredible new National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) building. Principal Fire Engineer, Graeme Shaw shares how our fire engineering guidance on the building will help to raise the bar for collaboration across sectors…
Helping our colleagues through the OFR Technical Institute: Part 3
We are always looking for new and innovative ways in which we can support our team with personal and professional development. The OFR Technical Institute was set up to offer bespoke training and has helped many colleagues since to develop their knowledge and skills. Here – in the last of this week’s blog series on the Institute – our colleague associate director, Tom Bentley tells us more….
Helping our colleagues through the OFR Technical Institute: Part 2
Investment in personal and professional development is an important part of our culture at OFR, and today – as we continue our new series of blogs, in which colleagues tell us about their experiences with the OFR Technical Institute – we meet Muthia Khairunisa. Muthia gained her bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Kyoto University, Japan and her Master's in Fire Safety Engineering from the IMFSE program – here she talks about benefitting from the OFR Technical Ins
OFR and STA clarify CLT fire compliance for industry
Leading fire engineering consultancy, OFR Consultants working in collaboration with the Structural Timber Association (STA) is offering the wider industry valuable clarity on the fire safety design of mass timber buildings.
Helping our colleagues through the OFR Technical Institute: Part 1
This week we are launching a new series of blogs, in which colleagues tell us about their experiences with the OFR Technical Institute. Today we start with Bianca Coutinho who joined the business in 2021 and has recently been promoted from graduate to fire engineer. She has previously worked within the in fire engineering field with businesses internationally in Brazil and Ireland. Here she tells us more…
A new concept for high rise safety; creating safer and sustainable buildings with 81% net:gross
The construction industry has a responsibility to make high rise buildings safer and more sustainable... Matt Brook Architects made a proactive move to address this with the design of a core that was safer for residents and firefighters as well as being highly efficient. Working collaboratively with OFR, the core has been developed and validated through testing. Read more about the process here.
Waste to Energy: how our team is expanding its portfolio with progressive sustainability-focused projects
Having completed works at the Baldovie Waste to Energy plant at Dundee, we are bringing our expertise to a number of other projects in the UK. Here OFR director Jamie Gibson explains more…
Our work at Smithfield in Birmingham
The 17-hectare Smithfield regeneration scheme in Birmingham is set to transform this historic market site into a people-centred yet sustainable, low-carbon destination. Here, our project director, Stewart Dabin talks about our involvement.
Fire strategies for prisons; our latest projects further diversify our OFR portfolio
Our OFR portfolio spans multiple sectors and multiple countries. From shopping malls in Africa, to a research centre in Antarctica, to Google’s new HQ in London. Recently we’ve expanded that offering again working with the Ministry of Justice on fire strategies as part of a £1bn project that will upgrade four prisons across England.
Our London team supports Silvertown
eam, but also with ongoing work on some of the city’s most talked about developments. Here, principal fire engineer, Matt Stallwood talks about how we have been involved at East London’s pioneering Silvertown development.
Our work in the arts and culture sector
We've been privileged to be involved in some of the UK’s most ground-breaking projects – but it’s our growth within the arts and cultural sector following previous project successes that has seen our team build on its industry-leading experience. Here, our director Andy Passingham talks about how we are providing the knowledge and skills to ensure that heritage buildings such as galleries and museums can continue to be safe and accessible for the public well into the future.
Seven interesting projects from seven great years!
Our jobs as fire engineers are always interesting, with a broad portfolio that covers everything from the world’s tallest Octagon-shaped tower to a research station in the Antarctic, to… a new music studio for an 80s pop band. Here we look at some of our most unique OFR projects.
Helping deliver the UK’s lowest carbon new build workspace
It’s an exciting time for construction, with innovations that are making the creation of truly sustainable buildings a reality. In Manchester, members of our team are providing fire engineering advice on what is set to be the UK’s lowest carbon new build workspace, Ev0. Our associate director Jamie Gibson explains how we are providing fire engineering support on this pioneering exposed timber development…
Collaboration is key in spreading the word on fire safety
Following the news of our partnership with the Fire Science Show – a weekly podcast connecting fire researchers and practitioners with fire engineers – we’ve invited the podcast’s founder Wojciech Wegryznski to tell us more about his mission.