Building & Fire Safety

The Building Safety Bill, published on 5 July 2021, will create lasting generational change and set out a clear pathway for the future on how residential buildings should be constructed and maintained.

Last week, the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC) Committee held an evidence session as part of its ongoing work on fire and building safety to question Paul Morrell OBE, formerly the Government’s Chief Construction Adviser, and Anneliese Day KC, the co-authors of the Independent Review of the Construction Products Testing Regime.

In this next video in our series surrounding the key questions raised in response to changes for those with duty holding responsibilities, discover the significance of professionals proving their competence in accordance with the Building Safety Act (2022) in this insightful conversation between CABE Chief Executive Dr. Gavin Dunn and Fabrick Managing Director David Ing, and understand how the act is reshaping the standards for those working on higher-risk buildings, ensuring the safety of our built environment.

Bristol City Council has declared a major incident after it found the structure of a tower block was at risk in the event of a fire, explosion or large impact.

The ASFP has updated its Technical Guidance Document 21 on the subject of UKCA/CE marking of operable fabric curtains. It provides guidance on the standard BS EN 16034 and where it is appropriate to use it for operable fabric curtains.

The Welsh Government has approved CABE’s Building Inspector Competence Assessment Scheme for the registration of building control professionals in Wales.

CABE Chief Executive Dr. Gavin Dunn and Fabrick Managing Director David Ing explore how duty-holders working on higher-risk buildings can now demonstrate their competence. The video discusses the Engineering Council's Higher-Risk Buildings Registration and provides valuable insights into the processes to prove competence to ensure safety and professionalism across the built environment.

OCS and Skanska Costain STRABAG have developed MudCam, a monitoring, detection and alerting system that continuously monitors areas of mud build-up at construction sites, improving safety and mitigating the multi-million-pound risks of site shutdowns.

SOCOTEC UK considers what documentation is now required for a fire risk assessment.

The number of times construction workers and developers were found to be working too close to high-pressure oil, gas and chemical pipes increased by 57% in 2022. Of the 316 incidents in 2022 reported to Linewatch, the pipeline safety and awareness group, 127 were caused by contractors and developers.

The Building Safety Alliance is inviting stakeholders to contribute to the development of a standardised approach to support Accountable Persons in discharging their duties in relation to the Golden Thread.

The new regime will affect most people working in the industry, and CABE
expects all members to be aware of what they will need to do to comply.

On 1 October 2023, the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) became the Building Control Authority for all higher-risk buildings (HRBs) in England.

Following the announcement that Building Control will be a regulated profession, the Health and Safety Executive has announced that the service for registering competence is now open.

Fire engineering consultancy OFR Consultants, with the Structural Timber Association (STA), has published its research into cross-laminated timber (CLT) compartment fire behaviour in Volume 6 of the STA’s Structural timber buildings fire safety in use guidance. Its study set out to establish the relationship between different building heights, uses and consequence classes, as well as performance expectations of structures in the event of a fire.

Based on an analysis of incidents logged through its Accident Reporting Portal, the International Powered Access Federation has said that incident reporting has increased over the past year and the fatality rates of the most common types of accidents have declined.

The Building Safety in Wales report on how the Welsh government, local authorities and their key partners are implementing the requirements of the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA) has found that responsible bodies – particularly local authorities and fire and rescue – are unable to effectively discharge their responsibilities and ensure buildings in Wales are safe.

The Insulation Manufacturers Association’s Seven Steps to Fire Safety CPD outlines material science, product testing and product classifications, and how this relates to regulations and standards critical to the fire performance of a building.

Abloy UK recommends familiarisation with the amendment by the British Standards Institution (BSI) to Part 4 of BS 7273: Code of practice for the operation of fire protection measures – Actuation of release mechanisms for doors, to enhance security and provide safer means of controlling the unauthorised use of escape doors.

Regulations and the technical detail underpinning the new, more stringent regime for the design and construction of higher-risk buildings bring changes for all buildings.