CONSTRUCTION AND THE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
compartmentalised correctly, and thus whoever goes in must upgrade. That’s the big challenge – who takes that risk? From a private sector standpoint, it lends itself to looking more at an open book agreement – where you either say you’re going to pay a lot because you’ve got to account for the risk, or arrive at a mechanism which says you’re going to pay for what you get.”
Evidence and gateways Steve Batson said: “There are a couple of key points you raised we should discuss. In terms of the Building Safety Act, and the evidence and the Gateways you outlined, there are key obligations for Gateways 1 and 2 for the design team to ensure and evidence that the design process is developed, and the ‘unknowns’ are turned to ‘traffic lights’, to either close out the design intent – when they can be opened up in some instances in terms of refurbishment projects, or to have gone ‘green’, signifying that this is the design at Gateway 1 and 2. “It’s about the emphasis on professional
duty to ensure that this is done and evidenced, and that the reasons for change, and the necessary evidence, have been captured.” Steve Batson continued: “At Gateway
3, the contractor is legally required to evidence and ensure they have done that, because if they make changes, they must evidence why. With an HRB and a non-HRB, the processes are the same in project delivery terms, but an HRB could stop a project, i.e. ‘gateway it out’, for 8-12 weeks. Similarly, on non-HRBs, if a design change happens down the line in that third gateway, it still causes a delay, because you must still ensure you have the evidence of compliance at the end of the job, which all must sign off. The client, professional team, and contractor, must sign off that you have done your duties under the Act, and those Gateways.” Steve Batson added: “Also under the Building Safety Act – because of Grenfell
Steve Crow
Steve Crow, Strategy Director at Clarion Solicitors, has over 35 years’ experience working for seven different professional services partnerships; 11 in a ‘Big 4’ environment with Deloitte and PwC. He leverages his detailed understanding of the structure and change dynamic of the economic landscape to provide insights and opportunities for clients and contacts. He is currently advising the CEOs of a number of major
international businesses on strategy, including a FTSE 250 manufacturing business assessing new ways to move up the value chain. Degree qualified in M&E/HVAC, the first third of his career was in multidisciplinary design engineering and project management, working with full design teams on major international projects across the health, defence, and manufacturing sectors. Also on the Board of Space Hub Yorkshire – which works with UK Space Agency/European Space Agency to deliver the UK strategy for satellite development, he is currently working on an initiative to bring together architectural and multi-engineering firms to address BIM/Smart cities.
30 Health Estate Journal September 2024 Andy Varley
Andrew Varley BEng(Hons), CEng, MIChemE, Director, International Facilities and Real Estate, at Steris, is a Chartered Chemical Engineer who has worked in healthcare for over 20 years, and was previously employed in the food industry.
and the associated cladding and fire issues – there is an onus on manufacturers to improve from a point of specification, and on us, as professional teams, to understand that what we are specifying, and what the client is buying, are clear, transparent, and evidential. We just need to drill into this a little more from a specification and manufacturing standpoint.” Phil Morrison said: “The Act is not
prescriptive on how the information is to be gathered, other than to say that it must be done electronically, and be readily accessible and regularly updated during the design, construction, and occupation phases. You will need to have all the information ready. Essentially, if the Fire Service turns up, they should be able to readily access the information electronically, or have access to it before leaving the fire station. That must be done. It’s not prescriptive of what kind of system you use; that remains to be settled. With every registered building over the last year or so, it will be interesting to see how much information they actually have, and how much they update it. With a building that is neither part of the NHS estate, nor public authority-owned housing, many of the residents may not be aware of the Building Safety Act, understand it, or even expect that the property or managing agent will be the party responsible.”
Dispute complications Phil Morrison said he believed there remained ‘many issues still to be worked out’. He said: “One of the things I’ve
found in is that when you get a dispute, and then look to obtain a full set of documents signed by all, it’s a miracle if you actually can. To be able to get a full set of O & M manuals with ‘as built drawings’ incorporated is practically unheard of, even if it’s in the list of practical completion documentation. So, having the information, and not getting the completion certificate, will be a game-changer.” He added: “The other thing the Act is
introducing is ‘professional competency’. Anybody in the industry will have to show their competency. It will no longer be enough to say: ‘I have taken my professional body’s course, and there’s a certificate on the wall.’ As a professional you’ll have to demonstrate that competence, as will your client, and everybody else in the chain.”
A change in thinking Connie Campbell said: “Given the frequent difficulty in getting the full O & M manuals, we’re finding the importance of this is coming forward on projects when progressing through the Act’s gateways. Even just on the design side, before we even get to construction, we are having to confirm that details are approved, that we have suitable manufacturers, and, for instance, that we’ve got approved installation for the wall types; all that detail is coming to the fore. The risk of this is being pushed forward into design, so we are coming to a slightly different style of approach; it’s not design and build – it’s two-stage, i.e., ‘This product or solution is what we are using.’ That’s sometimes very difficult, because when you’re in those value engineering conversations later, if you design for a specific product that always carries an extra element of risk for delivery, there’s the question of whether you can find an alternative that will work and is approved. I think manufacturers are playing ‘catch up’. We’re finding that with products we’ve previously used, the manufacturers perhaps haven’t completed their updated tests, and are still waiting to get their certificates.” Andy Buckley said: “I also think the skills shortage will come to the fore, with consultants not knowing how things are built, or designers not experienced in this area. Equally, maybe some contractors don’t know how to build any more? Thus returning to traditional forms of construction is positive.”
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