Tenant Safety & Security Feature Close the data gap


Rob Norton of PlanRadar highlights the urgent need for better digital data management to meet fi re safety standards, explaining how Regulation 38 can close critical compliance gaps across the sector.


Tenant Safety & Security 33


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lmost eight years on from the tragic events of 14 June 2017, achieving uncompromising fi re safety in residential buildings remains a thorny issue for the UK construction sector. One particularly sore topic


is around the collation, management and provision of correct, up-to-date, whole life building information that is so crucial towards protecting residents in case of emergency. Unfortunately, data gaps and information chasms persist across the built


environment, particularly on legacy assets. Putting it bluntly, while these persist, so does risk not just to building occupants, but to everyone involved in the design, construction and management of an aff ected building. While I want to acknowledge signifi cant strides have been made over the last


eight-years to improve building data hygiene, I fear there’s still a long way to go before we realise Dame Judith Hackitt’s ‘Golden T read’. T e term ‘must try harder’ springs to mind at this stage, as I don’t think that


the safety-fi rst mindset is universally shared. And the industry needs to get a move on, as the Government wants to generate much needed economic growth based on ambitious housebuilding targets and retrofi t programmes. Any data omissions on new builds or retrofi ts will be seen as setbacks,


with homes unable to be occupied until everything is all in one place. As you see it makes the case for adopting agreed, standard, industry-wide information protocols. T is is where the much-needed Regulation 38 comes into play. Introduced under the Building Safety Act, Regulation 38 has become a


vital process that can help resolve gaps within fi re safety information at any stage of a project, from planning and design through construction, handover, operation and maintenance. It covers the critical details: fi re protection systems, escape routes, and construction materials, ensuring essential fi re safety information is made available to those responsible for the building’s safety throughout its lifecycle.


T is isn’t just an admin exercise, but a useful mechanism which securely


plugs the holes, ensuring fi re safety information is precisely recorded, collated and delivered for inspection on completion. In essence, it’s a fundamental safeguard that determines whether a building is truly fi t for occupation. However, it’s not as widely used as it should be and, despite its importance,


many contractors and subcontractors still struggle to understand its signifi cance or integrate it into their operations.


PROBLEMATIC IMPLEMENTATION T e reason it’s been so hard to get developers, contractors and builders to comply with fi re safety standard documentation is predominantly caused by poor, patchy and obsolete data management. Despite the wealth of best practice guidance available, project teams are


still struggling with disorganised and incomplete records stored in multiple, nebulous (and oſt en siloed) locations. A reliance on physical paper records and offl ine documents persists too. T at’s all before you come to appreciate the sheer volume of data that


management teams now have to contend with. Just think of the amount of data generated from Building Information Modelling (BIM) alone. It can all become overwhelming and this leads to increased human error, reduced accuracy, consistency and completeness. Legacy tech stacks add yet another layer of complexity, especially for SMEs


which lack the necessary resources to upgrade entire digital infrastructures and data management processes overnight. Incompatibility between old and new soſt ware reduces effi ciency and leaves the door open for mistakes to be made. Inevitably, this tangled web of problems results in compliance related issues


which will cause costly delays and fi nancial, legal and potentially reputational damage to the business. Yet there is an accessible mainstream solution, which will ensure successful compliance with Regulation 38, and more.


Housing Management & Maintenance April/May 2025


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