• • • CABLING & CABLE MANAGEMENT • • • Information sharing is crucial
for safety, says AEI Cables The electrical supply chain needs to share information wherever possible to help address new legislation in the interests of safety, says leading cable supplier AEI Cables
he Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA) identifies new roles and responsibilities for people and organisations who are responsible for the safety of occupied high-rise residential buildings in England.
T
It also introduces new legal duties for some existing roles, for example those involved with designing, building and refurbishing higher-risk buildings.
Stuart Dover, general manager of AEI Cables,
said: “We are emphasising to our customers in the supply chain the important role they have to play in developing systems and processes that are safe and compliant. “We believe in sharing information with other professionals in the interests of safety and compliance as large projects start to come under the new safety regime. “The part played by electrical systems and cables that power these systems is all part of the safety process. We welcome the move to improve the safety of people and property but we should all be aware of our various roles as a part of the supply chain. We are happy to provide our technical expertise and guidance on these issues.” Under the terms of the Act, a Principal Accountable Person who fails to register an occupied higher-risk building ‘without a reasonable excuse’ will be liable to either a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years. The Building Safety Regulator will oversee the safety and performance of all buildings, as well as
having a special focus on high-rise buildings. It will promote competence and organisational capability within the sector including for building control professionals and tradespeople. Further reform of the construction industry and the overall construction regulatory framework can be expected during 2025 following the final report from the Grenfell inquiry. In the meantime, the supply chain is being asked to comply with the terms of the 2022 legislation.
The Act overhauls existing regulations, creating lasting change and makes clear how residential buildings should be constructed, maintained and made safe by those involved in the construction process.
The Act creates three new bodies to provide effective oversight of the new regime: the Building Safety Regulator, the National Regulator of Construction Products (NRCP) and the New Homes Ombudsman. The National Regulator will oversee a more effective construction products regulatory regime and lead and co-ordinate market surveillance and enforcement across the UK. The NRCP has already started taking enforcement action under the scope of existing regulations.
Many of the detailed provisions in the Act will be implemented over the next two years through a programme of secondary legislation. Residents in high-rise buildings will have more say in how their building is kept safe and will be able to raise building safety concerns directly to
the owners and managers of their buildings, known as accountable persons. The accountable person(s) will have a duty to listen to them. Duty holders such as the Principal Designer and
Principal Contractor under the Act will be required to manage building safety risks, with clear lines of responsibility during the design, construction and completion of all buildings.
Accountable persons will need to demonstrate that they have effective, proportionate measures in place to manage building safety risks in the higher-risk buildings for which they are responsible. AEI Cables serves key markets in the UK and worldwide including construction, industrial, fire protection, defence, mining and rail. Its products meet the highest industry standards including ISO 9001 and are approved by the leading approvals organisations nationally and internationally including BASEC, LPCB and Lloyds. AEI Cables’ Firetec Enhanced cabling has been approved and certified by LPCB to BS8519 (Annex B), Category 3 Control in addition to Category 2 Control. The BS Code of Practice under BS8519 contains six categories of cables, three for power cables and three for control cables each covering survival times of 30, 60 or 120 minutes. All AEI Cables’ products are supplied with approvals from independent bodies including BASEC and LPCB. It also holds approvals from organisations including Lloyds, the MoD, Network Rail and LUL and works to international standards around the world.
40 ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING • FEBRUARY 2025
electricalengineeringmagazine.co.uk
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