• • • CABLING & CABLE MANAGEMENT • • •
We all have a part to play in new
safety act, says AEI Cables Cables leader AEI Cables is advising its customers in the supply chain - from wholesalers through to installers – that they all have a role to play under the new Building Safety Act legislation requirements
he Act, introduced from October 2023, makes new requirements for ‘higher-risk buildings’ which are those deemed to be of at least 18 metres in height or at least seven storeys containing at least two residential units. Building owners should now have their building safety regime in place and any occupied higher- risk buildings should be registered with the Building Safety Regulator.
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The systems in these buildings powered by electrical cables, including smoke and heat extraction systems, assist fire services in firefighting and a safe evacuation in the case of life safety.
Stuart Dover, general manager of AEI Cables,
says: “We are emphasising to our customers the important part played by electrical systems and cables that power these systems as part of this new initiative.”
Promote competence “We welcome the move to improve the safety of people and property but we should all be aware of our role we have to play and responsibilities under these new requirements. Ignorance of the new legislation will be no defence so taking time to understand where you sit and what you need to do are important,” States Dover. “There are benefits to asking questions earlier rather than later and we are happy to provide guidance where relevant on these issues.”
Under the terms of the Act, the Principal Accountable Person responsible for managing safety 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.
This Act makes reforms to give residents and homeowners more rights, powers, and protections to make homes across the country safer. It delivers far-reaching protections for qualifying leaseholders from the costs associated with remediating historical building safety defects, and an ambitious toolkit of measures that will allow those responsible for building safety defects to be held to account.
It overhauls existing regulations, creating lasting change and makes clear how residential buildings should be constructed, maintained and made safe. The Act creates three new bodies to provide effective oversight of the new regime: the Building Safety Regulator, the National Regulator of Construction Products and the New Homes Ombudsman. The National Regulator will oversee a more effective construction products regulatory regime
12 ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING • SEPTEMBER 2024
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.
Clear lines of responsibility 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’ 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.
electricalengineeringmagazine.co.uk
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