Current affairs While it is voluntary, test certificates remain


a ‘bit complicated’, and with regard to tested scenarios he asked how many can be compared to the construction detail and be guaranteed or ensured to be correct. Self declaration asks if the product passed and if it actually did undergo or pass tests, providing an element of risk. Test reports are only a snapshot, and aren’t necessarily representative of every product used due to process changes – again an element of risk. Third party certification however demonstrates conformity – the product is the same, and has the same specification as the one that is tested, providing confidence. He highlighted Dame Judith’s suggestion that building information modelling and IT be used more, though this will require a ‘significant development in software and hardware’ and could be said to be a ‘long way away’. In the report’s chapter on competence, she calls for ‘more effective’ sector leadership, and a ‘continuous improvement of competence’. The fire industry has been given a year in a


response group to make the necessary changes, and installer certification is still voluntary (again, not for ASFP members), with builders and other trades not understanding fire protection. The consequences are often not noticed until too late, as trades have ‘no concept of the system, issues or need for fire protection’. Mr Taylor concluded by noting that ‘we will


wait and see’ what the government will do, but hoped that the industry can make changes to product and installer certification. The Building Alliance’s Mike Leonard gave an historical overview of UK fire legislation, remarking that the deaths at Grenfell were yet another tragic ‘reminder’ to make changes. He questioned this reactive, ‘one dimensional approach’, as ‘buildings are complex and we have to think about cause and effect’. A review of ADB is ‘very overdue’, and many have been ‘campaigning for a long time’ for it as ‘fire costs lives’, yet ‘we don’t react until a serious loss of life’. Next, he aimed to bust myths about modern methods of construction (MMC) – that they cost less (they are often more expensive); that they are quicker (they are more likely to have longer lead times); that they are sustainable (most are transported by shipping in an inefficient supply chain); that they are built to last (but are designed for 60 years when traditional construction is for 150 years); and that they provide new skills (there are even less needed or provided). His view was that ‘high risk is not just high rise’.


Care homes and hotels are built in the same manner, ‘making means of escape assumptions’,


FOCUS


with no more chance of a safe evacuation from a 17 storey building than an 18 storey building. Asking whether the government will ‘wait until the next disaster’ for change, he noted that decisions it makes need to be viewed in the context of the ageing population and NHS funding, and keeping people in their homes ‘as long as possible’. He cited the assumption that people can escape a two storey house by lowering themselves from upstairs, noting that approaches like it were ‘not fit for purpose’. There was a ‘perception of speed’ against


established fire issues that the market faces, and the industry should ‘talk about non combustibility building fabric’. With the market and the government not having ‘learned the lessons of Lakanal’, he asked ‘did not enough people die?’. On construction risks reflected by the


insurance industry, he pointed to fires in concealed spaces and ‘alarming’ instances of fires reigniting. Sprinklers have a ‘part to play’ with a fabric based approach alongside guidance, and considering the issues of thermal insulation, Mr Leonard asked if MMC is safe. Here, he referenced a RISCAuthority


presentation to government years before Grenfell, warning that MMC could result in increased damage areas, higher fire spread rates and a greater susceptibility to ignition sources. He reflected that it is ‘difficult to think’ that changes made to construction ‘didn’t have no impact on life safety’. Risks and factors to consider were the ageing population, cladding, fire doors, insulation, energy, tall buildings and structures, with a ‘lot of work to do’ on ‘increasing fire loads’ and denser and higher buildings, though there is a ‘strong evidence base’ to back up concerns.


www.frmjournal.com JULY/AUGUST 2018 49


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64