Grenfell progress
must be individually tested. The use of materials is therefore limited to those such as metal, stone, rockwool or plasterboard. This legislation has had significant consequences for construction, requiring an industry wide transformation through eliminating the use of many traditional materials, aiming to ensure that external walls on all high rise buildings resist the spread of flames19
due to the typical lack of retrospectivity in legislation, the ban was not applied to properties where combustible materials had already been fitted before 2019.
Lessons learned?
Previous fires and associated events need to be treated as warnings, so that adjustments can be made and lessons can be learned. It has been suggested that had the Lakanal House fire in 2009 been used to acknowledge mistakes and inspire adapted practice, it could easily have prevented Grenfell. In reality, such events have been disastrously ignored, highlighting the necessity for more attentive, proactive and careful attitudes. The catastrophe has demanded an enhanced focus on occupant safety equal to the continued attention given to construction worker safety. Since Grenfell, awareness has been raised, the importance of education
has been emphasised and more open conversations have been encouraged. These positive improvements must continue, supported by increased feelings of responsibility for both companies and individuals regarding fire safety. Value engineering in construction must
. However,
take a proactive and holistic approach, in which any changes are checked for wider safety ramifications, encouraging a thorough and transparent attention to detail. It is vital that events, near misses or findings relating to any aspect of safety are shared transparently, investigated and learned from. The foreshadowing of Grenfell at Lakanal is the most damning of all the evidence of an industry asleep at the wheel. It is unfortunate that it took a disaster such as
Grenfell to provide the wake up call necessary for the government to take action, despite several precursor events that should have been treated as warnings. Progress was made in December 2018 with the implementation of the combustible materials ban, which prevented the use of these materials on all high rise cladding and balcony designs. However, the recommendations made
by Dame Judith in her report need to be implemented at a faster pace, with further legislation still to come. But we cannot just rely on governmental action. Within the construction industry, proactivity must improve.
FOCUS
www.frmjournal.com DECEMBER 2019/JANUARY 2020
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