Building a safer future seminar – London NEWS


Sheltered and supported properties are currently under review. Mrs Bailey pointed out that under


these new plans, in Hyde properties ‘an Englishman’s home is no longer his castle’, because residents have a duty of care to neighbours. Other elements of resident safety improvements included a simplified website, booklet and landlord safety record. Concluding, Mrs Bailey said that


the idea of ‘layers of protection’ across ‘all buildings regardless of height’ would mean increased safety, though there was ‘lots left to do’, including on building compliance and fire safety teams, installing building safety managers and duty holders, and creating safety cases for buildings over ten storeys. Her advice to housing companies was to ‘codify’ new build strategies, ‘act now and don’t wait’ and take a ‘systematic approach – we can’t unsee what we’ve seen, and need to quickly adapt to the new normal’.


ADB review


Tom Roche, assistant vice president and senior consultant at FM Global, spoke on behalf of the Fire Sector Federation (FSF) on the review of Approved Document B of the Building Regulations (ADB). He began by asking who in the audience ‘actually uses’ ADB, adding that the FSF has been calling for a review for a long time, and had actually scheduled a launch for its call for a review on the day that the Grenfell Tower fire occurred. He noted that the FSF had ‘lots


of different views, even on the same sentences’ in one document, and was working towards a majority view by agreeing simple principles ‘to start’. These ranged from core beliefs and specifics of fire safety, to exploring resident safety and the scope of ADB. Musing on the limitations of the


regulations, he wondered ‘should we go further’ and include property protection, which the FSF agreed was a sensible next step. It also looked internationally for inspiration, bringing in the ideas of consequence classes in structural contexts such as social, economic and environmental factors,


as well as purpose groups. He also reiterated the importance of keeping up with the built environment, adding that buildings are often changing use, and attribute filters reflecting this were needed to better reflect changes in terms of enforcement. A guide to the ‘right choice for the right building’ was needed, while an inclusive design should be paying attention to any predicted increase in susceptibility to fire and a building’s user profile. The ‘realistic’ view of building users and their expected reactions to fire, a ‘proportionate approach to building design’, and a reliance on management would all help, alongside focusing on the means of escape and options available, such as banning single staircases. Trigger heights and thresholds


were the ‘subject of much debate’, and Mr Roche covered the wide variety of heights provided in guidance and the lack of a ‘consistency of application’. This should be linked to firefighting to ‘ensure consistency’ with operational guidance, while compartmentation science should be taken into account, as well as internationally accepted definitions and sizes, reasonable firefighter access and available water supplies. On construction, ADB needs


to balance the issues of debate around housing demand and energy efficiency alongside testing regimes, fire spread and specifications, as well as understanding single points of failure. Mr Roche also covered toxicity; balconies and attachments to buildings; automatic sprinklers; third party certification; and competence. He concluded that clarity and engagement in the process was needed, as the sector ‘cannot wait another 12 years’ to review ADB’.


Building control


Finally, Barry Turner, director of technical policy at Local Authority Building Control (LABC), explored the history of building control, noting that the organisation aims to ‘protect the building control function of local authorities’.


LABC brings together building


control expertise from across the nation, to ‘share resources to match demand’, in what Mr Turner called a ‘national service delivered locally’. He stated that post Grenfell and Hackitt, LABC has been part of expert panels and working groups, has liaised with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, and has supported members, helping in turn to define competency across sectors. It also looked to what members


were doing, including working with FRSs in what he termed a ‘generally good relationship’, specifically with checking and remediating buildings, and assisting clients with futureproofing before regulatory changes. The organisation is also coordinating delivery of a national response at a local level, including accelerating its accredited UKAS quality management system and launching a qualification pathway. LABC has implemented a


competency framework, as well as securing apprenticeship funding for delivery in local authorities, and with Hackitt, Mr Turner noted that the implementation plan’s scope has extended, specifically touching upon the ‘stronger, more effective’ framework demanded alongside accountability. He bemoaned the fact that in many ways ‘nothing has changed since the 1960s’, sharing his belief that unlimited fines may be the only way to make sure enforcement takes place. Mr Turner also discussed


gateways and gateway points, which would mean that ‘if you’re unable to demonstrate that safety has been effectively managed, you can’t progress to the next gateway’ in construction. He likened the way many use building regulations at the moment to a Choose Your Own Adventure book, and pointed to the ‘dangerous drift’ towards a ‘silo mentality’ across sectors, inhibiting the balance between responsibility and accountability. Echoing Dame Judith’s call for culture change, he concluded that we need to change the industry but said he was not sure we’re asking the right questions. ‘We need to challenge everything,’ he said, adding that this will be ‘very difficult’


www.frmjournal.com JUNE 2019 13


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