NEWS
IOSH and EPIC In the view of the Institution of Occupation Safety and Health (IOSH), the ban ‘should apply to all’ high rise buildings, with the institution stating that the ban ‘provides some clarity and simplification’, but ‘doesn’t go far enough’, having previously ‘urged’ the government to ‘take urgent action to strengthen the UK system for building and fire safety’ after Dame Judith Hackitt’s review of building regulations and fire safety. Richard Jones, head of policy and public affairs at IOSH, stated: ‘As was revealed in Dame Judith’s review findings, the UK system requires fundamental reform. Given that this will take significant time and the fact the public is very concerned about fire safety, banning the use of combustible materials on new high-rise residential buildings is a step in the right direction. It provides some clarity and simplification for the construction industry. ‘But it doesn’t go far enough. In cities and towns across the UK, many people live and also work in high-rise buildings. They all need to be protected. Therefore, the ban should cover all high- rise buildings, existing and new, and both residential and non- residential. Existing buildings should not remain clad in combustible materials, but should have improvement plans put in place. ‘We also believe that it is
unacceptable to allow building work using newly-banned materials to start or continue, so the ban should apply to projects already underway.’ Engineered Panels in Construction (EPIC) supports the ‘call for reform’, but criticised the ban’s ‘unwelcome implications’. It stated that ‘nobody in the industry would disagree with the aspiration to prevent another Grenfell and to drive a change in culture on building safety’, but added that ‘safety starts with an understanding
Cladding figures Also, the government revealed that 28 high rise hotels are among 295 privately owned buildings that have combustible cladding. The Guardian reported on the
that buildings behave as complicated systems, not just layers of products’. Chris Pateman, general
secretary of EPIC, stated: ‘EPIC members have been working with contractors to deliver more joined-up on-site practice for many years, and we welcome the Government’s commitment to hastening improvement. 'Members will continue to
work closely with Government to professionalise and ensure the Secretary of State’s announcement is understood by all within the industry. ‘The answer to complicated engineering questions about fire performance of materials in buildings is not to ban modern materials. The answer is to build the systems in large-scale test- rigs, expose them to significant fire loads in controlled conditions, and see how they perform. And then to ensure the people who are installing them on site are qualified, trained, accredited and responsible to deliver to specification. ‘Thinking you can prevent another Grenfell by banning the use of a broad class of materials is a bit like thinking you can prevent another M5 pile-up by banning HGVs. It’s poor-quality policy-making, and we wonder if the Secretary of State has really thought through its implications.’
latest figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), which ‘revealed for the first time’ that 28 high rise hotels have ACM cladding, but it would ‘not say where they were’. None ‘have had the cladding removed, or have even started remediation works’, and of 205 privately owned flat blocks across England, only two have been ‘completely fixed’. In turn, remediation plans for
86 other towers ‘are unclear’, and of 159 social housing blocks that have cladding that failed the government’s fire safety tests, 15% have been fixed and 62% have repairs ‘under way’, but ‘there are no plans’ for another 38 buildings. In June, the government revealed that 156 further private high rises were wrapped in combustible cladding, and it ‘expected’ numbers to ‘rise further’, as another 170 blocks’ status was ‘still to be confirmed’. In July, only two new projects ‘got under way’ in a month, while only a quarter had plans in place. Of all private buildings with ACM cladding, 23 had started removal by 12 July, ‘only two more’ than by 14 June. Four further buildings with ACM had been identified in that time, taking the total up to 301, with 74% of buildings with ACM ‘having not informed’ MHCLG of ‘any plans to remove the cladding’, a small fall from 76% a month before. The status of about 100 buildings, the MHCLG added, was ‘still to be confirmed’. Between 3 and 5% were expected to have ACM cladding. Only 77 of 301 private buildings had provided MHCLG with work plans, and as of August, 293 private buildings had ACM cladding, and MHCLG ‘had not been informed’ of plans for 200
www.frmjournal.com NOVEMBER 2018 7
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