ASSA ABLOY launches guide and CPD focused on golden thread

Entitled ‘The Golden Thread: A Quick Guide’, the document explains what the concept means from the early design stages through to the construction phase and on again to future building management, detailing professionals’ responsibilities and how they can ensure they comply.

The guide is complemented by ASSA ABLOY’s RIBA-approved CPD on the topic, which educates industry professionals on the issues involved in a substantial degree of detail.

Peter Ashworth (director and head of specification and OEM at ASSA ABLOY) informed Fire Safety Matters: “The golden thread of information is here to stay and only those who embrace it will prosper in the construction industry of the future. The RIBA-accredited CPD, along with the guide, will help all those involved in new build construction to understand their responsibilities so they can ensure compliance and safety as outlined in the Building Safety Act 2022.”

‘Building a Safer Future’

The guide makes clear that all stakeholders in the build process have a unique set of responsibilities in line with the golden thread, which derives from Dame Judith Hackitt’s ‘Building a Safer Future’ report written in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire and the subsequent Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety.

Those responsibilities include ensuring that plans, specifications and material choices are comprehensively documented and easily accessible; documenting regulatory compliance information and considering the long-term implications of design decisions and materials used to ensure the golden thread remains unbroken in the post-handover scenario.

The document also introduces Openings Studio, ASSA ABLOY’s cloud-based Building Information Modelling plug-in tool for the creation, visualisation, modification and management of door openings. Helping to meet the challenges of the golden thread, Openings Studio – along with its linked and user-friendly mobile app – enables all stakeholders to contribute towards digital records.

Each fire door logged in Openings Studio, for example, is automatically assigned a smart tag that can be affixed to the door, enabling direct access to details including installation, inspection and service history.

Additionally, the platform ensures that all operational guides, such as technical data sheets and warranty information, can be stored in one place and is accessible at the click of a button.

Evidence provision

“The new guidelines require every organisation involved in the design, build and maintenance process to keep a record of everything they do,” affirmed Peter Ashworth. “That’s exactly what Openings Studio provides for fire doors.”

Openings Studio allows images, documents, specifications and comments to be uploaded throughout the process. This means there will always be evidence that professionals have met their information requirements, in turn protecting them against the potential repercussions of not meeting the guidelines.”

*Download ‘The Golden Thread: A Quick Guide’ and discover more about the new ASSA ABLOY CPD at https://www.assaabloy.com/uk/en/solutions/topics/the-golden-thread-of-information