BAFE completes Group restructure as life safety sector prepares for “period of change”

The new operating model brings BAFE Holdings, the BAFE Fire Safety Register and FireQual into a more integrated Group structure, with clearer responsibilities and a shared service delivery model. The changes are intended to make better use of available expertise across the Group, while in parallel creating greater capacity for engagement and collaboration with industry.

As part of the restructure, David Barnes has been appointed technical manager for BAFE with responsibility for the operation, monitoring and ongoing performance of BAFE Schemes.

At FireQual, Gillian Lees has been appointed qualifications development and assessment manager with a remit to lead the development and assessment of qualifications, supported by Maria Annakin (in the role of qualifications and assessment officer), who has direct responsibility for ongoing delivery and administration.

Further, the BAFE Group is now recruiting for a Group service delivery manager and a Group finance manager.

Series of changes

The restructure follows on from a series of changes to the leadership of the BAFE Group over recent years, all of which were reported at the time by Fire Safety Matters.

Last year, Lewis Ramsay joined the executive leadership team as chief operating officer, while Board oversight has recently been strengthened by the appointments of Jim Fitzpatrick (as chair of BAFE Holdings), Howard Passey as chair of BAFE Ltd and Douglas Barnett, chair of FireQual.

Commenting on this latest development, Dr Justin Maltby-Smith, Group CEO of BAFE Holdings, informed Fire Safety Matters: “We’ve been working towards this new operating model for some time now and its completion gives us the foundations we need to take the Group forward.”

Maltby-Smith continued: “The life safety sector is entering a period of significant change, with evolving regulatory requirements and growing expectations around competence and assurance. The new structure places BAFE and FireQual in a great position to anticipate those changes and work with our partners and the wider sector to influence how they develop, rather than simply responding as they happen.”

In addition, Maltby-Smith stated: “The new structure gives us an opportunity to build on these relationships, collaborate more closely with other industry bodies and play a greater role in championing competence, independent third party certification and assessment right across the UK.”

BAFE Schemes

The Group restructure comes as BAFE prepares to relaunch several of its BAFE Schemes following an extensive programme of review and refresh, while at the same time FireQual is developing new qualifications aligned with the latest British Standards.

Maltby-Smith concluded: “The work undertaken across the Group over the last few years has afforded us a strong foundation, but our ambitions go beyond the day-to-day operation of BAFE Schemes and qualifications. We want to use our expertise and influence to support higher standards across the life safety domain and help to make independently demonstrated competence an increasingly normal and expected part of how the sector operates.”

The BAFE Fire Safety Register is an independent organisation that develops and maintains third party certification schemes for fire safety services across the UK. Working with industry, certification bodies and Government stakeholders alike, BAFE defines the standards of competence that organisations must meet in order to deliver fire protection services safely and effectively.

Through its BAFE Schemes and the register of certified providers, the organisation supports higher standards, improved accountability and greater confidence across the fire and life safety sectors.

*Further information is available online at www.bafe.org.uk