Cross-sector Building Safety Alliance publishes golden thread guidance

The Building Safety Act 2022 requires ‘Accountable Persons’ to demonstrate the effective assessment and management of building safety risks through the collation and maintenance of information. The Building Safety Alliance’s guidance has been published in three parts (including a master list of documents and other information sources currently used by industry), which can be used to identify the key data to be specified for the golden thread of information requirements.

The work builds on the Construction Leadership Council’s golden thread guidance released last year and has been undertaken over several years of voluntary effort by an expert panel. While this edition of the guidance is aiming to support technical practitioners familiar with the legislation and its golden thread requirements, the publication signals a soft launch.

Stakeholders are invited to join the collaboration to adapt this standardised approach to the wider range users and personas in the built environment that need to meet golden thread duties.

Standardised framework

Anthony Taylor, chair of the Building Safety Alliance, said: “I’m proud to be part of this cross-sector collaboration, which included experts from across the digital built environment, experts in information requirements, data structuring, management and labelling. Our thanks in particular go to Mark Snelling and Alison Verdin, the technical authors of the prescribed documents table, nima, the BIM for social housing toolkit team, the policy teams at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Building Safety Regulator and the chair of the group, Gordon Mitchell who brought his experience in ISO and European data standards to the fore.”

Taylor added: “The aim of the soft launch is to ensure we can now adjust the standardised framework and guidance to various personas and audiences across the built environment such that we’re able to continue to simplify the complex regulatory environment for those needing to navigate it.”

Harmonisation and compatibility

Gordon Mitchell, chair of the Building Safety Alliance Special Interest Group 3, observed: “Our aim was to integrate existing standards and industry frameworks – such as ISO 19650, various safety standards and Uniclass – to enable harmonisation and compatibility, streamline processes and enhance information sharing across the built environment. We’re not done yet. We’re seeking to deliver on a long-term vision of a fully integrated and digitally enabled built environment of the 2050 world and will continue to collaborate in the building safety space to that end.”

*Download the Building Safety Alliance guidance for free by visiting www.buildingsafetyalliance.org.uk