CHAS urges construction sector to embrace building safety scheme

The Building a Safer Future Charter was launched in response to Dame Judith Hackitt’s Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety in order to instigate the cultural and behavioural changes required to achieve a safer building system.

Signatories must make five commitments to prioritise safety first in the built environment. These commitments are as follows: 

*Collaborate to spearhead culture change and be the voice of building safety across the sector

*Be transparent in the interests of safety, sharing key information with residents, clients, contractors and statutory bodies in a useful and accessible manner in the design, construction and occupation phases of the process

*Make safety a key factor of choice in terms of who they work with, ensuring that building safety is placed at the centre of selection decisions without compromising quality or value for money

*Ensure that the voices and safety of residents, visitors and employees are central to their decision-making process

*Set out and communicate clear responsibilities within their organisation and with their partners, ensuring everyone with a stake in the building during design, construction and occupation understands their role and has the time and resources they need to achieve and maintain building safety

Commitment to continuous improvement

Any organisations or individuals who work in or who have a professional connection or interest in the UK’s built environment can sign up to the Building a Safer Future Charter. It applies to any organisation involved in pre-, during and post-construction activity (including maintenance and residential/community organisations).

CHAS managing director Ian McKinnon commented: “As an authority and trusted advisor on Health and Safety compliance with responsibility for setting industry benchmarks, CHAS is committed to the continuous improvement of Health and Safety standards in the UK. We therefore fully support the commitments set out in the Building a Safer Future Charter and actively encourage our contractors and other members of the construction community to do the same.”

He concluded: “The more widely the scheme is embraced, the more successful it will be in driving the culture change required to improve building safety.”

As an organisation, CHAS delivers risk prevention, compliance and supply chain management services for clients and contractors. It’s an authority and trusted advisor on Health and Safety compliance and responsible for setting industry benchmarks.

In essence, the organisation’s aims are to standardise and simplify Health and Safety assessment for contractors, support organisations in efficiently managing their supply chains and deliver a full suite of supply chain management tools.