Construction and Fire Safety: Welcoming Positive Change

Construction is a tough job, but it’s also a rewarding one and there is much to be proud of in this sector. Although the Building Safety Act 2022 endured a somewhat shaky start, with talk of the industry still trying to ‘cut corners’ and ‘game the system’, the construction sector is now starting to wake up and welcome the changes being realised by new and revised legislation.

The Building Safety Act is bringing much-needed change to the construction world, for example, with the introduction of the Gateway regime and the ‘golden thread’ of essential information. The aforementioned Gateways (ie 1, 2 and 3) work to make sure that fire safety is considered from the design and build stage right through to the completion and occupation of a building. In essence, they help to ensure that a given building is compliant.

The Gateways also form part of the ‘golden thread’, which is focused on the information about a building that allows someone to understand that structure and keep it safe and the necessary management process needed to ensure that the key information involved is accurate, easily understood and can be accessed by those who need it. Importantly, that information needs to be up-to-date.

In a similar vein, the construction industry is witnessing the introduction of schemes such as the Code for Construction Product Information and BSI Identify. The former will assist organisations to drive higher standards in the presentation of construction product information, prioritising building safety along the way. The Code is built around several acid tests, asserting that product information must be accurate, up-to-date, accessible and unambiguous.

Further to this, BSI Identify also works to underpin the ‘golden thread’ of information by supporting product identification and traceability within the built environment.

Competency, trust, collaboration

While in some cases legislative change forces individuals into doing the right thing, it has been refreshing to witness an increase in what might be termed ‘authentic discussions’ around competency, trust and collaboration driven by a desire for voluntary improvement.

For example, at London Build Expo (the most recent edition of which ran last November), most panel discussions on the fire safety-focused stage harboured an overarching message of compliance and the overriding desire to create a safer future for residents of high-rise and multi-occupancy buildings.

What’s really enthusing is that the industry is not only talking about the need for such values, but also doing something about it in terms of initiating positive action. A good example of this concentrates on fire stopping.

Fire stopping is of a smaller value when compared to other construction-related packages such as the M&E package. Historically, it has not been considered until months after the start of a project which, as many tragedies have sadly demonstrated, is far too late in the process.

However, in more recent times, there has been a shift in attitudes and practices when it comes to early engagement in relation to fire stopping. Fire stopping needs to be considered as early on in the design process as possible, ensuring that a building is constructed around the test evidence that’s available.

Core questions

Individuals are now adopting a more proactive approach by asking key questions: ‘What do we want to build?’ ‘How do we want to build it?’ ‘What tested solutions are available?’

We’ve seen this evidenced through the influx of design meetings and increased interest in webinars, Continuing Professional Development and toolbox-type training. These are just some of the ways in which the construction industry is demonstrating that it’s dedicated to the practise of fire safety and ‘doing it right’ the first time around.

There has also been an enhanced demand for more educational content across the industry, ranging from the desire for detail test information through to ‘How To’ videos and on again to longer, more in-depth articles.

As a manufacturer and supplier of passive fire protection solutions, we feel that, with a little push from the Building Safety Act 2022, as well as the strong desire within organisations to ‘do the right thing’, the industry is now starting to take heed of – and actively use – manufacturers’ guidance and technical support.

Undoubtedly, the world of construction is changing. In parallel, it’s time that we all take a closer look at what the future holds for us.

The 12-month period leading up to the present may have felt like a challenging one for those determined to embrace change, but as we enter 2023, we now need to recognise that 2022 has also shown us that the only way in which to succeed is to work together and collaborate, encouraging compliance and demonstrating competency right across the board.

By adopting such a policy, we are making – and will continue to make – a positive difference in the world, one building at a time.

Rebecca Croton is Content Marketing Executive at Quelfire Limited (www.quelfire.co.uk)