Introduction

The Hazards Forum event, Building Safety Regulations – reflections one year chaired by Richard Roff, focused on enhancing safety in residential construction light of the Building Safety Act. The discussion delved into the lessons emerging from the investigation into the Grenfell Tower fire, the importance of a strong safety culture within organizations, and the challenges posed by the Building Safety Act.

We welcomed three expert speakers: James Holt, University Fire Safety Lead at Loughborough University, Andrew Threlfall, Chief Engineer at Costain and Mark Hansford, Director of Engineering Knowledge at the Institution of Civil Engineers.

Building safety in the context of infrastructure

Andrew Threlfall gave a talk on ‘Building safety in the context of infrastructure’ where he first discussed his role at Costain. He then when on to explain building safety regulations and the Building Safety Act experience, as well as the management of fire risk in construction more broadly.

Andrew discussed the challenges with various aspects of the building process, including the differences between CDM roles of Principal Contractor and Principal Designer compared with the Building Safety Act Roles of Principal Designer and Principal Contractor. He mentioned the challenges with terminology and awareness in the industry, as well as built conditions and transient states and in demonstrating compliance.

Compiling a building safety case for an HRB

James Holt delivered a talk on ‘Compiling a building safety case for a Higer Risk Building (HRB)’. He gave a brief background on Loughborough University and its structure, acknowledging a need for an Accountable Person with individual responsibilities, be it an organisation, business or individual.

He described the fire safety policy at the University and introduced the various high-rise buildings there. He explained that to avoid retrospectively considering BSA, planned demolition of some of the structures has been brought forward. He went into depth about building a safety case report which records a safety case, identifying the building safety risks and explains how these are managed. Building safety risks include the risk of spread of fire and structural failure.

Building the report required the compiling of existing information:

• Fire strategy information
• Fire risk assessment
• Existing management procedure
• Emergency plans
• Structural survey reports

James also touched on his work with the Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service and its consultation.

ICE’s activities on safety risk management

Mark Hansford’s talk was on ‘ICE’s activities on safety risk management’. He discussed the Building Safety Act 2022 in context. He also spoke about the ICE ‘In Plain Sight’ report which released in 2018 assessing the whole-life safety of infrastructure. The report concluded that  “while the risk of catastrophic infrastructure failure is low, crucially the threat is rising”.

The report made 11 recommendations aimed at ICE members and wider sector, which included:

• Lesson sharing
• Competence
• Governance

Additional work undertaken by the ICE includes the Safety and Risk Review 2024. Which is a high-level examination of infrastructure and building safety risks. The aims of the review included:  contextualise the impact of BSA against broader emergent infrastructure risks and ensure ICE’s provision of CPD knowledge and actionable guidance is meeting the needs of membership and broader industry.

Key Discussions

• The Importance of a Strong Safety Culture: the panel emphasised the need for a culture of clarity, accountability and responsibility for fire safety management.
• The Implications of the Grenfell Tower Fire: The fire underscored the necessity of improved near-miss reporting and the integration of lessons learned from past incidents into current practices.
• The Challenges Posed by the Building Safety Act: Discussions addressed the complexities of managing compliance and safety records, as well as fire safety concerns in construction.
• Continuous Professional Development in Safety Practices: the panel highlighted the importance of ongoing training and familiarisation with building safety practices.

• Awareness Campaign and Clear Controls: The panel indicated that an awareness campaign and clear controls will be implemented to address fire safety concerns on construction sites.
• Building Safety Case: The preparation of a building safety case is essential to ensure compliance with safety regulations. The competency of the author needs to be specified in the report.
• Consultation with Fire Safety Service: Ongoing training and familiarization with building safety practices will be ensured through consultation with the fire safety service.
• Comprehensive Building Safety Case: Compiling existing information and developing a comprehensive building safety case is crucial to understand the building’s history and management procedures.
• Safety Risk Review: A panel will be established to conduct a safety risk review in light of recent developments in building safety legislation.
• Knowledge Hub: Mark Hansford encouraged attendees to engage with the ICE Knowledge Hub, which offers a variety of multimedia content aimed at improving safety practices and knowledge sharing.
• CROSS Platform: The ICE and IStructE are working on a campaign to raise awareness about the Collaborative Reporting Collaborative Reporting for Safer Structures UK platform (CROSS-UK) for reporting precursor events, aiming to increase participation and improve safety reporting in the highway sector.
• Verification of Construction Activities: Panel agreed on the necessity of establishing a system for better verification of construction activities and ensuring that records are maintained and easily accessible to prevent future disasters.

Q&A Summary

Near Miss Reporting in Construction Safety

The panel highlighted the persistent issue of underreporting near-miss incidents in construction safety. The discussion emphasized the need for a centralized database to collect and analyse near-miss reports, promoting a culture of openness and learning.

Improving Infrastructure Safety Reporting

The lack of a dedicated investigation body for infrastructure incidents was identified as a significant concern, potentially leading to underreporting of precursor events. The meeting highlighted the importance of raising awareness about reporting platforms like CROSS to encourage more comprehensive reporting of safety incidents. The campaign to encourage reporting has yielded positive results, with a higher number of reports indicating increased awareness and concern.

Integration Challenges in Emergency Services

The panel discussed the communication and integration issues within emergency services, as highlighted by the Grenfell Inquiry Report. The lack of effective communication between departments can hinder emergency response effectiveness. Organisational inertia and resistance to change, even after past incidents were identified as significant challenges.

Safety Culture Discussion

The panel delved into the complexities of defining and implementing a strong safety culture. The challenges of addressing mental health and engineering safety within the broader context of safety culture were discussed.

Regulation and Safety Risk

The unregulated nature of the infrastructure sector was highlighted as a major concern, leading to a risk-transfer business model that may not prioritize safety effectively.

The Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 was a devastating tragedy that exposed systemic failures in building safety regulations and fire safety practices. The fire highlighted the importance of a robust regulatory framework, effective building design, and adequate fire safety measures.

Conclusion

The Hazards Forum meeting provided a valuable opportunity to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the construction industry. By learning from past mistakes and experiences of other sectors, implementing robust safety measures, and fostering a strong safety culture, we can work towards a safer future.