The Building Safety Act regulation is real. What’s your plan to meet its requirements?

The Grenfell Inquiry and subsequent reports have outlined the need for ground-breaking safety reforms and greater accountability within the construction industry.

The introduction of the Building Safety Act means that there is now a legal requirement for contractors to plan, manage, monitor and coordinate their works, whilst maintaining a digital record of key documentation.

Are you impacted by Building Safety Act?

If your works are subject to building regulations, yes.

Every discipline within the construction process is impacted by legislation. The Act creates a clear and proportionate framework for the design, construction and management of safer, high-quality buildings now and in the future.

What works are covered in the Building Safety Act?

The Building Safety Act is designed to make individuals and firms involved in the construction industry provide buildings that are safe to those who occupy them. This includes:

• Design and construction of new build and conversions
• Management of safety in Higher Risk Buildings once occupied
• Remedying of historic defects which would make buildings unsafe

The Building Safety Act applies to ALL building work covered by Building Regulations, with only a few exceptions.

What do you need to do to comply?

To comply with the legislation and meet the legal requirements set out in the Act, individuals and businesses within the construction sector need to:

• Demonstrate knowledge of the safety standards of all buildings;
• Assure the safety of High-Risk Buildings (HRB), both in construction and occupation;
• Improve the competence of staff responsible for overseeing, managing and delivering works;
• Ensure clear communication of legislation and guidance;
• Put occupants at the heart of a new system of building safety

Creating and maintaining a “Golden Thread”

A key obligation is the introduction of a digitally stored ‘Golden Thread’ to support HRB duty holders in designing, constructing and managing their buildings, taking into account building safety at all stages in the lifecycle.

By maintaining this digital thread, building owners and managers can safeguard traceability with a rounded, documented understanding of the products, materials and assets used during the construction process, ensuring full transparency of the building’s heritage. This is good practice for all construction projects, not only HRB’s.

Do you understand your roles and responsibilities under the Building Safety Act?

Have you got a clear process in place for planning, managing and monitoring every stage of your construction projects? Would you be able to demonstrate a well-documented construction process from design to occupation? Do you have a digital system to store all the related information and have clear visibility of project data?

Need to build a plan?

For a broader overview of the Building Safety Act, read our related blog here. 

If you want to find out more about Cube Construction Consultant’s Building Safety Act Workshops and our Building Safety Act compliant construction management software, Milestone, get in touch today at hello@cube-cc.co.uk.