Building safety

The Grenfell Tower fire tragedy in 2017 demonstrated that the assets and facilities built by the construction industry also need to be safe in operation. Construction projects need to be procured and contract managed in a way that ensures regulatory requirements are consistently achieved and the safety case can be demonstrated at every stage.

Setting the right behaviours and practices throughout the design, construction, occupation and maintenance stages, and the handoffs between these stages, is critical to ensuring building safety. Improving the procurement process will play a large part in setting the tone for any construction project. This is where the drive for quality and the required safety outcomes, rather than lowest cost, must start; and where the seamless transfer of safety critical data and duty holder responsibilities at each handoff, together with a global view of risk, including product assurance, needs to be fully enabled.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government provides information and guidance on building safety developed in response to Dame Judith Hackitt's report 'Building a Safer Future'. Safety extends outside the workplace and CLOCS is a national standard for ensuring the safest construction vehicle journeys.