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The draft Building Safety Bill will make fundamental changes to fire and structural safety in high rise buildings over 18m or six stories in height. It will be of significant interest to those involved in property design, construction and management, affecting the entire life cycle of buildings when it comes into law.
In 2017, the Grenfell Tower tragedy/fire resulted in the loss of 72 lives; the biggest loss of life in a residential fire since WW2.
The Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety conducted by Dame Judith Hackitt and the subsequent report, Building a Safer Future, found that the system for ensuring fire and structural safety in high rise buildings was not fit for purpose.
It made significant recommendations for change, all of which were accepted by the Government, and in the Queen’s Speech in December 2019 it was announced that the Government intended to introduce “new and enhanced regulatory regimes for building safety and construction products, and ensure residents have a stronger voice in the system.” The Government published the Draft Building Safety Bill in late July 2020.
The draft Bill proposes a new Building Safety Regulator to:
It moves the focus to those who create risk, being responsible for managing it.
A new regulator, the Building Safety Regulator will be formed within the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to implement the new, more stringent regulatory regime for higher risk buildings. While the Regulator will have a remit for higher risk buildings over 18m or six stories in height, they will also oversee the safety and performance of all buildings. They will also assist and encourage competence among the built environment industry, and registered building inspectors.
The Building Safety Regulator will have new powers under the draft Bill. These include:
Prison sentences for contravention of building regulations will be increased to up to 10 years.
The Regulator will oversee registered building inspectors, whether they be local authority building control officers or private sector operators. There will also be a new mandatory system for reporting structural and fire safety breaches.
The Building Safety Regulator will undertake several regulatory functions that will apply to all buildings, working with building control authorities, technical experts and the construction industry. They will also set up an industry-led committee to advise on industry competence, lead on a competency framework, and drive improvements in competency levels.
The Building Safety Regulator will be responsible for oversight of the competence and performance of registered building inspectors and the building control bodies.
A new Gateway regime will be introduced to ensure safety risks are considered at each stage of a building’s design and construction. The Regulator will have to be consulted by law at the planning permission stage (Gateway one). At Gateway two, the Regulator can issue a ‘hard stop’ meaning construction work cannot start until they are satisfied all safety requirements have been met.
Gateway three occurs at the end of the construction phase when the Regulator will assess whether building regulations have been met. At this stage, all necessary documents and information are to be handed over to the Accountable Person. This information will be known as ‘the golden thread’ and will provide a digital record of information for the entire life cycle of the building, including design, construction, change and upgrades over time.
A new role of the Accountable Person for a high rise building is to be created. They will be the duty holder when a building is occupied, and they will have an ongoing duty to assess building safety risks. They will be required to take all reasonable steps to prevent a major incident in the building as a result of these risks.
Prior to occupation the building will have to be registered with the Regulator. The Accountable Person will have to obtain a Building Assurance Certificate confirming the building is fit for occupation. This will require the preparation and submission of a ‘Safety Case Report’ to the Regulator which demonstrates how building safety risks are being identified, mitigated and managed on an ongoing basis. The Regulator will only issue a Building Assurance Certificate if satisfied the Accountable Person is complying with all their duties.
The Accountable Person will have to display the Building Assurance Certificate prominently in the building. They will also be required to appoint a competent Building Safety Manager to support them in managing day-to-day fire and structural safety risks in the building. The Regulator will have the power to veto this appointment, which has to be formally notified to them.
There will also be duties placed on the Accountable Person to develop a residents’ engagement strategy to promote the involvement of residents and owners of flats in the building, in the making of building safety decisions to create a strong partnership with residents.
Importantly, the legislation will apply to existing buildings. Buildings which are already occupied will need to be registered. Unoccupied buildings will have to be registered before occupation.
Finally, the Bill sets out a new regulatory regime for construction products, strengthening controls on construction products marketed in the UK. Regulations will be created for designated products (products which perform to a designated standard), to create a list of safety critical products (where the failure of such products would result in death or serious injury), and for all construction products on the market not otherwise designated, which will be subject to a United Kingdom Technical Assessment, or on the list of safety critical products are subject to a general safety requirement.
It looks like there will be further changes affecting these sectors in the not too distant future as the Government is currently consulting on further fire safety reforms (until 12 October 2020) See: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/fire-safety
Look out for future updates from The Compliance People as these changes progress, and what this means for you and your business.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is a very topical subject in the media at the moment. We’re hearing about shortages, distribution issues, when PPE is needed, different types of PPE, and PPE safety standards for imported goods; now is perhaps as good a time as ever to look at what your organisational responsibilities are.
PPE is equipment which will protect the user or wearer against health risks or safety risks at work. By law, PPE must be provided to employees free of charge. Employers cannot pass on a charge for it. The main regulations governing the use of PPE in the workplace are the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulation 1992 and the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
Examples of PPE include eye protection (e.g. safety visors or glasses), safety footwear, protective gloves, hard hats, safety harnesses, hearing protection, and respiratory protective equipment, known as RPE (which includes equipment ranging from disposable masks through to air fed respirators). PPE is typically used to reduce the risks in a number of scenarios, including protecting the lungs from inhaling contaminated air, the body from extremes of temperature, the skin from harmful substances, the eyes from flying particles, and the head from falling objects or materials.
PPE is just one way to reduce the risks from exposure to hazards. The law requires that businesses conduct risk assessments to identify such risks and assess whether there are sufficient measures in place to reduce the risks to employees and other people. Additional measures or controls might include engineering controls, safe systems of work, supervision, information provision or training.
PPE is a last resort in protecting workers against health and / or safety risks. Employers must use other reasonably practicable control measures to mitigate the risks if they are available before resorting to PPE.
As well as risk assessment, employers must provide suitable PPE to employees who may be exposed to a risk to their health or safety whilst they are at work. The PPE they provide must be appropriate for the work conditions, be ergonomic and fit the wearer correctly. It must control the risk involved without increasing the overall risk; it must also be compatible with other PPE where more than one item of PPE is worn, for example heating protection and safety headware.
An assessment should be carried out to identify PPE requirements to determine whether or not the proposed PPE is suitable. This should consider any risks not avoided by other means, the characteristics of the PPE required to eliminate the risks, and a comparison with the characteristics of the PPE.
PPE should carry CE marking which demonstrates that the manufacturer has checked that the product meets EU safety requirements.
Once PPE is in use, the employer must ensure that it is maintained, cleaned and replaced where appropriate and stored when not in use to prevent contamination or damage. Employers must also provide enough information, instruction and training for users so that they are aware of the risks it is designed to minimise and the way it should be used. They should show employees how to wear or use it correctly, how to look after it and make sure it is used correctly; this is particularly relevant for face masks or breathing apparatus.
In some situations, employees who use respiratory protective equipment (RPE) will need to undergo a face fit test to ensure that masks provide a correct fit to the individual. This must be carried out by a competent person and records should be maintained. The types of masks this affects includes disposable half masks, reusable filter half masks, powered respirators and full breathing apparatus masks. This fit testing is required under a number of regulations including The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations and The Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations.
Employees also have responsibilities. They must use the PPE supplied to them in line with the training and instruction provided to them by their employer. They must also report any loss of PPE or defective PPE to their employer immediately.
With the renewed focus on PPE, what better time to check you have suitable arrangements in your own workplace.
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