Construction clients are being encouraged to push building safety to the top of their agenda to ensure there is no repeat of the 2017 Grenfell tragedy.
Ahead of CIOB’s Safer Buildings conference next month, key figures on the Industry Safety Steering Group (ISSG) and in the wider construction industry have urged clients to use procurement to promote better building safety outcomes.
“The evidence we have heard on the ISSG shows a mixed picture, with some sectors demonstrating good practice, while others are still waiting for the legislation before they act,” said Paul Nash, past president of CIOB and a member of the ISSG. The ISSG monitors the progress of the construction industry in delivering culture change on behalf of the government.
“It is important that government provides leadership on this issue through its procurement practices,” Nash continued. “So, it was good to see that the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) and SCAPE will be adopting the principles of the Building a Safer Future (BSF) charter and embedding it within their frameworks.”
“I am delighted that two major procurement frameworks, CCS and SCAPE, have chosen to adopt BSF as a critical lever of change.”
The BSF charter was established to ensure buildings are safe for those living and working in them, with a focus on driving up standards in design, construction, management and maintenance.
BSF CEO Amanda Long, who will be speaking at CIOB’s conference, said: “I am delighted that two major procurement frameworks, CCS and SCAPE, have chosen to adopt BSF as a critical lever of change. This development will further support the construction industry to take the critical steps to put building safety first and recognise those that do so. I encourage other procurement frameworks to follow their lead.”
“The good practice we are seeing from some clients and procurement bodies is heartening but there is still much to be done if we are to ensure there is never another Grenfell,” said CIOB president Mike Foy, who has represented the institute on Working Group 11 of the Competence Steering Group, which focuses on procurement.
Foy will introduce CIOB’s Safer Buildings conference, with Long among the speaking line-up. Other speakers at the event include Lord Stephen Greenhalgh, minister of state for building safety and fire, Dame Judith Hackitt, author of the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety and Peter Baker, chief inspector of buildings.
CIOB’s Safer Buildings conference takes place on 26 May 2022 at the De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms, London. Further information: events.ciob.org. CM is running a reader survey on building safety which can be accessed at: constructionmanagement.co.uk.
