HSE - Experts & Thought Leaders

The plan from the Regulator has been consulted on with a Residents’ Panel and agreed by the Secretary of State for Levelling up, Housing and Communities. Its aim is to establish a vision to create a built environment where everyone is competent and takes responsibility to ensure buildings are of high quality and are safe. The Regulator also emphasises its ambition to restore trust in the built environment. The plan sets out its mission for residents and building users to feel confident that the ‘tragedies of the past will never be repeated.’ Higher-risk buildings The Building Safety Regulator says it will: Improve the safety and standards of all buildings Make sure residents of higher-risk buildings are safe and feel safe in their homes Help restore trust in the built environment sector It will do this by: Delivering consistent standards within the building control profession Overseeing and driving improvements across the whole built environment Regulating the planning, design, and construction of new higher-risk buildings Ensuring those who are responsible for occupied higher-risk buildings manage risk so that residents are safe Working in partnership with co-regulators Creating built environment The system that regulates our buildings must be practical and comprehensible" Commenting in the foreword to the strategic plan, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove, said: “The system that regulates our buildings must be practical and comprehensible. The Regulator must lead the sector in creating a built environment fit for the future.” “This first three-year strategic plan is a significant moment in this mission. It looks forward and lays out a solid foundation on which the Regulator can build its ambition in future years.” Delivering new regime Philip White, HSE’s Director of Building Safety, said: “This strategic plan sets out the guiding principles we have put in place to keep us focused on our priorities in delivering the new regime, and we will keep it under continuous review. We will ensure we have the right capability and capacity to meet this challenge as our remit continues to evolve, working with others sharing knowledge, expertise, and data.” Our focus is clear and resolute as we oversee a culture of higher standards, putting building safety first" “Our focus is clear and resolute as we oversee a culture of higher standards, putting building safety first. Our regulatory activities will be conducted in a way which is transparent, accountable, proportionate, and consistent. Throughout the next three years, BSR will continue to work across all sectors to ensure that those working in the building sector engage fully with the new regime.” Delivering better standards “Our aim is that people will see fundamental changes to the safety and standard of all buildings and increased competency among industry professionals that raises those standards year on year.” Chair of the Health and Safety Executive, Sarah Newton, said: “This is a strong, coherent strategy built on collaboration with all BSR’s stakeholders, with a keen focus on ensuring industry takes ownership and responsibility for delivering a safe system throughout the life cycle of a building. This must be front of mind for everyone. And everyone must be aware of their legal responsibilities. Collaboration and collective responsibility are key for delivering better standards.”

Hundreds of high-rise buildings are being registered with the new building safety regulator as the stricter regime to protect residents begins. Around 750 applications have been opened with the new Building Safety Regulator (BSR) since its registration process for high-rise buildings opened last month. Building Safety Act 2022 All high-rise residential buildings must be registered with BSR by law. Those responsible for the safety of buildings have until the end of September to register or face prosecution. BSR is an independent body set up by the Building Safety Act 2022 and part of HSE BSR is pleased with the early response from the building industry, but is urging all owners and managers to act now. Up to 12,500 buildings in England are covered by the new regulator, set up in response to the Grenfell Fire tragedy and officially launched earlier this year.  BSR is an independent body set up by the Building Safety Act 2022 and part of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Its launch is the biggest change in building safety for a generation. High-rise residential buildings HSE’s Director of Building Safety, Philip White, said: "We’re pleased with the early response from the industry but I urge owners and managers to act now and register their buildings if they haven’t already done so. This is a legal requirement they will have to meet by the end of September. Registration is a crucial part of the new regime and our efforts to ensure residents of high-rise buildings feel protected and safe in their homes." High-rise residential buildings that are at least 18 meters in height or have seven or more floors containing at least two residential units must be registered with BSR. New building safety laws Information on how to register and what details are required can be found. Building owners or managers must provide the number of floors at or above ground level, height in meters, the number of residential units, and the year of construction. Guidance on the key building information (KBI) that will also need to be recorded under the new building safety laws has now been published. This KBI registration element will then be added to the HRB online registration portal later this summer, allowing sufficient time for owners and managers of buildings to submit their KBI by the end of September.

Those responsible for the safety of high-rise residential buildings in England have six months from April to register with the new Building Safety Regulator. The Building Safety Regulator was established to protect high-rise residents from unsafe building practices in England, in response to the Grenfell Tower fire. Under the Building Safety Act, high-rise residential buildings which are 18 meters tall or higher, or at least seven storeys, with two or more residential units are defined as ‘higher-risk’. Across England there are approximately 12,500 of these buildings and the new regulator will require all of them to be registered from April 2023, with a named person responsible for maintaining their safety. Management of higher-risk buildings New drive aimed at owners and chiefs of high-rise residential buildings will emphasize their legal duties A new campaign aimed at owners and managers of high-rise residential buildings will highlight their new legal duties. It will call on those responsible for the safety management of higher-risk buildings to prepare for a new wave of regulatory change to ensure that they are ready to step up and comply. The registration process is a crucial stage in setting up the new building safety regime. Registering buildings in scope will be a legal requirement and owners and managers who fail to comply by October 2023 will be investigated and may face prosecution. Building safety regime HSE Chief Executive - Sarah Albon, said: "This registration process is an important step towards building a safer future for residents of high-rise buildings. We want it to be clear where the responsibility for safety in these buildings lies." She adds, "As the Building Safety Regulator, we will draw from our experience to provide guidance and oversight for the industry and lay the foundation for a world-renowned building safety regime, which is a part of our mission to protect people and places." Unsafe building practices Chief Inspector of Buildings - Peter Baker, said: "Our message is clear – industry must raise its standards and residents of high-rise buildings in England must be kept safe." He adds, "This is a landmark moment for building safety, the information provided through registration will be an invaluable part of our crackdown on unsafe building practices. Those who are responsible for high-rise residential buildings must register; failure to do so will be against the law." Building registration Building registration is a major step in a package of measures to ensure high-rise residential buildings are safe for residents and users. It follows the introduction of Planning Gateway One in August 2021 and will be followed by more robust building control of high-rise developments, and the certification of occupied high-rise buildings by the new Regulator. A campaign will run throughout March to help owners and managers of high-rise residential buildings prepare for their legal responsibilities. 

Using technology to provide the information required under the new Building Safety Act 2022, which has been enforceable since October 1st, can help relieve the pressure on suppliers who are responsible for submitting the data, says Bob Glendenning, Fire Design Engineering Manager of Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine Coatings.  Building Safety Act The Building Safety Act is designed to take forward a fundamental reform of the building safety system and address the issues identified by Dame Judith Hackitt in her independent review, Building a Safer Future.  The Government stated that the Act would deliver ‘the biggest changes to building safety for nearly 40 years and make residents safer in their homes" and named the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as the new Building Safety Regulator to oversee the safety and standards of all buildings.  The golden thread of information Different parts of the engineering community and the supply chain also need to understand Gateways In doing so, the legislation has also brought challenges for those in the complex supply chain who are required to provide specific information at each key stage which should be digitally stored and available for the lifetime of the building, described as The Golden Thread of information. For the protection of structural steel with intumescent coatings, the different parts of the engineering community and the supply chain also need to understand more detail about certain stages or Gateways as they are described under the terms of the act.  Gateway requirements Structural engineers, designers, and specifiers will be more concerned with the requirements under Gateway One covering the planning stage and parts of Gateway Two dealing with building control approval. Applicators will need to understand parts of gateway two building control and gateway three covering safety information. Fabricators will need to understand the wider picture across all three gateways.  Overhaul of existing regulations  New guidance on how higher-risk buildings should be designed, constructed, and managed The intention is to ensure that the right people have the right information at the right time to ensure buildings are safe and building safety risks are managed throughout the building’s lifecycle. For the construction industry, and related specialisms such as Passive Fire Protection, this means an overhaul in existing regulations, with new guidance on how higher-risk buildings should be designed, constructed, and managed to ensure that those who use them are safe and feel safe. These buildings are defined as being a minimum of 18 meters or seven stories in height and comprise at least two domestic premises.  Use of technology The resource is limited in many organizations, so how are suppliers to approach these challenging requirements without cutting corners?  At Sherwin-Williams, we use our years of expertise along with the appropriate technology. This technology allows us to understand what is required at the start of the process working in collaboration with our customers.  BIM process and tech They also provide important information and documentation required under the new act in the digital format To this end, we have invested in Building Information Modelling (BIM) processes and technology for many years and also partner with leading global software developers including Trimble. Such systems allow for data transfer and make storage much simpler. They are future-proofed and permanent. They also provide important information and documentation required under the new act in the digital format required.   Benefits of the BIM model Benefits to the process are apparent for main contractors, architects, structural engineers, steel fabricators, and site inspectors. Accessing a BIM model collaboratively aids efficiency and versatility, particularly on projects with global players, where project team members may reside in different geographies around the world. All can access the model over the internet and collaborate using cloud-sharing technology.   FDE 2.0 The software offers calculated solutions for the safe protection of structural steelwork framing elements We have been committed to this approach for some years and, to this end, we have developed our proprietary software called the FIRETEX Design Estimator 2.0 (FDE). The software offers calculated solutions for the safe protection of structural steelwork framing elements and embraces BIM with an integrated plugin tool allowing 3D modeling data to be directly linked into the software.   Managing the whole process  This offers the capability of providing calculations for coatings thicknesses of all shapes and sizes of steel sections, fire engineering, and in the case of cellular beams, allows for any configuration of web apertures to be seamlessly incorporated and the fire protection specification passed back into the model. For the steelwork fabricator, the approach with BIM means they can manage the whole process from concept to design through to delivery of materials on site including the off-site applied fire protection. On-site applied fire protection FIRETEX embodied carbon values, using our third-party certificated EPDs, are also stored within the 3D model The same principle could also be adapted for use with on-site applied fire protection, offering advantages to the main contractor and eventually to the owner-operator. FIRETEX embodied carbon values, using our third-party certificated EPDs, are also stored within the 3D model.  Once the fire protection properties have been passed back into the BIM model, future interested stakeholders can access any of that information to manage many areas such as inspection and onward building fire maintenance. Even fire and rescue services could create strategies using this data.  Time, cost, and efficiency saving There are real savings in efficiencies, time, and cost here, with the added benefits for the users in the longer term. One example of these efficiencies can be seen in the huge time savings in a recent project where all the floor plates were unique. That in turn made all the floor beams - which were cellular - unique designs in themselves so this was a huge design undertaking.  Push-pull system We added missing dry film thickness design properties to the steelwork 3D model using the FDE The BIM workflow is a ‘push-pull’ system. We added missing dry film thickness design properties to the steelwork 3D model using the FDE. All of the coating properties were then stored on every piece in the model, including the EPD values, meaning we had access to this information to share with other parties for the lifetime of the building.  Fast and accurate The newest development released very recently includes the ability to synchronize any optimized steel profiles back into the model. After synchronization, the end-user can then produce documents, drawings, labels, barcodes, and any other relevant documentation. This is fast and accurate and provides certainty for the new Building Safety Act.   New powers of enforcement  Potential offenses include knowingly or recklessly providing false or misleading information to the BSR This information is critical and the technology enables us to be accurate from the outset for our customers in the interests of safety. As a reminder as to why this information is so valuable, the BSR has new powers of enforcement in place and many officers are at work conducting investigations where they become aware of potential breaches of the legislation.  Potential offenses include knowingly or recklessly providing false or misleading information to the BSR; allowing occupation of a higher-risk building without a completion certificate; failure to register an occupied higher-risk building and failure to apply for a building assessment certificate without ‘reasonable excuse.’  FDE Hub At Sherwin-Williams, we are building a hub of information for the longer term around our software capabilities - the FDE Hub. This is in the development stages and will be an area of the website where customers will be able to share project data to help supply the information for the new legislation and any other reason.  We believe this new reform of fire safety legislation is for the right reasons. We need to embrace it, including the optimum use of technology as an industry, and make it work for all good reasons.