Safety is fast becoming a very hot political potato for a government with a manifesto pledge to deliver new homes at a rate last seen over 50 years ago, during Harold Wilson’s premiership. To build 1.5 million new homes by 2029, the Prime Minister committed to ‘take the brakes off building’ with planning reforms to favour ‘builders not blockers.’
However, this ambition to ramp up house building, via a relaxation of planning regulations, has seemingly met an obstacle, in the shape of a new and powerful Building Safety Regulator (BSR). The resulting media headlines won’t have surprised any keen observer of the built environment sector over the past few decades. House builders and contractors have accused the BSR of causing damaging delays to projects, the BSR has responded with examples of casual and shocking Gateway submission safety evidence, enough to concern anyone championing safety standards in modern construction.
After meeting senior figures within the BSR, what’s clear to me is that there is only one agenda in play with this organisation, and that’s to make our buildings as safe as possible, to protect the lives of those who live and work within them. Circular debates over resourcing, industry engagement and communication won’t move us forward, and for the most part, this very new organisation, overseeing one of today’s most important societal briefs, is rapidly right-shaping for this key mission.
The challenge for the built environment community is how we can help ourselves. How can we make the regulator’s job easier by adapting quickly, sharing knowledge and insights and collaborating more deeply to streamline the Gateway process and get our projects certified? Ultimately, how can we better design inherently safe buildings tailored around the real-world use of residents or workers, whether in a refurbishment or new build context?
What’s becoming evident is the need for a changing of the existing order, and a disruption of the traditional hierarchies that have characterised the construction sector for generations. I’m certainly not calling time on the role of the generalist Tier 1 contractor, but in the post-Grenfell BSR era, now is the time for customers to leverage the critical knowledge and expertise of the ‘specialist design and build contractor’.
With around 75% of Gateway 2 applications currently failing, the mounting costs and programme delays from incomplete or non-compliant submissions is impacting the financial viability of schemes, with obvious implications on an already stretching national housing target. In the refurbishment and retrofit segment of the market, where we predominantly work, the case for appointing a full-service design and build fire safety specialist contractor is even more compelling.
Replicability of work, iterative learning and in-depth product and specification knowledge and development alongside product manufacturers, are hallmarks of our offer. As is immersion in a safety culture that can track and address emerging trends to help customers future proof their assets, ahead of legislative changes. These factors must now shape future procurement decisions.
The risk ownership structure of specialist design and build contractors is powerfully influential. Our professional reputations demand that we put our name to the systems we design, install and maintain – we don’t subcontract risk, we own it, and this drives the highest possible standards of delivery and innovation.
We haven’t yet touched on the clear benefits of a ‘flat’ contracting structure, where customers have primary contact day-to-day with those safety experts that are delivering on the ground. Let’s also discuss culture and values. The specialist design and build contractor sets the culture for the project that they self-deliver, meaning consistency of standards, behaviours, compliance and validation – maintaining the golden thread of information at every touchpoint.
The expertise specialist design and build contractors bring to the table helps shape budget forecasting, underscores capex vs opex considerations and provides ‘solution agnostic’ guidance, proposing the best solution for each unique situation – with resident safety the core driver for decision-making.
The BSR has acutely demonstrated that safety is no longer a peripheral consideration. Safety is a fundamental element of every construction project, and inadequacy in the design intent or articulation of its role in new buildings has major consequences for construction output. Elevating the role of the specialist design and build contractor not only serves to protect customers and wider society, but helps organisations to successfully navigate the BSR’s Gateway process, efficiently unlocking developments that can transform lives across the UK.
A version of this article was published in Business Insider.
