The way construction has responded to the coronavirus crisis shows it can make the changes needed to improve building safety and quality.
That’s according to Dame Judith Hackitt, the chair of the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety commissioned by the government in the wake of the Grenfell fire disaster.
Speaking as the guest presenter on the latest covid-19 update webinar hosted by the Building Service Association (BESA), Dame Judith said the sector had demonstrated it was “capable of massive change at pace” and had been able to dump old practices quickly “without compromising safety or quality”.
But she warned that there was still a widespread lack of leadership across the sector and too many businesses were waiting to be told what to do despite the fact that the new regulatory regime would be retrospective.
She added that “change is coming” and that the timetable for a new regulatory regime would not be derailed by the current crisis. And she urged everyone to emulate the methods used to deliver vital projects for the NHS and other essential services where “collaboration and co-operation replaced fragmentation and adversarial behaviour”.
“Some people have stood up to be counted and are doing the right thing, but not nearly enough…if you have continued building in the same old way you will be held accountable,” she said.
Rebuilding confidence
She added that the industry should be acting now to rebuild confidence with the financial and insurance markets, which she said were now alerted to poor practices that increase risk in construction projects. She added that the industry should also be seeking to regain the trust of the general public after the Grenfell Tower disaster as many people now felt unsafe in their own homes.
Nonetheless she was optimistic about the future because there was a “groundswell of opinion that the industry needed to change, which is making my job easier.”
“Some companies are already changing….others are waiting to have their collar felt by the Regulator…but it is the best companies who are already getting on with it,” she said.
She added that competence and accreditation would play an increasingly crucial part in industry reform.
“A lot of people simply don’t properly understand some of the features of buildings,” she told the BESA webinar. “There are people who cut corners blatantly to save money because they can get away with it, but others simply lack competence. Sprinklers are no use at all if they are not installed properly.”
Meanwhile, she expected the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) to have improved resources to enforce compliance with regulations, which will give greater prominence to the Competent Person Schemes developed by the industry.
Return of clerk of works
Another part of industry reform could involve the return of the clerk of works to oversee projects and ensure promises and records were kept. However, Dame Judith claimed this was not a return to “the way things were done in the past”, but a new role fit for the 21st Century.
Hackitt said she also wanted to see construction firms adopting digital methods of working because she sees data management as a vital part of ensuring buildings are designed, managed and operated correctly. However, she said that BIM was “not the whole answer” because simply telling residents to look at a BIM model would not help them understand the health and safety features of their building.
BESA chief executive David Frise added that BESA was fully behind the recommendations of the Hackitt Review, which have been adopted by the government adding that it was “a once in a generation opportunity to deliver meaningful and lasting change”.
