CMS Group’s Managing Director Peter was pleased to lead discussions on the Building Safety Act 2022 at the recent Constructing Excellence South West leadership dinner, supported by further discussions proposed by Roger Bareham, Technical Director at Hydrock.
As a highly significant legislative development in the construction industry, the topic stimulated interesting debate on the current and future impact of the Act on projects, consultant engagement and, potentially, professional indemnity insurance. The Act and amendments to the Building Regulations are now in place, having received Royal Assent on 28 April 2022.
What is the Building Safety Act?
The Building Safety Act introduced radical reforms to make homes across the UK safer and give more protection to residents and homeowners.
Surpassing existing regulations, the Act makes clear how residential buildings should be constructed, maintained and made safe. It provides the construction industry with the structure necessary to deliver better quality homes.
The Act applies to all projects where Building Regulations are a consideration, including domestic projects and those not considered high risk.
New Principal Designer role introduced
The Act created the need for the new role of Principal Designer under the Building Safety Act. This is not to be confused with Principal Designer under the CDM Regulations, as these two roles, albeit having the same name, are very different and appointments should therefore be separate.
The CDM Principal Designer focuses on health and safety during the design, construction, use and end of life of a building. CMS, along with others, are adopting the philosophy that the CDM Principal Designer is either a separate individual/organisation, or the Project Architect/Lead Designer provided they can demonstrate their competency with regards to health and safety.
In contrast, the BSA Principal Designer focuses on compliance and maintaining the golden thread of information. This role is fulfilled by the Project Architect/Lead Designer, who can demonstrate competency in their knowledge of the design and building regulations compliance.
Where works are being undertaken to a domestic project, no matter how small, where a Building Regulations application is required, a Principal Designer must be appointed or this role undertaken by the client. This differs from the CDM Regulations.
What the Act means for high-risk buildings
The Building Safety Act defines ‘high-risk building’ as a building in England that is at least 18m high or has at least 7 storeys and contains at least 2 residential units. It should be noted that the number of storeys are to only be counted from the ground up.
This is different in Wales, with a new Building Safety Regulator formed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), who will be leading the implementation and enforcement of the new Act.
Under the Act, several changes have come into effect. Building Control is now a regulated profession, new gateway stages are required for high-risk buildings before works can proceed, and the requirement of competency, previously included within the CDM Regulations and subsequently removed, has returned under the Act.
The Act also emphasises the importance of maintaining a golden thread of information, which CMS considers vital when designing and specifying components suitable for their intended use. A clear record now has to be kept detailing the decisions around the choice and specification of items and who has the authority to make any such changes during the construction phase.
Adapting the way we work
CMS have now worked internally and collaborated with other consultants to ensure compliance under the Act. This includes, whilst waiting for the full updated suite from JCT, producing its own set of contract preliminaries to ensure all aspects of the Act are captured.
CMS has recently renewed its PI insurance, which incorporated lengthy discussions regarding the Act. From this process, we found that insurance providers do not fully understand the implications of the Act, and therefore any impact upon premiums may not be felt for a year or two.
Reading material on the Act can be found online, however CMS have recently purchased the RIBA Principal Designer’s Guide by Dieter Bentley-Gockmann, which we would recommend as a useful source of information.
If you would like consultancy support on a project, please get in touch to explore how we might be able to work with you. We would be delighted to hear from you.