EWS Working group proposes building control overhaul The third anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire was in June Safety regulator to be appointed this year New bill also obliges clients to set up online system for reporting potential building safety issues A draft bill published last month will bring about the biggest changes to building safety in 40 years, the government claims. Ministers have promised to appoint the UKs first national chief inspector of buildings before the end of this year and distribute 1bn in new funding to remove unsafe cladding. The bill will enshrine in law the recommendations made by Dame Judith Hackitt in her independent review of building safety, held in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire, including tighter regulation of blocks of flats taller than 18m or more than six storeys high. A new regulatory authority, led by the chief inspector, will be part of the Health and Safety Executive and will have full powers to hold building owners to account. The legislation will also create new regulations for managing the safety of construction materials and products. Clients will be obliged to set up an online system through which onsite workers can report potential safety issues, which must be passed on to the regulator within three days. Building inspectors will have to register with the regulator and adhere to the regulations. Dame Judith welcomed the bill, hailing it as an important milestone in delivering the fundamental reform this industry needs to make residents and buildings safer. She said it met the ambitions and recommendations set out in her review, but reiterated her warning to the industry that it should already be implementing improvements to working practices. It is not enough to wait for the bill to become law before they implement changes; we expect them to start taking action now, she said. Grenfell contractor lacked expertise None of the staff working for the contractor on the Grenfell Tower refurbishment had the technical expertise to know whether cladding designs complied with Building Regulations, according to an employee who gave witness testimony to the public inquiry into the fire. Simon Lawrence, a contracts manager at Rydon, said his company was contractually obliged to tell its client if any materials failed to meet regulations, but no-one in his team had the depth of knowledge needed to make an informed judgement about the designs proposed by the architect Studio E or cladding specialist Harley Faades. Lawrence said he had only a general understanding of the relevant Building Regulations and had not read the cladding compliance standard. He said it was the responsibility of specialist subcontractors to check design work by other specialist firms, and the Harley proposal was designated approved for construction without being checked. He said there was no design responsibility matrix, but that overall approval would have been given by Studio E as the lead designer best-placed to handle and move the drawings to the client. This contradicted evidence given earlier by Studio Es Neil Crawford, who said Lawrence had told him the architects role should be more responsive, with Rydon maintaining a greater degree of control over the design process than I would normally expect. A working group of eight construction industry bodies, including the LABC, RICS and CIOB, has drawn up 11 recommendations to help reshape the building control process. Better regulation of the building control sector is seen as important to the overhaul of building safety prompted by the Hackitt Review, and the proposals were formed after discussions with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Key recommendations include: a unified code of conduct for building control bodies and professionals; an independent body to oversee professional registration and organisational audit; a new competence framework for people working in building control, including those working on higherrisk buildings; a unified career structure that sets clear expectations of competence; and simplification of building control legislation, process and procedures. These proposals will help give everyone confidence that building control is working, first and foremost, in the interest of their safety and welfare, and in supporting development of an inclusive and sustainable built environment, a statement from the working group said. Car batteries to power university building A new 20m heritage facility being built at the University of Suffolk is to be powered by reused car batteries. Norfolk-based Connected Energy is setting up the project and creating a knowledge exchange partnership with Suffolk County Council and the university. The Hold, which is due to open later this year, will house one of the firms E-STOR energy-storage systems, reusing 24 old Renault Kangoo electric vehicle batteries, with a total energy-storage capacity of 360kWh. The energy store will assist in maximising the use of solar power, support the charging of electric vehicles, help power the air conditioning, and manage electricity costs. Inside of a Connected Energy E-STOR facility www.cibsejournal.com August 2020 7 CIBSE August 2020 p07 News.indd 7 24/07/2020 15:17