One thing that businesses need to be prepared for is the introduction of the Building Safety Golden Thread.

While this is not expected to be enforced until around May 2023, you cannot wait until that date to take note of new rules and regulations.

With that being said, in this article, we are going to take you through everything you need to know about the Golden Thread, the implications of it, who is responsible for it, and how the industry can adopt it.

What is the Golden Thread in building safety?

The Golden Thread is a new policy that is supported by the Building Regulations Advisory Committee (BRAC) Golden Thread policy working group, as well as key stakeholders in the housing and built environment market.

The Golden Thread policy is going to require a number of changes in the industry, and so it is important that all building companies are aware of this and the implications of it.

What is the Golden Thread proposed in the Draft Building Safety Bill?

After the tragedy that occurred at the Grenfell Tower, which saw 72 people lose their lives and many more lose their homes, Dame Judith Hackitt was appointed to carry out an independent review of fire safety and building regulations.

This resulted in her recommending the introduction of the Golden Thread policy, as a tool for managing buildings as holistic systems and enabling people to use information to effectively and safely design, build, and operate their buildings.

In May, 2018, The Final Report was published, entitled, Building a Safer Future, Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety. In this report, it stated the following:

'The interim report identified the need for a ‘golden thread’ of information for all higher-risk residential buildings (HRRBs) so that their original design intent is preserved and changes can be managed through a formal review process. Equally, access to up-to-date information is crucial when effectively carrying out a fire risk assessment of a building and determining whether any action is required.'

The Golden Thread in action

So, let’s take a look at how the Golden Thread will look in action. The “Golden Thread” is the data that enables you to understand a building and the steps required to keep people and the building safe both now and in the future.

• The Golden Thread will hold all details that those responsible for the building, required to show, that the building was compliant with the relevant regulations when it was constructed, as well as identifying, understanding, managing, and mitigating building safety risks.
• The data stored here is managed and reviewed continually.
• Information management processes, documents, and information to support building safety is held in the Golden Thread.
• The Golden Thread data will be stored as structured digital information.
• The information management approach, as per the Golden Thread, is applicable through designing, constructing, occupying, refurbishing, and managing a building.
• Structural and fire safety should be included within this.
• A lot of people require access to the Golden Thread to share and update the information throughout the business lifecycle.

How can the industry adopt the Golden Thread?

There are a number of different barriers that businesses, the government, and the industry itself will need to work together to overcome.

In the official review, it was stated that most people (75 percent) believe that culture is the biggest blocker to the industry when implementing the digital thread of information.

After this, other blockers that were identified include a lack of repercussions, commercial investments, unclear requirements, and technology.

This is why it makes sense to work with a team of compliance experts that can help you to ensure you understand your requirements and that you implement the Golden Thread policy effectively at your enterprise.

Rather than worrying about the Golden Thread on your own, the best thing to do is get in touch with the team at Ark Workplace Risk.

We have a proven track record of helping to keep our clients compliant. We lead the way in the market thanks to our collaborative and innovative approach, as well as our talented staff.

With the use of our software and analytics platform, QUOODA®, we put managers in control of today and tomorrow.