With the new Building Safety Bill (BSB) set to be passed as early as October 2022, it is now time to put preparations in place for when the anticipated parliamentary approval arrives.
As a part of the bill, the Government has now published 8 pieces of draft regulations that should be analysed by all relevant parties.
Business owners, project managers, building safety managers, and contractors should all want to know what impacts the BSB will have on the industry.
This guide shall provide the relevant details.
What is the BSB?
The Building Safety Bill 2019-20 was released in response to the Grenfell Tower tragedy of 2017 and is designed to improve the regimes for building safety and construction products.
It is aimed at supporting all aspects of the building industry. As such, there are a total of 8 draft regulations set to come into account from 2022.
The 2020 Draft Building Safety Bill was subsequently released as a 331-page document in July 2020. Some of the main focal points include;
- Improve safety frameworks for high-rise residential buildings, taking on board the recommendations of the Hackitt Review
- Strengthen accountability from responsible parties for high-rise building safety
- Ensure that new-build developers are members of a New Homes Ombudsman
- Hit organisations and individuals with stronger sanctions and repercussions for non-compliance
- Develop clear frameworks for the national oversight of construction products
The BSB also sets out to give residents the ability to voice their concerns. The final version of the bill was released in July 2021. The new draft regulations for the 2022 Building Safety Bill are designed to further promote safe building protocols.
Which of the 8 draft regulations will affect the design, development and construction industry
As the 2022 BSB is aimed at all parties, not all 8 parts are relevant or overly relevant to organisations in the design, development and construction industries.
The full list of draft regulations for the secondary legislation can be found on the Gov website.
As of January 2022, it includes;
- The Higher-Risk Buildings (Descriptions and Supplementary Provisions) Regulations [2021]
- The Building (Appointment of Persons, Industry Competence and Dutyholders) (England) Regulations [2021]
- The Architects (Fees for Services) Regulations [2022]
- The Building (Restricted Activities and Functions) (England) Regulations [2022]
- The Building Safety (Fees) Regulations [2022]
- The Construction Products Regulations [2022]
- The Building (Higher-Risk Buildings) (England) Regulations [2022]
- The Higher-Risk Buildings (Prescribed Principles for Management of Building Safety Risks) Regulations [2022]
While it may be advised to gain an overview by reading all of the above features, people in the fields of design, development, and construction will focus primarily on two.
They are the Higher-Risk Buildings (England) Regulations and the Higher-Risk Buildings (Prescribed Principles for Management of Building Safety Risks) Regulations.
Looking at the Higher-Risk Buildings (England) Regulations.
As a 32-page document, the Higher-Risk Buildings (England) Regulations [2022] covers several key areas.
They are;
- Building regulations and functional requirements
- Building control procedures for HRB work
- Changes before or during construction
- Golden thread, key building information, mandatory occurrence reporting, completion, notices, and information handover
- Completion certificates
- Review of decisions, appeals and section 30A procedures
Each of those parts is broken down into smaller parts. Ultimately, it sets out several important regulations that can help guide accountable safety persons take the necessary steps to create a logical workflow.
It details the construction phase information that is required by the Regulator and Building Control too - thus ensuring that project workers satisfy compliance aspects.
The document also states that the client (a non-accountable person) must provide the facility for storing, managing, and transferring the relevant data.
Looking at the Higher-Risk Buildings (Prescribed Principles for Management of Building Safety Risks) Regulations.
Building on the current Fire Safety Order 2005, the Higher-Risk Buildings (Prescribed Principles for Management of Building Safety Risks) Regulations [2022] sets out nine principles for section [84(3)] of the 2022 BSB.
They state that any accountable person(s) will take the necessary steps to reduce all safety risks in accordance with the new BSB.
The nine clauses are all clear, concise, and self-explanatory as to avoid any ambiguity or errors.
In short, you will be expected to evaluate building safety, combat risks at source, and employ the right maintenance while adapting to technical progress.
It extends to replacing dangerous materials with less-hazardous items.
In turn, the update should encourage teams to rethink the architectural designs as well as the material choices before and during construction.
Conclusion
The BSB 2022 is set to come into effect within months and all teams affected by building safety should take note.
In the industries of design, development, and construction, the main parts of the new draft regulation focus on risk reduction and damage limitation through calculated techniques and smarter material choices. In turn, this can help organisations work safer, smarter, and better.
To find out more, with our friendly experts at +44 (0) 20 7397 1450 today!
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