BESA research flags SME barriers in building safety regime compliance

Building safety regime compliance concerns raised at London Build Expo

Speakers at a panel session at London Build Expo at Olympia in London called for clearer communications and more consistent enforcement to support compliance with the Building Safety Act.

The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) set out the panel’s headline points in a comment article informed by its new research.

BESA director of specialist knowledge Rachel Davidson told the event that 88% of industry professionals were aware of the Act.

Davidson said: “This is critical because those companies are the lifeblood of the industry,”

“There are also a lot of people who still think the legislation only applies to HRBs (higher risk buildings).”

The association’s second annual survey also reported that many clients were continuing with “business as usual” and still prioritising cost and speed over safety.

Davidson said: “A lot of this comes back to leadership and culture,”

“78% of companies tell us that this is important to them but fewer than half report having taken enough action.”

Communication, training and reaching smaller firms

The comment article also highlighted discussion about how to reach SMEs and micro-businesses, which it described as making up 99% of the construction sector and related professions.

Fellow panellist Hannah Carpenter from the Building Safety Wiki said: “We need to be innovative about how we communicate and appeal to personal values because that is going to be more effective than continually talking about regulation,”

“But getting 2.6 million people to pull in the same direction is a huge challenge.

“We need to ask people why we are doing this [which is] to keep people safe and make sure the Grenfell tragedy cannot happen again.

“That means talking about ‘purpose’…people should want to make a difference.

“This can’t just be about ticking boxes.”

Carpenter called for greater use of “non-traditional communication routes” and partnering with organisations like HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which she said already had strong connections to individuals and small construction businesses.

The discussion also referenced a claim that the industry has an average reading age of 11.

Enforcement expectations and regulator process

BESA’s comment article reported that Davidson said building engineering contractors were increasingly calling for clear and consistent enforcement, linking this to client behaviour.

Davidson said: “unless there are consequences, clients will continue to think compliance is optional”.

Davidson added: “what good looks like”

“It is also important to reassure people that they don’t need to know or understand everything about the Act – they should focus on the parts they can control and their specific roles and responsibilities.”

Hertfordshire Building Control CEO Gary Cass said the team running the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) had made progress reducing the backlog at Gateway Two for HRBs, with average submission time stated as 17 weeks compared with 38 earlier in the year.

Cass said the BSR had been “very honest” about its failings and was moving in a more positive direction, with success depending on closer collaboration with industry.

“However, the industry needs more education about the Building Regulations,” he said.

“People need to be looking at compliance and focus on what is required in the regulations not guidance.

“Building Control Officers (BCOs) are regulators first and foremost but the industry used to rely on them to guide them through the process…and now it needs to be educated [about how the new process works].”

Cass also said enforcement could be done “in a positive way” and referenced a reduction in the number of BCOs and a shortage of experienced inspectors.