NBS explores where the current ‘knowledge gaps’ lie in respect of the new Building Safety Act, and how these can be addressed.

In October 2023, the new Building Safety Act (BSA) came into law, and its related regulations are also all now in force. That’s the legal position. But, from a practical standpoint, just how well is the new Act and its regulations currently understood? And how are those obligations being seen and applied in the real world?

Testing the waters
NBS, the UK’s leading specification platform, undertook a comprehensive survey of leading construction industry professionals including architects, others specifiers and manufacturers to assess current levels of understanding and application of the new regime. The new study, ‘Constructing a safer future’, was released this Spring and reveals a picture that unfortunately falls short of the ideal. The industry is still struggling to come to terms with the scope and requirements of the Act.

The NBS survey found that nearly half of specifiers are still unsure of their responsibilities – a worrying finding that tells us that many ‘knowledge gaps’ persist within the construction industry. Among those knowledge gaps, the survey found that half of respondents were either ‘unsure’ or had no idea of Duty Holder responsibilities for Higher Risk Buildings (HRBs). With only 12 per cent saying that they felt ‘very clear’.

Given that the Act was introduced at least partially in response to the Grenfell Tower disaster, this gives real cause for disquiet. Another worrying knowledge gap is that nearly half (44 per cent) of all respondents were unsure or had no idea about what steps to take within the new building safety regime.

Further concerns are revealed by attitudes towards the ‘Golden Thread’, with its emphasis on robust documentation and record-keeping, and the critical role it plays for HRBs. Designed to supply a steady stream of safety-related information throughout the entire lifecycle of a building, the Golden Thread should be accessible and up to date. However, less than half of respondents (45 per cent) were clear as to how they would manage their obligations here, and only one in ten had a solid plan in place.

Fortunately, it’s not all doom & gloom
The survey findings do present some awareness of the need to ensure greater safety standards. For example, there are more reassuring statistics around third-party testing and the information being supplied by manufacturers. Nine out of ten suppliers now provide ‘clear and accurate’ building product information in a digital format. And, at least eight out of ten also provide third-party certification along with their products, with robust internal sign-off and version control processes.

So, what needs to happen?
Clearly, among architects, specifiers and designers, there is an urgent need to boost training efforts to deliver much wider understanding of the duties created by the BSA. In particular, there is a pressing need for far greater clarity around lines of responsibility and duties, while improving the consistency and quality of documentation and record keeping on construction projects.

Our platform solutions
NBS has been helping industry players comply with the new regulations in a number of ways. One of these is through NBS Source, a tool that, as the name says, creates a single source for product information. It helps manufacturers by outlining the detailed documentation and guidance that specifiers need under the new regime. This includes:

• A declaration of information accuracy and currency from the manufacturer.
• Third-party certification to support technical performance claims.
• Clear avenues of communication between specifier and manufacturer.
• Guidance on intended application to define a product’s intended use.
• Plain English technical characteristics for each product.
• Installation and maintenance guides to help the contractor’s team or building owner later in the project timeline.
• A short URL linking back to the product for later reference.

Complementing NBS Source, NBS Chorus is a cloud-based platform for specification writing that has been developed to support the specification process for all design disciplines. Some of its key features and functions include the following:

• Specification templates for building elements, systems and products (such as a wall element, ceiling system, or ventilation product). These are available as ‘intelligent templates’. This is the starting point of the ‘Golden Thread’ for specification development, where functional requirements can be recorded and elemental performance fixed. NBS Chorus supports every phase.
• The ability for specifiers to specify each system; either descriptively (using NBS performance content) or prescriptively (using the NBS product clauses).
• Revision functionality, enabling the development and recording of a change control process that clearly highlights any agreed design changes as the project evolves. A key part of the ‘Golden Thread’.

Contact Details
To learn more about how NBS can support your next project, and to download the NBS Whitepaper, ‘Constructing a safer future’, click here.