Building Safety Act 2022
“Golden Thread of Information” & “Gateway Approach”
In the past year, one of the most important and hottest topics, occurring in the UK construction industry, is the formal implement of Building Safety ACT 2022.
It introduces significant changes such as “Gateway” and “Golden Thread of Information” and transforms how tall buildings are designed, constructed and managed following the Grenfell tragedy, intended to secure safety of people in or about the buildings.
This page aims to offer a brief summary and guidance around the key aspects around the Act, helping industry participants to have a better understanding on it. Let’s learn more the ACT in the Question and Answer form.
What is the main content of Act 2022?
Part 1: Introduction
This part introduces the structure of the the Act.
Part 2: The Regulator and its Functions
This part contains provisions about the new Building Safety Regulator and its functions in
relation to buildings in England.
Part 2A: Regulation of Building Control Profession
This part covers the registration of different classes of building inspectors and the
process to achieve registration.
Part 3: Building Act 1984
This part contains amendments to the Building Act 1984, also introduces a new definition of Higher Risk
Buildings in England: buildings over 18m in height or having at least 7 stores and two or more residential units.
It also introduces a new Building Control System for higher-risk buildings, Gateway Approach,
which creates a “Golden thread of information ”.
Part 4: Higher-Risk Buildings
This part contains provisions about the management of building safety risks in occupied
higher risk buildings.
Part 5: Other provisions about Safety, Standards, etc.
This part contains new provisions to protect leaseholders making them the last in line,
behind cladding manufacturers and freeholders to fund liability contributions.
Part 6: General
This part contains personal liability of corporate officers as well as the corporate itself;
both have liabilities in relation to offences. Also, there is to be a 5 yearly independent
review of the new regulatory regime.
What is "Gateway Approach"?
Under the ACT, Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will replace the local authority to become the new Building Safety Regulator (BSR) for Higher Risk Buildings, in the meantime the building control system also have a change to feature a "Gateway Approach". The Act sets three "gateways" during the building control process:
Gateway 1 – Planning Permission Phase
In this phase, to get the planning permission granted, more and detailed information needs to be submitted,
such as technical description of fire safety measures in the design.
Projects will require clear and definitive product information to support the Gateway One submission.
Gateway 2 – Design Phase
To pass this phase and get the permission to start the construction work,
the duty holder needs to submit the full detailed plan, including accurate and up-to-date information of all products,
to prove the design meets the functional requirements of the building regulations.
Gateway 3 – Construction Phase
To issue a completion certification, the BSR will assess whether the construction work has been carried out
in accordance with building regulations and the up-to-date information of the building has been provided
to the building owner. The owner therefore can register the building with BSR to start occupation.
What is "Golden Thread of Information"?
The "Golden Thread of Information" is a concept firstly raised by Dame Judith Hackitt, Chair of the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety, in her report Building a Safer Future.
As introduced in Gateway Approach, at each phase, accurate and up-to-date information of the design, buildings, products will need to be recorded and submitted. This is the practical "Golden Thread of Information", recording the original design intent and subsequent changes to buildings in a digital form, aiming to easy access to safety, transparency, and accountability during the lifecycle of the building.
Summary
Essentially, the ACT 2022 sets up a more strict building control process based on accurate and up-to-date golden thread of information to ensure that the buildings are constructed and managed with complete compliance and safety.
At FUTURAL (UK) LTD, both Futural cladding panels and cladding systems have been stringently tested by UKAS labs to be 100% safe, quality, and compliant with all relevant Building Regulations, including Building Safety ACT 2022.
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