Did you know that the Building Safety Act 2022 was introduced in response to the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017?
It is a legislation that overlooks building safety regulations across England and Wales. This legislation focuses on all buildings, especially high-risk ones.
Throughout this blog, we will explore everything you need to know about the Building Safety Act. For more information, read on.
What is the Building Safety Act?
As briefly discussed before, the Building Safety Act (BSA) 2022 only came into effect after the Grenfell Tower Tragedy in 2017. A total of 72 people sadly lost their lives due to a fire that started due to a fridge freezer that caught fire and spread rapidly up the building.
According to the former Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, Micheal Gove, the Government was partially to blame for this tragedy due to their ‘faulty and ambiguous’ Government guidance.
The aim of the Building Safety Act is to improve the safety standards of all buildings, create a more strict regulatory system for higher-risk buildings and ensure clearer accountability throughout a building’s lifespan.
Although this legislation applies to all buildings, it focuses particularly on higher-risk buildings, also known as HRBs. Some buildings that fall under the HRB category include:
- Buildings that contain at least two residential units.
- Residential buildings over 18 metres high.
- Buildings with 7 or more storeys.
- Hospitals and care homes that meet the height requirements.
Ultimately, the Building Safety Act is a legislation that has been put in place to keep everyone in buildings – especially high-risk buildings – safe.
Who is Responsible for Regulating the Building Safety Act?
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) that is responsible for regulating this act.
The aim of the BSR is to:
- Ensure that all residents are safe wherever they live.
- Restore confidence in the safety and standards of all buildings.
- Regulate higher-risk buildings
- Help professionals in different industries, such as construction, to improve their competence.
- Raise the safety standards of all buildings.
It is down to the Health and Safety Executive to make sure that each high-rise building where people live has one clearly identifiable accountable person (also known as the principal accountable person).
The accountable persons have legal duties, which are to manage fire and structural safety risks of the building and communicate with residents. It is down to the BSR to keep a register of high-rise residential buildings along with the accountable persons.
The key functions of the Building Safety Regulator are to:
- Oversee the safety and performance system for all buildings.
- Lead the implementation of the regulatory requirements for HRBs
- Encourage increased competence.
Does the Building Safety Act Apply to All Buildings?
Simply put, the answer is yes, the Building Safety Act applies to all buildings including standard construction work and higher-risk buildings.
But who exactly does this legislation affect? Well, it affects pretty much everyone involved in property commissioning, management and development, such as contractors, investors, developers and property managers.
All residents who live in high-rise buildings will have more of a say in how their building is being kept safe. This is ideal as it allows residents to feel safer in their home and restore trust between high-rise buildings and residents.
If residents have any concerns about their safety and well-being, then they can speak to the accountable person. However, if residents feel as though their concerns are being ignored, then they can escalate this to the Building Safety Regulator.
The Building Safety Act and Gateway Process
The Building Safety Act 2022 introduced a gateway process for higher-risk buildings to make sure that safety is prioritised throughout the design and construction phase plan. The gateway process consists of three stages:
- The planning stage
- Pre-construction stage
- Completion and final certification
Gateway 1: The Planning Stage
Gateway 1 is the first stage of the Building Safety Act’s framework. This gateway was presented through the planning legislation in August 2021.
It is a crucial component of the Building Safety Act and was introduced to improve fire safety considerations in the earliest stage of the building process.
To sum up the planning stage, it was put in place to prevent unsafe buildings from being built to protect residents and the community.
Gateway 2: The Pre-Construction Stage
The pre-construction stage is the second part of the gateway. This gateway ensures that the approved design meets the necessary safety requirements and standards. The pre-construction stage acts as a checkpoint before any construction can start on buildings.
Gateway 3: Completion and Final Certification
This is the final stage of the gateway. This stage only comes into play when the construction work is completed. Once all building work has been done, contracts will have to submit a gateway 3 application to the BSR.
This is so that contractors can prove that the completed construction work abides by the building regulation requirements. The gateway scheme offers many benefits when it comes to improving the safety of buildings, such as:
- Improved accountability
- Enhanced safety
- Risk mitigation
Stay Competent at Work With Beaconrisk
Here at Beaconrisk, we can help you remain compliant with the Building Safety Act by offering training, such as e-learning courses, to help you stay up-to-date with the latest health and safety regulations.
We offer a workplace health and safety course, which provides you with a thorough understanding of the health and safety legislation. Our training courses cover a wide range of topics, such as common causes of accidents and how to deal with them, as well as safe manual handling techniques.
We also offer ongoing support to help businesses and organisations remain compliant at all times.
Our team is available to answer any questions you may have and provide you with advice regarding the Building Safety Act.
For more information on the services we offer or to speak to a member of our team, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today at 0151 647 8658. We look forward to hearing from you.