Spec Finish

www.thefis.org 3 Voice of the industry BE PREPARED THERE’S A NEWSHERIFF IN TOWN 023 no doubt will bring more “unprecedented” change. Sometimes though, I wonder if the culture of 24-hour news makes the headlines more emotive. Isn’t the world always in a state of flux? The pandemic was unprecedented and generation defining (although there have been pandemics before and there have always been big disruptive events – I am sure the Great Viking Invasion messed with a few business plans!) The rest of it is mostly just stuff that happens, more stuff than usual and supercharged in places. But unprecedented? To ride the waves, we need to be alert to where changes may be coming from, prepared for what we can prepare for and agile enough to react to the surprises. In 2023, the big predictable change is the rollout of the Building Safety Act. This is the biggest overhaul of the Building Regulations since eitherWWII or 1666, depending on whose headline you are reading. It has HUGE and immediate implications for those working on or owning properties over 18m in height deemed higher risk, with newGateways and prescribed documentation needed. But, what many havemissed is that the Act reshapes the entire regulatory landscape with emphasis on proving competence and accountability. It will undoubtedly drive cultural change. All through the post-Grenfell era (and before) we have talked about the need for cultural change, but the question I keep coming back to is what drives culture to change? Now I am a big fan of a Western and whiled away many a Sunday afternoon taking life lessons from John Wayne, Gary Cooper and Clint Eastwood. In the lawless frontiers of the Wild West, the Good People of (e.g.) Tombstone, Dodge or Charming wanted change, but the black hatted baddies who thrived in chaos made change impossible. A point to note is that the frontiers were lawless, not because there weren’t laws, but simply because there was no meaningful enforcement of the laws, and little real consequence to breaking them. This all changed when the New Sheriff drifted into Town. The gaols filled up, baddies were gunned down and the West was won. The Building Safety Act heralds the arrival of a New Sheriff for Construction. The Building Regulations are now under the jurisdiction of the Health and Safety Executive. This Sheriff is every bit as intimidating as Wyatt Earp, “Rooster” Cogburn or Marshal Jed Cooper and, like these law bringers, has a history of being more ready to make their stand and quicker on the draw than previous badge holders. The Building Safety Regulations are being aligned closely to the Construction Design and Management Regulations (CDM) and clearer communication and accountability are critical. It is vital to start preparing now. A lot of the detail is yet to come, but the FIS PPP Quality Framework gives you a good start, effectively asking three headline questions: Can you prove the products that you are using compliant? How are you ensuring that compliance is maintained, and how are you recording it? Are all the people influencing the project, through specification, management, construction and handover competent to fulfil the role? All of these aspects are covered in this magazine as we interrogate competence and compliance which are central to the work FIS is doing. The message is clear though, the law is changing, but crucially so is the enforcement environment and the big question you need to ask yourself is less “do you feel lucky punk” and more “do you have a clear plan to manage competence and compliance?”. IAIN MCILWEE Chief executive Finishes and Interiors Sector Boy, do I miss precedented times! Unprecedented interruptions due to pandemics, unprecedented delays at ports creating unprecedented supply issues, unprecedented levels of price inflation, unprecedented labour shortages, unprecedented political uncertainty etc. Unprecedented levels of unprecedentedness seem to have typified the 20’s!