What a fantastic Constructing Excellence Sussex Club panel discussion we had yesterday on the new Building Safety Act, chaired by our Director, Nicola Tilbury!
We had an engaging and informative discussion with some insightful questions from the audience on both new build and refurbishment projects. The panel shared experiences with High-Risk Buildings (HRBs), how clients should appoint the Building Regulations (BR) Principal Designer (PD), and Baxall Construction demonstrated how they are using technology to meet their responsibilities under the Act. As Matthew Barker of Baxall Construction said, “this is something contractors should have been doing anyway, and this is a chance to formalise good practice.”
What was clear from the discussion is that we are still on a journey, but events like this will help us all understand the direction we should be heading.
William Armstrong, our Health, Safety, and Environmental Director, offered essential insights on how the legislation impacts clients, especially in relation to BR, the role of the PD, and the implications for both High-Risk Buildings (HRBs) and Lower-Risk Buildings (LRBs).
Other speakers from the panel included John Smith from Cityzen Limited, Andy Mullins from Hill Construction and Matthew Barker from Baxall Construction. Each panellist shared their perspectives which included design impacts, technical implementation, and regulatory experiences, followed by arranged questions and then floor discussion.
Thank you to all the speakers and attendees for making it such a lively and insightful event. We look forward to continuing these important discussions as the industry navigates these regulatory changes.