Episode 91:

Hello and Welcome to the Part3 with me podcast, 

The show that helps part 3 students jump start into their careers as qualified architects and also to provide refresher episodes for practicing architects. I am your host Maria Skoutari and this week we will be talking about managing Safety Critical Elements in Building Construction. Todays episode meets PC1 & PC2 & PC3 of the Part 3 Criteria.

So following on from the last few weeks theme of the Building Safety Act, as mentioned, as part of the Gateway 2 building control submission, a construction control plan is one of the key documents to be submitted. 

To assist with this, the RIBA has worked with the Chartered Institute of Building to produce a guide to managing Safety Critical Elements in building construction. For clarity, the purpose of the construction control plan, is to describe the strategies for how building work will be managed to maintain building regulations compliance.

So, due to a series of major building failures which contributed to the Grenfell Tower fire, significant concerns have been expressed by government, members of the general public, and from within the industry itself, regarding the capability and competence of the UK construction industry to deliver safe high-quality building. Many building Elements, if omitted, or incorrectly installed, have the potential to cause some harm and should, therefore, be designated as safety-critical. Safety-Critical Elements identified are those that are considered to be of prime importance.

The aim of the guide, therefore, between the RIBA and Chartered Institute of Building is to increase awareness across the industry of the need to bring a rigorous and structured approach to the design, construction and inspection of elements identified as potentially safety-critical. The guidance promotes the development of a standard requirement and practice within the industry to provide appropriately certified recorded evidence of the full compliance of the installation of key elements both with the specified design and with all relevant statutory building regulations. All those involved at any stage of the procurement, design and construction of buildings will have a duty to ensure that each individual input contributes to the collaborative production of a safe and compliant installation that does not compromise the safety of future building users. 

The typical examples to have been found to be defective due to inadequacies in the specification, design, installation and/or inspection include:

• safe means of escape for occupants and access for fire-fighters together with associated materials, fixtures and fixings 
• combustibility of cladding and insulating materials 
• effective fire compartmentation including smoke control, firestopping, cavity-barriers and fire doors 
• the structural integrity of masonry cladding panels and the proper incorporation of necessary brick accessories into them including fixings, bed-joint reinforcement, wind posts and ties 
• the structural integrity of balconies 

So, the purpose of the guide is to:

• Identify the Safety-Critical Elements in and around buildings
• And outline systems that should be adopted to ensure that such safety-critical elements are properly incorporated in the building 

The relevant individuals who should make themselves familiar with the guide include:

• Clients, their agents and those managing buildings. 
• Design teams (such as, architects, structural engineers, mechanical and electrical engineers, quantity surveyors, project managers, etc). 
• Clerks of works, building control bodies, competent persons. 
• Contractors and their site supervisors. 
• Specialist contractors responsible for specialist installations (e.g façades, cladding systems)
• Product manufacturers (for example those producing cladding, etc). 
• Insurers.

Now, lets look at what is required to achieve compliant construction:

Firstly, clients should make sure that appointments for all design and construction teams specifically require, within their scope of services the appropriate supervision, inspection, evidencing and sign-off of Compliant construction. Before they are appointed, tenderers should be required to identify what resources they have allocated to these key activities and clients must require reports to be submitted at prescribed intervals to confirm the satisfactory undertaking and progress of their services. 

Now when it comes to the nature, extent and form of Evidence that needs to be recorded and collected to prove Compliant construction this must be specified in the tender documentation including how information will be scheduled and incorporated into end users’ systems. This information must be made fully accessible, readily understood, and able to be managed and maintained by a building manager. All information critical to the fire safety of people in and around the buildings should be specifically identified. 

Then, before works commence, a clear and coherent process and inspection plan must be developed and be articulated to all involved in the project. The plan must: 

• stipulate in advance of construction, the Evidence required. This is particularly important in areas that will be closed in 
• identify who will be responsible for carrying out inspections and signing off all parts of the work that relate to any Safety-Critical Element 
• and include details of appropriate toolbox talks to be delivered to people just before they start work on or at interfaces with Safety-Critical Elements 

Then an inspection plan must be compiled to specifically identify the nature and amount of the planned resource and used to record, collect and circulate the Evidence. The inspection, production of the specified Evidence, and sign-off, must be undertaken by named and appropriately qualified personnel at each level of the supply chain / construction team and the resource allocated must be sufficient to undertake the specified level of supervision and inspection.

All evidence gathered should be incorporated into the Golden Thread. 

Then, sign-offs specifically, will be subject to monitoring, oversight and reviewed by: 

• senior personnel within construction companies 
• other relevant members of the project team appointed with responsibility for seeing that the construction work is Compliant
• lead designer 
• main contractor 
• the Client 

And each party within each tier of the construction team must each carry a degree of responsibility for the Compliant construction of the completed Element. 

Design of any Element and the design of its interfaces with other elements must be complete and, where relevant, signed off prior to commencement of the construction of that Element. No changes to the design or specification of the works are permitted without approval from the relevant designers, lead designers and the Client - and where appropriate, building control. All current information relating to the design, specification, and construction of any Element of the works must be issued in a timely manner to all relevant organisations and individuals involved in the project. This information normally comprises of the specification, drawings, details, and manufacturer’s instructions. Such information must be readily accessible to all operatives involved in the construction of that Element or involved in the construction of areas with which it interfaces. 

Additionally, all materials arriving on site must be examined and recorded as Compliant with the project specification prior to their incorporation into the works. Any concerns that such materials do not comply with regulatory requirements must also be recorded at that stage and passed on to the lead designer. Then, prior to commencing work on site, the trade qualifications of all operatives must be checked and verified as appropriate for the element of work they are undertaking. The Safety-Critical Elements shall be subject to Independent Inspection. 

And all construction work, especially any work that will subsequently be closed in, must be: 

• subject to detailed inspection and digital recording 
• signed-off as approved by a responsible individual, competent to do so 

Inspections should generally be undertaken during the course of the work and must not be left until the work is finished and standardised protocols should be established across the Industry for: 

• the nature, form, regularity and extent of inspections 
• the format of sign-offs and Evidence of Compliant construction required for Safety-Critical Elements 

So that personnel moving from project to project and site to site undertake these critical activities in a consistent, structured and effective manner. 

In terms of industry established systems already in place, there may already be functioning and effectively applied systems that obviate the need for additional Independent Inspection of the installation of certain types of Elements. Some examples of such specialist single elements include:

• parts of electrical systems that are subject to testing such as fire, smoke and security alarms, emergency lighting, power and lighting systems 
• sprinkler systems, excluding elements that provide physical support to them 
• gas appliances and the pipework and infrastructure that serves them 

And then you have the safety-critical elements, which are elements that if they fail, are installed incorrectly or omitted, will cause serious injury or one or more fatalities. Also, the location of an Element and the consequences of its omission or failure will affect whether or not it is a Safety-Critical Element. Its possible that the same product may be a Safety-Critical Element in one context and not a Safety-Critical Element in another.

Some examples of elements that may be safety-critical elements include:

• Elements that if they failed, were incorrectly installed or were missing, could obstruct escape from a building or accelerate the spread of fire and smoke through the interior or up or around the exterior of a building.
• Such elements include: fire breaks, cavity barriers, fire curtains, firestopping, fire doors, fire dampers, combustible materials used in the structure or as cladding systems, and any penetrations through or modifications to any of them.
• Another is fixings that prevent people falling or that secure items that themselves could fall from, blow off or cause collapse of a building. Such as, guarding fixings, balcony fixings, restraint systems for maintenance, member connections in structural frameworks, wall ties, restraint ties, cladding fixings, fin fixings, brise soleil fixings, suspended ceiling fixings, fixings supporting services with fire-stopped penetrations through fire compartment walls, solar array mounts and adhesives 
• Another is elements that prevent instability or collapse. Such as, certain reinforced concrete elements including reinforcement, tension rods and their connections, post-tensioning systems, beams and their supports including piers and posts, transfer structures, cantilevers, restraints to internal partitions, bed joint reinforcement, retaining systems 
• Another is elements that provide protection from, or could detrimentally interface with, hidden hazards. Such as radon barriers, gas-proof membranes that exclude harmful, explosive or flammable gases, underground elements such as foundations where they are close to cables, tunnels, cavities, gas mains or dangerous materials.
• Or elements that provide protection from electrocution.

Now reverting back to the evidence required to demonstrate compliant construction, these can include: 

• relevant parts of the specification used for the installation of the Element including its performance requirements and drawings marked to show where the Element(s) is/are installed 
• manufacturer’s instructions, packaging labels collected on site, product standard compliance details, product certificates, etc. 
• purchase orders, invoices and delivery notes 
• material inspection reports 
• records of installer/contractor personnel, including qualifications and experience 
• details of benchmark samples or mock-ups prepared, together with approvals that they have been received 
• reports on any initial briefing of the contractor/installer prior to construction of the relevant Element 
• site works inspection reports 
• uniquely numbered, dated and if necessary for identification purposes, geo-located, digital images and video logs. These are particularly important for elements that will be covered in, meaning built into the building fabric and hidden from view
• test results and their written interpretation 
• reports from Independent Inspections  
• details of any future inspection and maintenance requirements for the Element 
• sign-offs prepared by a designated individual confirming that, following inspection, the installation of the Safety-Critical Element has been found to be Compliant 

So, what and at which stages should actions be carried out regarding the identification of safety critical elements:

• At RIBA Stage 0, nothing would be required at this stage regarding the Safety Critical Elements apart from determining the best means if achieving the client requirements in order to proceed to RIBA Stage 1. 
• Then at RIBA Stage 1, once the project brief has been approved by the client and confirmed the scheme can be accommodated on site, the brief will also stipulate that Safety-Critical Elements must be subject to independent inspection and the relevant consultant appointments will need to be arranged to define the relevant responsibilities for the Safety-Critical Elements. 
• At RIBA Stage 2, once the architectural concept has been approved by the client and is ensured that it aligns with the project brief, reviews will need to be undertaken of the Safety Critical Elements as part of the design risk assessment. 
• At RIBA Stage 3, following the coordination of the architectural and engineering information, the tender documents will need to define the requirements for inspection and sign off of the Safety Critical Elements, as well as specifying the documentation required to evidence compliant construction and tenders will also need to confirm how they will achieve compliant construction. 
• Then at RIBA Stage 4, once all the design information required to manufacture and construct the project is completed, the design of the Safety Critical Elements is to checked to ensure accuracy and compliance with the relevant standards as well as checking and approving any changes to the design or specification of the Safety Critical Elements.
• At RIBA Stage 5, once manufacturing, construction and commissioning have been completed, the plan for supervision, inspection, and sign-off is to be prepared and agreed for evidencing compliant construction of Safety Critical Elements. Operatives should also be assessed on their competence and qualifications on working with Safety Critical Elements. Then the determined plan for the Safety Critical elements, should be communicated to the contractors and operatives in order to record evidence of compliance during construction as well as checking that materials delivered to site meet the required specification and standards. 
• Then at RIBA Stage 6, once the building has been handed over, aftercare initiated and building control concluded, evidence of compliance construction of the Safety Critical Elements should be collated in the prescribed format. 
• And lastly at RIBA Stage 7, the only item to determine is that the building is in use, operated and maintained efficiently.

This process can be applied to any type of chosen procurement method.

So to sum up what I discussed today:

• To support the construction control plan required at Gateway 2 under the Building Safety Act, the RIBA has worked with the Chartered Institute of Building to produce guidance to managing Safety Critical Elements in building construction.
• A safety critical element, is an element that if it fails, is omitted or incorrectly installed, carries an unacceptable risk of causing a serious injury or fatality.
• The guidance, therefore, produced by the RIBA and Chartered Institute of Building aims to identify these elements and outline systems to be adopted to ensure that safety critical elements are properly incorporated in the building.
• Appropriate supervision, inspection, evidencing and sign off is required to demonstrate compliance during construction by carrying out reports at prescribed intervals to be included within the construction control plan
• All information critical to fire safety in and around buildings should be specifically identified 
• It is essential that a comprehensive overall inspection is carried out prior to completion to ensure that the integration of such systems with other building elements, and any subsequent work in their vicinity, does not compromise the overall safety of the building to users alongside sign offs required by each party carrying out their own degree of responsibility for compliant construction of the completed element.