Nearly six years after Grenfell, the Building Safety Act is set to bring a significant shake-up to health and safety in facilities. Despite the delay in implementing the second staircase rule for buildings above 18 metres, various parts of the Act have already come into force. The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) has become the authority for all high-rise buildings, and a Mandatory Occurrence Reporting System is now required for each higher-risk building so the BSR can capture relevant risks.
The BSR has released its enforcement policy statement detailing how it will deal with breaches, including through verbal warnings and even recommending prosecutions when there has been a severe breach. Over the next three years, the BSR will have assessed up to half of higher-risk buildings. For any building or facilities manager, particularly those in higher-risk buildings, constructing a good relationship with the Building Safety Regulator is strategically essential.
Fire safety remains a fundamental part of building safety regulations. With over 20,000 commercial fires a year in the UK alone, with most of these preventable, fire safety must always remain one of the highest health and safety priorities,
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