黑洞社区

Construction clients have so far demonstrated a  鈥渢otal lack of engagement鈥� with the new building safety regime, according to research by the 黑洞社区 Engineering Services Association (BESA).

The trade body has used its regional meetings with members as focus groups over a six month period to gauge the take-up of measures introduced under the 黑洞社区 Safety Act, which has been in force since 2022.

BESA members have reported that 鈥渘ot a single client鈥� had discussed compliance with them, instead saying that the pressure to deliver projects faster and more cheaply was increasing.

BESA鈥檚 director of specialist knowledge Rachel Davidson, said: 鈥淎s there is currently very little enforcement of the legislation and, therefore, no apparent consequences, clients are still subjecting contractors to aggressive and sub-economic pricing.鈥�

She said that members were reporting that tenders were still being won on lowest price and still being value engineered throughout the project on non-higher risk building works.

鈥淪everal contractors who insisted on applying more rigorous safety measures said they had been priced out of projects as a result,鈥� said Davidson.

鈥淭here is also a serious geographical divide with clear evidence that the further north you go the less awareness of and engagement with the legislation you find, particularly among clients.鈥�

Last year, the Industry Safety Steering Group came to a similar conclusion, saying it was 鈥渄isappointed鈥� at developers failing to change their practices.

Davidson called for a government driven public awareness campaign to improve client engagement after BESA鈥檚 research revealed that most clients wrongly believed that the legislation was aimed exclusively at the construction industry and did not apply to those owning, managing and operating the buildings. 

鈥淭oo many clients still think the Act does not apply to them, so they need to be the target of a major awareness programme,鈥� she said. 

鈥淚t cannot be left to individual contractors to try and educate their clients, particularly while cost remains king.

鈥淎lso, if the government is really serious about improving standards of safety and performance alongside its ambitious plans for construction growth, it must properly resource the Regulator and ensure that this potentially game changing legislation is fully enforced.鈥�

During the sessions, BESA members expressed concern about the number of projects delayed due to additional planning constraints and shortages in building control departments. 

They also cited the need to pay for additional third-party testing to ensure building components meet the specification when operating as a system as a potential source of higher costs and project delays.