Designing Building Wiki (DBW), host of the IHBC’s Conservation Wiki, has reported on how in September 2018, the RIBA launched a consultation – now closed – on a new Plan of Work for Fire Safety, which follows on from its recommendation that there should be changes to the Building Regulations following the Grenfell Tower fire, to strengthen requirements relating to cladding, sprinklers and means of escape.
Designing Building Wiki writes:
The Plan of Work is intended to clarify the responsibilities of those who design, build and manage buildings, by providing a best practice process map setting out deliverables for each lifecycle stage. This should help ensure that fire safety considerations are embedded at the early stages of a project by closely involving building control, the fire and rescue authorities, building managers and tenants.
The draft Plan of Work also includes a new statutory process based on the recommendations set out in the Hackitt review, and new rigorous review and sign-off procedures for the client team, design team and construction team to help safeguard fire-safe specification and detailing.
RIBA Director of Practice Lucy Carmichael said: ‘The Plan of Work for Fire Safety is a vital resource for design and construction teams and building owners, providing much needed clarity on fire safety roles and responsibilities at every stage of the process. We cannot wait for longer term regulatory change to come into force, the construction industry needs immediate guidance. I encourage all RIBA members and other industry professionals to provide detailed feedback on this draft document, which we hope will be an important step to further strengthen consideration of fire safety in all aspects of building design, procurement, construction and maintenance.’
For more on IHBC’s 2019 Nottingham School, on ‘Heritage, Risk & Resilience: Confronting conservation calamities’ see nottingham2019.ihbc.org.uk
