Building Safety Act

The Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA) sets out safety requirements for those who own and manage higher-risk buildings. Some of the main provisions of the BSA came into force on 1st of April this year. Our Head of HSQE at Cornerstone, Lindsey Roberts, provides an overview of the BSA and gives us insight into what Cornerstone is doing to help duty holders discharge their obligations.

What is the Building Safety Act?

An Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety post-Grenfell fire revealed that the existing framework of legislation was insufficient and disjointed. Consequently, there needed to be more accountability. The BSA received Royal Assent in April 2022, which applied to buildings at least 18 m or seven storeys high or with two or more residential units, including those with mixed-use. It addresses the risks associated with building design, construction and management.

What is Cornerstone doing about the Act?

The safety and standards of how we place our infrastructure on buildings are paramount; being aware of how equipment installations interface with building safety measures and being able to assure site providers is essential.

At Cornerstone, we have taken a proactive approach to implementing the BSA into our work practices. We have set up a BSA working group to work through what is needed and how we manage the new requirements.

Considering what the new BSA demands are, we focus on providing information that will form part of the Golden Thread of Information. The Golden Thread of Information in the BSA is about managing the relevant data regarding design and build, which is required for understanding a building’s safety. It also includes how the information should be digitally available to all appropriate parties to communicate and access when needed. The working group will examine how Cornerstone assesses its equipment and how best to inform others of relevant safety controls.