Awareness of the requirements of the Building Safety Act has risen to new heights, but contractors are frustrated by the amount of information they are expected to absorb as well as mounting commercial and time pressures created by clients.
These were among the key findings from new research unveiled by the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA).
More than 6,000 firms were contacted for the Association’s third annual survey of the industry’s response to the Act which revealed that awareness is now widespread. Most firms (64% of respondents) felt confident they could demonstrate their duty holder requirements “very well”.
“Four years after the Act came into force, more firms are building the knowledge and behaviours needed for a safer built environment,” said BESA’s director of specialist knowledge Rachel Davidson.
“This represents real progress and we are now moving from raising awareness to helping firms meet the assurance challenge i.e. demonstrating their competence and compliance in practice.
“However, there is a level of frustration about information overload, commercial pressures and clients who are ‘not on the same page’. And there are still firms that are not engaging with the process at any level, but their ranks are shrinking,” she added.
Client behaviour
Almost three-quarters of respondents (74%) said they had not seen any significant change in client behaviour since the Act came into force. While contractors and specialists are adapting their systems and processes, some respondents questioned whether client behaviours, procurement practices and understanding of their responsibilities were changing at the same pace.
As one put it: “This results in conflict as we resist, and ultimately we get commercially punished for standing our ground and doing the job properly.”
BESA produced a Client’s Guide to the Building Safety Act earlier this year which simplifies and explains the client’s responsibilities under the Act and focuses on the practical implications.
Smaller firms continue to adapt more slowly to the new safety regime, according to the new BESA survey. One in five micro and small organisations (21%) admitted they had made no significant changes, compared with just 5% of medium and large organisations.
One in three respondents to the research also said one of the biggest challenges was demonstrating competence in practice, stressing the very real difference between holding a qualification and actually being able to do the work. 40% said competence issues were identified “frequently or occasionally”.
Historic compliance is a “ticking time bomb”, according to some respondents with only 30% saying they felt confident they could provide evidence of competence and compliance in projects carried out more than 10 years ago.
Similarly, it is hard to nail down evidence of supply chain competence with around one in three respondents reporting “challenges” in demonstrating the necessary assurance across those they appoint.
The BESA Building Safety Act survey can be downloaded for free here.