Hackitt sets out new performance framework for construction products

As chair of the working group that created the framework, Dame Judith Hackitt tells Will Mann how it will plug gaps in the current regulatory system

Dame Judith Hackitt has unveiled a new global framework for construction product performance and expects the UK government to follow its recommendations.

“The framework has been three years in the making and brings together expert views on construction products from all round the world,” she told CM. “It provides a means for any country to assess its products regulatory system and identify where it is weak and could be improved. It’s a really important tool.”

Hackitt chaired the International Building Quality Centre working group which has created the Building Products Performance Good Practice Regulatory Framework. It was set up after high-profile building safety incidents which brought into question the reliability of product information. The framework aims to give confidence in product performance among regulators, practitioners, industry and consumers.

“Building products performance is a complex subject involving supply chains that stretch around the world and where different jurisdictions already employ different approaches to regulation, compliance and conformance testing,” Hackitt said.

“There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach and no country is starting from a position of zero regulation, so the framework needs to be applied in context. We know we have a problem with this in the UK. So now we should look at the framework and identify where the gaps are and what is appropriate for our regulatory system.”

Hackitt, who led the post-Grenfell Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety and now chairs the UK’s Industry Safety Steering Group (ISSG), believes product systems are of particular concern.

“Buildings comprise potentially thousands of components, making up products and systems that are in many cases complex and interdependent,” she said. “These products therefore have a huge bearing on the performance and safety of a building.

“In this country, we’ve learnt the hard lesson of testing the individual elements of cladding systems which do not give you any clue as to how the whole system will perform in practice.”

Paul Nash, former chair of CIOB’s quality commission and a member of the ISSG, said: “This is a complex subject, and the working group is to be congratulated for producing a framework that is comprehensive and that manages to articulate the ‘elements’ that define good practice so clearly.

“It is particularly relevant given that the report of the Independent Review of the Construction Products Testing Regime commissioned by the government is expected to be published shortly, and will focus attention on the need for change in the way that products are tested and certified.” ● For a longer version of this article, go to www.constructionmanagement.co.uk.

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