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Consulting Matters Features
The Grenfell Tower Legacy: New Ways of Working Exercising what small freedoms I can during Melbourne’s Stage 4 lockdown, I’ve been walking the Tan track at lunch and listening to the BBC’s Grenfell Tower Inquiry podcast.
zinc panels with combustible aluminium composite panels. The change saved £576,000, but the Inquiry’s Phase 1 report identified the polyethylene core Reynobond ACP panels as the principal reason why the flames spread so rapidly.
Although we’re still months away from published findings, with many witnesses yet to be questioned, there are already some indications of likely contributing factors behind the fire that claimed seventy two lives in June 2017. They are eerily similar to some of the factors behind Melbourne’s Lacrosse Building fire in 2014, pointing to weaknesses built into the construction industry in both Australia and the UK.
2. S ide-lining key consultants. Fire engineer Exova provided some limited initial advice but, after the project was novated, their engagement ceased, although they did continue exchanging emails with the architects. It appears construction proceeded without specific fire engineering expertise.
As insurers tighten terms, increase premiums, or withdraw from construction risks altogether, it’s more important than ever to find solutions to these historical weaknesses. We need new constructs, a shift in philosophy around weak points in the procurement process, from tender pressures at the outset to silo behaviour during construction phase.
3. S iloing and role confusion. Rydon’s witnesses claim they had no knowledge of building regulations around fire performance of materials and were wholly reliant on design consultants and the façade contractor to advise them. Witnesses from architects Studio E, however, say that their design role was limited after novation.
On top of construction errors, these are just some of the contributing factors hinted at by witness evidence given to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry so far:
4. P iecemeal design and substitution. With key product choices not being finalised until construction was underway and relevant trade subcontractors brought on board, there was little opportunity for a wholistic review of the building design. The cumulative effect of other combustible products, such as PIR and phenolic foam insulation, was not recognised.
1. U nderbidding and cost pressure. Due to an internal error, head contractor Rydon Constructions’ bid omitted some £212,000 of costs. On top of this shortfall, Rydon’s client, Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation, requested cost savings of £800,000. Cost cutting appears to have been a significant factor being the decision to replace the original specified
Factors like these can contribute to many other forms of defects. The extent of these has been investigated in a slew of audits and reports across Australia since 2015.
In the years following Grenfell, insurers began to respond to the heightened risk of claims. In June 2019, a report by pwc observed how the industry was reducing capacity, adding policy exclusions, and increasing premiums and excesses, especially for fire engineers and building certifiers (Strengthening the professional indemnity insurance environment for building industry professionals in Queensland, 24 June 2019). Since then, on top of a bad bushfire season, COVID-19 disruption has only exacerbated affordability issues (Finity Market Report, May 2020). What will it take to reverse this trend? The first step is reversing the surge in defective building claims. Stronger legislation may be a burden for consultants in the short term, but in the long term it is one mechanism to show insurers that the culture of the industry is changing, and new constructs are being put in place. For example, from July 2021, the new regime of compliance declarations under the Design and Building Practitioners Act in NSW may shore up some of the weaknesses suggested in the Grenfell Tower hearings. Another factor is time. The insurance market is well known for its cyclical patterns. The hard market will eventually soften. In the meantime, a good insurance broker can help you navigate the available options in a rapidly changing market. One last option is reducing individual practice risk exposure by means of carefully considered consultancy agreements, with a particular emphasis on defining the consultant’s construction phase role. In place of silo behaviour, the aim is to encourage principals and head contractors to put in place procedures that balance the emphasis on cost reduction, allowing time for proper completion of design and for input by all necessary specialists. For help with that last aspect, a new law practice owned by IBL Ltd (the team behind Planned Cover) has recently started business. informed Lawyers Pty Ltd (ACN 635 862 145) provides reviews, advice, negotiation and drafting on consultancy agreements. Wendy Poulton Planned Cover
