Grenfell Reviewed

Northampton Symposium keynote presentation and panel discussion look at the Grenfell tragedy and Phase 2 report. 

The word “legend” can be thrown around and overused a lot nowadays, but when it comes to Hywel Davies, then never does a man fit the title as much as he. An expert with more than 40 years of experience working in the building industry and revered by his peers, he started his career as an analyst on a weather-based modelling system during the Cold War, using his chemistry PhD from Swansea University to help perfect the system, which was used to predict the spread of nuclear radiation on an impending attack.

Davies then joined the Building Research Establishment (BRE) and for the next 10 years conducted tests and tasks on a wide range of building materials from epoxy-coated reinforcement bars to hydrogen embrittlement in high-tensile steel. It was at the BRE that he first decided to become involved in the construction products standards committees.

In the late 2000s, Davies became the chief technical director of The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) and immediately brought about change by digitalising the knowledge portal, making all data and documents available for everyone and anyone who wishes to seek it out.

In May 2017, Davies had the great honour of joining the Building Regulations Advisory Committee, providing his expert knowledge on a board that advised Ministers on Building Regulations; however, only a month into his tenure, disaster happened in the form of the Grenfell tragedy, when 72 people lost their lives due to an uncontrollable fire that ravaged the building. It was the greatest loss of life in a residential fire since World War 2.

Davies was a key figure in the Morrell and Day review, which was a report that looked into the “system” in place at Grenfell and analysed what actually happened and what can and should be done so this never happens again. The report came after Dame Judith Hackett slammed the regulatory system for product testing in her 2018 Hackett Report.

Davies’ Keynote Talk

Davies presented the keynote talk at the 15th annual meeting of the Symposium on Lift and Escalator Technologies in Northamptonshire in September. He has a charming and witty persona that had everyone riveted throughout his presentation.

Davies began his presentation by introducing himself and sharing his background. He explained he planned to give a talk on building safety. He commented on getting away from gas in buildings and, instead, having buildings that are all electric, which would make a huge impact on the potential to stop a fire. If this happened, then a study would be needed to determine whether the substation could handle the extra amount of electricity that would come through it.

The Morrell and Day review was spoken about, including how the system for testing, labeling and marketing products needed to be seriously overhauled, as we found out with Grenfell. Products and data had been manipulated to pass safety tests when they should never have passed in the first place.

Grenfell exposed serious weaknesses within the construction industry, and new powers must be looked at and brought in with regards to product testing to make sure that they conform to U.K. standards and not just European Union (EU) standards. The U.K. has left the EU and could introduce its own requirements, but under new EU regulations, any product sold in the EU will require a digital product passport. 

Although the U.K. could introducte other requirements, manufacturers will not welcome two testing regimes and could leave the U.K. market. Whatever is decided, the government will need to consult on its proposals. 

Transparency was called for so that we do not have a “Donald Rumsfeld scenario,” where, according to Rumsfeld:

“There are known knowns. These are things that we know what we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say there are things that we know we don’t know, but there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don’t know we don’t know.”

Legislation and Regulation

The Building Safety Act modifies the Building Act. The new powers it creates are delivered through secondary legislation — regulations — that can far more easily be changed. 

The Morell and Day report stated:

“Product innovation has moved ahead of the standards and regulations that should guide and govern it, and sometimes ahead of the technical knowledge required to inform both standards (including testing standards) and regulation.”

We should therefore be able to change or adjust the Act when we discover new data and not have to wait for it to go through the lengthy process of being voted on through Parliament.

The Fire Safety Act 2021 has been brought in to update the Fire Service Order of 2005 to include the exterior structure of buildings which includes cladding, balconies and windows and all doors between domestic premises and common parts.

If the Building Safety Act isn’t being adhered to, then the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have the power to prosecute and fine whenever or wherever they have evidence that the law has been broken. There have also been changes and additions to Building Regulations with Approved Documents F, L, O and S coming in in October 2022. Approved Document T came in on 1 October 2024. 

• Approved Document L is conservation of fuel and power and on-site generation of electricity.
• Approved Document F is means of ventilation.
• Approved Document O is overheating mitigation.
• Approved Document S is infrastructure for the charging of electric vehicles.
• Approved Document T is toilet accommodation.

Building Information Modelling, or BIM, is the structure that is used in the building industry to create, store and manage all data and documents on any building. It uses digital techniques to store everything from information on pre-construction to completion of a built asset and much more. It is based on International Standard BS EN ISO 19650. 

Part 5 of the Building Safety Act deals with remediation and liability costs for replacement of defective cladding. No leaseholder should be held responsible for any service charge or costs relating to these aspects.

Phase 2 of the Grenfell Inquiry by The Rt Hon Sir Martin Moore-Bick was spoken about, the purpose of which was to build on the findings of Phase 1 and to find out why a tall reinforced concrete building in the 21st century should have such a disastrous fire.

As with Dame Judith Hackitt’s report, the Phase 2 inquiry report showed ignorance, indifference and lack of clarity with a merry-go-round of blame.

The government also drew strong criticism from the report, as they failed to act on previous fires, and as stated in the report, they knew in 2016 how combustible the cladding was, yet they chose not to do anything.

The report is long, and the government has given itself six months to prepare an initial response.

Part 2A of the Building Regulations inserts 17 new regulations from 11A to 11Q which covers duties, competence and behaviour of clients, designers and contractors.

The Building Safety Act, which consists of six parts, came into effect on 28 June 2022, overhauling the 1984 Building Act. 

The six parts are listed below with parts 2–5 laying out detailed reforms: 

• Part 1: Introduction
• Part 2: The Regulator and its Functions
• Part 3: Building Act 1984
• Part 4: Higher-Risk Buildings
• Part 5: Other Provision about Safety, Standards, etc.
• Part 6: General

One of the most notable aspects of parts 3 and 4 is the need for what is called a Golden Thread. Like the BIM system previously mentioned, it is a record-keeping system that must contain all the information about fire and structural risks in the building and be kept up to date — from construction to changes that have happened along the line, including everything from any changes to fire compartmentation or any piping rerouted, to the electrical cables supplied being upgraded. It needs to be recorded in the Golden Thread.

The new Building Safety Regulator is the building control authority for all higher risk buildings, apartments over 18 m or six storeys. Before any work is to start on the building, it must be authorised by the Regulator.

Only one recommendation specifically for lifts arose from the Phase 2 inquiry, and it is that of the fire recall key, which is used to gain control of the lifts in the event of a fire. Its reliability was called into question with the apparent variation of different drop keys out on the market.

The inquiry has asked for the Building Safety Regulator and National Fire Chiefs Council to assess the nature and scale of the problem and recommend solutions to it.

Panel Discussion on Evacuation as a Means of Escape

Panel members included Adam Scott, Davies, Matt Ryan and Eoin O’Loughlin chaired by Nick Mellor. 

BS8899 is the standard for “Improvement of a fire fighting and evacuation provision in existing lifts.”

Scott 

• Competence and ownership are needed instead of the buck passing like at Grenfell.
• The updated codes of practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of residential buildings will help new guidance.
• Better Capacity Assessment Methodology is called for in the design process.

O’Loughlin

• Legislation is clear. Guidance and how it is implemented are where it is let down.
• Better integration of fire systems is needed along with balancing consistency with flexibility and integration.

Ryan

We need access and egress for all; we need separate staircases, etc. We need a holistic strategy, and we all work together on the common goal.

• Different evacuation procedure
• Cross disciplines needed
• Practicable and manageable
• Reviews of the building’s lifetime
• We have an increasing importance on technology

Davies

More regulation is needed, but self-regulation is a problem.

Scott

• There may be a culture change of now using lifts in the event of a fire so the building can be evacuated quicker; however, a lot more testing would need to be done.
• Building users will need to practise evacuation procedures.
• Advised to learn their buildings
• Lifeboat lifts and refuge floors were spoken about, as these are realities in other countries. Hong Kong, for example, has an open-air refuge floor every 25th floor.

All

• Evacuation plans for listed buildings
• Budget constraints and reluctance
• New innovation was discussed along with calls for ever-evolving technology.
• The London Plan was discussed, which was brought in on 2 March 2021. Among many policies, in the Plan, D5(B5) requires that in all developments where lifts are installed, as a minimum, at least one lift per core (or more subject to capacity assessments) should be a suitably sized evacuation lift suitable to be used to evacuate people who require level access from the building.

Davies

The new building regulator will push back on any corners that have been cut and will make decisions on a case-by-case basis.

Panel members and delegates generally agreed that the technology has existed for some time to implement evacuation lifts. We need to work between disciplines to improve their use to evacuate people who require level access from buildings.

References

[1] grenfelltowerinquiry.org.uk/phase-2-report

[2] gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-of-the-construction-product-testing-regime

[3] arup.com/insights/a-change-framework-how-can-we-create-a-more-effective-and-equitable-fire-safety-system/