Building Safety Act Checklist: 8 Key Steps for Compliance

Building Safety Act 2022: A Practical Checklist for Building and Facilities Managers

The Building Safety Act 2022 has changed the way building safety is managed in England, introducing clearer responsibilities and greater accountability throughout the lifecycle of a building.

For those responsible for buildings, construction work or facilities management, compliance isn’t simply about completing paperwork. It means understanding who is responsible, what information needs to be maintained, how risks are managed and whether the people carrying out safety-critical work are competent.

So, where should you start?

We’ve put together a practical overview of some of the key areas organisations should be considering.

1. Understand Whether Your Building Falls Within the Higher-Risk Regime

One of the first steps is understanding how the legislation applies to your building and your activities.

For the occupation regime in England, a high-rise residential building is one that is at least 18 metres high or has at least seven storeys, and contains at least two residential units. These buildings must be registered with the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) before people live in them.

There are also specific definitions governing higher-risk buildings during design and construction, so organisations shouldn’t assume the requirements are identical at every stage of a building’s lifecycle. The original SFG20 checklist rightly makes determining whether a building is in scope its first major action point.

Ask yourself:

• Do we know whether our building or project falls within the higher-risk regime?
• Have we checked the relevant criteria rather than assumed?
• If registration is required, has it been completed?
• Do the relevant people within our organisation understand what being in scope means?

2. Know Who Is Responsible for What

Building safety is a shared responsibility – but that doesn’t mean responsibility is vague.

For occupied high-rise residential buildings, the legislation establishes Accountable Persons (APs) and a Principal Accountable Person (PAP).

An Accountable Person is an individual or organisation that owns, or has a legal obligation to repair, the common parts of the building. Where there is more than one AP, there must be one clearly identifiable PAP.

Accountable Persons have responsibilities for assessing and managing structural and fire safety risks within the areas for which they are responsible.

Crucially, an AP or PAP can appoint someone else to carry out certain activities on their behalf, but they cannot simply delegate away their legal accountability.

That’s why every organisation should be clear about roles, responsibilities and lines of communication.

3. Make Competence a Priority

Having a procedure isn’t enough if the people carrying out the work don’t have the knowledge and competence to do it safely.

Current government guidance requires those making appointments for building work to take steps to ensure the individuals and organisations appointed have the necessary competence to fulfil their duties. Written records of those steps may also need to be maintained.

This makes training and competence management an important part of the wider building safety picture.

Consider:

Are employees appropriately trained?

Are qualifications and certificates current?

Do managers understand their own responsibilities?

Are contractors being assessed for competence rather than selected on cost alone?

Can you demonstrate how competence has been assessed?

The aim shouldn’t simply be to produce a training certificate. Effective training should give people the knowledge and confidence to apply safe working practices when they’re back in the workplace.

4. Maintain Your ‘Golden Thread’ of Information

One of the most important concepts arising from the new building safety regime is the golden thread.

Put simply, it is the information required to understand a building and manage its safety effectively throughout its lifecycle.

For those with relevant duties, building information must be maintained digitally and managed so that it is secure, accessible to those who need it, usable and kept as an effective source of truth about the building.

Depending on the building and lifecycle stage, this can encompass information relating to design, construction, maintenance, modifications, safety management and other important records.

The principle is straightforward:

The right people need the right information at the right time.

Ask whether your organisation could quickly locate the information needed to demonstrate how a particular building safety risk is being managed.

If the answer is no, your information management arrangements may need attention.

5. Assess and Manage Building Safety Risks

For occupied higher-risk residential buildings, Accountable Persons must assess and manage risks relating to structural failure and the spread of fire.

Risk management shouldn’t therefore be treated as a one-off exercise.

Buildings change.

Equipment deteriorates.

Work is undertaken.

Occupancy changes.

New hazards emerge.

Controls that were appropriate several years ago may no longer reflect the way a building is being used today.

Effective safety management means reviewing risks, implementing proportionate controls and checking that those controls continue to work.

6. Don’t Overlook Maintenance

Building safety and maintenance go hand in hand.

The SFG20 guidance highlights the importance of knowing what assets are within a building and what needs to be maintained. Maintenance records also contribute to the wider body of building safety information.

For facilities and building managers, this means having systems capable of answering some fairly basic questions:

What needs maintaining?

When was it last inspected or serviced?

When is it due again?

Who carried out the work?

Were defects identified?

Have remedial actions actually been completed?

A missed maintenance task can become far more significant when it relates to a safety-critical system.

7. Keep Clear, Accessible Records

Good building safety management should leave an audit trail.

Risk assessments, inspections, maintenance, competence records, changes to the building and actions taken following identified issues should be recorded appropriately.

The Building Safety Regulator’s golden thread guidance specifically emphasises that required information should be maintained digitally, securely and in a format that can be understood and used by those who need it.

If something goes wrong, being able to demonstrate what was identified, what action was taken, when it happened and who was responsible becomes extremely important.

8. Review Your Training Requirements

Building safety legislation may be complex, but one principle is clear: competent people are fundamental to safer buildings and safer workplaces.

Take the opportunity to review training across your organisation.

Are there gaps?

Are certificates approaching expiry?

Have people moved into supervisory or management positions without additional training?

Have changes in legislation, equipment or working practices created a need for refresher training?

Training shouldn’t only happen when a certificate expires. It should form part of an organisation’s wider approach to maintaining competence.

Building Safety: More Than a Tick-Box Exercise

Perhaps one of the most important messages from the SFG20 checklist is that the Building Safety Act should not be approached as another compliance tick-box exercise.

Good building safety comes from creating a culture where responsibilities are understood, risks are actively managed, information is accurate and accessible, and people have the competence to make the right decisions.

A Quick Building Safety Check

If you’re responsible for buildings, people or contractors, consider these questions:

• Do we understand which building safety requirements apply to us?
• Are responsibilities clearly assigned and understood?
• Can we demonstrate the competence of the people carrying out relevant work?
• Are our risk assessments current?
• Are safety-critical maintenance activities being completed on time?
• Can we quickly access accurate building and maintenance records?
• Are actions identified through inspections and assessments being closed out?
• Do our employees and managers have the training they need?

If any of those questions are difficult to answer, it’s worth taking a closer look.

Develop Competence with Lighthouse Safety

At Lighthouse Safety, we help organisations develop the knowledge and competence needed to manage health and safety effectively.

Our range of accredited health and safety training supports everyone from employees and supervisors through to managers and health and safety professionals, with courses including NEBOSH, IOSH and CITB training, alongside a wider programme of workplace safety qualifications.

Whether you’re reviewing training across your organisation, addressing competency gaps or developing the next generation of health and safety professionals, our consultancy team can help you identify the right training, policies and accreditations.

Talk to Lighthouse Safety about your organisation’s training requirements and upcoming course dates.

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