Two new sections for the Construction Health and Safety Manual

The CIP Construction Health and Safety Manual has a new section entitled Building Safety that includes two sub-sections:-

• Building Safety Act
• Supports and Fixings

Billed as ‘the biggest improvement to building safety in 40 years’, the Building Safety Act is a very important piece of legislation which provides both a regime for generally improving building safety for visitors and occupants, as well as introducing a new, tighter regime for the design, construction and management of buildings deemed as ‘higher risk’ − defined as those buildings with more than 2 residential units that are over either 18 metres or 7 storeys in height.

The Act was passed in April 2022 but much of the detail is to follow in secondary legislation. Some has already been implemented. For example the Higher-Risk Buildings (Descriptions and Supplementary Provisions) Regulations 2023 came into force on 6th April. However, the remainder of the detail is expected to be published and come in to effect throughout the remainder of 2023.

The Act also introduces two new regulators - the Building Safety Regulator and Construction Products Regulator.

With new regulations and guidance being released every month the Building Safety Act section aims to keep subscribers up to date with the latest guidance. The Building Safety Regulator is working towards implementing the next phase of the new regime as planned from 1 October, and this section will continue to be updated as further information is published.

Supports and fixings are critically important but often an overlooked element of building design and installation. They are often considered as commodity items where procurement decisions are made solely on price, or worse still, changed on site without any knowledge of the implications. In addition, they are often installed by individuals without the requisite competence or the correct tools.

Selection/specification and correct installation of the correct fixings into the appropriate element or substrate is fundamental for all permanent and temporary works to achieve the required integrity, strength, stability, and service life. This new guidance identifies the elements of good practice which should be covered in supplier and installer specifications/drawings, RAMS (Risk Assessment and Method Statements) and Inspection and Test Plans.

The Construction Health and Safety Manual has been written to help people working in the construction industry to make health and safety improvements in the construction industry. It is recognised that this guidance contains some advice that may go further than the minimum needed to comply with health and safety law.

Its text is strictly monitored by an editorial panel of Health & Safety Experts who check its content for accuracy and topicality. The manual is designed in a loose-leaf format so that it can easily be updated, and amendments and new sections are normally published twice a year and are available to manual owners who pay a subscription. By signing up to the automatic subscription service you will receive each update twice yearly automatically.

The Manual is also available on CDROM and USB and online at www.cip-knowledge.com