The Grenfell Tower fire, caused by highly flammable cladding, was a wakeup call for the construction industry. Now, seven years on, changes are still being made to prevent a similar tragedy from happening again.

The Building Safety Act 2022 came into force from 1 April 2023, following the recommendations made in Dame Judith Hackitt’s Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety. The new regulations intended to improve the standard of buildings and ensure the safety of the people in and around them.

The Hackitt Review found serious shortcomings in previous building safety legislation, the Building Regulations 2010, and thus amendments were made to improve the competence and accountability of those carrying out design and building work. This piece of secondary legislation (The Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023), came into force last October.  

What changes have been made?

All construction projects must now appoint a principal dutyholder, who must be responsible for ensuring compliance with the relevant legal requirements. There should be one principal designer and one principal contractor, both of whom must demonstrate their competence to be taking on such duties. To help verify principal contractors and designers, the CIOB is launching a Principal Contractor Competency Certification Scheme (PCCCS) which provides a benchmark and a framework for assessing prospective principal contractors.

What is the role of principal contractor?

A principal contractor must plan, manage and monitor the building work and ensure it is compliant with building regulations. They should also act as the main port of call for the client, communicating and cooperating with both them and the principal designer.  It is possible for someone to take on more than one dutyholder role, provided they can demonstrate their competence to do so.

This role is not to be confused with the principal contractor named in the Construction Design and Management (CDM) Regulations 2015; under that framework, a client can appoint a principal contractor and effectively hand them the responsibility of the project’s legal compliance.

However, the new Building Safety legislation means that the dutyholder role now applies to anybody with a key role in the commissioning, design and construction of buildings – including clients. This means that they, as well as their contractors, are ultimately responsible for ensuring the measures in the Building Safety Act are met.

What are the competency requirements?

There are two categories of the PCCCS – category A projects that do not involve higher risk buildings, whilst category B is for those that do include higher risk buildings. A higher risk building is defined in the Building Safety Act as a building that is at least 18 metres in height or has at least seven storeys, and contains at least two residential units.

In order to apply to the PCCCS, candidates must be a member of a professional body such as the CIOB, hold a construction-related qualification, and have at least three years’ experience. They must then make a written application and undergo a peer review before being deemed competent. All successful applicants will be required to reapply for certification after five years. To help guide clients, the CIOB has confirmed that certified PCs will be listed on a register.

What are the consequences of non-compliance?

As we saw with the Grenfell Tragedy, there are serious consequences when project managers are working beyond their abilities. In Barrister Stephanie Barwise’s closing statement at the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, she concluded that the lead architects had a “lack of experience of high-rise projects and over-cladding of occupied buildings”.

In addition, Dame Hackitt identified as part of her review that tougher penalties were needed to deter non-compliance. As such, those in breach of the Building Safety Act could now face longer prison sentences and harsher fines. Furthermore, under the Building Act 1984, notices to remove or remedy substandard work could only be made up until 12 months after the event; however, this has now been increased to 10 years.

A step change for construction

There is some concern that principal contractors do not realise the level of responsibility (and accountability) they now have; however, that only highlights how necessary these changes were.

Many leaders will have to step up and scrub up on their knowledge in order to become a certified dutyholder. Gerald Naylor FCIOB, who helped develop the PCCCS, commented, “The biggest change is a cultural one. We have to be more mindful of what we’re producing. It should not be based on just price and speed, but on quality and on safety. Not just safety for the construction workers, but safety for the building occupants.”