As our recent Building Safety Case campaign comes to an end, we thought it was imperative to detail the information from the campaign in one convenient place. In the wake of high-profile disasters, the United Kingdom has taken significant strides to ensure the safety of its built environment. One of the cornerstones of this endeavour is the concept of a “Building Safety Case.” This comprehensive document plays a pivotal role in ensuring the safety and integrity of buildings.
Understanding Building Safety Cases
A Building Safety Case is a structured report that demonstrates how a building’s design, construction, and ongoing operation will mitigate the risks associated with fire, structural integrity, and other hazards. It provides an evidence-based assessment of the building’s safety measures, drawing from a range of technical, engineering, and regulatory perspectives.
Which buildings need to complete a Building Safety Case
The implementation of Building Safety Case’ applies to high-rise buildings, specifically those exceeding 18 meters in height or consisting of seven or more storeys and containing at least two residential units. The requirements also extend to care homes that meet the criteria of being 18 meters tall or having seven storeys.
Key Components of a Building Safety Case
An overview of Building Information:
Resident Engagement:
What major themes does the resident engagement strategy encompass?
Are there specific initiatives being implemented for that building?
Resident Profiles:
Who are your residents?
Are there specific vulnerabilities that require attention?
Are there any supplementary measures that need to be taken into consideration?
Building Safety Risk Assessment:
How will you tackle worst case scenarios? What actions will you implement to reduce the risks? Include these answers as examples.
Action Plan:
As you navigate through the aforementioned information, there will be tasks that require attention at a later phase, potential gaps in information, or the necessity for additional inspections and surveys to be conducted.
Compile these tasks into an action plan, which will consequently serve as a dynamic document subject to regular review and updates.
content related to a safety case must be housed within the ‘Golden Thread,’ making it essential to delineate the exact location for storing this information digitally.
Subsequent to establishing your safety case, you can proceed to craft your safety case report, a submission required by the Building Safety Regulator (BSR). The building safety case report is a comprehensible synopsis of the amassed and evaluated information.
____________________________________________________________________________
Prior to submitting your safety case report, it is essential to register your residential building(s). All residential buildings falling under the scope of the Building Safety Act must be registered with the BSR. The registration period is from April 2023 to October 2023, and the BSR must receive your registration within this timeframe. Once your building is successfully registered, the Accountable Person should proceed to apply for a Building Assessment Certificate as per the BSR’s instructions.
____________________________________________________________________________
What do you need to register your building
Credit or debit card to pay the £251 registration fee per building.
The building’s name, address, and postcode.
Building summary, including height in metres, number of floors and residential units, and year of completion.
The names and contact details of the principal accountable person and all other accountable persons
____________________________________________________________________________
Summary of Building Information
As a part of the application process for registering a high-rise residential building, it is required to provide a concise overview of the building’s details. For your convenience we have listed the information below:
Number of Residential Units: Include all residential units, regardless of occupancy status. A residential unit encompasses any living space such as an apartment, flat, maisonette, or a room within student housing.
Number of Floors at or Above Ground Level: Count all floors from the ground level up to the highest floor, regardless of whether they contain residential units or not. Include mezzanine floors that occupy 50% or more of the area of other floors. Do not consider mezzanine floors that are less than 50% of the area of any other floors.
If the building meets either of the following criteria, you may estimate its height
Year of Building Completion: Specify the original completion year of the building. If the exact year is unknown, you may select a year from a designated range.
For buildings finalised in 2023 or later, it is mandatory to provide:
What information will be required in a Building Safety Case report?
A building safety case report is a portfolio of information put together by the ‘Accountable Person’ and will detail the steps taken to “identify, assess, remove, reduce and manage” building safety risks. To do this and to demonstrate that “reasonable and proportionate” steps have been taken with the risks, it must include:
Description of the building: The buildings’ occupants, fire and structural safety measures, systems, and details of the materials such as age and condition.
Risk assessments: Not only the risks presented to occupants of the building but those who use the building or are positioned nearby and must include likely consequences of the risk.
Measures to control the risks: The ‘accountable person’ must take ‘reasonable action’ to reduce the risks highlighted in the assessment.
Recordings and Implementation methods: Once the above steps have been undertaken, the accountable person’s findings must be recorded in the safety case report and present ways to manage the risks and mitigation actions.
Monitoring methods: The report must include strategies of how the Safety Case will be evaluated and monitored on an ongoing basis.
If you need any additional information, or have any specific questions surrounding Building Safety Cases, registering your building or Building Safety Case Reports then do not hesitate to contact one of our team below.
©2024 Firntec LTD. England. Company Number 13460282.
