Hackitt frustrated by slow pace of change in the construction industry
The author of the post-Grenfell review of building safety believes the industry lacks the necessary “leadership and drive to bring about change”.
Dame Judith Hackitt is also frustrated by the slow pace with which the 53 recommendations she made in her review – all accepted by the government – are being delivered. She admitted that the office of the new Building Safety Regulator would not been in place for at least another year, but urged the industry to get on with reforming itself in the meantime.
She told a recent NBS conference that the new regulator would have considerable powers to sanction firms that failed to comply with the building regulations. She said it was “folly” for the sector not to get on with putting its house in order and condemned product testing, marketing, labelling and approval processes as “flawed, unreliable and behind the times”.
CIBSE technical director Hywel Davies said Hackitt was increasingly unimpressed by the industry. “The more she sees, the worse she likes it,” added Davies during his annual policy briefing to the CIBSE Patrons group.
The government, as the construction industry’s largest client, will also be under the spotlight and be required to review how it procures buildings, according to Davies. This will include addressing the ongoing problems of late payment.
“We simply won’t be able to keep doing what we have always done,” he said.
