BESA research suggests clients are yet to engage with new building safety regime
Construction clients are failing to engage with the new building safety regime, according to research carried out by the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA).
The Association used its regional meetings with members as ‘focus groups’ over a six-month period to gauge take-up of measures introduced under the Building Safety Act and the level of awareness of roles, responsibilities and risks associated with the legislation, which has been in force since 2022.
The main finding was a “total lack of engagement” from clients with BESA members reporting that “not a single client” had discussed compliance with them. They asserted that, far from seeing evidence of any significant culture change, the pressure to deliver projects faster and more cheaply was increasing at the expense of quality and safety.
Members from all UK regions confirmed that project decisions remained primarily driven by cost and speed, particularly by owners and developers whose buildings were not classified
as ‘higher risk’ (HRBs). This confirmed the suspicion that most clients believe the Act only applies to this type of building.
The meetings followed in-depth research commissioned by BESA last year which revealed that, while awareness of the legislation was rising, contractors and clients were confused about their roles and responsibilities and there was little discernible change taking place.
“As there is currently very little enforcement of the legislation and, therefore, no apparent consequences, clients are still subjecting contractors to aggressive and sub-economic pricing,” said BESA’s Director of Specialist Knowledge Rachel Davidson.
“Not a single client has asked any of our members about compliance with the Act. Tenders are still being won on lowest price and still being value engineered throughout the project on non-HRB works. “Several contractors who insisted on applying more rigorous safety measures said they had been priced out of projects as a result,” said Davidson, who called for a government-driven public awareness campaign to improve client engagement.
The BESA meetings also confirmed that most clients erroneously considered the legislation to be a ‘Construction’ Safety Act i.e. aimed exclusively at the construction industry and did not, therefore, apply to those owning, managing and operating buildings throughout their lifecycle.
