ASSOCIATIONS & ORGANISATIONS
DHF reflects on legislation , post- Grenfell , and its impact on members
Following the sixth anniversary of the Grenfell fire tragedy , which resulted in the loss of 72 lives , Door & Hardware Federation ’ s General Manager & Secretary , Michael Skelding , looks back on this year ’ s developments with regards to legislation , and the resultant impact on DHF members .
» THE HIGH-RISE FIRE WHICH BROKE out in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower block of flats in North Kensington , West London , on 14th June 2017 , claimed the lives of 72 people . To prevent such a tragedy from recurring , over the past year , a number of regulations have come into force , for example , the Construction Product ( Amendment ) Regulations in July 2022 ; this has enabled the Secretary of State for Levelling Up , Housing and Communities to act as an enforcement authority for construction products . This legislation paved the way for the new National Regulator for Construction Products to be established by the Office for Product Safety and Standards , thus allowing for enhanced and strengthened regulation of construction products . “ It is clear that enforcement of the existing Construction Products Regulations , as undertaken by local authorities ’ trading standards departments since 1991 , has been ineffective due to a lack of resources and specific training ,” explains Michael Skelding , DHF ’ s General Manager and Secretary . “ The report “ Testing for a Safer Future ” confirms this . The direct involvement of OPSS , acting under DLUHC , should improve the effectiveness of enforcement and lead to more prosecutions where defective and , in particular , dangerous , products are concerned . This will potentially affect all manufacturers of construction products .”
In October 2022 , the White Paper on Construction Products Competence ( CPC ) was published by WG 12 of the Competence Steering Group ( CSG ); it has been widely supported throughout the construction products supply chain . As a result , in January 2023 , BSI Committee CPB / 1 established a new project to create a Code of Practice for Core Criteria for Construction Products Competence , to be based on the White Paper .
“ It is clear that enforcement of the existing Construction Products Regulations , as undertaken by local authorities ’ trading standards departments since 1991 , has been ineffective due to a lack of resources and specific training ,”
The standard ’ s purpose is to ensure individuals using or working with construction products are competent and can demonstrate their competence to others . The standard is expected to describe five levels of core criteria that should be achieved , demonstrated , and maintained by all individuals making choices concerning construction products at all levels in the built environment sector . It is expected to include a
methodology of application to define how those core level criteria can be mapped by industries within the built environment sector consistently to their competence frameworks . It is intended to be used , in conjunction with BS 8670 , by all industries in the built environment sector to map against their existing training and qualifications to demonstrate the competence of their workforce , as well as to identify any gaps in their training and qualifications . Michael says :
“ While DHF training focuses on installing and maintaining products correctly , this initiative is based on the understanding that many actors in the supply chain must be competent in dealing with construction products ; this would include , for example : manufacturers , distributors , architects , risk assessors , building safety managers , installers , and maintainers . We will continue to support this initiative through our membership of CSG WG 12 .”
On 23rd January 2023 , The Fire Safety ( England ) Regulations 2022 , made under Article 24 of the Fire Safety Order 2005 , came into force . These impose
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