HARDWARE & SECURITY
The Morrell report
What does it mean for the hardware industry ?
» THE MUCH-ANTICIPATED Independent Review of the Construction Product Testing Regime was published on 20 April 2023 . Originally announced by UK government in April 2021 , the report was led by Paul Morrell OBE and Anneliese Day KC . GAI Technical Manager , Douglas Masterson , discusses the reports contents and its implications .
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up , Housing and Communities , Michael Gove MP said that the government recognises historic failings in the system by which construction products were tested , assured , and made available for sale . The Government is committed to ensuring the testing regime for construction products is effective and inspires public and market confidence and will set out proposals for reform of the UK ’ s construction product regime in due course building on the work of the Review . The Secretary of State has welcomed contributions from all who share the government ’ s goal of a safer built environment towards the proposals for reform .
Terms of reference
The report was set up by UK Government to address the question : “ How should the UK system for testing the safety of construction products and the use of data from the system be strengthened , to inspire confidence that those products are safe and perform as labelled and marketed when incorporated into construction work ?” This was to be achieved by : 1 . mapping the system for testing , certifying , marketing , selling , retesting and recalling construction products ;
GAI Technical Manager , Douglas Masterson
2 . assessing what does / could go wrong within this system ; and 3 . recommending how the system should be strengthened .
Gaps or weaknesses in the current system
The report highlighted the susceptibility to failure of some existing processes :
Only construction products , for which there is a designated standard , are covered by the Construction Products Regulation ( CPR ) – about two-thirds of products remain unregulated , which was anecdotally stated as 20 to 30,000 products .
Regulation was originally designed to create a level playing field for a single market and not to ensure a safe or sustainable product or building . As a consequence , there isn ’ t a specific ‘ UK system for testing the safety of construction products ’.
Everything depends on the relevant standards , how a product is to confirm , how it is to be tested and accredited and how Conformity Assessment Bodies themselves are reviewed by UKAS , and
how UKAS itself is reviewed . The report found that this process can be “ slow , insufficient and of variable quality ”. The result is that many standards are outdated , inconsistent or nonexistent . Research conducted in 2020 questioned the fitness for purpose of a number of standards critical for testing products for resistance and reaction to fire .
The CPR assessment process is seen as overly complex meaning few people fully understand it . This has created a disconnect between those involved in assessment and those who actually design and construct buildings . A process that isn ’ t understood is unlikely to be regularly and properly reviewed and enforced – allowing people to take advantage of a lack of transparency . The whole system is complex , overloaded and slow , leaving a threat to quality and barrier to reform – this was especially concerning for when CE marking is no longer recognised .
Enforcement was found to have been “ totally non-existent ”, meaning bad actors may feel they can bypass regulations without consequence . There
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