Testing construction

Melissa Fazackerley examines how the construction products sector must respond to the recommendations for testing to ensure fire safety.

The government’s review of the testing of products used in the construction industry, released in the wake of the Hackitt Report and Grenfell Tower tragedy, has thrown the spotlight onto a wide range of serious concerns for the sector. The report – Testing for a Safer Future produced by Paul Morrell and Anneliese Day – goes into considerable detail on the many shortfalls the research uncovered, particularly around the safety of products frequently in use at present. It goes on to highlight the fact that there is no generally accepted standard classification system by which products can be monitored and analysed, and also found that there is a significant lack of data about the sector, including no comprehensive list of companies engaged in the manufacture, import, or distribution of construction products.

The construction industry is already known for the ‘race to the bottom’ approach and we are quite often led to believe the cheapest party is usually awarded the contract, negating other factors noted in the tender process, such as quality and safety. The term ‘value engineering’ is often banded about where cost savings are sought by various parties as a method to win the work or to maximise profit margins for ongoing projects.

As part of the Fire Protection Association's continuing commitment to increase fire safety awareness across the built environment, a number of informative feature articles are available to read on our website. You can read the full article here.