Plan of Work for Fire will offer updated fire protection advice
RIBA will be unveiling its latest fire safety guidance at a special conference next month as part of industry efforts to 鈥渇ill the gaps鈥� in the UK鈥檚 fire protection processes.
The Plan of Work for Fire aims to ensure there is a detailed specification for fire protection at the design stage of a building and a schedule for fire protection throughout the construction and facilities management process.
The document, which RIBA started work on late last year, will be published at the 鈥楶rotecting Lives: Design & Construction Post-Grenfell鈥� conference, to be held at the institution鈥檚 London HQ on 12 June.
Bolton-based Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine Coatings (SWPMC) is among those supporting the new initiative, working with RIBA and the Association of Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP).
Bob Glendenning, global fire engineering manager for SWPMC, said: 鈥淭he design, materials and products in use on today鈥檚 modern complex buildings is changing, and as a result fire performance needs to be factored in as early as possible, not at the end.鈥�
The full Hackitt review into building safety following last year鈥檚 Grenfell Tower fire is expected by the end of May but an interim report published earlier this year argued the current regulatory system for ensuring fire safety in high-rise and 鈥榗omplex鈥� buildings was not fit for purpose.
鈥淭his applies throughout the life cycle of a building, both during construction and occupation, and is a problem connected both to the culture of the construction industry and the effectiveness of the regulators,鈥� it added.
Hackitt鈥檚 interim report said current regulations and guidance were 鈥渢oo complex and unclear鈥�, and compliance, enforcement and sanctions processes were 鈥渢oo weak鈥�.
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