New building safety guide for housing associations and social housing

Building a Safer Future has announced the launch of a new assessment pathway in its Champion scheme for Housing Associations and the Social Housing sector designed to help them explore and reduce their building safety risk profile.

The new pathway is specifically designed to suit the unique responsibilities of these key organisations, and makes the building safety culture change assessment scheme accessible to a wider section of the built environment industry than ever before.

The BSF Champions process gives companies detailed insight into their existing leadership and culture around building safety and equips them with actionable data and practical tools to help review, prioritise and upgrade their approach to building safety and in doing so, help rebuild public trust.

The new pathway was officially launched at the Building and Fire Safety in Housing conference hosted by National Housing Federation on 22nd February.

The NHF have advised and inputted into the creation of this new specialist pathway as part of an ongoing partnership between the two organisations with a shared aim of raising standards and shifting culture in building safety.

Building a Safer Future Board Member Teresa Ocansey commented: “As a resident of a housing association, building safety is very close to my heart. It is crucial that these organisations seize the opportunity provided by the Champions process to really put the safety of their residents first, and ensure that building safety is always top of their agenda. The process is such a valuable tool in identifying areas for development, and I would love to see a wide take-up throughout the industry.”

The assessment process is divided into two modules – ‘Leadership and Culture (Stage 1)’ and ‘Corroborating Elements (Stage 2)’:

● Leadership and Culture (Stage 1) – An extensive survey examining the depth and maturity of the leadership and building safety culture in the company, gaining a statistically significant dataset from workers at all levels in the organisation, and clarified in one-to-one validation discussions between a selection of the respondents and a dedicated independent assessor.

● Corroborating Elements (Stage 2) – A thorough self-assertion process against a comprehensive framework of expectations enabling BSF to scrutinise the company’s processes and procedures in relation to building safety.

Organisations that successfully complete both modules to the required minimum standard are awarded Building a Safer Future Champion status.

Victoria Moffett, Head of Building and Fire Safety programmes from the National Housing Federation commented: “It’s really positive that Building a Safer Future has launched a pathway designed specifically for housing associations, recognising their unique role in implementing the higher-risk regime.

“The pathway is a robust way for housing associations to assess their readiness for the new regulations, or understand where they might need to do more before regulations take effect, creating a culture of safety within their organisations. We encourage our members to sign up to the pathway.”

Building a Safer Future are anticipating the announcements of the first tranche of organisations to complete the assessment and be awarded Building a Safer Future Champion status at their second annual conference – Culture Change in Construction: Leading Building Safety, which is being held at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in central London on 23rd March.

Jeremy Stibbe, Non-Executive Chairman of BexleyCo Homes, creator of the G15 Asset Group and Building a Safer Future Board Member, commented: “The introduction of this new assessment pathway is an excellent step forward for the BSF Champions scheme. I would encourage all housing associations to engage with the process and take advantage of the opportunity it offers. By getting to grips with building safety culture through this process they will achieve planned and more impactful results and the journey and recognition will be incredibly rewarding for their organisations.’’