New cross-industry cladding forum meets for first time

The first meeting of the RISCAuthority-convened cladding forum, with over 30 representatives present from across the built environment, fire safety, and insurance sectors, have met at the FPA’s head office at the Fire Service College in Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire.

The forum arose from results of the FPA cladding survey, which when analysed made it clear that there was currently a vacuum in the large-scale cladding testing arena, and that there were concerns over BS 8414 and other Standards still in development.

By instigating and hosting this forum, it was hoped that by bringing attendees together from organisations such as the Building Safety Regulator, AXA, BRE, the Insulation Manufacturers Association, and Zurich, there could be consensus on direction for large-scale testing and approvals of cladding.

With numerous groups running various projects in the area of cladding fire safety, it was hoped that this forum could provide a route to better communication and collaboration across the industry.

The free-flowing meeting saw contributions from across the board on a wide variety of topics related to cladding, including the BS 8414 test method, insulation, cavity barriers, the competence of those installing the cladding systems, and the FPA’s new test methodology RISC 501.

The problem of variation between tested and installed systems was raised a number of times, and the point made that too often the product that ends up on the building does not match that which was tested. The forum agreed that there needs to be clarity and greater understanding as to where the responsibilities lie for ensuring the correct systems are installed.

With the focus of the cladding sector currently being on the use of only non-combustible material at present, the question of sustainability and alternative materials and systems that may come to market to meet this need was raised as a topic for future discussion.

Technical Director at the FPA, George Edwardes, commenting on the meeting, said, “It was fantastic to see so many of the country's top experts collaborating to discuss the fire safety of cladding systems. The fact that numerous organisations and individuals were willing to dedicate a whole day to this issue demonstrates a shared understanding that there is still work to be done.

“It was also very promising, and hopefully, this first introductory meeting will pave the way for more cross-industry collaboration, allowing us to arrive at a safe solution that works for everyone."

With many topics still to be fully explored, including whether the accreditation of test labs should be a legal requirement, the process of how an installed cladding system should be signed off, how to better test open-state cavity barriers, how to better educate the marketplace on what tests are appropriate, and how to ensure installation quality, the forum will reconvene later in the year to continue the important dialogue and collaboration on show in this first meeting.