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Type
Lecture

Building safety regulations: reflections one year on

Event organised by Hazards Forum

Date
17 September 2024
Time

This event has now ended

Overview

During this event we will hear reflections and discuss tips from people in organisations being ‘regulated’; those that have had to get to grips with new duties, roles and approaches under the new regulatory regime.

The Building Safety Act was given royal assent in late April 2022, with secondary legislation enacted since. It overhauled existing regulations, with the intent of creating lasting change and made clear how residential buildings should be constructed, maintained and made safe. 

The act created three new bodies to provide effective oversight of the new regime: the Building Safety Regulator, the National Regulator of Construction Products and the New Homes Ombudsman. 

The changes were intended to ensure that owners will manage their buildings better, and the home-building industry has the clear, proportionate framework it needs to deliver more, and better, high-quality homes. 

The legislation identified duty holders such as the principal designer and principal contractor who are required to manage building safety risks, with clear lines of responsibility during the design, construction and completion of all buildings. 

Organised by

Hazards Forum

Hazards Forum

The Hf provides a focus for the study of natural and man-made disasters, dissemination of lessons learned and promotion of risk reduction strategies.

Speakers

James Holt

James Holt

Loughborough University

University Fire Safety Lead

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James Holt

James Holt is the Fire Safety Lead at Loughborough University, a position he has held for over three years. He is responsible for fire policy and strategy, working closely with the Estates and FM team in driving forward fire safety management and compliance for the university. He holds a Master's degree in Chemistry and a PhD in Materials and Radiochemistry, reflecting his keen interest in science. 

He began his career teaching chemistry at degree level and more broadly, science from Key Stage 3 to GCSE, demonstrating a passion for education and knowledge sharing. His career took a significant turn when he transitioned into health and safety at Loughborough University. During the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, James showcased his leadership and organisational skills by establishing the university's own inhouse testing and tracing process, helping to ensure a safe environment for staff and students to return to. 

For the past three and a half years, James has dedicated himself to fire safety, completing his CFPA-E diploma through the Fire Protection Authority. His specialisation in preventative fire safety and fire risk assessing has been instrumental in enhancing the university's safety protocols. Given the period in which James came into the fire safety field, significant changes have taken place, including but not limited to the fire safety act 2021, fire safety regulations 2022, and building safety act 2022, which he is going to give us more insight into and his experience in ensuring his organisation’s compliance with managing an occupied high rise residential building. 

Mark Hansford

Mark Hansford

Institution of Civil Engineers

director of engineering knowledge

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Mark Hansford

Mark Hansford is the director of engineering knowledge at the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE). He plays a crucial role in shaping the knowledge content for civil engineering professionals.

With over 20 years of experience in the civil engineering industry, Mark began his career as a practicing engineer with Atkins, where he worked on water supply and distribution projects both in the UK and internationally, including a major study in Ghana.

At ICE, Mark is actively involved in strategic initiatives like Project 13, which aims to promote collaborative and sustainable approaches to infrastructure delivery.

Andrew Threlfall

Andrew Threlfall

Costain

chief engineer

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Andrew Threlfall

Andrew is Costain’s Group chief engineer, responsible for technical excellence and product quality across Costain’s wide project portfolio, including design delivery, construction compliance, product quality and future planning.  Focus areas are safe-by-design, sustainable project delivery and risk management.  

Andrew also supports technical skill development, including Costain’s FICE cohort, early careers training schemes and STEM activities. Current upskilling campaigns are aiming to improve right-first-time, building regulations and CDM compliance, low carbon/climate resilience and temporary works delivery. 

For more information please contact:

Elira Alushi

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