CROSS has issued a report associated with missing fixing straps on Light Gauge Steel Framing Systems which may affect fire performance. This report references guidance issued by FIS earlier in the summer.
CROSS (Collaborative Reporting for Safer Structures) is a unique reporting scheme sponsored by The Institution of Structural Engineers, the ICE, the IFE, and the HSE. Its purpose is to share lessons learned from structural and fire safety issues and help prevent future failures – by providing insight into how safety issues occur and spurring the development of safety improvement measures. All information available through CROSS is free.
Under the new Building Safety Act the Building Safety Regulator is required to appoint a person to establish and operate a system for the voluntary reporting of information about building safety. This function is currently being fulfilled through CROSS, which has been extended to include fire safety, in addition to structural safety, within its remit. Reporting through CROSS is confidential.
FIS Technical Director Joe Cilia commented: “CROSS perform a vital role in this new era for safety. We cannot afford to bury concerns, we all have a responsibility to ensure that we share vital information to help ensure that mistakes are not buried in projects, but learnings shared help improve our wider deliver of safer buildings. We look forward to working more closely with CROSS in improving safety in our sector and the wider built environment”.