by Oscar Venus | 23 May, 2025 | Health and Safety, Technical
We have been working with a panel of industry experts to address organisational competence amongst contractors. This group has been instrumental in helping us produce building safety policy guidance for those who are accredited on a pre-qualification (PQQ) scheme equivalent to the Build UK Common Assessment Standard (CAS). This guidance should be a timely and meaningful intervention with the June deadline rapidly approaching for the Building Safety section of the CAS becoming mandatory.
It is vital members get on top of this because, whilst companies can currently opt out of the new questions and maintain accreditation, we have been advised the additional questions related to work in scope of the Building Safety Act will become mandatory from as early as the 9th June 2025. Added to this, they provide a good framework for challenging your internal processes. FIS team ran through the questions with a group of members in early May and whilst most should be straightforward, we can provide additional advise based on this discussion and support. If you need any advice in the process, please call FIS on 0121 707 0077 or email info@thefis.org and we will direct you to the appropriate member of our team. If you have comments on the questions, FIS has been invited to join the drafting panel for future editions of the Common Assessment Standard, so please direct comments to jamesparlour@thefis.org.
As a final point FIS is always willing to follow-up requests for specific PQQ schemes as the Common Assessment Standard is designed to support interoperability and remove the need for duplication of accreditation efforts across multiple schemes (this is part of our Responsible No Campaign)
The draft policy document can be found here
by Oscar Venus | 23 May, 2025 | Market data, Technical
FIS responded on behalf if it’s members to the Government Consultation on their Construction Products Reform Green Paper. This paper details plans to increase the oversight of testing and conformity assessment bodies, third party product certification schemes, the role of the general product safety regulations in governing construction products not covered by an existing designated standard. The paper also consults on the introduction of digital product passports and environmental performance characteristics from the new EU Construction Products Regulations along with a suite of measures to enable reuse of construction products. The FIS gathered views from across our membership profile through our working groups and beyond, and we are incredibly grateful to all those who gave their time and expertise to inform a comprehensive response.
In the FIS response we have highlighted the need to review designer responsibility with producer responsibility to ensure key performance and compliance issues are addressed where interface and compatibility issues are essential to overall building performance. The need to consider future life of materials and ensure regulation does not halt the growing market for product re-use and a more circular approach in its tracks. We have also touched on the need to balance Intellectual Property consideration with transparency and support to ensure that the compliance environment works to encourage innovation and doesn’t create onerous compliance loops that limit opportunities to modernise methods of construction. Availability of Standards and the balance a regulator needs to find with respect to robust enforcement and encouraging “black box thinking”.
Thanks to all members who have shared their views and helped shape our response. If you have additional views, this is not the end of the road an Government have committed to ongoing consultation around the key subjects raised in this Green Paper.
The full text of our response can be found here:
Green Paper Consultation – FIS Response
by Clair Mooney | 2 Apr, 2025 | Building Safety Act, Contractual and Legal, Technical
As of 1 April 2025 Ministerial responsibility for all fire functions for construction will move from the Home Office to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). The aim of this move is to bring greater clarity and accountability to fire and building safety.
Bringing these responsibilities together will strengthen coordination, improve policy implementation, and reinforce the government’s commitment to making homes, buildings and communities safer.
The change delivers on a key recommendation from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s Phase 2 report, which advised that fire and building safety should be overseen by a single department.
Following the publication of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s Phase 2 report on 4 September 2024, the Prime Minister acknowledged the failings that led to the tragedy and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to implementing the necessary reforms. This transfer of Ministerial responsibility for all fire functions to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government represents an important part of this work, and the government will continue to drive forward the necessary reforms to make sure a tragedy like Grenfell can never happen again.
The Minister for Building Safety and Local Growth who will be taking on responsibility for fire functions Alex Norris said:
“Ensuring the safety of people in their homes and communities is a top priority for this government. By bringing all fire and building safety responsibilities under one department, we are reinforcing accountability, improving coordination, and taking decisive action to protect lives.
“I would like to thank Dame Diana Johnson for her work in this important area. I look forward to working with fire and rescue services and key stakeholders to implement the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s recommendations and drive forward the reforms needed to keep people safe.
“This is a significant step in delivering meaningful change, making our buildings safer, and strengthening our country’s resilience for the future.”
Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson said:
“It has been an honour and privilege to serve as Minister for Fire.
“I would like to express my utmost gratitude to the brave firefighters in our fire and rescue services, who selflessly dedicate themselves to protecting the public from fire every day.
“I would also like to thank the government officials and stakeholders from across the sector I have worked with over the past nine months. Their drive to make the sector stronger has been invaluable and I am certain my good friend Alex Norris will also benefit from their advice.”
by Oscar Venus | 31 Jan, 2025 | Market data, Membership, Technical
FIS responded recently on behalf of it’s members to a consultation run by OPSS regarding “bespoke” construction products falling under Article 5 of the Construction Products Regulation. The aim of the consultation is to understand if the use of the term bespoke as it pertains to construction products that either cannot be described or are assumed to be exempt from designated standards is clear and appropriate.
We were able to point out a number of areas from our experience with members in areas such as suspended ceilings and heritage plastering where this definition lacks clarity.
by Clair Mooney | 9 Jan, 2025 | Technical
The Office for Product Safety & Standards (OPSS) has commissioned the Centre for Strategy & Evaluation Services (CSES) to conduct a study to develop its evidence base on “bespoke” construction products.
This research will review current practices regarding the interpretation of the term bespoke and assess how these practices align with the existing regulatory framework (i.e. products falling under Article 5 of the Construction Products Regulation). This research will form a baseline, on which future research proposals, focusing on different aspects of the construction products’ supply chains, are expected to be developed.
Through our membership of the Construction Products Association FIS Members are invited to participate in a survey, which should take no longer than 10-15 minutes. https://eu.mar.medallia.com/?e=431068&d=e&h=2236FDFC25497DC&l=en
The deadline for response is 17 January 2025.
If you have any questions, please contact the CSES Project Manager, Rocio Salado at the following address: rsalado@cses.eu
by Iain McIlwee | 14 Nov, 2024 | Building Safety Act, Skills, Technical
Two new training courses have been added this week to the FIS e-Learning Hub. The courses aim to support members in managing individual competence associated with key package areas.
The first course is the Firestopping of service penetrations: Best Practice. The aim of this course is to assist in the design, specification and installation of building services penetrations to ensure fire compartmentation is maintained, five leading not-for-profit organisations have been involved in the development of the Guide on which this course is based. The aim of the course is to encourage early consideration of firestopping design in order to avoid problems at a later stage in construction. It is not an installation course but guidance to a good practice approach. The training is broken down to provide information on actions that should be carried out during each of the stages, one to seven, as defined in the RIBA Plan of Work.
The second course is a new interactive Pre-Construction Guide to Drylining. The course has been pulled together from decades of experience and focuses on the lead-up to commencing installation works. It highlights how to check bids and tenders for compliance, understand time requirements and site conditions, and ensure the design information is sufficient and fit for purpose.
Both courses are available freely to FIS members and CPD certificates will be issued on completion.
Speaking on the launch of these courses at the AGM on 7 November, FIS President Ian Strangward said:
“The bank of knowledge which FIS has built is impressive – we now need to make sure that we are not just a font of knowledge, but a modern information provider. It is not good enough to just have information available, we must work smarter to ensure it is used – getting to the right people in the right way. Our e-Learning Hub is going to be key. The first course we put up “an Introduction to the Building Safety Act” has been a great start, several hundred people have already completed the course and feedback has been very positive. In these next courses, “Firestopping of service penetrations: Best Practice” and particularly, our “Pre-construction guide to drylining” you will see progress in the quality of delivery. Now we have a process, you will be seeing a regular flow of new courses targeting vital interventions, job titles and knowledge gaps”
Click here for more information on how to register on these courses
