To help contractors understand their level of responsibility when it comes to design, the Finishes and Interiors Sector (FIS) has published a new guidance note, How to manage design liability and understand your responsibility

Prepared by construction law specialist Anderson Strathern for the FIS and aimed at contractors who may be assuming design, the new guidance note brings clarity to the risks and liabilities associated with their role in the contract.

The new FIS guidance note will help contractors understand the role of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 Designer, the terms of a contract, how to protect themselves and the importance of adequate and appropriate insurance to cover risk.

Commenting on the launch of the new guidance, Iain McIlwee, Chief Executive of the FIS said:

“We are seeing design liabilities pushed through the supply chain more and more with roles and responsibilities increasingly blurred. The new FIS guidance note will help contractors understand their legal responsibilities, particularly when it comes to design issues apparent during construction.”

This brief guidance also provides information on health and safety issues and why it is important to have a net contribution clause and a cap on liability clause within a contract.

FIS members can access a range of services to support them in managing the complexities of contracting and supplying products into the construction market, this includes template contracts, guidance on standard terms, support in dealing with disputes and a raft of best practice advice.

The guidance note is available from the FIS website at https://www.thefis.org/knowledge-hub/contractual-and-legal/ 

This workshop and clinic targeted at managing doors responsibly in the finishes and interiors sector, run as part of Fire Door Safety Week, FIS in collaboration with the Guild of Architectural Ironmongery (GAI) and FIS is now available online.

The session (run as part of the Fire Door Safety Week initiative) highlighted the key priorities for delivering fire door safety in specialist interior and fit-out contracts.  It drew on the key pillars of quality defined in the FIS Product Process People Quality Framework to support safe specification and installations and looked at the key ways to ensure that information is managed through to inspection to ensure these essential fire safety products continue to provide protection throughout their service life.

Selecting ironmongery, common concerns and how to avoid them
Douglas Masterson, Technical Manager, GAI

Mind the Gap, the role of intumescents in Fire Door Safety
Tim Foster, Sales & Marketing Manager, Mann McGowan

The Golden Thread, essential information and how to manage it
Jim White, Associate Technical Director, Forza Doors

Fire Door Safety Clinic
Our speakers were joined on the panel by a Fire Door Inspector, Elliott Brown of The Fire Door Inspectors Limited.

The initiative was part of Fire Door Safety Week, the theme take time to save lives.  Fire Door Safety Week ran from the 20th-26th September.  The website features a range of resources to support those specifying, installing, inspecting and maintaining fire doors.