The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) is asking its members to do their bit to help develop ‘golden thread’ tools needed to deliver improved building safety.
The organisation is inviting those members – and stakeholders – in the building occupation phase to join the Building Safety Alliance Special Interest Group 3 – the Building Safety Alliance – in developing tools to provide uniform standards and principles.
These will support accountable persons in delivering their ‘golden thread‘ duties.
The ‘golden thread’ is a requirement under the Building Safety Act 2022; the digital collation and storage of information about a building covering its entire life-cycle.
The Act requires accountable persons to collect and maintain certain information for the effective management of building safety risks.
Since engaging in government consultations for the legislation, the Building Safety Alliance has been developing tools to enable the sector to comply with the legislation’s objectives, and its regulatory requirements regarding the golden thread.
The CIH explains that, having made significant progress, the Building Safety Alliance is encouraging third parties to help conclude its work.
Dr Matthew Scott, a CIH policy and practice officer, and a member of the Building Safety Alliance SIG 3, said: “The golden thread is one of the most vital parts of new building safety legislation, but also one of the trickiest to get right.
“CIH are delighted to have collaborated with the Building Safety Alliance on the development of new tools that will support the sector to keep its buildings and residents safe, both now and in the future.
“At this stage, we are asking our members and stakeholders to help test and refine the work. This will ensure the tools we are developing are effective in supporting you to fulfil your golden thread duties, providing a robust platform for your ongoing building information management needs.
“The feedback will also help make sure that the personas we are developing reflect the real people and communities affected by the Building Safety Act.”
The tools under development integrate existing standards and industry frameworks – such as Uniclass, ISO19650 and various safety standards – to ensure harmonisation and compatibility, streamline processes, and enhance information sharing across the built environment, providing greater clarity and transparency.
They focus on three key areas:
- The Golden Thread List: An information and management model that can be used by industry to identify and analyse the golden thread information they require to manage their buildings throughout the building safety lifecycle. It also forms the basis of a common language so accountable persons can work with their software companies to develop it further into a digitally enabled tool that allows them to share data via a commonly accepted code/language
- Personas: An inclusive and well-defined model of individuals and communities affected by the Building Safety Act and specifically its information management requirements, with a view to providing targeted support
- Impact Assessment and Support: To effectively address the impact on stakeholders identified in the previous areas, this tool aims to qualify the broad impacts and identify potential support mechanisms.
Image credit: Peshkova/Shutterstock
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