New demanding legislation is being introduced into the supply chain for the right reasons of quality and safety, says AEI Cables.
AEI Cables has been raising awareness of the Building Safety Act 2022, which makes new demands in terms of building industry process and compliance requirements.
Building industry process
Stuart Dover, General Manager of AEI Cables, said: “Some of the details of the act may be challenging, but we should all be responsible to ensure we are meeting our obligations. Safety is at the heart of this and we should not lose sight of that.”
He adds, “We are happy to help guide those in the supply chain to ensure they are using the relevant cables for their specific project requirements. All of those in the supply chain including building managers, contractors, specifiers and installers need to understand the impact of this legislation for reasons of safety.”
Managing building safety
One of the major new requirements under the act is a process known as The Golden Thread
One of the major new requirements under the act is a process known as The Golden Thread. This refers to the relevant package of information that should be provided including product specification, application records and datasheets.
AEI Cables is advising its customers to capture the relevant data sooner rather than later for projects they are working on so that they can provide information on safety and quality required by the act. When the building work is completed, the Golden Thread must be handed over to the Accountable Person, who is responsible for the occupied building to help manage building safety.
Higher-risk buildings
The Act – introduced from October 2023 – makes new requirements for ‘higher-risk buildings’, which are those deemed to be of at least 18 meters in height or at least seven storeys containing at least two residential units.
AEI Cables’ Firetec Enhanced cabling has been approved and certified by LPCB to BS8519 (Annex B), Category 3 Control in addition to Category 2 Control. The BS Code of Practice under BS8519 contains six categories of cables, three for power cables and three for control cables each covering survival times of 30, 60 or 120 minutes.