“The sector’s inability to deliver consistent quality is at the heart of all building failures”
Drawing on expertise from across the sector The Housing Forum has launched a new report and best practice guide – “Stopping Building Failures” aimed at providing a practical response to the “deep flaws in the current system” identified by Dame Judith Hackitt in her report Building a Safer Future.
The report has been produced by a working group co-chaired by Andy Tookey, Managing Partner, Baily Garner and Nigel Ostime, Director of Delivery, Hawkins/Brown and provides a number of recommendations designed to deliver a step change in the quality, consistency and safety of residential projects.
The report also includes important contributions from landlords, contractors, legal specialists, architects and consultants which demonstrate best practice in procurement, collaborative working, innovation and quality assurance.
Andy Tookey commented: “Our findings demonstrate the need for all team members in a project to be on the same page in relation to value. When clients are focussed on numbers, costs and delivery dates, it is inevitable that quality will suffer. More consideration to non-negotiable quality “red-lines” from the beginning of a project will prevent value engineering undermining the design integrity, robustness and safety of residential projects”
Nigel Ostime added: “We’ve identified that improvements in quality and productivity can be significantly enhanced through both digital technologies and off-site manufacture. Working this way requires an integrated project team approach with client, designers, specialist consultants and contractors engaged at an early stage in the project process. This early engagement requires forms of procurement that enable this to happen, which single-stage D&B does not.”
“We also need to cement the fragmented nature of many projects. Where the design team changes during the life of the project we must form a ‘chain of custody’, ensuring key information is passed from one stage to the next without loss of fidelity”
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A Quality Home for All
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