Devan Mistry is Associate Director (Strategic BIM Lead) at McBains
The construction industry has long been waiting for a clear indication from the government on the implementation of the golden thread of the Building Safety Act 2023, so it was no surprise that the response from the Department for Leveling, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) on digital implications. and the roles left the industry with several questions.
In principle, the three-gateway control system has always seemed a very logical and well-structured process, with the main agents involved at all stages of decision-making and a single point of contact, the security regulator of the building, responsible for regulation. checks
“The sector needs to keep better records and this will require a lot of resources, but there are opportunities here to improve digital skills”
However, this system can only work if there are legal laws and guidelines to maintain a golden thread of information. It also depends on some kind of secure digital platform that has the ability to evaluate hundreds of schemes at any given time; otherwise, teams, customers, and most importantly, residents will experience significant delays in getting a return on their investment or moving into their new home.
My view is that the golden thread should be intended to ensure that those who manage high-risk buildings have access to all the data they need to protect the safety of residents. It should be a means of maintaining accurate information about schemes from the initial planning and design stages through to ongoing operations and renovations. Most importantly, the Building Safety Act is there to ensure that the golden thread of information is kept in a digital format to make it accessible and easy to update.
Find the right fit
The DLUHC will not impose particular coding standards or exchange mechanisms as an industry-wide solution. Instead, managers will agree on digital solutions that work for them as a project team. As long as the information can be transferred throughout the life cycle of the building and handed over to the responsible person on completion of the building, I think this is workable, but not an ideal solution. Organizations can be flexible and mobile, but they depend on the digital competence and skills of the building owner to align; this is often not possible due to varying budgets for different operators.
The DLUHC recognizes that information must be kept secure, but does not mandate how it is recorded, so organizations must decide what is best for their needs. The DLUHC “expects digital systems that automatically record changes to information and documents to play a larger role in this process.” However, there are currently very few automated and process-driven platforms that record information change, and this does not realize that the construction process brings together a number of disciplines, working on various types of software with various requirements and variations of ‘data export.
One solution here could be a collaboration between a cloud-based system (containing design information such as BIM models, drawings, etc.) and robust change management CDE (common data environment) software. By combining the platforms, change states can be moved from “WIP” to “shared” to “published” in a controlled manner, with key stakeholders responsible for reviews and controls. Acceptance and rejection criteria for fire safety information can be built into the system.
Perhaps most importantly for design teams and lead designers, the guidance states that we must ensure that our clients are aware of their obligations before any work begins, and hopefully, at the same time , we make the client aware of his duties regarding the golden thread. To me, this is probably the most significant and direct impact on projects, as the way we approach schemes is changing.
As significant improvements in transparency are made across the board, the industry needs to keep better records of documentation and this will require a lot of resources, but there are opportunities here to improve digitally, making the best use of the tools that are available . Aiming to stay ahead of the curve, we can ensure that Digital Management Information, Health & Safety and BIM processes will place our clients in a strong position to demonstrate their responsibilities as a manager when it comes the moment.
