2021 has flown by, it’s hard to believe we spent the first half of this year in lockdown or with strict social restrictions.

For us here at 4site, 2021 has been a big year as we celebrated 15 years in business. A lot has happened in the industry too, with plenty of updates and changes in legislation.

Safety Updates: Industry Changes Throughout 2021

On 29th April this year, The Fire Safety Bill received Royal Assent and is now referred to as the Fire Safety Act. The proposed requirements that we had been discussing for some time finally became law, meaning that, among other things, the Responsible Person for a block now has to ensure that Residents flat entrance doors are, and remain, suitable and sufficient fire doors.

Personally, we have already seen an increase in demand for Fire Door Inspections and predict that this will indeed continue into 2022.

Fast forward to July, this was a big month for the Building Safety Bill. It was introduced to the House of Commons on Monday 5th July 2021 and had its second reading on Wednesday 21st. We still have a while to go yet until this receives royal ascent but when it does some of the expected changes include:

• The introduction of the Building Safety Regulator; a new role that has been confirmed as being part of the Health and Safety Executive.
• A ‘Safety Case’ regime which will be overseen by the Building Safety Regulator.
• The Golden Thread of Information – creating and maintaining documentation for a building throughout its life cycle.
• Clearer accountability/ responsibilities for Duty holders through design, construction and refurbishment.

In September, an update to the Phase 1 recommendations following the Grenfell tower fire gave various recommendations for fire doors in blocks of flats, depending on the height of the building. It also touched on recommendations for fire doors in buildings whose external wall systems incorporate unsafe cladding; those responsible for the entrance doors of such flats shall be required by law to ensure they comply with current standards, and where necessary, replace the door.

This is just a brief summary of the updates for building safety in 2021, and we expect a lot further development in 2022.

Company Updates: New for 2021

Excitingly, this year also included new launches and updates from us.

At the beginning of the year, we created The Block Safety Podcast; a series on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts that shines a spotlight on building safety with meaningful conversations and interviews between our host and key members of the industry. This was launched in April and so far, we have covered topics such as Building Safety, Projects, and leasehold insurance, and will continue the series into the new year with brand new episodes.

We also launched ‘Smart Safety’ in April this year; a QR Code application that has been a successful addition to our free safety software and is becoming widely used in the communal areas of the blocks our clients manage.

Overall, our team has grown rapidly, with more growth forecast in 2022, and we have continued to travel across the whole of the UK to carry out our safety services.

We’re ending the year in style by heading to the News on the Block Awards on November 30th and The IRPM Winter Conference December 1st where we are Platinum Sponsors again! Here’s to 2022!