As the new regulatory regime emerges under the Building Safety Act, Rick Hartwig, built environment lead at the Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET), makes the case for structured product data, without which building safety will not be possible
Safe and reliable construction product manufacturer information is essential to our industry and the safety of our buildings, and this has been recognised repeatedly in recent years.
Six years on from Grenfell, we now have a Building Safety Regulator, a regulator for construction products, the Morrell Review of construction product testing and we will shortly receive the guidance on the Golden Thread of building safety information. And paramount to all of this is digitisation, and data – but are manufacturers ready and willing to provide it?
There is a lack of awareness surrounding digitisation
Earlier this year, we commissioned some independent research into manufacturers’ views on digitisation. 80 C-Suite individuals whose companies supply construction products to the UK were interviewed by telephone. Their responses were concerning.
Most manufacturers think of digitisation in the context of their accounts, which is not surprising as the Making Tax Digital requirements have been challenging. But crucially, they haven’t made the same steps to supplying structured product data to the supply chain.
Some 85% of construction product manufacturers provide product information to customers via PDF or hard copy brochures. Only 31% provide product information via spreadsheets and very few via external sources, such as third-party websites or online portals.
This suggests that they are not providing structured data and that the information available to their customers is unlikely to be up to date.
This is further confirmed by the result that 42% of manufacturers interviewed update the product information supplied to customers less than every six months.
A lack of real-time updates can lead to inaccuracies
Construction product manufacturers therefore don’t appear to be updating customers in real time, which could lead to inaccuracies.
The vast majority are using a manual process and therefore there is unlikely to be a reliable connection between manufacturers updating their products and updating the product information in the supply chain.
Digitisation is a low priority for construction product manufacturers
While the vast majority of manufacturers say that digitisation increases efficiency and profitability, 92% do not see digitisation as a major concern. Less than half think it is a minor concern.
Manufacturers’ concerns are primarily:
- Cost increases.
- Materials supply.
- Protecting profit margins.
- Brand perception.
- Staff recruitment and retention.
Other long-term factors such as carbon footprint and sustainability, or compliance with regulations and standards, also fall much lower in their priorities. Barriers to digitisation range from a perception that there is no need to digitise to resource priorities being elsewhere.
Product testing will be changing
Another vital part of product data is testing and certifying. In April, the Morrell/Day Independent Review of the Construction Products Testing Regime was published.
It paints a concerning picture of the current testing and certifying regime and sets out how this could be strengthened to provide confidence that construction products are safe and perform as stated. The review provided 20 recommendations – many of which will require structured product data including:
- The Building Safety Act’s General Safety Requirement (Recommendation 3), which could put significant additional responsibility on manufacturers.
- The Conformity Assessment Process (Recommendations 8, 9, 11, 12), which calls for more information to be in the public domain.
- Labelling, Traceability and the Golden Thread (Recommendation 16), which calls for a consistent labelling and traceability system for construction products.
While it isn’t clear what the government will do with the Morrell/Day recommendations, the review shows how essential structured data will be to an effective testing regime.
Digital product information is coming
There is no doubt that structured, reliable, digitised construction product data will be essential to developing a reliable testing regime for construction products and that it will form part of the new ecosystem for a safer built environment.
If you’re a manufacturer and want to know where to start, download our free plain language guide to digitisation here.
Morrell/Day clearly support the Hackitt Review, which called for “a consistent labelling and traceability system, making use of the digital technologies that are already available and learning from other sectors”.
Manufacturers, large and small, now is the time to ‘just do it’.
Rick Hartwig
Built environment lead
Institution of Engineering & Technology
Tel: +44 (0)1438 313 311
