The Guild of Architectural Ironmongers (GAI) has welcomed the findings and recommendations of the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety and Dame Judith Hackitt’s interim report, ‘Building a Safer Future’.
The Hackitt review was established shortly after the Grenfell Tower fire, and has focused primarily on improving fire safety in high-rise residential blocks and other complex buildings.
Douglas Masterson, technical manager for the GAI, said: “This was one of the GAI’s key recommendations, as a better regime of inspecting the installation of fire doors and ironmongery on site by a trained professional who is aware of many of the regulations and standards as well as their application would eliminate many of the current gaps in fire safety.”
In the GAI’s submission to the review, it called for both fire door inspections and third-party certification of fire safety products to be mandatory and for fire services to be more involved in the sign-off of buildings.
The report also addresses the industry-wide issue of ‘value engineering’ which, it says, was almost always about cutting cost out of a project.
Douglas Masterson said: “The GAI and its members would welcome any change to existing value engineering practice. There need to be more controls placed on the substitution of specified materials.
