In the Grenfell Tower disaster, Britain has just witnessed one of the most shocking failures in building safety and the likely cause is the UK’s current building procedure – be that what was specified, what was installed or how it was installed.
Government can no longer distance itself from vital market surveillance – industry cannot and will not police itself subjectively product failures happen because of inadequate surveillance. British Standards, whether for cable or any other building product, need to be of the highest level.
The Safer Structures Campaign, a body led by Tratos, is urging the Government to raise the safety standards of cables in homes and buildings across the country.
Dr Maurizio Bragagni has spent the last year generating awareness and promoting Construction Products Regulation (CPR), that is now law in all EU countries. CPR deals with the way a product is placed on the market – the methods of assessment and testing, how the performance of a product should be declared and the conformance system of assessment for construction products. He is calling for greater enforcement of CPR in the UK where products should be the minimum class of performance (Cca) for all reaction to fire cable in the UK to reduce the risk of fire in buildings, he believes as it stands the desire to embrace the principle of CPR could be country’s downfall – given recent tragic events the UK has seen.
The Safer Structures campaign is working with the people of Britain by giving them a voice regarding their homes. It has organised an online petition to change the current law and create healthier and safer structures. You may sign it here!