Ever since the ill-fated Grenfell tragedy which shook London in 2017, The UK government and the Building Regulations and Fire Safety Association have been actively seeking ways to transform the construction industry to strong-arm it.
To ensure that another tragedy of a similar magnitude does not occur, the government thought it was fit to introduce the concept of the golden thread of information.
The golden thread of information is a digital record that contains up-to-date documentation of a building that spans the entire lifecycle of its existence.
The golden thread of information is meant to contain accurate, understandable and up-to-date information regarding any construction or refurbishment that takes in a building.
In a nutshell, the golden thread of information seeks to initiate a transparent chain of accountability and responsibility in the case there is a fire-related incident on the premises.
The golden thread of information documentation is likely to act as living proof of anything and everything a particular building had to endure during the course of its lifecycle.
This in turn beautifully complements the effort that the construction industry has been putting forth to make the sector more traceable and transparent by adopting digital systems to safeguard and store important information.
This is where software like Onetrace is likely to bring a major breakthrough in your trade and enable you to stay in line with the dynamic regulations of fire safety and ensure that your operatives continue to adhere to the most recent standards of fire safety and third-party accreditations.
All high-rise buildings and residential establishments that are at least 18 metres tall or beyond are by law required to maintain the information pertaining to any changes the building underwent.
However, this regulation might be updated in the near future wherein even smaller establishments are by law required to maintain a golden chain of command. Moreover, to be within the scope that is laid out in the Building Safety Bill, the establishment must contain at least 2 residential units.
The overarching thought behind the implementation of this bill is to initiate an active building safety regime and provide the key information to a person who is actively or passively responsible for the building in a stride to mitigate the risks, identify threats and take proactive measures to avoid any fire-related incident.
1. Accurate and Trusted
As the information that is included within the golden thread of information can be seen as a key source of evidence in case there’s a need for compliance assessment, it is vital that the documentation is verified and accurate.
More so, because this documentation gets passed down from one accountable person to the next, there needs to be a strict regimen where any changes need to be put down to keep the golden thread up-to-date.
The security of inhabitants is at the heart of this initiative. Knowing the real purpose behind having something called the golden thread of information is likely to instantly make them feel more secure.
On the other hand, this has also enabled the residents to seek accountability from the people who are responsible for making sure that all passive and active fire safety measures are put in place.
As put forth by the Building Regulations Advisory Committee (BRAC) the very implementation of the golden thread of information will significantly change the culture that encircles the construction industry.
Since the very basis of this approach is transparency and accountability, it pushes all parties involved to be more attentive to the finer details, competent and proactive in their approach.
As it is the master document that provides all information regarding a building, all personnel involved should only update this one document with relevant information to avoid any duplication of occurrences.
Considering it considers key information that can make or break the purity of any building, it is imperative that all data is kept confidential to ensure the security of the building is not compromised in compliance with the current GDPR legislation.
From updated floor plans to any update that needs to be recorded, it is important to ensure that the changes are not made under an anonymous identity. This is important to ensure there is accountability at every level of administration.
The inclusion of multiple stakeholders oftentimes can lead to confusion and misinterpretations. Also, not having a defined process of documenting information can also lead to a general lack of understanding amongst all parties involved.
In an attempt to overcome this shortcoming, it is imperative that all stakeholders, safety managers, and responsible persons actively seek to feed in the information to mitigate any potential risks.
As a recommendation by the BRAC, a standard way of documentation should be adhered to whilst keeping the terminology constant wherever possible.
BRAC recommends that everything is stored in a highly categorised manner with controlled and highly specific information.
Since the purpose of having the golden thread of information is to ensure all information regarding a building is readily available throughout the lifetime of the establishment - thus the information stored needs to be stored in a manner that it can be handed over to a successor and still be accessed. Therefore, having standardised software that supports all this data is imperative.
For the concept of the golden thread of information within the construction industry to work optimally it is essential that timely checks are made to remove any obsolete information from the document.
Any information that is recent and relevant to the safety issues and the risks involved must be included and anything that has run down its course and is not likely to bear any consequence on the safety of the building can be removed.
With Onetrace you can be assured that your operatives will be able to update all relevant information on the app by simply using their phones. They'll be able to take photos, mark up drawings and send approval requests whilst still being on the job site. Sweet, isn't it?
Have any questions as to how Onetrace can help you stay in line with the latest regulations instituted by the Building Regulations Advisory Committee? All you need to do is book a demo to find out how.
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