New guide shares best practice for the safe use of construction products

A new free guide provides designers, specifiers and installers with information to make informed decisions about the safe use of construction products. The Guide to Products Critical to Safe Construction, has been published by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) in collaboration with the Construction Products Association, the Code for Construction Product Information, the Institution of Structural Engineers and the Royal Institute of British Architects.

The 48-page document includes sections on compliance, procurement, installation and the supply chain, among other topics. It also includes examples and case studies to signpost industry best practice, such as the Code for Construction Product Information.

Supported by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS)

The guide is supported by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), the UK’s national product regulator. Duncan Johnson, deputy director of construction products regulation at the OPSS, said: “I welcome the collaborative efforts behind this guide, which brings together expertise from across the built environment sector to support safe and compliant construction, underpinned by clarity and consistency in product information. “This guide contributes to raising standards and improving safety across the construction industry.”

Paul Nash, chair of CIOB’s quality implementation group, said: “The public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire exposed a construction product regulatory regime that was failing to ensure that the products used in buildings, whether separately or part of a system, were safe. “Following on from the findings of the Building a Safer Future Report and the Independent Review of Product Testing and Certification, the inquiry recommended that further action was needed to better regulate the manufacturing, testing and supply of products in the UK.

Construction products regime

Earlier this year, the government published a Construction Product Reform Green Paper setting out its proposals for the reform of the construction products regime.

Nash added: “It is against this backdrop that the CIOB, together with other professional bodies, has developed this guide to ensure the buildings we create, and the products we use in those buildings, are safe for those who use them, now and in the future.”

The guide can be downloaded for free here.

Source: Construction Management