Achieving 'Competence in the Construction Industry'

After the tragedies at Grenfell Tower, Lakanal House and other major fires in residential buildings, the Hackitt Report gave some clear directions of change that are required in the construction industry.

One of Hackitt’s key messages was about Competence in the Construction Industry. For professional engineers, it was suggested that additional competences would be required to work on high risk residential buildings (HRRBs). What does this mean?

Another key theme in the Hackitt report is learning from other industries: There is a need for business leaders in construction and the service sectors which support it to reach out to other sectors and to learn from the experience of how they have managed issues such as asset integrity.”

A missing link: Quality Assurance and Quality Systems. Hackitt said “This industry sector stands out from every other I have looked at in its slow adoption of traceability and quality assurance techniques.”

Please listen to Brian Cox pull together these themes and suggest how professional engineers can work towards the achievement of suitable competence for working on high rise residential buildings.

Dr Brian Cox C.Eng.,FIMechE, IMechE Construction and Building Services Prize winner 2020.