28  The Hackitt Review

and complex buildings should be held to account to a higher

degree.
2 Roles and responsibilities – Primary responsibility for ensuring
that buildings are fit for purpose must rest with those who commis-
sion, design and build the project. Responsibility and accountabil-
ity must rest with clearly identifiable senior individuals over the life
of the building
3 Competence – There is a need to raise levels of competence
and establish formal accreditation for those engaged in fire
prevention.
4 Process, compliance and enforcement – There needs to be
a “golden thread of information” for all high-rise residential and
complex buildings. The original design intent and any subsequent
changes or refurbishment must be recorded and properly reviewed
with regular reviews of overall building integrity. It is envisaged
that the “golden thread” will be held as a digital record using BIM
as the industry wide digital platform.
5 Residents voice – Residents need reassurance that there is an ef-
fective system in place to maintain safety in their homes. There
must be a clear, quick and effective route for residents’ concerns to
be heard and addressed.
6 Quality assurance and products – All products must be cor rectly
tested, certified and installed in accordance with the relevant qual-
ity control standards. The marketing of these products being clear
and easy to interpret.

Six working groups were formed to develop proposals in each of the

six areas identified in the interim report. The groups were also tasked
with looking for examples of good international practice which could
be learned from. It became clear that this was a wider problem within
the UK than first appreciated and the Scottish Government commis-
sioned its own review of its building standards, compliance and fire
safety.10

The final report

The final report was published on 17 May 2018 with an overarching
objective to address the system failure identified in the interim report
through a new regulatory framework for the construction and manage-
ment of high-rise residential multi-occupancy buildings, which would
drive a real culture change and different behaviours throughout the
system.11
 The Hackitt Review  29
Systemic failure
Hackitt was scathing in her view of the construction industry and de-
scribed it as “an industry that has not reflected and learned for itself, nor looked
to other sectors”12 and she set out four key issues that underpinned the
systemic failure:

1 Ignorance – The regulations and guidance notes are not always

read by key actors within the supply chain, and when they are, the
guidance may be misunderstood and misinterpreted.
2 Indifference – The primary motivation is to do things as quickly
and cheaply as possible rather than to deliver quality homes which
are safe for people to live in. The residents and their concerns are
often ignored. Safety is not always prioritised, and the vagueness of
regulations and guidance is used to game the system.
3 Lack of clarity on roles and responsibilities – There is ambi-
guity over where responsibility lies, and this precludes robust own-
ership of accountability.
4 Inadequate regulatory oversight and enforcement tools –
The size or complexity of a project does not seem to inform the
way in which it is overseen by the regulator. Where enforcement is
necessary, it is often not pursued. Where it is pursued, the penalties
are minimal and are an ineffective deterrent.

In Hackitt’s view, these four issues had combined to create an inherent

cultural problem within the industry where ignorance and indifference
have caused a “race to the bottom” and a lack of focus on delivering the
best-quality building possible so that the residents are safe and feel safe.

New systems-based approach to building safety

The experience Dame Judith had gained as a chemical engineer with
regard to process safety management and operational integrity strongly
influenced the content of the final report and its proposals for a new
regulatory framework. Considerable emphasis was placed on the need to
change the whole system of how complex high-rise buildings are devel-
oped and managed to ensure that the built environment sector takes full
responsibility for delivering and maintaining buildings which are safe for
people to live and work in.13
The Hackitt Report made 53 recommendations concerning the for-
mation and operation of a proposed new regulatory framework which
will benefit building standards across the board. The report recognises