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Research from the Construction Innovation Hub shows how the Construction Product Quality Planning (CPQP) framework helps support duty holders in creating Building Safety Cases.
CPQP is a new quality assurance framework setting out a best practice approach for manufacturers to follow during the creation of new platform systems and offsite manufactured construction products.
CPQP is an adaptation of Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP), which is employed throughout other manufacturing sectors on a global scale to effectively ‘build in’ quality when developing new products. APQP ensures that quality is factored into the entire product development cycle, from concept design through to the full-scale implementation of a manufacturing strategy.
Following consultation with industry, the Hub launched a range of CPQP resources, including the CPQP Guide, the Construction Product Approval Process (CPAP) Handbook and supporting guidelines that can help Duty Holders understand the major accident hazards and risks associated with building safety.
They also guide them in presenting information in a structured way as part of quality management processes. Ensuring that projects and products are manufactured to the highest standards, in line with best practice and regulatory standards such as BS 99001.
At the launch, Dame Judith Hackitt described this approach as a:
"very positive response to the new regulatory requirements for quality assurance,” commenting that “learning good practice from manufacturing sectors is a smart way to accelerate the pace of change in construction.”
The Building Safety Act has introduced a new legal obligation for building duty holders to provide a Building Safety Case for all new and existing buildings over 18m and seven floors. A Building Safety Case includes a demonstration that the building is safe by detailing the fire and structural risks specific to the building and measures taken in design or operation to ensure that the risk remains at an acceptable level.
A significant cultural shift will be needed under the new regime, with duty holders required to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent building safety incidents and reduce the severity of any incidents if they occur.
Duty holders should be confident that the building safety measures in place will work as planned upon demand and be able to prove these were designed, installed, maintained, and inspected by competent people and in accordance with relevant legislation, standards, and manufacturers’ recommendations. Rigorous, structured quality processes will need to be implemented so the duty holder can demonstrate that risks are controlled to an acceptable level before construction projects can progress in this category.
CPQP was designed to enable industry to make a step change towards delivering against these new regulatory requirements. Benefits of using some of CPQP tools were mapped against the Building Safety Case requirements to identify where and how they can help support duty holders and other accountable persons in providing evidence that a rigorous, structured quality assurance process has been used in the building’s design and construction to control risks.
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