In the concluding episode of the 2023 series, Chris Miles, Commercial Director at the FPA is joined by the FPA's newly appointed Technical Director, George Edwardes; and Andy Miller, Loss Control Engineering Technical Manager at Allianz, to discuss a new fire safety assessment test for external cladding systems, RISC 501, that goes beyond the minimum life safety requirements set out in the building regulations to provide a classification that protects both occupants and property.

Following an FPA research project into real world cladding fires and how they correspond with fire tests, the panel explore the limitations of the current route to compliance from both a testing and insurance perspective, which led to the creation of RISC 501 due to be released by RISCAuthority (an annually funded research scheme administered by the FPA) in November 2023.

In support of the British Woodworking Federation’s Fire Door Safety Week campaign which aims to raise awareness of the critical role of fire doors, the FPA’s Commercial Director, Chris Miles takes a deep dive into the world of fire doors with Hannah Mansell, UK Group Technical Director at Masonite.

Together Chis and Hannah consider the importance and complexity of fire doors and look at the issues surrounding fire door compliance in the UK. Hannah provides insights from a manufacturer’s perspective into the challenges around ensuring fire doors are used correctly to maintain fire performance from manufacture through sourcing, installation and inspection, and minimising the distance between fire door manufacturers and residents.

In the second episode of the Summer Series, Chris Miles, Commercial Director at the FPA is joined by two guests who have been at the forefront of the proposal made by the Fire Sector Federation almost a year ago to develop a national strategy for fire safety. Executive Officer, Steve McGuirk CBE and Active Fire Protection Director, Tom Roche provide an update on the proposal and next steps. 
 
Together the panel look at how the white paper has been received over the past 12 months by both industry and government, the major progress points thus far, and the obstacles to be overcome. Steve and Tom provide insight in to how the Fire Sector Federation plan to work with the fire industry and construction sector to further progress the recommendations made in the document including its 3 priorities of competency, volumetric buildings challenges, and implications from innovative systems. 

In the first episode of Assembly Point’s Summer Series, the FPA’s Commercial Director, Chris Miles is joined by Paul Morell OBE, co-author of the recently published Independent Review of the Construction Product Testing Regime to identify any potential weaknesses in the system and make recommendations for improvement.

The two discuss the purpose of the government commissioned review and look at how the recommendations made in the report could provide greater assurance in the UK’s system for testing and certifying construction products. Chris and Paul also consider the shortcomings of the current system, its complexity and how it can be simplified, the conformity assessment process, and the procurement of compliant products.

In the concluding episode of Assembly Point Series 2, Chris Miles, Commercial Director at the FPA leads the discussion on the recent release of the Fire Sector Federation’s white paper on developing a national strategy for fire safety.

Chris is joined by Dennis Davis, Executive Officer of the Fire Sector Federation; Adam Turk, CEO at Siderise Group; and Amanda Long, CEO of the Considerate Constructors Scheme, Building a Safer Future, and the Code for Construction Product Information.

The panel discuss the drivers behind the creation of the white paper, and where it fits into the overall landscape for fire safety in the construction sector. They finish by looking to the future of the industry and the necessary steps to driving cultural improvement.

The penultimate episode of series 2 of Assembly Point sees Chris Miles, Commercial Director at the FPA joined by Professor Jim Glockling, Former Technical Director at the FPA; and Dr Jonathan Evans, Chief Executive Officer at Ash & Lacy, to discuss fire safety and innovation in the construction industry post-Grenfell.

In the latest episode of Assembly Point, the FPA’s newly appointed Commercial Director, Chris Miles is joined by Helen Hewitt, Chief Executive of the British Woodworking Federation to talk about the importance of passive fire protection measures to the overall built-in fire safety of buildings.

They discuss how passive fire protection can be elevated to a higher-level consideration when designing, constructing, refurbishing, and maintaining a building, the role of legislation in maintaining fire safety products installed within a building, and whether regulation and third party certification are enough when it comes to complying with fire safety standards and requirements.

Join Jonathan O’Neill OBE, FPA Managing Director as he speaks to Stephen Howard, Head of the FPA’s Fire Testing and Experimental Unit; and Dorian Lawrence, Managing Director at Façade Remedial Consultants. Together the panel discuss the implications of recent changes in legislation and guidance on making our buildings safer and what we still need to see to effectively assess and manage risk.

Let’s get technical! Join the FPA’s Principal Consultant and suppression systems expert, Dale Kinnersley as he delves into sprinkler and watermist standards with Adrian Kay of Johnson Controls; Alan Crichton from BAFSA; and Stuart Lloyd of Zurich.

Representing between them an insurer, a trade body, and a contractor’s perspective, our panel discuss the impact of new standard BS 9251:2021 for residential sprinkler systems, the introduction of EN 12845-1 and EN 12845-2 for automatic sprinkler systems, and their impact on competence in the industry. They also consider the 3 available watermist standards, and the training being carried out. Our guests finish by sharing their thoughts on sprinkler versus watermist systems, and selecting the most appropriate water-based standard.

In the latest episode of Assembly Point, Jonathan O’Neill OBE, Managing Director at the FPA, is joined by Sailesh Mehta, Barrister and Head of the Fire Law Team at Red Lion Chambers to discuss the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and prosecuting those who bear responsibility for the tragedy. Together they consider the implications of the removal of the Building Safety Manager role from the Building Safety Act, coroners’ recommendations, and whether regulators are appropriately resourced under the current regime.

For the second part of the episode, Jonathan speaks to Gill Kernick, Transformation Director at Arup University, and former Grenfell Tower resident. Gill outlines the role of regulations; the need for systemic change; and the responsibility that not only government, but industry has to play in implementing change to prevent further low probability, high consequence events.