Advisory and consultative engineering services

Tender description

This notice relates to the provision of advice on fire safety to the building regulations team of Welsh Government. The subsequent advice is separated into 2 areas. 1) Response to Grenfell; 2) General advice. Please see the attached document for further information. Introduction This notice relates to the provision of advice on fire safety to the building regulations team of Welsh Government. The subsequent advice is separated into 2 areas. Response to Grenfell. Following the Grenfell Tower high rise fire the UK Government commissioned Dame Judith Hackitt to undertake an independent review of building regulations and fire safety. The final report makes recommendations for significant change in the treatment of high risk residential buildings of 10 storeys or more from the construction through to occupation. The review has looked at the existing regulatory regimes in England, however in the case of fire safety and building regulations, the systems in the UK generally mirror those of England making the review findings equally relevant to Wales. The Welsh Government accepted that the review pointed to systemic weaknesses which applied equally in Wales. In light of the review and to consider a broad approach to reform, the former Minister for Housing and Regeneration announced the formation of an Expert Group. The final meeting of the Expert Group presented a ‘road map,’ recommending actions and further work or consideration leading to future reforms. The Expert Group’s recommendations (link below) combine both long-term measures to bring about whole-scale system reform and interim steps to make improvements in the here and now. Welsh Government accepts the recommendations and will take forward this work over the forthcoming years and the building regulations team will take forward work on the approval and construction phases. https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2019-04/building-safety-expert-group-road-map_0.pdf General advice Building regulations cover the construction of new buildings and the alteration or extension of existing buildings and Part B of the Building regulations which covers fire safety and is supported by Approved Document B volume 1 and 2. These documents provide general guidance on the performance expected of materials and building work in order to comply with the building regulations and practical examples and solutions on how to achieve compliance for some of the more common building situations. The regulations and approved documents should reflect the policy requirements of Welsh Government and best practice, and to ensure they provide this they are periodically reviewed. The advice will need to cover all areas of Part B should the Building Regulations team require it. Overview of work The aim of this appointment is to secure the services of consultants who are able to provide advice on fire safety and fire engineering matters relating to building regulations and Approved Document B generally as well as assisting in the development of proposals to make amendments to the building control system for the construction, refurbishment and management of buildings determined as being in scope of the new system. For the purposes of this contract, fire safety and fire engineering is considered to be all aspects of fire related matters for buildings in scope from early concept design through the full building lifecycle from concept design, construction, inspection, certification, handover, occupation and subsequent post completion building work phases. The contract will operate on a call-off basis for a period of 2 years, with the option to have a 2 year extension (bringing the total time to 4 years).