In April 2022, the Building Safety Act 2022 received Royal Assent (approval), having first been published one year prior, in 2021. This legislation was introduced as a response to the Government-commissioned Hackitt report, carried out in response to the Grenfell Tragedy of June 2017.
One of the key findings of Dame Hackitt’s report was the need for a so-called “golden thread of building information”. In this post, we’ll be examining what that means exactly, why it’s needed, and how such a concept can be implemented throughout the lifecycle of a building.
What is the Golden Thread of Information?
The golden thread of information is a complete and comprehensive record of a building’s life cycle, including planning and design, construction, handover, operation and maintenance, that duty-holders across these industries will be responsible for. The golden thread of information, as conceptualised by Dame Hackitt, would contain two core ‘products’, as she put it: the Fire and Emergency File (FEF) and the digital record.
The idea is that, with a centralised and readily accessible digital document, anyone involved with a building – whether that be health and safety officers, building managers, project managers or anyone else – are able to view the most recent information on the building, and therefore carry out their activities in the safest and most accurate manner possible.
Wide Ranging Benefits
One of the countless problems encountered in the immediate response to the fire at Grenfell was that the emergency responders didn’t have access to key information about the building that might’ve better informed their rescue response.
Design
In the case of newbuilds, rather than existing buildings, the thread starts with a building’s design. Specifically, it’s advised that buildings are designed (and constructed and operated) with Building Information Modelling (BIM) in mind.
This is an efficient and collaborative approach towards a building’s lifecycle, which enables duty-holders to easily share data and information across various phases of the lifecycle, and arguably most importantly, utilises a centralised system, rather than numerous separate suites of information and data.
BIM enables architects to work more easily with parties in construction and operation, whilst also meaning they can create better, more accurate plans from the very get-go. For a more detailed rundown of how BIM can be utilised by architects in the planning and design stage of a building’s development, check out this article from Simscale.
Construction
There’s a huge amount of data involved in the construction process, from more macro-level project progress through to serialised stock inventory and building materials. Every process needs to be recorded, any changes that were made, any choices made and the reasons for doing so.
Logging everything in spreadsheets and on paper in the on-site portacabin leaves huge room for error, manipulation or simple accidents, whereas a digital audit trail (we think golden thread has a much catchier ring to it…) is far more watertight.
Handover
The handover period from the parties involved in construction to the client or party operating the building is pivotal. Traditionally, this is one of the areas where most information falls through the cracks.
Why? Well, planning/design and construction are almost sibling industries, and likewise operation and maintenance. And whilst there’s obviously a big link between construction of a building and its operations, there's a wider gap to bridge. The golden thread removes that gap, or at least, provides the planks and support over which to cross it.
The handover stage of the golden thread will feature information including (but not limited to):
- As-built fire strategy
- Final commissioning certificates
- Certificate of practical completion
- Operation and maintenance manuals
- Fire safety risk register
Operation and Maintenance
The golden thread extends far beyond just the design and construction of a building, it applies to its continued operation and maintenance, too. Building managers and inspectors should have ready access to a building’s critical safety information, and be able to update the digital record whenever work is needed or carried out.
Why is the Golden Thread Needed?
There are many reasons why a golden thread is beneficial for a building, but unquestionably the most important reason for having one is to improve building safety, and to help prevent tragedies such as the Grenfell Fire from ever happening again.
To Prevent Tragedy
The Grenfell Tragedy of 2017 shook not only the country, but the entire world, and brought into painfully keen focus the need for greater reporting, health and safety, and administrative standards across a building’s lifecycle.
As regarding Grenfell, the information available to various accountable parties wasn’t only disparate and mismanaged, in the case of the building’s fire safety manual, it wasn’t even finished.
Increasing Accountability
That brings us onto another key aspect of the golden thread – that of holding parties to account. If, in the event that something does go wrong with a building, having a golden thread will make it much easier to identify where mistakes have been made (if they have), as well as being able to check the building’s history to glean further insight on why what happened, happened.
An Immutable Record
Amongst the most important parts of the golden thread is that every change/version is recorded. In other words, whilst it can (and will) be changed and updated as time goes on, its history cannot be changed or tampered with which, again, increases accountability and standards throughout the industry.
To Put the Pieces Together
Although the golden thread of information is, of course, designed to prevent catastrophic incidents like the Grenfell Tragedy, it is also to improve those buildings that do feature the appropriate standards of safety, but whose information might still be scattered across various parties.
In other words, all buildings can benefit from implementing a golden thread, although of course those which are objectively unsafe should be the priority in terms of what needs addressing. Think of it as a jigsaw puzzle; without a golden thread, you may have all the right pieces, but you’ve got no idea how they all fit together. But with a golden thread, the pieces slot perfectly into place and you’re presented with a full, finished picture.
How Can the Golden Thread Be Implemented?
Now, it’s all well and good identifying the need for something like the golden thread, but talk is cheap, and the real importance lies in its implementation. You can conduct all the reports and reviews in the world, and you can make all the right noises about improving industry standards, moving forward, but if that doesn’t lead to actionable changes, then it counts for nothing.
Challenges in Implementing and Maintaining the Golden Thread
There are a number of challenges in both successfully implementing and maintaining the golden thread, including the following:
Fragmented (or Completely Missing) Information
One of the main problems facing existing buildings and any attempts to create a golden thread of information is that the data currently available is at best, fragmented, and sadly often missing altogether. It is, in theory at least, relatively simple to introduce a golden thread into newbuilds from their inception because you’re working from a blank slate.
It’s a more intensive process when it comes to existing building stock, however, because, in the words of the Hackitt Report, “The review has heard that data collection attempts have been hampered by the lack of building safety information held for existing buildings”.
Manual Processes Compounding the Issue
Much of the information that is available at the minute is still paper-based which is another massive issue. Not only is this completely at odds with the idea of an easy-to-access, centralised data store, but it also places that information at physical risk, too.
If crucial building information is stored in a file in a building’s basement, for instance, and that basement floods – you’ve lost that information forever, making it impossible to create a continuous, secure golden thread of information.
Data Silos
Siloed information is a risk in any industry, and no more so than building construction and operation. Information can fall into a silo in numerous ways; for instance, it can be codified manually (like our example earlier with the singular lever-arch file in the basement), or in the form of tacit knowledge – that’s to say, data held by someone in their head, perhaps a building manager, with that information not having been passed on or properly recorded anywhere.
It’s all very well having a building manager that knows a building inside out; who lives and breathes the property, every single nook and cranny. But what if something should happen to that manager? What then? Do they carry the building’s secrets to the grave with them? By having that centralised digital store of information, you reduce the risk of data building up in inaccessible, or at least hard-to-reach, silos.
Loss of Information Between Stages
The core aspect of the golden thread is that it’s exactly that – a thread; something that runs the entire length of the lifecycle. But therein lies one of its biggest challenges, because ensuring information flows seamlessly between stages is easier said than done.
Common Data Environment(s)
With the proper use of cloud computing, however, a smooth transfer of information is definitely achievable. Utilising what’s known as Common Data Environments (CDE), which are already widely used throughout construction, means stakeholders can access the key information pertaining to a building’s history. This information can relate to both existing buildings and newbuilds and includes (but is not limited to):
- Building size
- Building height
- Inspection reports
- Data capture reports (e.g. 3D scans of completed building)
- Assessments and inspection reports
- Material procurement and manufacturer details
- Contractual BIM requirements
- Risk assessments and strategic plans
How Can Rugged Data Help?
So, now that you know the what, why and how of the golden thread of information, it’s time to discuss how Rugged Data can help. The concept of a Fire and Emergency File put forward by Dame Hackitt is pivotal in helping uphold the golden thread; in fact, it’s central to it. A typical Fire and Emergency File would include:
- Fire load, risk assessments and risk analyses
- Emergency procedures
- Muster points, escape routes and strategies
- Details of fire safety measures – both passive and active (like compartmentation, fire shutters, smoke detectors, emergency lighting, sprinkler systems, etc.)
- Information on cladding or other similar fabrics/details that may impact the general fire precautions
Note: this is not an exhaustive list.
As you can see, there’s an extensive range of detailed information that needs to be stored. With Rugged Data, you can carry out and log risk assessments, track changes (for an immutable, entirely transparent audit trail), have a full asset registry for a site, and much, much more.
With dynamic content population, the centralised hub works with the on-site technicians, and vice versa, whilst schematics and floor plans can be more easily managed than ever, enabling technicians to easily locate fire extinguishers or sprinkler systems, for instance, quickly and efficiently; something which is especially helpful in large, high-rise buildings and other large complexes.
Final Thoughts
The best concepts are often the simplest, and on a conceptual level, the golden thread of information is beautifully simple:
A comprehensive record or ‘trail’ of everything that happens to a building throughout its lifecycle, that’s easily accessible to accountable duty holders – from planning and design through to operation and maintenance.
Now, of course, implementing the thread is more complex in practice, but it’s by all means still achievable thanks to developments in technologies like cloud computing and BIM. Ultimately, the golden thread of information is a must-have, moving forward. It’s as straightforward as that.
But if you want to find smarter, safer and more effective ways to put that thread together, then get in touch with Rugged Data, today!
