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One concern I hear voiced regularly in the world of commercial office design and fit-out is that , due to increased competitiveness in this industry , some builders and specifiers are doing the bare minimum in terms of safety . Needless to say , this will cause issues down the line , when product fire ratings and safety records will be needed by Building Safety Managers using strict ‘ golden thread ’ digital documentation , which is already mandatory in the residential sector since April 2023 . As a supplier of high-spec office partitioning solutions , my main fear is that professionals in the commercial sector will be unprepared for the higher levels of compliance required by these incoming regulations .
The regulations for commercial buildings are still fairly lax , and it ’ s unclear what proper fire safety systems management should look like today and how to get ready for the next steps . It is evident that office interior specifications , ongoing inspections and understanding of fire safety ratings for components such as interior doors , panels and partitions are likely to be seriously challenging for landlords , building owners and facilities managers in the years to come . In order to futureproof and ensure everyone ’ s safety , I ’ d strongly advise going above and beyond the existing standard building rules when specifying materials for workplace interiors , and looking beyond product labels .
How confident are we , as key decision makers within the built environment , that the product we are specifying or conducting maintenance on is what we believe it to be ? Are we certain the evidence supporting that product covers the purpose we are specifying it for ? Do we truly know and comprehend the significance of the evidence and what it means ?
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