On 10th February, Wates paused activity at all construction sites to stream to teams an interview between Dame Judith Hackitt and our Construction Managing Director, Mark Tant, on the importance of the Building Safety Act and supporting a culture of responsibility.
Dame Judith chaired the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety commissioned by the Government following the Grenfell Tower fire.
Her subsequent ‘Building A Safer Future’ report is credited with spearheading the introduction of the Building Safety Act one of the most transformative industry regulations for decades, designed to change how we build and maintain tall structures’ fire safety measures.
Wates is committed to making sure all its people, consultants and supply chain partners recognise the significance of building safe buildings and ensuring that Grenfell was a lesson that only needs learning once.
She visited Wates’ Canada Water site, to be interviewed about her findings by Construction MD, Mark Tant and answer a Q&A from Wates’ people and Sir James Wates.
Dame Judith Hackitt, said: “The construction industry carries an enormous amount of responsibility, providing the offices, homes, schools and hospitals that make up a society. It is time for the industry to own this, and ensure everyone who works on a structure knows it is their absolute duty to provide buildings that people can trust and feel safe in.
“It’s good to see that Wates is taking the initiative to push this message directly to all of its employees to strengthen a culture where safety and quality are intrinsically linked to moral responsibilities. We need industry to lead on what is right not wait for regulatory requirements to dictate the lowest acceptable standard.”
Mark Tant, managing director of Wates Construction, said: “The Building Safety Act represents one of the biggest legislative changes to how we build in years. We have always prided ourselves on delivering high quality buildings safely not only for those working on site, but for the people we’re building them for. This is a responsibility that falls to absolutely everyone, and we need to make sure that regardless of role or level, all our people understand the importance of this Act and their impact of their work on the world.
“It was a true privilege to host Dame Judith at our Canada Water site and I thank her and British Land, for their support in our ongoing commitment to promote quality across the construction industry.”
