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BBA chief warns sector on procurement practices
Disasters like the Grenfell Tower fire will be repeated unless procurement practices are changed, the chief executive of the British Board of Agrément (BBA) has warned.
Speaking at a parliamentary event on the Hackitt Review of building regulations yesterday, Claire Curtis-Thomas suggested procurement contracts were to blame for “serious problems” with external insulation on buildings.
Pointing to contracts awarded by housing associations and councils, she said: “If we improve the building regulations that’s got to go hand in hand with procurement practices that ensure that we deliver on behalf of good companies in this country that want to do well.
“If we don’t do that then other incidents like this terrible fire at Grenfell will occur because corners will be cut.”
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The BBA has become “extremely concerned” about the installation of insulation products in the UK over the past few years, Ms Curtis-Thomas added, with practices “a long way, way off where our product manufacturers wanted to see, or needed to see for their products”.
Attempts to cut costs through contracts mean the BBA has had to sign off instalments that are “complicit in bad jobs”, she said.
“Contracts were won by major contractors on the back of quotes received from our clients [product suppliers and installers] in good faith.
“No sooner the contract had been won – usually by design and build – that our clients got phone calls, phone calls that went, ‘We’ve won the contract, but we can’t make any money on the back of the quote that you’ve given us, so is there something you can do please?’
“Installers that won the work in good faith were told: ‘We’re not going to make any money unless you start making a few cuts. Is there something you can do for us please?’”
