Accountability in every brick: improving trust in the built environment

We often say ‘if these walls could talk’ about old buildings. In future, this could be a reality. BSI Identify, a new service, enables products to share the story of their components, manufacturer, installation and maintenance.

This service uses unique identifying codes to link products to a record containing key product information, which can be accessed at any point in the life cycle, from manufacture to de-commissioning or reuse.

Accountability and the built environment

In the wake of the 2017 Grenfell tragedy, Dame Judith Hackitt carried out a comprehensive review of UK building regulations and fire safety, the resulting report called for changes to improve accountability and trust. This included clearer demarcation of roles and responsibilities, higher levels of competence in key roles, and a stronger focus on safety in procurement.

Dame Hackitt said: “The built environment sector… needs to accelerate the adoption of readily available means of providing product traceability... In light of this, there is a strong case for materials and products to carry permanent marking to ensure their identification and traceability... The construction products industry should work together to develop and agree a consistent labelling and traceability system.”

The Hackitt review describes a ‘golden thread’ of information, which is “both the information that allows you to understand a building and the steps needed to keep both the building and people safe, now and in the future.”

How does BSI Identify fit in?

When products are installed as part of construction works, the professionals involved know what products are used. But as time goes on, this information becomes less accessible. For example, as facts came to light relating to the Grenfell tragedy, many tower block residents wanted to know whether their buildings had the same cladding. However, for many buildings this information wasn’t readily available.

The Hackitt review calls for “an identification system that could provide every component in a building with a unique and persistent identification code”. BSI Identify uses Digital Object Identifier (DOI) technology to produce identifying codes called BSI UPIN, which can be written onto a product or associated using an NFC tag, QR code or barcode.

Full life cycle transparency

These UPINs can be used to access a record in a free, enduring, and searchable registry. The related product information can be used to support decisions at any point in a product’s life cycle from manufacture, specification, procurement, installation and use, through to decommissioning.

The system has clear benefits in terms of accountability and verification, but could also improve efficiency. At present, products are typically entered into multiple systems in their journey from factory to the construction site. A single identifier will help to avoid this repeated administrative work.

Driving digitalisation

The service was developed by BSI working with the Construction Products Association (CPA) and representatives from across the built environment. CPA Chief Executive Peter Caplehorn said: “Digitalisation of the construction industry is essential to drive productivity, improve performance certainty, and ensure the robust verification of products and their information.

“The deployment and use of DOI in the product sector is long overdue and will inevitably lead to a step change in efficiency for construction and maintenance across the built environment. The CPA is delighted to be involved in this initiative and we see it as an important contribution towards the ‘Golden Thread’ of information called for in the Dame Judith Hackitt review.”

Key benefits of DOI

The key benefits of using DOI technology in the built environment are:

• Clarity – objects can be identified with precision
• Efficiency – building components are instantly identifiable, saving painstaking research
• Supply chain strength – the same DOI can be used throughout a supply chain
• Accountability – decision-makers can be held accountable for the exact specification of products chosen
• Maintenance – products can be easily identified for replacement and maintenance purposes

If you’d like to discover what BSI Identify could do for your business, find out more here.