Lilly Gallafent is a director and board member at Cast Consultancy
The introduction of the Building Safety Act (BSA)has redefined accountability and safety expectations. As the sector adjusts, the need for a procurement overhaul has become apparent. To build resilience and trust in the built environment, we must move beyond traditional capex-focused, risk-shedding models in favour of approaches that prioritise value, fairness, innovation and collaboration.
The BSA mandates a heightened focus on compliance, pushing safety considerations to the forefront. But are our current procurement practices fit for purpose?
Traditionally, procurement models in construction have prioritised cost minimisation, sometimes at the expense of long-term safety. Early contractor involvement (ECI) offers a solution, embedding safety into projects from the outset. Through ECI, stakeholders collaborate to establish clear safety standards early in the project lifecycle, ensuring these principles are upheld across the supply chain.
For example, ECI allows contractors and designers to assess potential risks collaboratively before work begins. This proactive approach supports compliance with the BSA while ensuring quality is not compromised. Ultimately, procurement models that centre on fairness, collaboration and safety from the start are not just compliant but create an industry-wide culture of accountability and care.
Equitable risk sharing and collaboration
Innovation thrives in an environment of trust. Contracting models that emphasise equitable risk sharing should be the way forward.
Aligning incentives across all parties encourages open communication and a culture of trust and shared accountability. In practice, this could involve joint risk registers, where risks and rewards are transparently distributed among stakeholders. These frameworks not only mitigate disputes but also spark collaborative problem solving to address longstanding challenges.
Equitable risk-sharing models also incentivise stakeholders to adopt new technologies and digital strategies, knowing they won’t bear the brunt of unanticipated costs alone. This is critical for driving innovation, particularly in a sector as traditionally risk averse as construction. When stakeholders collaborate rather than compete, they can properly embrace the cutting-edge innovations that are essential for meeting modern safety and sustainability standards.
The BSA places significant emphasis on maintaining a “golden thread” of safety information. However, traditional data practices in the industry often leave critical gaps in transparency and accountability. Digital tools and skills can help bridge this gap. Implementing information management standards alongside a common data environment solution, coupled with BIM, allows for better real-time data sharing among all stakeholders. Digital tools and collaboration in the cloud not only streamline compliance with the BSA but also build trust across the supply chain by making safety information accessible and verifiable.
As UK construction embraces the act, there is a unique opportunity to rethink procurement from
the ground up. A procurement model that values safety, fairness and innovation isn’t just aspirational – it’s essential.
