London Tower Block Inferno

[Lost It]

I watched some fool on TV yesterday, I think it was May, telling the rest of Parliament that "We will be analysing all other tower blocks". Total rubbish.

These places have things called Operation and Maintenance manuals. You only have to look in there....

Trying to make excuses as to why this will take so long they will try and make it disappear. Either that or aiming to give the private landlords (and probable Tory sponsors?) time to dump them so they don't have to pay for the removal and potential recladding. Me? Cynical?

It's all about money. Still.

[SueEllen]

I watched some fool on TV yesterday, I think it was May, telling the rest of Parliament that "We will be analysing all other tower blocks". Total rubbish.

These places have things called Operation and Maintenance manuals. You only have to look in there....

Trying to make excuses as to why this will take so long they will try and make it disappear. Either that or aiming to give the private landlords (and probable Tory sponsors?) time to dump them so they don't have to pay for the removal and potential recladding. Me? Cynical?

It's all about money. Still.

One thing sections of the media seem to be hinting is certain building contractors lied about what cladding they have put on buildings.

Oh I saw this earlier today -
linky

A document obtained by Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, and seen by the Guardian, singled out EU regulation which covers the safety and efficacy of construction materials as among the first to target for dismantling. Among the products covered in the EU regulation is cladding.

The document was produced on 10 May for the Red Tape Initiative, a body supported by the government, to “seize the opportunities” of Brexit to cut red tape. Entitled The EU’s Impact on the UK Housing and Construction Industry, it picks out the Construction Products Regulation (EU 305/2011) as “red tape folly” which is “expensive and burdensome for small businesses”.

In regards to public buildings this has been found -
Linky

Inquiries by the Guardian suggested that at least 25 towers, including 13 in London, nine in Salford and three in Plymouth, had cladding of the aluminium composite type, and 12 of these were believed by local authorities to have a combustible polyethylene core. Cladding at the other 13 high rises was still being tested.

[Lost It]

O&M Manual. It's a Criminal offence to falsify these.

Basicalkly it is covered by Statute Law. You get to live in one of HM's residences and lose all your loot if you deviate from that particular tome of rules. It's why us Site Manglers, as far as I'm concerned, don't get paid nearly enough for the risk that we are in of losing everything dear to us should something go wrong.

So. If these manuals have been falsified, that comes under the Health and Safety at Work act, as well as Fraud.

This government has cut funding to all the wrong services over the last few years, HSE site visits have dropped by 20%, the Ambulance, Fire and Police services have all had major cuts, and it goes on and on. For no good reason.

[BrilloPad]

The document was produced on 10 May for the Red Tape Initiative, a body supported by the government, to “seize the opportunities” of Brexit to cut red tape. Entitled The EU’s Impact on the UK Housing and Construction Industry, it picks out the Construction Products Regulation (EU 305/2011) as “red tape folly” which is “expensive and burdensome for small businesses”.

All that red tape and there was still an issue. Maybe without all the red tape and paperwork the issue would have been spotted.

H&S should be more than a bos ticking exercise.

[northernladyuk]

From Guardian

Police have said they are considering manslaughter charges in relation to the deadly Grenfell Tower blaze as they revealed that both the insulation and tiles at the building failed safety tests.

Detective Superintendent Fiona McCormack, who is overseeing the investigation, said that officers have established that the initial cause of the fire was a fridge-freezer and that it was not started deliberately.

She said they were trying to get to the bottom of why the fire started so quickly. Insulation recovered from Grenfell Tower has been tested, while the tiles tested were the same as those in the building. Both failed the safety tests, with the insulation proving “more flammable than the cladding”. Investigators will now seek to establish whether the use of these materials was illegal.

[Lost It]

From Guardian

Not sure the Police are the ones that are in control of this? HSaW act is controlled by the CPS isn't it?

HSE will take the decision, measure, explore, check what if any laws have been broken, put their case together, then take people to prison via court. They never lose. Ever.

But... It may turn out that this cladding is exactly what was specified. In which case it will be Criminal Negligence. That might be a Police matter as well? I really don't know if I'm honest.

First tests reveal combustible cladding on 11 towers | Construction Enquirer

http://www.constructionenquirer.com/...m-five-towers/

[northernladyuk]

Not sure the Police are the ones that are in control of this? HSaW act is controlled by the CPS isn't it?

HSE will take the decision, measure, explore, check what if any laws have been broken, put their case together, then take people to prison via court. They never lose. Ever.

But... It may turn out that this cladding is exactly what was specified. In which case it will be Criminal Negligence. That might be a Police matter as well? I really don't know if I'm honest.

First tests reveal combustible cladding on 11 towers | Construction Enquirer

London’s Camden Council to strip cladding from five towers | Construction Enquirer

This isn't a workplace accident, so I would think manslaughter is police business. I'm not an expert of course.

[BrilloPad]

I have a friend who works in H&S. One of his former bosses was called as a witness in court over a death. They had done nothing wrong and were squeaky clean. Howver a barrister tried to pull them apart.

I am sure in due course we will see the requested cladding specification. How it was decided what to install. And what was signed off on.

Maybe a cladding installer will go to the media with the inside story?

[SueEllen]

I have a friend who works in H&S. One of his former bosses was called as a witness in court over a death. They had done nothing wrong and were squeaky clean. Howver a barrister tried to pull them apart.

That's a barrister’s job. I know people in other professions who if they made to attend court are pulled apart by barristers so they get training on it.

I am sure in due course we will see the requested cladding specification. How it was decided what to install. And what was signed off on.

Maybe a cladding installer will go to the media with the inside story?

The Daily Mail were digging around about the main contractor and the firm who supplied the cladding.

[BrilloPad]

The Daily Mail were digging around about the main contractor and the firm who supplied the cladding.

Didn't I read something about how much the owner's houses is worth?