Supply chain support is vital to meet new legislation, says AEI Cables

Many contractors in the electrical and construction supply chains are confused and overwhelmed by the scale of change under the new Building Safety Act 2022 after it became enforceable on October 1st, says AEI cables.

Now the company is offering guidance to ensure the correct cabling is installed in all buildings including what are now considered to be ‘higher risk buildings.’

Higher risk buildings under the act are those of at least 18 metres in height or at least seven storeys containing at least two residential units.

Stuart Dover, general manager of AEI Cables, said: “This is a major overhaul of legislation for the construction and electrical safety supply chains.

“We get a lot of questions about the correct selection of cabling and it is now more important than ever to get it right as this legislation is enforced. We are happy to provide guidance and support on these issues as the wrong choice could compromise whole systems.”

The systems powered by electrical cables – including smoke and heat extraction systems – assist fire services in firefighting and a safe evacuation in the case of life safety.

Under the terms of the Act, a Principal Accountable Person who fails to register an occupied higher-risk building ‘without a reasonable excuse’ will be liable to either a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years.

The Principal Accountable Person is described as the organisation or person who owns, or has responsibility for, the building. It may also be an organisation or person who is responsible for maintaining the common parts of a building, for example corridors or lobbies.

AEI Cables’ Firetec Enhanced cabling has been approved and certified by LPCB to BS8519 (Annex B), Category 3 Control in addition to Category 2 Control.The BS Code of Practice under BS8519 contains six categories of cables, three for power cables and three for control cables each covering survival times of 30, 60 or 120 minutes.

All AEI Cables’ products are supplied with approvals from independent bodies including BASEC and LPCB. It also holds approvals from organisations including Lloyds, the MoD, Network Rail and LUL and works to international standards around the world. For more information see the AEI Cables website, tel 0191 410 3111 or email sales@aeicables.co.uk.