The Phase 2 Grenfell Report: A Contract Flooring Industry Response

The release of the final report from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry marks a defining moment for the UK construction industry. The tragedy that unfolded in June 2017, claiming the lives of 72 people, remains a painful reminder of the critical shortcomings in both safety standards and industry culture. The report delves deep into the systemic failures, offering a comprehensive critique of the practices that led to this disaster and the immediate responses. While the inquiry spans thousands of pages, its impact resonates far beyond the detailed documentation and the Grenfell project. The uncomfortable truth is that the type of failures it identifies are more familiar than we would ideally like to admit.

For the Contract Flooring Association (CFA), this is a crucial moment to reflect and respond.

Part 1: The Phase 2 Grenfell Report, Its Relevance to the Contract Flooring Sector and the CFA

The Construction Leadership Council (CLC), Build UK, and the Construction Products Association (CPA) have all been vocal in their response to the report, stressing the necessity of reform and the urgent need for the industry to take collective responsibility. The overarching sentiment is clear: Grenfell was an avoidable tragedy, and the culture of complacency, cutting corners, and lack of accountability must be eradicated from the industry.

Suzannah Nichol of Build UK highlights the need for a cultural shift in the way construction is carried out, stating, “Ultimately, we have to change the business environment in which the industry operates, so those who commit to building safely can thrive and those who don’t are flushed out.” She emphasises the importance of moving beyond mere regulatory compliance to foster an environment where safety and quality are prioritised from the outset.

The CPA echoed similar sentiments, noting that the inquiry’s findings underline a failure of both culture and competence across the construction industry. The CPA acknowledges the need to work closely with government, regulators, and industry stakeholders to drive the necessary reforms, while the CLC stresses the need for continuous work on building safety.

Paul Morrell (the former Chief Construction Advisor to Government), in his Construction News article, provided an insightful analysis of the report. He noted that while many of the report’s findings were unsurprising for those paying close attention, the focus on “failures that are likely to be repeated widely across the construction industry” is particularly troubling. These include issues such as the casual approach to contracts, insufficient monitoring of subcontractors’ work, and a lack of clarity over design responsibilities.

For the CFA, while our sector may not deal directly with fire safety critical products in high-rise buildings, there are significant lessons to be learned. The Grenfell Inquiry report is widely acknowledged as speaking to a broader need for competence across all trades, not just those directly linked to fire safety. The issues raised regarding accountability, supervision, and competence are equally relevant to contract flooring.

The report presents a challenging but necessary mirror for all construction sectors, including contract flooring. We are very much a part of the broader construction ecosystem, and our campaigns for improved site conditions are constant reminders of where the supply chain we work in can do better. Some of the competency issues we face, like compressed timescales, poor site supervision, and bullying tactics to meet deadlines that can lead to mental health issues — are challenges that may not affect fire safety, but they do affect quality, can cause costly failures, and can change people’s lives. Shutting a school or hospital ward to effect repairs and business failures due to delayed payment are not as headline grabbing as a tragedy of the scale of Grenfell but are no less meaningful to those involved or affected.

We must take this momentum to address these head-on to ensure our sector does better moving forward. Wouldn’t it be dreadful if changes to Acts of Parliament driven by Grenfell, statements by business leaders with pledges of action, new regulations, job roles, standards and controls, (with at the risk of mentioning it, associated cost), did not translate to measurable change at site level? Interestingly those obvious measures for the contract flooring industry must include jobs consistently starting on time, being given the time required and agreed to complete works, good site conditions that include heating on site, adequate light, a clear workspace and better communication.

I don’t think it would be too pessimistic to suggest that if our sector doesn’t see some changes in those areas, we cannot be confident that competence and that necessary cultural change has filtered through at a project level.

The CFA recently adopted the phrase “the responsible no” to describe situations where we felt flooring contractors needed to express the need to pause in delivering a contract, because to continue would be irresponsible. This now takes on an even greater meaning.

Part 2: How the CFA Will Respond

In response to the findings of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, the CFA is committed to proactive engagement with the wider construction industry while ensuring our members are equipped to meet the highest standards. Our response will be guided by proportionality, recognising that while we do not install products directly connected to fire safety in high-rise, high-risk building projects, we must still ensure that competence and quality are at the heart of everything we do.

At the core of our response will be a focus on three key areas:

• Organisational Competence for Contractors: the CFA will look closely at how organisational competence can be demonstrated and measured. Build UK’s Competence Assessment Standard (CAS) is a valuable starting point. It’s essential that contractors can demonstrate their commitment to best practices through pre-qualification, including financial, health and safety, quality, equality, diversity and inclusion, environmental, corporate professional standing and information management. The CAS offers a practical and cost-effective way to do this.
• Technical Competence of Organisations: we must ensure that businesses in the contract flooring sector have the necessary technical knowledge to manage installations effectively. This goes beyond wider organisational or even on-site competence; it requires a thorough understanding of how to design or support specification and execute flooring installations that meet both safety and quality standards. Build UK’s emerging “Gold Standard” initiative will likely play a role in shaping how we define and assess technical competence across the sector.
• Installer Competence: the CFA has already committed to developing competency frameworks for installers, based on National Occupational Standards (NOS). These frameworks will help define the experience required at all levels of flooring installation and provide a roadmap for continuous improvement. In addition, we will explore the best way to record and update installer records to ensure that installers across the sector are competent and can prove this through appropriate record keeping.

As we move forward, the CFA will focus on developing standards that are both achievable and practical for our members to deliver. We understand the challenges that many contractors face, particularly regarding site conditions and the pressures imposed by main contractors. However, the responsibility to improve lies with all of us, and we must embrace the opportunity to enhance competency and elevate our sector.

While the contract flooring industry may not be on the front lines of fire safety or the infrastructure that affects this, the lessons from Grenfell are still deeply relevant. The CFA is committed to playing its part in driving improvements in competence, quality, and some of the relevant measures of this for us such as site conditions. We aim to ensure that our sector is a responsible and capable player in the wider construction industry. The Grenfell Tower Inquiry and latest report is a reminder that every part of the industry must take ownership of its role in acting responsibly towards quality and building safety — and the CFA is ready to step up to the challenge.