Notes on Hackitt Report
The Hackitt report is an important report commissioned after the catastrophic Grenfell Tower fire.
Copies of the report
Random notes
Seems that a lot of issues (not just in the planning and construction industries) come from ignorance. By that I mean regulations and guidance are not always read by those who need to, and when they do the guidance is often misunderstood and misinterpreted.
The big question I have is why? Why are they not being read? Or understood? Or followed?
Inaccessible or unknown?
Is it because people don't know they exist? Or where to find them? Or how to use/read/interpret them?
Motivation
What are the consequences (to the indivdual/organisation) of not following them? Regulations vs guidance? Is there a significant difference if they are one thing or the other? There is in law but are people aware of this differene and does it alter behaviour significantly.
Assistance
What happens if you have a question about them? Somewhere to go? Is it ok to ask questions?
The report concludes there seems to be indifference saying "the primary motivation is to do things as quickly and cheaply as possible rather than to deliver quality homes which are safe for people to live in."
I find that incredible. And saddening. Another example of money/profits being put ahead of people. To me that just seems to be a characteristic of the mad, cut-throat, capitalistic world we live in. Incentives, motivations and repercussions are all wrong š£
When it comes to enforcement of regulation, penalties are so small as to be an ineffective deterrent. How often is this the case? The bigger and more powerful corporations become the less effective these penalties are, they are just a cost of doing business, urgh. Facebook being the classic example, they can even be fined $5 billion and it is nothing, it's like someone fining me 20p.
Want to create an environment where there are incentives to do the right thing and serious penalties for those who choose to game the system and as a result put others at risk.
Data and ārecord keepingā can lead to a level of transparency of information and an audit trail all the way through the life cycle of a (me: product) building from planning to occupation and maintanence - making sure it is built safe + continues to be safe. Registers fit the bill here, they were conceived for the purpose of record keeping.
Traceability as an important measure of the mature of an industry. I liked this line and is something we've discussed in the digital land team.
Lobbying - self-interested advocacy; how can we build systems/society/institutes that are able to spot and filter this out.