If something is left, buried under weight and pressure, for long enough, it becomes the subject of a unique, geological phenomenon. This is how fossils are made. Organic structures are petrified – locked into shape by time and the absence of air.
This is also, more or less, how coal is made (sustainability leads, look away now). A carbon-based element compressed into a little black lump by pressure. Shaped from what it once was into something else entirely. Something that powers a good half of the world.
This is, after a good innings of mounting regulatory, cost, and administrative pressure, the situation construction finds itself in. Facing two possible futures – one in which we are petrified by bureaucratic purgatory, or one in which we transform into something else entirely.
We recently announced that we’d taken the landmark step of formally taking design responsibility. And the response from the industry was nothing short of massive.
And then, everything moved
When we made this decision, we thought it might cause a little stir. That stir became something of a whirlpool. The shake of a tambourine versus an earthquake. But here we are, in the back, still keeping the beat.
Customer feedback led us to the beginning of this process, from all parts of the supply chain. The industry was very clear in that it wanted, it needed, to see accountability. So we had the conversation.
After a long period of investing money, resource and time into determining the quality and suitability of our offering, we have in place the necessary professional liability cover to enable us to provide what is effectively an unpaid design service to our customers and industry partners. That’s of not just our products and the systems they form, but the people who recommend them.
This is us betting against a – not inconsiderable – risk, because we are confident in our position. That we have the right systems, people, and tools (and the right evidence) to have a hand in the necessary tools to support design process.
The nitty gritty of it all
Which brings us nicely round to the present moment. The one you’re in, right this second, squinting at your screen, internally urging us to get to the point. The one you’ve all been waiting for: what the hell this means for you.
You might be a present customer. You might be a future customer. You might even be a past customer. You could also be a competitor, an ex-employee, or simply an intrigued bystander with a few spare minutes to kill.
It doesn’t matter. This message is for all of you. Listen good and listen hard.
Architects, this is the end of Schrodinger’s wall
A reasonable chunk of the architectural profession was forged in an age where a partition could be both right and wrong, depending on whether the manufacturer was looking at it.
Handed a detail. Said detail is used. Drawings are submitted to building control. Fingers are crossed that no major changes happened on site. Because you’re responsible for a line on a page that could, if misunderstood, mean a wall that wouldn’t hold its’ rating.
When Siniat issues a system detail we stand behind it. With more than brochures and confident phone voices. With legal responsibility. If the detail we’ve given you turns out not to perform, and it was followed correctly, it’s on us. You can specify a real system, safe in the knowledge it will really perform, supported by real classification reports and a manufacturer who are accountable for their own details and drawings.
There is, a catch, as there always is. You can’t take the drawing, tweak it, or sub in another board (no, not even if it’s ours). We take responsibility for what we’ve provided, and we’ve provided it because it’s what we’ve tested. Use the detail. Don’t fiddle with it. If you need an interface, call us.
Main contractors, you asked for certainty, and here it is
Supply chain competence is often talked about in the third person, as if it is someone else’s problem. It is, actually, our collective Gordian Knot.
We are bringing our own sword to the table. If the system detail is wrong, and it was ours, we’ll own it. If it includes our systems, with our issued design details, the responsibility for their adequacy -structurally, acoustically, fire performance…… - is ours.
But there is still a very clear element of responsibility for the installers. If installation is wrong, it’s likely to be on you.
When someone chooses who’s going to build the wall, they’re going to have to make sure they build it properly. If they’re not trained, and work isn’t audited, then the design hasn’t failed, but the process.
We can’t take that responsibility on. But we can provide the tools to ensure that you’re equipped for it. And we can provide the site support.
But more on that later in the year.
Installers, let’s put winging it to bed
Good news: the walls you're building now come with full manufacturer support. If you're using a Siniat system, built as detailed, with our components, and following our issued design details, we stand behind it.
But that wall has to match the design. In form, in material, in method. If it doesn’t, the liability’s back on you.
For the manufacturer to carry the can, you’ll need to carry a spirit level.
We can help you with that. We’ve got videos, learning modules, and real humans you can call.
We can’t be on site every time, but we can give you everything you need to get it right. This is not just about us protecting ourselves, it’s about giving you protection too.
The age of performance ambiguity is ending. If you want certainty, follow the system. We’ve built a fortress of classified systems, now we just need to build to them.
Transparency, by design
We will level with you on this, because if there’s one thing this sector doesn’t have enough of, – and from manufacturers in particular – it’s transparency.
If we are to speak plainly: there are benefits to us in doing this and there are commercial motivations behind it, as there are with all business decisions. But this comes from more than a financial space, from well beyond a near-placed opportunity. We made this decision because it was the right thing.
Etex Building Performance – that’s both Siniat and its’ sister, Promat – is made up of employees spread across the UK, across generations, across backgrounds. Skillsets and role duties massively vary across the business but operating principles do not. This is a business made up of people who feel that the construction sector owes the nation a safer, better, built environment. Many have decades of experience tucked under their belt, but all feel that same burning commitment (pun fully intended) to advancing building safety.
This decision was made in the name of raising the bar. We both welcome and champion questioning and scrutiny. We see this as a sign that change is well and truly in motion, that we are looking for the evidence behind claims. The construction supply chain can take this a step further to apply pressure to all – work only with partners who have nothing to hide.
We may have taken the first step, but we are all a part of the long-awaited change.
