BASEC Forum issue report on the Cable Value Chain
A new report on the Cable Value Chain has been published by the BASEC Cable Quality Assurance Forum. It provides a review of the challenges surrounding the manufacture, supply, design, specification, procurement and installation of cables in buildings and the risk of poor quality, sub-standard and unapproved cables entering the UK market.
The report also provides a series of practical recommendations that the construction and cable industries and government can take to drive best practice. These include:
- Encourage cable products to meet standards higher than the minimum building and wiring regulations requirements in the UK.
- Improve the safety and quality of cables, through greater transparency and traceability throughout the supply chain, increased testing and certification compliance, and more rigorous enforcement of existing regulations and standards.
- The UK government should continue to support and enhance the Construction Products Regulation (CPR) to highlight its importance in improving fire safety and ensuring buildings are safe and fit for purpose.
- AVCP System 1+ category cables should be used in high-risk and high-rise residential buildings with a higher fire risk.
- Government and industry should seek to mandate independent third-party certification of cables where appropriate and adds clear value to the supply chain.
- Comprehensive action is needed to ensure cable specifications are not changed or compromised.
- A rigorous approach is needed to prevent approved and certified cables specified at the design stage from being changed or substituted for cheaper or uncertified products.
- Quality assurance should be implemented by increasing transparency in the supply chain and developing a more robust testing and certification regime.
- A thorough process is required to improve the traceability of cables and verify that authentic cables installed on site were specified at the design stage.
- Clients, designers and main contractors should take comprehensive action to address the risk of sub-contractors and electricians installing non-approved and uncertified cables.
To read the full report, download a free copy from the link below:
The Forum will also be running free webinars on 11th and 18th January 2024 on the report findings, which will involve a number of the Forum stakeholders as guest speakers.
To find out more about the webinars and register for your free place, click here.
Forum Chair, Jaya Skandamoorthy, said ‘I want to thank all the stakeholders who participated in the BASEC Cable Quality Assurance Forum and for their contributions to this report and the series of practical recommendations that can help to overcome these challenges and deliver greater quality assurance and benefits for the construction and cable industries, clients and end users’.
Forum stakeholder participants:
