Ensuring Resident Safety: An Interview with Fexco Property Services' Director of Building Safety, Andy Eatock
Posted Thursday, June 13, 2024
In this insightful interview, we sit down with Andy Eatock, the Director of Building Safety at Fexco Property Services to explore his pivotal role in ensuring the health, safety, and fire compliance of the properties under Fexco's management. With a distinguished background in fire and safety, he shares his journey to Fexco, the profound impact of the Grenfell tragedy on the industry, and the significant changes in building safety regulations. He also discusses the challenges and strengths of his team, the importance of industry partnerships, and his vision for the future of fire safety and resident protection.
What is your role within Fexco?
I am the Director of Building Safety, Fexco Property Services.
This is a strategic lead role in which supports and encompasses all areas of business and primarily the buildings that we manage. It also aligns with departments internally such as Conveyancing, Legal, Insurance and new business to name a few.
I have oversight of the Health, Safety and Fire compliance across Fexco and its brands which would involve incident management and also investigation, from this I manage and control policy and procedures in accordance with our ISO 45001 accreditation which supports the development of health and safety policies and objectives, which determines hazards and health risks, and it puts in place controls and procedures to reduce the risk of harm.
Can you give us a bit of background on what brought you to Fexco and your experience?
I retired from the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, and I then got into health, safety, and fire consultancy, i even completed a short stint in Kuwait, (the COVID pandemic returned me).
On return I worked as a Principal Consultant for a prominent London based assessment company, and that’s when an old colleague asked me if I was interested in a move to Fexco Property Services to support the Building Safety Team, from this I have never looked back.
With over 30 year’s experience in Occupational Health, Safety and Fire Compliance, I take my role extremely serious. I also learn every day, and I am a massive advocate of competency, incorporated with experience.
What are your memories of Grenfell?
What can I say, this is the worst tragedy in residential property that this country has witnessed.
I watched like millions on tv absolutely distraught at the scenes I was witnessing, and my thoughts continue to go out to the families who lost loved ones on that terrible evening.
I also understood the operational challenges that those brave firefighters did to place themselves in imminent danger for the evacuation of the residents of the tower.
There were fundamental flaws identified from the inquiry and further investigation with the learning outcomes what are presently being implemented now with new laws and guidance.
This was before I was part of Fexco and I had little knowledge of Property Management at the time, although I understood very well the issues of construction, design, and fire safety of residential properties in particular High-Rise Buildings.
Whilst being at Fexco I have the focused on residential safety in buildings of any size as a primary concern.
My goal is to ensure that residents are safe within their homes and effectively support the operations team in managing the safety measures of their buildings.
How was the industry changed since Grenfell?
The industry has changed significantly over the last few years, some changes are beneficial, and some aren’t.
With the changes in Building Safety and introduction of new Acts and Legislation post the Grenfell tragedy, I whole heartedly believe that these were needed for a long time in the industry, and methods of construction and competence are key to this, so as a business my role is to ensure the buildings are safely managed and risks mitigated as low as reasonably practicable.
Here at Fexco I am empowered with bringing the changes in line to support our residents and clients with no day ever being the same.
What we also have at Fexco is clarity and understanding as a team of experienced professionals who are at the forefront of the Building Safety Act 2022 requirements, and I have had this role alongside some of the other leads to support and navigate the group through the changes.
What would you like to see happen next?
I would like to see a greater pragmatic approach to Fire Safety and one of the best things to come out of this is a document called PAS 9980-2022 it is a Fire Risk Appraisal of the External Wall System (FRAEW), it is designed to give a holistic assessment of the severity of fire on the buildings external wall system.
This is a great document if it is used appropriately, and this will assist the residents and clients greatly.
I would also like to see a greater competency framework in the Industry as this is also key, no more short cuts or incompetent professionals, with compliance being used correctly within the regulatory guidance.
At the heart of all this is resident safety, which will always be my primary focus and their homes that they live in.
What strengths do the Building Safety Team bring to our client?
As the Director of Building Safety, I have a small team who strategically align all parties within the business, so everyone understands the processes and procedures, we also liaise and work with Primary Authorities to support these and answer any questions that they may have.
We also have oversight of the health and safety for the business with we have externally verified with our ISO 45001 audit which is completed annually by the British Assessment Bureau which are an external assessment of us and our procedures.
I must say that I thoroughly enjoy the role and its challenges, there are obstacles to overcome on a daily basis no matter how big or small, but these enhance our professional capacity as a business, and it brings the team together for the best conclusion not just for Fexco but the residents and our Clients.
Talk me through the importance of our partnerships and how they work?
These are extremely important as communication is key, if a question is asked, we supply a suitable and sufficient answer, we also provide comprehensive documentation on request and support our clients from enforcement or prosecution.
I believe working with our Primary Authorities greatly assists and supports and we are one of the few if only management company who has worked with one of the Fire Authorities in completing a High-Rise Building Exercise, to learn and develop in partnership.
What are your biggest challenged heading up the BST?
My biggest challenge with the team and the wider business is continuous development and improvement not just in line with government regulation but a best practice attitude in support of our clients, residents, and the properties that we manage.
Where I mention best practice alongside the changes that have happened over the last few years, it is about the best value with a primary concern of resident safety.
I am conscious and aware that residents are in a cost-of-living crisis but also that the property has to be maintained, we do this with a very comprehensive contractor management approach so that residents are not paying over the odds for service requirements.
An example would be that the Building Safety Regulator recently sent an email to all Principle Accountable Persons that some companies were overcharging their services for the production of Building Safety Cases, we as a business with the support of our 3rd party assessment company precured what I believe is the cheapest safety case reports in the country.
A second example would be that before PAS 9980-2002, there was a very risk averse approach to external wall assessments and a lot of individuals jumped on this and decided to incorrectly identify external wall issues which would not normally have been a significant risk to buildings, including low rise.
If a building was given a B2 external wall rating on assessment then remediation is required on the building and residents homes are then affected value wise and insurance premiums are exuberated, with the support of PAS 9980 and our fully qualified 3rd party Fire Engineers alongside due diligence on our part we have established a 100% success rate in reverting B2 rated buildings to a B1 which reduces the risk factor of the walling system and also supports residents in their daily lives.
If the wall remains a B2 we also facilitate what used to be the Building Safety Fund, and now the Cladding Safety Scheme yet again assisting Clients and residents in their external wall remediation program which is also extremely beneficial and successful.
I am extremely proud of the role that I do daily within this industry, and I am fully aware of the issues residents have living in apartment blocks, but the team at Fexco and I are extremely proud to support with a can-do attitude which is competent, pragmatic, and yet again I will state a primary concern of resident and building safety.
