The Association for Project Safety (APS) has recognised Dame Judith Hackitt with an Honorary Fellowship from the organisation.
APS said the award recognises her contribution to health and safety in the design and construction sector.
Mark Snelling, President of APS, said: “It is a privilege to recognise Dame Judith Hackitt as an Honorary Fellow.
“Her voice continues to shape critical conversations across the sector, and APS is proud to support and amplify her work in driving safer, healthier outcomes for all.”
Dame Judith Hackitt response
Dame Judith Hackitt said she was surprised and honoured to be recognised by APS.
She said: “I have a high regard for APS. It already has a strong profile and a clear commitment to safety as an integral part of delivering projects.
“I want to work with organisations in the built environment who get it, because there are still many who don’t.
“I am ready and willing to support those who want to act as leaders and make a real difference.”
APS leadership perspective
Andrew Leslie, Chief Executive of APS, said the organisation welcomed Hackitt’s recognition.
He said: “APS is delighted that Dame Judith sees the association as one of those leaders, helping to shape competence and culture across the built environment.”
APS role in competence
APS stated that Hackitt’s recognition reinforces its commitment to advancing competence-based assessment.
It added that the fellowship aligns with its work in professional development for members.
APS explained that it supports members to deliver safer and healthier buildings through competence standards and risk management practices.
Dame Judith Hackitt background
Hackitt is known for her leadership in building safety.
Her 2018 Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety for the UK Government set out recommendations following the Grenfell Tower fire.
Her role has continued to influence how health and safety frameworks are applied across design and construction.
Relevance for fire and safety professionals
The recognition of Hackitt by APS highlights the ongoing role of professional bodies in promoting competence in construction safety.
For fire and safety professionals, this reinforces the link between regulatory reform and practical safety outcomes in the built environment.
It also reflects the importance of collaboration between regulators, professional bodies and practitioners to embed safer practices across all stages of building projects.
APS awards fellowship to Dame Judith Hackitt: Summary
The Association for Project Safety (APS) has reported that Dame Judith Hackitt has accepted an Honorary Fellowship.
The fellowship was awarded in recognition of her contribution to health and safety in design and construction.
APS President Mark Snelling said the recognition reflects Hackitt’s continuing influence on safety in the sector.
Hackitt said she was honoured to be recognised and committed to supporting organisations that prioritise safety in the built environment.
APS Chief Executive Andrew Leslie said the recognition aligns with the association’s work on competence and safety culture.
Hackitt previously led the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety for the UK Government in 2018.
APS said the fellowship strengthens its commitment to competence-based assessment and professional development.
The organisation represents around 4,000 members working in design and construction health and safety risk management across the UK.
SFG20 interview highlights fire safety responsibilities in the UK
SFG20 has published an interview with Dame Judith Hackitt, who led the post-Grenfell review of UK building safety regulations.
The interview includes detailed comments from Dame Judith on fire safety, legal responsibility, building maintenance, and regulatory reform.
She said building owners remain accountable even when maintenance tasks are outsourced, and urged a shift toward competence, traceability and digital record-keeping under the principle of the “golden thread”.
The comments are focused on the UK regulatory context and reflect Dame Judith’s views on ongoing risk management obligations under the Building Safety Act and Fire Safety Order.
The full interview is available via SFG20, which described the exchange as an opportunity to support compliance, competence and improved industry practice.
Hackitt calls for competence and product assurance
Dame Judith Hackitt said that failings revealed in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase Two report pointed to basic issues around staff qualifications, compliance gaps and falsified fire risk assessments.
She told SFG20 that these problems can be avoided by engaging only qualified people and verifying their credentials.
Dame Judith said: “For me, that’s where this all begins: making sure you’re using people who know what they’re doing, ask them to demonstrate and prove their competence.”
She added that responsibility also extended to the safety and testing of the construction products used.
Dame Judith said: “One of the significant gaps we still need to address, and which the government has committed to resolving in its response to the inquiry, is the issue of construction products and how they are tested. I believe this is critically important.”
She said there was a need for better assurance of the materials used in both maintenance and new construction.
Accreditation standards and organisational culture
Dame Judith said that professional bodies should do more to uphold standards, but added that employers also had a role in checking qualifications.
She told SFG20 that organisations must not rely solely on professional bodies to ensure competence.
Dame Judith said: “Organisations also need to take responsibility. They must recognise the importance of competence and avoid the mistake of employing anyone who claims to be a fire engineer without thoroughly verifying their qualifications and capabilities.”
She added that while CPD and accreditation are essential, their credibility depends on the quality of the oversight.
Dame Judith also said that the fire safety sector lacks the maturity seen in other engineering disciplines.
She said this must change if the industry is to develop the same level of rigour expected in areas such as structural engineering.
Legal responsibility and penalties for non-compliance
Dame Judith said that current regulatory reforms are not about new duties, but about ensuring people meet responsibilities they already had.
She gave the example of two directors who were fined over £100,000 for breaches in fire protection at care homes.
Dame Judith said: “We’re treating this as if new responsibilities have suddenly been placed on them, when in fact we should be focusing on their appallingly cynical attitude towards the people they had a moral duty of care for all along, long before any new regulations came into effect.”
She stressed that legal accountability cannot be outsourced, even if the work is.
Dame Judith said: “If you’re the owner, you are responsible and accountable. You can delegate the work, but you can never delegate the accountability.”
She added that as penalties increase and cases reach court, judges are likely to take a strict view of building safety failings.
Responsibilities under Fire Safety Order and building regulations
Dame Judith addressed the specific case of buildings that fall outside the scope of the Building Safety Act’s occupation phase.
She said that facilities such as hospitals, though excluded from some parts of the Act, must still be treated as high-risk buildings with enhanced safety expectations.
Dame Judith said: “The higher the risk in a building, the greater the effort required to understand the safety case for that building and its occupants.”
She said this principle is assumed to apply universally, regardless of formal scope.
Dame Judith also challenged any perception that regulatory exclusion lowers the need for rigorous maintenance and oversight.
She emphasised the need for owners and managers to ask whether a building has the systems in place to ensure evacuation and fire control.
Digital record-keeping and golden thread implementation
Dame Judith advocated for the adoption of the “golden thread” principle in building management.
She told SFG20 that digital records must include how a building was designed and built, the fire strategy in place, and the performance limits of all systems.
Dame Judith said: “I just find it remarkable that this information often doesn’t exist. In any other sector… they can trace everything. They know the limitations of their products, how things perform, and what they’re capable of.”
She added that paper-based systems were no longer acceptable.
Dame Judith said: “If we’re going to do that in the 21st century, for goodness’ sake, let’s not do it on paper. Let’s do it digitally.”
She also said that maintaining accurate, traceable, and accessible digital information must become a routine part of managing building safety.
Future regulatory changes and systemic improvements
Dame Judith discussed the government’s intention to introduce further regulations.
She said this will likely include measures to ensure the suitability and traceability of construction products.
Dame Judith said: “Fixing that system is no small task. It will require a significant amount of work, as well as a shift in behaviour from a wide range of people, particularly those who supply construction products.”
She warned against longstanding practices that prioritise cost over safety, citing staircase design as one example.
Dame Judith said that single-staircase high-rises had been accepted for too long and welcomed their removal from new building designs.
She said that overall, fire safety should be approached as a system-level challenge rather than a checklist of individual measures.
She added: “You’re the expert, make those decisions, issue your recommendations, and stand by them.”
Building safety must adopt digital golden thread, says Dame Judith Hackitt: Summary
In an interview with SFG20, Dame Judith said building owners must take full responsibility for fire safety compliance.
She warned that outsourcing maintenance does not remove legal accountability.
She said competence must be verified and upheld by both professional bodies and employers.
Dame Judith said the fire safety sector lacks the maturity of structural engineering.
She called for stricter assurance of construction products and testing systems.
She said new penalties will be harsher and judges may take stronger positions in future cases.
Dame Judith said that even buildings excluded from current regulations should apply risk-based safety principles.
She said the “golden thread” approach must be adopted, with digital building data records.
She said new rules will target product testing, specification practices and risk mitigation.
She said fire safety should be approached as a system, not as a list of isolated measures.
Failures at Grenfell reflected broader system breakdown
SFG20 has published an interview with Dame Judith Hackitt, former Chair of the Health and Safety Executive, focusing on the regulatory and cultural challenges facing the UK built environment.
The interview, released on 13 May 2025, reflects on sector-wide problems exposed by the Grenfell Tower fire and the systemic flaws identified in her 2018 independent review.
Dame Judith told SFG20 that the regulatory system was already known to be failing prior to the Grenfell tragedy and that poor safety practices were widespread across the industry.
She stated: “None of the specific findings associated with Grenfell that came out of the public inquiry should have come as a surprise to people, because I had identified six years before then that those things were happening.”
She added: “Grenfell was by no means a one-off, and neither was it just about cladding.”
Compliance with the Building Safety Act remains inconsistent
Responding to questions about the sector’s current state of readiness, Dame Judith said the response to the Building Safety Act was inconsistent.
She noted that while some organisations had actively embraced the Act, others were avoiding action by waiting for further direction.
She said: “I see lots of examples of people who have embraced it and are doing the right things.
“I also see a lot of people who are still playing ostrich.”
Dame Judith added that many dutyholders were unsure where to seek appropriate guidance, and that some were acting on poor advice or misapplying requirements.
Clear responsibilities for maintenance under new regulations
Dame Judith said the Act had brought clarity to previously fragmented lines of responsibility, particularly for maintenance teams.
She explained that under the new framework, there is now a statutory expectation for individuals and organisations to act responsibly.
She said: “What’s clear is there’s been no proper line of responsibility and accountability in the past, and what we’ve put in place is exactly that.”
She added that this was directly aligned with principles from the Health and Safety at Work Act, placing responsibility across all those involved in building management.
Building owners must understand and audit their assets
Asked what building owners should focus on in complying with the Act, Dame Judith said that a comprehensive understanding of the building is the starting point.
She noted that legacy buildings pose particular challenges due to a lack of recorded data.
She said: “One of the biggest challenges, of course, is that golden thread that I called for in all new buildings.”
She added: “Trying to fill those gaps to the best of your ability is the next, and then having the courage to go and look and find what problems there are.”
Building regulations guidance seen as overcomplicated
Dame Judith said that existing guidance documents had been overly prescriptive and fragmented.
She noted that Approved Documents were developed in silos, contributing to inconsistent understanding and implementation.
She said: “There is far too much prescription and not enough joining up of how all of those things are interdependent.”
Height-based definitions of high-risk buildings under review
Commenting on the current definition of ‘higher risk’ buildings, Dame Judith acknowledged that using building height as a primary metric was too simplistic.
She highlighted the need to consider use and occupancy characteristics.
She said: “What’s really interesting is how… people now start to think much more about buildings as complex systems than they did before.”
She added that different types of occupancy – such as care homes or student housing – brought different risk factors that should be reflected in regulation.
Sector-wide competence remains a critical concern
Dame Judith said that improving building safety depends heavily on the competence of those involved.
While competence frameworks have been developed, she said that uptake has been slow.
She said: “We know that this isn’t just about the guidance, but is also about a lack of overall competence throughout the sector.”
She added that while guidance is important, competence is needed to make effective judgments about safety.
Future outlook connects safety and quality
Looking ahead, Dame Judith expressed hope that safety and quality would become integrated objectives.
She compared the industry’s shift in mindset to earlier changes driven by the Health and Safety at Work Act.
She said: “Once people get over the ‘I don’t know what to do, I’m scared’… we’ll look back on this period and think, ‘Wow, not only did we build safer and better quality buildings, but our productivity went up at the same time’.”
Dame Judith Hackitt on UK Building Safety Act and sector-wide competence issues: Summary
SFG20 has interviewed Dame Judith Hackitt, former Chair of the Health and Safety Executive.
She said poor safety practices were common before the Grenfell Tower fire.
She explained that the Building Safety Act provides clearer accountability.
Dame Judith said some organisations have embraced the Act, while others are reluctant.
She noted that maintenance teams now have defined responsibilities.
She said building owners must understand the assets they manage.
She described current guidance as overly complex and fragmented.
Dame Judith stated that building height alone is not an adequate risk measure.
She said there is still a lack of competence across the sector.
She predicted a shift toward combining safety and quality in construction practices.
The full interview and Building Safety Act Checklist are available at SFG20’s website.