Guide to Products Critical to Safe Construction published

Posted on Wednesday 27 August 2025

A FREE guide aimed at improving the safety of buildings has been published by The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) and other professional bodies.

The publication, titled “Guide to Products Critical to Safe Construction,” provides designers, specifiers, and installers with the information they need to make informed decisions about construction products and includes examples and case studies to signpost industry best practice, such as the Code for Construction Product Information.

Paul Nash, chair of CIOB’s Quality Implementation Group, said: “The public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire exposed a construction product regulatory regime that was failing to ensure that the products used in buildings, whether separately or part of a system, were safe.

“Following on from the findings of the Building a Safer Future Report and the Independent Review of Product Testing and Certification, the inquiry recommended that further action was needed to better regulate the manufacturing, testing and supply of products in the UK.

"In February 2025 the government published a Construction Product Reform Green Paper that sets out its proposals to deliver a system that guarantees safe products, safely used.

“It is against this backdrop that the CIOB, together with other professional bodies, has developed this Guide to Products Critical to Safe Construction to ensure the buildings we create, and the products we use in those buildings, are safe for those who use them, now and in the future.”

The guide was published in collaboration with the Construction Products Association [CPA], Code for Construction Product Information [CCPI], Institution of Structural Engineers [IStructE] and Royal Institute of British Architects [RIBA].

Duncan Johnson, deputy director, construction products regulation, Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), added: “I welcome the collaborative efforts behind this guide, which brings together expertise from across the built environment sector to support safe and compliant construction, underpinned by clarity and consistency in product information. This guide contributes to raising standards and improving safety across the construction industry.”