The Competency Challenge Facing the Construction Industry
Every product that leaves our warehouse has been fire tested and certified, because when it comes to fire safety hardware, "probably fine" isn't good enough. We take our role as the strong link in the compliance chain seriously.
But here’s the headache that keeps us up at night: the moment a product is dispatched, it leaves our control. What happens next; how it’s installed, whether it’s maintained, whether the person specifying it actually understands what “competent” means in practice, is out of our hands.
That doesn’t mean we shrug and hope for the best. It means we’ve made it our job to close that gap wherever we possibly can.
In this blog we outline some of those competency headaches and our solution-focused approach.
Headache 1: Incorrect installation
A perfectly engineered, rigorously fire-tested product is only as good as its installation. Skip a step, leave out a part (typically the rebate in the MK2 door selector), or leave something out of the fitting instructions and the fire performance you paid for simply isn’t there anymore.
Our solution: Every fire rated product comes with clear, unambiguous fitting instructions so there’s no excuse for guesswork on site. We use our communication channels to share how products work and aim to get the message out about the importance of correct installation.
Headache 2: the Regulatory Landscape Changes
Fire safety regulation has been through enormous change in recent years, and it hasn’t finished changing. At Selectrite, we fully support the need for reform and are playing our part.
As Dame Judith Hackitt discussed with Rachael Bliss, GAI CEO in the fireside chat on GAI's Leading Edge podcast, the industry doesn’t need to wait for regulation to catch up.
Real change means individuals and organisations taking responsibility now, not once the rules force it. We agree. Funding models are still being argued over, and reform is moving slower than any of us would like, but there's a lot we can do proactively in the meantime. The competency conversation the industry is having right now, on Leading Edge and everywhere else, keeps landing on the same point: competence isn't something you demonstrate once the rules force your hand. It's something you build because your customers, and the people relying on your products in a fire, deserve nothing less.
Our solution: We stay active members of the GAI (Guild of Architectural Ironmongers). It’s not just a badge on a website worn to make us look good. It’s a genuine, ongoing commitment to engagement, CPD and networking that we highly value. It’s a key part of how we make sure our knowledge doesn’t stagnate while the industry moves on around us.
LISTEN TO THE LEADING EDGE
PODCAST episode
Headache 3: Knowing where you actually stand when it comes to compliance
At Selectrite, we believe that compliance isn’t a single task you tick off. It’s an ongoing responsibility, and one of the hardest parts is simply knowing what “good” looks like for your own team, and what your next step should be.
Our solution: We will use the GAI’s self-assessment competency tool to answer that question honestly, rather than guessing.
The GAI self-assessment tool
The GAI has updated its self-assessment tool, and going forward, we’re building it into how we operate as an organisation, Not as a one-off exercise, but as an ongoing way of tracking where we are, where the gaps are, and what we’re going to do about them.
The tool is built around a framework of four areas:
Skills: the practical, hands-on capability to do the job correctly
Knowledge: understanding of the standards, regulations, and why they exist
Experience: time spent applying that skill and knowledge in real situations
Behaviour: a clear, ongoing plan to build on all three, grow as a team and an organisation and challenge unsafe practices.
Used properly, the competency framework doesn’t just tell you where you are today. It flags the gaps you might not have noticed, and points to the specific CPD opportunities that will close them, for individuals and for the team as a whole.
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How would you prove you’re competent?
It’s a fair question, and an uncomfortable one if you haven’t got a straight answer ready. “I’ve been doing this for years” isn’t proof. A structured, evidenced self-assessment is.
That’s exactly why we’ve made this a standing objective at Selectrite, with our MD, Mark Lockley, personally responsible for overseeing it and driving continuous improvement across the team and the business.
Competency isn’t a box to tick once. It’s something we keep measuring, challenging and improving to raise standards.
what we can’t control, and what we can
We can’t follow every product out of the door and onto site.
What we can do is make sure the instructions are clear, stay close to the regulations as they evolve, and hold ourselves visibly and measurably to a high standard of competency that we can prove, not just claim.