On 14th May 2025, Building Insights LIVE hosted a major round table, sponsored by K Systems and Winkhaus, bringing together leading housing professionals to examine the realities of the “golden thread of data” for Higher Risk Buildings (HRBs).
First introduced by Dame Judith Hackitt in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire and enshrined in the Building Safety Act (BSA) 2022, the golden thread requires HRBs (over 18 metres) to maintain a secure, transparent, and accessible digital record of their entire lifecycle – from design and construction to future maintenance.
Attendees explored how this framework is reshaping practice, from the adoption of BIM models and digital twins for complex residential projects, to the safeguards of change control processes designed to prevent unsafe cost-cutting. The discussion also tackled the challenges of implementation – from ensuring data integrity to making information accessible at every level of an organisation – alongside the opportunities it creates for accountability and long-term building safety.
With building safety now the sector’s ultimate priority, the round table provided critical insight into how housing professionals can meet the golden thread requirement in practice and embed safer, more transparent ways of working across the industry.
Attendees:
- Matt Baird, Co-Chair, Spring Housing Association & Director, Baird & Co Recruitment
- Alex Lubbock, Operations Director, Housing Associations’ Charitable Trust
- Ben Wallbank, BIM Strategist, Trimble Viewpoint
- Stephen Hamil, Innovation Director, NBS
- Chris Lees, Chief Executive, Data Clan
- Paul McSoley, Vice Chair of Fire, CIBSE
- Anthony Taylor, Chair, Building Safety Alliance
- Hony Premlal, Chair, Women in Social Housing
- Hywel Davies, Head of Technical Insight, Chartered Association of Building Engineers
- Kevin Mangan, Technical Director, K Systems