<p> <br/></p><p>The industry needs to shift to a more proactive approach when it comes to Building Regulations and fire safety, according to Dame Judith Hackitt.</p><p>Sending a message to the HBF Technical Conference in Birmingham today (September 12), Dame Judith, author of the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety, called for a shift from an approach where the industry waits to be instructed, to “actually engaging with government”.</p><p>Dame Judith also said that at the start of her work for the review, triggered by the Grenfell Tower fire, she was surprised to hear through discussions that people “were aware the system wasn’t working”. </p><p>But she added that her recommended approach in the review – establishing a new regulatory framework for building safety – would switch the focus “from doing things cheaply to the industry producing buildings that are safe to live in”. </p><p>Speaking at the conference, Bob Ledsome, deputy director of Building Regulations and standards at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), thanked the industry for its support so far in working towards creating safe buildings.</p><p>Ledsome said that he was “grateful” for the industry’s work and pointed to the sector’s “early adopters” – developers who are set …