Part 2: The Regulator and its functions The regulator and its functions Section 8: Duty to establish system for giving of building safety information Background
This is a new provision and is modelled on existing voluntary occurrence reporting systems used in industries including structural safety and aviation. Recommendation 1.4 of the Independent Review recommends that the existing Confidential Reporting on Structural Safety (CROSS) be extended and strengthened to cover a wider range of engineering safety concerns. This section will contribute to the fulfilment of this recommendation whilst retaining flexibility for another person to operate the voluntary occurrence reporting scheme.
	The system of voluntary reporting of information about building safety is intended to promote a positive culture within safety management systems.
	Reports will be received, anonymised, and then analysed and published by the person operating the system. Reports will be made on all buildings including those which are not higher-risk buildings. Safety occurrences which cause a significant risk to life safety in higher-risk buildings must be reported through mandatory occurrence reporting. Voluntary occurrence reporting is not intended to be used for enforcement action, but should confidentially capture occurrences that are of a lower risk level and are of value to industry for information sharing, intelligence gathering and improvement of safety within the built environment.
	Guidance will be provided to set out what can be reported under the voluntary occurrence reporting system. The specified manner of reporting is envisaged to be via an online portal.
Example
During a concrete pre-pour quality inspection on the 4th floor of an apartment block, shear links to a slab over one column are found to be at the incorrect spacings. The issue is resolved immediately on site and doesn’t present a significant risk to life safety here, but a similar issue could be present but undetected on other sites and present a bigger danger elsewhere. The person working on the incident reports it through the voluntary occurrence reporting system, where it is then analysed, anonymised and published by the person operating that system. By voluntarily reporting this issue the important details and lessons learned are shared with industry. This release of intelligence would increase industry awareness of the issue and enable workers to better identify and resolve it should it occur elsewhere, averting danger that may otherwise have gone unnoticed.