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30 March 2026
BSR considers automation and innovation to improve efficiency
31 March 2026
The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) wants to be data-driven and use automation and innovation to speed up its processes. The plans are laid out in its strategic plan for the year to 31 March 2027.
In the strategic plan, the BSR states: “We are determined to be faster, clearer in our communications and guidance, to modernise and to be data-driven. Safety is not a blocker to economic growth, and we will not compromise either over the next year and beyond.”
It plans to create an innovation unit to review applications, although there is no further detail in the initial announcement.
The BSR wants to reduce burdens on industry, improve its ways of working, and become more efficient without reducing standards or safety. Specifically, it will focus on how:
- automation can deliver efficiencies;
- new software can increase collaboration with residents and industry;
- it can better collect and share data;
- it can communicate clearer and provide better guidance; and
- new self-certification could reduce the number of applications submitted.
It has set itself a target of 18 weeks or less to respond to Gateway 2 applications for a new building, in non-complex cases, by the end of March 2027.
As Gateway 2 applications progress, the BSR notes that it will need to conduct an increasing number of in-build site inspections. “These inspections help us support industry to properly evidence the changes and adaptations they make to approved plans during the building phase. This will also help later when they make their Gateway 3 application,” it said.
These inspections will be carried out by registered building inspectors (RBIs), of which there is a national shortage. In exploring how to address that shortage, the BSR will consider how new technology or new ways of working can save time.
A three-year strategic plan covering 2027 to 2030 will be revealed in the next year. “Our 2027 to 2030 strategy will be realistic, resilient, and aligned with the needs of the public and industry,” the BSR said.
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