The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) has recently published its Guide to Products Critical to Safe Construction. This timely document shines a spotlight on an issue at the very heart of building safety, ensuring that the products we design, specify, distribute, and install are fit for purpose and, crucially, that the industry understands when a product is safety critical.
The guide makes clear that some products carry far greater risk than others. A safety-critical product is one where failure, omission, or incorrect installation could cause serious injury or even fatality. Think passive fire protection, fire doors, fixings for balconies, or structural connections. These are components that simply cannot fail.
The CIOB guidance is not law, but it aligns closely with the Building Safety Act 2022, the Construction Products Regulation, and UK Building Regulations. Taken together, this evolving framework is reshaping expectations across the supply chain: from manufacturers to distributors, from designers to installers.
Clear, accurate product information is no longer optional, it’s expected.
Traceability and compliance evidence must be robust and accessible.
Whole-life safety should be prioritised over the lowest cost.
Competence at every stage of the supply chain is essential.
At Galaxy, we fully support this direction of travel. Our recent achievement of CCPI (Code for Construction Product Information) status demonstrates our commitment to providing clear, accurate, and transparent product data. CCPI is becoming the industry benchmark for trustworthy product information, and we are proud to be among the businesses leading the way. But compliance is only one side of the coin. The other is technical competence.
That’s where our Galaxy Technical Services team makes the difference. Our experts are not only product specialists and competent engineers, but they understand when a product is safety-critical, what compliance evidence should be in place, and how it must be applied in real-world construction systems. This means our customers can rely on us not just to supply products, but to provide sound technical advice, risk evaluation support, and guidance on safe substitutions when necessary.
The CIOB guide is a wake-up call for the industry, reinforcing the principle that safety is everyone’s responsibility. For Galaxy, it’s also a validation of the path we’ve chosen, investing in competence, committing to CCPI, and ensuring that safety and compliance are embedded in everything we do. As regulation tightens and expectations rise, Galaxy will continue to work with our partners, customers, and the wider industry to ensure that safe products, safe systems, and safe outcomes remain at the centre of construction.
