Overview
Following the Grenfell Tower fire, the Scottish Government introduced the Single Building Assessment (SBA) process to support the assessment and remediation of buildings with potential external wall fire risks. The SBA process was later given full statutory backing through the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act 2024, which came into force on 6 January 2025, reinforcing the importance of robust, evidence-based fire safety assessments across Scotland’s residential sector.
Client Brief
Global HSE Group was appointed by Queen’s Cross Housing Association to deliver a portfolio-wide programme of Single Building Assessments (SBAs) across 31 residential buildings throughout Glasgow including six High-Risk Residential Buildings (HRRBs).
The client required the works to be completed within an extremely challenging timeframe to align with funding and submission deadlines.
The portfolio included a broad range of building types and occupancy uses, including general needs residential accommodation, extra care facilities and children’s homes. The buildings also varied significantly in age, construction methods and façade systems, creating a technically complex assessment programme.
Service Provided
Global HSE Group delivered a fully coordinated SBA programme incorporating:
The assessments were undertaken using a multidisciplinary approach that combined internal fire risk findings with external wall risk assessments to produce a single holistic view of each building’s fire safety performance. This approach ensured that interactions between compartmentation, fire strategy measures and external wall construction could be considered collectively rather than reviewed in isolation.
The project included detailed pre-planning exercises to identify suitable access methods, intrusive opening locations and high-value investigation areas across the portfolio. Investigations focused on critical interfaces such as cavity barriers, compartment lines, slab edges and window interfaces.
Access strategies were developed around the occupied nature of the buildings and the constraints presented by dense urban environments throughout Glasgow.
The programme also relied on continuous collaboration between intrusive investigation teams, façade specialists, technical reviewers and chartered fire engineers to ensure that findings could be reviewed, validated and incorporated into final reporting within programme deadlines.
Challenges and Obstacles
The primary challenge associated with the project was the delivery deadline itself. The project required mobilisation, surveying, intrusive investigations, technical review and final reporting across 31 buildings within approximately 12 weeks.
The buildings presented a wide range of access challenges including restricted urban locations, parked vehicles, power line constraints, limited access to rear elevations and occupied residential environments. Several properties required dynamic adjustments to access strategies while works were live on site.
The project was further complicated by limited existing building information. In many cases, historic drawings, elevations and façade details were either incomplete or unavailable, increasing the complexity of survey planning and intrusive investigation coordination.
The Scottish Government guidance relating to SBA reporting continued to evolve during the project, requiring ongoing technical review and adaptation of reporting outputs.
Project Highlights
The project required survey teams, façade specialists, fire engineers and technical reviewers to operate simultaneously across multiple workstreams while maintaining consistent quality and governance standards.
The programme also demonstrated the value of a genuinely integrated SBA methodology. Rather than treating FRAs and FRAEWs as separate exercises, the project combined all findings into a single holistic assessment process that provides Queen’s Cross Housing Association with a more accurate understanding of building risk and remediation priorities across the portfolio.
Another significant stand out was the level of collaboration achieved between Global HSE Group, specialist contractors and the client team. In several instances, intrusive investigations were reviewed remotely in real time by technical specialists and chartered fire engineers, allowing immediate decisions to be made on additional opening requirements without delaying programme delivery.
The project further highlighted the value of strong contractor relationships, particularly where additional investigations or access requirements arose at very short notice.
Project Outcome
Global HSE Group successfully completed the Queen’s Cross SBA programme within the required delivery period despite the significant logistical and technical pressures associated with the project.
The completed assessments provided Queen’s Cross Housing Association with comprehensive SBA documentation aligned with Scottish Government requirements, supporting future fire safety decision-making across the portfolio.
The successful delivery demonstrated Global HSE Group’s ability to mobilise quickly, coordinate multiple technical disciplines simultaneously and maintain technical governance throughout a high-pressure programme.
John Boyle, Head of Asset Management at Queen’s Cross Housing Association commented, “We were very pleased with the services provided by Global HSE, who delivered Single Building Assessments within extremely tight timescales. Their team demonstrated professionalism, efficiency, and a clear commitment to meeting our requirements without compromising quality. We would not hesitate to recommend Global HSE for their reliable and responsive approach.”
Key Outcome
- Delivered SBA assessments across 31 occupied residential buildings within critical programme deadlines
- Completed assessments across a diverse portfolio including HRRBs, extra care facilities and children’s homes
- Provided holistic fire safety assessments integrating FRA and FRAEW findings
- Enabled informed remediation planning and long-term fire safety management
- Maintained technical governance and chartered fire engineering oversight throughout accelerated delivery
- Demonstrated large-scale mobilisation and multidisciplinary coordination capability across complex occupied environments
