The expanding influence of the BSA: Is MMC the answer?
At Mansell, we’ve always believed that safer buildings start with smarter methods. As the Building Safety Act reshapes our industry, our off-site approach that’s rooted in digital traceability, quality control and products backed with rigorous test data is proving not just efficient, but essential.
Our focus is on delivering high-quality midrise residential buildings using panelised light gauge steel frame systems. This includes care homes, student accommodation and hotels, all of which may soon come under increased regulatory scrutiny as the scope of the Building Safety Act evolves.
In this article, we’re exploring how our MMC-led approach supports compliance with the BSA today, and why it’s already helping clients reduce risk, secure funding, and move forward with greater confidence.
A brief introduction to the BSA
The Building Safety Act represents one of the most significant overhauls of building safety regulation in a generation. Introduced in the wake of Grenfell, the Act places legal duties on all parties involved in the design, construction and management of higher-risk buildings (HRBs), with the aim of improving accountability, safety and transparency across the sector.
At its core, the Act introduces new roles and responsibilities, including the Principal Designer and Principal Contractor. It also sets out a more rigorous approvals regime known as the Gateway process. For buildings deemed higher risk (currently defined as residential buildings over 18 metres or seven storeys with two or more residential units), developers must now pass through Gateway 1 (planning), Gateway 2 (pre-construction approval) and Gateway 3 (completion and handover) before occupation.
Alongside this, the Act introduces requirements around the 'golden thread' of information, mandatory reporting of safety issues, resident engagement, and a building safety regulator with enforcement powers.
So that’s a whistle-stop tour of everything the Act changes. But what does that mean for MMC, Mansell and the kind of midrise projects we’re known for? If it’s only for big tall buildings, is it really going to affect us all that much?
The likely expansion of the BSA’s remit
Although the legislation is currently focused on HRBs, it’s increasingly clear that the intent of the Act goes far beyond tall residential towers.
For one thing, the core principles of clear accountability, traceability of safety-critical information, and rigorous oversight are universally applicable. Perhaps more pertinently, there’s already active discussion within industry and regulatory circles about expanding the list of buildings that fall under the higher-risk definition.
This could soon include:
Midrise care homes and supported living facilities
Hospitals and other healthcare environments
Student accommodation blocks
Large educational buildings
What links these is not height, but complexity of use and vulnerability of occupants. Any building where evacuation is difficult, operational risks are heightened, or ongoing safety management is complex could reasonably fall under future BSA provisions.
Some developers, particularly those operating at scale, are already taking a proactive approach, adopting BSA-level processes even for buildings not currently in scope. Others are taking the opposite view: pausing or avoiding HRB schemes altogether due to delays and uncertainty around Gateway 2. These delays that are often measured in months, not weeks, can derail development appraisals, stall starts on site and cause funding to fall through. In that context, predictability becomes just as important as compliance.
A construction methodology that seems purpose-built for BSA principles
Against this backdrop, modern methods of construction (MMC) and off-site manufacturing offer a clear route to delivering safer, more predictable buildings. At Mansell, we specialise in Category 2 MMC, using panelised light gauge steel frame systems manufactured in controlled factory conditions. This method isn’t just faster and more sustainable, it also aligns closely with the principles of the Building Safety Act.
So when things like student accommodation, care homes and other buildings come under the remit of the BSA, our off-site approach will be perfectly placed to deliver value and compliance.
Let’s take a closer look at why.
MMC and the golden thread of information
The golden thread refers to a digital, structured, up-to-date record of a building’s design, construction, and maintenance information. It must be accurate, accessible and maintained throughout the lifecycle of the building while supporting safer operation and easier handover between dutyholders.
In traditional construction, this is often a retrospective process: information is gathered after the fact, updated manually, and stored in disparate formats across different systems. In contrast, Mansell’s approach builds the golden thread into the process from day one.
Our light gauge steel frame systems are digitally modelled using BIM software, which forms the backbone of the project’s information management. Because design intent is tightly coordinated with factory production data, every component is modelled, scheduled and tracked. This includes:
Structural layouts and connection details
Load paths and fire separation zones
Fixings, anchors and interfaces with other elements
Tolerances, material specifications and performance criteria.
This granular digital detail ensures that what is built matches the design exactly, eliminating the ‘as-designed’ vs ‘as-built’ gap that has plagued traditional delivery.
Reducing risk through controlled manufacture
One of the clearest advantages of off-site construction is the ability to control variables. By manufacturing structural components in a factory environment, we can eliminate many of the conditions that cause defects: weather, inconsistent labour, sequencing clashes and site-based decision-making.
This controlled environment enables:
Standardised quality assurance checks at every stage
Consistent application of fire stopping and acoustic treatments
Better integration with pre-tested components and details
Fewer interfaces that require on-site interpretation or workaround.
All of which contribute to a lower defect rate, more predictable performance, and ultimately, a safer building. From a regulatory perspective, that’s a major benefit, and not just in delivering a compliant building at handover, but in ensuring that it stays compliant throughout its lifespan.
Improving compliance without increasing complexity
Even when buildings fall outside the HRB classification, they’re still subject to increased scrutiny under the BSA regime. For example, they must still demonstrate that they meet the functional requirements of the Building Regulations, particularly Parts A (structure), B (fire safety), E (acoustics), and L (energy efficiency). These elements must also be clearly documented.
Through our off-site MMC approach, we can support this level of compliance by delivering:
Early coordination between structural and architectural design
Fewer late-stage design changes or site-driven variations
A clearer audit trail of decision-making, specification and installation
Consistent structural performance of steel, supported by known fire, thermal and acoustic characteristics.
This predictability helps clients, designers and contractors feel more confident about passing any future gateways or inspections, whether they’re formalised processes like those in HRBs or more general dutyholder requirements under the Act.
Supporting long-term safety management post-occupancy
One of the Act’s most transformative requirements is the emphasis on ongoing safety management after handover. Owners and operators must now demonstrate that they are actively managing building safety risks, using accurate information and robust systems.
Here again, off-site MMC provides an edge.
Because Mansell’s systems are built to exacting tolerances and tracked through digital models, either we or the wider project team are able to hand over comprehensive as-built information at completion. This includes:
A full digital model linked to product specifications
Installation certifications and QA records
Maintenance requirements and inspection guidelines
Fire strategy integration and compartmentation records.
This makes it far easier for operators to maintain the building safely, carry out refurbishments without introducing new risks, and demonstrate compliance in the event of inspections or incident investigations.
What this means for our clients
The benefits of our approach don’t stop at compliance.
For developers, adopting an MMC solution like ours also provides:
Reduced risk of late-stage design changes or remedial work
Smoother pathway to approvals by aligning with digital information standards
Greater funding confidence thanks to better performance data and traceability
Stronger outcomes at handover with fewer snags and lower operational risk
Yes, it’s a safer way to build, but it’s also a smarter, more commercially resilient way too.
MMC is compliance-ready
So there you have it, another reason why, in a changing landscape, MMC can provide peace of mind, better compliance and building certainty.
As the regulatory environment continues to tighten, developers and design teams will increasingly be judged not just on whether a building works, but whether it was delivered safely, predictably, and with full traceability.
Even where Mansell’s midrise residential projects are not formally classified as HRBs, the direction of travel is clear. The principles of the Building Safety Act, like robust design, traceable construction and accountable delivery, are becoming the new baseline for good development.
MMC, and particularly off-site light gauge steel frame systems, offer a powerful way to meet these standards with less friction and more certainty. With Mansell’s proven process, developers can not only deliver better buildings, but do so with full confidence in their ability to demonstrate safety, quality and compliance.