Digital solutions are key to tackling these challenges head on. Which is why in collaboration with Mace Construct and CLM Fireproofing, our experts developed a digital-first approach to accurately demonstrate passive firestopping compliance during RIBA Stage 4 – a method that becomes even more valuable when embedded earlier.

By integrating this approach as early as strategic and conceptual development, teams can actively design buildings with inherently better project data coordination, more informed decision-making and firestopping compliance baked in. This article explores how this works and how it can transform project design and delivery.

This digital process supports designers, contractors, fire engineers and supply chain partners by enabling structured, data-driven collaboration from the earliest stages of design. It streamlines passive firestopping decisions through automation, consistent rules and transparent information sharing.

This approach relies on using ISO 19650 procedures and clearly outlines information requirements but should not be considered a BIM-only process. It requires active participation and contributions from all project stakeholders.

Here’s how the approach works.

1. Repositioning firestopping in the project lifecycle

Firestopping is too often treated as a construction-phase problem. When issues emerge late, they trigger costly redesigns, site delays and clashes that could have been avoided.

This process federates architectural, structural and building services information into a unified digital environment. This allows teams to:

• Visualise where firestopping is required
• Identify the relationships that impact configurations
• Coordinate layouts long before construction begins

Early visibility ensures firestopping designs are not only compliant on paper, but practical and buildable on site. It reduces redesigns, supports clearer communication between disciplines and strengthens the link between design intent and execution. 

3. Designing for flexibility and resilience

Relying on a single firestopping product or manufacturer can expose projects to programme and cost risks. If a product becomes unavailable or lead times change, redesign may be required.

This approach is structured so that each detail is compatible with at least three tested products, which creates:

• Greater specification flexibility
• Reduced reliance on individual suppliers
• More competitive procurement
• Increased resilience to supply chain disruption

By building optionality into the design, teams protect themselves from future uncertainty. 

4. Enabling cross-disciplinary collaboration and building the “Golden Thread” 

Firestopping outcomes improve significantly when disciplines collaborate. This method brings designers, contractors and fire safety specialists together in shared digital environments to review models, resolve issues and agree solutions.

Tools such as model viewers, interactive dashboards and structured workshops help teams:

• Understand each detail in context
• Challenge assumptions
• Capture decisions and rationales clearly
• Maintain the “Golden Thread” of safety information

This collaborative structure improves design quality, strengthens collective ownership and supports the robust documentation required by the Building Safety Act.

This digital-first process was first developed at Lansdowne House, with subsequent application and refinement on increasingly complex schemes such as New University Hospital Monklands. It supports reduced risk, fewer late-stage design changes, improved cost certainty and stronger regulatory confidence.

By treating firestopping as a system rather than a final detail, and by equipping teams with the right tools and frameworks, it becomes a powerful lever for safer, more predictable project delivery.

References

1: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-safety-regulator-building-control-approval-application-data-december-2025-to-february-2026