The golden thread was introduced by Dame Judith Hackitt’s 2018 review and given legal force through the Building Safety Act 2022. It requires a continuous, accurate digital record of information about a building’s design, construction and occupation.
For fire compartmentation, this means: every product in the compartment line must be documented (manufacturer, product reference, test certificate number, field of application); every deviation from the tested build-up must be assessed and the assessment recorded via an EXAP report; installation must be documented by a competent installer.
For higher-risk buildings, this information must be available to the BSR at gateway submissions and kept current by the Accountable Person post-occupation. Products supported by third-party certification and clearly defined fields of application can simplify specification, verification and record-keeping requirements.
Tenmat’s IFC Certification and CCPI-verified products are specifically designed to meet this standard. The comprehensive guide to cavity fire barriers explains the documentation requirements in detail for external wall cavity barrier installations.