Set AI guardrails now, Economist editor tells BESA conference as five firms sign pledge

Building engineering managers should set clear rules for artificial intelligence and keep firm guardrails in place, The Economist's executive editor Andrew Palmer told more than 300 delegates at the BESA Annual Conference in London last week.

Palmer, the morning keynote speaker, said AI had reached what he called "a weird moment", creating jobs rather than replacing them but not yet making money or delivering much in the way of productivity gains, according to the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA).

"AI is not at job level yet…it is still largely restricted to narrow tasks without too many variables," Palmer told the audience at The Brewery, Chiswell Street, on 22 October.

He warned managers against "cognitive surrender", where people hand important decisions to AI despite being afraid of the outcomes, and said critical thinking, creativity and understanding emotion were now more important. BESA said the one-day programme drew delegates from almost 150 companies, with Mitsubishi Electric as headline sponsor and AIRO as product innovation sponsor.

Pledge and competence

Five more firms signed BESA's Member Pledge during the conference: Skanska, Mellor Bromley, Dalkia Facilities, Price Building Services and Bancroft. BESA describes the Pledge as a commitment by leading contractors to strengthen their supply chains, with signatories encouraging supply chain partners to demonstrate capability through the association's Competence Assessment Standard (CAS).

BESA chief executive David Frise said the CAS audit, which all member firms undertake, gave companies a way to show they meet the standard. "This is a complex industry and we are unapologetically technical…and having CAS allows you to show that you meet the standard," he said. Frise also pointed to progress on ending unfair payment practices and abolishing retentions after what he called "years of work" by members and staff.

BESA president Anna Shephard, who opened the event, said members and their supply chains increasingly saw higher standards as a business advantage rather than something simply to comply with. She said the conference had attracted more young engineers than ever, many of whom took part in live demonstrations in a WorldSkills UK theatre, new for 2026.

Building safety

The afternoon keynote came from Dr Barbara Lane, a fire safety engineer and the first independent chair of the Building Advisory Committee at the Building Safety Regulator. The regulator describes her as a Fellow of Arup with 30 years' experience, appointed alongside Dr Hywel Davies OBE as deputy chair.

Dr Lane told delegates that tens of thousands of people were still living in unsafe homes almost a decade after Grenfell. According to BESA's account of her speech, the regulator is overseeing 4,724 buildings over 11 metres, and as many as 81% are expected to need remedial work.

She said "it wasn't just the cladding" that made Grenfell Tower unsafe, highlighting that the smoke ventilation system had fallen into disrepair and that the dampers were "uncertified". The point was picked up in a later session, The Great Damper Dilemma, where the panel updated delegates on technical guidance for reporting safety issues found during building maintenance, which BESA said it would publish next month.

Dr Lane also urged the regulator to correct a misconception that the Building Safety Act applies only to higher-risk buildings.

Survey findings

BESA's Building Safety Act Industry Report 2026 found 74% of respondents had seen no significant change in client behaviour, 36% struggled to demonstrate competence in practice and only 30% were confident they could evidence competence and compliance for projects more than ten years old. Among micro and small businesses, 21% had made no significant changes in response to the Act.

"Four years after the Act came into force, more firms are building the knowledge and behaviours needed for a safer built environment," said Rachel Davidson, BESA's director of specialist knowledge, who drew a distinction between holding a qualification and being able to do the work.

Tyler Felix, BESA's senior legal and commercial adviser, told delegates that warranties were now appearing in contracts requiring contractors to show people are competent and remain so throughout a project. Jon Vanstone, chair of the Industry Competence Committee, said the industry was good at fixing problems when they occurred but lacked a system to stop the same errors recurring, adding that clients set the tone for a compliant culture.

Panels also discussed demand in digital infrastructure, healthcare, the NHS and defence, though speakers said unlocking investment remained difficult. Shortly before the conference, BESA delivered its five-point manifesto, Building Britain's Future, to 10 Downing Street.

The conference, held at The Brewery for the third year running, ran across five theatres under the theme Beyond Compliance – Raising Standards, Proving Competence & Delivering Better Buildings, and was fully CPD certified. BESA also presented a £1,000 cheque to the Lighthouse construction charity.

Dr Lane's keynote was recorded as a BESA Podcast and will be available to view from 29 October.