Sara Davies brings over a decade of operational property management experience to her role as Director of Building Safety and Remediation at Innovus.
With a practical approach and a clear commitment to keeping residents safe in their homes, she leads a specialist team supporting clients to meet their legal obligations under the Building Safety Act.
Sara’s journey into building safety wasn’t something she planned. She was happy in her role in property management, focused on doing the job well and supporting residents’ day to day. However, that changed in 2017, when a company-wide conference introduced a project that would shift the direction of her career.
At the conference, the managing director announced they were looking for someone with experience to take on a complex building remediation project case. The building, which was located in Croydon, had the same cladding material as Grenfell Tower and was one of the first in the country to go through remediation. It was highly sensitive situation, under national scrutiny and involved meetings with government officials. While most in the room were quick to step back, Sara felt differently. “Most people in the room ran a mile,” she recalls, “but it really intrigued me.”
Although the building was hundreds of miles from her home in South Wales, Sara stepped forward and volunteered for the role, travelling to site several times a week to manage the project and ensure consistent progress. Midway through the works, when the cladding was removed, significant structural defects were discovered. The building had to be evacuated immediately. Sara led the emergency decant – finding alternative accommodation for residents and coordinating the next steps under intense pressure. “It was a defining experience,” she says. “Seeing first-hand the impact on people’s lives, I knew I didn’t want to go back to business as usual. I wanted to be part of the movement to change how we manage building safety and help make people safe in their homes.”
Soon after, as the Building Safety Bill began to take shape in Parliament, Sara stepped into a newly created Head of Building Safety role – and was promoted to Director within a year.
At Innovus, Sara leads a team that spans both sides of the building safety spectrum: proactive compliance and reactive remediation. On any given day, she might be overseeing a long-term cladding replacement scheme, working with clients to develop a Building Safety Case, or supporting a team member through an emerging on-site issue.
“My role is split into two really”, she explains. “One side of the team deals with remediation, which is buildings that already have known defects, often requiring large-scale, multi-year projects. The other focuses on proactive compliance, making sure our clients understand their duties, and helping them put the right systems and strategies in place to meet the new legislative requirements.”
Projects can range from simple fire door replacements to large-scale internal compartmentation works and multimillion-pound cladding replacement schemes spanning several years to completely alter the structure or fire safety of a building. In addition to managing remediation works, Sara and her team support clients by creating, auditing and maintaining Building Safety Cases and Resident Engagement Strategies, helping them meet their obligations under the new legislation. Much of Sara’s work involves navigating a sector that has transformed rapidly in the last few years and continues to evolve.
“Five years ago, building safety wasn’t even a recognised concept. Now it is the most discussed topic in the sector.” But despite the increased attention, Sara believes there’s still a fundamental mindset shift required across the industry:
“I think some people view building safety as a ‘nice to have’, not a legislative requirement. This is not a tick box exercise, but a change of mindset for all those in the built environment who are responsible for the management of HRBs. Collectively as an industry, and individually, we have a duty to rise to this challenge and raise the standards of building safety to ensure that there is never an avoidable tragedy like Grenfell ever again.”
She has built a team of professionals who bring a range of experience and insight and leads with a strong focus on ongoing development.
“We have a team of experienced and enthusiastic professionals, and they all bring a unique perspective, valid opinions and fresh ideas. Through collaboration and continuous CPD, we’re all continuing to learn and provide the best service we possibly can.”
Sara is clear about what motivates her and why this work matters now more than ever.
“Ultimately, we are making people safer in their homes and working hard to ensure that an entirely avoidable tragedy like Grenfell never happens again.” She sees the new legislation as a tool to raise standards and give people peace of mind. “People deserve to be safe and to feel safe in their homes.”
Outside of work, Sara lives in South Wales with her young family. Most weekends are spent by the sea with her family. Her three-year-old son, she jokes, ensures there’s “not much time for rest.”