In this Risk & Regulations session, the panelists tackled the new requirements for duty and competence, issues around capacity within the sector and the ramifications of non compliance
A thought provoking two day event – with day one hosted live at the Building Centre – the Risk & Regulations Summit gathered leaders with years of expertise from across the industry to discuss the latest regulatory changes, focusing on the mounting pressure in the race to net zero, the new responsibilities for designated dutyholders and the golden thread of information.
The programme’s specification session shone a light on the Building Safety Act, which has laid out some of the biggest regulatory changes the sector has ever had to tackle, and explored the new requirements for firms from a product perspective.
Three industry leaders shared their expertise regarding the duty of competence on the entire supply chain, the new roles required and the culture change needed from the industry, as well as what type of secondary legislation they hope to see this year.
Adam Eaton, director of fire safety at Hydrock, kicked off with an overview of the Building Safety Act.
The design and construction of buildings in scope – new or existing occupied buildings over 18 metres high or seven storeys or more – will be controlled by three gateways, each providing a check point or “hard stop” to ensure the integrity of fire and building safety. Gateway one is at planning stage, gateway two is before construction and gateway three is before occupation.
Eaton also covered the capacity problem within the industry, highlighting that with only 300 chartered fire engineers in the UK, the Building Safety Bill: Impact Assessment estimates a required increase of 50% in fire engineering capacity.
“The role of a fire engineer is changing,” added Eaton, “and there is going to be a transitional period as we try and up skill more people to meet all the requirements of the Building Safety Act.”
The design and construction of buildings in scope will be controlled by three gateways, each providing a check point or “hard stop” to ensure the integrity of fire and building safety.
Andrew Mellor, partner at PRP, outlined the role of the principle designer (PD) for building regulations.
The role of the PD is to plan, manage and monitor design work, ensuring compliance with building regulations. “On many projects that will be the architect leading this,” said Mellor, “but if it was a civil project or an M&E project, then maybe other disciplines will take on this role.”
As one of the specific duty holders, a PD is required for all projects where a building regulations application is needed and includes enhanced duties for relevant buildings which Mellor believes may result in two levels of PDs – one for more simple designs and another for more complex projects.
Does the PD have a level of responsibility to check the specification of systems and products? Mellor thinks this is unlikely, instead they will need to have “very good knowledge of the functional requirements of all building regulations,” not just fire safety regulations, as well as an understanding of the Approved Documents’ requirements – to ensure that they are able to challenge the design team.
There will be a number of additional requirements, including: appointment documents that include specific terms and conditions related to the new role, professional indemnity insurance that covers the role and the risk involved, as well as internal processes and a quality assurance system in place.
“Third party training and certification looks likely,” added Mellor. “In a single house project, this could be the architect undertaking this on their own, but on bigger projects, it’s going to need more expertise within the business. I believe it will be a team undertaking this, led by an individual.”
With gateway two and three due to be introduced in October, the panel all highlighted that this could change. But one thing is certain, the industry is going to need plenty of principle designers. “There’s a lot to do,” said Mellor, “this could stall the whole development process when this comes into practice in October, and ultimately there will be a big risk to project delivery.”
“Third party training and certification looks likely,” added Mellor. “In a single house project, this could the architect undertaking this on their own, but on bigger projects, it’s going to need more expertise within the business…
Hanna Clarke, digital and policy manager at Construction Products Association (CPA), discussed the misnomers about the building safety act: “Lots of people think this is specifically in relation to buildings in scope. But overall, it’s bringing in some huge powers of oversight, including two regulators.”
The Building Safety Act is the largest piece of legislation applicable to the built environment sector in over 50 years and “it’s for all buildings,” highlighted Clarke.
There is a duty of competence on the entire supply chain and penalties for non compliance now include unlimited fines and prison time. “As part of that, organisations must demonstrate that individuals in their workforce are not working beyond their competence,” added Clarke.
Clarke believes this is a real challenge: “The HSE is working on the basis that the built environment sector can already demonstrate competence. We need to move to a place where we can demonstrate we have the infrastructure set up to accommodate this.”
As part of their competence steering group, CPA published ‘Built Environment - Proposed construction product competence standard’, a whitepaper which aims to identify what the construction competence level is and what tasks you’re expected to take on based on your level of competency. Clarke shared examples of capabilities based on five proposed levels.
“This is key with specification as it’s only once you reach level C in competency that you will deal with any construction products” explained Clarke, albeit only when the manufacturer has deemed them appropriate for the specific application. At level B, you’re able to use manufacturing products beyond the intended scope of application.
Clarke finished by sharing an overview of the Code for Construction Product Information (CCPI). Built around five tests, it states product information must be: clear, up-to-date, unambiguous, accurate and accessible. Run by CPI Limited, it offers independent verification of products, not manufacturers, and is made up of 11 clauses around information creation, core information, additional information and support and competence.
The session ended with a Q+A, where the panel discussed what the product sector needs to do to become fit for purpose, the scale of ramifications for non-compliance, how qualifications do not equate to competence and what the panel hope to see in terms of secondary legislation.
You can watch the full session on demand here or explore the other sessions that took place during the Risk and Regulations Summit here.
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