Paul Wilkins, Chair of the ACAI outlines the benefits of a proactive building control service delivering competence and independence in the construction sector…
There is no doubt that building control as a professional service has evolved over the last 20 years or so into a highly valued proactive part of the compliance and construction process. This was clearly demonstrated in the Value of Building Control and Compliance Actions Research reports published in 2012.
The introduction of the private sector, firstly in 1985 with NHBC in the residential sector, and the wider expansion in the mid 90’s, has surely played a part in this. This initiative found a profession and its professional institutions ready to change and willing to adopt the spirit of Egan, Latham and Bourne by playing its part in removing conflict and barriers from the design and construction processes.
We now have a profession and service that is much more accessible and proactive throughout the pre-application, design and construction phases of a project.
Whilst the ‘building inspector’ has always been proactive in many respects, perhaps advising on the depth of domestic foundations or domestic simple structural alterations, the days of the poacher/gamekeeper approach has long gone.
The construction industry now benefits from proactive advice on options for achieving compliance whether using ‘code compliant’ solutions provided by interpretation of the Approved Documents to alternative methods demonstrating compliance with the functional regulations.
This approach to building control potentially raises two issues.
Competence
Can building control professionals and building control bodies demonstrate that they have the necessary competence to provide proactive advice alongside assessment of compliance of potentially complex design solutions?
Building control professionals whether they work in the public or private sectors have to demonstrate high levels of competence across a wide range of construction related subjects both academically and practically in order to achieve professional status with one of the three main professional bodies; RICS, CABE or the CIOB. They then have to demonstrate ongoing competence via the robust CPD requirements of each of the institutions.
With regard to building control bodies, taking the private sector first; Approved Inspectors are one of the most highly regulated disciplines in the construction industry with a robust code of practice and an ongoing audited requirement to demonstrate competence and sound business practice.
I am aware many of our colleagues in the public sector are keen to adopt similar mechanisms to guide their working practices.
Both sectors provide annual KPI returns to the Building Control Performance Standards Advisory Group which include elements demonstrating competence of their workforce.
Independence
The second potential issue raised is that of independence and the balance between proactive advice and design. In order to demonstrate maximum value to government and society it is essential that building control as a service maintains the underlying principle of a third party independent auditing service.
At the building control body level, in the private sector, independence is dealt with via the regulatory framework where Approved Inspectors are required to demonstrate adequate independence during the approval and ongoing re-approval process.
The balance between proactive advice and design is a matter for individual building control professionals and their professional bodies. The three institutions provide a context via their support and training frameworks, codes of conducts and ethics policies that guide individual building control professionals in using their judgement when advising clients and their agents on achieving compliance. In order to be effective this must always be the case.
In conclusion
The benefit to the construction industry, government and wider society of a modern proactive service is to facilitate the effective delivery of compliant, safe, sustainable and accessible buildings; this, building control is achieving.
Paul Wilkins
Chief Executive at Butler and Young Group
Chairman at Association of Consultant Approved Inspectors (ACAI)
chairman@approvedinspectors.org.uk