The establishment of the Building Safety Act (2022) has seen the introduction of clear accountability and statutory responsibilities for accountable persons.
Professionals working on Higher-Risk Buildings (HRB) with duty-holding responsibilities – clients, principal contractors, principal designers, and those with maintenance responsibilities – now must demonstrate that they are competent to undertake their roles under the act. Clients also have the additional responsibility of proving they understand their own obligations and ensure that the professionals they are hiring are competent.
This requirement to prove competence shifts the focus to the individual. It is up to them to prove that they are competent, and CABE is now able to help professionals to demonstrate their competence to work on buildings in scope of the Act with the introduction of the Engineering Council’s Higher-Risk Buildings (HRB) process.
CABE, along with other professional engineering institutions (PEIs), has worked with the Engineering Council to develop the UK-SPEC HRB Standard. (For more information visit Engineering Council website). The new standard sets out the competences and the commitments that are expected of professionals and indicates the level of work they are competent to undertake.
CABE is the first PEI to be awarded a licence to offer Engineering Council HRB registration. This registration will allow CABE Members to set themselves apart. The competence-based registration process will be launched in the next couple of months and will support professionals to demonstrate how they meet and understand their responsibilities.
Applicants for Engineering Council HRB registration will be asked to demonstrate their competence against the UK-SPEC HRB Standard. Based on the recently updated UK-SPEC 4, and aligned with BSI Flex 8670, the contextualised framework has been developed to set out the expectations and provide clear standards of competence for engineers and technicians working on Higher Risk Buildings.
Dr Gavin Dunn, CABE Chief Executive said: “The increased responsibility for duty-holders is a step change for the industry, and CABE is excited to be at the forefront of raising standards within the construction and property industry. Professionals working in general engineering on higher-risk buildings now have the opportunity to provide the evidence of their competence, and give those hiring general engineers the confidence that they understand the risks and responsibilities of their role as an accountable person.”
Richard Harral, CABE Technical Director commented: “By offering Members the opportunity to gain additional evidence of their competence, CABE builds trust in the industry and allows those with duty-holding responsibility to prove that they are qualified, knowledgeable and have the experience to undertake the role of a duty-holder”.
Paul Bailey, Chief Executive of the Engineering Council commented “The Building a Safer Future Report produced by Dame Judith Hackitt provided an independent review of building regulations and fire safety and the culture and process of the industry. One of the report’s main proposals was for the Professional Engineering Institutions (PEIs) to work with the Engineering Council to develop a contextualised standard for chartered and incorporated engineers working on higher risk residential buildings. The development of this UK-SPEC HRB standard has been a good example of the way the professional engineering community can work together on a common issue, and we are pleased to award CABE the first licence to assess and confer HRB registration to their members”
The processes will be finalised in the coming weeks, but interested professionals can now start the process by applying for CABE membership or registering their interest.”
*As part of the UK-SPEC HRB standard, the Engineering Council is developing a series of specialist annexes for fire engineers, structural engineers, and building service engineers. These registrations will provide clients, residents, employers, and regulators with a higher degree of confidence that engineers are competent to work on Higher Risk Buildings.
The Engineering Council will hold a publicly accessible register of registrants assessed as competent to work on HRB.
