20 Jul 2023

Building Safety Update: Competency Matters

James Talman, NFRC CEO, gives an update on the building safety and competency landscape, including the new Building Safety Regulator.

James Talman, NFRC CEO, gives an update on the building safety and competency landscape, including the new Building Safety Regulator. NFRC was recently invited to attend a stakeholder briefing by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on its ten year ‘Protecting People and Places' strategy. A key objective in this strategy is to increase and maintain trust to ensure people feel safe where they live, where they work and in their environment. Philip White, Director of Building Safety outlined the three main functions of the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) under the Building Safety Act. Lead the delivery of the new, more stringent regulatory regime for Higher Risk Buildings (HRBs) Promote competence To keep the safety and standards of ALL buildings under review. The remainder of the event was focused on how the BSR can support persons in the built environment and registered building inspectors in improving the competence of persons in the industry or members of the relevant profession. Across all sectors and roles, the BSR emphasised the need for industry leadership to bring about change in attitudes and behaviours needed to embed improvements in competence. The legislation specifically talks about behaviours when describing competence requirements. BSR will engage and support industry with the goal of bringing about a long-term culture change. BSR will assist in the implementation of industry owned competency frameworks. It will engage with industry to encourage it to take action, monitor industry competence to understand progress industry is making and where necessary giving advice and guidance to industry on competence.

In October Building Regulations will be updated to include competence requirements for all those who design and build buildings. They must have the right 'Skills, Knowledge, Experience and Behaviours'. BSR supports industry initiatives to improve competence. These initiatives include the development of Competence Frameworks by the Competency Steering Group (CSG). NFRC is playing a key role in developing frameworks for installer competency requirements for roofing and rainscreen cladding. Other initiatives include the setting up the Building Safety Competence Foundation by LABC and the creation of the Building a Safer Future Charter by the early adopters group. It was encouraging that the BSR wants to listen and support industries like ours where the lack of recognition of competency has always been a major challenge in recruitment and retention of skilled labour. We trust our work on frameworks in collaboration with other roofing and cladding associations will bring the outcome of ‘specification of competency' by all who value quality through those impacted by the legislation and beyond.'

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