Laying the Foundations for a Safer Future
The Building Safety Act (BSA) is aimed at improving safety in the construction industry. It was introduced after the Grenfell Tower fire and focuses on making sure everyone involved in designing, building, and maintaining buildings is held accountable. As of October 2023, this legislation applies to all construction projects under building control, not just high-risk buildings (HRB).
Similar to the CDM Regulations, the Building Regulations (Amendment) 2023 assigns duties to various roles, including clients, designers, principal designers, principal contractors, and contractors. These duties apply to everyone involved.
For details, visit this link.
It’s important to remember that these changes are separate from the CDM regulations, which still apply alongside the new duties.
What are the similarities and differences between HRB and non-HRB processes?
What are the similarities and differences between HRB and non-HRB processes?
Main Similarities:
Main Differences:
What is a Higher-Risk Building?
What is a Higher-Risk Building?
Exceptions to the higher-risk rules include buildings that entirely compromise of:
The Golden Thread
The Golden Thread
All new and existing higher-risk buildings must keep a detailed digital record, known as a “golden thread,” of all key construction activities and decisions. This ensures that every step, from planning to occupation, is documented and preserved for the building’s entire lifespan.
You can find more information about the golden thread here.
The Impact for Existing Buildings
The Impact for Existing Buildings
New and existing higher-risk residential buildings are now required to have an appointed Accountable Person, responsible for ensuring that effective and proportionate measures are in place to manage building safety risks. Failure to meet these legal obligations could result in criminal charges for the Accountable Person.
The Accountable Person is the individual or organisation that owns or holds responsibility for the building. Their duties include:
The deadline to register existing buildings with the Building Safety Regulator was 30 September 2023. Occupying an eligible building that has not been registered is now considered an offence.
Adapting to Building Safety Act Changes
Adapting to Building Safety Act Changes
Contractors:
The Building Safety Act has introduced major changes for contractors, particularly in providing a “golden thread” of information. This has been challenging due to poor data sharing within the industry. However, the focus on transparency should improve data sharing and reduce risk-shifting from large companies to smaller contractors.
All subcontractors must follow the Building Safety Act, even if they’re not working on high-risk buildings (HRBs). The act applies to all buildings, aiming to ensure safety and accountability across the board. Compliance is a legal requirement for everyone in the construction industry.
The Dutyholder Role of a Principal Designer
The Dutyholder Role of a Principal Designer
Your project will likely need a principal designer to meet regulation requirements. This role, known as the BSA PD, ensures the design meets or exceeds building regulation standards. If a client doesn’t appoint a principal designer, they must take on this role themselves, which means they’re responsible for making sure the design complies with regulations. Although these rules are meant to improve safety and accountability, they can sometimes make it harder to oversee compliance, potentially causing work delays, occupancy issues, fines, and increased costs.
To support the Regulations, a new Standard has been developed; PAS 8671 – Framework for Competence of Individual Principal Designers.
PAS 8671 addresses competence thresholds that individuals should meet when managing the dutyholder functions of the Principal Designer role. Within the Standard, it is stated that: “The person responsible for carrying out the Principal Designer dutyholder role can be a designer organisation or an individual designer”. This puts clear emphasis on the role being undertaken by a designer.
The Regulation states that individual competence covers “the skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours (also known as ‘SKEB’) necessary to perform the functions for which they are responsible in a satisfactory manner”. Whilst a short term course may offer rudimentary knowledge, only experienced designers with on site experience can perform the duties to fulfil the role.
Setting the Standard
Setting the Standard
With over 20 years of experience helping clients with CDM (1994 & 2015) and a strong background in Building Regulation compliance, DB3 is ready to assist you with the new act. We can serve as your BSA22 ‘Principal Designer’ and ‘Designer’ under the Building Regulations in England.
Resources
Resources
We’ve pulled together the top resources to help you understand the Building Safety Act.
Navigating the Building Safety Act
The Four Things You Need to Know About the Building Safety Act
Clients Building Safety Act Competency Checklist
Building control regime for higher-risk buildings – gateway 2, gateway 3 and the ‘golden thread’
FAQ Explainer – Building Safety Regulator as the Building Control Authority
Managing building control approval applications for higher-risk buildings
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