BUILDING CONTROL

Building Control



Building Control

1. Preferred Building Control

The building control is authorized by the government sponsored organization. These are governemnt entities which are responsible for managing the building control of the region. The Building Regulations 2010 are made under powers contained in the Building Act 1984, as amended. They set out what is controlled building work, typically the erection, extension or alteration of a building, or a controlled service or fitting, as well as certain changes of use (eg from a non-domestic building to a dwelling). They set minimum standards for the design and construction of buildings, primarily for the purposes of the health and safety of people, energy efficiency and accessibility.

These standards are performance based, in terms of what is reasonable, adequate or appropriate. Statutory guidance on ways of complying with these technical requirements is set out in a series of 'Approved Documents', although it does not have to be followed provided the required level of performance can be achieved in a different way. Compliance with the regulations is the responsibility of the person carrying out the work. The building control system helps to ensure that the required level of performance has been met.

The role of building control, either the local authority or a private sector Approved Inspector, is to act as an independent third party check to help achieve compliance, which is usually carried out through plan checking and/or onsite inspections. Competition in the provision of building control was introduced in 1985 primarily to drive efficiencies but also to enable those builders who operate across different local authority areas to be able to deal with a single building control provider if they wished to do so. Although their functions are broadly the same (the key difference being that only local authorities can take formal legal enforcement action), the procedures for the two types of building control body differ due to the basis on which they operate. The Building Act places a statutory duty on local authorities to provide a building control service.

The success of a green building program is dependant upon the green building program inspectors' levels of expertise given they deliver the program in the field. These program inspectors should not only be experts on the particular program's processes and requirements, but also on the building science and sustainable practices that inform the program. Green building program administrators can ensure this level of expertise by developing a trainng program for their inspectors that communicates a clear definition of the inspector's role in the program. This gives the inspector proper focus and should incorporate certification with established green organizations to ensure standard competencies. The training program should also include field training to establish the level of quality required in order to properly deliver a green building program.

RATIONALE

A well trained inspector not only administers the program in the field but also also acts as an expert on sustainability for project managers attempting green certification. To do this, the inspector must not only ...