BSI Consulting On The Framework For Competence Of The Principal Contractor Role

A draft of PAS 8672 is now available for public comment and contains competence requirements for the Principal Contractor, a role set out in the Building Safety Bill.

The Principal Contractor is one of three roles with oversight of building safety at each stage of the building’s lifecycle. The Principal Contractor will be responsible for planning, managing, and monitoring the building work, and coordinating matters relating to the building work to ensure compliance with all relevant requirements.

Building safety risks

This PAS describes specific competencies common to all Principal Contractors and those which are additional for those undertaking the dutyholder role of Principal Contractor on higher-risk buildings (HRBs). It defines the proposed competence and commitment of Individual Principal Contractors working on all buildings to:

• Achieve relevant building regulations compliance.
• Manage building safety.
• Identify, plan, monitor, and manage building safety risks and the consequences of human behavior.
• Promote building work practices necessary to maintain safe buildings for occupiers and visitors.
• Manage the production/assembly of building structures, systems, and services.
• Maintain competence and commitment of managing record keeping and change control.

There is an expectation that Principal Contractor positions are likely to be drawn from those with the skills, knowledge, and experience of managing and constructing buildings.

Competence criteria set out

To undertake the role of Principal Contractor, users of this PAS are advised to consider obtaining third-party independent assessment and certification to verify their competence. This PAS is accompanied by PAS 8671, which covers the role of the Principal Designer and PAS 8673 is about the competence requirement for the Building Safety Manager. All three PAS are based on the recommendations and core competence criteria set out in BSI Flex 8670.

These roles emerged from the work of the Competence Steering Group as it responded to Dame Judith Hackitt’s independent review of building fire safety. This consultation is open for public comment until 10 November 2021.