The British Standards Institution has published three new standards which set out competence requirements for building safety management, sponsored by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC).
new standards
The new standards support industry reform in line with the new Building Safety Act and are intended to minimize safety risks and improve protection for consumers and occupants, including residents, in and about buildings. They also cover requirements for Principal Designers and Principal Contractors.
The requirements outlined in the standards seek to enable and verify the competence of everyone that provides services and products throughout the life of a building and to ensure people that who use the buildings are safe to do so.
core competence criteria
The following three new standards have been published based on the core competence criteria set out in the BSI Flex 8670 framework, which is focused on the competence of individuals working within the built environment, and covers recommendations for sector-specific competence frameworks, core behavioral and ethical competencies, and core competencies for building safety.
- PAS 8671:2022 Built environment – Framework for the competence of individual Principal Designers – Specification specifies competence thresholds that individuals are expected to meet when delivering or managing the duty-holder functions of the Principal Designer, and additional competencies for working on higher-risk buildings.
- PAS 8672:2022 Built environment – Framework for the competence of individual Principal Contractors – Specification specifies competence requirements for the duty holder role of Principal Contractor and also describes additional requirements for those undertaking the role on higher-risk buildings.
- PAS 8673:2022 Built environment – Competence requirements for the management of safety in residential buildings – Specification specifies competence requirements for managing safety in residential buildings and other developments incorporating residential accommodation. It? also gives guidance on detailed competencies and the assessment of competence.
understanding of building safety
Scott Steedman, Director-General of Standards at BSI said, “This is a major step forward which has the potential to support real change in the industry understanding of building safety in the years and decades ahead.”
A spokesperson for DHLUC added, “For people to feel safe in their homes they must trust those responsible for building them. These new requirements support our mission to drive better building safety standards across the construction industry, together with the tough new regulatory regime we introduced in the Building Safety Act. We are pleased to see the industry taking action to improve competence beyond their legal obligations, which is key to rebuilding confidence in the sector.”
