Technical and Regulatory
Building Safety
Competence
The Construction Product Association leads on industry competence, both leading work across the built environment industry, developing a joined up approach on how industry works with construction products and leading work on competence for manufacturers.
Introduction
In her report, Building a Safer Future, Dame Judith Hackitt spoke of the industry’s approach to competence as being “fragmented, encompassing a range of disciplines and different competence frameworks even within one discipline and without reference to other interacting disciplines”.
The Building Safety Act (BSA) 2022, together with supporting secondary legislation, has introduced a new regulatory regime, which requires the engagement of everyone working in the built environment, not just those involved in higher-risk buildings.
This includes new duties on individuals and organisations that commission, design, construct or refurbish buildings, to ensure they comply with Building Regulations. Duty holders, both individuals and organisations, are required to be competent to undertake their roles.
Currently the legislation only affects manufacturers and suppliers of construction products when they contribute to the designing or constructing of buildings. However, additional secondary legislation is due for construction products, and the Office of Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), which is taking on the role of National Regulator for Construction Products has taken a keen interest in all the work being done on competence for those involved in the manufacture, testing and supply of construction products. It is clear to the CPA, that those who cannot clearly demonstrate their competence will not long be allowed to participate in the market.
The Industry Competence Steering Group (ISCG)
The Industry Competence Steering Group (ICSG), formally known as the Competence Steering Group, was originally set up in response to the Grenfell Tower Fire and subsequent Hackitt Review. ICSG has now become a formal working group of the Industry Competence Committee, a statutory committee under the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), and is Co-Chaired by Hanna Clarke, Construction Products Association and Gill Hancock, Association for Project Management.
ICC and the ICSG Relationship
Image 1: ICSG relationship to the Industry Competence Committee and the BSR
Image 2: Broad functions of the ICC and the ICSG
ICSG purpose
ICSG was set up to enable culture change in relation to competence across the built environment. It does this by providing the UK built environment industry access to appropriate competences, so they may safely contribute to the creation and use of built environments and can demonstrate their competence to others.
ICSG structure
Under its new chairs, the ICSG has restructured. This will better cover the built environment's disciplines and support existing work across the industry.
The new structure includes sector-led groups, key topic groups, and working groups. They currently brings together contributions from over 60 professional and trade bodies and 1500 individuals in the built environment, with membership of the sector led groups still growing.
These groups will produce competence frameworks mapped to the BS 8670 series. They will also create guidance and implementation programs to enable culture change in relation to competence across the built environment. Another key role of these groups is to provide forums for industry feedback relating to the understanding of legislation and barriers to its implementation.
An overview of the groups is provided below.
Image 3: ICSG structure
Get involved in the ICSG
For anyone who would like to get involved in any creating competence frameworks for any of the sector led groups, contact the ICSG Co-chairs:
- Hanna Clarke – hanna.clarke@constructionproducts.org.uk
- Gill Hancock – gill.hancock@apm.org.uk
ICSG current outputs
To date, the outputs of the ICSG are:
· SLG 3 – Engineering: UK Standard for Engineer Competence
· SLG 5- Manufacturing: Built Environment - Proposed construction product competence standard - white paper
· SLG 7 – Project and programme management: Competence Framework for project managers in the built environment
· SLG 9 – Construction management delivery - Built Environment - Framework for the competence of Site Supervisors in England
· SLG 10 – Installation and maintenance: 12 completed competence frameworks including Dry Lining, Rainscreen Façade Systems and Fire Stopping.
· SLG 13 – Buildings and built environment operations and management – Fire Risk Assessors:
o Industry Benchmark Standards
The ICSG SLGs also contributed to
- BS 8670-1:2024 – Competence frameworks for building safety – core criteria. Code of practice
- PAS 8671 – Framework for Competence of Individual Principal Designers
- PAS 8672 – Framework for Competence of Individual Principal Contractors
- PAS 8673 – Competence requirements of safety in residential buildings
As part the ICSG’s predecessor, Competence Steering Group, WG5 Fire Safety Enforcing Officers developed:
- Competence Framework for Fire Safety Regulators
Competence Steering Group reports:
Significant developments that are due for publication or review in the next few months:
· Competence framework for procurement professionals in the built environment
· BS 8674 Built environment - Framework for competence of individual fire risk assessors - Code of practice
· BS 8670-2 Competence frameworks for the built environment. Core criteria for construction product competence. Code of practice
BS 8670-2 –Competence frameworks for the built environment– Part 2: Core criteria for construction product competence – Code of practice
CPA are leading on the development of BS 8670 part, with Hanna Clarke (Digital and Policy Manager) convening the group. BS 8670 part is based on the white paper developed by Working Group 12 – Construction Product Competence that sat under the ICSG’s predecessor, the CSG.
BS 8670-2 is aimed at anyone who is writing competence frameworks for individuals using or otherwise working with construction products and / or product information though out the construction product’s life. It aims to bring together the entire built environment to consistent approaches of how to work with construction products competently.
Once published, the ICSG for all of its groups to map their frameworks against BS 8670 part 2.
ICSG Sector Led Group 5
CPA leads on SLG 5 - Manufacturers, co-chaired by Hanna Clarke (CPA) and Douglas Masterson (GAI). The scope of this work covers competence for functions and roles under manufacturers.
Hanna Clarke is also co-chairing one of its Sector Led Groups: SLG 5 – Manufacturing, alongside Douglas Masterson (Technical Manager, Guild of Architectural Ironmongers).
Additionally, the aim for SLG 5 will be to join up their approaches with all the other groups under the Industry Competence Steering Group, particularly with that of SLG 4 – Construction Product Testing, Assessment and Certification, SLG 6 – Construction Product Merchants and Distribution, SLG 3 – Consultant Designers and SLG 10 – Installation and Maintenance. It also will aim to put into all of the key topic groups, contributing to a joined up approach on how the built environment considers designing and specifying, sales and estimating and quality assurance.
CPB/1 Competence in the built environment
CPA also sits on the BSI committee CPB/1 Competence in the built environment, responsible to the Standards Policy and Strategy Committee (SPSC) for standardization needs for competence in the built environment. CPB/1 is responsible for defining, developing and delivering standardization outputs for the competence of those involved in the procurement, design, construction, management and maintenance of buildings, including higher risk buildings as defined under the Building Safety Act.
Resources & Further Information:
- [insert link to the ICSG announcement]
- [insert link to my blog for manufacturers]
- Download our innovative proposal by the WG12 - Built Environment - Proposed construction product competence standard - white paper
- Read our Blog 'How do you raise the bar on product competence?'
- Read our blog 'Competence: a timely cultural change for our industry'
- Watch the Raising the Bar conference in full