Alaistair Richmond BSc IEng FCABE CBuildE AIFireE LCGI’s Post

CABE Route to registration as Building Inspector. I became one of the first in the country to qualify as Class 4 registered Building Inspector. I can thoroughly recommend this route. For anyone not wishing to face the unknown quantity of exam questions the CABE route is thorough but fair. You need to write a technical report and a competency statement and when approved sit an interview0f approximately 1 hr based upon your report and Building Control in a wider perspective.

Registered Building Inspectors (RBIs). I frequently here you refer to “signing off” or “approving” elements of construction. Your role is to audit the works for compliance. You do not “sign off” or “approve” anything. Neither do Building Control Bodies. We want lay persons to understand what we do but frequently confuse the matter ourselves.

RBI registration deadline extended by 3 months. Competency assessment extension period From 6 April to 6 July 2024 experienced building inspectors in England can complete their competency assessment and upgrade their registration. If you are a trainee registering for class 1, you can continue to work in class 1 under supervision. If you are eligible, the scope of your registration will be temporarily extended to the class of RBI for which you are undertaking a competency assessment. Extension period eligibility If you have not completed your competency assessment to register as a class 2 or 3 RBI (and 4, if applicable), you can continue to work if you meet all of the following criteria: you are an existing building control professional you are registered as a class 1 RBI by 6 April 2024 you are enrolled in, and in the process of having your competency assessed through, one of the BSR approved competency assessment schemes by 6 April 2024 a scheme provider has not told you that you have not passed your competency assessment for a second time If a scheme provider tells you that you have not passed your assessment for a second time before 6 July, you must notify BSR. The temporary extension to the scope of your registration will end and you will only be able to work as a class 1, under supervision. You must pass your assessment and upgrade your class by 6 July 2024 to continue working on class 2 and 3 projects. If you do not, you cannot continue to work on regulated building control activities. Good news for the hard working inspectors still on the pathway. https://lnkd.in/eekUFB3b

Interesting update on conflict of interest in the latest guidance for Building Inspectors Conflicts of interest You must not undertake work, or continue to undertake work, where a conflict of interest is identified. A conflict of interest can include: political, such as holding the position of councillor in the area you are allocated to complete a building project financial, such as ownership in a company you are called to inspect relationships, such as completing or contributing to building control work with a friend or relative personal, such as not wanting a certain type of building near your home You must take steps to identify potential and actual conflicts of interest, prior to you starting work, and during work activity. If you identify a conflict of interest, you must notify your employer immediately. https://lnkd.in/e5vfY5QG

Two months to go until the deadline to register as a Registered Building Inspector. I have to admit, I'm nervous for myself and the industry as a whole... I am currently on the waiting list for an interview with CABE after submitting all of my documents a few weeks ago. Depending on which route you are taking for assessment of competence (CABE, BSCF or BCCA), there are varied waiting times. The BSCF route appears to no longer be a viable option as wait times for result surpass the deadline. If you haven't already, I urge you to get your applications/ portfolios submitted. We are fast running out of time. #bsr #Registeredbuildinginspector #buildingcontrol

REGISTERED BUILDING INSPECTORS According to BSR, as of 30 July, there were 4,049 RBI's registered. Class 1 (Trainee) – 1,971 Class 2 (Registered Building Inspector) – 1,614 Class 3 (Specialist Building Inspector) – 464 [Class 4 (Building Inspector – Technical Manager) – 516 - of course these are also Class 2 or Class 3 RBI's] A quick reminder of the requirement for supervision and the extended deadlines given by BSR. From the 6th July 2024, if you are registered at Class 1, then you must work under supervision unless you have a personal letter from either BSCF, CABE or BCCA confirming you can continue to work while awaiting results of examination or assessment - and only then within the classification of work for which you have applied. (Note - the scheme providers have a letter from BSR of those individual RBI's who benefit from this extension). Without this letter you cannot undertake restricted activities or advise on restricted functions without supervision from an appropriately registered and competent Class 2 or Class 3 RBI. THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS - THIS IS THE LEGAL POSITION registration-data-reflects-building-control-professions-commitment-to-high-standards

Pleased (and relieved!) to say I’ve passed my Registered Building Inspector assessment with CABE as a Class 3 Specialist Building Inspector (H1/H2). I’ll be registering with the BSR just in time (hopefully) for the April deadline.   I’ve read lots of posts from people on the registration issue over the last few months which I’ve found extremely helpful during my own application which has inspired me to share my own journey to this point. I actually left Building Control in December 2023 but quickly realised how much I missed the role. So much so that I’m now back in Building Control after just three months away. We’re all aware of the problems the industry has but being away from it gave me a chance to appreciate how amazing this job can be. We get the chance to work on a great variety of buildings, to influence the design and use of buildings for the better, to engage in challenging technical issues and to meet a huge range of people. It’s a cliché but every day genuinely is different. As professionals, we should be proud of the work we do and the built environment we help shape.   All of us who have gone through or who are currently going through the process to become a Registered Building Control inspector know the sacrifices we are having to make, both in terms of time and emotional energy, to get certified. There are no shortcuts in the process and finding the time to undertake our own applications as well our day jobs in such a short period of time is putting immense pressure on people. The reward is the opportunity to continue to work, in my view at least, one of the most rewarding, challenging, sometimes frustrating, but ultimately best jobs out there.   It took me to temporarily walk away from Building Control to truly appreciate how fantastic a role it is. However you feel about the registration process and the pressure it is putting on you, don’t lose sight of why you do this job.   Good luck to everyone going through it.

📣 BIG NEWS! 📣 We are so proud to announce that we have passed the assessment and are registered with the BSR. This has been such a huge achievement for our team, and our Managing Director, Geoff, comments below: “I am delighted to confirm that our application to register as a Building Control Approver (RBCA) has been approved. Our registration covers all building control work including continuing to deliver the building control function for in flight higher-risk building work. It has been a turbulent time for building control, and it is estimated that there will be 1000 less inspectors across the country as a result of the new registration rules. Many Building Inspectors have failed to register or are registered at the lowest grade (Class 1) restricting the type of project that they can work on unsupervised. You can rest assured that all our staff are able to continue working under the new scheme and that we have staff who can deal with even the most complex projects (Class 3 G & H)." If you have a project planned and your current supplier is no longer able to help, reach out to us for a quotation - https://lnkd.in/eMcVa2HC #approvedinspectors #buildingregs #buildinginspectors #buildingsafety #bsr #buildingsafetyregulator #buildingcontrolapprover #RBCA

Registered building inspectors – Conflicts of Interest Earlier this week, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) updated its guidance on registered building inspectors to include details about what constitutes a conflict of interest, see link below It states they must not undertake work, or continue to undertake work, where a conflict of interest is identified, and that a conflict of interest can include:  - political, such as holding the position of councillor in the area you are allocated to complete a building project  - financial, such as ownership in a company you are called to inspect  - relationships, such as completing or contributing to building control work with a friend or relative  - personal, such as not wanting a certain type of building near your home It goes on to advise that steps must be taken to identify potential and actual conflicts of interest, before starting work, and during work activity. If they identify a conflict of interest, it advises that they must notify their employer immediately but do not make clear what steps the employer should take. In my opinion, the information is quite high level and lacks detail and advice about how to manage conflicts, which some may have found helpful. Maybe additional detail for Registered building inspectors is set out elsewhere as part of the registration process, that I am not sighted on – I would welcome the thoughts of those that have registered. Effective management of Conflicts is an area that some find challenging. In an RICS review in 2019 it found one in five firms have difficulties managing aspects of the process see https://lnkd.in/eWrPHUpF For information Chartered Association of Building Engineers and RICS have their own guidance see: CABE Code of Professional Conduct, Standard 4 https://lnkd.in/eu6phKJM RICS Conflicts of Interest https://lnkd.in/e9BAPcFy https://lnkd.in/exdscQtB

One of the things that really bothers me and it’s bothered me for a while, is that much of the public does not understand the various roles in the code official industry. If there’s a role that people are most familiar with it is building inspector, but there are other roles; plans examiner, for example, and of course building official. Here’s some really important nuances to be aware of when it comes to these roles. First, when you think about building inspectors and plans examiners, their entire day is not spent in their primary function. In fact, about five years ago, I broke down what our staff hours looked like in this regard and I determined that an inspector spends about 5 1/2 hours, on average, doing inspections each day. The rest of the day is spent answering questions, handling paperwork, getting certificates of occupancy ready and various other things that are behind the scenes. Second, Plans examiners spend just over 4 hours on a plan review each day, on average. The time they spend away from looking in various codes and actually conducting technical review, is to answer questions from the public, conduct research on something code related and they get assigned processed improvement tasks. This to say, the roles of building inspector and plans examiner are much more diverse and complicated than you really think they are. #codeofficial #buildingofficial #planreview #buildinginspector #permit #construction #publicservice