The Past, Present and Future of Building Control – “…There will inevitably be more changes to Regulations, processes and procedures…”

When I left school, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I applied for some jobs in banks which were unsuccessful and then decided on returning to education and taking A levels. During the summer recess I started working with a landscaping business earning some money and spotted an advert in my local paper offering opportunities for Trainee Building Inspectors with the Local Authority through the Youth Training Scheme or “YTS” as it was widely known at the time. I applied went for interview and the rest is history. I started work earning £28.50 a week! How things change…

I see steady growth for SOCOTEC over the coming years building on our revenue generation, maintaining our market position but focusing on improving our margin.

Looking ahead I can see challenges around re approval of Registered Building Inspectors. The process should be less challenging because we are more aware of what is required, but inevitably there will be reluctance and some frustrations around having to revisit this. There is also the risk that some may take this opportunity to accelerate their retirement from the profession.

There is uncertainty around the outcome of Dame Judith Hackett’s review of private sector building control, and whether client choice will remain an option. I think as a sector Registered Building Control Approvers like SOCOTEC have proven we are incredibly important to the industry & the BSR and so I believe there will be a place for us acting in a statutory capacity.  The uncertainty is around how and what that looks like. Any change brings cost and time. Cost to change IT systems and time to re-train the business on new process and procedures. A good example of this is around the Building Safety Levy which has required SOCOTEC as well as many other RBCA’s to amend our systems and processes for no reward.

The Local Authority fee charges consultation has recently closed, and it will be interesting to see what the government decides to implement. I see a real need to better fund some parts of Local Authority Building Control.  In particular, there is a need to better fund formal enforcement where there has been almost no effective enforcement undertaken for many years now partially due to the costs of preparing and implementing action in the courts. I am, however, concerned around the impact of Local Authorities having the ability to charge RBCA’s to receipt Initial Notices, Amendment Notices, Plans Certificates and Final Certificates etc. Depending on the way this is implemented it could create a very uneven playing field in favour of Local Authorities.

Resourcing and maintaining the best talent we have has to be a major challenge. With good contracts available in the world of consultancy, it is not surprising to see some of the best talent move out of the statutory world.

Re approval as mentioned above will create its own challenges.

Greater interaction with the Building Safety Regulator is important, and we need to be able to ask them questions without having to navigate their portal so we and the industry can seek responses from them much quicker.

There will inevitably be more changes to Regulations, processes and procedures whether that is through changes in the way Local Authority levy fees for notices and certificates or the current consultation around expanding the obligation to have plans certificates on all commercial or significant residential projects aligned. Some of this will become law and SOCOTEC and others within the profession will need to implement it.

The implementation of a single construction regulator will bring further changes. The consultation is currently underway following a recommendation from the Grenfell enquiry. If implemented correctly this should bring more consistency, consolidating oversight of buildings, products, and professionals into one entity.

The removal of duty holder declarations would be a popular one!  We spend a lot of time chasing for this information. If I had a magic wand, I would remove the responsibility for Local Authority Building Control to manage the register of notices in their district or boroughs etc, and place this onto an independent body that collated information from both private and public sectors aligned. This might also remove some of my concerns above relating to the future challenges emulating from charges to be levied by Local Authorities around such notices and certificates.

Ensure that you have a good competent designer or design team and contractor that understands the regulatory requirements & their responsibilities as a duty holder.

It’s an amazing career; no one day is ever the same. Our elevation onto a public register has extended the standing of the profession even further. There probably hasn’t been a better time to think about a career in Building Control with the opportunities that exist in both the private and the public sector. We are in demand and I don’t see that changing in the coming years.

I think AI will have a big impact on the profession over the next 2-3 years, let alone 10-15 years! I can see improvements in the way we check designs/calculations, speeding up the process and taking away some of the more mundane tasks we perform. What is important to say is that whilst AI can help our profession, I don’t believe it can replace us. There will, in my opinion, continue to be a need for competent professionals to make the final decisions around compliance.