The institutions will work together in running a new higher-risk buildings competency register.
The ICE and the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) have agreed to run a joint registration process for a new competency register for members working on tall buildings.
The register aims to assure people that engineers involved in the construction and maintenance of Higher Risk Buildings (HRB) are working to new, legally required high standards.
A HRB in England is a building that’s at least 18m tall or has at least seven storeys, and contains at least two residential units.
Who should go on the Higher Risk Buildings register?
The new standards were developed as part of the Building Safety Act 2022, which came into force in England in October 2023.
The act also set up a new Building Safety Regulator (BSR), a branch of the government’s Health and Safety Executive.
Under the new act, the client must assess the competence of the principal designer and principal contractor of an HRB project.
The principal designer must assess the competence of the designers and take responsibility for all design work.
The Building Safety Regulator must be satisfied with the competency of the principal designer and contractor before work can go ahead.
What is the new standard?
The ICE has been working with the Engineering Council UK to develop the new register.
It will assess engineers against a new standard known as the UK Standard for Professional Engineering Competence and Commitment contextualised for Higher-Risk Buildings (UK-SPEC HRB).
The standard is based on the BSI standard Core Criteria for building safety in competence frameworks – BSI flex 8670.
The HSE has developed guidance for the new act, including the requirements for competence declarations.
Next steps
The ICE and IStructE are working on the final arrangements for licensing and registration processes.
Eligible members will be invited to apply early in 2024.
For further information, please contact Brendan van Rooyen, head of professional services at the ICE.
- Brendan van Rooyen , Head of Professional Services at Institution of Civil Engineers
Extracted from ICE website - read more here