I’ve written about this subject previously HERE and the key part and precedent mentioned in this post is:
“It is held that an architect is entitled to use his judgement as to how frequently he inspects:
“…He may in such circumstances think that he knows the builder sufficiently well and can rely on him to carry out a good job…It may be that the omission of the Architect to find the defect was due to no more than error of judgement, or was a deliberately calculated risk which, in all circumstances of the case, was reasonable and proper” East Ham Corporation v Bernard Sunley (1966)”
The key word here is “risk”; on every job it is the architect (and now the Assigned Certifiers) responsibility to undertake a risk assessment on the following prior to calculating how many inspections will be required (bear in mind this number can vary depending on how the project progresses in line with the risk assessment). It is the exact same risk assessment that a Building Control Officer in the UK makes to work out how many inspections are required to check compliance.
• Type and scope of project
• Complexity of project
• Skill and experience of builder
• Skill and experience of architect/Assigned Certifier
nb this list isn’t exhaustive
But what has been interesting over the last year now that we’ve been using BCRComply Software (opens in new window) for logging and documenting our inspections is that what I’ve described above is exactly happening.
Projects where the builder knows exactly what they are doing and understands the principles of Building Regulations compliance require a lot fewer visits (in one example just over 10) than the builder who is struggling with for example insulation and airtightness detailing and other Building Regulation Compliance issues (in one example over 20 visits at just over half way).
In either case it is impossible for me to undertake the level of inspection required in accordance with the Code of Practice for the figures that are currently being bandied about (€1000 was one example)!
For more information on inspections and Assigned Certifier issues I suggest going to the BRegsForum
Comments, as always, welcome…
Hi Mark,
Its Great to see you are using our software.. I really do hope its saving you a lot of time (money) in your Building Regulation Compliance Administration work.
Our app is designed to be a good checklist while onsite to enable the inspector to check the works with regard to Building Compliance.
Following our recent updates to the Code of Practice for Inspecting and Certifying Buildings and Works, it is our intention to integrate all items from the Inspector plan template for a detached non complex dwelling house as issued in the new code into our Inspection app and administration software (Appendix C). It is also our intention to integrate sections C.3 and C.4 of the new code into our software.
Hi Sean many thanks for comment & can’t wait – big thing for me would be all the inspections auto completed in a final ‘as implemented’ inspection plan
Keep it up
Mark