Verification of Certified and Non-Certified Routes for Compliance
LABSS Procedural guidance on verification of certified and non-certified routes for compliance with the building regulations
The building standards system in Scotland is one of the most robust in the world; it sets high standards in construction, sustainability and energy efficiency requirements, and local authorities provide an enviable record of monitoring compliance. Building Standards Certification is now an established although optional part of the system, but what happens when work is not covered by a Certificate of Design or a Certificate of Construction?
Prompted by the Scottish Ministers, a Certification Workshop in September 2014, attended by all interested parties, led to the recommendation that where not covered by a Certificate of Design or a Certificate of Construction “guidance be developed to encourage a consistent approach to the verification of certifiable work”.
In accepting this challenge, the LABSS position has always been clear; local authorities and the scheme providers do not provide an equivalent service. LABSS members undertake reasonable inquiry while certifiers assure compliance and are directly responsible for the work they certify. There is no expectation that individual building standards surveyors become as expert as practitioners in certifiable topics.
What this guidance does is provide an approach to risk assessing certifiable work based on good practice, it takes the opportunity to make this good practice more widely known, and it provides the opportunity for a more consistent approach to risk assessing nationwide. The result is this suite of LABSS guidance notes drafted with contributions from the Scottish Government’s Building Standards Division, the various certification scheme providers and, of course, the LABSS membership.