FINAL JDDK Millmount News Spring Edition 2024 DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 25
A shared responsibility
The regulations have caused a pivotal shift in the way
the industry collectively approaches building design
and construction. Building owners, architects, and
construction professionals each play a crucial role in
ensuring a building meets the new standards.
One of the key changes is the introduction of a
number of new duty holders across the design,
construction and occupation of building projects,
some of which are similar in name to those existing
under CDM, but crucially have very different duties
and responsibilities relating to the safety and
performance of buildings.
Architects and other Designers hold the most
in昀氀uence over the safety and functionality of
buildings and must integrate safety considerations
into every aspect of their designs, to ensure buildings
are compliant with the relevant regulations. For the
lead designer, often the Architect, this can include
taking on the new Building Regulations Principal
Designer role brought in under the Building Safety
Act, which brings a duty to plan, manage, monitor
and co-ordinate the design work to ensure safety
considerations are embedded into the design work
as a whole.
Contractors also play a crucial role in adhering to the
design safety measures throughout the construction
process, whilst Clients and Building Owners bear the
overarching responsibility of ensuring the safety
of their property in use and engaging the right
professionals at the beginning of a project.
The responsibility is very much split between the
Client, Architect and other Designers, Contractors
and Building Owners of occupied buildings, to
shoulder the burden of safety, and it’s important
all parties understand the role they play in ensuring
standards are met.
Closing the education gap
When the Building Safety Act came into force, there
was a noticeable knowledge gap. A lot of people felt
there was a lack of guidance or didn’t realise that
the new regulations were applicable to them. The
industry has taken big steps forward since then, and
we are now seeing that institutions such as the CIAT
and RIBA are providing comprehensive guidance on
the new regulations which has helped to address the
educational shortfall, but there is still work to be done.
One of the biggest areas for improvement is the
education piece for clients. Building owners bear a
signi昀椀cant responsibility when it comes to ensuring
their property adheres to the new safety standards,
and they need to be proactive in sourcing quali昀椀ed
professionals early in the process to enable this to
happen, which isn’t always clear from the offset.
Since the new legislation came into force, we have
been contacting our current clients to notify them of
the regulatory changes and how they impact existing
and future projects. We routinely advise clients of
their duties under the act at the outset of projects,
as it’s crucial that clients, especially those in the
HRB sector, are aware of the implications of the
new regulations and what it means for their project.
We’re also providing in house and external training
for staff, including enrolment in the RIBA’s Principal
Designer training course.
Navigating challenges
The implications of the new legislation are signi昀椀cant,
and they are certainly something that is being felt
industry wide as we all adapt our processes and
ways of working to accommodate them. Changes
are required across many aspects of the design and
construction process, as well as when buildings are
occupied, with a particular emphasis on how we
communicate and collaborate across design and
construction teams.
The industry is still navigating the 昀椀nancial
implications of the new regulations too. Architects
and contractors are taking on additional risk,
responsibility, and resource to meet the new
standards, so we are working collaboratively to
昀椀nd effective and sustainable methods to cover
the resources needed to complete this essential
work. Whilst the new regulations come with a host
of challenges, we’re also seeing a wave of new
opportunities within the industry, as businesses
are adapting and innovating their services to stay
compliant, especially where a lot of their work is in
the high-risk building (HRB) sector.
At JDDK, we now offer Building Regulations
Principal Designer services for the Building Safety
Act alongside our design services, and across the
industry we are also seeing the emergence of roles
that are speci昀椀cally dedicated to overseeing the
requirements and ensuring the implementation
of the new processes are adhered to across all
stakeholders.
The creation of new processes and opportunities is
something we hope to see play out on a larger scale
over the next 6-12 months, as the industry continues
to adapt to the changes and innovate ef昀椀cient and
effective ways of working.
Spring 2024. Millmount. 25
