Official risk assessor scheme comes closer

[William 29]

I am sure some of you will have seen or be aware of this but for those who have not see the press release from the Fire Safety Engineering news letter.

Official risk assessor scheme comes closer but no review of ADB until 2013 06/11/2009

 

Government action on selecting competent people to carry out fire risk assessments came a step closer this week when officials from the Communities and Local Government (CLG) department said they were urgently considering a quality scheme for risk assessors.

The development emerged yesterday at an industry forum in Westminster, organised by the all-parliamentary fire safety and rescue group. In response to comments and questions from representatives of the industry and fire and rescue services, head of the fire safety policy team, Louise Upton, said: “We recognise that it is an issue and we are looking at coming up with some sort of quality scheme for risk assessors. It’s urgent but it’s a complex issue.”

Brian Martin of the Building Regulations division of CLG also confirmed that the government was responding to concerns about the role of private approved building inspectors, as part of its review of the effectiveness of building control. This includes proposals for a more risk-based approach to enforcement to ensure better compliance with the regulations, potentially giving credit to construction companies that use competent contractors.

In spite of determined lobbying from representatives of the industry, officials confirmed that it was unlikely there would be a review of Approved Document B until 2013. This is part of a more structured and planned approach to the review of building regulations, said Mr Martin, in place of the previous piecemeal and somewhat random approach.

Under the Better Regulation policy, any proposed extra burden on business needs to comply with strict tests of cost-benefit analysis, and that the value of a ‘preventative fatality’ – how much society is willing to pay to avoid someone dying accidentally – was a key part of this, he said.

[kurnal]

I can see a rush to join existing schemes because they are more than likely to be given grandfather rights.

I would like to know what prompted the sudden focus on this? Where I have sseen such discussion it is often raised together with Lakenal House- but this cannot be the case because no risk assessment had been carried out there.

And what peeves me is that Sir Ks report says that a number of the defects would have gone beyond the scope of a fire risk assessment? I always look  at ceiling and wall linings, fire stopping and poke my head into every nook cranny and false ceiling because you ALWAYS find problems there.

Especially in London where builders and building inspectors generally seem to think that the world ends at the suspended ceiling.

[Bobbins]

Only one scheme complies with government policy. The others are unlikely to be acceptable or be granted any such recognition in their present format.

The consultation has been underway for some months now and is likely to be concluded late in December.

Let’s hope CLG don’t mess this one up and they put some force behind it.  

[Tom Sutton]

I would like to know what prompted the sudden focus on this. Where I have seen such discussion it is often raised together with Lakenal House- but this cannot be the case because no risk assessment had been carried out there.

Kurnal I think it did come from Lakenal check out the article in Fire Risk Management "Lakanal Update" page 8. But why, however I think its needed if it solves this problem.

[colin todd]

Just what the world needs really. Government interference by civil servants who know diddly squat but can run around effectively like headless chickens trying to look as though they do to please their bosses and political masters.

Hopefully, once they take the trouble to know what they are talking about (probably another 10 years), they will realize that the trade and the profession are already well on the way to regulating themselves because the same civil servants told the world they were on their own, and that they would get no material help from the CLG.

Louise is right-it is complex to deal with constantly changing policy by people who cant seem to make their minds up.